Hasta La Gadget!

As many times as Intel has tried and failed to shoehorn its way into the phone arena, you’d think it’d want to pimp as many notable platforms as it possibly could — but strangely, Windows Phone 7 is notably absent from Intel’s fact sheet on the just-announced, smartphone-focused Z6xx series of Atom cores. Instead, the wording of the paperwork clearly spells out that Android and MeeGo / Moblin are the focal points right now, which is leading everyone to wonder whether Intel’s looking to steer clear of Microsoft’s mobile strategy altogether. Granted, Microsoft’s focus is clearly on ARM right now with its Qualcomm partnership having been announced back in February, but we’re sure it wouldn’t take too much pressure from Intel to get an x86 build of Windows Phone out there if these guys really wanted to play ball. We reached out to Intel to get some clarification on the issue and got this in response:

“Intel’s goal is to ensure we offer our customers a choice of software that runs best on our processors. Yesterday’s announcement was focused on Linux OSs, however our strategy is to also support a full Windows experience on Atom as we do with Menlow, Intel’s first generation atom chip for mobile devices and Pinetrail, Intel’s chip family for netbooks. Stay tuned.”

What’s getting us here is Intel’s seemingly careful phrasing: “full Windows experience on Atom.” Does that mean that Intel wants to keep Atom up in the Windows 7 end of the horsepower spectrum and avoid Windows Phone for the foreseeable future? It seems like a tough sell to say that Android is playing in an entirely different ballpark than Windows Phone is, and we’re not sure that Intel can effectively argue that distinction — but hey, with the Z6xx series’ iffy power consumption stats, maybe it’s for the best.

[Thanks, R2V2]

Intel’s Atom Z6xx series isn’t targeting Windows Phone 7, but ‘full Windows experience’ still an Atom priority originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Carrypad  |  Intel  | Email this | Comments

Seems that April 6th ship date that GameStop posted back in March was a bit off, but hey — beggars can’t be choosers, yeah? SanDisk has just announced that it’s now shipping the planet’s first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive, which just became useful for easily transferring gamertags, game saves, map packs, Arcade downloads, etc. from one console to another. The device is pre-configured for plug-and-play, and SanDisk is even throwing in a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold for good measure. Naturally, you’ll be paying a premium for that Microsoft seal of approval, with the 8GB unit boasting an MSRP of $34.99 and the 16 gigger going for $69.99 (or £29.99 and £51.99 respectively in the UK). Hang tight if you can, though — we get the impression that loads more are on the way from every other storage outfit, and you know what competition does to pricing. Don’t you?

Continue reading SanDisk ships first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive

SanDisk ships first licensed Xbox 360 USB flash drive originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |  SanDisk  | Email this | Comments

HTC’s small yet power-packed Incredible phone has already bagged a rave review from us. If you want to see more of the phone, here’s a cool stop-motion animation video, via Engadget, that shows the unboxing of the Incredible.

TechRestore, an electronics repair shop, has taken apart the Incredible and then it put all back together.

The HTC Incredible, which was released last month, has a 3.7 inch OLED touchscreen, a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and 8 megapixel camera. The device is impressive enough that Google decided to step aside and let the Incredible ride on the Verizon Wireless network, instead of introducing a version of its Nexus One phone for the telecom carrier.

What’s fascinating to watch in the video is how small and compact the components are and how well they pack into the circuit board, like a tight, perfectly formed jigsaw puzzle. The inside is almost as beautiful as the outside in the case of this phone.

See Also:

• HTC ‘Incredible’ Android Phone Lands on Verizon
• Sprint, HTC Unveil First 4G Android Phone
• Strapped to Android, HTC Takes a Dizzying Ride to the Top
• HTC Cuts Patent Deal With Microsoft Over Android

Video: TechRestore

TomTom users can now have their turn-by-turn directions read by Sith Lord Darth Vader. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20004232-48.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Car Tech blog/a/p

Boost Mobile adds free 411 calls to its service. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-20004227-85.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Dialed In/a/p