Korean-based Hard Kernel were kind enough to pass along some information about their ODROID Entertainment Device. Packed with great specs, it’s definitely a unique looking device. It’s pretty obvious from the looks of it, but their rep tells us that the unit is based on games as right now it’s among the top categories in the iTunes catalog. Speaking of Apple, we’re also told that the ODROID uses the same chipset as the iPhone 3GS.



Here are a couple of other notable specs:

* Memory: ROM: 2GB(TFLASH)/ RAM: 512 MB(DDR2)
* Display: 3.5″ TFT-LCD capacitive touch screen/ 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution
* Device Control: 4way direction-pad, 8keys, Touch-sensitive volume control
* Connectivity : Bluetooth® 2.X EDR and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets, Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11b/g
* Input and Output: 3.5 mm audio jack, HDMI type-C Connector, TTA-20 (USB, Charging, Line-out/in)
* Audio: AAC, AAC+, MP3
* Video: MP4, H.263, H.264, Xvid, Dvix
* Battery: Lithium-ion 1300 mAh battery
* Storage & Expansion Slot: Standard SD/SDHC card (up to 32GB)
* Special Features: Accelerometer sensor, HDMI output

What do you guys think?

Given the current state of Android games, is this something you’d consider? Your thoughts on all those buttons?

You know that HTC Hero that is rumored to hit Sprint sometime over the next few months? That one that’s allegedly going to be up for pre-order at Best Buy stores in a few weeks? Yeah, well it ain’t gonna look like the Hero overseas. If the images here prove to be right, the US version will not have the HTC chin we’ve all come to (ahem) love.



According to a site called 8080.net, the phone you’re looking at is the Hero200 which recently received its FCC approval. Aside from the design changes, what else is different? It’s hard to say. When it comes to the under-the-hood stuff, all we know is that this has a 528MHz Qualcomm processor, 288MB RAM/512MB of ROM, and a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus. All the same as the UK edition.

One of the things that I hate the most about buying smartphones is that the price you see typically isn’t the real price of the phone. You have to hope for instant discounts and often you need to mail in rebates.

htc-hero-bestbuy

Sprint has announced that on October 11 it will be offering the HTC Hero Android phone to its customers for $179.99 after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate. Best Buy is offering a sweeter deal for the same phone though.

Best Buy will give shoppers who get the Hero for Sprint at Best Buy Mobile the full $150 rebate instantly. That means no mailing in receipts and waiting to get your money. You can get the Hero in Best Buy on October 11.

One of the things I hate about riding in the car with my dad is that he only listens to talk radio. If I wanted to hear people talk I could stay home all day with the wife and her friends (don’t worry she doesn’t read this site). There are fans of talk radio though and there is a new Android app just for you.

juicy-android-app

Juicy Development has announced that its Talk Radio app originally developed for the iPhone is now available on Android platforms. The app uses the location aware nature of Android devices to locate top talk radio stations in your area.

Once you find talk stations you want to listen to they can be streamed right over the Android device. The app tracks popular talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and others on AM and FM frequencies. The app is available on the Android market now for $1.99.

The guys over at Engadget were able to play with the new T-Mobile Pulse and lucky for us, they recorded the experience. The video is short at just over 2 minutes, but it gives us a glimpse into how T-Mobile and Huawei changed the interface up.

There’s a 9-pane (3×3) home screen which seems somewhat confusing at first. We could see it become pretty convenient once acclimated to it.

Do you remember way back in the early 1800’s when we were all waiting for the first Android Phone to be announced and the entire universe was hoping that it was one of HTC’s new pieces of kit in the “Touch” line? Check the archives – for several months people were persistently suggesting that an Android-based Touch Diamond, Touch Pro or best of all – Touch HD – would be the ultimate Android hardware.

Soon it could be a reality.

htc-touch-hd

Several sources are reporting that the original HTC Touch HD running Windows Mobile 6.1 will be injected with pure nirvana and will become the Android-based HTC Touch HD 2. While the HTC Android’s now run 528MHz processors the Touch HD 2 will be hooked up with a 628MHz version of the Qualcomm chip. Not exactly Snapdragon speed but certainly an upgrade that should quell concerns of OS lag. Other rumored goodies include 3.8-inch touchsreen and 480×800 display according to the leaked info.

