The exclusive white Orange Xperia X10, like the black X10, is set to become available on Orange from April with the handset being yours for ‘free’ based on selected, but as yet unspecified, contracts and, should rumours be believed, Orange also look set to offer the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini, which we posted about earlier today, which is expected to gain an Orange listing in either May or June.

“We’re really pleased to be working with Sony Ericsson to help bring their first Android device to UK customers,” said Francois Mahieu, director of devices for Orange UK. “The exclusive white Xperia X10 allows users to make the most from their social relationships, whether over a call or online and is a great addition to our ever expanding range of Android devices.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, here’s a run down of the X10’s key features:

• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100
• UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0-inch scratch-resistant WVGA touchscreen with 480 x 854 resolution
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor
• 8.1-megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, auto focus, geotagging and video recording
• Bluetooth Stereo
• Media player
• Sony Ericsson Timescape and Mediascape features that handle communication and media, respectively
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Gesture control
• A-GPS with Google Maps and Wisepilot
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microUSB connectivity
• Wi-Fi support
• Phone memory: up to 1 GB
• 8GB microSD card
• Android Donut 1.6
• Size: 119 x 63 x 13mm
• Weight: 135g
• 1500mAh battery

One of the X10’s main selling points, apart from its damned impressive display, is SE’s Timescape and Mediascape applications which can be seen in action in the official SE promo video below. Now I must confess that, if you’re read my hands on report concerning the X10, these features impressed me no end and, from what I saw, they are far from a sideshow. But that’s not the be all and end all of the X10’s appeal – it is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon after all, and it packs a 8.1 megapixel camera.

Of course, as we’ve reported previously, though the X10 will ship with Android 1.6 Sony Ericsson have directly confirmed with us that an OS upgrade is set to follow post release though, at this juncture, there’s no work with respect to timeframes.

Looking for a teaser? The below video should serve to whet your appetites (should seeing Timescape in action above not already have done so).

I’m not sitting on the fence concerning the X10. It’s a killer phone that marks a compete new way of thinking for SE and if you have any doubts that SE are back and mean business (following on from the less than spectacular Satio) then dispense with any such doubts now.

Your only problem is which carrier you’re going to opt for – though, if you want a white X10, then you’re going to have to head in Orange’s direction.

Original Post Link: Exclusive White Orange Xperia X10 Release Date Confirmed [Orange X10 in Black & White Available from April, Free On Selected Contracts] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Release Date Confirmed [Xperia X10 (Rachel) Available from February 2010, Say Sony Ericsson]
2. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Availability Confirmed on Vodafone UK [XPERIA X10 Release Date on Vodafone Expected for April]
3. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android Smartphone Coming to O2 UK? [O2 UK Rumored to Launch Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Soon]
4. AT&T Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Availability Imminent [Android-powered Xperia X10 to Hit AT&T for $199 Or Less, Release Date Speculated for April or May?]
5. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Rachael Gets Official [Sony Ericsson’s First Android Phone Available in Q1 2010]
6. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X3 Android Release Date Speculated [XPERIA X3 Smartphone With 4-inch WVGA touchscreen & 8MP Camera]

The 15.6-inch on the notebook has a widescreen (16:9) ratio with a LED backlight as well as having an anti-glare treatment on the screen. Although MSI has indulged us by revealing the Core i5, they haven’t even out an exact chip model with clockspeed. Speculation on the internet has got the processor type, hard drive size and RAM being decided by differently priced SKUs of the P600.

The P600 will have 2.5″ SATA hard drives and will ship the biggest hard drive being a 500GB one. It’ll have a few DRR3 memory slots with a maximum of 4GB. The whole system is based on Intel’s HM55 chipset, and like any good business notebook, it has a ton of ports, like HDMI, VGA, USB 2.0 and eSATA. For connectivity, it will have WiFi and Bluetooth.

Another notable selling point – the new P600 will come with MSI’s Eco Engine where the notebook will cycle the power in various ways, all in the same of expanding battery life, as it stands they estimate eight hours, which isn’t bad for a full notebook. The keyboard also has a full keypad on the side, another thing that business customers love when using those spreadsheets.

Nothing yet on pricing or a release date, but word is that it’s coming sooner, rather than later.

Original Post Link: MSI Unveils P600 Business Notebook [New Business Notebook Features Core i5 Processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, ECO Engine, 15-inch Display] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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4. Samsung Debuts New R480, R580 and R780 Notebooks [Three New Notebooks From Samsung Include Core i5, 17-inch Display, GeForce 300 Graphics, 500GB Hard Drive]
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The V2410T “is designed to cater for corporate users’ needs” but I suspect regular consumers like you and I should have no problem playing with them too.

Both monitors are going to help you save the life of our beloved planet little by little since they are using 44% less power. Use them in Eco mode and you’ll save an additional 12% power as these two babies are both using LED-backlighting technology to bring the computer to life.

This LED monitors are also free of the “arsenic substance of memory” so eco-friendly guys and gals out there will definitely want to replace their old displays with either the V2410T or the V2410B.

Moving past the need to save the environment we’ll find that the new BenQ monitors are both widescreen displays that offer full 1080p HD resolution, 5ms response time and 16:9 aspect ratio. BenQ’s Senseye Human Visual Technology is going to offer you “uncompromised, crystal clear visuals” although we’d advise you not to take everything in the press release for granted and test everything out if possible before you make up your mind.

As you can see the displays are basically the same. The V2410T is more expensive than the V2410B as it targets corporate users although it won’t surpass its little brother when it comes to actual performance. BenQ’s latest LCD monitors will sell for $319 and $279, respectively, when they European and Chinese stores in April.

Until then you have plenty of time to toy with the idea of getting an eco-friendly new monitor from BenQ. And we’ll definitely be on the lookout for worthy alternatives to the V2410T and V2410B!

Original Post Link: BenQ V2410T & V2410B LED LCD Monitors Now Official [New LED-backlit LCD Monitors Available from BenQ; V2410T & V2410B to Retail for $319 & $279] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. BenQ Intros New G-Series G2200WT & G2400WT Pivoting LCD Monitors
4. BenQ Intro 22″ G2220HD & 24″ G2411HD/HDA Full HD 16:9 Monitors [New G-Series Screens]
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From the start I’ll ask this question: why not make it a Windows Mobile 6.5 handset instead of WinMo 6.1? Would you actually want to invest in such a phone when Windows Phone 7 is just around the corner?

The A25is is the “first intrinsically safe, ruggedized Windows Phone 6.1 handset suited for industrial users” the press release says. It will be interesting to see just how popular the device will actually be amongst them!

The A25is just under an inch thick and it will offer you a 2.8-inch touchscreen display GPS connectivity, QWERTY touchscreen, Bluetooth support, push-to-talk capabilities and a light weight battery.

Windows Mobile will keep running the show as the A25is will be able to withstand 50 feet drops at least 26 times (very weird number) . Other rugged features make the handset shockproof across “1,000 miles of transport in a vehicle on shaky terrain”, able to deal with up to 95% humidity for 48 hours and be immersion in up to five feet of water for 30 minutes. The phone has also undergone intrinsic safety certification testing and approval for UL 913 (North America) and has received the military rugged certification (MIL-SPEC 810-F/G).

These are some weird stats here which won’t necessarily convince me to get such a device. Maybe not even if it was running Windows Phone 7!

But then again I am not working in an environment in which a somewhat smart handset with plenty of rugged specs is required. Steve Sharabura, Vice President of Corporate Development, Airo Wireless, had this to say about the A25is:

AT&T’s broad wireless capability and breadth of mobility applications used on this ruggedized, intrinsically safe device can help to improve communications and make industrial operations more efficient. The A25is device was designed based on extensive customer input to ensure it has the right mix of form factor, features and durability to maximize worker productivity and also withstand potential exposure to water, dirt and harsh chemicals, heat and cold and general tough use from bumps, drops and vibration.

The phone is available in AT&T stores, and if your job doesn’t prevent you from sharing it with us, do tell us how the A25is acts out there!

Original Post Link: Airo Wireless A25is Windows Mobile 6.1 Rugged Smartphone Made Official by AT&T [AT&T Launches Rugged Windows Mobile 6.1 Handset a Couple of Years Too Late] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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According to an anonymous tipster who contacted the Tracy and Matt Blog with the message provided below, both the WebOS Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pre Plus appear set to follow on from the Palm Pre with a reported launch on O2’s network next month.

“O2 are following up the Palm Pre with the Palm Pre Plus and the Pixi Plus. The Pixi is new to the UK having a fixed qwerty keyboard like the RIM devices it shares the 8Gb storage of the original Pre but with a shortened display of 320 x 400 dropping 80 lines from the Pre. The Pixi Processor is a Qualcomm instead if the Omap of the Pre, albeit running at the same clock speed. The Palm Pre Plus is like the original Pre but without the centre button and comes with the matt TouchStone enabled back previously having to be purchased separately allowing the wireless charging of the phone on the induction TouchStone charger.  The Pre Plus has 16Gb of storage and a double the ram also. The build quality is said to be better than the original Pre with the keyboard being much more responsive with a definite click. In tests it has been seen to run 50 apps at the same time. The expected launch date is April 2010 shortly after the App Catalogue comes out of Beta for European users allowing access for paid applications.”

As reported in our above linked posting, Palm are not doing especially well right now as they presently have an inventory of 522,000 unsold handsets (unspecified models) backed up – so they’ll doubtless be more than happy should the above tip transpire to ring true and O2 does indeed take some of those stocks out of their hands and into the hands of consumers.

That’s said, both phones are up against some pretty stiff competition right now so quite how many O2 can shift (should O2 indeed offer them) remains to be seen.

Are you considering a Palm Pre Plus or Pixi Plus or, like us, do you feel that they just don’t cut the mustard right now given the likes of offerings from Palm’s major competitors? We’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

[via DeviceMAG]

Original Post Link: Palm Pre Plus & Palm Pixi Plus Headed to O2? [O2 Stocking the Pre Plus & Pixi Plus to Help Palm Shift Unsold Handset Inventory?] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. Palm Pixi Release Date Rumored for October 20th [Sprint and BestBuy to Sell the Pixi This Month]
4. Palm Stops Palm Pre, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixi & Palm Pixi Plus Production? [Palm Is Said to Resume Pre & Pixi Production Only in March]
5. Verizon Palm Pre Plus & Palm Pixi Plus Specifications Revealed [Multitouch Pre Plus & Pixi Plus Initial Details Confirmed]
6. Sprint Palm Pixi Becomes Official [Palm Pixi Release Date & Price Confirmed]

The first hint of this strange Apple iPad secrecy was from media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, owner of the Wall Street Journal, was asked about Steve Jobs’ trip to his publication and the iPad in general. Murdoch revealed that the Wall Street Journal had only been given one iPad by Apple – and keep in mind that Wall Street Journal is a major international newspaper. Regarding the Wall Street Journal’s singular iPad, Murdoch said that the iPad was a tight “under padlock and key” and the proverbial key is “turned by Apple every night.”

More information has now come out regarding the strict guidelines placed on hopeful iPad developers. Before being allowed pre-release access to the device, developers are required to sign a 10-page NDA promising they won’t disclose any information about the iPad. NDA’s are nothing new in the tech industry, but it’s a bit odd that Apple would make them sign one considering Steve Jobs already revealed it on stage.

Hopeful iPad developers have to keep their iPad in an isolated room with blacked-out windows. The borrowed pre-release iPad must remained tethered to a fixed object at all times, too. Although the reporting article from Fudzilla doesn’t say, you’ve got to imagine that only the very top iTunes App Store developers are even getting entertained with the idea of being sent a pre-release iPad.

Once a developer has set up his blacked-out room with heavy fixed object and tether, you must then send photos of the iPad lair to Apple. Only then, will Apple send you a pre-release development iPad. None of this should be really shocking to anybody, after all, Apple is the company that sends their OEMs to beat up reporters.

Original Post Link: iPad Developers Held To Strict Requirements [Development iPads Tethered To Tables, Locked In Rooms, Windows Sealed, Even Big-Name Partners Not Given Any Slack] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. iPad Production On Track as Scheduled? [Unofficial Sources Say There Will be Enough iPads in March; 600,000 to 700,000 iPad Units Expected to Ship This Month]
4. Apple iPad Goes to AT&T, Verizon Nowhere to be Seen [Verizon Misses Out on Apple iPad Deal; Is Big Red Waiting for the CDMA iPhone?]
5. iPad Pre-orders Begin Friday at 8:30 AM [iPad Confirmed for Pre-ordering on Apple Store Early in the Morning]
6. Apple to Lower iPad Price to Meet Consumers’ Needs? [One More Reason Not to Buy the iPad, at Least for Now!]

For full specs, the 10.2-inch screen is running at a resolution of 1024 x 600. It’s powered by an Atom N270 processor, with a clockspeed of 1.6GHz and Intel integrated graphics. The default configuration comes with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. For connectivity, it’s got WiFi and 3G, along with an Ethernet port and VGA-out for pushing video to a bigger screen.They promise 3.5 hours of battery life, and the device will have a 1.3-megapixel forward-facing camera.

The price directly from the OEM importer is a steep $680, and that’s with 2GB of RAM and no operating system. The folks behind the Ezy Tablet are apparently in some sort of cartel racket (I kid, of course) as they’re charging $180 to have your tablet ship with either Windows Vista or Win7.

With the low-end netbook hardware and the unappealing pricing scheme, I’d say the iPad doesn’t have anything fear from this tablet. If you’re looking for a non-iPad tablet, their are plenty of decent alternatives, like the HP Slate, JooJoo tablet or the Archos 7 tablet. If you’re still interested, it’s now shipping from your favorite Malaysian tech importer.

Original Post Link: Ezy Tablet PC Revealed Out Of Malaysia [So Called Windows iPad Clone Offers Atom N270 Processor, 10.2-inch Screen, Multi-Touch, Flash, 2GB of RAM] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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You already knew that, didn’t you? But what you don’t know is that today more details about the HP Slate have been leaked and they include specs, features and prices. HP seems to call Apple’s tablet and raise it with multitasking, Flash support and more.

We don’t know if any of the following is to be 100% accurate but it is said that everything has been leaked, intentionally or unintentionally from HP. According to the leak in question, the HP Slate will retail for around €400 or about $546 depending on conversion rates, in Europe. Should we assume U.S. consumers will get it for $400? We did hear that the HP tablet will be cheaper than the iPad, didn’t we?

The tablet should be available this summer, at some point around June, although an official launch date is not presently available. Should the Slate really be announced in June then we will probably see it in stores by September so the iPad will have plenty of time to prove itself in a market where its main competitors are yet to become official.

And here’s what’s supposed to be inside this iPad competitor: netbook-like Intel Atom processor, Flash support, USB connectivity, webcam, memory card reader and multitasking-capable Windows 7 running in the background. In other words, the tablet HP is currently working on seems ready to offer you pretty much everything that the iPad won’t. Does that sound exciting or what?

Assuming all these leaks and rumors will prove to be right later this year, the only question I’d like to ask HP right now is what are they doing when it comes to content for the Slate? Rumors regarding eBooks, apps and anything else they’ll want to throw us would be most welcomed. So what do you say, HP?

Original Post Link: HP Slate Tablet Specs, Features & Pricing Uncovered; iPad Beware! [HP Slate Specs, Features & Prices Get Leaked; Official Launch Dates Still Not Available] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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Unfortunately, as is too often the case, good news often comes hand in hand with bad news and that’s very much the case here as the pricing of both the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro (unlocked) is hardly what anyone would call especially pocket-friendly (though ironically, as devices, in terms of proportions, they are just about as pocket-friendly as a phone can get).

So, what’s the deal? Well, in terms of the Xperia X10 Mini you’re looking at some €300 (which equates to around $410 as at the time of writing) whilst the X10 Mini Pro, which distinguishes itself from its stable mate thanks to packing a slider QWERTY keyboard, comes in at €330 (circa $450).

Aside from the X10 Mini Pro’s slider QWERTY keyboard, both phones are powered by 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 CPUs, run Android 1.6 (which will be updated subsequent to release, though no specific timeframes have been supplied), come with 2.55” QVGA resolution touchscreens (capacitive, thankfully), HSPA, A-GPS and a 5 megapixel camera. Additionally, like with all of Sony Ericsson’s new range of handsets (inclusive of the Vivaz) you’ll be relieved to know that there’s a standard 3.5mm headphone socket (and none of that nonsense we’ve seen before – SE have obviously listened to their customers).

Set to become available in a range of fashion colors, and additionally set to be bundled with a 2GBmicroSD memory card, on reflection perhaps we were a little too harsh concerning their price points.

What do you think? Does the indicated retail pricing of the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro seem reasonable? Would you fork out the necessary price of admission?

Of course, the pricing information supplied above is, we should stress, for unlocked handsets so it presently remains to be seen what offers (based on specific tariffs) the networks will settle on once they become available.

Original Post Link: Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini & X10 Mini Pro Pricing Confirmed [Xperia X10 Mini & Mini Pro Phones Priced for European Market, Hardly Budget Handsets] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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2. Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Touchscreen Phone Price Confirmed [Xperia X2 Pricing Slipped by Sony Ericsson Exec]
3. Vodafone Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Release Date Confirmed [Xperia X2 Available via Vodafone in UK Next Month]
4. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Release Date Confirmed [Xperia X10 (Rachel) Available from February 2010, Say Sony Ericsson]
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The Wall Street Journal had access to inside sources that apparently said Cupertino “sold hundreds of thousands of the device” already. That must mean that Apple has sold at least 200k iPads already if not more since it has been reported earlier that in the first day alone Apple moved more than 120,000 units. Not a bad first week for Cupertino which goes to show, again, that Apple is not only very good at conceiving new devices but it is also very talented when it comes to pitching them to consumers and convincing them they absolutely need them, when in fact they really don’t.

According to some sources the iPad sales are going to surpass the sales of the original iPhone although, at least to me, that comparison only reflects one thing: Apple is better as selling stuff than it was before, and that’s really not a surprise anymore.

Even if the iPad is basically an iPhone on steroids, one can’t compare the two devices like that. The iPhone was the first smartphone from Apple, a company that didn’t have any experience in the mobile business at that time. Being a brand new technology, the original iPhone was also more expensive at first than the iPad and, most importantly, was tied to a carrier, which convinced some consumers not to buy it immediatelly.

The iPad comes three years later, a time in which Apple proved that it can take the smartphone business by surprise and rule it in a very short time frame. Thus the company can afford to make the iPad and future iPhones more affordable and not require consumers to sign up new 2-year agreements with AT&T or any other carrier for that matter, at least when it comes to iPad purchases.

Therefore, again, we are not surprised that Apple is doing well at selling the device nor are we really interested in iPhone vs iPad sales comparisons. What we are interested is what Apple will do to convince iPad users that they absolutely need an iPad in their lives. That’s right, folks, the iPad is all nice and dandy, even with the obvious flaws that it has, but content will be key to keeping early adopters from reselling it and moving to the next hot thing!

Original Post Link: iPad Sales Rumored to be in the “Hundreds of Thousands” Already [Apple iPad Sales to Beat Corresponding Original iPhone Sales; Original iPhone Says He Couldn’t Care Less] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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The ultra-small form factor device’s specs are pretty light, as you’d imagine, but all the hardware meets copyleft standards. It uses a XBurst 336MHz processor, 32MB of DRAM and has 2GB of flash storage. The screen is smaller than an iPhone’s as it comes in at only 3.0-inches. It does have a microSD card slot and USB port for memory and a “full” QWERTY keyboard.

It’s a pretty impressive project and reminds me of the Pandora open-source gaming handheld. Qi Hardware imagines these little devices being bought and modded to do a lot of different applications. Their website writes, “It’s targeted squarely at developers who see the promise of open hardware and want to roll their own end user experience. [...] We envision developers turning the device into a music or video player for Ogg or an offline Wikipedia or MIT OpenCourseWare appliance. Or you can simply amaze your friends by creating an ultra small handheld notebook computer.”

You could also install Windows 3.1 on it, although, that might defeat the purpose a bit. At any rate, it’s definitely a cool little device and they’re selling them for only $99. They’re now shipping from Qi Hardware’s website and they host a Wiki for guides on how to mod it to do whatever you’d like.

Original Post Link: Qi Hardware’s Ben NanoNote Handheld Notebook Now Shipping [Small Notebook Uses Open-Source Hardware, Software, Can Be Hacked To Do Just About Anything] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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6. Lenovo IdeaPad U450p Notebook PC [Intel ULV Processor, 14-in LCD Display, 6-Cell Battery]

Though year over year revenue continues to increase and net loss narrows, the outlook for Q4 2010 is grim. Much of the good news reported in Q3 2010 is attributed to earlier than expected handset shipments to carriers, most of which are now sitting idly in warehouses. With wireless carriers facing a backlog of handsets, Palm has slowed handset production while the current standing inventory is slowly whittled down through sales. With a dearth of shipments expected in Q4 2010, Palm projects that its revenue for the upcoming quarter will reach a disappointing $150 million and will fall far short of the $305 million originally expected by analysts.

Making a dire situation even worse, Palm faces a barrier to increasing handset sales amongst its two primary wireless carriers, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, in the US. In its earnings conference call, Palm conceded that the Verizon Wireless Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have been hurt by the popularity of the Motorola DROID and admitted that sales would have been better had it launched the two webOS handsets earlier on the nation’s largest wireless carrier. On Sprint, future sales of the now nine month old Palm Pre and the four month old Pixi  are threatened by the impending launch of the Sprint variant of the Nexus One, the rumored HTC Supersonic, and other similar high end smartphones coming down the pike. When it rains, its pours and when news of Palm’s dire financial condition hit Wall Street, Palm’s stock nosedived 14% in after hours trading and is currently hovering at $4.83 per share at the writing of this post.

Original Post Link: Palm Reports Poor Q3 2010 Earnings [Palm Q3 2010 Financial Situation Tenuous, Outlook Grim, Future Acquisition Possible] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. HTC WiMAX and Palm C40 Phones Get Leaked [Sprint 2010 Roadmap Includes HTC WiMAX Handset and New Palm Smartphone]
2. Palm Pre Plus & Palm Pixi Plus Prices Revealed [New Palm Pre Plus & Pixi Plus to Cost $150 & $100 at Verizon Wireless]
3. Palm Stops Palm Pre, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixi & Palm Pixi Plus Production? [Palm Is Said to Resume Pre & Pixi Production Only in March]
4. Palm Pre Plus Rumored to Debut at CES 2010 [Upgraded Palm Pre Plus Smartphone Supposedly Headed for Verizon]
5. Palm & Sprint Sitting in a Tree Making 4G WiMAX Smartphone? [Palm Is Rumored to Make a WiMAX Handset for Sprint; We Kinda Want to Believe It]
6. Palm Pre Plus & Palm Pixi Plus Gain Verizon Website Listing [Verizon Pre Plus & Pixi Plus WebOS Phones Available Now]

Of course, what with Sprint set to launch the WiMax Supersonic in only a matter of days its not exactly surprising to see the phone listed in Sprint’s inventory already but it does serve as absolute confirmation that an announcement is indeed pending.

For those unfamiliar with the Sprint HTC Supersonic (or the Supersonic in general) – can there possibly be anyone who isn’t already fully versed with what this handset brings to the table? – we can advise that the Supersonic, which is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and which runs Android (2.1?), comes with a 4.3” 65K color 480 x 800 resolution OLED display, a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash whilst, in terms of memory, you’re looking at a healthy 512MG of RAM and 1GB of flash storage (the Supersonic also packs 1024MB of ROM).

Obviously, at this juncture, specific details concerning the Sprint HTC Supersonic are in pretty short supply so we cannot advise of pricing yet but you can rest assured that the moment Sprint spill the beans we’ll be looking to get you updated and ‘in the know’ asap.

Original Post Link: Sprint HTC Supersonic Gains Sprint Inventory Listing [Sprint HTC Supersonic Listed as HTC A9292 WiMax Bar Phone, Pending Official Launch Next Week] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. HTC Supersonic Ready for Sprint’s WiMAX? [Sprint to Launch HTC Supersonic A9292 WiMAX-enabled Smartphone in 2010]
2. 4G-enabled HTC Supersonic To Launch This Week? [Reports Have Sprint Unveiling HTC's Supersonic As Their First 4G WiMax Smartphone With 4.3-inch OLED Screen, 5-megapixel Camera, 1GHz Processor]
3. HTC Supersonic To Be Sprint’s First 4G Smartphone? [Sprint Supersonic WiMAX Touting Phone Set for Summer Release?]
4. HTC Supersonic Screenshot Gets Leaked [HTC Supersonic WiMAX Android Phone to Feature Android 3.0; T-Mobile to Launch It]
5. HTC Supersonic Makes Video Appearance [HTC Supersonic Teaser Reminds Us There's WiMax, Android 2.1 & 4.3" Screen]
6. HTC WiMAX and Palm C40 Phones Get Leaked [Sprint 2010 Roadmap Includes HTC WiMAX Handset and New Palm Smartphone]

The S3370 was spied with a 2.8-inch QVGA display, and we know it’ll have 3G connectivity and Bluetooth. It’ll be running (you know) TouchWiz, but it will ship with “TouchWiz 2.0″, so we’ll give Samsung the benefit of the doubt that they’ve improved it. Reportedly, the phone is very similar to the ‘Corby’ line of mobile phones that was recently unleashed by Samsung.

The phone hasn’t been officially unveiled by Samsung yet, so the internal specs of the device are unknown. However, I’d wager you’ll find a 600MHz Samsung processor and 256MB of RAM.

Speculation has this phone costing about €100 ($135) without a contract, which is about par for the course on these low-cost little touchscreen smartphones that Samsung is so fond of. It seems like you will find one or two from every carrier in every country and it’s hard to blame Samsung if people keep buying them. The device was cleared by the FCC for sales in the United States, so it’ll likely becoming to a US mobile phone provider sometime in the net month or so.

Original Post Link: Samsung S3370 Touchscreen Phone Leaked [New Samsung S3370 Appears To Be Another Entry-Level Phone With 3G, TouchWiz UI, Digital Camera] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Samsung S5620 Monteo Smartphone Leaked [Samsung's Latest Smartphone Features 3-inch Touchscreen, Still Comes With TouchWiz]
2. Samsung SHW-M100S Unveiled [New Android Phone Features 3.7-inch Touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera]
3. T-Mobile’s Samsung Highlight Budget Touchscreen Mobile [Mid-range Samsung Highlight Camera Phone]
4. T-Mobile Samsung Behold II Android Phone Official [AMOLED Behold II with TouchWiz UI To Hit T-Mobile ‘Soon’]
5. Samsung Intro S3500 Entry Level Slider Cell Phone [Simple, Capable Handset]
6. Motorola Zepplin Clearly Seen In Pictures [New Entry-Level Android Phone Coming To T-Mobile In March]

Seagate’s Constellation ES drives are nothing new, but Seagate loves to point out that their new drive is the world’s first 2TB drive with SATA 3.0 support, which gives it a transfer rate of 6Mbps (SATA 2.0, had a transfer rate of SATA Gbps and was commonly called SATA 3, so the new SATA 3.0 with 6Gbps is confusing to all, except for those who name such things).

Seagate’s Constellation ES drives are “enterprise-grade”, meaning they offer a 7200RPM speed with “best-in-class” parts for an always-on server type application. The drives also have things like Seagates’ PowerChoice power consumption technology as well as improved cooling and government-grade encryption security options.

SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) is nothing new to Seagate, as they were the first to show off a hard drive that used the new SATA interface. No word on pricing, but Seagate also plans to release 1TB and 500GB Constellation ES class hard drives with the SATA 3 and enterprise-grade features, which should be easier on the budget.

Nothing else on a release date, either. Don’t hold your breath for them – Seagate’s older Constellation ES drives (covered in the TFTS article that I deeplinked too above) were announced last February and didn’t start shipping to consumers until Fall. So it’s possible we might get these in time for Christmas.

Original Post Link: Seagate Details 2TB Constellation ES SATA 3.0 Drive [New Drive Is World's First 2TB SATA 3 Drive, Offers Enterprise-Grade Best-in-class Construction] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Seagate Intro 2TB Constellation ES Hard Drive [New Constellation & Constellation ES HDDs]
2. Seagate Announces Cheetah 15K.7 Enterprise-Class HDD [Fastest, Most Efficient, and Highest Capacity Hard Drive]
3. Pliant Technology Lightning EFD LS/LB Enterprise-Grade SSDs [Claim 2x Faster Speeds Than Competition, 500Mbps/read, 320Mbps Write, Proprietary ASIC Design]
4. Seagate & AMD Unveil New High Bandwidth HDD SATA Technology [6GB/s Burst, 5.5GB/s Sustained]
5. Seagate Debuts Pulsar Solid State Drives Range [Seagate Pulsar SSD Officially Introduced, Release Date & Price Unconfirmed for Now]
6. Seagate Intro Barracuda 7200.11 SATA Hard Disk [World’s First 1.5 Terabyte HDD]

The listings from the eRetailers has the price of the -980X Extreme Edition set at an incredible €931 ($1,274). Although it’s a ton of money, it’s in-line with what Intel usually charges for their “Extreme Edition” processors (though). But it’s a sweet (or not so sweet) irony that the silicon die that the chip is printed on probably cost Intel $2.50.

Cost aside, it’s looking like it’ll be the elite chip you’d expect from an Intel “Extreme Edition” processor. It’s an Gulftown processor which is right from Intel’s cutting edge 32m Westmere fab processor. It is a hyper-threaded six-core processor and has a clockspeed of 3.33GHz with Turboboost speeds reaching 3.6GHz.

