| Google flips Android kill switch, destroys a batch of malicious apps Posted: 06 Mar 2011 09:19 AM PST  When 21 rogue apps started siphoning off identifying information from Android phones and installing security holes, Google yanked the lot from Android Market, and called the authorities to boot. But what of the 50,000 copies already downloaded by unwitting users? That's what Google's dealing with this week, by utilizing Android's remote kill switch to delete them over the air. But that's not all, because this time the company isn't just removing offending packages, but also installing new code. The "Android Market Security Tool March 2011" will be remotely added to affected handsets to undo the exploit and keep it from sending your data out, as well as make you wonder just how much remote control Google has over our phones. Yes, we welcome our new Search Engine overlords and all that, so long as they've got our best interests at heart, but there's a certain irony in Google removing a backdoor exploit by using a backdoor exploit of its own -- even one that (in this case) will email you to report what it's done. |
| J.D. Power: Verizon has best call quality nationwide, T-Mobile consistently below average Posted: 06 Mar 2011 07:42 AM PST J.D. Power, that well known arbiter of human opinion in the United States, has just released its latest study on customer satisfaction with wireless carriers. It addresses such things as (the lack of) dropped calls, failures to connect, voice distortion, echoes, static, and late-arriving text messages, and ultimately churns out a rating out of five stars relative to the regional average and other carriers. In testing done between July and December last year, Verizon had the best or tied for the best satisfaction ratings in five of the six studied areas, while AT&T and Sprint traded blows for second and T-Mobile had to admit defeat as the laggard of the top four. US Cellular managed to score highest in the North Central region, but J.D. Power's overall assessment isn't very rosy for any of the carriers -- the stats collector says growing smartphone usage, heavy texting and more indoor calls are collectively causing call quality to stagnate, and even warns that "increased adoption of smartphones and wireless tablets may continue to compromise the quality of network service." Show full PR text J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Overall Wireless Call Quality Momentum Halts Due to Shifts in Wireless Call and Data Usage Patterns
Verizon Wireless Ranks Highest in Wireless Call Quality Performance in Five Regions1
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 3 March 2011 – Shifts in wireless phone usage, including smartphone and texting use, as well as an increase in the percentage of wireless calls being made and received inside buildings, has led to a halt in overall call quality improvement, according to the J.D. Power and Associates U.S. 2011 Wireless Call Quality Performance StudySM-Volume 1 released today.
The semiannual study measures wireless call quality based on seven problem areas that impact overall carrier performance: dropped calls; static/interference; failed call connection on the first try; voice distortion; echoes; no immediate voicemail notification; and no immediate text message notification. Call quality issues are measured as problems per 100 (PP100) calls, where a lower score reflects fewer problems and higher call quality. Call quality performance is examined in six regions: Northeast; Mid-Atlantic; Southeast; North Central; Southwest; and West.
The study finds the percentage of wireless calls made indoors has increased considerably during the past eight years-to an average of 56 percent in 2011 from 40 percent in 2003. During this time frame, the proportion of wireless calls made from homes increased most notably, averaging 35 percent in 2011, compared with 25 percent in 2003. Among wireless calls made outside of buildings, the greatest decrease has occurred among calls made in vehicles, which has declined to 20 percent in 2011 from 37 percent in 2003. Typically, wireless calls placed indoors result in slightly more problems, on average, than calls placed outdoors.
However, among wireless customers who use data-intensive devices such as smartphones or who have high texting activity, problem rates are higher than the industry average. Problem rates among users of smartphones average 13 PP100, while problem rates average 14 PP100 among heavy texters. These shifts in usage patterns have slowed the historic improvement in call quality, which steadily improved between 2003 and 2009. However, during the past two years, there has not been a significant change in overall call quality performance across the industry.
"The performance gap has definitely lessened between indoor and outdoor calls, and the increase in frequency of calls placed indoors suggests that many customers today are quite confident in their carrier's wireless network," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.
According to Parsons, as this trend continues, it will be critical for wireless carriers to improve coverage for indoor locations. Additionally, increased adoption of smartphones and wireless tablets may continue to compromise the quality of network service, with connection issues holding particularly high potential for problems.
For a 13th consecutive reporting period, Verizon Wireless ranks highest in the Northeast region. Verizon Wireless achieves fewer customer-reported problems with dropped calls, initial connections and interference, compared with the regional averages. Verizon Wireless also ranks highest in the Southeast, Southwest and West regions, and ranks highest in the Mid-Atlantic region, in a tie with AT&T.
In the North Central region, U.S. Cellular ranks highest for a 11th consecutive reporting period. Compared with the regional average, U.S. Cellular has fewer customer-reported problems with dropped calls, failed initial connections, interference and delayed notification of text messages.
Additional study findings include:
* Wireless usage patterns continue to evolve, as fewer calls are being made or received and customers are using their devices more often for text messaging, which increasingly is the preferred method for communication. The study finds that wireless customers receive 161 text message notifications per month, on average-17 more than six months ago (144) and nearly 65 percent more than just two years ago (98).
* PP100 scores continue to be higher among smartphone customers than among traditional handset customers-13PP100 vs. 11PP100. However, problem rates for traditional handsets have risen, compared with those reported six months ago (an increase of 9 PP100, on average).
* Among the top 27 U.S. markets, average PP100 scores are lowest among wireless customers in the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh metro areas (6 PP100), and highest among wireless customers in the Washington, D.C. metro area (18 PP100).
The 2011 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study-Volume 1 is based on responses from 26,019 wireless customers. The study was fielded between July and December 2010.
For more information on customer satisfaction with wireless service, wireless retail sales, cell phone handsets, customer care, prepaid wireless service and business wireless service, please visit JDPower.com.
1Verizon Wireless ranks highest in the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and West regions, and also ranks highest in the Mid-Atlantic region, in a tie with AT&T. |
| Let there be light! Keyport Slide gets a LED insert Posted: 06 Mar 2011 06:06 AM PST Okay, so maybe it's just the natural evolution of things, but it seems as if the purveyors of the Keyport Slide have finally given owners of the $80 key vault a LED-tipped insert so they can more easily unlock poorly lit keyholes everywhere. For those wishing to obtain such convenient luminescence, its up for preorder on the company's website for $9.99 (for the LED only of course), and if all goes well, it'll ship on March 18th. Ten bucks is steep for a couple of measly LEDs, but it sure beats the flashlight-in-mouth method (on a number of fronts). |
| AT&T and Cisco have WiFi on the cable box backwards Posted: 06 Mar 2011 04:29 AM PST Adding WiFi to a cable set-top box is probably something every geek has thought would be a great idea, but we suspect you and AT&T aren't on the same page. You were probably thinking it'd be cool to stream viral internet videos to the big screen without switching inputs, or maybe you thought it'd be cool to ditch the cable modem and WiFi access point and feed your laptop internet via the same box you deliver your HD with. Nope, AT&T and Cisco obviously don't think those are worthy ideas, and instead, this new box simply works without a coax cable. We suppose there's a market for this as only like 90 percent of TVs have coax running to them already -- and no new house is built these days without 'em -- but we have tried to stream HD via WiFi and it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it doesn't "just work." Of course the fact that U-Verse's H.264 streams are pitifully over-compressed should help, but even when you add that to the great performance of 802.11n, we suspect you'd still be better served by a good ol' copper wire. Show full PR text AT&T Dares Cable Cos. to Cut Cable with Wi-Fi STB
The Cisco ISB7005 for AT&T U-Verse cleared the FCC today. This is the first set-top box that IMS Research has observed beyond those from the Turkish company AirTies that is designed to receive pay-TV over a Wi-Fi interface.
Stephen Froehlich, a senior analyst with IMS Research's Consumer Electronics group states, "AT&T appears to be using the extreme compression of their video as a competitive advantage. U-Verse's comparatively low HD video bitrates are allowing them to use a relatively inexpensive 2x2 dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi radio based on the BRCM4717 for this application. Our preliminary analysis is that AT&T can use such a simple design because its HD video is encoded at approximately 5 Mbps compared to 5-8 Mbps for HDTV over satellite and 16 Mbps for HDTV over cable. This means that the satellite and especially the cable providers will need far more elaborate wireless solutions to enable them to stream video over a wireless network."
The Cisco ISB7005 also includes the Ethernet and HomePNA wired networking interfaces found on other U-Verse STBs and DVRs.
Michael Weissman, is the VP of Corporate Marketing for Sigma Designs' (SIGM), the manufacturer of the HomePNA chips used by U-Verse. Weissman notes, "There will always be a need for wired backhaul in the home. Because consumers will want to keep their Wi-Fi capacity open for Mobile Devices. We are confident that our Clear Path powerline networking technology will be able to deliver the performance that operators need from a wired network with the convenience of self-install."
Froehlich adds, "It is not yet clear if the ISB7005 is intended to be the primary client STB for U-Verse or whether it is meant instead to be used only to save installers from the most time consuming of wire runs. It is important to note that this is a client STB for U-Verse and we have not yet seen a multi-room DVR server with Wi-Fi. The interior photos also reveal that the Wi-Fi in the ISB7005 is on a daughter card that can easily be installed or removed by an AT&T technician." |
| Electric car sales watch: 281 Volts and 67 Leafs sold in US during February Posted: 06 Mar 2011 02:47 AM PST Neither Chevrolet nor Nissan have felt proud enough of their EV sales numbers to list them on their latest press releases, but our colleagues over at Autoblog Green have dug those numbers up anyhow. They make for dispiriting reading if you're an electric car well-wisher, as the Volt's sales declined from January's tally of 321 to an even less impressive 281, while the Leaf closed February with only 67 US sales, down 20 on last month. Upon seeing their previous numbers, we postulated that both cars are suffering from constrained supply, which is likely still the case, but it feels ironic to us that electric vehicles, whose driving experience offers instant torque, are taking their sweet time to rev up their sales. |
| Motorola will upgrade your Xoom to 4G LTE -- even if you've rooted it Posted: 06 Mar 2011 01:30 AM PST Happy news for Android tinkerers everywhere -- Motorola has officially confirmed it will attempt to perform its 4G upgrade on all Verizon Wireless-riding Xoom tablets it receives from users, whether they've been rooted, repainted, or accessorized with fluffy dice. Naturally, the company can't guarantee successful software updates on devices that have had their OS tweaked, so it asks users to be kind and rewind to the original firmware state. For those unwilling to stretch that far back, Moto will still give it a shot and says that it'll install the 4G LTE modem at a minimum. What a refreshingly open-minded attitude. Now if Moto could give us an open-minded bootloader on its phones as well, we'd be all set. |
| Olivetti launches OliPad tablet, second coming of the typewriter? Posted: 06 Mar 2011 12:12 AM PST  It's a sign of the times: a company originally known for typewriters, and struggling to find its place in a tech-driven market, turns to manufacturing tablets. This week, Olivetti announced the release of the OliPad, staking its claim to a slice of the slab pie, and repositioning itself on the enterprise PC market. Heralded (at least by Olivetti) as Italy's first tablet, the OliPad sports a 10-inch screen, 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, NVIDIA Tegra 2, Android 2.2.2, and a 1024 x 600 display. It also features USB and HDMI ports and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but perhaps most telling is the simultaneous launch of the Application Warehouse, "a virtual storehouse of configurable and customizable software applications designed by Olivetti specifically for business and government." Considering the vast and varied competition, we'd say sticking to what it knows -- and Olivetti knows business solutions -- is probably a safe bet. Now, if they could just make the thing look as good as the Olivetti Valentine... The OliPad goes on sale this Monday for €399. Full PR after the break. [Thanks, Riccardo] Show full PR text OLIVETTI LAUNCHES OLIPAD, ITALY'S FIRST TABLET
Milan, 28 February 2011
Olivetti today announces the launch of the OliPad, Italy's first tablet. The company is making its entrance into a market on which around 1.5 million terminals are forecast to be sold in Italy in 2011 (Source: IDC).
