Google I/O 2011 keynotes now available on YouTube (video)

Is there anything you don't know about Google's blowout I/O 2011 developer conference? If you've read our recap of happenings over in San Francisco this week, you should be well on your way to becoming the most knowledgeable Google geek in your local data cluster, but if you're looking for all the key info in a more digestible format like, say, video, Google's taking care of you as well. Both of the company's I/O keynotes have been posted to YouTube, where they can be consumed in up to 720p resolution, and we've done our bit too by embedding them for you after the break. So what are you waiting for, your Googlification awaits!

Google Chrome OS not coming to tablets anytime soon

Despite previous reports, it looks like Google Chrome OS will not be heading onto a tablet for a while.  Google has announced that they are “fully focused on notebooks”.  About a month ago, Google made some changes to Chrome OS’ source coding.  With these changes, we saw some hints at touch-screen optimizations when viewing websites.  Google has denied rumors of a near-release of a tablet-Chrome OS from the start, but has now made themselves perfectly clear on the issue.

Does this mean that you should never expect a Chrome OS tablet?  Probably not.  Google will most likely, at one point, come out with a Chrome OS tablet.  However, do we really need a Chrome OS tablet?  The original goal of Chrome OS was to offer a fast internet browsing solution by avoiding the need to load a full operating system just to run a web browser.  Chrome OS is excellent for notebooks, but do tablets need it?  Most tablets (such as tablets running mobile operating systems like Android and iOS) don’t have a need to boot; they offer “sleep” mode to instantly turn the tablet on and start doing whatever you want to do.  Having a Chrome OS tablet would be just that, without offline apps.  That brings me to another point:  Tablets are meant for portability.  They are excellent for working on-the-go, where you will not always have an internet connection.  With Chrome OS, you always need an internet connection since the entire operating system is one big web browser.  This eliminates the option of offline working.  For now, I think Google should stick to Android for tablets (Honeycomb).

iPhone 5 scratched, Apple to release iPhone 4S this year

For those who were counting on an iPhone 5 this year, it looks like you may be waiting another year.  An Apple analyst reported that Apple has no plans to make major improvements in their next generation iPhone.  Instead, they will make minor adjustments, such as an upgraded camera, A5 dual-core processor, upgraded memory, and possibly HSPA+.  Additionally, Apple may make the next generation iPhone available on Sprint and T-Mobile.  However, the analyst reported that the next generation iPhone will not support 4G, contradicting earlier rumors.

Due to the next iPhone only sporting minor adjustments, the analyst concludes that there will be no iPhone 5 release in 2011.  Instead, Apple will do something similar to the iPhone 3G and 3GS.  This time, it will be the iPhone 4S.

The big reason for Apple to not include 4G in the next generation iPhone is that the addition of such hardware would force major design changes, some of which Apple was not willing to make at the moment.  However, you can probably expect to see 4G in a 2012 model (perhaps called the iPhone 5).  For now, analysts are insisting that we don’t expect much more out of Apple’s next generation smartphone other than minor improvements.

HTC Flyer on sale across Europe, LG Optimus Pad hits UK

HTC's 3G and Wi-Fi enabled Flyer tablet is out today in retail stores in 14 European countries and online in another 16. Meanwhile, the LG Optimus Pad hits UK retailers at £750 SIM-free.
It seems Friday the 13th is no worse a day than any to launch a tablet. Two of them. Both the Optimus Pad and the Flyer are Android powered tablets. HTC have only launched the 3G+Wi-Fi version of the Flyer, the Wi-Fi-only variety still on pre-order.

The 7" Flyer is out in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, available both in stores and at HTC.com for €650 or £600. In addition, users in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta, UAE and Turkey can buy it online at HTC.com.
The Wi-Fi only Flyer is €50 cheaper (£30), but is still on pre-order only. There is no official word on the release date.
As a reminder, the HTC Flyer is powered by a 1.5GHz processor and packs a 7" LCD display at 1024x600 pixels. There's 1GB of RAM and 32GB worth of storage for the 3G version - that's 16GB for the Wi-Fi-only model. There's a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, a 1.3 megapixel video-call camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, HSPA (data only, no calls) and a microSD card slot. The HTC Flyer runs Android v2.4 Gingerbread with the latest HTC Sense 3.0 on top of it.
In related news, LG Optimus Pad is also available at the Carphone Warehouse starting today. It costs £750 SIM-free. It's quite a hefty price tag but you get a 8.9" 3D display (1280x768), Tegra2 chipset with 1GHz dual-core processor, a 5 megapixel 3D camera, 1080p(2D)/720p(3D) video, as well as 3.5G data speeds and 32GB of built-in storage. There is an HDMI port too.

