MWC 2012 - Android Community

Tagged: MWC 2012

Orange Intel Santa Clara Android phone hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

We've seen Intel hardware running Android before, but what Orange has unveiled at Mobile World Congress appears to be a much cleaner, finished product than the prototype we briefly handled at CES. The Santa Clara (codename) device comes without a manufacturer, and that probably means that Intel fabricated it itself to show off its Medfield smartphone platform, an it's headed to the Orange carrier and other parts of Europe "soon". What we saw was an impressive if not earth-shattering demonstration of something that would have seemed impossible a couple of years ago - a standard Android smartphone running on an Intel Atom processor.

Toshiba 7.7-inch prototype quad-core tablet hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

And you thought Toshiba's super-skinny Excite was... uh... exciting. Get a load of this 7.7-inch version of the hardware, with the all-important (and seemingly ubiquitous) addition of an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The beautiful little tablet is code-named the AT270, and in addition to the processor it sports a full 1280x800 AMOLED(!) screen, 1GB of RAM and - wait for it - Ice Cream Sandwich. This one's obviously in the early stages of development, but shows a lot of promise already - we'd be very surprised if it didn't reach retail shelves at some point this year.

Huawei Ascend D Quad hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

Huawei is pulling out all the stops at Mobile World Congress 2012, and that includes the one marked "restraint". Their new Ascend D Quad smartphone uses their own H3-series quad core process, which makes it (Huawei's words) "the fastest smartphone in the world". The company was eager to show off their flagship at their Barcelona booth, and we were equally eager to check it out. Can the first entrant in Huawei's Diamond line make the cut? Decide for yourself with our hands-on.

Huawei MediaPad 10FHD hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

Rumblings of a 10-inch version of Huawei's surprisingly solid MediaPad have been going on for quite some time, but at Mobile World Congress 2012, it's official. The MediaPad 10FHD is only the company's second tablet (not counting derivatives like the T-Mobile Springboard) but already it's looking pretty impressive. The 10.1-inch slate runs Android 4.0 along with Huawei's other new hardware, and it uses their custom-made quad core system architecture. Perhaps most impressively, it's skipped right past the 720p standard and uses a full 1920x1200 10.1-inch LCD screen.

Asus Padfone headed for release in April with headset/stylus: we go hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

Easily one of the most-anticipated Android devices over the last year has been the Asus Padfone. First just a concept and eventually a developed product, Asus has finally pulled the wraps off if its shiny new form factor and the hardware that will release in just a couple of months. If you've been following the Padfone, you know it's an Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone that docks to become a full-fledged Android tablet. Asus had two new surprises at its launch event: one, the Padfone will be released in April, and two, they're not done defying conventions: they've added a Galaxy Note-style stylus that doubles as a Bluetooth headset. You read that right.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity 700 LTE hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

The new Transformer Pad 300 isn't the only mobile broadband tablet that Asus has up its sleeve. They're also planning an LTE version of the Transformer Prime 700 that we saw at CES last month - and boy, is it a looker. That "Infinity" branding isn't just to make a pretty name: it adds a 1920x1200 screen to the Transformer Prime base - a resolution that was previously reserved for 17-inch laptops and 24-inch desktop monitors. In addition to the standard Tegra 3 quad-core model, Asus is also preparing a dual-core version running Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 1.4Ghz processor.

Asus Transformer Pad 300 LTE official: hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

Drooling over the Transformer Prime, but can't bear to be without mobile data? Asus feels your pain, and they've got a new model to fit your wireless needs. The Asus Transformer Pad 300 (note the new branding!) was revealed at Mobile World Congress today, and Android Community was on-hand to get the skinny. The biggest news is that the 300 series will have both 3G and LTE mobile data, a first for Asus in any market - and a good sign that eventually the Transformer Pad 300 will make its way to the US.

HTC says One V headed to Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile and US Cellular

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

HTC's new One line has gotten a lot of us Android fans excited, and in America we're doubly excited to see a European launch event confirm US releases. The flagship HTC One X will be headed for AT&T (with a reduced Qualcomm dual-core processor) and the HTC One S is on its way to T-Mobile. But what of the One V, the smaller, cheaper phone that revives HTC's Legend design? According to PhoneScoop, it's headed for the land of the free as well: low-cost and prepaid carriers Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile and U.S. Cellular have already begun the initial steps towards adding the phone, said an HTC representative.

Asus rebrands tablet line to ‘Transformer Pad’ and adds LTE

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

"Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime" - a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? Asus would seem to agree, since they're finally breaking their line of Android tablets away from the "Eee" branding that started the netbook craze way back in 2007. Now new members of the docking tablet family will simply be known as "Transformer Pad", plus a distinctive model number afterwards. That leaves the Transformer Prime as the last Asus tablet to be saddled with the Eee brand. Other tablet lines in Asus' hardware armada will be known by other names, like the Padfone or the smaller MeMO tablets.

Android growth continues: 450,000 apps, 850,000 activations daily

By Michael Crider
on 27 Feb, 2012

As previously indicated, Google's Android booth at Mobile World Congress is pretty amazing. But it's not all slides and pins: the company took the opportunity to interrupt full-grown tech journalists embracing their inner child for long enough to drop the latest numbers detailing Android's meteoric rise. First up, Android has now passed an average of 850,000 new phone and tablet activations every day - and that's just the number that Google keeps track of through its own apps and servers. It's a growth of over two hundred and fifty percent since MWC 2011 a year ago. Anyone want to start taking bets on how soon it will reach a million?