Another mystery phone destined for Sprint? (Or just random presentation fodder?)

Like our tipster, at first glance we were sure this was a stretched out LG Optimus S when it showed up in some Sprint training materials with no explanation or even a hint attached.  But after a closer look at the buttons, and the area where the screen ends towards the bottom, we're pretty sure it isn't. 

We know that LG has something in the works for Mobile World Congress, but the leaks we've seen of the Optimus 3D don't match up either.  It's not the Optimus Black, or the Optimus 2X that we are currently fondling have for a review either.  In short, we have no idea what it is.  It could be some sort of crazy render -- we've all seen those before, but Sprint has been so quiet about their 2011 line-up we have to wonder if this is something we'll see at their Magical event on Feb 7.  In the end, we decided to share it so we can all discuss it together.  Hit the Android Central Rumored Device forums and share your conspiracy theories and thoughts.  Thanks anon tipster! 

Source: Androidcentral.com

Sony Ericsson Neo hands-on, announcement details leaked

Attention fans of sexy, unreleased hardware -- there's another unofficial hands-on of the Sony Ericsson Neo.  This time its from My Android Life, and there's some beautiful images of the phone itself there for your viewing pleasure.  Just like the Xperia Play we're seeing this device pop up across the web in some lucky hands, so it has to be close to announcement time from SE.  According to My Android Life, it is -- the Neo and Xperia Play will be officially announced at Mobile World Congress.  We'll be there, and anything they have to tell us we'll be sure to tell you guys.

In the meantime, hit the source link and see some great pictures of the Sony Ericsson Neo.  I certainly hope the insides are as nice as the outsides!  [My Android Life]

Source: Androidcentral.com

Samsung Continuum sees first custom ROM

The Samsung Continuum has finally entered the custom ROM scene, courtesy of Fascinate developer and Android Central adviser Adrynalyne.  It's a basic ROM, based on the DL17 release, with none of the bloat and none of the Bing.  In short, it's a de-odexed stock ROM with busybox added, and ready for others to fill in and create a masterpiece.  And Adrynalyne doesn't even have a Continuum, but was able to create this with help from bubby323 and Logan302.  Community effort FTW.

If you rock a Continuum (and I totally would if I had Verizon service here on the frontier) you need to have a look.  Hopefully this is the start of a rich development community for one of the most unique phones of 2010.  [Android Central forums] Thanks for the hard work fellas!

Source: Androidcentral.com 

Rumor: Android 2.4 Coming in April to Add Dual-Core Support; Name Remains Gingerbread?

Pocket-Lint has spoken with a representative from ViewSonic who has confirmed that Android 2.4 is in the works. According to them, this update isn’t exactly “Ice Cream Sandwich” (for you semantics buffs), but a continuation of Gingerbread to add key support for dual-core applications.
This isn’t much different from Android 2.0 being named Eclair, while 2.1 shared the same name upon its release. We got word from a trusted source last week who said something like this would be happening, though we didn’t know to what extent and were left up to our own speculation.
While our source did expressly say this would be “ice cream”, he also noted that – at that particular moment in time – it was just being considered a follow-up build to Gingerbread. (Hence the build number GRI17.)
Debates about the naming and version number aside, the rumor also further confirms Google will maintain two versions of its OS, if true. We expected as much considering how obvious it is that Honeycomb – in its current form – could only really work for large slate devices. We should see all of this and more in April, according to ViewSonic.

Source: Phandroid.com

Xperia Play Announcement Coming at Mobile World Congress

Rob must have been overly excited during the Super Bowl last night as he forgot to mention that official material for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play went live following the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play’s big ad. Particularly on SE’s Facebook, they expressly point to February 13th, 18:00 GMT – that could only mean a Mobile World Congress reveal.

I’m still amused about the fact that they had to announce the announcement, but whatevs. Barcelona is our destination and we’ll keepSony Ericsson at the top of our list of companies to check out as they’re sure to attend this affair with some pretty nice hardware.

