Huawei unveils Ascend D quad, Ascend D quad XL and Ascend D1 Android phones.
Asus announces Padfone tablet/smartphone hybrid
Asus on Monday unveiled the Padfone from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The hybrid device was first announced in May last year, however a bit has changed since the Padfone's initial announcement at Computex 2011. .
Samsung announces Galaxy Note 10.1 with Android 4.0
Samsung on Monday took the wraps off another new addition to its Android tablet lineup, the Galaxy Note 10.1. Like the supersized "phablet" it joins in the Galaxy Note family, the Note 10.1 includes Samsung's S Pen stylus for drawing, note-taking, highlighting and much more..
Samsung Galaxy S III full specs
We reported some exclusive details surrounding Samsung's upcoming flagship Galaxy S III smartphone this past weekend, and now we have received some more information that helps us paint a more complete picture. And as that picture becomes more clear, this sure looks like the baddest Android smartphone the world hasn't yet seen. We reported that the new Samsung flagship would launch in a simultaneous fashion across the globe, but we now have some more detailed specifications to report. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Yes, we're still waiting on the official release of the Dell Streak over here in the colonies, but abroad it's already available, and MoDaCo's Paul O'Brien has taken his to the root. He's figured out how to make the Streak a more willing partner for your su exploits, and has kindly shared the details. The application process looks easy, just a few steps, and from what we can tell looks to be fully functional, with only the remount command requiring some extra finesse to get working. You can find the full details at the source link and have yours rooted in time for tea.
We've just learned at D8 today that Dell will be offering the Streak to US customers direct from its website -- unlocked -- starting next month for $500. That's later than the June 4 date that UK customers will be enjoying, but it's earlier than it could've been -- Dell had merely been giving "later this Summer" guidance previously. More on this as it develops!
Meet Pearce Clune, Dell's Head of Consumer Operations for Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. Clune's gone ahead and a pretty brief demonstration of Alienware's laptop lineup to Shuffle Magazine, include the mighty impressive M11x powerhouse in netbook clothing. It's all pretty standard fare until about 2:20 into the video, where the fine gentleman casually drops that the Core 2 Duo processor is about to get a modern upgrade with Core i3, i5, and i7 options. That's right, a Core i7 processor in a 11-inch form factor. We'll let that sink in for a second. But don't just take our word for it -- video after the break. Now, is Optimus en route, too?
You know who can't stop talking about (or showing off) the Dell Streak / Mini 5? Company CEO Michael Dell, that's who. The man once again returned with his Android-powered 5-inch display of choice, showing it off on stage at the Citrix Synergy conference this morning. Sure, we've seen the handset ad nauseum at this point -- we're even a proud owner of one prototype -- but here's the quote that piqued our interest: "this [phone] will be available starting next month, first with our partner 02 Telefonica [sic] in Europe, then later this summer with our pretty good partner here in the United States, AT&T." He couldn't be much more direct, and we couldn't get it from a more knowing source. Excited for the near future yet?
Here she is, folks -- Dell's first-ever Android device destined for a Stateside release, and AT&T's second overall handset (the first being the Backflip) with a Google-based operating system. At CTIA's MobileFocus event, we were able to brush up against a fully functional Aero (shown beside a Mini 3, just for your information), but we left without seeing the actual home screen. The closest we came to witnessing Android 1.5 boot up was the typical AT&T intro screen, and once that popped up, our presenter promptly popped the battery out in order to stop what would've otherwise been a truly momentous occasion. We begged and pleaded for a few interface shots, but Dell insisted that AT&T was holding an invisible gun to its head in order to keep the screen dimmed. We were told that the interface was still being tweaked, and the carrier simply wasn't ready for the world at large to take a peek.
Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet's lightest Android phone ever when it ships (believe us, it was light), and while v1.5 will be onboard, Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch. We were also told that it would ship with a 5 megapixel camera (a step up from the Mini 3's 3 megapixel shooter), an undisclosed amount of internal storage, a new color / design scheme (the one you see here will be the only shade available at launch) and a 2GB microSD card bundled in at purchase. You'll also find a good deal of AT&T baked into the OS, but it's not like you should be surprised to hear of carrier meddling. Finally, we were informed that pricing would be set by AT&T, and that it would be shipping "soon" -- far sooner than "six months from now" -- from both AT&T and Dell channels (though not available unlocked from the latter). There's also the possibility that Dell could arrange some sort of Aero / Mini 10 combo deal for those looking to really sink their teeth into a hefty AT&T contract, but there's nothing substantial to go on just yet in that department. Enough chit-chat -- give the gallery below a look to see what's coming your way. Source
We'd heard through the grapevine that the engineers at Round Rock were working on a number of slates to fill the Streak lineup, but man, we didn't see this coming... at least not yet. A couple of images along with an internal Dell announcement landed on our virtual doorstep this fine morning, and lo and behold, it looks as if a 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablet is on the horizon. But that's not all -- we learned that the "coming soon" we heard earlier regarding the Aero's release date on AT&T really means "June." Later this "summer," said phone will be joined by the Streak 5 (yeah, that's the Mini 5 we've had for months now) for those who prefer a more capable mobile. As for the 7-inch Streak? Look for it to launch (presumably with or without AT&T support) late in 2010, while a 10-inch flavor follows in "early 2011." Is Sidetalkin' really about to return? We're ready -- so ready.
Update: Dell hit us up with a totally corporate line when we dug deeper for details:
"Dell continually develops and tests new products that extend the mobile experience. We have not made any product announcements and do not comment on speculation, rumor or unannounced products."
Occasionally we've had strangers -- very likely non-Engadget readers -- coming up to us and ask, "Sorry mate, but is that the iPad?" To which we reply, "No, it's the Dell Mini 5." This may sound like a silly boo-boo to make, but there is this common misconception of the iPad being just "a bigger iPhone" while not knowing how much bigger it is (despite our best effort). To clear this up once and for all, we've brought the two devices in question together -- the Mini 5 / Streak smartphone on the left, and the iPad on the right. Now it's up to you guys to spread the love.
As a bonus, we also threw in various phones -- HTC HD mini, Nexus One, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and HTC HD2 -- to pile on top of Apple's latest toy, just to kill the Sunday afternoon. No magical and revolutionary devices were harmed in the making of this article.
When we first got our paws on the Dell Aero it was missing Maps, and the Market, and all the other Google-branded apps that make Android as good as it is. Initial fears regarding their absence were assuaged by representatives indicating that all of Google's goodness would be available in the phone, and now it's confirmed: the Aero will include all of the Google Mobile Services, including the Market, Maps, Gmail, and search. That contrasts with other AT&T Android offerings, which are still bereft of Google Maps. So sad.
You might have missed it if you were sleeping, but we broke open a huge treasure trove of leaked Dell mobile devices last night, including the high-end Lightning Windows Phone 7 slider and Thunder Android set. We also got wind of the mid-range Flash and Smoke Android phones, as well as the Looking Glass seven-inch Android tablet, and to round things out we scored more details on the Aero and Streak. Yeah, it was a hell of a night, but we've got it all rounded up for you right here, so click on through if you missed anything! Cellphones, Mobile Handsets Dell's Lightning, Thunder, Flash, Smoke and more: rounding up a storm of mobile leaks By Ross Miller posted Apr 22nd 2010 3:19PM Exclusive
Here she is, folks -- Dell's first-ever Android device destined for a Stateside release, and AT&T's second overall handset (the first being the Backflip) with a Google-based operating system. At CTIA's MobileFocus event, we were able to brush up against a fully functional Aero (shown beside a Mini 3, just for your information), but we left without seeing the actual home screen. The closest we came to witnessing Android 1.5 boot up was the typical AT&T intro screen, and once that popped up, our presenter promptly popped the battery out in order to stop what would've otherwise been a truly momentous occasion. We begged and pleaded for a few interface shots, but Dell insisted that AT&T was holding an invisible gun to its head in order to keep the screen dimmed. We were told that the interface was still being tweaked, and the carrier simply wasn't ready for the world at large to take a peek.
Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet's lightest Android phone ever when it ships (believe us, it was light), and while v1.5 will be onboard, Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch. We were also told that it would ship with a 5 megapixel camera (a step up from the Mini 3's 3 megapixel shooter), an undisclosed amount of internal storage, a new color / design scheme (the one you see here will be the only shade available at launch) and a 2GB microSD card bundled in at purchase. You'll also find a good deal of AT&T baked into the OS, but it's not like you should be surprised to hear of carrier meddling. Finally, we were informed that pricing would be set by AT&T, and that it would be shipping "soon" -- far sooner than "six months from now" -- from both AT&T and Dell channels (though not available unlocked from the latter). There's also the possibility that Dell could arrange some sort of Aero / Mini 10 combo deal for those looking to really sink their teeth into a hefty AT&T contract, but there's nothing substantial to go on just yet in that department.
