Samsung: Nexus Two rumor ‘simply not true’

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Remember that Nexus Two handset rumor that caught fire late last week? Well, according to Korean website danawa.com the report was a false alarm. The site is quoting a Samsung official who claims that the reports — which really took off after Gizmodo published the above mock-up — are “simply not true.” In any case, it looks like Samsung will be — as hypothesized — taking the wraps off of the Continuum smartphone at their November 8th media event. Anyone disappointed?

Nexus One sees red, nearly doubles battery life?

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These five Nexus One smartphones may seem to have defects, but there's actually nothing wrong with their AMOLED screens -- the funky colors are an attempt to improve battery life by turning off unnecessary sub-pixel LEDs. Hooking up his handset to an industrial power meter, Android engineer Jeff Sharkey discovered a blood-red screen drew 42 percent less current than full color -- the least of any combination by far -- purportedly doubling the effective battery life of the phone. While you're probably not going to be able to test the requisite software patch for yourself unless you're mildly familiar with Google code, you'll find a video of the crimson wonder after the break to fuel your dreams of a eyestrain-free astronomy cheat sheet... and Android bullfighting, of course.

Via Jeff Sharkey

Nexus One Froyo update gets update, FRF91 available OTA

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A few days ago, Google officially released Android 2.2 (Froyo) Build FRF85 to its army of Nexus One owners. Yesterday, Google began making a small update to 2.2 — labeled with build number FRF91 — available via an over-the-air download. The update, which weighs in at around 2 MB, is labeled as being “security fixes”; no further information is available. If you get the OTA notice on your N1 let us know if you find anything visually different, and if you don’t feel like waiting for the OTA push, you can always grab the files here.

Via BGR

Nexus One gets yet another Android 2.2 Froyo update, FRF91

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Another day, another Froyo build. Now that Android 2.2 build FRF85 -- i.e. the big one that got pushed over-the-air to every Nexus One this week -- is out on the prowl, Google's taken it upon itself to release yet another update, FRF91. We've heard from a few tipsters that it's also going out OTA, but our devices have yet to be notified -- all the same, a direct link for the file has been found, so it's legit. Word on the street is it's just a security update, but we've yet to install it ourselves. Go on, live a little, download's just below.

Via xda-developers

Sony Ericsson should’ve made the Google Nexus One, but they refused

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When you say “Google Nexus One”, you’re immediately thinking about Android and HTC (which manufactures the smartphone).

Most probably, Google wanted HTC to build the Nexus One due to the fact that the Taiwanese company is one of the most respected smartphone makers in the world. However, it looks like Google has chosen HTC also because another handset maker refused to build its first phone.

Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson’s CEO, recently stated that Google initially wanted SE to make the Nexus One, but the Swedish-Japanese joint-venture said “no”. Why? Because Sony Ericsson doesn’t want to be a subcontractor – it only wants to make and sell phones under its own brand. Well, if SE’s revenue and profit don’t grow in the near future, this might turn out to be a dumb decision.

Just for the record, Sony Ericsson currently has three Android smartphones (Xperia X10, Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro), none of which is available yet.

As for the Google Nexus Two, Motorola will probably make it – but, who knows, maybe Sony Ericsson will reconsider its decision and make the Nexus Three or Nexus Four (if they’ll be named like that).

Via Engadget

Nexus One succumbs to Colorware's charms

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Colorware's out to conquer the whole gadget world, it seems, as it has now added Google's first own-brand phone to its roster. Joining such hero devices as the Nook, iPhone 3GS, every modern console and even the occasional ThinkPad, the Nexus One will take three weeks to undergo its makeover, at a cost of $175 if you're supplying your own or $800 for a brand new one. Whether the results end up priceless or worthless will be entirely up to you, however, so feel free to practice on their design site a bit before pulling the trigger.

Via Pocket-lint

Nexus One 3G issues result of poor coverage, bugs; patch possibly within a week

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Looks like Google's investigation into the crappy 3G claims on the Nexus One are winding down, and it's a one-two combo of good news and bad news. First, the bad: preliminary findings suggest that poor 3G coverage factors into it, at least in part -- a believable story considering that T-Mobile has the smallest 3G footprint of the four US nationals. Now, the good: there's a software component to the problem, too, and the company says that it's already testing a fix. So far, testing is looking good -- so good, in fact, that an over-the-air update could be available "in the next week or so." It sucks that this partly boils down to crappy coverage, but we'll have to see where things stand after the patch gets rolled out -- and hopefully this'll serve as a high-profile reminder to T-Mobile that it needs to step on the gas (and to Google that it might want to expand its horizons).

Via Official Nexus One help forum

Mozilla Firefox for Android to be launched in February?

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Already available for Maemo (as a RC1 version) and Windows Mobile (as an alpha 1 version), the mobile version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser may soon be available for Google’s Android platform, too.

Camp-firefox.de is reporting that the first usable beta version of Firefox for Android may be out in February (hence next month).

Reportedly, Firefox for Android is almost completed since December last year, although, at that moment, browsing was not possible.

There are lots of Android smartphones ready to come out this year, so let’s hope Mozilla finishes working on its Android-bound Firefox as soon as possible. Not that the native Webkit-based Android browser is a bad browser, but more choices are always welcome.

Via AndroidSpin

GDC attendees getting free Droid or Nexus One, perfect for Palm's training session

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Unless you're press or a booth worker, major industry trade shows can be educational, enlightening, relaxing... dare we say even fun events that actually don't fill you with dread at their mere mention. Of course, the trade-off is that you (or your employer, if you're lucky) are then responsible for fronting the hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars that organizations command for passes to those events. So what do you get in return apart from a few days of schmoozing with some of the most important people in your line of work and the opportunity to play with cool stuff and steal as many promotional pens and USB sticks as you possibly can? In the case of GDC this March, attendees who sign up for either the Mobile / Handheld Summit, the iPhone Summit, or the Independent Games Summit will be gifted with their choice of a Droid or Nexus One, representing the hottest, latest Android gear from Motorola and HTC, respectively -- potentially prime targets for the yet-to-be-tapped 3D gaming market on the platform. With Palm onsite, it should make for some interesting dynamics -- but then again, they're giving these things to people at an event called the "iPhone Summit," for crying out loud.

Via Joystiq

Google Nexus Two to be the Motorola Shadow?

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Remember the Android-based Motorola Shadow, appeared in a leaked photo just before the end of 2009? Apparently, the smartphone is a QWERTY-equipped one that could become Google’s next Nexus phone – namely the Google Nexus Two.

We’ve already heard that Google might be readying an enterprise Nexus handset with a QWERTY keyboard, and, well, the Motorola Shadow can certainly pass as an enterprise phone.

The folks over at Mobile01 have two renderings that show the Moto Shadow – the device looks like a Motorola Droid, but has a different keyboard that includes a wrist strap:

The rumored features of Motorola Shadow / Google Nexus Two include a 4.3 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HMDI port, and an 8MP camera with HD video recording.

Of course, at the moment there’s no real proof that the Shadow will be the Google Nexus Two, but I guess things will be sorted out soon.

Via Engadget

Google to sell 5 to 6 million Nexus One phones this year?

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We don’t know how many Google Nexus One superphones have been sold until now (almost one week after launch), but the handset certainly has what it takes to become a commercial hit – since Google itself is selling and advertising it.

Barclays Capital analyst Doug Anmuth believes that Google might sell 5 to 6 million Nexus One units in 2010 only, which would make the handset the best-selling Android device until now.

And while 5 to 6 million units is still far from the Apple iPhone’s projected sales for 2010 (more than 30 million units), it’s definitely an impressive number – it’s about half the projected phone sales of Motorola and Sony Ericsson for this year.

Knowing that the Nexus One costs $530 free of contract, Google might cash in at least $2.5 billion – if it will indeed sell 5 million phones. Of course, Google’s net profit would be just a (small) part of the $2.5 billion, and it would also be shared with HTC (which actually builds the smartphone).

With the Nexus Two sort of confirmed by Andy Rubin, it looks like Google and its Android OS are on a roll. It should be interesting to see which mobile OSes will be hit harder by Android. iPhone OS? Maybe, a bit. Symbian? Probably. Windows Mobile? Most certainly, especially if Microsoft will delay Windows Mobile 7 to 2011.

Via Android Guys