The LG Optimus Pad runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb that looks unskinned.
Source 1 • Source 2

ZiiLABS introduces two new CPUs for Android tablets - the ZMS-20/40

It seems that a competitor to the Tegra 2 and Exynos chips has just entered the tablet competition. Meet the dual-core ZMS-20 and quad-core ZMS-40 from ZiiLABS. The ZMS-20 is clocked at 1.5GHz and offers 1080p video playback, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics with 3D support and DDR3 compatibility.

There's not much word on the quad-core ZMS-40, though. Its architecture however is supposed to scale up to 6GHz and should support up to 100 cores. Wait what? Those are some mind-blowing numbers.

The ZMS-20 is based on the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture. It's HDMI 1.4-ready and supports OpenCL. It will be released with a dedicated Android tablet platform and SDK.

Both chipsets are optimized for Android Honeycomb use, so their main target are, naturally, droid tablets.

The dual-core ZMS-20 chipset is sampling as we speak and should become available this summer, while the more intriguing quad-core ZMS-40 still has some way to go. We hope to hear more news soon and will keep you posted.

Here's a video of Hock Leow, President of ZiiLABS. He'll give us a quick tour of the ZMS-20 CPU.

Via • Source

Samsung Series 5 Chrome OS laptop hands-on at Google I/O (update: video!)

We never had much doubt about what Samsung would be showcasing at tonight's finale event at Google I/O 2011, but now it's official -- the outfit's first-ever Chrome OS ultraportable is making its debut in San Francisco, and we've been fortunate enough to grab a bit of hands-on time. Slated to ship to consumers, businesses and educational institutions on June 15th, the 12.1-inch Series 5 is a strikingly svelte machine, and there's no doubt that holding a 0.79-inch rig gives us all kinds of chills. The company took a bit of time to play up its "Power Plus" battery technology, lasting up to 8.5 hours with "active use," or 5 hours of straight video. There's also a new hitch in the Verizon Wireless data deal -- 100MB will be tossed in each month on the 3G model, but contrary to what we'd heard earlier, that ends after two years (rather than lasting for the life of the product).

The hardware feels tremendous -- stiff, solid and well appointed, much like Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition. It outclasses the other sub-$450 netbooks we've seen in both style and rigidity, and while we'll always have a special place in our heart for the CR-48, it's pretty clear that this particular unit was in the oven for some while. We've hoping to spend some serious time with this guy in the middle of next month, but for now, here's what we can tell you -- the 1280 x 800 display is both crisp and sharp, with shockingly great viewing angles for a machine of this price. The keyboard's far from cramped, and if you've had your doubts on the 12.1-inch form factor, we're guessing one touch of this would have those running for cover. Oh, and the trackpad? One of the best we've felt in the PC universe, and one that we hope crops up elsewhere in the near future. It's right about on par with the one found on the CR-48, which is also stellar compared to most netbooks.

Obviously, we aren't here long enough to test the ultra-longevous battery (said to be good for over 1,000 cycles -- perfect for education and business users who are apt to adopt it), but we'll be sure to do our best once we settle down with a production unit. We're told that it'll be available in Titan Silver or Arctic White, provide a chiclet style keyboard, a multi-gesture trackpad (which supports two-finger scrolling) and "instant" wake from sleep. More impressions and video are after the break, and a head-to-head with a current-gen 11-inch MacBook Air is below!

Update: We just went back for round two, and came away with a few other details. There's a 3.5mm headphone / mic combo jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a front-mounted SD card slot, a video out socket that requires a proprietary dongle to convert to anything useful, a dev mode switch (for jailbreaking, naturally), a full-size SIM card slot and a non-removable battery. That's apt to sadden CR-48 loyalists, but for whatever it's worth, sealed batteries are the new norm. There's a dedicated row of browser keys in place of the F-key lineup (Page Back, Page Forward, Refresh, New Window, Volume, Screen Brightness), and we're told that the hardware we're seeing here is "final." The only major knock is the LCD hinge -- the panel itself is on the heavy side, and tilting it too far forward resulted in an automatic closing of the lid. We doubt that'll cause too much heartache in practice, but at this point, we're scrambling to nitpick.

