Meizu M8 apparently launching in China, India this December

All indications have certainly been pointing towards the Meizu M8 finally, actually being released this year, and it looks like things just got a tad more official, with Taiwan-based retailer Geek IT Stores announcing that it's signed up as a distribution partner. While it didn't announce a date in its press release, a bit of prodding by Tech Ticker apparently convinced the company's sales head to reveal that the phone would be released in December, with China first on the list to be followed shortly by a roll-out in India, where it'll run you between Rs. 18,000 and Rs. 22,000 (or roughly $384 to $469) for the 8GB model -- which, incidentally, is apparently the only model that'll be available at launch.

[ Via: Electronista ]
[ Tag: geek it, geek it stores, GeekIt, GeekItStores, m8, meizu, meizu m8, MeizuM8 ]

Sony VAIO UX490 gets Hulkified by U7600 mod

The last VAIO UMPC mod we saw swapped out the UX280 CPU for a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, but this new UX490 tweak beats the pants off that by a long shot. According to "computercowboy," a forum member on Micro PC Talk, he's managed to push his handheld to a 45,999 score in Crystal Mark, easily besting the UX280's 30,069. The swap of this CPU into the UX280 results in radically higher FPU and ALU figures, making it the "fastest UX in the world" -- or so says the modder. Now it's only a matter of time before someone comes along and overclocks this thing, a move which will undoubtedly result in badly singed hands and a melted VAIO -- don't say we didn't warn you!

[ Via: UMPC Portal ]
[ Tag: mod, modded, modding, Sony VAIO UX490, SonyVaioUx490, umpc, ux490, vaio, vaio ux490, VaioUx490 ]

Sony Ericsson laying off 450 employees in Research Triangle Park, NC

"Planned" and "executed" are two very different things, and while we knew Sony Ericsson was mulling the idea of hacking 2,000 jobs, the hammer has finally fallen in Research Triangle Park, NC. The company will soon be axing 450 employees at its North American headquarters as part of a large reorganization, with most everyone knowing by the week's end whether they'll stay or go. According to Aldo Ligouri, Sony Ericsson's head of global communications and public relations, the RTP cuts are "part of company-wide changes that Sony Ericsson announced in July," and in whatever context, he added that "this is our map of how we see things moving forward." Just to put things in perspective, the outfit only has about 750 workers in the North Carolina-based facility, which is primarily seen as an R&D hub. Tough news to hear, no matter how you spin it.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, business, economy, fired, industry, job, job cuts, JobCuts, jobs, NC, north carolina, NorthCarolina, RTP, SE, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson ]

Fujitsu-Siemens quietly intros Stylistic ST6012 tablet PC

Now that we think about it, it's been a hot minute since we've seen a new Stylistic tablet flow from the doors of Fujitsu-Siemens, but it has finally hit back with a new unit to keep the family alive. The Centrino 2-based ST6012 has been revealed on the firm's website without much fanfare, though the specs are decent enough. We're talking a Core 2 Duo SU9400 ULV processor, 12.1-inch WXGA (1,280 x 800) non-glare display, up to 4GB of RAM, optional WiFi / WWAN / Bluetooth modules, your choice of a 64GB SSD / 120GB to 320GB HDD, a built-in multicard reader, biometric scanner and a rather industrial motif. Mum's the word on a price and release, and quite honestly, we can't imagine those details ever being blasted from the rooftops.

[ Via: TabletPCReview ]
[ Tag: centrino 2, Centrino2, Fujitsu-Siemens, ST6012, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc ]

Samsung's 8-megapixel Pixon gets official, ships in mid-October

Samsung was content with teasing us all weekend long, but it has finally seen fit to officially reveal its next 8-megapixel handset, the Pixon. Boasting a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 13.8-millimeter thin design and an inbuilt camera with Auto Focus, face detection and geotagging, the handset clearly emphasizes the importance of taking a few photos each and everyday. Sammy has confessed that the currently unpriced mobile will start shipping in around a fortnight for those in France, while most other European / Asian countries will see it shortly. As for North America? Take a wild guess.

[ Via: PhoneScoop ]
[ Tag: 3g, 8mp, cameraphone, M8800, official, pixon, samsung ]

Sprint goes live with XOHM WiMAX service in downtown Baltimore

In an apparent effort to make good on its claim of having WiMAX rolling in Baltimore this month, Sprint is reportedly going live with the service in the downtown area today. There's no indication of when it'll spread XOHM throughout Charm City, but we're hearing that prices will start at $10 for a 24-hour unlimited pass and $35 for monthly service. Best of all, there won't be any contracts necessarily attached, and WiMAX-friendly laptop cards will supposedly start at around $45. For any locals able to actually find one of these so-called aircards and hop on this elusive XOHM network today, be sure and let us know how it goes.

[ Via: USAToday ]
[ Tag: 4g, baltimore, Clearwire, maryland, sprint, wimax, XOHM ]

Aigo P8860 MID now readily available, Microsoft angles in on Intel's turf

Those really sold on Aigo's P8860 MID (also sold as the Gigabyte M528) have already been able to get their hands on one if they were willing to pay a premium and go the eBay route, but it looks like Aigo has only now finally snagged its first official reseller in the form of Direct From Japan, which means the rest of us can now readily get one for $699 (with free worldwide shipping, no less). Perhaps even more interesting that, however, is word that Aigo has also signed a deal to make official Windows XP drivers for the device available in late October, which is more than a little reminiscent of Microsoft's moves to snag a piece of the similarly Linux-friendly netbook market, though only time will tell if this relationship proves as successful.

[ Via: Pocketables ]
[ Tag: aigo, aigo p8860, AigoP8860, direct from japan, DirectFromJapan, mid, p8860 ]

Blackberry Storm dummy hits Verizon store

Well, it's not quite as big as that gigantic promo Bold, but dummies of the Blackberry Storm have started appearing in Verizon stores, and it's looking a lot, uh, more robust than we remember from all those leaks. Specs include an appropriately multicultural photo of happy people, non-functioning buttons, and a list of Verizon talking points. Still no hard release date, but we're guessing something this big can't be contained for much longer.


