Say hello to the Seagate Savvio, a 600GB enterprise HDD that doubles the capacity of current enterprise drives and sports a rocking 10,000 RPM and a 2 million hour MTBF. All this raw, reliable spinning power is packed into a diminutive 2.5 inch frame which lowers rack space requirements and, when combined with the drive’s improved power efficiency and data protection, will make many a system admin happy.

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Those that crave the latest and greatest handsets from LG will have to wait until Mobile World Congress is officially under way, but for now, two new handsets have been announced by the Korean company that should prove to be popular with the masses. First up is the GD880 Mini. As the name implies, the GD880 is very petite (LG is calling it the “smallest and slimmest 3.2-inch full touchscreen phone on the market today”), but it turns out the device hasn’t exactly been shortchanged when it comes to specs; LG has managed to shove a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS and 7.2Mbps HSDPA into the sleek device. Second we have the GT350. Essentially the successor of the KS360 aka Neon, the GT350 is improved by a four-line full-QWERTY sliding keypad as well as a a full 3″ WQVA touchscreen. Both phones are capable of push email and browsing the web, but the Mini has two applications the GT350 doesn’t in Social Network Connect (”which makes keeping in touch with online friends even easier than on a desktop PC”) and Social Network Feed which has built-in access to things the youth are down with like Facebook and Twitter and is integrated with Social Address Book.

Pricing for each device has yet to be made public, but we do know the GD880 Mini will be available in Europe next month (to be followed by other markets) while the GT350 will be available come April.

Read [GD880 Mini] Read [GT350]

Like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, some claimed fourth generation iPhone parts have emerged from the corn fields business district of Olathe, Kansas. The supposed parts arrived at iResQ, an iPhone repair shop, and include a front panel which iResQ notes is 1/4 inch taller than the iPhone 3GS. This small increase in size could potentially translate into an iPhone with a 3.7 inch display, a size which is fast becoming the industry standard. The front panel also has a small reflective surface right above the earpiece that, no, is not a vanity mirror but may be a spot for the proximity sensor, a location that differs from the previous iPhone models. Bad news for those that are hard on their phone and tend to break not just the glass but the LCD panels underneath, as the LCD is reportedly glued to the digitizer and must be replaced together as an all-in-one unit. We don’t need to remind you that this dual-pieced part may cost a small arm and leg to replace. Last but not least, make sure your Martini glass is lined with a bit of salt as you’ll need those extra white granules while reading the unconfirmed contents of this post.

[Via MacRumors]

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Sure, Mobile World Congress kicks off in just under a week, but that doesn’t mean all the big boys are going to hold off on their product announcements. Take Samsung, for example, which today announced the S5620 Monte. Running the propriatary TouchWiz 2.0 Plus UI, the Monte features one-touch access to popular social media sites like Facebook and MySpace while supporting services such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Google Sync. Physically speaking we find a 3″ WQVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 200MB of internal memory expandable via microSD and chips for A-GPS, Wi-Fi and 3.6Mbps UMTS/HSDPA. Right now it doens’t look like the Monte is North America bound simply because it lacks the proper 3G bands, but one never knows. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.

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Something photographers have been waiting for; Aperture 3 finally brings all the features we know and love in iPhoto ‘09, and meshes them with a new and improved Aperture software set. We’re talking about great organizatioin features using Faces and Places, brand new Brushes that let you paint effects on images, full 64-bit support for Snow Leopard, and even Facebook and Flickr uploading — all part of more than 200 new features. Apple has a free 30-day trial on their website or you can buy Aperture 3 for $199. Still, some new MacBook Pros would have been appreciated, guys…

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In the days leading up to Nokia World 2009, the world’s largest phone maker announced the 5230, an affordable touchscreen Symbian S60 smartphone. At the time there was no official word whether or not it would ever make its way on to American soil, but thanks to the work of a few sneaky devils we now know that T-Mobile is gearing up to release it as the Nuron on March 17th. Pricing has yet to be passed down the corporate ladder, but we can’t imagine it would command a high price on or off contract considering it has nothing going for it in the eyes of the public other than its touchscreen and 3G connectivity. Perhaps this is one best left for the kiddies? T-Mobile’s slide doesn’t think so, however.

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In a rather lengthy blog post, Sony Ericsson explained its decision to launch its long awaited Android offering, the X10, with Android 1.6 instead of the newer Android 2.1. In a nutshell, Sony Ericsson is not focused on the version of the OS as much as it is the total UI package offered by Android and SE’s proprietary OS layer dubbed the Sony Ericsson User Experience Platform. Despite its handsome hardware and slick UI, Sony Ericsson realizes that people still want the features of the latest Android OS and has confirmed that it will offer an update to the X10 and its Sony Ericsson User Experience Platform at some point after launch. It is a nice gesture, but it would be even nicer if the handset manufacturer would get the handset out the door before promising upgrades.

[Via the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog]

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UK-based Times Online is reporting that Google is developing a mobile phone service that will have the ability to translate speech, from one language to another, on the fly. Google’s hoping to build off of their text-to-text translation engine — which is currently capable of translating 52 languages — and voice search technologies. “We think speech-to-speech translation should be possible and work reasonably well in a few years’ time,” said Google’s chief of translation services. Industry experts remain skeptical, however, about the proposed timetable, “The problem with speech recognition is the variability in accents. No system at the moment can handle that properly,” said David Crystal, professor of Linguistics at Bangor University. “Maybe Google will be able to get there faster than everyone else, but I think it’s unlikely we’ll have a speech device in the next few years that could handle high-speed Glaswegian slang.” It certainly is an aggressive goal, and one we are pretty excited about. We’ll stay on top of this story and report back as more becomes available.

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Motorola DROID users as a whole are a pretty happy bunch, but after finally getting their first taste of official multi-touch, we can’t help but blame them for wanting a whole lot more. The good news on this front is that Android 2.1 for the DROID will be made available next week, according to Motorola’s Facebook page. Motorola has not detailed what the update will encompass, but here’s what Engadget has been told:

• The current test build is Android 2.1 version 1
• The browser will have multi-touch
• Google Googles is pre-installed
• No visual changes to the homescreen or app drawer
• Active wallpapers aren’t included, but the fancy widgets that made their debut with the Nexus One are

Most of us probably agree that things like multi-touch in the browser are big news, but we can’t help but eagerly wait to see what all the Negative Nancy’s out there have to say about some of the nifty features that will allegedly be left behind. Regardless, we’ll be sure to give you all a shout as soon as the update starts trickling out.

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Well, well, well, look what we have here: an actual HTC Legend. For those that don’t pay particularly close attention to the world of Android, the Legend can best be thought of (though by no means officially) as the successor to the Hero. A device that many of you might remember left us wanting more. Featuring a new design approach which includes an aluminum body as well as a gigantic HTC logo on the rear (HTC is typically conservative when it comes to branding), the Legend also features goodies like an optical trackpad, AMOLED display and LED flash. Our one qualm? We really miss that funky green antenna cover as seen in the initial renders of the device. Anyway, hit the jump to check out the rear of the Legend. We think it may remind you of a very popular phone that came out in mid-2007.

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They’re back at it again. The iPhone dev-team has released an update to their popular jailbreaking software, PwnageTool, for Mac OS X. The new PwnageTool — version 3.1.5 — boasts the ability to properly jailbreak Apple’s recently released 3.1.3 iPhone/iPod Touch firmware. Before you get too excited, the dev-team does offer up this proclamation, “Unless you’ve personally observed a problem with the reporting of your battery percentage, there’s no reason to update to 3.1.3.” For those that feel the need for a jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch with the 3.1.3 firmware follow the read link; let us know how it goes in the comments.

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Motorola has been going toe and toe with RIM over alleged patent infringement both here in the US and across the pond in the UK. Motorola’s UK case focused on BIS and BES technologies, claiming that the two messaging systems infringe upon patents that Motorola holds for an RF-based message communication system. In ruling against Motorola, the judge noted that messages from BES servers were not suitable for RF transmission and that RIM’s BIS servers are physically located in Canada and are out of the court’s jurisdiction. In a further blow to Motorola, the court held that there was no inventive step and the patent itself was declared invalid. Sorry Motorola, better luck next time, we guess.