In use, the machine felt decidedly zippy, and it managed to handle three simultaneous windows filled with around ten panes apiece without any noticeable lag. We'll definitely need a more suitable test bed to tell for sure, but at least it's not lagging in the most ideal of circumstances.

BlackBerry Bold Touch 9860 spotted with different buttons

The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9860 (codename Monza) showed up in some spy shots with a minor facelift – there were four physical buttons under the screen instead of the capacitive buttons we’ve seen in previous leaks.
The Monza is the GSM version of the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9850, a.k.a. Monaco. The original leak that revealed the Bold Touch, showed a Monaco with capacitive buttons but an extra slide showed a version with physical ones.

It’s not unusual for a maker to produce several different versions of a device and put them through a testing phase to choose a winning design. This is probably what we’re seeing here – but which one has RIM chosen?
A leaked promo for the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9860 used the capacitive button version, which makes it the more likely choice. Of course, nothing is certain.
The new spy shots also confirm that the Bold Touch 9860 will be running BlackBerry OS 7 (which started out life as 6.1 but RIM bumped up the version number higher). There’s no confirmation on the rest of the specs but they’re in line with the official new generation BlackBerry specs – 1.2GHz CPU, 768MB RAM, 5MP camera with 720p video recording and more. The Bold Touch also sports a 3.7” WVGA screen with 253DPI.

Source

Sony Ericsson prepping a Cyber-shot Android smartphone?

The line of camera-centric devices with the Cyber-shot branding has been left aside in favor of Xperia's for some time now. And many Sony Ericsson fans may disagree with this policy. Well, this may all change as a blurry photo of an unknown Cyber-shot Android device has popped-up and poured oil on an old flame.
The photo is truly horrid but focusing on it, we were able to spot the standard Android Home/menu/back buttons styled as on the Xperia mini and just above them the Cyber-shot logo. Sadly the photo doesn’t come with any specs, whatsoever. It’s a touchscreen smartphone, it looks thin and probably boasts at least a 3.7” diagonal screen.
Many would argue that the Cyber-shot lineup was one of the best in the cameraphone realm.
Still, fans could be in for a treat, as this one might just be a top dog Android cameraphone. Perhaps soon Sony Ericsson could introduce dual-core processing to its droid lineup too. Well, here's hoping.

New Symbian^3 homescreen leaked by Nokia Germany

Some images posted on the Nokia Germany website just lifted the curtain on one of the features to come in the next Symbian^3 update. What we are seeing is the free-form widgets that were initially rumored to come with the PR 2.0 Anna update, but apparently didn’t make it.

 
The new Symbian^3 homescreen with free-form widgets

Until now the Symbian^3 widgets had a fixed size and you could only fit a preset number of them on the screen. However when free-form widgets become available you'll be able to reduce those you need less often in size to make room for the more important ones.

Now there’s an outside chance that someone in the Nokia Germany PR department just went too creative on those images, but we really doubt that this is the case. After all, what would be the point in simulating such a minor feature if you don’t plan on ever releasing. It won’t attract any new customers and it might earn you some bad publicity.

So it’s a pretty safe bet that Symbian users will be able to resize their widgets once the next update becomes available. Dubbed PR 3.0 Belle, this upcoming update is expected to hit in the fall, but given that we’re still waiting for the mass availability of the Anna, we wouldn’t bet our salaries on that.

LG Optimus 3D gets a 3D augmented reality browser

Today LG announced that their Optimus 3D Android smartphone will come with an exclusive augmented reality browser. The Korean company has collaborated with Wikitude to create an app that allows reportedly unprecedented interaction and engagement with your current environment. Yeah, right!
You see, while regular augmented reality apps like Layar running on regular smartphones only display overlapped objects, the stereoscopic screen of the LG Optimus 3D will actually show places of interest, landmarks and objects in 3D adding some depth to the whole experience. If you think about it, this is probably one of the coolest applications of that screen. But we bet, much like with other augmented reality apps, its coolness factor won't last more than five minutes.

The information database of Wikitude 3D (that’s the name of the new app, Wikitude 2D has been around for some time) covers over 100 million locations around the world. The new 3D reality browser will supports 12 languages and more should be added in the near future.
As far as augmented reality apps go, you can't beat a 3D screen, that's for sure. Users will be able to download Wikiture 3D from the LG World appstore in June. The good news is that it’s going to be free. Useful? Well, we doubt it.