[ Via: Blackberry News ]
[ Tag: blackberry, blackberry storm, blackberry thunder, BlackberryStorm, BlackberryThunder, dummy, rim, storm, thunder, verizon ]

Welcome to the DNC, featuring Barack Obama and the T-Mobile Bold

This could've come straight out of Germany where the BlackBerry Bold is already alive and well on T-Mobile's airwaves, but let's pretend for a moment that it didn't. Instead, let's assume that there are a select few copies of T-Mobile USA's Bold floating around in the wild, and one such example just happened to turn up at the Democratic National Convention a few weeks ago. We're not saying that's what's going on here, but... hey, are those beads of sweat forming on your forehead there, AT&T?
[Thanks, Vince C. and goke]

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: blackberry, bold, rim, t-mobile ]

Press shots of Verizon's BlackBerry Storm surface

So you've already seen what RIM's BlackBerry Storm looks like in Vodafone garb, but if your feeble mind just can't envision what it'd look like with a Verizon logo on there, feast your retinas on this. A few new press shots of the VZW Storm have swooped in, though there's nary a surprise to be found. Still, we know you enjoy gawking, so hit the read link for a few more angles. As for a hard release date? Puhlease.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: blackberry, blackberry storm, BlackberryStorm, pics, pictures, rim, storm, verizon ]

3M Mobile ID Reader Helps Big Brother Take Your Identity More Efficiently [The Future Is Terrifying]

3M's new Mobile ID Reader scans MRZ and RF chip data from passports and visas and immediately checks them against local or international watch lists by using wifi or GSM/GPRS EDGE networks. It seems like a great tool to further make you feel like you're living in some scary dystopian sci-fi novel, especially when you hear that dastardly monopolist Bill Gates got his little-loved Windows Mobile 6 OS onto the device. The Mobile ID Reader boasts an 8GB capacity, so when hackers crack the “encrypted formats feature,” they'll have access to tons of personal and privileged data. Other features include a sunlight-safe touchscreen and a capacitive fingerprint sensor. The device is meant to be used by authorities at event checkpoints, like its first tryout at the Euro Cup 2008 soccer tournament, but it shouldn't be long before you see it at your local Trader Joe's, checking up on the hippies. [Wired]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Google patent keeps airwaves competitive by selecting the cheapest

Google's persistent interest in ensuring that the US' 700MHz spectrum would give rise to a network open to any and all devices reinforced its belief that carriers can and should be nothing more than the proverbial "dumb pipes" -- leave the content and hardware to the people who know how to do it and don't necessarily have a vested interest in the carriers' bottom line. That attitude foretold that it had some interesting ideas up its sleeves (this is Google, after all), and while it's never been entirely clear what those ideas are, Android's "please use it, it's free" attitude certainly plays a role. Here's another piece of the puzzle: rather than be tied down to any one carrier, why not keep changing carriers in real time based on whomever's going to give you the best deal? A new patent filed by Mountain View's finest proposes exactly that, bringing together heterogeneous technologies -- "community-wide" networks like WiFi and WiMAX along with GSM, CDMA, and so on -- and an "auction system" that would let the user select (or allow the phone to automatically select) the best deal at the moment depending on their needs (available features or minimum speeds, time limits, and so on). It's an amazing idea that totally turns the contract concept on its head, and it's an idea that carriers would fight to the death. We're not seeing it happening, but hey, Google, we like the cut of your jib.

[ Via: textually.org ]
[ Tag: auction, google, network, networks, patent ]

T-Mobile G1 pre-orders sell out (update: not quite yet)

If you're a T-Mobile customer who's been dozing off for the past few days, you've already missed your chance to pre-order yourself a G1. With any luck, that won't be a problem and you'll just be able to march into a store on or around October 22 and pick one up the old-fashioned way, but the window of opportunity for an utterly stress-free Android buying experience is closed. We don't have hard numbers on just how many units were being offered through the pre-order program, but 60,000 is getting tossed around as a rumor, which would work out to about 10 percent of the total outlay HTC is said to be aiming for by year's end. Of course, if you're not a T-Mobile customer, this is all business as usual and you're just chuckling under your breath that everyone's stuck in the same boat now, aren't you, you sick puppy?

[ Via: TmoNews ]
[ Tag: android, breaking news, BreakingNews, g1, htc, t-mobile ]

UN communications chief predicts four billion mobile phone subs by year's end

No need to adjust your set -- the United Nations communications chief has boldly predicted that half of planet Earth's population will be hooked on some sort of mobile phone before 2009 dawns. Granted, the numbers he's talking about do look strictly at subscriptions, so a small percentage will be skewed by those with multiple accounts (and thus, multiple numbers), but really, the forecast isn't all that outlandish. After all, we already hit 3.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions back in November of last year (and 4 billion lines overall). As predicted, it's growth in developing regions such as Africa and the Middle East which will boost the overall figure the most, with yearly increases in those areas expected to hit 27% and 25%, respectively. So, what are the chances a post eerily similar to this pops up in 2012 or so saying the entire world has a cellphone? Our trusty Magic 8-ball says "Signs Point to Yes."

[ Via: Core77 ]
[ Tag: accounts, Culture, milestone, mobile, phone lines, PhoneLines, subscriptions, world, world record, WorldRecord, worldwide ]

BenQ's 3G-enabled, Atom-powered MID Aries2 (S6) boots up in Italy

Is it really time to shine, BenQ, or are you just foolin' again? Judging by a product page at Italy's TIM website and a fresh report from the Italian branch of Tom's Hardware, the S6 (or MID Aries2, or BenQ MID... gosh, we're so confused!) is finally ready to order. The Atom-based MID impresses with built-in 3G capabilities, 512MB of RAM, a 2GB SSD, 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 and -- just to really pound the message home / incite jealously -- 7.2Mbps HSDPA. The current asking price sits at €429 ($626), and while the value proposition may be debatable, the amount of possibilities packed into a frame this small (6.2- x 3.5- x 0.86-inches) definitely isn't. Let's get these out to other nooks and crannies of the wide world, eh BenQ?

