Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display

You’ve already seen ninjas take on the Nexus S box, now see the device laid out component-by-component, thrashed by some sick and twisted individual. Nothing too crazy to see here, except perhaps the awesome curves of the front display laid out (another shot after the break). It’s interesting to note that only the front panel is actually curved — “the rest of the components are flat as a board, just as any other phone on the market.” Hope that doesn’t ruin any dreams you might’ve had. Check out the Full Monty over at iFixit.

Continue reading Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display

Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original

Chumby isn’t just taking its platform to dedicated devices from other manufacturers, it’s also moving to software — a strategy that right out of Amazon’s playbook now that Kindle is available on just about every computer and handheld under the sun. The company’s new Android app simply connects to your Chumby account and lets you view and use the same Flash-based apps that you would on any other Chumby device, a testament to the fact that pretty much every Android handset hitting the market these days comes Flash-capable out of the box. Chumby says that the app works best for tablets and docked devices — which makes sense when you think of how you’d use a Sony Dash or Chumby One — and conveniently, you can set it to automatically show up as a screen saver whenever your phone is docked. Look for it in the Market right now for $4.99; follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original

Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Nexus S Goes on Sale With ‘Half-Assed’ Strategy


Google’s new Nexus S smartphone went on sale Thursday at Best Buy stores for 200 bucks with a two-year contract, a move with poor timing, says an analyst.

That’s because by this time of year, the holiday season, retailers and competing manufacturers have already slashed prices for relatively new Android smartphones to between $0 and $50. (The HTC Droid Incredible, for example, is free with a two-year plan at Best Buy.)

These holiday discounts will make the $200, T-Mobile-compatible Nexus S seem like an unattractive option for the average consumer, explained Tero Kuttinen, a telecom analyst at MKM Partners.

“I don’t know what Google is doing here,” he said. “They do software so well. I don’t understand why they do this hardware strategy in such a half-assed way.”

Google’s hardware strategy with its previous Nexus One smartphone was unsuccessful. The search giant failed to get major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon to subsidize the phone; only T-Mobile played ball. So, the only way non-T-Mobile-subscribers could get the phone was by throwing down $500 for an unlocked version of the device.

Surprise, surprise: The only people willing to spend that much on Google’s Nexus One were nerds like us, and the phone didn’t sell well. Duly, the Nexus One was discontinued. (Wired.com’s Ryan Singel recently told a thorough version of that story.)

The Nexus S seems to have the same story. It’s currently available at Best Buy for $530 unlocked, and for $200 with a T-Mobile plan.

The fact it’s December makes the Nexus S smartphone launch even worse, Kuittinen said, because more powerful Android smartphones will be announced at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show, meaning the Nexus S will quickly be superseded. On top of that, there have been multiple rumors that a Verizon iPhone will be announced January.

“When we get to January, there will be multicore phones and the iPhone on Verizon,” Kuittinen said. “That’s the real competition here, not the phones you see right now. For those reasons, the Nexus S doesn’t really offer any sizzle.”

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Unboxing Ninjas kick back the fourth wall for the Nexus S

When is a YouTube video not a YouTube video? Every so often, a promotion pops up on the site that thinks outside the box, so to speak. In honor of the Nexus S (i.e. the best Android phone out there until the next best Android phone comes out), Google’s re-teamed with Patrick Boivin and his ragtag group of tiny ninjas — previously seen showing real unboxing power on a Nexus One package. We don’t want to spoil the fun, so just click through and enjoy… and after all is said and done, keep an eye out for the nunchuks. Trust us.

Unboxing Ninjas kick back the fourth wall for the Nexus S originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch

Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch

Sick of seeing that little hard disk with an exclamation point popping up on your Android handset? Yeah, us too. Thankfully we can now count Skype among the apps that can be moved to external storage. This new release also adds compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy S — but there’s a catch. Android 2.2 is required, which many Galaxy S owners may or may not actually have yet and, while some are said to be getting a dollop of FroYo this very month, we’ve certainly heard that before.

Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Bumbled Spotify Acquisition – Report

spotify_logo-copy1.jpg

According to a recent report, Google was seriously considering a purchase of European music streaming service Spotify, but ultimately got gunked up by its own inner-workings. The company was ultimately doomed by its lack of a a clear, central plan.

Three Google departments were apparently working to control the service post-acquisition. The company ultimately dropped its bid, due to the lack of focus. The company is built to have departments be self-driven, rather than requiring everyone to answer to the same chain of command.

