Dragon Archive

  • Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)

    Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)

    Posted on December 13, 2009 | No Comments
    var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Google_Phone_Nexus_One_Makes_First_Real_Appearance'; Look familiar? For a story that broke on Twitter it's only fitting that the first reported picture of the mythical, magical "Google Phone" (AKA, Nexus One) would appear there as well. The tweeted image above appears courtesy of one Cory O'Brien, an account manager at a San Francisco Bay Area marketing agency that does not list Google as a client. That note of caution aside, the image above is an exact match to that leaked HTC Passion / Bravo image from October, only this time lacking the HTC logo on the top-side bezel. Besides the pic, O'Brien tweets that the "Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android." Granted, none of this is confirmed yet, but with Google releasing so many of the devices as part of its "mobile lab" concept, well, we expect to see plenty more sightings in the run up to the rumored January launch.

    Update: A quick search for "nexus one" on Google's Picasa photo service reveals several pictures taken with a camera pegged as the HTC Nexus One in the EXIF data. The very first of these geotagged 2592×1944 pixel (that's a 5 megapixel sensor folks, hardly "weirdly large" as described by TechCrunch) images were taken by user Bradley (who just happens to be a Picasa friend to Sergey... hint) in the SF Bay Area on November 27th. A few are clearly lit by an onboard flash as well. In fact, many of the pics appear to be taken from within Google's offices and at Google sponsored events. The quality is not exactly spectacular and that won't likely change in the final product because even Google's bound by the laws of physics when it comes to tiny cellphone sensors.

    Update 2: The device seems to have been around earlier with an EXIF identifier of "Phone88." Fortunately, Google's own employees have uploaded pics of the device, by the device, for us to marvel at -- so meta. Check the gallery for the images or a quickie close-up posted after the break.

    [Thanks, Alberto and Aaron C.]

    Continue reading Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)

    Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Nuance outs free Dragon Dictation for iPhone

    Nuance outs free Dragon Dictation for iPhone

    Posted on December 8, 2009 | No Comments
    Talking on your phone is one thing, but talking at your phone makes you look like a crazy person. Of course, virtually everyone on the Engadget masthead is crazy in one sense of the word or another, so we have absolutely no qualms about the release of Nuance's Dragon Dictation for the iPhone, which uses the company's NaturallySpeaking engine to let you transcribe pretty much whatever you like. Of course, seeing how the iPhone lacks multitasking, it uses the clipboard as an intermediary -- talk into the Dragon app, then move over to wherever you want the good and paste 'em. It's free for a limited time, so you might want to grab this one sooner rather than later.

    Nuance outs free Dragon Dictation for iPhone originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM

    Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM

    Posted on December 3, 2009 | No Comments
    You know that leaked HTC Sense ROM with Android 2.1 underneath? Well, somebody did some digging and found a wild stack of HTC Android handset codenames buried within. It starts in the realm of the familiar, with mentions of Dragon, Passion, Dream and Hero, but then it starts to get a little wild. Here's the full list: Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Pretty wild, right? There's no telling what exactly this list implies, other than the fact that Passion and Dragon are indeed on the books, and that HTC's naming department can really let the superlatives fly, but we're sure all will be made clear over the next year or two.

    Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • HTC CEO says he could but won’t make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile

    HTC CEO says he could but won’t make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile

    Posted on October 29, 2009 | No Comments

    Filed under: , , ,

    In an interview given to Forbes, HTC CEO Peter Chou spoke pretty candidly about the widespread desire for an Android version of the HD2, and says the phone won't be finagled thusly. "Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile," said Chou, after which we imagine popped in a stick of Juicy Fruit and didn't offer to share any with the rest of the class. Of course, this doesn't rule out a handset with similar specifications to the HD2, like the Dragon, matching DROID's push toward Android 2.0 and modern hardware, but it seems to imply that at least it won't be called "HD2," and probably won't look much like it either. Chou did admit that Windows Mobile innovation has been "a little slow" and that interest is declining, and says HTC is "working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back." He didn't hold back on Google, however, saying that some of its actions can be "destructive" but that "we've worked with Microsoft for 13 years ... I also believe we can work with Google for a long time."

    [Via SlashGear]

    HTC CEO says he could but won't make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • HTC Dragon coming to Verizon as the Passion?

    HTC Dragon coming to Verizon as the Passion?

    Posted on October 26, 2009 | No Comments

    Filed under: , , ,

    We've been hearing about a 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android handset called the HTC Dragon ever since the HD2 came out, but now it looks like some pieces are falling into place -- apparently this mystery HTC set we spotted over the weekend is a CDMA version of the Dragon headed for Verizon as the HTC Passion sometime in Q4. Apparently Verizon's trying to unify the hardware UI of its Droid lineup, which is why the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Passion share a set of buttons along the bottom edge of the screen, and some people are also claiming that the white notification bar is further sign of similarity. As for us, well, we'll wait to hear more before we start to get too excited -- and we can't help but wonder if this thing will run Sense or stock Android 2.0 when it hits, as HTC's big new ad push is all about personalization. Still, it's looking like a hell of a year for Android (and Verizon), no?

    HTC Dragon coming to Verizon as the Passion? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Mysterious HTC Android phone spied, might lean the way of the Dragon

    Mysterious HTC Android phone spied, might lean the way of the Dragon

    Posted on October 18, 2009 | No Comments

    Filed under: ,

    In an almost perfect world, this spy shot would be of the rumored HTC Dragon, reminiscent of the HD2 with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and packing the latest version of Android / Sense UI -- in a more perfect world, this would all have been confirmed last week and in our hands today delivered via unicorn express, but that's obviously not happening. Still, there's something new and exciting about this device, but we're grasping at straws beyond the handful of pics The Unlockr managed to obtain, several more of which can found just beyond the read link.

    [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

    Mysterious HTC Android phone spied, might lean the way of the Dragon originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story