[ Via: UMPC Portal ]
[ Tag: 3g, 3g mid, 3gMid, Aries2, benq, benq mid, BenqMid, Europe, mid, mid aries 2, MID Aries2, MidAries2, now shipping, NowShipping, on sale, OnSale, s6, ship, shipping, ships, tim, umpc ]

The Inside Story of the Android Font [Android]

We've complained (maybe carped is a better word) about the lack of design unity in Android, but the truth is, there is one design element that's consistent across the entire OS: the Droid font, the result of an intense, two-year collaboration between digital typeface company Ascender and Google. Throughout the design process, it swung from bubbly, candy-coated Google cuteness to a harsher, blocky techno style before something more neutral and approachable was settled on—Droid. It's the only font on the phone—apps will use it too, since it's in the SDK—with three variants: serif, sans serif and monospace. So it's a good thing they took their time. Unfortunately don't expect the usual Google easter eggs, since it was thought they would annoy developers, though I would've liked to see that Android icon. Typography geeks, what's your take?
[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Palm Treo Pro Now Shipping [Palm]

Today is a good day for Palm fans because the 3G-equipped, touchscreen Treo Pro is hitting the street for $550. Again, rumor has it that it could come to AT&T at a subsidized price in December, but if you want to get the unlocked version, now is the time. [Palm]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Samsung spits out second 8-megapixel mobile, christens it "Pixon"

Hot on the INNOV8's trails comes another 8-megapixel phone out of Samsung's frighteningly fast-paced labs, this one dubbed M8800 Pixon (is it just us, or does that sound like a great name for an alien life form?). They're really mixing it up here, too -- unlike the S60-based INNOV8, the Pixon packs a full-on 400 x 240 touchscreen and settles for Samsung's proprietary non-smartphone platform. The OS seems to be the only place it's settling, though, since we've got triband HSDPA, GPS, an FM radio, microSD expansion -- and, oh yeah, there's the little matter of that whopping cam with face detection, geotagging, and WVGA video recording. Sadly there's no WiFi on board, but it'd be just a little less useful than normal without an honest-to-goodness smartphone OS as your playground -- and at least you've got global 3G on your side. It looks like we can expect shipments of this one sometime in November for €550 (about $805).

[ Via: GSMArena ]
[ Tag: 8 megapixel, 8Megapixel, bresson, m8800, pixon, samsung ]

Purported Vodafone BlackBerry Storm screen shots emerge

We've seen most everything about the BlackBerry Storm that Verizon wanted us to see, but this is the first real (clear) glimpse at what the UI is apt to look, taste and smell like whenever it decides to ship. Of course, we'd still caution you to take all of this with a grain of salt until Vodafone comes clean, but the screen shots captured in the read link do look fairly believable. Can you stand any more teasin'? If so, you know where to head.

[ Via: The Boy Genius Report ]
[ Tag: blackberry, blackberry storm, BlackberryStorm, leak, rumor, screenshot, screenshots, storm, vodafone ]

China Mobile could deactivate 3G / WiFi on iPhone 3G launch

Currently, over 400,000 unlocked iPhones are roaming around China. Now that China Mobile is about to officially launch Apple's latest handset in the world's most populous country, we can only imagine that figure going up. In a bizarre twist of trying to keep a homegrown 3G standard (TD-SCDMA) alive, the carrier has announced that it is intending to launch the mobile with WiFi and 3G disabled -- a move that would make it less appealing to those who may be considering buying one, unlocking it and using it on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom. Uncool, China Mobile. Very uncool.

[ Via: mocoNews ]
[ Tag: 3g, 3g iphone, 3gIphone, barebones, china, china mobile, ChinaMobile, iphone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, stripped iphone, StrippedIphone, TD-SCDMA, wifi ]

Reuters: October 2nd is go for Nokia Tube launch

October 2nd: mark it down 'cause Reuters says that's the date that Nokia will launch its Nokia Tube -- aka, 5800 XpressMusic. According to a pair of industry sources, Nokia will launch the much anticipated, long overdue, S60 touchscreen device at a media and analyst event in London -- exactly as Pocket-lint's source told us earlier. All that's left now is for the invites to be distributed.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: 5800, breaking news, BreakingNews, nokia, s60, s60 touch, S60Touch, tube, xpressmusic ]

Palm Treo Pro now shipping

Listen up all you Palm Treo Pro hopefuls, your pre-order unit is now shipping with Palm's on-line store showing in stock availability. At least one tipster received a confirmation email saying his unlocked, $549 obsidian-black Treo is in the mail. Hell, Palm even did him a solid and expedited the order overnight instead of the 6-10 day standard shipment originally selected. Good on ya Palm.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: palm, shipping, treo pro, TreoPro ]

Sagem valiantly returns with Porsche Design P'9522

Not even two full months after Sagem fell into the obviously capable hands of Sofinnova, out pops the company's return to the red carpet. Picking right up (numerically speaking, at least) where the P'9521 left off is the well-endowed P'9522, which was reportedly built with a little help from Porsche Design. The candybar features an aluminum chassis, 2.8-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, fingerprint reader and a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, the fun and games end there, as there's no 3G radio anywhere to be found; plus, you'll be asked to lay down about €600 ($875) to acquire one when it ships next month. Loyalty has its price, we guess.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: candybar, cellphone, luxury, P9522, Porsche Design, PorscheDesign, Sagem ]

Verizon training schedule hints at BlackBerry Storm / Touch Diamond release dates

