News Archive for 08/05/05
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With Microsoft retracting its bid Saturday, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang today announced it would listen to any interested bidding parties, including Microsoft, despite explicitly saying the company is for sale.Bloomberg reports that Yahoo is currently evaluating revenue-generating relationships with companies such as Google and AOL to raise the company's value, but is leaving the door open "should somebody else come back someday and want to buy the company", said Yang.
While it is not yet official, Sprint will launch the BlackBerry 8330 this Wednesday, says a discovery made by forum users. The provider's print ad featuring the Curve has been found over the weekend, and while it does not reveal an actual ship date, the text does hint the Curve would make an ideal gift for Mother's Day, on May 11. What the ad does definitely reveal, however, is that the Sprint Curve will be available not only in titanium, but red as well.
Microsoft today repeated its past denials that the company is developing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. Following a report on Friday which said Microsoft had contacted ASUS for drives to be used as add-ons for the game system by the fall, Microsoft has echoed its past approach and says that it has "no plans" to launch a Blu-ray reader add-on in the near future. The company prefers to focus on the core gaming of the Xbox, according to a statement.
While there has been no official word from Creative Labs itself, a product page on JR.com lists a Vado video camcorder from the company. In terms of specifications, the ultra-affordable video camera is nearly identical to the Pure Digital Technologies Flip range of video cameras. The Creative Labs VF0570-P Vado pocket camcorder will feature a 2GB storage capacity capable of holding approximately 2 hours of VGA (640x480) video, and up to 2 hours of life from its rechargeable AA batteries.
SteelSeries on Monday introduced its latest gaming product to the US market, the 7G keyboard. The company claims the mechanical 7G is 90 percent more responsive and 10 times more durable that regular keyboards, and eliminates anti-ghosting by supporting a key press command for every key. For low latency communication, the 7G features 18K gold-plated connectors. The 7G utilizes iron-infused plastic and gold-plated no-click switches, among other features, to endow it with a guarantee for 50 million keystrokes by its maker.
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ) announced a PSP Headset with Remote Control on Friday. The kit is meant to be used with the PSP's Skype functionality, which was enabled late in January with firmware update 3.90. To use the devices to make VoIP calles using Skype on the PSP, the gaming system's firmware must be upgraded to version 3.93, according to SCEJ.
Sprint is strongly considering selling off its Nextel division after just three years folded into the company, the Wall Street Journal says while crediting anonymous sources. One of Nextel's founders, Morgan O'Brien, is purportedly creating a group of investors that would buy out the push-to-talk group and restore its place as a separate company. Other private companies are also an option, as is a spin-off similar to the landline Internet provider Embarq.
Google has filed an FCC petition asking that the FCC drop Verizon's $4.7 billion winning bid in the recent 700MHz wireless auction. Filed late last week, the motion accuses Verizon of planning to use its Any App, Any Device plan to shelter customers buying its own devices from having to follow FCC open access guidelines set out before the auction, which would require that any 700MHz service on the relevant spectrum support any legal device or software regardless of which company has sold either component. Verizon's plan forces users of truly open devices to follow a different set of rules while those who buy from Verizon itself are trapped, Google claims.
Kensington on Monday unveiled a Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone and iPod, along with a Mini version. The portable battery packs plug into the Apple devices' dock connectors and power and recharge them, and are themselves rechargeable. The lithium-ion polymer battery packs feature a USB connector that allows them to be charged via either the AC adapter or a PC, whether or not they are also plugged into an Apple device, charging it as well.
A 3G-capable iPhone is coming soon and may bring pricing changes along with it in at least one area, says a report by Austrian paper Der Standard. T-Mobile Austria has allegedly confirmed the existence of a phone that would support faster data over the local UMTS-based 3G data network and says it will be a "testing ground" for the device as one of the first to carry the hardware. However, the company declines to say when it will unveil the iPhone for customers and has not provided any technical details beyond the faster wireless speeds.