Offering a 10-inch touchscreen display and 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the OliPad is designed for both Consumer and Business customers. The tablet offers access to a broad range of applications that are either pre-installed or may be downloaded from a dedicated App Shop. The OliPad's applications make it easy to websurf, social network, and access multimedia, published content, and full HD video playback. The OliPad goes on sale on 7 March at a price of €399 (including VAT).
The Olipad launch shows how Olivetti is repositioning itself on the software solutions and IT services markets characterized by the integration of hardware products and advanced services and applications.
The OliPad runs the Android operating system and comes equipped with USB/SD Card and HDMI ports to interface with any other device. The OliPad's Dual Cortex A9 NVidia processor offers above-average processing speeds and graphics performance. The device can be used with a wide range of accessories, ranging from a docking station to keyboards, a touch mouse and a capacitive pen. OliPad's basic set of applications offers access to multimedia content such as music, images, and full HD video content on the move. The device also offers access to a web browser, e-mail management, a calendar and contacts. e-reading software makes it a breeze to read ebooks directly on the 10-inch screen.
For the Business market, OliPad offers high levels of customization to cater to specific corporate requirements. The OliPad also offers access to an impressive range of applications via an Application Warehouse, a virtual storehouse of configurable and customizable software applications designed by Olivetti specifically for business and government. Powered by solution developer software houses, the Application Warehouse is accessible to Olivetti dealers so that they can build integrated solutions for their customers. A number of applications are supplied on a cloud computing basis, offering significant benefits in terms of reliability and cost optimization. Application Warehouse solutions include varying levels of customer care to cater to customer requirements, including a direct online helpdesk that leverages Olivetti's extensive customer care network.
Available applications include: digital catalogues and a guide to point of sale preparation dedicated to fashion industry networks; Sales Force Management applications dedicated to managing sales on the move; a Tool Enterprise Social Network targeted at team working inside and outside companies; and a Signature Workflow Management app for the digital signature of corporate documents.
OliPad will go on sale to the Consumer market via Telecom Italia's sales network, and will be available from TIM stores or by calling 187. Olivetti's new tablet will also be bundled with ADSL packages and TIM price plans. The OliPad will be sold to enterprises and the public sector through Olivetti and Telecom Italia's dedicated sales networks. |
| Teachers-in-training to get pointers, CIA updates via wireless headsets Posted: 05 Mar 2011 09:34 PM PST  Okay, so maybe there's no actual guarantee that headset-wearing teachers will be able to tune into top secret broadcasts from the nation's capitol, but once the infrastructure is in place, it's just a matter of time before everyone's moonlighting as an operative. As the story goes, a gaggle of teachers are volunteering to take part in a Teach for America campaign that puts a bug into their ear and a mentor on the other end. The idea would be to rapidly bring a teacher up to speed by correcting and shaping their technique as it happens, and the potential implications and applications are both vast and numerous. For example, PhDs in foreign nations could one day remotely tutor rural math teachers if Obama's national broadband plan takes hold, and if they're feeling a bit comical, they could throw question marks onto the end of each pointer à la Anchorman. The trial is being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. |
| Havok physics engine comes to Android 2.3, demoed on Xperia Play (video) Posted: 05 Mar 2011 07:46 PM PST Great graphics are often a component of great video games, but fancy physics can help too, and last week Havok announced that it was bringing those to Android, along with all of the requisite development tools. That means smartphones with Android 2.3 or up can potentially enjoy the same procedural animations and pretty dresses that we've enjoyed on PC and home console for years, and as the first gamer-centric smartphone with Gingerbread on board, Sony Ericsson's forthcoming Xperia Play got to be the first to demo them. Watch a pickup plow through road hazards, a gorilla get catapulted across a football field, and an Assassin's Creed-esque warrior run, jump and climb with the best of them in the video above. Oh, and just so you know, we got a (very brief) hands-on with all three demos in person at GDC 2011 last week, and each was practically enjoyable enough to be an Android game of its own. The realistically bouncing ball's in your court, developers. Don't let us down. Show full PR text Havok and Sony Ericsson Push Smartphone Boundaries
Mar 1, 2011
Optimised Havok tools available now for Android™ Developers to create games for Xperia™ PLAY
March 1st, 2011, San Francisco - Havok and Sony Ericsson are delighted to announce the availability of Havok's product suite to Android™ developers, optimized for Xperia™ PLAY, Sony Ericsson's recently announced smartphone. Havok, the leading provider of game technology, has a fully optimized build of its industry leading product line ready for licensing by Android™ developers on Xperia™ PLAY as part of its entry into Android™.
David Coghlan, Managing Director, Havok said: "As part of Havok's overall support for the Android™ platform, we are very pleased to partner with Sony Ericsson to put the full power of the Havok product line into the hands of Xperia™ PLAY developers. We were extremely impressed by the performance of the Xperia™ PLAY and the ease with which we were able to port and optimise our technology to the platform. This will enable developers to use Havok technology to create cinematic, rich 3-D immersive games for Android™ smartphones with Xperia™ PLAY in the forefront."
Steve Walker, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson said: "Xperia™ PLAY is not only a fantastic smartphone on the latest Android™ platform, it also offers the best mobile gaming experience available. We are very pleased to be working with Havok to bring new levels of cinematic and immersive gaming experiences, never before seen on smartphones, to the Android™ platform.
Havok has now fully ported all seven of its products to Gingerbread (version 2.3), the latest version of Google's Android™ platform and partnered closely with Sony Ericsson to deliver a specifically optimized runtime ahead of launch. |
| Earbud / alarm clock takes the comfort out of sleeping Posted: 05 Mar 2011 06:16 PM PST Love sleeping with earbuds in? Hate setting your smartphone in its alarm dock before you go to bed? The folks at Thanko have unveiled a little something called EARINALM which may be right up your alley. The premise is pretty straightforward: it's a set of earbuds that contains an alarm clock, stopwatch, and a calendar. The package includes a USB adapter of charging. Yours now for a mere ¥2,980, or roughly $35. The As Seen On TV infomercials practically write themselves. |
| Skyhook brings location-awareness to the Sony NGP, including WiFi-only models Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:10 PM PST The news got a bit overshadowed by some augmented reality demos and a little game called Uncharted, but Sony also talked a bit about the NGP's location-aware capabilities at GDC this past week, which we now know will rely on Skyhook's Core Engine system. What's more, that functionality will apparently be included on WiFi-only models in addition to those with 3G, which means that all NGP users will be able to play location-aware games and take advantage of other various social applications. As explained by Sony at GDC, that could include things like the ability to find nearby NGP users and see what they're playing, and even more elaborate things like real-life treasure hunts -- all of which can presumably be switched off if you prefer to keep your mobile gaming habits to yourself. Show full PR text SKYHOOK'S LOCATION TO BE EMBEDDED IN THE NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM FROM SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC. FOR ENHANCED GAMING & SOCIAL EXPERIENCE
Gamers and developers to benefit from Skyhook's market-leading location technology
Barcelona, Spain - March 1, 2011 - Skyhook, the world leader in location positioning, context and intelligence, announced that Skyhook's Core Engine will be embedded in the next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP) from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE). NGP, which will make its debut at the end of this year, is SCE's new portable entertainment system. With the addition of Skyhook's Core Engine technology, it will better enable gamers to enjoy location-aware games and social applications by providing the most precise, reliable, and fastest location information available.
Geolocation is at the center of innovation and is fundamental to many emerging mobile games and services. Precise location enables new localized gaming features such as regional leader board, helps gamers find players nearby to challenge, or lets users find localized content. In addition, today, there are tens of thousands of mobile applications that incorporate location as a part of their user experience. Applications such as Facebook and Foursquare incorporate location to simplify user experience and to personalize content delivery.
"The launch of NGP is the latest in a long line of innovations over the past years that demonstrate how the PlayStation® brand continues to push the game industry forward," said Masaaki Turuta CTO of SCE. "Precise location information is increasingly central to the portable entertainment experience. Skyhook's Core Engine will provide NGP with superior location capabilities."
Skyhook is the recognized leader in geolocation technology and fulfills hundreds of millions of location requests every day across over 100 million handsets, tablets, netbooks, cameras, and other mobile devices. Skyhook's ground-breaking Core Engine system combines Wi-Fi, cellular, and GPS readings to produce a single, accurate location quickly and in all environments.
"SCE is one of the global leaders in innovative gaming and portable systems," said Michael Shean, founder and senior vice president, Business Development, Skyhook. "Skyhook is thrilled to enhance SCE's NGP with superior location accuracy and availability and to expand into the portable gaming category."
"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
About Skyhook, Inc
Skyhook is the worldwide leader in location positioning, context and intelligence. In 2003, Skyhook pioneered the development of the Wi-Fi Positioning System to provide precise and reliable location results in urban areas. Today, Skyhook's Core Engine provides positioning to tens of millions of consumer mobile devices and applications. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com. |
| West Penn Allegheny Health System creates an emergency responder app, placing your life in far better hands Posted: 05 Mar 2011 04:08 PM PST Creating a health-minded application for those who are unconscious, dead, or creeping awfully close to death might not do much good, but creating a health-minded application for those who care for the near-dead... now that's a novel concept! The West Penn Allegheny Health System has just churned out the EMS Field Partner app for iPod touch and iPhone, giving emergency medical services (EMS) professionals and other first responders the ability to easily sift through a variety of emergency conditions or complaints -- such as chest pain, stroke symptoms or fall injury, etc. -- and be directed to the closest WPAHS hospital that is most qualified to treat the patient. It also provides an interface with Google Maps and directions to the System's hospitals, not to mention "up to the minute traffic information as well." For more serious encounters, there's a direct link to West Penn Allegheny's LifeFlight Command Center, with the built-in location system telling the backend where to send an emergency helicopter. The app's available for free as we speak, but many of the features (like the chopper request, we're guessing) will require registration. We know, we know -- you had all sorts of crazy ideas. [Thanks, Ryan] |
| Seagate ships 7,200RPM 3TB Barracuda XT internal hard drive, we wonder what took so long Posted: 05 Mar 2011 03:01 PM PST  We've been hearing about Seagate's plans to offer an unencumbered 3TB hard drive since May of last year, but despite promises of a 2010 launch and the release of similarly large HDDs from companies like Western Digital and Hitachi, we're only now seeing the 3TB Barracuda XT shipping all on its own. We won't claim to have an explanation for the delay, but it's possible that the company's proprietary software -- which breaks the 2.1TB legacy OS barrier and enables this guy to function within Windows XP -- could have something to do with it. It might be tardy to the party, but the new Barracuda can definitely hold its own when stacked against the competition -- it spins at 7,200RPM, touts a 64MB cache, and plays nice with the 6Gbps SATA interface. It ain't the only 3TB fish in the sea, but at $280, it's definitely not dead in the water. |
| Samsung says Galaxy Tab 10.1 is still on schedule, iPad 2 be darned Posted: 05 Mar 2011 02:11 PM PST Samsung may have been humbled by Apple's iPad 2, but the company's apparently not letting that affect its plans -- without directly refuting statements by a Samsung VP that the upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 was "inadequate" or might be priced cheaper than originally intended, the company told the Yonhap News Agency that the tablet will be released on schedule. In other words, the Honeycomb tablet's not getting any thinner or lighter, but something's gotta give, and Samsung's not quite ready to say just what that is. |
