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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

Openmoko FreeRunner looking good for early July release

Unless you're very, very special, you haven't yet had an opportunity to run your hands over Openmoko's latest open-source creation, the FreeRunner, which was announced several months back with the hope of a spring release. Unlike the Neo1973 before it, the FreeRunner's said to be chock full of enough spit and polish to take on an audience larger than the original's hardcore developer base, and while a springtime date with destiny is now out of reach, it looks like they'll only miss the mark by a few days. A recent message from Openmoko's VP of marketing on the community listserv said that the retail phones should be packed and shipped by tomorrow and -- if all goes well, of course -- should clear customs by the first of July, meaning buyers should be able to get them delivered in the first week or two of the month. If they'd been able to squeeze in 3G, we'd hardly be able to contain ourselves, but even as it is, we suspect there's enough buzz to get units sold; let's just hope they're already hard at work on version three.

[Via: The Inquirer Spanish ]
[Tag: cellphone,fic,freerunner,linux,openmoko,phone ]

HTC Advantage X7510 available to USers for $1,300

It doesn't sound like Qualcomm has all of its legal woes here in America worked out just yet, but apparently that won't stop fat-walleted USers from snapping up the forthcoming HTC Advantage X7510 real soon. Both Dynamism and On The Go Solutions are expecting stock any day now, and they'll be shipping to your US-based address so long as you're willing to accept a $1,299 charge on your preferred piece of plastic. Before you brush this off as absurd, listen to that devil on your shoulder whispering things like "5-inch VGA display" and "HSDPA." Hmm.
[Via: Pocketables ]
[Tag: Advantage,HTC,order,pre-order,qualcomm,us,usa,windows mobile,windows mobile 6.1,WindowsMobile,WindowsMobile6.1,X7510 ]

HTC developing Atom- and Snapdragon-based MIDs?

HTC's hit us with some sexy new handsets lately, but a new report from DigiTimes says that the juggernaut ODM is getting ready to make some MID waves, and soon. Apparently inspired by the success of the Eee (who hasn't been?), HTC is rumored to be prepping devices based on Intel's Atom and Qualcomm's Snapdragon platforms, as well as up to 10 new phones in the second quarter of the year -- which, conveniently enough, is this quarter. There's no word on what we might be seeing apart from some new Diamond and Touch Pro handsets, but hopefully we'll see soon enough -- or just be left broken-hearted by yet another unsourced DigiTimes rumor.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: atom,htc,mid,rumor,rumors,snapdragon ]

BlackBerry Javelin in the wild

As we understand it, RIM's so-called Javelin is a new BlackBerry completely devoid of 3G that's currently on track for a mid-2009 (yes, 2009) launch. That sucks, yes, but at least it'll look mighty purty if these shots of an engineering dummy in the wild are any indication. The whole phone is an interesting study in modern, high-end 2.5G design, actually, on account of the rumored WiFi, GPS, expansive display, and generous (by RIM standards, anyway) 3.2 megapixel camera. Don't get us wrong, the Bold would still find its way into our pockets long before this one would -- but hey, diversity in the product line is a good thing. As long as it doesn't involve a Burberry-clad 8800.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: blackberry,in the wild,InTheWild,javelin,rim ]

Palm Centro heads to Verizon, in stores tomorrow for $99

Come on, T-Mobile, all we need is you to get on board now and that'll make a perfect Yahtzee! for Palm with its surprise hit, the Centro. Thanks to Verizon's expected announcement today, the top three US carriers now carry the diminutive Garnet device, which Palm actually says is "off to the strongest start of any smartphone in Palm's history" -- quite a statement, considering the Treo line's rich tradition. The Centro is also the first Palm phone to be eligible for the big V's "unlimited" E-mail and Web for Smartphone plan, which runs you a thrifty $29.99. After the full, delicious menu of rebates and discounts have been applied, Verizon's version will run the same $99 on contract that the boys and girls on Sprint and AT&T pay, and we can look for it to be available through all retail channels starting tomorrow.
Palm also has a brand new Facebook app launching with this phone (which will be available for the AT&T and Sprint models as well).

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: breaking news,BreakingNews,centro,garnet,palm,palm os,PalmOs,verizon,verizon wireless,VerizonWireless,vzw ]

Nokia N85 in the wild!

What's the N85, you ask? We don't know a heck of a lot about this one, but we're told that it features a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, and geotagging -- sort of an N96 lite, perhaps. The slider features the same industrial design featured on all of Nokia's Nseries devices as of late, but beyond that, your guess is as good as ours regarding target market, pricing, availability. Stay tuned for more as we get it!

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: cellphone,features,n85,nokia,phone,slider ]

HTC Touch Diamond hands-on, up close and personal this time

The good folks at HTC left this little gem (pun totally intended) on our doorstep today, but as cool as it sounds to have one of the world's great Windows Mobile torchbearers just drop off its hottest new handset to us like it's an extra large pepperoni and mushroom, it's a bittersweet gift at best. Why? The Touch Diamond lacks both HSDPA 850 / 1900 and GSM 850 in its current incarnation, leaving it to cling to what 1900MHz EDGE towers it can find. That makes it an untouchable product for all but the hardest-core North Americans who are willing to throw both high-speed data and maximum signal coverage out of the window just to be able to put the pinnacle of WinMo 6.1 engineering in their pocket. Are you in that one percent? Or perhaps even better, are you in Europe where the usable 3G flows like running water? Click through to Engadget Mobile's hands-on to get the lowdown!

