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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

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ASUS Eee Pad Transformer resists Canadian coins, does not survive slings and arrows (video)

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 12:10 PM PDT

ASUS hasn't really had to twist consumers' wallet-carrying wrists to get its Eee Pad Transformer off retailers' shelves and into homes -- the tablet practically walks itself. Which makes the company's latest attempt at viral marketing come off as more of an exercise in unnecessary bragging, than a straight, feature-touting webmercial. The video, made for the hardware maker's college-focused Campus Life website, walks viewers through a brief description of the Gorilla Glass coating that gives the Honeycomb-based tab its damage-resistant properties, before putting the slate through a series of stress tests. While we've always been told sticks and stones would break our bones, apparently keys, Canadian change and screws won't harm the Transformer. The sole chink in this popular pad's ion exchanging armor? Archery, of course.

Sony announces WiFi-less PSP model, hits Europe this fall for €99

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 11:37 AM PDT

Sony had more than just PS3 price cut to reveal at its Gamescon press conference today: it also announced that it will be releasing a new budget-priced PSP model that sports a new design and curiously ditches the WiFi capability that the PSP has had since its debut. No word of a North American release just yet, but folks in Europe will be able to pick it up this fall for €99 (or about $140, though we're guessing the actual US price would come in below that; the standard PSP-3000 currently demands €130 in Europe). Hit the gallery below for a closer look.
PSP E-1000

Sony drops PS3 price to $250 in US, €250 in Europe

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 11:29 AM PDT

Sony just wrapped its Gamescon 2011 keynote with this juicy nugget: base PlayStation 3 models will run you just $250 in the US, €250 in Europe, and ¥24,980 in Japan. Announced at the same show two years ago with a $300 price tag, the base PS3 Slim model includes a 160GB hard drive. A lower price will provide a nice cushion for that $299 Call of Duty: Black Ops bundle, which just hit stores earlier this summer. Meanwhile, the 320GB model will see a $50 drop as well, with new pricing for both models kicking in immediately in the US and Europe, and August 18th in Japan. Sony also lifted the curtain on a €99 (about $140) budget PSP model, which adds a slick new design while dropping WiFi functionality. Because, really, who needs their handheld console to connect to the web? All that internet gaming stuff was so 2011.
Show full PR text
Sony Computer Entertainment Sets New Price for PlayStation®3

PlayStation®3 Available at an Attractive New Price of 24,980 yen, $249 and euro 249, Effective Immediately for North America and Europe, and Starting August 18 for Japan

TOKYO, Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment system with 160GB hard disk drive (HDD), currently available at a recommended retail price (RRP) of 29,980 yen (including tax), $299 and euro 299, will be available at a very attractive new RRP of 24,980 yen (including tax) for Japan, $249 for North America and euro 249 for Europe/PAL territories. SCE will also reduce the price of the PS3® system with 320GB HDD, currently available at a RRP of 34,980 yen (including tax), $349 and euro 349, to RRP of 29,980 yen (including tax), $299 and euro 299. The new pricing will be immediately effective for North America and Europe/PAL territories, and starting August 18, 2011 for Japan.

Since its release in 2006, PS3 has gained tremendous support from fans around the world and its cumulative worldwide sales reached a milestone of 50 million units as of March 29, 2011. Equipped with future proof cutting–edge technologies including the sophisticated processors, Cell Broadband Engine™ and RSX®, as well as the Blu-ray disc™ (BD) player and HDMI terminal, PS3 has continuously enhanced its value to consumers through system software updates to support new features and services including stereoscopic 3D content playback and support for the PlayStation®Move motion controller. With the breadth and depth of services and content available for the PS3 system, including its impressive BD software line-up and the expansive portfolio of more than 60,000 games and video content (*1) available on PlayStation®Network, the new price will make the platform more accessible than ever and will appeal to a wider audience looking to buy the best entertainment system for their home. With strong support from software developers and publishers, as of June 30, 2011, the worldwide cumulative number of BD software titles for the PS3 system exceeds 2,495 titles and downloadable PS3 games available on PlayStation®Store exceeds 3,100 titles (*2). Of these titles, more than 120 titles (*3) are stereoscopic 3D supported and 200 titles (*3) are PlayStation Move dedicated or supported. In addition to this extensive software title line-up, exciting and attractive new titles are expected to be released from software developers and publishers as well as from SCE Worldwide Studios, including Madden NFL 12 and Battlefield 3™ from Electronic Arts, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®3 from Activision, Assassin's Creed Revelations from Ubisoft, Resistance® 3, The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception™ from SCE and more.

The PS3 system provides free access to PlayStation Network and its growing portfolio of marquee entertainment services for streaming hi-def movies, TV shows and sporting events. In North America, these services include Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, Netflix, NHL GameCenter, Vudu, and many more. PlayStation Network also features unique and compelling downloadable content from leading networks, such as the Discovery Channel, ESPN and HBO, and exclusive games, including the critically-acclaimed PixelJunk series and the highly anticipated Journey, to ensure PS3 customers always have amazing entertainment experiences at their fingertips.

Through these price reductions, the upcoming line-up of blockbuster software titles for the PS3 system and the industry's strongest offering of entertainment services, SCE will continue to expand the PS3 platform and deliver a world of computer entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation.

(*1) As of the end of July 2011. The number includes downloadable PS3 games, game demos and video content. The number does not include PSP content, game add-on or themes.

(*2) As of the end of July 2011. Number of downloadable PS3 games including classics. The number does not include game demos.

(*3) As of the end of July 2011.

Enough Already Arduino mutes TV's overexposed celebrities, frees you to live again (video)

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 11:22 AM PDT

Are you besieged by celebrities? Sure, you could try turning off the TV, but now there's a more complex, DIY solution: Enough Already, an Arduino box that mutes your television at any mention of certain names -- Lady Gaga, for example. The setup's fairly simple if you're comfortable with hardware hacking; it uses the Video Experimenter Shield to read closed captioning data, then sends the mute command via IR whenever offending words appear. Of course, you can tweak the blacklist however you like, so Pippa Middleton updates will still get through. Follow the tutorial after the break and you'll be able to once more channel-surf in peace, knowing you'll never again have to hear the word "Snooki."

BlackBerry Colt to launch before end of 2011?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 10:56 AM PDT

The BlackBerry Colt -- RIM's presciently named round three handset entry, or last grasp at smartphone dominance? You'll have to wait until the end of the year to decide, as this latest bout of insider hearsay points to a sooner-than-expected launch. Citing several trusted industry sources, Dutch website Tweakers.net reports that the Canadian electronics company is rushing its first QNX-based smartphone out to the mobile market ahead of its previously rumored 2012 Q1 launch. The phone, purported to lack BES, is said to pack a 4.3-inch display and a single-core (yes, you haven't misread that) 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor. We can understand if you're already underwhelmed. Releasing a single core device into an impending quad-core wireless world is one sure way for the company to castrate its young mobile buck. Still, with gossip being what it is, we'd advise you to take this news with a heavy lick of salt. You never know, those co-chairs up in Waterloo could still surprise us yet.

Oppo announces X903 smartphone, leaves Leonardo DiCaprio confused (video)

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 10:33 AM PDT

Oppo, beloved maker of a variety of electronics rarely released outside of China, is jumping into the smartphone business with an Android-powered slider called the Oppo X903. Take the following specs with a pinch of salt, but the device is believed to have a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 CPU and comes with an eight megapixel camera and a 3.97-inch WVGA IPS screen. So far, so normal -- what's not normal is the ad campaign for the phone, in which a bemused Leonardo DiCaprio stares glumly out of a moving train as a woman writes "find me" in condensation on a perfectly clean window. That's right after the break and you won't have to look too hard to find press shots of the phone itself either. They're down there in the gallery.
Oppo X903 Press shots

Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 10:09 AM PDT

Well, this is certainly interesting. While rumors of an LTE-enabled iPhone had died down for a little while, they sprung back to life yesterday with a report that just such a device was being tested by carriers. Now we've received an image the image you see above, which shows some 4G LTE equipment that was recently installed in a major Apple store -- by AT&T, according to our source. Making things somewhat more interesting is the equipment itself, one piece of which supports only the 700MHz and AWS bands -- both of which AT&T plans to use for its LTE network if the T-Mobile acquisition goes through.

We're also told that the Apple Store in question, and all those in the region, are now trying to increase staffing on the sales floor by about 30 percent, which is apparently not related to the usual hiring in the lead up to the holidays (that will apparently still happen later). Of course, this could simply be the result of some long-term planning rather than evidence of the next iPhone, but the timing is a bit curious to say the least.

Update: We've removed the pic for now at the request of our tipster.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Nokia chimes in on Google's Moto deal, reaffirms its dedication to WP7

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 09:54 AM PDT

Google Moto
All the major Android players were, at least publicly, supportive of Google and its move to snatch up Motorola Mobility yesterday, and so is Nokia it seems. The company released a statement saying:

"This further reinforces our belief that opportunities for the growth of Nokia's smartphone business will be greatest with Windows Phone. This could prove to be a massive catalyst for the Windows Phone ecosystem. Additionally, with our respective intellectual property portfolios, Nokia and Microsoft are working together to build and nurture an innovative ecosystem that benefits consumers, operators, developers and other device manufacturers."

Clearly, the Finnish company isn't buying the big G's lines about keeping its mobile OS open and staying out of the way of its hardware partners. It also sounds as if Nokia is prepared to enter the patent battle fray on behalf of Microsoft, should the need arise. The Mountain View crew may have bolstered its legal weapons cache with Moto's 17,000-plus patents, but things could get uglier before they get better for the mobile giant.

AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G scheduled for August 21st launch

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 09:39 AM PDT

With it having been in the works for so long, it's easy to forget that AT&T is ready to flip the switch on its sparkling-new LTE network virtually any second now. But Ma Bell is happy to remind us of its impending true 4G launch by announcing that its first two dedicated LTE devices, the USBConnect Momentum 4G and Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G, are set to be sold in stores this upcoming Sunday. In addition, users of the USBConnect Adrenaline will be able to download a firmware update on August 26th that turns on its dormant LTE radio. The carrier also officially announced that its DataConnect plans will be offered for $50 per month for 5GB, with usage charges of $10 for each additional GB. Hold your horses, though -- the units will be available for purchase and can be used on HSPA+ for now, but it doesn't guarantee AT&T will activate the higher-speed 4G network next week. Nay, we may have to wait just a little longer before Ralph de la Vega pushes the big red button on his desk, but that day is not too distant.
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First LTE/HSPA+ Devices Arrive in AT&T Stores Aug. 21
AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G Eligible for $50, 5GB Data Plans

Dallas, Texas, August 16, 2011

Key Facts

The AT&T* USBConnect Momentum 4G** and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G** will be available in stores and online Aug. 21.
AT&T also confirmed data pricing for data-only mobile broadband devices on the company's forthcoming LTE network.
Customers will be able to choose 5 gigabytes of data for a monthly rate of $50 with any additional data consumed available for $10 per gigabyte.
The LTE-upgradeable AT&T USBConnect Adrenaline will also be able to be updated to LTE beginning Aug. 26.

Data Plan Options

As the first devices that will be able to take advantage of AT&T's future 4G LTE network arrive in AT&T stores, customers who choose the AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G will be able to select the same $50 for 5 GB data option as many current USBConnect or Mobile Hotspot customers do today.

Also capable of 4G speeds on AT&T's HSPA+ network, the USBConnect Momentum 4G, Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G will be the only LTE devices in the United States to have a 4G/HSPA+ network with enhanced backhaul to fall back to if a customer moves outside of LTE coverage.

Already in customers' hands, the AT&T USBConnect Adrenaline is LTE-upgradeable, containing an LTE chipset that can be enabled with a software update. Those customers can visit www.att.com/adrenaline to download that update beginning Aug. 26.

LTE Roadmap

AT&T recently announced plans to roll out 4G LTE in five markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio – later this summer. Customers with compatible devices and 4G LTE coverage in those markets will be able to enjoy access to 4G LTE speeds as AT&T's 4G LTE is turned up.