Let's do a quick recap, shall we? So we pretty much know everything there is to know about Verizon's forthcoming BlackBerry Storm save for the price and release date, and so far as we can tell, Verizon's version of the Touch Diamond is still expected to be totally underpowered compared to Sprint's iteration. Now that we've rounded the tables, let's have a look at this image above. This here is Verizon's internal training schedule, and given that employees have to complete their Storm courses before November 2nd and their Touch Diamond courses before December 3rd, we'd say you now have a pretty good idea of when these two will be landing. Hey VZW -- think you could make that "Blocking Features Assessment" available to the public? We're guessing it'd be a real hit.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: blackberry, blackberry storm, BlackberryStorm, diamond, htc, leak, release, release date, ReleaseDate, rim, storm, touch, Touch Diamond, TouchDiamond, verizon, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.1, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.1, winmo, winmo 6.1, Winmo6.1 ]

Switched On: With friends like Google, does Apple need Microsoft?

In the 1999 geek classic, "Pirates of Silicon Valley", an Apple employee watching the famous "1984" commercial with Steve Jobs points to the Big Brother character -- intended to represent IBM -- and then points to Bill Gates of Microsoft, whom Jobs has just introduced as part of Apple's family. The silent message is that the real threat to Apple is Microsoft, not IBM, and indeed the following scene depicts Jobs confronting Gates after Jobs sees Windows 1.0 running on an NEC PC.
That scene, set in 1983, could be easily recreated 25 years later, substituting the iPhone for the Macintosh, Microsoft for IBM as the iPhone's perceived threat, and Google for Microsoft as the iPhone's more serious threat. Like Microsoft in 1983, Google is a key Apple partner in 2008. The iPhone features Google Maps, GMail and Google as its default Web search engine, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt even sits on Apple's board of directors. And also like Microsoft in 1983, Google is working fervently to create a wide range of competitors to Apple's iPhone. None of these may ever match the integrated experience of Apple's iPhone, but it's clear that the first Android phone has come closer to the iPhone experience than Windows 1.0 did to the original Macintosh operating system.
Nevertheless, Google's task is a lot more daunting than Microsoft's was at the dawn of Windows for several reasons.
First, unlike Microsoft of yore, Google has no incumbent operating system like DOS that makes Android a natural successor to whatever major manufacturers handset are using now. Second, while Microsoft has always had to account for many hardware variations among PCs, smartphones vary even more in terms of their capabilities and design. And third, at least in the U.S., there is a layer of carrier distribution control that is far more restrictive than the scrutiny of many IT managers that made Windows a corporate standard. Indeed, while a goal of Android is to make phones more PC-like in terms of the freedom they afford developers, tethering and VoIP apps won't likely get far due to carrier oversight.
Overcoming these obstacles might require an army, and Google has one in the open-source development community. Taking many cues from the iPhone but introducing new tradeoffs, Android has set a clear example of an effective touch UI that -- unlike flashy shells such as HTC's TouchFLO -- carries through deep into the operating system. At launch, the T-Mobile G1 won't support Exchange connectivity or local video playback out of the box, but it will enable background tasks, keyboard-based shortcuts and, yes, copy and paste. What's more, if applications want to take advantage of video recording or Bluetooth features not supported by the base operating system, they will have the freedom to do so.
Ultimately, though, consumers care about capabilities, not plumbing. Much of the lack of oversight in the Android market can be addressed by community feedback, but Apple still has an advantage in the stability of the platform; the iPhone's almost console-like uniformity has been one reason it has won support for the important mobile applications category of games from leading publishers such as Electronic Arts and Sega.
This illustrates why, despite the visual and user interface similarities between the iPhone OS and Android, Android's real mission is to remain a foil to Windows Mobile. While Android may have the upper hand on the consumer experience now, Microsoft will of course not cede that massive market lying down. Android devices may compete with one from Apple, but Android's success will depend on how well it fares among those who peddle choice along the cellular networks more commonly traveled.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: android, Apple, featured, g1, google, iphone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, microsoft, smartphones, switched on, SwitchedOn ]

Samsung's 8MP Pixon gets real, more mysterious

Right, so we were already pretty sure that Pixon we were eying earlier wasn't a KIRF of some sort, but just in case you still had your doubts, Samsung has stepped in to wash them away. The 8-megapixel Pixon is for real, as evidenced by a teaser site with an absurdly long URL name. As for confirmed specs, we're looking at a 3.2-inch touch panel, 13.8-millimeter thin enclosure, 8MP camera (with Auto Focus, twin LED flash, face detection, and shake reduction), a built-in accelerometer and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the linked site is going to spill any other details until October 2nd, but you can still kill some serious time there just rolling your cursor on and off the lens.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: 3g, 8mp, cameraphone, M8800, official, pixon, samsung, smartphone ]

Microsoft reaffirms that it's steering clear of handset manufacturing

We've heard it time and time again, but the inner Zune Guy within us refuses to believe Microsoft is really shunning the chance to pump out a handset of its very own. Unfortunately, Lady Luck hasn't done us any favors since the last time this question was posed, as Scott Rockfeld, group product manager for Windows Mobile, recently confirmed that Microsoft has "no plans to build [its] own phone." He continued by adding that "right now [it's] happy to share the limelight." C'mon Scott -- where's that tenacious spirit you had that first day in Redmond? Where's the unrelenting determination to conquer the competition? Where's... oh, never mind.

