Posts filed under Android

An odd lot, those Android modders. Clearly bored, one of them tinkered with Android a bit until it responded to the accelerometer all the way round. So now, whenever you turn your T-Mobile G1 round, the display turns too. But not just between portrait and landscape modes – all they way round, turning your homescreen completely upside down.

Which, if you find the G1’s chin mildly annoying, is quite handy, as it puts the chin at the top!

Completely useless, but a marvellous example of just how customizable Android is.

(thanks, as ever, to @terminal7 for the pic).

Why an HTC Tattoo review, you might ask? Isn’t it just yet another budget Android phone? Well, technically yes – at least in the fact that it’s certainly a budget Android phone, which is perfect if you’re looking to get in on the Android action without paying a fortune.

But “just another” budget Android phone? Nope, not a bit of it! The HTC Tattoo might not be expensive, but that doesn’t mean it can’t come with some killer HTC polish.

Read our full HTC Tattoo review after the jump to discover some of the tricks the Tattoo has up its sleeve.

If you’ve got a T-Mobile G1, the first ever Android phone, you might be a bit envious fo all the new Android wizzardry crammed into Android 2.1 phones such as the Google Nexus One and Motorola Milestone.

The G1 only supports Android 1.6, and although T-Mobile are in the process of updating this with a minor tweak, it is just that – minor!

But wait, what’s this? Android 2.1 running on a G1? Must be one of those dodgy ports, right?

Well yes, obviously, but here’s the thing – Android 2.1 is so optimized, adn the code so much more efficient than the older 1.6 version, that it actually runs much faster than 1.6, and faster, even, than the original Android 1.0.

So should you try and install Android 2.1 on your G1? Read on to see…

Time now for a Motorola Milestone review. The Motorola Milestone was released late 2009 in the US, where it was called the Motorola Droid and hailed as the saviour of Motorola.

It’s recently been launched in the UK as the Milestone, and is Motorola’s attempt to convince the world that it really can make great phones again – in this case, a great Android 2.1 device designed to take on the wealth of super-smart phones that are on the market.

The question is, though – can it? Does the Milestone offer enough to make it better than its rivals from the likes of HTC, Samsung, Palm, and the iPhone? Does it have a better interface, better features, and a better all round user interface, and is it more than just another Android phone?

In short, is the Milestone worthy of your cash?!

Let’s find out with our Motorola Milestone review…

After the fugliness of the Huawei U8300, it’s nice to see some genuinely beautiful news phones, such as this pair of Lumigons. The Lumigon S1 (left) and T1 are new Android 2.1 devices that not only feature some pretty capable hardware, they’ve also been designed with cutting edge style in mind.

Lumigon are a Scandinavian company, and the intriguing design reflects the phone’s origins (think Bang & Olufsen rather than Ikea!)

It’s not all about design, though. They’ve also powered their phones with 720p video support, HDMI out, and TV remote control. There’s even an HDMI deskstation accessory, which will let you connect your phone to your TV and a Bluetooth keyboard.

Lumigon founder Lars Gravesen also let slip some exciting news about its forthcoming phone, the E1.

“The E1 is the most beautiful phone I have ever seen during my entire 10 year career in mobile business…featuring a unique navigation system and a shape never experienced in mobile phones” he said.

Sweet! Let’s just hope he’s not over-hyping things a tad!

[Source: IntoMobile]

What’s that coming over the hill, is it a Huawei…

Yes, it certainly is. To be more precise, it’s the Huawei U8100, officially the world’s ugliest phone! Like the other three Huaweis on show here, it’s based on Android and features a new Huawei user interface, which apparently they’ve spent rather more on than the design of the outside of this fugly phone!

Read on after the jump for ore images (if you can bear them!) and more Huawei Android phones.

Motorola have released a new smartphone at MWC 2010 in the shape of this, the Motorola Quench. Unlike many other phones debuting this week, the Quench isn’t going to know anyone’s socks off – it’s basically just a Motorola DEXT without the keyboard.

However, it backs up Motorola’s commitment to Android, and should be a cheap option ofr those people looking to get into smartphones cheaply.

Huawei are the latest to introduce a new mini phone at MWC 2010 with this, the T-Mobile Pulse Mini. Featuring much of the same features as the standard T-Mobile Pulse, including a 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS, WiFi and all the rest, the Pulse Mini goes one better by adding Android 2.1 to the mix.

Its screen is only 2.8″ and you’d never exactly call the Pulse Mini, but with its diminuitive proportions, you can’t deny its cuteness.

Even cuter is the expected price – just £99 on Pay As You Go when it’s released in the UK in April.

[Source: Pocket-Lint]

If you thought the HTC Legend was good, wait until you see the HTC Desire. Sporting the same internals as the Google Nexus One (i.e. a 1GHz Snapdrgaon CPU, 3.7″ AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera, and all the usual sensors, GPS, WiFi and HSDPA gloriousness you’d expect from an Android device – oh, and Android 2.1), the HTC Desire adds to all this, er, desirability with its newly updated Sense UI.

Oh, and it also throws Flash 10.1 into the mix as well. Mmmmmm :)

More pics of the HTC Desire after the jump

HTC have officially unveiled the HTC Legend smartphone at MWC 2010 this week. Although the Legend has been leaked a few times in the past few months, the new successor to the HTC Hero still managed to sneak through the odd surprise – principally in its beautiful aluminium-strewn looks.

If this isn’t the best looking smartphone on the market I don’t know what is!

Read on for all the details and more photos of the HTC Legend after the the jump.