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Motorola Milestone/DROID
Launching Motorola DEXT (codenamed Morrison, also know as the CLIQ in the US), Motorola had a global task in mind - they were targeting the top-tier as well with their brand-new Anroid-based line-up... |
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Friday 30 July 2010
iPhone 3G Owners Experiencing Sluggish Behaviour With iOS 4
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Author: Irina Turina Source: TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith
As Windows Phone 7 draws ever nearer to launch day the leaks surrounding it are starting to mount. It wasn't long ago that we saw HTC's Win Phone 7 handset codenames leaked and today it's the turn of Samsung to see one of their upcoming Win Phone 7 devices make an appearance on the interwebs. The device, named Cetus, presumably after the constellation and not the ancient Greek terror of the seas, will be running Microsoft's latest OS and will sport such features as a 5 MP camera, GPS and a front facing camera. The screen will be an OLED effort and weigh in at a very respectable 4 inches. Obviously there is no word on things like pricing or release dates as yet, although the handset will apparently receive the catchy title SGH-i917 in the U.S. What it will be called and when it will be released anywhere else is up for debate.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith
HTC Desire owners have been all of a flutter over the past day or so after HTC tweeted that they would be rolling out the update to Froyo from today. To be fair to HTC they did clarify that not every Desire owner would see the update today because of bandwidth issues, but now there is another spanner in the works for those hoping to upgrade to the latest iteration of Google's finest. O2 in the UK have told TechRadar that Desire owners on their network will not see the update for 'several weeks'. That doesn't sound too hot and it's not in the same league as saying that it will be available within a few days. The hold up? Well it looks like testing on network specific versions of the update is still ongoing so we daresay that whilst O2 may have come out and given some specifics this information will probably apply to many networks around the world. Indeed T-Mobile UK confirmed that their timescale for the update was currently focused on September. For those using SIM free handsets the update should either already be available or coming very soon according to HTC.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith
As many of you will have seen RIM recently acquired the domain 'blackpad.com', a name that many were hoping wouldn't be the calling sign of RIM's forthcoming Blackberry tablet. Well sorry to disappoint you folks, but the chaps over at Bloomberg have been given a hot tip that 'BlackPad' is indeed the name that RIM will be going with despite the fact that it is sure to generate gags and puns galore. Bloomberg are also saying that the information they've been given points to the 'BlackPad' being 'introduced' in November. They're also running with specifications including a 9.7" screen, WiFi and Bluetooth. It's sounding like a done deal now, but perhaps, just perhaps, RIM will see sense and choose a different name before launch.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: IntoMobile Translation by: Paul Smith
Apple have plenty of their plate right now what with legal battles galore and and ever increasing number of governments demanding answers on everything from anti-competitive practices to overheating iPods. With all that going on you would think Apple would want to make things easy on themselves. Thing again! The whole Antennagate drama hasn't been made any less troublesome for Apple by the fact that they decided to drag other manufacturers into the soap opera and criticse their products. We've already seen several of those manufacturers hitting back at Apple; RIM famously published their 'narked' letter and Nokia has been taking a few pot shots as well.
Now Motorola has gotten in on the act after Apple recently released a video showing the Droid X losing signal when gripped in a certain (read not very likely in everyday use) manner. Moto were obviously none too happy at being dragged into the midst of Apple's saga and have hit back in a rather cheeky fashion. Their latest ad for the Droid X features a few hits aimed towards the iPhone 4 and they're pretty much bang on the money.
"At Motorola, we believe a customer shouldn't have to dress up their phone for it to work properly."
"... the Droid X comes with a dual antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like ... without a bulky phone jacket."
Given the amount of hassle they're generating for themselves these days it might be a good idea for Apple to zip it from now on. The issue would probably have simmered down a great deal more had Apple not decided to drag others into it and you can't really blame the other guys for hitting back after seeing their names being tarnished by Apple's claims.
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Author: Serge Novikov Source: Pocket-lint Translation by: Paul Smith
HTC Desire owners could be in line for some Froyo sweetness from as early as tomorrow! Note the use of the word 'could' though. This all comes from some tweeting (of course!) from one Mark Moons who happens to be the regional director of HTC for the Benelux countries. He had tweeted the following:
We beginnen vanaf morgen met de upgrades naar Android 2.2 voor Desire, later meer devices
Translated that says that they start tomorrow with upgrades for the Desire, with other devices following on later. Pocket-lint then got in touch with Eric Lin, HTC's head honcho for PR to clarify the situation. Lin is backing Moons' tweet saying that some could indeed see an update to Froyo as early as tomorrow. Of course he added the usual corporate disclaimer of not being 100% certain and that there will still things to verify, etc. It's also worth pointing out that even if the update to Froyo does start tomorrow not everyone with a Desire may see it available right away. Moons also stated that "That does not mean everyone gets [it] directly tomorrow ... there is a bandwidth limit". Let's see what the morrow brings ...
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Author: Serge Novikov Source: Driphter Translation by: Paul Smith
Blackberry leaks seem to be ten a penny of late, RIM would probably just be better publishing their roadmap at this stage. At any rate the previously leaked Bold 9780 has been caught on camera again, this time though in a rather jolly walkthrough sort of affair. Driphter.com managed to snag the handset and have been taking it through its paces and showing off things like browsing using the webkit based browser. Interestingly enough that web surfing demo throws up something interesting: fast loading times, but there are some jitters when scrolling around a webpage. Hopefully this is something that gets rectified before the handset goes on sale. Anyway enough talk, onto the video!
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Gizmodo Translation by: Paul Smith
They say fact is stranger and fiction and truth be told you just couldn't make this stuff up! Apple is embroiled in yet another legal wrangle, this time with the Japanese government. The issue centres around that old bug bear of Apple's: overheating devices. In this instance it's iPods that are the centre of attention with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry mandating that Apple explain what exactly is behind various incidents of iPods overheating. iPods have apparently been overheating in Japan for the last few years now so it looks like the government there finally wants some answers. According to Seiji Shimagami of the ministry:
We've been asking they outline the preventive actions that have been taken for two years, but we question whether enough has been done so we took official action.
Failure to comply with the Japanese government's order would likely see Apple hit with a fine. It's just one of a series of disputes Apple is currently embroiled in and they seem to be attracting new one slike flies to .. well something smelly. So far Apple are being sued in the U.S. over faulty antenna design in the iPhone; sued in the U.S. due to overheating iPads; being investigated by the U.S. department of justice for possible anti-competitive practices as a result of their refusal to allow Adobe's Flash on their closed platofrm and there is also talk of the European Union forcing Apple to open up its systems to third party developers.
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Author: Serge Novikov Source: WSJ via Gizmodo Translation by: Paul Smith
It's not a state secret that Google are working on a social network of their own, something that Google hope will rival Facebook no doubt and which is currently going by the name 'Google Me'. Speculation has been especially rampant since Google sunk some money into Zygna, the chaps behind Farmville and it's widely expected that Google will launch some sort of social gaming platform that incorporates games like Farmville. These games are generating a lot of money for Facebook, which takes a 30% cut of the money they generate and with rumours of a wider advertising network being launched by Facebook that may even rival Google's AdSense it is little wonder that people are expecting Google to hit back.
How similar Google's effort will be to Facebook is anyone's guess, but when asked by the WSJ recently Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, said "The world doesn't need a copy of the same thing". That's a pretty revealing comment if it's true because it would suggest that Google are not going to even bother trying to setup something that takes on Facebook directly, after all they have Orkut, which has proved to be a bit of a damp squib in much of the world although, to be fair, it does have an impressive following in some countries e.g. Brazil. It would also tie in with Google's old philosophy of launching products that do something that either isn't already being done or is being done poorly, and let's face it, Facebook may be many things, but unsuccessful it is not.
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Author: Irina Turina Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith
Another store has joined the ranks of those offering apps, but with a decided lack of content it isn't off to a great start. We're talking of course about the LG Application Store, which has now launched in a total of 23 countries around the world including major countries in Europe, but not the U.S. There are currently around 3,000 apps, which, to be fair, isn't a major downfall given that other stores like RIM's or Palm's operate with a small number, but crucially, for LG anyway, it launches without a single app for Android. The lack of Android apps seems a bit odd given LG's recent ad campaigns for Android and the fact the company is producing handsets for one of the biggest, and fastest growing, platforms in the world.