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It has been a little over two months since the Barnes and Noble Nook first went on sale and the popular e-reader is finally ready to make its nationwide in-store debut. With Amazon and its Kindle under assault by the book publishers over e-book pricing and the news media for its Macmillan book pulling stunt, the timing could not be more apropos with the Nook expected to be available for purchase in stores within the next few days. Folks looking to score a Nook before the Valentines Day holiday can use the online Nook locator to see which local stores have one in stock starting February 10th. Anyone looking to buy or hoping to get a Nook come Sunday?

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4chan, the internet message and image board known for its legion of anonymous users, has been explicitly blocked by Verizon Wireless. 4chan founder Christopher Poole said, “Over the past 72 hours, we’ve been receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers having difficulty accessing the image boards… After an hour and a half on the phone, we’ve received confirmation from Verizon’s Network Repair Bureau (NRB) that we are ‘explicitly blocked.’” The reported block is not affecting users of Verizon’s home services, such as DSL or FIOS, and is only actively dropping connections from port 80, “no other subdomain/IP/port is affected.” Memo to Verizon Wireless: “Thou shall not agitate 4chan” is one, of very few, unwritten rules of the internet. No official word yet from Verizon Wireless as to why the block was put in place.

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Rumors of a Superbowl ad for Google’s search service began circulating the internet last week when Google CEO Eric Schmidt tweeted: “Can’t wait to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. Be sure to watch the ads in the 3rd quarter. (someone said, ‘Hell has indeed frozen over’).”  Google, a company known for it’s web advertisements, rarely (ever?) spends company dollars on television-based ads for its line of web services. However, as tweeted by the CEO, a Google spot did air during the third quarter of the big game last night. We thought the 60-second spot, titled “Parisian Love”, was pretty clever and deserved a nod, even though it wasn’t exactly new. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on their victory last night; we have the video queued up for you after the break.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! We want to thank everyone that threw their name into the proverbial hat for the HTC Nexus One giveaway we launched on January 10th. Over the 7+ days we saw around 16,000 comments; of those comments 15,720 were left before the January 17th 11:59PM contest deadline. Today, we are pleased to announce that the winner of our N1 lottery is BGR reader Frederik… from Belgium. Congrats Frederik and thanks again to all who entered!

Verizon Wireless already has a formidable Android line-up with the DROID and DROID Eris, but soon enough, it might just have the best thanks to the handset you see above. Known at the moment as the HTC Incredible, the candybar touchscreen was spotted in the wild this weekend and is reported to have the following specs: 3.5″ to 3.7″ WVGA capacitive display (believed to be AMOLED), 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, optical trackpad (death to trackballs!), Snapdragon processor and 256MB RAM topped off with Android 2.1 with Sense UI. Sounds pretty nice, does it not?

Hit the jump for a video and a few more pics.

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

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Dell’s popular Mini 10 netbook may be adding WiMAX to its long list of connectivity options as the latest iteration, model 1012, was spotted at the FCC rocking the Intel WiMAX/WiFi link 6250 chipset. The Mini 10 is highly customizable with the base computer including a 10.1 inch widescreen display with an HD resolution option, an Intel Atom processor, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, Integrated Intel graphics, Wi-Fi, Qualcomm GOBI chipset with AT&T 3G or Verizon Wireless 3G, optional GPS, optional TV tuner and Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter edition. The FCC documentation does not hint at any exclusive WiMAX carrier but it would be nice to see the netbook offered by Clear, Sprint or one of the other WiMAX resellers with a generous subsidy.

[Via Liliputing and Wireless Goodness]

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The folks at PPCGeeks and MobileTechWorld got their hands on what they claim are some of the initial details on Windows Mobile 7. Without citing any sources other than their inbox, both websites claim that Windows Mobile 7 will be introduced at MWC 2010 on February 15th in Barcelona. The official unveiling will reportedly focus primarily on the UI and in depth features will not be  shown. Some of the leaked information include the following snippets :

