IBLOG SPACE

The juicy and exciting Motorola leaks just keep on coming this week. We now have the official press images for the upcoming and recently leaked Motorola Atrix 2. We can now confirm the naming will indeed be the Atrix 2 — not the HD, and Motorola is also preparing a fancy new “Lapdock 100″ to launch along with the new Atrix 2. We’ve seen plenty of the Motorola Atrix 2 over the past few weeks and even a full hands-on yesterday. Sporting a 4.3″ qHD 960 x 540 display, a yet unknown but most likely TI OMAP 4 series dual-core processor said to be running at 1.2 GHz, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage and more. Sadly it will only come with a 2GB micro-SD card but as always that can be expanded. Sources have also confirmed the 8 MP camera around back with 1080p video capture and a 2 MP front camera for video chat capabilities. In what has to be the biggest con and definitely a surprise — the Atrix 2 will not support AT&T 4G LTE. Instead they’ve opted to just run with HSPA+ instead. The fancy

Motorola is reportedly readying a new dual-core, qHD resolution Super AMOLED smartphone, the Verizon DROID RAZR, packing 4G LTE and Full HD video recording. Resurrecting the iconic RAZR name, though bringing it right up to date with Android, Gorilla Glass and even Kevlar according to the This is my next tipster, the DROID RAZR is believed to be the same device as the so-called DROID HD that leaked last month. As far as specifications go, if the leaks are to be believed then Motorola hasn’t stinted on capabilities. The DROID RAZR is believed to have a dual-core 1.2GHz processor – supplier unknown – paired with 1GB of RAM and a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 Super AMOLED display. The rear camera is said to be a DROID BIONIC-matching 8-megapixel unit, capable of Full HD 1080p video recording and including image stabilization, while the front-facing camera is said to support HD resolutions (which we’re guessing means 1280 x 720 at a minimum). Meanwhile, Motorola has supposedly protected the high-res t

Verizon has demanded that US courts reject Apple’s request for a preliminary sales injunction against the Samsung Infuse 4G, Galaxy S 4G, Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1, arguing that doing so would “run counter to the public interest.” A ban on device sales, Verizon claims, would hamstring its 4G LTE roll-out plans, costing the carrier not only in wasted advertising and promotions for the holiday period, but potentially undermine “the job growth dependent on that network.” Verizon’s “ amicus curiae brief, ” a way for a third-party to offer its views to the court, also suggests that by blocking Samsung’s products such an injunction would also negatively affect governmental policy pushing for the expansion of US broadband networks. Although Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against the quartet of Android-based devices is based on four patents, Verizon’s argument addresses, ostensibly, only one. The carrier ignores the three hardware patents, and instead focuses on US Patent

Some new revelations on the upcoming HTC Vigor surfaced today with a set of leaked media files that were mainly wallpapers and screenshots of boot animations for this next powerhouse Android smartphone. The images support speculation that the HTC Vigor will support Beats as well as 4G LTE. But one thing was oddly missing: the Droid boot animation found in Verizon’s Droid-branded handsets. First obtained by Android Police, the screenshots were of 1440 x 1280 resolution, supporting rumors that the HTC Vigor would feature a 720p HD display with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. The device is expected to sport a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. It will run HTC Sense 3.5 UI on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The HTC Vigor was rumored to feature Beats Audio and that’s now supported by the screenshots, which also contain an image of Verizon’s 4G LTE screen confirming the device will be ready

Well folks, today I’ve just received an awesome Android smartphone thanks to Samsung. This being the Galaxy S II for AT&T I’m a little excited that these are finally here in the US. I’ve gone ahead and snapped a few pictures for all you hopeful readers planning to pick one up. What lies below is our quick hands-on video as well as a few lovely photos of the AT&T flavored SGSII. We’ve seen plenty of the Galaxy S II already, but this is the closest to the original (international model) here in the US as the others have a larger display. More details can be seen below. While I mention most of it during the hands-on video below lets go over the specs just to make sure. This beast is one of the fastest phones around rocking a 1.2 GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB internal storage — and then we can’t forget that amazing screen. Running with a 4.3″ AMOLED display just like most Samsung phones it is bright, vivid, and has extremely good colors and contrast. E

