March 5, 2010

Engadget Mobile

Engadget Mobile

Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PST

Microsoft may be saving most of its Windows Phone 7 Series news for MIX the week after next (at least that's what we've heard whispers about), but it looks like it's still dishing out a few more details beforehand, as evidenced by a short demonstration Microsoft's Charlie Kindel gave to CNET. Nothing major like a confirmation of HD2 support, but we do get a glimpse of a few apps we haven't seen before (including a flashlight, level, and weather app -- all supposedly "trivial" to build thanks to XNA and Silverlight), and a look at some new screens for various applications we have seen, including a better look at the Xbox Live hub. Head on past the break to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens

Windows Phone 7 Series demo video reveals new apps, screens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform?

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 05:30 PM PST

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

My friend and colleague Harry McCracken recently bought a brand new Droid from Motorola. He says it's a "loaf of day old bread." He's right. The Droid and Android 2.0 were introduced with much fanfare in December, but have already been eclipsed by Android 2.1 running on Google's Nexus One, and there are some serious ramifications for being behind. For example, Google recently touted the latest mobile version of Google Earth, which is a cool app that you won't be able to use unless you're running 2.1. Sure, Google says "Google Earth will be available in Android Market on most devices that have Android 2.1 or later versions," but that's most, not every. And what does Google mean when it says "as devices like the Droid get updated..." to 2.1? When will they get updated? Is it any wonder that some Android users are starting to get pangs of buyers remorse?

When Android was announced, I wrote that if "Google can deliver, the impact could be huge," but I caveated a major issue: Google would need to prevent the market from fragmenting and allow it to succeed where other mobile and desktop Linux implementations had failed. Linux fragmentation remains one of the many reasons the open-source OS has failed to capture a meaningful share of the PC desktop market, and Android is rapidly following a similar path by fragmenting into different versions with different core feature sets, different users experiences and run different applications.

Continue reading Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform?

Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola i1: we've seen it, it runs Blur, and it'll likely be out soon

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 05:03 PM PST

Well, that was quick: thanks to some new information we've received, we're now able to confirm that the Motorola i1 is indeed the so-called Opus One that the company has been rumored to preparing for its iDEN carrier partners with Android on board -- and it's exactly the leaked device we saw back in December. We don't know much in the way of specs, but it sounds like we should expect Blur running atop Android 1.5 (sigh), a 3 megapixel cam, and a possible announcement within a couple weeks -- a time frame that would line up splendidly with CTIA toward the end of the month. Naturally, you can bet your little green robot we'll be there.

[Image via BGR; thanks, Gus N.]

Motorola i1: we've seen it, it runs Blur, and it'll likely be out soon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS follows Alltel's lead, deploys Samsung Freeform

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 03:16 PM PST

If this contoured piece of QWERTY kit looks familiar, it should -- it's the same as the Freeform that came late last year to Alltel. MetroPCS' version is the same thing (heck, it's even the same color) with a 1.3 megapixel camera, 2.2-inch 176 x 144 display, four-row QWERTY keyboard, and memory expansion up to 16GB via microSD, perfect for the on-board MP3 player (and if you're not a music kind of person, it'll take you a good long while to fill up 16GB worth of storage 1.3 megapixels at a time). Pricing and availability haven't yet been announced, but we'd expect it to be pretty easy on the pocketbook.

MetroPCS follows Alltel's lead, deploys Samsung Freeform originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone games ported to webOS in 'a matter of days' on tap for GDC?

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 01:08 PM PST

EA has already said that it was able to get 3D games up and running on webOS in a "matter of weeks" using the OS' PDK (or Plug-in Development Kit), but it looks like Palm might be ready to step things up even further at GDC next week. While any official word will have to wait until then, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD says that he's heard from sources close to the company that Palm will be now demonstrating how iPhone apps can be ported to webOS "in a matter of days," and with virtually no degradation in performance. Not much more to go on that that at the moment, unfortunately, but you can be sure we'll be there at GDC to how this and anything else Palm might have in store pans out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iPhone games ported to webOS in 'a matter of days' on tap for GDC? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson promises Satio software update 'just around the corner'

