Mar 23

Valve’s Gabe Newell hints at possible Steam port to iOS / Android, may be blowing hot air

Posted in: Android, Apple, gaming, Google, ios, mobile, mobile os, MobileOs, os, rumor, Today's Chili

We’d recommend taking this all with a healthy grain of salt for now, but according to a fortunate Steam Powered forum member who scored a trip by Valve’s headquarters, the company’s considering an iOS / Android port of Steam. Yeah, Steam — you know, that wildly popular game distribution service that’s doing its darnedest to kill off boxed video game sales. As the story goes, Political Gamer was able to sit down with Valve’s own Gabe Newell for a tick, and while the topics of conversation were obviously varied, one point in particular piqued our interest. Purportedly, Gabe confirmed that the company is “looking into the iOS / Android platform for possible expansions with Steam,” which makes absolute sense given just how well-received the iPod touch and iPhone have been by gamers. To boot, Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play is just around the bend, and if Amazon’s able to launch its own app store, why not push out a game-centric one from a name that people already know and trust? Of course, pondering the possibility is far different than investing resources into a new product, so until we hear that the latter is definitely happening, we’ll be doing our best to suppress our expectations. Call it self-preservation.

Valve’s Gabe Newell hints at possible Steam port to iOS / Android, may be blowing hot air originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Microsoft Begins Windows Phone 7 “NoDo” Update

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, mobile, Today's Chili, windows phone 7

Winrumors - WP7 Update

Windows Phone 7 users, the moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. After fits and starts, Microsoft is finally beginning the wide-scale rollout of its first major update to the mobile platform, including the ability to copy/paste, startup and shutdown speed improvements, faster app access to phone memory so your apps launch faster, and more. 
The update, called “NoDo,” has already begin hitting some WP7 phones, according to a post at WinRumors. Un-branded Windows Phones will get the update first, and while Microsoft says they’ve released the update to wireless carriers to push to carrier-branded phones, it’s up to them to release or block the update from their users.  Unfortunately, that means that most North American WP7 owners will have to wait until their carrier pushes the update down to them. 
The update also includes some improvements to phone performance over Wi-Fi, updates to the on-board Outlook client, and an update to the Windows Phone Marketplace so users can more easily search for and find the apps they want to install. Considering some of the previous issues carriers have had with Windows Phone 7 updates, it would make sense if they’re a little hesitant to open the floodgates, but with WP7 owners clamoring for it, it’s just a matter of time.
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Mar 23

Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs

Posted in: Android, app, download, maemo, mobile, Mozilla, sync, Today's Chili, video

If you’re liking what Firefox 4 for mobile already offers in its previous beta builds, then you’ll certainly want to check out its release candidate that went live on Monday — just less than six months after the browser when beta. According to Mozilla, this new build provides a better overall user experience with faster scrolling and improved Firefox Sync, along with other goodies like Awesome Screen smart shortcuts, tabbed browsing, Firefox Add-ons, and Persona themes. Sounds a lot like its desktop sibling (which has a healthy 4.9 million downloads already), doesn’t it? Head over to the source page for the Android and Maemo download links, or you can have a look at Mozilla’s latest video after the break if you need some convincing.

Continue reading Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs

Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 18

GM Adds 14 New Vehicles You Can Control with the OnStar Mobile App

Posted in: apps, Cars, mobile, Today's Chili
OnStar - Unlock

Back at CES a couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to see the OnStar mobile app in action with a pre-production model of the Chevy Volt. Now that the Volt is on the roads and the OnStar mobile app works with a number of other GM vehicles, more and more people know the joy of being able to start your car, lock or unlock your doors, flash your lights, and even check your vehicle’s health from your iPhone, Android phone, or BlackBerry.
GM announced this week that they were expanding the mobile app services to 14 additional vehicles, including the 2010 Cadillac DTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV and EXT, the Buick Enclave and Lucerne, the GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, and Acadia, and the Chevrolet Impala, Avalanche, Suburban, Tahoe, and Traverse. This list is unfortunately dominated by large SUVs – the kind people are less inclined to buy at times like now when gasoline prices are high, but it’s good news for smartphone lovers who love their cars nonetheless. 
Owners of these new vehicles will be able to install the mobile app on their devices and use it to interface with their cars from anywhere they have cellular service, even if it’s on the other side of the world. GM said that there are even plans to expand navigation services to the mobile app, so drivers can search for destinations using their phone and then send it to their vehicle’s on-board OnStar device.
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Mar 18