Source: Phandroid.com 

Motorola XOOM Super Bowl Ad Airs, Site Goes Live: $800 On February 24th

If you’re watching the Super Bowl, and if you live in America you probably are, you also probably saw the Motorola XOOM commercial. If you didn’t, check it out below:

The Motorola XOOM minisite also went live which offers a pretty in-depth look at the device:

Lastly, Engadget spotted a BestBuy ad for the XOOM and it’s listed at $800 plus a $20 fee for 1GB of monthly data and $80 for 10GB of monthly data:

If it comes out on February 24th as they’re indicating, will you pick it up for the $800 + plan or will the price prevent you?

Source: Phandroid.com

Thunderbolt This Week: Rumored Delay Due to iPhone, Best Buy Pre-Orders Open, Official Giveaways, and More

I’ve said it 10 times before, and I’ll say it again: a Verizon launch isn’t a Verizon launch without a series of rumors and leaks all culminating with official (and quiet) confirmation from either them or a major retailer. The HTC Thunderbolt’s ride has been no different.
A lot of stuff came in over the weekend. Just as we imagined they would thanks to a leaked circular last week, Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for the HTC Thunderbolt. $50 down will get you a spot, of course, but we still don’t know this phone’s release date. For all we know, it may not even be launching February 14th. More on that in a bit.
Folks have also uncovered another phone simulator, this time made for Best Buy’s use. You can check out the virtual preview for the device right here. (You’ll need flash installed, of course.) And to wrap up the Best Buy parade, accessories are landing in their stores, which normally indicates a launch isn’t far off.
We just have to figure out how long “far off” is for Verizon and Best Buy. Rumors from DroidForums – the folks who have been so reliable with Verizon-related information in the past – say the HTC Thunderbolt will be delayed 2-3 weeks from its originally planned February 14th launch, and it’s because of one very fruity reason: they don’t want it to be overshadowed by the launch of the iPhone 4.
There’s also a logistical angle to the move, according to the rumor, as Verizon wants to make sure store traffic doesn’t completely overwhelm them. The two week window would give them time to sell the iPhone and deal with any returns and exchanges without new customers excited for the Thunderbolt having to deal with the chaos. Take this one with a grain of salt.
Finally, a Verizon store opening will be celebrated by giving the Thunderbolt away. The Northampton, MA launch takes place February 12th, and as far as Droid Life is concerned, at least one lucky winner will be walking away with the phone. Let’s hope that the store is stocked to the roof with units to prepare for a February 14th launch after all.

Source: Phandroid.com 

Inventory Shots Galore: Pyramid, Flyer, Desire 2 from HTC, Star Tab and Optimus 3D for LG

A series of new inventory shots have leaked courtesy of fonearena that show a lot of rumored HTC devices and a couple of LG ones. The HTC Pyramid – which was rumored for T-Mobile just last week – pops up alongside the HTC Desire 2 (pictured below, which Engadget confirms is that mystery device that’s been making the rounds.) The HTC Flyer is also present here – the tablet we expect HTC to announce sometime next week.

From LG, the already-announced LG Optimus 3D is shown with another device – the LG Star Tab – that we believe is another rendition of the Optimus Pad / T-Mobile G-Slate. All of this and more should be shown off in full capacity once Mobile World Congress kicks off, and we’ll be right there to cover it.

Source: Phandroid.com

Huawei S7 Slim Tablet Promised to Show Up at Mobile World Congress

Huawei’s been making a strong push to be a provider of high-quality devices as of late, starting with a pair of impressive offerings at CES 2011 – those phones surprised the hair off of me. (No, really, I’m losing hair. This is bad.)
They’re looking to keep that steam going as they’ve just unveiled their new Android tablet on Twitter, the Huawei Ideos S7 Slim. They teased us with a few promotional shots, but the full helping won’t be afforded to us until we trek to Mobile World Congress.

