Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
Google [GOOG] has launched a new Google Reader app for Android. Previously users had to rely on the web based version on their smartphone, but now a full app, self-contained, is now available.
Features included in the app include volume-key navigation, multiple accounts as well as the ability to share with others. [Read more…]
The Elonex eTouch Android tablet is being made available at Toys ‘R’ Us here in the UK. Price wise, it is being listed as the cheapest tablet around at just £90 for the smaller 7 inch model.
This puts it about £100 cheaper than the nearest rivals, the Next and Disco tablets we mentioned previously.
Two new models are being made available which includes the 7 inch priced at £89.99 and the larger 10 inch model priced at £149.99. [Read more…]
Samsung has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.2 update will be made available in November. In the UK it will be available on all phones by the end of the month while the unlocked, SIM free devices will get it early in November. We believe that the US variants such as the Captivate, Fascinate, Epic 4G and Vibrant will fall in to this category (full press release is below for you to make your own interpretation).
The software will not be an OTA update like on most other devices. Instead, a new version of the Kies updater app will be made available that you can download to your computer and initiate the update process through your computer. [Read more…]
Motorola [MOT] has announced the Motorola Spice. The Spice is a portrait slider QWERTY device that runs the Android 2.1 operating system. It has a 3 megapixel camera on the back that has a fixed focus and 8x digital zoom.
Memory wise, the camera has 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM and it also has a microSD card slot allowing for a further 32GB of storage to be added.
For connectivity it has Bluetooth 2.0+EDR as well as Wireless at 802.11b/g. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has announced a new update to Google Maps for Android. The latest version to download is now 4.5 and introduces Walking Navigation (beta) to the app. Street View smart navigation has also been added to the app.
When using the new Walking Navigation features, the app gives walking directions that follow paths (when paths are in Google maps) rather than keeping you to roads like previously.
“your phone will vibrate when you need to make a turn. You can even turn off voice guidance and just use these notifications while soaking in the sights and sounds around you. To help you orient yourself with your surroundings, the map will rotate with you as you turn the phone, and walking mode uses satellite view by default. Use it like a virtual compass with satellite imagery to look ahead or help pick out landmarks along the way.”
Dell has today launched the new Dell Aero smartphone. The Aero is an Android based smartphone that has a 3.5 inch screen.
The phone it’s self costs either $299.99 without a contract or $99.99 with a two year agreement with AT&T [T].
The press release makes no mention of which version of Android it is running, but unfortunately we found out that it’s just Android 1.5 for some bizarre reason that we have yet to figure out. There is no mention of any Android 2.1 or 2.2 update in the near future either. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has updated the Voice Search application for those running Android 2.2. The new version gives users more control over their smartphone by using their voice.
Examples of what the new changes can do include the ability to send a text message or email by voice. You can also tell it to call a local restaurant or navigate to the closest book store. If you want to make a note of something you just hit the mic button and say “note to self, remember to buy cheese” and a note is created saying just that.
Another one: Navigation. Say “Navigate to Rockefeller Plaza”, and it will bring up the navigation app and drive you to the destination. Then, finding music on your phone, which will go out on the internet and grab music to play back on an app on your Android phone. Once you find a result, it’ll come back and show you which apps support this music feature, and you can pick one to play (like Pandora).
Earlier today we mentioned that Google Maps Navigation was landing in Canada and a number of countries in main land Europe. Google [GOOG] has now confirmed exactly what countries will receive the free navigation service.
In total, 11 more countries have been added which includes (on version 4.2) Austria, Belguim, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
To run Google Maps Navigation it requires that you are running Google Android 1.6 or higher. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has announced that Google Maps Navigation is now available for those in Canada and a number of places in mainland Europe.
The Google Maps Navigation service was previously available to just the US and UK, but the new version out today will allow you to navigate freely across more countries.
The reasons that Google could be doing this is possibly due to competition from Ovi Maps Navigation that has far more free navigation coverage than Google has. We wont know for sure and to be honest, we don’t really care what the reasons are. All we want is free satnav and Google as well as Ovi Maps can now provide that. [Read more…]
The DROID Eris is likely to get an update bringing the smartphone up to Android 2.1 by the end of this month.
The information comes from the support page for the DROID Eris where a mention of Android is detailed. No specific version is mentioned although delving in to the changelog it is clear to see that everything mentioned is included in Android 2.1.
On the support pages for the DROID Eris there has been no specific date mentioned although various people have indicated that the smartphone will get the update by the end of this month. [Read more…]
This morning we heard that Google Maps Navigation could possibly be heading to the Apple iPhone. Google [GOOG] have now stepped up to confirm that this is NOT the case and have said that this will not be happening.
It’s a shame as this feature would have been well accepted by the iPhone community and it’s bound to disappoint a few people.
Google are continuing to support the Android OS version of Google Maps Navigation (not a surprise there) and hopefully will continue to roll the service out to more users around the world. [Read more…]
We are hearing today that Google Maps Navigation, the free satnav service, could be coming to the Apple iPhone. This hasn’t been confirmed or set in stone yet, but the indications come from comments made by Google [GOOG] saying they are looking at bringing the free navigation software to other platforms.
Apple [AAPL] already uses Google Maps on the iPhone for mapping services, so the possibility of that being converted to a free navigation application is too far out of question.
With Google also bringing Google Maps Navigation to the UK just this week, this also indicates that Google do have plans to expand the service beyond the US and beyond the Android platform. [Read more…]
