Samsung Hercules confirmed as a T-Mobile Galaxy S II variant

The picture almost says it all: the Galaxy S II is coming to T-Mobile. Except it's slightly more complicated than that. According to TmoNews, you're actually looking the back of the new Samsung Hercules - a handset rumored to possess godly specs, which we already knew was heading to both T-Mo and Telus, and which is now confirmed as an honest-to-goodness Galaxy S II variant. It's similar to the original superphone in many respects, but it has a slightly larger 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen like the Infuse 4G, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor that's possibly a Qualcomm instead of Sammy's own Exynos, and a 42Mbps HSPA+ radio. The rounded corners of the back cover also look distinctly similar to the Within - the GSII variant coming to Sprint. You'll find full-frontals after the break, which also recall the design of the Nexus S. The only thing missing is any mention of NFC, which featured in the initial rumors, but this is still a hotch-potch of the best Samsung phones around and we can't wait for it to arrive.
source: Engadget

Huawei Vision shown off in 360 demo and video

The Huawei Vision, an upcoming high-end Android device, was just announced last week and while we were given detailed description of the phone's specs, we only had a couple of press shots to look. A phone's appearance is just as important as its specs for some people - I mean, who wants to spend money on a good device if it doesn't look great at the same time? So for those who are considering purchasing a phone based on its looks, Huawei has something just for you.

Huawei recently updated its Facebook page with a Huawei Vision demo that users can play around with to check out how the phone looks like from every angle. They've also updated its YouTube page with a video demonstrating the UI of the phone. One thing which I didn't notice from before is that the phone looks like it's running on a customized version of SPB Shell 3D for Android, which is one of the nicest looking Android UIs around - in my opinion. And it's not often you see it come preloaded with a phone.
source: Ubergizmo

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro available now in the UK

If you're in the UK and are looking for a new, affordable QWERTY Android smartphone, Sony Ericsson may have the perfect solution for you, as it has just launched the Xperia Mini Pro there.

As of today, the new member of the Xperia family is available at Carphone Warehouse and Mobiles.co.uk, and can be yours for free on plans starting at $20 per month. You can choose plans from Orange, T-Mobile, or Vodafone.

Offered in either black or white, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro features Android 2.3 Gingerbread, TimeScape UI, a 3 inch HVGA multi-touch, scratch-resistant display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi (with hotspot capability), GPS, 5MP rear camera with 720p video recording, VGA front-facing camera, 512MB of RAM, and a 1GHz single-core processor.
source: Unwired View

Google Prepping Updated Android Search App

Minutes ago Google published a post to their Mobile Blog detailing an update to the Search app for Android devices. For whatever reason, the post has since been pulled, but not before Phandroid reader and screen-cap ninja Art preserved a copy to share with the rest of us. The new Google Search app features an updated interface simplified for use and more in line stylistically with Android Gingerbread and Honeycomb. Search suggestions are now grouped by type — web searches appearing first — and country-specific suggestions and results are now offered depending on location. You can delete history items with a long press or edit them before searching by tapping the arrow next to the item in the drop-down.

The update will be available for handsets running Android 2.2 or later, and should be hitting the Market any minute now.
source: Android Phone

HTC Puccini To Be Unveiled September 1st?

Apparently, HTC has been busy sending out invitations for a big September 1st event but is remaining tight lipped on exactly what will be unveiled. According to those that have received an invite (we're still waiting on ours) no device was mentioned. Seeing how HTC has yet to release a Honeycomb tablet this is leading many to assume this event could be centered around the launch of HTC's first 10-inch tablet, the HTC Puccini, that's been leaked all around the net lately. The device was originally rumored for a mid August launch but again, those were only rumors. Has anyone been holding out or excited to get their hands on this particular Honeycomb tablet?
source: Android Phone

HTC Bliss has mediocre specifications

The HTC Bliss might not make you a, say, blissful person upon purchasing one if you are looking to find the latest and greatest hardware underneath the hood. No sir, this puppy which is said to make its way over to Verizon Wireless will carry a Qualcomm MSM7x30 processor that clocks in at 800MHz – and on a single core to boot. There is the Adreno 205 GPU to help the processor out whenever it needs more muscle to process graphics, while Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread is there right out of the box so that you need not look out at the far horizon for a software update.

Since this is a smartphone by HTC, it will rely on HTC's very own Sense user interface – albeit whispers on the grapevine has it that this will be HTC Sense 3.5. Yes sir, that's a good half version ahead of the current HTC Sense 3.0 that ships with the top of the line HTC Sensation and EVO 3D. No idea on whether Sense 3.5 will introduce a far better user experience or not, but this is where patience and its virtue comes in handy.
source: Ubergizmo