That model lets the company be generally more nimble, but on occasion it results in a company-wide traffic jam–that happened to be case with such an in-demand product at Spotify. The most high profile recent example is Chrome, a pet project of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, despite the wishes of the company’s CEO, Eric Schmidt.

While Google is certainly patting itself on the back for the launch of the service, there’s been a good deal of talk lately of redundancy between Chrome and the company’s own scalable mobile operating system, Android. 

Nexus S now available, get to your nearest Best Buy post-haste

It’s so fresh, so new, and so comfortably shaped we don’t know how anyone could resist getting their own Nexus S to have and to hold this holiday season. Well, there is one reason: getting up on a cold Thursday morning at 8am is no fun. If you’re dedicated enough, Best Buy is selling them right this very moment, and again the up-front cost is $199 on contract, $250 for adding a line, or $529 if you roll restriction-free. Still on the fence? Maybe our review will help you to fall on one side or the other.

[Thanks, Michael]

Nexus S now available, get to your nearest Best Buy post-haste originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google App Inventor opens up access to everyone, clings on to beta tag

Google’s famous penchant for keeping things in beta doesn’t seem to have changed lately, as the company’s App Inventor for Android is still keeping its Greek lettering, but at least access has now been opened up for everyone to enjoy. The switch from private to public beta isn’t the most significant thing in the world — up until now you just had to ask for an invite to get one — but we’re sure amateur Android coders and experimenters will appreciate not having to go through that extra step. The App Inventor’s sitting in Google Labs right this minute, waiting for you to magic up (no coding skills required!) a finely crafted solution to modern living of your own. Hit the source link to get your mouse pointer dirty.

Google App Inventor opens up access to everyone, clings on to beta tag originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bing 2.0 brings better Facebook integration and the impressive Streetside to iPhone (video)

Microsoft just released — or should we say, Apple just approved — version 2.0 of the Bing search app for iOS devices. In addition to several other new features including integrated Facebook Likes on search results (really!?) and in-app checkins to Facebook and Foursquare, Bing now comes packing Streetside, something that first blew us away as Street Slide when it was still in the labs at Microsoft Research. Unlike Google’s Streetview that requires a lot of forward- and back-clicking and turning in order to get a feel for a location, Streetslide provides a more comprehensive view of the shops and businesses in an area by letting you strafe down the sidewalk while zooming in and out of the buildings located on each side of the street. We took it for a brief spin (literally) and came away impressed. You won’t find Streetside implemented for all locations yet (for example, San Francisco’s Make-out Room was found on Streetside but the Slanted Door restaurant wasn’t) but they do seem to have large swaths of major cities covered based on our brief testing of Chicago, Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. Sorry, nothing yet in London and Amsterdam but maybe you’ll have better success searching your own neighborhoods. See the full list of what’s new after the break in addition to a Streetside demo from Bing’s architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas — unfortunately, we’re not seeing the impressive Panaroma feature he mentions in this release.

Update: We’ve been told that Facebook Likes, like Panaroma, like totally didn’t make it into the app release. It’s a web search results feature only for the time being.

Continue reading Bing 2.0 brings better Facebook integration and the impressive Streetside to iPhone (video)

Bing 2.0 brings better Facebook integration and the impressive Streetside to iPhone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Picasa Web Albums Pushes Out New Features

This article was written on March 08, 2007 by CyberNet.

Yesterday, Google’s Picasa Web Albums pushed out a few needed improvements/features. December was the last time they added new features, so it was about time for an update. They’ve got a whole list of all of the recently launched features which you can check-out, I’ll just point out some of the ones that stood out:

One of the biggest new changes is that they’re now allowing 1GB of free storage.  Just like Gmail, it says (and counting) which means eventually the storage space should be more. And as always, they offer the upgrade if you need more space. Originally you were only offered 250 MB of space before needing to pay.

The next major feature that you’ll enjoy is that you can search community photos. Currently the search allows you to search your favorites, ‘My Photos,’ or ‘Community Photos.’ You can search tags, album titles, descriptions, just about anything. I always liked Flickr because you can search through thousands of community photos, so this will be a nice addition to Picasa.

Googlepicasa

Finally, they’ve made it easier to share your photos via email, IM, or a web page. Keep in mind, you can also upload videos using Picasa, another nice sharing feature. If you’re wanting to share a home video with someone, you could easily upload it and share it via the web.

It’s a nice improvement to the service, and definitely a move in the right direction by upping the storage space from 250 MB to 1GB!

Source: Google Operating System

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