froyo

LG should be the next company to enter the dual-screen smartphone fray with its Android 2.2-powered Genesis. Uncovered by AndroidCentral, the LG Genesis features a very familiar enV design with its two touch displays (3.5-inch external, 3.2-inch internal).

On the hardware front, the handset offers a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, and a five-row QWERTY keyboard. Additionally, the Genesis has 430MB of internal memory, an 8GB microSD card, and support for Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and DLNA media sharing.

AndroidCentral's findings indicate that U.S. Cellular will offer the smartphone for an expected $249.99 price tag with the requisite two-year commitment and $449.99 outright. As of this time, neither the LG nor the carrier have formally announced the phone or its release date.

I'll admit that I'm growing a little bit leery of the dual-screen Android phones and tablets hitting the market. Android developers already have their hands full dealing with the various platform versions and I foresee that the secondary displays will only add to the equation.

Already, we have the Samsung Continuum and Kyocera Echo on sale with Sony's tablet arriving later this year. Until one of these handsets really takes off, developers will sit on the sidelines, fearful of wasting time and effort on a one-trick pony. … Read more

Once again Asia one-ups the rest of the world's mobile industry, this time with the LG Optimus Big. The Optimus Big sports a whopping 4.3-inch display, making it the largest LG phone to date.

Its other specs are also quite impressive. It runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor (no word on if it's a Tegra 2) and is equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, 16GB of internal memory, and an HDMI port. The display has the same technology we saw on the Optimus Black--the Nova display has apparently 700 nits of brightness, … Read more

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook launches Facebook Deals in a few, select cities

Facebook also rolls out the Send button, which is similar to the Like button, only not so public

Sony plans this fall to launch two tablets that will run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" and have access to PlayStation content.

Yahoo buys IntoNow, a social network for couch potatoes

The Barnes & Noble Nook Color gets an update that allows it to run apps

T-Mobile pulls the Bobsled app because it was confusing Facebook users

With the Samsung Fascinate finally getting its Android 2.2 update this week, the majority of the first-gen Galaxy S series devices finally have their helping of Froyo. The road to get here wasn't very short or easy, and with each model having to go through their respective carrier's certification testing, the updates were rolled out at different times and in different methods.

To help keep track of it all, we've assembled the chart below where you can find your phone, when the update was released, and how you can get it. We'll also post any future updates here. One can only hope the Android 2.3 Gingerbread roll out is smoother. … Read more

We were pretty excited to take a look at the Blu Tango, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone from a manufacturer that's new to us, and in fact, fairly new to handset-crafting at all.

Unfortunately, Blu's Tango, billed as a starter smartphone, is unable to recover from some pretty serious blunders. It isn't just more cheaply made than other entry-level handsets, it's downright unpleasant to use.

Consider the resistive touch-screen display that's only 2.8 inches, and … Read more

Does it have Samsung's signature high-polish glossy body? Of course! But the Samsung Gem, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone for U.S. Cellular, also has some style all its own. With its swooping lines and repeated pentagonal, superhero-esque accent, it doesn't look like just any other Android phone.

We're pleased that Samsung left its custom TouchWiz interface off this model, giving us the default (some would call it "pure") Android experience.

The specs are typical for a … Read more

Verizon Wireless has rolled out a beefy update for owners of Samsung's Galaxy Tab.

Now being launched as a mandatory system update dubbed EC02, the 35MB package offers a variety of fixes and enhancements for the Tab.

Verizon and Samsung are promising better speed and performance for the built-in browser and less drain on the battery when searching for Wi-Fi hot spots. The e-mail and message apps have been enhanced as well. Tab users can now access hyperlinks within e-mail messages, manage and download attached Word 2000 and 2003 documents, and open video attachments 5MB in size. Adobe Flash … Read more

Dell will reportedly launch a new 10-inch Android tablet this summer, according to a Forbes story .

Citing a source at Dell, Forbes said that the Android-based tablet would hit the market earlier than initially expected, possibly by mid-June. Briefly teased at CES in January and mentioned by Dell in February, the new Android tablet wasn't initially slated to launch until sometime next year.

If true, the new 10-inch tablet would add to Dell's current lineup of the 5-inch and 7-inch Streak Android tablets.

Outfitted with Android 2.2, aka Froyo, the Streak 5 offers a WVGA (800x480) display … Read more

Those who find MetroPCS' plain-old Huawei Ascend too tame can now venture for a much hipper model. Tapout, a mixed-martial-arts and lifestyle brand teamed up with Huawei to create the Huawei Ascend Sanctioned by Tapout. (Yep, it's a mouthful.)

The special Tapout edition comes with two logoed covers (one black, one gray) and is preloaded with 10 virtual training center videos, over a dozen themed wallpapers, and a Tapout app.

The guts of the entry-level Android phone remain the same, with Android 2.2 Froyo beneath the hood, a 3.5-inch display, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The … Read more