AT&T's teaser site for the Dell Aero has gone live and we can now fill in a few more gaps in our knowledge about this forthcoming handset. It's looking every bit the renamed Mini 3 we thought it was, so click here and here to get a closer look at the body of the device. The official web mouthpiece confirms a 3.5-inch screen with nHD resolution -- which may or may not signify the same 640 x 360 as on the Brazilian and Chinese versions -- and one definite point of departure, a 5 (rather than 3) megapixel camera on the back. Claimed to be the lightest Android smartphone yet, the Aero will also come with WiFi and GPS built in, though its biggest attraction will undoubtedly be the thoroughly tricked out Android UI, which promises Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitpic integration right out of the box. Check out the gallery below for some hints of what that willl look like.
T-Mobile's selected CTIA 2010 this week as the venue to launch its customized version of Dell's Mini 10 netbook that's been infused with -- you guessed it -- T-Mobile-compatible 3G service. It's got a 10.1-inch WSVGA display, 1.3 megapixel webcam, three USB ports, VGA port, Windows 7 Starter Edition, and an Atom N450 core humming along at 1.66GHz with a claimed battery life of "up to" eight hours using a six-cell 56WHr pack. In terms of frequencies, you've got quadband EDGE alongside quadband (yes, quadband) 3G with support for Bands I, II, IV, and V, which means you'll be able to roam in 850 / 1900MHz markets and internationally. It's available starting tomorrow in "select T-Mobile retail locations" in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles as well as through the carrier's site and sales hotline for $199.99 on a two-year deal.
Dell's vanilla Atom N450-based Mini 10 just started shipping a couple of months ago, and if you'll recall, we spotted one slip through the FCC's oh-so-vulnerable database with WiMAX built-in. Today at CTIA, Clearwire spilled the news that it'll be providing the service for a 4G-infused version of the netbook come April 1st. What's interesting is that Clearwire only mentions it being for sale "through select Clear retail locations, telesales and Clear.com," so it's still unknown if it'll be offered up through the Round Rock powerhouse itself (as the Studio 17, Studio XPS 1640 and Latitude E4300, etc. are). The machine will be sold for $249.99 after an instant rebate, though no specifics were mentioned concerning a per-month data plan price. If we were the betting type, we'd say it'll probably run you 40 bones for every 30 days based on existing rates.
While Dell originally mentioned a TV tuner option back when it launched the Mini 10 in January, it's still working on bringing the feature to market. The latest news is that the configuration will tack roughly $50 onto the price, includes an external antenna (which is only required in low-signal situations), and should be available "this summer." The couple of channels we saw in action seemed plenty good on the quality front, but nothing groundbreaking. Meanwhile, we also got a look at the new Mini 10v, which swaps HDMI for VGA, lacks the flush "glass" styling of the Mini 10 display, and bounces over to the Atom N270 processor. The version we were looking at included a 6-cell battery (a $30 add-on), which added a considerable amount of lift at the back -- it might be ergonomic, but it sure isn't pretty. Unfortunately the TV option won't be available for the 10v, so if you were holding out... maybe you should be spending more time with your family.
Looks like Dell's finally entering the modern US smartphone market with a renamed Mini 3 called the Aero for AT&T. There's some serious Android UI skinning going on here -- it looks like a riff on what we've seen on the Streak / Mini 5 -- but that's all we know specs-wise at the moment. To be honest, we're somewhat concerned that this custom UI skin will be built on top of Android 1.5 or 1.6 instead of 2.1, and that AT&T will mandate a Backflip-style app lockdown -- until we get some hard details all we have is this tiny pic and and our usual hope for the future.
Michael Dell may not be a fan of netbooks, but you wouldn't know that from the newest Mini 10. Joining the current Mini 10v, Dell's completely overhauled the chassis and added Intel's new Pine Trail processor. But that's not all: come February the little laptop will be available with Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator, which promises full HD playback on a high-res 1366 x 768 display. But does the $425 package rid us of our tireless complaints that Atom can't handle HD, and does it rival netbooks based on NVIDIA's Ion platform? And perhaps more importantly, can we count on the Mini 10 to be a valuable member of the growing Pine Trail netbook fraternity when it comes to battery life and ergonomics? Read on to find out!