The -980X will have a 12MB L3 Cache and will have a very high TDP of 140W. It’ll also use the LGA 1366 socket. So, can we expect the -980X Extreme Edition in a Mac Pro refresh this year? Our former editor Alex thought it possible in December, but it seems much more likely that Apple will opt for one of the new Xeon 56xx chips in a Mac Pro refresh. The Xeon 56xx series is from the same chip (Gulftown) as the -980X EE and Apple likes to put those workstation cores in their workstation Mac Pros.

Regardless, those hoping to purchase a Core i7-980X Extreme Edition can prepare their wallets for a release date later this month.

Original Post Link: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Detailed, Priced [Extreme Edition Processor Gains Specs, +$1000 Price, 32nm Westmere Chip, Heading To Mac Pros?] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition Processors [Core i7-980X CPUs Could Debut on Mac Pro Systems in Q1 2010]
2. Intel Core i9 Processors Coming to Mac Pro? [Intel Gulftown Processor Rumored for Q1 2010 Mac Refresh]
3. Intel Core i9 Leaked? [Intel's New Six-Core Processor Allegedly Sold on eBay]
4. Mac Pro Refreshed [Apple Packs 3.33GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processors Into Mac Pro, Price Steep]
5. Intel Preparing New Core i7 Processor [New Core i7-660UM To Feature Ultra-Low-Voltage Usage, 1.33GHz]
6. SGI Octane III Personal Supercomputer Released [Octane III 20x Intel Xeon 5500 CPU Powerhouse Boasts Extreme Performance, Considerable Price Tag]

Hsaio-Wuen Hon, the managing director at Microsoft Research Asia, said that the company has been too slow to embrace consumer trends lately. “Looking back I can say we probably should have done more in the consumer space. When we talk about an ‘enterprise user’ they are actually the same person because when they go home they are consumers.”

It’s hard to blame Microsoft. Their solid operating system for IBM PC clones in the early 1990’s became a de facto standard for business. But they’ve also missed some important consumer trends, and now they’re playing catchup with the iPod, Bing, Windows Phone 7 and even the Xbox 360, which, despite having sold more units that the PS3, is seen as lacking behind Sony’s console technologically.

However, Microsoft’s research labs (aptly named “Microsoft Research”) are hard at work developing new and interesting technologies that the company hopes will be the next iPhone or Wii.  The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Microsoft Research Asia is working on everything from statistical models of population growth to 3D mouse technology.

On Microsoft’s reputation, Mr. Hon said to the Morning Herald, “We are aware that we are not necessarily a media darling. People don’t perceive us as innovative as we actually are.” A big directive in Microsoft Research is the shift from a graphic user interface (GUI) to a natural user interface (NUI – like the “Tom Cruise computer” in the film Minority Report). Project Natal, the upcoming add-on for the Xbox 360, will be the company’s first finished product with a NUI.

Natal, out this holiday season, is apparently five years worth of research from Microsoft. We’ve already seen Surface and a few other technologies come out of Microsoft recently. Do you think Microsoft will ever return to being known as a hot innovative company?

Original Post Link: Microsoft: We’ve Been Too Slow Going Consumer [Microsoft Director Admits That Redmond Is Sometime Too Focused On The Enterprise Customer, Too Slow To React To Consumer Wants] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. Microsoft Says Blu-Ray Is Killing The PlayStation 3 [Microsoft Director Says Blu-Ray Licensing Fees Are Killing The PS3, Microsoft Could Make A PS3 For $100 Less]
2. Microsoft Research: “Xbox 360s Could Be Used In Hospitals” [Microsoft Research Imagines Xbox 360s Being Used For Medical Records, Gaming]
3. Skinput: Is Your Skin The Touchscreen of the Future? [Microsoft Redmond Research & Carnegie Mellon University Develop Skinput System, A Touchscreen for your Skin]
4. Microsoft Planning More Interactive TV Shows On Xbox Live [Following Success Of 1 vs. 100, Microsoft Exploring More Interactive IPTV Shows]
5. Microsoft, BBC disagree over BBC iPlayer on Xbox Live [Microsoft & BBC disagree on paid subscriptions regarding iPlayer]
6. Microsoft Shutting Down Xbox Live For Original Xboxes [Despite Strong Halo 2 Community, Microsoft Shutting Down Xbox 1 Live Connectivity To "move forward"]

The folks at Sharkoon have come up with an ingenious way to accommodate both 2.5″ and 3.5″ hard drives. Each docking slot on the station has a hinged mechanism that fits to the 2.5″ drive. If you dock in a 2.5″ drive, it fits snugly into the dock. If you do a bigger 3.5″ drive, it pushes the hinged cover out of the way and makes room for the bigger hard drive.

Each of the two docks has their own power switch and since the hard drives lock into place – they also have their own eject button. The HDD have to have the SATA interface (sorry, that old IDE drive is out of luck) and according to those who have used it, your operating system will “immediately” recognize the new hard drive after you plug it in.

The Sharkoon QuickPort Duo will come with two USB 3.0 cables, which is a nice touch. Sharkoon has produced dual-hard drive docking stations before, as well as a hard drive docking station that used USB 2.0 before – however, this is their first dual docking port USB 3.0 hard drive docking station.

The Sharkoon QuickPort Duo is on sale now, with the asking price of €59 ($80). Not too bad of a price, if you ask me.

Original Post Link: Sharkoon QuickPort Duo HDD Docking Station Now With USB 3.0 [Sharkoon QuickPort HDD Docking Station Has USB 3.0 Connection, Fits Both 2.5" and 3.5" SATA Drives] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. OWC 750GB On-the-Go Portable Drives Introduced [Ultraportable OWC Bus-powered On-The-Go Pro Drives]
2. TDK HS1 Series 64GB Micro SATA 1.8” Solid State Drives Now Available [TDK HS1 SLC NAND SSD]
3. Iomega iConnect Revealed [Wireless Data Station Lets Your Thumb Drives Act As NAS's]
4. Samsung STORY Station Plus [Samsung STORY Station Plus External HDD Boasts eSATA Support, Offers up to 2TB Capacity]
5. OCZ Technology Announces 32MB & 64MB SATA II Solid State Drives [Notebook SSD]
6. Brando E-Blue Gladiator USB Hard Disk Station [Hot-Swap Your HDDs, Brushed Steel Design, ECO Manager Auto-Hibernation Mode, Turbo USB]

Reggie says that for Nintendo to work on a new console, it would need something new to create a compelling user experience. He admitted that some important people at Nintendo, namely Satoru Iwata (Nintendo’s president) and Shigeru Miyamoto (Famed Nintendo developer behind Mario, Zelda, others), have voiced an interest in a high-def console.

Despite that, don’t expect a high-def console anytime soon. Mr. Fils-Aime: “[But] to be 120 percent crystal clear, HD by itself in our view is not enough to go for a new console past the Wii.” He says that Nintendo’s next console will be something “consistent with what we brought to market with Wii and with DS.”

Of course, Sony and Microsoft have been moving in on the motion-control market. The PlayStation Move, Sony’s Wii-like motion controller add-on, was unveiled last week at GDC. Project Natal, Microsoft’s controller-less motion control add-on, has been demoed and rumored forever and is expected to be released this holiday season.

On the Natal and Move, Reggie said: “I think a hallmark of Nintendo is that we are constantly trying to innovate, I think we would have been embarrassed to do what our competitors are currently doing.”

Definitely some candid comments from the Nintendo boss. The rumors of a Wii 2 or Wii HD have been circulating for a while, and I think Mr. Fils-Aime has just put them to bed.

Original Post Link: Nintendo: We Would Be Embarrassed To Be Sony, Microsoft [Nintendo CEO Says Their Goal Is To Innovate, Interested In HD But No Wii HD Coming] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Nintendo Wii Drought Expected To Continue Through March [Nintendo Fighting To Refill Stock After Holiday Sales Surge]
2. Project Natal Coming in October 2010? [Rumors Suggest Microsoft to Launch Project Natal at Some Point This Fall]
3. Microsoft Confirms Project Natal Release Date for Holiday 2010 [Project Natal Motion Control Gaming Coming to Xbox 360 by the End of the Year]
4. Rumor: Project Natal May Sell For As Little As $50 [Sources Say Microsoft Will Set Low Price For Natal To Install User Base, Will Make Money Back On Games]
5. Microsoft Project Natal Release Date Leaked? [MS Project Natal for Xbox 360 Set to Hit November 2010]
6. PlayStation Move Ad Takes a Hit at Nintendo’s Wii & Microsoft’s Project Natal [Sony Starts Advertising PlayStation Move Motion Control Gaming; Wii & Xbox 360 Consoles Won’t Really Care Yet]

Both will offer 11.6-inch touchscreens. The 1825PTZ will be the more high-end model, as it will sport an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor (clocked at 1.3GHz) while it will come with 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. Likewise, the 1825PT will be the less expensive model. It’ll come with an Intel Pentium SU4100 processor (with 1.3GHz clockspeed) and only 3GB of RAM along with 250GB of HDD space. Both models will come with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium.

Expect these computers to take the place of the similar named 1820PT notebooks in Acer’s lineup. As mentioned earlier, they haven’t been officially unveiled yet, but made an sneak appearance on an Italian website. That retailer had it listed for the high price of €693 ($943) for the larger 1825PTZ. However, we expect the price to drop a bit, maybe by $200, when it makes its release in the US and England.

Speculation on the price aside, these notebooks are expected to make their release “in time for Easter”, one site reports, which would put it coming out sometime before early April.

