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Know your buttons

Phil Nickinson — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:38:13 +0000

Every Android phone has a standard set of buttons at the bottom. They may be physical — with parts that move — or they may be capacitive, reacting to your touch. The order may change, but the functions are the same. You’ll find:

Home: Returns to the main home screen. Hold down to see your most recently used apps. (Tip: Try tapping it again once you’re at the main home screen and see what happens.)
Back: Takes you back a level in an app, or back a page in a browser, etc. (Tip: Hold down while browsing to quickly access bookmarks, history and most-visited sites. Thanks, Snapdragon0503!)
Menu: Tap this for additional options in an application, or from the home screens. (Tip: Hold down to make the keyboard appear.)
Search: Brings up the search function. Could be search within an app, Google search, or universal search of contacts, bookmarks, apps, etc. that are in the phone. (Tip: Hold down to launch voice search.)

Most Android phones have four buttons, though occasionally a manufacturer will do without the search button.

Posted originally at Android Central

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LG launching three Android phones, but none for the U.S.

Casey Chan — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:06:48 +0000

LG is slated to release three new Android phones in the near future but sadly, none of them are currently coming to the US. The first two, the LU2300 and the SU950/KU9500, are very interesting. The LU2300 (pictured above) is the device we once guessed was the awesome Aloha in the US. It packs the increasingly common 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a physical QWERTY-keyboard, 3.5-inch AMOLED 800×480 screen, and a 5-megapixel camera. The SU2300 is said to share the same internals sans the physical keyboard. Those are top notch specs and we can’t help but be jealous of South Korean Android users who will receive both devices in June (we’re also jealous of their commercials!).

The UK is also getting some love in the form of the LG Optimus, formerly known as the LG GT540. We saw this device back in CES and felt it was a good mid-range device. Specs are unclear but don’t expect much, the LG Optimus is available starting May 1st in the UK.

See more pictures of the LG Android devices after the jump! [via unwired view]

Motorola MT820 pictured, does 3D ?

Casey Chan — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:19:32 +0000

Could that weird Motorola Android device we saw last week actually be the Motorola MT820 pictured above? The button arrangement is different but the transparent flip screen, camera placement, and general shape is very familiar. If they’re not the same phone (one being prototype, other being final), they at least have to be part of the same family right?

The MT820 certainly looks a lot better than what we previously saw but that could be the higher resolution shots talking. We’re still unsure about the whole ‘flip’ form factor but rumors are suggesting that the extra screen allows the MT820 to display 3D images. The MT820 is headed to China’s TD-SCDMA network, which means we’ll likely never see the phone. Not like we were dying for it in this first place, the form factor is still too weird and 3D is currently more a gimmicky feature than anything. What do you guys think? Do we want 3D on our phones yet? Ever?

Hit the link to see more pictures of the MT820 [slashphone]

Wait … the Xperia X10 won’t get multitouch after all?

Casey Chan — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:24:55 +0000

This is getting confusing. First, the Xperia X10 wasn’t going to get multitouch because the hardware wasn’t capable. Then we heard that the Xperia X10 would receive multitouch in a software update. And now it’s back to square one — no multitouch, ever, on the Xperia X10. How do we know? First, we found out on Twitter. And then SE Communication Manager Harold de Kort said so. In his words:

“Multi-touch will not be a feature in future updates for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 because the device does not support multi-touch due to her software and hardware configuration. The operation and user experience of the phone will be further improved and Sony Ericsson will come with her own intuitive way of, for example, zooming in and out.”

So there you have it folks. No multitouch on the Xperia X10. And frankly, it’s been so long since anyone has been excited about the X10, we’re not sure anyone cares if there’s multitouch or not.. [via Twitter and androinica]

Another weird Motorola Android phone pops up

Casey Chan — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:59:59 +0000

Though the above picture of a Motorola Android device looks innocent enough, don’t be fooled–it’s a flip phone. And yes, leave it to Motorola to cook up some interesting form factors for Android. After introducing the Backflip, it looks like Motorola has a flip Android phone in the works. But the Motorola Android flip phone isn’t the size of your typical flip phone, which could’ve be neat, it’s smartphone sized, which just maks the thing unwieldy. We’re not even sure if the ‘flip’ portion of the phone offers any functionality other than protecting the screen.