Vimpelcom moves forward with $6 billion Wind Mobile merger, intends to hurdle regulatory snags

Posted in: business, canada, carrier, deal, merger, mobile, partnership, Today's Chili

If you thought Verizon Wireless and Alltel’s marriage underwent a good bit of scrutiny, you’ll soon be swearing that Vimpelcom and Wind Mobile are on some sort of global watch list. The Amsterdam-based Vimpelcom has taken a giant leap towards the completion of a $6 billion merger with Wind Telecom, the latter of which has around 117 million subscribers spread across Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, North Korea and Canada. If and when the two link hands, the combined effort will be home to a staggering 173 million customers, creating the fifth largest mobile operator by subscriber count. Wind Mobile’s head honcho seems more than enthused about the news, and he’s hoping that the tie-up will allow prices to sink for just about everyone involved. Claiming feats such as “more access to international cooperation for roaming and long distance services” and the ability to utilize “more leverage and increased scale” to drive down prices, Anthony Lacavera isn’t showing any public signs of worry when it comes to regulatory hurdles. In months past, the CRTC took issue with Globalive Wireless — operator of Wind Mobile — starting up in Canada, primarily due to the company’s largest lender (Orascom) residing outside of the Great White North. As of now, things seem to be sailing right along, but you can bet this marriage won’t be formally recognized before a borderline-obnoxious amount of investigating goes down behind the scenes.

[Thanks, Kelvin]

Vimpelcom moves forward with $6 billion Wind Mobile merger, intends to hurdle regulatory snags originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 15

Online news overtakes paper, and nearly half of it is mobile

Posted in: mobile, study, tablet, Today's Chili

Wait, this is just now happening? The Pew Project’s 2011 report on mobile devices’ effect on media was published this week; it’s a fascinating read from end to end that reveals a wild swing in the way we’ve gathered news and information as human beings over the past decade, but a couple stats really stand out. First off, the internet has finally overtaken newspapers as a news source, putting it behind just television — and we already know the writing’s on the wall there since the young ones are already preferring the web. And of those web-savvy, voracious consumers of information, some 47 percent are getting at least some of it on the go, either through their phone or tablet (like, say, Engadget’s lovely selection of mobile apps). Mass transit commuters have always been a haven for newspaper-toting businessfolk — but with iPads continuing to sell like hotcakes, not even the subway is safe from the tablet onslaught.

Online news overtakes paper, and nearly half of it is mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourceThe Pew Project (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 14

Google VP lays down mobile stats, boasts 150 million Maps users

Posted in: app, application, apps, Google, gps, ios, iPhone, maps, mobile, statistics, stats, Today's Chili
Care for a cup of Google data, anyone? At SXSW, the vice president of location services, Marissa Mayer, stated some interesting facts about the state of all things mobile at the Goog. Most notably, the company provides its map service to 150 million users. Just to give you an idea of how many peeps that is — it’s about half the number of individuals in America. Crazy, we know. What’s more, Mayer claimed that Google Maps guided users 12 billion miles per year and that its latest build of the app saves people an average of two days worth of travel time each year. Another bit worth noting is how the company feels about Google Maps for iPhone. “We like being the default provider, but we’d like to get some of these updates out to a broader audience. That’s still a debate / question we’re considering.” Updates? An actual Google Maps application that works as a GPS on an iPhone? Wake us up when iOS 5 is previewed, or we can just keep dreaming.

Google VP lays down mobile stats, boasts 150 million Maps users originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 06

New Poll: Are Smartphones too Smart?