RIM demos Android apps on a PlayBook

Samsung Nexus S Price in India

The new Samsung Nexus S (also called Google Nexus S) is large 4-inch high resolution touchscreen display mobile phone running the latest Google Android OS v2.3 . It is the first mobile phone to run the Android v2.3 OS (GingerBread) .It is powered by a 1GHz processor and features high speed connectivity options like 3G HSDPA and Wireless LAN WiFi n .

Samsung Nexus S is designed with Samsung’s brilliant Super AMOLED touch screen technology providing a premium viewing experience. The 4-inch Contour Display features a curved design for a more ergonomic style and feel when held to the user’s face. Samsung Nexus S also features Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which allows you to read information off of everyday objects like stickers and posters that are embedded with NFC chips. Powered by a 1 GHz Samsung application processor, Samsung Nexus S produces rich 3D graphics, faster upload and download times and supports HD-like multimedia content.

Samsung Nexus S is equipped with a 5 megapixel rear facing camera and camcorder, as well as a VGA front facing camera. In addition, Samsung Nexus S features a gyroscope sensor to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right. Samsung Nexus S also comes with 16 GB of internal memory.

Samsung Nexus S Price

Google Nexus S price in India : The new Samsung Nexus S price in India is Rs.26,500 . It is now available in India

HTC Desire Z will get Gingerbread by the end of June

At last, it's confirmed - the HTC Desire Z is going to receive some Gingerbread love, too. The premium Android slider with QWERTY keyboard was released in late 2010, but HTC show they haven't forgotten about it almost half year down the road.

The news for the update came from HTC itself, as an employee from the customer support staff posted on a company's support page:
...we optimise the experience for each handset, for example, HTC Desire HD and Desire Z have different screen sizes. Gingerbread for Desire Z is coming before the end of June...
I hope you Desire Z owners can hold it until HTC releases the official update. Although, I reckon the majority of you already have Gingerbread on your devices one way or another.

LG Optimus Black gets a price tag of 319 euro

The LG Optimus Black starts to finally roll out to stores around the world. Following yesterday's news that the phone will hit UK in the upcoming week, the Optimus Black has made it to the Philippines.
The price of the LG Optimus Black there is 19,990 Philippine Pesos, or around €319 / $464, which is pretty decent for the 4-inch-screen smartphone. Let's hope the phone will keep this pricing in Europe and specifically the UK, where it's expected to launch next week.
The LG Optimus Black packs a TI OMAP 3630 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 5MP camera capable of shooting 720p HD video and the 4-inch NOVA display. Speaking of which, you should definitely check the display shootout we did recently.
Also, as the review is in the works, in our blog we posted user interface and Gestures demo videos of the LG Optimus Black. Don't forget to check them out as well.

Verizon’s HTC Bliss Made For Woman

Speculation has arisen that the Taiwan based manufacturer is working on the HTC Bliss, a smartphone for the ladies that would be the first Android model with such a focus. It will be a half centimeter thinner than the HTC Desire Z. As far as specs are concerned, there are conflicting stories on whether there will be both back and front-facing cameras. The Bliss is said to come with "calming" wallpapers and special apps geared to shopping and calorie counting.

HTC even testing the device with a group of women in their 20s and 30s. The Bliss is a full touchscreen with a calming green chases. Its design appears to be a combination of both the Desire S and Desire Z. The device comes with shopping and calorie counting apps. Aside from all of those, it comes with several accessories such as a wireless charging dock with speakers, a “stylish” Bluetooth headset, and a “charm indicator”. The charm indicator will tell you when there’s notification by shining.

HTC ChaCha may see a launch June, according to HTC Germany

HTC ChaCha and the HTC Salsa are part of the duo Facebook phones announced at the MWC 2011 this year. Both devices were scheduled for Q2 2011 but now we have a more specific date thanks to party invite from one of HTC Facebook pages.

HTC Germany has thrown a poster announcing a couple of Facebook oriented parties in Germany, Austria and Switzerland starting on 18 June in Dortmund. Remind you of something? Yes, the HTC Sensation got a similar party for its announcement in London a couple of weeks ago.
However, more often than not HTC launch their phones first in the UK, so we’ll see if those events in Germany, Austria and Switzerland won’t be just after-parties of an even sooner event planned for the UK. Only time will tell. We'll keep you updated.