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 01:02 PM PST

Following a December firmware boost, users of Sony Ericsson's much-maligned Satio should start gearing up for another significant update that -- at a glance, anyway -- brings some pretty awesome new features to the table. On top of a promise that it'll "rectify some issues, [and] optimize performance even further," Sony Ericsson's high-end Symbian set gets WVGA video recording (though VGA remains the default), integrated picture uploads to Facebook and videos to YouTube, DLNA support, sundry "UI improvements," and firmware integration of the Facebook app that's already available on PlayNow. Not bad for a phone that Sony Ericsson could've easily abandoned in favor of support for the Vivaz -- but probably not enough to totally shake the phone's tarnished rep this far into the game.

Sony Ericsson promises Satio software update 'just around the corner' originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola patent combines multiple devices to make one large display

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 12:49 PM PST

It seems to us that if you indulge in mobile video from time to time, you're either lugging around a device with a decent display size (netbook, tablet, whatevs) or more likely than not you're watching your Britain's Got Talent! clips on a handset -- either solution is obviously less than ideal. What if we told you that Motorola has filed a patent application for a "Reconfigurable Multiple-Screen Display"? This technology will essentially let you configure multiple devices for use as one big display: Instead of lugging around your Thinkpad or suffering the indignity of watching postage stamp-sized video on your Droid you can simply and conveniently carry four phones around. Why didn't we think of that?

Motorola patent combines multiple devices to make one large display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola's Android-powered iDEN device to be called i1?

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 12:27 PM PST

Alright, pardon our conjecture here, but we think we're on to something. A Motorola just flew through FCC certification with ID IHDP56KV1 and model name "i1" featuring iDEN plus Bluetooth 2.1 and WiFi -- in other words, this'll almost certainly be coming to Sprint Direct Connect. Remember that rumored Opus One with Android for iDEN? Yeah, well, "i1" is a pretty notable, stand-out model name if you ask us -- and it's not every day that you see an iDEN device with WiFi, suggesting this'll be a smartphone. Do a little hand-waving and liberal dot-connecting and you have a reasonable assumption that the Opus One will be coming to market as the i1 -- and with FCC certification under their belt, Moto might introduce it sooner rather than later. CTIA later this month, perhaps?

Motorola's Android-powered iDEN device to be called i1? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Pearl 9100 to come in SureType and QWERTY flavors?

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 11:43 AM PST

Remember Nokia's E52 and E55? Espoo took an interesting tactic with these two: start with the same basic phone and operating system, but offer it with two different keypad layouts (in fact, HTC did the same with its Touch Dual). It's not a bad idea -- different strokes for different folks, right? Indeed, not everyone can really get into RIM's SureType layout, but the Pearls that usually underpin it have a distinct opportunity to appeal to a wider audience. To that end, an OEM full QWERTY module for the unannounced Pearl 9100 has made an appearance on Chinese accessory reseller TrueSupplier's site that suggests RIM's learned this lesson and might be prepping to offer the newest model in two different versions. What'd be tragic here is if only one flavor was offered on each carrier that picked it up -- and given RIM's history, that wouldn't surprise us -- but for now, we sticking with the "choice is a good thing" line.

BlackBerry Pearl 9100 to come in SureType and QWERTY flavors? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 11:20 AM PST

In the market for AV gear that "Works with iPhone?" Looks like Pioneer's trusty old VSX-1019AH (with its built-in iPod dock) just got a formidable ally in the form of the VSX-1020-K. This bad boy not only packs in the features you expect from an AV receiver (including connections for HD video, HD audio, wireless and analog components, 1080p video conversion and upscaling, support for 3D video and more) but the company throws in a free custom iPhone / iPod touch app for exploring your inner audiophile -- and getting your room to sound just so in the process. Up for pre-order now at Amazon for $549. Screenshots and further details after the break.

Continue reading Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order

Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Mobile Podcast 038 - 03.05.2010

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 10:00 AM PST


Nurons, Sliders, Backflips, Partners, Experiences...it's all a blur to us by now. One thing we do remember is that we play our own little version of Judge Judy as Nilay Patel assumes his permanent role as the Bruce Willis of Analyzing the HTC-Apple Suit. Or something.

Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Sean Cooper
Special Guest: Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)

00:02:18 - Nokia 5230 Nuron excites the T-Mobile nervous system
00:12:56 - Nokia C5 arrives with S60 3rd edition OS pretending to be a 'smartphone'
00:20:45 - Nokia's Series 40 to 'offer a compelling touch experience'
00:23:42 - Exclusive: First Windows Phone 7 Series partner device unveiled (with video!)
00:36:46 - BlackBerry slider photos leak out!
00:43:56 - Motorola Backflip for AT&T unboxing and hands-on
00:55:32 - Palm's webOS 1.4 emerges: screenshots galore
01:00:00 - Palm boss Rubinstein sends letter to employees, talks turnaround
01:06:47 - Apple sues HTC for infringing 20 iPhone patents
01:15:17 - Apple specifically going after Android in HTC lawsuit


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Engadget Mobile Podcast 038 - 03.05.2010 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bluetooth 4.0 devices to make the scene later this year

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 09:57 AM PST

We were glad to see Bluetooth low energy actually added to the Bluetooth 4.0 spec, but of course the question remained: when are we going to get our hands on it? By Q4 this year, apparently -- at least according to the Bluetooth SIG. But don't expect any dramatic changes in battery life for most of your gadgets: while the low energy spec introduces connectivity to a host of lower-power devices that have in the past relied on proprietary technology (such as watches, pedometers, and cats), your traditional Bluetooth devices, such as phones and laptops, will consume roughly the same amount of power. Indeed, the low energy spec is merely throwing smaller devices (with smaller amounts of data to transfer) in to the mix: if you want Trans-Siberian Orchestra to sound as glorious as ever on your wireless headphones, you'll need to push as much data (and hence draw as much power) with version 4 as you would with version 3. If you've ever heard "A Mad Russian's Christmas," you'd know what we're talking about.

Bluetooth 4.0 devices to make the scene later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th?

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 08:55 AM PST

Details on Microsoft's Pink phones seem to be leaking all over the place this week, and we just got a huge piece of the puzzle: an extremely reliable source just told us the two Sharp-made devices will launch exclusively on Verizon, with a possible street date of April 20th. We've also got two more photos of the Pure and Turtle -- which are legit, as far as we can tell -- and some info on the Pink ad campaign, which will indeed be targeted at teens and twentysomethings and centered around that "truly madly deeply" line Microsoft employees have been tossing around lately. (Sort of explains that 4/20 launch date, right?) Whether any of this is good enough to overcome the fact that Pink seems to be a limited featurephone platform launching into a world of cheap smartphones remains to be seen, but this thing is definitely happening. New pic of the Turtle after the break.

Update: We've just heard that Pink will be coming to Vodafone internationally as well -- which explains why we've heard of both CDMA and GSM variants of the two devices.

Continue reading Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th?

Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Mobile given OK to set up shop in Taiwan

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 08:34 AM PST

It's not every day that a Chinese company gets regulatory approval to invest in Taiwan. Actually, a Chinese company has never before been given permission to invest in Taiwan's communications infrastructure, so it's pretty big news here that the world's largest carrier by subscribers -- China Mobile -- has just been greenlighted to set up a subsidiary there. Initially, they're going in under the guise of becoming an electronics wholesaler, but longer term, they're interested in taking a 12 percent stake in local carrier Far EasTone that would work out to $17.8 billion Taiwan dollars (roughly $558 million) which would represent a pretty unprecedented level of technical synergy between the nations. What's more, Taiwan is toying with TD-SCDMA these days -- China Mobile's forte -- so on the surface, the move seems to make good business sense.