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: diamond,features,hands on,hands-on,HandsOn,htc,touch,touch diamond,TouchDiamond,touchflo,touchflo 3d,Touchflo3d ]

Samsung Instinct hands-on

We hate gratuitous iPhone comparisons as much as the next guy, but let's be straight with each other here: Sprint has its sights squarely focused on Cupertino's darling with the Instinct. From beginning to end, the carrier has pulled no punches about the model's target audience and its competition. Make no mistake, though, the Instinct is no iPhone ripoff or clone -- it's distinctly its own beast that just happens to share a form factor and a few common UI paradigms, and depending on your perspective and the specific feature you happen to be using, that can be a good or a bad thing. So is it better than a chocolate cupcake with sprinkles? Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the full rundown!

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: cellphone,features,hands on,hands-on,HandsOn,instinct,phone,samsung,sprint ]

Verizon slide deck reveals Verizon i770, Palm 800w, fun facts

First, the good news: we don't think the global roaming Samsung i770 Windows Mobile phone for Verizon is actually going to look like this. Now, the bad: it's probably pretty close. We're not here to bum you out, though -- come get the lowdown on Verizon's plans for the remainder of '08 by accompanying us on a magical journey through one of its fancy slide decks over on Engadget Mobile!
[Thanks, HTCkid]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 800w,cellphone,features,i770,palm,phone,samsung,treo,verizon,verizon wireless,VerizonWireless,vzw ]

RIM's BlackBerry 9500 "Thunder" captured on camera?

A retailer taking pre-orders for phones that haven't even been announced is considered business as usual, but there's something just a little out of the ordinary with Horizon Wireless' listing for the alleged touchscreen superphone outta Waterloo, the BlackBerry 9500 "Thunder" -- it's accompanied by a somewhat believable picture of the thing. Extreme blur always adds a healthy dose of credibility (we kid), but more importantly, the picture shows no telltale signs of being a render and looks essentially like what everyone's expecting it to look like. BlackBerry addicts who've been desperately fighting the urge to go to the dark side, consider this your shot of willpower for the day.
[Thanks, Yasim M.]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 9500,blackberry,cellphone,in the wild,InTheWild,phone,rim,rumor,thunder ]

StyleTap's Palm OS emulator officially coming to iPhone and iPod touch

In a move of unsurprising proportions, StyleTap announced today that it will be bringing its Palm OS emulator to the iPhone and iPod touch... officially. This basically means that every one of those precious Palm apps you couldn't live without will now be easily accessible via Apple's devices, thus seriously threatening the argument for keeping your Treo 600. Gregory Sokoloff, CEO of the company, said that the response to a video posted in February of a demo version of the software convinced them to take the plunge. Palm, now might be a good time to stun us with your new OS.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: apple,emulator,iphone,ipod touch,IpodTouch,palm os,PalmOs,styletap,touch ]

Apple files patent for "solar cells on portable devices"

While we wait, and wait... and wait for manufactures to perfect long-lasting fuel cells, Apple and others are pursuing at least one other approach: solar augmentation. In a patent application dated April 24, 2008 and titled "Solar cells on portable devices" attributed to a number of Apple employees, Apple reveals possible plans to integrate solar cells into devices such as iPods and MacBooks. The application describes a scenario where, "Solar cells are typically stacked with other layers made of transparent or semi-transparent materials... Some of these layers may be used for display or input purposes, and some layers may be coated with various materials or they may be etched with product logos or other patterns." In other words, Apple is looking to cover the entire device, including the transparent display, with a layer of solar cells -- the latter approach already patented by Motorola. While the efficiency of solar cells and existing manufacturing techniques call into question the immediate viability of such an approach, it's intriguing nonetheless as a means to offset any lost battery life on the move to say, 3G.

[Via: MacRumors ]
[Tag: apple,lcd,patent,solar ]

Windows Mobile 6.1 update for HTC TyTN II now extra official

A leaky update faucet let in-the-know users get in on this one a little early, but HTC's now ready to trumpet its official Windows Mobile 6.1 update for its TyTN II to the world. Besides 6.1, the new release packs in the "display performance update" promised some time ago to help put a cap on the cursing and fist-shaking being displayed by owners of various HTC devices lately -- but as we understand it, this isn't a true driver, so don't expect miracles. AT&T Tilt folks who want to play it straight will have to wait some undefined additional period of time for their carrier to get its act together and release the update, but their European comrades can head on over to HTC's site now and kick off the download.
[Image via MoDaCo]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: cellphone,firmware,htc,kaiser,phone,software,tytn ii,TytnIi,update,upgrade,windows mobile,windows mobile 6.1,WindowsMobile,WindowsMobile6.1,winmo,winmo 6.1,Winmo6.1,wm6.1 ]

HTC Touch Dual launching in the US this weekend courtesy of Best Buy

At first, we were all stoked at the realization that it took HTC shy of two months to go from announcement to availability of its US-flavored Touch Dual, but then we had this wet blanket thrown on us when we reflected on the fact that it's been like six months since the European model was first shown. No bother -- at least the US model will be among the very first devices anywhere to ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 out of the box, which is kinda cool. Best Buy will be offering the phone starting this weekend for $549.99 unlocked, available on its website or directly from "select" Best Buy Mobile locations around the country, so try not to let those visions of Diamonds distract you too much while you're whipping out the credit card.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: best buy,BestBuy,cellphone,htc,phone,touch,touch dual,TouchDual,windows mobile,windows mobile 6.1,WindowsMobile,WindowsMobile6.1,winmo,wm6.1 ]