As AT&T rolls out 4G LTE, customers outside of its 4G LTE coverage areas will still have access to AT&T's fast HSPA+ network. When combined with enhanced backhaul, HSPA+ enables 4G speeds that are up to four times faster than AT&T's already fast mobile broadband speeds. Because AT&T has taken the extra step of deploying HSPA+ technology with enhanced backhaul, its customers will have access to consistently fast mobile broadband speeds when moving in and out of 4G LTE areas.

By the end of 2011, AT&T plans to offer 4G LTE to customers in at least 15 markets, covering 70 million Americans.

Saygus VPhone finally wins approval from Verizon, not so high-end anymore

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 09:22 AM PDT

Saygus VPhone
Hey, you folks remember the VPhone? Honestly, we had forgotten about it too. The debut handset from Saygus first started making the rounds in late 2009 sporting, what were at the time, high-end features, like a front facing camera and a 624MHz processor. Well, times have changed and now that the Android-powered phone has finally won approval through Verizon's open development initiative it's, at best, decidedly mid-range. While the 256MB of RAM and chunky, sliding QWERTY remain, the VPhone has received some minor upgrades on its journey to Big Red -- that XScale core has been bumped to a seemingly arbitrary 806MHz and Donut has been swapped for Froyo or Gingerbread. The one thing that the relative unknown still has going for it is hacker friendly features, such as an unlocked bootloader and the ability to run custom ROMs from an SD card. Sadly, there is still no word on an actual release date or price, but at least we know Saygus hasn't completely fallen off the face of the Earth.

Lightning Motorcycles electric bike blazes past 2010 record, joins 200 MPH Club

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 08:59 AM PDT

Bonneville, home to the world's fastest lawnmower record, has just added another notch to its land speed belt -- this time for electric motorcycles. When last we left Utah's salt flats, Mission One had claimed top honors for its all-electric bike, but that title has once again been usurped by rival Lightning. Averaging a speed of 206.079 mph, the team's Flying Banana Mk. II blazed past its 2010 record of 176.044 mph to claim the speed hog glory. The chopper's rider, Paul Thede, now gets to join the likes of 65 other inductees in Bonneville's exclusive 200 MPH Club. His award for such a hallowed distinction? Why, he got to wear the club's red hat for a whole 24 hours.

Orange exec welcomes Google's Motorola buy with open arms

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 08:35 AM PDT

Motogoog, Googorola -- whatever phrasing you've landed on, yesterday's giant bit of industry news is sure to draw strong opinions on both sides of the fence. Thus far, we've seen a largely positive responses from the competition, with companies like HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson issuing fairly uniform statements on the matter. And while US carriers have been pretty quiet on that front, France Telecom-owned Orange is about ready to high five all parties involved. Yves Maitre, an SVP with the company, called the whole thing "great news," suggesting that Mootlegooga (okay, that one probably won't stick) will offer a good bit of competition for the mobile juggernaut that is Apple. The deal, he explained, adds a sort of vertical integration that's all the rage in the industry right now, with companies like Apple and Nokia / Microsoft.

HTC Bliss spotted frolicking in the blurry wild?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 08:09 AM PDT

We haven't heard much about the HTC Bliss since it popped up on a Verizon roadmap earlier this month, but the folks over at PocketNow have obtained photos of what could be the handset's first public appearance. The so-called "women only" smartphone, which recently passed through the FCC, is rumored to run on a 800MHz single-core processor and will reportedly sport a new version of HTC's Sense UI. It's also expected to run Android 2.3 and to rock a GSM 900MHz radio, though, as you can tell, it's a little difficult to glean any of that from the above blurry images. No word yet on whether it'll launch in September, as expected, or whether it'll look a bit more feminine when it does, but we'll keep you posted.

Samsung halts TouchWiz UX updates to prevent bricking issues?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 07:49 AM PDT

Are you a Galaxy Tab 10.1 owner still waiting to upgrade your slate to TouchWiz UX? Well, prepare to be disappointed -- Samsung has pulled the update. It's remaining tight-lipped on the subject but it looks to be in response to some users experiencing lagging graphics or bricked devices. When Android Police tweeted Samsung's Carla Saavedra she said "(the update) has been temporarily halted to assess progress & ensure it's a positive experience for customers" and said regular service would "resume shortly" but "no specifics were given." We'll keep our eyes on this one, but in the meantime you can read the torrid exchange after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]


German court lifts ban on some European Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 07:25 AM PDT


A Dusseldorf, Germany regional court has partly lifted a preliminary injunction issued last week banning Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, the day after Webwereld noticed inconsistencies in Apple's injunction filing. Now Europeans (save those living in Germany) won't need to trek to the Netherlands to get their Tab fix -- at least until a verdict is issued after Samsung's August 25th appeal hearing. Sales of the device were originally banned following an Apple lawsuit alleging patent infringement, but were permitted to resume after a realization that a German court may not have the authority to halt sales of a South Korean company's device outside of Germany. Since the judgement didn't affect devices that had already been distributed to retailers, it's unknown whether or not the week-long ban has had any effect on sales.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Minecraft Pocket Edition hits Android Market, only Xperia Play users need apply

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 07:00 AM PDT

Just a couple months after making its grand debut at this year's E3, Minecraft has finally made its way to the Android Market, much to the delight of cube enthusiasts and time-wasters everywhere. With this new, Pocket Edition app, Mojang is hoping to faithfully recreate the Minecraft experience on mobile platforms, with a special emphasis placed on the game's creative side. In version Alpha 0.1, users will be able to explore randomized worlds, invite friends to play along in their worlds and save multi-player realms directly to their phones -- all while manipulating 36 different kinds of blocks from the comfort of their touchscreens. For now, the game will only be available for Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play, though Mojang plans to release it for other Android handsets "in the near future." You can grab it now for $6.99, or swerve past the break for more information, in the full press release.
Show full PR text
Say hello to Minecraft - Pocket Edition

Today we are releasing the first version of Minecraft – Pocket Edition. The game will be exclusive to Xperia Play for a limited time and released to other Android devices in the near future.

The first version (Alpha 0.1) will focus on the creative aspects of Minecraft. We have tried to put in the features that make sense for playing on a mobile device while still keeping the core of the Minecraft experience. You will be able to select blocks on the touchscreen or just scroll through them with the circle and square buttons on the Xperia Play device. The first version also supports multi-player on a local wireless network allowing you to create a world and invite friends to build together. Some of the features in this release include:

• Randomized worlds
• Build anything you can imagine
• Build with 36 different kinds of blocks
• Invite and play with friends to your world (local wireless network)
• Save multi-player worlds on your own phone

Just like the PC/Mac/Linux version of Minecraft we're planning to continue developing the Pocket Edition for a long time with frequent updates. We are eager to hear what the Minecraft community thinks about our new game and what you all want to see in future updates.

Minecraft – Pocket Edition is now available in Android Market (only visible to Xperia Play devices) for $6.99

BlackBerry Bold 9930 review

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 06:01 AM PDT

It's been something of a long time coming, this emboldened Bold. We got our first glimpse of the thing in February, spent some quality time with it back in June, and since then have sat around eagerly awaiting its release. Now, here it is. From a distance, or at a quick glance, it looks little changed from 2008's Bold 9000. But get closer, pick it up, and the difference is astonishing.

RIM has gone to great pains to talk up this device's high-end design, its luxurious stylings, its sophisticated aesthetic. We're far from Vertu territory here, but the first time this phone hits your palm you know a lot of people spent a lot of time making it feel just right -- even if it still looks just the same. Of course, it's what's inside that counts, so join us as we find out whether the soft and hard bits beneath the surface can do the business too.
BlackBerry Bold 9930

Hardware


While the old Bolds lived up to their name by being a little rounded, kind of chubby, a bit bulbous, the new model is rather more svelte and sophisticated. Looking purely at its face it's hard to detect that anything has changed. You still have the same portrait QWERTY layout with the same basic button scheme, but where once lived a trackball now an optical trackpad sits. That's flanked by a solid bar of backlit capacitive touch buttons, newly monochrome and flush with the display. A curving bit of chrome separates those buttons from the keyboard, as before.

Pick the Bold up and turn it around a bit and the differences from previous models become apparent. The extent is now a classy rim of brushed stainless steel, one continuous band that we presume will offer some serious drop protection -- though we succeeded in not verifying that assumption in our time with this unit. That band is punctuated by ports, controls and buttons as needed. Up top is a single lock button, while the right side houses the phone's other controls. There's a volume rocker with a mute button nestled in the middle, and further down rests the Convenience Key, which by default activates the five megapixel camera. On the left side you'll find openings for a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB port, while on the bottom is a little, riveted inset that provides something of a minor visual distraction.



Around the back you'll find another big change: an slab of composite weave has replaced the Leatherette on the old Bold, ditching tactility in favor of an extra bit of class. But, the soft-touch plastic that provides the tapered edge, covering the gap between woven panel and stainless rim, does feel a little bit cheap by comparison -- as a Mercedes CLS might look a bit low-rent next to a Bentley Continental. Overall, though, it's a solid, stately feeling phone that offers little visual presence but plenty of good feel. And, at 10.5mm (.41-inches) thick, it's rather svelte, too.

The thing you'll want to touch first is, of course, the backlit keyboard, and we think you're going to like it. In fact, we'd go so far as to say this is among the best physical keyboards ever found on a phone, if not the best. It isn't substantially different than the old Bold, just a smidge wider but using the same design of curved keys that are tapered, each one subtly reaching up to meet your thumbs on either side. It's definitely intended for use as a two-thumb affair, working best when you're messaging with both hands, and when used thusly it'll easily keep up with your most torrid BBM exchanges.

Around the back again, that hood-shaped wedge of carbon fiber-like material serves as the battery door, and an integrated conductive loop therein gives this thing the NFC chops its classmates the 9810 and 9850 lack. Lurking beneath here is a 1,230mAh battery, the same used on all three new handsets but a bit of a step down from the 1,550mAh unit found in the older, fatter Bold 9000.


Tucked beneath that is a microSD slot, where you can add up to 32GB of storage to boost the 8GB that's built-in, and a SIM slot. You'll be needing that to keep every one of this phone's radios singing, and there are many in this chorus line. In addition to dual-band CDMA / EVDO (800/1,900MHz) you're looking at dual-band UTMS / HSPA (900/2,100MHz) and quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1,800/1,900MHz), plus 802/11a/b/g/n WiFi at 2.4 and 5.0GHz. If you've got a frequency calling, chances are this thing can answer -- unless it's 4G, of course.

Move past the radios and things look less spectacular, as this is effectively a re-arranged version of the same hardware that's found in its sibling Torch handsets. From that perspective these are all basically the same phone, with a 1.2GHz processor, 768MB of RAM and so-called "Liquid Graphics" engine that promises to deliver smoother, more engaging performance. Did it? We'll see in the software section below.

BlackBerry Bold 9930 vs. Torch 9850 vs. PlayBook

Finally, when it comes to call quality, the performance here is top-notch. While we find our handset to have average abilities when it came to seeking out and hanging on to the signal Verizon is putting out, calls always went through loud and clear. The speakerphone likewise will do quite well for your next impromptu concall -- even in the big conference room. You know, the one with the tired, faux-leather chairs and the automatic projector screen that probably knocked the socks off of potential clients back in the early '90s.

Display


The new Bold offers a 2.8-inch LCD that may not be much bigger than that found in previous Bold models but is at least higher resolution: 640 x 480. It's hard to get too excited about stepping up to VGA in 2011, so forgive us if we're a little underwhelmed by the pixel count here, but resolution is more than adequate. In fact, its 287dpi rating is mighty close to the vaunted 300dpi supposedly needed to get us close to Retina territory. Coming from a big-screened slate of a phone you'll feel underwhelmed by the size here, but most BlackBerry users will appreciate the extra pixels.

If indeed you can get past the size you'll agree this is a very, very nice display offering plenty of brightness for sunny days, beautiful color reproduction regardless of conditions and viewing angles good enough to offer almost full-contrast -- even when you can see only a sliver of the screen. It's quite a looker, just a shame it's so small.

