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- Motorola Atrix 2 review
- Nokia City Scene is Street View for your N9, mostly works in the US where you can't get one
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- Motorola Droid 4 exposed to our wandering eyes, comes with LTE in tow?
- Grace One City e-motorbike review
- Nokia's N9 gets its tap-to-pair on with the Play 360 Bluetooth speaker (video)
- Richard Kerris moves from HP to Nokia, becomes Global Head of Developer Relations
- HTC Raider 4G LTE available on Rogers today, Bell's version coming soon
- Future Nokia phones repellent, says water (video)
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| Posted: 27 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT  Not even ten months after the Atrix's February 22nd launch, we're already seeing its successor, aptly named the Atrix 2. At the risk of sounding blunt, it's not a groundbreaking device -- aside from a few bumps in specs, larger display and a fresh redesign, it doesn't offer the same level of showmanship or innovation so eagerly demonstrated in the first iteration. But does the sequel compensate for the lack of sizzle? How much does this improve over the original? Does the newest version of the Lapdock satisfy? We'll answer these questions and so much more after the break. HardwareIts last few flagships, such as the Photon 4G, Droid Bionic and Droid RAZR, lead us to believe that Motorola likes to think outside the box every now and then. These phones are designed to be fresh and surprising -- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't -- and we give kudos to the company for trying to be different. The Atrix 2 isn't one of those handsets. It's graced with smooth and elegant curves, rather than rough angles. Not only did Moto soften the corners; it smoothed out the sides and back as well. We admit that we're suckers for new and exciting design -- it can be difficult to come up with new ways to reinvent the wheel, so it's nice to see folks try -- but there's definitely room in our book for handsets that look exquisite, regardless of how crazy it looks. We shouldn't be terribly surprised to see this handset bearing the same moniker as the original Atrix 4G that was released in February -- the two have a close family resemblance to each other, even if they both have a few major differences. The most noticeable variations? No fingerprint sensor and a larger display, for starters, but there are plenty more feature changes lurking about the phone.
The Atrix 2 is wider, no doubt a negative side effect of having a 4.3-inch display, but it's just as comfortable to hold as the 4-inch original. At 4.96 x 2.59 x 0.40 inches (126 x 66 x 10 mm), it's slightly taller and wider than the first iteration, which measured 4.64 x 2.50 x 0.43 inches (117.75 x 63.5 x 10.95 mm). As you may have noticed, it's also thinner by nearly a full millimeter, but 10mm is still beefy in comparison to many of the latest slate phones. The new version's easy to grip, thanks to its curved sides and textured battery cover; it's no Kevlar cover, of course, and shouldn't be treated as such, but the soft touch plastic at least turns out to be easy on the eyes. That's a stark (and pleasant) departure in design from Atrix numero uno's back and its occasionally blinding holographic pattern. We also enjoyed using the screen on the Atrix 2. First, while both Atrix devices (Atrices?) take advantage of qHD displays with 960 x 540 resolution, the newer one looks better despite having a larger display to hold the same number of pixels in. This is mainly because HelloMoto opted not to use the Pentile matrix scheme, which is something that the company has elected to do on most of its qHD screens -- including the first Atrix and the Droid Bionic. The argument of PenTile versus non-PenTile will rage on for years; regardless of how polarizing that discussion has become, though, there's still a noticeable difference in quality when both phones' displays are pitted side by side. The sequel seems to do a much more manageable job against the glare of direct sunlight, and the Gorilla Glass stretches out from one edge to the other, indenting roughly a millimeter or so away from the side to let your finger brush right off the phone when you're using gestures.  At first glance the left side of the phone appears to have the same exact micro-USB and HDMI combo as the first Atrix, though we'd be remiss not to leave out one glaring variation: the ports are flipped upside-down to utilize the same Webtop accessories as the Droid Bionic and Photon 4G. Remember CEO Sanjay Jha's promise that every high-end smartphone will have Webtop capability? Rejoice, for his word is now being fulfilled.  Let's not forget the back of the device. It's got its fair share of goodies too, after all -- packing an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and 1080p HD video capture is no trivial matter, especially on a phone with a $100 price point. The backside of the Atrix 2 doesn't offer much in the way of decor otherwise, unless you count the textured cover and speaker grille -- which, by the way, sounds great... until you put the phone on its back, causing the sound to get severely muffled. Underneath the cover, you'll find a 2GB microSD card hiding just above the 1,785mAh battery (a decrease from the original Atrix's 1,930), which means that, when coupled with 8GB of internal storage space, it's still been trimmed by 6GB total -- and keep in mind that only 4.5GB of the built-in memory is user-accessible, which doesn't help matters at all. The microSD card can be swapped out with a full 32GB model, but the first iteration of the series still has the highest amount of storage capacity. The Atrix 2 also raises the bar in terms of network performance, getting a lift to 21.1Mbps HSPA+ over the original's 14.4Mbps. The higher speed vaults the device into the top tier of speed that AT&T currently offers, placing it into the same 4G echelon as the Samsung Galaxy S II. We're intrigued as to why the usual "4G" moniker was left out of the phone's name this time, especially given that it's faster, but by no means do we miss its presence. Sadly, the area we reviewed the device in isn't within the scope of Ma Bell's fastest network class, so we were unable to offer a proper comparison test between the two models. SoftwareFirst off, let's give credit where it's due: AT&T came incredibly close to making its entire collection of preinstalled apps uninstallable, and only came up short on Mobile Hotspot and Music Store. It's true, folks: bloatware is one step closer to being completely optional, rather than a required piece of real estate to clutter up your screen. We're not saying it's a perfect system yet, but Motorola's latest UI -- the non-MotoBlur variety -- at least allows for customized categories within the app menu as a type of olive branch. We still prefer the method employed on TouchWiz 4.0, which simply lets you add actual folders as their own icon in the app menu, but this is at least a workable solution. Since Music Store's on there for good, it's best to at least know a little about it. Frankly, the name gives away the description: it's an easy-to-access hub that allows you to purchase songs, albums and ringtones. On the hub's front page you'll see the top releases, but you can perform a search for whatever tunes you're in the mood for. Speaking of the beats, Motorola's thrown in an FM radio that can be accessed through the device's built-in music player, which is nice to see amongst other options like direct access to Shoutcast internet radio and podcasts. Moto's not-Blur UI comes with a few preinstalled apps of its own (not uninstallable, unfortunately). Social Location lets you view local businesses to not only see details, Yelp scores and hours, it will also check Facebook to see if any of your friends have checked in recently. Sticking with the social theme, Social Networking functions as a all-in-one feed for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and the other usual suspects. On our particular unit, however, navigating and interacting through this hub was an incredibly sluggish experience, no matter how many times we gave it our best shot. ZumoCast is a syncing application that lets you check out pictures, movies and music (among other files) from your desktop directly on your Atrix. Lastly, Motorola also offers its own Phone Portal, which connects with the app of the same name on your computer and lets you manage those files you need to transfer between your handset and desktop. Much like the Atrix 4G, the new model also supports in-pocket detection. It's meant to lock the phone automatically when it senses that it's been placed in your pocket, but it doesn't seem to like our loose jeans; it works great when placing our phone in our breast pocket, going into sleep mode within three seconds, but that's the only place we've found a lot of success in. In short, results may vary depending on your pocket preference. Camera We're glad to see a hardware camera button, though we were put out to find that it's single-stage. Rather than having the option to hold down the button to lock focus prior to taking the shot, it sometimes took a few extra seconds to focus after depressing the shutter before actually taking the shot. Happily, this wasn't as annoying as it usually is. The camera was smart enough to know when it didn't need to refocus, so fortunately we were able to take several pictures with virtually no shutter lag for this reason. Furthermore, we discovered that the camera would automatically focus --and lock it again -- whenever we shuffled