X10 AirPad promises to be the best $199 tablet around, sports full USB port

We usually scoff when we hear about Android tablets going for $199. But when we hear about stalwart retailer X10 selling one for $199, we'll at least give things a listen. The X10 AirPad promises to be the "best tablet on the market for under $200."

Let's talk specs: You've got a 7-inch display with a measly 800x480 resolution. (By comparison, the Acer Iconia a100 and HTC Flyer each has a 7-inch touchscreen at 1024x600 resolution.) So it's fewer pixels, but that means less work for the 1.2 GHz Rockchip 2918 processor. That's all pushing Android 2.3 Gingerbread, so it's got that going for it, which is nice. There's 512MB of RAM on board, and 4GB on internal storage. There's a 2MP camera, which we're probably safe in ignoring on spec.

The 4000 mAh batter is rated as 6 hours of movie or music playback (we have a hard time believing music playback takes as much juice, but whatever), or 4 hours of Wifi Internet accvess. And speaking of Wifi, it's got 802.11 b/g. There's also HDMI out for 1080p playback, a full-size USB port, mini (not micro) USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot.

Source: X10

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Verizon won't have a Galaxy S II variant, WSJ says, citing anonymous sources

The Wall Street Journal -- citing the ever-popular "people familiar with the plans" -- is reporting that Verizon won't be introducing a variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II at next week's event in New York City. That might or might not be an interesting shift from what everybody's suspected -- that just like the original Galaxy S roll-out last year, we'll see variants on all four major U.S. carriers.
Verizon spokewoman Brendra Raney apparently confirmed all this, writes Greg Bensinger, saying only "We have an extensive portfolio that offers customers a great variety of devices, including the Samsung Droid Charge."
Now we've got no idea why the Droid Charge was specifically picked for this quote, but we do know this: Brenda's right. There's no shortage of top-shelf devices in Verizon's lineup. The HTC ThunderBolt. Samsung Droid Charge. LG Revolution. And, eventually, the Motorola Droid Bionic. Not to mention the Motorola Droid 3, and the rumored Samsung Stratosphere and Motorola Droid HD. Given that we don't really know what the Stratosphere is just yet, we'll hold out hope and have faith that while it might not be a direct descendent of the Galaxy S II, it'll have lofty -- stratospheric, even -- specs when it is released.
The point is this: Even if Verizon is a no-show on Monday -- and remember that this is a Samsung event, not a carrier-branded event -- it's not like there aren't any Verizon phones to be had, and we're sure there are more to come this year. Somebody just seems to be managing expectations ahead of next week.
One way or another, we'll be there to find out. Stay tuned.
Source: WSJ
Update: And we've confirmed this with our own anonymous sources. So while it's not quite official, it's certainly anonymous. Or officially anonymous. Or anonymously official.
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Motorola Titanium now available on SouthernLINC

