March 9, 2010

Engadget Mobile

Engadget Mobile

Does Android dream of DIY cushions?

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 04:44 PM PST

With the estate of Philip K. Dick up in arms over the slightest commercial reference to his published works, we may come to regret the above headline. But it's worth the risk to bring more attention to this lovely, handcrafted Android pillow. Covered in fleece and filled with fluffy polyester for a texture that creator Craftsquatch describes as "firm yet springy," the cuddly 12-inch square, made-to-order cushion can be yours for $20 before shipping. If only it came with dessert.

Does Android dream of DIY cushions? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm's webOS PDK beta adds Pixi native development, PDK'd apps will hit the Catalog mid year

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 04:12 PM PST

We just sat down with Palm here at GDC and fished out a few more details on the PDK beta front. Firstly, and most interestingly, Palm has confirmed that the PDK now works on all of its handsets (instead of just the Pre and Pre Plus), which means Pixi buyers can stop hating themselves pretty soon. Apparently the level of performance degradation should be comparable iPhone 3G vs. 3GS, which doesn't sound too horrible. This is functionality that wasn't available even to Palm's early PDK partners like EA and Gameloft, so we should be seeing versions of existing games make the jump to the Pixi when the time for PDK beta-developed apps to hit the Palm App Catalog. When will that time come, you ask? The "middle of the year," or "a few months," whichever sounds more promising to you. Palm's not saying whether this new era for the App Catalog (anyone being able to release PDK apps, and those apps working on the Pre and the Pixi) will accompany a full-on webOS update, but it seems logical to us.

On a more technical front, we're told the PDK supports the Linux standard SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) to ease in porting and development (Unreal for Linux runs using SDL, for instance), and that developers could even build apps like an audio processor that rely on PDK components but don't show up in the UI at all, or OpenGL-empowered things that aren't necessarily games or in 3D. Also, existing developers have only been able to do "full screen" games that rely on PDK components alone, but the PDK beta lets you mix and match webOS UI with PDK elements. Currently there aren't many PDK games that use the extra Palm hardware like the QWERTY keyboard and the gesture area, but we're told that's all exposed to the developer, along with any other element of webOS that Mojo SDK users have access to. One notable plugin hangup is the fact that Flash only works in the browser, and can't be embedded into a regular webOS app, PDK or no -- though we have to assume this is something that's in the works.

Palm's webOS PDK beta adds Pixi native development, PDK'd apps will hit the Catalog mid year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eternal optimist Verizon calls iPad launch 'an opportunity' to sell some data plans

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 03:23 PM PST

That's the "glass is half full" attitude we like, Verizon -- always looking for a way to sign a few more of those lucrative data contracts, no matter the circumstances! Turns out Big Red is tipping off its staffers on how it can encourage customers to go with the WiFi-only version of the iPad and pair it up with a device like the MiFi rather than shelling out $130 more for integrated AT&T 3G and waiting a few extra weeks. As usual, Verizon's keen on playing up the anti-AT&T sentiment it's cultivated in its recent ad campaign by openly calling its biggest competitor's 3G network "overloaded," but we see one big hangup: 5GB of data on a Verizon MiFi is going to run you $60 a month, twice as much as AT&T will be charging for its dedicated, unlimited iPad plan. Then again, AT&T's own boss thinks WiFi's a bigger deal than 3G for this thing, so who knows -- maybe this is a zero-sum game for both of these guys.

[Thanks, Mark]

Eternal optimist Verizon calls iPad launch 'an opportunity' to sell some data plans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung SHW-M120S to be first Android phone with Bluetooth 3.0?

