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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

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Skype Access expands, now unlocks over 500,000 hotspots

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 10:49 AM PST

Skype Access expands, now unlocks over 500,000 hotspots
We can't all have 3G or 4G wireless wherever -- sometimes we need to get friendly with a plain 'ol hotspot. Skype is making that a little easier, expanding Skype Access in partnership with eight international WiFi pushers:
  • BT Openzone
  • Fon
  • M3 Connect
  • Row 44
  • Skyrove
  • Spectrum Interactive
  • Tomizone
  • Vex
Fon will probably be the most familiar if you're in America, but combined the program covers 500,000 hotspots, including 500 hotels. Users will be able to pay for WiFi by the minute using Skype Credit, with prices ranging from a nickel to $.19 per currently. No word on whether that will be changing with this new announcement.

The Great Gatsby gets a beautiful, enthralling NES version, kills productivity of the literary gaming elite

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 10:33 AM PST

Prepare yourself for the best, most enthralling gaming experience of your life. No, it's not the newest-fangled of the fangles, it's not the latest tech around. It's just The Great Gatsby, lovingly squeezed into an NES game. The game itself is sort of a cross between Castlevania and Super Mario Bros., and that's just fine with us. In fact, it's the greatest thing we've seen all week. Hit up the source link and get to wasting the rest of your day.

Motorola exec nearly rules out Windows Phone completely, laments 'closed platform'

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 10:17 AM PST

Motorola may have once said that it was "open" to developing Windows Phone 7 devices, but it looks like that possibility is now a whole lot less likely than it already was. Speaking at Mobile World Congress this week, Motorola's corporate vice president of software and services product management, Christy Wyatt, said that while she would never say never, she doesn't envision Motorola using Microsoft's OS, and added that "it's not something we're entertaining now." Wyatt went on to say that "there were a bunch of things that we believed about Microsoft that ended up not being true, mostly about what functionality it would have in what period of time," and further explained that Motorola is looking for "an opportunity to create unique value," and it doesn't feel it can do that on a "closed platform" like Windows Phone 7. Obviously, it does feel like it can create unique value with Android, and Wyatt dismissed concerns about a potential duopoly between Android and Apple, saying that "It could be a duopoly on platforms but I'm not sure why having another OS is a good or bad thing." Incidentally, she also said that the upgrade process for Motorola's Android phones has "humbled" the company a bit, and she promises improvements in the future, noting that "we were better with Froyo then with Éclair and we'll be even better with Gingerbread."

Twitter CEO shoots down talk of a Twitter-branded smartphone before it starts

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 10:01 AM PST

Think Twitter's going to follow Facebook and lend its brand to a smartphone? Think again. Twitter CEO Dick Costello said during his Mobile World Congress keynote yesterday that while he does see a need to better integrate Twitter into existing platforms for phones, he sees no need for a Twitter-branded smartphone. Costello cited the ability to take a picture on an Android phone and automatically tweet it as an example of that integration he'd like to see, and further added that he would like to see "more single sign-on experiences," and "more apps that can tweet without having to go to another app." Interestingly, Costello also revealed that 40 percent of all tweets come from mobile devices, and that fully half of all active Twitter users are active on more than one platform.

P.S. We should note that Costello seems to have overlooked the trailblazing TwitterPeek, along with everyone else.

Xperia Play and Xperia Arc confirmed for Rogers in Canada (update)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 09:41 AM PST

In case you missed the announcement, a recent press release has confirmed what we already knew: Xperia Play is coming to Canada, exclusively to Rogers. Set to hit shelves sometime this spring in late March alongside the Xperia Arc, both of these bad boys will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with prices to be disclosed at launch. Remember when we used to call Xperia Play the "PlayStation Phone?" That was fun. PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Feb 13, 2011 - Get Your Game On! Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY and Xperia™ arc, The Ultimate Entertainment Smartphones, Coming Exclusively to Rogers™, in Canada

Xperia PLAY combines a PlayStation™-quality gaming experience with the very latest Android™ platform version 2.3 , super fast graphics and dedicated game controls
Xperia™ arc combines super-slim stunning design with state-of-the-art Sony™ technology on Android™ platform version 2.3
Rogers™ becomes exclusive Canadian carrier of both Xperia™ PLAY and Xperia™ arc - extending its Android device leadership
TORONTO, Feb. 13 /CNW/ - Is Canada ready to play? Sony Ericsson and Rogers think so. Canadians will be among the first in the world to experience the Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY, the world's first PlayStation Certified smartphone, and the Xperia™ arc smartphone, which will debut in Canada exclusively at Rogers™. The Xperia™ PLAY and Xperia™ arc are expected to be available in Canada in Spring 2011.

"Connecting people to the things they are passionate about is what we do. Whether it's watching the latest episode of your favourite show or beating your gaming high score, we are always looking for game changers that connect our customers to more of the things that matter to them, when they want, wherever they are," says Raj Doshi, Vice President, Mobile Product Management, Rogers Communications Inc. "Together with Sony Ericsson, and backed by the amazing power of Android, we believe the Xperia PLAY and Xperia arc are going to revolutionize mobile gaming and entertainment experiences for Canadians and we're excited our customers will have exclusive access to them."

"We're showing that we've got game by introducing our most exciting Xperia™ products yet and Canadians have a lot to look forward to this year with two of the hottest Android™ smartphones," said Peter Farmer, Head of Marketing - North America, Sony Ericsson. "Both the Xperia™ PLAY and Xperia™ arc combine best in class multimedia Sony™ technology with the latest Android™ platform and breathtaking design to entertain and wow consumers."

According to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada's 2010 Essential Facts:

The average game player age is 33 and 38 percent of game players are women
Xperia™ PLAY

Xperia™ PLAY delivers the smartphone functionality that the most serious power users could need, teamed with the immersive gaming experience that any gamer would want.

In portrait mode, the Android smartphone offers all the benefits that users have come to expect from Sony Ericsson's existing range of Xperia™ smartphones with best-in-class entertainment experiences, a great 5 megapixel camera, a brilliant 4" multi-touch screen and great social networking features.

However, slide out the gaming control and users enter a new world of immersive mobile gaming. The slide out game pad reveals a digital D pad, two analog touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle. Qualcomm's optimized Snapdragon processor with a 1Ghz CPU and embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor deliver silky smooth 60fps play-back 3D mobile gaming and Web browsing with minimal power consumption so Xperia™ PLAY users can enjoy long hours of battery life and game time.

Xperia™ PLAY will run on Gingerbread (version 2.3), the latest version of Google's Android™ platform. The Xperia™ PLAY will also be the first PlayStation Certified device. This means it will have access to PlayStation® game content provided through the PlayStation® Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment and due to launch later this calendar year.

Sony Ericsson has partnered with key publishers in the gaming industry to deliver a rich, vibrant ecosystem at launch and post launch with many leading new titles available via the Android™ Marketplace. Leading franchises coming to Xperia™ PLAY includes EA's Sims 3 and a world-first multiplayer version of FIFA 10 for mobile. Sony Ericsson is also partnering with Unity Technologies, using its award-winning development platform, to ensure a continuous flow of high quality 3D game titles.

Xperia™ arc

Xperia™ arc takes the stunning design that Sony Ericsson has become known for to a new level. Super slim and light, Xperia™ arc is just 8.7mm at its thinnest part and has an extra wide 4.2" multi-touch screen. Created from premium materials and with a stunning arc body, this smartphone is sleek, and designed to fit perfectly in the user's hand. The best of Sony™ technology is inside Xperia™ arc. The Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine delivers exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image which enhances the overall entertainment experience. Furthermore, Sony's award-winning Exmor R™ for mobile sensor, with the f/2.4 lens, enables the capture of high quality, bright pictures and HD videos even in low light. All pictures and videos can be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector.

Xperia™ arc will launch on the latest version of the Android™ 2.3 platform providing access to Google Mobile™ Services and the myriad of applications available on the Android market. Xperia™ smartphones add best in class entertainment on top of smartphone fundamentals such as apps, maps, email and fast Internet to create the most entertaining smartphone experience.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ arc - Key Features

Slim, lightweight and strong, with perfect ergonomics
Extra wide 4.2" multi-touch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine to ensure ultimate multimedia and viewing experiences
Sony Exmor R™ for mobile: for best-in-class low-light photography and video capture
8.1 megapixel camera and HD video recording capability
Android Market™ - thousands of applications to keep you entertained
Pricing will be announced at launch. Any product features, specifications or statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual product features, specifications or forward-looking statements are subject to change.

Dig Deeper

For full specifications visit:
www.sonyericsson.com/mwcnews

Log on to The Sony Ericsson Product Blog for more information:
http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products

Follow Sony Ericsson Canada on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/@SonyEricssonCA

Facebook users can enter the First2Play contest and could be one of the first 10 people to get the Xperia™ PLAY by visiting www.facebook.com/SECanada.

© Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, 2011

The Liquid Identity logo and Xperia are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. Sony is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Corporation. Ericsson is the trademark or registered trademark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. Additional information regarding trademarks may be located on our website at: www.sonyericsson.com/cws/common/legal/disclaimer.

Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. All terms are subject to change without prior notice.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, SE-221 88 Lund, Sweden.
Printed in January 2011, R1A

Sony Ericsson is a 50/50 joint venture by Sony and Ericsson established in October 2001, with global corporate functions located in London and operations in major markets around the world. Sony Ericsson's strategy is to become the industry leader in mobile Communication Entertainment, through new styles of interaction across the internet and social media. Sony Ericsson offers exciting consumer experiences through innovative and feature rich phones, accessories, content and applications. For more information, please see: www.sonyericsson.com/press.

Rogers Communications Inc.

Rogers Communications is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless voice and data communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony services. Through Rogers Media we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, and sports entertainment. We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For further information about the Rogers group of companies, please visit www.rogers.com

Verizon CTO: we don't 'need' the Nokia-Microsoft partnership; Android, iOS, and BlackBerry are the big three platforms

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 09:18 AM PST

Courting the largest carrier in the United States is probably at the top of any phone manufacturer's to-do list, and it's starting to sound like Nokia -- on the strength of its just-announced Windows Phone gamble -- has an uphill battle ahead of it. Verizon CEO Tony Melone has gone on record out at Mobile World Congress this week saying that he's skeptical Micosoft has the capability to meet its lofty volume goals for Windows Phone -- a little odd, considering that Verizon is on the verge of launching its first Windows Phone 7 model -- and that he doesn't think "Verizon needs the Nokia and Microsoft relationship." Referring seemingly directly to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop's desire to make the smartphone war a "three-horse race" between Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, Melone says he thinks that "right now the three OS players we see for our network are Android, Apple, and RIM." Of course, just like the iPhone, we're sure Melone's attitude could change in a snap if Windows Phone picks up enough steam -- but even in the best case, that's going to take a while.

Pre 2 available for $150 through Verizon on February 17th

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:59 AM PST

Call it The Curious Case of the Pre 2: If you check the handset out on HP's site, it will cost you $100 after rebate (under contract of course). But if you wander over to Verizon's little piece of the Interwebs, the same phone has just been announced for $150 (new contract price) after rebate. So, let's suppose for a moment that you had a choice between the two -- which would you pick? That's what we thought. Available on February 17, check out the mind-bending PR after the break for more details.
Show full PR text
Verizon Wireless' Network To Include Next Generation Of Intuitive Multitasking Platform With Pre 2 From HP

Verizon Wireless Customers Have Fast, Fun Access to Work and Play on HP webOS 2.0

02/15/2011: Verizon Wireless, the company with the largest and most reliable wireless voice and 3G data network, announced today that the Pre 2 smartphone by HP will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on Feb. 17. Pre 2 is the first device to run on HP webOS 2.0, allowing quick and easy multitasking of e-mail, games, music and more.

Key features:

3.1-inch glass multi-touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color, 320 x 480 resolution HVGA display
Slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard
Support for Microsoft® Exchange e-mail, as well as personal e-mail support (Google Gmail™ push, Yahoo!®, POP3, IMAP)
Integrated IM, SMS and MMS
VZ Navigator® capable – Receive audible turn-by-turn directions to millions of points of interest and share the directions with others
TI OMAP 1GHz processor with 512 RAM
5-megapixel camera with LED flash, extended depth of field, geo-tagging and video capture
Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/)
Bluetooth® wireless technology 2.1+ EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
3G Mobile Hotspot capability
Dimensions: 2.34 inches (w) x 0.66 inches (d) x 3.96 inches (h)
Weight: 5.1 ounces

Lifestyle features:

Contact Integration via HP Synergy – Customers can keep contacts and calendars up to date automatically with built-in integration for Facebook®, Google, LinkedIn®, Yahoo! and Microsoft Exchange.

Customized Inbox – Customers can view all of their accounts together or separately to access work e-mail alone or combined in a favorites folder with personal e-mail from places like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.

Full HTML Browsing – Customers have access to full websites just like on their Macs or PCs. They can play video, upload photos, access online banking and much more. webOS also now integrates a beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 in the browser, which provides access to rich, Flash-based Web content.

With Just Type in webOS, customers can start an e-mail, create a message, update their status and search their favorite websites – all before they even open an app.

Mobile Music Store – Customers can buy and download music right from their webOS smartphones using the Amazon MP3 app when on a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Skype mobile™ – webOS 2.0 supports Skype-to-Skype calls and messaging while in the United States to anywhere in the world, and low-rate calls to international landlines and cell phones.
Pricing and availability:

Pre 2 will be available from Verizon Wireless for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in Verizon Wireless rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Pre 2 customers will need to subscribe to a data plan. Unlimited data plans are available to customers starting at $29.99 monthly access. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Pre, Synergy, and webOS are trademarks of Palm, Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company.

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Eric Schmidt: 'We certainly tried' to get Nokia to use Android

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:55 AM PST

No big surprise here, but Eric Schmidt just told the crowd at Mobile World Congress that Google "certainly tried" to convince Nokia to pick Android as its future platform over Windows Phone 7. Schmidt said Google "would've loved" having Nokia on board, and that although they'd been rebuffed this time around, the offer to adopt Android later "is still open." Look like Vic Gundotra might have to get down with a turkey after all.

HTC's Facebook-worshipping phones headed to AT&T later this year

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:51 AM PST

HTC just unveiled its MWC lineup a few hours ago, including the ChaCha and the Salsa, which both possess dedicated Facebook buttons (all the cool kids have Facebooky phones these days). AT&T, however, just issued a statement to let the world know that it'll have a Facebook-dedicated HTC handset by later this year. Now, there's no word on which phones are AT&T-bound just yet, but a spokesperson told All Things D's Ina Fried that the carrier will have at least twelve Android phones on offer this year.

Apple MacBook Air survey gets chatty about 3G

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:45 AM PST

Apple isn't much of one for customer surveys, but this recent missive to select MacBook Air owners has all sorts of goodies inside it. Most notable is the large amount of questions on 3G data connectivity, a feature that Apple has so far avoided adding to any of its laptops, even though it sells a tablet computer with the functionality. Interestingly, Apple has waited so long on this feature that its primary objection -- the need to pick a specific carrier over another -- has disappeared thanks to Qualcomm's Gobi chipset. On the other hand, most people get 3G data onto their laptops these days through tethering, whether it be with their phone or a dedicated MiFi-style device, and Apple's survey seems to be designed to pick up on the prevalence of all these tendencies. Other aspects of the survey deal with data storage and syncing (MobileMe and Dropbox get shout outs), missing functionality that keeps the Air from being a primary computer, and other miscellany. If you want to get overanalytical with the whole thing, Apple might actually be trying to feel out the dividing line between an iPad and a MacBook Air, instead of the dividing line between a MacBook Pro. Perhaps this year's expected Sandy Bridge or (we wish) Fusion refresh of the MacBook Air could have something more in store? Check out the source link for the whole thing.

Next version of Android will combine Gingerbread and Honeycomb, arrive on a six-month cycle

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:41 AM PST

Eric Schmidt didn't give a ton of details about the future of Android during his MWC 2011 keynote, but he did drop one interesting tidbit: the next version of Android will "start with an I, be named after a dessert" and combine Gingerbread for phones and Honeycomb for tablets into a cohesive whole. We'll just go out on a limb and say that he's talking about Ice Cream, and that we'll see that Fragments UI construct used to bridge the phone / tablet display size gap. Unfortunately, Eric didn't say anything about timing -- just that updates have been happening on a "six month cycle." Considering that Honeycomb has yet to officially launch on any devices, we'd say that's not so long to wait -- but of course we're also dying to know more as soon as possible. We'll let you know if we hear anything good.

BlackBerry PlayBook to ship with full versions of Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:34 AM PST

EA Sports isn't one to give things away, but that's exactly what it's doing on RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook. We still haven't heard a concrete ship date for this thing, but EA swears up and down that these two titles will be finalized by the time it goes to market. Both Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover will come pre-loaded on the device, with both being full, unabridged versions; in fact, NFS will feature a new mode specifically designed for getting into the game quickly on this very tablet. Smartly, there's even a "slo mo" mode which slows everything down to enable accurate control even during hectic rides on the subway. We've lauded the PlayBook before, but we were duly impressed with just how well this thing handled multitasking. Even with NFS running in the background, we were able to play back a video in the foreground with nary a bit of lag during the transition. Tetris was predictably Tetris, and it only works when holding the slate vertically. We've got to confess that the inclusion of these two titles is quite the gesture, and considering the first four letters of this product's name, we'd say it's more than fitting. Hop on down to see a demonstration video of both, showcased here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover on BlackBerry PlayBook at MWC 2011


See more video at our hub!

Google demos Android Movie Studio for Honeycomb

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:13 AM PST

Google won't let anyone take pictures during its MWC 2011 keynote, so you'll just have to trust us when we say Eric Schmidt just demoed a new video editing application called Movie Studio for Honeycomb tablets. The app was built from the ground up for tablet devices, and it features everything you'd expect: a timeline-style editor, picture effects, soundtrack and audio support, and of course, HD support with uploads to YouTube. Unfortunately we don't know much else about it, but we'll be digging for more details, so stay tuned.

Update: We snuck a picture! You can see the timeline and the playback controls -- it looks really nice, don't you think?

AMD can't even get through Valentine's Day without knocking Intel

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 08:12 AM PST

AMD can't even get through Valentine's Day without knocking Intel
Oh AMD, is no corporate-mandated, decidedly commercialist holiday sacred to you? While we were all snuggling with our snookums and/or cooing to our cohorts the marketing team at Advanced Micro Devices was shipping out something a little bit nasty -- and not in the "go get the fuzzy handcuffs" kind of nasty. The company sent out a mug of chocolates that, on the front, says "I ♥ APU," referencing the Fusion platform that's recently powered the HP Pavilion dm1z and Lenovo Thinkpad x120e to solid reviews. Sadly, that wasn't enough, as the note started like this:
I heard that Sandy B. broke your heart and wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. Oh, and I have a cousin from Llano, Texas I'd like to introduce you to soon--I think you two will really hit it off!
XOXO,
AMD Fusion APU
Cute, AMD. And here we thought maybe you and Intel had finally made up.

The thrilling life of a Shazam music hunter

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:49 AM PST

The thrilling life of a Shazam music hunter
If you're a vinyl aficionado, if you frequent college radio, if you've usually lost interest in the Next Big Thing long before they finally get a proper record deal, get ready to meet your dream job. It's held by a few select people around the world, including Charles Slomovitz. Charles works for Shazam, the music identification service, and his gig is basically to hunt down what's new and fresh. Hot Rhianna remix hitting the clubs? He's on it. The Fleet Foxes album that's on the way? He'll be there, faster than a speed picker on Red Bull. The service is popular because it can identify what's new while it's still new, and it's largely those like Charles searching the various musical niches scattered around the country that keep it fresh. The New York Times profile of his career on the other end of the source link is worth a read, and might just be something you want to talk to your guidance counselor about.

[Image credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times]

ZTE Amigo, Blade, and Skate hands-on

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:34 AM PST

ZTE outed several new sets -- and a tablet -- at MWC 2011, so we went to grab some specs and pics of the Blade, Skate, and the Amigo (from left to right). The ZTE Skate is the top of the line product in this group with Android 2.3 -- though, the placard at the stand has been blanked out -- triple-band GSM, HSPA in 1900 / 2100Mhz range, a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive display, 5 megapixel cam, and likely the smallest keyboard we've ever seen, seriously, have a peek at the gallery. The Blade, which as our favorite in the group, runs Android 2.2, is downgraded to a 3 megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch display, quad-band GSM and 900 / 2100Mhz HSPA. The Amigo -- what may be the lowliest as far as numbers are concerned -- still has decent specs such as a 3.2-inch display, triple band GSM, 1900 / 2100 HSPA, and a side-sliding QWERTY keypad. The Blade and Skate both have great build quality, the screens are really bright and easily seen, the Amigo appears a bit more washed out and the housing build quality feels very cheap. The Skate is definitely the winner in the bells and whistles category, but unless you can swap out the onscreen keyboard it would definitely get a pass -- and again, check out Joanna's finger modeling in the gallery for proof. Enjoy the giant glossy gallery.
ZTE Amigo, Blade, and Skate hands-on

See the new Windows Phone 7 features in motion (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:26 AM PST

See the new Windows Phone 7 features in motion (video)
Sure, you clung to every word we typed yesterday at Steve Ballmer's MWC keynote, where a suite of new Windows Phone 7 features were announced. But sometimes seeing is believing, sometimes a picture is worth 1,000 words, and sometimes just watching a video is simply more fun. Microsoft has you covered, revealing a number of clips detailing the new Kinect "experience," multitasking, and IE9. They're all embedded below, so click on through, won't you?

Kinect:


Multitasking:

IE9:

Live from Eric Schmidt's MWC 2011 keynote

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:25 AM PST


12:51PM Last question: on personal features and permission. "Can you talk about privacy dilemma" and how to get people on board?

A: It's usually the case that if you offer something of value and think you're gonna be straight with them / have a strong privacy guidelines, people are willing. "Issues of privacy are very complicated" and he's learned there's not an easy answer. Lots of it up to local governments, cultures... and on that incredibly serious note, that's it! Thanks for playing, now back to the show!

12:49PM Q: Android's a success. Plans to move to PC world?

A: "Yes, it's called Chrome OS." Next question.

12:48PM Q: What can Google do for education?

A: "Our current view is that, dispersion of information is itself an educational opportunity and that's our highest priority." A number of professors that helped. "We have not yet come up with a killer education app." Many incumbencies in education that resist change. "Sooner we can get these people on mobile platforms," the better.

12:47PM "We tried to bring out one phone, in this case Nexus S, which shows the best that can be done. Minimum requirements include spec, but it's modest processor, modest touchscreen," and so forth. Important to establish minimum for consistency's sake.

12:46PM Sorry that last question was a fragment.

12:46PM Problems to face today? Very high connectivity costs, overloaded network, too pricey devices. With declining cost curve, the expensive phones we have today can be given free or close to free to those who don't have access to information. He's optimistic about that future.

12:43PM On Nokia / Microsoft: "We would've loved if they chose Android. They chose Windows. The offer to adopt later is still open. "We certainly tried."

12:43PM Q: Facebook has Like button, personalized ads. You worried about your ad business?

A: Today our major competitor is Microsoft. It has Bing. Times where it might be "too good" like they saw in a blog spot earlier (zing!). They have scale, brand, adn reach to do good things. Facebook today appears to be additive. FB users use Google more, no evidence FB advertising is hurting Google's in any way. Right now, FB is zero to net positive, and Microsoft is a core competitor and will likely remain so for a long time.

12:41PM Q on health. "It just makes sense" for devices you always have with you to provide diagnostics, and we couldn't agree more. "We were very hard to make sure medical answers are sufficiently accurate." Like, "you are going to have a heart attack, go get help now!"

12:41PM Q: How did you see Google in ten years?

A: "I'm sure MWC will be a lot bigger, and I'm sure Google will be a lot bigger. In your lifetimes, there were one or two technology milestones." Did PC, now going into mobile. 10 years from now, probably be more mobile. "Most interesting thing occurring is artificial intelligence on top of everything we've talked about." The things that'll make you go WOW will be in that field (and if you don't, it'll force you to -- just kidding). Can't predict killer, "can't believe we lived without it" apps.

12:38PM Q: Belgium government worker on the importance of IPv6 technology. "Not a lot of people here know it's important on the mobile world." So, what about it, Eric?

A: Drops more factual heat on IPv4. Last block will be allocated in next six months. Talks about Google's (and others') test on IPv6. Problem means you need to make sure you can route it all the way to the end. "General consensus is that modern devices have IPv6 capabilities. Most modern routers fully route. There's concern about intermediate things, what sits between things you forgot about, so we're likely to find problems there." Believes it's one of the great, urgent problems, but good news technology is there and lots of testing is needed. "The time is now, we have to deal with it."

12:36PM Q: What is your vision how Google will bring Italians in the social life?

A: Google sees itself as a platform. Regarding social information, "if you're willing to give that information -- and again, you'd have to agree to -- " they'll do what they can to provide better searches. Ditto YouTube, Maps and so forth.

12:34PM Q: Something on HTML5

A: On HTML5's future. "It's taken 20 years to get to this point." Capabilities had to be aggregated. "All vendors have adopted HTML5." Eventually, "means some number of years from now," a lot of applications used will be run on HTML5. Another example of simplification.

12:33PM Q: "Lighter Q, do you think Larry should've been here instead of you?"

A: Part of the deal, "Larry said you get to fly around more. He's extremely happy that I'm here. He's probably asleep at the moment, but if he's up, he's at his desk working on project." Sergey is working on a number of other issues. Both Larry and Eric like Eric being the public one.

12:32PM "Then there's Chrome OS." Largely targeted at netbooks and PCs. "If you're android user, you'll likely be on a touch device. If you're Chrome OS, you'll likely on a keyboard device." Wait until technology is mature enough to mature. In other words, unification could happen -- just not anytime soon.

12:31PM Q: "People are confused about different versions." This one's about 2.3, 3.0, and Chrome OS.

A: "Today I'll use the commonly used names. We have OS called gingerbread for phones, we have an OS being previewed now for tablets called Honeycomb. The two of them... you can imagine the follow up will start with an I, be named after dessert, and will combine these two." Occur roughly six months cycle.

12:30PM Q: "Are you interested in Twitter?" and something else we couldn't quite make out.

A: "Well, I love Twitter." Laughter. To the other question, "the demands are going faster than wireless capacity." Government needs to make more bandwidth available, take inefficiently used spectrum and give it back to people. It's happening but not fast enough, in his opinion. Second, must recognize there's 3G / 4G but also WiFi connection. Devices smart enough to know when things can be better done at off hours, like at night.

12:28PM Another reminder this is all opt-in, even in hypotheticals. Cites Groupon as an example of success here.

12:28PM Phone knows he needs to turn right, go into store, pick up pants. Boom! And that's consumerism!

12:27PM Q: "Can you share your visions on people's financial side?" Money management, folks.

A: "We're not into banking as a bank." Google money! "Management." Oh. "Larry and Sergey have suggested Google bucks but I've told them there's some legal issues." We think that was a joke. "But seriously, now..." he's talking about NFC being used as a secure ID for transactions. Europe is working to standardize it. "You're walking down the street, confused (as I usually am). Your phone remembers you need new pantsâ€"" wait, WHAT?!

12:26PM Q: "You said you will reocmmend young students go out of university and develop mobile first, but you see Android is a very fragmented platform." Thinks there's lots of frustration here. "What will you do to prevent Android fragmentation as much as it is today."

A: "I think you stated that more strongly than I would've," but it's a criticism he'll accept. "No operator will want to be in the Android ecosystem without access to those apps, so conformity is the appropriate carrot and stick method. Gingerbread should assuage those concerns.

