That makes the watch-phone, well, an actual phone, and piques our interest considerably. You’ll find all the standard budget Android bells and whistles shrunken down to fit on a 2-inch screen, including a 469Mhz processor, 800mAh battery (claimed battery life: 1.5 days) and SIM and MicroSD card slots. While the phone only supports EDGE data speeds at the moment, the manufacturer hopes to get it up to 3G by the time it finds some distribution partners. A camera faces forward instead of up so you can sight along your arm for photos. The 320×240 screen is actually pretty high-res for its size (the HTC Wildfire had the same at 3.2 inches) and uses capacitive touch technology.

Pricing is only good for distribution partners for now, and starts at $200 each for orders of 500 units. Like many smaller Chinese OEMs, Phaeton Nice Electronics has no plans to start selling the watch directly. As interesting as the idea is, we’ve seen “dumb” watch phones for years, and the execution never quite lives up to our Dick Tracy dreams. For one thing, holding your wrist up to do some mobile computing has never appealed outside of the comic books, and a design like this demands satellite devices like a Bluetooth headset and/or headphones. One the plus side, the company teased an updated model with a faster processor and Ice Cream Sandwich to come.

[via Liliputing]

The device on display seems “real” in the physical sense, but the image it’s producing is almost certainly fake. Looking closely at a freeze frame betrays a bezel that’s uneven (not to mention ludicrously thin) and the basic Android/TouchWiz interface standbys like a signal meter are not present. In all likelihood we’re looking at a dummy unit with a placeholder screen and graphics overlaid digitally, with an actor just playing along.

All that said, the Galaxy S III is absolutely coming, and probably sooner rather than later. If Samsung’s leap from the original Galaxy S to the S II is any indication, we can expect a thinner profile, updated software and a larger screen – though it can’t get too much larger without being essentially a smaller version of the Galaxy Note. Previous rumors pegged it to have a 1.8Ghz dual-core processor, a 4.6-inch 720p Super AMOLED display (matching the Galaxy Nexus) a 12MP camera and an unbelievable 2GB of RAM.

It’s certainly possible that the device in the video (around the 6:40 mark) is the GSIII, but with so little official information available, a glimpse is all we’re getting for now. Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy S III formally at Mobile World Congress in February, the same venue that the Galaxy S II got last year.

Packingham spoke on how they’d simply be moving to bigger batteries in a lot of cases, but would be working how how the devices themselves more optimally work through a battery. Items such as how the device searches for wi-fi, how often the device uses its highest speed data connection, and basic items like screen brightness are on the board.

With the DROID Charge, a notoriously battery sucking piece of fantastically bright display -having LTE Android, Packingham noted that Samsung “wasn’t quite there yet” when it came to power efficiency. Not the thing you want to hear if you’re still in a 2-year contract on that device, but they haven’t abandoned you! Samsung will have your back, they say, with new devices this year that’ll last all day at least. Hopefully sooner than later!

[via CNET]

Most noticeable is their heavily skinned Android OS. Everything about it is completely unique to other cellphones, from the lockscreen all the way down to the widgets. Some aspects look much like Lenovo’s current tablets. Specifications of the device include an 8MP rear facing camera and 4.5 inch 720p display.

This was definitely the biggest surprise here tonight, and we can’t wait to see more of what this phone has to offer – particularly in terms of battery life. A consistent issue with many Android devices is the fact that they can’t last an entire day on a single charge, and for some – battery life is their top selling point.

We’ve seen this before in more than a few different iterations but today at the ASUS hall we got another look. The tablet and smartphone both have been refined and updated with the latest and greatest for 2012. Being under glass, and a lock and key we only have a few short details. The smartphone appears to be a 4.3″ AMOLED display and has been updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich rather than Gingerbread. The rear is rocking an 8 MP camera and dual-LED flash.

ASUS is touting this as a device that will allow you to “enlarge your screen size on the go”. Your SIM, storage, processor and more is all inside the phone. Since it was sadly hidden behind a large bullet-proof glass we were unable to look for ports and options on the tablet. Check out our pictures below and see if you can spot anything.

We will be seeing more of the Padfone at MWC 2012, and we’ll be their live to capture that too.

We all know plenty about the Transformer Prime (see our review below) and it’s specs so we don’t need to go into details and will keep this short and sweet so you can see the hands-on pictures and our Shadowgun in 1080p on a tablet demo below. Yes this is almost exactly the same as the original only it has been upgraded with an enhanced IPS display with a massive 1920 x 1200 resolution. Gaming looks simply stunning to say the least, more on that below.

the key differences are in the display, and on the rear of the device. As you can see below gone is the radial-spun aluminum and instead they’ve replaced the entire top with a hard plastic. This should help all those nagging issues with GPS and WiFi that we’ve been hearing plenty of reports about. This should fix all those problems as the aluminum design was causing the signals to suffer in the original Prime.

Enough about those small changes, check out the extremely impressive hands-on video of us playing the popular Tegra 2/3 shooter called Shadowgun. This Tegra 3 enhanced version ran at the full native 1920 x 1200 resolution and is truly what you’d call HD mobile gaming. The image was as HD as I’ve seen and it was incredible.

The new ASUS Transformer 700 series will be available in early Q2 and will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It will be priced at $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 64GB flavor. After watching that video who wants one?

The ASUS MeMO 171 features a 7″ 1280 x 800 IPS display with great viewing angles and exceptionally great colors and brightness. Unlike it’s recently unveiled brother this model doesn’t have the quad-core, instead it will be offered with the Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM.

Again, this 7″ tablet isn’t as thin as the popular Transformer Prime but they’ve packed all that power into a smaller package so that is one thing to consider. The MeMO 171 has micro-USB, micro-HDMI and even micro-SD for extra storage. For those unfamiliar it also has a stylus hiding in the bezel below that doubles as a great handle while using in landscape mode. Around back is a 5 megapixel camera and they’ve tossed a 1.2 MP front for video calling.

ASUS has added an integrated MeMic bluetooth headset for superior audio quality and hands-free calling — yes hands-free calling. Currently only slated for a Europe debut this tablet features GSM radios and was actually rocking a T-Mobile SIM (as seen below). According to ASUS they have no immediate plans to bring this to the US but that could change at any moment. They also state it will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich “soon”. Enjoy the hands-on video and pictures below.

Just announced yesterday by ASUS is the MeMO 370T although it may see a different name at launch. This 7-inch 1280 x 800 resolution slate features everything you’d want in a tablet. Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ultra-fast NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, front and rear cameras as well as full Android Market access and Google support. This is the first official 7″ ICS tablet. It may not be as thin as its larger brother in the Prime, but the size is the only thing making us call it the “little brother”.

The most important thing here is the price — and that is $249. We’d expect the slate to be slightly lower than the Prime in the camera department to meet that price but it actually still has that impressive 8 MP camera on back. The Prime has one of the best tablet cameras around so hopefully this wont disappoint.

The brushed aluminum has been replaced by a hard plastic with the same radial-spun design as the Prime and overall I was extremely happy with the feel and performance. Obviously with the Tegra 3 the tablet is blazing fast so I don’t even need to go there — although this is the first slate I’ve handled with a fully stable build of ICS. ASUS made clear that this was still under development but things felt ready for the green light to me. In case you didn’t catch that before — this is running on Android 4.0.3 ICS.

You can see in the image above the new 7-inch slate from ASUS will have micro-usb, micro-hdmi, and also a micro-SD slot for expanded storage — something many tablets lately have been leaving out. Offering this entire package and performance for the low price of $249 has just set the bar for portable and ultra-powerful tablets. Those high priced Samsung Galaxy Tab’s should be worried right about now. Expect to see this new quad-core tablets early Q2 2012.

I’ll start with our link to our sister site SlashGear — as we’ve got all of our coverage plastered on their front page. For any and all things CES click here. ASUS and NVIDIA had a strong day of announcements and more will be coming shortly. They just announced a new Android 4.0 7″ tablet rocking the Tegra 3 quad-core for only $249. AT&T will be getting a pair of 4G LTE devices from Pantech in the 8″ waterproof Pantech Element and the equally waterproof Pantech Burst Android 2.3 smartphone.

Like we said above Android 4.0 is available via an update for the Prime starting today. The popular shooter Shadowgun that we love here at Androi Community is getting full multi-player support and looks incredible.

