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Motorola Photon Comes To Sprint: Specifications And Facts

June 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The newest Motorola device sporting the Tegra 2 processor and 4G speeds is headed to Sprint around August this year and is sporting similar specifications to AT&T’s Atrix 4G. The new Photon 4G “provides an on-the-go edge for managing your life from anywhere around the world.” The new worldphone that is being released on Sprint will be fighting some of the fastest phones on the market: not only through their superior processor and 1GB PC-grade RAM but also through 4G speeds (which the Photon’s brother, The Droid X2, lacks).

Included stock with the device is Android 2.3 Gingerbread which is a step up for Motorola as it has not been released for their Atrix 4G, or Droid X2 yet. Many speed improvements, features, and optimizations were included with the Gingerbread update as well as a UI overhaul. If there’s one thing that Motorola should do is include the stock Gingerbread unlock screen; I’m tired of having a laggy lockscreen on their Tegra 2 devices.

A main focus of Motorola on the Photon 4G is the media side of things. The new phone will optimized for audio and video playback; the new phone is able to play back video with a resolution up to 1080p and includes a 16GB onboard internal memory with the option to expand it up to 48GB. The Gallery included with the phone is much like that of the Droid X2: it has built in social functionality being able to post photos directly on websites like Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa.

Here are some of the more impressive features of the Photon 4G:
• 4.3” qHD screen
• 1700 mAh battery
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• 4G network
• 8MP rear facing camera
• VGA front facing camera
• Supports a large assortment of audio and video files
• Able to record in 720p HD
• 16GB internal memory with 48GB expandable
• Kickstand for listening to music and watching movies

You can read the full fact sheet off the Motorola website and see the store page for the Photon 4G to keep up to date on when the pre-orders and in-store purchases will be available for the device.

Filed Under: Android OS, Sprint Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Overclocking Motorola Xoom To 1.7Ghz Dual Core

June 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today we rooted and flashed a custom kernel onto our Motorola Xoom to unlock the full potential of the hardware which includes external SD card support as well as overclocking the Dual core CPU to 1.7Ghz .Thanks to the files and guide provided by XDA, we were able to successfully install the Tiamat kernel onto the Xoom which allows for the most potential out of the Tegra 2 chip. There have been numerous stress tests done on the chip and it is running stable at 1.7Ghz which is “probably as far as the Tegra chip will go.” Although the kernel does not work on some devices and can cause hangs, you can always use the 1.6Ghz overclock which should work better and is still a huge improvement over the stock 1.0. Another feature included is the charging LED is now active while the device is on and charging, whereas before the LED would only be on if the device was powered off.

We ran a Quadrant test benchmark on it to see how it stacked up against other phones and dual core devices and it ousted every Android device on the market, as expected. The Motorola Atrix and the Xoom got roughly 2500 on a benchmark score when ran at stock speeds; after rooting and installing the Tiamat kernel the benchmark score reached 4108! If the Xoom was having ANY difficulty running multiple applications before, it has been fixed entirely with this update.

You can visit the XDA website below to read the official thread on flashing, unlocking, and rooting your device. As always, be extremely careful as this has the possibility to brick your device (make it a really nice 26 ounce paperweight) if the proper steps are not followed. We nor XDA are responsible for anything that happens to your device, use at own risk! These posts are aimed towards the 3G Verizon Xoom, not the Wifi version.

XDA guide for unlocking, rooting, and flashing the 3G Verizon Xoom

Tiamat Kernel Thread

SetCPU Forum post

Engadget has a post on their website which has a response from Motorola in regards to have an unlocked and rooted device when the 4G LTE upgrade comes around; Motorola states that it is not an issue and if any Xoom that is sent in for the upgrade will receive the installation of the 4G modem no matter what, even if they are unable to install the “software” for it basically saying “if you can hack your own software onto it, you can put ours on it too.”