Nokia's Chris Weber promises US-centric push for Windows Phone 7 devices

Nokia's US prexy Chris Weber's been making the media rounds lately, talking up the company's Windows Phone near-future and offering a peek at the marketing blitz to come. In an interview with VentureBeat, Weber confirmed the death of Symbian and the N9's North American release, but was much less straightforward when asked about the WP7 launch, saying only that a US focus is paramount to the OEM's global success. The MS-blessed smartphones are set to debut "in volume" next year, at which point Nokia hopes to have ironed out its complex negotiations with carriers, bringing aggressively subsidized handsets to market. Nokia's chief also engaged in a bit of mobile OS grandstanding, touting Microsoft's live tile integrated approach as superior to the "outdated" app focus popularized by iOS and Android. And if you're wondering just how the OEM plans to differentiate its hardware in this cluttered wireless market, expect to see phones with an emphasis on "state-of-the-art imaging technology and battery performance." Here's to hoping Weber's words don't come back to haunt him when his bet goes live next year.
source: Engadget

Samsung Debuts the Galaxy R, A Mid-Level Android Phone

Samsung announced an addition to its Android smartphone line-up today, the Galaxy R.

Essentially, the phone is a step down in tech specs compared the forthcoming Galaxy S 2, though still a step above Samsung's most popular Android handset to date. It's a mid-level device, aimed at the in-between demographic comprised of those who don't want a feature phone, but aren't willing to spend lots of money for the latest high-end phone to hit the shelves.

The Galaxy R's screen, for instance, is a bit smaller (4.19 inches) and lesser in resolution (WVGA) compared to the S2 (4.3 inches, Super AMOLED). The R also comes with 8GB of on-board storage as opposed to the S2's 16 or 32GB options.

Compared to the first generation Galaxy, however, the R is an impressive update. The new phone sports Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor, a popular, powerful chip choice found inside handsets from multiple manufacturers. The R also comes with double the RAM of the previous generation at 1GB, which will hopefully be enough to keep memory-intensive apps running smoothly. And for smartphone shutterbugs, the 5-megapixel back-facing camera is capable of shooting 720p HD video.

For now, the phone is available only in Sweden, with North American and Asian releases to come soon. The company hasn't provided price details, but given the mid-level specs and the looming release of the S2, it's probably a safe bet that the Galaxy R won't cost over $200.

Check out the video below for hands-on footage of the Galaxy R.
source: Gadget Lab

HTCDev.com Shows Scribe Functionality on Honeycomb

It's looking more and more likely that the HTC Puccini, HTC's first Honeycomb tablet, will launch with the same Scribe support that the Flyer did. New photos have appeared on HTCDev.com, HTC's new developer portal, showing on-screen Scribe pen controls and doodles on top of Honeycomb. We're happy that HTC was able to successfully integrate this technology into a modern version of Android as we believe Scribe is one of the coolest things ever. Now, we just need them to actually announce the thing – it's already been leaked to no end. [via Android Central]
source: Android Phone

So, Is This Nokia’s Windows Phone! ???

Engadget had a post up today, that, you cannot say detailed, showed would be more relevant, what might be one of Nokia's up coming Windows Phone handsets. It's very difficult to tell if this is a case of creative editing, as there seem to be flashes of the original leaked Nokia rumoured phones mashed into the video. Just look at the stop frame shot I captured below. That's definitely from the original leaked images that were supposed to be Nokia's Windows Phone foray.

In fact if you hit this link, you can compare it to the leaked images from May, of what might have been a Nokia WP device. We've seen various promo's, and videos, and Stephen Elop himself showing off prototypes, so is this the real deal? Well I think not, but others may differ, The actual differences in the first leak and this one, seem to go along with the idea that Nokia will provide a lower end handset for a larger market. Most people seem to interpret the idea of a low end handset as having less Windows Phone. More likely, Nokia will take their mass manufacturing expertise, and decrease their overhead, so that they can offer a device that takes advantage of the bulk nature of their business, and costs a lot less. Watch the video below, and tell me what you think, is this another optimistic folly by a film maker. If there is an ounce of truth to this, it may be a device destined for markets that do not have great access to the Windows Live services that are integrated into the OS. Perhaps the Tango update, will add more language and wider market support, looking to more divers markets that Nokia would like to place devices in. People seem to be reading, budget and low cost, as an abbreviated version of the OS?

The timing on all of this makes sense. Microsoft plans to release a single major update a year to Windows Phone. Mango is this year's upgrade, and is technically Windows Phone 7.1, even though handsets running the updated build will be labelled Windows Phone 7.5 phones. Apollo, Windows Phone 8, is not expected until late 2012 (in time for the holiday season).

So, if Tango was to come after Mango and before Apollo, to keep with the 'one big update per year' plan, Tango would have to be smaller, and more specialized, exactly what we are hearing.

And Nokia has always said that it had a deal with Microsoft to make changes to the Windows Phone operating system that went above and beyond what other OEMs had, so Tango could be what the two companies are cooking up together. Nokia will, of course, release full-featured Windows Phone handsets.

Speculation for speculations sake, possibly, the Idea though that Microsoft would cripple the OS with omissions to create a cheaper bit of hardware is unthinkable. I think people are jumping the gun on Tango speculation, there is no way MS would go backwards with the OS. More likely is that OEM's are going to produce phones that cost less and still run the OS.
source: HTC Source