One of the headline features of Photoshop CS5 arrives a couple weeks after the software: the ability to automatically correct some lens problems. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20004918-264.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Deep Tech/a/p
Jeff and Natali attended a special event last night to kick off the June 4 launch of the HTC Evo 4G and were also given a sneak peak of Hollywood’s latest video game movie adaptation, “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.” Without dropping any spoilers, suffice …
Originally posted at The 404 Podcast
E-readers as a whole best be watching their backs (or planning a wave of new functions, one), but it’s safe to say that having color displays would give ’em a leg-up on the retina-killing, battery-draining LCD-based alternatives. Plastic Logic is still working to get its first e-reader (the decidedly not color QUE, for those curious) into the paws of consumers, but already the outfit is planning for the next big thing. Achim Neu, Director SCM, recently spoke at the International Electronics Forum, reportedly stating that his company is aiming to “have a manufacturable color display by the end of 2011 and move it into volume production in 2012.” Details beyond that were scarce, but still, 2012 seems a long ways out — if Qualcomm can get its color Mirasol panel into shipping products, there’s a better than average chance that none of this will matter.
Plastic Logic plans 2012 launch for color e-paper display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gizmodo Brazil reports that the FlipOut will be on sale in assorted colors in the land of carnivals, samba, and barefoot beach football.
The iPad’s lack of multitasking support makes it a crummy chat tool. While playing a game or reading a comic, for example, it’s frustrating being bombarded by a flurry of push notifications about instant messages screaming for your attention.
Fortunately, while we wait for Apple to release iPhone OS 4, which introduces the ability to run multiple apps in the background, we’ll at least have one awesome IM app for the iPad: BeeJive IM.
BeeJive was an extremely popular IM app for the iPhone, and rightly so. It’s a premium app that combines gorgeous visuals with an intuitive user interface. BeeJive has nailed it again with its iPad app, which was submitted to the App Store on Wednesday (so if it’s approved, expect it to launch in the next week). Wired.com received a near-final build of the app to give you a sneak peek.
(Note: The screengrabs would look a lot better had I not omitted the screennames, but I did so to respect my friends’ privacy.)
BeeJive IM supports multiple IM services, including AIM, Google Chat, Facebook chat and many others. The setup process is quick: hit the honeycomb icon and begin adding accounts. You can change the chat wallpaper by clicking on the gear-shaped icon if you’d like. From there on, you’re ready to chat.
My favorite part about the BeeJive UI is it lists your chat sessions in a column on the right side of the screen. You can see a preview of what a person is saying in a bubble, which eliminates the need to switch back and forth between chats over and over. Selecting a chat in the right window displays the full conversation in the center screen.
You can scroll up and down the active chat window in the center, and there are icons to send an image, record and send a voice clip, e-mail a copy of your conversation and close the chat. I was surprised by how painless sending a photo and audio clip was: Rather than require a friend to accept a file transfer, BeeJive sends multimedia in the form of a URL for the recipient to view on a webpage. It’s fast, fast, fast, which is how the overall iPad experience should be.
The app looks best in landscape mode, where your buddy list is displayed by default to the left of your chat window, but in portrait mode the app still works great. In portrait mode, the chat takes up most of the screen, and you can view your buddy list by tapping the upper left icon.
Like the iPhone version, BeeJive supports push IMs, meaning you can stay online constantly if you’d like, even when the iPad is asleep. Pushed messages pop up in the same manner as text messages.
I’ve been a big fan of BeeJive for quite some time. The company doesn’t rush to be first, but instead takes its time to get the app just right before release. The iPad version of BeeJive is a worthy successor to the iPhone version; in many ways, it’s even better.
Of course, as well designed as BeeJive may be, it doesn’t compensate for the iPad’s inability to multitask. Apple has said iPhone OS 4 will be available for the iPad this fall, so hopefully the future addition of multitasking will make the general experience of chatting feel less disruptive.
BeeJive will cost $6 when it hits the App Store for a limited time. The app will cost $10 later. BeeJive for iPad is a standalone app, meaning the iPhone and iPad versions will be sold separately.
