Hasta La Gadget!

Gemini had its Aries, and now it seems Javeline (a.k.a. the Curve 8900) has found its own CDMA equivalent in the BlackBerry Atlas. (Isn’t a shame that RIM’s device codenames are so often catchier than their final designation? But we digress.) A new BlackBerry has hit the internet in grainy photograph form, and according to Salomondrin with additional notes from Crackberry, the pictured leak (it’s the one on the left) boasts CDMA bands, WiFi, and a 8900 series keyboard. Mum’s the word, officially and otherwise, on pretty much any other details, but hopefully RIM won’t keep us waiting too long.

[Via Crackberry]

Filed under: Cellphones

Leaked BlackBerry Atlas gives Curve 8900 its CDMA counterpart? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No, we didn’t accidentally link to the wrong page — that “page not available” you’re getting over on Verizon’s site is where the Hub’s product site used to reside. The whole thing’s been unceremoniously yanked and the product sunsetted, suggesting that the carrier’s functionality-rich VoIP base station wasn’t getting the love it needed to justify its continued existence, Verizon didn’t know how to market it, or some combo thereof. We got the following statement from Verizon today, which doesn’t exactly come right out with the discontinuation — companies often avoid admitting that a product’s said its last goodbyes, for whatever reason — but basically says the same thing in a more wordy fashion:

“Verizon Wireless, like many companies, continually changes and updates the products and services it offers to customers. Our sales teams in all channels will continue to focus on providing our customers the latest and most innovative wireless products and services. Verizon Wireless will continue to support existing Verizon Hub customers with post-sale service or support .”

So the good news is that current Hub owners should be good to go without disruption in service — for the time being, anyhow. Question is, where’s that Hub 2? Is the company completely abandoning the curious practice of competing with itself by pitting traditional landlines against VoIP and Verizon Communications against Verizon Wireless, or are they just making way for something a little more awesome?

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Filed under: Household

Verizon bubs flub, hawk their last Hub originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With current operating systems, as the number of cores increases efficiency decreases. Microsoft Research has just announced an experimental OS, called Barrelfish, that they’re developing in conjunction with ETH Zurich, in the hopes that they’ll learn how to buck that trend — both with current and future hardware. Building upon lessons learned with projects including Midori and Singularity, Barrelfish eschews share memory schemes in favor of message passing and a kind of database that shuttles information between cores. Heady stuff, for sure — but just the kind of thing that sets off our Geek Alarms. If you can’t wait to check this one out for yourself, hit the read link for the first release snapshot, in all its Open Source glory. The rest of us will probably remain content waiting to see how this new-found knowledge will trickle down to Windows 7 users in the future.

[Via DailyTech]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft unveils Barrelfish multi-core optimized OS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are older Zune models going the way of the brick? We’ve received a handful of tips pointing us to the official Zune forums, where reports are coming in that apparently a number of the non-Zune HD units haven’t been able to sync with Zune 4.0 software. Although a few people have elaborated on some steps to take (hint: it involves a lot of downgrading and reinstallation of both firmware and Zune software), there doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on its effectiveness. Honestly, it’s hard to tell from our end if this is really a widespread issue and we haven’t seen it ourselves, so we’re putting it to you, deer reader: has your Zune device forgotten how to sync with the mothership?

View Poll

Read – Sync Error Code C1010007
Read – More info on sync errors

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio

Poll: Is your Zune device out of sync with Zune software? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple might be talking a big game about how it’s revising the App Store approval process with an oversight board and trotting out Phil Schiller to do damage control at opportune moments, but the process itself is still generating inconsistent and maddening results — like today’s rejection of an app advocating for healthcare reform called iSinglePayer, which was rejected for being “politically charged.” Yeah, that’s insane, especially since the app just consists of healthcare spending information and a GPS-driven lookup tool for local Congress members and how much money they’ve received in health-sector donations. Say what you want about the political motivations of the app, but that’s a fairly benign set of functions, and it’s one that’s been echoed by political apps on both sides of the aisle since the launch of the App Store. So why this rejection, and why now, when apps with names like “Conservative Talking Points” have been approved? And honestly, how is it even possible anyone at Apple is dumb enough to reject this without anticipating the firestorm of controversy it would cause? Who knows anymore — we have a feeling ol’ Phil’s about to earn his paycheck explaining this one.

P.S.- We’re not here to debate politics, so keep it clean down there, mmkay?

[Via Daring Fireball]

Apple rejects iSinglePayer iPhone app for being ‘politically charged’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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