Powered by the Intel Atom Z2460 processor clocked at 1.6Ghz, the Santa Clara features a 4 inch 1024×600 display, 8 megapixel camera that shoots HD video and can take 10 pictures in under a second, a 1.3 megapixel shooter up front, 16GB of internal memory storage, microSD card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1.

There’s no word on which version of Android it will be running at launch, nor any information about pricing, although it is said to be affordable.

Full Press Release:

Orange first to deliver exclusive new smartphone to Europe, powered by Intel technology

• Orange celebrates the tenth year of its successful portfolio of own-brandeddevices by extending its range to include a new high-performance smartphone, powered by the Intel®   Atom™ processor, which will be offered exclusively to Orange’s customers in the UK and France
• Orange is the first operator in Europe to launch this new smartphone offering the customer high-performance capabilities with a rich user experience and at an affordable price
• This first Intel-powered Orange smartphone will feature a number of locally-relevant and unique Orange services including Orange TV, Dailymotion, Deezer, Orange Wednesdays,  Your Orange and Orange Gestures

Today, Orange announces that it will launch a new high-performance Android smartphone in Europe this summer. Powered by Intel® technology, the device currently codenamed ‘Orange Santa Clara,’ will deliver the latest in smartphone capabilities and rich entertainment experiences to more customers. The phone will first be available exclusively to Orange customers in the UK and France, where its commercial name will be unveiled at launch.

The launch of this smartphone marks a significant development in Orange’s long-standing and successful strategy to deliver phones under its own brand. Now in its tenth year, it has helped drive new device partnerships and support Orange’s customer and mobile multimedia growth by introducing more affordable feature phones and smartphones to its whole customer base. These phones are differentiated by being customised with simple and relevant Orange applications and services. Customer demand has led to the doubling of Orange’s own-branded portfolio in 2011, increasing volume from 7 per cent to 15 per cent of its total device portfolio. Orange aims to increase the volume of its own-branded device portfolio to 20 per cent in 2012 to better meet its customers’ needs, making innovative features, services and technologies more widely accessible.

Today, Orange is broadening its own-branded device portfolio with a new mobile partner, Intel, a world leader in silicon processor technology and computing innovation. At launch, the Orange smartphone will run Android’s Gingerbread platform with a planned upgrade to Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich platform shortly thereafter. The new Orange smartphone is based on Intel’s smartphone reference design and is powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor Z2460 and supports HSPA+ with the Intel® XMM™ 6260 Platform. Together, these Intel solutions deliver leading performance and energy efficiency while facilitating fast browsing and a responsive user experience. The phone has a 4.03” display, slender dimensions at 123mm x 63 x 9.99, 16 Gb of memory and weighs in at 117g.

In addition, high-definition (HD) video will support a rich entertainment offering together with mobile HD voice for outstanding audio quality. It also boasts a camera that can take 10 pictures in under a second with 8-megapixel quality to ensure customers capture all the action so they can choose the very best pictures to keep and share. Also pre-loaded will be a number of services unique to Orange, including Orange TV, Dailymotion, Deezer (France only), Orange Wednesdays Your Orange and Orange Gestures. 

“The proliferation of smartphones has brought a wealth of new experiences. At Orange we firmly believe that all our customers should benefit from the smartphone revolution, and we remain committed to delivering innovative content and services across a wide range ofdevices to help customers stay connected and get more from their phone,” said Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President of Mobile Multimedia and Devices, Orange. “For ten years, Orange has pioneered a successful own-branded approach to delivering to its customers high quality, affordable handsets in all price ranges, packed with locally relevant and unique services and features. We are delighted to be partnering with Intel to add such an exceptional device to our portfolio.” 

Today’s announcement builds on Orange’s long-standing and close relationship with Intel across its PC and tablet portfolio, and Orange continues to support Intel’s innovation and development on convergent platforms.

“The Orange device is a fantastic example of the innovation happening on Intel’s smartphone reference design,” said Mike Bell, Intel Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Mobile and Communications Group. “We are pleased to extend our close collaboration with Orange to Intel-based smartphones. Orange has a long and successful track record of innovation which has produced great mobile products and services for their customers. By combining Orange’s unique applications and services with an attractive high-performance Intel-based smartphone, Orange is once again demonstrating its wireless leadership while providing more value and customer choice.”   

Francisco Jeronimo, Research Manager European Mobile Devices, IDC, commented: ”This announcement is a bold move from Orange. In today’s smartphone environment it is extremely difficult to differentiate without compromising costs. This device pushes the boundaries of innovation and provides consumers with premium experiences at affordable prices.” 