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This is a bit of a confusing one, but we just got tipped an additional shot of this 4th generation iPhone that leaked out in Vietnam, but this time with a big twist: it appears to be running iPhone OS 4. Or at least displaying a screenshot of the new OS, with that telltale wallpaper in the background. We have no idea how this crew might’ve circumvented Apple’s lockdown of the device, and there’s always the chance this is some sort of Photoshop or other trickery. Still, a source has confirmed to us that the markings “N90 PRO2” indicate an older prototype N90 (the Apple codename for the new iPhone), which refers to “Working Prototype 2” and might possibly be easier to enable than the newer, lock tight model Gizmodo obtained. Also, despite the photo’s out-of-focus nature, the display (or at least its contents) doesn’t appear nearly as sharp as those previous shots we saw of the “fireball” screen. We’re digging for more info as we speak, but unfortunately the original source site, Taoviet, is down right now. We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything else about this image’s origins.
[Thanks, ITKINGDOM]
Update: The source link is loading for us sporadically. The translated text above the shot reads: “Iphone 4G VN is distributed by the network not it? Maybe not then, we’ll be the first use:” It’s all so clear now!
Update 2: Woah, do these things just grow on trees? French site Be Geek has just received photos of what looks to be a third iPhone 4th gen floating around in the wild. Chances are it’s of a similar build generation as the Vietnam device, since it’s lacking those screws at the bottom, but it does seem to a separate device, since it’s rocking a different SIM.
Update 3: Turns out this new set of photos was pulled from the same Vietnamese forum, so it seems to be the same phone. Makes sense, but we’re still puzzling over that different SIM.
Update 4: Sorry, it’s a Photoshop kids. This phone can’t boot past DFU.
Gallery: iPhone 4th gen in the wild… again
New iPhone in Vietnam spotted running iPhone OS 4? (update: it’s a fake) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s easy to forget some of Google’s “we will own you and your children” initiatives: there are simply so many of them. One particular gambit that has been flying under the radar is Google’s Native Client, which allows the Chrome browser to execute x86 code natively. This has big implications for moving those beefy, number crunching desktop app holdouts to the browser, which would not only be a boon for Google’s ability to make Microsoft and Apple-beating web apps, but a big win for Chrome OS as well. Right now the Native Client is only working with the developer-oriented Chromium browser, with ubiquitous support a distant dream, but Google has already worked out ARM processor code portability, has plans to be completely processor agnostic in the future, and will be updating the SDK “rapidly” in the coming months. Basically, it’s on. Check out a video demonstration of some “hello world” code after the break, along with a brief demo of a 3D shooter.
Google’s Native Client SDK developer preview provides helpful reminder of plans for world domination originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In a bid to increase the reach of its 4G network, Verizon Wireless is in talks with rural phone companies to lease access to its wireless spectrum, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal said that move is somewhat odd since wireless companies typically guard access to pricey and scarce spectrum, but CEO Lowell McAdam reportedly said that the move will help the company’s 4G deployment.
The Federal Communications Commission applauded the move.
“Bringing the benefits of mobile broadband to rural America is one the Commissions top priorities. The news of Verizon Wireles plan to partner with rural providers to accelerate investment in 4G networks is very encouraging,” Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Meredith A. Baker said in a joint statement. “Seamless universal connectivity is essential to economic growth and world-class technology leadership. We look forward to learning more about Verizon Wireless initiative, its successful implementation, and other examples of industry-led innovation.”
Verizon spent $9.4 billion on 109 licenses in the 2008 700 MHz spectrum auction. It has been working on the build-out of its 4G LTE network, and announced this week that 4G trials in Boston and Seattle indicate the network is capable of average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
So BGR is reporting that it has “confirmed with multiple sources” that RIM’s alleged BlackBerry tablet device is very real — despite Mike Lazaridis’ recent downer comments on the subject — and that it’ll have an 8.9-inch screen, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity to hook up with your phone. Oh yeah, about that Bluetooth connectivity: the tablet is being billed as a “companion” device, something to use when you need a little bit more horsepower and screen real estate for multimedia and the like. Sound familiar? Yeah, Palm tried this with famously catastrophic results a while back — and considering RIM’s ultra-conservative policy on product innovation, we can’t imagine things going any better up in Waterloo. It’s apparently slated for a December release with engineers scrambling to get it released even sooner… and, you know, discontinued sooner, too.
RIM’s BlackBerry tablet starting to sound suspiciously like a Foleo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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