The ViewSonic ViewPad 7, Android Tablet

Tablets here, tablets there! We are seeing a whole range of cool looking, odd looking, some power-packed, others, only giving a taste; none-the-less, Android powered tablets are coming out strong and we are going to have a few to choose from this coming festive season.

With that in mind, check out this little 7inch beaut: ViewSonic ViewPad 7; Briefly the features that makes this device interesting:

• Android 2.2 (FroYo)
• 7 inches 800×480 WVGA LCD screen. capacitive, multi-touch
• Wireless 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth connectivity
• 2 built-in cameras: a rear 3 megapixel autofocus and a front 0.3 megapixel
• memory: 512mb internal (with the standard 32mb external option with a micro SD card slot)

The press release says the following:

The ViewPad 7 will be available in late Q4 2010 for an ESP of $479. Third-party accessories and ViewCare™ extended warranties will also be available at launch.

I really want to know what’s the processor under the hood let’s wait and see!

Cheaper Android devices showing up, Huawei Ascend

The Android platform is seeing heaps of great phones these days, giving us a range of devices suited for our very different and individual needs and giving the competition SOMETHING to think about, but one common thing I keep seeing is the price of each device, tending to the very high, or the on-contract/plans with the telcos that locks the users in with no (or little option) to upgrade (something that is mostly needed in this uprising tech/mobile/information world.

Here’s where Huawei (know for their excellent, cheaper alternative for very expensive products, I’ve used a few and was always satisfied) comes in with the Ascend and here are the specifications, making it a phone, admittedly with no shine, but yet a device that will provide you with the basic, useful smartphone capabilities:

• 3.5 inch, 320×480 screen, multi-touch, capacitive
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Android 2.1 (Eclair)
• 600 Mhz processor
• US $150 price tag, out right, no contract!!!
• CDMA network for the moment…
• Available end of October through CricKet Wireless

The Crosswave in this video seems to be a WiFi hotspot, seems cool

Samsung Galaxy Tab has an Official Video for us all…

True, there has not been a proper video of the anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab, so the guys at Samsung, well, did an official one just for us to (go)ogle on. A good grasp of the productivity options are shown, and this will allow a different way for developers to design apps. A brief glimpse at the keyboard.

The overall experience seems very fluid, I would expect some tweaks and tuning from time to time from Samsung regarding improvements to their TouchWiz ui. Adobe Flash player looks to be working great, especially having such a bigger screen to display on. I also really like the “Full HD contents streaming to a bigger high-resolution screens, awesome and seamless” (is it DLNA certified?)

New Android power-devices from HTC, coming your way…

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Here goes with HTC again! Two new devices announced last week; The HTC Desire HD and the HTC Desire Z (with a keyboard). Here’s a quick glance of the specs of these 2 new Android power-devices:

HTC Desire Z

• 180 grams, with battery
• slideout keyboard
• 3.7 inches, 480 x 800 WVGA touch screen with pinch-to-zoom capability
• 800 Mhz processor
• 1.5Gb of internal phone storage
• 512Mb of RAM
• more specs…

HTC Desire HD

• 164 grams, with battery
• 3.7 inches, 480 x 800 WVGA touch screen with pinch-to-zoom capability
• 1GHz processor
• 1.5Gb of internal phone storage
• 768Mb of RAM
• more specs…

Both devices will be running Android™ 2.2 (Froyo) with HTC Sense™. There’s much to look around these days, Android-wise, and the competition keeps bringing out more devices, suited for a wider range of users.

I should probably talk about Motorola’s Droid 2 and Droid X next…

Feast your eyes on this beaut…

Formally introduced as: Samsung Galaxy Tab – “A new smart media device allowing you to enjoy more possibilities on the go”, here comes the Samsung Galaxy Tab; a vibrant, sweet and good looking powerhouse.

Europe is getting it mid-September, while other markets a bit later. With the already-available Samsung Galaxy S (the little sister, mostly in size) through Optus, here in Australia, we might be seeing this Android Tablet very soon. For now, here are some of the specifications and other details:

• 7-inch WSVGA (1024×600) TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Android 2.2 (FroYo) with Flash 10.1 support
• 2.5G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• 3G HSPA connectivity, 900/1900/2100 MHz
• WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0
• a 4,000mAh battery, giving the device 7 hours of movie playback
• a 1Ghz Cortex A8 processor (ARM-based), with a PowerVR SGX540 GPU
• size at 190.09mm x 120.45mm x 11.98mm and weighs 380 grams
• Out-of-the-box support for HD video codecs, such as DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and more…
• 3MP camera with Auto-Focus and LED Flash
• 1.3MP front camera for Video Telephony
• 16Gb/32Gb internal memory, with up to 32Gb external memory slot
• sensors: gyroscope, geo-magnetic, accelerometer, light
• some of the value-added features: Readers Hub, Media Hub*, Music Hub*, Social Hub (* market dependent)

Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd press release, Berlin Germany, September 2nd, 2010 available for a read:-

Android Smartphones getting popular in Australia

It started with Optus and the HTC Dream, end of 1st quarter of 2009, followed shortly by 3 (Hutchison), with the HTC Magic. There was not much corporate/Telco interest Android-wise here in Melbourne, and I could assume the same Australia-wide. Around the same time, Harvey Norman ,a major consumer electronics retail company down-under, ran with the HTC Hero and the HTC Tattoo (later with the Tattoo). At that time, I owned an ADP1 (Android Dev Phone 1, Google’s first development phone, an unlocked HTC Dream, with some nice art on its back cover) and that was enough for me then.

