Archives for July 2010

AT&T will be Premier Windows Phone 7 Vendor

AT&T [T] is fully backing the Windows Phone 7 platform built by Microsoft [MSFT] we hear today.

“We’ll be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7,” a spokeswoman said via e-mail on Monday. “We haven’t given guidance on timing.”

Just last week Michael Gartenberg mentioned on Twitter that AT&T has pre-ordered 8 million WP7 smartphones ready for launch.

At the moment, Verizon [VZ] and Nextel [S] have not commented on their plans for rolling out Windows Phone 7. T-Mobile also has not commented. [Read more…]

Microsoft Street Slide Demonstration

Microsoft [MSFT] is working on a new street view style service that allows you to view a wider perspective of a particular street.

The Street View service that Google [GOOG] uses is currently restricted to what Microsoft calls bubbles. When viewing a street you sit in a particular bubble that you can look around. By clicking an arrow you jump to the next bubble and carry on that way. You cannot view details of location on the street without jumping to a bubble, or close to another bubble. This is where Microsoft differs in there new technology.

Street Slide differs in that you can zoom out of the bubble and see a perspective view of a lot more of the street. In effect you are seeing all the bubbles on a street stitched together in perspective. The service allows you to slide down the street, flip around to see the other side of the street and see a lot of related information about the street such as company logos and building numbers. [Read more…]

Google Maps 4.4 For Android Launches

Google [GOOG] has updated Google Maps for Android bringing it up to version 4.4. The new version includes a dedicated Places icon for the home screen that allows you to quickly grab details of nearby places. The GPS on the smartphone is used to track location so that the places it lists are relevant to the location you are based in.

On Android-powered phones with Google Maps 4.4, you’ll find the new Places icon in the app launcher with the rest of your apps. Press and drag it right onto your home screen to use it when you’re looking for a restaurant, shoe store, movie theater or any other type of local business. You’ll get a detailed list of all the nearest places and can choose one to learn more about it on its Place Page.

When loading the application up, you are presented with a “find places” screen that has places that are commonly searched for such as ATM’s, Petrol Stations, Attractions and local restaurants to name a few. [Read more…]

Dell Streak Price Spotted

The Dell Streak price was briefly shown on the Dell site earlier today although Dell has since pulled the page off line.

While the page was up, the pricing for the Streak showed a cost of $299.99 on a two year contract with AT&T [T] with a price tag of $549.99 off contract.

With Dell pulling the page from it’s site, there is a slim chance it could be changed closer to the release date (which is any day now we believe). However, we think the prices will probably stick. [Read more…]

All iPhone Models Compared For Speed

Currently there are four generations of the Apple iPhone starting at the original on to the 3G, 3GS and finally the iPhone 4. If you have wondered which model is the quickest then check out the video below that shows each model side by side.

Tests are performed on boot times, shut down times, Google Earth loading as well as a number of other apps. In general the iPhone 4 wins on most accounts, but occasionally an older model wins such as when the original iPhone shuts down… it is the quickest at that.

The full results can be viewed below on the embedded video. [Read more…]

Facebook Account Delete now Destroys Everything

Facebook has enabled an option on the account deletion page that lets you completely destroy all of your data including any trace of messages you sent.

Previously, Facebook deleted the account so you couldn’t access it, but also held on to the data. The new option will soon let you delete everything that you have ever done on Facebook. [Read more…]

Dell Streak Android 2.1 Demo Surfaces

Dell has demoed the Dell Streak running Android 2.1. The version of 2.1 has a number of Dell additions to the UI that are currently available in the current Streak Android OS.

However, Kevin Andrew who demoed the device did mention that Android 2.2 will be launched later this year. It isn’t clear if Dell will release Android 2.1 at all for the Streak, but it’s good to see they are at least working on something for the tablet.

The downside here is that there has been no time-line released. We are hoping for sooner rather than later though as will others who own the device. [Read more…]

Panasonic 3D Camcorders Leaked – HDC-SDT750

Back at CES at the beginning of this year, Panasonic introduced a 3D camcorder. The 3D camcorder has now been spotted in a few leaked images which indicate the new 3D camcorder could be called the HDC-SDT750.

The page has now been removed from the internet, but a few details were captured in regards to the technical specs which we have after the break, courtesy of here. [Read more…]

M1 Pico Projector Announced by AAXA

AAXA has created a new Pico Projector called the M1 limited. The M1 limited is said to have the highest brightness of any pico projector currently built by AAXA technologies. The device has a 1000:1 contrast ratio with a resolution in the SVGA range of 800 x 600 pixels.

The brightness is rated at 75 ANSI lumens. White LED lamps are the light source and have a life span of about 15,000 hours before they die.

Screen size wise, the LED’s and lens are capable of projecting an image of up to 100 inches in size although at a 75 lumens rating, it will need to be relatively dark in the room to comfortably see a picture that size. [Read more…]

Apple Battery Charger Official

As well as introducing the Apple Magic Trackpad today, Apple [AAPL] also introduced a simple battery charger. The battery charger has been designed to be more efficient and is optimised for Apple-supplied batteries.

The battery charger has a system built in that allows the power needed to be reduced once the batteries are fully charged. Apple claim it is one of the most energy-efficient battery chargers available.

As well as working with the supplied batteries, you can also use any regular AA NiMH batteries inside it and it will also successfully charge them with the same energy efficient settings. [Read more…]

Apple Mac Pro Announced – Arriving August

Apple [AAPL] has announced the new Apple Mac Pro today along with several other new Apple products. The new Mac Pro is a powerful computer that can contain from 4, 6, 8 or 12 cores. The processors used to achieve this are the Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehamel” or the new “Westmere” series. The Mac Pro accepts up to two processors which means if you choose a 6-core Westmere you can have up to 12-cores running inside with a speed up to 2.93GHz. Other options with less cores take speeds up to 3.33GHz on the top end.

Many multicore processors are composed of two separate dies, which means some cached data has to travel outside the processor to get from core to core. That’s an inefficient way to access information. Enter the Quad-Core and 6-Core Intel Xeon processors. Their single-die, 64-bit architecture makes 8MB or 12MB of fully shared L3 cache readily available to each of the processor cores. The result is fast access to cache data and greater application performance. Combine that with the other technological advances and you get a Mac Pro that’s up to 1.5x faster than the previous generation.

[Read more…]

Apple 27 Inch LED Cinema Display Announced

Apple [AAPL] has announced a new 27 inch Cinema Display today. The new display is LED based, measures 27 inches and has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.

The new screen size makes it 60 percent larger than the 24 inch model. Features built in include an iSight video camera, a microphone, speakers and a USB 2.0 hub that is powered.

The screen uses a universal MagSafe connector. The large screen has been designed as a companion to MacBook family or Mac Desktops to be used as a primary or secondary screen. Price wise, it costs $999. [Read more…]