Again all of our coverage can be seen at our CES 2012 Portal, and more is available over on SlashGear.

The tablet is quite nice and actually feel really great in the hand. Around back they’ve wrapped it with a carbon fiber-esque design although it is a hard plastic. The Element comes in at 8″ with a 1024 x 768 resolution, 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Pantech will be marketing this as a budget Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet but it definetaly doesn’t feel like a cheap budget device.

In the hands-on video you can learn more about this tablet and even watch it enjoy a quick bath. This is the first 4G LTE tablet in the U.S. that is also fully waterproof.

Pantech has also provided us with an array of ports and options all for a consumer friendly price of just $299. The Element has a 5 megapixel rear facing 720p capable camera, 2MP up front. It even offers HDMI-out, micro-USB, and a Micro-SIM all enclosed in a water-tight seal.

Another important note is Pantech’s new enhanced haptic feedback response inside the tablet. You’ll feel each individual touch on a more personalized and accurate level. Until we get more hands-on time we can’t fully judge this but from early impressions I’d probably be disabling this myself.

Pantech and AT&T will be rocking both these 4G LTE devices come early February and will market them as a one-two punch. You can get the Pantech Element for $299, or you can get the Element and their new Burst Android 2.3 smartphone as a combo for only $249 with a new 2-year contract on both of course.

As soon as these launch we’ll be sure to get them both in for a full Android Community review. In the meantime stay tuned for more of our CES assault as we process everything.

Before I mention a few thoughts on what we might see this week, I’ll start by listing where you can see any and all coverage at it comes in. For starters don’t forget to bookmark our Android Community CES coverage link — the CES 2012 Portal. Next, our sister site SlashGear is rocking out with us too (Hangover style), and all their coverage will also be available at the SlashGear CES 2012 Portal.

What will we see this year? Well that is anyone’s guess although we do have a few ideas and information that we can’t yet reveal. What we do know is this will be the year of the Android tablet assault. If you thought there was too many last year, be prepared to see a whole lot more. Obviously there will be things like that 150″ LED TV last year, refrigerators with LED screens playing Netflix on the front, and all those other crazy futuristic things. When we aren’t enjoying the toys we’ll update you with anything and all things Android.

From the various tips and leaks we already have a pretty great idea of a few big items we can plan on seeing. Read our What to Expect from CES 2012 post to find out more. From NVIDIA quad-core tablets (and superphones) to an abundance of sub $200 dollar Android tablets — hopefully mostly running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

For those waiting to get the Samsung Galaxy Note here in the US, most likely AT&T will be announcing that this week, as well as Verizon finally taking the lid off of their Motorola DROID 4. Sony Ericsson has been dropping hints all week about their upcoming flagship device for Android too so stay tuned for that.

I’m also excited to see more about Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Gamecommand for Android and more. For now we’ll leave you with those few teasers and suggest you check back soon, and often for more information and plenty of pictures.

One more time, follow our Android Community CES 2012 Portal for the latest and greatest from Android and CES.

Earlier in November, we noticed Google Maps made indoor malls and airports available for navigation – and this is precisely what they’ve done at the CES event. Hopefully, they continue to elaborate their maps to include all indoor places – and here in Vegas we’ve been fortunate enough to have it wherever we go.

The Venetian malls and ballrooms are all mapped out as well, so if you plan on heading over to any events there – Google can still guide your way. And remember, stick with us through CES 2012 for more tips and updates!

Many wonder if the Galaxy Note will even have a market here in the US, but I’m here to tell you it will. The Note is no doubt going to be popular during its initial launch, but I foresee other manufacturers following suit with the massive screen size. I’ve got more than a few friends with larger than average fingers that are too hesitant to convert over to touchscreen devices with smaller screens.

From the image, notice that the Note has four softkeys instead of the international version’s single center button. This, so far, is the only noticeable difference thus far. As for chances of it shipping with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), we’re still left in the dark.

While the AT200 isn’t anything new and Toshiba recently launched a 7″ Thive model, the image you see above is something completely different. Thanks to Notebookitalia we now have a few press images of another tablet Toshiba is set to debut. According to the information provided this could be a very budget-aimed tablet with a Qualcomm dual-core processor. With the low priced segment starting to take off we can expect a wide array of sub-$200 tablets hanging out at CES.

