The HTC DROID Incredible will be joining the DROID 2 tomorrow as a Verizon Android 2.2 phone. This update will add some great features like Flash, mobile hotspot, 720p video recording, and general improvements to the OS. Look for the update to start hitting DROID Incredibles tomorrow!

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Samsung is getting ready to unleash their beast. The highly anticipated Galaxy Slab Tab is finally becoming official and being announced on September 2nd at the IFA event in Berlin, Germany. This beauty of a device is aiming for the top spot in the tablet market with the iPad hot in it’s sights. Samsung is bringing to the table a nice 7” display that measures 1024x600 pixel resolution, 3.2MP camera, QVGA front camera, GPS, 3G support, 802.11N WiFi, 4000 mAh battery, 16 GB of internal storage, and video calling. I’m also guessing they’re bringing that amazingly stunning SuperAMOLED display protected by gorilla glass to this as well since it is part of the Galaxy familia. The teaser trailer over on Samsung’s site shows this tablet is quite the marvel to look at. I would say this looks almost as good as the iPad itself. The thinness of the iPad makes it a tad bit sexier. The trailer also reveals the Tab will be running Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 atop of Android version 2.2, Froyo. Since the device is part of the Galaxy series, expect for this piece of hardware to be extremely fast with that 1Ghz Hummingbird processor and at least 512MB of RAM, which is more than enough to power this monstrosity. With that kind of power under the hood, I think it’s going to be safe to say Apple is going to get a run for their money on this one, that is until we see what decides to come out on Black Friday…

Amazon has lowered the price on the popular Samsung Captivate for AT&T. The Captivate is still going for a whopping $200 when bought from AT&T, but Amazon has dropped the price down to one cent for new individual accounts. The catch? You can only get it for a penny when opening up a new individual account, the price will jump up to $99.99 or above if upgrading or adding a line to an existing family plan. Either way it is cheaper than buying directly from AT&T.

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The Motorola DROID X has landed on Verizon and brings some impressive specifications packed into one big device. With a 4.3-inch touchscreen WVGA diplay, the DROID X is a pretty big phone with a massive screen. But nowadays, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Packed inside is a 1GHz processor, 8GB of internal memory, and Android 2.1 operating system. We have been testing this phone for a few weeks non-stop and have some impressions to share with you. Hit the jump for the full review.
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Today AT&T announced the availability of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Available August 15th, this device will run an older version of Android, 1.6. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 features a 1GHz Snapdragon processor that will ensure a fast user experience. With a 8.1 megapixel camera, the Xperia X10 will take some nice pictures with its smile detection, face recognition, autofocus, and LED flash. The phone will retail at $149.99 on a two-year contract.

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The Sprint HTC EVO 4G is hands down one of the most powerful Android phones on the market. The carrier announced today that it would become more powerful with the Android 2.2 Froyo update. Sprint also brags that it is the first carrier to bring this update to an Android phone. Some of the improvements include:

• Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
• Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
• Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
• Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.

Sprint says that the update will start hitting phones on August 3rd and will proceed throughout August. Customers who hate waiting can go into Settings and initiate the update themselves. Hit the jump for the full release

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Sprint is the first wireless carrier to bring Android 2.2 to customers using the award-winning HTC EVO™ 4G beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3

Android 2.2 offers HTC EVO 4G feature enhancements including Bluetooth® voice dialing, built-in Flash, the ability to store apps to the memory card and much, much more

The award-winning HTC EVO 4G just got that much better. We are excited to announce that beginning the week of Aug. 1; Sprint will begin rolling out the Android 2.2 upgrade to its HTC EVO 4G customers.

Sprint will be the first wireless carrier to bring the latest version of Android to its customers. The Android 2.2 software release provides a significant number of feature enhancements, including:
• Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
• Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
• Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
• Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.

“Sprint is thrilled with our customers’ response to HTC EVO 4G and the innovative and exciting experience it offers,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development for Sprint. “It is exciting for us to lead the industry in bringing the Android 2.2 update to these customers and improve on the amazing experience they receive with America’s first 4G capable phone.”

Easy Downloading
Sprint will begin sending update notifications to users in waves beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3 and the upgrade should be available for all HTC EVO 4G users by the middle of August.

The notification will let the users know that the update is available and it will provide the simple two-step over-the-air download process.

1. Users will receive a notification that Android 2.2 is available for download.
2. Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.

For those who just can’t wait to get Android 2.2, there will be an easy user initiated option to download the upgrade. Customers can access the software update through their HTC EVO 4G under the Settings Menu System Updates HTC Software Update. This will initiate the three-step process also.

