I have to admit that Dell’s Mini 5 has been more of a curiosity to me than a potential wish list contender. It looks really nice, has a glorious 5″ WVGA screen and a 5MP cam, but who wants to lug that thing around in their pocket? It can’t be comfortable, and that makes it an unlikely purchase or recommendation for me. However, Dell’s bulky gadget just gained a few points in my eyes.
Not only will the Mini 5 (referred to internally as Streak) be shipping in a multitude of colors, but Amazon.com is on board, providing Kindle “book reader” applications, Amazon MP3, streaming video, and the Amazon Store. I’m still not sure I would this it for my daily use phone, but it would be cool to have around the house. Check out the slides that are the source of this information, posted by Engadget :
Do you hate apps? Does their low price and strictly virtual footprint bring you down? Well, have a look-see at the Ikan grocery scanner doohickey! The idea is that you scan the bar code on empty packages before throwing them in the trash and the gadget builds a list that can be automatically sent to your phone on a regular basis or even straight to your grocer for home delivery or pick up (if you are one of the very lucky few whose grocer participates). Did I mention that it can recognize your voice? This thing replicates functions of the current generations of Androids. Makes sense, because this gadget also runs Android. So basically, it’s $400 worth of plastic that could be replaced by a $5 app. Don’t mean to be a cynical nay-sayer, but… come on.
It seems like e-readers are the new gotta-have-one product for OEMs that want to feel like they’re running in the big race, and I don’t think we’ve heard of a new one in at least three days. Enter Gigabyte with their Samsung 667 MHz processor equipped “world’s first Android e-ink device…I mean, the first World’s first that [the narrator] has ever seen.” Clearly, what we’re seeing below is an early reference design but I’m hoping – unlike the shooter – that it doesn’t turn up later with a touch screen. I’m thinking that a super low price tag could be this gadget’s strength in a soon-to-be saturated market. At least it’s real Android, with Market access.
Ready to see Android running on another Archos tablet? Good. Because, Archos has made an official announcement of its new tablets devices on March 1st. Archos announced the Archos 7: a 7-inch display PMP tablet device. And the Archos 8: with an 8-inch display, functioning as a digital photo frame tablet, running Android OS and an ARM9 CPU. The 7 will be a home media tablet, much like the iPad, which can be used for listening to music, watching videos and surfing the net. The device will support 720p HD playback for a great video experience. The battery life is rated at 7 hours of video playback and 44 hours on music. Archos 7 will be available in 2GB and 8GB with the starting price of approximately $200 and expected to be released in April.
Snapdragon is a beloved brand in the world of green robots, and for good reason: it signaled the beginning of a a fluidity and snappiness Android lovers have been dreaming about for a year-and-a-half. But what we see below is better. This is a video demonstration from MWC that shows off the capabilities of a new line of Snapdragons chipset from Qualcomm – the 7X30. Check out the 3D game at 3:45 and consider the possibilities: