Starting to look pretty real, isn’t it? That rumoredX10 Mini Pro replacement seems to be gallivanting about in China again; this time it’s not turned on, but the point is that it’s out there and certainly doesn’t seem knockoff-y to be a fake. For what it’s worth, the original X10 Mini series has been one of the few relatively bright points in Sony Ericsson’s Android lineup thus far, so we’re pretty stoked to see that they appear to be taking another shot at the diminutive form factor — let’s just hope those wild GPU results we saw last time hold up by the time it’s at retail.
Here we are a mere day away from the ThunderBolt’s probable announce at Verizon’s CES press conference, which, by our rough count, gives us at least one more opportunity to see the LTE-capable monster leaked in the wild. That opportunity comes courtesy of AndroidSPIN, who claims that we can expect a 1GHz single-core processor, 8GB of internal storage with microSD expansion, 8 megapixel rear and 1.3 megapixel front cams, Android 2.2.1 with Sense, HTC-customized mapping and nav (probably HTC Locations with offline caching), and DLNA compatibility — but no built-in HDMI. Every one of those specs was either already expected or believable enough, though the lack of HDMI — if true — would still give the EVO 4G some bragging rights more than six months after its release. Score one for longevity, eh?
We’ve heard of the mysterious, still-totally-unofficial PlayStation Phone running Android 2.2 in the past, but we’d also heard it could run 3.0 — thing is, that was back before we knew Gingerbread would be 2.3, so it’s possible that those 3.0 rumors ended up materializing as 2.3. Capiche? Anyhow, this is the first time we’re seeing the Xperia Play (or Zeus Z1, or whatever it’ll end up being called) running 2.3 in the wild, doing its thing next to a white Xperia X10 to give you an idea of scale. The lucky poster actually has two of the phones available, so they seem to be leaking out of factories in sufficient quantities now to suggest that it’ll likely be announced soon — or so we hope, anyway. CES? MWC? We’ll know soon enough. Follow the break for the 2.3 evidence up close.
Also notable: these appear to be new hardware builds that feature refined touch surfaces — notice the engraved circles — along with PlayStation-themed and Xperia logos at the bottom (notice the telltale square, triangle, X, and circle shapes). The screen shots call out a model number of R800i, which has previously been associated with the Zeus… so this is definitely lining up nicely.
QWERTY fans, rejoice: at this point, we’re pretty sure this thing’s getting announced this week, seeing how it’s out and about in retail packaging. Here’s Sprint’s EVO Shift 4G in all its in-the-wild glory — and yes, it turns out it’s definitely called the EVO Shift 4G, not the EVO 4G Shift, since we’ve got the name spelled out on the official branded box here. As a refresher, this phone’s shaping up to be the EVO 4G’s keyboard-equipped cousin, albeit with a lower-res camera (5 megapixels), a smaller display, and — seemingly — no front camera. For some, that could be an acceptable tradeoff… and it’s conceivable that we’ll see it on sale within a few days considering the flurry of retail leaks we’ve witnessed. Check out all the juicy shots below.
Once again, here’s proof that China is the place to be for piping-hot gadget leaks. The latest delivery is yet another mysterious Sony Ericsson handset, which is allegedly the Android 2.3 successor to the much loved X10 Mini Pro slider but with an X8 screen size. Despite its modest dimensions, this little gem packs a 1GHz chip with an Adreno 205 GPU, scoring an impressive 1,553 on the Quadrant benchmark app — coming close to the Nexus S’ score — and 42.5fps on Neocore, as pictured on the 3-inch 320 x 480 multitouch LCD above. It sure sounds juicy, except for one thing: the buttons are in reverse order of the current Xperia layout. Very funny, Sony Ericsson, now just give us a date. One more shot after the break.