around, which helped our shutter lag time stay down a bit. Our experience with the camera was a mixed bag. Pictures taken in overcast conditions turned out perfectly fine, and low-light shots turned out well as long as we weren't trying to capture a sunset. However, our images in direct sunlight were a wild card; we were able to take some great pictures with decent white balance, but we found occasions in which the image turned out much darker than we'd expect, without us changing locales or camera settings. It seemed as though the camera were trying to overcompensate its exposure, and while it made for some cool artsy images, we weren't quite satisfied to see such varying results. The video capture has been bumped up to a max resolution of 1080p HD, and we found little to hate here. We couldn't see any lag or choppy effects when trying to capture moving objects besides our own shaky hands, though there was the occasional attempts to readjust the focus when filming closer objects. Aside from that, this camcorder will more than suffice for your home videos. Performance and battery lifeThey just don't make phone sequels like they used to, eh? The Atrix's 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 CPU was considered top of the line at its launch, but ten months in an incredibly fluid and dynamic industry is enough time to dethrone any state-of-the-art component. Motorola Atrix the Second, choosing to trade in the NVIDIA chip for a TI OMAP 4430 with the same clock speed, appears to be more interested in settling into a midrange price point than trying to break new ground -- it's totally fine if that's the initial intent, but it also means that you shouldn't expect any massive performance boosts over the first edition. Considering its Droid RAZR cousin will be packing a 1.2GHz OMAP 4430 CPU, we would've preferred to see the Atrix 2 match wits. As you'd likely expect, the difference in the phone's performance isn't night-and-day here. Here's what we found whilst running the usual gauntlet of benchmarks:
As you can see, there's no cut-and-dry champion in the performance battle between the Atrix 4G and its younger brother. We couldn't see a clear winner in real-life scenarios, either -- the Atrix 2 may be slightly affected because it's using a different chipset and offering a larger screen, but the two devices were still nearly neck and neck to us. We're not harping on the sequel's performance, mind you: the phone was still incredibly responsive, could handle most heavy tasks with ease, and never crashed, so it was definitely acceptable (especially for a phone at its price point). But we're still curious why the second version didn't make any attempt to raise the bar besides switching to OMAP, especially when it has to take up the task of being the LapDock 100's entire brain, which requires a healthy chunk of processing power to work smoothly. Battery life was noticeably better on the newest Atrix, despite the smaller juicepack powering it. Lasting for five hours and ten minutes in our standard video rundown test, it survived a full hour longer than the Atrix 4G. Of course, most of us use our phones for more than just watching videos all day, and the battery will make it through the course of a full day with moderate use. If you end up playing graphics-intensive games or doing some heavy multitasking, you might make it through the business day, but we'd recommend having some sort of charger with you just to play it safe. Motorola also offers several power management options in the settings to help reduce the amount of battery getting gobbled up; it can conserve power overnight as you sleep, set it on maximum savings mode, or you can even set up your own custom profile to tweak the power as you see fit. Need your phone to actually, you know, make calls? The Atrix 2 gave us little to worry about here, with above-average call quality and well-crafted speakerphone that we could hear loud and clear. Audio playback for music and videos was wonderful -- as long as we didn't muffle up the speaker grille on the back. We also found no issue with the device's GPS tracking abilities. LapDock 100 and other accessories If nothing else, the LapDock 100 ($200) is a significant improvement over the previous version for one simple fact: it's a universal solution. Since it uses a cord-like dock instead of something built into the LapDock itself, it's designed to work with almost every Webtop-capable smartphone already made (the original Atrix 4G excepting) and any new high-end Webtop phone going forward. The value of such a device is much higher now that it's not exclusive to just one handset -- imagine how beneficial it could be to a customer looking to upgrade from one Motorola Android device to another, and being able to keep the same Dock across the board. Motorola's design team had some definite hits and misses with the new model. When we first laid eyes upon the LapDock 100, we were instantly reminded of an old-school electric typewriter. And no, that's not a good thing. We enjoyed the sleek, flat and modern look of the original LapDock, and were disappointed to see the "new and improved" version end up marginally thicker and not as aesthetically pleasing (read: ugly). Rather than staying flat all the way back, it arches up the first two-thirds and abruptly angles down the final third. But it wasn't designed this way for kicks and giggles; it's actually done this way to offer a better viewing angle. Since the original was flat, its screen wasn't able to go back far enough, making it rather hard to achieve an optimal viewing angle whilst on the user's lap. If the LapDock doesn't work well on the user's lap, the purpose is miserably defeated. Version 100 does much better at hitting the preferred angle. Cosmetically, there are a few other enhancements to consider. The new iteration is smaller, using a 10.1-inch display (compared to the elder's 11.5-inch screen); it's roughly 0.2 pounds lighter, too, weighing in at a lean 2.2 pounds (less than 1kg). It has a smaller touchpad, but Motorola made sure to add in two-finger scrolling gesture support this time around, a very welcome addition. Much like its older brother, this LapDock offers the same twin USB ports and power socket in the back, but throws in a battery status indicator for good measure. Lastly, the keyboard has been completely reworked, morphing from a modern look with chiclet-style keys to a more standard netbook 'board, the keys smaller and scrunched together. If the Webtop software has any additional functionality, we have a hard time finding it. Just as before, the screen lights up just seconds after you pop the phone into the flexible jack, bringing up the familiar phone view on the left, app menu on bottom, and your browser on the right. Familiar is the key word here: aside from slight changes in some of the icons and Firefox getting an upgrade to version 5.0 (up from 4.0 previously), everything has stayed largely the same. Unfortunately, that also includes the same sluggish performance we've seen in the Webtop environment ever since we first played with it in February. Ultimately, this is where we really would've liked to see a faster CPU powering the brains of the operation. We still love the idea of a laptop dock -- the option of plugging your phone into a portable keyboard / screen and letting it run the show -- and now that the cost is reasonable, all that's left to catch up is the actual Webtop experience itself. Love the idea of a Laptop dock but think the 100 is just too small? Perhaps it looked at you the wrong way? Fortunately it's not the only option for your Atrix 2. You'll also be able to grab the LapDock 500 ($300), which is sized more like a an actual laptop and offers a 14-inch screen, front-facing camera and ethernet support. We haven't received a unit to play with (a video hands-on can be found here), so we'll withhold casting a firm yea or nay vote on it for now, but it's at least worth mentioning that Team LapDock is expanding with more variety. As Motorola likes to do with its high-end smartphones, there are a few other accessories that you can grab to either enhance your Webtop experience or make your life convenient outside of the house. We discussed the HD Station and vehicle navigation dock in good detail in our review of the Droid Bionic, so head on over in your extra-curricular activities; the other accessory not covered already, however, is the Motorola P793 Portable Power Pack. We received it in our shipment alongside the Atrix 2, but it's actually universal. Devices can get powered up via its microUSB charger or standard USB port, and we imagine that almost every single gadget can get juiced up using one of these two methods. Wrap-up | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nokia City Scene is Street View for your N9, mostly works in the US where you can't get one Posted: 27 Oct 2011 10:46 AM PDT  [Thanks, Martin] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Oct 2011 10:31 AM PDT  The United States may not be getting the PS Vita at first, but that doesn't mean you can't be the first kid on your block to own one. Sony took to its US PlayStation Blog today, unveiling its First Edition bundle of the portable gaming powerhouse, which is up for pre-order now at "select retailers." US buyers will receive a 3G + WiFi Vita with a limited edition case, a 4GB memory card and a copy of Little Deviants for $350, while Canadian buyers will get the WiFi-only variant for $299 -- better yet, it'll arrive at your doorstep one week prior to the 02/22/2012 release date for North America. Sure, it may not have wishful goodies like pro bono AT&T 3G, but if you've just gotta have it, well, them's the breaks, y'all. You'll find more info at the source link below, or at Amazon where we've already spotted it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Oct 2011 10:14 AM PDT  Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Logitech Revue on sale promising 'new & improved' Google TV with Android 3.1, Market Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:58 AM PDT  [Thanks, DevonTheDude] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows Phone Apollo coming 'middle of next year,' says Nokia VP Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:42 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rotor Concept HPQ-1 quadcopter eyes-on (video) Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:36 AM PDT  The HPQ-1 can hold payloads of up to 12 ounces, so users can use standard digital cameras to live stream events or a pair of smaller shooters to capture arial 3D clips. According to the company, SWAT teams are looking into using the product for surveillance. The other recommended usage? Weddings, of course. The copter can reach a max altitude of 2,000 feet and has a theoretical maximum flight radius of up to a mile. It's available now for an MSRP of $899. Peep a quick video after the break. Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motorola Droid 4 exposed to our wandering eyes, comes with LTE in tow? Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:23 AM PDT  We were just a tad disappointed when the Motorola Droid 3 came out without Verizon's signature LTE logo on the back, but a mere three months later the QWERTY slider is back with a new model that should be packing 4G. The images above and below, procured by Droid-Life, show what looks to be a super-slim device with the same slight curves on the corner as the RAZR, and tapered back akin to the Droid Bionic. And, interestingly enough, it appears to be nearly complete, judging by the non-Mr. Blurrycam quality of the images and the tutorial stickers on the screen. Not only does the device appear to offer LTE, it also adds Webtop and should be compatible with the LapDock 100 and 500. Rounding out the tentative specs are a 4-inch display, spacious five-row keyboard (with number row included), 1080p HD video capture, front-facing camera and a non-removable battery. It also comes with Android 2.3.5 installed instead of Ice Cream Sandwich, something which we hope to see remedied soon after launch. Looks like we're finally close to having a high-end QWERTY option on Verizon's 4G lineup. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grace One City e-motorbike review Posted: 27 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT  Sure, those people may say they're saving money or the environment by riding a bike into work, but we all know they do it for fun. As is the case with most wheeled pursuits, the fun factor increases with the speed, and with that idea we welcome to you to the Grace One. It's a German electric bike that offers more high-tech trappings than your average economy car -- a good thing, because it costs nearly as much as one. What does this $6,000 bike offer? Speed. Sweet, effortless speed (up to 25MPH without you burning a single calorie), and we recently had the chance to put one through its paces. Read on to see how we fared. Hardware Note: Since this video was filmed Grace prices have dropped and currency values have made the One City cost closer to $6,000 than $10,000. From a distance the Grace One looks like a crude, heavy, overbuilt mountain bike that rolled off the assembly line in 1983. The frame is hugely thick, the top tube is nearly parallel to the ground and is way up there, and the construction just seems far more beefy than is required. This bike, though, is meant for the road. Get a little closer and you'll notice the minimal tread on the tires and, while there is suspension up on the front forks, the default stiffness of them is punishing on anything short of smooth roads. That bit of damping isn't there for comfort or to ease the landings from those jumps -- its to help keep the front tire on the ground under hard braking. And given how fast you can go on this thing without breaking a sweat you'll frequently be calling on those Magura disc brakes, mounted front and rear. They're more than powerful enough to lock up their respective tires on dry asphalt, so go gentle on those stubby aluminum levers mounted on either end of the straight but nicely tapered handlebars. On the left grip is a twist-shifter, offering a slightly underwhelming nine speeds to the rider. On the right grip is what sets this apart: a twist throttle. With just a little twist of the wrist you can unleash this bike's secret weapon: a 1.3kW motor mounted inside the rear wheel.  That motor will spin you up to 25MPH, but when you pedal you spin the wheel /and/ the motor, so you can actually add to the equation. It's powered by 15 pounds (6.6kg) of cells, inserted in that top tube on the frame, which goes a long way to explaining why it's as chunky as it is. That also explains why the bike is as heavy as it is -- about 80 pounds (34.6kg), and that's despite aluminum construction and a series of top-shelf, lightweight parts. The other big clue that this isn't your average bike is the dash cluster mounted up on the bars. On a simple, two-line LCD readout you get information on battery status, range covered and a speedometer. What don't you get? A simple battery readout -- there's no easy-to-read fuel gauge. There is, however, a horn, and both high- and low-beam headlights up front. Both are surprisingly effective. Riding Throwing a leg over the Grace One is a task best performed by folks with long legs. The seat, lowered as far as it would go, was still an uncomfortable stretch for a six-foot-tall reviewer, and standing flat-footed required tipping the bike to one side and letting the top tube go places only particularly intimate pieces of clothing belong. On a normal bike this would make moving away from a dead stop something of a clumsy affair -- a hop and a hard pump required to get away with a wobbly start. Here, though, it's easy: just twist the right grip. Regardless of what gear you're in the motor will pull you away from a dead stop and nearly instantly have you going fast enough to stabilize the bike. Training wheels were never more unnecessary. The thing doesn't exactly accelerate like a sportsbike -- no worries about dislocated shoulders from the torque -- but it gets up to speed quickly. We never tired of lining up at a stoplight next to a taxi cab and comprehensively leaving every tired Crown Vic in our dust when the light turned green. Sure, a few moments later the yellow junker would go rattling by, but anyone who's ever ridden in a NYC cab knows that their drivers are not light on the throttle when the light goes green. That kind of acceleration from a bicycle is... unusual. The bike, with its fat tires and solid construction, is very easy to ride. It may have top speed on its side but it's hardly a razor-edged racer with mustache handlebars and tires so skinny they seem liable to cut the tarmac in two. With the seat all the way down the riding position is reasonably comfortable, a geometry that feels like a casual bike and doesn't put your rear too high or too much weight on the bars. But, if that's the kind of posture you're looking for, there's certainly room to raise the slender seat far higher. Speed and range And what about that speed? With failing batteries after a day of hard riding (we covered about 22 miles on a charge) we topped out at 42MPH on flat ground. With some taller gearing and a bit of help from an incline we're sure we could have done better -- but ultimate speed isn't really the story here. It's effortless speed that's the key. You can haul posterior on a traditional bike and go as fast as you dare and your legs will carry you, but here you can do it with ease. Twist the throttle and within a moment you'll be keeping pace with traffic on a busy street. Pedal a little and you'll be passing cars with abandon. It's easy, real easy, which is both good and bad. It's good because it leaves you less stressed, your mind a little more free to look out for suicidal iPod-wearing pedestrians and for parallel parkers who can't wait to open a door in your path. Not having to worry about pedaling means you can focus on staying alive. But, it completely sucks the feeling of accomplishment out of the overall experience. When you ride a traditional bike in to work you can take pride in knowing that you schlepped yourself up and over every hill in your path. It's okay that you're sweaty, winded and have helmet hair -- you've earned it. Here, not so much. Here you're mostly a passenger. The bike is plenty fast on its own; the Grace One only needs you to twist the throttle and keep it upright and pointed in the right direction. That's no more difficult than (gasp) driving a car. Wrap-up So the Grace One is not the all-organic, pesticide-free, soul-enriching experience of pedaling your way to work on a bike that lacks batteries. But, damn it is a lot of fun to ride. This is a bike for people who want to carve through traffic and flowing roads with ease. This is a bike for people who want something exotic. This is a bike for people who crave speed and don't necessarily have the quads, glutes and calves to get it on their own. And, it must be said, this is a bike for people with an awful lot of disposable income. Sadly, that's not us -- but we wish that it were. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nokia's N9 gets its tap-to-pair on with the Play 360 Bluetooth speaker (video) Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:46 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Richard Kerris moves from HP to Nokia, becomes Global Head of Developer Relations Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:36 AM PDT  Well, that certainly didn't take long. Just a couple of days after leaving HP to "pursue an opportunity outside of the company," ex-VP of Worldwide Developer Relations for webOS Richard Kerris has now turned up at Nokia, where he'll be serving as the company's Global Head of Developer Relations. As you may recall, Kerris only took on the HP job at the beginning of this year, having previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Lucasfilm. He's also not the first individual to chart this particular course -- designer Peter Skillman also left Palm / HP last year to take on a similar gig at Nokia, where he's since had a hand in the N9 and the company's new Lumia 800. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC Raider 4G LTE available on Rogers today, Bell's version coming soon Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:27 AM PDT  Now that both Rogers and Bell have alive and kickin' LTE networks, it's high time we see a full lineup on them, right? HTC's doing its part, at least, by offering the Raider 4G LTE (aka Holiday), a device we've seen announced in Korea and Australia so far. Curiously, Rogers lists the device as having a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, a downtick from its Asian counterpart, though everything else appears to be the same: it offers a 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, a full gigabyte of RAM, an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 1080p video capture, a 1.3MP front-facing cam for video chat and runs with Android 2.3.4 and HTC Sense 3.0 installed. Rogers will be the first in Canada to get the phone out the door, since it's available in stores and online today for $150 with a three-year commitment, whereas Bell has it listed as "coming soon" on its official site with no actual pricing indicated (MobileSyrup says it will likely be sold for $170). If your heart goes pitter-patter for this Raider, go ahead and pick one up -- just keep in mind that the lost ark is not included. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Future Nokia phones repellent, says water (video) Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:23 AM PDT  Zach Honig contributed to this report. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nokia Drive with MirrorLink on Toyota Touch Life hands-on (video) Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:02 AM PDT  The demo unit we saw is still a few months away from hitting production, so there were a few hiccups. After connecting the Nokia 701 to the system, the smartphone's display appeared on the in-dash screen within a few seconds. We had full access to all of the phone's features until shifting into drive, when a much simpler screen popped up, with Call, Drive and Music modules. Everything worked rather seamlessly until we neared the end of the demo, when an "Enjoy the sound while driving" message appeared on screen, where the navigation window had been just a moment before. There isn't a firm release date in place, and the demo unit only appears to work with Symbian Belle at the moment -- though MeeGo support (and likely Windows Phone as well) will be available after launch. Jump past the break to see how it works from behind the wheel. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:40 AM PDT  Unfortunately, we've been skipped over when it comes to some of the features popular with higher-end, more macho phones like the Droid RAZR or the Galaxy Nexus. Sorry, ladies, no 4- or 4.3-inch touchscreen, no 4G LTE and certainly no dual-core processor. Instead, this phone is pretty run-of-the-mill, with a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, single-core, 1GHz processor, a WVGA display, a 5MP rear-facing and VGA front-facing camera, as well as an 8GB microSD card. Running the newest Sense 3.5 UI atop Gingerbread, the Rhyme offers a unique user experience for those who like HTC's custom UI and, of course, the color purple. But is this phone powerful enough to keep up with the multitasking mayhem that is a day in the life of a modern woman? Jump past the break to find out. HardwareThe featherweight candybar-style phone looks almost as delicious as it sounds with a pearlized grape-colored border peeking out from behind the WVGA touchscreen. That accent extends around the display, cutting across the back of the phone, much like a piece of ribbon would wrap around a present -- almost identical to the Status or Flyer tablet, only with a dose of Dimetapp purple. A more subdued shade of plum makes up the rest of the back, which is constructed out of HTC's signature soft-touch plastic. Turn the phone over and you'll find a single LED flash, 5 MP camera, a speaker and some electrical charging points -- not to be confused with the inductive variety on the Droid Incredible 2. By popping off the battery cover, users will see a 1600mAh battery along with an 8GB pre-installed microSD card. Embedded into the back, there's the phone's antenna. You'll get a sneak peek of what's inside the phone through the translucent casing, but that's about all you'll be able to see as the battery is non-removable, much to our disappointment. Although rather petite, the 4.58-ounce (130g) phone felt solid, similar to some other HTC phones. Unlike slick plastic handsets and the shatter-prone iPhone 4, the soft material used here makes the Rhyme easy to grip, and inspires some confidence in its durability. Oddly, though, this petite phone wasn't any more unwieldy than the 4- and 4.3-inch handsets we've tested recently, so we're not really sure why HTC skimped on screen. Maybe the company assumed our manicured mitts couldn't handle something larger.  Performance and battery lifeThe Rhyme features Qualcomm's MSM8655, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with Adreno 205 GPU – the same processor found in the Incredible 2 and the HTC Thunderbolt. Sure, it's no dual-core processor but it's still snappy and powerful with 768MB of RAM to keep it trucking. Switching between screens was responsive, with quick animations keeping up with us. Much to our dismay, we started to see some lag once the apps were opened, taking an extra second to respond. Similar to the Incredible 2 and the Thunderbolt, the Rhyme clocked a Quadrant score of around 1,400 to 1,700. Radios include the standard WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR, CDMA / EVDO Rev. A and GPS / AGPS. The sound was acceptable during regular calls, but reminiscent of a tin can while on speaker -- especially when compared to calls made on the iPhone 4. One of the biggest advantages of this phone was the battery life. With a promised 440 minutes (around seven hours) in active use, we were able to get through the entire day and into the night without having to recharge. After using the phone throughout the day to snap photos, check emails and send out a few tweets, we left the phone unplugged overnight and still had some juice left over in the morning. Putting the battery to the test, we ran a video on loop until it sucked the battery dry -- a task which took around seven and a half hours -- quite an impressive feat for an Android phone. When you compare this phone to one like the HTC Thunderbolt, which sucked the battery dry in around five hours and 47 minutes, not having 4G almost seems like an upside. Accessories HTC is really pushing the accessories with this phone, including all of them with purchase. The main star is the purse charm, which plugs directly into the headphone jack and lights up when an incoming call is received. More of a novelty than a useful accessory, the charm did help us spot a call in a dimly lit restaurant, but was barely noticeable in daylight. Since it flashes for five minutes after the call is received, the light is really nothing more than a glorified girly notification LED. Another downside is the hardware designed to attach the orb to a purse. Sadly, the piece is completely inflexible, making it impossible to attach the charm to most standard leather bags. If you do manage to attach the glow ball to your pocketbook, the long cord will act as an anchor, making it easier to retrieve the phone buried under a pile of receipts, doodads, packets of gum and other miscellaneous junk that tends to collect at the bottom of purses. The other signature accessory is the tagliatelli-like, tangle-free headphones. The headphones barely stayed in our ears and delivered scratchy and downright embarrassing sound quality. The best made and most useful accessory is the charging cradle, which holds the phone at an angle perfect for watching movies or repurposing it as an alarm clock.  