[ Via: Pocket PC Thoughts ]
[ Tag: handset, microsoft, smartphone, windows, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo, zunephone ]

Engadget Cares: save us from Apple's groundbreaking, developer-shackling App Store

It's not hard to argue that the App Store's inspired success for the mobile software world, with over 100 million programs downloaded on only a few million phones in just a matter of months. Palm, Nokia, Microsoft must all be simmering (and understandably so). But Apple, if you're having trouble getting buy-in from passionate developers with a serious creative vision for iPhone apps beyond the dozens of me-too calculators and to-do lists -- and you know you are -- the writing's on the wall, and you're the one who put it there.
But it's not just about the draconian SDK agreement (which we'll get to in a minute), or the uncertainty that runs through every developer -- large and small -- as they wonder whether you'll give the all-important thumbs-up to the app they've just invested all that blood / sweat / tears / money into (we'll get to that, too). What seems to the rest of us like nefarious intent may simply be Apple coming to grips with its own successes by reacting with the same kneejerk response it plies to most everything else: control and micromanagement.
Let's rewind for a moment though, and go back to what Steve said at this Spring's iPhone roadmap event, where the SDK was introduced for the first time. As Steve's introduction reached its crescendo, he excitedly declared, "The developers and us have the same exact interest, which is to get as many apps out in front of as many iPhone users as possible," but "there are going to be some apps we're not going to distribute: porn, malicious apps, apps that invade your privacy..." The slide listed "malicious," "illegal," "porn," "privacy," "bandwidth hog," and "unforeseen." Ah, your app that it will be approved.
Now, if you want to do the right thing -- the thing that may ultimately keep you out of some grumpy developer's class-action lawsuit, the thing that will take away Android's biggest consumer appeal right now -- you'll simply stop filtering apps based on content, and only look for the kind of code Steve specifically promised to protect users against in the first place: grossly buggy and broken, malicious, or otherwise evil. I'm not exactly convinced of the latter's likelihood, but closed market or open, at a certain point this whole thing becomes about consistency and reliability, and right now you've got neither to wave in your defense, Apple.
In the meantime, groups like the iPhone Dev Team will continue to carry the torch for jailbreaking, hacking, and unauthorized app development. Hell, jailbroken development will even likely gain steam as increasing numbers of users can't find enough apps of any real utility on the official App Store. Even big companies like Sling Media have taken to working around the walled-garden. So here's to doing good by all the those willing to invest in your platform, and to the simple kind of change that Apple, as a company, can make today if only you think a little harder about tomorrow -- and everyone living in it with an iPhone or iPod touch.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: app store, apple, AppStore, engadget cares, EngadgetCares, features, iphone, software ]

Sony Ericsson trying to not destroy Earth with "GreenHeart" concept

Perhaps a nod to Samsung's corny candybars and Nokia's wild Earth-friendly hardware, Sony Ericsson has unveiled its GreenHeart concept, a never-destined-for-production handset that incorporates a bunch of green technologies that it'd like to bring to market over the coming years. Most of the GreenHeart's ideas are totally logical and could be executed today -- online user manuals, bioplastic and recycled plastic materials, and a charger that draws just 3.5mW in trickle mode, just to name a few -- but the company is shopping around the whole lot of it to customers and "selected partners" to determine which eco-concepts should be implemented for production and in what order. Unfortunately, Sony Ericsson isn't seeing fit to show any pictures of the GreenHeart right now, which we take to mean it looks like a tree.

[ Via: Unwired View ]
[ Tag: environment, ericsson, greenheart, sony, sony ericsson, SonyEricsson, sustainability ]

Art Lebedev's Scartel WiMax handset concept: we're moving to Russia

Never one to settle, Art Lebedev's design shop is trying its hand at handset design, and we like the looks of it. Art is teaming up with Scartel, a Russian carrier which just launched a WiMax network in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for a flagship handset of sorts, and has left no spec unturned -- at least in the wishful-thinking conceptual stage. In addition to a WiMax radio, the device has WiFi, tri-band GSM, microSD, dual cameras, 3.5mm audio, an A/V plug and a gargantuan 850 x 480 screen. There are minimal buttons at the base: a five-way joystick and call / end, and no keypad, so we're going to assume that we're looking at a touchscreen device. Now all that's left is to pick an OS -- would Android be too much to ask? Another shot is after the fold.

[ Via: Pocket-lint ]
[ Tag: art lebedev, ArtLebedev, concept, scartel, wimax ]

Nokia 5800 Tube press shot leaks into the wilds

One day after Google goes touchscreen, along comes what looks to be an official press shot of Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic -- aka, the Tube. No new details here, though Nokia appears to have cleaned up the industrial design around the buttons of some of those earlier prototypes we've seen. October 2nd looks like the date that we'll finally get our fill of the first S60 Touch handset. Though given the number of leaks and rabid competition Nokia faces in the touchscreen OS space -- our appetite for this device might be quickly satiated.

[ Via: unwired view ]
[ Tag: 5800, nokia, rumor, s60, s60 touch, S60Touch, tube, xpressmusic ]

T-Mobile G1 launch day roundup

Sure, our front page got stacked with news on the launch of the world's first Android phone -- the G1 -- but if you missed any of the action (and there was quite a bit), we've put together this helpful roundup. Below you'll find an easy-to-use guide to all the goings-on about the T-Mobile device, complete with galleries and videos that will delight and enthrall any healthy viewer. Keep an eye on this post as we'll be updating with a few other bits and pieces today that you'll most definitely want a look at.
Update: We've added a link to our initial impressions, a more detailed look at the device and software.
The liveblog:
Live from T-Mobile's Android event in New York City
Hands-on coverage:
T-Mobile G1 first hands-on (updated)
Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1
Product announcement:
The T-Mobile G1
In-depth / details:
T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed
T-Mobile soft capping 3G data at 1GB per month
Confirmed: T-Mobile G1 has no 3.5mm headphone jack
T-Mobile G1 site goes live for real, first ad appears
T-Mobile G1 has push Gmail with Google Talk presence
T-Mobile G1 impressions: what we love, what we don't

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: android, dream, features, g1, g1 launch, G1Launch, google, google phone, GooglePhone, gphone, launch day, LaunchDay, roundup, t mobile, t-mobile, TMobile ]

T-Mobile G1 Android Phone Hands-On [T-mobile G1]

We just got an early hands on with T-Mobile's G1 Android and yes, it does look as nice as it does in the photos. The screen is fantastic, and it's actually not as chunky as it looks, but it's definitely not iPhone-skinny. You can see the Sizemodo here, and we'll have even more details and a more in-depth hands-on in a bit. UPDATE: Updating hands-on impressions live, right now. UPDATE 2: Now with full video walkthrough and even more impressions.