It’s time to look at another Android tablet here on SlashGear, this one coming correct with the first dual-core processor to exist on an Android tablet that’s not a Tegra 2. This is the ARCHOS 80 G9 tablet, one of two, the larger being the 101, both of them holding basically the same set of specs inside. Will the kickstand on this lovely little mid-sized tablet make it stand up against the competition, or will it down in a sea of tablet-like devices? We shall see! What’s inside of this and the 101 G9 tablet, you might ask? Why, it’s not the NVIDIA Tegra 2, as you might expect, no, it’s the Texas Instruments OMAP4 dual-core processor running at 1GHz, and it’s pumped up! Take a look at our first brief benchmark as run with CF-Bench below and you’ll see that the only more powerful device in the system is the Galaxy S II, a device we’ve also got storming our door today via AT&T. This tablet has no carrier thus far here in the USA, instead working with Wi-fi only at the moment with an e

Although Macs have the squeaky clean image of being malware-free, things may start to change as the platform gets increasingly more popular. Researchers at F-Secure and Sophos have discovered a new trojan horse malware that targets Mac OS X and is disguised as a PDF file. The malware was first seen in July but has now been identified as two utilities that work together to install a backdoor. The first is the trojan dropper that installs a downloader component while disguising the action by opening up a PDF file. The PDF file contains Chinese characters and is mainly to distract the user as a backdoor program is downloaded and installed on the system. When this happens, it will create a launch agent that keeps the malware active to send the system’s current username and MAC address to a remote server. The server will then instruct it to archive files for upload or to upload screenshots. At the moment, F-Secure says that the malware doesn’t work very well and appears quite crude. It’s po

For all the power users and business minded today we have the ultimate tablet for you. This is the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet. With a similar design and feel to current and past Lenovo laptops, but with that flare we call Android 3.1 Honeycomb. This has it all from a dual-core processor, stylus support and even a full sized USB port for all your connectivity needs. Today we’ll be doing a quick hands-on with the tablet and you can expect a detailed review soon. Head down past the break for the unboxing video and a few quick pictures. This tablet broke cover way back in April then later in August we saw the first press images of the Lenovo produced tablet. Today I’ve gone ahead and unboxed this powerhouse tablet and we’ll start with the video to get you up to speed. Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet hands-on This isn’t the first time we’ve handled these tablets in our own hands and you can see even more coverage here. This Android 3.1 Honeycomb slate is powered along by a rocking NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-co

One of the very first Windows Phone 7.5 Mango devices from HTC, called the Radar, has just passed through the FCC. This is always a good sign that the device is gearing up for launch but when exactly that will be is still uncertain. The handset was first officially unveiled at the beginning of this month during IFA 2011. The device will be heading to T-Mobile as the HTC Radar 4G with support for the carrier’s HSPA+ network. The FCC filings have it listed under model number PI06110, packing support for GSM/EDGE/WCDMA bands as well as the 1700MHz band used by T-Mobile. The device sports a 3.8-inch WVGA display, 1GHz processor, and 8GB internal storage. It also offers a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with a single LED flash and f/2.2 aperture as well as a VGA resolution front-facing camera for video calls. Although a release date hasn’t been announced yet, Microsoft has already confirmed that the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update will be rolled out to existing Windows Phone handsets within t

There is a way, ladies and gentlemen, you get yourself aboard an early developers look at Facebook’s new layout, that being the one called Timeline that we were introduced to just yesterday. The process is relatively simple, though you must be warned: its designed to allow developers to see the build early and may not be completely set up to show you exactly what you want to see of yourself – my god, your whole Facebook life, right there! Let’s get started!

