Donut -- Engadget Mobile

donut posts

Acer Liquid handled, evaluated, 'not too shabby'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 @ 7:38PM

Looks like quite a few folks have got their hands on the Acer Liquid as of late, and lucky for us they've been rather loose-lipped with their thoughts on the subject. As suspected, the handset is running a 1GHz Snapdragon that's been under-clocked to 768MHz. And it looks like Acer didn't go crazy with the User Experience either, pretty much staying true to its Google Android 1.6 roots, albeit with a number of additions, including: social networking integration (Facebook and Flickr contacts and photo sharing), nemoPlayer for multimedia files, DataViz for Microsoft Exchange support, and the Spinlets music streaming service. In addition, Acer has redesigned some of the widgets, including the clock and the task manager, which now includes a preview of open apps. All-in-all, it seems to be a pretty solid Android handset with a few useful additions -- but as always, the verdict is out until we get our hands on one. In the meantime, hit up the read links below for a generous helping of screenshots, hands-on pics, and impressions.

[Via JK On The Run]

Read - PREVIEW: Acer Liquid Android 1.6 WVGA Touchscreen Smartphone
Read - Acer A1, Screenshot and Interface

Sony Ericsson lets XPERIA X10 videos and press shots loose

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 3rd 2009 @ 8:16AM

If you weren't up all night following Engadget (and why wouldn't you be?), the first place you'll want to visit this morning is our extensive hands-on of Sony Ericsson's inaugural foray into Android territory. There you'll find the full XPERIA X10 announcement details and spec sheet, which is highlighted by a 4-inch capacitive display and a deeply customized user interface. With plenty of time to go before that first quarter of 2010 release date, though, we thought we'd get the anticipation revved up a few notches with a selection of handsome images of the device below, and a pair of videos -- one a spit-polished advertising promo, the other a useful demo of Speed Forge 3D -- after the break.

Gallery: XPERIA X10 official pictures

Continue reading Sony Ericsson lets XPERIA X10 videos and press shots loose

Acer Liquid's Snapdragon processor to be clocked at just 768MHz?

by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 11:13AM

Ugh. Just weeks after we figured that Acer's first Android-based handset would indeed ship with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a new slide over at an international Liquid presentation is suggesting otherwise. As you can clearly see above, it looks as if the Qualcomm-sourced CPU will be underclocked to just 768MHz, which makes little to no sense on the surface. Granted, most average consumers couldn't care less about the CPU in their next smartphone, but it seems reasonable to think that the Liquid will lag behind its 1GHz contemporaries when used side-by-side. Who knows though -- maybe this is just the thing necessary to squeeze a full week of battery life out of this thing. Or not.

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Gully and Jose]

HTC confirms it has Android 2.0 handsets in the works

by Paul Miller posted Oct 26th 2009 @ 7:18PM

Of course nobody expects Motorola and Verizon to be the sole benefactors of Android 2.0's Donut-ey goodness in the long run, but in an age of increasing Android ubiquity it seemed odd to see them as the only ones with a more-or-less-confirmed Android 2.0 handset on the way. Well, Sascha Segan over at Gearlog did some digging and while Samsung wouldn't confirm any Android 2.0 work, HTC was forthcoming in saying that it's had Android 2.0 around for a while, and is working on it for future phones. Perhaps the HTC Desire (dubbed Droid Eris) or the Passion will be one of those phones? It would be odd to see Verizon introduce a 2.0 handset from Motorola and only 1.5 or 1.6 handsets from HTC, but we'll just have to see how it all goes down next month -- Motorola sure seems buddy buddy with Google on this one. But if Dell could track down a copy, we don't see how far behind HTC could be on this one.

[Via SlashGear]

Acer Liquid slips through human fingers, but not before divulging new specs (updated)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 16th 2009 @ 2:42AM

Generic form factor? Check. Default Android skin? Check. Sure, that's nothing exciting, but the real draw of Acer Liquid's gonna be its large, 800 x 480 resolution screen (the exact size of which we still don't know) and its 1GHz Snapdragon chipset. Unfortunately for the guys at Pocket-Lint, they didn't get to play with the Donut-powered handset long enough to really push those two selling points, but on the bright side they did discover a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and some ISO adjustment options, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and what appears to be a 3.5mm headphone jack. Perhaps more importantly, they nabbed some pictures of the thing powered on and in action. Jealous? Yes, yes we are.