Official: HP Veer 4G headed to AT&T on 15 May, will cost $100

The HP Veer 4G will be launched, exclusively in the US, on the AT&T network and it will set back users $99.9 on a two year contract. It will be available in-stores and online from 15 May.
The Veer 4G will be offered in either black or white color and is the smallest of the WebOS-yielding pack from HP.
On the inside, it’s powered by a Qualcomm NSN7230 processor, clocked at 800 MHz, with Adreno 205 graphics, a 5 MP fixed-focus snapper, 2.6” capacitive touchscreen display and WebOS 2.1.
The HP Veer 4G keeps all those specs inside a minuscule figure of just about a credit card.
The 4G at the end of the phone's name stands for HSDPA 14.4 download speeds, not the real LTE stuff.

LG Optimus Black display shootout: NOVA on trial

Introduction

There’s a new kid on the mobile display block, LG’s NOVA LCD display. It promises to be the dream screen – it’s super bright, energy efficient, with great colors, viewing angles and outdoor visibility. We’ll be running our usual battery of tests on the new guy to see if it can deliver those promises.
LG isn't just waiving superlatives around – they’ve put hard numbers to their promises. They bill the NOVA display as the brightest smartphone screen around – 700 nits of brightness. Also, keep in mind that bigger screens are harder to light up, so at 4” big the NOVA display of the LG Optimus Black P970 will be well ahead of the competition if it can pull it off, as other 4-inchers don’t even come close to 700 nits.

NOVA uses In-Plain Switching technology, which greatly reduces color distortion and contrast loss when viewed at an angle. This is vital on mobile devices as you rarely hold the phone so that you view the display head on.

But LG has done more to enhance the viewing experience – they’ve worked harder on reaching what they call “pure white tones”. LCD and AMOLED screens usually have a slight tint to them, so greys are not quite neutral and even the white is not perfectly white. Your eyes get used to it pretty quick, but it’s always there – unless your phone has a NOVA display that is.
What else? Ah, “clearest” and “most readable” are being thrown around in relation to the NOVA display too – but how is a 4” WVGA screen better in sharpness and resolution than another 4” WVGA screen? It could be possible, not all pixels are created equal. But we’ll need to get pretty close and personal with the Optimus Black to find that out. We’ll pit it against some of the best in the business – the Samsung Galaxy S and S II, the Apple iPhone 4 and LG‘s own Optimus 2X (for good measure) to find out which one is the best.
Energy efficiency is also on the menu – LG claims 50% less energy used to display a pure white screen than AMOLED displays and also 50% less energy during general usage than regular LCD displays.
So welcome to the display lab! Put your safety goggles on and hit the next page for the LG NOVA display test.

HTC Kingdom is actually just the codename of Sprint's EVO 3D

Well, you can strike the HTC Kingdom from the list of rumored upcoming HTC phones. It turns out that was the codename of the HTC EVO 3D for Sprint.
The leaked ROM that lead to this discovery is already being ported to the HTC EVO 4G and devs say there’s a good chance they’ll get the 4G (WiMAX) connectivity going, which is usually a problem with custom ROMs.
The ROM is riddled with clues that the Kingdom is in fact the HTC EVO 3D – there’s Sprint’s name, the WiMAX hardware support, the qHD screen and a handful of 3D apps and widgets.
Another disappointing conclusion is that the HTC Kingdom isn't the GSM-flavored EVO 3D that HTC France seemingly confirmed.
On the up side, if the ROM porting goes okay, HTC EVO 4G owners will get Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with the latest HTC Sense UI, which old devices like the 4G won’t be getting through official channels.

Another Samsung Galaxy S II ad released, talks up its dual-core CPU and HSPA+ support

We don't know about you, but it seems to us that Samsung wants every single person on the planet, including your granny, who (presumably) is not particularly tech savvy - to know that its new heavyweight - the Samsung Galaxy S II - is awesome any way you look at it.

This particular ad is talking up the dual-core Exynos processor, which, as you surely know, is clocked at 1.2GHz, as well as the HSPA+ 21Mbps support you get with this handset.

It's obvious that Sammy is putting a lot of faith (and resources) in this handset, which seems justified to us - truth be told, our initial impressions (we are currently reviewing this beauty) are that the Samsung Galaxy S II may live up to the hype, as it genuinely seems like one heck of a phone.

Gingerbread ROM for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G leaked; is an official update coming?

If you are one of those people who enjoy tinkering with their smartphone, then you probably do take a peak at XDA-Developers' forum from time to time. One of the latest spicy ROM leaks over there is an Android 2.3.3 build for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G, and even though the software is not an official release, it does give us a hint that an update for the myTouch 4G to Gingerbread might be coming soon.

