SISAREA

Neil Fraser, a true pioneer of science, wasn’t satisfied with just wondering whether a lava lamp will work on Jupiter. He opted instead to build a freaking centrifuge in the middle of his living room, strap an innocent lava lamp and a Nexus One to one end with counterbalancing weights on the other, and spin that monster up to find out for himself. His instrument was able to generate 3 Gs of lateral force (despite the Nexus One’s G-Force reporting 2.0 Gs due to a bug, now reported to Google), which is comfortably above the 2.5 G gravitational pull that one might experience on the solar system’s biggest planet. So, did the goo keep its mojo under pressure? Did the Nexus One survive the ordeal intact? Click past the break to find out.

Continue reading A lava lamp and a Nexus One tested under 3 Gs of force (video)

A lava lamp and a Nexus One tested under 3 Gs of force (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the biggest mysteries in the blogosphere right now is probably Crave’s Nexus One, which somehow developed a cracked screen while simply charging on the desk (sounds familiar, right?). Not even HTC could unearth the cause from its forensic inspection, but it didn’t rule out the possibility of a small crack growing over time due to, for example, “getting knocked around by keys” and repetitive squeezes in tight pockets. That’s fine, but saying “people sometimes forget that they don’t go in pockets” is surely stretching a bit, no? What happened to the awesomeness in the compression test and bend test that we once witnessed? More importantly, has anyone here had the same baffling screen problem and been charged £180 ($273) for the repair? If so, do share your pain with us — we’ve got a shoulder for you.

Bad news: HTC says the Nexus One doesn’t ‘go in pockets’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thought all multitouch-capable displays were created equal? Think again — Android and Me has posted a rather fascinating (if not somewhat depressing) video showing a demo multitouch app created by a game developer who’d grown suspicious after running into all sorts of trouble getting the feature to work the way he wanted on the Nexus One. First up, the Droid handles the demo with aplomb — two thumbs are recognized smoothly and consistently. Next, though, the Nexus One gets confused after a while and starts registering presses at the wrong corners of the on-screen box formed by the placement of the thumbs. There’s always hope that this could be fixed with a firmware bump, but that hope looks to be in jeopardy from language posted by a Google engineer in the official Android dev forums: “…this is how the touch screen hardware on the Nexus One works (which is essentially the same screen as on the G1 and myTouch). The Droid has a sensor from a different manufacturer, with different behavior. Other phones will likewise have different sensors.” In other words, Google seems to think that HTC’s just using a lower-quality sensor than Motorola is. That’s good news for Droid owners, we suppose — but with game development on Android still something of a non-starter, hardware issues like this keep fragmenting the user base and preventing big-name developers from jumping in and betting on the platform. Follow the break for video proof of the wackiness.

Continue reading Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s?

Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What better way to start your Saturday afternoon than with another Nexus One release rumor. Without further ado, today we’ve got whispers care of Neowin that the recently-FCC’d CDMA device is launching on Verizon’s network March 23rd, perfect timing for the beginning of CTIA. And while that fits pretty neatly into that initial “Spring 2010″ launch window, there’s really no way for us to corroborate at this point other than just taking their word for it. You can wait diligently, can’t ya?

Nexus One coming to Verizon March 23rd? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It hasn’t quite been out (in public hands, anyway) for two months, but Google’s Nexus One has managed to grab the world’s attention and focus it squarely on Android. Specs wise, it’s not the superphone that many had expected, but it’s certainly delightful in its own right. For those who have sprung for one, we’re bubbling over in anticipation to hear how you’d change it. Would you have snuck an overclocked processor in there? Would you have ditched the trackball for a sensor pad? Do you wish it were available on more carriers? Is the call quality up to snuff? Look — there’s a better-than-decent chance that you threw down some serious bills on this, so don’t hold back. The Nexus Two just won’t be the same without your pair of pennies.

How would you change Google’s Nexus One? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember how we figured out that an AT&T 3G-equipped Nexus One had stumbled its way into FCC certification not long ago? Using the same logic — mainly label shape and model number — we can safely say that this latest version to get approval is the dual-band CDMA variant that’s almost certainly destined for Verizon within the next few months. There’s not terribly much to see in the filing, but hey, take solace in knowing they’ve cleared this crucial bureaucratic hurdle (of course, Verizon’s infamous internal testing is another bureaucratic hurdle altogether).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nexus One hits FCC again, this time in CDMA trim originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking to fight an apparent outbreak of FUD, Adobe’s Flash evangelist Mark Doherty has posted some hard numbers (and accompanying video) on the effect Flash 10.1 has on the Nexus One — and put simply, it really doesn’t appear to have much effect at all. To back up his cause, Doherty plays a 17-minute embedded video in the full YouTube site then pops over to Android’s built-in battery use utility, which indicates that only 6 percent of the juice has gone to power the browser (of course, leaving the screen on to watch the video is another story altogether). He says that the company’s tests suggest they can get about three hours of H.264 playback over WiFi, which is theoretically enough to watch a movie or two; obviously the proof is in the pudding here, but this is a promising sign that these guys have taken battery optimization very, very seriously for this mobile push. Video after the break.

Continue reading Flash 10.1 might just not be a battery hog on Android

Flash 10.1 might just not be a battery hog on Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want some of that colorful, homescreen-juggling, Android 2.1 Sense UI that HTC has prepped for the HTC Desire? Well, the previously promised hacked ROM is ready for your Nexus One’s consumption. It’s in alpha right now, so install at your own risk, and does indeed support Flash 10.1, so also beware of the risk of browsing the real internet. What more danger, excitement, and grassroots handset support could you possibly want out of life? Hit up the source link for the full instructions, video of the ROM in action is after the break.

Continue reading HTC Desire ROM shoehorns HTC Sense and Flash 10.1 onto the Nexus One

HTC Desire ROM shoehorns HTC Sense and Flash 10.1 onto the Nexus One originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aw, why don’t these CEOs say stuff like this in press conferences? Sony Ericsson’s head Bert Nordberg has shared with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan the rather salacious news that his company was asked to build the so-called Google phone before HTC… and it turned down the opportunity. Fearing brand dilution or something equally crazy, Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Haughty words from a company whose own Android device is still a good couple of months away from hipsters’ pockets, but we’re sure Bert knows best. After all, it’s not like HTC got a ton of positive press and brand awareness out of its partnership with Google, and it’s exceptionally clear that SE doesn’t need a dime of additional revenue. Oh, wait.

[Thanks, Michael N]

Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s no secret that the HTC Desire is the exact same hardware as the Nexus One with a Sense-based Android build on top of it, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that an enterprising hacker has already started porting the Desire’s ROM over to Google’s baby. Interestingly, the system file is a little too big for the Nexus One’s internal storage, so some rearranging was necessary, and not everything works yet, but it’s a start — and apparently Flash 10.1 is included and enabled, so this one should be a hot ticket when it’s released.

[Thanks, Thalib]

HTC Desire ROM makes Sense on the Nexus One originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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