Hasta La Gadget!

Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash — it looks like the Pre’s going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn’t it? Yep, Palm’s just joined Adobe’s Open Screen Project, and there’s no two bones about what that means: the press release flat out says “the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform.” That’s especially interesting since the webOS SDK is so heavily based on web technologies and native player support potentially opens the door for Flash-based apps, which would instantly bring a ton of new devs to the Pre. That’s not a bad thing. We’ll find out more at the end of the year, when the mobile Flash player is due to arrive.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm joins Adobe’s Open Screen Project, Pre to support Flash originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No big surprise here — Microsoft just announced Windows Marketplace, a unified storefront for the over 20,000 Windows Mobile applications. As rumored, that means you’ll be able to get apps directly from your phone, and Microsoft has also promised new and better tools for developers in the future. Also confirmed: My Phone, which will let you sync your phone to the cloud with access from the web. Sadly, we’ll have to wait for all this stuff — it’s coming with Windows Mobile 6.5 which isn’t due until later this year. We’ll let you know more as soon as we find out, keep it locked!

Continue reading Microsoft announces Windows Marketplace and My Phone for Windows Mobile

Filed under: Cellphones

Microsoft announces Windows Marketplace and My Phone for Windows Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most of its “advanced features” are being kept under wraps for the time being, but LG is showing off its strikingly-designed 13.4mm-thick GD900 this week with 7.2Mbps HSDPA in preparation for a launch later in the year. By and large, the design DNA here doesn’t break rank with LG’s sliders of the past year or two save for one very important exception: it features the world’s first transparent keypad that softly glows when open — and we’ve got to admit, this might be one of those rare instances where we’re digging sheer beauty over functionality or usability. The company has also designed a dedicated Bluetooth headset to go along with its latest work of art — but unfortunately, this image is about as close as you’ll get to any of it until the planned second-half retail availability.

Filed under: Cellphones

LG’s GD900 previewed, features transparent keypad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, how do you make HTC’s Touch Pro — already near the top of the WinMo heap — an even beefier device? For starters, you can throw out that nasty VGA screen of yesteryear and up it with a 3.6-inch 800 x 400 replacement. Next, add a dedicated touch-sensitive zoom slider that works overtime to take maximum advantage of said screen, then throw in a few key carryovers: 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. Meet the Touch Pro2, the official follow-up to HTC’s popular series of QWERTY sliders that introduces so-called “Straight Talk” technology for “seamlessly” transitioning conversations between email, single-line calls, and party calls. It’ll also automatically switch to the crazy high-performance, full-duplex speakerphone simply by flipping the phone over, so it’s clear that this bad boy was meant for business. It’ll launch early in the second quarter in parts of Asia and Europe with other “major global markets” following in early Summer. Check out a shot of the Touch Pro2 in its fully (and delightfully) articulated position after the break.

Continue reading HTC Touch Pro2 is awesome in ways the Touch Pro never could be

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Touch Pro2 is awesome in ways the Touch Pro never could be originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For those less interested in QWERTY keyboards and more inclined for something navigation-centric, Nokia‘s announced the 6710 Navigator slider and 6720 classic handset. Both phones dedicated GPS service with real time drive-and-walk navigation, and full regional maps. Outside of that, you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera to capture the memory of our adventure. The 6720 is coming out second quarter of this year for 245 euros, while the 6710 Navigator will be popping in third quarter for 300 euros.

Update: More details from the fact sheets. The 6720 classic’s got a 2.2-inch TFT QVGA, music player with support for MP3, AAC and WMA, FM tuner, and a dual-LED flash. Standby time is 20.5 days and talk time is 5 / 8.5 hours for 3G and GSM, respectively. The 6710 Navigator’s sporting 2.6-inch outdoor optimized QVGA with ambient light detector, support up to 16GB microSD, 18.5 day standby time and 4.5 / 7.5 hour talk time for 3G and GSM, respectively. Both handsets feature built-in A-GPS and Nokia Maps 3.0, a web browser and Carl Zeiss optics for the 5MP camera.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Nokia’s GPS-centric 6710 Navigator and 6720 classic announced originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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