Smartphone News

Windows Phone 7 to launch in fall with over 50 games

Microsoft’s new smartphone operating system Windows Phone 7 will include over 50 games when it launches in the fall. Microsoft also announced Tuesday that it will include mobile versions of popular games like Halo and Crackdown when it launches.

phone7

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Root your Droid X with one click

Even thought the eFuse chip makes it impossible to load custom ROMs onto your DroidX, there are still a few good reasons to root it. For instance you can delete all of the carrier bloatware programs that come pre-installed, and you can use it as a mobile hotspot. Well now the rooting process has gotten alot simpler with the release of the Droid Root software.

root

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Samsung Epic 4G available August 31st for $249

Samsung Epic 4G available August 31st for $249

Sprint has announced today that their version of the Samsung Galaxy S, the Epic 4G will be available starting on the 31st. It will be $249 with a 2 year contract and $100 mail-in rebate. Their version is a little different than the one for AT&T, it includes a front-facing camera, slide out qwerty keyboard and 4G Wimax built in. It still has the same great 4″ super AMOLED screen and 1GHz Hummingbird processor.

epic4g

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Sony Playstation phone coming soon?

Sony Playstation phone coming soon?

Engadget has word from a “trustworthy source” that Sony is finishing up their Playstation gaming phone and it might be to market as early as October. It will reportedly have around a 4″ screen and be running Android 3.0 “Gingerbread”. Its main feature will be the slide out gaming controls in place of a keyboard, and Sony will also add a new section to the Android Market specifically for Playstation games for the phone.

pspphone

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Dell Streak: an in-between that nobody needs

The Dell Streak goes on pre-order today, and it was an interesting idea when it was released in Europe 2 months ago. It has a 5 inch screen, a 5megapixel camera and is basically a cross between a smartphone and a small tablet. The only problem is that it comes with Android 1.6 while other phones have the newer Android 2.1 (some with 2.2) and the screen resolution is only 480×800 which is less than the Droid X.

streak

The 5 inch screen is too large to hold up to your head to make calls with, and the 5 inch screen is too small to replace the likes of an iPad. Oh, and the price at $300 is more expensive than both the DroidX and the iPhone 4. Basically the Streak tries to bridge a smartphone with a large screen and a tablet pc, but it just doesn’t work out too well. If they don’t put in some major price cuts or incentives of some kind the Streak may not make it through the year.

Here are the full specs:

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Top must-have free Android apps

Sorting through the thousands of apps in the Android marketplace can be a daunting task, so here’s my list of must-have apps (in no particular order) to get you started with customizing your new smartphone:

  1. Facebook: chances are everybody purchasing a new smartphone has a Facebook account and the Facebook app is much better than the mobile website version so you’ll want to download it.
  2. Google Finance: If you own stocks or just like to keep an eye on the market you’ll want to pick up this app, with charts, news and tickers.
  3. Shazam:  With this app you hold your phone up to any song that is playing and after it listens for a few seconds tells you the artist and album and gives you links to buy the song or lookup a youtube video.
  4. Google Goggles: This app scans almost anything and looks it up online. It works great with paintings, barcodes, text (and can translate) and many other things.
  5. Google Sky Map: This app overlays constellations and planets when you hold the phone up to the sky.
  6. Google Navigation: Turn by turn navigation.
  7. Scanner Radio: police scanner
  8. USAA: If you have a USAA online bank account you can use this app to deposit checks by simply taking a picture of them
  9. Pandora: You type in the name of a band you like and it makes a radio station with similiar artists, great when plugged into your car stereo with the optional car dock.
  10. Droid Light: sometimes you need to use your phone as a flashlight and this app turns on the camera’s LED so you can.

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Droid 2 unveiled, original Droid retired

Verizon today officially unvelied the new Droid 2, an update to the original Droid which it’s going to retire after supplies run out.

droid2The updated Droid has a 1GHz processor, double the RAM and a larger keyboard. It also has updated rounded edges and a blue color scheme. The keyboard update was much awaited as the original was off-center to make room for a d-pad (which nobody used). The new one replaces the dpad with directional arrows and the keyboard is larger and centered, very nice.

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