Entry-level Android 2.2 “with Google”

As Pocket-lint reported recently, Huawei is launching an affordable Android 2.2 mobile phone on Thursday, which will be known as the Ideos.

Ideos isn’t just a funky word plucked out of thin air, it actually derived from Industrial Design Evolution Operating System (IDEOS), which is something the Chinese company says the handset represents.

But we know that you aren’t interested in etymology, you want to know the hardcore details.

The most significant point is that the Ideos is a “with Google” branded phone, so like the Nexus One, it is a raw Android device, unskinned. Huawei stressed that the Ideos had been co-developed with Google to ensure that it received over the air updates to Android with no delays.

As such, Huawei is claiming a world’s first for the device, saying it is the first affordable “with Google” handset to come pre-installed with Android 2.2.

By affordable, Huawei suggests the retail price will be somewhere around ?99-129 on pay as you go, but this will of course be network dependent and they couldn’t tell us what network it would be available on, just that it will be landing mid-October.

Internally you get a 528MHz processor befitting its budget status and a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen display with a limited resolution of 320 x 240, the two points that might be the obvious drawback of the Ideos.

On the connectivity front you are well catered for however, with Wi-Fi n joining HSDPA for a speedy data connection. You also get the usual suspects of Bluetooth, GPS and a bunch of sensors to give you auto-rotation of the screen and so on.

Around the back is a 3.2-megapixel camera which comes with autofocus, but no flash.

Of course you get all the benefits of Android 2.2, which means storing apps on the microSD card (up to 16GB supported), you’ll be able to make it into a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot to connect up to 8 devices, and you should get Flash support in the browser.

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Phones Mobile phones Android Huawei Huawei Ideos U8150 Huawei Ideos

Huawei Ideos wants to be Nexus One for the people originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:00:00 +0100

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Mystery invite arrives in our inbox

Well, well, well….what have we here then?

We get a lot of exciting invites popping through the Pocket-lint letter box (we’re quite a big deal don’t you know?) so it’s often hard to cut the wheat from the chaff.

But one invite that did come our way, and straight away got the geek-juices in us flowing, was this one from LG regarding the Optimus.

Now, it’s all very mysterious, with just the outline of either a smartphone or a tablet on show and the words, “Coming Soon”.

Could it be the Optimus Pad, that has been leaked onto the web? Or could we be looking at the grand unveiling of LG’s new Android and Windows Phone 7 range?

Who knows? We’ll just have to wait until 14 September to find out.

Related links:

• News – LG Optimus Series: LG’s new Android and Windows 7 range
• News – LG Optimus Pad to take on Samsung and Apple
• News – LG Optimus Z: Heavyweight Android handset launching in South Korea

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LG LG Optimus LG Optimus Pad LG Optimus 7 Tablets Phones Mobile phones

LG Optimus to go live in September originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:43:00 +0100

View full post on Pocket-lint : phones

Mystery invite arrives in our inbox

Well, well, well….what have we here then?

We get a lot of exciting invites popping through the Pocket-lint letter box (we’re quite a big deal don’t you know?) so it’s often hard to cut the wheat from the chaff.

But one invite that did come our way, and straight away got the geek-juices in us flowing, was this one from LG regarding the Optimus.

Now, it’s all very mysterious, with just the outline of either a smartphone or a tablet on show and the words, “Coming Soon”.

Could it be the Optimus Pad, that has been leaked onto the web? Or could we be looking at the grand unveiling of LG’s new Android and Windows Phone 7 range?

Who knows? We’ll just have to wait until 14 September to find out.

Related links:

• News – LG Optimus Series: LG’s new Android and Windows 7 range
• News – LG Optimus Pad to take on Samsung and Apple
• News – LG Optimus Z: Heavyweight Android handset launching in South Korea

Tags:
LG LG Optimus LG Optimus Pad LG Optimus 7 Tablets Phones Mobile phones

LG Optimus to go live in September originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:43:00 +0100

View full post on Pocket-lint : phones

Hands-on the budget Android 2.2 phone

The Huawei Ideos has just been formally announced and Pocket-lint was on the scene to grab some shots of the new budget smartphone.

Packing in Android 2.2 and sporting the “with Google” logo on the rear, the design is interesting. It may be budget, but we like the feel of the 2.8-inch display device. The rear cover felt solid enough nestling in our hand.?

The front controls might not seem like they are in exactly the right order however, as we are used to finding the home button on the far left, rather than sandwiched in the middle. As well as touch controls for back, menu, home and search, you have a four-way controller beneath it. We didn’t find we needed it in our brief play with the handset, but it does mean you can easily navigate menus, something the smaller screen will not be so adept at.

Elsewhere you get a 3.2-megapixel camera and all the benefits of Android 2.2 – that means you can turn it into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot to use the HSDPA data connection on your other?mobile?devices.?

Operation seemed smooth enough, although obviously the screen is of a limited resolution so doesn’t have the impact of some of the mid- and high-end handsets out there.

Huawei is claiming the Ideos as the first affordable Android 2.2 phone to be developed with Google, and carrying its branding, meaning it will benefit from instant upgrades to the Android operating system, although as we understand it, Android 3 will come with a range of minimum hardware specs, so it remains to be seen exactly how these updates will manifest themselves.

Launching mid-October prices are expected to be around ?99-129 as a pay as you go handset.

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Phones Mobile phones Photos Android Huawei Huawei Ideos

PHOTOS: Huawei Ideos originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:00:00 +0100

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IFA 2010: Shows off 10-inch 3D screen without glasses too

Sharp will use the company’s IFA press conference to demo a new range of 3D, without glasses, screens in mobile devices ranging from 3 to 10 inches in size.

The flagship announcement will be an impressive iPhone 4/Samsung Galaxy S looking prototype that like the Fujifilm Real 3D W3 camera just announced weeks ago, features two cameras on the rear to shoot 3D footage.

The concept will, like the Nintendo 3DS, feature a lenticular lens that allows users to view the 3D shots without the need for cumbersome glasses.

When asked when we could expect such a device, a Sharp spokesman confirmed to Pocket-lint that it was planning on launching something before the year was out.

Our man wouldn’t confirm whether that was to the UK, the US, or just Japan, but if you want your 3D on the go, you should be prepared to get very excited.

But Sharp isn’t stopping at just 3 inches. The company is also using IFA to demo two prototype screens; one of 3.8 inches in size and the other 10.1 inches.

Neither will need glasses to enjoy the 3D experience.

No word on when we can expect those, however.

?

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Phones Sharp IFA2010 3DTV Tablets Mobile phones

EXCLUSIVE: Sharp’s new 3D touting shooting phone camera says hello to IFA originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:19:00 +0100

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The Windows Phone 7 development team at Microsoft has completed the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) milestone, ready to pass to various manufacturer and release to market. The team had “ten thousand of Windows Phone 7 devices running automated tests daily” on the development process. It will be interesting to see if it can bring capture the smartphone market share back from Android and iPhone.

[via Windows Team Blog]

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