If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought new smartphones from Alcatel, Samsung and Xolo, along with a sneak preview of the BlackBerry Travel app. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 11th, 2013.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Software, Mobile
Not ready to hand over Rs 21,500 (about $400) for a Samsung Galaxy Grand in India? Xolo seems to be counting on it, at least according to the company's comprehensive PowerPoint -- the vehicle of choice for this week's A1000 smartphone launch. The Rs 14,999 (about $275) Jelly Bean handset packs specs similar to those offered with the Samsung flavor, such as an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.2MP shooter on the front, a dual-core 1GHz MT 6577 processor, one gig of RAM and a 2,100 mAh battery pack. Both smartphones include 5-inch displays, though the A1000 offers a 720p IPS panel, compared to an 800 x 480 TFT display on the Galaxy. There's 4GB of built-in storage (expandable to 32GB), Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11b/g/n and compatibility with 900/1800MHz GSM bands, along with 2100MHz HSPA. Sound like a perfect fit? Folks in India should be able to pick one up beginning today.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Xolo
At Intel's press conference today here in Las Vegas we got a chance to see smartphones from Acer and Xolo based on chipzilla's Lexington platform. This new SoC follows in Medfield's footsteps but is targeted primarily at emerging markets. It scales up to 1.2GHz, supports 1080p video and features HSPA+ with dual SIMs. We were not given any specs and were only allowed to look (in fact we got in trouble for touching) so stay tuned for more details as we find out more. Until then, go ahead and take a look at our gallery below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Intel
Most of us who know Lava's Xolo badge will associate it with one of the first Atom-based smartphones, the Xolo X900, but it's branching out to models that don't require an Intel Inside label. Its just-launched, India-oriented Xolo A800 is all about keeping the cost of a big-screened phone down through a low-cost ARM processor: the Android 4.0 smartphone combines a 1GHz, dual-core MediaTek MT6577 chip with a 4.5-inch, 960 x 540 IPS display that you won't often find in this device class. There's a few other surprises in store. While the dual 2G and 3G SIM slots aren't unusual given local market tastes, the A800 also stuffs in a very modern backside-illuminated 8-megapixel rear camera, a front VGA camera and a total of 12GB of storage out of the box. The grand total for Indians buying today is just 11,999 rupees ($220) off-contract -- a good deal that makes us hope Lava takes the A800 abroad.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Infibeam
Android developers are all too familiar with not-so-hot emulator performance, so it's a relief that there's now an system image in a native x86 for testing. While you'll still likely want to test on ARM, the x86 image will both help ferret out bugs specific to Intel's architecture as well as provide a much faster experience debugging apps now that the ARM-to-Intel translation isn't needed on top of running a whole second operating system. It's not perfectly up to date, running on Android 4.0.3, but it's close enough that the environment will mimic much of what users see -- and a big help if you're jumping into writing specifically for Intel devices. If speed is of the essence, or you're not keen on importing a Lava Xolo X900, you just need to update the SDK Manager to start testing with an Intel-flavored green robot.
Intel posts x86-friendly Android 4.0 image, lets you feel the need for speed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We briefly got our hands on the Medfield-based Xolo X900 back in February, and have seen some benchmarks from Lenovo's K800 (based on the same reference design), but AnandTech has now provided a typically thorough review of the device that's ushering in Intel's new push into smartphones. In short, the phone is a solid first step, but not something that AnandTech sees as a flagship device. Battery life is respectable and performance is even better (scoring among the top of the heap in most benchmarks), and both the screen and camera manage to impress, but AnandTech didn't find anything that pulled the device ahead of the competition. In its own words, "on the one hand it's a good thing that you can't tell an Intel smartphone apart from one running an ARM based SoC, on the other hand it does nothing to actually sell the Intel experience." Hit the source link below for the full review and benchmarks.
Lava's Medfield-based Xolo X900 smartphone gets reviewed by AnandTech originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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