Mobile
Mobile Technology – Cell phones, ultramobile computing, and more
Microsoft unveils social network-focused Kin One, Two phones
Apr 12th
Earlier today, Microsoft unveiled its new Kin One and Two- social network-heavy phones, exclusively on Verizon Wireless. While the phones’ OS, which resulted from the company’s “Project Pink,” shares its Windows CE 6.0 underpinnings with Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7, it has a completely different interface, with an IE6-based browser (from the Zune HD), social media integration throughout, and multitouch support. Notably, it has no support for third-party apps. The Kin series is meant for “social media amplifiers”- teens and early-20s who might not be able to afford or want the complexity of smartphones.
Read on for more info about Kin. More >
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Palm up for sale; HTC, Lenovo may bid this week
Apr 12th
Bloomberg reports that Palm is about to put itself up for sale, with offers coming in as early as this week. This is a particularly interesting given that less than a week ago, the smartphone maker’s CEO, Jon Rubinstein, strongly defended Palm’s business plan and ability to turn a profit independently in a Fortune interview. Palm has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs and Qatalyst Partners to handle the sale. Dell has opted against a bid, but HTC and Lenovo are said to be interested.
HTC would be a particularly intriguing suitor, since Palm owns a deep array of patents that would help HTC neutralize Apple’s patent infringement lawsuit and give it room to operate much more freely without fear of patent suits from competitors.
Of course, HTC would also gain access to a great smartphone operating system in Palm’s WebOS. Palm OS + HTC hardware? Hmm…tasty.
Source: Bloomberg
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Apple unveils iPhone OS 4.0, adds multitasking
Apr 8th
Earlier today, Apple unveiled its new iPhone OS, version 4.0. The new software will power the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad and adds a variety of new features to the mix. Chief among these is a form of multitasking, and other “tentpoles” include an Xbox Live replica called “Gaming Center,” enhanced email support, and more:
- Multitasking on iPhone 3GS
- User-changeable wallpaper (something jailbroken users have enjoyed for years)
- Bluetooth keyboard support (from iPad)
- Spell check (also from iPad)
- Tap-based autofocus for video (not just photos) on 3GS
- 5x digital zoom for camera (why?)
- Enhanced playlist support (on-device playlist creation, nested lists)
- iBooks (from iPad)
- App folders (another jailbreak favorite- you can finally sort multiple apps into folders)
- New mail features (unified inbox for multiple accounts, threaded email, in-app attachment viewing, support for multiple MS Exchange accounts)
- Enterprise enhancements (remote device management, wireless app distribution)
- iAd (Apple’s new mobile advertising system, promising more interactive ads than ever before, 60:40 revenue split with Apple)
- Game Center (Apple’s mobile replica of Xbox Live for iPhone games, including matchmaking, achievements, and leaderboards; will launch sometime later this year (after OS 4 launch))
More details after the break. More >
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HP Slate detailed: $549, 1.6 GHz Atom, 5 hour battery, dual cameras
Apr 7th
A leaked HP internal slide details the the company’s upcoming Windows 7-powered iPad competitor, dubbed the HP Slate. The base model will cost $549 and sports an 8.9″ 1024×600 capacitive multitouch display with pen support, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, Intel integrated graphics, a video accelerator for 1080p playback, 32 GB storage, and 1 GB RAM. The Slate includes a five-hour, 2-cell battery, an SDXC slot, front- (1.3 MP) and rear-facing (3 MP) cameras, a USB 2.0 slot, a SIM card slot for 3G wireless, and a dock connector (with HDMI video, audio, and power connections). For $599, HP will offer a 64 GB version of the tablet.
While the Slate’s specs suggest it’ll get half of the iPad’s 10-hour rated battery life, it’s a very different device. The iPad uses a smartphone processor and the simplified iPhone OS, while the Slate runs full-blown Windows 7, with an HP TouchSmart interface on top, on a netbook-style Intel Atom platform.
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iPad internals revealed: it’s a higher-clocked iPhone 3GS
Apr 7th
iFixit has followed up on its teardown of the new Apple iPad with an analysis of the chips inside. The Apple A4 CPU inside is a “package on package” design, with 256MB of Samsung SDRAM stacked right on top of the CPU, providing some benefits for both latency and power consumption. The CPU is most likely an ARM Cortex A8 design, paired with a PowerVR SGX 535 GPU– meaning that the iPad’s internals are identical to the iPhone 3GS’, except for a jump in CPU clock speed from 600 MHz to 1 GHz.
