News Archive for 09/05/28

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Color Kindle years away

05/28, 6:30pm

Color Kindle remains 'multiple' years away

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, responding to a question presented at a shareholders meeting, has claimed that his company is unlikely to ever publicly reveal sales numbers for the Kindle, and according to Physorg. The executive also suggests a device utilizing a color display is still in the early stages of development.

Qualcomm smartbook plans

05/28, 5:55pm

Qualcomm outlines vision for ARM-based 'smartbooks'

Qualcomm on Thursday outlined its vision for mobile computing, specifically an ARM-based series of smartbooks that combine attributes of both smartphones and netbooks, according to GigaOM. The smartbook would be powered by the company's Snapdragon technology, a powerful mobile processor and chipset platform first introduced late in 2007. The devices could integrate cellular connectivity and Wi-Fi, with a small form-factor, displays measuring between 10-12 inches and a full keyboard.

Motorola Clutch ships

05/28, 5:15pm

Moto Clutch PTT phone lands at Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile is now offering the Motorola Clutch i465 handset, which is the hardware maker's first device on the push-to-talk iDEN network with a QWERTY keyboard. It is rated for military-grade specifications for resistance to dust, shock, vibration, dust and solar radiation, while more pedestrian features include its 1.8-inch screen with a 128x160 resolution, a GPS sensor and a VGA camera that can record videos.

Spark T749 coming to T-Mo

05/28, 5:10pm

FCC reveals Samsung Spark t749 for T-Mobile

The Samsung Spark T749 cellphone will soon be coming to wireless provider T-Mobile, as the handset has recently passed through the. FCC's approval process. It will have quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA network support for T-Mobile's 3G. More detailed specs of the 3G handset are thin, but it will have stereo Bluetooth, a 3-megapixel camera, assisted GPS functionality that will enable TeleNav turn-by-turn driving directions, and a speakerphone.

Exilim C721 specs leaked

05/28, 5:05pm

Prices, specs leaked for Verizon's Casio C721

Pricing and full specs of the rugged Casio Exilim C721 handset, first spotted early in April, were leaked on Thursday. The device will come to wireless provider Verizon on June 10th, and is equipped with a 5.1-megapixel autofocus camera with video recording capabilities, flash, image stabilization and 3x optical zoom. The phone is also rugged, meeting 810F military specifications for resistance to water, fog, shock, salt, dust, altitude and temperature extremes.

Sony Ericsson intros Yari

05/28, 4:50pm

Sony Ericsson's Yari offers gesture gaming

Sony Ericsson's Yari phone allows for gesture gaming Sony Ericsson on Thursday announced the launch of its Yari handset in the UK, which is being touted as the first cell phone outside of Japan that lets users play games and otherwise interact with the device by gesturing in front of it. There is a number of preloaded gesture and standard games, but users can also download content from Sony Ericsson's PlayNow content library. Users can also trigger the 5-megapixel camera's virtual shutter by snapping their fingers.

Palm Pre and iTunes iPhoto

05/28, 4:10pm

Palm confirms Pre sync with iTunes, iPhoto

Palm at the D7 event today confirmed that the Pre and likely other webOS phones will sync with Apple software. Running a live demo on stage, Palm's Paul Cousino showed the Pre being recognized in iTunes as a "device" that could sync all but FairPlay-protected music as though it were an iPod. The feature works on both Macs and Windows PCs; on Macs, it can also pull photos from iPhoto and sync those through iTunes.

S Ericsson Aino and Satio

05/28, 3:35pm

Sony Ericsson bows Aino, Satio touch phones

Sony Ericsson today made its push into touchscreen phones official with both a completely new model as well as the finalized version of the Idou. The Aino is the company's first touchscreen slider and hides both a number pad and navigation keys underneath its 3-inch display. It's also the first phone of any kind from Sony Ericsson to integrate tightly with the PlayStation 3 and can use the PSP-born Remote Play feature to listen to music or watch videos from the console when away from home.

Comcast 100Mbps Soon

05/28, 3:05pm

Comcast about to launch 100Mbps Internet?

Comcast may be on the verge of upgrading its DOCSIS 3.0 cable Internet access to 100Mbps, a rumor says. Currently capped at 50Mbps downstream, the service is said to be getting as much as 40Mbps to 50Mbps more bandwidth "any day now." The source for the Inquirer doesn't say whether existing 20Mbps upload speeds would also get an upgrade or whether the 250GB cap and prices would change from the $140 pre-tax per month for the faster service.

C905, W705 due at Rogers

05/28, 2:40pm

Sony Ericsson C905 and W705 come to Rogers

Canadian wireless provider Rogers announced it is the exclusive retailer of two new advanced Sony Ericsson handsets, including the country's first 8.1-megapixel camera phone, the C905a, and the W705 Walkman. The C905 is touted as a camera with phone functionality, and apart from its large megapixel count, offers face detection, smile shutter and geotagging capabilities through its GPS. A Xenon flash is also built in.

Ballmer Shows Zune HD

05/28, 2:35pm

Microsoft chief shows Zune HD prototype

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today surprised those at the D7 technology show with a brief demo of the just-confirmed Zune HD. The prototype shown to Engadget has the interface shown in early imagery and was found to have "gorgeous" video -- ironically demonstrated with pro-Apple firm Pixar's For the Birds -- on its OLED screen. Few unknown features were shown, though the video interface and the ability to use custom wallpapers remain intact.

NBC Apple negotiations

05/28, 1:55pm

NBC admits asking Apple for a cut of hardware sales

NBC's CEO Jeff Zucker has shed more light on the network's negotiations with Apple over iTunes content, according to an interview with Kara Swisher at the All Things Digital conference. The relationship between the two companies has been shaky at best, with disagreements over the iTunes pricing policies.

Google Wave

05/28, 1:55pm

Google Wave comes to desktop, iPhone, Android

Google at its I/O conference today unveiled Google Wave, a new mixed form of communication seen as a substitute for e-mail and IM. The approach creates constant streams, or "waves," of conversation between multiple users drawn from Google contacts. Those participating in a wave can collaborate on documents, including sharing photos with the group as well as posting or editing text documents.

Verizon Palm Pre Later

05/28, 1:25pm

Verizon confirms Palm Pre, BB Storm sequel

Verizon's wireless chief Lowell McAdam today undermined Sprint and stepped up smartphone competition by confirming that the carrier would get both the Palm Pre and a frequently rumored BlackBerry Storm sequel. The executive said during an online broadcast that he expects both within the "next six months;" he also suggested Android would come but didn't mention phones by name.

LG GD900 'very soon'

05/28, 1:10pm

LG GD900 Crystal phone to ship 'very soon'

LG's GD900 Crystal phone -- based on the current KM900 Arena -- should finally be ready to ship in the near future, according to an announcement. Originally anticipated for May, the phone is now scheduled to debut "very soon" in some 40 countires across Asia, Europe and Latin America, notably excluding North America. Rumored pricing is approximately €450 ($622), though subsidies and other factors may lower end costs.

Over 30m Xbox 360s sold

05/28, 12:25pm

Microsoft Xbox 360 sales surpass 30 million

Microsoft announced on Thursday that is has sold more than 30 million Xbox 360 game consoles worldwide to date and has over 20 million active members on its Xbox Live network. At the same time, sales to date in 2009 have grown by 28 percent compared to the same time period in 2008, which is the highest compared to any other gaming console on the market, the company claims.

Microsoft Bing

05/28, 12:10pm

Microsoft launches Bing search engine

Microsoft today tried to rekindle its search engine efforts through Bing (link active soon), a new service it hopes will fix problems with conventional search. The new tool is organized around common tasks like shopping or trip planning and has an Explore Pane that automatically suggests navigation and searches; it also has a "best match" to highlight what Bing thinks is the best answer and, in certain cases, shows the information the user was looking for on the page itself rather than requiring an additional click.

Sony W180 and W190

05/28, 11:40am

Sony intros W180, W190 pocket cams in Europe

Sony today had a rare Europe-first introduction today that launched two basic pocket Cyber-shot cameras, the W180 and W190. Either is meant for simplicity and has a slider to toggle between still photo and movie modes rather than a mode dial. They also have image stabilization, ISO 3,200 light sensitivity and Sony's more recent face detection, which tracks up to eight faces to keep them in focus.

