Android Atlas

Verizon posts Droid X teaser site

This post was updated on Thursday, June 17, at 12:39 p.m., PT.

Well, this certainly takes some of the mystery out of the June 23 event, but now we know that Verizon's next Droid model will be the Droid X. The carrier posted a teaser site for the handset on Thursday morning with some little nuggets of information. When you rollover the center image on Verizon's site, you'll see that the Droid X will have HDMI output, a 4.3-inch display, and a "720P screen." A 720p resolution screen? As CNET reader Adam … Read more

Samsung Captivate Galaxy S heading to AT&T

We weren't really expecting to hear anything until June 29, but we now have our first confirmed Galaxy S phone sighting and it's been identified as the Samsung Captivate.

AT&T revealed on Thursday that it will offer the Captivate in the coming months, but it didn't provide a specific date or pricing. This announcement follows Samsung's worldwide launch of the Galaxy S i9000 and shows that the company isn't limiting the Galaxy S to just one type of design.

As you can see from the photo, the Captivate has more of a hard-edged … Read more

Shazam-rival SoundHound in action (video)

Audiophiles who have an iPhone or Android phone should do themselves a favor and try out song-searching app SoundHound.

SoundHound (free or $4.99) gives you five ways to name an unknown tune, and delivers the expected artist bios and related video content. It also throws in lyrics, and to its credit, doesn't yank them from the more limited free version.

Our favorite feature, unfortunately found only in the iPhone edition for now, meshes with your on-board iPod to pony up lyrics and bio information for songs you already own.

--SoundHound Infinity for iPhone ($4.99)

--SoundHound for iPhone (free)… Read more

Samsung adds Galaxy 3, Galaxy 5 to its Android arsenal

The stream of new Samsung handset continues with this week's announcement of the Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5. Currently being shown off at CommunicAsia, the handsets are slated for European and Asian markets starting next month. The i5800 Galaxy 3 is aimed at the younger, social networking market and the i5500 Galaxy 5 should appeal to the style-conscious customers. Both use Android 2.1 although I expect updates to 2.2 Froyo before too long.

Looking very similar to a Corby handset, the Samsung Galaxy 3 has a 3.2-inch (240x400-pixel resolution) WQVGA TFT touch screen in addition to … Read more

Move fast: Speedy Swype keyboard for Android now in limited public beta

Like Shapewriter for the iPhone, Swype is a gestural alternative for the virtual keyboard that spells out words when you trace them with your fingertip. The software senses a finger press to mark the beginning of a word and a lift to denote the the end, then works out one or more possible combinations to make sense of the jumbled letters in between.

Most of the time Swype gets it right, and if you're a slow touch-screen typist for whom the hunt-and-peck method isn't going so hot, now's your chance to try out Swype.

Swype hasn't … Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 3: Android iPhone 4 killer and Android viruses (podcast)

Motorola has big plans for its iPhone 4 killer, including a 2Ghz processor. Norton Security is out to defend against Android viruses, but do they exist? What's the deal with the Droid 2, the Droid X, and the HTC Aria? Join Justin Eckhouse along with guest hosts Bonnie Cha and Wilson Tang for a special Android Atlas Weekly from New York.

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EPISODE 3

Stories

Sprint Overstates Early EVO 4G Sales

Motorola Droid for Verizon gets a price drop

Droid 2, Droid X prepped for summer launches… Read more

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 does Android for cheap

On Wednesday, Sony Ericsson introduced the latest member of its Xperia family, the Xperia X8. The company did not release specific launch dates but it did say that the Android-based smartphone would sell for less than 200 Euros (about $250), so it will offer customers in Europe a more affordable choice than the pricier Xperia X10.

Given the lower price point, the Xperia X8 doesn't offer all the same features of the X10. It has a smaller 3-inch, HVGA capacitive touch screen, and a 3.2-megapixel camera versus the X10's 8.1-megapixel camera. The handset still runs Sony … Read more

Samsung touts new tablet, smartphones

Samsung will release its Galaxy Tab tablet no later than the third quarter of this year, revealed J.K. Shin, president of the company's mobile communications division, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Tuesday.

Based on the few specs and a photo leaked earlier this month, the Galaxy Tab will sport a high-resolution 7-inch display, making it more compact than Apple's iPad with its 9.7-inch screen. Blog site Samsung Hub (not affiliated with Samsung) said the 7-inch model will hit the market in August, and that two others may follow: an 8-inch version in … Read more

Samsung gets Android first with Galaxy Beam

Samsung has been very busy lately pumping out a steady flow of Android handsets. Indeed, almost every time I open my RSS readers, I'm learning about another upcoming Galaxy model.

Tuesday was no exception as I read that the i8520 Galaxy Beam will head to Singapore next month. Formerly known as the "Halo," the Galaxy Beam will be the first Android handset to feature a pico-projector. Created by Texas Instruments, the projector has 6 lumens and can project images anywhere from 5 to 50 inches.

Aside from the projector, the Beam boasts impressive hardware. Powered by Android … Read more