The carrier SoftBank in Japan has introduced this “Yahoo Phone”, equipped on what appears to be just a re-branded Sharp AQUOS phone. It should feature a 1 Ghz processor, a 4.0″ qHD display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and snapping photos with a 8MP shooter. Like many phones in Japan it will also feature a TV tuner on board.

Looking at the image above I can see Google’s Android Market so it will probably be blessed with their specific apps like Gmail, Maps, Voice search, and the all important Market but everything else will most likely be all about Yahoo and you can bet the browser homepage wont be Google that is for sure. It also appears users who buy the phone will get access to Yahoo Premium for 2 years free with purchase.

Most likely this phone will never see the light of day outside of Japan but either way it’s pretty interesting, and I also felt like saying “winning”.

[via TechCrunch]

The small catch is this is for NEW subscribers only. That means if you are wanting to upgrade your existing plan, or upgrade your phone on an existing line these deals do not apply to you sadly. We know plenty people are looking to save money and possibly switch carriers so these deals are amazing for them. Remember if your out of contract you can cancel for no ETF and start a new account and get in on the deals. Otherwise if you are switching carriers or if I dare say getting your first cell phone these deals are for YOU.

Wirefly is offering 20 Android phones all for FREE, you must be a new subscriber and opening a new account with a 2-year contract to be eligible. Some of the free phones include: Motorola Droid X, HTC EVO 4G, myTouch 4G, EVO Shift 4G, Droid 2, Motorola Cliq, Samsung Transform, LG Optimus and even the Kyocera Echo. The list goes on but those are just a few that jumped out at me. If your interested in any of those phones head over to the deals page via the source link below.

[via Wirefly]

The first photo above is being called the HTC Rider, it looks to be very similar to already released phones like the Thunderbolt with a 4.3″ screen and front facing camera, only it is red. Looks way to much like the EVO 3D, Even has circles around the buttons on bottom. (thanks Feramere) We don’t have much to go on here but thought you’d all like to see it anyways. The HTC logo is covered by something and we don’t see the Verizon branding in the top right either. Maybe it will say T-Mobile there instead, Just saying! Oh and I see silver under the red near the camera on the top, so is that just a case over an EVO 3D?

Next we have the HTC Kingdom below, and just like its brother or sister above it also looks like a possible twin of current phones on the market with that strikingly similar speaker grill and front camera as well. I will mention that just as our source said the Kingdom looks to be a little thinner than the other phones out. It still looks 4.3″ but seems thinner and taller like the Droid X rather than the EVO. Interesting indeed. Hopefully we will be finding out some more information on these soon. We will be sure to keep you all posted.

[via Phandroid]

In other Thunderbolt news, Amazon is putting the Verizon 4G LTE Thunderbolt on sale for $174.95 with a two year Verizon contract. A savings of $75 over the already low price of $249.99. The unsubsidized sale price still lists for around $669, a $30 price cut. That means that users can afford to add the extended battery and still walk away with a pretty good deal.

In addition to the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, the Thunderbolt 4G enjoys a 2/4″ Super LCD multi-touch display, a pair of cameras including a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video chat and an 8 megapixel rear facing camera for HD video recording in 720p. On board memory is courtesy of 8GB RAM and a 32 GB microSD memory card. Dual Microphones enable HTC’s noise canceling technology for clear calls in noisy conditions.
The Thunderbolt comes with Android 2.2 (Froyo) out of the box, but we reported today that it will be updated by late June.

[via Wireless Goodness and HTC Media]

Although the entire costs won’t be required up front, a percentage will go to Nokia before the company begins selling handsets. And by contrast the royalty payments by Nokia back to Microsoft will recoup the investment and even make a profit on the Windows Phone 7 platform. The deal is also rumored to be the end of Nokia’s MeeGo smartphone which was scheduled to be released this year.

Once a major player in the cellphone industry, Nokia lost significant marketshare once Apple released the iPhone and Google set the world on fire with it’s shotgun Android approach. Nokia has been scrambling to gain back lost ground ever since. So it wasn’t surprising that they would grab the Windows Phone 7 Life preserver, but even at that, Nokia was wary, no doubt to do the nagging SD card issue that’s been plaguing Windows Phone 7 hand sets since December. Both companies have seen stock decline since news of the deal was announced, but Nokia has seen a greater loss to the tune of 26 percent.

[via Bloomberg]

We all know that AT&T is in the process of deploying their “4G” network (Please do not use that EXCUSE to explain the HSUPA CAPPING) but our Atrix 4G phone doesn’t even have 3G upload speeds !