Camera One of the things we like most about the Rhyme is the camera function. Although not extremely top-of-the-line, the feature lets us add fun effects like Vignette and Distortion without having to download an additional app and relying on internet access to doctor our photos. Like a point-and-shoot, the phone's autofocus camera allows users to select options like action, portrait burst, HDR and panorama to optimize mobile picture-taking. For more established photographers, there are also manual settings like white balance, ISO and resolution for even more customized tweaking. The rear-facing camera snaps 5MP stills, while the front-facing one maxes at at VGA resolution. The backside shooter also captures sharp 720p video and has options for lower resolution capture and slow-motion speeds. The front-facing camera can capture video as high as 640 x 480, and has options for low resolution video as well. When it comes to recording camera flicks, sound quality was decent, especially when capturing the general sounds of New York City – clearly the star in all our videos. In both video and picture-taking mode, the camera can be adjusted by tapping the screen along with zoom using the volume rocker or slider option. Overall, the daytime photos we shot were crisp and clean, while photos taken in low light suffered a bit, although the function did balance the light somewhat effectively. Software Like HTC's other phones, the Rhyme runs the company's custom Sense UI on top of Google's ubiquitous OS. This is the first phone to offer Sense 3.5, complete with new animations and a revised look and feel. One of the things you'll notice right off the bat is the home screen, which has widgets placed neatly to the side rather than under the clock. The clock and weather widgets have moved to the bottom right corner, and though they remain the focus of the home screen, they're markedly less in-your-face. Aside from the tweaked home layout, one of the main differences is the ability to remove panels on the screens, decluttering the sometimes chockablock feel of Sense when compared to previous versions. This particular flavor of Sense is a bit different from the company's previous offerings, although it still has all the signature features that make Sense Sense. One of the major things we noticed about the latest version is the omission of the Verizon bloatware tab in the apps section. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean the phone is free from crapware, but at least there will not be a signature Verizon tab reminding you that it exists. You'll still have to deal with V CAST Music, VZ Navigator, V CAST Videos and other miscellaneous apps that we really have no use for. The amount of unnecessary apps and widgets like FriendStream clutter the phone and almost cheapen its Android integrity. The phone was incredibly fickle when it came to email, forcing us to continually set up our mail time and time again, oftentimes giving us the error message "getting token failed." For the most part, we had trouble accessing our mail reliably through the Gmail app, although we were able to access it through the notifications bar upon occasion. When searching for a solution, we found that other people were having the exact same problem, to which the major recommendation was to remove mail settings and start again -- what a pain. Wrap-up When the HTC Rhyme first arrived on the scene, Verizon's major focus seemed to be on the marketing angle rather than the meat of the phone. Widely understood to be a lady phone, the Rhyme's promise as a piece of hardware got lost amid stereotypes painting women as ditzes who need a sparkling light to find their phone underneath tubes of lipstick. Surprisingly, HTC has adamantly denied that this is a phone geared towards women. Of course, the phone itself isn't that bad – the hardware is beautiful and it has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor to power it through snappy transitions and multitasking. But why doesn't the lady phone have a dual-core processor, 4G LTE or perhaps a 4- to 4.3-inch higher quality screen? Considering that the accessories are the main selling point for the phone, it's remarkable how poorly made they are. The main one -- the charm -- wouldn't attach to any of our favorite purses and the glowing orb was hardly bright enough to alert us of an incoming call on a sunny day. Add in cheap headphones that barely stayed put in our ears and overall, it seems like the Rhyme is just another run-of-the-mill Android smartphone. Beyond the hardware, liking the phone comes down to liking Sense. To us, a cool weather and clock widget aren't enough to save us from the annoyance of things like pre-loaded Verizon crapware and FriendStream, but as always, it's a matter of preference. If you love purple and you love Sense, then the Rhyme's for you. For the rest of us, we'll just stick with "male" phones. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Multi-gigabit wireless broadband within our grasp, capped data plans laugh in our face Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:21 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK court orders ISP to block Newzbin 2 filesharing site within two weeks, Hollywood smiles Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:56 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nokia Lumia 800 unboxed: we shed some light on what's inside Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:34 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Porsche Design P'9981 BlackBerry provides a long-awaited design jolt, compensates for a lot Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:14 AM PDT  Update: MobileSyrup reports that the device shown here will sell for "around $2,000," and they'll be (unsurprisingly) limited in quantity. Introducing the Porsche Design P'9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry Engineered Luxury Meets High-Powered Performance STUTTGART, GERMANY and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 27, 2011) - Today, Porsche Design and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced the elite new Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry®. Designed by Porsche Design, in collaboration with RIM, the luxury brand's first smartphone delivers engineered luxury and performance. The Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry is instantly identifiable as a Porsche Design product. The exclusive material choices for this unique smartphone include a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and crystal clear touch display. This customized Porsche Design P'9981 comes with an exclusive Porsche Design UI and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience. It also includes premium, exclusive PINs that help easily identify another P'9981 smartphone user. "Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark," said Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO Porsche Design Group. "The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment." "This collaboration stems from a shared belief that form equals function," said Todd Wood, SVP for Industrial Design, Research In Motion. "The Porsche Design P'9981 is a truly modern luxury smartphone, where the timeless style of Porsche Design meets the unmatched mobile experience provided by BlackBerry." Powerful hardware and software The Porsche Design P'9981 is built on a performance driven platform that features a 1.2 GHz processor, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, and advanced sensors enabling new augmented reality applications. It comes with 8GB of on-board memory, expandable up to 40GB with a micro SD card. BlackBerry® 7, the operating system for the new Porsche Design P'9981, includes a next generation BlackBerry® browser with a fast, fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. It also features Liquid Graphics™ technology, which delivers a highly responsive touch experience with incredibly fast and smooth graphics. The Porsche Design P'9981 includes built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), which will enable many new and exciting capabilities. The Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be available from Porsche Design stores later this year. For more information please visit www.BlackBerry.com/ae/P9981smartphone or www.BlackBerry.com/sa/P9981smartphone About Porsche Design Porsche Design is a luxury brand with a special focus on products that are technically inspired. The brand Porsche Design was founded in 1972 by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The products are the embodiment of functionality, timelessness and purist design. They impress by the technical innovations they incorporate. The product portfolio includes watches, sunglasses, luggage, electronic products, a line of fragrances for men as well as a sport and fashion collection. All products of the brand are designed at the Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See, Austria, and are sold worldwide in the brand's own stores, in franchise stores, shop-in-shops, quality department stores and exclusive retailers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:02 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports Tracker racing toward Windows Phone for November release Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:29 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Music mobile landing page hints tunes are coming to the Android Market Posted: 27 Oct 2011 05:02 AM PDT  [Thanks, Tomer]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid review roundup: a speedy and spacious storage solution Posted: 27 Oct 2011 04:37 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motorola Pro+ 4G rides into Canada November 7th, will kick off shoes and stay a while Posted: 27 Oct 2011 03:49 AM PDT  We knew it was planning to grace Europe and Asia with its presence this month, but now we're hearing the Motorola Pro+ 4G is ready to make its North American debut at Bell Canada. We're not seeing any large differences here compared to the overseas model, though the addition of "4G" to the title is an obvious exception. The device offers a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, Android 2.3, a 5MP camera, 3.1-inch VGA (640 x 480) display with Gorilla Glass, HSPA 14.4 (hence the "4G" name) and a lot of Enterprise-friendly security features. We know it'll be hitting shelves on