12:24PM "To me, the tools and technology that allow us to do targeted TV quality ads -- again with permission and without violation privacy -- is the next great frontier in advertising." Display business is booming and fundamentally about telling stories. The better you can target, the more satisfying on user and more return on investment. "They're actually trying to sell something, it's called commerce."

12:23PM Lots of shuffling around.

Q: "You mentioned about personalization... to expand further on that, when do you think the advertising world will pick up on that?" Google is leading the way there, as the speaker says.

A: "Let me first say Australia is leading the word on fiber" connections. Schmidt is dropping some statistical factual heat -- from memory, no less -- on Australia's broadband services.

12:21PM "So this is a future that's very much committed to doing good. It's where technology and our approach gives... people time back. It's a quote in the NYT from Gibson." A coral reef of human minds. I hope we can all get together to explore how we all can do that together and make mankind a better place. And that's it for his speech, Q&A time!

12:20PM "Will they love Britney Spears as much as we do or care for other things? I don't know!" I think we have an idea there, at least.

12:20PM "It's obvious cars should drive themselves. It'd probably do it better than yourself if you're drunk." Whoa there, Schmidt! "Obviously you'd need a kill switch in case of bugs but it's coming." A future for masses not the elite, information must be only for the elite.

12:19PM "All of a sudden, you're not lost, you can love the earth, you can talk to anyone around the world, and you'll never be lonely." You're never bored; even if there's nothing to do, they can suggest things. "Imagine a calendar of all the world's events, it's a potpurri of what to choose from."

12:18PM "You can clearly have all the world's information at your fingertips because we can translate anything to anything." Wont' necessarily prevent war, but can boost talking a lot before it gets there. "We can now understand the depth of the culture when we're sitting at the other side of the table."

12:17PM "And with your permission you can know where your friends are, too." Permission is a pretty big theme, here, as you can tell.

12:16PM Computers are very good at remembering things, which we (as humans) aren't. "I just forget, everyone forgets, but computer remembers forever." Another thing, "I'm never lost! When was the last time you had a great 'I'm lost' experience." You'd have to turn off your computer to get lost, and you never do, so...

12:15PM Wants to finish talking about the future. "I'm one of these people who believe that if you look at problems we talk about all the time -- terrorism, global warming, financial transparency -- can be helped with computer science... these are fundamentally computation problems."

12:14PM Internet is fundamentally replacing economics of scarcity with economics of ubiquity. "I'd argue this is both scary and exciting." You'll see this with repressive governments and all kinds of ways over the years. Debate is healthy and he's sure there'll be quite a bit in the Q&A.

12:13PM Wants to make sure they can provide ad (and ad revenue) to partners who need the stream (i.e. for free apps). "We don't have our heads in the sand, we know these are scaled disruptions that impact people's businesses."

12:12PM "We're finally now being able to monetize professional content at a rate that we need to build businesses for those partners."

12:12PM In Chrome browser, it has been growing rapidly. 120 million active users. Chrome extensions will aid in next-generation cloud computing.

12:11PM "That's just the beginning" of a large number of apps that can capitalize. "When I say, 'what's the weather like,' it really means, 'what should I wear'?" It's a choice, you don't have to give personal information... but if you do, Google will do what it can to provide great and personal information.

12:10PM Google Instant "saves between 2 and 5 seconds of search every day." Plus it's a really neat feature. "When you think of Google, that's just an example of many, you think of speed." Now it can get personal. "With your permission... we can give you more personal answers." Walking along, he gets information about the buildings. Lots and lots of Gaudi here.

12:08PM Schmidt is solo again, talking the "beauty and power" of Honeycomb. "Google today can be understood in a different form... you can think of what we're trying to do is to get you to something really fast." Be a human, not a slave to the computer.

12:08PM Schmidt chimes in to remind the audience we're looking at Honeycomb. Connection isn't working. "You'll have to trust me it's there." Schmidt: "This is a Google engineer saying 'trust me.'" Oh, self-deprecating Snap!

12:06PM Exporting to 720p, but like any good cooking show, he's skipping the real-time wait and presenting the preassembled final product. "Barcelona 2010" is now uploading to YouTube.

12:05PM Customization options in a top bar. He added a fade to black. "I think something is missing." Background audio track, which'd be visualized (in wave format) just below the video timeline. Imported from library. We're rocking to some spanish guitar.


12:04PM We're seeing a collection of images. He's adding Ken Burns effects to his pictures. Pinching and zooming to customize the degree of magnification on the picture's effect. Can add other filters and effects.

12:04PM Projects are lined up horizontally. In the edit window, there's a preview screen in the middle, a timeline of clips on the bottom, a nondescript circle on the left, and play controls on the right.

12:03PM Built ground up for tablet form factor. It's time like this we wish we could still take pictures.

12:02PM "These new devices are great not only for consuming media but also creating." With 4G networks, high quality video is more possible than ever before. Movie Studio, a new Android application that allows you to edit videos.

12:02PM "Gill" (we didn't make it out) is here for a demo. Nexus S pictures to Picasa device, "when I get home to my hotel room, I'd love to use a different form factor." Cue the Motorola Xoom.

12:01PM Google translate. "We've talked at length [about it], but it's now arrived." Phone takes voice, digitizes, and supercomputer in cloud does the appropriate voice translation, done very fast. "You can be anyone you want" in terms of speaking any language. "Start thinking of that implications" of that connectivity.

12:00PM Because these things are unified now... we can take these devices and switch to other. He's talking about Google books, jumping from reading on one thing to another. "You really can do magic."

11:59AM "Why is my phone not talking to my friends' phone and figuring out which route is faster?" Why isn't your phone taking care of your health? It's always there.

11:58AM Bill Gates from 1999: "information at your fingertips." What happened over 20 years? Vision was correct, but we had to build it out.

11:58AM Back to cloud computing. Why aren't phones and videos not automatically uploaded? Why don't I know when my friends are nearby? "Wouldn't it be interesting if you thought of your phone as first a communications device, second as computational, and third, what about a serendipity platform?" Learn new things, meet new people. "That is the future of the platform we're all building together."

11:57AM Mobile phones are "gift to mankind," and given the amount we tweet on the go, we'd be hard pressed to disagree.

11:56AM Schmidt has a lot of praise for the carriers and the mobile rollout. Time to talk LTE. "What am I going to do with those 8 to 10 megabits? What's more important is that LTE platform... will create the opportunity for another set of applications we can only imagine."

11:55AM Average connection speed has improved, but demands have gone up even higher. "The fact is, operators are pouring billions of dollars and Euros to make it possible for us to provide wireless at this scale."

11:55AM "This device (the smartphone) has 20,000 more computing capabilities than the lunar mission."

11:54AM "Smartphones are clearly taking over, right? Last year I predicted based on a whole bunch of analysis that smartphones would surpassed PC sales. Well I was wrong... smartphones passed PC quarterly sales last week." Take that, desktop tower!

11:54AM "Mobile is where the action is," whether it's in Google's platform or others. "When I was in Sun in '83, I was very excited by the M3 platform." Schmidt really loves reminiscing on the past.

11:53AM "Think every single device you have" -- might take awhile -- "and imagine what it could do with the cloud."

11:52AM "I would offer a sort of happiness theorem that computers are really here to make us happier." And the quicker we get to that -- cause computers can do the stupid stuff -- the better.

11:52AM "I've been thinking a lot about this. We've seen so much progress in the last decade. It's interesting that it's happening so fast people don't seem to be appreciating as much." And it's changing again. "I think it's going to get to the point where technology is serving humans, and not the other way around" like it is today. He means struggling with interface, we fear he actually means sentient life we're not aware of.


11:50AM He loves visiting Europe, reminds him of their broadband goals. Lots of numbers flying out, thankfully he's got a pretty big cheat sheet with him.

11:50AM "It's not about the phone, it's not about the platform." It's the ecosystem. Schmidt is here to provide prospective and enlist help.

11:49AM Eric Schmidt is on. "What you have seen here is a history -- a short and fast history -- of Android." 350,000 activations a day. 170 compatible devices, 27 OEMs, 169 carriers, 69 countries, over 150,000 applications in app store -- that number has tripled in nine months.


11:48AM New video, this one's tailored to Android. We're looking at a dark map of the world and a scrolling graph at the bottom showing Android activations. It's like a rollercoaster and we we're slowly rising to the top.


11:47AM "The connected life needs global reach, interoperability, ecosystem... The Connected Life."

11:46AM We're bearing witness to the same MWC trailer we saw before yesterday's keynotes. The big takeaway is, mobile is full of awesome apps and heavy metal guitar.

11:45AM Lights are dimming, here we go!

11:44AM Our clocks estimate about 28 seconds to go. Not that we're getting antsy or anything.

11:35AM Just a heads up while we wait, pictures are only allowed for the first several minutes of Schmidt's presentation. We've got Mobile Editor Chris Ziegler armed and ready to go, so if you see his visage scattered throughout the liveblog, just know it's actually a blast from the past and we also got tired of seeing a long string of text-only updates.

11:31AM T-minus 15 minutes until Schmidt's supposed to roll out in Ray Bans and a wife beater (not really). We actually showed up about 30 minutes ago, but there wasn't much to report other than Jonathan Ross handed out conference awards.
Ballmer and Elop were quite the pair during the Microsoft keynote yesterday, so let's say the bar's been set pretty high for Eric Schmidt. But that's fine, the now-former CEO of Google has a knack for lively (if not downright controversial at times) speeches. This is the first time we've seen him talk since he stepped away from Babysitter (his words) to Executive Chairman, and the Android of today is a few flavors improved from the 2.1 Eclair that had launched a little before his MWC 2010 keynote -- so needless to say, we're excited for what he has to say today. We'll be reporting live from Fira, so stay tuned -- the fun should start around 11:45AM ET!

Verizon VoLTE voice and video call demo at MWC 2011 (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:02 AM PST

There may not be a native LTE network live in Barcelona yet, but that didn't stop Big Red from hauling a 700MHz demonstration to Spain for the purposes of gloating at Mobile World Congress. We heard just days ago that the LG Revolution would be one of the first phones to support voice over LTE (VoLTE) on Verizon, and today we were given quite a bit of extra information about the rollout. For starters, Verizon's hoping that other carriers adopt their VoLTE platform, even going so far as to encourage it. It's sort of comical to hear the company that once crippled Bluetooth on dumbphones and still makes you buy a month of data just to activate a tablet talk about "openness" when it comes to communications, but we suppose the tables are turned somewhat when it's VZW that stands to gain. At any rate, VoLTE essentially acts as a VoIP lane, giving a specific amount of bandwidth to the call (which ensures call quality, unlike Skype, which is at the mercy of shared applications that are using the same bandwidth) and also enabling the phone to use data whilst the call it ongoing.

The Revolution, which is slated to launch in March, will eventually gain VoLTE support, though VZW's not expecting the feature to go live in America until next year. Bilal Wahid, Verizon Wireless' Associate Director of Product Development, told us that at least initially, you may see VoLTE voice and videocalling available on Android smartphones, but there's no reason that the same apps couldn't be developed for other platforms. The call quality was on par with some of the high-bandwidth VoIP calls we've encountered, and the videocalling was particularly impressive. The resolution was tremendous, and there was essentially no lag whatsoever. Of course, this all happened over a locked, modular LTE network, so results will almost certainly vary out in the real world; regardless, it's a beautiful start, and it certainly makes the wait to 2012 that much more difficult. Hop on past the break for a demonstration as well as a lengthy explanation of the technology, where it's going, and when it'll be implemented.
Verizon VoLTE voice and video call demo at MWC 2011 (video)


See more video at our hub!

MacBook Pros to get Sandy Bridge CPUs in March?

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 06:37 AM PST

As the above Danish-language email clearly indicates, the world might very well see a MacBook Pro update on March 1. That is, if the person who sent the tip to blogger Kenneth Lund is to believed. And at the very least, blogger Kenneth Lund thinks that this is the genuine article. Speculation regarding new Apple laptops with Sandy Bridge processors has been rampant, of course, and as TUAW points out, the aforementioned processors are set to make the scene at the end of this month. Besides, March 1 is a Tuesday, the day that Apple usually announces new computer models (also the release date of the Beady Eye album, which at least one Engadget editor is really looking forward to). Besides the new CPUs, there is not much solid indication of what design changes might occur, but if the source here is correct it won't be long until we find out for ourselves.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Criterion Collection now streaming on Hulu Plus, maybe Sanjuro and Hanbei will settle differences

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 06:26 AM PST

Criterion Collection now streaming on Hulu Plus, you can finally see how that Sanjuro v. Hanbei duel works out
Hulu Plus just got a whole lot more appealing for cinephiles. The streaming service just rolled out 150 properties from the Criterion Collection, perhaps the premiere pusher of amazing films, with that number expected to top 800 in "the coming months." It'll include the regulars, like plenty of offerings by Kurosawa, along with some films "so rare that they have never been seen in the U.S. in any medium." Indeed this deal is available only in America, so we'll send our apologies to our friendly neighbors to the north, but you're certainly welcome to come on down on movie night. Just bring some popcorn. Naturally the quality here won't match a Blu-ray and we're guessing the usually epic Criterion special features won't be streaming, but you can't have everything for $7.99 a month.

Update: We got a note from Hulu indicating that, yes indeed, special features will be here too. Director commentary, deleted scenes, and lots of other bonus goodies will be coming to the mix. Maybe there'll be something in there explaining the deep, hidden meanings of Sans Soleil. Oh, and it's an exclusive deal, which is a bummer for Netflixers.

[Thanks, Dan]

Qualcomm's ultrasonic pen demo transcribes from paper to device (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 06:25 AM PST

LG's Netflix-lovin' Revolution wasn't the only standout demonstration at Qualcomm's MWC booth -- the company also cut out a bit of space to showcase a wild new ultrasonic pen that's able to transcribe writing on paper directly into one's phone, tablet or laptop. The gist of it is simple: the pen can be equipped with an actual ink pen or a simple nub, and there's a battery-powered transceiver inside. Using standard, off-the-shelf microphones on a mobile device, your future phone or tablet could pick up vibrations from the pen with a radius of around 30 centimeters.

Underlying Epos software is used to convert vibration and coordinate information into text, and from there, any 'ole text app can be used to field the results. We were even shown a brief demo of a prototype language translation app that enabled the demonstrator to write a sentence on paper beside the phone, and have the phone itself take in the English phrase, convert it to text, and then translate into a foreign tongue. It's a fairly impressive feat, and there's some pretty obvious usage case scenarios here -- this could easily reinvent the art of note taking in class, where those who prefer to jot down reminders on paper will be able to log those same bullet points on their laptop as they scribble. Vid's after the break, per usual.
Qualcomm / Epos ultrasonic pen handwriting demo at MWC 2011


See more video at our hub!

VMware Android handset virtualization hands-on

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 06:04 AM PST


VMware and LG's virtualized Android OS demo at MWC 2011 is pretty slick. The speed of the transition from the owner's OS to the virtualized OS is nothing short of amazing considering it is all running from the device's SD card. As we posted earlier, the potential in the work world are pretty impressive: an employer can simply provision and add the new OS replete with all the security policies, remote wipe capability, security, VPN config, mail settings, and all that magic. Sure, VMware has started with Android and LG, but there's apparently nothing holding them back from offering this on any smartphone platform -- and honestly, we can't wait to see more. But until then, the following video will have to do.

iTunes shocker! Apple announces App Store subscriptions

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:43 AM PST

Hot on the heels of the Daily, the oft-rumored Apple subscription service is finally spreading out to the rest of the app store. Love it or lump it, anything currently available in the company's online marketplace, including magazines, newspapers, video, and music, can now be offered on the subscription model. "All we require," said Steve Jobs in the press release, "is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app." (This sounds familiar.) Publishers are also restricted from linking out of the app to locations that allow the user to circumvent the in-app purchase (and publishers can't offer better deals outside of the app store). The rationale here? Apple gets thirty percent off the top off in-app purchases -- enough of a cut, we're guessing, to prompt some bigger publishers to skip the platform altogether (outside purchases, of course, are exempt from this fee). PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store

CUPERTINO, California-February 15, 2011-Apple® today announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Storeâ„ , including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc. This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service that Apple recently launched with News Corp.'s "The Daily" app.

Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly). Then with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment (weekly, monthly, etc.). Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription. Apple processes all payments, keeping the same 30 percent share that it does today for other In-App Purchases.

"Our philosophy is simple-when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers."

Publishers who use Apple's subscription service in their app can also leverage other methods for acquiring digital subscribers outside of the app. For example, publishers can sell digital subscriptions on their web sites, or can choose to provide free access to existing subscribers. Since Apple is not involved in these transactions, there is no revenue sharing or exchange of customer information with Apple. Publishers must provide their own authentication process inside the app for subscribers that have signed up outside of the app. However, Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app. In addition, publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a web site, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app.

Protecting customer privacy is a key feature of all App Store transactions. Customers purchasing a subscription through the App Store will be given the option of providing the publisher with their name, email address and zip code when they subscribe. The use of such information will be governed by the publisher's privacy policy rather than Apple's. Publishers may seek additional information from App Store customers provided those customers are given a clear choice, and are informed that any additional information will be handled under the publisher's privacy policy rather than Apple's.

The revolutionary App Store offers more than 350,000 apps to consumers in 90 countries, with more than 60,000 native iPad™ apps. Customers of the more than 160 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Press Contacts:
Trudy Muller
Apple
tmuller@apple.com
(408) 862-7426
Tom Neumayr
Apple
tneumayr@apple.com
(408) 974-1972
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website, or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Olympus E-PL2 reviewed, deemed another solid but not groundbreaking Micro Four Thirds entry

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:13 AM PST

Olympus E-PL2 reviewed, deemed another solid but not groundbreaking Micro Four Thirds entry
The best thing about the new E-PL2 from Olympus, the company's latest Micro Four Thirds addition? The 14 - 42mm kit lens that comes with it, apparently. It's 30 percent faster to focus and, on top of that, much quieter when getting its AF on. Moving beyond that, the new shooter offers a built-in flash, ISO support up to 6,400 when you need extra help in the dark, a much higher resolution screen on the back and, if you're into pushing photos wirelessly, the Penpal Bluetooth dongle will do so. Digital Photography Review found it to be a good performer, on-par with the earlier E-PL1 but a bit clumsier to change exposure settings than on the E-P2. So, not exactly a clear-cut recommendation for this $599 shooter, meaning you might want to read the full text if you're still on the fence.

