Engadget's blurry first look at Motorola's tablet for Verion

The end of the year is coming, which means there’s a bit of a lull in terms of new gadgets. Instead we get a bunch of teasing from companies preparing to showcase their newest products at CES. Today we have two big, possibly related teases for the Consumer Electronics Show 2011.

The first big tease comes from Motorola. The company responsible for the Droid released a video today detailing the history of tablets, complete with a few jabs at competing tablets from Apple and Samsung. The video ends with the new red Motorola logo under a veiled tablet, with a bee flying around it. Seems like an obvious nod to the Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet that keeps popping up from Motorola. It was last seen on stage at D: Dive Into Mobile in prototype form {Engadget}.

The other big tease comes as a bit of a gimme, with Verizon teasing LTE Android devices on January 6 {Twitter}. January 6 happens to be date where Verizon’s CEO will give the opening keynote presentation. So, it should be expected that the devices will be on display at the show. It could even be possible that we’ll see the Motorola Honeycomb tablet as part of that presentation. Shortly after the device appeared on stage Engadget scored a few images of a very similar device with Verizon branding. Of course, the tablet won’t be ready for launch at the show, but we’ll all be able to get a bit more information on the device, and other LTE Android devices.

The next Nexus?

The phone is rumored to be the Nexus S. It’s “S” and not “Two” because, as the rumor goes, Samsung is developing the phone with a build similar to the company’s Galaxy S smartphones. At the Web 2.0 Summit Eric Schmidt just so happened to pull out a phone that looks just like what Engadget seems to have confirmed is the Galaxy S.

At the press conference Schmidt’s phone had a piece of tape over the manufacturers logo, but the phone’s appearance seems unmistakable. He would only refer to the phone as an “unannounced phone” from an “announced manufacturer,” that was running Gingerbread. The phone is also apparently touting NFC, which some believe may eventually make credit cards obsolete by allowing you to just pass your phone over a scanner to make a transaction, or perform other tasks such as opening hotel room doors.{Engadget}

While showing the phone Schmidt announced that Gingerbread would be released within a  few weeks {Engadget}. Hopefully the Nexus S will be accompanying the launch just as the Nexus One accompanied the launch of Android 2.1, and was the first to receive the 2.2 upgrade.

The main difference between the US and European is that the US version of the Galaxy Tab loses the voice functionality that can be found in the European versions.  The US Galaxy Tab will be available on all US carriers, but those contracts will be data-only, so you can’t use the Galaxy Tab as a huge smartphone (which would have been cool).  The only option you have is to use Skype (assuming you have a Verizon Tab), or video-conferencing apps like Fring or Qik. {Engadget}

If you’d rather not be tethered to a two-year contract on a data-only tablet, Samsung has said a WiFi only version is in the works as well.  The WiFi only version would be more expensive, since it lacks the subsidy the carriers would provide.  Note that those prices have not yet been announced.  Also, the Galaxy Tab will work on 3G networks, but not Sprint’s 4G network, so you’re probably best just sticking with a Verizon version for pure coverage availability and the exclusive apps.

Speaking of prices, the only ones we have for the Galaxy Tab are for accessories and they’re quite expensive to say the least.  The cheapest accessory announced by Samsung is the Desktop Dock, which will prop the device up to make it easier to view content, and charge the device.  The Desktop Dock also includes an HDMI port, and will cost $49.99.  The other two accessories are the Keyboard Dock (has a full-size keyboard, and includes a stereo output jack), and the Car/GPS Dock (seems self-explanatory), both of which cost $99.99 each.  By comparison, Apple charges $29 for an iPad Dock and $69 for an iPad Keyboard Dock.

To better compete with the iPad, Samsung has added the Media Hub to the US version of the device (replacing the Reader Hub), which will give users a chance to buy or rent movies and TV shows.  Samsung has announced that it will have next-day content available from MTV Networks, NBC, Universal and Paramount at launch.  The content will be viewable on any Media Hub device (read: Galaxy S devices), and can be output via HDMI to be viewed on a TV screen.  Not as universal as the iTunes Store, but it’s a nice addition.

Oh yeah, the device itself is pretty good as well.  Dual cameras (5 MP on the back, and 1.3 MP on the front), Android 2.2,  and a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024×600 (better pixel-density than the iPad, but still lacking compared to the iPhone 4).  It weighs about 13 ounces, and is only 12 mm thick, so slightly heavier and thicker than the newest Amazon Kindle.

