Android 2.2 will invite you to visit ‘Flash-enabled’ sites, rub Apple’s nose in it

The battle for minds is well and truly on now, and if there was any doubt that Google and Adobe are cozying up together to take on Apple, let it now be extinguished. TechCrunch is reporting that the latest version of Android — you know, the one with the 450 percent performance improvement and buttery smooth Flash playback — will, upon updating, guide you to visit a selection of Flash-enabled websites. Countering Apple’s list of iPad-ready (aka Flash-free) websites, this is clearly intended as a showcase of the Adobe software’s capabilities. Ironically, a sizable number of the sites on the list are “mobile optimized,” meaning you won’t be hitting their full desktop versions (which doesn’t quite mesh with the idea of “the full web experience”), but it’s still likely to cause some consternation over in Cupertino. All we’re wondering now is how much Adobe had to pony up to ensnare such a prominent promo position, but things like that don’t stay secret for long.

Android 2.2 will invite you to visit ‘Flash-enabled’ sites, rub Apple’s nose in it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy Volt app for Android gets Google Maps boost

Last week, rumors were swirling around a potential partnership between General Motors and Google to develop an Android-based telematics system. On the eve of Google’s I/O conference, GM makes an official announcement about its actual plans for the Android OS. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20005226-48.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Car Tech blog/a/p

OnStar reveals mystery partner: Google

Google I/O’s shaping up to be a hell of an event this year. We just received word that OnStar will give a sneak peek at new functionalities it’s developing for its version 2.0 Chevy Volt app with the help of Google. A major new addition — to be demonstrated on Android, of course — will be a navigation tab on the app’s home screen that can identify your position relative to your Volt’s location in Google Maps. Something that should prove handy in tracking down your car in the airport parking lot. Owners can then use their smartphone to enter their destination before even entering the vehicle. When it’s time to drive, your Volt will already be setup and ready to guide you to the spot using OnStar’s turn-by-turn navigation. Alternatively, users can follow the voice guidance provided by Google Maps Navigation if they prefer. Unfortunately, these 2.0 addition won’t be in the app at launch this fall. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading OnStar reveals mystery partner: Google

OnStar reveals mystery partner: Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 02:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kindle for Android coming this summer

What was hinted at in those leaked Dell Streak flyers is now official: Kindle for Android. Unfortunately, it’s not quite ready to download. Amazon’s free Kindle ebook reader — already out for Mac, PC, BlackBerry, and iDevices — won’t launch until later this summer. When it does, users of Android 1.6 and above (with SD card) will have the ability to search, browse, and purchase (without exiting the app) any of the half million books in the Kindle Store. Like the other apps, Kindle for Android features Whispersync to keep your bookmarks, last page read, notes, and highlights synchronized across all your Kindle-enabled devices. Expect to see this demonstrated at Google I/O starting tomorrow.

Continue reading Kindle for Android coming this summer

Kindle for Android coming this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Screen Grabs: Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald drops a blast from Kin Two

Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Given Microsoft’s Generation Upload marketing and Verizon’s exclusive Gossip Girl placement deal, it’s not surprising a Kin phone made an appearance on the show’s season finale, but we’re having a hard time believing that even Nate Archibald is chump enough to trade in his heat-seeking Droid for a Kin Two. Not that we’d know, since we don’t watch the show. At all. Ever. Video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald drops a blast from Kin Two

Screen Grabs: Gossip Girl’s Nate Archibald drops a blast from Kin Two originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 01:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia partners with Harman to ‘standardize’ cellular infotainment

Though Microsoft, RIM and possibly Google are already vying to be the center of the automotive infotainment push, a certain Finnish phone manufacturer says it wants to take charge — in what seems to be the latest phase of its Terminal Mode initiative, Nokia’s tapped infotainment provider Harman to “standardize” the interface between phone and car. Like Harman’s last in-dash venture, a touchscreen and physical controls will be the focus, while your handset (rather than an Intel Atom) does the heavy lifting. Connected via Bluetooth or USB, your Nokia will play music, deliver Ovi Maps, respond to voice control and more, with the entire phone display duplicated onto the car’s larger touchscreen for easy access and a set of auto-specific apps planned for Nokia’s Ovi Store. It all sounds pretty swell, but it’s still not clear how the companies intend to standardize anything beyond their balance sheets; we’re not sure how much Nokia will appreciate you connecting a Droid to their Ovi-powered car. PR after the break.

