Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
The screenshot seen here and below is believed to be of a Motorola Cliq running Android 2.1. The device is the MB200 and runs on the T-Mobile network as can be expected.
What this means is that an impending update could be heading to the Motorola Cliq soon bringing Android 2.1 and all the goodies that this brings to the smartphone.
On the downside, the screenshot could be easily faked by someone entertaining themselves with Photoshop. [Read more…]
Apple [AAPL] launched a new 13 inch MacBook a few days ago that included a 10 hour battery life along with NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics and new processors.
iFixit decided to teardown the new MacBook, as they do with a lot of new gadgets, and took a look at what exactly was inside. A few highlights include the battery which measures the same size and is the same shape, but managed to get a rating of 63.5Wh compared to the older 60Wh battery used in the older model. The battery weighs just a few grams more than the older one and can actually be switched out to an older model to provide a bit of extra juice.
The layout of the new MacBook is similar to the older model and parts from the old can be used to fix the new in most cases. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has announced that it is opening a Web Store for Chrome. The service has been designed to let you download web-based applications in to the browser.
The idea is similar to that of the Apple [AAPL] App Store as well as services such as Marketplace that Google offers for Android users and Ovi that Nokia provides to it’s users.
The new Chrome Web Store is being designed for Chrome only and will not function on other browsers. As well as being designed for the Chrome browser, users of Chrome OS when it launches will naturally get this functionality too. [Read more…]
Yesterday, Virgin Mobile announced that it would be offering the HTC Wildfire when it launches although as of yet, they have no pricing details available.
Today, T-Mobile in the UK also announced availability of the HTC Wildfire and have also included pricing for the new smartphone.
T-Mobile will launch the HTC Wildfire on June 14 in it’s UK stores as well as making it available online to purchase. When launched the Wildfire will cost £20/month on the network although it isn’t clear if that’s an 18 or 24 month contract and if there is anything to pay upfront for the smartphone. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has said that your Android battery should last a day. This information first came from Larry Page over at the Google annual partner forum, Google Zeitgest. This information was then backed up by Eric Schmidt.
The problem as described by Larry is that people install applications that constantly keep data going such as Twitter and other apps. When applications constantly run in the background they tend to eat up battery life and drop the life of the charge down significantly.
“I have noticed there are a few people who have phones where there is software running in the background that just sort of exhausts the battery quickly. If you are not getting a day, there is something wrong.”
Facebook has announced a new mobile website called 0.facebook.com that allows free access to the Facebook service on some network carriers around the world. What we mean by free access is that there will be no data charges to get to facebook at this web address.
The 0.facebook.com site has been optimised for speed and is based around text rather than images and logos. A lot of the common functions and key features have been included at this web address and accessing them on a number of carriers will give you no charges unless you decide to open up photos and other media.
Facebook has worked with 50 mobile operators in 45 countries to get the zero charge facebook to users. A list of countries can be found over on the announcement page here. [Read more…]
Dell has launched a new laptop called the Dell Inspiron M501R. This laptop is powered by an AMD Phenom II X4 processor making it quite powerful in terms of processing power.
Other features include the choice between a HD 550v graphics card or a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250. The screen measures 15.6 inches and has a HD screen with a 720p resolution.
For connectivity the Dell M501R has WiFi 802.11n as well as Bluetooth and wired LAN. Around the edges three USB 2.0 ports can be found along with eSATA/USB and a 7 in 1 media card reader. Both a VGA and HDMI output are also to be found on this laptop. [Read more…]
Google [GOOG] has updated the platform version chart that gives a break-down of which versions of Android OS are the most popular.
The reason Google launch the chart is to give information to developers on which build they should focus on most. Up till last month Google Android 1.5 and 1.6 were always in the lead with versions such as 2.0 and 2.0.1 having a very small usage foot print. For the first time though, Android 1.5/1.6 have been kicked out of the top spot and replaced by Android 2.1. 2.1 accounts for 37.2% according to the chart (larger version below) and that is followed by Android 1.5 and then 1.6.
A few interesting things to note are that some users are still on Android 1.1 which indicates either some small network is not pushing out updates, or some people are just happy the way their phone is. [Read more…]
Some leaked information from Amazon indicates that a 3rd generation Amazon Kindle eBook reader could be launched later this year.
Amazon appears to be shifting towards games and social networks with it’s eBook reader. The main problem now is that the e-ink paper just doesn’t have the ability to achieve anything with fast movement or touch based applications. This is hinting that Amazon will launch a new generation Kindle with a superior touch screen.
It is believed that Amazon are shifting course due to the success of the Apple iPad that launched last month in the US. The 3rd generation device could do away with the e-ink screen to give a richer experience for users. The screen rumours come because of Amazon purchasing a company called TouchCo that could add multi-touch to the screen. [Read more…]
Just yesterday a new Android OS smartphone was announced called the HTC Wildfire. The Wildfire is a budget handset that has slightly lower specs than the high end phones such as a slower Qualcomm processor running at 525MHz rather than the Snapdragon 1GHz chips we see in the high end phones.
Virgin Mobile in the UK has announced today that it will be offering the HTC Wildfire on it’s network in the UK. The message came from the official Virgin Media Twitter account where the company announced it is to get the new Wildfire smartphone, but prices are to be announced at a later date.
Right now we can speculate that the handset will be free, or very cheap on quite low plans such as the £20/month or £25/month contracts. We also expect a PAYG version will be launched also on the network. [Read more…]
Just last week there were rumours that Acer was planning to launch a couple of Google Chrome OS based devices at Computex in Tapai.
A press release sent out today by Acer now reveals that the company are not going to be launching Chrome OS based netbooks and tablets at Computex. The information says that Acer has no short-term plans for such a product.
It is still expected that some company at Computex will be showing off a Chrome OS based device, although whatever they show will more than likely be current hardware with Chrome OS installed as a beta. [Read more…]
ASUS has announced two new netbooks called the ASUS Eee 1015P and the 1015PE. Each are fairly standard netbooks running the usual Intel Atom N450 processor. The screens on each device measure 10.1 inches and are backlit by LED. The resolution is 1024×600 pixels.
What makes the ASUS Eee 10015P/PE stand-out most though is the impressive 13.5 hour battery life that each model can achieve. Of course the tests that get 13.5 hours will be fairly easy going, but what a 13.5 hour battery life on an easy run means that with WiFi, full brightness and intensive applications you should still get a good 10 hours of usage on a single charge.
Each of the netbooks run Windows 7 Starter for the OS and both netbooks can connect up to Eee storage for an extra 500GB to store files on-line. [Read more…]
