News Archive for 09/09/25
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An early look at the Motorola Cliq suggests that the device may be heavily flawed if released in its current state. Having obtained a pre-release unit, BGR notes that the MOTOBLUR interface at the heart of the phone is a flawed concept and makes it "even more difficult" to handle social networking than on a regular Android phone. Besides only supporting a small number of updates at a time, the feature doesn't allow manual updates or even contextual options.
AT&T on Friday accused Google of running against net neutrality principles with its Google Voice service. A letter sent to the FCC by the carrier claims that the service would technically violate the terms of the FCC's existing Internet Policy Statement, as well as proposed formal rules, as it deliberately blocks calls made through the phone gateway to certain rural numbers to save Google money. That unfairly discriminates against AT&T and other conventional carriers that are required to allow those calls, the message read.
The Palm Pre smartphone is now being offered for $100, its lowest price thus far. The device launched at $199 on a two-year contract from wireless provider Sprint, with Amazon now selling the handset on its site for the record-low price. As always, to qualify for the $100 price, a new two-year contract from Sprint is required.
Sager has released its first Core i7-powered gaming notebook, the 15.6-inch NP8690. The hardware maker is touting the portable PC as the world's most powerful gaming notebook of its size, with 1.6GHz, 1.73GHz or 2GHz quad-core CPUs; RAM is limited to a maximum of 4GB, however. The screen can be had with the standard 1600x900 resolution or a higher 1920x1080. Graphics are handled by NVIDIA's high-end GeForce GTX 280M. Security is also in place through a fingerprint scanner.
Sony today revealed that it has scrapped its UMD conversion plan for those upgrading to the PSP Go. The handheld maker told Kotaku that "legal and technical reasons" have prevented it from giving free PSN downloads to owners that can prove they have UMD copies of their games. It hasn't said what these reasons are or how likely it is that an alternative will be available in the future.
Samsung's recently launched Instinct HD handset is now being offered by Best Buy Mobile for less than the $250 price that Sprint is charging. The electronics retailer prices the Instinct HD at $200 after a two-year activation and instant rebates.
As part of its ongoing attempt to expand the wireless spectrum for its national broadband plan, the FCC has now opened comments to the public asking whether the so-called "prime bands" below 3.7GHz, considered ideal for wireless data and video, are sufficient for the near- and long-term demands of wireless broadband. The FCC seeks to get information from industry players by October 23rd regarding the ability of the current spectrum to support future build-outs and which bands are best suited for mobile or fixed wireless broadband.
Rumors that Verizon is dropping the Pre aren't accurate, according to a note from Deutsche Bank today. The institution cites "checks" that have another version of the Pre still being built that should be destined for the CDMA carrier. There is also "healthy carrier demand" for Palm's phones on other networks if Sprint's exclusive is finished by early 2010.
Hasselblad chose Friday to unveil a long-in-progress upgrade to its H System medium format cameras. The H4D is billed as one of the first cameras to have a true off-center autofocus system, known as True Focus. Where even DSLRs often have to first focus and then reposition the camera to get focus significantly away from the center, the H4D has a yaw rate sensor that can detect the horizontal and vertical movement away from the focus point and refocus the lens to compensate.
Research in Motion's stock fell a sharp 19 percent on Friday in a reaction to the company's mixed performance in its latest quarter. Investors were upset with both the steep quarter-to-quarter drop in net profit as well as a relatively conservative outlook that saw its own estimates only slightly above what it managed during the summer. Analysts had been expecting much higher numbers with the usual fall sales spike and new BlackBerries known to be in the pipeline.
Maker of ultra exclusive handsets, Vertu, has recently added a new handset model to its Constellation lineup, the Ayxta. The flip phone features Vertu's Concierge service, with a shortcut button that connects users to an agent who will assist callers with any requests or questions they have. There is also Vertu Select, or an online service that provides travelers with "lifestyle information," which includes a listing of the trendiest bars, restaurants, exhibitions, shopping, clubs and more in a given city, anywhere in the world.
Sony will bring 250GB versions of its new slim PlayStation 3 gaming console to the UK, bundled with various video games and Blu-ray movies, Pocket-lint reported on Friday. Priced at the equivalent of $455, there will be one bundle that includes FIFA 10 and another one with Need for Speed: Shift. On October 1st, more bundles will be introduced, including with two various Platinum titles and one with the open-world game inFamous.
JVC has introduced its latest digital camcorder first in Japan, the PICSIO GC-FM1. The company's first attempt at a pocket camera like the Flip, it measures just 5.8 by 2 by inches in size but packs an 8-megapixel still photo sensor that records video at 2.03 megapixels. The latter gives it 4:3 ratio 1080p (1440x1080) video at 30 frames per second in the H.264 (AVCHD) format on SD and SDHC memory cards. The GC-FM1 sports a 2-inch LCD screen, while an HDMI output lets users view their videos on HDTVs at full resolution.
Palm's webOS 1.2 may not show until next week but could come with iTunes syncing back in place, a supposed leak from a source says. Sprint's own need to test the revamped App Catalog is said to have triggered a short delay and forced Palm to move to 1.2.1 instead. However, it's now said by the PreCentral contact that the software will give the Pre native sync for the first time in iTunes 9.
Despite a report of NVIDIA's 40nm GeForce 300 series GPUs facing a possible delay until 2010, the card is currently at the tape out (initial silicon production stage), Fudzilla reported on Friday. Codenamed GT300, it was was originally believed to be going on sale in October and may still reach the target if all goes smoothly during testing. The DirectX 11-capable card has already been seen by key industry people, and if the tape out began in early September, it could be shipping by middle or late October.
Verizon on Thursday took preemptive action and paid the music royalty group ASCAP $4.99 million as an "interim" license for cellular ringtones on its V CAST service. The payment covers all ringtones bought since November 11th 2004 and is meant to temporarily settle the issue until the two settle a dispute over how much Verizon owes, if at all, for the short samples. It's unclear if the payment is reversible.
Honda this week introduced a unique personal mobility device, the U3-X. The device enables the rider to travel in all directions -- touted as a world-first -- with a balancing system that was developed during the human-like ASIMO robot. The ball-like wheel also allows for direct sideways motion, or diagonal movement. Honda calls this its Honda Omni Traction Drive System, or HOT Drive System for short.
Canon's rumored replacement for the Rebel XS, the Rebel T1, gained support today through a new rumor. Although conflicting rumors had the camera launching earlier this year, a new and more detailed tip for Canon Rumors says the camera is "very close" to a launch and will be an unusual hybrid of older and newer technology. It would use the DIGIC 4 processor of most modern Canon cameras but use the 12-megapixel sensor of the older Rebel XSi.
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said in an interview late Thursday that Apple is unlikely to ever control the smartphone market the way it does portable media players. The executive argued that the sheer scale of the phone market, which could amount to almost 1.3 billion devices this year, made it impossible for any one hardware company to take control. Apple's lead in media players was possible only because it participated in a niche, he added, and the company has usually never had more than a niche position in larger markets.
Nintendo added more fuel to its Wii price cut on Friday by promising a special version of its Wii Sports Resort bundle with added hardware. The Limited Edition pack adds a second MotionPlus peripheral and matching Wii remote jacket to give a second controller the extra precision in movement needed for this and other newer Wii games. The new bundle helps players get started in an already multiplayer-focused game.
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