US Cellular’s forthcoming LTE network is well on it’s way to launching next month, and they’ve just announced the first round of devices to use the new 4G technology. The first of which is familiar to all of us, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, one of the most popular Android tablets on the market today. The 10.1 inch Honeycomb tablet features a WXGA display, dual-core Tegra 2 processor, front and rear cameras, and of course LTE connectivity. It’s expected to be available in April.

US Cellular’s first LTE phone will also be a Samsung device, the Galaxy S Aviator 4G. Bearing a close resemblance to Verizon’s Droid Charge, we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re nearly identical inside. The Aviator 4G features a 4.3-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen, 8 megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera and will be running Android 2.3.6 out of the box. The Aviator 4G will launch some time in May.

When US Cellular flips the switch for their 4G LTE network next month, the first cities on the list include select cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma, including some of U.S. Cellular’s leading markets such as Milwaukee, Madison and Racine, Wis.; Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; and Greenville, N.C. They are also expected to announce additional markets later in February.

Full Press Release:

U.S. CELLULAR ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF 4G LTE NETWORK NEXT MONTH ALONG WITH UPCOMING DEVICES

Brings up to 10 times faster download speeds and better web browsing experience

CHICAGO (Feb. 1, 2012) – U.S. Cellular, in conjunction with its partner, King Street Wireless, is launching a 4G LTE network next month that will enhance the wireless experience with countless entertainment possibilities and help customers simplify and organize their lives. The 4G LTE network will cover 25 percent of U.S. Cellular’s customers and will coincide with the launch of the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 4G LTE mobile tablet followed shortly by the Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™ 4G LTE smartphone.

4G LTE speeds allow customers to begin watching a movie in seconds and enjoy smoother video streaming with little to no buffering, and video chatting with family or business colleagues is seamless.

With the Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™, customers have the ability to talk and access the Internet at the same time. They can talk to their family about dinner plans while downloading an app to find nearby restaurants and simultaneously check out reviews online.

The March rollout of 4G LTE includes select cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma, including some of U.S. Cellular’s leading markets such as Milwaukee, Madison and Racine, Wis.; Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; and Greenville, N.C. U.S. Cellular is the first wireless carrier to offer 4G LTE in several of these markets. The next wave of market launches will be announced later this month.

“With 4G LTE speeds, you can quickly get what you want when you need it,” said Mary N. Dillon, president and CEO of U.S. Cellular. “This 4G LTE network builds upon our industry-leading network satisfaction and is the only one that comes with a valuable rewards program and other unique benefits like Overage Protection and Battery Swap that make our customers the happiest in wireless.”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 is powered by Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) and has a 10.1-inch WXGA TFT touchscreen. It features superior multi-tasking capabilities, a video watching experience similar to TV and smooth graphics and responsive controls for faster gaming. Apps are downloaded faster on the sleek Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™ smartphone that comes with Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread). It has a 4.3-inch WVGA s-AMOLED plus touchscreen, 8 megapixel rear camera and front-facing camera for easy video chatting. Both devices will provide download and browser speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G and be similar to a cable Internet connection.

The 4G LTE network builds on the 3G data services that U.S. Cellular customers already enjoy on the carrier’s high-quality nationwide network. U.S. Cellular has the highest call quality and network satisfaction of any national carrier. For more information about the 4G LTE experience, visit uscellular.com/4G.

There are currently 3 different models of the Samsung Galaxy S II available in the US, from T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T. Aside from tiny differences in screen size and processors, they’re all essentially the same hardware, and run the same software. The Galaxy S II is one of the best selling Android smartphones worldwide and could be considered a flagship device on any of the available carriers. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite tips and tricks for the Galaxy S II straight from Samsung themselves:

Motion Interaction

Motion Settings: The Galaxy S II can use four user motions–turn over, tilt, panning, and double tap–to control certain functions of the phone. Turning the phone over mutes incoming calls and sounds, tilting reduces or enlarges screen image in the Gallery or Browser, panning moves widget and shortcut icons from page to page in the Home and Applications screens, and double tap prepares the phone for voice commands. To activate these features and learn more about them, touch Applications > Settings > Motion.

Photo Editor

Selecting Items in the Photo Editor: To apply effects to an area of a photo in the editor app, the area must first be selected. To select an area, touch the selection tool and choose New Selection. The tool works best when the you drag your finger across the middle of the desired area like a paintbrush, rather than trying to outline the area. Selections can be fine-tuned with the Add To and Remove From options in the Selection menu.

Music Player

While a song is playing on your phone, the TouchWiz music player can be controlled from the app, the notifications panel, and even from the lock screen. Simply touch the play/pause, skip forward, or skip back icons to control the music. Within the app, users can search the web and YouTube™ to find more info on a song or band by touching the name of the currently playing song.

