News Archive for 07/12/17
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Universal Music and XM Radio have settled a lawsuit over a piece of third-party hardware, reports say. The item of contention was Pioneer's Inno player, which is able to record XM broadcasts in addition to playing MP3s; the problem is that it can naturally record Universal artists without permission, something the record label objected to. Under the terms of the settlement, Universal will be the first company signed to a multi-year agreement covering all XM radios with "advanced recording functionality," potentially opening the door to safe recording on many other devices.
The release of Mac OS X Leopard in late October was both Apple's strongest operating system release to date and evidence that the company may have a greater understanding of how to launch such software, according to a new study from NPD Group. The research firm notes that Apple sold 20.5 percent more copies of Leopard in its first full month on sale than Tiger, which released about 2.5 years earlier. The actual revenue increased by 32.8 percent, hinting at more stand-alone copies sold with the new release in place of up-to-date program copies or those bundled with new systems.
Nokia has laid claim to to an unusual new cellphone design, a patent application reveals. Most sliding smartphones can currently shift only in a single direction, while a select few -- such as Samsung's F520 -- shift in two, allowing access to either a numberpad or a QWERTY keyboard. Under Nokia's new concept however, a phone would add a third direction, exposing music and/or game controls. This would be an extension of the numberpad layer, much as on the company's dual-sliding N95.
Dash on Monday began taking pre-orders for the Dash Express, its unique take on in-car GPS. The finished version of the previously reported device now comes in black but continues to sport a unique feature that connects either across a wide-area GPRS cellular link or short-range WiFi to get map data from a Yahoo Internet service instead of through a specialized channel; it can not only receive live traffic updates but new map information and allows local searches for businesses such as restaurants. A Send2Car feature permits a family member or a friend to upload markers in real-time to the mapping hardware.
Sony-Ericsson should be preparing its first truly slim flip phone for early next year, say sources with information from the Esato forums. The Z660i would be a spiritual descendant of the W890i, adopting a clamshell form but remaining exceptionally thin: the closed phone would be just 0.55 inches thick, say the reports. As a result, the phone would also include an external LCD for call info. The Z660i's membership in the mid-range 600-series phone line will dictate a smaller 2-megapixel camera to keep the price in check.
Newcomer Jibe Audio will draw on past Apple success to create one of the first deluxe iPhone docks, says BusinessWeek. The magazine notes that Jibe has enlisted the help of former Apple designer and PowerBook co-creator Robert Brunner and his firm Ammunition Group to produce the Sound Machine. Resembling the recent iMac with a floating design, the dock includes a connector to charge, play, and (through USB) sync the iPhone but brings Bluetooth audio support: even when physically detached, the Sound Machine will serve as a speakerphone for the iPhone and any other handset with hands-free support.
The release details of the Samsung t819 slider and its potential network have been leaked, says a spec sheet leak from BGR. The escaped information largely confirms the feature list with a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and microSD storage; the device is now known to be shipping in at least a coffee brown hue and will be available sometime in January with support for instant messaging and T-Mobile's My Faves calling feature.
While generally unknown for its cellphones, Toshiba is expanding its effors with the G910 and G920, both successors to the initial G900. Recent FCC filings reveal that the phones differ significantly in shape and appearance: whereas the 900 had a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the new models are clamshells, and have much smoother button surfaces. The phones do however share Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in common, and as well as tri-band GSM, which may limit the phone to being sold unlocked in the US.
Sony is in the midst of developing a sequel to its Mylo communicator handheld for the near future, says a new FCC filing. The device is largely faithful to the original's design with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard but adds a camera on the back for taking photos likely to be uploaded and shared later; while likely to be simpler than a dedicated Cyber-shot camera, it will include a macro mode switch and likely a flash for nighttime shooting. Wireless testing also reveals the addition of 802.11g wireless, though whether it will be used for new features or just for supporting modern networks is unknown.
Nvidia has introduced a new nForce motherboard, the 780i. Like the 680i, the 780 is able to link an unusual three Nvidia cards together in SLI mode, resulting in performance up to 2.8 times faster than a single card; this is purportedly enough to play Crysis with maximum detail at 1900x1200, or Call of Duty 4 at 2500x1600. The 780i is specifically tailored to Intel's Yorkfield (QX9650) processor, which is rated at 3GHz and has a 1.33GHz front-side bus.
The iPhone has already overtaken Windows Mobile phones in terms of North American smartphone popularity, a report from Canalys suggests. The iPhone currently occupies 27 percent of the US market; despite not being legally available in Canada or Mexico, this has reportedly been enough to put it in second place in North America overall, slightly ahead of the Windows Mobile platform. The market is dominated by Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform, which controls more than a third of sales.
Ribbit today released what it says should be the first service to integrate voice on the web with phones. A self-titled platform, Ribbit's technology is based entirely on an Adobe Flash interface that acts as a software telephone switch between both Internet-based and real-world phone systems: an embedded website widget talks both to real cellular and landlines but also to normally incompatible services like Skype and Windows Live. Voice communication effectively becomes transparent and easy for developers to integrate without much work of their own, the Mountain View, California-based company says.
Sony is about to update the PS3 with its promised DivX playback and other features, according to information posted on Sony's PlayStation Spain website. The version 2.1 upgrade will bring native support for the video format either stored locally or streamed across the network. It should also bring the anticipated Blu-ray Final Standard Profile support that allows the console to use picture-in-picture commentary and other special features previously reserved only for the newest stand-alone movie players.
Denon today rolled out a last-minute gift option through two new compact stereos designed to pull content from non-traditional sources. The S-52 and its smaller S-32 counterpart both bring Ethernet and 802.11g WiFi that lets each system take music from any Mac, PC, or other networked storage and play it from the device using a relatively complex LCD menu system. It can not only play AAC, MP3, and WMA songs but also Internet radio and lossless formats like FLAC and WAV, Denon says. Those with a subscription or a free trial for Real's Rhapsody service can also stream content directly from the Internet, including both their own libraries and preset channels. Even the time is calibrated online, Denon says.
Verizon this morning confirmed previous rumors by releasing its version of the Palm Treo 755p. The smartphone is a considerably more streamlined, faster version of the company's now-outdated 700p with an internalized antenna and 128MB of RAM. Software is its main focus with support for real-time 'push' e-mail from Microsoft Exchange servers and a built-in Google Maps tool for mapping and associating contacts to physical locations.
Both Apple and Microsoft have defined the list of the most significant technology disappointments of 2007, according to a new review of the year by PC World. Windows Vista reaches first place among the disappointments for the gap between what was originally promised and actually delivered. Despite its extended, five-year development time, the software had to cast off important promised features such as the WinFS file system to make its January 2007 release window. The OS is not fundamentally flawed, but is frequently plagued by hardware compatibility issues, poor performance, and excessive security warnings.
In a late addition to its PC range, Toshiba on Monday revealed its first-ever portables to support HD DVD re-recording. New versions of the 15.4-inch Qosmio F40 and the 17-inch G40 each sport HD DVD-RW drives that allow them to be used hundreds or thousands of times for HD DVD content, such as large data backups or for videos. An update in February will allow either of the systems to burn copies of unprotected HDTV broadcasts pulled from their built-in digital TV tuners, the company adds.
Alltel today catered to particularly busy phone users with a new service known as Voice2TXT. An intelligent voice recognition program, the feature based on SpinVox automatically converts voicemail into individual text messages to let users check missed calls without having to use the phone's speaker. This can be ideal for businesspeople who may need to check messages but would rather not disrupt a meeting, says Alltel senior VP Wade McGill.
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