There are so many unhappy paying customers out there and we want to be heard and our phones to work as they are meant to. If this is not resolved before the 30 day return period, unhappy customers like myself will be returning their phones !

It would seem so. And users are mad as hell and they aren’t taking it for the next two years. They’ve started a petition over at Groubal.com to get MaBell’s attention. Have you had issues with uploading speeds on the Atrix? You can follow the action on Twitter.com at @ATTFAIL and over at Facebook as well.

[via Groubal]

Here’s a breakdown of the specs:

* 3.2″ 320×480 Display
* Android 2.2 (Froyo)
* 1GB storage internally, with a microSD card slot
* FM Radio
* Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
* 3 megapixel rear camera
* 3.5mm audio jack

Green initiatives aside, why would someone need a smartphone that is powered by the sun? Well, there are cases, like hiking, where a solar option is ideal. I myself have had to charge my phone while camping with my son’s scout den. And it was a frustrating affair since the sun moves and the phone doesn’t. And then there’s that pesky cloud thing.

Then again, traveling out of the country, there’s concern over power issues and converters. So being able to just leave the phone near a window that has sunlight when not in use is quite beneficial. But a 3MP camera is sort of ho hum.

And considering the abuse that a cellphone can get riding in a pocket or purse, will that kind of work cause a drop in how well it charges? Would a protective case help or hinder the sun’s transmission of solar power?

It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on to see how well it performs or if the idea will catch on.

[via SlashGear]

To get this device free all you have to do is sign up for a £20 per month contract. This includes 600 minutes and 500 texts. There’s also am unlimited data plan available if you use less than 3GB of data a month.

The Wildfire features Android 2.1 with Sense on top. A 3.2 display, FM radio and all the apps you’d expect out of a traditional Android phone. It also has a 5 MP camera with flash, 384 RAM and a 3.5mm jack. Those are some pretty good specs for this entry level device, head to T-mobile UK now and pick one up.

[via eurodroid]

With the Pogoplug 2.3 Android App, users are able to:

* Quickly search and view music by Artist, Song, Album, or genre – Now find and stream music more easily from USB hard drives connected to your home Pogoplug to your Android phone, so all your music can be streamed to your Android phone.
* Share files directly from their Android phone – Pictures, videos, and other content created on your Android phone can be saved on your Pogoplug connected drive and shared online. Record your child’s first steps using your Android phone and within seconds upload it to your Pogoplug connected drives and share the video with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends.
* Search for a file across all your Pogoplug drives – A search will look through files on any drive connected to your Pogoplug, save time by searching all your drives at once.
* Create folders on your drives – Use your Android phone to create brand new folders on your Pogoplug connected drives so everything stays organized.

This app makes streaming and sharing files a breeze. You can view them right from your phone or share them with your friends and family quickly online. Try it out and let us know how you like it.

[via pogoplug]

As it stands, to get a free phone at a T-Mobile location, you have to sign up for a qualifying family plan. But, if you decide to go with radio Shack, you can get a free phone no matter what plan you choose. It can be a single plan or a family plan. The first two new lines would be free, if you want a third line, then you will be charged additional fees.

Radio shack is also offering no mail in rebates and no activation fees in their promotion. They really have stepped it up a bit lately. If you want the hottest Android phones, you can find it at the “The Shack”. There is no word on when their doors will open but expect Saturday to be a big day for both T-Mobile and Radio shack. Don’t forget, the early bird gets the worm.

* It will be open for a limited time – probably a few days
* In English, Spanish, and Italian – more languages to come
* Limited Features – some key features of Swype require OEM integration
* HVGA and WVGA Resolutions – don’t worry we’ll detect this automatically
* Limited End User Support – mostly via our forum

For awhile this keyboard was only available to select T-Mobile Android handsets. Recently it came preinstalled in a few Android devices from other carriers. Some people have gotten their hands on pirated versions and installed them without Swype’s consent. Now we all can join in on all the fun hyper speed texting that the Swype keyboard offers. Just head over to their beta site and sign up now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnQts9NUnL4[/youtube]

The Droid X has dual-band 1xEVDO handset headed for Verizon, nothing new here. It will have a 4.3-inch screen with a 480×854 resolution display. From the looks of the sheet, it will have a QWERTY keyboard. If it does have a hard keyboard, that’s really impressive from a device that is only 0.39-inches thick.

It’s also 2.5-inches wide and 5.01-inches tall and only weighs 5.47 ounces. For some reason it has the Safari Browser version 4 preinstalled. If this isn’t an entry mixed up, this will be the first and only Android device with Apple’s mobile browser installed.

