Archives for July 2010

HP Slate Running Windows 7 Could Still be Announced

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Microsofts [MSFT] Worldwide Partner Conference kicks off today over in Washington D.C. where it is expected that the HP Slate could be on show again. A few months back it seemed like the HP Slate had been dropped due to HP buying Palm and webOS. Most people expected that a HP Slate running webOS was going to happen.

Over on the WPC website, captured above and below, it shows Windows 7 Slates with HP being listed as one of the “partners” which kind of indicates that there could actually be a Windows 7 HP Slate launching perhaps this year.

Other companies listed include Sony, Dell, ASUS, Panasonic and a number of other large brands. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tablets

T-Mobile Garminfone Price Slashed

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

T-Mobile has dropped the Garminfone down $70 which takes the price on contract down to $129.99. To get the satnav phone at that price you still need to sign up for a two year agreement with T-Mobile though.

Yair Reiner, an analyst, recently calculated that only 20,000 Garminfones had been sold which isn’t a lot compared to the success of various Android handsets and the iPhone 4.

Hopefully the price drop will get a few more people interested in the device as so far, it hasn’t done well at all. We first tested a Garminfone back in April 2009 and it suffered a lot of delays which turned a good phone in to something not realy wanted by the time it came out it seems. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

ASUS Laptop Discounts

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Amazon currently have a number of ASUS laptop discounts at the moment that see a few models with savings of $50 or more.

The models include the ASUS UL30 and the UL50 with various models within, each with slightly different specifications.

Full details can be found over here which show all the laptops on offer.

Filed Under: Laptops

Google Android Market to Hit 100,000 Apps this Month

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The graph shown here represents the number of Android apps being launched in the Market Place over time.

As you can see, the number is increasing rapidly and it is expected that this month (July) there will be over 100,000 apps in total in the app store. Right now there are over 90,000 apps. A year ago that number was closer to 7000. Growth rate looks to be accelerating also.

A second graph found on Android Lib shows that every month in the last year has seen more and more apps approved. Last month was the highest month with 15288 apps being added. This month in the first 12 days is already at 9163 which indicates almost 24,000 apps could be added this month. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPhone 4 FaceTime Adverts Launched

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Apple [AAPL] has decided it’s time to promote FaceTime a little more than previously. FaceTime is part of the iPhone 4 and lets iPhone 4 users make video calls to other iPhone 4 users over WiFi networks. Apple seem to claim they invented video calling although other devices have had video calling abilities over 3G networks going on 7 years now.

Anyway, the FaceTime adverts show users what FaceTime can do and why you’d want to use it. The ads are very cheesy although we’ll let you decide if you think they are cheesy or not. You can view the four new adverts below… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

PSP 2 Could get 3G Connection

July 12, 2010 by 1 Comment

We are hearing from I4U today that the next generation Sony PSP 2 could get a 3G connection built in. One step that some people are thinking of is the PSP’s leap in to 3D like the Nintendo 3DS although this is unlikely to happen when the nextgen PSP 2 launches.

By building a 3G connection in to the PSP 2 it essentially allows games to be on-line wherever they are to download new games and other content as well as play on-line gaming with others without the need of a wireless hotspot.

As well as providing content and “possible” on-line gaming to the PSP 2, the 3G connection would also let users surf the internet wherever they can pick up a 3G signal. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Deal of the Day: TomTom XL 335TM SatNav – $89.96 Saving

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Amazon currently have a good deal going on for the TomTom XL 335TM satnav which knocks the usual price of $219.95 right down to $129.99 giving a savings of $89.96.

The TomTom XL 335TM has a 4.3 inch screen along with lifetime traffic and map updates. Maps pre-installed cover Canada and the US.

The traffic updates allow you to avoid traffic delays whilst on the move. If you plan a route through a traffic slow down the system can be set to let you know a quicker way to travel to your destination. [Read more…]

Filed Under: SatNavs

HTC 1 Concept Shows Minimal Controls

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The HTC 1 is a concept Android smartphone designed to have minimal controls.

The concept designer Andrew Kim has designed the HTC 1 to be a premium Android device. It is designed to use machined brass to add strength to the phone. The brass is coated in Silver to give it a sleek finish.

The HTC 1 can stand up it’s self although the kick stand used isn’t added to the back of the device. Instead the end silver part of the phone rotates around when needed and falls back in place when using the phone for calls and texting etc… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Concept Gadgets

Sony Ericsson X10 Root Now Available

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has been out a while now. Today we noticed that rooting the X10 is now possible thanks to the guys over at XDA Developers.

Several developers over on the XDA forums are responsible for the work. A thread has been created that shows a step by step way to root the X10. Depending on which X10 model you have depends on which method you choose although they all look as simple as each other, so it’s just a matter of making sure you select the right model number from the instructions. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Apple Touchscreen Spotted

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Earlier today we wrote about a concept iPod shuffle that showed an iPhone 4 inspired glass front and back with a metal band around the edges. A small screen has been spotted that shows that the concept might be not that far off the mark.

The Apple [AAPL] touchscreen measures just 3cm by 3cm making it quite small. The information apparently comes from someone who deals with manufacturing Apple products and could indicate a small screen device is going to be launched soon.

‘Imagine, the author writes, ‘The black frame outside the screen plus a aluminum or add a Home button (or may not increase the Home key).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Displays

Early Shipped Motorola DROID X Devices can now be Activated

July 12, 2010 by 1 Comment

Last week a system error caused Verizon [VZ] to ship 170 Motorola DROID X smartphones early. The DROID X isn’t being launched till July 15 (another 3 days time). When users received the DROID X, the device couldn’t be activated which meant users had to wait till the official launch to use their new smartphone.

Verizon have now made a change to it’s systems that allows the 170 DROID X users to activate their new phone.

In an announcement on the Verizon site it said that provisions had been put in place that allow DROID X users to activate as of July 9. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

SNES for iPad Install Tutorial

July 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

If you own an iPad it is possible to play SNES games on the device. Lifehacker has created a four-step tutorial that shows you exactly how to get playing SNES games on your iPad along with the steps to pair up a Bluetooth Wii Remote to play the games with. If you don’t have a wiimote and prefer to use an iPhone or iPod touch as a controller then an alternative SNES emulator is available.

The first app looked at in the video is called SNES4iPhone which costs $5.99 and requires you jailbreak the iPad. Jailbreaking an iPad is quite simple thanks to apps like SpiritJB that allow a simple app to run on your Mac or Windows PC and push a button while the iPad is connected.

The full tutorial which can be found here, goes through each of the steps which show you how to jailbreak the iPad, install the SNES for iPhone software and sync up your Wii remote control. Once done, the video then shows you how to add games to your iPad so you can play them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad