HTC Legend will be exclusive to Vodafone in UK, coming in April together with Desire

Vodafone has today announced that it will be the exclusive UK carrier of that aluminum-clad successor to the Hero: the HTC Legend. Advance registration pages for it and its family mate, the Desire, have gone live today and indicate an April launch date — something we’d already expected thanks to Amazon’s delivery estimates for unlocked handsets. The two HTC devices are flanked by Sony Ericsson’s long awaited X10 and the Nexus One, with the latter lacking a release date. It’s interesting that as things stand the Desire (HTC’s own-branded Nexus One) will beat its precursor to the UK market. Same could be true of Spain, where Engadget Spanish notes that Vodafone has confirmed an April arrival for HTC’s full family of new phones, including the HD Mini.

HTC Legend will be exclusive to Vodafone in UK, coming in April together with Desire originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVodafone  | Email this | Comments

ATT unleashes new messaging phones and cloud services

ATT announces four new messaging cell phones and cloud-based services to enhance messaging, media sharing, and contacts management. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-20000427-85.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Dialed In/a/p

It’s Time For One Data Plan to Rule All Our Gadgets [All Giz Wants]

It's Time For One Data Plan to Rule All Our GadgetsIf you buy a 3G iPad, you’ll be able to purchase data, month by month, from AT&T. Neat! But you already pay for unlimited data access on your iPhone, also from AT&T. So why not have one plan, for everything?

This isn’t a rant about iPad data or AT&T, because if anything, the iPad’s contract-free data plans represent progress, albeit in a very specific way. No, I’m talking about something bigger. You know how you pay for your home broadband, your smartphone data plan, and possibly your netbook or mobile broadband data plan? And how you may soon be shelling out for a tablet data plan? This is, in a word, dumb.

Imagine a model in which people buy total access to a wireless network, whether it be on a contract or month-by-month basis. Once you’ve paid for your “unlimited” data connection—a word which wireless providers are already comfortable throwing around in relation to single devices—you can connect all of your devices to it, be they smartphones, computers, tablets or really, whatever. It’s data sold on a per-person basis, instead of a per-device basis.

It’s easy to see how we, and the companies we buy our data access from, have ended up where we are today. Broadband is purchased from one company, and that covers most of your home devices. Wireless data was generally purchased for use in cellphones, and until recently, cost quite a bit and transferred painfully slowly. 3G data access for non-phone devices is still fairly rare. Our current separation, I guess, was natural. But it’s starting to feel silly, and within a few years, it’ll seem downright preposterous.

Imagine having 4-5 different 3g capable devices, and then paying 30 dollars for access on each? This is a subset, actually, of the subscription war, but speaking specifically to our pipes as a utility, not content and all that other stuff.

Take Sprint’s 4G wireless network. To access it, you can buy a mobile dongle, which lets you access it from outside your house, from any device that accepts USB network accessories. Or, now, you can buy the Overdrive hub, which behaves like a wireless router, and connecting whatever devices you have with you via Wi-Fi, whether you’re in your house or not. It’s not a perfect vision of how things could work—it doesn’t account for phones, and coverage is limited—but it’s a step. 4G phones are coming—Sprint will probably have at least one this year—and many of those will behave like Wi-Fi access points, too.

Consider this: Wireless and home broadband networks will one day be one and the same. When that day comes, will it make sense to pay multiple subscription fees, just because you have multiple gadgets? I get it, wireless providers want to know what data is going to what device. In a time when wireless data is expensive, and network buildout costs ridiculous money, it’s understandable. But this happened before with land-based ISPs, who actively tried to stop their user from installing routers, and they had to get over it—completely. How soon before wireless companies take the same road? An all-in-one wireless plan offered to millions of people isn’t feasible now, and it probably won’t be for a while. But shouldn’t it be a goal?

Yes it should. Some companies, like Verizon, are talking about moving to metered usage, for reasons of cost. I’m going to say it’s better to charge a lot—but at a flat rate with discounts for multiple devices—rather than penny pinch us to death across multiple subscriptions. Issuing different bills for every device that’s connected to a wireless network only obfuscates the core truth: We’re consuming the same resources, costing wireless companies the same amount, and downloading the same bits whether we’re using an iPad or a cellphone. Maybe we’re consuming more now, but that’s fine: We’ll pay more.

So, wireless companies: Please find a way to sell us wireless data access, flat out, someday. It can be on contract, or month by month, or metered. Hell, it can even be expensive—to switch to the right system, wireless companies would have to sacrifice all the income they would have made from redundant data subscriptions, some of which they’ll have to make up in the cost of the mega plan. Whatever. That’s fine. Just sell us our data access—let us decide how we want to take it.

Five Essential iPad Accessories

1803093731_1bf708c8c4_b

You’ve pre-ordered your iPad, and you’re impatiently crossing off the days on the calendar until April 3. What can you do in the meantime, apart from obsessively refreshing your Google search to find articles like this one? What about some accessory shopping?