Recently, Optus started 2 Android Smartphones from Motorola, the DEXT and the BACKFLIP, a good start I should say, but the general population was unaware of what Android was, where it stood and why should they even consider it. All that until Telstra got on the Android bandwagon and got the exclusivity on the HTC Desire, hence the Telstra HTC Desire review that happened a few months back and I was one of the lucky 25 to be selected to review the phone.

We are seeing a sudden interesting surge in interest regarding the Android Platform now in Australia. Here is what I’ve got as per each telco’s Android offering (device only, current and not talking about plans, contracts, etc…)

NOTE: this information was gathered by browsing the different shops in Melbourne city. I will be confirming these soon.

Telstra, 2 devices
• HTC Desire
• LG Optimus
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Vodafone, 2 devices
• HTC Legend
• Google’s Nexus One (online order only)
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (could be online order only – will confirm)

Optus, 8 devices
• Samsung Galaxy S
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini
• ASUS Garmin A1
• Motorola MILESTONE
• Motorola QUENCH
• Motorola DEXT
• Motorola BACKFLIP

3 (Hutchison), 2 devices
• HTC Legend
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Virgin, 1 device
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Only one of these phones can be updated (officially) to version 2.2 of Android, a.k.a FroYo, and it’s the Nexus One from Vodafone, when you can only get online. HTC is known to be working on integrating their Sense UI with FroYo, for a “soon-to-be-know” release date. The Sony Ericsson devices are still running Android version 1.6, a.k.a Donut, with a known September update to version 2.1, a.k.a Flan, but no FroYo version update on the horizon. Devices from Samsung are running version 2.1, well at the least the Samsung Galaxy S that was on display today at Optus was a 2.1 version. As for Motorola devices, I think the Milestone is running version 2.0, a.k.a Elcair, out of the box and the others I do not know, yet.

I will be confirming those details and posting the results here very soon!

Cheers and happy phone hunting.

Today was one of those days… I haven’t written a thing on this blog since the Telstra HTC Desire review ended. I have been busy with both work and my uni exams where around the corner, and the lack of necessary hardware made it not quite possible. I’m now on holidays (a short one) and also the proud owner of a powerful HP Pavilion dv6 3042tx laptop, which I favoured over the latest MacBook Pro as Apple’s Intel Core i7 offering was only a dual core (hyperthreading at 4), starting with 4GB ram, while my new machine is an Intel Core i7, quad core, with 8GB ram straight out of the box. But that’s another review, which I will write, someday, soonish…

HTC Desire at work #TelstraDesire

Today is the last day of the HTC Desire Social Review. I’ve had an interesting experience, my first product/service review, and maybe more to come. Now talking about the HTC Desire in the workplace, or at University (both for I). I have been using the Android platform for a while now and I can say, the being able to sync your data with a variety of Google Services is very useful and helps me to do things faster, with added ease and peace of mind (my data being in the cloud).  I will use Ben Bevins’ headings on this topic, as per his post.

Email

With the HTC Desire, you get to sync the device with a multitude of  Gmail email accounts. Easy access to both POP3 and IMAP is also well supported. And with HTC, they’ve added an extra, most welcomed Exchange ActiveSync support to connect to your work Exchange Server. (note: The latest version of Android, FroYo, or version 2.2 adds Exchange Mail support by default)

Calendar

The initial Google Calendar sync with the Android platform was, and is still one of my favourite features. Being able to be on the road, having your calendar with you, and furthermore, being able to add to it, modify existing entries on the go is a big time saver. Google Calendar is also a very versatile calendar service, with reminders, access to other calendars, be it public, shared (co-workers, clients, etc…), scheduling meetings with email notification options. Having the ability to have this service in the palm of my hands, wherever I was (with or without connection, as it allows for offline access & syncs on connection availability). HTC also adds the Exchange ActiveSync for Calendar Sync features.

Contacts

Having a single source for my contacts details is awesome; no more multiple contacts sources, finding some software online to merge/sync them together. With the Gmail contacts, I get to store all my contacts details in one single place, online, and the HTC Desire syncs to this seamlessly. HTC, with the inclusion of the Exchange ActiveSync, allows contacts from your Exchange Server to sync to your phone too. Furthermore, the HTC Desire gives you the option to link both Gmail contacts and Exchange ActiveSync contacts.

Productivity

The HTC Desire comes with a couple of neat apps that would suit most work-related environments.

QuickOffice, to view Excel and Word documents. I receive a lot of Word documents through email, and a simple touch on the attachment link, gets the file and launches QuickOffice – the viewing experience is a breeze.
PDF Viewer, to view PDF documents; this app works very well indeed. Pinch & Zoom is awesome. Tried it using the HTC Desire User Manual, a 211 page PDF file, it was a fluid read. (note: Adobe also recently released an official Adobe Reader for the Android Platform; They have some work to do: getting more familiar Android Platform SDK, as the experience with this app was not as smooth as the one provided with the HTC Desire, and suprisingly the HTC Desire PDF Viewer “contains Adobe Reader LE 2.5, from Adobe Systems Incorporated).

Furthermore, the Android Market is a source of a variety of Productivity apps.

Evernote; those familiar with the desktop and iPhone Evernote apps have a good idea of the features and ussability of this app;

Evernote turns your Android phone into an extension of your brain. This award-winning app lets you remember and recall anything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put everything into Evernote and watch as it all instantly synchronizes from your phone to the Web to your PC.

Documents To Go 2.0 Main App, an alternative app to QuickOffice. Does virtually the same thing, viewing Excel, Word documents on the free version. Buying the full version unlocks access to Editing, Creating, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, Zooming, Charts, Passwords & more…

Thinking Space, This is a great Mind Map app that I use regularly. It’s compatible with Freemind 0.9, & Xmind (through Freemind support), allows you to share your maps via email or via the cloud, and more…

Mind Mapping for Android! Portable Mind Mapping has never been so much fun! Keywords: Mind Map, MindMap, Thinking-Space Vlad, wes: Freemind support is already included

The Android Market has a range of different apps you can check out, some free, some you buy (with returning app/refund policy option). AppBrain.com, linking to the Android Market, is also a great place to look into.

Check out Ben Bevins‘ and the 25 #TelstraDesire reviewers‘ HTC Desire at work review here: http://goo.gl/vH43

Are you App Happy? #TelstraDesire Top 5 Apps

My #TelstraDesire Top 5 Apps for Android; I do have to say that this list changes, but currently, here goes:

The Gmail client
Why, my main email address is a gmail one – this app, provided by default in most Android flavours, gives me instant access to all my emailing needs, and if your Gmail contacts are synced with your phone, well, access to all your contacts too.

TweetCaster – twitter client from Handmark.com
I’ve gone through Twidroid, Seesmic, Swift, and a few more, but TweetCaster, is for me, an excellent app – all the basic twitter features are there: list, re-tweet (both old-school and the new one), a good UI on trends, shrink URL links, add picture, geotagging, …; It supports multiple accounts (without having to re-login to an account) and some other interesting features such as: quick follow, filter tweets on keyword, tweeps nearby (through current location or ZIP code), the all so useful “Jump To Top”.
Find TweetCaster here: http://goo.gl/3elL

Aldiko – an ePub reader
Very easy to use, simple touch interaction to scroll through pages, view embedded images (if any), quick access to your “Recent Reads” and your “Bookshelf” and my most important feature, provides access to  a numerous amount of Books, free (from Public Domain and freebooks.com, well arranged and sorted), purchased, Books from independent authors, High School Reading… etc,. I use this app regularly; recently read a book about when Holmes and Watson were first introduced to each other & The Three Musketeers.
Find Aldiko here: http://www.aldiko.com/

My Tracks (From the My Tracks Team at Google)
This cool app records my GPS track when I go for a jog, a hike, cycling, or even on a kayaking run of The Upper Yarra River (phone safely secured in a dry-bag, still gets GPS signal) – This app gives you your activity statistics such as time, speed, distance and evelation (the latter not so accurate, but then this stands true for all GPS enabled devices) and you can also upload the track to your Google Maps account, the stats to a Google Spreadsheet and share all that with the whole world.
Find My Tracks here: http://mytracks.appspot.com/

SMS Backup
This is more of a utility, running in the background. In the settings, you set a Gmail Label, enter your Gmail credentials enable “Auto Backup”, choose “Mark as read” option if you want, set the Max number of items per backup, and hey presto… your SMSes gets backed-up straight in your Gmail account under the chosen (default is “SMS”) Gmail Label – one way to never loose your precious SMSes…
Find SMS Backup here: http://goo.gl/BiL1
or: http://market.android.com/search?q=pname:tv.studer.smssync (link for your phone)

Check out Ben Bevins‘ and the 25 #TelstraDesire reviewers‘ Top 5 Android Apps here: http://goo.gl/mfh8

Introducing HTC Desire

HTC Desire delivers intense brilliance, sharp contrast, and true colors on the expansive 3.7-inch AMOLED display. The 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor makes the phone incredibly responsive as you multitask from app to app without skipping a beat, while the instinctive HTC Sense experience lets you wield the power of the HTC Desire with the greatest.

HTC Desire unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010

HTC Desire unveiled at Mobile World Congress – MWC is one of the most significant annual events in the mobile industry. HTC Desire features a superfast 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen making it one of our most advanced phones yet.