Here is yet another twitter client for Windows Mobile – Panoramic moTweets. Here is its feature list:

* Support for multiple Twitter accounts
* Ability to upload pictures using your device’s camera or from the photo album
* Post your location manually or by using your device GPS
* Tiny URL Support
* Two skin colors
* Finger friendly, kinetic scrolling menus
* ReTweet, Follow, Unfollow, Direct messages, Replies, Favorites and much more!

moTweets allows you to Twitter on the go while utilizing the powerful features of your Windows Mobile phone. Users will be able to upload photos taken from their device’s camera or post their location using the built in GPS. Other notable features include: support for multiple Twitter accounts, custom skins, a finger pressable interface and integration with TinyURL.

motweets02

Nokia launches a new service to allow web and handset software developers to create and integrate their own applications and services with Ovi mapping and navigation APIs

Nokia has launched a new Ovi applications programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK), enabling developers to use its mapping and navigation services and integrate their own applications.

The Ovi API and SDK Beta were created to provide an easier method of developing and creating their own applications to be used on Nokia handsets as well as integrate their own services in to existing Ovi applications.

Nokia confirmed it will begin rolling out a number of its web and mobile Ovi API’s and this year, starting with Ovi Maps Player API and Ovi Navigation Player API, which will allow developers to create applications for specific geographic areas, such as additional information on local attractions and services themselves using the SDK.

Applications developed through the Ovi SDK and Ovi API will be available through the Ovi Store in 2010.

Nokia executive vice president of services Niklas Savander said. “The API will simplify the development of applications. It's been too cumbersome in the past to make native apps,” said Savander.

“All this will change. The apps will work on the web and Nokia Symbian devices. The apps will be more personal and relevant, and also means better business opportunities because it will enable better search.”

As much as we’d love to believe otherwise, our gut and Verizon’s track record are both telling us that the BL40 probably bears no resemblance to the Chocolate Touch that Big Red’s about to get. That doesn’t mean LG’s gorgeous mile-long slab isn’t coming to North America, though — we’d heard a long while back that it might be coming to Telus, whose new HSPA network is currently slated for an October launch. Coincidentally, fresh PR out of corporate reveals that the phone will be hitting “the rest of the world” in October following European kickoffs in the middle of this month, and if this isn’t the perfect launch device for a brand new Canadian network, we really can’t think what is. One way or another, LG says the phone will ultimately end up launching in 50 countries around the world — so no matter where you are, you’ve got about a 1 in 4 chance you’ll get a shot at this in the coming months without calling up your importer and taking out a second mortgage.

The Android market has come a long way since its inception and while still considerably behind the Apple App store as far the numbers tell, the market itself may be better all around. I mean out of 70,000 apps in the App Store I’d venture to guess about 12,000 are “pull my finger” apps. Newly added to the Android market are:

* Application screenshots
* Promotional icons
* Improved application descriptions

Also added according to my bud at HTCSource are sports, health, themes and comic categories. No word on when exactly this 1.6 update will drop, but Motorola is expected to ship their upcoming, as of yet unannounced devices with the update already installed. T-mobile and Verizon are expected to follow suit sometime soon. I hope that everyone will get to take advantage of these features so MyTouch and G1 customers aren’t left waiting in the wings for long.

LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in mobile communications, today announced the worldwide retail release of the highly anticipated new Chocolate (LG-BL40). The stunning fourth handset of the Black Label Series will be available in Europe from mid-September before making its way around the world.

With the introduction of this bold new shape, the new Chocolate is essentially reinventing the way consumers view and use mobile phones. Designed with sleek sophistication, the strikingly unconventional 4-inch wide screen opens up an enlarged and more optimal space for “on-the-go” computing, allowing for an entirely new mobile experience that raises the bar of innovation.

Users will see things differently with the widened 21:9 panoramic display that establishes a new level of visual comfort for the reading of web pages and e-mail and dramatically brings videos and games to life with cinematic flair. Going wide also allows for the dual screen era to finally be brought to handsets for enhanced usability, which when combined with LG’s upgraded and intuitive S-Class UI brings a whole new meaning to the words “user friendly”.

