• source
• M$ already makes more money on Android than WP7, this is just getting ridiculous as I’m sure their aim is to secure 100% of the market

ASUS confirms their Honeycomb tablets will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich by January

• source
• ASUS is the best non-preferred manufacturer at putting out updates

Acer also confirmed their devices will receive the update in January

• source
• That means you can buy an ICS tablet for $329 at Walmart, it’s a 7-inch screen and you’ll have to wait a little bit for the upgrade, but it does sport a 1GHz dual core processor (same as the Motorola Xoom)

Pantech Breakout 4G

Specs:

• Android 2.3
• 4-inch WVGA screen
• 5MP camera with 720p video recording
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0
• 1GHz processor
• DLNA
• and of course 4G LTE

Thoughts:

• innovative lock screen
• some ICS elements, drag applications to the unlock area
• In Case of Emergency (ICE) contact with one click
• unfortunately can’t change what apps are on the lock screen
• appearance of notification bar is similar to HTC Sense
• notification drop-down is more like Samsung TouchWiz
• several widgets to change settings
• there is an extra line of widgets that can be expanded out
• home screen is like Samsung TouchWiz except previews are like HTC Sense
• I like the physical buttons, they’re different
• easy to change “modes” which are like having different home apps installed with different backgrounds, icons, and widgets possible for each one
• I hate that the wake/lock button is half-way down on the right edge
• it has dedicated camera and voice control buttons
• voice control button only works with the pre-installed “Voice Control” app powered by Nuance, it can’t be changed to Vlingo or Google’s Voice Search
• typing on the device is crazy loud and bad
• the custom Pantech widgets are freaking awesome

The only serious drawback for this phone is that is has no camera flash!

$99 via Verizon Wireless online store with 2-year agreement
$0.01 via Amazon Wireless online store with 2-year agreement

• source
• $199
• nearly 100,000 pre-orders on the first day announced
• 7-inch dual core tablet
• runs a customized version of Android, based off the 2.X branch
• backed by all of Amazon’s services (streaming video, MP3s, books, and apps)
• Silk Browser, divides up normal browsing tasks between the device and the cloud to speed up rendering. Also pre-loads pages using their algorithms to predict what you’ll click. If the website is hosted on Amazon’s cloud service, you’ll see even faster load times.
• Wispersync now works on movies

HTC Android flaw leaks smartphone user data

• source
• Any application granted internet access (which most of them are) can access the HTCLoggers.apk app, which contains sensitive user data.
• HTCLoggers.apk can only be removed if you have rooted your phone
• Otherwise you have to wait for a Sense UI update to come through.

Motorola and Verizon roll out Xoom upgrade to 4G.

• source
• Starting Thursday, owners of the Xoom should begin receiving emails on instructions how to get the upgrade.
• You’ll have to send the device in and they’ll install the 4G modem.

Review

Samsung Galaxy Player 5

• Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with Samsung’s custom TouchWiz interface. *
• 1GHz, single-core Samsung processors
• 512MB of RAM, with approximately 384MB available for apps.
• 8GB, and only 5GB
• microSD card slots with support for up to 32GB microSD cards.
• 3.2 megapixel rear camera with autofocus, LED flash
• VGA resolution forward-facing camera
• 5-inch WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) TFT LCD screen
• October 16th for $269

Image of Motorola’s next Android tablet leaked

• source
• Appears to be a 7-inch
• no confirmation on whether it is HC or ICS

Verizon has a 4G Android phone for $99

• source
• decent specs, 4-inch screen, single core, Android 2.3
• called Pantech Breakout

CyanogenMod almost ready for HP TouchPad

• source
• 3D Acceleration
• WiFi

Hardware Review

Motorola Xoom

• Honeycomb 3.2.1
• Latest update bring support for the SD Card slots.
• Now you can put in a Micro SD card, or just pull the full-sized SD card from your camera and slide it in the tablet to upload directly to Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• The point being, who really takes pictures at something like a wedding with their giant tablet? Wouldn’t you rather record video with a higher zoom capable camera and then edit it on your tablet? Now you can easily do that, but not on an iPad without buying another accessory.

Closing

• source
• In my opinion, all you need to read is the official Sprint press release on the matter:
• “The DOJ today delivered a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country. By filing suit to block AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ has put consumers’ interests first. Sprint applauds the DOJ for conducting a careful and thorough review and for reaching a just decision – one which will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of a competitive U.S. wireless industry. Contrary to AT&T’s assertions, today’s action will preserve American jobs, strengthen the American economy, and encourage innovation.” source
• but the FCC’s official statement is also a good read:
• By filing suit today, the Department of Justice has concluded that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would substantially lessen competition in violation of the antitrust laws. Competition is an essential component of the FCC’s statutory public interest analysis, and although our process is not complete, the record before this agency also raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition. Vibrant competition in wireless services is vital to innovation, investment, economic growth and job creation, and to drive our global leadership in mobile. Competition fosters consumer benefits, including more choices, better service and lower prices. source
• So if not AT&T, who will buy T-Mobile?
• Apple
• Google
• Regional Cable Company or a consortium (Comcast/Time Warner/Cox)
• Wind Telecom, a Russian wireless company that owns carriers in several developed countries. They also have the benefit of owning a wireless company in Canada that operates on the same spectrum and technology that T-Mobile uses.
• Your guess is as good as mine.

Quick News

Samsung’s 4.5-inch dual core phone gets official

• source
• This is the Samsung Galaxy S II, now let’s see if it doesn’t get banned

HP TouchPad gets CyanogenMod7

• source
• It’s Android 2.3, but the application catalog is much bigger than what is available for the TouchPad

Toshiba will be going thinner with their next tablet

• source
• If they can produce a tablet this thin, maybe their laptops can take a lesson

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review

Specs:

10.1 inch screen
1280 x 800
Dual core nvidia tegra 2 processor
1gb of ram
7000 mAh battery for up to 9 hours of video
bluetooth 3.0
Wifi N
3mp 720p back
2mp front
Compass and GPS

Price:
Wifi only is $499 for 16gb $599 for 32gb
or for this Verizon device it is $699 & $799 or $529 & $629 on 2 year agreement
right now they have a deal for an extra $50 off if you buy a phone plan at the same time.

What I like:

• thin
• light

What I dont’ like:

• No HDMI-out
• sleep/wake button too close to volume buttons

Bottom line:
It is thinner and lighter than the Xoom, which will make it a “buy” for the average user, but no HDMI-out makes it a “no-go” for power users.