One of the noticeable tweaks that we see in the leaked ROM is a Quick Settings tab found in the pull-down notification bar. It lets you easily turn the smartphone's Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, cellular network, and hotspot feature on and off eliminating the need for having a dedicated widget for that. Other than that, the user interface experience looks and feels pretty much the same, as you can see in the video below.

User feedback regarding the leaked Gingerbread build has been quite mixed with some people reporting Wi-Fi issues and stability problems. On the other hand, others seem to be having no troubles at all and are saying that their myTouch 4Gs are running smoothly. If you feel like giving the ROM a shot, please, be careful and back up your data first. Feel free to share the experience with us in the comments below!

RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are now official

RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are the announcement many 'Berry fans have been waiting for – a powerful touchscreen candybar with the signature keyboard by RIM and an all-new BlackBerry 7 OS. Featuring a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor and a 2.8-inch "Liquid Graphics" VGA screen with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, the performance of the handsets should be excellent.While we're yet to decipher the Liquid Graphics part, it seems that it's the high-pixel density (287dpi) and expected framerates of around 60fps for graphical apps and games that justify the name.

Both models run the newest BB OS 7, but the BlackBerry Bold 9900 (AT&T, T-Mobile) comes with HSPA+ 4G (supporting 14.4Mbps on the downlink) on board, while the Bold 9930 (Verizon/Sprint) is a global device coming with quad-band GSM and dual-band CDMA to support virtually every network out there.


But most importantly, the new additions to the Bold lineup come with an improved QWERTY keyboard feeding on your texting addiction. The new handsets are very slim at just 10.5mm, easily becoming the thinnest by RIM so far, and look traditionally well-made with a brushed stainless steel frame and a high-gloss glass-weave back. In terms of functionality, RIM has added an NFC chip, that could be used for mobile payments, as well as support for Augmented Reality applications.

The handsets also feature a 5-megapixel flash-equipped camera capable of 720p HD recording and 8GB of internal storage. If all that sounds alluring, you won't be disappointed with the release date. While a specific date wasn't pointed out, the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930's release date should be sometime "this summer."

“The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones and BlackBerry 7 OS are inspired by millions of customers around the world who want the ultimate combination of performance, functionality and style,” RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said. A nice start to BlackBerry World in Orlando, but is this the next-generation of 'Berries you personally have been waiting for?

Motorola's EX130 is another dual-screen Android device

Some of the greatest leaks come from the most unlikely sources. The FCC is usually the go-to repository for unannounced devices in the pipeline, but the Bluetooth Special Interest Group site is responsible for this one. They revealed the Motorola EX130, which is a dual-screen Android device, like the Samsung Continuum.

Like the Samsung Continuum, the EX130's secondary display is a basic ticker, with 96x16 resolution and a monochromatic display. The primary screen is a 2.8-inch QVGA display. Other stats include 128MB of internal memory and 64MB of RAM.

Given the pretty basic specs, the EX130 looks like a budget-friendly device. But it's unique styling and novel ticker display might set it apart from other budget Android devices. According to the Bluetooth S.I.G. page, the EX130 is bound for Europe, Asia, and South

Adobe Flash Player 10.2 will support 'hardware accelerated video' in Android 3.1

An update for Adobe Flash Player 10.2 in the Android Market gives Android tablet users something to look forward to in the future. According to the small changelog for the update, the software upgrade included 'hardware accelerated video' presentation for devices running the so far unannounced Android 3.1.

The download will not yet work on any current Android tablet. For example, the Motorola XOOM currently runs Android 3.0.1 and Adobe made it clear in their blog that this accelerated video enhancement will only work once the newer 3.1 build of Google's open source OS is installed.

The enhancement is expected to improve 720p HD video playback on Honeycomb flavored tablets that are eventually upgraded to Android 3.1. We should hear about that Android OS build sometime during the Google I/O conference being held in San Francisco May 10th and 11th.

Is Android 3.1 the next version of Honeycomb?

We tend to not look too deeply into this sort of thing, because it's just far too easy to edit a build.prop file to show whatever Android version you want. But between our own Google Analytics, plus the help of a little bird or two, it's starting to look like there's an Android 3.1 version of Honeycomb undergoing testing.

We're not expecting this to be the convergence of Honeycomb and Gingerbread back into some uber-phone/tablet Android OS -- that's most likely going to be in the "I" version of Android. Hopefully we'll get a peek at that at Google IO here in a few short weeks. But in the meantime, we certainly wouldn't look down on an improved version of Honeycomb.