Update: We finally have the first images (above) showing Acer's customized Android UI and social networking integration (after the break) courtesy of HDBlog.it. It not quite the full-blown replacement a la HTC Sense, but they've clearly brought a new bag of tricks in an attempt to make the vanilla OS experience Acer-unique.

[Thanks, Josh]

Continue reading Acer Liquid slips through human fingers, but not before divulging new specs (updated)

Giant Android eclair delivered to Google by even bigger nerds (video)

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 15th 2009 @ 1:37AM

By now you should be familiar with Google's confectionary codenames for its Google Android OS: version 1.5 (Cupcake), 1.6 (Donut), 2.0 (Eclair) and version x.x (Flan). What you probably didn't know is that Google honors each release by dropping a steaming hot foam facsimile onto its front lawn. Historically, the arrival of the giant Donut at the GooglePlex was followed by the 1.6 developer release of Android just a few days later. Don't get too excited though, last we heard Eclair wouldn't arrive until Q2 of 2010 for consumers. Video and another view of the nerds "gone wild" just after the break.

[Via TechCrunch]

Continue reading Giant Android eclair delivered to Google by even bigger nerds (video)

Acer Liquid mixes Snapdragon and Android 1.6 'donut' for a movable feast

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 14th 2009 @ 6:56AM

Hey, what do you know, Acer just kicked out its first Android handset into the mystical kingdom of donuts and Snapdragons. Liquid, a rebranded (and slightly restyled) A1, brings a 800 x 480 WVGA capacitive touchscreen upon which you'll watch Android 1.6 ride that peppy Snapdragon processor. It's presumably tuned to 1GHz (or higher) and not 768MHz as listed on the eXpansys Germany spec-sheet -- a trick that'll make this the fastest Android handset on the planet. Of course, what would Android be without some tweaking? Acer promises a bevy of unique features such as improved power management, a new UI with tight entertainment and web integration, geo-tagging, a "Spinlets" application for access to streaming video and music, and full address book integration with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other social media houses. Unfortunately, that's all the detail that Acer's willing to spill at the moment; dates, real specs, and prices when we get 'em.

[Via ElectricPig and SlashGear]

Android 1.6 update now official for T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 1:49PM

Donuts for everyone! Well, not everyone -- but as we'd heard, at least some G1 and myTouch 3G owners on T-Mobile USA are now being blessed with an official Android 1.6 build over the air. The carrier says it has "begun delivery," which we take means it's not all happening at once; that's the way the 1.5 rollout was handled, so it really doesn't come as a surprise. Keep checking for that update notification, folks.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android 1.6 getting pushed to G1s starting tonight, myTouch 3Gs in a day?

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 12:28AM

This is totally out of left field, but TmoNews (which tends to have a pretty solid track record when it comes to all things T-Mobile) is claiming that "select" G1s will be receiving Android 1.6 "Donut" starting... well, right about now. So much for any lingering worries that the first retail Android device was being left high and dry, eh? If everything goes well, the rumor goes on to say that myTouch 3Gs would be getting their own over-the-air upgrade in about 24 hours -- and like the 1.5 update before it, it'd likely be a staggered rollout to make sure that T-Mobile doesn't brick a bazillion phones in one fell swoop. Any G1 owners out there seeing anything yet? This sounds awfully quick, especially considering that the Dev Phone 1 just took delivery of 1.6 a handful of hours ago -- but hey, if it's true, we like T-Mobile's hustle.

Android 1.6 update for Dev Phone 1 now available

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 29th 2009 @ 10:33AM

We're expecting the official release of Android 1.6 phones any day now, but those of you hardcore enough to rock the badass unlocked Dream known as the Android Dev Phone 1 can get a bite of that Donut immediately: HTC's posted up an official 1.6 image file for you. Sadly it doesn't seem like regular G1 or Dream owners can use this code, but at least someone's having a good time.

[Thanks, Loe S.

Acer A1 Android phone listed for pre-order with 768MHz processor

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 27th 2009 @ 8:08PM

We'd been hearing that Acer's Android-based A1 smartphone would be hitting this month, and while we still haven't heard anything official, it's just gone up for pre-order at Expansys. The spec sheet is rather intriguing, since it lists Android 2.0 Donut and a 768MHz Qualcomm 8250 processor, which is a 240MHz bump over every other Android set on the market right now. Pre-orders aren't insane at €389 ($571), but we'll see what official pricing and carrier support look like before we reach for our wallets.

[Via Engadget German]

New Android Market finds its way into latest Cyanogen ROM

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 20th 2009 @ 8:58PM

Can wait to check out the new and improved Android Market slated for inclusion in the upcoming Android 1.6 release? Then it looks like you won't have to wait for the official release after all. You will, however, need a rooted Android device, and the latest, less-than-official Cyanogen ROM. Among other updates and fixes, it includes what appears to be the very same Android Market revision that's headlining Android 1.6 (a.k.a. Donut), and includes such enhancements as a bright new look, screenshots of apps, and a number of new browsing options to help you find what you're looking for. All rooted and ready to go? Then hit up the link below to get started.

Android 1.6 SDK released, coming to devices 'as early as October'

by Ross Miller posted Sep 15th 2009 @ 7:04PM

And with that, Google has released the SDK for Android 1.6, a.k.a. "Donut." Developers can go nuts over the fine-tunings of it, but the takeaway for the consumer is that it allows Android devices to run on CDMA and in different resolutions and screen sizes -- should help to vary up the options currently available. Additionally, the update will add QuickSearch à la webOS for scavenging through contacts, apps, and the internet in one text field, as we saw back at Google I/O, a text-to-speech API with translation capabilities, and that revamped market we spied earlier this month. Most interesting is an one-off line that from the official developer blog that says, "you can expect to see devices running Android 1.6 as early as October." That October launch applies to quite a number of upcoming Android handsets -- Sprint Hero, Motorola CLIQ, possibly even the InstinctQ and a Verizon-bound Sholes all fit the bill quite nicely. Want to see more of the new update in action? Video of +10 adorableness after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Continue reading Android 1.6 SDK released, coming to devices 'as early as October'

Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 3rd 2009 @ 8:11PM

Evidence suggests that the Android Market has a long way to go to be a profitable enterprise for would-be developers, but the good news is that Google seems to understand -- and they're doing something about it. Those in-the-wild shots of a totally rethought interface have turned out to be legit, being made official today by Android's official dev site; the beautified UI itself isn't really anything to write home about, but what makes it all worthwhile is the addition of screenshots and improvements to descriptions that should do a much better job of letting users know what they're getting for their hard-earned cash. Otherwise, there are a few new app categories and Italian support, all of which should bow with the release of Android 1.6 Donut. Sholes, Morrison, you fellas can't come soon enough. Follow the break for official video of the new Market in action.

[Via Phandroid]

Continue reading Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last

Video: HTC Click gets a 6-finger 'Donut' salute

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 21st 2009 @ 5:27AM

Looks like Vietnam is the new place to be for early device leaks. A place where gadget-nerds are rapidly evolving extra digits to master their surplus of hi-tech gear -- lucky bastages. As followup to its GSM-flavored Palm Pre scoop, site Tinh Te is once again showing off the HTC Click only this time, it's a full-on video. The device sports some interesting graphics (likely customized by the owner) on the back, a microSD slot, 1100mAh battery, standard 3.5-mm headphone jack up top, camera (no flash), and of course, Android, "Donut" build 1.50.999.0 according to the device's about page. Clearly, it lacks that swank SenseUI and the LCD is much smaller than the HTC Magic -- indicators that the Click is very much HTC's cheapo Android phone as previously rumored. See it in action just past the break.

Update: A few high-res pics of the Click posted at Tinh Te. Sample after the break.

Continue reading Video: HTC Click gets a 6-finger 'Donut' salute