The apps that they do have are for LG's other smartphones and of course their range of featurephones. The focus on apps for feature phones is actually a fairly smart move by LG because those phones make up their bread and butter and it certainly won't hurt sales or customer loyalty to provide apps for their phones. This is especially true when one cosniders that LG often goes after the youth market where feature phones are more viable than high-end smartphones. No doubt Android apps will make an appearance soon though, LG won't want to be left completely out of the loop.
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Author: Irina Turina Source: TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith
A long standing complaint amongst Android developers has been the lack of protection to help prevent their hard work being used by unscrupulous types. Google have apparently been listening and at long last announced that they will do something about it in the form of a licensing service, which should prvide a mechanism for making sure apps aren't misused. Eric Chu from Android recently blogged:
In my conversations with Android developers, I often hear that you'd like better protection against unauthorized use of your applications. So today, I'm pleased to announce the release of a licensing service for applications in Android Market.This simple and free service provides a secure mechanism to manage access to all Android Market paid applications targeting Android 1.5 or higher. At run time, with the inclusion of a set of libraries provided by us, your application can query the Android Market licensing server to determine the license status of your users. It returns information on whether your users are authorized to use the app based on stored sales records.
This new system will replace the present system Google has in place for Android and it is expected to be rolled out over the months ahead. The system operates in real time, which Google say will grant more flexibility for developers when choosing their licensing arrangements. Google are also keen to emphasise that it will be a more secure approach to unauthorised use than present copy protection. How the new service pans out in reality remains to be seen of course, but it's nice to see Google responding to concerns from the dev community.
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Author: Serge Novikov Source: UnwiredView Translation by: Paul Smith
With the American government having revised the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and Jailbreaking an iPhone now being declared perfectly legal and above board the attention has turned towards Apple's reaction to the news. In fact there hasn't really been a reaction, certainly not a reaction that would indicate any change in their current policies. Jailbreaking will still be regarded as something that voids the warranty whether it is legal or not. Apple's response:
Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.
So it's business as usual really. Perhaps of more interest is whether Apple will sue companies providing software that allows users to jailbreak their device. Apple were pretty vague on this issue with their spokesman giving one of those answers that doesn't really tell you anything and would seem to leave the door open for Apple to go down either route. He said that Apple haven't sued such companies in the past so you can read into that what you will.
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Author: Irina Turina Source: The Register Translation by: Paul Smith
It seems that Apple are stumbling from one legal mess to another these days what with class action suits being levelled over Antennagate, competition investigations by the U.S. Justice Department and the possibility that the EU may force them to allow 3rd party access to their previously closed platform. Well Apple have one more to add to that list, a lawsuit being brought because of overheating iPads shutting down. The people behind this new lawsuit are seeking the status of class action for their efforts and their lawyers, Scott Cole & Associates, have created ipadoverheating.com to search for more claimants who may experiencing the problem.
Actually that term I just used is a bit contentious here because one has to ask whether this in fact a 'problem' at all. The claimants are saying that "the iPad is virtually unusable when sitting in particular environmental conditions (e.g., in direct sunlight with virtually any ambient air temperature) since it turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use." This they say is a problem because "according to the www.apple.com website, "[r]reading on iPad is just like reading a book.' However, contrary to this promise, using the iPad is not 'just like reading a book' at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in the sunlight or in other normal environmental environments. This promise, like other portions of APPLE's marketing material for the iPad, is false."
To be fair to Apple their product information for the iPad states that it should be used in environments with a temeperature between 0 and 35 celsius and advises that using the iPad in high or low temperature conditions might shorten battery life or cause the iPad to stop working properly. We're not Apple fanboys by any stretch, but this does look to be a bit of a hokey lawsuit from people that don't bother to RTFM. Even so Apple won't be pleased to learn of yet another impending legal battle, especially when its plate is already so full.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith
Google Maps for Android is a bit like Android itself ... always changing and improving. Google have just released the latest update for Maps, version 4.4 and it's the 6th update the app has received in as many months. This particular update is all about finding things around you and it gives the user a new icon to use, 'Places'. Essentially 'Places' acts a bit like Yelp, allowing the user to find places around him and if you find that you are searching for the same sort of places again and again irrespective of your location then you can customise the search to load your own categories e.g. petrol station. That's all very well and good, but the update goes further by offering additional information like the opening and closing times of shops and directions to the place you've just searched using the compass. You'll need to be running Android 1.6 or later to take advantage of this update, but if so then you can grab it right now. BlackBerry users should expect to see this on their platform of choice in the near future too.