In your hand the G1 feels good. Solid and all-plastic, but not nearly as clunky as the blurrycam photos showed. Getting used to the controls takes a little bit—babies can't pick up and instantly know their way around, like on the iPhone. Control wise, it suffers from a bit of schizophrenia—with a trackball, touchscreen, candybar mode and flip-out QWERTY, there's a lot going on at once. What's nice is that it seems to not lock you in to anyone type of control interface—scrolling with trackball and touching work at the same time in many apps. Physically, the flip-out LCD feels solid and springy. Keyboard keys are small, spongy and a bit recessed, so it's hard to touch type right off by the feel of the keys. The touchscreen is better than we had hoped—far better than the HTC Touch's slow-to-respond screen. Scrolling is smooth at times, clunky at others, depending on the app. It's not multitouch, so it uses a "long press" UI element quite a bit—like to drag an app from the pop-out menu to the desktop—but since the touch is fairly responsive, it works pretty well. You use the menu button a lot, more than we'd like. For instance, in the browser, our instinct—kind of biased one, admittedly—is to touch the top of the screen to pop up the URL. Here, you've gotta press menu. Same with any other app, to do pretty much anything. It also pulls the Palm move of having the home button be separate from the power/lock button, so if you push the red button instinctively to kill an app, you're just going to lock your phone. Browsing: It may just be that we're not comfortable with it yet, but the browsing is kind of cludgy. Again, control is an issue - lots of UI to fight through. Scrolling and zooming around a rendered page is a bit jerky as well, but on par with Opera Mini and similar mobile browsers. The touch zoom buttons don't work as intuitively or respond as tightly as they should. Even though they're both based on Webkit, it's not as smooth as multitouch Safari, yet. Scrolling around web pages with the trackball is definitely smoother and more intuitive, immediately, than using the touch screen. Google Apps: We didn't have a Gmail account loaded, so we couldn't see incoming messages, but the app looks minimalistic and was snappy. Text input is with the QWERTY keyboard, as it is with every app right now. It's kinda subdued, missing the colorful bubbly design of the Gmail Mobile app for other phones. Interestingly, there is a Google Talk service active within the IM app, even though we had heard from the Android Devs that GTalk was not making it into the first version of the software. Maps is top-notch—we found our location within a few seconds indoors on Manhattan's far east side with combines GPS and cell-tower. It's incredibly optimized, perhaps the smoothest app experience we've had yet. And Compass View, which uses accelerometers to predict where you're pointing the phone to scroll around Street View accordingly, is rad—augmented reality, here we come. There is no native Docs app in the first release. Android Market: Android Market appears to be fully functional—we grabbed Pac Man and installed it over the air with 3G. Overall it seems like a very, very similar experience to the App Store—downloads once under way get kicked to your notification tray for progress, and they appear in your main app pull-out drawer when finished. Pac-Man started up immediately. Here we grab Pac-Man:
Apps in the Background: Background apps are handled with a system-wide pull-down notifications drawer in the upper left corner. When we received an IM while in another app, the sender's name blinked and we could pull it down to view. Downloading apps also appear in the notifications tray. Multitasking is handled in an interesting way - apps never truly "quit." According to Dan Morrill, one of Google's Android software guys, it seems In most cases, the actual GUI app that you interact with on the phone (say to view your IMs) runs independently of code at a deeper, service level. That way, you don't have to be running the GUI for an app to still have it function. A task manager shows you the six most recent apps, but beyond that, the system handles which apps quit and which ones stay open entirely by itself, based on memory usage needs. Headphone Jack: Yeah, there isn't one. You'll have to use a USB adapter. Which isn't included. Sigh. Music App: Not the prettiest. Integrates cover art nicely if it's there and gets the job done with sorting by album, artist, playlist—the usual. Speaker is nice and loud for when you don't have your USB adapter. All music and media has to be side-loaded and read off an SD card, and it'll have a 1GB one included. Amazon MP3 Store: The interface is extremely well designed, and incredibly easy to use, just as good as iTunes Wi-Fi store on our first impression. It's tied to your Amazon account, so you can buy with 1-click. You have to be connected to Wi-Fi to download it on the spot, but you can buy anytime. We actually tried to grab a song with our account, but ran into the SD card problem (as you can see in the gallery). And in some over-3G-downloading, and it'd be golden. Dev Tools: Befitting an Linux device, the shipping G1 will feature a debug mode that, when tied to a PC via USB, allows for plenty of tinkering with apps. Security layers prevent you from futzing with the core code and application and service data, but if you have privileges, you can develop directly on the phone. Anotther interesting feature is ability to install applications from a non-Android Market source. That means that it will be possible to download full applications directly from developers and install them independently from the Market. Core security again blocks apps that violate terms of services (VoIP or Amazon MP3 downloads over 3G are both confirmed no-nos), but awesome to see that the software is so accessible without any prior approval.

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

How the T-Mobile G1 Stacks Up To Its Frienemies [Android]

The T-Mobile G1 launched today with a rich feature set, but how does it, powered by the Android OS, stack up against competition from Apple, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile? We pieced together this chart so you can size up the G1 against its competition at a glance. Click through for the image big-sized. And keep in mind that MicroSD cards max at 8GB for the time being, even though some of these phones technically support more.

