HTC May Make Second Android Phone By April, Says Unreliable Site [Android Phone]

Digitimes, who was already kinda wrong this morning, says that HTC will release a second Android phone by April and a third is already in development. The third phone already being in development is a super-obvious rumor, since every company has tons of things going on simultaneously, but a second Android phone by April? Sure, that's possible. I mean, all HTC needs to do is pick one of the hundreds of form factors they already have, slap the Android OS on it, make sure stuff like the battery life isn't atrocious, and it's going to be better than the G1. However, being possible is one thing, but being true is another. So we'll wait and see whether or not April is the right month.

• Microsoft extends Windows XP lifespan yet again
• Dell Adamo to challenge MacBook Air in February?

Cellphone hacked to analyze blood, detect diseases on the spot

Not that the whole using-cellphones-for-disease-detection is completely fresh, but the latest handset hack for medical purposes is still mighty impressive. UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan has essentially converted a standard cellphone into a portable blood tester of sorts, which is capable of detecting HIV, malaria and various other illnesses. Put as simply as possible, the device works by analyzing blood cells that are placed on an integrated off-the-shelf camera sensor and lit up with a filtered light source. Said light source exposes unique qualities of the cells, and from there, the doc's homegrown software interprets the data and determines what's what. So, has anyone given this guy the main line to NTT DoCoMo, or what?

• Clevo laptop shocker! Scores of new, cryptic model names
• ThinkPad W700 surfaces with secondary 10.6-inch LCD

Clearwire's $150 dual-mode WiMAX / Sprint CDMA modem launches Sunday

Yup, it's true, the dual-mode CDMA / WiMAX modem is real and will be sold by by Clearwire starting December 21st. The $150 device (after $50 rebate and two-year Sprint contract) is a first to function on both Sprint's EV-DO network and Clearwire's nascent mobile WiMAX service currently supporting Baltimore's collection of kitschy beauty salons. So yeah, the modem is of limited interest until Clearwire can build-out its network in 2009, starting with Portland in early January.

Microsoft's First Ever iPhone App

Yesterday evening, Microsoft quietly added the photo displaying app SeaDragon Mobile, its first-ever iPhone application, to the App Store. Could Microsoft Office for iPhone be far behind? Probably not, but this is a start. SeaDragon Mobile is pretty much a demo of Microsoft Live Labs' photo display platform (also seen in Photosynth). Users can use the app to zoom in on photos with incredible resolution. The app achieves this by storing different resolutions, and shows only the portions needed at any given time. When explaining the decision to use the App Store, Alex Daley, group product manager for Microsoft Live Labs, said he was impressed with the iPhone's superior hardware.

The iPhone is the most widely distributed phone with a (graphics processing unit). Most phones out today don’t have accelerated graphics in them. The iPhone does and so it enabled us to do something that has been previously difficult to do. I couldn’t just pick up a BlackBerry or a Nokia off the shelf and build Seadragon for it without GPU support.

It's the new Ray Ozzie Microsoft, right?

• Fujitsu's Laptop4Life Scheme Gets You A New Laptop Every 3 Years 'Til You Die [Laptops]

Apple to turn the iPhone into a handheld game console?

Could the iPhone transcend the smartphone market and enter the realm of handheld gaming consoles? apple certainly thinks so, with the company’s John Geleynse recently claiming the phone could be a next-generation handheld gaming device. Calling it a potential rival to both the DS and the PSP, Geleynse's words aren't that much different from Apple's general point of view, which lends credence to the claim that Apple may try to push the device as suitable for a gaming experience.

Certain Apple stories this month in the U.S. will have an EA hosted “Games Sneak Peak” event, which will apparently outline where the iPhone (and iPod touch) could be headed in terms of gaming. The idea is truly novel – you have a single device that can handle your phone calls, email, geo-location, scheduling, music playing and more, then add “console” gaming on top of it. It certainly sounds appealing.

On the flip side of that, if you look at the design of any existing handheld console, you'll see that their developers put a lot of faith in having ample hand room and plenty of buttons to toy with. The iPhone is a sleek but tiny device, and Apple might have a very hard time convincing people that it's also a “handheld console”.

• Apple: "the iPhone is a gaming console"
• MiFi pushes 3G past the router limits
• Nokia says touch interface and handset leaked in presentation don't point to new product
• Mouse Computer delivers QX9300-powered NEXTGEAR M750WX1 gaming laptop

The Top 10 Android App Downloads: Pac-Man Pronounced King of Apps [Android]

Analysts Medialets found the top Android apps based on downloads, rating, and number of comments. It's a slightly limited mix of games, social networking, and audio tools, but Android's still just a baby. The number one app is Namco's immortal Pac-Man with more than a quarter-million downloads, no surprise since it's an exceptionally well made version of the classic. Brain Genius Deluxe and Bonsai Blast round out the games section. The Weather Channel app and ShopSavvy's barcode scanner represent for functional tools, and the rest is filled by music discovery apps and ringtone editors. The big surprise for me? MySpace Mobile clocks in at number 2, helped by its integration Shazam, number 7 on the list. But maybe that's because thinking about MySpace reminds me that Dane Cook is still out there, wreaking havoc on all that is good and funny.

• Acer seeks to become number one netbook maker in 2009
• Dell opens doors on Design Studio for jazzing up Studio 15 / 17 laptops
• Fujitsu-Siemens offers Lifebook4Life laptop replacement warranty, has some land in Florida it would like to sell you
• dmedia G400 with WiMAX: MID or PND?
• Used BlackBerrys sold for $20 at McCain-Palin blowout, contacts and emails included
• Goodyear announces five more GPS units in time for Christmas

Windows 7 Benchmark Results "Very Promising" [Windows 7]

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes at ZDNet tested pre-beta Windows 7 release 6956 against Vista RTM and Vista SP1. Win 7's snappy boot time and dominance in other tests suggest that a good OS is on the way. Early on, we showed you completely non-scientific evidence of Win 7's pleasingly fast boot time. (Shutting down is another matter—my build (6801) sometimes takes forever.) I was glad that Kingsley-Hughes—using a Phenom 9700 quad-core system with ATI Radeon 3850, 2GB of Corsair Dominator RAM and WD's 10K RPM Raptor as primary drive—managed to demonstrate that the fast boot isn't a fluke. By the way, Vista SP1 had the slowest boot. In two other tests, PassMark Performance and PCMark Vantage, Win 7 pre-beta beat the Vista builds, though it failed to trounce them in the CineBench R10 test. Remember, this is a pre-beta, so nothing is guaranteed, but what makes this newsworthy is that Kingsley-Hughes—who incidentally is in no way a Bond villain—ran similar tests with Vista a few years back, and early Win 7 makes a mockery of that noise. Check the ZDNet article for the full system specs and benchmark scores—I'm sure at least some of you will want the nitty gritty.

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ] [Tag: ]

Netflix fixes streaming issues with Roku device, Xbox 360

If you've been using Netflix streaming through a standalone solution like the the self-branded Roku device or the Xbox 360 client, you may have been troubled recently by a lack of picture quality. Compared to a PC streaming on the same connection, users were often unable to get full quality videos, despite of having plenty of bandwidth available.

Though Netflix never mentioned how widespread the problem was, they at least admitted it was a problem on their end and said they were working on a fix. All necessary changes and fixes have now been made, according to the company. Netflix won't elaborate on what caused the issue, but they certainly didn't try to shirk away from it and have already dealt with it, so kudos to them.
[Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

Walmart to Sell $99 iPhone?

Rumors about the iPhone hitting Walmart at a discount price have been circulating for some time, and The Boy Genius Report is bolstering those rumors today, saying it received a tip that the giant retailer will be reviving the 4GB iPhone model for just $99 with the standard two-year contract. The handset would be functionally identical to existing 8GB and 16GB versions and presumably offered with the same monthly price plans available now.

True or not, the idea of selling affordable 4GB iPhone 3G makes sense and should have mass appeal, considering not everyone needs to carry their entire music and video library with them at all times. The site cautions that this should be taken strictly as a rumor for now due to an unproven source, but indeed some Walmart training materials have been seen in the wild. Moreover, it's not unusual for the giant retailer to secure a special version of a product to sell at an extremely attractive price – though conversely Apple is not known for giving its retail partners any special treatments.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

Dell Mini 9 gets built-in AT&T 3G option

It's never been much of a secret that the Dell Mini 9 has been 3G-ready from day one, and Vodafone customers have been able to get a 3G-equipped model direct from the carrier for a little while now, but it looks like folks in the US can now finally get in on the mobile broadband action as well, with a built-in 3G option now configurable on Dell's site. Unfortunately, anyone that already took the plunge on a Mini 9 is out of luck, as the $125 upgrade is only available new orders (and only available on Windows XP-equipped models). If that doesn't preclude you, however, you can also expect to get a $120 rebate if you're willing to sign a two-year contract for AT&T's DataConnect service, although it looks like you'll also have to put up with a delay in your ship date at the moment.
[Via: Mobility Site ] [Tag: 3g, att, dell, dell mini 9, DellMini9, mini 9, Mini9 ]

Virgin America to launch in-flight Wi-Fi

Continuing with an ongoing trend, Virgin America is finally making its long announced entry into the world of in-flight broadband. The carrier, like American and Delta, will use the Gogo service from Aircell to provide its passenger with broadband connectivity and has teamed with YouTube to provide an air-to-ground video stream, from a plane flying over the San Francisco Bay Area, as part of the launch event tomorrow.

Virgin America’s in-flight Wi-Fi service will then remain in beta tests for one week before a planned commercial launch on December 1, with plans to have the system from Aircell deployed on all its planes by the middle of next year. Internet access won't be filtered for content or applications, except for VoIP, and the company will charge $9.95 for a flight of three hours or less and $12.95 for longer flights.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

Google bringing voice search to the iPhone

Given the option, would you like to search the web using your voice? Google may be prepping just such an endeavor, with an application for the iPhone that'll let people surf, or at least search, by using voice commands. The application would put them on more equal terms with Microsoft and Yahoo who already have similar tools.

No matter when it appears, it'll probably be only a short time before it makes the migration over to Android-based phones as well. With video email chat already in the works it could be that Google has hopes to change smartphones into much different tools that what they are now in a relatively short time. Then again, there are a lot of search terms that we'd want people to just continue to type in – not all search terms are G-rated, after all.
[Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

Mobile web users expected to reach 530 million by 2013

The percentage of people with mobiles browsing the web is going up sharply, due largely to the rise of feature-rich smartphones. According to ABI Research, around 130 million people now carry phones that have what we'd call “modern” browsing, and within the next 4-5 years that's expected to quadruple.

The research primarily points to phones from the likes of Apple and RIM, along with the expansion of 3G networks that offer speeds worthy of web browsing. Many sites tailoring to mobile users have helped as well, with Google definitely leading the pack for making a vast array of services functional and even easy to use on a mobile.

There are a lot of hurdles to get over. Even the fastest of 3G networks on fast phones pale in comparison when pitted up against the speed advantages of an actual broadband Internet connection, and viewing all your content on a three inch screen can get tiresome after a while. Cellular speeds haven't improved anywhere near as fast as Internet speeds either, which compound some of the issues – but people are still open to it, and manufacturers are still trying.

From my own experience, even a single generation of smartphones can make a night-and-day difference. I wouldn't be surprised to see Netbooks all but supplanted by sufficiently powerful smartphones, with people relying on them for hosts of applications, all types of communication and of course web browsing.
[Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

AMD announces Conesus netbook platform, ATI Stream brand, Fusion processor delay

We already got word of AMD's new 45nm Shanghai Opterons this morning, but it looks like that was only just the beginning of a deluge of news out of the slightly troubled company today, which includes the expected announcement of its netbook platform, the introduction of its new ATI Stream brand, and word of a delay to its much-vaunted Fusion platform. On the netbook front, AMD is hoping that its "Conesus" processor will prove to be a formidable competitor to Intel's Atom, with it apparently existing only in a 45nm, dual-core version that includes 1MB of cache and support for DDR2 RAM. Look for it to roll out in the first half of 2009. Coming ahead of that is AMD's new ATI Stream brand, which encompasses a number of the company's different stream and GPU computing initiatives and attempts to make them more attractive to both consumer and enterprise markets. To that end, AMD will be adding Stream support to its next Catalyst update (due in December), which will apparently let folks easily run stream applications that make use of your graphics card's GPU for some added computing power. It's not all high-fives around AMD, however, as the company has also let out word that its Fusion platform based around the dual CPU / GPU "Shrike" processor will be delayed until sometime in 2011, a full year later than originally planned. As if that wasn't enough, it's also shaken up the rest of its processor roadmap a bit, although it's entirely possible that it'll fluctuate a bit further before things really settle down. Hit up the links below to break all that down piece by piece.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: amd, ati, ati stream, AtiStream, breaking news, BreakingNews, conesus, fusion, netbook, shrike ]

Qualcomm throws in the towel on UMB, 4G race down to LTE and WiMAX

Realistically, the death knell tolled long ago for Qualcomm's stillborn Ultra Mobile Broadband initiative, its own special flavor of 4G and the logical next step in the CDMA2000 family of technologies. To make things nice and official, though, they went ahead and officially announced that they've halted development on the spec during an analysts' meeting earlier today, throwing support behind the competing LTE standard -- one of the two remaining techs vying for the hearts and minds of the world's 4G-wanting public. So where's one of the world's great patent enforcers going to collect cash now? Oh, don't worry about little ol' Qualcomm; the company claims it has plenty of 4G-relevant intellectual property that'll keep its bankrolls full for years to come.
[Via: dailywireless.org ] [Tag: 4g, breaking news, BreakingNews, lte, qualcomm, ultra mobile broadband, UltraMobileBroadband, umb ]

Rambus takes aim at NVIDIA over alleged patent infringement, again

While there still doesn't seem to have been any developments in the lawsuit Rambus filed against NVIDIA earlier this year, that doesn't seem to be stopping the company from opening up another front against its would-be arch rival, and it's now taken its case to the International Trade Commission. As before, Rambus is alleging that NVIDIA and its partner companies are infringing on a whole slew of its memory-related patents, and it's asking for a ban on all imports and sales of NVIDIA products that include DDR, DDR2, DDR3, LPDDR, GDDR, GDDR2, and GDDR3 memory controllers -- or anything with an NVIDIA logo on it, basically. For its part, NVIDIA doesn't seem to be commenting on the matter just yet, but Rambus said in a statement that it believes the action was "necessary given NVIDIA's continued willful infringement of our patents." Look for the ITC to make a decision on whether to start an investigation into the matter or not within the next 30 days, and you can keep tabs on any future Rambus litigation on the Litigation Update section of its website which, yes, actually exists.
[Via: The Inquirer ] [Tag: ITC, litigation, nvidia, patent, patent infringement, PatentInfringement, rambus ]

AT&T picks up Centennial Communications for $944 million

For those who stick to one coast or the other, you may have never even heard of Centennial Communications. Not to worry, though, as AT&T just made said company entirely more relevant. Shortly before heading out of the office on Friday, AT&T decided it fitting to acquire Centennial for a few bucks shy of a billion, or $944 million for those seeking precision. The transaction will beef up AT&T's coverage for customers in rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast United States, not to mention in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. As always, the acquisition must first pass regulatory approval, the approval of Centennial's stockholders and "other customary closing conditions" before the little guy's 1.1 million subscribers officially make the shift, but we certainly don't expect that to be an issue.
[Via: The New York Times ] [Tag: acquire, acquisition, ATT, business, Centennial, Centennial communications, CentennialCommunications, deal, industry ]

