Daily News Courier

HP “Bender” shows up in benchmarks log, running Android 4.0.4

Well, what do we have here then? Right after HP CEO, Meg Whitman, came out saying the company needed to provide a smartphone, we see mention of one. First though, we need to say this. The information comes from a set of benchmark logs, and we know these things can be faked. Now, that's out of the way, let's take a look at what we've got.

As Derek Kessler points out over at webOS Nation, the likelihood of a future HP smartphone running webOS would be unlikely — "less likely than getting CrackBerry Kevin staying off of BlackBerry devices for longer than a day." Given the long standing relationship between HP and Microsoft, the first assumptions were that this could have a Windows Phone 8 connection. Well, maybe not. 

Showing up in a GLBenchmark log is a device codenamed 'Bender,' made by HP and running Android 4.0.4 and packing some interesting specs. Powering the Bender is said to be a dual-core Snapdragon S4, and the display resolution is a rather odd 1366×720. For a device with a HD display, this 17:9 aspect ration does seem strangely tall. It at least would indicate a screen size above 4 inches, so no Android powered HP Veer then. 

There's every reason to be skeptical about the existence of such a device, and there could be any number of reasons for what we're seeing. Including it all being a big fake. However, let's not forget that the HP Touchpad was supposed to run Android before the acquisition of Palm. So, it's possible for sure, especially if HP has already considered Android in the past. 

It's a big old heap of rumor at this point, and we'll have to stand by and wait to see if anything does ever come of it. In the meantime, be sure to head on over to webOS Nation for their take. 

Source: Slashgear via webOS Nation

Ouya aims to bring free Android games to the TV with $99 console

The Google Nexus Q might be good enough for your garden-variety home media sharing for video, pictures, and music, but gamers will want to keep their eyes on a new Kickstarter project called Ouya. It aims to be an open Android-powered gaming console that retails for $99. One of the main goals is to provide a home platform that's free from the big-money competition and publisher pressures that plagues traditional console gaming and keeps hip indie devs away. Here's a spec rundown on the Ouya.

• Tegra3 quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB of internal flash storage
• HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth LE 4.0
• USB 2.0 (one)
• Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
• Android 4.0

There's already a bunch of developer interest, including the guy behind Canabalt, the folks at Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck and the upcoming Jack Lumber), Madfinger Games (Dead Trigger, Shadowgun, Samurai II), the devs behind Triple Town, and even Madden NFL 12 showed up on one screen, indicating EA is getting involved.

The one catch? All developers submitting their game has to provide at least some gameplay for free. That's awesome for end-users, even if that means that freemium upgrades, in-app purchases, and banner ads are likely to be found everywhere. Twitch.tv is also on board for streaming live sessions of StarCraft and other games, so we may very well see other non-gaming apps get involved.

Ouya's Kickstarter campaign is already well over half of the way to their $950,000 goal after launching just this morning, but there are still plenty of pre-orders available for backers. Ouya is expected to ship in March 2013, and backers will get their mitts on it before it hits stores.

Gamers, are you interested, or do you think there will be something just as cool (if not cooler) out by springtime next year? Will an open Android box be able to realistically compete with Xbox and PlayStation, or has Google TV already shown us just how well Android does on the big screen?

Ouya aims to bring free Android games to the TV with $99 console

The Google Nexus Q might be good enough for your garden-variety home media sharing for video, pictures, and music, but gamers will want to keep their eyes on a new Kickstarter project called Ouya. It aims to be an open Android-powered gaming console that retails for $99. One of the main goals is to provide a home platform that's free from the big-money competition and publisher pressures that plagues traditional console gaming and keeps hip indie devs away. Here's a spec rundown on the Ouya.

• Tegra3 quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB of internal flash storage
• HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth LE 4.0
• USB 2.0 (one)
• Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
• Android 4.0

There's already a bunch of developer interest, including the guy behind Canabalt, the folks at Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck and the upcoming Jack Lumber), Madfinger Games (Dead Trigger, Shadowgun, Samurai II), the devs behind Triple Town, and even Madden NFL 12 showed up on one screen, indicating EA is getting involved.