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXpi3vnTjhI[/video]

Filed Under: Android OS, HoneyComb, Tablet, Verizon, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Motorola MOTO XT882 Released In China

May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Motorola announced today the release of the MOTO XT882 in China which boasts the first “Triple-Dual” system included in a smartphone. The device includes a “Dual-core, dual-mode, and dual-standby” system to offer the best performance on the market as well as the battery to support it for longer periods of time. The phone is made with businessmen in mind when it comes to the software included in the phone: it includes native applications such as the smart dialer, business card scanner, and contact manager.

The XT882 will include SHOP4APPS China, the application market tailored specifically to China to make finding the right applications quick and easy for your phone. Also, the phone will have HDMI output, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1080p video recording, and a 3G modem.

Here’s the official specifications list released from Motorola:

Additional Features and Specifications:
• 8 megapixel camera with a built-in LED flash. Front camera, video call application supported1
• Up to 40GB of storage – 8GB internal and 32GB optional external Micro-SD card, enough to store thousands of songs, photos and movies
• Supports aGPS and independent GPS satellite positioning and navigation, plus supports 3D Map1
• Supports Flash 10.2 multimedia full web browsing
• 16:9 screen output and support for 3D games, bringing PC-like gaming experience
• MOTOBLUR™ application, which updates and collects information in real time2/3
• Preloaded Post-it Notes, business card and text scanning, and other helpful business applications
• Supports a strong mail system, POP3/IMAP4/Exchange, etc
• Smart Dialer, contact grouping and group SMS messages management
• Rich application store options, like SHOP4APPS and Tianyi space, etc2/3
• Supports China Telecom’s 3G services (for example: 189 E-mail, Tianyi Video, Music, etc.)1/4
• New Quickoffice®, diversified formats file browsing/editing, including Microsoft®Word/Excel/PowerPoint/PDF
• Large 1880 mAh battery with power management providing longer battery life

Hopefully an international version will be released soon so users in the U.S. and Europe can enjoy the hardware and tweaks included in the XT882, and possibly an upgraded modem to support 4G.

Filed Under: Android OS Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

High Performance Processors Being Brought To Android Tablets

May 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Earlier this week ZiiLABS announced in a press release that they are making “Energy-Efficient Processors Optimized for High-Performance Android 3.0 Tablets.” This new line of ZMS-20 and ZMS-40 processors will be rocking 1.5 GHz Dual and Quad core models which will be turning these Honeycomb tablets into media Powerhouses. The announcement says that the new line of processors will be able to support up to 1080p HD playback, OpenGL 2.0, and HD video calling and recording. With some of the most recently released tablets on the market equipped with only a 1Ghz dual core, including the Motorola Xoom and the Asus Transformer, the 1.5Ghz processors are a nice jump ahead for the market. Although, if you already own a Xoom you can check out this guide on how to Overclock your Xoom to be a 1.5Ghz dual core tablet without to purchase a new one or hit yourself for not waiting for a better model.

As if the HD video wasn’t enough, the ZiiLABS processors will also feature hardware support for DDR3 RAM and HDMI 1.4 to further enhance the already sweet gaming and web browsing experience. You can take a look at the in depth specifications for the processors on the ZiiLABS home site and see the incredible hardware that is in store for the Android tablet market.

Thanks to: Android Community, Maboot, and Epizenter

Filed Under: HoneyComb, Tablet Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

LG Optimus 2X Gets in Guinness World Record Book

May 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After rushing to release the LG Optimus 2X, LG was rewarded with the title of world’s first smartphone to feature a dual-core processor.

LG had been claiming they were the first for a while, and had it confirmed by Guinness.

Dr. Jong-seok Park, chief executive at LG’s mobile division stated the phone is the, “next big leap forward in mobile technology.”

The phone runs Android 2.2 (Froyo)- LG assures an update to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) will be on its way- and is powered by 1000 MHz Nvidia Tegra 2 AP20H dual-core (duh) processor.

Other features include a 4-inch display, 8-megapixel front facing camera, and an 8 GB of memory with memory card slot.

Via Expert Reviews

Filed Under: Android OS, LG Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,