Camera


Where before the camera was situated smack in the middle, the 9900 series splits camera from flash, embedding the five megapixel sensor on the upper-right (when facing away from you) and the LED flash on the upper-left. When using the flash we found this created something of an unfortunate shadow on the right-edge of whatever we were imaging at close-range, but given this is an EDoF sensor you won't want to be that close anyway. In theory the camera has clear focus out to infinity, but the reality is EDoF makes macro shots impossible. In our sample gallery you'll see up-close shots of the flowers are blurred, and while your average executive won't be pulling this phone out of his trouser pocket to catch a passing daffodil in bloom, he probably will want to take close-up snaps of the business cards handed to him at last week's sales mixer. The 9900's camera isn't particularly well suited for the job.

Take a step (or three) back, though, and you'll take adequate, though washed-out images. Colors are muted and balance is straying to the warm side, but the results are presentable even if they scream "this was taken on a cellphone." Video is captured at 720p and that fixed-focus means you won't have to worry about the lens hunting while filming. Stay a few steps away and things stay sharp, but we did notice a lot of jiggle distortion in the resulting footage, so you'll need a steadier hand than we could manage when filming the sample above.

Also, there's no front-facing webcam, so don't hold your breath for video chat here.
BlackBerry Bold 9930 Bold sample images


BlackBerry 7

Do you hate change? You are going to really love BlackBerry 7. The latest flavor of the OS got bumped from a minor to a major update for reasons that likely have more to do with marketing than hardware, but regardless of how you spin it this Bold is running what is, ultimately, a tweak to the BB6 that many of you know and have grown tired of. After playing with and (mostly) loving the gesture-heavy interface slapped over QNX to power the PlayBook we're naturally quite eager to see what's next for that little OS. Sadly, we're hearing we won't see anything like that on a phone until next year sometime.

So, for now, we're left with an OS that feels every bit the latest, minor revision in a long, long history of minor revisions. BlackBerry OS is showing its age in a not very good way. If you've been lately spending your time coddling something running Android, iOS, webOS or Windows Phone you're liable to feel like you stepped back in time a decade or so -- especially the first time you load up the browser, hit your favorite website, and get treated to a shockingly minimalistic WAP rendering. Gasp!

Despite that simple default rendering this is an all-new browser with HTML5 support. It can handle just about anything the Web can throw at it -- except for Flash -- and do so with aplomb. Even complex pages render quickly and are smooth to navigate around. If you can manage to pinch on this tiny display you'll be able to zoom in and out, and there's plenty of elastic bounce should you scroll to any of a page's four extents.


The OS's integrated search function lets you quickly hunt through contacts, favorites, e-mails, you name it. Now you can also search by voice, a feature that we found to be incredibly accurate at identifying whatever we mumbled into the microphone. The only drag here is that we had to accept not one, but two incredibly long license agreements before enabling that feature. In fact you'll be scrolling through pages and pages of legalese just about every time you try doing something new on your handset. That results in, needless to say, a somewhat unpleasant user experience.

Finally, BB7 brings BlackBerry Balance to the mix, functionality that allows you to keep your work stuff from your home stuff. This can help you from losing your personal bits should an admin decide to remote-wipe your handset but, more importantly for the BES jockeys out there, it means users can be prevented from sending work information via personal challenges -- like, say, forwarding your company's internal Q2 projections out to everyone in your neighborhood investment club. In other words, it's a feature more intended for admins than those who are administered, and so nothing to get too excited about. Unless, of course, you're one of those admins.

If so, or if you are some other corporate user, as ever this OS offers a great experience for business. Open a meeting invite and it's easy to jump right into the concall from there. Should you put the other team on mute you'll get a reassuringly highlighted red indicator on the screen that's easy to see with a glance. (Important for those who like to do their best Crow T. Robot impression when the discussion gets a bit dull.)

Ultimately, the OS is quick and easy to jump around in if you know what you're doing, and if you're looking for productivity you can find it here. But, if you aren't, or you don't know your way around the world of BlackBerry, you'll find things ugly and unintuitive. There are too many lengthy, scrollable menus, too many hidden collections of options, and simply too little style to catch the eye of anybody who's been using a modern mobile operating system.

Software


If you're not sold on BB7, the application selection isn't liable to help matters. App World does offer a healthy choice, but the most entries are tiny little utilities with niche functionality that will leave you asking questions like "Do we really need an app dedicated to scanning Air Traffic Control at Ottawa International Airport?" In this case the answer is yes, someone does, but we can safely say that we could do without 3D Rollercoaster Rush Jurassic 2. This app is supposed to be the premiere title to show off the phones' new Open GL ES 2.0 support, and it sure does have polygons. It is also slightly less fun (and only slightly more interactive) than watching a video of someone else riding a rollercoaster.

In addition to proving that, yes, these phones can render 3D games, this title helps to highlight an issue with all three: they offer only 189MB of total storage for apps. It doesn't matter that this Bold has 8GB of internal storage, and it also wouldn't help if you threw in a 32GB microSD card. You'll still have just 189MB of space for all your apps. To be fair, each app can take up no more than 7MB of this, and the vast majority of App World selections are very small indeed, but this has forced developers to make compromises. In the case of this game, you'll have to download the app, install it, then launch it and wait while another batch of data (17MB worth) gets downloaded to internal storage. Even if you're grandfathered in to an unlimited data plan this step can only be done over WiFi -- and in the end you have a pretty boring game.

If you're looking for more fun, you'll find a full install of Documents to Go here, capable of creating and editing documents that fit the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint styles.
BlackBerry Bold 9930 software

Performance and battery life

Bold

We can't say how much of this 9930's speed is due to the new hardware within and how much instead is thanks to the revised software, but we can say that this is a very snappy, responsive phone. It pops open menus, launches apps quickly and, in general, keeps the hourglass on the shelf -- where it belongs. A cold boot (after a pulled battery) takes a rather painful one minute and 45 seconds, but after that you're looking at less than five seconds to bring the phone back to life after turning it off. More than acceptable.

We ran the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark and managed a very good 2,648ms, and when running the phone through our intensive battery drain test the phone delivered an equally impressive 8.5 hours. (For reference, the QWERTY HTC Status managed just 3.5 hours on the same test.) We haven't had the chance to run our phone through too many charges but in the time we've had with it we've been quite impressed by how that cell fares in the real world too.

Wrap-up

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 feels like the beginning of a transition -- the last hurrah for an OS that isn't much longer for this world. Or maybe that's just us being optimistic. We'd love to have been able to use this phone with a more modern, more refined feeling OS, but as it is we have some great hardware running software that just won't appeal to anyone who has already left (or was never pulled in to) the BBM fold.

And maybe, for now, that's the best RIM can do -- stem the tide. The company isn't exactly losing its customers, it just isn't growing as quickly as the competition, and until it has a truly mainstreamable operating system it never will. So, don't look at the 9930 as a phone that'll end what ails RIM and introduce it into new markets. Look at it as the best damn embodiment of what BlackBerry is today -- and then join us all in crossing our fingers as we wait for the next release of BlackBerry OS, which hopefully will bring something truly different to the table.

BlackBerry Torch 9850 review

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 06:00 AM PDT

BlackBerry Torch 9850 review
Monza. It's a beautiful part of Italy, a majestic park split by one of the most historic racetracks in the world, and it was also the codename for this rather more homely looking phone. This is a handset that would go on to be known by many names (Storm 3, Touch...) before receiving its final moniker: Torch 9850. Why all the pseudonyms, and why choose to confusingly overlap this with the somewhat similar but rather different Torch 9810 that's also officially launching today?

Maybe RIM didn't know what to make of this keyboard-free phone. Maybe the company wanted to distance itself from the Storm. Or, maybe what we have here is a smartphone that's trying to find an identity by sadly ditching the feature that, for many, makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry: the physical keyboard. How does this smoothie compare to the others, and is it worth sacrificing all the QWERTY wonder found within the 9810? Read on to find out.

BlackBerry Torch 9850

Hardware


We'll just get this out of the way: the Torch 9850 is not a particularly good-looking phone from the front. The design concept is that of a "waterfall" of glass flowing over the device, a seamless, curving pane that welcomes the curious, clumsy imprint of your fingers. That's all well and good, but that purity of flow is ruined by four oddly proportioned buttons and an optical touchpad at the bottom, sticking out of this current like a bunch of bricks.

That's not to say that physical controls can't look nice -- the set on the Droid Charge look rather good and fit in with the shape of the phone. Here, though, they're just sort of all in a row, like a five-year-old's first attempt at Bedazzling a mouse. Capacitive buttons hidden beneath the glass would be far more agreeable to our aesthetic sensibilities, but these physical inputs at least feel comfortable to the touch. Oh, and they light up pretty, too.

torch

If you want something visually appealing you'll have to flip the phone over. There's a lovely gunmetal band that flows all the way around, looking far more classy than the average touches of blingy plastic chrome used to brighten up other handsets -- indeed, many with RIM provenance.

That polished band runs around a recessed, matte section that is, for the most part, a thin metal battery door. It springs right off with enthusiasm when a tiny button is pressed. Under here is the 1,230mAh battery that powers RIM's new trifecta of smartphones, and a slot for a microSD card -- 4GB comes by default, paired with 4GB on the inside. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a SIM tucked away, needed to help this phone achieve its world-conquering intents. This is the Sprint flavor, so you'll get dual band CDMA / EVDO (800/1,900MHz) with quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1,800/1,900MHz), 2,100MHz UMTS support and 802.11b/g/n WiFi on 2.4GHz.

torch

That's all backed by the same 1.2GHz processor, 768MB of RAM and "Liquid Graphics" engine found in the other two RIM phones launching today, a tricky trio that have near-identical internals despite rather different externals. Of course, this phone bears more than a passing resemblance to the Torch 9810, but makes do without that one's keyboard.

Instead you get a larger, 3.7-inch WVGA display, set beneath that silica waterfall, looking bright and contrasty and impressive, delivering the same edge-bending viewing angles we saw in the 9930. The screen is the strongest selling point of this phone, something that you'll have to like an awful, awful lot, because to get it you'll have to give up the slide-out keyboard on the other Torch, which is only slightly thicker (14.6mm, vs. 11.5 here) but suffers from a smaller, lower-res, 3.2-inch VGA LCD.
BlackBerry Bold 9930 vs. Torch 9850 vs. PlayBook

On the top of the right edge of the phone you'll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, along with a skinny, somewhat hard to press volume rocker rather lower on the chassis, about the same as on the previous Torch. New in the middle is a tiny little nub that can be used for muting. Lower still is the Convenience Key, which by default takes pictures, but offers a bit too much resistance to let you easily capture shots without blurring.

The very top of the phone is the lock button -- taking up that entire side of the device. Squeeze anywhere here and the phone will lock or unlock itself. On one hand this is intuitive and comfortable, but we found this phone pocket-unlocking itself on more than one occasion thanks to that large, easy to depress sector. We don't need to tell you that pocket-unlocking is bad news. On the left is where the micro-USB port can be found, while the bottom reveals nothing much of interest. The termination of that waterfall, we suppose.

In our testing we found call quality to be quite good on the 9850, whether talking directly into the handset or rather more indirectly to the room using the speakerphone. Indeed that speakerphone is plenty loud enough to fill up offices of nearly any size, to the point where if your office is too big to hear it you'd probably be in a position where you could simply hire someone else to attend that call for you.

Camera


Like the new Bold, the Torch 9850 packs a five-megapixel camera on the back, but unlike that one we have a proper autofocus lens here. This means you have the risk of capturing a genuinely out-of-focus image, but the camera does a far better job at grabbing macros than the EDoF lens on the 9930. You can see that in the close-up flower shots in the gallery below. Overall, we found images to look decent here, showing good color reproduction in general, but none succeeded in knocking our dress socks off.