The one catch? All developers submitting their game has to provide at least some gameplay for free. That's awesome for end-users, even if that means that freemium upgrades, in-app purchases, and banner ads are likely to be found everywhere. Twitch.tv is also on board for streaming live sessions of StarCraft and other games, so we may very well see other non-gaming apps get involved.

Ouya's Kickstarter campaign is already well over half of the way to their $950,000 goal after launching just this morning, but there are still plenty of pre-orders available for backers. Ouya is expected to ship in March 2013, and backers will get their mitts on it before it hits stores.

Gamers, are you interested, or do you think there will be something just as cool (if not cooler) out by springtime next year? Will an open Android box be able to realistically compete with Xbox and PlayStation, or has Google TV already shown us just how well Android does on the big screen?

Put a little sexy on your TouchPad moboot screen – webOS Nation style

So you bought an HP TouchPad, threw Android on it (to make it worth a damn), and now you think you're done? You're not. It ain't done until you theme the moboot screen! And if you're gonna theme it, you have o check out the webOS Nation theme and show support for the other side of the TouchPad scene, where things are still webOS and they are gearing up for the open-source spectacular. 

The directions look simple enough, just flash a zip from recovery. Head over to the source link and give it a shot!

Source: webOS Nation

Monday Brief: Lumia 900 Launch, iMore App, HTC EVO 4G LTE Hands-On, and more!

Monday Brief: webOS cuts team by 50%, MWC wrap-up, SGS2 winner, iPad 3 preview, and more!

CM9 Alpha 2 for the HP Touchpad brings video playback fixes, Netflix support

If you are looking for a way to repurpose that HP Touchpad that you got nice and cheap on the fire sale, you have probably been following the progress of the CM9 project pretty closely. The latest update, Alpha 2, brings better video support  which is a huge plus for many of us. Alpha 2 fixes choppy video that you may have previously seen, and also fixes apps like Netflix and others that rely on HTTP livestreaming to deliver content. If you are currently on one of the CM9 Alpha's you will want to be sure to update to this one, and if you have yet to check it out it may be a fun way to pass some time for yourself.

Source: RootzWiki

CyanogenMod 9 pre-alpha released for Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi version

The leader and namesake of CyanogenMod has announced the availability of a pre-alpha version of CM9 for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi only model. The software is meant only to be a preview of what’s to come; however, according to Cyanogen, the camera is the only thing that doesn’t work yet. I rarely use my tablet camera so that seems like a fair trade to get an early look at CM9.

CM9 is available for rooted Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi tablets. This is for the GT-P7510 model and shouldn’t be applied to other devices. Users with the GT-P7510 tab can flash the recovery.img with fastboot available here, then flash the ROM in recovery mode. As always, there is no support for the pre-alpha, so don’t go crazy trying to submit bug reports or complaining if you notice something out of whack. Those issues with be ironed out later releases.

Samsung will likely upgrade the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Android 4.0, but we don’t know exactly when that will take place. And when the tablet is upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich, it will use Sammy’s personal UI flavor. If you’d like to see something closer to stock whose availability is closer to now, perhaps you ought to consider CyanogenMod 9.

And if you like what you see, consider donating to the CyanogenMod fund. The group recently launched a campaign seeking donations to pay for the servers required to distribute so much data to users. The goal was quickly met, but it was a reminder that more than a million people have better devices thanks to CyanogenMod. Drop in a few bucks to say thanks.

[Google+]

 

Comments

• AOKP already has an ICS/CM9 build for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. … by Jeremy

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Tablet Showdown: iPad 2 vs Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs HP TouchPad

Which tablet is right for you? The iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the HP TouchPad? This comparison / review video aims to aid in your purchasing decision. Visit the channel for more on each of these prospective devices. FIND US HERE! youtube.com facebook.com twitter.com unboxtherapy.com

Deal of the day: Refurbished 16 GB HP TouchPad for $169.99, 32 GB model for $220

If you failed to pick up an HP TouchPad a few months ago when it was available for 100 bucks (granted, only for a couple of hours), you can today take advantage of a special deal and get the 10-inch tablet for… well, for a lot more.

For 169.99 dollars, to be more exact, which is a lot more than the