Rave Reviews and Accolades for EVO
Check out what the top tech reviewers are saying about the device.
Walt Mossberg with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) says:

“The HTC EVO 4G, when used on Sprint’s 4G network, offers the highest consistent downstream data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network. It also has a number of other strong features: a front-facing camera for video chatting, and the ability to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot (for an extra fee of $30 a month) that can simultaneously connect up to eight laptops or other devices to the Internet.”

Chris Ziegler with Engadget says:

“Let us be crystal clear: we love this phone. Nay, we adore it. …truly one of the best smartphones ever made…”

Sascha Segan with PC Magazine says:

“…if you live online, the EVO offers a big, beautiful, and powerful window to the world.”

“The EVO starts with a world-class 3G smartphone and adds 4G as a “turbo boost” option. If you’re an intensive Web user, you’ll like it even without 4G.”

Bonnie Cha with CNET says:

“Overall, the HTC Evo 4G is, hands-down, the best smartphone that Sprint has to offer and certainly ranks as one of the best Android phones on the market today.”

Jessica Mintz with the Associated Press says:

“HTC’s Evo 4G phone is fast, powerful and fun to use – as long as your heart isn’t set on tapping into the speedier new network it was designed for.”

Mark Spoonauer with Laptop Magazine says:

“Even if 4G hasn’t yet reached your neck of the woods, the Evo 4G is a killer device thanks to its zippy processor, huge display, and an interface that makes Android more intuitive and user-friendly. While the keyboard could be better and the battery life longer, the Evo 4G richly deserves our Editors’ Choice award. It’s a no-brainer for Sprint customers, and a tempting choice for those on other carriers.”

Matt Buchannan with Gizmodo says:

“It’s actually staggering how different the experience is of using a phone that has over 4 inches of display, diagonally, versus more conventional screens, which run closer to 3.5 inches. Even when you’re using the same OS at the same resolution-in this case, Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI at 800×480, seen on their last few Android phones.

It’s kind of like when the jeans you’ve been wearing forever start to fit a little too snugly because you’ve been eating a little too well, and you finally cave and buy a bigger pair of jeans, there’s a mindblowing moment when you close the button for the first time of how much freedom you suddenly have to breathe. So you kind of hyperventilate.”

CNET, LAPTOP Magazine and eWeek gave HTC EVO 4G awards for Best of Show when it was announced at CTIA this spring. It was also recently cited on MobileTechReview’s Best Smartphones and Best Touch Screen Phones lists.

Customer favorites on HTC EVO 4G’s long list of features include the 4.3-inch screen, dual 8MP video camera capable of capturing HD quality and front-facing 1.3MP camera. They also appreciate the HDMI output jack making it simple to start a movie for your children in the backseat of the car with the phone and then connect to an HDTV to finish it when you arrive at home.2 Business customers highlight its super-fast 1GHz processor, simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G or Wi-Fi coverage areas enabling Web surfing and more during conversation, and built-in mobile hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.3 For HTC EVO 4G images visit Sprint’s image gallery.

Amazing at 3G, Unbelievable at 4G
Sprint is the first national carrier offering the next generation of broadband technology today in 43 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G from any other wireless carrier4, giving HTC EVO 4G a faster data speeds than any U.S. wireless device available today. HTC EVO 4G’s exciting features and applications are compelling and powerful in a 3G world, but they become even more amazing when experienced with 4G speeds.

We got our hands on the DROID X before its release to the public. We’ve decided to make a unboxing video to show off what is included in the box and our first impressions of the phone. The DROID X is the latest addition to Verizon’s Android lineup. The phone has a 8-megapixel camera, runs Android 2.2, and has a 1GHz processor. We will be posting up a full review of the phone soon.

Motorola announced the CHARM today. The phone is going to make its debut on T-Mobile and will run Android 2.1 with MOTOBLUR. In terms of features, the CHARM has a 3 megapixel camera, and a 2.8 QVGA display. This phone is hitting T-Mobile sometime this Summer. Check out the full press release below.

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Earlier, we reported that Rogers had confirmed that they would be partnering with Acer to release the Liquid E. After about 4 months of long waiting, Rogers has finally released the Acer Liquid E in black. The Liquid E is the first Rogers Android phone to have the new firmware version 2.1 also known as “Eclair”, a long thin pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing. We don’t know why Android names all their OS’s as desserts, but its tasty and it works well.

Pricing & Features

The Liquid E will run you for only $49.99 on a 3 year voice and data plan which is quite cheap. If you don’t feel like sticking with Rogers. You can buy the phone outright at $424.99. The phone will include a battery, charger, headset, data cable, 2gb microSD card. Specifications include:

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Design

The sexy and sleek design of this phone attracts attention when being held up, but it also attracts many finger prints. I’d have to say it’s even worse then the iPhone, but the glossy all black design is a real head-turner. The curves of the phone makes it unique, but very slippery and quite hard to hold consider how wide and thick the Liquid E actually is.