The T-Mobile G2 is a smartphone designed largely with HSPA+ (T-Mobile’s 3G network with “4G speeds”), and seems to be the only phone currently available running on the stock Android 2.2.  Gone is the chin design of the G1, which is replaced by what looks like a riff on the Nexus One with a touchpad rather than a trackball.  The design is complete with a 3.7-inch screen.  Like the T-Mobile G1, the G2 has a slide-out landscape keyboard, but now without being shifted to the left side due to the lack of the chin. {Mashable}

The G2 also sports a 5 MP camera with LED flash that can shoot 720p video, has 4 GB of internal memory and an 8 GB microSD card installed.  Unfortunately, however, the G2 has an 800 MHz Snapdragon processor, which is relatively weak compared to other smartphones.  Like some other recent Android phones, the G2 also has Swype installed for easy text input should you not want to use the physical keyboard.  Of course, there’s also use the stock Android touchscreen keyboard if you find touch typing easier than swyping.

The Bing app provides an easy way for Android users to use the search engine, and it looks nice, as we’d expect.  The app includes the Bing Image, and changes everyday, just as the website does.  The app also includes Bing Maps complete with directions and traffic information, but it lacks the voice navigation that is present in all Android phone thanks to Google.  Bing also matches Google with voice input, but again doesn’t go as far as Google does with it’s new Voice Commands feature.  In all, the Bing app forAndroid is essentially the same as the Bing app for iOS, but it’s more surprising to find it on Google’s OS. {Mashable}

The most interesting part of the Bing for Android app is the fact that only certain Android users can even use it.  The app is only available to Android users on the Verzion network.  So, only those with some sort of Droid (or the LG Ally) are able to get it.  We can’t see the logic in Microsoft striking such an exclusive deal for an app.  Verizon does seem to have the most popular Android phones on the market, but leaving everyone else out doesn’t make any sense.  Although Verizon is the largest carrier in the US, an app doesn’t seem to be the type of thing that would convince someone to try the network in the same way that a sexy phone (e.g. the iPhone on AT&T) would. Plus, we’re sure that most people who use Android do so – at least in part, because of the integration with Google and the various Google apps like Google Voice. We won’t call this another KIN style meltdown just yet, but it’d be really surprising to see the Bing app become a significant driver of mobile traffic for the soon-to-be second place search engine.

We all knew it was coming eventually.  Last year Verizon and Motorola saw great success with the release of the original Droid, which was the  flagship Android phone for at least a few weeks.  The Droid continues to be a great success, being that it is a great phone with a lot of advertising behind it.  Makes sense that there would be a follow up apart from the Droid Incredible and Droid X.

Today Verizon has finally made the Droid 2, the true successor to the Droid, official.  The Droid 2 looks fairly similar to the first Droid, but the corners are rounded where the Droid had sharp angles.  Gone is the bar under the screen that stayed put when the screen slides up, now it slides with the rest of the front.  Also gone is the D-pad, replaced with arrow keys and an “OK” button, which make the keyboard feel more natural to some.

For specs, the Droid 2 ships with Android 2.2 installed, so no worrying about updates.  The mobile hotspot functionality on Froyo will cost an extra $20 a month.  With the Droid 2 we also have a 5 MP camera, 8 GB of flash storage (with and 8 GB microSD card included for 16 GB of storage), and DLNA streaming.

The phone will be available for pre-order on Wednesday, and will be available in Verizon stores on Thursday for $199 on a two-year contract.  To be nice to current subscribers, Verizon is taking a play from AT&T’s book and allowing anyone who has a Verizon contract ending this year to upgrade to the Droid 2, or any other smartphone, without penalty.  You may want to wait, however, because the R2-D2 version of the Droid 2 will be available online starting in September. {Engadget}

Now it looks like the Nexus One is back.  The phone is now replacing the Google Ion (better known as the HTC Dream or myTouch 3G) as the phone for developers to buy.  If you’re a developer, you can buy the phone unlocked at $529.  It comes preloaded with Android 2.1, but Google promises that it would be given an update to 2.2 shortly after it’s turned on. {Engadget}

While the developer Nexus One is unlocked, it only has bands that are capable of working on the T-Mobile network.  It’s also unclear if the phone can be rooted to allow for custom ROMs, but that will surely be figured out by some developers.