Nokia C5-04 with T-Mobile branding gets Bluetooth certified: is the Nuron 2 still on?

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:02 AM PST

Does that shot up there look just a little bit like T-Mobile's allegedly shelved Nuron 2? Why yes, it does -- so it would seem that the phone has a model code of C5-04, according to the Bluetooth SIG's certification database. That would make a lot of sense since the rumored Nuron replacement was looking like a rebranded C5-03 already, and Nokia would need to bust out a new model code since T-Mobile's version would require support for AWS 3G. Question is, does this mean that the phone is back on T-Mobile's roadmap? It wouldn't be out of the question for a canned device to continue its zombie-esque stroll through the world's certification bodies -- but this could also mean the carrier still wants to get this done; Nokia doesn't have Windows Phone gear ready quite yet, after all.

HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:51 AM PST

Okay, by now you've likely seen most if not all of HTC's monstrous MWC 2011 launch (HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S), but we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't complete the video tours. Sadly the HTC Salsa and ChaCha weren't ready to play just yet -- the software isn't quite ready for primetime -- so they had to remain behind a safe layer of glass. We did, however, get a quick overview of each of the S devices mentioned above and have some pretty galleries of them, too. So enjoy the show.
HTC Incredible S first hands-on

HTC Desire S first hands-on

HTC Wildfire S first hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Ace, Gio, Fit, and mini gather for a mega hands-on

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:40 AM PST

You didn't think Samsung just brought its new high-end Galaxy S II to Barcelona, did you? Nope, it also packed a few of those new budget Android 2.2 smartphones -- the Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Ace, and Galaxy mini -- in its luggage. We're aware that's a lot of Galaxy, but there are, of course, a couple of key features that differentiate the low-end phones. Hit the break for our short impressions of the four and a brief video of our favorite.
Samsung Galaxy Gio and Ace hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Fit and mini hands-on

  • Galaxy Ace - Of the four new Galaxy phones, the Ace is the best spec'd. It's no Galaxy S -- nope, no AMOLED display or 1GHz processor -- but it does have a decent 800MHz chip and 3.5-inch HVGA LCD display. The plastic phone has a comfortable etched back with a 5 megapixel camera, and it's the only one of the four to nab a flash. Design-wise, it's not a bad looking handset -- it looks a lot like the European version of the Galaxy S when powered off with the square-shaped home button. This one, like the other four, runs Android 2.2 with TouchWiz 3.0 -- whether you're alright with that comes down to personal preference. All of them also come with a Swype keyboard.
  • Galaxy Gio - The Gio happened to be our favorite of the bunch. Sure, it has a lot of the same attributes as the Ace -- it has a 800MHz processor, Android 2.2, and Swype -- but we like the look of its curved figure and the squircle-shaped home button. We guess you could call it a poor man's Nexus S. It also has a matte plastic back, which we're actually starting to wish was a feature of more Samsung handsets. Compared to the Ace, the Gio takes it down a notch with a 3.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera.

  • Galaxy Fit - The differences between the Gio and Fit are mostly aesthetic, and we don't mean that in a very good way. The 3.3-inch handset boasts a 600MHz processor and a 5 megapixel shooter, but is noticeably thicker than the two aforementioned phones. Either way, this one isn't much of a looker, and it's a bit of a throw back to some of Samsung's feature phones. Also, you're only get a QVGA display here.
  • Galaxy mini - There's no doubt that the mini is the cutest of the bunch, but it's also the cheapest. The 3.14-inch phone has a 600MHz processor, 3 megapixel camera, and QVGA display. Sure, it is very pocketable and has a greenish border, but it's also rather thick, and the display quality just looked incredibly grainy and washed out. Still, we assume if Samsung prices it extremely well, it stands a fighting chance.

AMD Athlon, Phenom and Sempron names may be killed off in favor of Vision brand

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:20 AM PST

AMD's long-awaited delivery of CPU-GPU hybrid chips in the form of its Fusion technology already had one victim in the company's branding strategy (we'll miss you, ATI!), but now we're learning that there may be even more redundancy slips being handed out. X-bit labs have uncovered documentation that claims AMD intends to consign its processor family names to the annals of history, going instead with different classes of its Vision brand. The Athlon, Phenom, and Sempron monikers we know today would be replaced by the A, FX and E series, respectively, with the Llano APU occupying the mid-range A sector, quad- and octa-core Zambezi chips slapped with the FX label, and the low end getting the leftover E tag. Since the current naming scheme really doesn't convey much useful info to non-initiates, this would seem to be a step in the right direction for AMD, but we just don't like to see old friends disappear without a trace. Guess the Athlon XP Thunderbird will just have to live on in our hearts instead.

Android-powered LG Revolution caught streaming Netflix at MWC (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:53 AM PST

Well, well -- what have we here? That up above is LG's Revolution, a Snapdragon-powered Android superphone. What's inside is no normal Snapdragon, though. It's actually a newfangled chip that isn't shipping to consumers just yet, which includes DRM libraries at a hardware level that serve to satisfy paranoid movie execs. The good news is that Qualcomm has actually whipped up a solution that'll finally bring Watch Instantly to Android; the bad news is that existing smartphones -- even existing Snapdragon devices -- will not be able to utilize the app. Without new hardware, the Android version of the Netflix app simply won't function, and no one at Qualcomm was willing to tell us when these Netflix-friendly Snapdragon chips would begin to ship out.

Whenever that fateful day arrives, though, Snapdragon devices with HDMI sockets will be able to beam that content right to their HDTV -- the company's hardware is HDCP-approved, so there's no sweat when it comes to watching content on the big screen. On-site representatives made clear that both the phone and the app were for demonstration purposes only, but we'd be shocked if LG's handset shipped without this compatibility. The demo we saw was smooth as butter, and the app itself looked glorious on the Revolution's 4.3-inch touchscreen. See for yourself in the video just past the break.
LG Revolution streams Netflix at MWC 2011


See more video at our hub!

HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: 'it'll make the ecosystem stronger'

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:30 AM PST

Here's a nugget to chew on as you roll out of bed this morning. During "The Power of Applications" keynote today at Mobile World Congress, HTC CEO Peter Chou was just asked what his take was on the Microsoft / Nokia partnership. Of course, we've heard before that the company loves Android and WP7 equally, and it was certainly onboard from the get-to with the launch of the 7 Mozart, but it's not often that one handset manufacturer comments on another. Contrary to popular belief, Peter seemed fairly positive on the deal, though he made sure to focus more on the software side rather than touching on Elop's decision making skills. Here's the quote in full:
"They're doing what they have to do. It won't be easy, but they're doing what they have to do. We are very committed to Windows Mobile, and we are one of their lead partners for Windows Phone 7. So we are positive, because this combination will surely make that ecosystem stronger. As a strong player [in this ecosystem], HTC will be a beneficiary from [their decision]."
In other words, HTC's pumped that WP7 now has more backing, which will in turn (hopefully) make its own Windows Phone 7 devices more marketable, attractive and desirable as the ecosystem grows stronger. Talk about looking on the bright side of things.

Deutsche Telekom rolling out NFC payments with T-Mobile USA, other markets this year; NFC iPhone along for the ride?

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:06 AM PST

At its press conference at Mobile World Congress today, Deutsche Telekom -- the German parent of T-Mobile subsidiaries around the world -- mentioned that it'll start launching NFC payment systems in handsets across multiple markets starting this year with full deployments in 2012. T-Mobile USA will be included in the action through the Isis initiative announced in late 2010 in partnership with AT&T and Verizon, but here's where it gets particularly interesting: DT execs apparently name dropped Apple during the live event for a 2011 launch. Of course, there's no shortage of rumors that the next-gen iPhone will include some manner of NFC capability, and it certainly seems like an Apple endorsement would work wonders in taking the technology to a new level of consumer acceptance. Follow the break for the full press release -- it doesn't mention Apple, interestingly, so it's entirely possible that this was an executive slip-up. More on this as we have it.

Update: Rich from Phone Scoop wrote in to let us know that the Apple mention was in a slide deck handed out during the conference, not verbalized by executives. Interesting!

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Deutsche Telekom at Mobile World Congress 2011

Feb 15, 2011
Growth field of mobile Internet: focus on customer experience

First EU-wide flat rate for data roaming

Networks as a basis for the 4G experience

Mobile payment and mobile advertising ensure growth

Deutsche Telekom continues to emphasize the growth field of mobile Internet. The company is presenting numerous new products and services for this area at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The focus here is on a great customer experience. From March, Deutsche Telekom will start its data roaming offer "Travel & Surf", and will offer Internet access from EUR 1.95 per day in all European Union countries. Deutsche Telekom customers can, if they are travelling in the EU, benefit from the first real flat rate for data roaming. For EUR 14,95 a week, virtually unlimited surfing in the EU will be available as of this summer.


During 2011, the company will introduce new services in the fields of mobile payment and mobile advertising. In the hardware area, Deutsche Telekom will focus on smartphones which everyone can afford and, with the "move by T-Mobile", is providing a competitively-priced Android smartphone which strengthens the trend towards mobile data traffic in the lower price segment.


"Key to all our innovations is to always provide our customers with a great experience. This will give us a strategic competitive advantage," says Edward R. Kozel, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of Deutsche Telekom. "In order to increase our speed of innovation, we will be working even more intensively with partners and streamlining in-house processes."


Networks as a basis for 4G experience

The volumes of data transferred in the networks continue to grow because customers are using increasingly diverse and more complex applications in the telecommunications networks. Deutsche Telekom is well-equipped for this development. "The data traffic in our European networks has increased sevenfold in the last three years," Kozel continues. "With our Telco plus strategy, we are getting Deutsche Telekom in shape for the gigabit society and ensuring future growth."


A basis for the new customer experience is the extensive expansion of mobile communications networks. In the USA, large parts of the T-Mobile network have already been expanded with HSPA+ to speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s. The aim is to reach 42 Mbit/s during the course of the year. At the same time, the availability of HSPA+ to customers in Europe is being massively increased. Deutsche Telekom's customers in Germany, Poland, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro can already get 21 Mbit/s mobile Internet access in most locations. In Germany and Austria, the available speed will be doubled to 42 Mbit/s in 2011. Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia and Macedonia will upgrade their networks to 21 Mbit/s later this year.


"For us, 4G primarily means a flawless user experience for our customers across various technologies," says Kozel. "The key feature of the 4G experience is that our customers will always automatically be able to use the fastest connection currently available, on state-of-the-art, high-performance, intuitive devices. It won't matter whether this connection is based on WiFi, LTE or HSPA+."


Promising an even faster and more user-friendly mobile Internet experience for its customers, Deutsche Telekom is significantly expanding its offering of WiFi public access points for wireless Internet. Finally, new apps for the major smartphone platforms make using the hotspots vastly easier.


Strategic fields of mobile payment and mobile advertising ensure further growth

With the start of Deutsche Telekom's "Mobile Wallet" in 2011, the cell phone will become a virtual wallet. Deutsche Telekom customers will in future only have to hold their cell phone to an appropriate reader in order to pay for goods, buy tickets for events or regional transport or take part in bonus programs. A new technology - Nearfield Communication (NFC) - is making this possible. As a result, no change at ticket machines and defective magnetic strips on cards will be a thing of the past. The area of payment systems is an important growth driver for Deutsche Telekom and the company will continue to expand it internationally.


Deutsche Telekom is already active in mobile advertising in more than ten European markets. In order to strengthen the international position even further, new formats and channels are set to be developed this year, while marketing will begin in additional countries. T-Mobile USA will also launch the first offerings on the North American market in 2011.


The technology behind these offerings is a new globally standardized platform that meets all core requirements while also allowing the integration of local features. To integrate additional advertisers and information providers, Deutsche Telekom is now working in partnership with mobile advertising specialists, Vienna based Out There Media. The goal is to be one of the leading providers of mobile advertising in every Deutsche Telekom market.

Unstoppable: the first Blu-ray film with Android-compatible Digital Copy

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:00 AM PST

It's a little shocking that it's taken this long to get a Digital Copy that's compatible with Android, but clearly it's the week of shackles being broken. Just yesterday, Qualcomm announced that all future Snapdragon devices would be cleared for Netflix streaming, and now Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is announcing that its impending Unstoppable launch will allow Android users to watch the flick on the go. By enabling the transfer through BD Live, it marks the first time that this has been possible with Google's mobile OS, though it should be noted that consumers will need the disc itself, a WiFi-connected BD player, Android 1.6 or higher and the free PocketBLU app to make the magic happen. Both the movie and app can be downloaded starting today, but here's the real question: are you willing to invest in a movie just to experience Digital Copy... on Android?
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Industry First for Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment as Blu-ray Digital Copy of UNSTOPPABLE available for Android

With tomorrow's Blu-ray launch of UNSTOPPABLE, the action-thriller starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine, Blu-ray Digital Copy will be available for the Android platform for the first time ever. This functionality is an added feature on the UNSTOPPABLE Digital Copy thru BD Live, marking the first time fans with an Android-enabled device will be able to transfer a sell-through movie to their handheld device.

UNSTOPPABLE is an electrifying action-thriller that follows Oscar-winner Denzel Washington* and Chris Pine (Star Trek) as they try to derail an unmanned, half-mile-long runaway freight train transporting deadly toxic material. Only two men can stop the train that is barreling towards Scranton, Pennsylvania: a veteran engineer (Washington) and a young conductor (Pine.) Thousands of lives hang in the balance as these ordinary heroes attempt to chase down one million tons of hurtling steel and prevent an epic disaster. Helmed by visionary director Tony Scott (Man On Fire), this story inspired by actual events delivers excitement and suspense that are...UNSTOPPABLE!

Android users will be able to unlock the feature presentation, as well as UNSTOPPABLE Blu-ray extras (Disc One):
• Derailed: Anatomy of a Scene
• Hanging Off the Train: Stunt Work
• On the Rails with the Director and Cast
• The Fastest Track: Unleashing Unstoppable
• Director Commentary Track
• Tracking the Story: Unstoppable Script Development

To access Blu-ray Digital Copy on Android, users must have the UNSTOPPABLE Blu-ray disc, a wi-fi connected Blu-ray player, Android 1.6 or higher, and the PocketBLU app, which can be downloaded free from the Android Market. UNSTOPPABLE Blu-ray and DVD will be available this Tues., Feb. 15.

Texas Instruments shows off minuscule nHD Pico projector chipset, USB-powered prototype

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:28 AM PST

Can't say we really expected to see Texas Instruments' DLP group here at Mobile World Congress, but it's hard to deny just how mobile these things are becoming. In fact, the company came to Barcelona to (re)unveil its thinnest, smallest optical engine to date: the nHD Pico. It's small enough to fit into just about anything -- phones, slates, tiny projectors and the rear of your cranium should you choose to embed it there. As for specs? It's sporting a 640 x 360 resolution, a contrast ratio greater than 1,000:1, a true RGB LED wide color gamut and reliance on a low-power Pico DPP2601 / 2607 ASIC / processor. TI was using a newly launched Acer device (the C20, if we're being precise) to showcase the chip, and on-site representatives noted that other outfits are developing new kit with this guy in mind. In related news, another gem was on display that hasn't quite made it to market yet. The palm-sized nugget you see above is a full-on pico projector, designed to be powered entirely via USB. There's no built-in battery in this one, and no one would confess as to which company (or companies) were gearing up to ship a branded version of it later this year. That said, it's most certainly on the way, and you can bet we'll be keeping an eye out for it. Peruse the gallery's below at your leisure, of course.
Texas Instruments USB-powered pico projector at MWC 2011

Acer's nHD-based pico projector at MWC 2011

webOS on PCs will be an 'integrated experience'

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:57 AM PST

HP closed its recent "Think Beyond" event with a remarkable announcement that webOS would be coming to PCs. How, exactly, the company planned on doing that has been a mystery. The Seattle Times just interviewed HP's CTO, Phil McKinney, who helped put to rest some premature speculation that HP would be dumping Microsoft Windows in favor of webOS while adding some clarity (though not much) to its webOS on everything strategy. According to Phil, people still want an OS appropriate to PCs, tablets, and smartphones with webOS pulling it all together by "taking the existing operating systems and bringing WebOS onto those platforms and making it universal across all of our footprint." That doesn't mean that webOS will run as a virtualized instance within Windows. Phil says, "it's not virtualization. It's an integrated WebOS experience we're looking to bring." He then adds, "We're working with Microsoft on the future of Windows and we're very optimistic on what that future is, but what we think is we can bring an enhancement to that." The goal is to create a large device footprint that makes webOS a very attractive platform to developers -- "you can develop your WebOS app that'll run on your phone, your slate and your PC," according to McKinney. Hmm, apparently HP didn't get the Elopcalypse memo about the "three-horse race" that considers HP's and RIM's ecosystems irrelevant.

HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Android 2.4 Flyer into the tablet wars (update: hands-on video!)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:31 AM PST

Boy oh boy, HTC is entering the tablet arena with quite a bang. The company has just taken the wraps off its brand new 7-inch Flyer Android tablet, which touts a 1.5GHz single-core CPU, 1GB of RAM plus 32GB of flash storage, an aluminum unibody construction, 1024 x 600 resolution, a tablet-optimized version of Sense, and... what's this, a pressure-sensitive stylus! The HTC Scribe trademark we saw floating around in legal waters turned out not to be the branding for a tablet, it's actually the name HTC gives to the technology enabling what it calls a "groundbreaking pen experience." Other details include a 5 megapixel camera on the back paired with a 1.3 megapixel imager up front, a 4000mAh battery rated to last for four hours of continuous video playback, and memory expandability via a microSD card.

The Flyer will ship in Q2 2011 with Android Gingerbread 2.4 on board. HTC says it'll be indistinguishable from 2.3 as far the end user is concerned, though we all know it won't be quite as good as the 3.0 stuff. We're told not to worry, however, since the new version of Sense being introduced with the Flyer will be the focal point of the company's software offering. As far as HTC is concerned, Sense matters more than the underlying platform, and the reason Honeycomb isn't the shipping OS here was explicitly stated as HTC not having enough time with the latest Google code to customize it to the full requirements of Sense. Guess that settles that.

There are a couple more software enhancements, both marking the introduction of the fruits of HTC's recent deals: OnLive cloud gaming will be coming with the Flyer in the form of an app you open up to access the web-connected bored-relieving service, while that Saffron Digital acquisition has turned into an HTC Watch app for movie streaming and downloading.

We spent a bit of quality time with a Flyer unit recently, although we weren't allowed to turn it on, and our early impressions are rather mixed. On the one hand, we do appreciate the ruggedness and durability that's afforded by the one-piece aluminum shell, but on the other, the Flyer is quite the chunky beast in your hands. We'd imagine strapping in such an extra-speedy processor is the main culprit for its extra girth, though the Flyer is, ironically enough, not terribly light either. We found it heavier and generally a lot less polished from a design perspective than Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Anyhow, HTC should have functional units for us immediately following its MWC presser this morning, and we'll be delving in deeper with this super-specced device. Hang tight!

Update: Pictures of the Flyer can now be explored below and we have video awaiting your audience just past the break.

Update 2: Even more video!
HTC Flyer first hands-on

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HTC UNVEILS HTC FLYER™, THE FIRST TABLET WITH HTC SENSE™

Aluminum unibody design with touch and pen interaction make HTC Flyer unique

First tablet with HTC Watch™ video service, HTC Scribe™ Technology and OnLive® cloud gaming

BARCELONA, SPAIN – Mobile World Congress – February 15, 2011 – HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced its first tablet, the HTC FlyerTM. HTC Flyer blends HTC's trademark design language with an all-new HTC Sense user experience that has been reimagined for the tablets. Using an intuitive and innovative approach to tablets, HTC Flyer combines natural touch and pen interaction. HTC also announced HTC Watch, a new connected video service that will debut on HTC Flyer tablet, and will collaborate with OnLive, Inc. to launch the first cloud-based mobile gaming service on a tablet.

"Clearly, smartphones have transformed our lives but as we observed how people use smartphones, computers and other technologies, we saw an opportunity to create a tablet experience that is different, more personal and productive," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "We are progressing down a path as an industry when people will no longer be in a single device paradigm, but have multiple wireless devices for different needs; this is the direction we are moving."

Encased in a sleek aluminum unibody, the HTC Flyer tablet exudes the iconic style and build quality HTC is known for. It is also ultra-light, weighing as little as a paperback book, and compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket only. With a seven-inch display, lightning fast 1.5Ghz processor and high-speed HSPA+ wireless capabilities, the HTC Flyer tablet is perfect for those who have been waiting for a tablet that is both compact and powerful.

HTC Sense for Tablet
HTC Sense revolutionized smartphones by placing the person at the center of the experience. HTC Flyer's tablet-focused HTC Sense experience focuses on surprising and delighting people with its gorgeous 3D home screen. A unique carousel of widgets puts a user's most important content and information at the visual center of the experience. The HTC Flyer tablet also offers uncompromised Web browsing with Flash 10 and HTML 5.

HTC Scribe Technology
Touch interaction lights up the HTC Flyer tablet experience, but it also offers a groundbreaking pen experience. With the new HTC Scribe Technology on the HTC Flyer tablet, people can rediscover the natural act of writing. HTC Scribe Technology introduces a wave of integrated digital ink innovations that make it easy and natural to take notes, sign contracts, draw pictures, or even write on a web page or photo.

HTC Scribe Technology on the HTC Flyer tablet transforms traditional note-taking into smart note-taking by integrating natural onscreen writing with thoughtful and integrated innovations. A feature called Timemark enables you to capture the audio of a meeting in line with your written notes, so tapping on a word in your notes instantly takes you to that exact place in time in the audio recording of the meeting. Notes are also integrated with the calendar so when there is an appointment reminder you are automatically prompted with an opportunity to begin a new note or in the case of recurring meetings, to continue where the last meeting left off. In an industry first, the HTC Flyer tablet also features built-in synchronization with Evernote™, the world-leading notes application and service.

Streaming Mobile Movies with HTC Watch
The HTC Flyer tablet premieres HTC Watch, HTC's new video download service. The HTC Watch service enables low-cost on-demand progressive downloading of hundreds of High-Definition movies from major studios. The intuitive, natural design of the HTC Watch service makes it easy to find the latest movie and video content, while advanced technology on the back-end enables instant playback over the HTC Flyer tablet's high-speed wireless connection.

Mobile Cloud Gaming with OnLive
HTC takes mobile gaming to an entirely new level by being the first mobile device in the world to integrate OnLive Inc.'s revolutionary cloud-based gaming service. OnLive is leading in the home gaming market by letting people play top video games on their televisions and computers without the need to buy expensive gaming hardware or software. When integrated fully, the OnLive service will enable customers to pipe the OnLive service through the HTC Flyer tablet's broadband wireless to their television sets, or let them play directly on the tablet. When integrated on the HTC Flyer tablet, people can play a variety of games, including hits like Assassin's Creed Brotherhood™, NBA 2K11 and Lego Harry Potter™.

Availability
HTC Flyer will be available to customers globally during Q2 2011.

About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.htc.com/"www.htc.com.

Zuckerberg: Expect 'dozens' of Facebook phones this year (video)

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:10 AM PST

He's said it before: there will be no Facebook phone. And now it's clear what he meant -- Zuck's strategy is to integrate Facebook into every phone telling us today at the HTC launch event in Barcelona that we're only seeing the first wave of Facebook-enabled phones hitting the market, with dozens of phones featuring deep social integration coming this year. See Mark (or is it?) lay down the law after the break.

Intel working with Symantec and Vasco for IPT, hardware-based security measures

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:28 AM PST

Intel working with Symantec and Vasco for IPT, hardware-based anti-phishing measures
Phishers are getting so good and so numerous that even the most technically adept of online bankers should think twice before typing in that password. Even if it's a legit site, databases can be infiltrated and passwords can be cracked. Time for something more, then. Intel is working on it, teaming up with Symantec and Vasco on what's being broadly termed Identity Protection Technology, or IPT. This tech enables a computer to, in hardware, generate a one-time password (OTP) that a compatible site could accept. That computer would have been earlier paired with the site to ensure that only authorized machines sign on. It's similar to the random generating key fobs you might need to sign on to VPN, but built in to Intel's Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. Of course, that won't help if you e-mail your credit card number to a supposed friend who's supposedly stranded in some supposedly far away land, but it's progress.

iBuyPower's Chimera XLC sports Core i7, 240mm liquid cooling system: FarmVille will never be the same

Posted: 14 Feb 2011 11:50 PM PST

iBuyPower's ironic Chimera line is back with the Chimera XLC. First seen at CES, this bad boy features an extreme! flame motif on the outside of the box -- in addition to the 240mm liquid cooling system in the box. That's right: 240mm radiator, a 200mm fan, and five (count 'em!) 120mm fans. This bad boy also packs an Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU, and support for Level 3 Power Drive Overclocking service. Not bad for $1,599, eh? And it's available now. PR after the break.
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The Legend is Reborn - iBUYPOWER Announces Availability Chimera XLC Featuring an Industry Leading 240mm Liquid Cooling System

El Monte, CA – February 11, 2011 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce a new addition to their XLC (Extreme Liquid Cooling) line, Chimera XLC – the third generation of iBUYPOWER's signature gaming line inspired by the mythical fire-breathing beast. The new scorching hot flamed painted chassis stays cool with the most powerful no maintenance cooling system currently available, featuring a huge 240mm radiator. Along with the 240mm radiator, Chimera XLC includes a 200mm fan and five (5) 120mm fans enhancing the systems cooling ability.

"By merging the popular XLC and our flagship Chimera lines we created both the coolest looking and the coolest temperature gaming system on the market." said Darren Su, Executive Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "This third installment of the Chimera line is the ultimate combination of power and style."

Equipped with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor and the recently released NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card for an introductory price of $1,599 the Chimera XLC is ready to battle right out of the box. Additionally, its superior cooling system makes those high end components eligible for iBUYPOWER's exclusive Level 3 Power Drive Overclocking service, which increases CPU speed by as much as 30%.

The Chimera XLC is available now at www.iBUYPOWER.com and starts at $1,599.

Follow iBUYPOWER at facebook.com/iBUYPOWERPC all the latest news on the Chimera XLC and all of iBUYPOWER's systems. The company is currently giving away gear on Facebook for every 200 fans that join.

For additional information about iBUYPOWER please visit iBUYPOWER.com, or contact PR representative Mark Olson at 305.576.1171 x17 or markolson@maxborgesagency.com.

About iBUYPOWER

iBUYPOWER Computer, an enterprise in association with American Future Technology Corporation (AFT), is one of the largest system builders in the PC gaming industry. Located in Los Angeles County, iBUYPOWER's mission is to provide a complete computing solution to meet the needs of the surrounding community and customers nationwide. Currently, the company's product lines include gaming desktops, gaming notebooks, workstations, media center PCs, peripherals and multimedia products. www.iBUYPOWER.com.

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Vodafone UK lands Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 exclusive launch

Posted: 14 Feb 2011 10:52 PM PST

We reported yesterday that Vodafone customers would be the first to get their hands on the lightweight 10.1-inch tablet, and now we're getting word via Twitter that Vodafone UK will carry the Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 exclusively in Britain, at least to start. Thus far, that's all she wrote -- Vodafone's tweet ends with "More info Coming soon!" but they've yet to follow up. So there's still no confirmation of a solid release date -- we've heard March for Asia and Europe -- or pricing, and Americans eagerly awaiting the tablet's Stateside debut have been left out in the cold, but at least our British friends will know where to go when the slim slate makes it to market.

[Thanks, Chris W.]
at 12:20 PM

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