Alcatel One Touch Evo 7 makes FCC pitstop, still runs Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted on 25/01/2013 by Joseph Volpe

If it's ICS, you can be sure it ain't fresh. And Alcatel seems to know that, but it's offering a base version of its non-HD One Touch Evo 7 tablet that runs that so very 2011 Android OS anyway. Yes, this is the very same 7-inch "modular" slate we saw at this past CES, except now it's made an appearance at the FCC, indicating market availability on the horizon. Just in case you need a refresher, Alcatel's outfitted the tab with a WSVGA (1,024 x 600) display, single-core 1GHz Rockchip CPU buffered by 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage -- nothing to get excited about, really. All the goods are here on display, from test setup shots to its user manual. So, feel free to peruse the source below for a glimpse at the official docs.

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Source: FCC

Exynos-powered Kite tablet flies Android 4.0 and Ubuntu 12.04 for €309

Posted on 15/01/2013 by Mark Hearn

Italian electronics firm DaVinci Mobile Technology is now accepting pre-orders for its Kite Full-HD tablet. This European slab features a 10.1-inch 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, a Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a front-facing VGA camera and a rear-facing 2-megapixel shooter. In addition to packing some decent specs, the device also dual-boots Ubuntu 12.04 for ARM and Android 4.0. While there's no telling if this switch hitter will ever officially make its way to US soil, our friends abroad can fly this Kite for €309 (around $413 USD).

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Via: Notebook Italia (translated)

Source: DaVinci Mobile Technology (translated)

Exynos-powered Kite tablet flies Android 4.0 and Ubuntu 12.04 for €309

Posted on 15/01/2013 by Mark Hearn

Filed under: Tablets

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Via: Notebook Italia (translated)

Source: DaVinci Mobile Technology (translated)

Exynos-powered Kite tablet flies Android 4.0 and Ubuntu 12.04 for €309

Posted on 15/01/2013 by Mark Hearn

Filed under: Tablets

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Via: Notebook Italia (translated)

Source: DaVinci Mobile Technology (translated)

Android Dashboard update shows Jelly Bean on 10 percent of active hardware

Posted on 04/01/2013 by Richard Lawler

The last time we checked out Google's Android Device Dashboard, penetration of the latest version had reached 1.8 percent of active hardware. A couple of months later and Android 4.1 / 4.2 Jelly Bean is accounting for more than 10 percent of devices that accessed Google Play in the last 14 days. The share of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices also grew to represent 29.1 percent of active hardware, and while 2.3 Gingerbread still has the largest slice, it slid below half to 47.6 percent. That means developers can more confidently taking advantage of the latest APIs, but while the environment is much improved over when the dashboard launched in 2009, those fragments still mean some hard choices on exactly what to target with apps. Hit the source link for a larger look at the current numbers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google

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Source: Android Developers

Huawei puts Ascend P1 on sale in the US through Amazon for $450

Posted on 03/01/2013 by Jon Fingas

We've grown accustomed to the Huawei Ascend P1 ourselves, but most Americans haven't had that same luxury without going through an importer. Huawei wants to be more accommodating, if somewhat belatedly: it's now selling its mid-tier phone directly to the US through Amazon. Shelling out $450 gets the same 4.3-inch screen, dual-core 1.5GHz processor and lightly customized Android 4.0 as elsewhere, but in an unlocked form with a proper US warranty. The only real disappointment is that it's not the LTE variant, although we'll bite when there's HSPA+ 3G for American GSM carriers like AT&T, Straight Talk and T-Mobile. If you're willing to make the sacrifice for carrier independence, the Ascend P1 awaits at the source link.