Peripheral maker EVGA says it has begun shipping a new line of graphics adapters, the UV Plus+ series. The two current units connect various displays to a computer through USB; both DVI and VGA monitor inputs are supported, thanks in part to a bundled DVI-to-VGA adapter. Through DisplayLink technology, people can use up to four monitors simultaneously, in primary, mirrored or extended modes. This does, however, require a separate adapter for each screen.
Smaller music labels may soon get better deals and rights for their content at iTunes and other online stores through moves being made in recent weeks by indie music collective group Merlin. The organization has recently opened signups and says it has already received the support of more than 12,000 labels that will unite to press for better conditions for their artists.
An unusual new Samsung phone has been approved by the FCC, filings show. The SCH-i770 uses the new Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, but its main feature is a hybrid receiver, allowing users to switch between GSM and CDMA networks at will. Such receivers are common in countries like Russia, but not in the United States, where large national networks, unique frequencies and a lack of unlocked sales can deter importing. Crucially, the i770 supports the common 850 and 1900MHz bands used by American carriers.
T-Mobile today officially introduced its anticipated third-generation (3G) cellular service. Coming after company hints and unofficial tests, the network is now live in New York City and significantly improves both call quality and data access versus the current 2G network. Like other 3G services, T-Mobile's is seamless and allows supporting phones to automatically switch to 3G when they come within range.
Rogers Wireless is likely to soon pick up two very high-end handhelds for its network, according to observers spotting the additions at HowardForums. The Canadian provider's Hardware Upgrade Program list now shows an entry for the HTC Shift that suggests the company will be the first to offer the device as a carrier-locked option. The Shift is treated as a mobile computer by HTC and uses Windows Vista on a 7-inch touchscreen rather than a mobile operating system, using its 3G access for data rather than calls; a 40GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, and a front video camera are also standard.
Following the debut of the necessary mobile TV service on the weekend, AT&T's LG Vu today became available online and in shops. The handset is AT&T's first primarily touchscreen-driven phone since the iPhone and makes video its focus, with a built-in MediaFLO tuner providing live, over-the-air broadcasts of digital TV similar to Verizon's V CAST TV service. AT&T also stresses media playback support with support for Internet radio streams from XM as well as direct downloads from the company's own music store as well as eMusic and Napster.
The lithium-ion battery shortage caused by a fire at South Korea's LG Chem plant back in March should be over in the third quarter of the year, an executive at a notebook battery maker said on Friday. While the shortage is hurting sales of all notebooks, including the ASUS Eee PC, smaller, lower-volume companies are hurt most, as they get least priority when supplies do become available.
Wins by Cox Communications during the recent 700MHz auction will let the company set up its own wireless data network, Cable Digital News says. The cable provider successfully obtained licenses in the frequency range that essentially overlap its existing markets, allowing it to switch on a wide-area broadband service that can handle all of its customers. The service is most likely to be based on 700MHz WiMAX and operate on platform-agnostic level that doesn't require locked devices.
T-Mobile's rumored Sidekick Gekko has already been spotted and had some of its details revealed courtesy of a leak from Hiptop3. Confirmed as a replacement for the Sidekick iD, the Gekko will have colored and likely replaceable faceplates but should represent a significant technical upgrade. It should include the same 400x240 wide display as the Sidekick LX and may match a number of the other features of the higher-end model, which include a 1.3-megapixel camera.
Nokia intends to recapture some of its influence in the US market this year with a slew of new phones, the company's primary designer Alastair Curtis said in an interview published today with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat. The creator promises many new models within the "next few months" that are tailored to the needs of US carriers, ending a relative drought of devices in recent years.
Research in Motion is reportedly developing a close variant of the BlackBerry 9000 that will be scaled down for legacy networks, says BGR. The device codenamed "Niagra" will drop its HSDPA-based 3G Internet access in favor of the EDGE on most current BlackBerries; the design will also be slightly less exotic with a thicker, non-chrome trim and a different back.
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