Eclipse Dual SIM Android Smartphone

Here we have another dual SIM Android smartphone from Chinavasion, the Eclipse. Specs-wise, the handset sports a 3.2-inch 480 x 320 resistive touchscreen display, a 460MHz processor, a 256MB RAM, a 189MB ROM, dual SIM card slots, a microSD card slot (up to 8GB), a 2MP rear-facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, built-in loudspeakers, a 3.5mm headset jack, a 1000mAh battery and runs on Android 2.2 OS. The Eclipse can be yours for just $121.42 fully unlocked. [Product Page]

A wild and sexy White Galaxy Nexus has appeared

We knew a snowed-out version of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus was on pace for a February release, and while we've still got a few weeks left, it looks as if one or two have slipped through the cracks. The fine folks over at HDBlog.it managed to get a hold of the prized possession and for anyone who has managed to pass their eyes over the white Galaxy S II, there's not a lot to be shocked by. The bezel along the front remains black, but hey — beggars can't be picky, right? Tap that source link for a gallery's worth of eye candy.

HTC Ville arriving on T-Mobile?

It's been awhile since we've heard about the HTC Ville, and there hasn't any news recently until last weekend when the folks over at Pocketnow.com reported that they were tipped off about the phone: apparently the HTC Ville (if that turns out to be its final name) will be headed to T-Mobile in the US when it goes on sale this Spring. The phone was nowhere to be seen at CES last week, but it is expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2012 next month. The phone is rumored to pack a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC Sense 4.0, a 4.3″ qHD Super AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p video support, Beats Audio, a 1,650mAh battery and is rumored to be HTC's thinnest phone to date. Will it steal the thunder away from the flurry of quad-core phones expected this year? We'll just have to wait and see.

Nokia Lumia 900 to be launched by AT&T in March

A few days ago, when Nokia announced the Lumia 900 for AT&T, it said the smartphone would be released "in the coming months." Now, thanks to the official Nokia Developer Newsletter (see the screenshot below), we know that the new handset should be out in March. Of course, that's when AT&T will launch it in the US only, as there's still no word if or when we're going to see the Lumia 900 on other carriers / in other markets. The Lumia 900 is Nokia's third Windows Phone Mango handset, and is pretty much a larger Lumia 800 with LTE connectivity. It features a 4.3 inch WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display, 1.4GHz single core processor, 512MB of RAM, 8MP rear camera with 720p video recording, 1.3MP front-facing camera, and a 1,830 mAh battery. I'm really curious to see how well the Lumia 900 will sell. The Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 haven't done great until now. Can a launch via a major American carrier do wonders for Nokia? Well, we'll find out later this year.

Samsung Galaxy Note with LTE shows up at Telus Canada

Earlier this week, we told you that Telus is readying the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Note. Now the Canadian carrier has put the 5.3 inch LTE-capable handset up on its official website (here). Unfortunately, it doesn't provide a launch date (or a price) for it, only saying that it's "coming soon." The Galaxy Note will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread on board. But don't worry, an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is scheduled to arrive sometime after launch. Rogers and Bell will also release the Galaxy Note in Canada, but they haven't got the handset featured on their websites yet.

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX

Motorola has recently confirmed the availability of the Droid RAZR MAXX. The company will launch the smartphone on January 26th, 2012. For your info, the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX provides a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, a 32GB of storage space and the Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. Its 3,300mAh battery provides up to 21-hour of operating time.

US Cellular's Samsung Galaxy S II (SCH-R760) approved by the FCC

Back in December, we told you that US Cellular could launch the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 at some point. Now, the carrier's Galaxy S II (model number SCH-R760) has been approved by the FCC, so an official announcement could come in the near future. We don't have any details on the features of US Cellular's Galaxy S II, but these shouldn't be too different from the ones found in the standard version (4.3 inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display, dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera with 1080p video recording, and so on).