Comcast is working on a new service called AnyPlay that will add the ability to stream live TV to its Xfinity TV app for iPads. The service will compete with Time Warner’s similar offering, but will only work with the Motorola IPTV box and the tablet being streamed to must be connected to a home network. Although no official announcements for the service have been made yet, MacRumors was able to glean some details off of the above screenshot they obtained. The service only allows Comcast subscribers to stream live TV to their iPads while connected to their home network, meaning WiFi from other locations or via 3G will not work. This restriction most likely has to do with the distribution agreements between Comcast and content providers. Both Time Warner and Cablevision have already gotten into hot water with providers such as Viacom, which sued both cable companies for breach of contract regarding their TV streaming apps. Users should be able to watch most channels that are available w

It turns out that the leaked images of some Otterbox phone cases yesterday are not for the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. The phone accessories maker was contacted today after they posted a new banner that reads: “iPhone 4S or iPhone 5? Yes.” This message seemed to suggest that Apple will indeed be launching two iPhone models come October, but Otterbox clarified that that’s not necessarily the case. TUAW contacted Kelly Richardson of Otterbox regarding the banner and the leaked case images, to which she explained that the images were of prototype packaging, but that the cases contained within were not for the iPhone 4S. It’s still unclear as to how those images leaked though. And as for the banner, Richardson explained that the message was merely to reflect the current speculations going around in the blogosphere and that Otterbox would support both models should they be released. “We’re not even quite sure ourselves,” said Richardson. “Like many, we are watching the rumor sites and using info

Millennial Media released a new Mobile Mix report today for the month of August and unsurprisingly Android and iOS are both still in the lead and growing, while the rest of the competitors continue to fall further behind. Android has quite the lead with a 54 percent market share that’s almost double that of iOS, which has 28 percent. While Android and iOS continue to grow, RIM continues to decline and is now in third place at 13 percent market share. Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Nokia’s Symbian each make up only 1 percent of the market, while the remaining mix of platforms make up 3 percent. This Mobile Mix report also tracked the top 20 handsets with the iPhone making up 13.06 percent. The second place handset was the LG Optimus at 6.71 percent, probably largely due to it being cheap and in some cases free with a new two-year contract. However, the study did combine the count for current and older generations of the same device series. For instance, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS were c

Right on cue before another big release from Barnes & Noble in the form of a autumn release of the Nook Color 2comes a brand new carrier for the massively popular electronic reader. This announcement contains both the original Nook which is priced currently at $139 and the Nook Color which is currently set at $249. Both devices will be available at RadioShack soon, while onlookers see this as a move toward a more broad coverage of mobile computing devices at the retail chain. This past Sunday was also the final closing of the doors of Borders, one of Barnes & Noble’s biggest competitors. Whether or not this was due directly to the fact that they didn’t bring their A game to the eReader court or not is still up to debate. What Barnes & Noble has here is an expanding model that’s set to continue to grow through the future along with their physical book store chain which is suddenly, with the death of Borders, looking a lot more ubiquitous on the book buying circuit. RadioShac

Samsung has filed four new patent infringement lawsuits against Apple in The Netherlands seeking to ban the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and both the first and second generation iPads. The devices are allegedly infringing on four of Samsung’s 3G wireless technology patents with each one represented by its own separate lawsuit. Apple has responded to the new complaints claiming that the patents involved are so basic to wireless technology that they ought be subject to FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory), meaning that Samsung should be required to license the patents to competitors at a reasonable price. The new lawsuits are a sign that Samsung is serious about getting more aggressive. In a recent interview, Samsung senior vice president and head of global marketing for mobile communications Lee Younghee accused Apple of “free riding” on Samsung’s patents. “We’ll be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on,” said Lee in regards to the patent battle that sta

