Hasta La Gadget!

Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha took time yesterday to talk business strategy, the advantages of Android, and to take developers to task for poorly optimized apps. At several points during the 50-minute chat the topic turned to lackluster battery life, and Jha placed blame squarely at the feet of hastily tested apps — which he said can sap between 30 and 40 percent of your phone’s juice. The chairman even suggested their effect on longevity and performance were the impetus behind 70 percent of handset returns. But, the company has a solution, and (surprisingly) its name is Blur. In a moment of presumably unintentional creepiness Dr. Jha said, “MotoBlur allows us to know, with precision, what battery life you’re seeing,” before suggesting that future phones could warn you about power draining apps and bandwidth hogs. What wasn’t clear though, was if he was talking about the existing Android battery manager or if Motorola has been collecting usage data — since we never opted-in to such a program, we’re really hoping it’s the former. Hit up the source link for the entire conversation, you’ll find the relevant bits at the 4- and 25-minute marks.

Motorola’s Jha blames apps for poor battery life, says Blur can save the day originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Adobe-Apple Flash war used to be one of the juiciest catfights around, but, much like two aging boxers, both sides now appear willing to act like adults put it all behind them. Speaking at yesterday’s D9 conference in Palos Verdes, California, Adobe head Shantanu Narayen confirmed that he and Steve Jobs have reached an unofficial armistice, bringing an end to their prolonged war of words. According to the CEO, Apple’s Flash issues stemmed from the company’s “business model,” rather than any legitimate concerns over quality. “It’s control over the app store that’s at issue here,” Narayen said, implying that Flash’s wide-ranging platform compatibility may not have jibed with the Cupertino ethos. He went on to remind moderator Walt Mossberg that developers can still use Adobe’s AIR software to get their products to the App Store, adding that his company is looking forward to the rise of HTML5 and “actively contributing” to its development.

Mossberg, meanwhile, seemed to blindside Narayen when he brought up Flash’s poor performance on Android devices. “I have yet to test a single one where Flash tests really well,” the columnist claimed. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.” Narayen sputtered a bit, before pointing to the BlackBerry PlayBook as an example of the progress that Flash has made. When Mossberg reminded him that the PlayBook doesn’t run on Android, the CEO not-so-subtly sidestepped the question by emptily declaring that Adobe’s mission is simply to provide people with the best tools to create content. Apparently satisfied with this non-answer, Mossberg changed the subject back to Apple, allowing Narayen to wax poetic about their new Pax Romana — and, perhaps, to breathe a sigh of relief. See the full interview after the break.

Continue reading Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video)

Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peter Chou is sharing HTC’s graces at Uplinq 2011 with the announcement of OpenSense SDK, where the company hopes to recruit developers willing to create apps specifically for Sense 3.0. With help from the HTCdev community, software designers will receive tools to create a seamless experience between their applications and HTC’s user environment (while also rendering their apps incompatible with non-HTC handsets). Beneath the skin, developers will be provided access to proprietary APIs that support 3D displays and tablet pens — which could make quite the gaming session. There’s currently no release date for the SDK, but the company is already taking names for a summer launch. So, if you’re comfortable helping HTC build this barrier around Android’s “open” mantra, we imagine there’s some rather slick apps waiting to be given life. Jump the break for the accompanying PR.

[Thanks, Jonny and Eric]

Continue reading HTC announces OpenSense SDK and HTCdev, offers paradise inside its walled garden

HTC announces OpenSense SDK and HTCdev, offers paradise inside its walled garden originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor has it that the HTC Doubleshot, aka the MyTouch 4G Slide, will be popping up in T-Mo shops across the country on July 6th. But, before consumers can turn in that paper they’ve been stackin’ for one, the handset has to make it by The Man. Well, the FCC just cleared an HTC phone with a QWERTY keypad and a 1700MHz radio inside, and there’s a good chance it just so happens to be that Sensed-up, dual-core Gingerbread slider we’ve been waiting for. Sadly, regulators don’t have any teardown pics for you to ogle but, hey, we’ve got an FCC tag — that’s gotta count for something… right?

HTC Doubleshot slides through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WiFi not good enough for you? Verizon’s here to give you a bit more range. Customers will be able to pre-order an LTE-enabled version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 starting on June 8th, but the company’s playing coy about when exactly it will ship. The “coming weeks” is the best week can get, though if that wasn’t vague enough for you the press release embedded below also says “this summer.” Those willing to sign on to a new two-year agreement are looking at $530 for the 16GB model and $630 for the 32GB. That’s a $30 premium over the WiFi edition — not counting the next two years worth of monthly data charges, of course.

[Thanks, Bedan]

Continue reading LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 gets official on Verizon, orders start June 8

LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 gets official on Verizon, orders start June 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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