Recent reports from Toshiba also suggest they’re preparing a 7″ waterproof OLED-lit tablet that should be as durable as they come and looking at the provided images this new blue wrapped slate could be just that. Both the new waterproof tablet and the AT200 were mentioned specifically in their CES documentation so we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled on the showroom floor for everything they have to offer. Be prepared to witness the onslaught of low-priced Android tablets from this years event.

Stay right here at Android Community for the latest with our CES 2012 Portal. More details on all the Toshiba tablets is available from the links below.

[via Toshiba]

Quad core is the new dual core

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime got the ball rolling, but it’s far from the only Tegra 3 device we’ve gotten wind of. Expect both high-end smartphones and tablets to get a dual-core makeover on the floor of CES, with HTC leading the way. Its Edge and Ville smartphones are rumored to come out in March or April, so there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing them or some other variant at the show. Acer and Lenovo are both expected to reveal Tegra 3 tablets, and Samsung is preparing the latest generation of its home-built Exynos processor. This good news isn’t just for the high end: dual-core processors should start trickling down into the mid range for products released this summer and afterwards.

High end tablets…

As stated above, Lenovo, Acer and Samsung are all chomping at the bit to update their high-end tablet products. Acer’s Iconia Tab A700 and Lenovo’s IdeaPad K2 tablets both seem to have 1920×1200 resolutions prepared, and Samsung’s successor to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is rumored to have an astounding 2560×1600 resolution – as much as most 30-inch monitors. Combine all this with thinner frames, more RAM and in many cases LTE wireless connections, and the current generation of tablets looks like a Model T by comparison. Asus isn’t resting on its laurels: the long overdue Padfone device may show up in its booth.

…and low-end tablets

Basically, just lots and lots of tablets. Android tablet use is finally growing in leaps and bounds, but the biggest market is small, low-cost tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nook Color/Tablet, both of which have sold millions of units.  Android’s strength versus the iPad is in its ability to scale down, not up, and the new magic price for 7-inch tablets is $199. With Ice Cream Sandwich’s source code available, even manufacturers without Google’s blessing can produce a cheap machine with a true tablet interfce. Expect to see a lot of early hardware at CES running ICS, with a release date aiming for summer or fall. Google might even be working on its own low-cost tablet, but don’t expect to see that before Google IO in June.

LTE is here to stay

Three out of four of the major US carriers now have true 4G LTE rollout plans, with Verizon and AT&T leading the way. Now that the infrastructure is present and growing, manufacturers are eager to meet the needs of carriers, who are eager to get customers hooked on data that leaves the old 3G and HSPA+ standards in the dust. With the Motorola DROID RAZR, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus, LTE no longer means a phone with the ergonomics of a brick and 4 hours of battery life. With more worldwide markets introducing LTE connections, expect every major phone manufacturer to strut out Android LTE units for just about everybody.

Google TV is back, baby 

We actually just learned this a few hours ago, but Google has signed up a bevvy of new hardware partners for Google TV, including Samsung, Vizio and LG.  LG will definitely be showing of new televisions with the Android-based system built in, and Vizio will be displaying units behind closed doors. The others may have surprises in store, but nothing’s set in stone. With a new ARM-based architecture, there’s a high probability of Google introducing some new partner systems itself. Google TV has had a rocky start, but it looks like Google isn’t ready to give up the fight any time soon.

Accessories galore

Fortune 100 gadget makers and service companies aren’t the only ones at CES. Makers of cases, cables, docks, dongles, extenders and everything else populate their own booths or tables, and with Android dominating the worldwide smartphone market, everyone wants a piece of the action. We’re already seeing increased interest in iPhone-style docks and cases for specific popular models like the Nook and Galaxy Tabs, so expect more model-specific accessories than have ever been available for Android devices before. Mobile startups a la Square should finally begin releasing their products for Android and iOS simultaneously. The Kindle Fire should feature heavily in this area.