The iPad looks great, but it could also be improved with a few additions that will make it more useful, more often. Don’t worry, we don’t want you to spend much. Most of these picks are free, and all of them will improve your iPad. Here’s a list of what I’ll be buying (or making or downloading) for my iPad in the next few weeks.

A Ziploc Bag

When Jeff Bezos reads his Kindle in the bath, he seals it inside a one-gallon Ziploc bag. If you’re going to be using your iPad in the bath, or the slightly less hostile kitchen, you should do the same. You can see the screen, hear the (slightly muffled) music and generally relax. Amazingly, the multitouch will still work through the plastic. I tried it with my iPod touch a moment ago and it was like the plastic wasn’t there.

Price: around 35 cents

E-Book Software

Now that we know that the iPad will support the almost universal EPUB format, it’s time to prepare some books to load onto the device (as if you’ll be able to sit still enough to read a book for the first few days of your new toy). Many public domain titles can be downloaded in EPUB-form, notably from Project Gutenberg, but what you need is a piece of software to convert any and every text or PDF you can throw at it.

Calibre and Stanza are both E-Book conversion apps, and both work on OS X and Windows. Stanza partners our favorite iPhone e-reader of the same name, and does a good and simple job of conversions.

Calibre is a lot more powerful, and along with handling complex documents a lot better, it also stores your e-books in an iTunes-style library (although this will be moot when iTunes stores them for you). It will also download daily newspapers, free, along with many websites and any RSS feed you choose to add.

Price: Free

Calibre [Calibre]

Stanza [Lexcycle]

A Stylus

product_detail_sketch_handI have been ridiculing the poor Pogo Stylus for iPhone for a couple years now: Who wants a stylus on a phone designed not to need one? But with the iPad, the little hollow tube with a foamy metallic tip looks a lot more useful.

Combine the little pen with a big-screen iPad and some drawing or painting software and you have an amazing sketchbook. Most of us draw easier with a pen than with fingers (unless we are still in kindergarten), and the good-size screen, combined with an undo function, may even make the combo better than pencil and paper. The only downside is the lack of pressure sensitivity.

Price: $15

Pogo Stylus [Ten One Design]

A Case

green-caseThis one might seem obvious, but I suspect many people are planning to buy the Wi-Fi iPad and leave it on the coffee-table or nightstand (or down the back of the couch). Don’t! This device begs to be thrown in a bag and taken with you, wherever you go. You can read, write, draw, paint, watch movies and all that stuff, all when you have a few minutes to spare. If you’re worried about scratching your precious iBaby, you’ll miss out.

Don’t, however, buy a laptop-style pouch, or anything that zips shut. You want easy, fast access or you’ll never take it out. At the very least, consider a slipcover. Better is a notepad or book-style cover, something that can be flipped open in a second, and preferably one that can double as a stand. Worried that it doesn’t offer protection from dust and spills? That’s what the Ziploc bag is for.

Price: Variable. Free if you use an old padded shipping envelope.

That Little iPad Camera Connection Dingus

usb_connectors_20100127If you have a camera and an iPad, you should buy the iPad Camera Connection Kit. Consisting of both an SD card-reader and a USB connection cable, the kit lets you load your photos onto the iPad without the computer middleman. Why would you care?

Think about what most of us do with our cameras. We take a lot of pictures of a day out, a family gathering or some other social event. Then we all crowd around the back to look at the tiny three-inch screen. Now think about the alternative: A 10-inch screen, pinch-to-zoom, a wide viewing angle, slideshows with transitions and music, plus an instant, in-the-field back up.

The iPad also supports RAW photos. That’s right. If you prefer to shoot your pictures now and ask your editing questions later, you’re not excluded from the iPad. Apple: “iPad supports standard photo formats, including JPEG and RAW.” This alone will make every pro photographer reading this article go out and order one now (here’s the pre-order page if you want it). I expect that there will soon be a lot of RAW photo-editing applications in the App Store, too, but for now, the ability to quickly view and edit pictures on a slim, portable device with a long battery life while shooting will be worth the money on its own.

Price: TBA

iPad Camera Connection Kit [Apple]

That’s my list. What about yours? Do you have a favorite Bluetooth keyboard, an awesome idea for a homemade stand or some weird use-case that nobody else has thought of? Hit us up in the comments.

See Also:

Ziploc photo: tamakisono/Flickr


Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered

800MHz overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered

Is your Palm Pre feeling a bit down? In the dumps? Not as snappy as it used to? Maybe what you need is a megahertz boost! This custom kernel, demonstrated in a video below, comes courtesy of two hackers called unixpsycho and caj2008. One quick install will make your dull and lifeless 1.3.5.1 Pre come alive. Warning: use of this software may “frakk” your Pre if deployed on a 1.4 device. Side effects include reduced battery life and increased pocket warmth. If your Pre develops excessive heat see a doctor immediately — or just turn it off for awhile.

Update: caj2008 dropped us a note to point out that battery life is “not significantly affected” by this patch, but we’re still waiting on the FDA ruling on that one.

