News Archive for 12/05/09
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At the CTIA conference, Cadillac announced an initiative that will teach purchasers about CUE, the new dashboard system in the 2013 Cadillac XTS. A simulated CUE system as well as all the users' manuals for the car will be provided on a pre-loaded iPad.
Outdoor enthusiasts will now be able to make reservations for campsites at national parks, forests and other recreational facilities through the release of two new apps for iOS. The ReserveAmerica camping app (free) lists nearby state campground sites, and provides information on sites, RV restrictions, tent and cabin use and other options.
While wandering around the CTIA show floor this week, we noticed that a newcomer to the smartphone arena, Plum Mobile, brought along several intriguing devices. One of the new models, the Might, appears to be a cheap clone of Samsung's Galaxy Note. We had a chance to try out the device and see how it stacks up against the competition.
Domestic surveillance is typically the purview of the FBI, and proscribed for the Air Force, the rest of the US military, and the CIA; but a new policy document out from the Secretary of the Air Force opens something of a loophole. According to the policy statement, the Air Force can retain domestic surveillance footage inadvertently captured by spy drones for up to 90 days while it determines whether or not the footage contains information upon which the Air Force is authorized to act.
Today, Facebook announced its new App Center, a portal on the social network designed for app discovery. The new portal, meant for socially-oriented apps, features an in-depth rating system, providing developers with demographic information on user ratings. Apps highlighted on the App Center cover both iOS and Android, making the App Center one of the only places one can find apps from the competing stores side by side.
[Update: judge denies Oracle motion, reduces Google liability] As expected, Google has petitioned Judge William Alsop for a mistrial following the jury's refusal to rule on a crucial matter in phase one of its trial versus Oracle. Near-simultaneously, Oracle filed its response to suggest that the judge rule on the "fair use" question that the jury couldn't agree on. Neither Google nor Oracle has responded to its counterpart's filing with the court.
In light of a steady decline in the cost of integrating 3G hardware, AT&T President of Emerging Devices Glenn Lurie believes tablet makers will eventually stop producing Wi-Fi only models, instead opting to make only tablets featuring both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. Speaking at the CTIA Wireless trade show, Lurie said he believes this sort of wireless consolidation would work out well for carriers, consumers, and manufacturers.
The government of the Netherlands has become the first European country to pass a net neutrality law. The legal precedent prevents internet service providers from traffic management except in the cases of congestion and network security, and also includes restrictions on ISPs performing deep packet inspection and other similar wiretapping techniques.
Earlier this year, Archos confirmed the release of its Child Pad, a child-oriented, seven-inch tablet that undercut Amazon's Kindle Fire by $70. The low price was possible due in part to the tablet's utilization of resistive touchscreen technology in its display. Now, an Archos product roadmap seems to confirm the existence of a new version, the Child Pad 2, implementing a capacitive touchscreen but still likely retailing at a low price.
Today, Google released an update for its Google+ iOS app (free, App Store). The update amounts to a considerable makeover for the social networking app, bringing crisper fonts, larger profile pics, and a revamped home screen.
The HTC Evo 4G LTE has become available for preorder from Best Buy. The Sprint handset, which Electronista was able to try out last month, is being promoted by the electronics retailer with a $50 gift card for those that take up the offer ahead of the May 18 release date.
T-Mobile have taken aim against AT&T in its most recent television commercial. The new advert, continuing the makeover of brand representative Carly into an edgier motorcycle rider, pokes fun at the slow speed of the iPhone on AT&T compared to a much faster Carly on T-Mobile's 4G network.
Lenovo's earlier recall of its ThinkCentre M90z and ThinkCentre M70z all-in-one desktop computers has been expanded to include more units. The voluntary recall -- involving both the manufacturer and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission -- now has a higher number of affected machines, up from 50,500 to 188,000.
The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD that AT&T promised back at CES and was subsequently leaked in a roadmap for the carrier will not be sold after all, The Verge learned. The news came during an interview with Ryan Bidan, Samsung's VP of marketing, who explained that there is no point of bringing it out considering the Samsung Galaxy S III was recently unveiled. By the same merit, the VP pretty much confirmed AT&T is getting the S III, though he didn't commit to a date other than that it will arrive this summer.