Android everywhere

Android runs on phones. It runs on tablets and televisions. Increasingly, it runs on watches, goggles and maybe even glasses. The open-source nature of Android makes it a downright perfect starting point for almost any piece of consumer electronics, increasingly widening its scope with every passing product cycle. A free, complete OS with no restrictions and hundreds of thousands of skilled developers is hard to turn down, so why try? Expect to see anything and everything that needs web, apps, connectivity and expandability to run Android, even if it isn’t obvious. Client computers, TiVo-style set-top boxes, car stereos and navigation systems, even Internet-connected appliances – you name it, and it’s likely that somebody will be powering it with Android. We honestly can’t predict what kind of crazy stuff will appear, and we can’t wait to find out what it is.

Android Community’s CES 2012 coverage starts on Sunday, January 8th, and runs all through next week. Check the CES portal to see all the latest information.

The image seems legitimate enough: it’s using Asus’ typical branding and the same homescreen/button/widget combination that they’ve showed off since the original Transformer. And speaking of Transformer, this possible model probably won’t bear that moniker: a data/charging dock on the bottom (like the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab) makes an attachable keyboard very unlikely. It’s tough to see in such a small image, but the OS looks like Honeycomb, not Ice Cream Sandwich.

As always, temper your hopes – this is just a small image with no real evidence behind it. I could Photoshop (verb) the same thing easily enough out of some original Transformer press shots. That said, a smaller, cheaper tablet makes a lot of sense for Asus, who have generally covered all price points in the laptop market. With the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet making waves at $199 and $249, respectively, a $299 Asus tablet with the same size but better specs would certainly turn some heads.

Android Community will be at CES with bells on. We’ll be sure to bring you the latest news about this little beauty, if and when it appears. And we’ll be keeping a close eye out for the much-anticipated Padfone as well.

[via android central]

That would make LG the third major manufacturer to support Google TV, and after Logitech has abandoned ship, only the second of two in active development. Currently only Sony’s Internet TV line of televisions has Google TV built in. Otherwise, you have to buy the separate Sony Blu-ray player or Logitech Revue. LG is a pretty big player in the worldwide TV market, and their support could only help Google TV’s future chances.

And at this point it could certainly use it. Even Google admitted that the initial version of the service wasn’t all it should be when they announced the long-awaited Honeycomb update. With the possibility of two big manufacturers supplying TVs with Google TV built in, not to mention a growing collection of Android apps, it’s not quite time to sound the death knell yet. That said, Google really needs to expand its cable and satellite deals to make sure the service works for as many people as possible.

The news seems a bit abrupt considering that as early as last month, Verizon employees were saying that the Bionic was to be released by the middle of this month. But then we got the news last week that was less than positive as store employees could only say it was to be coming out “soon.” But if Motorola was truly canceling the heir apparent to the Droid brand, why would they be stalling for time with a promise of enhancements?

So let the speculation begin. Perhaps Motorola decided to go ahead and upgrade to the Targa camera. Perhaps, Verizon learned enough from bringing their 4G network online and provided that information to improve Droid 4G connectivity? Or maybe it revolves around Google’s long awaited hybrid between Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) which is more than likely being called Ice Cream. We could do this all day. But one thing is certain, there won’t be a Droid Bionic in anyone’s Easter basket come Sunday.

[via Electronista]

According to the article the slate is to be expected possibly as early as June, but that is yet to be confirmed in any way. We also heard about this tablet and saw a demo model briefly at CES2011. We talked about this earlier in February and you can read about that here.

For now they are still not saying if it will be a part of the “Streak” branding and ship with T-Mobile, or any specs. So for now according to Dell the device is “unbranded”. If you’d like to see the CES2011 demo unit see the video below.

[via Forbes]

If you’re looking for a few more details about the device. It features a sweet 4.3″ Super-AMOLED Display powered by Samsung’s Dual Core Orion Processor we told you about here, 8MP camera with flash capable of 1080p video, HDMI out to display that 1080p, as well as Micro USB, and a 2MP front facing camera. The device was running Android 2.2 back at CES and should hopefully launch with Gingerbread.

The FCC filing today makes us hopeful that we will see this sooner than the “Summer 2011″ launch we heard at CES. Maybe Samsung see’s an opening with the Thunderbolt being delayed over and over. The Stealth V just might be the first 4G Verizon phone after all.

[via Wireless Goodness]