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Author: Irina Turina Source: TUAW via Gizmodo Translation by: Paul Smith
It's not unusual for those thinking of buying the latest iPhone to compare it with the latest and geatest from other manufacturers. It's a fair enough concept, but often overlooked is the question of whether the latest iPhone is really giving you much more bang for your performance buck than your current iPhone. Well the folks at The Unofficial Apple Weblog have decided to pit the four generations of iPhone against one another and they've produced a handy video for your viewing pleasure. You'll see the original Jobs' baby go head to head with the 3G, 3GS and the much maligned iPhone 4. Whilst the iPhone 4 does tend to walk away with the game when it comes to most tasks it doesn't get it all its own way though, the original iPhone actually outperforms it when shutting down and the 3GS beats it in terms of boot time. Take a look for yourself below:
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Author: Irina Turina Source: Engadget via TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith
Windows Phone 7 isn't far off now, by some estimates the launch is a mere three months away and you know you're getting close when the leaks start appearing. HTC have had one of their handsets make an unexpected appearance on the web and it's running Microsoft's latest OS. The handset, as yet unamed, is interesting, not just because it's running Windows Phone 7, but also for the fact that HTC's signature SENSE UI overlay is nowehere to be seen. It was just the other day that we were hearing that SENSE would be making an appearance on HTC's Windows Phone 7 handsets so either it simply hasn't been installed on this one yet or not every HTC Windows Phone 7 device will have it.
The handset itself is sporting a 3.7 inch SLCD screen, in keeping with HTC's decision to move away from AMOLED technology due to supply problems. The only other specifications mentioned are the incusion of the seemingly obligatory 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8 MP camera. The handset is apparently ready to launch so we're assuming it won't be too long now before you see this thing officially.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: IntoMobile Translation by: Paul Smith
Buying Android apps should become a lot easier for many people in the near future due to some planned changes being brought in to the Market. At the moment if you want to buy an app that costs money from the Market you're going to need a credit card. Not a big deal right? Well for some that is true, but for many people around the world a credit card is not necessarily something they use, or perhaps more importantly not something they want to use. The planned changes would mean that the Market can make use of operator billing or in laymans terms you would see the cost of any apps you purchase on your monthly mobile phone bill. T-Mobile USA already support this payment method and rolling it out across other countries would vastly increase the number of people with access to paid apps.
The move would also mean that Android becomes a more attractive proposition to developers. When you compare the Android Market to Apple's App Store you see that the App Store has a customer base that all have an iTunes account and thus are all eligible to buy apps. The Android Market doesn't give developers that guarantee, but with operator billing the potential customer base would go up and devs could potentially see their revenue streams increase with it.
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith
Nothing fills in those moments of boredome quite like a good emulator on your phone, re-living your glory days of games gone by you can quickly get absorbed and forget you were ever bored in the first place. The PSX4Droid app, from ZodTTD and yongzh, will allow you to do just that with PlayStation games now that it has launched in the Android Market. It's not free, but at $5.99 it's not going to be breaking the bank and given what it can do is sure to be pretty popular. It's not 100% perfect at the moment, there are some glitches, but for the most part it looks to be working pretty well and you can check it out in action in the videos below. The first video shows a Samsung Galaxy S running Final Fantasy VII and Ridge Racer, whilst the other two show off a Nexus One running Crash Bandicoot and a Dell Streak being used alongside a Wii controller.