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Google Brings Push Gmail, Google Maps Street View, Other Tight Integration to the G1 [Android]

Android is here, and as to be expected with a Google-made mobile OS, there's a bit of Google App fanciness going on. In fact, it's designed with Google Apps in mind so much that whether or not you're a user of Gmail and other services might determine how useful the phone will be to you. The G1 will be the first phone to offer push Gmail, which is something we're expecting to see on the iPhone in the not too distant future. Gmail also features a Google Talk presence on Android, thanks to the fact that Gmail gets its own mail app while all other mail services are relegated to a simpler one. You can sync you contacts and appointments with the G1, but only via Google's services; no Outlook and Exchange support here. In fact, you must have a Google account to use this phone, according to Walt Mossberg. Google Maps offers street view that you can control using the built-in compass, turning the phone around and looking around like you're actually there. A neat gimmick, but we'll see how useful it actually ends up being. Here's a video Google released on Google Mobile Apps integration:

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Nokia's "Point and Find" Head-Up Display For Life is Launching in Beta [Augmented Reality]

Nokia's Point and Find system is similar to the Sekai iPhone app we mentioned: you point your cellphone's camera at an object (such as a cinema) and it'll automagically respond with the film times, and connect you to online bookings. It's basically clever location-based services, like a head-up display for the world, and it obviously uses GPS to work out where you are. But there's no info on how the heck it knows you're pointing at the cinema in front of you rather than the restaurant next to you, or the sexy-looking girl across the street. It's finally launching in Beta over the next few months, so we'll know more then. [T3]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Android Market Might Be Even Bigger Mess Than Apple's App Store [Google Android]

Android Market is officially out of the bag. The application store for Google's Android cellphones only contains free software for now and there is no approval process for the software: it's an open content distribution system. The structure is similar to the iPhone App Store, with a rating system similar to YouTube's. Google is touting their experience as a search engine and infrastructure provider as advantages to Apple's store, but would that be really useful if everyone and their dogs can submit their flashlight apps? As shown in today's presentation, some developers are very excited about Android Market. In the keynote, T-Mobile and Google have pushed the Open Source aspect of the new store. But at the end, as demonstrated by the barrage of useless applications that inundate the Apple's iPhone App Store, what really counts is the overall quality of the software and how the best applications can reach the consumers. That's where the rating system may come handy, but like with YouTube, there's not warranty that the really good things will float up, specially since you are limited to the G1 built-in store. There's a good side to the open no-limits, no-approval nature of the system: developers can publish anything they want. No prohibitions and controls means that developers will be able to access any part of the hardware, allowing software that is not allowed in the iPhone App Store, like tethering. On the other side, this may also bring bad things to the user end, since it opens the door to potential problems and conflicts that may affect the stability of the Android cellphone. The lack of a desktop component may be the biggest problem for final users, an online shop that allows you to easily surf through different options and manage your applications (as well as any other content). This could make things more difficult for consumers. Once we try the store—which looks extremely similar to Apple's own—and see how you manage the software, we will be able to answer this question more throughly. For now, however, the idea that everything has to happen over the air in a tiny screen may make Google's solution a weaker one than Apple's, which in its current form has problems on its own.

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
[ Tag: ]

Windows Mobile 7 pushed back to second half of 2009?

Good thing nobody's working on anything right now in the smartphone space, or this could be really bad news for Microsoft, whose current version of Windows Mobile lost the technology and usability edge a while ago, and is being bandaged up by the likes of HTC to keep the OS relevant to consumers. According to CNET, some of Microsoft's partners in the space are claiming that the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 has been pushed back to the second half of 2009, instead of the "early next year" they'd been expecting. Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement about the release date of the OS or the specific feature set, so we can't exactly point our fingers and laugh, but we'd say crying big, mobile OS tears into our morning cereal is certainly appropriate.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, delay, windows mobile, windows mobile 7, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile7 ]

GSM-only BlackBerry Storm / Thunder leaks out

We might be getting the CDMA BlackBerry Storm 9530 with GSM worldphone abilities on Verizon here in the States, but the rest of the world doesn't need both of those radios, and now we have confirmation of the GSM-only BlackBerry 9500 (aka the BlackBerry Thunder) -- check out this RIM data sheet that just surfaced. Specs are basically the same as the Storm 9530: quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA, 1GB of flash with 192MB of RAM, 3.2 megapixel cam with video, flash and image stabilization, A-GPS, and that click-touchscreen. No details on pricing or release date, but we'd guess it'll hit along with the Storm 9530 sometime around November 1st.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: 9500, blackberry, blackberry 9500, blackberry storm, blackberry storm 9500, blackberry thunder, Blackberry9500, BlackberryStorm, BlackberryStorm9500, BlackberryThunder, rim, rumor, rumors, spy shots, SpyShots, storm, storm 9500, Storm9500, thunder ]

Timberland and GSI cough up $7 million to settle text spam lawsuit

Not that we haven't seen victories over SMS spammers before, but this one is sure catching a lot of attention due to the names attached. GSI Commerce and Timberland have reportedly agreed to "establish a fund of up to $7 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against them for allegedly sending unsolicited text messages to wireless telephone users in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act." The settlement has already received preliminary approval from a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, and while the aforementioned firms vehemently deny any wrongdoing, they concede that taking this to court would be "burdensome, protracted and expensive." More expensive than $7 million? Is that guilt we smell, or what?

[ Via: mocoNews ]
[ Tag: GSI, lawsuit, legal, settlement, sms, spam, sue, suit, text, text message, text messages, text messaging, text spam, texting, TextMessage, TextMessages, TextMessaging, TextSpam, Timberland ]

The T-Mobile G1

T-Mobile's newest set was officially announced today at a press conference in New York. Set to launch on October 22nd for $179 on T-Mobile in the US on a two-year stint, or $399 contract-free. Starting in early November all you folks in United Kingdom will have access and Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands can expect their release in the first quarter of 2009. The G1 features WiFi and 3G radios, a 3-megapixel camera, and support for the Android Market and Amazon's mobile MP3 store, giving owners apps and tunes on the go. Existing T-Mobile subscribers get first dibs, with orders being accepted starting today. Here's a rundown of the specs:

• HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
• WiFi
• 3D graphics acceleration
• 1GB integrated storage plus microSD expansion
• 3-megapixel camera
• Android Market for on-device app purchases
• Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
• Push Gmail support with full HTML client
• Bluetooth (but no A2DP)
• Google Maps with Street View
• No Microsoft Exchange support
• No desktop synchronization -- it all happens over the air
  

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: android, breaking news, BreakingNews, g1, google, htc, t-mobile ]

Live from T-Mobile's Android event in New York City

9:49AM We're here, and we're waiting out front for the big party to start. Stay tuned for more info as it happens!