| Motorola Atrix docks literally and figuratively torn apart, hack enables Webtop over HDMI port Posted: 05 Mar 2011 01:22 PM PST Motorola's got a fine smartphone in the Atrix 4G, but a mildly unsatisfactory pair of modular docks. Good thing, then, that you can gain the most intriguing functionality they add without buying one! Fenny of xda-developers reportedly figured out a way to modify the phone's APK files to activate Webtop mode over a standard HDMI cable -- with no dock needed as a go-between -- allowing you to experience the Atrix's PC-like functionality when connected to any HDMI-ready computer monitor or TV. Of course, you'll need a rooted and deodexed phone to give it a try, but we hear those aren't monumentally difficult to come by. While Fenny's hack could potentially make the desktop dock obsolete -- assuming you've got a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard handy -- Motorola's LapDock is still something else. It's razor-thin, it doesn't require a separate monitor, and it charges your phone. So, before you write it off entirely, you might at least want to indulge your morbid curiosity about what's inside, and thus there's a complete teardown video after the break to show you what the guts look like. Enjoy! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] |
| Aquafairy AF-M3000 might finally make consumer fuel cell charging a disappointing reality (video) Posted: 05 Mar 2011 12:37 PM PST We've been promised portable fuel cells for ages, now. Ages! Finally one is only months away from release -- but its performance seems so limited we're not sure we care anymore. It's the Aquafairy AF-M3000 and, despite its name, it's powered not by water but by ethanol metal hydride fuel packs. Here's where the bad news comes in: a single fuel pack only provides enough current to get an iPhone up to a 50 percent charge, and it'll take 90 minutes at that. So, you'll need two cartridges and three hours of your time just to bring a dead mobile back to life, and given each pack costs around $6 (it's 2,625 yen, about $32 for a pack of five), the entire proposition is rather expensive. That doesn't even factor in the cost of the unit itself: 26,250 yen or about $320. It's set to ship in Japan in April, so get ready to finally enter the future. Nobody said it'd necessarily be a great place to be. Update: We heard from Aquafairy, who confirmed that the solution is not ethanol, but is actual a solution of water and metal hydride. Also, the price is just for what are termed "test sales" and there are discounts if you buy a bunch. Maybe the future looks better if you buy in bulk. |
| Redpark Console Cable gives iDevices an RJ-45 connector, not Ethernet access Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:49 AM PST Ever find yourself wishing your iPad iPad 2 was free from the fickle whims of wireless internet connections? Neither do we -- but, if you're the cable-dependent type, your prayers may not go unanswered for much longer. Redpark (who gave the iPhone an RJ-11 dongle) has created the Console Cable with the ubiquitous 30-pin Apple connector on one end and an RJ-45 plug on the other. The $69 device is used in conjunction with a $9.99 Get Console app to allow Cisco engineers to use their iDevice of choice to perform maintenance out in the field. Cable and app are exclusively compatible with Cisco devices, however, so no Ethernet on the iPhone... yet. It's only a matter of time before someone makes it happen -- your move, hackers. |
| RIM's chief marketing officer resigns Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:02 AM PST  We won't read too much into this, but it comes at an interesting time -- with only a month left before RIM is expected to debut the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the company's chief marketing officer has resigned. The Wall Street Journal reports that RIM CMO Keith Pardy (formerly with Nokia) will leave due to "personal reasons" after a six-month transition period is up. The publication's anonymous sources add that Pardy actually made the decision a month ago, and that the move "reflects larger turmoil" within RIM -- as opposed to any sort of knee-jerk reaction over the iPad 2 launch, we suppose. To be frank, we're a little worried about the fate of the PlayBook if it's indeed close to launch -- when we tried a prototype at the Game Developer's Conference this past week in San Francisco, the hardware was still pretty solid, but the software was a bit sparse, and what was there felt like it needed more than a few coats of polish. [Thanks, Jonathan W.] |
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