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Author: Serge Novikov Source: HTC Translation by: Paul Smith
It's no great secret that AMOLED screens are in short supply, the effects having been felt across the industry. Manufacturers just can't get enough of them to keep pace with demand and that's despite Samsung having ramped up production. HTC is the latest manufacturer to feel the heat and has decided to switch away from using AMOLED technology in both the Desire and Nexus One. Instead the Taiwanese company will be opting for Super LCD screens, which are more plentiful and thus shouldn't constrain production, indeed HTC are saying that use of SLCD screens will allow them to 'ramp' production up. The actual announcement from HTC mentions that SLCD screens will be used in a 'variety of HTC phones' so newer models will probably be seeing the switch too. The proposed changes should kick in sometime later this summer. The full statement from HTC is presented below:
"Taoyuan, TAIWAN – July 26, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced Super LCD display (SLCD) technology into a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer. The SLCD display offers an exceptional natural balanced colour, clear contrast, broad viewing angles and improved power efficiency.
"HTC is experiencing high-demand for many of our phones, specifically our phones with 3.7 inch displays. The new SLCD display technology enables us to ramp up our production capabilities quickly to meet the high-demand," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC's current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance."
SLCD is the latest generation of LCD technology that offers improved performance from earlier LCD panels including approximately five times better power management. SLCDs also offer an enhanced viewing experience with wider viewing angles that are enabled by Sony's new VSPEC III™ technology."
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Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith
One very glaring omission from many an app store has been the lack of an official app from the BBC. Just about every other news and media organisation under the sun has their own app, but not Auntie. There were moves earlier in the year to launch some BBC apps for the iPhone, but that plan was shot down in flames after commercial news outlets protested that it would wreck their business models and the BBC Trust put a stop to the plan until it could assess it. Well the Trust has now given the plan the green light and users can look forward to an official BBC News app.
The news app will launch first on the iPhone and iPad and then later in the year on both Android and Blackberry platforms. Why they couldn't launch the app on all three platforms simultaneously wasn't addressed, but better late than never as the saying goes. Erik Huggers, Director of Future Media & Technology at the BBC said:
"We know that increasing numbers of you want to access BBC output on-the-go and the rapid growth of internet-connected mobiles and smartphones in the market means we can cost-effectively provide our content and services on these devices, and this is a really important way for us to deliver online services in the future. The first class journalism that you expect from the BBC is now available to you in a way that is simple, personalised and optimised for mobile devices."
Hopefully this is the first in a range of BBC apps we can look forward to, especially given the BBC's massive archive of content as well as their extensive access and reach into fields such as sport, technology, science, the environment, etc.
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[ 30-07 20:01 ]iPhone 3G Owners Experiencing Sluggish Behaviour With iOS 4
[ 30-07 19:51 ]Samsung's 1st Win Phone 7 Handset: Cetus
[ 30-07 19:42 ]O2 & T-Mobile Indicate Not All Desire Owners Getting Immediate Update
[ 30-07 19:27 ]RIM Tablet Really Is the 'BlackPad'
[ 29-07 18:13 ]Moto: You Don't Need To Dress Our Phones Up To Use Them
[ 29-07 18:09 ]Froyo For Desire Tomorrow?
[ 29-07 18:05 ]Video: Blackberry Bold 9780
[ 29-07 17:32 ]Apple Faces Another Investigation ... This Time From The Japanese Government
[ 28-07 14:05 ]Google Me Won't Be Copying Facebook Says Schmidt
[ 28-07 13:57 ]LG Launches App Store With No Android Apps
[ 28-07 12:41 ]Google Beefing Up Market Protection
[ 28-07 12:01 ]Jailbreaking May Be Legal But Still Breaks Warranty
[ 28-07 11:52 ]Apple Sued Again ... This Time It's The iPad
[ 27-07 18:12 ]Google Maps 4.4 - 'Places' Search Added
[ 27-07 17:54 ]Video: 4 Generations of iPhone Slug It Out
[ 26-07 15:06 ]HTC Win Phone 7 Device Spotted
[ 26-07 14:48 ]Operator Billing Coming To Android
[ 26-07 14:18 ]Video: PSX4Droid - PlayStation Fun Comes To Android
[ 26-07 14:16 ]HTC Ditching AMOLED Screens
[ 23-07 16:20 ]BBC To Launch Mobiles Apps
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