The folks at Amazon have this morning sent out an invite to an event that more than likely will see the first look the majority of the tech world will have seen at their new “Amazon Kindle Tablet”. We’ve done a couple of details / rumors / leaks roundups recently, one for the iPhone 5 / 4S, the other for the upcoming Google Nexus phone – it’s time to go tablet style, wouldn’t you say? Join us here in this run-down then join us next week (September 28) as we find out what’s REALLY going on with what may be Amazon’s biggest Android-based effort yet. Instead of going through the full shebang of rumors we’ve had over the past year or so, let’s just get into the most recent, a set of what’s probably the most accurate set of possible factoids. First, there’s the invite we received today that’ll more than likely be the source of the actual announcement, this leads to an event on the 28th of September. This tablet, perhaps most importantly of all, is very possibly going to be undercutting the

The ToughTech Duo QR portable storage system from CRU-Dataport features a two-drive RAID array that packs large capacity and high performance into a tiny yet rugged package that’s easy to setup and use. The device is designed for professional photographers and digital media artists who need to carry and protect their digital assets while out on the field or in the studio. Hardware The ToughTech Duo QR model that we got to test sports dual 750GB hard drives for a total capacity of 1.5TB if configured as RAID 0. The hard drives are speedy at 7200RPM and compact at 2.5-inches in size. They are also easily swappable from the front-loading trays without the need for screws, although the drives can be screwed down to the trays for environments where extra stability is required. To remove a tray, you simply slide the black latch to unlock, which will reveal a red circle, and then you press in on the lid of the tray to pop it out. The compact aluminum chassis measures only 6.3-inches by 3.5-in

Dish Network and Blockbuster announced a new service called Blockbuster Movie Pass that offers internet movie and TV show streaming as well as DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and games by mail. The service will start October 1 and the announcement couldn’t have come at a better time, taking aim at Netflix just days after the ill-receivedQwikster spinoff. Blockbuster Movie Pass will allow subscribers to access Blockbuster’s broader catalog of 10,000 movies via internet streaming, including content from Starz and other providers that have snubbed Netflix. Movie rentals can be returned via mail or to a local Blockbuster store and Blu-ray movies aren’t charged at a premium like they are by Netflix. Despite some of the advantages, the Blockbuster Movie Pass may not hurt Netflix more than Netflix’s own detrimental decision to conceive Qwikster because the service is only available to Dish Network subscribers. These folks must pay an additional $10 per month on top of their Dish subscription to get the

If there’s one thing we love about technology, it’s that we’re able to control so much about everything we do in the world, it’s, as Ricky Bobby one wisely put it, “it’s not crazy to think I can live to be 245, maybe 300. Heck, I just read in the newspaper that they put a pig heart in some guy from Russia. Do you know what that means?” Truthfully we are so close to putting pig hearts in everyone these days that news of electron bouncing may have escaped our watchful gaze – luckily we happened across it, and the researchers at Cambridge University deserve all the credit. Electron control is the name of the game here folks, quantum computing the tool. What’s happened here is that Cambridge scientists doing this project have been able to take a high level of control over the path of an electron inside an electronic circuit. For the lay person, this is not an easy thing to do, especially when you’ve got an electron that doesn’t normally go along a straight path, but moves back and forth ac

Despite the poor sales of Microsoft’s Windows Phone devices, Verizon seems to have more confidence in the platform than RIM’s BlackBerry. During the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam expressed his opinion on which platform would emerge as the third major mobile operating system and he believed that Windows Phone would overtake BlackBerry. McAdam echoed the sentiment of other carriers, which feel that the mobile space will ultimately boil down to three major platforms. At the beginning of this year, the top mobile ecosystems were Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, Nokia’s Symbian, RIM’s BlackBerry, and HP’s WebOS. At present, Nokia has abandoned Symbian for Windows Phone and HP has ditched WebOS. That leaves BlackBerry and Windows Phone to duke it out. “The carriers are beginning to coalesce around the need for a third ecosystem,” said McAdam. “Over the next 12 months I think it will coalesce and you will start to see one emerge as a legitimate third ecosystem