Original Post Link: Acer Aspire 1825PT, 1825PTZ Sneak In [Acer Begins Selling 11-inch Touchscreen Convertible Netbooks, Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB RAM] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Acer Aspire 1820PTZ Convertible Breaks Cover [Aspire 1820PTZ Availability in UK Still Expected, Shipping in Singapore]
2. Acer Aspire Timeline 1820P Officially Selling [Timeline 1820P Convertible Notebook With Multi-touch Display, Priced]
3. Acer Aspire One 752 CULV Notebook [Aspire One 752 Sports Intel ULV743 Processor, Boasts 5 Hour Battery Life]
4. Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PT Convertible Debuts in Australia [Timeline 1820PT Specs and Features Detailed, Official in Italy]
5. Acer Aspire 532h Netbook Revealed [Acer Shows Off New Netbook Design, Pine Trail-powered, 250GB HDD]
6. New Acer Aspire Notebooks Announced [Aspire AS5536 15.6" & AS7735Z 17.3" Gemstones]

WiMAX and LTE have been competing technologies to be christened the mobile phone communities’ ‘4G’ radio technology. WiMAX came out first to much fanfare, but LTE was the official choice of the GSM Association. Most mobile phone service providers have plotted to roll out LTE to their networks for their 4G data networks.

Sprint, in the United States, is the one notable exception. They’ve already begun rolling out their 4G network (America’s only – they proudly say in their adverts) based on WiMAX while all other major American mobile service providers are going with LTE for 4G. While Cisco will still produce 4G IP stations that will use both LTE and WiMAX, it doesn’t look good for the future of WiMAX.

Cisco spokesman Jim Brady said, “After a recent review of our WiMax business, we announced a decision to discontinue designing and building new WiMax base stations and modems, and we also announced a support plan for transitioning existing customers.” Cisco’s WiMAX business mainly comes from a company called Navini Networks, whom they purchased in 2007. At the time, Cisco expected WiMAX to be widely deployed in both in North America and Europe, as well as in underdeveloped countries who may be lacking a mobile phone data network.

Mobile phone analyst Laurence Swasey told ComputerWorld that Cisco pulling out of the WiMAX business was “good business” and this all but killed WiMAX. He predicts that even current WiMAX carriers (like Sprint) will eventually have to change over to LTE for their 4G networks.

Original Post Link: Cisco Cutting WiMAX Hardware Development [Cisco Cutting WiMAX Radios, Base Stations From Plans, Still Work On IP Platforms - Has LTE Won The 4G War?] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Palm & Sprint Sitting in a Tree Making 4G WiMAX Smartphone? [Palm Is Rumored to Make a WiMAX Handset for Sprint; We Kinda Want to Believe It]
2. Sprint’s Mac-Friendly U301 3G/4G WiMAX Modem Revealed [Will Introduce 4G Access To Snow Leopard Mac Users]
3. HTC WiMAX and Palm C40 Phones Get Leaked [Sprint 2010 Roadmap Includes HTC WiMAX Handset and New Palm Smartphone]
4. HTC Supersonic Ready for Sprint’s WiMAX? [Sprint to Launch HTC Supersonic A9292 WiMAX-enabled Smartphone in 2010]
5. 4G-enabled HTC Supersonic To Launch This Week? [Reports Have Sprint Unveiling HTC's Supersonic As Their First 4G WiMax Smartphone With 4.3-inch OLED Screen, 5-megapixel Camera, 1GHz Processor]
6. HTC Supersonic To Be Sprint’s First 4G Smartphone? [Sprint Supersonic WiMAX Touting Phone Set for Summer Release?]

The new Dell Vostro 230 Slim Tower and Mini Tower desktops feature a range of processor options up to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 at 3.0GHz.  They are also available with 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, up to 2TB of storage between two HDDs and a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G310 graphics processor with DVI and HDMI connections.  While the units will start at $389, the available options can likely price its close close to or over $1000.  The base unit will include a 2.7GHz Dual Core processor, 1GB SDRAM, 160GB storage and an integrated graphics processor– not bad for under $400.

The new Dell Vostro 230 Slim Tower and Mini Tower machines are shipping now for business users, but will operate just fine as home entertainment PCs as well.  They may not be as sexy as their new Vostro V13 laptop counterparts, but this is a solid new option by Dell for a great price.

Original Post Link: New Dell Vostro 230 Slim Tower, Mini Tower Desktop PCs Revealed [New Dell Business Desktops Get Slimline Treatment] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Dell Vostro 430 Mini Tower Desktop Announced [Powerful Vostro 430 With Core i7 CPUs, Up To 16GB RAM & Windows 7]
2. Dell Energy Smart Vostro 410 ‘Green’ Business Desktop Gets Early Release [Energy-Efficient Vostro 410 Intel Core 2 Quad PC]
3. New Dell Inspiron Slim & Dell Mini-Towers Boast Vivid Colors [Help People Express Themselves, Apparently]
4. AT&T Dell Vostro 1520 3G Laptop Now Available [Vostro 1520 with Integrated 3G Connectivity Hits AT&T, Aimed at Small Business Users]
5. Dell Fills out Vostro Line with All-In-One Desktop Model [19-in display, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD]
6. Dell Vostro 1220 Laptop Officially Launched [Vostro 1220 Budget Business Ultraportable]

The ROG Rampage III Extreme is based on the Intel X58 chipset, and it has an Intel LGA 1366 processor socket on it, with support for all the latest Core i7 processors, including the i7-980X. As you can tell by the picture, the Rampage III has a ton of heatsinks on it, it looks to have a lot of heating support on it. In addition to the LGA 1366 processor, it’s got four PCI-E slots on the lower-half, managed by an NVIDIA nForce 200 southbridge. It’ll also have DDR3 memory slots, too, for the fastest memory out there currently.

Those stats were about as far as the official word from ASUS has gone, regarding the official stats of the new motherboard. However, with today’s release of the official press shots, we’ve learned a bit more about the upcoming high-end board. It’ll also have support for USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0. In addition to those new technologies, the board was also spied by having some older USB 3.0 ports, eSATA and Firewire ports. ASUS has promised Gigabit Ethernet and 7.1-surround sound for the audio on the back.

Like the earlier ROG board, the Maximus III Extreme, the Rampage III will have the feature that will allow you to overclock and adjust other BiOS settings via a Bluetooth mobile phone. That feature got some press last year, although I doubt many people are actively using it.

ASUS should be unveiling the motherboard any day now. Until then, we don’t have any official specs (aside from what we gather from the pictures and what ASUS reps have told people at trade shows), any pricing or any release date information. One thing is certain, this mainboard won’t be cheap.

Original Post Link: ASUS Offers Pictures Of High-End Rampage III Extreme Motherboard [New ROG Motherboard Gets Press Pics, LGA 1366 Socket, Intel X58 Chipset, USB 3.0] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. EVGA Unveils High-End SR-2 Motherboard ["Classified SR-2" Motherboard Features Intel 5520 Chipset, Dual LGA 1366 CPU Slots, Twelve DDR3 RAM Slots, USB 3.0]
2. ASUS Unveils New ROG Crosshair III Formula Motherboard [Socket AM3 Motherboard for AMD Phenom II Processors]
3. ASUS Announces Launch of New High-End P7P55D Motherboard [LGA-1156 socket CPU, 19-Phase Digital PWM Circuitry]
4. ASUS ROG Maximus III Extreme Lets You Overclock Via Phones [New ASUS Motherboard Allows You To Change Settings Via Bluetooth]
5. ASUS Sabertooth 55i Motherboard Announced [Sabertooth 55i "Military Certified" Motherboard For Extreme Conditions]
6. Gigabyte Shows Off 890GX Mainboard [Second Motherboard With AMD's New Chipset Reveals, Has USB 3.0, SATA3, DDR3, AM3 Processor Support]

The new Apple Cinema Display is rumored to measure 27-inches diagonally, feature LED-backlit technology and sport a 2560 x 1440 resolution.  These rumors were shared from reliable sources to AppleInsider, a pretty trusty publication for Apple rumors and breaking news.  The suggestions of the new display, codenamed “K59″, would hit the market in concert with new Mac Pro workstations.  The new workstations themselves are rumored to feature 12-core processing, based on a pair of Intel’s Westmere-based hexacore chips.

The new 27-inch LED Cinema Display and the new Mac Pro workstations would be targeted toward imaging and multimedia professionals, those who focus on graphic design, video and/or audio production.  They are likely to carry a very significant premium, yet pricing info was not included in the rumors to AppleInsider.  Long-time readers know that when Apple news hits, we cover it obsessively across every detail– so stay tuned here at TFTS.

Original Post Link: Rumors Out Apple’s 27-Inch LED Cinema Display [Apple's Larger LED Cinema Display Would Coincide With New 12-Core Mac Pro Workstation Release] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. iPhone and iPod HD Video, but no new iPod Touch [Apple Event Rumors Hit The Wires Before Keynote Speech]
2. New Apple iPod Nano 5G Gets Video Camera [iPod Nano 5G - Lighter than 4G, FM Tuner, Larger Display, Vibrant Colors]
3. Apple Tablet PC Release Set for April 2010 Says Report [Apple Tablet Release Date Rumours Ramp Up]
4. Asus My Cinema PCI-express Dual TV Card [Asus My Cinema EHD3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/MCE RC]
5. Apple Has No Plans For A HDTV [Tim Cook Says No To Apple TV-based HDTV, iPhone OS Coming To Apple TV?]
6. New Rumors Concerning Apple’s Touchscreen Tablet Arise [Apple iPad Tablet Looks Like a Large iPhone]

Following the European Union’s anti-competition case against Microsoft, one of the provisions against Microsoft (which also included over $700 million in fines and disclosure of some source code) was that they had to inform users that there was a choice beyond Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer. The so-called “browser ballot box” was patched into Windows via an update and now all European users who have IE set as their default search engine will see it.

The box shows off a total of 12 browsers, some of them lesser known. Opera isn’t exactly the most popular web browser these days, despite them being the first to come out with a lot of innovations like tabbed browsing. However, following the addition of the ballot box to Windows, they’ve seen quite a boost in their traffic and downloads.

Opera has seen traffic to their website go up 130%, with their downloads doubling, with 53% of total downloads now coming from the EU ballot box. Because of this, it’s no surprise that Opera wants Microsoft to roll out the ballot box worldwide. “Microsoft agreed to change its business practices in the face of formal charges from the Commission. Consumers deserve the same unbiased browser choice on all the world’s more than 1 billion personal computers,” Opera said in a press release.