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Smartphone Review

Android fans have been eagerly waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus because it is the first device on the market powered by Android 4.0. Otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich, this new version of Android merges the tablet (Honeycomb) and smartphone (Gingerbread) versions of Google's popular OS into one version that will be used across both types of devices. I was lucky enough to get my hands on this phone for a few days, so let's take a look at one of Verizon's latest Android smartphone. Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view. Before I begin, I will mention that I do not live in or very close to an area with 4G LTE coverage. I was only able to test the phone with a 3G connection. Hardware Specs OS: Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich CPU: 1.2GHz Dual-Core Processor Memory Internal: 32GB Carrier: Verizon Network: CDMA/PCS/1xEVDO Rev. A: 800x1900 MHz,LTE: 700 MHz Data Speed: LTE, EVDO Rev. A Display: HD Super AMOLED™ 4.65" contoured display, 1280×720 pixels Rear-facing Camera: 5.0 MP Front-facing Camera: 1.3 MP Bluetooth WiFi Battery: Lithium Ion, 1850mAh Battery Standby 150 hours (6.25 days), Talk Time (hours) Up to 12 hours Dimensions: 5.33" x 2.67" x 0.37" inches Weight: 5.1 ounces As you can see from the image above, the Nexus is a big boy when you compare it to an iPhone 4S. Although it is a large device, it doesn't feel or look out of place when used as a phone. The Nexus has a gorgeous 1280×720 resolution display that is bright and crisp. It has vivid colors but isn't cartoonish like other Samsung Android phones that we've seen in the past. The 4.65 inch display takes up almost the entire front surface of the phone. A strip at the bottom of the display is devoted to 3 (and sometimes 4) touch sensitive buttons. From Left to Right, the buttons are Back, Home and Task Switcher. When appropriate, a 4th button will appear on the Right that has three small vertical square blocks. This is the Menu button. While the phone is in idle with the display turned off, there is a status LED that will slowly pulse when there's a new email, text message or you've missed a call. Above the display is the front facing camera. The back of the Nexus has the camera lens and LED flash. It's a little disappointing that Samsung opted to use a 5mp camera instead of an 8mp camera which seems to be the norm these days. That said, the camera captures decent pics and is crazy fast with no shutter lag whatsoever. The back of the phone has a thin piece of flexible plastic that is easily removed to reveal the battery compartment and 4G LTE SIM card slot. In my short time with this phone, I found battery life to typical in that I would need to charge the phone once a day with light to normal use. It's tough for me to offer concrete data about battery life since I've only been using this phone in an area with 3G and absolutely no 4G coverage. In my experience with other smartphones, I would say that the Nexus used power slightly quicker than HTC Rezound that I tested last. You'll notice that the Nexus does not have a microSD card slot. That's a bit of a bummer, but the phone does have 32GB of storage, which makes the lack of a flash card slot less painful. If you look closely at the side of the Nexus, you'll see that the display is slightly curved. Samsung claims that this will make the phone more comfortable against your cheek when you're on a call. Hmmm… I don't know about you, but I've never noticed my flat phones as being uncomfortable against my face. The Left side of the phone has the volume rocker button which has good tactile feedback and sticks up high enough that your thumb tip can easily find it when you're on a phone call. On the opposite side you'll find the Power button and electrical contacts for an optional dock. On the bottom edge is a micro USB connector for charging and connecting to your computer. You'll also find the microphone and headphone jack. I had a rude awakening when I plugged the Nexus into my iMac to transfer some files and found that the phone does not support the USB mass storage feature that I've been accustomed to using with every Android phone that I've owned over the years. At first I thought it was Android 4.0′s fault because it uses the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) file transfer standard which is plug and play compatible with Windows machines, but not OS X machines. In order to transfer files to and from the Nexus with my iMac, I had to install a special file manager app. Bleh! After a bit of research, I came to learn that it's not exactly Android 4.0′s fault. Other 4.0 devices will support USB mass storage. The reason that the Galaxy Nexus does not support USB mass storage is because it does not include a microSD slot. As long as an Android 4.0 device has a removable