• WM7 will have a user interface derived from codename “METRO” and will be similar to the Zune HD
• The traditional Home Screen will get a whole new look and will not support custom interfaces like Sense and TouchFLO
• No Flash support as time constraints prevented its inclusion
• Will include Silverlight 3.0 with some aspects of SL 4.0 and mobile-specific features
• Applications will be installed through the Windows Mobile Marketplace only, manual installation from a storage card will not be allowed
• Say no to multitasking and yes to push notifications which may be provided by a Microsoft hosted push notifications environment
• Windows Mobile Marketplace will include a “Try before you Buy” feature and offer API support
• No .NET Compact Framework backwards compatibility so all those old apps will not work, but a portion of the data and business logic .NET CF may be ported at some point
• Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality and is currently faster / better than the iPhone 3G
• MS is actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists (seriously?)
• Full Zune and Xbox 360 Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
• No more active sync or Windows Mobile Device center. Zune software will handle all syncing
• Full support for social networking
• Devices are expected to ship by September 2010

All these details are consistent with what we have been hearing about the rumored Zune phone, though it is not clear whether the Zune Phone represents the next generation of Windows Mobile or is a completely separate entity. If this above information is indeed accurate (and that is a big “if”) and the aforementioned phone is indeed Windows Mobile 7, then there are lot of changes in store for those who are tied to the Windows Mobile platform.

[Via wmpoweruser]

Read [PPC Geeks] Read [MobileTechWorld]

An eagle-eyed forum member of MacRumors uncovered the benchmark results supposedly of an unreleased MacBook Pro with a Core i7 M 620 processor under the hood. The MacBook was listed with the not yet seen before model identifier of 6,1 and was running an unreleased build of Mac OS 10.6.2 ((Build 10C3067). The MacBook scored a respectable 5260 Geekbench score and outperformed all current MacBook Pro models whose scores top out in the 4000’s. This information would suggest that a new MacBook Pro model is on the horizon but it should be noted that the specs presented by the computer during the benchmarking process can be falsified. Fake or not, this rumor is compelling enough for us to hold off on buying a new MacBook Pro right now, anyone else a little hesitant to buy now, too?

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If a slide posted to the PPCGeeks forum is both legitimate and accurate, then T-Mobile customers have two pretty nifty smartphones headed their way next month in the HTC HD2 and Motorola CLIQ XT. The HD2, a device we’re positive that anyone who at least occasionally frequents this site is well-versed on, is said to drop on March 10th with the CLIQ XT two weeks later on March 24th. What on earth is the CLIQ XT? Apparently it’s the Zeppelin, the physical-keypad shunning, pure touchscreen alternative to the somewhat maligned CLIQ. Still not getting it? Well, we did see it in the silicon the other day. The question is: Will we actually see it and the HD2 with T-Mobile branding next month?

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Amazon must feel like a punching bag, repeatedly absorbing blows from book publishers who with each successful strike are raising e-book prices and eroding Amazon’s pricing stronghold in the ebook market. The latest publisher to join in this carnage is Hachette who is pushing Amazon to raise e-book prices to the new industry standard of a $12.99-$14.99 price point set by Steve Jobs and friends with the introduction of the iPad. Hachette is one of the “Apple Five” and the third to seek a price increase from Amazon in the week following the iPad’s announcement. When all is said and done, the $9.99 e-book price model will soon be obsolete and Amazon must find another way to innovate if it wants to retain its lead as the best selling e-reader on the market, because its price advantage is going out the window.

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BBLeaks got their hands on some RIM training documentation that details new features included in the yet-to-be-scheduled BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) 3.0 update. Some of the documented improvements include:

• Gmail read/unread status will now sync on handsets with Enhanced Google Mail Plug-in and BlackBerry OS 4.6 or higher
• Create and delete labels on device with Enhanced Google Mail Plug-in and BlackBerry OS 4.6 or higher
• Support for additional attachment types, including: OpenDocument presentations (.odp), OpenDocument spreadsheets (.ods), OpenDocument text (.odt), OpenDocument text templates (.ott), and Windows Media Audio (.wma)
• BlackBerry smartphone users will be instructed to contact their specific carrier and will be
  provided with carrier contact information in HTML and WAP error messages.

The Gmail functionality and extra attachment support are definitely welcome additions to BIS’ repertoire; it does, unfortunately, leave all other BIS IMAP users out in the cold.

[Via Engadget]

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Any Motorola DROID owners out there still feeling a bit slighted from Google enabling multitouch for the HTC Nexus One? Well, cheer up. Today, Google released an update to its Maps application — version 3.4.0 — and it brings multitouch pinchy, zoomy functionality to your DROID. Other changes to the new build include:

• Starred items from google.com now sync with maps
• Search suggestions from maps include maps.google.com search history
• Night mode navigation

You can head over to the Android Market to get the latest bits and try out multitouch, and the other goodies, for yourself.