However, Microsoft is only using the browser ballot as required by EU law, so don’t expect to see the box roll-out anywhere else. A Microsoft spokesperson told website Ars Technica, “The issues in the Internet Explorer case have already been the subject of extensive legal action in several other countries around the world, including the United States, which have each developed their own legal solutions.”

Europeans who have IE set as their default web browser can expect to see the browser ballot box until May for existing Windows installations and for another five years on new Windows purchases.

Original Post Link: Opera Sees Huge Spike In Downloads Following EU Browser Ballot Screen [Many European Users Flocking To Opera Following Addition Of Browser Ballot To Windows, Opera Pushes For Global Roll-Out] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. Opera 10.50 “The World’s Fastest Browser for Windows” Available Now [Opera 10.50 for Windows Says It’s Better than Everyone Else; We’re Not Impressed by Simple Words]
2. Opera Mobile Browser Comes To Android [Android OS Getting Opera Mobile, Competition to Default Web Browser]
3. Opera Release 10 [New Enhanced Browser Interface, Compression Technology to Increase Browsing Speed, Integrated Email Client]
4. Microsoft Release Child Friendly Browser [IE 8 Click Clever, Click Safe, Click CEOP Browser Makes Net Safer for Children]
5. Facebook Global Advisory Board Monitors User Safety [Facebook to Improve Online Safety for Users with Help from Global Advisory Board]
6. Apple Announces 2Bn App Downloads and 85k+ Apps [Apple iTunes App Store For iPhone/iPod Touch Reaches 2 Billion Downloads and 85,000 Apps]

NVIDIA is pretty public with their marketing. They put up those “The Way It’s Meant To Be Played” videos before certain games and the fact that a certain PC game has PhysX support is usually heavily marketed. So, these Gamer’s Manifesto from AMD is seen by some pundits as AMD’s attempt to make a little PR wave.

AMD’s Gamer’s Manifesto is as follows:

• We will consult with the gaming community to help align our innovations to their wants and needs.
• Wherever feasible we will move quickly to move our innovations into the industry standards.
• We will provide the technical and business support game developers need to help make their games a success.
• All gamers, those with AMD hardware in their system, or not, deserve the best gaming experience possible.

AMD said at the conference that although they’re just outlining these principals publicly now, they’re been following them for a while. All of this is apart of AMD’s new marketing push called “Gaming Evolved” where AMD is going to try to show off their graphics engineering prowess.

AMD says that they have been listening to feedback from both developers and gamers as to how to proceed with their products. An AMD executive on stage cited an online poll that said that gamers cared more about Eyefinity and DirectX 11 support than PhysX from NVIDIA. (The poll doesn’t sound very scientific – take it with a grain of salt).

They also talked about their commitment to the “Open Physics” middleware, an open-source rival to NVIDIA’s PhysX technology. Althought AMD showed demo cards running Intel’s Havok FX physics tech years ago, that never made its way to a home computer. AMD seems a bit more serious about the “Open Physics” are we might see some of that coming soon – if AMD can get some developers to include it in their games.

Overall, it’s a pretty nice message and AMD seems sincere about it. It also seems that AMD is going to be more vocal in getting their message out there, like NVIDIA has been doing.

Original Post Link: AMD Outlines Gamer’s Manifesto For Gamers, Developers [AMD Promises Rights To Gamers, Developers, Will Innovate and Support Industry Standards] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. AMD: PhysX Is Only Used Because Of Cash Incentives [AMD Product Manager Retorts That Game Developers Only Use NVIDIA's Physics Processing Technology For The Cash]
2. NVIDIA Replies To AMD’s Claims Of Cash Bribes On PhysX [NVIDIA Says They Do Not Force Developers To Use PhysX, Nor Do They Bribe Them With Cash Incentives]
3. Xbox Developers Feeling Constraint Of DVD9 [Capcom, Other Developers To Ship More 360 Titles On Multiple Discs]
4. Razer Announces Mac Support for All Products [Razer Takes Gaming on Apple Computers Seriously; to Include Mac Support in Future Gaming Products]
5. Microsoft’s XNA Comes To Windows Phones [XNA Game Studio 4.0 Gets Windows Phone 7 Support, XNA Games, Gamertag, Avatars All Coming To Windows Phone 7]
6. PC Gamers Approve Windows 7 [Steam's Monthly Hardware Survey Shows PC Gamers Quickly Adapting Win7]

The problem for Apple is AT&T when it comes to increasing iPhone sales. What I mean to say about their cooperation is that both companies have already cashed in on the iPhone. Chances are that current AT&T customers that don’t want the current iPhone models will not be that interested in upgrading to the iPhone 4G either. Furthermore the current state of the over clogged AT&T network might convince others not to switch from their favorite carrier to AT&T in order to get the iPhone.

So Apple should definitely try to bring its handset to everyone else in the U.S. I am sure that a lot of Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile loyal customers would be more than interested in getting the iPhone but we’ll look forward to hear from them in the comments section.

Cupertino has already experimented in other important markets like Canada, UK and France where the iPhone is available from more than one carrier as exclusivity agreements have either expired or been discontinued as they were against the law (France).

What makes us say the iPhone is coming to T-Mobile late this year or early next year? Well it looks like Rene Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, the mothership that controls T-Mobile USA, apparently said that the iPhone is coming by the end of the year but for now the carrier is focusing on Android smartphones.

What’s particularly interesting is that he did not mention what iPhone versions are coming to T-Mobile but I’d think it would be safe to assume the iPhone 4G will be included in the offer. We’ll be waiting anxiously to see whether the iPhone does indeed come to T-Mobile USA later this year or if it was all just a misunderstanding. Of course, Steve Jobs might get all mad that Obermann spoke to the press like that and change his mind.

So what about Verizon and Sprint? Do you think the iPhone will be available from all the Big Four carriers in the USA a la Google Nexus One style?

Original Post Link: iPhone 4G Coming to T-Mobile This Winter/Next Spring? [T-Mobile USA Said (Again) to Carry Apple’s iPhone by the End of the Year or Early in 2011; Is It the iPhone 4G?] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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1. Verizon/AT&T Hybrid iPhone Not Coming Next Year? [Qualcomm Dual-Carrier Chips Ready Only in 2011]
2. Verizon’s First LTE Phone Ever to Arrive in Mid 2011 [Is Apple Going to Make an LTE iPhone for Verizon Next Year?]
3. AT&T LTE Coming in 2011 Courtesy of Alcatel-Lucent & Ericsson [AT&T to Make 4G LTE Network Available in 2011 Only; Partners up with Alcatel-Lucent & Ericsson to Deploy 4G Network]
4. T-Mobile USA to Sell the iPhone Soon? [The Good, The Bad & The Ugly]
5. Verizon iPhone Release Imminent for 2010? [Analysts Disagree on the Future of Apple’s iPhone]
6. Verizon to Launch 4G LTE iPhone in 2010? [Verizon and Apple Testing 4G LTE CDMA iPhone According to Unconfirmed Rumors]

But now, in an anticipated turn of events, Redmond itself has decided to confirm to everyone that Copy and Paste, a function that “nobody really uses”, will be coming to the WP7S universe at some point after launch, which is still better than nothing.

So if Microsoft was going to include Copy and Paste and Flash in its new mobile platform why not do so from the beginning? Why take an Apple-like approach and launch the first phone running a new OS without some very basic features.

Unlike Apple, who offered us the Copy and Paste function after a very long period of time after the launch of the original iPhone, Microsoft will offer the same functionality a lot faster. And unlike Apple who hates the guts of Flash, Microsoft will make Flash available to the masses.

If all that comes true then it means I’ll only have 6 reasons not to replace the iPhone with a new Windows Phone 7 Series smartphone. But until then the first users of WP7S handsets won’t be able to Copy and Paste anything which is pretty annoying in my book. I like to Copy and Paste every once in a while. In fact in some days I think of six impossible things and Copy and Paste them on my smartphone before breakfast.

On the other hand I’ll also appreciate the lack of Flash and Copy and Paste function in the first handsets that are going to run Windows Phone 7. You know why? Because should Microsoft have wanted to include them in the first place then we’d see Windows Mobile 7 emerge only at some point in 2011 which is not something we really want to witness. Instead we want to see the iPhone 4G battle all those HTC HD2-like handsets by the end of the year. But don’t tell anyone, it’s a secret!

Original Post Link: Windows Phone 7 to Get Copy & Paste Support Later [Microsoft Says Copy & Paste Function Will Head to WP7S Phones After Launch; Money Will Grow on Trees Thereafter] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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2. 8 Reasons Not to Replace Your iPhone with a Windows Phone 7 Handset [Does Microsoft Really Want to Be(come) Apple?]
3. Microsoft Phone 7 Series Phone to be Released by Asus & Microsoft in 2011? [Microsoft Making Its Own Windows Mobile 7 Phone After All? Asus to Help Too]
4. Windows Phone 7 Gets Leaked & It’s Still Coming from LG [Leaked LG WP7S Smartphone Looks Like the HTC HD2… Only Meaner & Better; We Like Even if Fake!]
5. Zune Phone to be Announced at MWC 2010? [Microsoft Could Launch Windows Mobile 7-based Zune Phone in the Near Future]
6. Windows Phone 7 Series Coming in Three Chassis Versions Only? [Windows Phone 7 Series Handsets Reported to Use Chassis for Big Touchscreen Phones, Slide-Out Keyboard or Plain Candybar Device]

The “T”, “Mr. T” or “Taladega” is apparently going to be released in the U.S. and Europe at some point in April but we have no details regarding said event. Unfortunately we don’t have specs and features of the slider to play with at this time so we’re really starting to get angry at RIM for not telling us more.

The “T” rumor is coming straight from a RIM parts supplier, Woojeon & Handan who disclosed the information to a popular Korean news site:

The Canadian company RIM famous for BlackBerry smartphones is releasing a new model next month. Known as the “T,” The new model is an ambitious product aimed at competing against iPhone’s storm of success. Rim will present it (“T”) as its flagship model to compete in global markets such as the U.S. and Europe.

