Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4

You know what happens when you tell the world that you’re abandoning Symbian for Windows Phone? Right, Symbian sales dry up. No matter how many times you boast about plans to sell an additional 150 million new Symbian devices, and no matter how long you commit to supporting Symbian devices, the OS is essentially dead to developers and consumers alike. So, we’re not surprised to hear that Nokia just lowered its devices and services outlook for Q2 of 2011. The updated guidance calls for devices and services net sales to be substantially below the EUR 6.1 billion to EUR 6.6 billion expected in Q2 due to lower than expected average selling prices on lower volumes. It also sees margins drifting below the expected range of 6 percent to 9 percent due to lower than expected net sales — Nokia expects its non-IFRS operating margin to be “around breakeven.” As a result, Nokia is also pulling back its annual targets for 2011 and will provide further updates as its situation becomes more clear.

On the positive side, Nokia does say that it has “increased confidence” that it will ship its first Windows Phone product in Q4 2011. Let’s hope so.

Continue reading Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4

Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.1 update now available for AT&T Xperia X10

Sure, all your friends are rocking Android 2.3. But hey, quit complaining AT&T Xperia X10 owners, everyone knows that Eclair is way better than vanilla Froyo.

Android 2.1 update now available for AT&T Xperia X10 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel Smart Connect and Rapid Start technologies unveiled, coming by the holidays

As part of its keynote at Computex today, Intel unveiled a pair of new sleep-related technologies, though funnily enough, neither of them is particularly boring. Smart Connect checks up periodically on web apps you have open while your computer is in sleep mode — meaning that email clients and in-browser web apps like Twitter and Facebook will update themselves without the need for you to flip the computer on in full. Updates will be ready and waiting for you when you get back. Rapid Start is a new hibernation mode that can resume within 5 to 6 seconds and can remember your computer’s state with zero power. Though, admittedly, the zero-power operation doesn’t look like it can be maintained for too long, the hibernation itself can keep your computer going for up to 30 days. Pretty neat stuff. It’s all coming to Sandy Bridge laptops with Windows 7 soon, with widespread availability promised by the holidays.

Intel Smart Connect and Rapid Start technologies unveiled, coming by the holidays originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS targets Christmas for Padfone launch, hints at Ice Cream Sandwich (video hands-on)

We just got to spend some quality time with ASUS’ newly unveiled Padfone and you can see the smartphone that doubles up as a tablet on video after the break. It’s still a mere mockup for now, but ASUS has big plans for it — plans that coalesce around the Christmas period and the very latest version of Android at that time. ASUS’ Benson Lin was careful not to openly admit the company intends to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, but he did point out that you can’t launch a smartphone with Honeycomb as the OS. We were encouraged to draw our own conclusions.

The smartphone is actually the only smart aspect of this hardware pair — the slate part acts as a display, a set of speakers, an extended battery, and an I/O extender, but it doesn’t work by itself. ASUS also tells us there’ll be other functionality enabled by the tablet panel, but that’s being kept under wraps for now. Compatibility between the display dock and subsequent phone generations is being contemplated but couldn’t be confirmed, and as to the UI, ASUS says it’ll be almost the same as its second-gen Android tablets. You heard that right, second generation ASUS Android tablets — to succeed the Transformer and Slider — will be coming around the same time as the Padfone.

Continue reading ASUS targets Christmas for Padfone launch, hints at Ice Cream Sandwich (video hands-on)

ASUS targets Christmas for Padfone launch, hints at Ice Cream Sandwich (video hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS announces the Padfone (update: eyes-on!)

If pads and phones are the fastest growing categories in consumer tech, surely a Padfone would be the ultimate combo? That’s what ASUS thinks, and it’s just introduced an Android smartphone device that comes with a tablet it can dock into. Display switching is done dynamically, so that reading emails or browsing the web on the phone portion expands itself seamlessly once it’s connected into the pad. Also expanded will be battery life, with an extra cell included in the slate. The mockup ASUS is showing the world today includes a 4.3-inch smarpthone and a 10.1-inch tablet dock, but the company says it hasn’t yet settled on the final dimensions of the eventual retail product. Other details, such as the particular version of Android, are still light on the ground, but we’ll try to squeeze more info out while we’re at Computex.

Update: And now we have more pics of Jonney Shih showing off the Padfone, along with the press release and ASUS’ promo video after the break. Enjoy!

Update 2: Our buds at Netbooknews caught Jonney Shih’s unveiling of the Padfone live on video. Watch with wide-eyed wonderment after the break. How you like them magics, Apple?

Continue reading ASUS announces the Padfone (update: eyes-on!)

ASUS announces the Padfone (update: eyes-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS outs UX21 ultrathin laptop with up to Core i7 CPUs (video hands-on!)

