Qualcomm Announces 2.5GHz Quad Core Snapdragon Processor. #mwc

If you’re rockin’ a first-gen Snapdragon processor that “crawls” along at 1GHz, be prepared to feel mighty outdated. Today at MWC, Qualcomm took the wraps off of their new high-end processor, the AP8064. This quad-core — yes, quad core mobile beast runs through the gates at a blistering 2.5GHz. Tag teaming your mobile experience will be an Adreno 320 quad-core gpu. Obviously, things like HD gaming and 3D capture/playback (and pretty much everything else short of world domination) will be chump change for this chip.

But not everyone needs mobile quad core chips. Catering to other areas of the market is done with a dual-core (MSM8960) and single-core (MSM8930) processors. All of these chips revealed today are built upon Qualcomm’s 28nm “Krait” architecture. Look for the dual-core (MSM8960) engineering samples to start making their way out in Q2 while the single core (MSM8930) and quad-core (APQ8064) won’t see the light of day until early 2012.

A show of hands please for everyone who wants the quad-core Qualcomm chip…now.

Motorola Droid X2 Pictures Hit The Web.

The Motorola Droid on Verizon was the real beginning of Android popularity for the masses. Shortly after, a followup hit was born in the Droid X — the same great formula as the Droid sans keyboard and with a bigger screen. Since then, several 4″+ Android devices have met or exceeded the original X’s performance. With that said, we’ve heard several rumors over the last few weeks telling of an updated Droid X2, with plenty more power on tap. And now thanks to MobiZone, we have some more concrete specs and images featuring one of Motorola’s latest and greatest big-screened Android devices.

• Processor: 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor

• Memory: 1GB of RAM

• Display: 540 x 960 QHD LCD

• Camera: 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.

• Cellular: 3G only. NO 4G/LTE!

• OS: Android 2.2 w/ new Moto Blur skin.

Looks neat enough. Though given the choice between the DX2 and an Atrix, I’d choose the latter in a heart beat. One other tidbit that Android rooting enthusiasts may want to consider if eying the DX2 is that it featuers a locked and encrypted bootloader. In theory, this means the phone cannot be modified. But as we’ve seen many times now, it is only a matter of time before such protections are cracked. With that said, we’d love for Motorola to start practicing what they preach — they have claimed many times over to be working on phones that feature no such locks or encryption schemes to deter tinkering. The wait continues…

Look for the Droid X2 to hit stores in Q2 of this year. Gallery inside…

Sony Unviles Neo And Xperia Pro At #MWC.

Besides the gaming-centric Xperia Play, Sony had two more gems to reveal to the world at the 2011 Mobile World Congress. First up: The Sony Ericsson Neo. This 3.7″ (480 x 854) touchscreen phone includes a 1GHz processor, 320MB of internal storage, Android 2.3, 8-megapixel rear facing/2-megapixel front-facing cameras, and three colors: blue, red, and silver.

The Xperia Pro shares all the same features of the Neo above and adds a slide-out qwerty keyboard into the mix, as well as it’s own trio of colors: black, silver, and red. Both the Neo and Pro support global 3G and will feature Sony’s Timescape UI. The UK release dates for the aforementioned phones is said to be April. Check back for U.S. pricing and release date.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Officially Kicks Off #MWC!

Sony kicked off their MWC celebrations with a bang by officially announcing the Xperia Play (aka: “Playstation Phone”) Featuring a 4″ 480 x 854 display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor + Adreno GPU, 512MB of RAM, and 5-megapixel camera, the Xperia Play is meant to turn heads. While we would have personally liked to see SE go one further than the competition spec-wise, we can’t dismiss the power on hand. Add in a capable OS — Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) — and you’ve got quite a mobile gaming machine. Wireless coverage is provided by 3G, WiFi (w/ hotspot functionality), Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS/aGPS.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will ship drop on Verizon Wireless this coming March for an as of yet undisclosed price.

Galaxy S 2 And 10.1? Galaxy Tab Revealed Ahead Of MWC.

MWC doesn’t officially start for another day or so, and yet the last week has practically revealed most of the exciting news already. That’s not to say actually being at MWC wouldn’t be amazing in itself. Unfortunately, GS is not. But I digress…

Two of the many devices leaked ahead of MWC’s official start include the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1″ Galaxy Tab. The Galaxy S 2 build off the original with a newer design, 4.3″ Super AMOLED WVGA display, and plenty of power compliments of the 1GHz dual-core processor.

The 10.1″ Galaxy Tab is a bigger version of the questionably successful first generation 7″ Galaxy Tab that really kick started the Android tablet phenomenon in 2010. Like the Galaxy S 2, the 10.1″ Samsung Galaxy Tab will feature a 1GHz dual-core processor as well.

With less than 24 hours until MWC kicks off, you better be prepared to spend hours in front of your computer, skip meals, call of work, and generally abstain from social interaction as we know it over the next few days. You won’t want to miss anything. Stay tuned…

GeoHot Busts Numerous Caps In Sony’s Ass

Legendary iPhone Jailbreaker/Unlocker GeoHot has released a humorous thuggish rap on the youtubes directed at Sony. We told you about the initial lawsuit about a month ago. Numerous events have unfolded in the case, including California granting Sony the restraining order, and most recently – the judge allowing Sony access to any and all ps3 related material on George Hotz’s hard drive.

With all that has happened GeoHot still holds a sense of humor about the entire thing and has granted us a peak into his attempt to jailbreak and unlock the hip hop scene.

Get Jiggy with it on in to see the video

Outspoken Canadians Defeat Usage Based Billing Plans Planned For TekSavvy.

We often report about gadgets and electronics here at Gadgetsteria. But another love of ours is looking out for the little guy — Yes, you! — when it comes to tech-based laws. With the rise of data consumption over the last few years, we’ve seen ISPs and cellular providers go out of their way to limit customers instead of providing a useful service. And no one knows the frustration and disappointment of this new ideology more than customers of Ontario-based TekSavvy. Under a new ruling this past January 25th, large ISPs were given the privilege of monitoring and capping traffic accordingly. The worst part of it all was that the previous 200GB and Unlimited tiers were both being reduced to 25GB…total. Public outcry was far and wide, with some 460,000+ people signing a petition to stop the change. In fact, the negative reaction was so strong, Prime Minister Stephen Harper ordered a review of the highly controversial ruling.

Thankfully, that perseverance paid off, as customers of TekSavvy began receiving emails late last night — Friday, February 11th — telling them that the upcoming March 1st deadline and lower caps was effectively canceled indefinitely. The unlimited tier is now reinstated. And the 200GB tier — now 300GB. Score one for determined and engaged consumers. It just goes to show you what the power of many can do.