Considering that other hot phones are just about to be released by various carriers, and I am mostly referring to HTC handsets like the HD2, Desire, Legend, Supersonic or Incredible, maybe RIM should definitely start launching a few new smartphones of their own too.

Last time I checked a survey said that 40% of BlackBerry users are considering switching to an iPhone, which sounds pretty threatening for RIM’s future.

So what do you say, RIM? Are you ready to make some more than interesting announcements next week when the CTIA will be underway? Would you mind announcing the BlackBerry “T” on the same very occasion? Pretty please?

Original Post Link: BlackBerry T (Talladega) Slider Smartphone to be Launched Next Month? [RIM to Announce Its First BlackBerry Slider Handset in April; For Some Reason They Call It T (Talladega)] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. BlackBerry Storm-Based Slider Combines Touchscreen with Full QWERTY Keyboard [RIM To Announce Full Touchscreen Slide-Out QWERTY BlackBerry Smartphone Soon?]
4. BlackBerry Storm3 Slider Smartphone Gets Leaked? [BlackBerry Storm3 to Feature Full Touchscreen & Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard]
5. BlackBerry Confirm BlackBerry OS 5.0 Update Supported Devices [BlackBerry OS 5.0 Release Set for This Week? Does Your BlackBerry Make the Cut?]
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The Classified SR-2 meets the HTPX form factor, and Intel’s Xeon processors are supported in the board’s dual LGA 1366 slots. It has a total of 12 DDR3 memory slots (with six for each processor) and a whopping seven PCI-E card slots. The board has support for either four-way SLI or CrossFireX. Users can disable PCI-E slots from within the BIOS and the operating system, and the board also has support for external overclocking devices.

In case that isn’t enough for you, it’s got some of the next-gen data ports with two SATA 3.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports. It’s also got two eSATA ports as well as SATA 2 and plain old USB 2.0 ports. The integrated audio is HD quality with eight channels.

Its worth noting that the board, while it supports the server-grade Xeon processors, it doesn’t have support for all of the newest Intel chips, including the consumer Core i7-980X. As you can imagine, a regular PSU would have difficulty running a PC built on this mainboard, so EVGA is going to be releasing a “EVGA Classified SR-2″ Power Supply which reportedly will be rated at 1200W. This hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s widely reported that the special SR-2 branded PSU will just be a rebadged 1.2KW power supply from Antec.

As you can guess, it won’t be cheap. The MSRP for this mainboard is $600, and that includes a lifetime warranty. The board was listed on EVGA’s online store for sometime, before it was mysteriously pulled down. At any rate, it’s supposed to be on sale now.

Original Post Link: EVGA Unveils High-End SR-2 Motherboard ["Classified SR-2" Motherboard Features Intel 5520 Chipset, Dual LGA 1366 CPU Slots, Twelve DDR3 RAM Slots, USB 3.0] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. MSI 890GXM-G65 Motherboard Revealed [New Motherboard Has Support For AMD's Six-Core Processors, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0]
4. ASUS Unveils New ROG Crosshair III Formula Motherboard [Socket AM3 Motherboard for AMD Phenom II Processors]
5. ASUS Announces Launch of New High-End P7P55D Motherboard [LGA-1156 socket CPU, 19-Phase Digital PWM Circuitry]
6. EVGA Debuts Interview 1770 Twisting Twin LCD Displays [Dual 17-in Panels Rotate 180-Degrees and Flip 90]

Maybe that’s why the execs at Sony considered that launching a commercial in which they make fun of Project Natal and the Wii is a good idea. Having watched the clip below I tend to partly agree with them. Yes, it’s a funny clip and yes it has a couple of good jokes in there but it won’t suffice. It won’t convince me, or any really passionate gamer to choose PlayStation Move over Project Natal or the Wii. The information presented is not enough and I’m sure everyone will want to make an informed decision before buying.

The fact that it’s taking a hit at Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s similar products doesn’t bother me at all since these companies are more than capable to respond to any attacks from any rivals. I might add that we’ll be interested to see how these two companies will promote their consoles in the following months. The Wii has to reinvent itself somehow in order to face the new threats from Sony and Microsoft and Project Natal is still a mystery.

Motion control gaming is what the future will bring us. And Kevin Butler “Moves” from the Future in this commercial in order to show us how awesome the PlayStation Move is and why it’s better than archenemies Wii and Xbox 360 with Project Natal on top.

We’ll have to wait until November to see if gamers want to pretend their hand is a gun or keep catching a big red ball. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about then hit the video below and see for yourself how Sony is making fun of Wii and the Project Natal.

Original Post Link: PlayStation Move Ad Takes a Hit at Nintendo’s Wii & Microsoft’s Project Natal [Sony Starts Advertising PlayStation Move Motion Control Gaming; Wii & Xbox 360 Consoles Won’t Really Care Yet] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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2. PlayStation Move Motion Controller Unveiled [Sony Unveils Wii-like Motion Controller Add-On For PlayStation 3, Bundles Will Cost Less Than $100]
3. New Xbox 360 Models Scheduled for Future Release, Project Natal (Still) on Track [Steve Ballmer Hints at “New Form Factors, Pricing Points & Options”; Project Natal Coming This Christmas]
4. Project Natal Coming in October 2010? [Rumors Suggest Microsoft to Launch Project Natal at Some Point This Fall]
5. Microsoft Project Natal Release Date Leaked? [MS Project Natal for Xbox 360 Set to Hit November 2010]
6. Rumor: Project Natal May Sell For As Little As $50 [Sources Say Microsoft Will Set Low Price For Natal To Install User Base, Will Make Money Back On Games]

When Kallasvuo was asked about Qualcomm and the long-time patent feud and court battles between the two companies, he said, “All I can say is that Qualcomm definitely is a potential partner going forward. The companies did fight a long time in court, and now we see them as a potential partner.” When asked about the possibility of a Snapdragon-powered device, he declined to comment.

It’s no secret that Nokia has a small marketshare for smartphones in the United States. Kallasuvo revealed that Nokia and Microsoft are working together on a new initiative to produce more enterprise applications for Symbian, which, Nokia hopes, will lure American business customers to Nokia smartphones. Overall, he says, Nokia is making a big push to become very prominent in the business segment. Both Nokia and Microsoft (with Windows Mobile) see themselves as competitors to RIM’s BlackBerry dominance of the business world in North America.

Kallasvuo doesn’t see things ending up very well for Palm. When asked about the struggling company, he said, “[In] the past it has been difficult for a smaller company to have a sustainable position. [...] In addition to innovation and quality, you need scale.” However, he declined to comment if Nokia was interested in purchasing Palm.

Overall, it looks like Nokia has some interesting things coming down the pipe. While Nokia is the #1 phone manufacturer in terms of total handsets sold, in terms of “mindshare”, they’re often lagging behind Apple, HTC, Motorola and RIM.

Original Post Link: Nokia CEO Teases Snapdragon Nokia Phone [Kallasvuo Hints At Snapdragon-powered Phone, Expect Windows Phone 7, Sees Palm As Dead In The Water] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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3. Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 8X72 Processor Due Late 2010 [1.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8X50A Chipset to Be Released First]
4. Acer Announces A1, C1/E1, F1 and L1 Smartphones [WinMo F1 Snapdragon and A1 Android Smartphones to get September Release Date]
5. Nokia Preparing Qualcomm Phone [CEO Says Nokia Preparing Symbian Phone With Fast Processor]
6. Lenovo CEO Sees Majority Of Future Business In Mobile Internet Markets [Yang Sees Mobile Internet Devices And Smartphones As Making Up 70 to 80% Of Lenovo's Business]

The newly released Google Maps for Mobile 4.1, which is designed for Android based phone running Android 1.6 or above, comes with a number of enhancements including a wholly revised search results page which comes sans tabs (allowing screen real estate to display the resulting information), a new swipe for more results feature (allowing you to simply swipe to the left or right to gain more search results) as well as a Latitude Widget and a Maps Live Wallpaper which Google describes thus:

Once you’ve updated to Maps 4.1, you’ll also have a couple different ways to put Maps up close and personal on your phone. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could quickly find your nearest friends or glance at the traffic conditions around you without opening Maps? Add the Latitude widget to a home screen panel to see your nearest Latitude friends by pressing the “Menu” button from the home screen and selecting Add > Widgets > Latitude. On Android 2.1+ phones, you can also turn your home screen into one big, updating map using the Maps live wallpaper. Press the “Menu” button from your home screen and select Wallpaper > Live wallpapers > Maps. Now you can see nearby friends or a map each time you open your home screen.

The newly updated Google Maps for Mobile App is available now from the Android Market and, should you give it a go, we’d like to hear your thoughts? How would you improve the app further, for example?

Original Post Link: Google Maps for Mobile 4.1 for Android 1.6+ Released [Updated Google Maps App Offers Improved Search, Maps Live Wallpaper, Numerous Other Tweaks] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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The Nokia X9 is rumored to come with a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor on board, 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, a 12-megapixel camera with LED flash, HDMI connectivity, HSDPA support, Wi-Fi and aGPS, 32GB of storage space, 3.5mm headphone jack and, naturally Symbian^4 on board.

You can also expect lots of social networking features ready to satisfy your Twitter and Facebook needs as well as Nokia’s Ovi Maps navigation tool to be preloaded on future Noka X9 smartphones. Because we are looking at a smartphone here, right Nokia?

The X9 is probably the successor of the X6 which was launched last year and we would definitely love Nokia to hit us with such smartphones in the near future.

Unfortunately for Nokia fans, Symbian^4 is scheduled to arrive only at some point next year, maybe after MWC 2011. Symbian^3 has been unveiled at MWC 2010 and the first Nokia handsets capable of running it are expected to arrive at some point later this year, maybe in time for the holiday season.

Nokia should better step up to the plate and really make sure that consumers are interested in its upcoming mobile platform. Otherwise Microsoft with its Windows Phone 7 Series, which is about to hit markets around the same time Symbian^3 phones will be ready, will take all the glory and thus all the precious cash that comes with it.

Still the X9, whether the real thing that got away from Nokia servers or a simple Photoshop render, still looks interesting and we’ll believe that until we see something official to either confirm or deny its existence.