On the front of the phone is a full glass touchscreen with dedicated home, search, back, and menu touch sensitive buttons on the lower bottom. At the back is the impressive 5.0 megapixel camera lens along with the speaker holes. On the top of the phone, you’ll find  a simple 3.5mm headphone jack. On the left is the dedicated sleep button which also acts as an on/off button when held. On the right you’ll find a volume rocker and camera key. On the bottom is where the miniUSB port is hidden by a rubber flap. I was curious to why Acer chose miniUSB instead of the microUSB where most cellphone companies have started making it standard.

Software

The Acer Liquid E is running on the new “Eclair” Android 2.1 firmware. What you’ll find new to this firmware is the homepage which now has a total of 5 screens instead of the previous 3. The menu is very different and is like a cube which allows you to scroll up and down while it slides. Acer has also thrown in a bunch of widgets and random crap that we really don’t need. I mean Android is open source. You should just sell the phone as is and let us customize it… That being said, it still is an improvement over the previous firmware’s that Android has released and everything seems to be much more snappier and smoother.

What we really liked about the new 2.1 firmware was mainly the pinch to zoom feature in the browser. It’s a small little feature that should have been available from the start of Android. We also noticed that live backgrounds pulse in different ways when you touch it. Android has also allowed multiple Gmail clients which is a huge step up for business users who have multiple accounts.

Processor & Battery

So with the Android 2.1 update, we’d expect everything to be much snappier and smoother, and we’ll agree it is… over the HTC Magic and Dream. Besides that, it’s really slow and lags even when scrolling in the main menu. The reason? We’re going to take a wild guess and say it’s because of the Snapdragon processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon is in fact suppose to be one of the best cellular processors but Acer has done one of the dumbest moves and under-clocked the processor from 1GHz to 768MHz. Over 200MHz just gone.

As for the battery, it’s quite well compared to many other Android devices. It lasts about 12 hours on normal usage and requires daily charging as any smartphone does. It uses a 1350mAh Li-ion Polymer rechargeable battery. What I found annoying was that the MicroSD was being blocked by the battery. Now I know this wasn’t a big deal before but now it’s standard that the MicroSD card should be accessible without removing the battery. Just a small flaw that I found annoying.

Call Quality & Signal Strength

Acer is quite new to the mobile phone industry, and although this is an Android smartphone that does web browsing and the whole shazam. Some people might forget that it also does voice calls, something we often forget in a smartphone. So what can we say about the call quality? It’s quite good. Calls were absolutely clear with no drop calls. On the other hand, speakerphone was horrible. Not only was I not able to hear the other person because of the insanely crap speaker that had high treble and no mid, but there was echoing and lots of background noise.

Thanks to Rogers decent wireless 3G service, we were able to get signal almost everywhere with this phone. 3G stuck on 95% of the time while having the upgraded HSPA+ 7.2mbps speeds hitting on over 70% of the time. Signal never dropped randomly and in my basement alone, I was able to get at least 3 bars which is average.

Camera

The Acer Liquid E features a 5.0 megapixel camera with auto focus and a very decent one but lacks flash. I mean Acer… common. Couldn’t you have put a simple LED flash? Picture quality decrease drastically in low lights due to the missing flash. In outdoor and bright lights, pictures are crystal clear and come out with strong vibrant colors.

There are multiple features in camera mode including ISO100 to ISO800 configuration. Not many cellphone’s have this option but what it lacked was macro mode. Something a 5 megapixel camera should have. You also have multiple color effects, white balance, anti flicker, picture size and picture quality options. All that are tunable to your liking. You’ll also now have the ability to record videos but only in VGA resolutions.

Conclusion

Although I found this phone to be quite feature packed. I just don’t think it’s really worth it. The phone in general is an under-clocked fatter version of the Sony Xperia X10. Acer has thrown in a bunch of useless applications and widgets that slowed down the phone tremendously. What I did like about the phone was the amazing LCD screen. It’s very clear and bright and probably one of the best quality LCD screen’s I’ve seen, but not the largest. In conclusion, if you can save the money and invest it in something better like the Sony Xperia X10 or even the iPhone 4 when it becomes available in Canada, you might just be more satisfied with your purchase.

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There have been rumors of a new Motorola Droid coming along that will look pretty similar to the original Droid. These rumors were confirmed today when Verizon put up a page just a few days before the launch event scheduled for June 23rd. Thus far we know that the Droid X will have a 4.3″ display, HDMI output, and captures video in 720p. If you have any interest in this phone make sure to sign up for updates on the Verizon webpage and expect some heavy promotion coming later this month.

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