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 12:41 PM PST

Samsung's all about records: firsts, biggests, smallests, thinnests, you get the idea. Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that the company managed to slip the very first Bluetooth 3.0 certified handset through -- but these guys never rest, and it looks like they're already prepping to follow up that feat by throwing Android into the mix. The Bluetooth SIG is showing certification for an SHW-M120S model that apparently features a 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel autofocus primary cam plus VGA secondary, WiFi, GPS, HSDPA, and -- yes, you guessed it -- a Bluetooth Core Version of 3.0, meaning you'll likely be able to fling files around to your house full of Bluetooth 3.0-capable devices with the greatest of ease. The presence of a T-DMB tuner means this sucker is targeted squarely at the South Korean market, but we've no doubt Sammy plans on taking 3.0 global so that it can... you know, have the world's most Bluetooth 3.0 devices. PuntoCellulare seems to have a pretty good shot of it, and it looks pretty much how you'd expect any self-respecting Samsung smartphone to look in 2010 -- in other words, there's nothing that screams "I can wirelessly transfer data short distances at heretofore-unknown speeds" just by looking at it, and that's totally fine by us. Rumor is we'll see this launch "in the next few weeks."

[Thanks, juanvaldez]

Samsung SHW-M120S to be first Android phone with Bluetooth 3.0? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 drops in

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 11:40 AM PST

Suspense! Drama! Surprises! Unrealistic expectations! It's always a veritable roller coaster of emotions whenever Apple gets around to cutting a new SDK build -- and without a doubt, iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 is no exception. We don't yet have a good read on what's new here, so if you're a member of Apple's $99 dev program and happen to get it downloaded and installed, let us know if you find anything awesome, like an iPhone 4 or iPad 2. Or, you know, anything else. Have fun!

iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 drops in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Customer greeted with malware on Vodafone-issued HTC Magic (good thing it's discontinued)

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 11:33 AM PST

Crapware's bad enough, but having your life torn asunder simply by plugging in that shiny new (insert USB-connected device here) is an exciting new trend -- viruses find their way into the darnedest places, don't they? It seems an employee at anti-malware firm Panda Research who'd ordered a new Magic off Vodafone UK's site was greeted with no fewer than three nefarious executables upon plugging the device into her PC: a bot client, a password stealer, and a Conficker variant, and running a network sniffer quickly confirmed that the virii were live and ready to do harm as soon as the autorun in the Magic's mounted mass storage was executed on her Windows machine. If this were a widespread issue, we'd certainly have heard about it in other places, so odds are good (as Panda points out) that this was simply a case of HTC or Vodafone doing an awful job of wiping a refurbished set -- but it gives you pause and kind of makes you wish you worked for an anti-malware firm, at least on days when you're plugging in a new phone for the first time. The silver lining, we suppose, is that Vodafone has recently discontinued the Magic, though that creates another problem: the only Android device it currently stocks now is the lowly Tattoo, so the X10 and Nexus One can't come soon enough.

Customer greeted with malware on Vodafone-issued HTC Magic (good thing it's discontinued) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:31 AM PST

We've all had a feeling that Microsoft is holding back some pretty big surprises (or at least completely reasonable revelations) when it comes to Windows Phone 7 Series and gaming, and here at GDC this week it sounds like we're going to get a little glimpse into that. Microsoft is unveiling its new XNA Game Studio 4.0, which lets developers work on games for Windows Phone 7 Series, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. The integration with Visual Studio 2010 that we saw the other day allows developers to build a single project and then make slight modifications to let it run on each platform respectively. Most importantly, Microsoft specifically mentions that 4.0 will include hardware accelerated 3D APIs for Windows Phone 7 Series -- not stunning, giving the fact that Zune can do 3D games (and is supported by XNA), but relieving just the same. Other phone-related tidbits are also telling: there will be fairly deep Xbox LIVE integration, including unlocking achievements from phone-based games and push notifications for asynchronous turn based gaming. Hopefully we can get some real live multiplayer gaming going as well, but there's no mention of that just yet. Microsoft promises "much, much more" will be revealed at MIX 2010, but for now we're gonna dig for all we can here at GDC.

Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour review

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 10:13 AM PST

While Motorola's vanilla-Android Droid has become the most recognizable Android device on the market -- thanks in part to a bombastic ad campaign -- Motorola's primary focus has been on its own custom Blur UI. At least, if quantity of devices are any indication. Hitting Verizon just as the Blur-powered Backflip heads to AT&T, the new Motorola Devour is an odd cross section of the "consumery" Backflip and Cliq, and the high-end Droid slider. We've been playing with the phone for a week or so (you can find our initial hands-on, video walkthrough and unboxing here), so follow us after the break as we walk through the triumphs and tragedy that is this device.

Continue reading Motorola Devour review

Motorola Devour review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cricket tacks on Samsung's Stunt

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 09:42 AM PST

Looking for a rightful successor to your now-aging SCH-R211? Samsung and Cricket would like you to look no further than the SCH-R100 Stunt, a dead ringer for the candybar of the same name that launched on MetroPCS back in December of last year. It turns out this is a little bit more than your average ultra-basic phone, though: Cricket says this device is introducing Bluetooth to the lowest tier of its lineup, a particularly useful feature now that using the handset while driving is a no-no in many jurisdictions. It's available now (contract free, naturally) for $99.99.

Cricket tacks on Samsung's Stunt originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meizu MStore open for business, Mr. Jelly on sale now for 29 cents

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 09:20 AM PST

We have some news on the app store that Meizu announced for the M8 a while back. The official name is apparently MStore, and it is indeed open for business with its first paid app, Mr. Jelly, going for about 29 cents (we believe it's a productivity tool for managing your, um, jelly). If that sounds familiar, it is -- the game is a port of an iPhone App Store gem. Regardless of its somewhat KIRFish nature, we do wish Meizu (its app developers) all the best. Now, when are we going to get Super Monkey Ball for this thing?

Meizu MStore open for business, Mr. Jelly on sale now for 29 cents originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm unleashes webOS PDK beta on the public

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 08:19 AM PST

If you've been looking to get in on some of that red hot game development action that Palm's been all about lately, check it out: among the announcements at this year's GDC, Palm has announced the release of its public beta PDK for webOS. This bad boy promises to let devs "use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app," just the thing for porting game titles to the webOS platform. And it's available now! Hit the source link to get started -- and maybe someday we'll finally get to play Mr. Jelly on our Pixi. We can dream, right?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Palm unleashes webOS PDK beta on the public

Palm unleashes webOS PDK beta on the public originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFL Mobile comes to Verizon with livestreaming RedZone channel

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 07:09 AM PST

We'd heard that the NFL would be bringing the RedZone channel to phones this season, and it looks like Verizon was the highest bidder: NFL Mobile will launch on Big Red next month with the draft, complete with live streaming video of the event, on-demand video analysis from NFL Network, a pick-by-pick draft tracker, and other content. Once the season starts, customers will get RedZone, live streams of Sunday night and Thursday night games, on-demand video highlights and analysis, live home and away radio broadcasts, fantasy info, and the usual nasty ringtones and graphics. That's a ton of content, and it certainly makes Sprint's NFL package seem a little light in comparison -- we'll have to see what pricing is like and what devices this'll run on closer to launch, however. Bring on the draft!

Update: We just confirmed that NFL Mobile will be exclusive to Verizon for the next four years, which means Sprint customers are out of luck. Verizon paid a pretty penny for the rights: the Wall Street Journal values the deal at $720 million.

NFL Mobile comes to Verizon with livestreaming RedZone channel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu hits HTC's Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 06:43 AM PST

Ubuntu hits HTC's Touch Pro 2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe?
If there's one thing we're pretty sure Windows Phone 7 Series will be worse at than its Windows Mobile precursor it's in the running of various and sundry other operating systems. We've seen Android running on seemingly every WinMo handset ever created and more recently Ubuntu has been receiving the mobile treatment. Last month it was on an Xperia X1, now an HTC Touch Pro2 is getting a taste. A modder who goes by the handle sebbo90 is the one responsible for this, running basically the same technique as used earlier on the X1. It looks quite easy: just download a 200MB zip, extract it to your phone, then run an exe within. A few moments later you'll be in open source heaven, and, from what we can tell looking at the video below, it works remarkably well. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to hit up eBay to find a used handset and get hacking.