Sharing Apps

Have a favorite app? Recommend it to friends via Bluetooth®, email, messaging, or Wi-Fi Direct™. Go to Applications and touch the Menu key > Share App. Select the app from the list and touch Done. Follow the prompts to send a link to download the app.

Screen Capture

To capture a photo of the phone’s current screen, touch and hold the Home key and Power key at the same time.

USB Host

Attaching USB Devices to the Galaxy S II: With the optional USB adapter, you can connect devices such as keyboards, mice and thumb drives to the Galaxy S II. High-powered devices and charging another device from the Galaxy S II’s port are not supported.

 
[Source]

We’ll be on the lookout for better deals around the web, but it’s good to see a lower price point than the seemingly standard $199 for every other handset.

Sprint’s 4G Leadership Extends into 2011 with Introduction of Second Generation of Industry-Leading 4G-Capable Devices

HTC EVO Shift 4G with slide-out QWERTY available exclusively from Sprint on Jan. 9 for $149.99; MiFi® 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Novatel Wireless debuts on Feb. 27 for $49.99, bringing Sprint 4G connectivity to up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), January 04, 2011 – As the first national wireless carrier to launch 4G in 2008, Sprint (NYSE:S) wrapped up 2010 with a lead in 4G wireless device innovations. Further extending that lead, the company today introduced the upcoming availability of two products in Sprint’s second generation of 4G-capable devices: HTC EVO Shift™ 4G and MiFi® 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Novatel Wireless. With these two devices, Sprint has now introduced 17 4G-capable devices for consumers and business, including three phones, a 4G netbook and notebook from Dell, numerous USB modem options, and several mobile hotspots and routers.

“Sprint will continue to set the bar for feature-rich and customer-friendly 4G devices into 2011,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “Our proven leadership as a 4G pioneer has allowed our customers to enjoy 4G from Sprint first, and these new products exemplify Sprint’s commitment to put industry-leading performance and capabilities in the hands of our customers.”

A Feature-Rich 4G Phone with QWERTY

As the 16th 4G-capable device from Sprint, HTC EVO Shift follows in the footsteps of the award-winning HTC EVO™ 4G, bringing customers an attractive, compact design and an impressive list of features with the addition of a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Beyond the highly acclaimed HTC Sense user experience, HTC EVO Shift also boasts the power of 4G, Android 2.2™, a 5MP camera, 720p HD camcorder and a 3.6-inch capacitive touchscreen display with pinch-to-zoom capability.

Additional key features include:

HD Video Recording

Wi-Fi®

Sprint Mobile Hotspot (supporting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices)

Android Market™ with access to more than 100,000 apps

Messaging – Personal and business e-mail, IM and text messaging

Social Networking Integration – Facebook®, Twitter™, Flickr® and more

Visual Voicemail

Google™ Mobile Services, including YouTube™, Gmail™, Google Talk™, Google Voice™ and Google Maps™

GPS Navigation

Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology

microSD slot (supporting up to 32GB memory card)

The Web browser on HTC EVO Shift is optimized for convenient mobile use and a full Internet experience with functions like pinch-to-zoom and automatically reflowing text. Adobe Flash technology ensures that rich Internet content, such as embedded video and animation, are displayed the way they are meant to be seen. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard makes staying in touch with friends and family through messaging and social networking quick and easy.

Priced at the lowest cost at launch for any current 4G phone, HTC EVO Shift will be just $149.99 (excluding taxes) after a $100 mail-in rebate and activation on a new two-year service agreement (or eligible upgrade), and activation on a data plan with the required $10 Premium Data Add-On. It will be available in all Sprint retail channels, including www.sprint.com and 1-800-Sprint1, on Jan. 9. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/shift.

The videos and pics were floating around for a while as the Click, and now HTC has official announced their newest Android handset, know as the HTC Tattoo. You can think of it as the Hero’s younger brother with a bit of attitude. It’s a full-featured smart phone sporting the standard Android features and the acclaimed HTC Sense UI. And decent specs for a device aimed at the low end of the smart phone market:

• 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor
• 512MB/256MB ROM/RAM
• 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen LCD
• 900/2100MHz HSPA/UMTS
• GPS
• 802.11b/g Wifi
• Compass and accelerometer
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
• And the much desired 3.5mm stereo headset jack

And per it’s namesake, customers will be able to design and purchase custom “tattooed” covers for the phone, or choose from popular choices. Just like the old Nokias with the snap-on faceplaces! Will the gimmick be enough to drive the average phone buyer to get this over a budget flip or slider phone? We’ll find out when the HTC Tattoo is rolled out in Europe next month, and to the rest of the world in the next few months. No word on carriers or pricing yet, but you can imagine this will be a lot less than the similar featured Hero.

What would you put on your HTC Tattoo?  And how long before an Apple fanboy gets one adorned with the Apple logo?

[Press release]