Samsung steals Motorola's claim to fame, takes number one spot in US phone sales

No matter how dire Motorola's situation may be, it's still been able to cling to one last title keeping it firmly entrenched in the ranks of the world's mobile manufacturing elite: US phone sales. For years, Motorola has ridden the RAZR gravy train to success on its home turf more than any other, keeping more globally relevant rivals like Nokia and LG at bay. No longer, though -- Samsung has finally dethroned Moto, upping its share of the US market to 22.4 percent from 16.2 percent a year ago. That leaves Motorola in number two with 21.1 percent, a shocking fall from 32.7 percent in 2007. LG's knocking on the door at 20.5 percent, so unless the boys and girls in Chicago can get their Android-supportin' butts in gear on the double, we could see a drop to number three within a quarter or two.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: motorola, samsung, us ]

Intel pounds another nail in UWB's coffin

It's starting to look pretty tough for UWB -- WiQuest totally shut down yesterday, and now Intel's decided to abandon its UWB dev efforts. The company says that it'll be easier and cheaper to buy off-the-shelf UWB chips instead of continuing its own five-year-old engineering efforts, but those shelves aren't exactly overflowing, and the lack of enthusiasm for this tech in the marketplace suggests this trickle of bad news could turn into a flood -- we'll see how things shake out.
[Via: Phonescoop ] [Tag: intel, ultra wideband, UltraWideband, uwb, wireless usb, WirelessUsb, wusb ]

Analyst says Palm burning through cash like it's going out of style

Stock downgrades are nothing new for the boys and girls at Palm, but analyst Tavis McCourt of Morgan Keegan (which certainly sounds like an important and all-knowing firm) has painted a particularly bleak picture of the company's books today -- so grim, in fact, that it set off a 20 percent drop in the company's market cap. Apparently the big concern is Palm's cash burn rate, which has left a cash reserve of just under a quarter billion dollars through a series of delays and setbacks that have been partially offset by moderate successes like the Centro. McCourt figures that'll be down to a mere $75 million by the time Palm OS 2 launches, and that's assuming they don't run into any more slips in the schedule. He notes that Bono can always just flip 'em a few more mil out of his Joshua Tree earnings, but it'll end up diluting existing shareholders' stakes, hence the massive drop in value today. No pressure, Palm.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: cash, money, palm, stock ]

Circuit City announces store closure plans, full list of locations revealed

Yesterday news broke that Circuit City would announce the imminent closure of 155 retail locations, and this morning the company confirmed the news. Detailing its next plan of action in a lengthy press release, the electronics-maker blames "waning consumer confidence and a significantly weakened retail environment" (amongst other things) for the closings, and says that it's considering "all available options and alternatives for the business." In the short-term, this means that we'll see store closings in 55 markets from coast to coast, and the retailer will axe 17 percent of its workforce. The company also plans to begin store closing sales this Wednesday, November 5th, so they're clearly not wasting any time with the process. We've got more info in the read links below, as well as a full list of the closing stores -- if you're an employee, we hope your number isn't on there.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: circuit city, CircuitCity, economy, store closing, store closings, StoreClosing, StoreClosings ]

Nokia announces layoffs with flowery language

Hiding behind a press release titled "Nokia continues its change and renews some of its activities," the woodsmen of Espoo are swinging a corporate axe of woe. In total, the mobile phone giant plans to cut something on the order of about 600 jobs in its Sales and Marketing, R&D, and global operations. Nothing compared to the cuts at Motorola but certainly unwelcome news for those affected.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: layoff, layoffs, nokia ]

Panasonic and Sanyo change status to "it's complicated"

You know you've heard it from two lovebirds in junior high: "we're not going out, we're just talking." In a completely bizarre way, that's about the best way we can sum up what's apparently going on between Panasonic and Sanyo Electric. According to an unnamed company official "familiar with the negotiations," Panny is already in talks with Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking about snapping up a "controlling stake in its smaller rival." Reportedly, these "talks" are at the so-called preliminary stage, and dialog regarding dollars and cents (and yen, probably) has yet to officially occur. Still, the insider asserts that a formal acquisition proposal will be submitted soon, potentially enabling Panasonic to quickly grab a "world-class" (wait, really?) battery operation and give it a leg-up in the exploding solar energy market. Stay tuned for more -- you know the unpredictable always happens on Saturday nights.
[Via: Bloomberg ] [Tag: acquisition, business, buy, buyout, industry, japan, merge, merger, panasonic, sanyo, sanyo electric, SanyoElectric ]

Motorola expected to cut more jobs as it simplifies around Android

Ugh, it looks like Thursday is shaping up to be another sad Moto day. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Sanjay Jha, former Qualcomm exec and Motorola co-CEO tasked with resurrecting Motorola's mobile-devices division, is about to slash jobs in an effort to bring costs and production under control. Though obviously unwelcome news, it likely won't come as a surprise to employees since Jha reportedly told them that Motorola has two to three times as many employees working on individual projects compared to its competitors. Cuts will likely number in the "thousands," according to the WSJ's sources, and could come as early as Thursday when Motorola announces earnings... or more likely, lack thereof. Motorola has already shed 10,000 jobs since the start of 2007. In addition to job cuts, Jha plans to "scrap dozens of phone designs" while scaling back its mobile-OS inventory from more than a half-dozen to just three: Android for multi-media and Internet showcase phones, Windows Mobile for ho-hum business devices, and its own P2K for low-end phones. Moto will likely outsource at least some of its WinMo phone production as well. As to his motivation: $100 million and 3 percent stock if Mr. Jha manages to spin-out the mobile devices division into an independent company by late 2010. $30 million if he fails. Win-win, eh Sanjay?
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: android, google, motorola, p2k, sanjay jha, SanjayJha, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo ]

BlackBerry gets live video streaming

Qik is increasingly targeting the mass market with its mobile live video streaming technology. The company has already launched clients for a range of platforms including Symbian, Windows Mobile, and some Java-enabled phones. Now, Qik is making its way onto the BlackBerry, with an alpha version of Qik available for the BlackBerry Bold, Pearl 8120 / 8130 and Curve 8320 / 8330.

For those not familiar with the free app, Qik lets mobile phone users embed live video streams on Qik.com, social networks like MySpace, Orkut, and Facebook, and to any personal blog – users need only to download the app, create an account, and they’re good to go.

