Are you ready for a high-end Android phone, on a prepaid unlimited $45 plan, checking in at under $300?  Cricket Wireless thinks you are, and will be offering the Huawei Glory to foot the bill.  Checking in with a 1.4 GHz CPU, a 4-inch 854×480 screen, an 8MP camera and Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3), the Glory looks like it’s filling the promises we heard last year about high-end, low cost components that will push Android into as many hands as possible.

According to Sasha Segan (PCMag), Huawei has edited a few things away from stock, but the Glory doesn’t have a heavy manufacturer skin.  It does have a huge 1900 mAh battery and a very bright LCD screen.  To sweeten the whole pot, Huawei also says the Glory will be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich when it’s available.

Posted under Android

If at any point over the past year you would have told me that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 would actually get an update to Gingerbread, I’d likely have laughed at you. And, in fact, I did throw a chuckle or two toward Alex Dobie when he first wrote in March that indeed the X10 was slated for an Android 2.3.3 update.

Sony Ericcson’s now given us a little more detail on the update. It’s currently shooting for an August released — the beginning of August, in fact. Other details to note:

• The Gingerbread update will keep the original camera software user interface.
• The new Facebook inside Xperia will be included.
• Features from the Xperia Arc will be included.
• There will not, however, be DLNA support.

Posted under Android, Gingerbread, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson unveiled the Xperia Neo back in February at this year’s MWC when it also launched the Xperia Arc and Xperia Play. They were supposed to launch relatively in the same time-frame but there were some delays in the production and supply chain that got us waiting for the Neo until July.

From Sony Ericsson Italy comes news about the availability of the Xperia Neo. According to the tweet, the smartphone will be available starting the first week of July. And since it’s Sony Ericsson Italy, it’s safe to assume that other European countries will get the Xperia Neo in the same time frame.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo features a 3.7-inch display with an 854 x 480 resolution powered by their Bravia engine, an eight-megapixel camera, two-megapixel front facer powered by a single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz CPU.

Posted under Android, Sony Ericsson

US Cellular has thrown their hat into the tablet ring, and now will be selling the wifi version of the Motorola Xoom in select stores.  The price is the same as anywhere else at $599, so folks who want support and customer service from USCC instead of another retail outlet can do so at no premium.

USCC does advise you to call and check your local store before you drive in, and “some restrictions apply” so be sure to find out exactly what you’re getting yourself into before you hand over the credit card.

Posted under Android, Motorola, Motorola Xoom

Here is the HTC Rider, a Korea-bound handset based on the EVO 3D — although unlike that model, this one has neither 3D capture nor playback capabilities. It will be sold under the name HTC EVO 4G+, closely following the EVO WiMax which recently landed at KDDI Japan.

Besides the omission of 3D, specs are largely the same as found in last month’s leaked ROM: 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 4.3-inch qHD display, and 1GB of RAM. Instead of dual five-megapixel cameras, however, EVO 4G+ packs a 1080p-capable eight-megapixel shooter along with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing cam. The 2D/3D toggle switch has been repurposed to select between still and video camera modes.

In terms of connectivity, EVO 4G+ offers Korea’s WiBro flavor of WiMax, 14.4Mbps HSPA+ cellular broadband on the 900MHz and 2100MHz bands, DLNA-enabled 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0. Expect an official announcement with pricing and release details in short order.

Posted under Android, HTC

Posted under Android, Android Games, Angry Birds

Everyone expected the Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo — recently leaked in images — to be unveiled at MWC but since that didn’t happen and neither did at CTIA we were excited and expected the manufacturer to launch it at the next event. At the ongoing CommunicAsia Sony Ericsson announced two other Xperia Android smartphones instead.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray and the Xperia Active have just been announced by the manufacturer at CommunicAsia. The Xperia Ray is basically the Azusa we’ve seen before, sporting a 3.3-inch display with Mobile Bravia Engine, 1GHz processor, eight-megapixel camera with Exmor R sensor and Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Active reminds us a bit of the LG Optimus Black. It’s a rugged smartphone, dust and water proof, featuring a 1GHz processor, five-megapixel camera, Android Gingerbread and some great add-ons for athletes as it has arm band support to go with GPS and Barometer.

Both the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray and the Xperia Active are expected to hit the market in the third quarter of the year but no specific date nor pricing has been revealed.

Posted under Android, Sony Ericsson

We knew that Motorola had plans to update its Atrix 4G smartphone to Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a pre-release build has already been demoed running on the Atrix 4G. We can now see another Atrix 4G Gingerbread ROM leaked and tested and this time we have strong indications it will be delivered OTA to smartphones sometime in July.

According to BriefMobile who got their hands on the Gingerbread ROM, the update is imminent and will probably be rolled out in July, over-the-air. It brings Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, improved MotoBlur and the ability to sideload apps. Among other improvements they note: overscroll glow, application grouping, re-built main applications, downloads management, an improved camera, better power management, a re-done keyboard, and some nifty new animations. So, if you have an Atrix 4G, stand by for getting all these features and more really soon. We’ll keep you posted!

Posted under Android, Android Updates, Gingerbread, Motorola, Motorola Atrix 4G

Samsung wouldn’t get any more specific than “mid-summer” when it revealed that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be coming to Sprint, but it turns out you don’t have to wait much longer to pick one via the carrier. Sprint has just announced that the WiFi-only tablet will be available through its website and other channels starting June 24th for the same $499.99 it demands elsewhere (though you’ll have to wait until July 24th to get one at a Sprint retail store). It also not-so-subtly notes that the tablet is “even more amazing” when paired with an Overdrive Pro 4G mobile hotspot or Novatel MiFi — sold separately, of course.

Posted under Android, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Tablets

When we last saw the Motorola Triumph — a relatively high-end Android phone headed for the prepaid Virgin Mobile — we’d been given a time frame of July for release, and that was that. If this image taken from a magazine is on the level, it might be headed our way come July 19.

The Triumph, as you’ll remember from our hands-on, is a 4.1-inch stock Android phone with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5MP rear camera and HDMI out, running Froyo. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, now is it?

So, anybody going the prepaid route on July 19?

Posted under Android, Motorola