Update: It appears that this is part of Nokia’s Terminal Mode initiative, which — as some have noted in comments — we’ve actually told you about before. Whoops!

Continue reading Nokia partners with Harman to ‘standardize’ cellular infotainment

Nokia partners with Harman to ‘standardize’ cellular infotainment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 22:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Scheduled For July 6

This article was written on May 31, 2006 by CyberNet.

Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Scheduled For July 6

Mozilla has finally come up with an estimated date for Firefox 2 Beta 1: July 6! The code freeze is supposed to occur on June 29 and by that point we should see the visual refresh implemented.

The latest meeting notes did not say anything about the visual refresh but the Firefox 2 Requirements page said that the visual refresh is slated for Beta 1. If the visual refresh makes its way into a nightly build before Beta 1 then I will be sure to let everyone know and I will post a portable version of that nightly build so that everyone can play with it. Well, let’s hope for an on-time Beta 1!

Now, you don’t want to forget about an event like this, so add it to your Google Calendar.

News Source: Firefox Meeting Notes – May 30, 2006

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HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware?

We’ve known for some time that Cox — a name traditionally associated with cable television — is on the cusp of turning over its trial CDMA networks in a handful of markets to the public as it marches towards LTE on a swath of 700MHz bandwidth, but what we don’t know is the kind of hardware selection we can expect once these guys go live. Take it for what you will, but it seems that an unbranded CDMA HTC Hero that looks suspiciously like Sprint’s version of the handset has just changed hands on Craigslist, and — you guessed it — it’s got a Cox splash screen when you power it on. Cox’s strategy boss said just last week in an interview with Light Reading Cable that there’d be Android devices in the mix for the launch, but he played coy when pressed on details; the Hero could certainly be on the short list, but doesn’t it seem a little long in the tooth to kick off a brand new network launch? Of course, this could be a hoax or a cobbled-together prototype to help test the trial network, so we’ll just have to hang tight and see how this cookie crumbles; in the meantime, follow the break for the damning video evidence of the Cox Hero in the wild.

Continue reading HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware?

HTC Hero spied with Cox firmware? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese scientists demonstrate 2Mbps internet connection over LED

LED data transmission used to be all the rage — we fondly remember beaming Palm Pilot contacts via IrDA. Then we got omni-directional Bluetooth and building-penetrating WiFi, and put all that caveman stuff behind us. But now, scientists the world over are looking to bring back line-of-sight networking, and the latest demonstration has Chinese researchers streaming video to a laptop with naught but ceiling-mounted blue LEDs. The Chinese Academy of Sciences claims to have realized a 2Mbit per second internet connection that transmits data simply by modulating the flicker of the little diodes, and imperceptibly enough to have them serve as room lighting as well. Like Boston University before them, the Chinese scholars see short-range LED networks controlling smart appliances. It’s not quite the gigabit speed you’d get from laser diodes, but this way you’ll get more mileage out of those expensive new bulbs, eh?

Chinese scientists demonstrate 2Mbps internet connection over LED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Chinese  |  sourceBeijing Times (163.com)  | Email this | Comments

iSuppli finds worldwide cellphone shipments are up 13.8 percent, Motorola’s share slipping

We’ve already seen Motorola’s market share slip a bit when it comes to US cellphone shipments, and it looks like the news is even worse for the company on a global scale. According to iSuppli’s latest numbers — which back up some earlier reports — while worldwide cellphone shipments rose a healthy 13.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010, Motorola slipped from sixth to eighth spot in the global rankings, selling a total of 8.5 million phones compared to 14.7 million during the same period a year earlier. As you can see in the helpful chart above (with sales indicated in thousands), Motorola’s loss came largely at the expense of considerable gains from market leaders Nokia and Samsung, with LG, RIM and Apple also seeing some smaller but significant gains. And, yes, this news also means that Motorola is also now in a neck and neck race with ZTE, for what it’s worth.

[Thanks, Katie]

iSuppli finds worldwide cellphone shipments are up 13.8 percent, Motorola’s share slipping originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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