10:45AM We'd be elbowing people out of the way had we not been playing with one a few moments ago. People are acting rabid... ooh, the brown model is out! It looks nice. Very fashionable.
10:45AM "So the great thing we set this up is you'll get a chance to use it first hand. Lots of devices here running on our network here in New York. But let's take a quick look at what these devices can do..." More video.
10:47AM Video: Great touchscreen, and you can long press. Now showing the photo app -- you can "frame" a picture and drop it on your home screen. Drag and drop of apps. Music downloader! Looks slick... very iTunes like. Search by artists, albums. Now showing the music player -- links back to Amazon.
10:49AM Just start typing on the keyboard and it brings up contacts. Now showing off Gmaps and street view... you can pan just like we've seen Andy do in demos. Compass mode... the scene moves as you do. Pretty cool!
Back to the home screen -- demoing the browser now. Just running through the controls. If you've seen the emulator, this looks somewhat familiar. Yep, tabbed browsing, pop-up menus. Dedicated search button on the keyboard.
10:50AM Showing off the "Android Market" -- user ratings... instant downloads. Ha! Pac-man!
10:50AM Big applause!
10:52AM "So what do you think? Trust me it's a lot of fun. One of the things that's going to bring this into the future is this open platform. We believe it will drive the mobile internet. As humans, we can count on change, as times change, as technology changes, this platform will embrace that change by allowing 3rd parties to write applications..." Seems like they might be going after Apple's closed system here. Not surprising.
10:52AM Now they're showing off 3rd party partners... Android developer community discussing open source. They're really pushing the openness here.
10:53AM Video of devs big-upping open source. "It's risk free." "It's completely open... no one says 'you can't do that'."
10:54AM "Right now it can go so many directions..." Big cheers for the devs! And rightly so.
10:56AM Now showing off some developers here today. Lots of applause. Ecorio... Shop Savvy. The latter group has "turned the G1 into a barcode scanner." "Who doesn't want a better deal given the last few weeks?"
10:57AM Now they're doing question and answer... pricing! $179!
10:57AM Can be ordered over the internet for existing customers... commercial launch is October 22nd.
10:58AM Two data / messaging plans: $25 with unlimited data and some messaging, $35 with unlimited data and messaging.
10:58AM 3G: Will be live in 22 markets by launch, 27 by November. All major markets. Vast network to use.
10:59AM The device will be in the UK in November, across Europe in 2009.
10:59AM Andy Rubin: entire platform is open source. We're pretty focused on more features and functionality.
11:00AM Some questions from the group: Will this function as a tethered modem, can people just get a voice plan?
A: No tethering, data required.

11:01AM Q: Any support for Microsoft office? Is it sim-locked?
A: Can read Word, PDFs, Excel -- no exchange compatibility. The open marketplace has been dry there. It will be sim-locked to T-Mobile.
11:02AM Q: Will you offer push?
A: Gmail is push.
11:02AM Q: Will there be a desktop syncing app?
A: There isn't a desktop app. (What? How are we getting our contacts on there?)
11:03AM Q: Will this be available outside 3G markets? (Ah yes, we've been wondering)
A: Yes it will -- but the best experience is on WiFi or 3G.

11:04AM Q: Do you think there will be unlockers working on this?
A: It's worth noting that $179 is an attractive price. We want to be sure consumers use it on the network it's optimized for.
11:05AM Q: With no desktop app, will it have a server sync? And what Bluetooth profiles are supported?
A: Gmail, Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL mail syncs -- does hands-free, no A2DP yet.
11:06AM Q: Will it use Chrome?
A: Yes, call it 'Chrome Lite.'

11:08AM Q: What is the Gmail client going to be like? (That's a good question -- we haven't seen much of it).
A: (And they're being vague about this) It will offer a lot of the same features. (They pretty much avoided answering... how far along is the Gmail app?)
11:09AM Q: What formats will it support? Will there be Skype?
A: AAC, MP3, but iTunes files will need to be DRM free (uh, yep). No Skype right now.
11:09AM Whoa! Larry Page and Sergey Brin are here! On rollerblades!
11:10AM Big cheers for these two!
11:11AM Sergey: "We had to rush here! It's exciting to be here. What really gives me pleasure with this is that I'm a bit of a geek, I like tinkering with things... I grew up messing with Linux... I get that same pleasure playing with Android and the G1... I've been using it for awhile. The first app I wrote was one where you throw your phone in the air and it measures how long it takes to catch it." Chuckles. Oooh, he just called the Marketplace the "App Store." Burn.
11:13AM Larry: "I've tremendously enjoyed my G1 -- Andy knows, I've given lots of feedback. I'm excited about the possibilities. This is as good a computer as you would have had a few years ago. Access to the internet, using applications... there's tremendous opportunity. Let me ask you guys to do a websearch... how long does it take?"
11:14AM "We're excited about having computer-like functionality on a phone with an open eco-system. You'll see a lot of really interesting things."
Joint photo op now. All in the family. HTC, Google, T-Mobile... that's a lot of money up there.
11:16AM Okay, thank you... and that's it! Time to go play with some phones!

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: android, dream, event, features, g1, google, live blog, liveblog, liveblogging, new york city, NewYorkCity, t-mobile, tmobile ]