Continue reading Huawei puts Ascend P1 on sale in the US through Amazon for $450

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Amazon

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Source: Amazon

Samsung’s possible Galaxy M Pro sequel poses for the camera, may hang on to Android 4.0

Posted on 02/01/2013 by Jon Fingas

Samsung's Galaxy M Pro is one of the few widely distributed, fixed-QWERTY smartphones available for the Android world, but cutting edge it's not: the messaging phone originally shipped with Android 2.3 just as 4.0 was about to take center stage. It may be nearing a sorely needed update. Blog of Mobile has followed up a June FCC filing for an unannounced GT-B7810 with some purported details and photos for the same device. Most of the change is reflected on the outside: aside from a similar 480 x 360 display, it could have a considerably fresher metal-effect design. The improvement on the inside is tougher to reckon. While there should be a 1,200mAh battery, HSPA 3G and a micro-SIM slot, the only major upgrade claimed here is the shift to Android 4.0, or just enough to stay on the trailing edge. That is, assuming the B7810 launches at all. Having spent more than half a year in limbo, the budget-focused phone may be out of step with the modern market unless there's a pre-release update in store.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: Unwired View

Source: Blog of Mobile (translated)

BLU Products’ unlocked Vivo 4.65 HD available in January for $300

Posted on 28/12/2012 by Mark Hearn

Arguably the straight to DVD release of the smartphone world, BLU Product's Vivo 4.3 is getting a second act in the form of the Vivo 4.65 HD. Aside from the 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display it's named after, this up-and-comer ships with Android 4.0, a 1.2GHz A9 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. If you can get past less than stellar specs -- and resist waiting for the Nexus 4 to be back in stock -- BLU's future flagship can be yours outright for $300 sometime in January.

Continue reading BLU Products' unlocked Vivo 4.65 HD available in January for $300

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ZTE Grand Era LTE launches in Hong Kong with dual-mode LTE (video)

Posted on 18/12/2012 by Jon Fingas

LTE technology is usually divided into two distinct camps, FDD-LTE and TD-LTE, that might as well exist in two different worlds: own a device using one and you can't access the other. ZTE is bringing some harmony to 4G through the Grand Era LTE. The smartphone can connect to both LTE formats on China Mobile Hong Kong's newly dual-mode network, keeping locals in the high-speed zone no matter which 4G format is available. As our friends at Engadget Chinese discovered in a hands-on, however, it's not quite seamless at this stage. Subscribers have to reboot to switch networks, and the Hong Kong take on TD-LTE access doesn't upload as quickly as its FDD counterpart. Even with those bubbles burst, the Grand Era LTE is still a solid phone in its own right, touting a 4.5-inch 720p screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and ZTE's relatively light Mifavor interface sitting on top of Android 4.0. Check our video after the break to get a taste of the phone and the network -- although the clip is in Cantonese, the results are universal.

Continue reading ZTE Grand Era LTE launches in Hong Kong with dual-mode LTE (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Via: Engadget Chinese

Source: ZTE

Samsung’s SCH-W2013 is a quad-core, dual-screen flip phone, designed for Jackie Chan

Posted on 23/11/2012 by Richard Lai

It's been almost a year since the ridiculously expensive SCH-W999 launched on China Telecom, so it's about time for Samsung to come up with yet another dual-screen flip phone to lure folks with too much money. Launched in conjunction with a big charity concert (again) earlier today is the SCH-W2013, a 1.4GHz quad-core (likely an Exynos 4412) device with Android 4.0 and dual-3.7-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreens. On top of that there's 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion of up to 64GB, 1,850mAh of battery juice, an eight-megapixel main imager plus a whopping 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. As with many flagship devices on China Telecom, the W2013 comes with dual-SIM support: one for CDMA2000 800/1900 and the other for GSM 900/1800/1900. The damage? Well, there's nothing official yet, but it's believed to be somewhere between ¥18,000 ($2,900) and ¥20,000 ($3,210). After all, it ain't cheap to hire Jackie Chan (and he was also given a W2013 at the concert).

Gallery: Samsung's SCH-W2013 is a quad-core, dual-screen flip phone, designed for Jackie Chan