Original Post Link: Nokia X9 Symbian 4 Handset Gets Leaked & Ready to Impress [Nokia X9 to Feature Symbian 4 OS, 12-MP Camera & 1GHz Processor] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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The new, redesigned version of the PayPal iPhone App, which is already available via iTunes, aside from sporting its new Bump feature, and, aside from allowing you to withdraw funds and request monies using your PayPal account (as well as set up payment reminders), also comes with a tool know as Split the Check which will prove handy when trying to divide the bill when, say, at a restaurant as its automatically calculate what exactly each of you owes towards the bill. Of course, there’s already applications available that’ll already do this, but its nice to see this feature included in the PayPal App.

There’s also a Collect Money feature that’ll allow you to request and collect money from multiple people – handy if, say, a group of you are pooling resources for a gift for a friend of family member.

The PayPal iPhone App is available now from iTunes, as mentioned above, and it won’t cost you a dime.

Original Post Link: New PayPal iPhone App v2.0 Released [iPhone PayPal App Now Allows 'Bump Transfers', Offers Split Check & Collect Money Functionalities] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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The HTC Incredible is an incredible device (pun totally intended) which will come with a Snapdragon processor on board running at either 768MHz or 1GHz, 512MB of DRAM Android 2.1 with Sense UI on top, 8-megapixel camera and a 1,300 mAh battery and, hopefully, lots of other magical stuff inside.

The phone has not been made official by HTC yet and no other carrier in the world that we know of is getting ready to launch it in the very near future. However we’ve seen plenty of leaked pictures of the HTC Incredible already, maybe too many of them, so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. Some of them clearly pointed out that Verizon is going to get the handset later this year and it remains to be seen if Big Red is going to start selling it in early April.

And it seems like Verizon is the only mobile operator looking to start selling the HTC Incredible and we’ll be interested to see how this baby will perform when put against the HTC Supersonic, the HTC Desire or the Google Nexus One.

Today’s leak is said to come straight from Verizon insiders and it could all be an unofficial response to Sprint’s recent HTC Nexus One announcement or to the Supersonic-related rumors that fly around the Internets.

What is your next Android handset going to be?

Original Post Link: HTC Incredible to be Launched by Verizon in Two Weeks? [Rumors Suggest the HTC Incredible is Coming Soon; We Find it Incredible] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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4. HTC Incredible Rumored to Debut on Verizon Soon [Verizon's Inventory List Showing New HTC Incredible, Release Date Imminent]
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The EasyShare M580 will offer a 14-megapixel sensor (not bad for a camera at this price point) and a 28mm wide-angle lens from Schneider-Kreuznach. It’ll have a 8x optical zoom as well as a sizable 3-inch LCD screen on the back. The camera will also have “shake reduction” as well as the ability to record HD video at 720p at a speed of 30 fps.

The big “Share” button on the back will allow you to tag still shots as well as upload pictures and videos to your favorite sites, including Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc. It’ll have other features like “scene recognition” and can automatically remember the faces of 20 people for automatic facial recognition

In addition to the 8x optical zoom, it’ll have a 5x digital zoom, while for connectivity, it’ll have HDMI and TV out for viewing your media on a bigger screen. The device will have 64MB of internal memory and will carry a SDHC memory card slot.

The new camera was added to Kodak’s online store with an asking price of $199.99 for shipping on April 23rd. Not surprisingly, the camera sold out, although thankfully, Kodak is still accepting pre-orders.

Original Post Link: Kodak EasyShare M580 Goes On Sale [Social Networking-Oriented Point-and-Shoot Camera Goes Up For Pre-Orders, Sells Out, Offers 14-megapixel Sensor, 720p Video, 8x Zoom] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

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HTC issued a full press-release in which it is basically saying that it will defend its own creations and thus we should be in for quite a bloody combat. Peter Chou, CEO of the HTC Corporation had this to say about the whole Apple lawsuit:

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible. From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA.

The O2 XDA by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the world in 2002. and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition The T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the United States in 2002., our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

Then HTC goes to show that it has already been acknowledged by others through various awards like the Company’s 2010 Top 50 Most Innovative Companies and MIT Technology Review’s 2010 50 Most Innovative Companies. And we can’t forget that the GSMA awarded HTC the “Best Phone of 2009” at MWC 2010 for its HTC Hero Android smartphone. But here’s what HTC brags with so far:

• First Windows PDA (1998)
• First Windows Phone (June 2002)
• First 3G CDMA EVDO smartphone (October 2005)
• First gesture-based smartphone (June 2007)
• First Google Android smartphone (October 2008)
• First 4G WIMAX smartphone (November 2008)

Now, Apple, the ball is in your court, and as much as we hate to see you two fight this one out, we definitely are interested to see if you have anything to comment related to HTC’s official response.

Original Post Link: Apple vs HTC Lawsuit: HTC Responds to Apple’s Allegations [HTC Issues Official Response to Apple's Patent Infringement Allegations; We're in for a Terrible Fight so Grab the Popcorn!] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. HTC Responds to Apple; War to Commence Soon? [HTC Issues Official Statements; Google to Back Up Its Android Phone Maker?]
2. Apple Alleges HTC Infringed 20 iPhone Patents but Takes a Hit at Google? [HTC Gets Sued for Alleged iPhone Infringement; Android vs iPhone Battle Gets Underway]
3. Nokia Sues Apple for Patent Infringement [Apple’s iPhone Infringes Ten Nokia Patents, Allegedly]
4. Android, BlackBerry OS See Growth, iPhone OS Is Stagnant [Latest ComScore Market Share Report Shows RIM, Google Gain, Apple Even, Microsoft Loses]
5. Motorola Adding Multi-Touch To All Phones, You Can Blame Apple For Lack of Nexus One Multi-Touch [Google-Apple Partnership Cause Lack Of Nexus One Multi-Touch, Motorola Presses On]
6. Windows Mobile 7 to Get Delayed to 2011… Unless It Doesn’t [When Will Windows Mobile 7 be Launched?]

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 OS 5.0.0.545 has been available prior to now, of course, in the guise of an unofficial leak, but if you want the Real McCoy and you’re with Vodafone then you can head over here to get the download.

Of course, should you happen to own a BlackBerry Bold 9700 and you’re with another network, and you fancy getting your device updated, you could always use this one and delete the vendor.xml file.

As always when updating any such device, do ensure you make a backup (the file may be official but things can go wrong and you’ll want to ensure that, should they do so, you’re suitably covered).

Original Post Link: Vodafone BlackBerry Bold 9700 OS 5.0.0.545 Now Available [OS 5.0.0.545 Official Update Live Following Previous Leak] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. BlackBerry Bold 9700 Listed on T-Mobile Germany [Bold 9700 Makes Another Appearance Ahead of Official Acknowledgment]
2. BlackBerry Bold 9700 Confirmed on T-Mobile USA [Bold 9700 Release Date is in Time for the Holidays]
3. T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700 Now Available [T-Mobile's First 3G BlackBerry Released: Bold 9700 Yours for $200 Based on a 2 Year Contract]
4. Rogers Begins Selling the BlackBerry Bold 9700 Online [Bold 9700 Sold in Canada, Costs $300 for 3YR Contract & $600 With No Contract]
5. BlackBerry Bold 9700 To Launch on AT&T, Too [AT&T Bold 2 (Onyx) Release Date & Specs Leaked]
6. T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700 Release Date Delayed [Bold 9700 Launching on November 16th]

News concerning the imminent apparent availability of the Android 2.1 for the HTC Hero comes courtesy of a member of the xda-developers going by the name of yrreP who states that they received the schedule of the Android 2.1 update to the HTC Hero/T-Mobile G2 via an email at work.

Of course, at this juncture, the details below, as provided by yrreP, are wholly unconfirmed be we have no reason to believe that these details are kosher and we’re far from alone in this respect. Besides, is not as if the update, and is timing, is exactly unexpected (see: HTC Hero Getting Android 2.0 Firmware Update in March [Android 2.1 for the Hero, in the Works, Too] and Motorola CLIQ & HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Confirmed [CLIQ Android 2.1 Upgrade For Hero & CLIQ To Drop in March]).

As you can see from the update schedule provided below, its indicated that SIM free HTC Hero’s should be gaining the update on 2^nd April, with T-Mobile UK/DE and Orange UK/ES gaining access to the 2.1 Android update on 16^th April.

Again, we should stress, this schedule is unconfirmed, but we have no reason to disbelieve the dates offered here and general consensus is that these dates are valid.

HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Schedule

• HTC EU (Nordic/Greek/RUS/UKR/SA) 2010/4/2
• TMO – UK TMO 2010/4/16
• UK/ES Orange 2010/4/16
• TMO – DE TMO 2010/4/16
• SFR signature Orange 2010/4/22
• ZA(Vodacom) HTC 2010/4/22
• H3G UK H3G 2010/4/22
• HTC BE HTC 2010/5/4
• HTC TUR HTC 2010/5/4
• TMO – PL TMO 2010/5/10
• TMO – HU TMO 2010/5/10
• TMO – MK TMO 2010/5/10

Original Post Link: HTC Hero Update to Android 2.1 Set for May [HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Availability Dates for European Networks Detailed Courtesy of Leak] | Published by TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Motorola CLIQ & HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Confirmed [CLIQ Android 2.1 Upgrade For Hero & CLIQ To Drop in March]
2. HTC Hero Getting Android 2.0 Firmware Update in March [Android 2.1 for the Hero, in the Works, Too]
3. Wide Variety of Android Phones Getting 2.1 Update [Droid, CLIQ, Hero All Among Phones Getting The Coveted 2.1 Update]
4. HTC Hero Gets Android 2.0 Eclair Update [HTC Acknowledges Working on Sense UI to Accommodate Android Eclair]
5. HTC Hero Getting Android 2.1 [Leaked Screenshots Show Android 2.1 Running On HTC Hero]
6. HTC Hero & Samsung Moment Getting Andriod 2.0 Update [Sprint Brings Android Eclair to Their Hero & Moment Smartphones]