DROID Bionic Droping Tegra 2 For TI OMAP?

The Motorola DROID Bionic as we know it is gone. The previously announced super phone was to wow consumers with LTE and dual-core goodness. Unfortunately, Verizon and Motorola have put the brakes on the Bionic to “make it a better consumer device”. Many (ourselves included) thought a few minor hardware changes coupled with waiting for Android 2.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) were the main reasons. But a new benchmark that has popped up on Swedish website, Nena spells a very different, very exciting story. The DROID Bionic got a major hardware upgrade. Instead of “only” an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, the DROID Bionic (according to the benchmark above) now includes TI’s latest OMAP processor (4430 or 4440) which features a very powerful PowerVR SGX 540 GPU.

While we can’t say for certain the exact reasoning behind Motorola’s decision, we’d have to speculate that battery life concerns were one of the more serious concerns. Tegra 2 as efficient as it is still loves to suck down electrons. Ditto for LTE. Combine the two and you’ve got an outlet babysitter in the making. Of course, Motorola could have simply wanted to decimate everything on the market with the “Bionic” name, and as such, delay the device for said hardware change. Either way we’ve very excited.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available…

Unnamed 12-Megapixel WP7 Device Caught On Camera.

Camera phones have come a long, long way since their humble days when VGA got us all excited. Nowadays it seems the sweet spot is in the 5-8-megapixel range, though ultimately it isn’t the megapixels that outright determine a phones photo-taking chops — other bits of hardware such as lens and sensor as well as software optimizations ultimately reign supreme. But we’re willing to give this new, unannounced 12-megapixel WP7 device snapped above by infamous mobile leaker, Eldar Murtazin, a chance. The biggest revelation that we know at this point which should excite photographers is support for RAW image capture. But again, we’ll have to wait until we see some actual pictures before passing judgement.

Another shot after the break…

PS3 Laptop Features 720p Display, Fully Water-Cooled Internals FTW!

Have $1,000 burning a hole in your pocket and the urge to game on your PS3 just about anywhere? You’re in luck because the latest PS3 laptop mod is now up on eBay, with the seller claiming portions of the sale will go back towards earthquake relief in Japan and tornado relief in Joplin, Missouri.

The good ‘ol 40 GB fat has been dissected and squeezed into a custom case measuring a scant 13-inch-long by 16.5-inch-wide by 2.5-inch-thick. Add to that built-in controls (keyboard) as well as 4-USB ports, speakers with volume controls, 2.5mm headphone jack, slot-loading Blu-ray drive, and 720p display and you’ve got quite the portable gaming machine. With that said, this particular PS3 mod lacks a built-in battery meaning you’ll ultimately need a friendly outlet or beefy battery back to game on the go. Finally, a new 500 GB hard drive and fully water-cooled internals add to the already impressive spec list. Pretty awesome if you ask us.

Jump inside for the video…

Nvidia Demos Quad-Core Kal-El Mobile Processor.

Currently, dual-core processors are the creme-dela-creme of the mobile world. But many things are still out of reach of these pocketable devices, namely dynamic lighting. Pretty much everything you see in mobile applications and games now on the market feature pre-rendered scenes. But Nvidia’s quad-core Kal-el processor promises to produce real dynamic lighting, instantly taking games in particular to a much higher level of quality and detail.

The image above is a screenshot from their recent demoing of Kal-El (video after the break) and is really quite entertaining to watch. Further bolstering the claim of the quad-core’s power, the Nvidia employee demoing the silicon disables two of the four cores to show just how unplayable such a feature would be on current technology. In short: We want this now! Unfortunately we’ll have to wait until this fall when quad-core hardware is said to start shipping.

Enough talking. Video after the break…

ASUS Officially Unveils PadFone Phone + Tablet Combo.

Today at Computex ASUS “officially” unveiled the PadFone phone + tablet combo device that’s garnered so much attention thus far. What’s important to stress is that the images above while official from Computex will likely change. ASUS has stated the hardware they have brought to Computex is still in the early design stages, citing a still distant holiday season 2011 for release. On that same note, specs are still up in the air at this point as well. Preliminary specs have the phone portion equipped with a 4.3″ display while the host tablet will pack a 10.1″ 1200 x 800 display. However, ASUS has mentioned that the latest version of Android will ship with the PadFone — likely Ice Cream Sandwich as it will bridge the tablet and phone strains of Android.

What we do know is that similarities to Motorola’s Atrix 4G smartphone and laptop will be quite similar. The tablet portion of the PadFone will be a “dummy” unit itself, merely acting as a larger screen and extended battery for the snap-in phone. ASUS did mention some “other” functionality, but declined to discuss/reveal it at this time. Consider our interest piqued.

Regardless of how final the hardware is now, a gallery of pictures and videos wait you after the break…

ASUS PadFone Leaked!

ASUS isn’t scheduled to release the previously hyped “PadFone” until tomorrow at Computex, but unfortunately for them someone jumped the gun. While the “official” press photos are now flowing, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the hard specs. Though judging by the visual information we already have, 10.1″ looks to be the shipping size. Also worth mentioning — we may get to see Google’s next flavor of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, debut considering the phone + tablet presentation the PadFone exudes.

Small gallery after the break…

Google Wipes Android Market Of Popular Emulators. Time To Root.

In a move that isn’t surprising, Google has apparently gone on a cleaning spree ridding the Android Market of “unauthorized” gaming emulators. Specifically, the multi-platform Nesoid, Snesoid, Gensoid, N64oid, Ataroid, Gearoid and Gameboid by developer yongzh are now no more. A similar cleaning was wrought on PSX4Droid developer ZodTTD as well many weeks back.

The claim that caused this most recent ban hammer was brought forth by a Sega complain last month. Whether or not other gaming outfits such as Nintendo or Sony complained (they likely did), doesn’t really matter as Google has revoked yongzh’s developer privileges. Honestly, we’re surprised the emulators lasted this long.

On a happier ending, expect the numerous platform emulators to pop up online through other means (if they haven’t already) to keep the scores of retro gamers happy and busy. Thoughts?