China Mobile given OK to set up shop in Taiwan originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Desire, Legend and HD Mini show up on Amazon UK, expected to arrive on April 1

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 05:50 AM PST

Slowly but surely, HTC's latest trifecta of handsets is making its way westwards. After appearing on Amazon's Deutsche hub with a pre-order value of €519 ($707), the Desire has now reached the UK with an even steeper £528 ($795) price and an estimated arrival time of April 1. Let's just hope this pattern doesn't continue or we'll be looking at a four-figure sticker when this thing comes all the way Stateside. The HTC Legend is also slated for an April 1 delivery and carries a price of £400 ($602), while the HD Mini will straggle a tiny bit with an April 14 launch and a palatable £369 ($556) price. All are without contractual obligations, so it'll be interesting to see what incentives carriers can come up with to get us to jump on board.

[Thanks, Ron]

HTC Desire, Legend and HD Mini show up on Amazon UK, expected to arrive on April 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia's limited edition Oakley N97 mini is a match made in Dog heaven

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 03:21 AM PST

Nothing says, "I don't play sports but I want you to think that I do" quite like wearing a pair of Oakley shades. And no smartphone has had a tougher time earning respect than the mini version of Nokia's N97 debacle. To its credit, the N97 mini has become a very successful device for Nokia despite its namesake with not one, but two special edition runs already under its belt. Now we've got three with this limited edition model handed out to Oakley-sponsored Winter Olympians. Other than a laser-etched back, the Noakleyia mashup also comes packed with exclusive Oakley team content. Just 200 were produced so if you see it on eBay, you'd better be fast with the snipe. Gratuitous N97 mini video of Shaun White after the break because over-saturated is not in your vocabulary.

Continue reading Nokia's limited edition Oakley N97 mini is a match made in Dog heaven

Nokia's limited edition Oakley N97 mini is a match made in Dog heaven originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T moves toward eco-friendly packaging, earns our approbation

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 02:41 AM PST

Notice to all gadget makers and vendors: if you reduce your packaging and engage in environmentally conscious behavior, you'll get free press out of it and positive brand awareness to boot. Take for example AT&T's newly announced design specifications for its own-brand phone accessories and packaging requirements for cellphone makers. Both are geared toward minimizing the surplus of paper and plastic that tends to come with the purchase of your device, and both will require the use of recycled and recyclable materials. AT&T expects to save 200 tons of excess materials by the end of 2010, which is very encouraging, but also disturbing in that it lets us know we were wasting 200 tons each year that could, presumably, have been saved by some sager planning. Anyway, better late than never -- and guess what, it will probably end up costing the company less than those inane advert attacks on Verizon.

AT&T moves toward eco-friendly packaging, earns our approbation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Gesture Search puts your contacts just a stroke away

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 07:50 PM PST

If you look under the hood, Google's been beefing up Android with support for gestures that developers can take advantage of, and the power and flexibility of that capability is now being demoed by none other than... well, Google, of course. Gesture Search -- which is currently being billed a Google Labs project -- lets you draw letters on the screen to reach contacts and other content on your phone, an especially nice shortcut for those who like to avoid the on-screen keyboard as much as possible. As it learns what you tend to search for, the quality of the searches improves, meaning you need to swipe less to get to frequently-accessed items. It needs Android 2.0 to do its thing, but if you've got a so-equipped phone, it's available now from the US-localized Market.

Google Gesture Search puts your contacts just a stroke away originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 7 Series mockup changes slightly, Zune menu making a comeback? (update: nope!)

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 06:24 PM PST

So Microsoft's Charlie Kindel posted up a long blog post about Windows Phone 7 Series and app development just now, and we couldn't help but notice the WP7S device mockup he used is noticeably different from the stock press shots we've been seeing and the actual devices we've gotten to play with. That's a totally different hardware trim, for starters, and there's a Zune-like menu on the right-- on the builds we've seen scrolling to the right reveals the app list. And that map on the bottom has been moved up a couple rows from where we've seen it on demo builds -- which is unfortunate because it's so wildly ugly in comparison to the rest of the 7 Series interface. Now, this could actually be an older mockup, not a newer one, so we're not reading too much into this, but it's clear that Microsoft is still making a ton of tweaks to the WP7S interface as time goes on -- hopefully we'll see some final results at MIX.

Update: Charlie confirms that this is an older mockup. Sorry, Zune fans.

Windows Phone 7 Series mockup changes slightly, Zune menu making a comeback? (update: nope!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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at 6:22 PM