Boost Mobile, Sprint’s non-contract wireless brand, launches the LG Marquee mid-range Android smartphone with a ultra thin design. The slim device is just 0.36-inch thick. It sports a 4-inch 700-nit NOVA touchscreen display, a 5 Megapixel main camera with 720p video capability and a 2 Megapixel front-facing camera. The Marquee runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS on a 1GHz processor. It has 4GB internal storage and supports microSD card slot. For connectivity, you can find GPS/AGPS, Bluetooth with stereo support and WiFi. The LG Marquee is now available with Boost Mobile’s no-contract $55 Android Monthly Unlimited plan with Shrinkage, which includes unlimited nationwide talk, text messagin

Sprint may be preparing to announce the Galaxy Note during next week’s Consumer Electronics Show. So far, we’ve only heard rumors that the device will launch on AT&T with 4G LTE support. The Galaxy Note is often referred to as a cross between a tablet and a phone, and it originally launched in Europe earlier this year. It is equipped with a large 5.3-inch display with a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution, a 1.4GHz processor and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. If Sprint does launch the Galaxy Note, as SprintFeed is suggesting it will, the phone will likely come equipped with support for Sprint’s WiMAX network. BGR will be reporting live from CES 2012 next week, so stay tuned for more

Google and Samsung have announced the Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone running the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. The phone features a 4.65-inch 1280×720 HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, a 5 Megapixel main camera with LED flash and zero shutter lag, a 1.3 Megapixel front camera for video chat, Bluetooth 3.0, integrated NFC and 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/ 5GHz) WiFi connectivity. The Galaxy Nexus is powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM. It comes with 16GB or 32GB internal memory. In addition to Accelerometer, Compass, Gyro, Light, Proximity sensor, the Android 4.0 device adds barometer as well. It supports penta-band HSPA+ 21Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps and quad-band GSM/EDGE netw

Sony Ericsson’s chief executive officer has revealed he feels Windows Phone “isn’t as good” as Android. Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg made his feelings clear in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, published on Monday. The Next Web notes that Nordberg responded to a question on Sony Ericsson’s rivals willingness to adopt other phone operating systems. “At this point I wouldn’t feel comfortable investing in a platform that isn’t as good as the one that we currently use,” said Nordberg. “Therefore we have remained with Android, but I am quite curious about Windows Phone.” Sony Ericsson had originally promised to unveil a Windows Phone handset in 2011. The compa

Best Buy has begun taking pre-orders for an 8.9-inch version of Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Tab. According to the product listing on Best Buy, the new version of Samsung’s ever growing tablet line has a 1280×800 TFT display, Android 3.1, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of built-in memory. There’s also front (2 MP) and rear (3 MP) cameras with auto-focus and LED flash, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth. The product is listed for $470. Another model with the same specs but with 32 GB instead of 16 GB is $570. The new version of the Galaxy Tab was first unveiled at the CTIA wireless trade show in March, and complements the existing 10.1-inch and 7-inch versions. The product listings on

The Galaxy S II is another smartphone running Google’s Android operating system, specifically the ‘Gingerbread’ version. The unit we tested was on loan from three.co.uk which is offering the Galaxy S II on a £35 a month contract. The main selling point of this model is a 4.3” touchscreen – almost an inch bigger than Apple’s iPhone – and there’s no denying it looks sumptuous with bold, vivid colours. Although the extra screen space comes in useful for tasks such as browsing and email, there’s little sign of Samsung bothering to do much with it. On its home screens the S II only shows the same 4 apps to a row that the iPhone and every other Android smartphone offers, they

More than a year after Starbucks introduced the ability to pay for coffee with your iPhone, Android is getting in on the action. The java chain has just released the official Starbucks app for Android. The main point of the app is to link a credit card or Starbucks gift card to the device. Then, when you swing by for your latte or frappuccino, just load up the app and hand the phone to the cashier. It will present a special barcode that, when scanned, automatically deducts the funds from your linked gift card. Every Starbucks location in the US is equipped with special barcode readers designed specifically for the app. The way the app works is, instead of actually charging your cred

Adobe said that Android will win the tablet wars because Apple’s gear is not as Flash friendly. Steve Jobs famously refused to allow Apple fanboys to use Flash in his gizmos, claim they were responsible crashing his fruity toys. But Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said the argument between Apple and his company over the lack of Adobe Flash on iOS is over. Narayen claimed the disagreement between the two companies hadn’t ultimately been about the technology. “It’s a business model issue, and it’s about control of a platform,” he said. Now he is seeing Apple approve Adobe apps because it still thinks it has  control of the business model associated w

Netflix launches their much awaited service for Android only to bum users out by having a minuscule list of supported devices. Are you dying to use Netflix but are one of the many with an unsupported device? You might just be in luck. The Android wizards over at XDA have managed to remove the device check for this service, hence allowing pretty much anyone to be able to stream Netflix services on their Android phones. The method seems to be a hit or miss, and majority of the success rate is found on smartphones running Android 2.3 or later. But there’s no harm in trying. Head over to XDA and try it out for yourself.

Google — noting that 40% of its Google Maps users are on mobile devices — updated its Google Maps Web app for iOS and Android today. We’ve been pretty satisfied with the native applications on Android and iOS, but the website allows you to access many of the options that are available from a desktop browser, too. That includes the ability to view your location, search nearby areas with suggestions and auto-complete, get directions for driving, transit, biking, or walking, view different lays, view Place pages, and access your starred locations. We’re particularly excited about the option for accessing our starred locations, a feature that’s not available in the native i