Microsoft has joined the Hybrid Memory Cube Consortium. Fronted by Micron, Samsung, and IBM, the HMCC aims to create more efficient memory for high-performance computing and other similar applications, using increased bandwidth compared to what current memory architectures can provide.
Pioneer introduced two new Cyber Navi head units for vehicles that can display augmented reality (AR) information in front of the driver, Tech-On reported. The AVIC-VH99HUD is composed of two single-din pieces of hardware and is the flagship, while the AVIC-ZH99HUD is double-DIN sized. The first products of their kind would use a Head Up Display (HUD) to show the AR information, like some vehicles.
Samsung is believed to be the first company to launch two computer monitors that support Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) technology. The technology made its mainstream debut on the Galaxy S II smartphone, which is also made by Samsung. It involves the ability to send HDMI signals over a microUSB connection, though it requires a separate power source.
VoIP home phone service provider Ooma on Wednesday announced the extension of its 911 Alerts feature to all customers in the US and Canada at no extra charge. The feature requires users to enter up to three email addresses or mobile phone numbers in the My Ooma control panel online. The service will then send alert messages to these numbers or e-mails whenever 911 is called from the main Ooma number.
People who bought an iPod classic, shuffle, touch, or nano between September 12th, 2006 and March 31st, 2009 are being notified that they could participate in a pending class action lawsuit, reports say. Emails are being sent out this week referring people to ipodlawsuit.com, for extra details, even though there has been no settlement or ruling. The suit was originally filed by Thomas Slattery in 2005, based on an incident in 2004, when RealNetworks released software called Harmony.
The developers over at the XDA Developer's Forum, and kennethpen in particular, have now released a one-click root for the HTC One X. This time around, however, the AT&T, Rogers and other carrier-locked versions got the attention, and users still need to plug it into their computers to copy the needed files, be they Linux-, Windows-, or OS X-powered. The bootloader on the handset remains locked, however.
HP also introduced two new printers in Shanghai, with the portable all-in-one OfficeJet 150. It's meant to be taken along on trips with notebooks. It can print, scan, and copy letter-sized pages and has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
At its press event in China, HP showed off an upcoming HD monitor, the 23-inch 2311xi. It uses In-Plane Switching technology for the LED backlight to make the colors sharper and the viewing angles wider. Connections are generous and include a VGA, DVI-D and HDCP-compliant HDMI inputs.
Apple has modified a proposed nano-SIM design to accommodate objections by Nokia, says The Verge. SIM card maker Giesecke & Devrient has been showing off the design at the CTIA trade show in New Orleans. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute is soon set to vote for one of several card designs proposed by cellphone makers; a vote was, in fact, originally scheduled to take place in March, but the dispute between Apple and Nokia led to a postponement.
Leveraging the popular home and SOHO Pogoplug network and internet storage system, Pogo is unveiling Pogoplug Team. Pogoplug Team is a cloud enabled server system designed to be installed on existing IT assets, creating a private cloud for group access to files on any computer, web browser, mobile device, or tablet.
Along with a number of other notebook debuts at an event in Shanghai, HP has unveiled the Spectre XT ultrabook. The high-style device spots a 13.3-inch, 720p, LED backlit screen and comes with Intel's Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM. The ultrabook weighs 3.07lbs and is just 14.5mm thick, while wrapped in an all-alloy body.
The official wireless charger for the Galaxy S III unveiled last week won't ship until September, learned from UK retailer Mobile Fun, who will sell the accessory. That's between about three and four months later than the phone's launch, depending on which market one's in. Included in the kit is a replacement rear battery cover that likely adds thickness to the handset and a desk cradle that will wirelessly charge the device.
Apple will launch the next iPhone in September, and a 7-inch iPad in August, says DigiTimes. The claims are based on Taiwanese supply chain sources, who add that Pegatron has landed orders for the new iPhone, while Foxconn will handle the 7-inch iPad. The report further suggests that Pegatron will build a new 10-inch iPad for launch in the fourth quarter of this year.
Clearwire and Qualcomm have announced a new partnership that will bring support for Clearwire’s TDD-LTE frequency to its multi-mode LTE mobile chipsets towards the end of the year. Clearwire had taken a different tact to most of the other US carriers, who have opted for the FDD-LTE standard. However, the TDD-LTE specification has been widely adopted across the globe by heavyweights including China Mobile, Bharti-Airtel in India and Softbank in China giving Clearwire a unique opportunity to offer a global LTE smartphone.
Retailer Brookstone is working with MIT spin-off Liliputian Systems to deliver a palm-sized portable fuel cell USB charger. The device will offer mobile users the ability to charge their smartphone up to 14 times for around two-weeks of use free from a wall charger. Like the similar Powertrekk portable fuel-cell charger, the Brookstone device uses replaceable fluid-filled cartridges to continue delivering charges after the initial cartridge is depleted.
Sony Mobile has announced its first LTE handsets powered by Qualcomm’s fast Krait-based Snapdragon S4 dual-core processors. Capable of download speeds up to 75mbps, the Xperia GX and SX will also be the first Sony Xperia handsets to launch with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) out of the box. Sony also claims that the smaller of the two phones, the Xperia SX is also the world’s lightest LTE smartphone at just 95 grams.
Kyocera has expanded its Android lineup with two new models: the Rise, a QWERTY slider; and the Hydro, a water-resistant handset. Electronista took the opportunity to handle both of the new Android 4.0 devices, which are aimed at the entry-level smartphone market.
Logitech has revealed two new items in their Alert video security system range. The 750n indoor master system is a complete surveillance system in a box with powerful HD night vision capabilities, while the 700n indoor add-on offers an extra camera to the HomePlug-powered security system. The new system follows on from their earlier 750 and 750i security system releases.
Officials from Twitter are looking into what appears to be 50,000 email and password combinations posted to Pastebin earlier this week. After a brief analysis, the list consists of 20,000 duplicates, many suspended spam accounts, and unlinked user name and password combinations. No person or group has claimed responsibility for the leak.
Accompanying the Envy multi-product rollout, HP also released updates to its ongoing Pavilion line of consumer level laptops. Supplementing the line are the Pavilion m6, dv4, dv6, dv7, g6, and g7 lines. All of today's announced models will be available with Intel's Ivy Bridge 3rd generation Core processor line. The entire line will be available in the US at various time across the summer.
In a flurry of product announcements from Shanghai, HP introduced one new All-in-One (AIO) printer, a replacement for the current 5510 called the 5520 that addresses all the significant omissions of the previous model, mainly the duplexing and layout support. The 5520 e-All-in-One features a new automatic duplexer for easy two-sided support, along with options for booklet and multi-page printing. Wireless mobile printing is also supported.
Nokia is still in the beginning stages of its smartphone transformation, which focuses on the Windows Phone-equipped Lumia lineup. The Finnish company did not bring any new hardware to CTIA this week, however representatives did allow Electronista to take an early look at several of its Windows Phone apps, including the augmented-reality utility City Lens, that aim to differentiate the Lumia series from other smartphone platforms and other devices in the Windows Phone realm.
At a HP press event in Shanghai, four new models of laptops were demonstrated today. With "performance, responsiveness and a secure computing experience in a thin, elegant form factor" according to HP Vice President and General Manager Kirk Skaugen, the new additions to the product line are the HP Envy Spectre XT, Envy Sleekbooks, HP Envy Ultrabooks, and the EliteBook Folio 9470m.
The Spring top 100 edition of the ForeSee e-retailer satisfaction index has been released. Notable findings are Amazon leading at 89 percent, besting Apple by four percentage points. Newegg trails Apple by three points while Netflix is recovering some lost ground after several summer public relations and marketing disasters. The survey is the result of 21,000 responses from visitors to the top 100 retail websites by revenue.
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