HTC also recently announced that the Nexus One would be shipping with S-LCD (Super LCD) screens rather than the short-of-supply AMOLED screens.  Google is still listing the Nexus One as having the old screen, but perhaps sometime soon the phones will start to ship with the newer screens that have the added advantage of. better visibility in direct sunlight. {Gizmodo}

BlackBerry Bold 9700

$49.99 {Amazon}
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is the most expensive smartphone on this list, at $49.99.  As with most BlackBerrys, the Bold 9700 isn’t terribly exciting.  It has a 2.4-inch screen, and a full QWERTY keyboard, and has the newer trackpad rather than scroll button that’s been met with mixed reactions.  Be forewarned: it will likely be obsolete after the BlackBerry and AT&T press conference on August 3rd, where we’ll hopefully see a phone running the new BlackBerry 6.  But for now, and for under $50, the Bold 9700 is still a pretty good choice.

Motorola Backflip

$0.01 {Amazon}
The Backflip is a strange phone.  You’ve probably seen the advertisements on TV touting the phone’s social networking capability using the Motoblur features.  What isn’t clear is that the phone’s design is a bit… backwards.  When folded closed, the keyboard is directly opposite the touchscreen rathe than sliding underneath the screen like it’s sister phone, the T-Mobile Cliq.  Behind the screen when the keyboard is folded out is a touchpad, with can be a bit confusing to use.  It still runs on Android 1.5, but will be updated to Android 2.1 within a few months.  For those who like to spend a lot of time on social networks, the Backflip is still a good choice.

Dell has been touting it’s massive Streak smartphone for quite some time now.  The phone has been out in the UK for some time now, and is supposed to be coming to the US in “late July.”  It’s late July now, and we haven’t heard a lot from Dell about the release of the product.

On Tuesday Dell posted a video on YouTube announcing that, as rumored, the US version of the Dell Streak will only be available on AT&T’s network.  So it looks like that for now those hoping to get the 5-inch smartphone/tablet on T-Mobile will just have to wait, or deal with EDGE data.  The video also showed off the Streak running it’s customized skin on top of Android 2.1.  The phone will ship (and has shipped in the UK) running on Android 1.6, and an update to Froyo has been promised for shortly after launch.

On the same day Dell posted and took down a blog post detailing the pricing of the Dell Streak.  Before it was taken down sites like Engadget and Boy Genius Report were able to pull the important information.  It looks like Dell is planning on selling the Streak on AT&T for $299 with a two-year contract.  For those who don’t want to buy a contract, or just want to use the phone as a small Wi-Fi tablet (not a terrible idea for those who hate the iPad), it will be available unlocked for $529.  It seems a bit expensive, but given that the phone is almost in the realm of a tablet, and the unlocked Nexus One ran for $580, it’s not a terrible price by any means.

As for that “late July” time frame, we have no idea.  There’s still a few days left for Dell to release the smartphone, but it seems almost unlikely it’ll be out before the end of the month.  If you can’t wait for the phone, you can always sign up with Dell to be notified when it finally does go up for sale.

The Acer will cost the US buyer $600

The smartphone is dubbed the Acer Stream, and it runs on a modified Android 2.1.  The Android version actually looks pretty slick, with the navigation bar halfway down the screen rather than on top.  Below the bar is a collection of 6 apps that can be changed by the user.  Above the bar is what appears to be screens of recently used functions, though that’s a bit unclear.  It looks fairly similar to the cards used in WebOS for multitasking.  Apps are accessed by flicking upwards, and revealing the rest of the apps which have to be navigated by flicking left and right between pages.  To add to the difference, the navigation bar is pushed to the bottom while inside any app.

The Stream is powered by a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, just like the Nexus One and other similar phones.  It has a 5 MP camera capable of 720p video without a flash, and HDMI out.  Acer is marketing the phone as a media-centric smartphone, so the company expects us to watch movies on the 3.7-inch AMOLED display, again just like the Nexus One.  It’s an interesting choice since HTC just stopped using the AMOLED screens on the Nexus One and Desire since they can’t be made fast enough.  Lack of AMOLED screens is the main cause of the constant waits for the Droid Incredible.

The phone, as of now will only be available via UK online retailer Expansys for £399.  For US buyers, that’s about $600 with the current exchange.  It is unlocked, but still more expensive than the Nexus One was before Google stopped selling it last week.