We’ve seen the power of the Tegra 2 platform in many tablets but until now no one has integrated it into a mobile phone. There were rumors that the second Android phone – Nexus S will be running on Tegra 2, but they came out to be wrong. However, another phone will keep a Tegra 2 chip inside its body – LG Optimus 2X (which was formerly known as LG Star). At first it will be present only on the Korean market in January next year and after that followed by the Asia and European markets.

The specifications of LG Optimus X2 are quite impressive and if it wasn’t the small screen, everyone could think that these are the specs of a netbook. As already mentioned, the core of the handset is 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, supported by 4-inch WVGA screen, 8GB internal memory (which can be expanded via the microSD card slot with up to additional 32GB), 8MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing one for video calling, HDMI mirroring, 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 video playback and recording and 1500mAh battery. At first the device will be offered with Android 2.2 FroYo as its OS but later on LG promise that you’ll be able to upgrade it to the just announced Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

All these specification look really fantastic and I’m sure that LG Optimus X2 will mark the start of a new era in the mobile phones’ life. Having a 1GHz 2-core processor in your pocket is really amazing. I remember the time 10 years ago when I had my first Pentium PC running at 400MHz – it was so big and noisy and now my mobile phone is times faster and smaller. All that’s left is to wait for the final price and head to the stores as soon as the LG Optimus X2 is released.

We’ve seen many Android smartphones with different hardware specifications – processors, display kind and/or size, RAM, ROM, hardware keyboard and so on. But all the phones have one and the same form factors – either a chocolate bar or a slider with hardware keyboard underneath. The Korean manufacturer Samsung has decided to break the ice and bring us back in time when the clamshell factor was trendy, introducing their newest Android device – W899, targeted at the Asian market.

W899 has a stylish rectangular form, similar to an ordinary chocolate bar and at first glance you will think that this is the form factor of the handset – but you are wrong. The most interesting and never seen before thing in W899 is that it has two 3.3-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen displays. One of them is positioned like the ordinary display of a clam-shell handset and the second one is placed on the back side of the lid. So you will have a display at your disposal when the phone is opened and when it is closed. It’s an interesting concept but whether it will be success or not – the sells will show. The rest features of W899 include multitouch support, Android 2.2 FroYo OS, 5MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing one for video calling, 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and only 512MB internal memory.

It’s not clear yet if Samsung will release W899 to the rest of the world, but if they do, it will surely be part of the Galaxy family. As for the Asian market – still no info about price and availability.

During the last several months there were numerous rumors, leaked pictures, speculations about the manufacturer and the specifications of the new Google phone – Nexus S. Yesterday during the presentation of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Google showed and made official their new handset as well – Nexus S, manufactured by Samsung. The choice of the manufacturer is not a surprise taking into account the big success of Samsung Galaxy handset family and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Working together, Google and Samsung has managed to create the best Android smartphone on the market so far, being the only one running the latest version of Android – 2.3 a.k.a. Gingerbread. The shape of the device is nice and sleek with curved edges and unique slightly curved display for best user experience. At the bottom part of Nexus S one could find the common Android key, this time in the form of touch-sensitive buttons – Home, Menu, Back and Search. Behind the cover you could find a 1GHz processor, 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, connectivity for GSM/EDGE networks, gyroscope sensor for gaming, a 5MP back camera and a VGA front-facing one both with autofocus, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, 16GB internal memory and a 1500mAh battery. The device also is the first one to feature a NFC (Near Field Communications) chip that will enable you to pay bills and other upcoming features via your mobile phone.

The device comes preloaded with all the Google services like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Search, Voice Actions, Google Voice and the YouTube application. Google Nexus S will be available for purchase in online stores and on the shelves starting from December 16, but the price is yet unknown.

During the KES2010, which is the Korean equivalent to the Consumer Electronics Show, LG has announced their new handset for the Korean market only. “Another LG device – so what?” probably many of you are asking yourselves right now, but believe me – there is a reason for writing about LU-3000. This device is really fast, faster than iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S, based on a variety of tests of the three devices. So in fact, this turns out to be the fastest Android phone – something which is not common for LG.

The specifications of LU-3000 seem pretty good, although one could have expected a lot more from the “fastest Android handset”. The core of this mobile phone is TI OMAP 3630 processor running at 1GHz, supported by a 3.8-inch IPS TFT display with resolution of 480×800 pixels (it’s pretty good to see IPS panels in a handset, providing viewing angles of 178 degrees and accurate color representation), 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash, capable of recording 1080p HD video, but LU-3000 is also capable of playing 1080p video either on the phone screen or on an external one, using the HDMI output. The version of Android is 2.2, but let’s hope that there will be Gingerbread for it.

It’s a pity that this lovely device will not be released to the rest of the world, but it’s possible that LG would make another device, similar to this one for us. If you are interested in the test between the iPhone, Galaxy S and LU-3000, take a look at the video bellow:

For quite some time Dell Streak was the only serious and attractive device in the middle segment between the mobile phones and internet tablets. Acer has just announced their new Android based … device. It is expected to be available in April 2011 and will have a 4.8-inch display, running at 1024×480 pixels resolution. An interesting thing is that the device still doesn’t have model name.

But the screen is not the only impressive thing in that sweet “little” boy. It hides many good things inside – 1GHz Snapdragon processor (it could have been a double core as in the newly announced tablets, but it’s still good), HSDPA support, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n networks support, Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI output, 8MP back camera with LED flash, capable of recording 720p video (it could have been 1080p as it is rumored for the rest upcoming handsets for 2011), a whole 2MP front facing camera for video calls, six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer package, together with all the standard sensors.

