Honeycomb

Great news for Sprint customers who own an HTC EVO View 4G! Starting today, the Android 3.2 Honeycomb update is available. To get the update now you have to manually download it (instructions below), or you can wait until early 2012 when Sprint will push the upgrade to users.

One thing to keep in mind - due to the Honeycomb layout, you'll lose your personalized widgets and screen setup. The device will revert to the out of the box home screen layout. Also, because Honeycomb is a tablet specific OS, some third-party apps might not work. Sprint recommends that you remove the application and check the Android Market to see if an updated application is available.

Business users will like this - the update will allow you to use the HTC Scribe digital pen with all applications on the device, as well as act like a stylus for navigation. Document Signature Capture is also now available via ActSoft – with additional application developers to follow. Corporate IT departments will also appreciate that the HTC EVO View 4G is now Sprint Data Link capable. This security feature allows for greater control over the device, while offering secure connectivity to a corporate network.Read more

ARCHOS this week unveiled two new tablet PCs, the 8-inch ARCHOS 80 G9 with a 1024 x 768 screen resolution and 10-inch ARCHOS 101 G9 (1280 x 800). Featuring a fast 1.5 GHz dual-core OMAP 4 processor and Seagate's 250GB hard drive, these are the first tablets to include physical hard drives on board.

The G9 tablets run Android Honeycomb 3.1 and have your typical tablet specs – support for Adobe Flash, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 720p front camera, access to the Android Market – but they also include a full-size USB port where you can insert the (optional) ARCHOS 3G Stick, which provides 3G connectivity. Now you don't have to choose between a Wi-Fi or 3G model. For a $49 upgrade, the 3G stick gives you 3G connectivity with a Pay-As-You-Go 3G Plan – so you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Both models also include HDMI output and support 1080p HD video playback.

The 8- inch ARCHOS 80 G9 and 10-inch ARCHOS 101 G9 will be available at the end of September. The 8-inch tablet starts at $279 and 10.1-inch starts at $349 – much cheaper than the competition!

Amazon has updated its Kindle for Android app, adding new features and support for tablets running Android's Honeycomb. The latest version of Kindle for Android includes new shopping experience tailored for tablets, a new layout for newspapers and magazines, and more enhancements that take advantage of the larger screens.

New features:

• Seamless integrated shopping experience tailored for tablets gives you quick access to personalized recommendations, customer reviews, and more
• Refined newspaper and magazine layout including full color images
• Ability to pause, resume download at any time
• Enhanced word look-up capability (for Android-based phones and tablets) with built-in dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions.