HTC planning a "major news announcement" for tomorrow morning!

HTC just sent out an alert letting saying that it'll be making a "major news announcement" tomorrow morning. The announcement will be made by HTC CEO Peter Chou via teleconference at 11:30 AM EDT tomorrow morning.

Could it be the Puccini? The Vigor? Or an all-new Android device.. I don't know, but I will be watching closely to see what this announcement will be.


So my question is What do you guys think the announcement will be?

"Ice Cream Sandwich" Android 4.0 Slated For October Release

With the iPhone 5 strongly rumored to drop in either September or October, it seems as though Google has loaded up their cannons to return fire at Apple with their highly anticipated Android 4.0 update, dubbed “Ice Cream Sandwich.” First announced at Google I/O 2011, there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding the next version of Android, but thanks to reports from multiple sources, we have learned that it should be showing up on devices in October. We say devices, rather than phones, because Ice Cream Sandwich will not be a phone-exclusive platform; we’ll be seeing Ice Cream Sandwich on phones, tablets, computers… who knows where else.

Redmond Pie reported on a source who, according to them, has knowledge of Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich plans. The source states that the first device, which may be either a smart phone or a tablet, will be released in October (earlier than planned) to compete with Apple’s next-generation iPhone which is strongly expected to release either in September or October.

Here are some of the features we DO know about Ice Cream Sandwich:

USB Hosting
It is understood that Android 4.0 will bring about USB Hosting which will allow you to use practically any device with the tablet ranging from an Xbox controller for games to a keyboard/mouse for surfing and other things. You will also have the ability to integrate a USB device to work specifically with an app. So a heart monitor used with a fitness app, for example.

Tracks Your Face
Android 4.0 wil have the ability to track your face so instead of you trying to move around to get into the camera, the camera will auto-focus on to you instead. It will also be handy in video conferencing because the camera will move to you when you begin speaking and then move to whoever speaks so you don’t waste time trying to move your phone or tablet every time the you want to focus it on someone in particular.

Meizu MX Bring Quad Core Next Month?

The Meizu MX has been shown off many times before, but now the information that's being leaked is seeming less and less truthful. The developer posted some information about the upcoming Android phone on their forum earlier today. The phone apparently comes in many different variants; the 16GB version comes with a dual-core chip, while the 32GB version will sport a quad-core beast. Quad core processors for phones have not been released yet, and companies like NVIDIA say they will not be ready till later this year.
Any thoughts guys?

New Samsung Galaxy SII LTE Variant Shows Up in South Korea; Codename Celox

A new LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy SII has emerged from the shadows in South Korea. Supposedly this new variant not only has LTE, but also sports the following "enhanced" specs:

• 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor
• 4.5-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display
• 16GB of internal memory
• A microSD slot offering an extra 32GB
• Gingerbread
• 1750mAh battery
• 800MHz LTE support (at up to 50Mbps upstream, 100Mbps downstream)
• 8MP rear-facing camera, and a 2MP front-facing camera

Considering that the LTE on this device is a different bandwidth than what we see here in the States, (Verizon and AT&T use 700MHz), this phone is probably slated for somewhere else, like Europe perhaps. We will watch this one for any further details.

Perceptive Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)

Perceptive Pixel wasn't kidding around when it launched the planet's biggest projected capacitive display here at SIGGRAPH -- all 82 inches of it were here on display, and naturally, we stopped by to give it a look. While 82-inch panels aren't anything new, this one's particularly special. You see, the company actually procures the panels from Samsung, and then it rips the guts out while bonding its own network of sensors directly to it; most large-screen touch devices simply pop a touch layer on top of whatever TV shows up in the labs, but this integrated approach takes sensitivity to a whole 'nother level. For those unfamiliar with the term 'projected capacitive,' we're surmising that it's actually far less foreign than you think -- it's a technology used in a handful of smartphones, from Samsung's Moment to Apple's iPhone. 3M was also showing off a PC tech preview back at CES, and after using it here on the show floor, there's no question that it's the future for larger-screen devices. To quote CEO Jeff Han: "once consumers get a taste of this on the mobile front, they start demanding it elsewhere."