Let’s be real: it should come as little surprise that Sammy — a company with multiple Android phones on Verizon already — would be joining LG, Motorola, and HTC in prepping a new model for its LTE network. Sure enough, Gizmodo has scored an alleged shot of said phone, showing Froyo (Android 2.2.1, to be specific) along with a front-facing camera and a model number of SCH-i520; it’s said to feature TouchWiz (as most non-Nexus S Android phones from Samsung tend to do) and, fortunately, lacks the Bing integration that Verizon’s been pushing on its low- and midrange smartphones lately. Given the company’s iffy track record on getting Froyo deployed in a timely manner to the Galaxy S line, we’re not sure how we’d feel about buying a new Froyo model when Gingerbread’s now available — especially with all these other LTE models that Verizon’s going to have on top — but options are good, we suppose.
We had our doubts the last time we encountered an HTC EVO Shift 4G, but it looks like they were mostly unfounded — here’s Sprint’s new QWERTY slider in the flesh — armor finally shed — revealing a chrome bezel beneath. PhoneArena obtained these pics from an anonymous tipster, who says the device has an 800MHz processor much like the T-Mobile G2, and while we can’t infer much more about the internals than we have before, there are a few new things to note: HTC Sense is alive and well, there’s a particularly large camera module buried in the smooth plastic back and a headphone jack up top, and it appears there’s a pair of status LEDs for Caps Lock and Function Lock right above the keyboard. See two more pics of the device at the source link below, while we wait for Sprint to own up.
So we’ve got a crazy theory here: SlashGear just got a couple closeup shots of some heretofore-unknown HTC. So did we — one in common with SlashGear, one different. Could it be that Taiwan’s finest are “leaking” us these shots in an effort to drum up interest going into CES in a couple weeks? We wouldn’t doubt it in the least — with the LG B, Optimus 2X, and Samsung Nexus S all fresh off the presses, HTC probably wouldn’t mind getting a little boost in mindshare right now, and there’s no better way to do it than by teasing a phone that looks an awful lot like the previously-leaked Mecha. As a refresher, the Mecha is the beast that might end up on Verizon as the Incredible HD, offering LTE compatibility for the carrier’s new 4G network — and we know that Verizon plans on showing a whole bunch of LTE devices at CES, so this is all lining up pretty nicely. Follow the break for the other shot we received along with SlashGear‘s.
Update:Android Centralgot another picture, too, presumably from the same source. Shenanigans!
Update 2:Gizmodo, too. At the rate we’re going, we’ll have these pictures assembled into an actual working phone by the time the night is over.
How many dedicated LTE-capable USB modems does Verizon need? At least three, apparently, because we’ve just been sent shots of Novatel’s upcoming USB551L that looks perhaps a tad glossier and sleeker than the Pantech and LG models that have preceded it. Hard to say from the spec sheet here, but it looks like there’s at least a chance this is LTE-only without CDMA / EV-DO fallback since there’s no explicit mention of it; unlikely considering how small Verizon’s LTE footprint is for the time being, but you never know. More importantly, there is explicit mention of Mac support, something the carrier’s current options lack. No word on a release date or pricing, but we imagine it won’t be long now that these dummy units — which you can see in the gallery below — are floating around.
Update: We’ve been able to confirm that it definitely supports both EV-DO and 1xRTT in addition to LTE, so fear not, road warriors — when you leave your LTE comfort zone, you’ll still be covered. Thanks, NKT!
LG has, in the most casual fashion possible, revealed the name of a new smartphone it intends to launch in the Korean market: the Optimus 2X. That brand name was buried deep in a release yesterday about exclusive Ennio Morricone content bundled with the Optimus Mach, though some studious folks have unearthed it and subsequently found YouTube content showing off the handset. Codenamed the SU660, the 2X looks almost identical to the LG Star we handled for ourselves recently, with the only differences being in product code (the Star was dubbed P990) and the button array at the bottom. Looking at the videos after the break, most of the onboard content bears LG’s local branding of Cyon, leading us to suspect the 660 is just the Korean variant of the Star. Either way, that LG presser also notes that the Optimus 2X should be launching within the next couple of months — just in time to take the Nexus S down a notch or two, eh LG?