November 7th, but no price has been announced so far. To find out the full shebang, head south for the press release. Update: We've confirmed with an inside source that it'll sell for $349.95, but there's no word on whether subsidies will apply for long-term contracts. Motorola Mobility Canada Delivers the Smartphone that Works and Plays as Hard as You Do: Motorola PRO+ 4G Launching Nov. 7 exclusively at Bell, Motorola PRO+ 4G is a powerful smartphone optimized for business with all the fun, applications and web browsing power of Android - a work phone worth taking home Oct. 25, 2011 TORONTO – Oct. 25, 2011 – Life is full of demands, and we all could use a little extra help. With the sleek and sophisticated Motorola PRO+ 4G, brought to you by Motorola Mobility Canada Ltd. and available soon with Bell on the best network across Canada, you can have your own personal assistant that fits right in your pocket. Motorola PRO+ 4G gives you the power to edit important documents on the go, multitask when every second counts and encrypt sensitive work information with enterprise-level security so your IT manager can sleep at night. This supreme blend of touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard and Android™ 2.3 (Gingerbread) makes this smartphone ready for anything. "The Motorola PRO+ 4G delivers the security and productivity tools that businesses require, but all the fun things consumers want," says David Petrou, director of sales, Motorola Mobility Canada. "For professionals looking for a smarter smartphone, the Motorola PRO+ 4G offers robust features that work hard and play hard." Motorola PRO+ 4G has a super quick 1GHz processor and physical QWERTY keyboard for more efficient typing and texting when you need to update a client on the fly, browse for news and really important information, or multitask as necessity demands. And, with quick group messaging, it's easy to reach an entire list of people in no time at all. The device is also packed with productivity features to make your life easier and to help you impress your boss including the pre-loaded QuickOffice® Connect for accessing, creating and editing documents on-the-go. We know that in a fast paced world, going in and out of apps wastes precious time, so now key apps such as your calendar and email are scrollable direct from your home screen. Motorola PRO+ 4G is a smartphone that you and your IT department can agree upon. Nothing says business ready better than the leading security features; whether it's remote wipe of your device and SD card, password expiration and history, or full encryption, your IT manager will breathe a sigh of relief. Motorola PRO+ 4G comes loaded with 25 Exchange ActiveSync security policies – including PIN lock, auto-discovery of Exchange Servers, Extended Device Management API's and 3LM integration. Your sensitive information – your career – is guarded in this virtual vault with Motorola PRO+ 4G. It's fully loaded with support for Exchange and GmailTM for business, including corporate directory options. With these leading features your IT manager just might give you a smile. Motorola PRO+ 4G merges all of your personal and business information for you in a convenient system designed to make your life easier. Take the pressure off knowing Motorola PRO+4G syncs services from multiple sources, so all your contacts are viewable the way you want them, calendar options are available to arrange, edit, and respond to meeting invites, there are direct dial conference options, and intuitive email solutions that can anticipate who you may be sending an email to before you do. Its 4G Mobile HotSpot capabilities enable you to connect multiple devices, such as a laptop or tablet, for quick access to the Web, corporate email and calendar syncing. Plus, it features scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass so tossing your phone in your bag or pocket doesn't have to be a disaster. Motorola PRO+4G is ready for full customization to bring you the games and applications most important to you. With Music, Motorola's unique music player you have a dashboard for music discovery. You have easy access to all your favourite artists and song lyrics. Plus, you receive live, personalized recommendations for songs and videos as well as news and event updates from the world of music. With Gallery, you can aggregate all your photos from social networking and photo sharing sites like Facebook and PicasaTM for easy viewing. Plus, with Adobe® Flash® Player 10.3, you'll be able to access the online content you love. Motorola PRO+4G is also preloaded with the latest Google MobileTM Services including Google Maps™ 5.0 with Navigation, Google Talk™ and more than 250,000 apps from Android Market™. Smart Accessories A suite of smart accessories ensures users get the most from the Motorola Pro+4G. Available accessories include a Bluetooth® enabled headset, Bluetooth enabled car kit, portable power, and car charger. The Motorola Pro+ 4G will be available November 7 exclusively from Bell. For more information visit Motorola.com.
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| Samsung's SCH-i929 and SCH-W999 dual-screen clamshell get certified in China Posted: 27 Oct 2011 02:54 AM PDT  Of course, the real star of the show is the SCH-W999, a follow-up to the SCH-W899 of the same dual-screen clamshell form factor. As you can see on the right, on the outside this phone features a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 AMOLED display along with three touch buttons, while on the inside it packs a similar screen plus a physical keypad. Like the i929 above, this funky flip phone is also powered by a MSM8660 chip and supports both GSM and CDMA2000 on China Telecom, though its camera is limited to five megapixels instead. Anyhow, we'd certainly love to get hold of a world-friendly version of this 204 gram beast, so what do you say, Won-Pyo Hong? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dell Latitude ST tablet gets official with vague press release, dead links (video) Posted: 27 Oct 2011 02:14 AM PDT  Update: Looks like the specs have leaked out overseas, so we're guessing it'll get official soon enough. Update 2: And here come the unboxing videos! Update 3: And Dell's business page is up! Thanks, One Love! Dell Launches Latitude ST Tablet for Business, Healthcare and Education We're living in an exciting time as mobile computing continues to take significant evolutionary strides. Many organizations are embracing the productivity benefits of enabling their workers to be more mobile but with that freedom, they often face hurdles like security, device management and support for critical applications. At Dell, we strive to design products, services and solutions that maximize workforce efficiency without making IT sacrifices. That's why I'm pleased to announce the availability of the Dell Latitude ST, a tablet PC built for both mobile professionals and the IT professionals supporting them. The Latitude ST provides Windows 7 Professional productivity in a convenient, lightweight tablet along with all the great attributes IT departments have come to know and trust with our Latitude brand, including security, manageability, service and support. (TBR just ranked Dell notebooks #1 in customer satisfaction.) Latitude ST can be tailored to specific business or end user needs with certified applications and professional services. It is ideal for any organization where employees need to run a core set of applications in safe computing environments. For healthcare, the Latitude ST easily integrates into Dell's Electronic Medical Records and Mobile Clinical Computing solutions. And for education, the device is certified for use in our Connected Classroom solution. Speaking of healthcare markets, Dell is recognized as the leading provider of healthcare IT services worldwide. Latitude ST delivers go-anywhere productivity, with anytime, anywhere data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband options and a 10-inch multi-touch display with a stylus for intuitive ease-of-use. Mobile professionals can experience the following features and benefits: Work confidently with Intel Atom processors and the familiarity of Windows 7-based applications. Collaborate on-the-go with front and rear web cams, embedded microphone, and Skype video conferencing. Connect to projectors, printers, or other devices using built-in ports. Feel protected with durability features such as a rubberized bumper, anti-glare Corning Gorilla Glass screen and TPU overmold. And since mobility goes beyond hardware, we're certifying the device with select software partners. Available at launch, we'll offer certification on leading education software, such as Blio, Dyknow, LanSchool and Texas Instruments. For healthcare customers, we're working with organizations like Continua Healthcare Alliance, Athena Health and NextGen Healthcare. And we're working on partnerships with many more to ensure users never skip a beat using their familiar business applications. IT administrators will also appreciate the attributes of the Latitude ST. They can seamlessly manage the tablet like any other PC on their network using existing remote management solutions or Dell KACE appliances and protect critical data with flexible Dell Data Protection | Encryption. The device will also integrate with desktop virtualization solutions for secure access to data virtually anywhere. And of course the Latitude ST is backed by customizable options for Dell global service and support. The Latitude ST is quick and easy to deploy and manage, and perfect for mobile business users, enabling: Insurance clerks to document accidents, complete forms, obtain signatures and hit submit - right on location. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to view client history, make medical evaluation input, submit prescriptions and research securely on-the-go. Teachers to fully interact and collaborate with students by seamlessly moving about the classroom Customers can begin experiencing the new Latitude ST next Tuesday, November 1. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nintendo posts first half loss in earnings report, slashes forecast yet again Posted: 27 Oct 2011 01:28 AM PDT  Nintendo's latest earnings report may be one of its most forgettable. The company posted a net loss of ¥70.27 billion ($923 million) this morning, in a report covering the first six months of the fiscal year ending on September 30th. That's significantly deeper than the ¥2.01 billion loss Nintendo posted during the same period last year, though Nintendo attributed the result, in part, to a strengthened yen and sagging demand for its 3DS console. Revenue, meanwhile, fell by 40.6 percent on the year, to ¥215.74 billion ($2.84 billion), as the manufacturer reported an operating loss of ¥57.34 billion. Things are looking so bleak, in fact, that Nintendo has decided to slash its financial projections yet again, predicting a net loss of ¥20 billion for the full year (ending in March 2012), compared with the ¥20 billion in profits it projected only in July. And, as Bloomberg notes, if these prognostications hold true, it would mark Nintendo's first annual loss in a full 30 years. Ouch. Check out the full report for yourself at the source link, below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spotify comes to MeeGo to help keep your N9 company Posted: 27 Oct 2011 12:40 AM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sony to buy out Ericsson's stake in joint venture, call it quits after ten years Posted: 27 Oct 2011 12:02 AM PDT  We all saw it coming and, sure enough, it's finally happened. After all the rumors and opaque comments, Sony has just bought out Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson, effectively assuming ownership of the entire venture. Ericsson confirmed the buyout this morning, adding that it will receive a cash consideration of €1.05 billion in exchange for its 50 percent stake. Sony, meanwhile, will now have the chance to integrate smartphones more tightly within its arsenal of tablets, laptops and gaming devices. The agreement also gives Sony an IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of "five essential patent families" pertaining to wireless tech, though the breadth of this coverage remains unclear. The separation won't be finalized, however, until January 2012, pending regulatory approval. Find more details in the full PR, after the break. Update: Sony president and CEO Sir Howard Stringer has just addressed the media on the proposed buyout and confirmed that the company will indeed move away from feature phones, as previously stated. This effectively heralds the death of the Walkman line and the dawn of Sony's exclusively Android era, though Stringer's not ruling out the possibility of bringing another OS on board. When asked whether his firm would consider buying webOS, the exec said simply, "Never say never." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Ericsson: Sony to acquire Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson October 27, 2011, 08:16 (CEST) Sony Ericsson to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony and integrated into Sony's broad platform of network-connected consumer electronics products The transaction also provides Sony with a broad IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of five essential patent families Ericsson to receive EUR 1.05 billion cash payment Sony and Ericsson to create wireless connectivity initiative to drive connectivity across multiple platforms Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Sony Corporation ("Sony") today announced that Sony will acquire Ericsson's 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB ("Sony Ericsson"), making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction gives Sony an opportunity to rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices - including tablets, televisions and personal computers - for the benefit of consumers and the growth of its business. The transaction also provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony as well as ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology. As part of the transaction, Ericsson will receive a cash consideration of EUR 1.05 billion. During the past ten years the mobile market has shifted focus from simple mobile phones to rich smartphones that include access to internet services and content. The transaction is a logical strategic step that takes into account the nature of this evolution and its impact on the marketplace. This means that the synergies for Ericsson in having both a world leading technology and telecoms services portfolio and a handset operation are decreasing. Today Ericsson's focus is on the global wireless market as a whole; how wireless connectivity can benefit people, business and society beyond just phones. Consistent with that mission, by setting up a wireless connectivity initiative, Ericsson and Sony will work to drive and develop the market's adoption of connectivity across multiple platforms. "This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. With a vibrant smartphone business and by gaining access to important strategic IP, notably a broad cross-license agreement, our four-screen strategy is in place. We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment. This includes Sony's own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network," said Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr Stringer also noted that the acquisition will afford Sony operational efficiencies in engineering, network development and marketing, among other areas. "We can help people enjoy all our content - from movies to music and games - through our many devices, in a way no one else can." "Ten years ago when we formed the joint venture, thereby combining Sony's consumer products knowledge with Ericsson's telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. Today we take an equally logical step as Sony acquires our stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices. We will now enhance our focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, using our R&D and industry leading patent portfolio to realize a truly connected world" said Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson. When Sony Ericsson started its operations on October 1, 2001, it combined the unprofitable handset operations from Ericsson and Sony. Following a successful turnaround the company has become a market leader in the development of feature phones by integrating Sony's strong consumer products knowledge and Ericsson's telecommunications technology leadership. The WalkmanTM phone and Cyber-shotTM phone are well known examples. With the successful introduction of the P1 in 2007, Sony Ericsson early on established itself in the smartphone segment. More recently, the company has successfully made the transition from feature phones to Android-based Xperia(TM) smartphones. By the end of the third quarter of 2011, Sony Ericsson held a market share of 11 percent (by value) in the Android phone market, representing 80 percent of the company's third quarter sales. During its ten years in operation Sony Ericsson has generated approximately EUR 1.5 billion of profit and paid dividends totalling approximately EUR 1.9 billion to its parent companies. Prominent models include "XperiaTM arc" and "XperiaTM mini" which received 2011 EISA Awards, while recent notable additions to the lineup include "XperiaTM PLAY" and "XperiaTM arc S". The transaction, which has been approved by appropriate decision-making bodies of both companies, is expected to close in January 2012, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Ericsson has accounted for its 50 percent share in Sony Ericsson according to the equity method. Following completion of the transaction, Ericsson will have no outstanding guarantees relating to Sony Ericsson and will no longer account for Sony Ericsson as an investment on balance sheet. The transaction will result in a positive capital gain for Ericsson which will be defined after closing of the transaction. SEB Enskilda is acting as Ericsson's sole financial advisor in the transaction. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSI acquires SandForce for $370 million, looks to step up its SSD game Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:45 PM PDT  SandForce has been behind many an SSD in its day, but it looks like it's finally about to settle down, and get hitched. Yesterday, LSI announced plans to acquire the flash storage company, as part of a $370 million agreement. The deal brings SandForce's processors and energy efficient DuraClass technology under LSI's roof, giving the semiconductor designer some new flash firepower and an extra boost into a burgeoning market. Tangible results, of course, remain to be seen, though it's certainly not the first time these two have danced. SandForce, after all, provided the motor for LSI's WarpDrive lineup, and will presumably do much more, once the deal goes through. Pending regulatory approval, the acquisition should be finalized by the first quarter of 2012. Full PR after the break. LSI Announces Agreement to Acquire SandForce Acquisition of leading provider of flash storage processors extends LSI's industry-leading position and breadth in storage technology solutions MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SandForce, Inc., the leading provider of flash storage processors for enterprise and client flash solutions and solid state drives (SSDs). Under the agreement, LSI will pay approximately $322 million in cash, net of cash assumed, and assume approximately $48 million of unvested stock options and restricted shares held by SandForce employees. SandForce's award-winning products include flash storage processors at the heart of PCIe flash adapters and SSDs. Flash storage processors provide the intelligence required to deliver the performance and low-latency benefits of flash storage in enterprise and client applications. With market-proven, differentiated DuraClass™ technology, SandForce flash storage processors improve the reliability, endurance and power efficiency of flash-based storage solutions. The acquisition greatly enhances LSI's competitive position in the fast-growing server and storage PCIe flash adapter market, where the WarpDrive™ family of products from LSI already uses SandForce flash storage processors. The complementary combination of LSI's custom capability and SandForce's standard product offering propels LSI into an industry-leading position in the rapidly growing, high-volume flash storage processor market space for ultrabook, notebook and enterprise SSD and flash solutions. "Flash-based solutions are critical for accelerating application performance in servers, storage and client devices," said Abhi Talwalkar, LSI president and chief executive officer. "Adding SandForce's technology to LSI's broad storage portfolio is consistent with our mission to accelerate storage and networking. The acquisition represents a significant, rapidly growing market opportunity for LSI over the next several years." Michael Raam, SandForce president and CEO, said, "The combination of SandForce and LSI allows us to deliver differentiated solutions in the PCIe flash adapter segment by tightly integrating flash memory and management. In addition, leveraging our flash storage processors with LSI's comprehensive IP portfolio and leading-edge silicon design platforms will lead to innovative solutions." The transaction is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2012 subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Upon closing, the SandForce team will become part of LSI's newly formed Flash Components Division, with Raam as general manager. LSI expects the acquisition to be neutral to non-GAAP* earnings per share in 2012. The company will provide further details during its conference call at 2 p.m. PDT today and discuss third quarter results and the fourth quarter 2011 business outlook. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skifta leaves beta, streams media to and from your Android device wherever you may be Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:25 PM PDT  Qualcomm Atheros Launches Skifta 1.0 for Android to Access Personal Music, Photos and Video in the Connected Home or on-the-go - New Platform Eliminates Barriers between Consumers and their Media Whether Stored at Home or on Cloud Content Services Like Flickr Photos, Soma.fm Radio or TED Talks - SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qualcomm Atheros Inc., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), today announced Skifta™ 1.0 for Android™ smartphones and tablets. Skifta transforms any Android device into a global media remote control that lets consumers access and enjoy their music, videos and photos at home over Wi-Fi and on the move with 3G from wherever their media resides – at home, in the cloud and anywhere in between. Now, with 3G and Wi-Fi support and a new desktop media server plug-in for Mac, Windows and Linux, Skifta fans have an easy way to use their Android devices to access media collections stored on their home computers without requiring a third-party media server application. Skifta is the first DLNA Certified™ application capable of streaming personal content to millions of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices worldwide, including TVs, IP-connected stereos like Sonos systems, PlayStation 3 game consoles, Windows 7 PCs and thousands of other connected consumer electronics models. After selecting a photo, song or video stored on the Android smartphone or tablet, users can share this content to any compliant device using Skifta. No wires, downloading or sideloading is required. Consumers just tap on their favorite content, select a connected device and press Play. A unique feature of the Skifta platform is its Channel library, which eliminates the need for consumers to manage multiple applications to access their favorite media from the cloud. Skifta Channels also give immediate access to Facebook Photos, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, Soma.fm, Napster, ShoutCast, Revision 3, TED Talks and more. "Extensive discussions with our beta group boiled down to this: Skifta should eliminate the barriers between consumers and their media," said Dan Rabinovitsj, senior vice president and general manager, networking business unit, Qualcomm Atheros. "The new version of Skifta addresses this issue with 3G support and media server software, and it goes a step further to deliver a powerful solution that puts the smartphone or tablet at the center of the connected home." Pricing and Availability Skifta 1.0 for Android is free to download immediately from the Android Market and is currently available for Android smartphones and tablets (2.2 or higher). The Skifta desktop application for remote access to media stored at home (PC, Mac and Linux) is available at www.skifta.com. For regular Skifta updates, follow us at www.twitter.com/skifta or become a Fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/skifta. About Qualcomm Atheros Inc. Qualcomm Atheros Inc., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, is a leading provider of wireless and wired technologies for the mobile, networking, computing and consumer electronics markets. The organization is focused on inventing technologies that connect and empower people in ways that are elegant and accessible to all. With its broad connectivity portfolio, Qualcomm Atheros provides its global customer base with high-performance, end-to-end solutions featuring Wi-Fi®, GPS, Bluetooth®, Ethernet, HomePlug® powerline and PON technologies. Qualcomm Atheros leverages its substantial expertise in RF, signal processing, software and networking to deliver highly integrated, low-power, system-level solutions that enable customers to create high-performance, differentiated products. For more information, go to www.qca.qualcomm.com. Qualcomm Atheros and Skifta are trademarks of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. HomePlug is a registered trademark of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Galaxy Nexus confirmed to have 'fortified glass,' not Gorilla Glass Posted: 26 Oct 2011 10:35 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lumia 710 makes an appearance on Nokia's US site without its Windows Phone counterpart Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:36 PM PDT  Update: Dampen down those hopes and dreams, kids. Nokia has said that it will be making a splash in the USA at the start of next year, but it won't be with the Lumia phones. The page went up just for your information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robot dragon teaches kids language skills, battles impulse to terrorize city Posted: 26 Oct 2011 08:55 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warner pushes 28-day new release delay on Blockbuster, matches Redbox and Netflix Posted: 26 Oct 2011 08:17 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verizon throws Galaxy Nexus signup page live, claims exclusivity Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:40 PM PDT  [Thanks, John] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Angry Birds to ride Russian rockets into space, follow iPads bound for bored cosmonauts Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:02 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RIM releases BBM SDK for WebWorks, injects some chatting flavor into your apps Posted: 26 Oct 2011 06:38 PM PDT  This year's BlackBerry DevCon might have come and gone with nary a mention of BBM's flagrant promiscuity, but RIM did give us some other BBM news. The Canuck company's BBM Social Platform SDK is now up for general availability after recently hitting version 1.0. The release extends its venerable messaging protocol to WebWorks developers, allowing their wares to initiate chats and incorporate BBM statuses, avatars and personal messages from the service. Also on the docket is "application-to-application background communication," which we presume enables a smorgasbord of behind the scenes cross-application chattiness. Finally, Crackberry developers will be able to start file transfers over the protocol, including virally sharing apps between users. Sounds like the 'Berry of the future is gonna be much more reliant upon Waterloo's messaging platform, so let's just hope there aren't any more outages. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FingerFlux system uses magnets to add tactile feedback to touchscreens Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:56 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMK's touchscreen registers your gloved swipes, won't acknowledge the bad touch Posted: 26 Oct 2011 04:52 PM PDT  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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