Video capture is at 720p and our footage looks reasonably good, with only a bit of focus-hunting on display. The only notable issue is some jiggle distortion that serves to make things a little livelier than they should. Finally, with no front-facing webcam, video chat is left completely out of the equation.
BlackBerry Torch 9850 sample images


Software

torch

We delved into BlackBerry OS 7 over in our 9930 review, so we'll refer you there if you're curious about what's new and how it helps out things here. Suffice it to say, though, that there isn't exactly a shocking amount of fresh meat in this bundle of software, and when it comes to the Torch 9850 there's one annoying issue: the lack of a proper home screen. Boot up the phone the first time and you're presented with a lot of display that can be filled with menus but nary a widget or shortcut. Basically, it serves only as a good place to show off your wallpaper. Great.

The BlackBerry integrated search function is a little less useful here than on the other handsets since you can't just start typing -- with only a virtual keyboard you have to first tap on the search icon. But, do tap on it and you'll find an excellent way to dig up any 'ol contact or favorite or document or whatever. Once tapped you can use the impressively accurate voice recognition or struggle with the virtual keyboard, a keyboard that is... adequate.

It has a very similar layout to the on-screen keyboard found on the earlier Torch, but things are rather more square here. As virtual keyboards go it's fine, auto-suggesting as you type and of course using the same smarts that make physical BlackBerry keyboards so nice to use. (Hit space in an e-mail address to automatically add '@' or '.' in the appropriate places, for example.) But, the virtual keys are small and each time you try to find them you'll probably find yourself wishing you had a real keyboard, which you could have if you'd bought the 9810 instead.


The phone comes pre-installed with a full version of Documents To Go, enabling the creation of Word-like, Excelesque and PowerPointish documents. The Torch of course also has full access to the contents of the App World. At this point there is indeed a solid selection of apps, but whether there are enough and, more importantly, the right kind is of course up to you.

Finally, and most notably in this latest OS, is the new browser, which will do your HTML5 up right but turn its nose right up at Flash. Pages load snappily, scroll and zoom smoothly, and the phone scored a very healthy 2,668ms SunSpider score. That matches the score on the Bold 9930 -- unsurprising given they're running the same basic internals. Also unsurprising is that battery life here is not as good, managing six hours and 50 minutes on our intense rundown test. That's nearly an hour and a half short of the 9930 on Verizon, likely thanks in part to the larger display here.

Regardless, that's much higher than your average Android smartphone and we think users will have no problem getting through a full business day -- even if your full business day is more five-to-nine than nine-to-five.
BlackBerry Torch 9850 software

Wrap-up

Torch

We can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed by the Torch 9850. It's reasonably slim, feels well made and, aesthetics-aside, is certainly not a bad handset. The thing is, it just isn't as good as t'other Torch that's also been released today, the 9810, because a 3mm gain in thickness gets you a full keyboard when you want it (and you will want it) plus a bit more internal storage. Sure, you lose out on screen size, but we never felt like there was all that much to do with the extra pixels here anyway.

In truth, though, all three of the new phones are let down by their software. BB7 is a minor upgrade to BB6 and, when compared to the fluid, intuitive experience of the PlayBook and its QNX-based operating system, we find ourselves here mired in menus and EULAs. This leaves the whole OS feeling dated, tired, and ready to retire, and so if you were hoping for something truly new in your next BlackBerry, this isn't it.

That said, if you're not quite ready to move on to a younger, fresher OS, if you're down with BlackBerry for the long-haul, you could do worse than the Torch 9850. You could do better, though, too.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 review

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 06:00 AM PDT


In the fall of 2010, AT&T stores nationwide installed a mysterious shroud housing some sort of exhibit. Even employees didn't even know what was inside, and anyone caught tampering with the makeshift wall in order to find out was terminated. What was this strange hype-building marketing ploy? A new iPad? Perhaps it was some secret Android device that nobody had heard of? The atmosphere was thick with suspense. When the curtain was finally lifted, it turned out to be... a BlackBerry Torch 9800.

This curious marketing attempt must've worked at least to some extent, since Research in Motion decided to tempt fate a second time with the Torch 9810. Known in its early days as the "Torch 2," the new version of the portrait QWERTY slider was released to much less pomp and circumstance. This time it was unveiled alongside two new BlackBerry BFFs: the Bold Touch 9900 / 9930 and the Torch 9850 / 9860. The 9810 in particular wasn't a surprise because we'd been given the opportunity to preview the device in May. Though it's nearly identical to the original, it packs a processor that nearly doubles the speed -- a behind-the-scenes upgrade culminating in a night-and-day contrast. But how does it fare against the blooming market of superphones that are flooding the market? And is this the best BlackBerry you can buy today? Let's find out.
BlackBerry Torch 9810 Gallery

Hardware


Phone sequels have a habit of improving upon their predecessors in several ways -- after all, that is the point of coming out with a new model, right? The whole idea of blessing the world with a follow-up is to make it sleeker, faster and more feature-rich. Research in Motion nailed almost all of those points in the Torch 9810, with the exception of one crucial element -- the phone's size. In fact, the 9810 has identical dimensions to its predecessor: 111 x 62 x 14.6mm (4.37 x 2.44 x 0.57 inches). The lack of variance in its overall mass is somewhat disappointing, given that we're now seeing QWERTY sliders on the market as thin as 13mm.

That's not to say the new Torch is entirely the same. Even though the design, buttons, ports and everything in between are identical, it's at least available in different colors to help you spot one on the street. Our unit had a gunmetal grey finish with a checkerboard pattern on the back cover that does a good job of masking fingerprints. As an additional flourish, it's also topped off with a nominal black trim that stretches around front bezel, onto the camera and around the upper back side. Just below the extra-hardened glass display on the front lie the navigation keys: phone, menu, trackpad, back and home / power. These buttons (aside from the trackpad, of course) are as much a staple of the BlackBerry lineup as BrickBreaker is. On the left side resides a lone micro-USB port, while the right side houses the volume rocker and Convenience Key, a shortcut button that's also no stranger to RIM. The top, meanwhile, is home to the mute and lock buttons.


The slider mechanism runs on an invisible metal track and doesn't feel loose at all; on the contrary, with the difficulty we had pushing up the phone to expose the keyboard, it felt a little too firm. All told, it feels like it's a solid enough phone, but it's not actually made of solid parts, so we'd be afraid of dropping it too often.

The Torch series thus far has done an appropriate job of endowing its phones with the "BlackBerry look" while still attempting to go modern. Unfortunately, the company's idea of modern is -- shall we say -- different. Even last year, we were saddened by the 9800's plain, outdated digs. It was sturdy and solid, yes, but it just doesn't have the same gusto when held up next to other touchscreen phones.

Much to our dismay, the Torch hasn't changed a bit. Why is this? BlackBerry devices are generally well-crafted and the result of a lot of TLC, so perhaps RIM felt it too risky to experiment with "fresh" designs at this stage in the game. That, or the company considered the original Torch a raging success and decided not to change what it thought was golden. It was more worthwhile to dwell on the thing that earned its phones the most complaints: those pesky internals. And that's exactly where the new Torch sequel shines.

A major feature present in every device running BlackBerry 7 is an accelerated graphics UI called "Liquid Graphics." Essentially, it allows for the best touch sensitivity that we've experienced on any BlackBerry to date. We weren't too crazy about the original Torch's touchscreen, and gone are the days of the SurePress debacle on the Storms. RIM has finally figured out how to make its phones as responsive as the likes of Android, iOS and WP7, and we found our experience with the 9810 to be up to par with other flagship handsets.


Though the 9810's display is the same size at 3.2 inches, it glows at a 640 x 480 resolution, up from 480 x 360. That's still not quite HD resolution, sadly, but it's significantly more up-to-date than the 9800 and is much more satisfying to view. It's also larger than the Bold Touch 99xx by a considerable .4-inch margin. What's more, the bigger screen offers a better media playback experience and makes it easier to take full advantage of the phone's new touch-optimized OS.

Internals

One of our major beefs with the original Torch was its lack of oomph. While the OS was a significant improvement, its paltry 624MHz CPU and 512MB of RAM were subpar compared with the specs belonging to other flagship devices on the market at the time. To boot, we were further disappointed by the lackluster circa-2008 display and the 5 megapixel shooter with no HD video recording capabilities. Even more unfortunate, these ho-hum specs still represented a decisive boost over the previous generation of BlackBerrys.

With the 9810, however, it's a whole different ballgame. RIM kicked up the phone's engines respectably, throwing in a 1.2GHz single-core CPU accompanied by a dedicated Adreno 205 GPU -- the same one, interestingly enough, found in the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. RIM also increased the RAM to 768 MB -- a decent jump from 512MB. That's right, Waterloo is brandishing some big guns and the Torch is finally starting to look like the kind of BlackBerry we've been awaiting for years.


And there are other welcome refinements under the hood as well. Internet connectivity has been remarkably improved over last year's model, pushing forward with an HSPA+ radio capable of achieving speeds of 14.4Mbps down and 2Mbps up; this slots the phone in the middle of the proverbial pack, though the latest flagship devices are typically able to hit much higher 4G speeds.

The 9810 also packs more internal storage, offering 8GB of space compared to the OG's 4GB capacity. Like the last-gen iteration, this one has a microSD slot, with support for cards as large as 32GB. But be forewarned: there's a ceiling on application storage on the device, held at 189MB. Bigger apps are required to stay under 7MB when initially downloaded, but the remainder of each program or game can be downloaded via WiFi once you've launched them for the first time. The aforementioned microSD storage can assuage some of these concerns, but the catch is that each app has to be explicitly written to allow this opportunity -- and even then, the app's core executable storage still needs to reside within the device itself. Why there's a limit at all when the phone has plenty of room for apps is beyond us, but it doesn't give developers any more incentive to publish anything for the BlackBerry platform.

Curiously, one component in particular was actually downgraded, and it's the most surprising of them all for RIM -- its battery. While the Torch 2 was the victim of a downgrade in battery capacity from 1,300mAh to 1,270, it actually has better longevity. The change here is likely due to a more efficient OS and its next-gen CPU. We'll dive into more detail on the battery later, but here's a spoiler: it's a BlackBerry, and it's the company's biggest strength for a reason.

Keyboard
BlackBerry Torch 9810 Keyboard

Just like the rest of the phone's cosmetic appearance, the keyboard remains unchanged from the previous version. Again, it's a matter of determining whether or not RIM should make an adjustment to something that's already proven. One of the few staples that keeps customers coming back to the BlackBerry brand is its keyboard, and it continues to set the bar for traditional QWERTYs. It's thinner than any 'board you'd find in the Bold series, lending to scrunched-up keys, and the buttons have more of a give when you press the. Yet, by taking advantage of ridges on each individual key, it possesses a more natural feel.

The Torch 9810 also has a virtual keyboard available for anyone that doesn't feel like pushing up the slider -- we understand, it's a lot of work. The BlackBerry platform offers excellent shortcuts when typing as a way to drastically cut down on typing times. And while it works best on the hard keyboard, it's also pretty easy to use whilst tapping away on the virtual equivalent. Portrait mode can still be rather smushed, whereas landscape mode adds much more breathing room to your virtual typing experience.

Camera
BlackBerry Torch 9810 Samples

At first blush, it may seem as though the camera was another stale aspect of the phone - after all, RIM once again opted for a five megapixel shooter, just as it did with the other two members of the Torch family. There's a lot more to it than just megapixel count, however. The digital zoom was extended from 2X to 4X, and geotagging and Face Detection were also added to the 9810's still camera. The continuous autofocus on the Torch 9810 gives us the opportunity to enjoy little to no lag when snapping image -- a boon when trying to take pictures of moving objects or smiling babies. If it doesn't fit your needs, though, there are options for single-shot and zero autofocus for your choosing. Macro shots turned out much better than those taken on the 9930's EDoF lens. The camera took respectable photos at all times of day -- a cloudy morning, high noon and low-light evenings all offered the right amounts of exposure. It's not going to replace your DSLR, folks, or even compete with the Nokia N8 or T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide, but it's on the high-end for a BlackBerry.


The largest feature improvement in the camera was the inclusion of 720p HD video capture, a welcome addition to one of the brand's most neglected features in the past. Finding a BlackBerry with any decent camcorder has been somewhat of a pipe dream, but the faster processor now gives the phone a good chance to keep up with the increased demand necessary to process an HD movie. We noticed a slight amount of occasional choppiness and distortion when capturing items in motion, but otherwise reflected its high-def status fine.