The release of an alpha client for the BlackBerry is a significant move for Qik, as it enables the company to tap a much broader platform. Unfortunately there's no word on when Qik will make its way to Android devices or the iPhone – it runs well under jailbroken iPhones but Apple is yet to allow the app on its store.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

BlackBerry Bold up for pre-order at Best Buy: $680 smackers

We already knew RIM's BlackBerry Bold would sell for a stiff $299.99 on contract with AT&T, but if you're one of the many AT&T users who'd rather not sign a new agreement (or renew your current one), you've probably been patiently waiting to hear an unsubsidized price. Here is it, but we're warning you, you might want to sit down. The contract-free Bold is listed at $679.99 at Best Buy, and fittingly enough, the product page offers a convenient link for seeking financing. At any rate, it also tells us that pre-orders will typically ship out within one to two weeks, though we'd be hesitant to bet the farm on that. After waiting for, like, ever, for this handset to finally hit shelves, are you still so anxious to drop nearly seven bills to claim one as your own?
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: 9000, att, best buy, best buy mobile, BestBuy, BestBuyMobile, blackberry, blackberry bold, BlackberryBold, bold, pre-order, RIM ]

Engadget Podcast 115 - 10.24.2008

We're back, just as promised! This week, Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel discuss the finer points of new ASUS laptops, Casio digicams, and a score of other compelling, enthralling, and generally fascinating items that will tickle your braincells and delight your many respectable senses. Sit back, relax, kick off your shoes, crack open a can of Dr. Terrific's Party Juice, and enjoy the soothing sounds and delightful pseudo-sights of the Engadget Podcast.
Update: It looks like the Podcast is back up in iTunes! Thanks to everyone who pinged them, but you can call off the dogs -- and a big thanks to Scott at Apple for making it happen!
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Professor Murder - Dutch Hex
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: asus, blackberry, bold, casio, dashboard, ee pc, EePc, ex-f1, ex-fh20, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, nxe, s101, smart, smart table, SmartTable, xbox 360, xbox experience, Xbox360, XboxExperience ]

Hop-on promises Android phone at CES, cookies, rainbows

Sure, we've seen a lot of product announcements from Hop-on accompanied by janky product renders over the years -- but we've never seen an actual Hop-on phone, so we're a little skeptical of the company's promise this morning to release an Android phone at CES this year. What's more, it's supposed to come in under $200, which is right in character for a manufacturer whose major claim to fame is the "disposable" cell phone, we suppose. We'll see if such a phone actually appears at the show -- Hop-on boldly says this mythical device will make it "competitive in the high-end phone market," which is probably sending shock waves through the offices of HTC, Apple, and RIM as we speak.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: android, ces, ces 2008, Ces2008, hop-on ]

Microsoft waves dismissive, bloated hand at iPhone sales figures

Microsoft's Robbie Bach feigned an uninterested yawn at Apple's 6.9 million iPhones figure in an interview with BusinessWeek the other day. He wasn't particularly insulting of the product, but didn't think the number means too much in the long run. "Apple had a big launch of a new product, and they launched at scale in a lot of new countries with a lot of new [wireless] operators. This quarter, RIM is having its big launch, and at some point we'll have our big launch. We'll have to see where things normalize." While that statement is encouraging for the fact that it semi-implies that Windows Mobile 7 is supposed to be released at "some point," we're not sure we're picking up what Robbie is putting down -- 6.9 million of a single device seems to imply a bit more than "launch buzz." Things devolved quickly when Bach started spouting about how carriers want a balanced ecosystem. That may be true, but consumers are the ones that buy the phones, and if their RAZR buying habits are any indication, "ecosystem" isn't their top priority.
[Via: Electronista ] [Tag: apple, iphone, microsoft, rim, robbie bach, RobbieBach, windows mobile, windows mobile 7, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile7 ]

ARM Cortex-based netbooks said to be coming soon

ARM's Cortex processor was apparently good enough for the folks behind the Pandora project and it looks like we could soon be seeing some netbooks based on the CPU as well. That word comes straight from ARM's UK director of mobile solutions Rob Coombs, who said that both the Cortex-A8 (used in the Pandora) and the forthcoming Cortex-A9 would find their way into netbooks in addition to the expected smartphones, and that we should "expect announcements in the next few months." Of course, he didn't go so far as to name any specific companies we should expect announcements from, but he did helpfully run off a list of A8 and A9 licensees, which includes Samsung, Panasonic, NEC, and Toshiba, to name a few. As Crave points out, one potential drawback to netbook's using the processor is that there's no ARM-compatible version of Windows XP, but the architecture is supported by Windows CE and a number of Linux distributions, and there is the small matter of that other little device that's based on an ARM processor...
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: ]

T-Mobile G1 up and running with no activation

It looks like getting up and running on an unactivated G1 is going to be a little easier than Apple made it for iPhone users. No jailbreak required. All you really need to do is beg, steal or borrow an active T-Mobile SIM card and slip it in the phone for the duration of the setup process (it should only take a few minutes). Once you've enabled WiFi you can go back to your old SIM: you're ready to browse the web, run your apps and do everything you expect your Android-powered phone to do (except talk on the phone). If you'd like to get in on this action, check out the read link for the step-by-step instructions.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: activation, android, g1, google, sim, t-mobile, t-mobile g1, T-mobileG1, wifi ]

Google opens the floodgates, open-sources Android

Making good on a promise it made at the very beginning, Google has today announced that the source code underpinning its Android platform for mobile devices is available for free to anyone who wants a crack at it. The code is being provided through the newly-announced Android Open Source Project, which will give the public at large the opportunity to make contributions to the platform's all-important core -- a first for a mobile operating system with true mass-market appeal. Theoretically, the move should position Android to benefit from a fairly democratic, speedy evolution, and it'll also give anyone with a few spare chips lying around the chance to build a smartphone of their own without shelling out a dime in licensing fees. We're really looking forward to seeing Android pop up on a whole bunch of devices for which it was never intended -- but we have to admit, in a sick, totally twisted sort of way, we're looking forward to some truly deranged individual porting Windows Mobile to the G1, too.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: android, breaking news, BreakingNews, google ]

RIM readies BlackBerry Application Storefront and Application Center

Big surprise here and all, but we hear RIM is actually thinking of crafting an App Store of its own in order to not get lapped by the likes of Apple and Google. Made official today was Research In Motion's plans to introduce a pair of "major distribution initiatives" for BlackBerry applications: the BlackBerry Application Storefront and the BlackBerry Application Center. The former is slated to launch in March 2009 (translation: forever from now), though developers can begin submitting their apps and content beginning in December. Similar to Apple's initiative, RIM will give devs the ability to set prices and retain 80% of all revenue from sales, and it will be giving the rest of the dough to working with PayPal for transactions. Of course, enterprise admins can still maintain control over what apps can be downloaded onto company phones, but you know you can sweet talk the boss into relaxing some of those restrictions. The Application Center is a carrier-customized, on-device tool for providers to host specific programs for customers. Details on deployment (and more importantly, app screening) are all but nil, but considering we've got until March before we can even use the Storefront, we can wait. Angrily.
[Via: phonescoop ] [Tag: app store, application center, Application Storefront, ApplicationCenter, applications, ApplicationStorefront, apps, AppStore, blackberry, BlackBerry Application Center, BlackBerry Application Storefront, BlackberryApplicationCenter, BlackberryApplicationStorefront, RIM, software, Storefront ]

Apple working on streaming your iTunes library to your iPhone?

Apple's experimented with allowing iTunes to stream over the internet as well as your LAN in the past and quickly removed the feature (probably due to RIAA pressure), so we're not placing too much stock in this, but AppleInsider's unearthed a patent that seems to describe a way to stream music over the 'net to your iPhone / iPod touch. The goal is to prevent you from having to selectively sync content to your device -- instead, you'd sync just the metadata and stream whatever you wanted direct from your machine as though it was all stored locally. There are some obvious problems here -- it wouldn't work if you didn't have service (or over EDGE, really), most home upstream connections aren't that fast, etc., etc., -- but it's certainly interesting, and a welcome addition to local storage if it ever makes the scene. In the meantime, how about working in some of those new UI elements from the Remote app into the iPod app?
[Via: Macrumors ] [Tag: 3g iphone, 3gIphone, apple, iphone, iphone 2.0, iphone 3g, Iphone2.0, Iphone3g, ipod, ipod touch, IpodTouch, itunes, patent, rumor, rumors, streaming, touch ]

iPhone Battery Lawsuit Dismissed, Steve Won't Send Luca Brasi [Apple]

 

The Apple part of the iPhone battery class-action lawsuit has been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, who looked at the claims brought by Jose Trujillo and deemed them as dumbtastically stoopeed. Not exactly in those words, but I know that's exactly what he meant with his words:

Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the "battery has limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provider." Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred.

