Daily News Courier

AT&T picks up the Lenovo IdeaTab A2107

AT&T today announced that it'll carry the horribly named Lenovo IdeaTab A2107 Android tablet for $199. That's without a contract, by the way, which tells you someone's really trying to move these things.

We took a look at the A2107 back at the IFA conference in the fall of 2012, and note that, well, it's a low-resolution (1024×600) 7-inch tablet that has full access to Google Play.  This one's still running Android 4.0, which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it going up against the Nexus 7, which can be had with double the storage (32GB instead of 16GB), a more powerful processor and the same HSPA connectivity — all for just $100 more.

If you're really a glutton for punishment, you can pick up the A2107 for $99 on contract, which is how AT&T's presenting it online by default. So careful if you start clicking around. As for us? Our money will be going elsewhere.

More: Lenovo IdeaPad A2107 at AT&T; Press release

Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out to Orange San Diego

The Orange San Diego launching in the UK was a big deal. As the first Intel powered Android device to launch in Europe, it set the ball rolling for the chip manufacturing giant in their latest mobile endeavor. One major criticism of the San Diego at launch was the OS. While very smooth and snappy, Gingerbread is still Gingerbread, and it's just starting to feel dated. Thankfully, Intel is now catching up, and we've seen Ice Cream Sandwich on the new Motorola RAZR i, the ZTE Grand X IN, and, at IFA 2012 in Berlin, we saw the San Diego itself running Android 4.0. 

On a stand at a trade show is one thing, but what really matters is getting it out there into the wild. Word has reached us today that the ICS update for the San Diego is now beginning to push out. This is great news, and as we found out during our brief hands on, ICS on this device is every bit as smooth and snappy as we would hope it to be. 

Have you received your update yet? Hit us up in the comments below and let us know how you're finding it. 

Thanks Paul H!

TomTom navigation now available for some Android devices

Popular dedicated navigation software arrives on Android, but many devices are incompatible

TomTom has launched its popular navigation service for Android on Google Play, bringing stand-alone offline navigation for many territories around toe world to the platform. Unlike Google Maps navigation, the app doesn't require a data connection to work, instead storing all the relevant data on your device. Maps are priced at around $50 per territory (between £31 and £50 in the UK), and come with host of features, which naturally includes turn-by-turn directions in multiple languages. There's also TomTom's "HD traffic" overlay, a 3D driving view and "fast" on-device route calculation.

Check the Google Play link above to view the U.S. and Canada version. Other territories are linked on that same page.

We went hands-on with the TomTom app for Android at IFA 2012 in August. Be sure to check out our hands-on report and video to learn more about what to expect form the app.

Sony’s Xperia TL finally official on AT&T

You'll have to excuse us for not acting more surprised to see the Sony Xperia T announced today for AT&T in the United States, as we've seen it wearing the carrier's colors for the better part of a month. But, here it is, reborn as the Xperia TL. You'll recall our hands-on with the Xperia T back at the IFA conference in Berlin last month. Here's a recap on the specs:

• 4.6-inch "HD Reality Display" at 720x 1080 resolution with the Mobile Bravia engine
• 13-megapixel rear camera
• PlayStation certified
• NFC
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• Launching with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, with an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to come.

Things we don't yet know: Pricing and an availability date. Stick around.

Source: AT&T

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 video hands-on and initial review

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hitting the select retail stores imminently, it's time for us to go hands-on with the finished product. We first tested out the Galaxy Note 2 at IFA in Berlin in late August, and it's taken just over a month to finalize the device. The original Samsung Galaxy Note has proved a surprising success over the past year. With the second-gen Note being bigger and more powerful than ever, Samsung will be hoping its efforts are reflected in even stronger sales this time around.

Check out our first hands-on video with the final, retail Galaxy Note 2 after the break, along with a quick overview of the device.

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Red Samsung Galaxy S 3 available at Carphone Warehouse in the UK

Just last week Samsung dropped a whole range of new colors for the Galaxy S 3, but as you would expect not everyone seems to be able to get all of them, everywhere. In the UK at least, the Garnet Red variety is available should you desire one. The phone is exclusive to the Carphone Warehouse in the UK, but seems to be available at the same price as the other colors, and across the major networks provided by the retailer.

Previously we've seen the Garnet Red Galaxy S 3 offered up by AT&T in the United States. And, whilst differing European carriers were displaying the black, and grey versions at IFA 2012 in Berlin, the red S 3 was nowhere to be seen. We've still not seen the brown version yet either. 

Source: Carphone Warehouse

Talk to the Hand Has a Whole New Meaning With Bluetooth Gloves!

Engadget has a great story today about a rather strange invention that had me thinking it might be a very early (or very late) April Fool?s joke, but it does in fact seem to be genuine. What we have here is a product called the Hi-Call, which Engadget spotted at the IFA trade show, and which is basically a pair of gloves with Bluetooth capabilities, whereby the speaker is situated in the thumb, and the mic is in the little finger. So when you talk on the phone, it?s like you?re pretending to make a phone call, or making the Hawaiian Shaka sign, all the while you?re actually making a phone call for real. Engadget tested out the Hi-Call glove, and seemed to be a little disappointed with the woolly reception. Sorry! Hi-Call will be available at the beginning of October, for ?49.

Thanks to Super Moderator Gabriel1 for the heads-up on this story.

Source: Hi-Fun’s call-receiving Bluetooth gloves, hands-in (video) — Engadget

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 gets UK price and release date

German pricing for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 was available for all to see at carriers’ booths at IFA, but so far the device’s UK pricing has remained something of a mystery. Today we have the first tentative UK price tag and release window for the 5.5-inch Note successor, by way of British online retailer Clove Technology.

Clove reports on its official blog that the Note 2 will cost £546 inc. VAT when it’s launched in “mid-October.” That price is undeniably steep for any smartphone, but it is in line with the Galaxy S3’s late-May launch price (and let’s also remember that the original Not wasn’t exactly cheap at launch either). As always, this is a SIM-free price, so you can expect to pay much less if you pick up a network-subsidized model.

Would a high price like this deter you from picking up a Galaxy Note 2 at launch? Hit the comments and let us know.

Source: Clove; More: Hands-on with the Galaxy Note 2

Sony Xperia T appears in promo shot with AT&T branding

Last week we learned all about Sony's new flagship smartphones at IFA 2012, however there was nothing offered in the way of U.S. release information. Today that may have changed, as the Sony's new international flagship, the Xperia T, has appeared in a promotional photo bearing AT&T's globe logo.

The image comes from UK retailer Phones4U, which has published it alongside a number of shots of the European Xperia T. That phone has Sony's Xperia branding under the screen, while the final promotional image swaps it out for the U.S. carrier's logo. Also of note is the back of this AT&T Xperia T, which is split up into three segments. On the international version, which we saw at IFA last week, the phone's back panel is smooth, with no dividers at the top or bottom. One possible reason for this design change might be to enable 4G LTE connectivity.

In any case, we've reached out to AT&T for comment, and we'll update this post with any info they provide.

Source: Phones4U; Thanks, Paolo!

?More: Hands-on with Sony's latest at IFA

Hands-on with the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL

When we first got wind of the Huawei Ascend D Quad XL, it was an afterthought at the company's Mobile World Congress press conference. Aside the D Quad, which shipped with a 1800 mAh battery, the Ascend D Quad XL would offer a more substantial 2600mAh. At that show, however, only the D Quad was present — the D Quad XL was nowhere to be seen.

But at IFA 2012 this week, the newly-renamed (we'll leave it up to you to work out why) Ascend D1 Quad XL was proudly displayed at the Huawei booth for all to see. The software it was running closely resembled what we'd seen on the original D Quad back in February — Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, backed up by a proprietary Huawei UI layer (though not the Emotion UI we've seen emerge in recent weeks). On the inside, you'll find the same hardware powering the show — Huawei's own quad-core 1.4GHz CPU, which has still yet to see the light of day in a released product.

All in all, it's a thicker, bulkier version of the D1 Quad, and one which should see you through a few more hours of regular use. We've got hands-on video after the break, along with a few more photos.

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