The phone itself looks pretty amazing, having a full metal body with wavy patterns and LED edge lighting really make it look classy and stylish. It seems that Asus have decided to jump into the deep waters with this handset – it really looks amazing outside and inside, but it all depends on the price tag and the handsets that the rest of manufacturers will present.

There were some rumors around the web about the new upcoming Android flagship ofSony Ericsson – Anzy X12. According to the leaks from last weeks, it should have been packed with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. But now there is some additional information, which the guys from Mobile-Review has posted, which reveals that X12 will come equipped with Android 2.2 instead of Gingerbread. It’s a bit odd decision for SE, but maybe this is their policy – they released X10 family with Android 1.6 and update to Android 2.1 is just on its way now (when most people are looking forward to Gingerbread already). And now releasing a new device with FroYo – probably SE should revise their OS policy and make their users happy, releasing the new versions of Android a bit more faster, otherwise they could face a drawback in sells.

Taking a look at the rest of the rumored specifications, Anzu X12 should have the Qualcomm MSM7230 (code named Scorpion) processor, running at frequency of 800MHz. Probably many of you would say “Why are they going down from 1GHz in X10 to 800MHz here?” but I’m sure that  our overclock-oriented readers will be happy with this processor. Some time ago the guys at XDA developers have managed to overclock the Scorpion processor in T-Mobile G2 to the astonishing 1.9GHz frequency, making about 2800 Quadrant score. The rest rumored specs include a 4.3-inch screen at resolution of 854×480 pixels and breathtaking 12MP video camera (my 700$ DSLR is not that much). Stay tuned for more information about Sony Ericsson’s new handset.

We’re all used to the 1GHz processors in our mobile phones and everyone gets excited when we hear about a mobile phone, which will have a 1.2GHz or even faster processor in its heart. Many tablet manufacturers started integrating the Tegra 2 platform into their products and we all see the power of the 2 cores, but yet we haven’t seen them in a handset – at least not until now. There are some new leaked images of LG Star mobile phone.

It is expected to have a Tegra 2 core, a 4-inch Super AMOLED display (it could have been SAMOLED2 but this is excellent, too), a front facing camera and Android 2.3 OS on top of all. LG Star will also have a whole 8MP back camera, which will be able to record 1080p Full HD videos (pretty amazing for a mobile phone). From the photos we could see that it will include a LED flash (only one, no double) and most likely touch-sensitive hardware buttons for Menu, Home, Back and Search.

If all these specifications are true, or at least most of them, this will mean that LG are making a killer phone – something that we haven’t expected from them. But if LG are preparing such handset it’s almost 100% sure that the rest top manufacturers – Samsung, HTC and Motorola are preparing something to compete with LG Star. Or will it be the only Star on the sky?

These days there is some wave of cheap Android phones being presented. LG Vortex is not an exception. It is one of the many LG devices that were announced recently and is headed directly to Verizon stores. An interesting thing about LG Vortex is that although it comes equipped with Android 2.2, it lacks many of the features that it is expected to have. Another thing that needs our attention is that the handset is running Bing as its default web browser and Google Maps is changed with Bing Maps. This is because of the contract between Verizon and Microsoft which compels the carrier to integrate Microsoft’s services in all entry-level mobile phones and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

The most important hardware features of LG Vortex are Android 2.2 FroYo OS (as already mentioned), a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, running at resolution of 320×240 pixels (here we should point out the low resolution for the size of the screen, which will result in pixelized picture), microSD card slot, 600MHz processor (this has been achieved by overclocking it, so it is possible to have some issues and problems in heavier applications), 170MB internal storage, 1500mAh battery, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio, a-GPS and all the standard sensors – accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor and digital compass.

Regarding the price, the mobile phone will be sold … for free on a 2-year contract after a 100$ rebate, which you will get in the form of a debit card. The release date was set to October 29. So if you are looking for a free entry-level Android device, head to the closest Verizon office and get your LG Vortex.

Seeing Android on a various number of devices – handsets, media players, netbooks, tablets or being combined with another OS with options for dual-boot has become something common, but we’ve never seen  Android on a dual-screen device … until now. Samsung has finally confirmed the release of the long rumored dual-screen Android handset – Samsung Continuum.

Samsung has presented the Continuum as the “first phone with a dedicated ticker display” having in mind the 1.8-inch Super AMOLED color display at the bottom of the mobile phone, just below the touch-sensitive buttons. But this is only the secondary display, the device has a primary 3.4-inch Super AMOLED display. There will be a “grip sensor” which will constantly check if you touch at the bottom sides of the phone. If you do so, the sensor will light up the ticker display section.

In order to make it possible for the developers to take advantage of this ticker display, Samsung will provide an API which can be used for that, but until then, only the native Samsung applications will be able to use the small display. Yet, no additional information and specifications are known, but keep reading our site for more information on the subject.

We are used to see or hear that Android has been integrated in various kinds of devices. Today, there is news that Android has been integrated in … a landline phone – iDECT iHomePhone 2000. But don’t get annoyed or confused by the “i” in at the beginning of the name, this is not an Apple product and I’m sure no one could even think of an Apple product running on Android. The “i” is just part of the name of the product.

iDECT iHomePhone is an ordinary cordless landline phone, running on Android, featuring a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen display running at resolution of 320×240 pixels. It will also have 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi support and microSD card slot. All the standard Android functions are present, too – Internet Browser, mp3 player, picture gallery, video/YouTube player, alarm clock, radio, e-mail and so on. The only think that iDECK iHomePhone will not support is Android Market, but after all, this is an ordinary landline phone.

Using the DECT technology, the phone guarantees that wherever in the house you are, you will be able to make and receive phone calls. Moreover, iDECT has a 14-minute digital answering machine, hands-free speakerphone and is capable to store up to 300 contacts in its memory.  iDECT iHomePhone will be sold in Europe for 99 Euroes.