Posted in: Gadgets, mobile, Smartphones, Today's Chili

This article was written on March 04, 2009 by CyberNet.

no smartphones allowed.pngOver the last few years it seems as though the iPhone has really sparked a greater interest in smartphones, and has managed to show consumers what handheld devices are capable of doing. Of course they aren’t alone in the market with both Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries all competing to be the one you carry in your pocket.

Having all this power in your hand is a tremendous convenience, but I recently met a girl named Payal who wasn’t as eager to get one of these gadgets. Being the geek that I am I curiously asked what her reasoning was for not not wanting the iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter.

A lot of times when I ask the question of why someone doesn’t want a smartphone the response is typically that they don’t need it. Those types of people use the device for talking, and maybe some occasional text messaging, but other than that their phone stays tucked away in their pocket. Her response was something I hadn’t heard before. She explained how so many people are in love with their smartphones, but to her such a device would curb the spontaneity and enthusiasm that she wants from life.

How so you might ask? I wondered the same thing since I personally use the iPhone quite a bit for finding places I ordinarily wouldn’t have stumbled across. I will, for example, fire up the Yelp application and look for unique restaurants in the area I’m at. In her eyes that’s not the same kind of excitement. To her it’s more fun to walk around and grab a bite to eat at any place she comes across, and doesn’t want to rely on the reviews and thoughts of online strangers. In other words she wants to see the world through her own eyes, and not through someone else’s.

Another example she provided was exploring new places. She loves to drive around almost hoping to get lost, and find places she’s not been to before. With a smartphone she fears that having the capability to quickly get back on course (via a GPS) would discourage any of this from happening.

So I’d love to hear from all of you in regards to how you feel about smartphones. Why do/don’t you use one? I have to admit that the conversation I had with her has really made me ponder how I use my iPhone, and how much I actually rely on it. I’m sure that the next time I pull it out for leisure purposes I’ll think twice as to whether I actually need it, or whether I’m passing up what could be a fun experience.

With that being said we’ve got a new poll to accompany this topic! If you have Flash enabled you should be able to vote below, otherwise the poll will remain up for a few weeks in the sidebar of the site.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Mar 05

Google Docs: now supporting mobile editing in 45 languages

Posted in: Android, froyo, Google, mobile, Today's Chili

Never mind the fact that you’ll need to have a basic grasp of English to even understand this report — if you’re an avid user of Google Docs on your Android 2.2+ phone, you can now edit in 45 languages. Heck, even if you’re not using Android, you can surf on over to docs.google.com with any iOS 3.0+ device and accomplish the same thing. Would it make it any clearer if we spoke slowly and removed all adjectives?

[Thanks, Calvin]

Google Docs: now supporting mobile editing in 45 languages originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Mobile Blog, Google (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 04

SteelSeries Unveils Siberia v2 Headsets for Gaming and Mobile Devices

Posted in: gaming, mobile, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili, video games

SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset

At CeBit this week, SteelSeries took the wraps off of the Siberia v2 Gaming Headset for the PS3, which is compatible with the PSN chat service, but also works with the XBox 360, Mac OS, and Windows. 
The all-black headset features completely closed earphones for immersive sound and passive noise reduction, a retractable microphone that extends out from the bottom of the left earcup, and a suspended headband that allows you to adjust the shape of the headset to fit your head. It also comes with in-line volume and mix controls so you can quickly mute your microphone, adjust the volume, boost the bass, or tweak your audio settings. 
The new Siberia v2 for PS3 compliments SteelSeries’ release of the Siberia v2 Headset for iPod, iPhone, and iPad – an all-white model with many of the same features, but features microphone support through a single 3.5mm jack instead of the separate cables used on the console and PC version. This version of the Siberia v2 works with any mobile device, not just iOS gadgets – and also features in-line volume and mute controls so you can listen to music on your mobile device or take calls with the retractable microphone. 
The console version of the Siberia v2 headset will be available in Q3 of 2011 for $119.99 retail price. The mobile version will hit store shelves around the same time, and retail for $99.99.
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