ATT Class Action Cleared

05/28, 11:15am

Class action against AT&T given go-ahead

A federal District of Washington court yesterday rejected (PDF) objections to a class action lawsuit that accuses the carrier of abusive behavior in transition customers to its service. The plaintiffs can now bring their complaints, which center on what they claim are unfair practices in moving customers to its network in 2004 when it was still called Cingular; those from the then-smaller, separate AT&T were allegedly not only pulled off a network that was "dismantled" in favor of a poorer Cingular network but were forced to move to more expensive cellphone plans, replace phones and to pay early termination fees if they didn't want to remain on the network.

LG enV 3 enV Touch Glance

05/28, 10:55am

LG enV 3, enV Touch and Glance hit Verizon

Verizon on Thursday picked up three long-rumored LG phones. The enV Touch is the spiritual successor to the Voyager and has a 3-inch, 800x480 touchscreen on the outside as well as a same-size, non-touch display when opened up to access the QWERTY keyboard. It represents a media upgrade with a 3.2-megapixel camera and a microSDHC slot that holds up to 16GB. Unlike other enV models, the Touch can open Office documents for reading.

Super Talent adds SSDs

05/28, 10:25am

Super Talent intros new SSDs, Mini9 upgrade kits

Super Talent made two product line announcements on Thursday, including new MasterDrive EX2- and IX2-series of solid state drives (SSDs) and a range of SSD upgrade kits for the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. The 2.5-inch MasterDrive EX2 and IX2 SSDs more than double the performance of their predecessors and are available in Multi-Level Cell (MLC) and Single-Level Cell (SLC) designs, respectively.

20 Android Phones in 2009

05/28, 10:15am

Google vows 18-20 Android phones in 2009

Google's Mobile Platforms senior director Andy Rubin late yesterday said that the number of Android phones on the market would swell dramatically in 2009. While there are just two official phones today, the T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) and the HTC Magic, Rubin anticipates between 18 and 20 phones shipping by the end of the year. He doesn't detail the phones for the New York Times but expects most of them to be European, as North American carriers and cellphone producers are more likely to customize the OS than others. Rogers' upcoming HTC Dream and Magic releases, for example, have links to the Canadian company's services.

Plantronics .Audio 995

05/28, 9:30am

Plantronics releases 2.4GHz .Audio 995 headset

Plantronics on Thursday announced the release of its newest wireless headset, the .Audio 995. The over-ear design relies on a 2.4GHz system with USB dongle to send and receive signals to and from PCs. This gives the handset a similar range to Bluetooth, at about 40 feet, but has better battery life and less interference with other devices.

Palm Pre iTunes Sync Claim

05/28, 9:15am

Palm Pre may auto-sync with iTunes

Palm's recent links with Apple may have provided it with unofficial native support for iTunes syncing with the Pre, according to claims made on Thursday. Instead of relying on an in-between utility to sync music with the phone, the Pre apparently shows in iTunes on Macs as a native device and supports many relevant features. Its only apparent limitation is said to be a lack of support for FairPlay-protected AAC songs; those bought from the current DRM-free store work properly.

Slim PS3 and PSP Go Detail

05/28, 8:40am

Slim PS3, PSP Go supported by new rumor

A source today claims that Sony's slim PS3 and PSP Go are real but that they may not launch exactly as planned. Referring to the same contact that accurately leaked other hardware details, Ars Technica says the smaller PS3 is enroute but that it may not be announced at E3. As it won't ship until August or September, Sony is reportedly hoping to draw down existing stocks of the full-size models before replacing them with newer consoles.

Dell Studio 14z

05/28, 8:10am

Dell bows Studio 14z budget notebook

Dell this morning has launched a new, relatively thin-and-light portable that nonetheless promises to be fast. The Studio 14z is the first notebook in the Studio line to drop the optical drive and does so in the name of both size and weight: unlike the 15 or 17, the 14z measures 1.2 inches at its thickest point while also weighing 4.3 pounds. A 14-inch, LED-backlit, 1366x768 display contributes to the thinness as well as to battery life that can run as long as 6.75 hours with an optional 8-cell battery.

Third Gen iPhone Bezel

05/28, 7:40am

Third-gen iPhone bezel leaked by vendor?

Some details of the next-generation iPhone's design may have been slipped out late Wednesday thanks to a Hong Kong parts seller's listing. China Ontrade claims to be the first with a replacement third-generation iPhone's bezel and says it comes "directly from [the] factory." The design is substantially different than today's and would have a black metallic frame instead of chrome. It also stops near the very top of the shell rather than running a complete circle like existing iPhone models, and appears to move the phone speaker significantly higher.