Yesterday, we told you about an official AT&T press release that boasted of a partnership between AT&T and Sling Media, maker of the popular streaming television appliance Slingbox. In the press release AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega said, “Just as we’ve worked with Sling Media in this instance, we look forward to collaborating with other developers so that mobile customers can access a wider, more bandwidth-sensitive, and powerful range of applications in the future.” AT&T’s CEO was referring to a compromise reached over the Slingbox Mobile media player that was banned from AT&T’s network due to bandwidth concerns. In a subsequent interview de la Vega continued, “They [Sling Media] made important changes to more efficiently use 3G network bandwidth and conserve wireless spectrum so that we were able to support the app on our 3G mobile broadband network.” So, what’s the problem? When Ars Technica caught up with Sling Media’s John Santoro, he had this to say: “We didn’t change anything, AT&T never discussed any specific requirements with us.” Santoro went onto explain that the code to optimize the Slingbox Mobile’s video stream, based on connection quality and network traffic, has remained unchanged since Slingplayer Mobile was first launched. A little egg in the face for AT&T, but hey, we’re getting Slingplayer Mobile, and in the words of Sling Media, “whatever the reason, we’re just glad AT&T has approved it.”

UPDATE: It seems that SlingMedia did, in fact, work with AT&T on getting this approved after all. Apparently while no code changes to the streaming portion of the application was changed due to AT&T’s requests, Sling did update it during continued development. AT&T later approved the application on their network for usage on iPhone devices. 

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Seesmic updated its Android twitter client yesterday and added multiple account support with cross-posting to its list of features. Seesmic also added several smaller user requested features including an extra large font size, auto-correction of typing, automatic profile updates, on device twitter password management and optional timeline position memory so you jump back to the last tweets that you were reading. The latest version of Seesmic is available now for free from the Android Market. Check it out and let us know in the comments how this latest offering compares to Twidroid, Tweetcaster and any other twitter client you may use.

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A warning to would be iPhone and iPod Touch application developers was posted on Apple’s developer site yesterday: “If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.” The message is a bit concerning, and confusing, to many would be developers who planned on monetizing their application by selling location based advertisements. What does “primarily” mean? If Google Maps or Urban Spoon were to insert location based advertisements into their applications would that be allowed? After all location data is being used to supplement the main function of those applications, using it for advertisements would not require a separate call to Core Location. What if Tap Tap Revenge or Shazam were to use location data to display advertisements from local businesses, would that be allowed? You do not need any location data to play Tap Tap or use Shazam, and a separate call to Core Location would be needed. We like the idea of Apple protecting the use and abuse of Core Location data, but isn’t that why the iPhone prompts you every time a call to Core Location is made?

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Microsoft is slowly pushing original Xbox owners to upgrade to the Xbox 360. The software giant discontinued the original Xbox in late 2008 and officially stopped supporting the aging console in March 2009. In a final effort to encourage folks to upgrade, Microsoft has announced that it will be pulling the plug on Xbox Live for all original Xbox consoles and Xbox-compatible games starting April 15th. Folks that are stuck in the early 2000’s still playing Halo 2 will have two good months of retro game playing left before their connection goes dead and they must either make the long-avoided jump to the Xbox 360 or be forced to play their multiplayer games in isolation. When that time of crisis inevitably comes, prepare yourself to pack away that Xbox for posterity sake, trade in that copy of Blood Wake for Bioshock 2 and step into the next generation of gaming. Big Daddy promises that you won’t be disappointed.

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Shin Jon-kyun, Samsung’s President of handsets, made an announcement to The Korean Herald about his company’s mobile platform venture known as “bada.” “Currently, bada does not have a prominent presence in the market. But we plan to launch our first bada phone in late March or early April globally… we seek to make a big success with bada.” Will it be on the mysterious device that popped up on our radar screens last November? Who knows. Samsung has been very stingy with details on the new OS; what we do know is that it will have the TouchWiz interface, support multitouch screens, and be built for — initially anyways — all touch screen devices. Looks like we’ll be welcoming bada to the mobile OS family sooner rather than later.

[Via Gizmodo]

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