Archive for the ‘Android’ Category

Motorola Drops Android Tablet Price to Match iPad’s

Motorola reduced the price of its Wi-Fi only Xoom tablet to $500. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Motorola announced on Wednesday that its Android tablet is now available for a hundred bucks cheaper than before, now priced the same as the entry-level iPad 2.

Originally priced at $600, Motorola’s Xoom tablet is now available for $500 in its Wi-Fi only version. The price reduction was announced via Motorola’s Twitter account, and first reported by The Business Insider.

Motorola’s Xoom was the first device to run Google’s tablet-optimized version of Android, (Honeycomb), beating all other major tablet manufacturers to market with its February release date. Sporting Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor, an interface which eschews physical buttons and a fancy black matte finish, the Xoom looked like the tablet to beat in 2011.

The head start, however, doesn’t seem to have worked in Motorola’s favor. Critics of the Xoom denounced Motorola’s high prices right out of the gate — $600 for Wi-Fi only, and a whopping $800 for the Verizon 3G capable version. Compare that to the entry-level iPad 2’s $500 price tag, or even the fellow Android-powered Acer Iconia A500, priced at $450. A $500 base price tag is the predominant standard for the field, originally set by Apple.

It’s unclear whether the 3G-capable version of the tablet will take a price hit, though Motorola’s website shows no change to the price currently.

Verizon Wireless did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 3G version can be purchased at a subsidized rate, however; a Xoom with a two-year Verizon contract will set you back $600.

Nokia’s Android flirtations revealed

We don’t know if this device is “super confidential” or not, but we’ve just come across yet another Nokia N9 lookalike with a non-MeeGo operating system on board. Well, it looks that way, anyhow. There’s no way to verify that the Android homescreen we see above is a legitimate Gingerbread installation and not a mere screenshot (the resolution looks all wrong, for one thing), but the source of this image is the same Chinese fellow that posted a picture of Nokia’s Windows Phone prototype, the Sea Ray, way back in May, so we’re inclined to believe he’s got an inside line on these things. Additionally, the undersized Android UI elements on the screen actually encourage us to believe that this is indeed a Nokia testing device — if we were going to fake something like this, we’d use a regular screen grab for our tomfoolery — and Stephen Elop has openly admitted that Nokia spent a couple of wild seconds contemplating a switch to Android. Well, folks, here’s what that alternate future might have looked like.

Continue reading Nokia’s Android flirtations revealed

Nokia’s Android flirtations revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source Weibo (1) , (2) | Email this | Comments

Posted: June 24th, 2011
at 7:58am by Vlad Savov

Topics: Android, china, chinese, leak, nb72, nokia, smartphone, speculation

Verizon Droid Incredible 2 confirmed to be a world phone

Droid Incredible 2 flyer It was previously rumored that the HTC Droid Incredible 2 arriving on Verizon would be a world phone (a phone that can work all over the world) and now there’s solid proof of it being a feature of the phone. A recently spotted flyer/poster proudly lists “Global Ready in more than 200 countries” as one of its selling points. Verizon now has one more phone to add to its lineup of world phones such as the Droid 2 Global and upcoming HTC Merge. No mention of a release date or price yet, but it shouldn’t be too far away now. Any takers for this Android world phone?

Verizon Droid Incredible 2 confirmed to be a world phone, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : iPad 2 Review, Atrix Review,

Posted: April 14th, 2011
at 1:33am by George Wong

Topics: Android, CellPhones, droid, global, htc, incredible, incredible 2, incredible s, verizon, world phone

Motorola Xoom up for in-store pre-order at Best Buy, $800 for Thursday availability

No more stunt prices, no more premature web appearances, this (we hope) is finally Best Buy’s fully official listing for the Motorola Xoom. It brings no great surprises to those who’ve been tracking the tablet’s progress to retail shelves, offering first dibs to buyers willing to lay claim to a pre-order in-store and promising full availability on Thursday, February 24th. The $800 3G-equipped model is accompanied on Best Buy’s site by a $40 portfolio case, a $50 basic charging dock, a $130 stereo speaker dock, and a $70 Bluetooth keyboard, but there’s no sighting of the cheaper WiFi-only Xoom. There was some suspicion that the $600 SKU would launch a little later on and that is indeed what appears to be happening. One final note of caution: even if you’re intending to use the Xoom as a pure WiFi-only device, remember that you’ll be required to activate data with Verizon for at least a month first — don’t ask us why.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Xoom up for in-store pre-order at Best Buy, $800 for Thursday availability originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted: February 20th, 2011
at 7:21am by Vlad Savov

Topics: Android, Android3.0, Best Buy, BestBuy, Motorola, MotorolaXoom, Release, VerizonWireless, android 3.0, date, honeycomb, in-store, launch, moto, motorola xoom, pre order, pre-orders, price, slate, tablet, verizon, verizon wireless, vzw, xoom

Webby is the Android-powered Chumby thing that hasn’t won any awards — yet

What is a Webby? It is, according to its manufacturer Avantis, “a revolutionary new gadget which is like nothing your customers have seen before.” That, of course, assumes they’ve never seen a Chumby, because that’s basically what this is — running Android, though. It features a suite of widgets and little apps that will let you stream internet radio, check your e-mails, cruise RSS feeds, and even wake up to an alarm. Yeah, familiar stuff, but the apparent lack of social networkability is a bit of a bummer. (There doesn’t even seem to be a Twitter client!) It’s powered by a 600MHz ARM CPU with 256MB of RAM, 2GB of internal flash paired with SD and USB expansion. The 3.5-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 320 x 240 and it’ll connect over 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It even has a DMB tuner if you happen to be living in a land that’s similarly equipped. All that controlled by the wonder that is Android 2.1, but for an undisclosed price.