Unfortunately missing from the Torch family altogether is a front-facing camera, which means video chatting and taking silly self-portraits are both out.

Software

The 9800, a device running BlackBerry 6, proffered one of the most radical overhauls to the brand's user interface in its history. Taking full advantage of the Torch's capacitive (and non-SurePress) screen, its user experience echoed something we'd more or less expect to see on... well, just about any other smooth and fluid OS. If you're expecting a similarly overwhelming reconstruction this time around, you're not going to find it. In fact, BlackBerry 6.1 7's UI is true to the original Torch in almost every way. With that said, the seventh version of RIM's platform does bring some massive improvements to the table -- they're just mostly running behind the scenes.

Sadly, the eerily similar UI also means a couple hefty irritations from version 6 carried through to the new update. For one, the notification menu's only accessible from the main screen; we can be knee-deep in another app when the red LED light begins flashing, indicating a new notification awaits us. Instead of being able to access our notifications directly from that app, however, we have to back all the way out to the main page and enter the proper menu from there. This method is entirely unfriendly to users and forces us to put our current projects on pause, just in case an important message is coming through. It's just a smidgeon more convenient to have the ability to peek at what notifications await us without having to leave the application we're currently in. Again, not the end of the world, but it is a minor frustration.


The other annoyance with the user interface is the absence of a true home page in which we can put widgets, folders, and other shortcuts on. There is a home page, but the app tray can be minimalized to reveal a large display full of... nothing. No customization options are available for this space whatsoever, so it's essentially a great way to admire your wallpaper. This is a waste of a perfect opportunity for the user to make BlackBerry devices their own.

We dove head-first into the software and features of OS 7 in our review of the 9930, so we won't get too deep into the details here; feel free to check out the review to get the full scoop. One feature we do want to cover, though, is the HTML5-capable browser finally introduced in the new update. Pages loaded significantly faster (RIM claims a 45 percent speed boost), the pinch-to-zoom felt incredibly smooth and each adjustment rendered rapidly, and the phone managed to score 2,935ms on SunSpider -- which, oddly enough, doesn't match up with the browser performance on the Torch 9850 or Bold 9930, both of which are running the same internals.

Aside from the browser's performance, our time with the Torch 9810 passed relatively bug-free. We were only forced to hard reboot our phone once as a result of our tendency to push the device's multitasking capabilities to the limits, but otherwise the experience was flawless. Our loathing for the infamous ticking clock that appeared in so many BlackBerry phones before rarely reared its ugly face; when it did show up, it was only for a brief moment and was gone before we even realized it was there.

Call quality is about what you'd expect from the brand -- loud and clear, very few dropped calls and all-around easy on the ears. Similarly, our experience with battery life was just as good. True to form, the 9810's juice pack is so refreshing when we're used to dealing with rapid battery drains on both Android and iOS; it took a full seven hours and ten minutes to go from full to empty in our classic video rundown test, and the device was easily able to run through the entire day with power to spare when we pushed the phone to the edge of insanity with our constant emailing, media playback, web browsing and other battery-sucking activities.

Of course, another underlying issue in all of this is the fact that BlackBerry's App World is getting further and further behind its biggest competitors, and the app storage ceiling -- paired with the lackluster selection -- aren't helping the latest lineup one bit, regardless of the phone's powerful GPU.

Wrap-up


The Torch 9810 almost sparks our interest as a relevant device... almost. RIM's definitely aiming for the sky by making a leap in the internal components of its phones, turning it (and the Bold Touch 9930) into the most powerful handsets Research in Motion has ever sold. With the upcoming QNX platform, however, it may be too little too late. Sure, the device is solid and smooth and has great internal specs, but is it one that we'd feel comfortable using on a regular basis? Especially when we have an inkling as to what's around the corner for the BlackBerry lineup?

It's hard to justify plunking down hard-earned cash and committing to a two-year contract for a device that'll likely be obsolete a few months from now, but BlackBerry enthusiasts will enjoy using the Torch 9810 because it's a much more powerful phone than what they've been used to in the past. Newcomers? Probably not so much, given the large number of choices out there with a fresher user experience. It's a notch above any BlackBerry that's been released already, but it seems to be a victim of its own design and circumstance. The 9810, alongside the Torch 9850 and Bold Touch 9900, is as good an indication as any that RIM isn't close to giving up. But first it must do a better job of catching up. The Torch 9810 may very well be at the end of the road, but we'll see if RIM can switch back onto the right path.

Microsoft closes the book on MS Reader app

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 05:33 AM PDT

We're wishing a heartfelt farewell to Microsoft Reader today, because the folks at Redmond have decided to pull the plug on their e-book application, more than a decade after it first launched. Pre-dating the rise of the e-ink medium, the forward-looking MS Reader was originally designed to display digitzed books on an LCD screen, using the company's ClearType font display. Over the past few years, however, the app has slowly faded into obscurity, with the latest desktop version dated from 2007 and its last update rendering it compatible with Windows Mobile 6.1. The concept was clearly ahead of its time, but it ultimately fell behind what would become a swelling trend, ushered in by the Kindle, Nook and other e-reading hardware. No word yet on whether Microsoft plans to introduce a similar tool for Windows 8, though the timing of Reader's demise certainly leaves ample room for speculation.

ViewSonic ViewPad 10pro: a Windows 7 tablet that also runs Android -- sort of

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 05:01 AM PDT

Life would be so much easier if you could just switch operating systems depending on what you need, wouldn't it? That's the thinking behind ViewSonic's ViewPad 10pro, a "dual OS" tablet that runs Windows 7 and Android 2.3. The Wi-Fi enabled device comes with Intel's new 1.5 GHz Atom Z670 CPU, a 1024 x 600 display, 2GB of memory, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, HDMI capabilities and a microSD slot. We had a hands-on in May and found out that the 10.1-inch device runs Android with Bluestacks' virtualization layer for Windows, though we noticed that performance left a little to be desired. The base model comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and a 16GB SSD for $599, while an extra Benjamin gets you Windows 7 Professional and a 32GB SSD. If you want one soon, best get a move on, as "limited numbers" are currently available. For more information you can sonically view ViewSonic's press release, after the break.
Show full PR text
ViewSonic Brings Dual OS Intel Atom Processor-Based Tablet to Market

ViewPad 10pro delivers the best of both worlds in a 10.1 tablet, offering a true dual Windows and Android OS experience

WALNUT, Calif. – August 15, 2011 – ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, today announced its latest 10.1" Windows® and Google Android™ dual OS tablet – the ViewPad 10pro.

The ViewPad 10pro is one of the first tablet solutions to be powered by the new 1.5GHz Intel® Atom™ processor Z670. Designed specifically for tablets, this new CPU minimizes power consumption, while enabling smaller and thinner product designs. Partnered with a 1024x600 capacitive multi-touch panel, ViewPad 10pro users can enjoy impressive Full HD 1080p video playback, fast Internet browsing and longer battery life, without sacrificing on performance. Paired with 2GB of integrated memory, the ViewPad 10pro is the optimal mobile computing powerhouse.

"We listened to our customers. We made the ViewPad 10pro dual OS interface as quick and intuitive as possible, while partnering with industry CPU leader Intel to deliver the latest in design and innovation across all fronts," said Michael Holstein, vice president of business development, ViewSonic.

Tailored for business users, the ViewPad 10pro makes it even easier to enjoy a dual OS experience within a single tablet. Android 2.3 runs as an application on top of the Windows 7 operating system so users need to simply tap on the Android icon to make a seamless switch between business productivity and ultimate entertainment. Throw in the built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, an HDMI out for content sharing, a 1.3 megapixel built-in front camera and a high capacity battery for up to 8 hours of battery life, and you get the ViewPad 10pro – a fully optimized, true dual OS tablet to keep users connected.

"The new Intel Atom processor-based tablet from ViewSonic is a cool, and distinguished product that brings a personalized and flexible experience," said Bill Kircos, general manager of marketing for Intel's Netbook and Tablet Group. "Our Intel platform supports multiple operating systems, and this tablet shows how consumers can move between Windows and Android experiences in a way that offers rich graphics, high-definition audio, easy Internet browsing and longer battery life in a slick form factor."

To ensure the ViewPad 10pro grows with each person's individual needs, the device offers expandable storage options via a micro SD card slot for up to 32GB of additional space. The dual OS ViewPad 10pro is available in two configurations – with Windows 7 Professional (with a 32GB SSD hard drive) and Android 2.3 for an ESP of $699, or with Windows 7 Home Premium (with a 16GB SSD hard drive) and Android 2.3 for an ESP of $599. A custom docking station accessory is also available for an ESP of $59. Both tablet configurations will be widely available in late August, with limited numbers currently available.

For more information on ViewSonic's products, please visit ViewSonic.com or follow ViewSonic on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About ViewSonic
ViewSonic® Corporation is a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions. ViewSonic develops, markets and supports a broad range of innovative products, including tablets, LED TVs, computers, LED monitors, projectors, digital photo frames, digital signage displays, 3D devices and digital media players. For further information, please contact ViewSonic Corporation at 800.888.8583 or 909.444.8888; or visit ViewSonic.com.

Samsung Hercules, HTC Ruby available from T-Mobile on October 26th?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 04:30 AM PDT

We knew that the Samsung Hercules and HTC Ruby were both making their way to T-Mobile, and now, it looks like they'll be doing so in tandem. The folks over at Tmo News have obtained a leaked back to school slideshow (pictured above) that pegs the release date for both devices as October 26th, despite earlier murmurs that the Ruby would be hitting shelves in September. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding the phones' specs and peculiarities, though Samsung's Galaxy S II variant is rumored to pack some pretty impressive horsepower -- including, perhaps, a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor. We'll have to wait and see whether it lives up to its expectations and whether this reported release date proves valid, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Leaked FCC document details AT&T's 4G LTE rollout plans, talks up T-Mobile merger

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 03:48 AM PDT

On Friday, a law firm accidentally posted a letter to the FCC website, detailing AT&T's confidential 4G LTE rollout plans and explaining how they would be bolstered by a merger with T-Mobile. Arnold & Porter LLP, which is helping design the deal on AT&T's behalf, quickly removed its partially redacted document, but the folks over at Gizmodo have gotten their hands on it once again and recently posted it for our viewing pleasure. According to the document, AT&T plans to extend its US coverage to 70 million consumers by the end of this year, before ramping that figure up to 170 million by the end of 2012 and a full 250 million by the end of the following year. The carrier plans to achieve this by upgrading a full 44,000 of its nodes to LTE over the course of the next three years and, once its merger goes through, hopes to cover 97 percent of all Americans within the six years following approval. The letter goes on to explain how the economics behind the TIA-approved deal would help facilitate these aspirations, while confirming that the merger is indeed as expensive as earlier reported -- a whopping $3.8 billion, to be exact. To read the document in full, hit up the links, below.

Xiaomi Phone hands-on (updated with video)

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 03:04 AM PDT

In case you're still skeptical about the $310 Xiaomi Phone, our brief hands-on with a prototype just now suggests that little should be worried about this Foxconn-made device (not Motorola as previously rumored). While the 1.2GHz or 1.5GHz dual-core phone is a tad thicker and heavier than many other flagship smartphones these days, the soft back felt nice in our hands -- a bit like the HTC Sensation but smaller. The overall build quality was surprisingly solid, though we won't comment much on the software since it was a non-final build (we had a little crash while filming, and the three touch buttons didn't light up). Leaving those issues aside, we're definitely looking forward to this nicely priced, feature-packed Android in October. Hands-on video after the break.
Xiaomi Phone hands-on

Apple's OS X Lion USB sticks now available online, for $69

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 02:13 AM PDT

After more than a week's worth of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally released its OS X Lion USB thumb drive, available now at its online store. This little stick offers a physical media alternative to Cupertino's otherwise App Store-centric distribution model, providing access to OS X Lion for $69. One caveat, however, is that users who download the software via thumb drive won't be able to re-install it using the recently released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, but will have to rely upon the USB stick, instead. The other caveat, of course, is price, as just $29 will get you the exact same OS, via the App Store. To grab one for yourself, hit up the source link, below.

Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 Android with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 01:33 AM PDT

If you've already seen the Xiaomi M1 announcement about a month ago, well, forget it, because Xiaomi has already made some significant changes since then. What we've just learned from today's Beijing launch event is that the M1 -- now officially "Xiaomi Phone" -- no longer packs a 1.2GHz dual-core chip; instead, it's been given a bump to a Qualcomm MSM8260 SoC, thus becoming the first Chinese phone to sport a 1.5GHz dual-core chip. As part of the Snapdragon package, the phone is also powered by a powerful Adreno 220 graphics processor, which will no doubt make good use of the phone's 1GB RAM and a staggering 4GB ROM. Oh, and that ¥2,600 (about US$410) price tag? It's now ¥1,999 ($310), and will be available for pre-order on August 29th for October delivery. Read on for more surprises!

Update: We've just been informed that there will also be a 1.2GHz version available for an even cheaper price!

Update 2: Our hands-on post is up!
Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 phone with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises

Unlike most phones with a 1400mAh or 1500mAh battery these days, the Xiaomi Phone gets a ginormous 1930mAh cell instead, and we're promised to get two days worth of real-life usage out of it -- CEO Lei Jun emphasised the "real-life" part, so we shall see. Another surprise -- albeit an odd one -- is that this phone supports both GPS (with A-GPS) and Russia's GLONASS, meaning President Medvedev can navigate around his country just fine while updating his Weibo Twitter.

As for the rest, you get a 4-inch 480 x 854 LCD courtesy of Sharp (LCD for better outdoor performance, and 4 inches for Asian ergonomics), three touch buttons below the screen, a customisable "Mi key" (camera shutter or Weibo; long press for home screen), an eight megapixel camera with an F2.4 lens, and a dual antenna design that plays well with any kind of grip (obviously a little wink at Apple). Dimension-wise we're looking at 125mm x 63mm x 11.9mm, weighing 149g or 5.3 ounces -- just a tad heavier than the iPhone 4. As for accessories, we're told that there will cases in at least seven bright colors, along with spare batteries of the same set of colors (that's how awesome Xiaomi is).

Of course, let's not forget the real star here: the MIUI (pronounced "mee-you-eye") OS, which is a low-level custom UI based on Android 2.3.5. There's no question about MIUI's rapidly increasing popularity in recent years (Xiaomi quoted a user base of about 500,000; and just look at the number of fans at the event!), but if you insist on trying other Android flavors on Xiaomi's hardware, then you'll be pleased to know that this phone lets you flash whatever firmware you like.

If you're starting to doubt the Xiaomi Phone's reliability, you shouldn't -- we've been told that this phone's been thoroughly torture-tested in the lab, simulating two years worth of usage. "This is why we take much longer than shanzhai factories to make a phone," said the CEO. We'll see about that in two months time, really looking forward to it.

HP's Pre 3 goes up for pre-order in Germany, shipping in '1 bis 2 Wochen'

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 12:19 AM PDT

Remember the Pre 3? The portrait slider HP promised it'd be hawking to webOS fans by the end of summer? Well it might barely make its launch window, but only if you live in the land of the autobahn. Currently live on the Deutsches wing of HP's online store is a pre-order page for the elusive smartphone which'll apparently ship in "one to two weeks." The localized variant is unlocked and comes with a QWERTZ (yes, Z) keyboard instead of the QWERTY we're used to. And, at 349€ (or around $500), the handset is considerably cheaper than when when we first spied it on Amazon.de in May. Taking the plunge? Feel free to send one our way, preferably with bratwurst and rösti in tow, danke.

[Thanks, Andreas]

Nokia's N9 coming to Kazakhstan on September 9th, gets its own billboard

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:57 PM PDT

Nokia N9 Billboard
Well, the list of places that won't be seeing Nokia's N9 seems to be growing larger everyday. And, while it won't bring comfort to the poor souls in the US, UK or Germany, we can confirm that the fine citizens of Kazakhstan should be getting a heaping helping of MeeGo come September. A tipster sent us a flyer from Texhodom advertising the Swedish Finnish company's foray into Linux-powered smartphones as landing on September 9th for 99,990 Kazakh tenges, or about $679. The same tipster made us even more jealous when he sent in some photos of a giant billboard taunting the imminent arrival of the handset at the same electronics retailer. So, if you really have your heart set on an N9, and want one before those pasty folks in Switzerland and Sweden, looks like it's time to book your ticket to Almaty.

[Thanks, Aziz]
Nokia N9 coming to Kazakhstan

CyanogenMod founder joins Samsung Mobile, promises to make Android 'more awesome'

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 09:38 PM PDT

We already knew Samsung loved the guys at CyanogenMod, but we didn't think they'd start absorbing parts of its development team. According to Steve Kondik's Facebook page, the Android facade's head sculptor is setting up shop at Samsung Mobile. Sammy's new software engineer told his fans that although his 'side project,' CyanogenMod, is not affiliated with his employer in any way, he will be "working on making Android more awesome." Makes sense, we heard Samsung's phones were looking for a fresh coat of awesome.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Will Intel's Core i7 Sandy Bridge E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Over the past few months, we've peeked Intel's roadmap more than once, but all told we've been treated to scant few details about its high-end desktop line, Sandy Bridge E (that's "E" for enthusiasts). Today, though, VR-Zone is reporting that the next generation of these CPUs will ship without fans or heatsinks -- a tacit acknowledgment, perhaps, that Intel's home-brewed cooling system will be inadequate in the eyes of hobbyists anyway. We reached out to Intel for comment, and while the company stayed mum on the topic of cooling, it did go out of its way to clarify another point the folks at VR-Zone made in their report. The outlet had said that the forthcoming 3820, 3930K and 3960X CPUs will be rated at 130 watts, but will consume closer to 180W and draw up to 23 amps from the 12V2 supply rail -- all without overclocking, mind you. An Intel rep writes: "TDP expectations for the 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for socket LGA-2011 are in line with previous generations of high end desktop products." In other words, built-in cooling system or no, the TDP should be in line with what we've seen from other Extreme-branded processors. As for the cooling, it's unclear when, exactly, we'll get the full spill -- the CPUs are rumored to launch before the end of the year, with the quad-core 3820 arriving after the six-core 3930K and 3960X.

AT&T confirms $49.99 price tag, August 21st launch date for '4G' BlackBerry Torch 9810

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 07:22 PM PDT

Anxious RIM fans tired of waiting for that app to download will be happy to know that AT&T has confirmed August 21st as the official launch date for its "4G" BlackBerry, the Torch 9810. Although the new QWERTY smartphone is powered by AT&T's 4G network of the HSPA+ variety, the release still marks an upgrade from the previous gen Torch 9800's 3G speeds. Running BlackBerry 7 OS, the 9810 will have a 1.2GHz processor, 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 8GB of onboard memory (with microSD expansion up to 32GB), and a 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video capabilities. It'll ship for $49.99 after rebates and a two-year contract.

Telefonica iPhone stock being recalled in time for September 12th launch?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 06:10 PM PDT

Well folks... looks like we're finally getting some meat to all the iPhone 5/4S rumors that have been swirling around for months. We got some interesting news from a vigilant tipster today: beginning August 22nd, Telefonica will begin scaling back its current iPhone stock through September 12th. According to the source, this three week program is a move that "will of course prepare us for the launch of a new smart phone." While the date next month should sound familiar, we've heard recently that the launch will actually take place sometime in October. Either way, a move like this is usually a telling sign that points directly to a new model launch. Keep your eyes pinned here, and prepare yourself, as it appears Mr. Jobs may have something planned for the fall.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

MABEL running robot snags bipedal speed title, cue 'Rocky' theme (video)

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 05:06 PM PDT

MABEL the running robot has been training hard, grabbing the title of "fastest bipedal robot with knees." Like any great sports star, it's been plagued by many dream-crushing obstacles and injuries, but this time it's done it: running at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour on a track. Jessy Grizzle, professor at the University of Michigan's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, attributes this bot's success to its human-like weight distribution -- a heavier torso and flexible legs with springs similar to tendons for movement "like a real runner." This bipedal technology, which can mimic a human's ability to run and climb over obstacles, may be used to help the disabled walk again, in rescue situations or as the basis of future vehicles that don't require roads or wheels to drive. If MABEL doesn't make the SWAT team this year, it can most certainly snag a spot as an extra in the next Transformers movie. Check out the PR and video of this modern day robo-Flo-Jo after the break.

Show full PR text
Running robot: MABEL is now the world's fastest two-legged robot with knees

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-A robot in a University of Michigan lab can run like a human-a feat that represents the height of agility and efficiency for a two-legged machine. With a peak pace of 6.8 miles per hour, MABEL is believed to be the world's fastest bipedal robot with knees.

"It's stunning," said Jessy Grizzle, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "I have never seen a machine doing a motion like this."

MABEL was built in 2008 in collaboration with Jonathan Hurst, who was then a doctoral student at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Grizzle and U-M doctoral students Koushil Sreenath and Hae-Won Park have spent the years since ratcheting up MABEL's training. They've been progressively improving the feedback algorithms that enable the robot to keep its balance while reacting to its environment in real time.

MABEL started off walking smoothly and quickly over flat surfaces. Then it moved on to uneven ground. It took its first real jog in late July, and with that, Sreenath met the ultimate goal of his research just days before he was scheduled to defend his thesis.

Few robots can run, and the researchers say no machine but MABEL can do it with such a human-like gait. Its weight is distributed like a person's. It has a heavier torso and light, flexible legs with springs that act like tendons. MABEL is in the air for 40 percent of each stride, "like a real runner," Grizzle said. Other running robots are almost speed-walking. Their so-called flight phase when both feet are off the ground lasts for less than 10 percent of each step.

"We envision some extraordinary potential applications for legged robot research: exoskeletons that enable wheelchair-bound people to walk again or that give rescuers super-human abilities, and powered prosthetic limbs that behave like their biological counterparts," said developer Hurst, who is now an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University.

Two-legged robots with good running form would also have the advantage of being able to travel over rough terrain and inside places built for humans. They could one-day serve as robotic soldiers or rescuers, the engineers say.

"The robotics community has been trying to come up with machines that can go places where humans can go, so a human morphology is important," Grizzle said. "If you would like to send in robots to search for people when a house is on fire, it probably needs to be able to go up and down stairs, step over the baby's toys on the floor, and maneuver in an environment where wheels and tracks may not be appropriate."

Wheels are a great way to move across flat surfaces, Sreenath said, but when the ground gets rocky, two legs are much more efficient.

"Imagine a future where you don't have to first clear a path and build roads before a vehicle could move around," Sreenath said, "but rather, we have a class of running machines like animals that could transport you around with no roads, but with a smooth and efficient ride."

Watch MABEL run at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlOwk6_xpWo. The bar it's attached to merely guides it to move in a circle. You'll see it speed up and then abruptly slow down several times. Its controller does this on purpose.

Google's Moto Mobility deal may have had Microsoft roots, comes with $2.5 billion break-up fee

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:13 PM PDT

Is Microsoft preparing to fill in Google's old mobile boots? It could very well be, now that the search king has firmly committed to the hardware side of the mobile business. According to a report on GigaOM, MS was one of many potential suitors circling Motorola's treasure trove of patents, effectively forcing El Goog to swoop in for the $12.5 billion kill. Moto's portfolio of 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications would have significantly strengthened Redmond's attack on the Android platform, but it appears the loss might actually benefit MS in other unintended ways. Despite the cheery, public well-wishing from handset makers, insider rumblings indicate a possible mass OEM defection to Windows Phone 7 could shortly be afoot, paving the way for a fierce, three-way mobile OS fight. For its part, Google doesn't seem too worried about the competition, considering the deal's hefty $2.5 billion break-up fee -- a percentage three times that of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger penalty -- a confident financial sign it intends to win this wireless race.

