Toshiba outs its Tegra 2-powered Android Honeycomb tablet

Toshiba has announced it will be entering the tablet market once again, this time coming with a 10.1 inch, dual-core Tegra 2-powered device that will run Google’s Honeycomb Android software once the operating system update becomes available.

Engadget had the chance to look at one of the devices a few weeks before Toshiba decided to announce its new tablet, presumably waiting until CES 2011 was upon us, creating a buzz so attendees will want to see what the tablet is like in the flesh.

The unnamed tablet will be exactly the same size as the iPad, coming in a tiny bit heavier but packing some impressive features. The tablet will feature a capactive 1280 x 800 high resolution display, an ambient light sensor and an accelerometer. That’s not all, it will also ship with a 5MP camera on its rear with a 2MP camera for video calling on the front, coming with an array of accessible slots and jacks with USB, HDMI, SD and mini-USB all catered for.

At the time Engadget viewed the device, the operating system wasn’t ready so the tablet was never turned on. They did get to handle it though, remarking that the device was solid in the hand and that it had a swappable rubberised rear panel meaning it could be customized but also that the battery could be replaced if needed, +1 for Toshiba.

The tablet will be released when Google drops Honeycomb, this is expected to be around May time. Expect some more information on this tablet to be announced soon.

Nexus S, aka Nexus 2, appears in first photos

Earlier today, Best Buy’s website offered up some information on the still unannounced Nexus S aka the Nexus 2 aka from Samsung and now, it has appeared in the flesh for the very first time courtesy of Engadget .

That’s right.

Samsung’s sequel to the original HTC-made Google phone, the Nexus One, now has a face and it has been shown off in a series of glorious photos that were apparently taken a month ago. As you can see, it definitely bears resemblance to the Galaxy S series except it has a front-facing camera and it will be running Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread.

It also, like the original Nexus device, will  be running a Vanilla version of Google’s software and apparently will be headed to T-Mobile at the very least.

Speaking of that, the fact that it’s headed to Magenta raises a few questions.

If it’s indeed headed to T-Mobile, is it going to be sold at T-Mobile stores? Will it join the G2 and the myTouch 4G in supporting T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network? It would certainly be a bit disappointing if it wasn’t able to take advantage of T-Mobile’s “version of “4G”.

Cross your fingers that it does.

Engadget is also reporting that the Nexus will in fact be arriving with a 5 mega pixel camera. How do they know this? Well, a simple search on Flickr and Picasa reveals photos taken with a device called the Samsung GT-i9020 and as most of us know, the i9000 line is linked with the Galaxy S so it’s pretty safe to say that this unknown GT-i9020 probably has Galaxy S roots.

If that wasn’t enough evidence, a filing over at the FCC also lines up with the images you see here.

So, now that we have the pictures and we know that this thing is the real deal and not just some unicorn parading around Best Buy’s website, let’s hope Google and Samsung come clean sooner rather than later.

Update: Android Police received an internal document that apparently indicates that Best Buy is going to start setting up Nexus S displays as soon as November 14th. It looks like we might not have to wait too long at all for this baby to drop.

Update 2: The information keeps on rolling in, this time via an internal Best Buy document from Phandroid that confirms a few essentials. First, it will have a 5 megapixel camera and 1500mAh battery. Second, it’s definitely headed to T-Mobile. Third, it doesn’t appear to support T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network.

Consider us devastated.

LG Star becomes the LG Optimus 2X, the world’s first dual-core smartphone

The LG Star has become official, only it will now be known as the LG Optimus 2X, presumably because the Android handset is not powered by just one processing core, it’s going to be the world’s first dual-core smartphone.

Engadget posted up the confirmation, posting up the press release from LG making the Optimus 2X official, the smartphone we first detailled last month before showing you the device being handled on video .

The Optimus’ Nvidia Tegra 2 chip is going to handle anything through at it, delivering seamless transitions, multitasking without any noticeable lag and delivering high quality audio and video.

The handset boasts a 4-inch screen, 8GB memory (expandable up to 32GB), dual camera (1.3MP front, 8MP back), full HD video playback and HDMI mirroring, allowing you to output your videos on to the big screen.The Optimus 2X has both an accelerometer and a gyro sensor and a 1500mAh battery.

The handset will launch in Korea next month with the rest of Asia and Europe coming just weeks after. It will ship with Android 2.2 initially but LG has committed to giving it an upgrade to Gingerbread so you don’t need to worry about missing out on the Android 2.3 party.