The phone is reported to be an engineering prototype and of course looks to run the Motorola favorite, Motoblur. Specs are hard to come by, but we’re sure more will be revealed soon. Either way, if Motorola keeps throwing things against the wall, we’re sure something will stick, right? Does a flip phone running Android interest you guys?

Hit the jump to see more pictures of the Motorola Flip Android phone. [it168 via engadget]

Could this be the LG Aloha ?

Casey Chan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:36:53 +0000

We just reported on the LG Aloha and now we have some speculative pictures that point this South Korean LG LU2300 Android device (pictured above) as the actual Aloha. Remember, the Aloha is purported to be the next great Android device with one new wrinkle: it has a full QWERTY keyboard.

A QWERTY keyboard is found on the LU2300 along with a 800×480 screen and Android 2.1, both which are expected to be on the Aloha. The other ‘new’ specs of the LU2300–Snapdragon, AMOLED 3.5-inch screen, and optical trackpad–seem to fit in with the Aloha’s "high end" nature, so if you connect the dots and take a leap of faith the LU2300 just might be the LG Aloha. We definitely wouldn’t be mad if it was. What do you guys think? [via androidcommunity]

Could this be the LG Aloha ?

Casey Chan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:36:53 +0000

Xperia X10 launching on Rogers in two weeks ?

Casey Chan — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:31:05 +0000

Ho ho! Look what we have here! According to mobileSyrup, the Xperia X10 (yes, the phone that was supposed to launch last year) is supposed to hit Rogers in Canada in two weeks’ time. As the rumor goes, the launch date is set between April 7 and April 14, and the Xperia X10 will run for $149.99 with new 3-year contract (that’s standard in Canada) and $549.99 sans contract. A pretty good deal considering what the price was originally rumored to be. But don’t you Canadians get excited yet, because when it comes to the Xperia X10 we have to always, always consider Sony Ericsson’s flakiness. Be prepared for disappointment while hoping for the best.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will never get multitouch, hardware not capable

Casey Chan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:10:10 +0000

We’re all familiar with the saga of the Xperia X10, how we were once so very excited for the phone to release and to, well, have it never release and have it just disappoint us at every corner instead. So it comes to no surprise that the Xperia X10 is disappointing us once again. (Put it this way: We’ve got it in hand, and we’re trying to figure out what to do with it.) Though laggy software reportedly will be improved via update, it looks like the Xperia X10 will never have multitouch because the hardware is simply not capable of it. According to Sony Ericsson product manager Rikard Skogberg:

"There’s no multitouch in X10 – and I also can confirm that it’s not only related to [software] but also to [hardware]."

In a vacuum, not having multitouch is a downer but not a definite dealbreaker–but considering how reliably unreliable the Xperia X10 has been, those still looking at the X10 as their next Android device should probably look elsewhere. Wait, was there even anyone who still wanted the Xperia X10? [via slashgear]

Better late than never: Samsung releases Behold II commercial

Casey Chan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:24:58 +0000

So for reasons that currently escape us, Samsung has decided to release a commercial showcasing the Samsung Behold II–yep, that middling Android 1.5, TouchWiz UI running phone that never picked up much steam when it was released way back in November. The commercial is a nice spot, we think the stylizing is done rather nicely, but why devote new advertising space to a phone that clearly needs an update? And why so long after release? This would have been more effective if the ad onslaught started in Thanksgiving. And if Samsung wanted to wait this long, they should have waited until Android 2.1 was running on the Behold II to re-introduce it.

Otherwise, timing and TouchWiz UI issues aside, the spot is pretty cool, huh? Check out the full commercial after the break!

[via androidandme]