Google sends yet another Nexus S into space

Jake Smith

With the last manned mission to the Space Shuttle, Google announced in a blog post that the company accompanied two Nexus S smartphones to venture into space — for the second time. As seen in the video above, the two devices will remain on the Space Station to help robots perform tasks for astronauts.

A couple of our engineers built an open source sensor logging app that NASA decided was perfect for running diagnostics with the SPHERES. You can download the same app yourself from Android Market. NASA was interested in Android because it’s an open source platform, which makes it easy to customize the software on the phone to meet the specifications required to fly in space and work with the SPHERES. Nexus S was also a good fit because of its various sensors and low-powered, but high-performing, processor. 

NASA chose Android because of its open source platform, which is pretty understandable because for the most part NASA is pretty open. Check out the app if you’re interested.

Toshiba releases thinnest tablet yet at 7.7 mm thick

Seth Weintraub

We’re here at the show and just caught this quick hit: Toshiba’s tablet will be the thinnest yet at just 7.7 mm thick. It weighs in at just 558 grams (1.2 pounds) and also bests Samsung with HDMI-out, microSD expansion, and a 5-megapixel camera while promising up to 8 hours of video entertainment in a single shot.

Our playing around with it yielded a few crashes so that Q4 European release makes some sense. Also 8 hours of battery is a big stretch since the much bigger Thrive isn’t hitting 8 hours and this battery is much much smaller.

Still, though, give Toshiba credit. They’ve got the thinnest tablet (almost) on the market…at the moment. Read more

Android the platform of choice for the earliest of early adopters, says Nielsen

9to5 Staff

Like politics, smartphone wars come down to two major parties – Google and Apple – embroiled in a never-ending fight for consumers, especially those who have not made up their mind as to which operating system they’d like in their next smartphone. According to July 2011 data from Nielsen survey, “these ‘undecideds’ will be the ones device makers will be hoping to win over”. Interestingly, the Late Adopters among likely smartphone upgraders are the ones most likely to be undecided about their next phone platform.

The research firm discovered that forty percent Americans aged 18+ now have smartphones. Android leads the pack with a forty percent OS platform share  and iOS came in second with 28 percent. Compared to Nielsen’s June 2011 study, Android grew its share by one percentage point while iOS growth fell flat. The BlackBerry platform lost one percentage share and now stands at nineteen percent.

Of those buying a new smartphone next year, one third would opt for an iPhone and another third would go Android. This leaves other manufacturers outside the Android-iOS duopoly to fight for the remaining 33 percent of buyers.

Android, however, is the preferred platform of choice for the earliest of early adopters:

Among those who say they are usually the first to embrace new technologies, “Innovators” or the earliest of early adopters, Android leads as the “Next Desired Operating System” – 40 percent for Android compared to 32 percent for iOS. (Survey respondents were asked several questions to determine their attitudes toward new technologies.)

Moreover, the smartphone is clearly on the rise…

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Feature

Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy Note 5.3 all-in-one smartphone

Jordan Kahn

Live off the floor at IFA in Berlin, Germany, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the new Galaxy Note 5.3-inch All-in-one smartphone/tablet hybrid.

The LTE HSPA+ enabled Galaxy Note is truly impressive and possibly the first of its kind. Sporting a 1280×800 285PPI SuperAMOLED display, 1.4 GHZ dual core processor, and running Gingerbread,the Galaxy Note is unlike anything else out there.  Imagine the same amount of pixels as a 10-inch tablet, yet only slightly bigger than a smartphone.  Imagine a retina display, but three times bigger.

We suspected we might see a Galaxy Tab 7.7 variant at IFA after leaked images were spotted, and Samsung has confirmed those suspicions today by officially announcing the device, which also sports a 1280×800 285PPI SuperAMOLED display, and 5100 mAmp battery.  This device is over an ounce lighter than the previous Galaxy Tab 7 and is an incredibly only 7 and a half mm thin.

Both devices are of course packing Samsung built processors and support 720p video natively.

Wow.

Press release follows: Read more

Sony Tablet S and Tablet P land in Europe this fall

Jake Smith

Sony has officially announced the release date and pricing for both the Sony Tablet S and Tablet P. These tablets are Sony’s first jump into tablet waters, and they certainly seem to be some nice offerings to start with. The Tablet S lands in Europe sometime in September, while the Tablet P lands in November.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Tablet S is Sony’s “wedge-like” offering that features Android 3.1 on Wi-Fi versions and Android 3.2 on 3G versions, a Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and 9.4-inch screen. Sony’s Tablet P is a dual-screen offering, packing dual 5.5-inch touchscreens, Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and Android 3.1 on Wi-Fi versions and Android 3.2 on 3G versions.

The Tablet S will run for €479 (~$690), and the Tablet P will run for €599 (~$860). We hope this makes its way to the U.S. soon, but hopefully with lower pricing. Full press release after the break: (via AndroidCentral)

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Mozilla shows off Honeycomb inspired Firefox for Tablets

Jordan Kahn

Looks like Mozilla has taken a cue from Android for their latest work in progress Firefox for Tablets web browser. A blog post accompanied by some shots of the app explains how the company is “working tirelessly to make Firefox awesome on tablets” and also sheds light on how the app takes inspiration from “Honeycomb’s minimalist design language”.

On most fronts Firefox for tablets appears to be much the same as their mobile app for iPhone, but with some obvious enhancements to take advantage of the larger screen. Landscape mode gets a left sidebar for thumbnail tabs, allowing you to swipe through “tabs with your left thumb, and scroll through web content with your right”.

Portrait view puts tabs in a drop down menu tucked way in the toolbar, like many of the other elements which allows for an “unrestricted browsing” experience. This will definitely be a competitor for the many third-party browsers making their way to iOS. More shots of the app’s Awesomebar and tabbed browsing in action after the break.
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