“The new LG Chocolate will dramatically change the way we interact with our phones,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The new Chocolate reflects the originality and sophistication of the Black Label Series and like its predecessor, we are confident that the new Chocolate will create its own legacy and further enhance our standing in the market.”

Beginning from the UK, the new LG Chocolate will be released across the Europe in September and will be expanded to the rest of the world from October 2009.

* * *

See Things Differently
• Mobile web browsing is now a breeze with the new Chocolate’s 4-inch, 21:9 HD LCD that eliminates unnecessary side-scrolling; 7.2 HSDPA provides speedier internet and e-mail
• Enjoy a panoramic multimedia experience featuring a theatre-like movie player and enriched image and document viewer through the wide screen
• Utilize the extra space with Dual Screen UI which can intelligently display two different types of content simultaneously

Touch Things Differently
• Enjoy simplified touchscreen navigation with LG’s upgraded S-Class UI which offers the best in finger-friendly 3D graphics, intuitive responsiveness and easier accessibility to applications
• With one-touch copy and paste, transfer content even more quickly and effortlessly
• Thanks to the wider screen, discover a refreshingly new hands-on experience for a multitude of tasks ranging from texting to gaming

Style Things Differently
• Irresistibly slim shape, glossy black finish and iconic red highlights create a sense of subtle, chic luxury which preserves the new Chocolate’s design identity
• Curved scratch-resistant glass that seamlessly encases the phone and provides a smooth, elegant surface which will always look flawlessly clean and alluring
• The 4-inch HD LCD opens up a wider space to showcase and accentuate your personal style; enhanced customization features allow you to express yourself through wallpapers, themes and ringtones created from your own multimedia content

Facebook is rapidly increasing its standing in the mobile world, with the company claiming 65 million users logged on via mobile last month.

And at the Nokia World event, director of Facebook Mobile, Henri Moissinac, said it was driving App Store traffic too.

He claimed half of users had linked their iPhone and iPod touch apps to Facebook via the Facebook Connect technology that's increasing employed by developers so you can send and compare high scores from within apps.

Facebook also announced it was extending its Facebook Connect technology to mobile. Previously it's only been available for web and iPhone.

"Apps are better when you can play them with your friends. With Facebook Connect for mobile, you will now be able to share them with your friends," Moissinac was reported as saying by DigitalBeat.

"We can make the whole web social. Now we are going to do the same with mobile."

ABI Research forecasts that the number of mobile cloud computing subscribers worldwide will grow rapidly over the next five years, rising from 42.8 million subscribers in 2008, (approximately 1.1% of all mobile subscribers) to just over 998 million in 2014 (nearly 19%). Mobile cloud applications move the computing power and data storage away from mobile phones and into the cloud, bringing apps and mobile computing to not just smartphone users but a much broader range of mobile subscribers.
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ABI Research recently released a major study of mobile Cloud computing which the company believes is the first published report to examine this disruptive technology model in depth.

According to senior analyst Mark Beccue, “From 2008 through 2010, subscriber numbers will be driven by location-enabled services, particularly navigation and map applications. A total of 60% of the mobile Cloud application subscribers worldwide will use an application enabled by location during these years.”

Some quite innovative applications are already commercially available. Lock manufacturer Schlage, or example, has launched LiNK - a keyless lock system for the home that enables subscribers to remotely control not only the door lock, but heating/cooling, security cameras and light monitors, all via PC or mobile device.

Business productivity applications will soon dominate the mix of mobile cloud applications, particularly collaborative document sharing, scheduling, and sales force management apps.

ABI Research expects some or all of the major PaaS platforms — Google, Amazon AWS, and Force.com - to market their mobile capabilities aggressively starting in 2010.

Beccue concludes by reiterating his finding that, “By 2014, mobile cloud computing will become the leading mobile application development and deployment strategy, displacing today’s native and downloadable mobile applications.”

ABI Research’s new study “Mobile Cloud Computing” details the mobile applications that will lead the growth, the key technologies, players and initiatives involved, new business models that will be introduced, and the barriers that must be overcome. Forecasts include subscribers and revenue by region and application category using mobile cloud applications.

It forms part of The Mobile Consumer Research Service.