However, AT&T is still a defendant in the case. Judge Kennelly denied the company's motion to compel arbitration, saying that at the time of purchase Trujillo didn't have access to the terms of service documentation. The next hearing will be on September 29. [Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ] [Tag: ]

Microsoft's Xbox Live, Zune services to be down simultaneously this Monday

Simmer down folks -- everything is going to be a-okay. Yes, 'tis true -- Microsoft has indeed scheduled for Xbox Live service maintenance and Zune service tweakage to take place at the exact same time this coming Monday, but it's probably not worth losing your mind over. In fact, Major Nelson goes out of his way to affirm that "when [Xbox Live] service returns, you will not have any new features and you will not have the new Xbox experience update." Point being, your Zune Social, Zune.net forums, all of the Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live services will be offline for up to 24 hours (48 hours for the Zune suite) starting at 12:01 PST on September 29th, but don't expect a Zunephone to pop out of your now-forgotten HD DVD add-on when things come back on. Or you can, but we'd be prepared for unprecedented disappointment.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: microsoft, outage, service, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live, Xbox360, XboxLive, zune, zune marketplace, ZuneMarketplace, zunephone ]

Apple orders 50 million iPhone NAND chips from Samsung, rest of world put on hold?

Daaaamn, talk about clout. If DigiTimes' sources are correct, then Samsung, the world's primary supplier of flash memory, just told its non-Apple customers to suck it in favor of a "large batch of orders" it received from Cupertino. The order is said to be for 50-million "8Gb-equivalent" (we assume they mean gigabyte, or GB) NAND chips "mainly for use in Apple's iPhone." This order follows a June procurement for 25 million of the same chips. In response, Samsung has reportedly told its lesser customers that it would "sharply cut supply" of NAND to them while the order is being fulfilled. The shortage is compounded by Samsung lowering its manufacturing output in April and May in an attempt to reduce oversupply. Still, if these numbers are true (they seem high and DigiTimes can be hit or miss with its Apple sources) then the world is about to be awash in iPhone 3Gs come July 11th.
Update: We've given the Gigabits vs. Gigabytes a bit more thought. If it's 50 million 8Gbit chips as stated, they would divide evenly across about 2.1 million 8GB iPhone 3Gs plus another 2.1 million 16GB models. A reasonable production run for Apple's global launch but an order which shouldn't be so taxing on Samsung's production capability. Something doesn't add up.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: apple,digitimes,flash,iphone,iphone 3g,Iphone3g,nand,rumor,samsung ]

HTC Touch Pro Gets Fondled, But That Doesn't Turn It On

The guys over at Phone Mag managed to get their hands on the HTC Touch Pro "Raphael" and its sweet slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Unfortunately, there was no battery and the device could not be turned on—but no significant changes are expected on that front over the previous Touch handset. All in all, Phone Mag felt that the device would satisfy HTC owners and keyboard lovers alike.

Hit the following link for a full gallery. [Phone Mag]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Motorola Blaze Adds Another Touch Screen Handset to the Pile [Motorola]

The Boy Genius Report has a first look at Motorola's answer to the "Touch Screen Wars," called the Blaze. From the looks of the branding, this touchy-feely handset is coming to Verizon, complete with a special Verizon-only operating system. BGR says the touch screen is decent, and the mobile browser is "OK," but nothing to write home about. Email and texting functionality are also lambasted by BGR, as is the crush-the-screen-to-make-it-work haptic touchscreen feedback. Specs include a 2 megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev. A support, GPS, and Bluetooth. They didn't sound too keen on the Blaze, but they didn't write it off completely. Thoughts? [Boy Genius Report]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Sony Ericsson Cancels Paris and BeiBei Smartphones [This Post Is Dedicated To Adrian Covert, Who Drives A Sony Ericsson Cabriolet]

Sony Ericsson's Paris, much coveted by S-E purists, has been canned, according to the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog. The Paris, aka the P5i, has been filed under T (for trash) alongside its sister smartphone, the BeiBei, or the G702. Apparently it's to do with the less-than-enthusiastic reactions from some of the mobile phone bloggers, who weren't exactly gagging for it. There's also speculation that a lot of its features were already lagging behind those of its competitors—and this is before it had even hit the streets. I guess we'll never have Paris. [Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog via Mobile Mentalism]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Blackberry OS 4.5 Not Officially Arriving Until September [BlackBerry]

The Blackberry Internet Services 2.5 upgrade (and subsequent downtime) is still go for a June 29 launch, but there's a catch. According to the Boy Genius Report, some of the "sexiest" 2.5 features won't be available until Blackberry OS 4.5 arrives—in September. From the looks of the BIS 2.5 presentation they got their boy-sized mitts on, at least one of those features is push AOL email and Hotmail/MSN accounts. Of course, if you have a newer Blackberry handset, or plan on buying one before September, it will come with 4.5 OS already installed. [Boy Genius Report]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Samsung Instinct gets disassembled, with instructions!

While most folks are understandably a little hesitant to pop anything more than the battery cover off of their phone, there are thankfully a brave few like those at Rapid Repair who are willing to throw caution (and their warranty) to the wind and tear things down to the bare essentials. As you may or may not be able to make out from the image above, their latest dissection involved the fast-selling Samsung Instinct and, as is their nature, they've included some step-by-step instructions in case you want to have a go at it yourself. Hit up the read link below for those, and plenty more pics.
[Thanks, Aaron]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: dissassembly, dissection, instinct, samsung, samsung instinct, SamsungInstinct ]

Joy Division Zune hands-on

So we dropped by our old friend Peter Rojas's place (you know, the guy who started this site) -- turns out that since he's a music executive and stuff now, he got himself hooked up with a prototype limited edition Joy Division Zune. (Yeah, the irony in that isn't lost on us.) From the absurdly elaborate pivoting, platform-raising box, to the black fabric wrap (which looked blue to our camera), to the faux-LP liner, to Peter Saville's signature etched in foam, they clearly did Joy Division justice on this one. Which they damn well should have, because in case you couldn't already tell, we're all Joy Division fans around these parts -- which means we'd have the music to load this Zune up, being that the only thing it doesn't have is the back-catalog.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: features,hands-on,joy division,JoyDivision,zune ]

Samsung Instinct flies off Sprint's shelves at record pace

Looks like Sprint's gargantuan marketing blitz for the Instinct is in the process of paying off, because the carrier has announced that the Samsung device has become its best-selling EV-DO device ever in the first week of availability. Long-term popularity will depend largely on word of mouth as early adopters decide whether they made the right purchase, of course, but it's a promising sign for a company that hasn't had a ton of good news to report lately. They're reporting that the overwhelming popularity has led to shortages in some areas, but go on to assure us that "Samsung has increased efforts to deliver new supplies of Instinct on a daily basis and manufacturing plants are operating at full capacity to keep up with the demand." Here's our question, though: Sprint makes a point of saying that it's their best-selling EV-DO device, so what's their best-selling device regardless of technology -- the Sony Z-100, perhaps, also known as the baddest cellphone of all time?

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: cellphone, instinct, phone, sales, samsung, sprint ]

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 hands-on, sorta

So here's the scene. We're at the Digital Experience show, trying to get our hands on a powered-up Sony Xperia X1. Sure, we found a unit that wasn't powered up, but that does you -- and us -- no good. Sony told us to come back in 15 minutes, so we grabbed some press kits, made a round of booths, and came back.
Sure enough, when we came back the X1 was powered up, but the nice booth lady tried to tell us that things weren't working just right and the unit was stuck on the config screen. After some jiggering, we determined the little X1 was just stuck on the touch screen calibration, and we were cruising through menus within minutes. It's pretty clear this unit wasn't ready for primetime -- you'll even see some HTC test apps in the below gallery -- but we were impressed by the screen's resolution and brightness. Windows Mobile 6.1 showed it face often in the UI, but the phone app and general utilities were looking good.
Overall, the X1 is a pleasure to behold -- it's one sexy device. That said, we'll have to wait how Sony Ericsson's user interface shapes up and just look at the pretty pictures in the gallery until mid-September.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: hands on,HandsOn,sony ericsson,SonyEricsson,xperia x1,XperiaX1 ]

T-Mobile Shadow II to support HotSpot@Home?

We've seen the HTC-sourced T-Mobile Shadow II peeking out from around the dark corners of eBay and the harsh lights of the FCC, but the latest word is that the WinMo slider will also come equipped with UMA, allowing it to work with HotSpot@Home. That's a first for an HTC handset and a first for Windows Mobile, but before you get all excited, check the source of those whispers: "market sources" quoted by Digitimes. Yeah, we'll believe it when we see it.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: htc, shadow, shadow II, ShadowIi, t-mobile, uma ]

O2 showcases pedal-powered cellphone charger

Motorola so had this down pat last year, but we suppose O2 is just showcasing its pedal-powered charging system now that such devices are all the rage. Just days after we had a look at two unorthodox chargers from Orange, along comes rival O2 with a bicycle-related alternative. Reportedly, the eco-friendly device will be demonstrated at the O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park, but unfortunately, each of the demo bikes will be stationary. Still no word on whether O2 has a mind to take this thing commercial, but for cyclists the world over, here's to hoping it does.
[Thanks, Adam]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: bicycle, bike, charger, charging, green, mobile charger, MobileCharger, O2, uk ]

The Bill Day giveaway (part 3) - Zune 80GB (black)

Hey, if Bill can give away tens of billions of dollars, the least we can do to celebrate his last day is to give away some Microsoft-powered gear, right? Next up: a black Zune 80GB.

• Leave a comment below. Tell us about your favorite Microsoft-powered product. Or your favorite Apple product, too, since Bill totally bailed those guys out back in '97.
  


• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)


• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  


• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  


• Winner will be chosen randomly. That winner will get a brand new black Zune 80GB. Approximate value is $250.
  


• Entries can be submitted until Sunday, June 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!


• Full rules can be found here.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: bill gates day, BillGatesDay, contest, microsoft, zune, zune 80, Zune80 ]

Two years and half billion later, Helio sells for a song. But why?

Money-losing companies with interesting technology and a small, if rabid, customer base still frequently tend to sell for healthy chunks of change -- especially in the wireless space. We know Helio was burning cash like crazy, but that doesn't entirely explain why SK Telecom was so absurdly desperate to dump their $500m investment. At a $39m acquisition price, SK didn't just lose its shirt -- it lost that, the shoes, and then the pants. You know, the pants with a half-billion dollars in them.
Now, if you look at nothing other than the price per subscriber of some other, larger mobile acquisitions, Helio's numbers seem even crazier. Alltel's subscriber base is going to Verizon for about $2,100 per customer, and back when Nextel sold to Sprint, each sub went then for about $2,350. Helio's $39m sale to Virgin nets them $230 per subscriber. That's now what you're worth to Virgin, Helio subscriber -- $230 on an $80 ARPU. Clearly there's a lot more value in acquiring more than ten million subs than under 200k, but is that value ten fold?
And then to add insult to injury, the piddly $39m Helio did get from Virgin was an all-stock deal, which basically means SK won't be recouping material costs any time soon. Granted, that does amount to 17% of Virgin Mobile USA's market cap, and SK gets two seats on VM's board, but damned if Helio isn't like the reverse-Brewster's Millions of cellphone companies. Basically our pet theory right now is that either SK is playing the Korean tax system for the maximum possible write-off, or they literally didn't have another soul to turn to in this whole wide world. We know Helio wasn't in good shape, but a $39m all-stock deal means they basically stood on the corner and gave the company away to whomever was passing by at the time.
We wanted some more expert opinions, so we hit up a couple of old Engadget pals. Om Malik had this to say: Their losses are huge and there is no hope in sight. Why Virgin bought so few subscribers, I don't get. My best guess is that SK Telecom wants to do something with Virgin. Helio was one giant misexecution -- it is a micropennies on the dollar sale.
Michael Gartenberg offered this: I suspect there were not a whole lot of options... who else would have bought this thing? It's clear the MVNO model doesn't work for the most part. Virgin was probably the only buyer who had interest and it was probably the best chance for Helio's investors to get some of that money back.
Bottom line, it looks like Virgin and its shareholders should be pretty stoked today, because by all accounts they got a pretty killer deal.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: acquisition,features,helio,virgin mobile,VirginMobile ]

Palm announces Q4 earnings -- it's not as bad as you think

Palm continued to flaunt its almost inexplicable boost in health in an earnings call yesterday. According to reports, honcho Ed Colligan boasted of a 29 percent gain in smartphone sales year-over-year, largely in part to the stellar performance of the company's budget-priced (with contract) Centro. In light of the recent negative outlook from investors, retail store closings, a constantly delayed OS update, and fierce competition, it's a pretty impressive feat to not only stay afloat, but manage some small victories. Now if they can just deliver on those OS and device promises we keep hearing about, they may stay in this game yet.


[Via: Palm Infocenter ]
[Tag: centro, earnings call, EarningsCall, ed colligan, EdColligan, fy 2008, Fy2008, palm, palm os, PalmOs, q4 ]

Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn't one of them

Here we have it, iPhone 3G pricing for our better mannered, gun-toting friends up north. All the plans from Rogers Wireless require that lovely, three-year contract and include visual voicemail, free evenings and weekends, and unlimited WiFi at all Rogers and Fido hotspots. The plans start at $60/month for 150 minutes of voice and just 400MB of data before topping out at $115/month for 800 minutes voice and up to 2GB of data. None of these plans offer unlimited data as previously rumored. See the details after the break.

Price	Voice	Data	Sent Text Messages	Incoming Text Messages	Visual Voicemail
$60	150 minutes + unlimited evening and weekend	400 MB (up to 200,000 text emails or 3,100 web pages or 1,360 photo attachments)	75	Unlimited	Unlimited
$75	300 minutes + unlimited evening and weekend	750 MB (up to 380,000 text emails or 5,900 web pages or 2,560 photo Attachments)	100	Unlimited	Unlimited
$100	600 minutes + unlimited evening and weekend	1 GB (up to 524,000 text emails or 8,000 web pages or 3,500 photo attachments)	200	Unlimited	Unlimited
$115	800 minutes + unlimited evening and weekend	2 GB (up to 1,048,000 text emails or 16,000 web pages or 7,000 photo attachments)	300	Unlimited	Unlimited

Rogers Wireless will also offer two voice value packs for popular wireless features: a $15 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 2,500 Sent Text Messages and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes; and a $20 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 10,000 Sent Text Messages and 6:00 p.m. Early Evening Calling and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: canada, fido, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, rogers ]

HTC Touch Pro gets handled, keyboard better than X1's?

The question on quite literally every WinMo fanatic's mind as we go into the second half of the year here is, "Touch Pro or X1?" It's not an easy question to answer, and anyone hoping to sink some cash on either one of these models in a few months is going to want to do so with a crap-ton of research and anecdotal information under their belts lest the buyer's remorse set in particularly quickly. MobileBurn scored an early look at the Touch Pro -- which won't be available at retail for a month or three yet -- and came away impressed with the all-important keyboard, saying that it was "much more" usable than the QWERTY found on Sony Ericsson's rival superphone. Closed, it's said to be virtually indistinguishable from the Touch Diamond (which we'd say is a good thing) other than being a bit thicker to accomodate they keyboard and picking up a matte-finish rear cover. Unfortunately, HTC refused to show off the Touch Pro's interface -- apparently on account of some new tricks up TouchFLO 3D's sleeve that haven't already made their way into the Touch Diamond -- but they did share that the new model will handle landscape mode with particular aplomb. So this one might have the X1 beat in the keyboard department, but the X1's WVGA display takes the crown for sheer pixel count. Decisions!

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: cellphone, htc, htc touch pro, HtcTouchPro, phone, touch pro, TouchPro, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.1, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.1, winmo, wm6.1 ]

Motorola's touchscreen Blaze for Verizon in the wild

Remember that touchscreen Motorola Blaze we'd mentioned a while back that was on the hook to get Verizon's visual voicemail service? It may not be in Verizon stores yet, but it's all up in Boy Genius Report's labs with a dark red body, MING attitude, and almost limitless mediocrity on board. The touchscreen apparently requires ridiculous amounts of effort to actuate, and that problem is compounded by a lame on-screen keyboard that makes texting tricky at best. EV-DO Rev. A is cool and all -- and the visual voicemail support should be a pretty popular add-on feature -- but that giant Motorola logo up front with the red ring and three pounds of chrome leaves the Blaze with a face only a mother could love. Let's hope Verizon's positioning this one as its low-end touchscreen offering, because we're not seeing it cha-chinging many registers otherwise.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: blaze,moto,motorola,verizon,verizon wireless,VerizonWireless ]

Treo 800w spec sheets and training materials reveal details, lack of MMS

We're not sure where our tipster got these pictures (nor are we going to ask), but they appear to be screens from the Treo 800w's specification and knowledge training documentation. New tidbits include a 333 Mhz processor, 4.4.1 x 2.28 x 0.73-inch dimensions, 320 x 320 pixel screen, and a weight of 4.94 ounces. Windows Mobile 6.1 looks to be in full-force, the camera shoots at 2 MP, and the USB port is 2.0. As for other revealed features, you're looking at threaded SMS chat, but MMS is mysteriously missing in lieu of Sprint Picture Mail, a trend that continues to confuse us. If all this pans out, look for the 800w to be available on July 13th for $249.99. Hit the continue link to see the rest of the juicy shots and details.
[Thanks, brian]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: breaking news,BreakingNews,leaks,sprint,treo,treo 800w,Treo800w,windows mobile 6.1,WindowsMobile6.1 ]

Fabrix iPhone 3G Sleeves Are Classy, Fashionable [IPhone 3G]

We're normally pretty down on cases for cellphones and iPods since our thought is why cover up a perfectly good looking device with an—and we're generalizaing here—ugly case? Fabrix, on the other hand, has really, really good looking sleeves that we wouldn't mind shoving our iPhones and iPods into. You can see some of the collection in the gallery, but each one costs $21.90 and fits both the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G. With the price of the iPhone being slightly lower up-front, you're going to be able to buy a couple of these and swap'em out weekly. [Fabrix]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

HTC Touch Diamond Hands-on Update [Htc Touch Diamond]

I'm still working on the full review, but I wanted to give everyone an update on that performance fix that was released last week for the HTC Touch Diamond. I installed the new ROM (it was easy, just run the executable on your PC), and now TouchFLO is noticeably faster. It's still not instant, but it's definitely improved to the point where it's usable and you won't really mind it. Yeah, it's passed that bar. I'd even say that it's just as fast as the iPhone. Current owners will be able to upgrade to the newer official ROM soon.

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

MyVu Crystal a worthy travel companion, available now

Surely you remember Veronica Belmont posing with the MyVu Crystal / Shades at CES earlier this year? Yeah, the former unit is finally available to order for the three people in attendance who care, and better still, a recent review by PC World asserts that this thing actually isn't a half bad travel companion. Imagery was said to be "crystal-clear" (har) and battery life was more than reasonable, but look, even the reviewer admitted that he "wouldn't be caught walking down the street" with 'em on. Purchase accordingly.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: Crystal, head-mounted display, Head-mountedDisplay, ipod accessory, IpodAccessory, mhd, myvu, video glasses, VideoGlasses ]

Treo 800 spy shot madness starts again with new blurry goodness

So we've had blurry "Treo 800" pictures that turned out to be the Centro, others that turned out to be just about nothing, and now this one that is making the rounds in super-blur fast-mo. It's as if someone took a Centro, made the keys bigger, put a Sprint logo on there, and blurred out what appears to be a tester serial number. That's about all for now, but as usual we'll take this with a big grain of salt and make some rumor soup.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: leaks, palm, spy photos, spy pics, spy shots, SpyPhotos, SpyPics, SpyShots, treo 800, Treo800 ]

Samsung intros the snoozefest J800 Luxe and L700 cellphones

It looks like the folks at Samsung are keeping the fires burning with a batch of new handsets announced at the Singapore

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 3g, candybar, hsdpa, j800 luxe, J800Luxe, l700, samsung, slider ]

LG Dare hands-on

We spent some touching (get it?) minutes with the new LG Dare that's hitting Verizon Wireless today, and while we didn't come away from the experience a changed human being, we've gotta congratulate LG and Verizon for the obvious effort they've put into this unit. Particularly with the hardware the phone seems determined to differentiate itself from its iPhone competition, with helpful tactile feedback while typing, (almost helpful) handwriting recognition, video recording (in slow-mo, if you'd like) and even editing, and the beefed-up photo taking capabilities that a 3.2 megapixel sensor and built-in flash provide. The basics aren't too bad either, with a sturdy and bright screen, peppy EV-DO Rev A., expandable memory and a flush 3.5mm headphone jack.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: dare,features,hands-on,lg,lg dare,LgDare,touchscreen,verizon,verizon wireless,VerizonWireless ]

Sony Ericsson C905, Z780 and X1 hands-ons at Engadget Mobile

Are we taking a shot of the 8.1 megapixel Sony Ericsson C905 here, or is it taking a shot of us? Find out the answers to these burning questions and much, much more as we take a quick peek at the C905 alongside the Z780 and the mighty XPERIA X1 over on Engadget Mobile!

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: c905,cellphone,ericsson,features,hands on,hands-on,HandsOn,phone,sony,sony ericsson,SonyEricsson,x1,xperia,z780 ]

Verizon's LG Dare touchscreen contender available tomorrow for $200

Verizon Wireless isn't kidding around with this new Dare phone from LG: it'll hit Verizon's online shop tomorrow (the 26th) for $200 with a $50 rebate, and then land in retail on July 3rd. We've had little time to get accustomed to its touchscreen mug, unlike Sprint's long run-up to the Instinct, but Verizon and LG have certainly done their homework. There's a whole lot to chew on here, so we're going to drop it on you bullet point style:
Hardware:

• Dimensions: 103.9 x 55.6 x 13.8 mm (that's 0.54-inches thick for us yanks)
• 3-inch, 240 x 400 touchscreen LCD with "Vibe-Touch" tactile feedback
• Rev A EV-DO
• 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and exposure control
• 120 fps slow-motion movie record mode
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microSD up to 8GB
• Proximity sensor for switching off the LCD when against your face
• Light sensor to adjust LCD brightness automatically
• Accelerometer
• 3D graphics acceleration, supports app transitions and rotations

Software:

• "Full HTML" browser (barely) with page overview and zoom functions
• V Cast store and VZ Navigator
• Cover Flow-alike music app
• 51 possible apps, 11 app "drag & drop" shortcut menu
• Shortcuts draggable to home screen
• Graphical favorites menu, drag icons to pertinent task like message, call or edit
• Contact list includes search ribbon and filtering
• Text input via QWERTY, predictive keypad or handwriting recognition
• Drawing pad includes colors, pen widths, eraser for scribbling and picture "editing"
• Background music listening
• Video editing, picture editing, panoramic stitching

Phew, these guys really packed it in. Stand by for our hands-on impressions.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: dare, lg, lg dare, LgDare, touchscreen, verizon, verizon wireless, VerizonWireless ]

Nokia N78 Released in the US [Announcements]

Those of you who've been patiently waiting for your fancy new smartphone (you know, one that lacks any real buttons) will be happy to know that the Nokia N78 has been released in the US for $560. We pasted all the spec info after the jump in case you're in need of a refresher, but to pick up your N78 you'll have to venture to a Nokia flagship store in NY or Chicago—or just go online. But go online sounds too plebeian for purchasing a phone that costs as much as a laptop, no?