Editor's Note: This review has been updated since Flash 10.1 Beta 3 was released. Dell Mini 10 Gallery
Look and feel
What's white, black and red all over? The Mini 10 that Dell sent us. Corny jokes aside, we do like the red glossy lid, but like most Dell laptops you have to pay an extra $40 to decorate yours like a Fruity Pebble. Seriously, the requirement to pay more for a colored lid has always seemed quite ridiculous. But beyond the bright lid, we do like the new hinge which is mounted low on the bottom deck, echoing the one on the original Adamo.
Beyond that, Dell scratched the previous chassis of its Minis for a more rounded, wedge-shaped lower half. But the odd shape has purpose -- the back of the system is wider so that it can house its six-cell battery, rather than have it hang off the back. We're into the design, but it's much chunkier than other netbooks. And the three-pound,1.3-inch thick Mini 10 is noticeably heavier and wider than the 2.6-pound Acer Aspire One 532h and Toshiba NB305. Of course, with all that extra space the Mini 10 has the room to house the standard netbook ports, including three USB ports, VGA, Ethernet, SD card slot, and a headphone and microphone jack. Unfortunately there's no HDMI port -- Dell tells us the Pineview chipset doesn't support it, despite its claimed HD prowess.
Keyboard, touchpad and screen
Despite the movement towards chiclet-style keyboards on netbooks, Dell's stuck with the flush keyboard layout. Though we like the slightly raised matte keys and the fairly comfortable typing experience, we still prefer the feel of the keyboard on the Toshiba NB305. But the bigger problem lies with the Mini 10's touchpad with integrated mouse buttons -- a friend of ours tried it and actually remarked that it was "atrocious." We're not convinced that it's totally unusable, but overall it's too small and the buttons are located too close to the edge. The result is a lot of double tapping and back tracking. Good thing, Dell does make it very easy to tack on an external mouse to an online order.
While we could have done with a smaller, less glossy bezel, the 1366 x 768 screen is high quality and much roomier than the usual 1024 x 600 netbook resolution. Watching a 1080p clip of Up in the Air was crisp, and viewing angles were decent, but the screen is so glossy that getting it set to an angle where you aren't staring at yourself takes skill.
Performance, HD playback and battery life
Our Mini 10 unit was outfitted with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive that boots Windows 7 Starter edition. Despite the fact that the Mini 10 scored in the same range as the other PineTrail netbooks, we noticed the system feeling slightly slower than the others when opening programs (it took 8 seconds to open Firefox, rather than the 532h's 4 seconds). However, once things got going we didn't notice a huge difference in performance, at least while writing this review in Microsoft Works and browsing in Firefox. Of bigger concern is how hot it runs; our palms and lap got increasingly warm when we used it while lying in bed.
So, does the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator put an end to our netbook HD woes? Our answer is a resounding "kind of." Firstly, we should mention that as soon as we got the unit we downloaded Adobe Flash 10.1 to see how a YouTube HD clip would play. However after a few browser crashes and some chatting with Broadcom we found out that support will not be enabled until Adobe Flash 10.1 Beta 3 is released later this month. We'll update this review when available, though it should be noted that Dell tells us they will not preload Flash 10.1 when they ship, and buyers will also have to update the Broadcom driver on their own.
Though the Mini 10 will not come preinstalled with Adobe's Flash 10.1 Beta 3 or the updated Broadcom drivers that support it, users can download those tools and enjoy watching streaming HD content. And after making sure everything was installed, that's exactly what we did! A number of 1080p movie trailers played surprisingly smoothly both in the smaller screen YouTube player and when upped to the full screen. Need some proof? Check out the video below of the Mini 10 handling YouTube HD and some other 1080p CBS.com HD clips. While the playback was nice and smooth, we did have a few browser crashes here and there which we will blame on Flash 10.1's beta status.
As for downloaded HD content, a 1080p WMV video of dolphins and the Iron Man 2 trailer from Apple's site played smoothly in Windows Media Player 11 -- something we'd hoped Pine Trail netbooks would do on their own. However, because Broadcom only supports Windows Media Player, that same MOV was like watching a slide-show in QuickTime. We're pretty happy we figured that out before we went and purchased Iron Man in HD from iTunes. In turn, because Windows Media Player 11 doesn't support Blu-ray playback, and Broadcom's other software partners haven't released players yet (we're told ArcSoft is working on one), playing a Blu-ray disc if you happen to have an external drive isn't an option at the moment.
