Archives for May 2010

HP webOS Slate Confirmed

May 22, 2010 by 3 Comments

Since the HP/Palm deal occured, a bit of speculation about HP launching a webOS based tablet has been happening. We heard a couple of weeks back that the new webOS tablet could be called the HP Hurricane although no official information has been provided about this being the case.

Yesterday a HP representative confirmed that the company would be working on a HP webOS based tablet that will be made available in October. As well as tablets using webOS, we also hear that smartphones will continue to use it although surprisingly, netbooks and smartbooks have been ruled out.

It isn’t clear at the moment if the new HP webOS tablet is going to be called the HP Hurricane. With a launch date of August though, it shouldn’t be too long before we get official details about the device. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Apple iPad International Shipment Notifications Starting to Arrive

May 22, 2010 by 21 Comments

Just a quick heads up for those who have ordered an Apple iPad in the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and a few other countries who are expecting deliveries next week. Apple [AAPL] is now pushing out notifications that shipments are starting.

For those who ordered on May 10 or 11, before the shipping date changed to June 7, you should be getting notification in the next 24/48 hours or so with details of the delivery if you haven’t received details already. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Google Nexus One gets Android 2.2 OTA Update Early

May 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

First off, apologies for all the Google [GOOG] Android news today. With the Google I/O event and the announcement of Android 2.2, there’s plenty of stuff happening at the moment in terms of the new OS update.

TechCrunch has reported that Google is now pushing out Android 2.2 updates to Nexus One owners. MG Siegler said that late last night while putting his Nexus One on charge that there was a notification on his screen telling him a new update was available. After installing it took the phone up to Android 2.2 with all the new features, increased speed, flash browsing and a lot more.

The Nexus One update appears to have launched a couple of weeks early as Google had said just a few days ago to look out for it in the next few weeks.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Motorola DROID Android 2.2 will Happen

May 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Slashgear reached out to to Motorola recently asking about Android 2.2 updates to their Android OS based smartphones. They managed to get a reply from Motorola who basically said that Android 2.2 would be coming to the Motorola DROID as well as other devices.

‘We’re excited to see Google’s news of the next version of the Android operating system and look forward to integrating it on our Android-based devices as it’s made available to the open source community.

While I can’t comment on specifics, we do expect DROID by Motorola users will receive Android 2.2 as a software upgrade in the near future.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Space Shuttle Prep and Launch Captured in 4 Minute Time Lapse

May 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Check out the amazing video below that shows six weeks of shuttle launch preparation squashed in to a 4 minute time lapse video.

The time lapse video was created by using several Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras. The video shows the shuttle preparation where you see it being moved from one location to another and then winched up and attached to the external tank followed by the whole lot rolled across to the launch pad. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

Google Android 2.2 on G1 is Technically Possible according to Google Devs

May 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Google [GOOG] Devs at Google I/O held this week have confirmed that Android 2.2 FroYo running on the G1 is technically possible.

Many of the older device owners and early adopters will be glad to hear this one I’ve talked to a bunch of Google folks in charge of developing Android at the Google I/O, and they told me that technically it would be possible to put Froyo on any device on the market now, including the G1.

To get it working would require that some of the extra Google apps are removed and then installed afterwards on a separate partition. This partitioning is required due to the G1 being older and having a smaller internal storage capacity than the newer phones. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Apple iPad UK Shipping Dates for new Pre-orders Changed

May 22, 2010 by 2 Comments

If you pre-ordered an Apple iPad in the UK on May 10 or 11 then you’ll still be getting your iPad on May 28 (this coming Friday). For those who pre-ordered after that, the date changed to June 7. It appears that Apple has run out of those pre-orders now and have put a more generic shipping date for all those pre-ordering today and onwards to just June.

This indicates pre-orders have been selling very well and that Apple [AAPL] is now waiting for more stock to be produced, or that they might be holding some back for store launches that will also happen next week.

If you still want to get hold of an Apple iPad this coming Friday then the only way now will be to queue up (possibly over night) outside the closest Apple store to you. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Google Maps Earth View

May 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Google [GOOG] recently added Google Earth View to Google Maps. Earth View brings the features of Google Earth to the browser where you can now scroll around maps, rotate, see 3D imagery and pan around the globe just like the desktop version.

To access the feature you can just visit maps.google.co.uk and on the right of the screen you should see a tab saying Earth. Click on this and it will ask you to install a plugin. Once installed you can then navigate around 3D imagery in a similar way to how Google Earth works.

From my tests I found the interface wasn’t as sleek to use as Google Earth, but in general it works very well showing a number of 3D buildings in various locations. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Google Pac-Man Logo is Playable – 256 Levels

May 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

May 22 1980 was the day when Pac-Man was first introduced. That’s 30 years ago tomorrow. To celebrate the launch of Pac-Man, Google [GOOG] has decided to make a fully playable version of Pac-Man as the Google Logo. The Google Pac-Man Logo allows one or two players to play against the ghosts and pick up all the power pellets.

For those who do not know about Google Logos, a couple of times a month the company change the logo on their search page to reflect a historic event such as Teachers Day in Korea, Childrens Day in Spain and April Fools day each year. All the previous logos can be found over at Google.

Back to Pac-Man, the two player version can be played by hitting the insert coin button. Controls for the second player are the WASD keys for Up, Left, Down and Right. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Logitec to Launch Google TV Companion Box

May 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday, Google [GOOG] announced the Google TV amongst other things. Google TV is a service that makes television the way it should be (in Google’s words). Two options are available to get Google TV. The first requires that you get a TV with built in Google TV. These will be developed shortly and will come from companies who work with Intel to put computers powerful enough to run the operating system.

The second option is for those who do not want to buy a specific Google TV, or for those who do not want to upgrade. This option comes in the form of a companion box that sits between your set top box and your TV.

Logitec has announced that it is getting on board with the Google TV system by creating companion boxes for users to hook up to their HDTV. The Logitec box will be the first Google TV box and will launch in the US when the service is ready to run. The system will work with the Harmony remote technology that will allow users to interact with the Google TV services. The controller includes a compact keyboard along with a touchpad. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Nokia N8 Launch Date Revealed as August 24

May 21, 2010 by 3 Comments

We finally have an official release date for the Nokia N8. The date for launch is August 24 and that day, we’ll see the new Symbian^3 device launched.

Right now, no carriers have the Nokia N8 smartphone listed (as to be expected so far away from launch) although one place that does have the smartphone listed off contract is Amazon in Germany.

Amazon DE have the Nokia N8 priced at ‚¬469,50 and the phone is available to pre-order today. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

AT&T ETF Raised for Smartphones

May 21, 2010 by 1 Comment

AT&T [T] is raising the ETF (Early Termination Fee) for those who sign a new contract starting June 1 this year.

The new early termination fee, specifically for smartphones here, is being raised from $175 to $325 and as AT&T say, to make it more fair for those who get cheaper phones.

The idea is, and we think that it’s fair approach, that if you spend less on a device, your early termination fee should be less. If you spend more, your early termination fee should be more.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones