Android Atlas

Samsung is putting an Intel chip in an Android Galaxy Tab. That's unusual.

As CNET reported back on May 20, Samsung is slated to disclose -- either privately or publicly -- the next Intel-based Galaxy tablet at Computex, which starts June 4. It will run Android 4.2.2 and sport a 1,280 x 800 display.

What's odd is that Samsung is a chipmaking giant in its own right and considered an Intel rival in Android mobile devices. For example, its Exynos series of chips power the Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy tablets.

But it may have good … Read more

Motorola needs a smartphone hit badly, and it should have happened already. Its last innovative smartphone was the Droid Razr Maxx, way back in January 2012. While its battery lasted a phenomenal 15 hours, a number that newer handsets can't yet match, this is an inexplicable handset drought for the company. Motorola has a long and storied history of shaking up the market with earth-shattering products. That's why I know the company has what it takes to craft the Moto X, now officially due by October, into a hit. And with such stiff competition in the mobile space, … Read more

There are days when it's so challenging to be a technology writer, I can only imagine what it's like to be a technology consumer.

For example, and I'm just ballparking here, there are some 37,000 smartphones you can buy today. Whoops, hang on, just got a press release from HTC; make that 37,001. Oh, and here comes Android 4.3 -- wonder when I'll be able to load that on my S3. Hey, Best Buy took $50 off the iPhone last weekend. Must mean Apple's announcing a new model at next month's WWDC, … Read more

KANSAS CITY -- Google is in it to win it when it comes to building fiber broadband networks. Despite speculation to the contrary, Google sees its Google Fiber broadband business as a moneymaker, and not just an overpriced test network.

And it's very likely that the company will continue expanding the service into other cities willing to partner to keep costs down.

Speaking at the Fiber-to-the-Home Council meeting here late Wednesday, Milo Medin, vice president of access services for Google, told an audience of city planners, engineers, and city mayors that Google is not just building a testbed for … Read more

HTC is expected to release a huge 5.9-inch smartphone in the second half of the year, a number of sources report.

This fall should see the arrival of a larger, more powerful take on the HTC One experience, according to Taiwanese analyst Laura Chen.

Aside from the ultralarge screen size, the only other detail tipped for the device is an "upgraded" processor, though even that specific is unclear.

Considering HTC's history of working with Qualcomm, I'd infer that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chipset could power the phablet.

Prolific handset tipster @evleaks has also apparently gathered … Read more

HTC just made all the speculation about an stock Android Version of its HTC One smartphone official today. The company's blog announced that the HTC One with what it calls the Nexus User Experience will arrive on June 26 for $599.

CNET did previously confirm that HTC was indeed working on a version of the HTC One that will run pure Android. Now the shroud of mystery has been lifted. In fact, the coveted device was shown off today by Google's Sundar Pichai at the D11 technology conference.

Contrasting Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S4, which will also be … Read more

Not to be outdone by T-Mobile, Verizon sets June 6 as the launch date for the BlackBerry Q10. Priced at $199.99, the long-anticipated device features a superbly crafted physical keyboard plus the latest BlackBerry 10 software.

Verizon is now taking preorders for the Q10 and expects to stock its store shelves with the phone by June 6. This development will no doubt come as welcome news for the BlackBerry faithful. Many in this camp are zealously addicted to typing on real keys and poo-poo messaging via touch screen.

And what a keyboard the BlackBerry Q10 sports. Based on the … Read more

GamePop will continue to hand out free gaming consoles for the next month in the hopes that it will spur preorder interest for the upstart game system that plays Android games on your TV, its maker announced on Thursday.

BlueStacks, which also makes an eponymous desktop Android app player, has extended the GamePop console giveaway, saying in a prepared statement that "...due to the high demand of preorders it is extending its offer of giving the console itself away free to the end of June." You can preorder the console for free at GamePop.tv. … Read more

AT&T may soon offer a 4G LTE variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, if recent FCC documents are to be believed.

Engadget spied the 8.0-inch SGH-I467 tablet wandering the virtual halls of the FCC with support for 850/1900 GSM and LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, and 17. In other words, all the necessary radios to work with AT&T's burgeoning 4G LTE network.

No new details were provided for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, so it's assumed everything else remains the same as the Wi-Fi model. As a reminder, the … Read more