Anand compared the iPad to Google’s 1 GHz Snapdragon-powered Nexus One phone, finding the iPad was quicker in some tests. However, the two devices were running different operating systems and the iPad has a much larger battery (which may allow for Apple to more aggressively push performance over battery life), thus limiting the usefulness of the comparison.
For more information on Cortex A8, Snapdragon, and other mobile chipsets, check out the TechAutos Smartphone Processor Guide.
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Microsoft to bring “good” copy-and-paste implementation to Windows Phone 7
Apr 3rd
We’ve heard official confirmation that Windows Phone 7 (notice the “Series” is gone) will lack copy-and-paste and that it was an “intentional design decision” because no one actually uses the feature. According to Tweakers.net, however, Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel said that the company’s working on it and will build a “good” implementation for WP7. Here’s what he apparently said during his DevDays Keynote in The Hague:
“We look at this case and we will do the right thing. … We’ve heard your feedback loud and clear.”
It’s still not clear whether copy-and-paste is slated for the initial release of Windows Phone 7, but at least it now seems like Microsoft’s working on it.
Source: Tweakers.net
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Microsoft renames Windows Phone 7 Series to Windows Phone 7
Apr 2nd
Are you wondering why Microsoft’s upcoming mobile operating system is named “Windows Phone 7 Series”? Well, looks like Microsoft is too– the company just announced on its Windows Phone Twitter account that it’s dropping the “Series,” so the OS will now just be called “Windows Phone 7.” Two less syllables to deal with, though still three more than “iPhone.”
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Next-Gen iPhone 4G Rumors: iPhone HD?
Mar 30th
Front panel from the iPhone 3GS (left) vs. alleged iPhone 4G (right)
As expected, Apple is currently working on its next-generation iPhone. Following the company’s yearly cadence, the fourth-gen iPhone is apparently due for release on June 22. According to the latest rumors, the phone may be called “iPhone HD,” packing a new processor from the same family as the 1 GHz Apple A4 found in the iPad (which is likely an ARM Cortex A8), along with a 960×640 display (4x higher resolution than the current iPhone’s 480×320) and possibly a front-facing camera for video chat. iPhone OS 4.0 may introduce multitasking for third-party apps, as we reported earlier.
As usual, there are also rumors of a CDMA-based variant for Verizon. The Wall Street Journal reports that the GSM iPhone would continue to be produced by Hon Hai (Foxconn), but the new CDMA version would be made by Pegatron, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese firm ASUSTeK Computer. No word on whether the iPhone 4G will include 4G wireless support (Sprint’s WiMAX or Verizon’s LTE), but given that America’s 4G networks are still in their infancy, we’re guessing Apple will stick with 3G.
There’s also a new video out of a screen, apparently from the 4G iPhone, that seems to match the photos we saw earlier. If accurate, we’re looking at a slightly larger screen (3.7″ vs. 3.5″) and slightly taller body than the current iPhone.
Video after the break.
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Windows Phone 7 Series already ported to HTC HD2
Mar 28th
Microsoft won’t be shipping Windows Phone 7 Series till the end of the year, but a team of Russian developers has already ported it to the HTC HD2, which won’t be receiving an official update. GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth are working, but the graphics driver still has issues and the interface is a bit laggy.
The team is apparently planning a beta release soon, which would be interesting given that official devices with the OS won’t be out for another 6-8 months. The OS relies on a completely new bootloader that, at least as of now, is not reversible, so once you load this, you won’t be able to go back to Windows Mobile 6.5.
More photos and videos after the break.
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Windows Phone 7 Series Back Story: The Sleeping Giant Awakes, Reboots Windows Mobile
Mar 26th
Microsoft stopped developing Windows Mobile 7 (left) in favor of a total reboot to create Windows Phone 7 (right)
In early 2008, Microsoft was busy working on Windows Mobile 7. The OS was an evolutionary step forward from WinMo 6.x, based on the company’s Windows CE 6.0 embedded OS, with bigger changes planned for the next version, Windows Mobile 8. But in the fall of 2008, after seeing Apple’s iPhone 3G fly off store shelves and the iTunes App Store grow exponentially to soon overtake Microsoft’s decade-long lead in mobile apps, Microsoft realized that Windows Mobile was dying. An evolutionary step was not going to be enough to save it, so Microsoft decided to take drastic measures to respond, and today the result is Windows Phone 7 Series.
How exactly did this come about, though? Read on to find out.
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