Regional carrier SouthernLINC (those of us south of the Mason-Dixon might have heard of 'em) today launched the iDEN-capable Motorola Titanium. As you'll recall from our mini-review, it's rugged, meeting MilSpec 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature. You could probably ward off a pack of wolves with it, if need be. It's running Android 2.1 and has that chirpy push-to-talk radio function.
SouthernLINC's offering up the Titanium for $149 with a two-year contract. A one-year deal will raise the price by $100. Full presser's after the break.
More: SouthernLINC
SouthernLINC Wireless Rolls Out Motorola TITANIUM, the newest Android-powered Push To Talk Smartphone for iDEN
ATLANTA – Aug. 25, 2011 – Motorola TITANIUM™, the newest Android™-powered smartphone with Push To Talk for the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), is now available from SouthernLINC Wireless, a Southern Company (NYSE: SO).
Using Motorola’s iDEN technology that offers immediate, private communications, SouthernLINC Wireless combines Push To Talk two-way radio, cellular service, mobile Web access, and text and picture messaging into one, hand-held device.
The new Motorola TITANIUM is a slim, tablet-style smartphone that unites the interactivity of a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen with the functionality of a full QWERTY keyboard. Plus, it gives users immediate private or GroupTALK™ Push To Talk two-way radio communications capabilities, so they can connect with one or many people at the push of a button. With a simple and intuitive interface, Android 2.1 Eclair operating system, integrated GPS capabilities, corporate connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi®, Motorola TITANIUM provides the tools to stay connected and productive.
“You can use the touch-screen QWERTY or the physical QWERTY keyboard to make text messaging and email communications fast and easy,” said Rodney Johnson, vice president of sales and distribution for SouthernLINC Wireless. “Whether you use your smartphone for work, play or both, Motorola TITANIUM’s dual keyboards offer users the best of both worlds.”
This smartphone is also packed with features, including voice commands, a music player, stereo Bluetooth® technology, a 3.5-millimeter stereo headset jack and a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash, video, four times digital zoom and geotagging capabilities. Store images, videos and music on the included 2-gigabyte microSD HC memory card, or replace it with up to a 32 GB card, sold separately, to hold even more data.
More than 250,000 applications are available to browse and download from Android Market™, and with five display screens providing quick access to frequently used items, there is plenty of room to personalize Motorola TITANIUM with widgets, shortcuts and interactive wallpapers.
Moreover, Motorola TITANIUM synchs email, calendars and contacts from Gmail™ and Google Calendar™, Microsoft® Exchange, POP3 or IMAP, keeping active users connected to both personal and business accounts.
“And, when a text or email just won’t do, don’t let a noisy location keep you from making that phone call,” continued Johnson. “Motorola TITANIUM’s dual microphones cancel noise and optimize audio on voice calls, so you can be heard.”
In addition, the rugged Motorola TITANIUM is designed to meet Military Specification 810G for dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, low pressure and solar radiation, giving users reliability and durability in some of the harshest environments.
Motorola TITANIUM is now available for $149.99 after mail-in debit card rebate with either a two-year service agreement on a qualifying voice plan with data or an eligible contract renewal with a data plan. It can be purchased from SouthernLINC Wireless sales and service locations, through participating authorized SouthernLINC Wireless dealers, from SouthernLINC Wireless direct sales associates and online. Visit www.southernlinc.com/promodetails for offer terms and conditions. In-stock availability may vary by location.
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About SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless, a Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is an Atlanta-based regional wireless carrier with network coverage in the major metro and rural areas of Alabama, Georgia, southeast Mississippi and northwest Florida. SouthernLINC Wireless combines multiple communication options, including Push To Talk two-way radio (PTT), cellular service, wireless Internet access, wireless data, and text and picture messaging, into one hand-held device. In addition to regional network coverage, the company offers nationwide access through roaming agreements for cellular, PTT, data, and text and picture messaging services in more than 540 cities throughout the U.S. For more information, please call 1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visit www.southernlinc.com.
About Southern Company
With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company was named the World’s Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility by Fortune magazine in 2011, and is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.
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Motorola Droid 3 gets rooted, and the exploit gets explained beautifully

The Motorola Droid 3 has been rooted, and while we expect root to happen for most Android phones, there are a couple things here that we want to talk about.  To start at the beginning, the goal of any project to exploit or root an Android phone is to get the permissions you want, where you want them.  Once you have administrative permissions on a folder you can also write to, you're pretty much set.  Security researcher Dan Rosenberg found a fairly easy method to do just that, and we now have a shell root via ADB with no third-party files being used.  This means no worries about sketchy files that have been through numerous hands, doing lord knows what when you run them.
To make things even better, Dan has outlined exactly what he did, why he did it, and how you can do it as well.  When you read it, it seems so simple, but it's apparent that a lot of research went into this and it's refreshing to see the method presented in such an open way.  Yes, this means that the carriers can patch it quickly, but for the vast majority of users that won't be rooting their phone this is a good thing.  Dan, we tip our hat to you and there's a standing offer of a frosty beverage or three should you even run across any of us here at AC.
Now, for the method -- you'll need to have ADB running, and be confident in your ability to run a few commands from the command line or terminal.  And be aware that this is the first step only, and you'll only have root via the shell.  Next, someone will need to build a few files to inject so that you have root on the device itself, and I'm sure at least a few are hard at it.  You can (and should) check out the source link for the full directions, as well as the rhyme and reason behind the method.
Update: Gerald wrote in to let us know he has posted up the files and method to get root on the device itself working, you can find that here.  And we've received numerous reports about a one click method posted by the fellows at rootzwiki.  Go get your root on!
Source and method: VulnFactory blog
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