Source: Phandroid.com 

Best Buy opens up in-store pre-orders for HTC Thunderbolt: $50 to claim yours

And with that, it's officially On Like Donkey Kong. A flood of tipsters have confirmed this morning that Best Buy stores around the nation are now accepting pre-orders for HTC's titillating Thunderbolt. We knew good and well this day was coming, but if you've got $50 socked away to put towards it, today's the day to get in line. We're hearing from numerous stores that the phone will be available for pickup on February 14th, so feel free to pre-order two -- you know, for that special someone in your life. Let us know how your experience goes in comments below.

Update: We've got it on good authority that new and upgrade pricing for this here handset is set at $249.99 with a two-year contract.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Source: Engadget.com 

HTC Desire 2 picture leaked, also shows up in Vodafone's inventory

Over the weekend, a surreptitious new photo of the new HTC Desire 2 hit the world wide web, and in addition to the image, the new handset has found its way into Vodafone Germany's inventory system (along with several other goodies) -- meaning that the second coming of the Desire is likely imminent. Word on the street is that it has a Super AMOLED screen of unknown resolution and runs Android 2.3.1 (Gingerbread). Examination of the spy shot reveals that HTC swapped out the tactile buttons of the original Desire for the capacitive variety, added a front facing camera, and made it slightly smaller than its predecessor. It seems that HTC has failed on the 'quietly' part of its slogan, but at least it looks like the company didn't botch the 'brilliant' bit as well. Stay tuned to find out -- Mobile World Congress gets going in under a week, you know.

[Thanks, William and Robert]

Source: Engadget.com

Best Buy ad prices Motorola Xoom at $800, affirms February 24th launch date

The evidence for a Motorola Xoom launch on February 24th just became that bit more compelling, courtesy of this here Best Buy ad. It promises Moto's Android tablet will be in stores a couple of weeks from now, decorated with a daunting $799.99 sticker. That price agrees with one of our earliest leaks on the matter, purportedly from Verizon's own systems, so all the pieces seem to be falling into place for a pretty exciting end to February for Android fans. This flier also has some data tariffs on it, starting at $20 per month for a 1GB allowance and stretching up to a 10GB limit for $80 (identical to VZW's pricing with the Galaxy Tab). Doesn't really sound like the most appealing proposition we've ever heard, but maybe if those prices remain static once the Xoom gets its 4G upgrade, we could learn to love them.

Update: Motorola's official Xoom portal just went live, presumably as its Super Bowl ad finally aired.

Source: Engadget.com

Verizon locking WiFi on Motorola Xoom until you buy one month of data service?

Call us crazy, but we're having a hard time interpreting this line of fine print in any other way:

"To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required."

That's listed under Best Buy's most recent ad highlighting the world's first Android 3.0 tablet, and it most certainly sounds both ominous and ridiculous. Hardcore Verizon followers may remember the days of Big Red crippling Bluetooth radios in phones in order to "coerce" users to purchase ringtones and such from them rather than snagging one on the subway from Tom, Dick and / Jane, so we definitely wouldn't put something like this by the company. It's hard to say how this will be implemented once the $800 Xoom hits retail shelves, but it's certainly hard to believe that this is a Best Buy policy (and not a Verizon mandate). We'll be digging for more details (after all, this could all be some strange, terrible dream), but we'll be straight with you -- we don't like the potential implications here.

Update: We're hearing from some Best Buy Mobile employees that these simply won't be able to be sold without being first activated on Verizon's network, so even though you could theoretically cancel the same day, you'll still likely get hit with a one-time activation fee (and possibly one month of data). Then again, there appears to be typos on the flyer, so you may want to wait for Verizon's official word before getting up in arms.

[Thanks, Michael]

Source: Engadget.com

Sony Ericsson makes Xperia Play official in Super Bowl commercial, full launch coming February 13th

Sony Ericsson has finally stopped teasing, winking, and nodding knowingly and has just come clean -- the Xperia Play is most definitely real and it'll be one of the first devices announced at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We're treated to a date and time, February 13th at 6PM GMT, a pair of full frontal shots of the Gingerbread-running, gamepad-wearing smartphone, and the full version of that creepy ad we saw for it a couple of days back. Missed it on the Super Bowl? Scope it out after the break.


Source: Engadget.com