A perfect fusion of features and services - the Nokia N78 now available in US Newest Nseries device enhances the mobile lifestyle by merging new technologies and Ovi services New York, NY, USA - Starting today, convergence craving consumers across the United States can set their sights on the newest Nokia Nseries device to hit American store shelves, the Nokia N78. Combining advanced mobile features such as integrated A-GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and high-speed HSDPA connectivity on North American 850/1900 MHz networks, the Nokia N78 is perfect for enjoying new Nokia services such as Nokia Maps and Share on Ovi. Along with this full suite of data features, the Nokia N78 has also been engineered for maximum voice and messaging performance as well. Now available through select consumer electronics and wireless retailers, online retailers and at the Nokia Flagship Stores in Chicago and New York, the Nokia N78 retails for approximately USD 560. Specific information on retailers offering the Nokia N78 and other Nseries devices can be found at www.nseries.com. "Offering the robust feature set expected from an Nseries device, the integration of these features with Nokia's new suite of Ovi services is what makes the Nokia N78 a perfect companion for a connected and mobile lifestyle," said William Plummer, Vice President of Go-to-Market for Nokia. "Whether using GPS to find my way across town, adding geotag information to the images I capture and upload to Share on Ovi, or using the FM transmitter to listen to my music collection through my car stereo, the Nokia N78 keeps me connected and entertained wherever I go." Each Nokia N78 includes a free three-month trial navigation license for the Nokia Maps service, which enables users to calculate routing information, provides details on up to 15 million different points of interest, and gives audible and visual turn-by-turn directions from point A to point B. With the integrated A-GPS, users can 'geotag' images they capture on the Nokia N78 with location information. With this information images uploaded to Share on Ovi or other selected image sharing sites can include not only when the picture was taken - but also where the picture was taken, even displaying that information visually on a map. For music fans, the Nokia N78 combines two exciting features - a digital music player and an integrated FM transmitter - to enable a complete audio experience. With storage for up to 8GB of music on an optional MicroSD memory card, a music collection can be easily shared and enjoyed in the home or car by playing it wirelessly through the FM radio. Yet another useful tool that the Nokia N78 offers is widget support enabled by Web Runtime technology. This functionality allows easy mobile access to valuable online information, including weather, sports, news and more. A wide variety of widgets are available through the Download! client on the Nokia N78 or through the MOSH mobile content distribution platform at http://mosh.nokia.com. To further enhance the overall experience of the Nokia N78, a variety of Nokia Original Accessories are also available. Offering exceptional sound in an over-the-ear style headset, the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-600 offers the perfect blend of comfort and sound quality. If the occasion calls for sharing tunes with a friend, the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Speakers MD-7W offer full range sound in a compact easy to carry package. Unlike most portable speakers, the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Speakers MD-7W features 3D sound, dynamic compression for optimal audio at all volume levels and dynamic bass control for powerful low frequencies.

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Lightning Review: T-Mobile's @Home VoIP Phone Line [Review]

The Gadget: T-Mobile @Home, a phone service for T-Mobile customers hooks your standard home telephone over the internet to make unlimited nationwide calls for just $10 a month on top of your current wireless bill. It's similar to the Hotspot@Home service which uses a cellphone for home calls, but only for home phones. The Price: $10 a month with 2-year contract provided you have a qualifying T-Mobile plan ($39.99 standard plan or $49.99 FamilyTime plan), plus $49 for the T-Mobile @Home HiPort Linksys Wireless Router. There's also a VTech cordless phone you can purchase from them for $59.99, or you can just use your own. The Verdict: Fantastic. Over our Comcast cable internet connection, voice quality was super clear and the people we talked to all said it sounded like we were talking on a landline. Delay—what little of it there was—was on par with a regular landline. Setup was easy, and you can use the Linksys router in place of your current one, or on your network behind your existing router. There are two SIM slots in it for two lines (only one is active by default), and contains E911 information. All in all, it's a very good alternative to getting a separate landline if you already have T-Mobile cellphone service, and at $10 it's next to free. The only downside is that it still doesn't work with fax, but their engineers are working on it. [T-Mobile]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Lightning Review: Nokia E66 Slider Smartphone [Reviews]

The Gadget: The Nokia E66, a slim but luxurious GSM slider smartphone running Symbian S60, with Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G and a 3.2MP camera, to name a few of its many features. The Price: Around $500—official price not announced yet. The Verdict: It's good, but it's not $500 good, esp without a qwerty. The E66 is the first number-pad cellphone I've used in 3 years that I wasn't afraid of. Calls on the phone are loud and clear both directions. Its thin form factor and grippy textured back make it enjoyable to hold and you can perform a decent amount of functions without sliding up the top. It has tons of features and it doesn't half-ass any of them. Like the N95, it's got a decent flash camera that takes sharp pictures and video, and has options comparable to most point-and-shoots. The Wi-Fi and 3G load fast in the browser, and GPS found my position when I was outside. (It didn't locate me inside, though, like some phones with assisted GPS.) OTA app downloading was painless and so was setting up my Gmail account. Still, I have some beefs. Symbian doesn't feel very fast. Like many S60 devices, apps and options are buried deep in menus. The phone is too quick to auto-rotate between portrait and landscape modes, a feature that seemed pointless given the cramped real estate of the E66's 2.4" screen. Also, though there are third-party browsing options available that are probably much better, Nokia's built-in S60 browser sucks, plain and simple. It loads non-optimized pages in actual size so it's hard to navigate the screen, only allows for one page to be open at a time, and sorely needs touchscreen functions provided by other modern smartphone browsers. I hate to mention it, but there's a touchscreen phone coming out in a few days on the same network that costs $300 less. This is the problem with a lot of unsubsidized phones. [Product Page]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

Gizmodo's iPhone Application Contest [Contests]

Just a reminder that our iPhone Application Contest is still going on, and we're still looking for delicious entries from you and your squad of code monkeys. One of the prizes we've got for the best entries, which will be decided later, is this Cinemizer video glasses set that lets you keep yourself entertained even when you're driving! Good times. Contest details are here.

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[Tag: ]

T-Mobile @Home gets friendly with your home phone

Still really attached to that landline phone? Seriously? That's cool, we still love you, and T-Mobile still wants your business. Following a few months of trials, the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Talk Forever service has mercifully morphed into the simpler "T-Mobile @Home," featuring a Linksys-sourced router that plugs into a broadband connection and allows any plain ol' telephone -- you know, the plug-in kind -- to take advantage of unlimited nationwide calling for $10 a month on top of your regular T-Mobile bill. The so-called "HiPort" router runs $49.99 on a two-year contract, and if you're in the market for a fancy new cordless, they'll sell you a two-handset VTech DECT system for $59.99. No worries when you're ready to hop back into the 21st century, either; the system will happily work with T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home WiFi cellphones, too. Look for the whole shebang to go on sale July 2.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: at home,AtHome,breaking news,BreakingNews,dect,linksys,t-mobile,vtech ]