[Thanks, Darren]

Continue reading Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered

Overclocked Palm Pre is just what the doctor ordered originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Palm News Daily  |  sourcePreCentral Forums  | Email this | Comments

ASUS T101MT gets the quick and dirty video review treatment

We’ve already witnessed ASUS’ netvertible undergo some hands-on testing, but the units inspected up until now have all been pre-production devices. Well, finally a retail T101MT has made its way out to online scribes and we’ve got the first video review for your delectation. We’re told that the machine is still pretty thick and a tiny bit too heavy to comfortably hold in one hand for long periods of time, but also that the previous touchscreen issues have been rectified — it is now “responsive and precise.” The general theme is that you shouldn’t expect too much out of it, particularly since a 480p YouTube clip gobbled up 95% of the T101MT’s CPU cycles and still provided only a choppy picture, but if your ambitions are sufficiently moderate, ASUS’ latest could prove a versatile little machine. Video awaits after the break and a summary review can be found at the source.

Update: The YouTube video played was a stop-motion animation running at 5fps and therefore shouldn’t be considered representative of the T101MT’s video performance. What should be taken as representative is the fact that it maxed out the CPU.

Continue reading ASUS T101MT gets the quick and dirty video review treatment

ASUS T101MT gets the quick and dirty video review treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetbooklive.net  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft Brings Cheap Office 2007 Back; More Countries Coming Soon

This article was written on August 22, 2008 by CyberNet.

microsoft office-1.jpgNote: This deal is for the United States only, but details regarding other countries is below.

Microsoft has brought back the Office 2007 Ultimate for students at a geekilicous price. When you visit TheUltimateSteal.com students will be able to receive Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for just $60. That’s a whopping 91% off of the retail cost.

Office Ultimate 2007 comes with Access, Accounting Express, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. That’s not bad at all considering the “Home and Student” version of Office 2007 costs more than that, and it only includes Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

This particular deal is only for the United States, but Australia, Mexico, and Tawain currently have their own deals going on. Here are some of the other countries who will also be jumping on the “uber-cheap Office 2007″ bandwagon soon:

Starting on September 8th Microsoft will also be offering the Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade for $65 on the United States offer page. That retails for $260, which means you’ll be saving yourself 75% off of the list price. Not to shabby!

The Ultimate Steal Homepage
Microsoft Press Release
Thanks Omar!

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

Related Posts:


Philips BDP5010 Blu-ray / Divx player drops below $70 at Target

Believe it: $70 at Target takes home a new Philips (eh hem, Funai) BDP5010 Blu-ray player that once sold for as much as $250. Hell, it’s listed for $139.99 right now on Target’s online storefront. If you do manage to track one down in a real life Target store then you’ll be getting DivX support, a SDHC card reader, BD Live, and HDMI CEC convenience. While a quick search returns a bevy of mixed reviews (image quality is only so-so), really, for $69.98 you really can’t complain if you’re looking to finally make the jump to 1080p physical media.

[Thanks, Keith B.]

Philips BDP5010 Blu-ray / Divx player drops below $70 at Target originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Magic Mouse Fixed with Soft Silicon Brick

mmfixed

I don’t use a mouse. I love my MacBook’s oversized trackpad and I have a Wacom tablet on the desk for more precise work (like pixel-perfect gun positioning in Desktop Tower Defense). But I hear from the kids in the office that Apple’s Magic Mouse is less magic and more tragic when it comes to comfort: hitting those multi-touch gestures can be hell on the wrists.

Enter the Fix. The Fix is a contoured block of soft silicone with a suction cup on the bottom. It sticks to the rear part of the mouse’s surface and does one simple thing: supports your palm as the fingers do their multi-touching magic. I admit I have been tempted by the Magic Mouse, but the price and the too-slim profile put me off. This $10 block, from Honda race-car part designer Will, fixes that right away. Will says he tested it in both his tiny hands and his wife’s giant mitts, and both fit fine.

Ingenious and cheap, the best part is that it kinda fits in with the sleek Apple aesthetic. I’ll stick to my Wacom tablet, though. If God had meant us to use mice, he wouldn’t have invented pens (or cats).

Magic Mouse, Fixed [MMFixed]

See Also:


World’s first diamond iPad tries to deliver that magical experience

World's first diamond iPad tries to live up to those magical claims

Get ready for some buyer’s remorse if you’re one of the thousands who pre-ordered an iPad last Friday: your soon-to-be new toy already pales in comparison to the $19,999 diamond-coated iPad from Mervis Diamond Importers. What you have here is a stock unit of undisclosed specifications that’s been coated with 11.43 carats of G/H color diamonds rated VS2/SI1 for clarity — not exactly top-shelf stuff but chances are you’ll be so transfixed with the amazingly beautiful user experience you won’t notice the flaws. This poor iPad is just the latest in a long line of ridiculously expensive gadgets made more luxurious (many of an Apple persuasion) and is every bit as tasteless as the rest.

World’s first diamond iPad tries to deliver that magical experience originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMervis Diamond Importers  | Email this | Comments