Sprint's BlackBerry Bold 9930 and Torch 9850 land on August 21st for $250 and $150

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:27 PM PDT

Sprint BlackBerries
Hav you been waiting for some more details about those BlackBerry 7-sporting handsets coming to Sprint? Well, wait no more friend -- August 21st will be the day of days for WiMAX fans and BBM addicts. The Bold 9930 and Torch 9850 will arrive together for the carrier in the bumblebee suit, at $250 and $150 respectively -- though the Torch price is after a $50 mail-in rebate. You'll find a few more details in the PR after the break and, if you need a refresher on what to expect from the latest RIM devices, check out our hands on coverage.
Show full PR text
BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 Available for Sprint Customers on Aug. 21

Powered by the next-generation BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry® 7, a performance-driven operating system designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity, BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930 and BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 will go on sale in Sprint Stores, Sprint Business Sales, Telesales at 1-800-SPRINT1 and online at www.sprint.com beginning on Sunday, Aug. 21.

BlackBerry Bold 9930

BlackBerry Bold 9930 boasts the thinnest design and widest QWERTY on a BlackBerry smartphone for $249.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement.

At just 10.5mm thick, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 smartphone is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone ever. It features a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen display, the widest QWERTY keyboard available on a BlackBerry smartphone and a trackpad for easy navigation. BlackBerry Bold 9930 also offers Near Field Communications (NFC) support for a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance.

BlackBerry Torch 9850

BlackBerry Torch9850, the first all-touch BlackBerry smartphone for Sprint customers, will cost $149.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement, after $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1.

The sleek BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone features a spectacular, new 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, and trackpad for easy navigation.

Both smarpthones feature Liquid Graphics™ technology, a key new feature powered by BlackBerry 7 to deliver incredibly fast, smooth performance and a highly responsive touchscreen experience. They also offer 1.2GHz processors, 5MP cameras and are World Phone capable.

Key features of both BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 include:

BlackBerry® service with access to up to 10 supported business and personal email accounts, plus BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for corporate email installations
DataViz Docs To Go® Premium suite preloaded, for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from anywhere
BlackBerry App World™, the official app store for BlackBerry smartphones offering customization, fun and productivity
BlackBerry® Playbook™ support with BlackBerry Bridge™ (Bridge is available as a free download on BlackBerry App World)
Augmented Reality using the built-in compass (magnetometer) to support augmented reality applications

BlackBerry 7

BlackBerry 7 introduces a next-generation BlackBerry browser with a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is up to 40 percent faster than BlackBerry® 6 based smartphones and up to 100 percent faster than BlackBerry® 5 based smartphones2.

BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® Balance™, which separates personal content from corporate content, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the smartphone for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps, while satisfying the need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls, such as wiping only corporate data or blocking work-related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.

BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 require activation on one of Sprint's Everything Data plans plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint's Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge – a savings of $39.99 per month versus Verizon's comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web or $9.99 per month versus Verizon's 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)

BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850 also offer World Phone capability for international travel to nearly anywhere in the world. Sprint customers have the power to make or receive phone calls in more than 200 countries and access to BlackBerry® data services, including email, apps and web browsing in nearly 155 countries. Customers can check the Sprint Worldwide Coverage and Rates page to check coverage in the specific location they plan to travel and find voice, text, and data rates. They also have the option of using a third-party SIM for international voice and data services.

Dell Vostro 360 inadvertently revealed, shows off all-in-one specs

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 02:50 PM PDT

Are you a fan of grayscale technical drawings? Or perhaps you're in the market for an all-in-one desktop, but don't own an educational institution? Dell's satisfying those key constituencies -- and more! -- with support documents for its upcoming Vostro 360. Ahead of any official announcement of pricing or availability, the PDF lets us glean a few specs: we're looking at an Intel h61 Express chipset with Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors – or, if you're feeling especially nostalgic, you can opt for a Pentium Dual Core. The system will max out at 8GB of memory, with integrated Intel graphics or a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M, and a touchscreen option, if you'd rather let your fingers do the computing. Oh, and there's a built-in camera privacy cover you can glue shut the next time you disgustedly swear off Chatroulette.

[Thanks, Emperor John Hancox]

Where IPs go to die: a theoretical look at the belly of the online beast

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 02:20 PM PDT

The key to a secure online world of tomorrow? Why, that would be an internet that spends a bit more time padding its waistline at the protocol buffet. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed an evolutionary model, dubbed EvoArch, that simulates a survival of the IP fittest battle for the interweb's belly. Separated into six distinct layers, the top-to-bottom structure -- specific applications, application protocols, transport protocols, network protocols, data-link protocols and physical layer protocols -- reveals a fiercely competitive middle tier that often sees newer, non-specialized competition cannibalized in favor of an older, more dominant framework. The team created the theoretic model as a guideline for "architects of the future Internet... to increase the number of protocols in these middle layers," thus protecting the web from potential security vulnerabilities. Despite these proposed layer variances, however, further simulations of the model only churned out more midriff slimming eventualities. It seems our dear internet is destined for a damned if you do, damned if you don't hourglass-shaped evolution. Full PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Staying in Shape: How the Internet Architecture Got its Hourglass Shape and What That Means for Future Internet Architectures

In the natural world, species that share the same ecosystem often compete for resources, resulting in the extinction of weaker competitors. A new computer model that describes the evolution of the Internet's architecture suggests something similar has happened among the layers of protocols that have survived - and become extinct - on the worldwide network.
Protocol stack

Understanding this evolutionary process may help computer scientists as they develop protocols to help the Internet accommodate new uses and protect it from a wide range of threats. But the model suggests that unless the new Internet avoids such competition, it will evolve an hourglass shape much like today's Internet.

"To avoid the ossification effects we experience today in the network and transport layers of the Internet, architects of the future Internet need to increase the number of protocols in these middle layers, rather than just push these one- or two-protocol layers to a higher level in the architecture," said Constantine Dovrolis, an associate professor in the School of Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The research will be presented on August 17, 2011 at SIGCOMM, the annual conference of the Special Interest Group on Data Communication, a special interest group of the Association for Computing Machinery. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

From top to bottom, the Internet architecture consists of six layers:

Specific applications, such as Firefox;
Application protocols, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP);
Transport protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP);
Network protocols, such as Internet Protocol (IP);
Data-link protocols, such as Ethernet; and
Physical layer protocols, such as DSL.

Layers near the top and bottom contain many items, called protocols, while the middle layers do not. The central transport layer contains two protocols and the network layer contains only one, creating an hourglass architecture.

Dovrolis and graduate student Saamer Akhshabi created an evolutionary model called EvoArch to study the emergence of the Internet's hourglass structure. In the model, the architecture of the network changed with time as new protocols were created at different layers and existing protocols were removed as a result of competition with other protocols in the same layer.
Plot from EvoArch model

EvoArch showed that even if future Internet architectures are not built in the shape of an hourglass initially, they will probably acquire that shape as they evolve. Through their simulations, Dovrolis and Akhshabi found that while the accuracy of the structure improved with time, the basic hourglass shape was always formed - no matter what shape it started in.

"Even though EvoArch does not capture many practical aspects and protocol-specific or layer-specific details of the Internet architecture, the few parameters it is based on - the generality of protocols at different layers, the competition between protocols at the same layer, and how new protocols are created - reproduced the observed hourglass structure and provided for a robust model," said Dovrolis.

The model revealed a plausible explanation for the Internet's hourglass shape. At the top, protocols are so specialized and selective in what underlying building blocks they use that they rarely compete with each other. When there is very little competition, the probability of extinction for a protocol is close to zero.

"In the top layers of the Internet, many new applications and application-specific protocols are created over time, but few things die, causing the top of the hourglass to get wider over time," said Dovrolis.

In the higher layers, a new protocol can compete and replace an incumbent only if they provide very similar services. For example, services provided by the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and HTTP overlapped in the application-specific layer. When HTTP became more valuable because of its own higher layer products - applications such as web browsers - FTP became extinct.

At the bottom, each protocol serves as a general building block and shares many products in the layer above. For example, the Ethernet protocol in the data-link layer uses the coaxial cable, twisted pair and optical fiber technologies in the physical layer. But because the bottom layer protocols are used in an abundant way, none of them dominate, leading to a low probability of extinction at layers close to the bottom.

The EvoArch model predicts the emergence of few powerful and old protocols in the middle layers, referred to as evolutionary kernels. The evolutionary kernels of the Internet architecture include IPv4 in the network layer, and TCP and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in the transport layer. These protocols provide a stable framework through which an always-expanding set of physical and data-link layer protocols, as well as new applications and services at the higher layers, can interoperate and grow. At the same time, however, those three kernel protocols have been difficult to replace, or even modify significantly.

To ensure more diversity in the middle layers, EvoArch suggests designing protocols that are largely non-overlapping in terms of services and functionality so that they do not compete with each other. The model suggests that protocols overlapping more than 70 percent of their functions start competing with each other.

When the researchers extended the EvoArch model to include a protocol quality factor - which can capture protocol performance, extent of deployment, reliability or security - the network grew at a slower pace, but continued to exhibit an hourglass shape. In contrast to the basic model, the quality factor affected the competition in the bottom layers and only high-quality protocols survived there. The model also showed that the kernel protocols in the waist of the hourglass were not necessarily the highest-quality protocols.

"It is not true that the best protocols always win the competition," noted Dovrolis. "Often, the kernels of the architecture are lower-quality protocols that were created early and with just the right set of connections."

Researchers are also using the EvoArch model to explore the emergence of hourglass architectures in other areas, such as metabolic and gene regulatory networks, the organization of the innate immune system, and in gene expression during development.

"I believe there are similarities between the evolution of Internet protocol stacks and the evolution of some biological, technological and social systems, and we are currently using EvoArch to explore these other hourglass structures," said Dovrolis.

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. 0831848). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.

Samsung Celox gets its moment in the blurrycam spotlight

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 01:43 PM PDT

Hey, what have we here? If it isn't the GT-I9210, a version of the Samsung Celox that we saw the other week. The Samsung Galaxy II-esque LTE handset got the blurrycam treatment on its way to Korean carrier SK Telecom. The rear of the device looks the same as what we saw earlier in the month, only with the carrier's logo tacked on for good measure. The front, on the other hand, has been redesigned and is now sporting four capacitive keys -- not an unusual move for a carrier branded version of one of the company's smartphones. In light of SK Telecom and Verizon's use of both LTE and CDMA, perhaps the Celox will join T-Mobile's rumored Hercules as the other 4.5-inch screened Galaxy S II variant for the US? Fingers crossed.

Did Apple alter photos of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in its injunction filing?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 01:11 PM PDT

Previously, on Apple Versus Samsung: Cupertino's finest sued Samsung for making "similar" products -- a legal spectacle that most recently culminated with an injunction blocking the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across Europe (with one exception). The case hinges on Apple's assertion that Samsung is ripping off its designs, but tech site Webwereld spotted signs that perhaps Apple's claims are exaggerated, and that the outfit might have even gone so far as to alter images of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to suit its case. The comparison shot you see up there is lifted from page 28 of a filing made by Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer, Apple's European lawyers. Both devices look pretty identical with an aspect ratio of 4:3 -- except in reality, the Tab has a 16:9 16:10 aspect ratio and is far narrower than Steve's magical slate. Of course, we might never know if this was actually a malicious move on Apple's part -- certainly, Samsung's legal team isn't saying anything. For now, though, if you're game to play armchair attorney, head past the break for a comparison shot of the competing tabs as we actually know and love them.

[Thanks, Jack]

Editorial: Engadget on Google's Motorola Mobility acquisition

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 12:31 PM PDT

Google's announcement today of its planned Motorola Mobility acquisition may come as a surprise to some, but Moto's dedication to producing Android handsets, along with its recent $56 million Q2 net loss and comprehensive patent portfolio, make this a logical next move for Mountain View's search giant. Operating independently -- for the near-term, at least -- both companies will cooperate to grow Android, while Google claims that it will remain committed to its other partners as well. So what will this mean for Google and the future of the smartphone industry as a whole? Jump past the break for our thoughts.

