Hasta La Gadget!

Gingerbread is not just for the high-end folks — even the entry-level guys need a little rhizome flavored love now and again. LG understands that, and it’s why the company is introducing a pair devices to its Optimus line dubbed the Net and Pro. The Optimus Pro, just like its similarly monikered Droid Pro, is a candybar QWERTY device with a 2.8-inch touchscreen. The Pro comes in a trio of color options, including something called “titan.” The Net, on the other hand, is a fully touchscreen affair (though, the North American version may sport a sliding QWERTY pad), with a 3.2-inch 320 x 480 display. LG is pushing its Social+ widgets that put Twitter and Facebook on your homescreen — something we all know others have had tons of success with. Both devices pack a 1500mAh battery and an 800 MHz CPU, which should be enough for less demanding smartphone users. They’ll be rolling out this summer starting in Europe. One more pic and some PR await after the break.

Continue reading LG takes Gingerbread-sporting Optimus Net and Pro out of the oven

LG takes Gingerbread-sporting Optimus Net and Pro out of the oven originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on February 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

Seeing that Google just opened their doors to new registrations it was a sure thing that they would really start to promote the service. In classic Google fashion they thought outside the box in order to include humor in discussing Gmail’s biggest features. Don’t understand? Let me present to you Gmail Theater (yes, this was really created by Google):

Gmail also has a Valentine’s Day related emoticon that you can take advantage of if you use Gmail Chat. It is the heart which can be sent by using the character combination “<3″ in your chat message. If you didn’t already know, Gmail Chat has a bunch of emoticons available for you to use that are actually “animated.” They aren’t anything overly special, but ironically they do a lot more than the Google Talk emoticons…which really boggles my mind.

It will also be interesting to see if opening Gmail up to new registrations (without the hassle of using a cellphone) will help Google’s traffic. According to Alexa it is the third most visited site right now only behind Yahoo and MSN, who are number 1 and 2 respectively. I pulled up the Alexa graph for Google.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and Live.com to show you where their traffic has been at over the last several months:

As you can see, Google took the reigns for a little while, but it didn’t last very long. What was very surprising to me is the growth that MSN has been seeing, which appears to be at a more rapid pace than what Live.com is even seeing. One thing that is important though is that Microsoft has both MSN and Live.com in the top ten sites on the Internet while Google has itself, YouTube, and Orkut all in the top ten.

It will be fun to see the three biggest Web portals compete to win over the consumers, and it is all going to ride on who can be the most innovative. While I’m a huge fan of Google it wouldn’t surprise me if Microsoft or Yahoo had a trick up their sleeve, but maybe Google’s GDrive storage solution will give them more users?

Source: Google Blog

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Everything about HTC’s Status screams Facebook. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Facebook has always maintained it is not working on a phone. And while it’s not exactly an official Facebook phone, the HTC Status is as close as you’re going to get to one.

The entire device screams “Facebook” in functionality, form and aesthetic. To begin with, there’s the most obvious social feature: A Facebook-branded “F” button located at the lower-right corner of the phone, dedicated entirely to updating your status (hence the name of the phone).

The premise is frightening. Imagine your Facebook feed packed with status updates coming from a single friend, nonchalantly broadcasting every minute of his life from his HTC Status. If you decide to buy this phone, take it easy on the F trigger, or prepare to be unfriended en masse.

Whatever your feelings are on the phone’s primary function, HTC nails it on the look. Against the phone’s stark silver and white color palette, Facebook’s trademark blue and white logo is the center of attention. In an added flourish, the back-lit keyboard letters shine white while in use, with the alt-text offsetting the white letters in an attractive glowing blue. The phone’s entire look mimics the social site with understated (yet still appreciable) flare.

Combining a 2.6-inch touchscreen display with a full QWERTY keyboard, the Status reminds me of a BlackBerry Torch sans slide-out functioning, or perhaps the Palm Pre of yesteryear. The idea behind the phone’s hybridity rests in its social roots: The easiest way to update your Facebook status is, of course, on a physical keyboard. Yet only hardware manufacturers living in the stone age would put out a smartphone without touchscreen capability.

The Status comes with a full Qwerty keyboard as well as a touchscreen. And of course, there’s the Facebook button. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

But there’s almost always an inherent problem in putting forth a compromise. Instead of concentrating on doing one thing very well, it usually means you’re doing two things half-assed. Luckily for the Status, HTC got it half right. The keyboard doesn’t suffer; it’s the screen that’s difficult to adjust to.

The Sense software — HTC’s tailor-made Android interface — was made with bigger screens in mind. With its giant clock icon and a fat status box that features rolling updates from your friends’ feeds, the home screen feels cluttered, almost claustrophobic. Even on the menu screen that displays a full list of your apps, there’s not always enough room to show an app’s full title if it’s longer than 10 characters.

Fortunately, the Status ships with Android version 2.3.3 (Gingerbread), one of the most up-to-date releases of the software. It’s not quite 2.3.4, but let’s not nitpick too much.

The 800-MHz Qualcomm processor is ample enough to accomplish simple enough tasks, but it’s no match for Nvidia’s Tegra 2 dual-core chip. But to be fair, the Status wasn’t built to compete with the latest full-size, power-packed smartphones hitting the market. It’s made for Facebooking, not for gaming.

The back-facing camera is decent enough to get the job done, though nothing to text home about. The front-facing camera, however, is atrocious. Pictures displayed grainy, and not in the cool Instagram way. It is capable of video capture, so if you want to upload mini movies to Facebook, you’re good to go.

Ultimately, I’m skeptical about recommending a phone like the Status. It’s reminiscent of Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two phones from about a year ago, both of which were mid-level devices dedicated to Twitter and Facebook updates. And they both flopped big time.

But HTC’s version of the so-called ‘Facebook phone’ is done far better than Microsoft’s. The Status’ hardware still lands it squarely withing the realm of smartphones, while the Kin models existed in a vague territory between smart and dumb (i.e. smartphone versus a traditional feature phone).

I personally wouldn’t buy a Status, but I’m also more judicious with my status updates. On the other hand, if you’re one for broadcasting what you had for breakfast, the Status was made for you.

There’s nary a menu screen that doesn’t direct you to Facebook on HTC’s Status smartphone. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The HTC Status will be available in U.S. stores beginning July 17 for a mere $50 with two-year AT&T contract.

The HTC Desire family used to be close-knit, but then the Gingerbread update came along and gave preferential treatment to the Desire HD. Harmony may soon be restored though, because a number of Desire Z owners in Germany (and at least one in Hungary) have just received their OTA Android 2.3.3 updates, and the rest of Europe shouldn’t be too far behind. At some point, the original Desire will also be allowed back at the Gingerbread table after all manner of divisive head-games — possibly as soon as August in some regions. We’re going to re-stock our fridge and put the oven on in anticipation.

[Thanks, Lukas and Zsolt]

HTC Desire Z Gingerbread update rolls out in the land of the Bratwurst originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Thanks, Brian]

Continue reading Microsoft leaks Tulalip internal project, planning to launch social search… thing?

Microsoft leaks Tulalip internal project, planning to launch social search… thing? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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