Our sense here is that the Broadcom chip will be a fine solution for those who just want to watch online videos once Flash 10.1 Beta 3 and a supported Blu-ray player is out -- you'll be able to hit your favorite streaming sites and playback most local video you have. But it's still no more than a Band-Aid on Pine Trail's graphics woes -- unlike Ion, it won't help with gaming or video encoding, and the Mini 10's low 3DMark scores second that.
PCMark05 3DMark06 Battery Life Dell Mini 10 (Pine Trail, Broadcom Crystal HD) 1264 132 5:58 HP Mini 311 (Ion) 2016 1464 3:53 Toshiba Mini NB305 (Pine Trail) 1272 156 6:30 Acer Aspire One 523h (Pine Trail) 1310 154 6:31 ASUS Eee PC 1005PE (Pine Trail) 1431 157 8:10
With a 56Wh, six-cell battery, the Mini 10 lasted 5 hours and 58 minutes on our video rundown test, which loops the same SD video at 65 percent brightness. While that'll let you leave the charger at home for most of the day, it isn't as long as the other Pine Trail netbooks, and nowhere near the Eee PC 1005PE's eight hours on that same test. When just used for surfing the web and listening to streaming music through YouTube, the Mini 10 lasted about seven and a half hours. We did really appreciate that Dell ships the system with a clean desktop, though the Dell dock is locked to the top of the screen for easy access to Windows applications.
Wrap-up
If you're in the market for a regular $369 (with Dell's DNDOAN8 e-vaule code) 10-inch Pine Trail netbook sans HD capabilities, the Dell Mini 10 turns out to be a middle of the road player. When it comes to thinness, ergonomics and even overall performance, it isn't as compelling as the Toshiba Mini NB305, and though its battery life is solid, it doesn't compare to the Eee PC 1005PE. But what if you're looking for a netbook that can handle HD content? Well, it's still not a perfect solution, considering the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator only plays back content in Windows Media Player and requires you to make various tweaks to allow for Flash support. So, if you're looking for a more versatile and hassle-free HD experience, we'd have to recommend an Ion netbook like the $399 HP Mini 311 or $499 ASUS Eee PC 1201N, at least until Flash 10.1 comes out of beta and there's more software support for Broadcom
Who's got some love for prototype gadgets, eh? Apparently someone does in Shenzhen (surprise of the day?). PC Online managed to cuddle up with a black Dell Streak / Mini 5 prototype, which has "Model M01M" marked under the battery cover -- something not seen in the earlier teardown, and is probably the most official name to date. Spec-wise the M01M sums up what's been speculated all along -- 5-inch 800x480 touchscreen, Android 1.6, 1GHz CPU (presumably Snapdragon, as revealed by the teardown), WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G of some sort, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, front-facing camera, and the same 1530mAh battery as the one in the teardown. The price? ¥7,500, which converts to a whopping $1,098 in US cash, but bear in mind that this doesn't reflect the M01M's actual retail price for whenever it might launch.
Hot on the heels of us thinking maybe the Dell Streak / Mini 5 was possibly due for a name change to the "M01M," a roving heckler from TechCrunch managed to catch the man himself, Michael Dell, on the street and get a quick demonstration of the thing -- which he with no uncertain terms referred to as the "Mini 5." He swiped through a number of home screens and quickly showed the five megapixel camera on the back, mentioned 3G wireless, and then tucked it away again. No price was given, but the biggest news is confirmation that it's coming out in "a couple of months," which is something of a surprise given the company was still calling it a concept just a few weeks ago. Video of this choice encounter is after the break.
Well isn't this good to know. The Mini 5 isn't even coming out for at least another month, yet already we're hearing Dell has big plans for what's to follow. Wired has the dish straight from Neeraj Choubey, GM of Dell's tablet division, that there will be "a family of tablets" which will "scale up to a variety of sizes." It appears there will be a common feature set throughout the forthcoming portfolio, so it's likely going to be Android all the way, while Choubey also shared his company's intention to bundle "inexpensive data plans" with the new devices -- indicating a belief that carriers will accede to such ambitious ideas. And speaking of network operators, in a separate interview with Laptop, the loquacious gentleman has confirmed that Dell's working with AT&T on bringing the Mini 5 to the masses. Good to know, indeed -- now how about a release date?
11:42 AM
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