Continue reading Ubuntu hits HTC's Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)

Ubuntu hits HTC's Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Case-Mate's Hug wireless iPhone charging solution shipping now for $100

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 04:38 AM PST

Remember that wireless induction charger that we saw poking around at the CES iLounge Pavilion earlier this year? Seems that Case-Mate has finally given that little doohickey a name, a price and a ship date. The aptly-titled Hug (which consists of the Hug Case and Hug Pad) slips onto one's iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS and allows Apple's darling to get recharged by simply laying on the aforementioned platter. Of course, the case itself is distractingly bulky, and this whole thing relies on the same eCoupled technology that we've been seeing for years now -- though, the fact that this pad will charge any other case that utilizes the same standard is worth noting. Is the ability to never need your dock connecting cable for rejuvenation purposes really worth the $99.99 asking price? We're guessing not, but those that disagree can get their own shipped out this very moment.

Continue reading Case-Mate's Hug wireless iPhone charging solution shipping now for $100

Case-Mate's Hug wireless iPhone charging solution shipping now for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video)

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 12:48 AM PST

Being drip-fed information on the HTC Supersonic is unlikely to be as pleasant an experience as actually having one, but it's all we can do to fill the time until this beast of a phone finally makes its official debut (probably on Sprint). Today's appearance shows what looks to be a majorly insecure Mr. Blurrycam sporting gloves and gingerly handling a handset purporting to be HTC's latest and greatest. We're mostly treated to a sight of the back, which is white as our first (and most trusted) tipster had seen, and gives us a grainy first look at the camera and speaker grill arrangement. Check out the video after the break. As a bonus, we've found another source for the earlier Supersonic video -- you know, the one that got yanked from YouTube twice -- and have embedded it as well, go get them both while they're still around.

[Thanks, Andy]

Continue reading HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video)

HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T's LG eXpo pico projects itself right out of stock, production problems to blame?

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 08:33 PM PST

As Windows Mobile 6.5-based handsets go, LG's eXpo unquestionably stands near the top of the pile thanks to its WVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon core, and optional pico projector hump for the rear -- but there's a problem: it's really, really hard to find. Nigh impossible, actually, especially now that AT&T has pulled it off its online store altogether (it had been showing out of stock for weeks anyway). The reason for that isn't entirely clear -- LG and AT&T are happy to cite "strong demand," naturally, but the company that supplies the eXpo's fingerprint sensor says there are actually some outstanding antenna problems that have the production line backlogged. So when's it coming back? "Soon," according to LG, but in this business we've seen "soon" mean anything from a few minutes to a few years, so that doesn't mean much -- and in the meantime, we're thinking T-Mobile's HD2 stands to eat its lunch.

[Thanks, Luda]

AT&T's LG eXpo pico projects itself right out of stock, production problems to blame? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile's CLIQ XT pamphlet out and about

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 08:18 PM PST

Want to know how to sell Motorola's CLIQ XT for T-Mobile in 60 seconds? Look no further than this pamphlet that's circulating now that the carrier is (well, probably is) just days away from release, where we learn all about its 3.1-inch display, touch controls, Flash Lite support (avert your eyes, CLIQ users), and pinch-and-zoom browser navigation, all paired up with a 5 megapixel camera and that love-it-or-hate-it Blur skin atop Android 1.5. Between that little pitch and the gallery down below, we figure it'll take you about 60 seconds to finish flipping through the whole mess -- so are you sold, or what?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Gallery: T-Mobile's CLIQ XT pamphlet out and about

T-Mobile's CLIQ XT pamphlet out and about originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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at 5:25 PM