Hasta La Gadget!

Let’s just be honest, Apple: white stuff is impossible to manufacture. In fact, scientists have yet to prove that white even exists, so we’re not sure why you’re bothering to try to make a phone out of it! That’s right: after a missed availability date in July and another delay after that, Cupertino has once again pushed back the manufacture of the palest iPhone 4 — this time clear into spring of 2011. It won’t say why, but in all likelihood, they’re still dealing with the same manufacturing woes they’ve had from the start. By the time mid-2011 rolls around, it seems probable that the release will be butting up against news of the iPhone 4’s successor — or at the very least, a CDMA version of the phone — so it’ll be fascinating to see how this timeline unfolds. In the meantime, yeah… might want to give up the wait and go for black.

Apple delays white iPhone 4 into spring 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Up and running by 2014? Try 2017 at the very earliest. Such is the bogus news coming out of the European Commission today, as reported by the German Financial Times. Shockingly enough, the ill-organized Galileo navigation network has suffered from yet more delays, which have pushed it back by a further three years and even deeper into the budgetary red. An additional €1.5b to €1.7b will be required to complete the grand project, while fiscal recalculations now indicate that it’s unlikely to ever turn a profit. Again, we are shocked. The total bill for European taxpayers is estimated to amount to somewhere in the region of €20 billion ($27.8b) when development, construction, and operation are all factored in. Ah well, it’s a cash drain, but at least it’ll divert funds from the EU’s suicidal scheme of paying farmers to not farm. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

EU’s Galileo satnav system orbiting way past budget, delayed until 2017 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG fans waiting for the company to launch a tablet may want to consider the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab or the BlackBerry PlayBook instead. LG has decided to cancel plans to launch an Android tablet by the end of the year, according to a Reuters report.

LG says it wants to wait for a newer version of Android to support its efforts to bring a tablet to market. That could mean an LG Android tablet is unlikely to launch before mid-2011.

The move is a setback for LG, which is now likely to lose ground to competitors in the tablet category.

Since the launch of the iPad in April, tablets have become one of the hottest consumer products of the year. So far, Apple has sold more than 3 million iPads. Meanwhile, Dell, Samsung and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion have introduced or announced new tablets.

Though, LG  has scrapped its Android tablet, the operating system is being used by other tablet makers. The Dell Streak, a device with a 5-inch screen, and the Samsung Galaxy, a tablet with a 7-inch touchscreen display, both use Android OS. The Streak runs Android 1.6 but Dell has said it plans to upgrade it to Android 2.2 later this year, while the Galaxy tablet will debut with Android 2.2 Froyo.

That makes LG’s decision puzzling. LG has had a checkered past when it comes to its tablet plans. The company was working on a prototype based on the Windows 7 operating system but it seems to have abandoned that.

Now it seems LG wants to wait for Android 3.0 ‘Gingerbread,’ which arrives next year.

So far, Google hasn’t been clear on what kind of devices are best supported by the current version of Android OS. Though Android is open source, Google controls the app store, Android Market. Devices that don’t meet Google’s guidelines for Android systems don’t have access to the Android Market.

However, Samsung has been able to convince Google to support its 7-inch tablet. All apps from the Android market can run on the Galaxy Tab though not every app will be optimized for the device.

LG could have done the same.

See Also:

• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• How the Tablet Will Change the World
• Build Your Own Tablet for $400
• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
• RIM Unveils Tethered Tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook

Photo: Samsung’s Android tablet/Samsung

ExoPC delayed a few weeks, apologizes with free stylus and stand originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And this, folks, is a lesson of what not to do if you’re a major carrier with a majorly perturbed user base. In a way, this sort of feels like the Instinct update debacle all over again, with users claiming that a promised software update was being held beyond the 30 day return window in order to keep contracts alive. 24 hours after a Sprint forum administrator proudly proclaimed that a long-awaited Epic 4G software update was rolling out over the next few days, another admin has chimed in with a nearly-audible “sike!” Rather than letting users cheer its hard work over the weekend, Epic 4G owners are now being told that “administrative issues” are to blame for a new delay — a delay that’ll stretch on for an undetermined amount of time, to boot. Oh, and back on the topic of what not to do, the operator’s forum admin has also thrown a jab at all of you out there that would even think of accusing Sprint of pushing this update beyond the 30 day return window. Look, we all know it’s a baseless conspiracy theory, but there’s really no need to get feisty, is there? Full announcement is after the break.

Update: Looks as if the update is out there if you’re brave enough to do it yourself. But honestly, is it worth it? Probably.

[Thanks, Edward]

Continue reading Sprint Epic 4G update delayed by ‘administrative issues,’ consumer rage released on schedule

Sprint Epic 4G update delayed by ‘administrative issues,’ consumer rage released on schedule originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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