Phones

Just to tidy up the IFA coverage, here are details of new models from Huawei, specifically Android-based Ascend phones.

‘Amazon to build Android smartphone’ is a well-established rumour. The website thenextweb.com flags that Bloomberg is attempting to put some more meat on this particular bone… Apparently, according to some inside sources, Foxconn is identified as working with the giant US online retailer, ready for it to enter the smartphone market (there is already, in the US, the Amazon Kindle ...

A report on the Wall Street Journal suggests Google is tweaking its strategy for the Android platform - that it will work with multiple manufacturers to create a various portfolio of "Nexus" model devices.

One to file under NFC (near field comms) - the Telegraph is reporting that Orange is to roll out it's QuickTap contactless payment service (launched in May 2011 with Barclaycard) to Android phones.

An interesting one, which we are carrying from New Scientist - Jacob Aron writes about a modified LG Optimus phone running Android that makes calls over Wi-Fi when within hotspot range.

Headline features of the “Ice Cream Sandwich”-based Nexus is a 4.65in HD Super AMOLED display technology, with 720p resolution (1280×720), running on a 1.2GHz dual core processor. With a redesigned Android user interface, the phone integrates into Google+ for social networking, features a 5 megapixel camera, with single-motion panorama mode, 1080p video capture, facial recognition, reduced shutter delay, and effects ...

Embedded specialist Wind River is trumpeting that Fujitsu is using its Framework for Automated Software Testing (FAST) to test next-generation Android smartphones. Fujitsu will be using the automated softwarwe process to test for “software quality, performance and compliance”, says Wind River. “Innovative design and features are essential for success, but the work isn’t done there. Consumers expect a consistently high ...

Paul Marks, senior technology correspondent at our sister site New Scientist, comments on the Strand-1 satellite that aims to use an Android-based smartphone’s accelerometers and GPS receivers as the heart of its guidance system In space, no-one can hear you scream, right? Everyone who knows some physics, or who’s seen Alien, knows it. But is it always true? A smartphone ...

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility is not one to be ignored! The $12.5 billion deal will see Motorola’s mobile business remain as a separate entity, with Google hoping to “supercharge the Android ecosystem,” in the words of Larry Page. Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility and the man behind the deal, is a former Qualcomm COO who moved to Motorola ...

University researchers at the Surrey Space Centre and engineers at Surrey Satellite Technology will work together reports the BBC on some smartphone-based investigations.