The thickest part of this new laptop is 17mm, its entire body is built from an aluminum alloy (weighs 1.1kg / 2.4lb), and the CPUs can be specced as high as Core i7. Anything else you need to know before drooling all over yourself? How about a two-second resume from sleep, thanks to ASUS’ proprietary software, a SATA III SSD, USB 3.0 connectivity, and the ability to hibernate for up to one week? The trackpad is made out of glass, while the keyboard keys are all metal. ASUS projects the launch of its shiny new UX21 in September, and you can see more of it in the gallery below or video after the break.

Continue reading ASUS outs UX21 ultrathin laptop with up to Core i7 CPUs (video hands-on!)

ASUS outs UX21 ultrathin laptop with up to Core i7 CPUs (video hands-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 03:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Eee PC X101 runs MeeGo, costs only $200 (video hands-on!)

ASUS is starting off its bevy of Computex announcements with the new Eee PC X101, a netbook that gives the 11-inch MacBook Air a run for its ultrathin money — with a 950g weight and 17.6mm thickness — while running either Windows 7 or… wait for it, Meego! The latter model will come out at the groundbreaking price of just $200. Check out its scarlet construction in the gallery below or jump past the break for our video hands-on.

Continue reading ASUS Eee PC X101 runs MeeGo, costs only $200 (video hands-on!)

ASUS Eee PC X101 runs MeeGo, costs only $200 (video hands-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 03:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the ASUS Padfone

Wow, so our theory and mockup turned out to be pretty much spot on: indeed, the oddly named ASUS Padfone does tuck itself into a shielded docking bay on the back of its companion tablet, and the latter’s hinged cover appears to pop up upon releasing the latch. You can also just about make out the two ports inside which are likely to be HDMI and micro-USB — one for driving the larger display, and the other for taking care of touch input while possibly sipping juice from an extra battery somewhere. Now, what we really like to know is which version of Android will be shipped (if ever) with this split-personality phone — our money’s on Ice Cream Sandwich, given that this flavor will happily cater both phone and tablet form factors later this year. That said, given the uniqueness of this product, ASUS could probably still get away with taking a step back and launch this as a Gingerbread tablet. Well, we shall dig up more answers for y’all tomorrow, and stay tuned for some sweet hands-on time.

Continue reading This is the ASUS Padfone

This is the ASUS Padfone originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC officially dissolves locked bootloader policy

The homebrew community may mourn HTC’s Thunderbolt, Incredible S, Sensation and EVO 3D, but the company’s controversial policy of locking bootloaders is no more. Following a tease yesterday, HTC CEO Peter Chou has decreed from on high — namely, HTC’s Facebook page — that future devices will be open.

There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we’ve listened. Today, I’m confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience.

We’re holding out hope that this policy will also be retroactive, but this is very welcome news regardless. Ball’s in your court, Motorola.

HTC officially dissolves locked bootloader policy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 21:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wallet mobile payment service, Google Offers announced

It may not be as big a surprise as Google hoped it would be at this point, but the company has now officially announced its NFC-based Google Wallet mobile payment service, complete with backing from a number of retail and financial partners including Subway, Macy’s, Walgreens, Toys ‘R Us, First Data, Citibank and MasterCard — plus Sprint on the carrier side. In the case of MasterCard, that partnership means Google Wallet will be fully compatible with the PayPass contactless payment system that’s already widely in place today. Trials are beginning immediately in New York and San Francisco, with a full release planned for this summer. Initially, the Sprint Nexus S 4G will be the only compatible phone, but support for more phones is promised “over time,” and Google even suggested that phones without built-in NFC could simply use an NFC sticker (the Google Wallet app itself will work on non-NFC phones as well). You’ll also have to use either a Citi MasterCard or Google Prepaid Card with the service, although the latter can obviously be funded from any other card.

Also announced today is Google Offers, which will deliver an “offer of the day” to your inbox, and let you seek out other offers from retailers. Of course, it also ties into Google Wallet, and you’ll be able to both redeem offers and receive loyalty rewards from retailers with just a tap of your NFC-enabled phone. As far as Google is concerned, however, mobile payments and special offers are just the beginning for Google Wallet. It eventually sees everything from boarding passes to tickets to IDs (and even keys) being stored on your phone. Not surprisingly, all of this is US-only for the time being, but Google is apparently working on international expansion. Head on past the break for a video and the complete press release.

Gallery: Google Wallet

Gallery: Google Offers

Continue reading Google Wallet mobile payment service, Google Offers announced

Google Wallet mobile payment service, Google Offers announced originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Wallet, Official Google Blog  | Email this | Comments