Android Central

Best of Smartphone Experts, 12 July 2009

Dieter Bohn — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:17:25 +0000

Here's what you may have missed in the smartphone world last week.

Will we see an Android-based Nokia device soon?
The Nokia N97 offers a glimpse of Nokia's future success.
I highly doubt Apple will pass Nokia in 2012

More Pictures of Sony Ericsson 'Rachael' Android XPERIA Phone Pop Up

Casey Chan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:03:55 +0000

We've already waxed poetry and sent love letters to Sony Ericsson regarding the Sony Ericsson 'Rachael' Android XPERIA Phone. We're in love with the design, we're in love with the specs, and we're in love with the UI. Heck, we're in love with being in love with it.

So it's always great to see more angles and a different color of our most anticipated Android phone of the year. Yeah, we know we shouldn't play favorites but how can we contain ourselves after the video leak of the UI? If Sony Ericsson bungles the 'Rachael' up, we might never forgive them. Now hurry up and announce it already!

[bgr]

HTC Hero to Come in a Soft Pink Color

Casey Chan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:53:40 +0000

Remember the hot pink HTC Hero that popped up on HTC's leaked 2009 roadmap? It was brash, loud, and just ugly. This new, more reserved softer pink is much more desirable and we can definitely see the pink HTC Hero becoming a fashion accessory for impressionable young females. The pink is just so cute!

Carphone Warehouse, a UK mobile phone retailer, is said to have this pink version and the other basic colors of the HTC Hero in stock by late July (date subject to change). We're wondering if there are more colors of the HTC Hero floating around..

Hit the jump to see pictures of the HTC Hero in different colors!

[intomobile]

Friday Fun: Google CEO Eric Schmidt Caught Using a Blackberry!

Casey Chan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:35:33 +0000

We don't know about you guys but we like to let loose a little bit on our Fridays. So here's a bit of Friday fun. Take a look at the picture above, it's a shot of Google CEO Eric Schmidt taking a picture with a Blackberry. Not a lovely G1 or a sexy myTouch or even a beautiful Hero but a Blackberry. Where's the Android love from Google's own CEO?!

Maybe he's doing dutiful research on the competition but it's pretty sad (and hilarious, of course) that Google's own CEO isn't using the smartphone platform that his own company puts out. We're thinking that Schmitty (can we call him that?) is a dual-wielder, carrying both Android and Blackberry handsets, but really hoping that he's just taking a picture on a friend's Blackberry. Yeah, that must be it. It can't be his. Say it ain't so.

*cross our fingers*

[gizmodo]

HTC Will Finally Make Phones with 3.5 mm Headphone Jack

Casey Chan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:20:38 +0000

The lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack on both the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G has drawn the ire of many Android users. It has been an indefensible decision on HTC's part for including that 'one-plug-to-rule-them-all' ExtUSB junk on their phones. It forced users to buy dongles (which is available in our store, btw =) ) and adapters that seemed senseless and was always annoying. Thankfully, HTC has realized their error and will now put out phones with the 3.5 mm standard, starting with the Hero. To quote HTC:

The vast majority of devices we launch after Hero will have a 3.5mm jack. Devices that we have already announced but that still come out after Hero will not necessarily be a part of this change.

So ExtUSB isn't done yet, but it sure is close. And for that, we can all celebrate! The tech world is a better place when manufacturers follow industry standards.

[via mobilecrunch]

T-Mobile G1, myTouch 3G & HTC Hero Pictured Side-By-Side

Casey Chan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:58:00 +0000

We don't know how they did it but the guys at Gizmodo managed to get the T-Mobile G1, myTouch 3G and HTC Hero all together in one place, at the same time and get pictures of it. Don't they just look like one big happy family?

The T-Mobile G1, as much as we love it, sticks out like a sore thumb to us. It just doesn't have as clean of lines as the Hero or as svelte a shape as the myTouch 3G. But then again, it's the only one in the HTC Android family to pack a physical keyboard. Aside from taking the snapshots, Gizmodo also found that the HTC Hero has other HTC software on it: a mail client with Exchange support and a beautiful twitter app. Score.

Which one is your favorite?

Hit the jump to see more pictures of HTC's Android Family!

Sony Ericsson 'Rachael' Android XPERIA Phone Has A Beautiful UI

Casey Chan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:41:29 +0000

We lauded Sony Ericsson for cutting no corners on the reported Android-powered XPERIA 'Rachael', it absolutely looked like a high-end device that packed a hefty punch: Snapdragon 1GHz processor, 8 megapixel camera with auto-focus, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and 7.2 megabytes HSDPA. On paper, it looked to be an absolute beast. So what could make the 'Rachael' even more stunning? To have a user interface as lovely as anything we've ever seen.

Sony Ericsson has built a new UI layer on top of Android (much like with what HTC did with HTC Sense) and boy, it sure is pretty. It seems to place a heavy emphasis on social networks and unified messaging and combines all kinds of sleek and sexy to deliver a fully immersive experience. If you watch the video, you can see the fluid use of widgets and from the looks of it, stellar usage of touch.

Obviously, it's still early in the game for 'Rachael' and for all we know the UI could be buggy and the hardware flawed, but we're pretty certain we have a winner here. Now let's hope Sony Ericsson officially announces it!

What do you guys think?

[bgr]

Two More Updates to Android This Year

Casey Chan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:31:58 +0000

MobileCrunch reports that two more updates to Android are slated for this year. One minor, one major. The major update is widely expected to be Android 2.0 Donut which will bring universal search, speech-to-text APIs, handwriting gesture capabilities and more to Android. It's nice to know that Google has Android 2.0 Donut planned for this year. Now let's see if they can deliver. We can hardly wait.

T-Mobile US Has No Plans to Release HTC Hero

Casey Chan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:47:44 +0000

So we guess those rumors of the HTC Hero heading to AT&T or Sprint are going to prove true after all because it sure doesn't look like it's coming to T-Mobile. T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman said that T-Mobile "has no plans to bring the HTC Hero to market" which in our book, sounds like a flat out NO to all things Hero for little Magenta.

On the bright side, we're hopeful that this means we'll see another carrier adopt Android. The HTC Hero is too compelling a device for the US market to completely ignore.

What do you say guys, AT&T or Sprint for the HTC Hero?

[gizmodo]

T-Mobile Has a Ton of Accessories for the myTouch 3G

Casey Chan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:33:35 +0000

T-Mobile is really pushing the customizable nature of the myTouch 3G--custom gel skins, custom cases, custom straps, custom holsters, battery extenders, and docking ports. It really seems that the myTouch 3G's biggest feature is that customizability and it'll be very interesting to see how consumers react to it.

Is this type of customization something consumers are interested in? The iPhone is wildly popular but there is zero customization (other than color choice) offered by Apple. Is T-Mobile specifically pitting the customizable myTouch 3G against the iPhone? Will consumers fork over more money just so they can have that nifty myTouch commuter mug?

Let us know what you think about the myTouch 3G's customizable nature in the comments!

[via engadget]