Tim Stevens:

There are two ways to look at Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and which one is your favorite depends a little on your degree of optimism on the business world as a whole. From a glass-half-full standpoint, this is just Google looking to get a little closer to the hardware world, making a smart acquisition to establish a long-lasting relationship with a company that can help it make top-tier devices to go along with its increasingly top-tier operating system. Sure, Moto's current offerings aren't always there yet (just hold a Xoom in one hand and a Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the other to see for yourself), but with a little bit of Google mojo injected in there, that could all change.

Of course, it doesn't take much of a glass-half-empty perspective to see this in another light. Maybe this is just Google making a hasty acquisition to establish a long-lasting relationship with a company that can help it stand on firmer legal ground in upcoming patent duels. This is of course in regards to Moto's bulging patent war chest, which CEO Sanjay Jha just last week threatened to mobilize. If this is your take, it's easy to see this as just another step toward ensuring that any salvo fired in a patent fight will end in Mutually Assured Destruction Bankruptcy.

The truth likely lies somewhere in between, but given Moto was already exclusively focusing on Android for its smart, mobile devices, I hope you'll forgive me for feeling like a bit of a pessimist this afternoon.

Darren Murph:

Here's the thing that I keep asking myself: why does Google want in on the hardware business now? I vividly recall speaking to HTC representatives during the peak of the Nexus One, and it was made fairly clear then that Google had bit off a bit more than it wanted to chew by being a handset seller. As much as I appreciate Android, one area where Google has consistently fallen short in the consumer space is support; Google's suite of online productivity apps is as important to some as Microsoft Office, but good luck phoning anyone at Google for help. I'm still dealing with an unsolved Calendar issue that the company refuses to acknowledge on its own forum. I say all that to offer this: I think Google's buying tech support, in a sense. There's no way to grow Android as a platform (and to take another whack at the hardware game) without having a proper support infrastructure, and Moto might just provide that. This angle also sounds like one that the antitrust mavens in America would soften their hearts to, clearing the way for a smooth acquisition.

One thing's for sure: you'll know just who to kvetch at if your pal's HTC Holiday gets Ice Cream Sandwich before your future Motophone.

Zach Honig:

With incredibly close ties to hardware manufacturers, Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is sure to cause some rumblings in the smartphone industry. Google claims that it will remain committed to its other partners, but I can't help but assume that Moto will end up acing Android 101, with direct access to the teacher's edition, after engineers have a chance to bump shoulders around the Googleplex. Patent acquisitions aside, this marks a significant jump beyond software for Google, into the land of manufacturing contracts, limited margins, and fierce competition at home and around the world.

The company's mobile network partnerships could also help its new Moto arm to take the upper hand with service providers, better positioning Google to dictate terms rather than leaving Motorola to obey instructions from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, for example. The acquisition will play a key role in rolling out future Google products as well, including Wallet, for example, which requires specific hardware to operate. That service launched exclusively with the Samsung Nexus S 4G, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to see Wallet roll out on a Moto handset next, and perhaps even across the entire product line -- in the US, at least.

Brian Heater:

It's the patents, stupid. For the all of the congratulatory talk of innovative handsets and home theater systems, today's acquisition news is really about one thing: defense of Android. The ecosystem is under threat from lawsuits waged by some of the largest names in the mobile business, so Google has taken the arguably drastic measure of dropping $12 billion and change for a company with an impressive arsenal of patents -- 17,000 and counting.

Such protections are not unusual, of course -- at the end of last month, the software giant plunked down money for 1,000 IBM patents as a means of protecting itself from legal challenges. Protecting oneself these days is less about innovation than stockpiling the innovations of others. Not that Google has ever been any stranger to innovation, of course, but the company got a late start in the mobile space, and given the broadness of many of the patents we've seen granted, it's essentially impossible to release a handset without stepping on plenty of toes.

And while you could practically hear the grinding of teeth as fellow Android handset manufacturers like HTC welcomed the news with "open arms," these companies have far more to lose, should Android go away entirely. Google, for its part, was insistent that Motorola would maintain some degree of independence. It's key that the company hammer this point home as much as possible, lest it risk the good will of its biggest supports -- this means, for one thing, allowing other companies a shot at producing the annual flagship Nexus device that the company briefly touched on during the earnings call.

Christopher Trout:

Hello, GoogMo. Google and Motorola may not have the charm or good looks of Brad and Angelina -- and they certainly don't have the same zeal for child rearing -- but if ever there was a coupling worthy of a one-word moniker, it's this one. This particular acquisition shouldn't come as a shock. Google's been searching for a way to beef up its patent portfolio, while Motorola -- not one to understate the size of its IP package -- has fallen behind the varied Android competition. What this partnership will bring -- beyond a more defensible little green robot -- is anyone's guess, but I for one am keeping my fingers crossed for an end to Motoblur.

Terrence O'Brien:

What exactly does Google snatching up Motorola's mobile phone division mean for the average consumer? Probably not much. While we wouldn't be surprised to see Page, Brin and Rubin have some hand shaping future Moto handsets, the chances of the company drastically shifting gears from maker of many Android phones to just an outlet for flagship Nexus devices are slim to nil. Perhaps future Droid generations will switch back to vanilla builds of the mighty Goog's mobile OS, and maybe updates will land on them in a more timely fashion. But, the truth is, this is all about the patents. Motorola is the holder of more than 17,000 patents that should help buffer Google and its mobile partners against the recent onslaught of litigation.

At least on record, other Android phone makers are supportive of the move, but that could change if Google turns Motorola Mobility into a vehicle for dictating its vision of dessert-themed devices. Will it become the exclusive provider of Nexus hardware? Maybe. But, for now, this is more about stuffing big G's arsenal with legal ammo.

Billy Steele:

Well... from a legal/patent standpoint this surely is interesting. My question is this: does the move by El Goog set some sort of precedent for other companies in the midst of legal battles? For example, would Apple consider a purchase of a nice chunk of Samsung's portfolio to protect themselves in the future? Who knows. But it certainly does make for some worthwhile conversation. Companies beginning to pad their libraries to avoid the courtroom is certainly a market variable that will be something to keep an eye on in the near future.

The reaction from other device manufacturers will be crucial. Let's reserve judgment for what this means for the fate of the Nexus family for a bit, as any number of scenarios are likely to play out. And until some solid development is underway, perhaps we should not jump to any conclusions about the future market dominance of said device. Although, it is something to look forward to, no doubt.

Daniel Cooper:

I think it's less about patents and more a reaction to a perceived land-grab by Google's rivals. Microsoft owns Nokia in all but name, HP bought Palm, Apple appears to be unstoppable. Buying Motorola does two things: cements Google's position in the mobile space and quells the potential for a costly rebellion. It was only four days ago that Motorola Mobility's CEO, Sanjay Jha said the company was "open" to adopting Windows as a mobile platform.

Other Android phone makers should be concerned. Google repeatedly promised that it would never make its own handset -- and subsequently made the Nexus One. Now it promises to run Motorola as an independent company; but $12.5 billion on a company that made a loss of $56 million last quarter? How long will it remain independent if it continues to take such big losses? Check back in three years and see if Motorola hasn't become Google's de-facto mobile division.

Brad Molen:

In today's world full of patent wars and company acquisitions, it's hard to be taken completely by surprise by the Google / Motorola deal. El Goog's $12.5 billion deal is a small price to pay if it gets Microsoft (and plenty others) off its back. But there's another aspect to the deal that isn't getting the same level of emphasis: the enterprise. Motorola's been the one Android OEM turning its enterprise features into a priority, attempting to win customers over from the likes of RIM. If Google can properly utilize Motorola's strength in this field, it's one crucial step closer to busting down the last fort the BlackBerry maker has left. Or, perhaps more extreme, the search giant just wanted to get rid of a large burden on Android formerly known as MotoBlur. Either way, this acquisition will likely be a winner for Mountain View.

Lydia Leavitt:

Google's acquisition of Motorola puts it in direct competition with Apple as a mobile company, rather than a technology company with mobile tendencies. Why? Because like Brian Heater said, the move adds more ammo to Google's arsenal in the form of patent protection, because of Motorola's pre-existing 17,000 patents. With said patents, Google can produce a truly competitive Android product. Aside from being somewhat of a defensive move, acquiring a hardware manufacturer is key to strengthening NFC and support for Google Wallet. The $12.5 billion Google shelled out for Motorola is merely chump change if the company can indeed capture the mobile payments market first through a hardware-wide launch. If everyone is paying for coffee using Google Wallet on their Motorola phones, the incentive to buy a Motorola Android phone has just increased ten-fold. Think of it like a giant Google Bank.

Joe Pollicino:

I've seriously got a headache today. Waking up on my couch dazed and confused after a long night of writing, I did what I'm sure quite a few tech geeks did: opened my browser to get news on TabCo (a-ha! It was Fusion Garage all along). Within seconds of scrolling though, my mind was blown: Google acquired Moto Mobo? So now what? Moobo? Goobo? My brain is pounding just thinking about it -- and oh geez, it's only Monday! Sure, I'm hesitant about a big merger, but if Google can get Moto to finally kill any remnants of Blur while letting it operate mostly on its own terms, what's not to be okay with? There's obviously support from competitors like HTC and Sony Ericsson, so that's good. Right? Mainly, I hope this will help push the true vision of Android en masse, rather than the plethora of fragmentation we currently have. Bravo y'all, please don't make me regret my joy in the near future.

Myriam Joire:

Wow... I didn't see this one coming! This is as big as Microsoft's partnership with Nokia or AT&T's intent to acquire T-Mobile. If you look at Google's history of "pure Android" devices, HTC's Nexus One was a hit, and so was Samsung's Nexus S. Motorola's Xoom? Not so much -- I'd even argue that it was an unmitigated disaster. So why this acquisition, and why now? After all, $12.5 billion isn't exactly pocket change, even for Google. In the short term, this is clearly all about patents and defending the Android ecosystem. Looking beyond that, it's about having more direct control over devices for a tighter, more Apple-like vertical integration of services, software, and hardware. Motorola's Photon 4G shows that the manufacturer can still hit a home run, so perhaps we'll see free Google phones, tablets and set-top boxes with free wireless service in exchange for more ads and less privacy. The only ingredient missing now from Google's portfolio is a wireless carrier -- yes, we're looking a you Sprint.

Dante Cesa:

So apparently Google went out and bought Motorola Mobility, eh? While it certainly seems like a great exit for Sanjay & Co., I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about the Moto that once was. You know, that American telecommunications badass behemoth that was once a real force to be reckoned with -- the company that brought us the friggen StarTac and blew our minds with the impossibly thin RAZR. I think a lot of us thought the Droid would be Moto's comeback device, and while it did cement Android as a legitimate OS contender, unfortunately that cash windfall never came. As for Google's relationship with the rest of the OHA partners? That remains to be seen. But I don't need to remind you that it's an incredibly tough tightrope to walk: just ask Palm, or Nokia.

Richard Lawler:

Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility and its impact on the all-out patent warfare that has surrounded Android recently has been more than adequately dissected by many others here, so I'll focus on its relationship to another huge, consumer facing part of Motorola's business: set-top boxes. Google TV launched last year and among its many missteps, suffered greatly by trying to toe the line of being a friendly add-on to consumer's existing cable or satellite TV experience instead of offering some sort of replacement or smooth integration with them. In a future where Google owns Motorola, it has directly purchased access to the relationships with TV providers worldwide that can make internet content and apps seamlessly melded with the TV people already love to watch a real possibility. While we wait to find what fruit is borne of initiatives like AllVid, the folks at Mountain View can immediately get to work building a cable box experience that doesn't make us want to prick our eyes out.

The danger here of course, is that the thought pollution flows the other way. While the mobile arena has its Motoblur and bloatware cross to bear, cable and satellite operators have fought hard to keep forcing their poorly designed interfaces on the public at large, and Motorola has been an enabling partner. While early looks at Google TV v2 are encouraging, just as important as UI and technology changes will be the company's ability to convince old-world TV providers who are just dipping a toe into more-open TV platforms with internet content and IP delivery that taking the shackles off and letting apps, ads and search shine in is a good idea.
at 12:26 PM

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