The greatest game of all time, ever, Diablo 3 (or III, if you prefer), is being pushed back to the start of 2012, that is if you trust the list we got to peek at all the way back in December of 2010. On the other hand, it could all be according to plan, that list being smacked in the face after it was leaked and those responsible sacked. All we need to know is that Diablo 3 is only months away, and that yours truly is going to have to try his hardest not to completely dismiss the outside world and live in a cave with internet connection for the next few years playing. Blizzard Entertainment isn’t known for their quick game turnarounds, but they certainly ARE known for turning out hits. The Diablo franchise is over a decade old and has essentially had people playing online via Blizzard.net non-stop since the late 1990s. The new information we’ve got today comes from Mike Morhaime, chief executive at Blizzard Entertainment, who has some slightly discouraging news if you were hoping the B

Amazon has just sent out invitations for a press event taking place next Wednesday, September 28, in New York City. Since most such occasions are called for to unveil a major product launch, we can’t help but assume that this event is for the company’s first and long-rumored Android-based tablet dubbed the Amazon Kindle Tablet. The much anticipated tablet has long been speculated to be an iPad-killer thanks to Amazon’s established ecosystem of services, price competitiveness, and strong distribution channel. However, the latest reports from analysts and industry folks who have been privileged with a limited preview of the slate say that it’s a 7-incher that’s more of a Barnes & Noble NOOK Color competitor than anything else. The reports also claim that the tablet will be running a fully customized OS forked from Android, but it’s not clear which version it was created on. It’s believed that the tablet won’t launch until November, when it will hit the market priced at $250. So there

AmazonWireless has a something that will make your day if you are in the market for a cheap and very capable Android smartphone on Verizon. We reviewed the Motorola Droid Bionic a few weeks back and thought it was one of the best performing Android smartphones on the market. The downside is that the battery life wasn’t that great. The phone launched on AmazonWireless at $179.99 on Verizon with a new 2-year contract. As of today, you can get the Droid Bionic with a new 2-year contract for $149.99 and AmazonWireless is sweetening the deal a bit more. You also get a $50 gift card with your purchase bringing the total cost down under $100. That will make the Bionic more appealing for sure. The phone has 4G connectivity, Android 2.3, a 1 GHz dual-core processor, and a 4.3-inch screen. The phone has 16GB of storage and comes with a 16GB microSD card. It also packs in GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and a lot more. The phone also has some cool accessories you can add to it.

Tablets that can respond not only to touchscreen contact but taps and motions in the area around them could deliver a combination of Microsoft Surface-style expansive gestures in a portable form-factor, if researchers have their way. Portico, the handiwork of three computer scientists at Intel, Microsoft Research and the University of Washington, uses a pair of pull-out webcams to track movement on the table the slate is resting on. That way, objects in the periphery of the tablet can interact with what’s being shown on-screen. According to Daniel Avrahami, Jacob Wobbrock and Shahram Izadi, the team behind Portico, the system gives a 12-inch tablet the touchable area of a 26-inch display. In their demonstration – which you can see in the video below – a ball rolled at the side of the slate is tracked and then converted into a virtual ball when it impacts the edge, the motion continued across the screen. However, there’s more to it than simple gaming. “The idea is to allow the interacti

You run your social life in the cloud. You handle your email in the cloud. You might even write your documents, store your music and keep your backups in the cloud. Why not do away with local computing altogether? That’s the premise of Google’s Chrome OS, relying on just a browser to be your window to the all-purpose web. The Samsung Chromebook Series 5 is one of the first notebooks to give Chrome OS a go, in the case of our Threepowered machines offering 3G to release you from the WiFi teat, too. Can we really live in the cloud, or are we destined to tumble back to earth with a bump? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Hardware and Design Chromebooks are built to a budget – Samsung is offering the Series 5 in the US at $429.99 for the WiFi-only and $499.99 for the 3G version, while in the UK it’s £349.99 for the WiFi-only model and £399.99 for the 3G – and so you get a mixture of laptop and notebook functionality and style. Our white review unit is eye-catching, certain