flash card, it will support USB mass storage. In hand, the Galaxy Nexus is comfortable to hold due to the rounded sides. Although the phone is light weight, it is solid and easily passes my patent pending gadgeteer squeeze test with no flexing, creaking or cracking. It's a big phone though, so it's not really pocket friendly. Performance wise, this phone is very snappy. That shouldn't come as a surprise since one of the best things about the Nexus is that it hasn't been “polluted” with a lot of carrier bloatware and interface special sauce like HTC's Sense and Motorola Blur. Let's take a look at a few of the new features that Android 4.0 offers. The default lock screen isn't too different, but you do have the option to use the front facing camera and your own face to unlock the phone. It's kind of fun to play with and worked well for me. It falls back to a pattern matching unlock screen if the stored face isn't recognized. The app view scrolls left to right instead of up and down. In the image above you can see all the stock apps. Here is the 2nd page of apps minus the Tiny Tower and Where's My Water games that I installed. There are only two apps that have been added by Verizon and if you don't want to see them you can actually disable them. Disabling does NOT uninstall them though, it just removes them from the app view. But, I was happy to see that Android 4.0 offers easier app removal now. Instead of having to go into the settings/applications area to uninstall an app, you can just tap and hold the icon for the uninstall option. Also added to the app view are your available widgets. You can scroll through them just like you can your apps. There is also a button in the top right corner for quick access to the App Market. Here we see the dialer interface. Your favorites dialing screen reminds me of the Windows 7 phone interface. I didn't have any issues using the Galaxy Nexus to make and receive calls. I've read that it can have problems with 3G connectivity, but I didn't find that to be the case during the time I've been using the phone. In my area, 3G coverage is very good, so I rarely experience problems with dropped calls and the Nexus was no different in that regard. Call audio was clear and volume was very good even when I made calls from my basement with only 1 bar signal strength. Browsing the web on the Nexus is a joy. My iPhone feels pretty cramped after using the Nexus! The browser feels pretty snappy too… even under 3G. Another cool feature that I haven't been able to test because I don't know anyone else with a Nexus is the new Beam feature.  It will let you easily share contacts, websites, apps, maps, directions and YouTube videos with other people close by. The phone has NFC (near field communication) and when held near another NFC enabled Android 4.0 phone you can touch to beam and share. It kind of reminds me of the good old days when you could beam contacts and even apps back and forth to Palm OS devices. All in all, I like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus quite a bit. If I were in the market for an Android phone right now, it would be the one I would probably buy even though it lacks a microSD card and I would have to deal with the annoying lack of the USB mass storage feature. Except for those 2 things, I love the huge display, snappy performance and quick camera. It's definitely the phone to have right now due to the latest version of the OS and pure Android goodness.

Motorola i940 iDEN Android Phone Released In Brazil

Motorola has decided to release the Motorola i940 iDEN/ Push-to-Talk Android smartphone in Brazil. The i940 comes equipped with a 3.5-inch display, stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting to headphones or speaker, Wi-Fi, a GPS navigation, a noise cancellation technology, a 5MP rear-facing digital camera and a microSD card slot (up to 32GB). The Motorola i940 is currently available exclusively from Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio stores for around $670. [Press Release]

Verizon Motorola Droid 4 user guide now available

After many months of leak after leak, the Motorola Droid 4 was finally officially acknowledged by Verizon a few days ago. And then yesterday we got word that it may launch for $249.99 on contract. If you're thinking that all that's left now is for its release date to be leaked or announced, well, you're both right and wrong. Right, in that we still don't know when the Droid 4 will hit the streets. But wrong, because there's one other thing that usually gets out in the open just before a new smartphone is released: the user guide. So yes, the Motorola Droid 4′s user guide is now ready for your attention. You can find it here (warning, it's a direct link to the PDF). This indeed signifies that the Droid 4′s release is imminent. So expect that release date to leak any day now. And the official pricing info to be announced soon.