This mod is mainly just for show, it’s not stable enough for a daily driver. You can send SMS and make calls but everything else is extremely buggy if it works at all. There is no Wi-Fi connection and it doesn’t recognize the phones GPU. And like the previous Android port, power management isn’t working so the phone will get hot after a few minutes. If you would like to help develop or just play around with it click here and get started.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQKfeDnMVQ8&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]

[via gadgets dna]

Harmon Link sits at the heart of Logitech’s Google TV experience. This new system takes in all kinds of signals and sends them out as infrared commands. This simple means that everything that is control via IR remote will be able to be controlled centrally by the Harmony Link system. Thus, Harmony Link, eliminating the need to have 4 or more remotes lying around to control various parts of your home entertainment system.

The companion box will also let you use a free app for your Android phone. This app turns your phone or Android device into a Harmony Link controller, giving you total control over your entertainment center right from your handset. This companion box comes with a full QWERTY keyboard you could use instead of your phone if you wish. Google TV and this box should be available this fall.

[via logitech]

The name of this handset is currently unknown. It is made by Motorola and it runs MotoBlur 2.1. The screen size appears to be a 3.1 or 3.2, this device is kind of like the Cliq. It has a slide out 4-row QWERTY keyboard, a 3MP camera and a 600 MHZ processor. The purple circle around the home key may double as a directional pad.

There is no information at this point about the amount of RAM and Rom that is included in this device. If it has 512 of RAM and ROM it might turn out to be a pretty good device. It has the same CPU that is in the Droid and we all know it can be over clocked to a stable 1.2GHZ. No pricing or availability is know yet either.

A recent Bluetooth filing from Samsung points to a MID is currently in development. This MID goes by the design name YP-MB2. The YP in this title stands for Yepp which Samsung use in classifying their music players. The MB2 part suggests that this is the successor to the MB1. Other rumors have this device outfitted with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an AMOLED screen, a web browser and unnamed version of Android. We’ll stay on top of this rumor and see if any more information is leaked.

[via samsunghub]

This tablet features a 7 inch touch screen, Android 2.1, 3.5mm jack, HDMI and SD card slot. The unit in the demo is clearly and early prototype, it looks good but at the moment it’s extremely sluggish and unresponsive. It kind of resembles the Acer Liquid Android phone, it’s just bigger. It also has capacitive touch buttons on the side, the usual 4 Android keys are joined by a volume key.

Early rumors predict it will be powered by an ARM Cortex-A9 and also have OpenGL 2.0 and Flash integration. The HDMI is said to be able to handle 1080p video and there’s a 12 MP camera. There’s currently no release date set and more information should be available in the coming weeks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XLSSaaoF3U&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[via netbooknews]

Sling Player for Android is currently list as “coming soon” but it has been in private beta testing for awhile now. Judging from its performance it’s very close to being released. If you haven’t heard of Sling Player before it allows you to stream live TV from your cable of satellite provider directly to your computer or mobile device. The best thing about this version is it has a new feature for Android that allows you to view your favorite channels on your handset. It also is capable of viewing material that is saved on your DVR at home.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8EA7bNB60&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[via pocketnow]

Three of the four physical keys above are the same keys usually found on Android phones. It’s possible that the fourth is a search key although it may launch the camera app. Although this phone has been announced, the OS hasn’t. I for one will keep my fingers crossed for Android to be installed on this device.

Besides having a massive 14 MP camera, it is capable of HD video recording and also has a 3x optical zoom lens. It has both Xenon and LED flash and is expected to be presented at CommunicAsia 2010 event in June. There’s also Wi-Fi, 3G and it will surely have a microSD card.

[via GSMArena]

There was not mention of MotoBlur devices in the reply. Since we heard about 2.2, there have been questions about which devices will receive them and when. The Droid was almost a lock to get this update since it is a stock Android device and it was the first handset to join the Nexus one in the world of 2.1.

“We’re excited to see Google’s news of the next version of the Android operating system and look forward to integrating it on our Android-based devices as it’s made available to the open source community.”

While I can’t comment on specifics, we do expect DROID by Motorola users will receive Android 2.2 as a software upgrade in the near future.”

The reply from Motorola is quite vague, it clearly states that it will get it at some point. It seems as though Motorola doesn’t even have 2.2 loaded on test Droid’s yet. Judging from the way they handled the 2.1 upgrade, it may be awhile until we have this update on our Droid’s. The wait is now on for Froyo to make its rounds to our current Android phones, Nexus one owners are surely going to have first crack at 2.2. There have been a few reports that the roll out of Froyo has already starting to show up on a few select devices.

[via slashgear]