Android Tablet Shipments Expected to Grow 134% in 2012

A DigiTimes article suggests that while Apple iPad shipments are expected to rise by 55% next year, Android Tablet shipments will likely rise by 134%. The report suggests that Apple's iPad is reaching a saturation point already, and that Android Tablets are basically hitting their stride. Here's a quote from the article,

With Google set to launch its new Android operating system codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich by the end of 2011, while demand for iPad is approaching saturating, shipments of Android-based tablet PCs are expected to increase from 19-20 million units in 2011 to 44-45 million units in 2012, while Apple's iPad shipments will increase from 14-15 million units in 2010, to 35-36 million units in 2011, and to 54-55 million units in 2012.

The story further elaborated that one of the factors that will fuel this explosive growth is that several processor manufacturers, like Nvidia, Texas Instrument and Qualcomm, are making new chips for Android devices, meaning a larger variety of choices will available for consumers. This includes the follow-up to the highly successful Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which is expected to come out at the end of this year. The tablet will supposedly come with the new NVIDIA, Tegra 3 quad-core and will have five-times the 3D graphic processing capability of the current Tegra 2, supporting a resolution of up to 2560 by 1600.

Additionally, industry rumor suggests that Google's Ice Cream Sandwich will arrive as the OS to meld cross-platforms for tablets, smartphones and LCD TVs, just in time to compete with Apple's newest offerings. Next year should be another exciting year for Android fans!

[Rumor] Google's First Ice Cream Sandwich Devices May Come as Early as October

There is a rumor that a source at BGR heard suggesting that Google may actually release their first Ice Cream Sandwich devices in October. The move is designed to coincide with the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 in September or October, so as to entice folks away from considering the Apple product. Basically, Google doesn't want to risk losing customers, that might be coming out of contracts around that time, to the new iPhone. Clever ploy.

Tester Leak Indicates Droid Bionic Battery Life has Improved Battery Life

A leak from YodaDroid, a tester of the Motorola Droid Bionic, indicates from his testing, that its battery life is impressive. This is on top of his tests indicating that the performance of the phone itself and its LTE speeds were excellent. In fact, the tester claims that he gets 15 hours out of the phone with moderate use. The pic above shows some phenomenal network speeds; however, there is no report as to whether these were LTE speeds or WiFi. The pics of this device are coming in droves now. All of these new reports keep making it harder and harder to decide between the SGS2 and the Bionic.

Elektrobit's Android Phone Tailored for Security; Could Win Ugliest Android Award

A company call Elektrobit is designing what they call their Specialized Device Platform for Android smartphones. The purpose is to tailor make Android smartphones for public safety, security and defense industry markets. Their "current" model sports the following features:

• Froyo
• 1GHz single-core OMAP3
• WVGA capacitive touchscreen (either 4-, or 4.3-inch)
• 5 megapixel camera, VGA front-facing camera
• WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS with quad-band GSM, tri-band UMTS / HSDPA and CDMA2K / EVDO support

These specs are a bit "lack-luster," but Elektrobit is working on a Gingerbread/LTE model as well, and more powerful options next year. It would be convenient to utilize one of these Androids in the field if you were in one of these industries, but the design could easily win an "Ugliest Android" contest if there were such a thing. Ultimately, law enforcement, protection and military arenas don't need it to be "pretty", so the idea of it is pretty impressive nonetheless. What do you guys think?

YouTube Android App Gets New 2.2.14 Update with Some Great New Features!

There is a new update, version 2.2.14, for the YouTube for Android app. You can download it on the Market now. It comes with some pretty great new features, including the following:

• Bug fixes and performance improvements:
• Edit the title, description and privacy of your uploaded videos
• New uploading UI integrated into the app
• Create/Edit/Delete playlists on the go

These new features already make the easy-to-use app even more accessible. Budding videographers will be even more productive, (or unproductive depending upon how much fun you are having, and what you "should" be doing).

Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi version down to £399 at Dixons (UK)

Our inexplicable fascination with the ever-fluctuating pricing of the Motorola XOOM continues! The Currys/Dixons chain has just SLASHED the cost of owning the wi-fi model of the Android Honeycomb tablet, taking it down to £399.

That’s pretty competitive and puts it on a par with the entry level Galaxy Tab 10.1 – although this is the 32GB XOOM so it actually wins on internal capacity.

Free delivery is included in that price aswell.

Droid Bionic FCC Docs Revealed