Looks like we have a small band of US Cellular fans among our numbers, as we've received a slew of tips letting us know that the national carrier has dropped an official release date for the Samsung Acclaim. This most mundane of Android sliders will arrive on July 9, and... well, that's it really. US Cellular hasn't seen fit to entice us with any actual specs or even an Android version, though information floating about the interwebs suggests it has a 3.2-inch HVGA screen and a stock Eclair installation. We'll just have to wait until somebody at Samsung swallows the shame of being associated with the Acclaim and finally gives us some official details.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung Acclaim arrives in US Cellular stores July 9, we're sure somebody will care originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what? Nokia's just about had it with you guys complaining about the design of their devices. Let's see you do better, the company says. No, really, use this panel of sliders and buttons to design your dream phone. More »

We don't know what everybody else in the phone business has been doing lately, but Inbrics has just unveiled what looks to be the near-ultimate Android phone. The Inbrics M1 is a slider handset with a (great) 3.7-inch WVGA OLED display, 3 megapixel camera, front-facing VGA camera, 16GB of built-in storage, microSD slot and all the other usual trimmings, but what's particularly stunning is that the phone is not only half an inch thick, but it has a full QWERTY keyboard that's surprisingly clicky and typable. The phone is running Android 1.5 right now, but it should be up to Android 2.0 by the time it hits the market in March. The biggest concern is the 800MHz Samsung processor, the same chip that's in the Samsung Moment, but the interface (as demonstrated in the video after the break) is smooth as butter, and they demo'd it playing back 720p video just fine.

Inbrics actually has a lot of custom UI and software running on top of Android, but the most interesting part is what they're doing with video calling and beaming media from handset to videophone to TV to laptop over DLNA or through an access point device that plugs into the TV over HDMI. Inbrics also has a Cover Flow-style media browser that isn't super deep in functionality, but still puts the stock Android stuff to shame, and some rather sexy custom widgets.

The plan is apparently to get a carrier to bite and rebrand this phone in the US, so price and availability are still pretty hard to pin down, but if this phone can hit the market soon it sure could give the rest of the QWERTY Android sliders out there some body image issues.

Continue reading Inbrics M1 is the thinnest Android slider we've seen, probably everything we ever wanted

Inbrics M1 is the thinnest Android slider we've seen, probably everything we ever wanted originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re desperately jonsing for a webOS device but hate those pesky sliders, today is your day, folks. It is the Palm Pixi’s first day of availability on Sprint. Going for $99.99 on a 2-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, we have to be completely honest and admit that we would personally snatch the Pre over the Pixi, but you own a conputer and have navigated to BGR all on your own, we’re sure you can make a decision over what handset to buy. Let us know if you pick one today okay?

Also, for those that don’t mine waiting, Wirefly is practically giving the Pixi away at $29.99.

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Make brings up this handy resource to add a little fright to your front yard this Halloween. The Haunt Project is a collection of Halloween-related DIY projects, ranging from harmless decorations to stuff that's just dangerous.

The picture above is a crashed UFO prop, complete with chasing LED lights.

Or there are the "ghost sliders," where you attach a set of casters to kneepads in order to drift across pavement like a ghost. This is dangerous. Don't blame me when you end up eating asphalt instead of candy and get your jaw wired shut.

There are hundreds of projects at the link. Check it out if you need something to keep you occupied this weekend. [Make]

Want a "high-quality" machine that represents the "best of the best in laptops?" Microsoft's got your back with its all-new PC Scout, a Flash-based laptop recommendation engine whose delivery is unfortunately more than a little reminiscent of those misguided Windows 7 launch party promos. Ah well, should you successfully navigate your way past bad jokes about space-cats and online dating, and on to the Selection section, you'll find a thoroughly decent laptop comparison tool -- with sliders for price and features narrowing or expanding your available choice in real time. With future plans to expand it to cover desktop hardware as well, Microsoft is making a commendable and seemingly rather useful effort to aid its users in picking out a new machine. Kudos for that, now how about hiring some real actors for a change?

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: Laptops, Software

Windows PC Scout patronizes, offers surprisingly good comparison tool originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This phone fully works with our software, MyPhoneLocator (linked as a .cab file above) as it fits the 2 requirements:  has a GPS receiver built in, and is a Windows Mobile phone.

So, how do

you make HTC’s Touch Pro — already near the top of the WinMo heap — an even beefier device? For starters, you can throw out that nasty VGA screen of yesteryear and up it with a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 replacement. Next, add a dedicated touch-sensitive zoom slider that works overtime to take maximum advantage of said screen, then throw in a few key carryovers: 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. Meet the Touch Pro2, the official follow-up to HTC’s popular series of QWERTY sliders that introduces so-called “Straight Talk� technology for “seamlessly� transitioning conversations between email, single-line calls, and party calls. It’ll also automatically switch to the crazy high-performance, full-duplex speakerphone simply by flipping the phone over, so it’s clear that this bad boy was meant for business. It’ll launch early in the second quarter in parts of Asia and Europe with other “major global markets� following in early Summer. Check out a shot of the Touch Pro2 in its fully (and delightfully) articulated position after the break.