The Archos 5 includes a 500 GB internal hard drive, 5-inch 800×480 resolution screen and a 800MHz processor. Shipping with Android 1.6 Donut (we know, it’s old), the device will be able to handle most multi-media needs. However, it’s worth noting that the device doesn’t ship with Google’s standard suite of applications, so if you’re looking for the Android Market, Gmail, or Google Maps you will have to use alternative methods to get them on your device.

The sale is today only and the 32GB flash storage model has also been cut to $290 fro $380.

[Via AndroidCentral]

Specifications:

* VIS8505 400mhz
* 16GB HDD
* Camera
* LCD: 7″ 16:9 aspect ratio, 800*400 resolution
* 512RAM
* Wifi:802.11 b/g.
* External 3G( means one can use their existing USB mobile broadband with the device).
* Android 1.6.
* 35mm jack, HDMI output, support for TV-OUT, USB2.0, SD/MMC card port,
* Accessories: User manual, HDMI cable

This tablet will not be a marathon device. It’s expected to last 4.5 hours while standing by and 2.5 hours of use. These numbers hopefully are exaggerated and it lasts way longer than that but if they are dead on make sure you have your charger handy. With numbers like these this thing will always be tethered to a power cord.

[via Loy Okezi]

The X10 same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the Nexus One and HTC Desire but Sony chose to go with a 4” touch screen. Android 2.1 has been rumored to ship on the US version but this has not been confirmed so as it stands this is another 1.6 device. like Sense does for WinMo devices, Rachael does a great job of concealing the outdated donut that is installed on this device.

The X10 comes with 1GB of onboard storage, a microSD card slot and an 8GB card in the box. The usual additions like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and a very impressive 8.1 MP camera with LED flash. Rachael UI is where device really shines; the two main components of Rachael are the Mediascape and Timescape apps. Mediascape handles all of the audio, video and image content. And Timescape, like HTC “Friend Stream” and Motorola “Happenings”, handles all of the phone’s social networking. For the complete in-depth review as well as a video and picture gallery, head over to Slashgear now.

[via slashgear]

Bill Buzbee, a member Google’s Dalvik team states:

“To restate, the choice is between a near-immediate good performance boost vs. a better, but delayed, performance boost. An important use case for us is when a user downloads a new app from the market. Anecdotally, we think that for many users there is a very short window in which the first keep/uninstall decision is made – on the order of a few seconds. If the application feels sluggish on first use it may get discarded before it has a chance to shine. We didn’t want to require that an application
build up a usage profile over a series of runs, or introduce a big up-front compilation pause to benefit from the JIT.”

And now JIT is available for your Android running a 1.6 custom ROM’s such as Cyanogen, SuperD, WG, etc. The hack is currently in Alpha stage but onnce the devs get all the kinks out or devices will fly. Knowing how the XDA works, it should not be long until this feat is mastered.

[via androidspin]

The guys over at Engadget were lucky enough to get a prototype device and they took the liberty of conducting their own photo shoot with it and make a somewhat detailed list of specs. Here’s a few listed below.

Specs:
• -Android 1.6 Donut
• -SnapDragon processor
• -256 MB Ram
• -480×854 Screen resolution
• -Multi touch
• -Bluetooth GSM
• -5 MP Camera
Pictures:

Video:

[viddler id=9d7547cd&w=437&h=288]

[via Engadget]

This news has been around for awhile but it is seldom seen around the net. I have tried the 2.1 gallery on my G1 and it works but it performs really really slow. The Genie Widgets on the other hand performs brilliantly. Click here if you would like to give the gallery a whirl. I’m not sure if you need root to use these, I’m pretty sure you don’t but report back and let us know how you like these welcome upgrades to your phone.

[via androidauthority]

Perhaps more frustratingly for end users, Guy also maintains that there is no multitouch support in Donut, despite what initial feedback from the developer community may have said.  The touchscreen feature – which the current crop of Android smartphones are technically capable of supporting, though which Google’s official Android code falls short of enabling – was initially believed to be present in Donut, along with such things as VPN support, CDMA support and more.

The takeaway part to all this is the distinction between development branches and official releases.  As AndroidGuys explain, Donut is a development branch – a chunk of newly developed test code, patches and other tweaks – which Google is pushing out so that it can be tested, evaluated, and have OEMs check for compatibility with their hardware.  Some of those new features may find their way into an official release – we don’t know if that will be 2.0 or any other release number, though Guy’s comments suggest that it’s not 2.0 as we expect it – while others will be put on the backburner or junked altogether.

[Thanks Robert and simms22!; via Engadget]

There’s also improved universal search, automated backups and what developers are already calling a huge amount of performance tweaking that should hopefully see the platform running more smoothly even on existing hardware.  More technical issues have been tweaked, too, with WPA Enterprise encryption support together with VPN functionality.

It seems Google and HTC have been thinking along the same lines, too, as one of the most visible changes is the connectivity bar in the above screenshot, which allows for one-touch homescreen control over WiFi, Bluetooth and other connections.  The first hacked ROM suitable for the G1 has already been prepared, though be warned: core aspects such as network connectivity do not work, and this is really a build for early testers rather than those looking for the most functionality from their Android devices.  Such users should wait a while, as the frontline devs are promising new versions of OS 1.5 Cupcake with elements taken from 2.0 Donut.

[via Engadget]

In addition, Donut brings with it intelligent search, with the Android phone learning common searches and offering them up in future queries.  OS 2.0 also allows for simple addition of third-party content to standard searches with just a few line of XML code.

Google also demonstrated an update to their voice-control system, present on OS 1.5 Cupcake, which introduces their new text-to-speech API.  A generally available translation app – which currently only shows text translations – was modified with the new API to read out translation results.

Finally, the video shows the new handwriting gestures which can be used to quickly filter out contacts or move through tracklistings in the media player.  Let us know what you think in the comments!

The Spica is a mass market handset with triband HSDPA (900/1900/2100) and a 3-megapixel autofocus camera, and will slot in beneath the Samsung I7500.  Onboard storage is 100MB, plus a microSD card, and there’s WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and GPS, plus an accelerometer and digital compass.  The Spica’s touchscreen display is a 3-inch WQVGA LCD, and the whole thing measures 111.5 x 52.6 x 12.9 mm.

As for the Samsung Bigfoot, that has the same specifications as the Spica but throws in HSDPA (900/1700/2100) for T-Mobile USA 3G network compatibility.  It also gains some girth – 16.3mm thick, in fact – thanks to the slide-out QWERTY keyboard.  While it’s too early to say, it does rather resemble the tiny render of the T-Mobile G1 v2 spotted in the carrier’s leaked roadmap.

Samsung are apparently giving the Spica a new version of their TouchWiz GUI, rather than leaving the handset as a standard Android handset.  There’s also word that Android OS 2.0 “Donut” will support WVGA displays and have a number of new features that existing Android devices won’t support (or even have an upgrade option for), the speculation being that handset manufacturers have been waiting for this new version for their first Android foray.

[via Unwired View]