Samsung teases Bada at event, questions still outnumber answers

We’ve just come back from the Samsung Bada mobile platform launch event in London, and frankly the presentation was no more than an app developer and investor magnet — no hands-on opportunity and no direct answers regarding the hardware. The only mention of a Bada phone is that something’s coming out in the first half of 2010. That said, today Samsung did bring in representatives of five strong Bada app partners: Twitter, Capcom, EA, Gameloft and Blockbuster. Needless to say mobile gaming is high up on Bada’s agenda, but the brief presence of Twitter’s Head of Mobile, Kevin Thau, solidified Samsung’s dedication for integrating SNS (social networking services) sites on mobile handsets. Yes, just like many fish in the sea. Read on to see how Bada aims to be “an ocean of endless enjoyment.”

Continue reading Samsung teases Bada at event, questions still outnumber answers

Samsung teases Bada at event, questions still outnumber answers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Bada phone to be announced first half of next year

We’re still not entirely sure why Samsung feels the need to launch its own mobile operating system while still cranking out Android and Windows Mobile devices, but it seems like things are going full steam ahead: a spokesperson told CNET Asia today that a Bada phone would arrive in the first half of 2010. Sure, that sounds like a long time off, but really it’s just six months after the big Bada SDK reveal in December, so we’ll have to see if that’s enough time for developers to sort things out and release any apps.

[Thanks, Siobhan]

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Samsung Bada phone to be announced first half of next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Mobile 7 ‘Maldives’ test program reportedly on track for Q1 2010 release to OEMs

Ballmer may have wanted it to be out yesterday, but it looks like the initial release of Windows Mobile 7 may now finally, actually be in sight. According to ZDNet Taiwan, the mobile OS is now on track for a release to OEMs for testing (the so-called “Maldives” program) sometime in the first quarter of 2010, and will be launched publicly sometime in the third quarter of the year (or about a year after the release of Windows Mobile 6.5) — all of which more or less lines up with earlier rumors of a release to manufacturing in Spring 2010. If past history is any indication, however, it seems likely that the earliest builds of the OS could be circulating around the usual channels well before that — probably right on the heels of the release to OEMs.

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

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Windows Mobile 7 ‘Maldives’ test program reportedly on track for Q1 2010 release to OEMs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung announces Bada mobile OS, SDK sets sail in December

Because what the world needs now is yet another mobile operating system, Samsung has announced its foray into the field with Bada. Not much to reveal at this point other than some key PR speak: the name means “ocean” in Korean, the company’s committed to “a variety of open platforms” in mobile industry and it plans this to be easy to integrate / customize based on carrier’s experience. All real news should be coming sometime in December, when Sammy is saying it’ll have a London launch event and reveal the SDK. Full presser after the break.

Continue reading Samsung announces Bada mobile OS, SDK sets sail in December

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Samsung announces Bada mobile OS, SDK sets sail in December originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CE-Oh no he didn’t! Part XLV: Symbian’s Lee Williams rips into Android, implies Google is evil (video)

Strap yourselves in, folks, we’re about to launch the Mudslinger 3000 again and figure out if any of it sticks. Lee Williams of Symbian starts off with a few attack volleys relating to Google’s “fragmentation” of UI elements, and the resultant closed APIs being a nightmare to code for. With so many divergent UI elements and styles, he argues, developers would suffer, and the consequence would be a less vibrant app ecosystem. His major gripe with Google’s mobile OS, though, has to do with the pervasive “cookie-ing” of customers, which raises the specter of privacy concerns. When asked directly by our buddy Om Malik whether he considers Android “more evil” than Apple’s iPhone OS, Williams replied:

“I don’t view Apple as evil, they’re just greedy… Google, come on! When you have to say in your motto that we’re not evil, right away the first question in my mind is, ‘why do you have to tell me that?'”

All this must be tempered by the knowledge that Android is set to overtake large swathes of the mobile OS space, and some retaliatory trash talking is probably to be expected from the incumbent smartphone leader. Om does ask another sage question, in querying why Williams thinks companies are making such large investments into Android, and you’ll find the answer to that and much more in the video past the break.

[Via MobileTechWorld; Thanks, fido]

Read – Lee Williams interview with GigaOM
Read – New York Times: ‘Big Cellphone Makers Shifting to Android System’
Read – PCWorld: ‘Android, Symbian Will Own Smartphones in 2012’

Continue reading CE-Oh no he didn’t! Part XLV: Symbian’s Lee Williams rips into Android, implies Google is evil (video)

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CE-Oh no he didn’t! Part XLV: Symbian’s Lee Williams rips into Android, implies Google is evil (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android could nab second place in mobile operating systems by 2012, says research

Sure, Android is a brand new operating system at a seemingly huge disadvantage to other, more entrenched household names like Windows Mobile or Symbian. Well, all that could change — at least according to research just released by Gartner, Inc. The company’s report claims that Android could claim upwards of 14 percent of the global mobile operating system share by 2012 (it now has less than 2 percent). This would make it the number two (behind Symbian OS) phone OS in the world. The main factors behind this surge, according to Gartner’s report, are the fact that Android is a Google-backed proposition, a company which will continue to offer more cloud-computing services and apps which will increasingly draw users into its web. They also note Android’s “blend” of app heaviness (making it like the iPhone) combined with the task-mastering of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry smartphones. We’ll let you know when Grandma Elly has a Sholes — that’s the real test of success and popularity in our world.

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Android could nab second place in mobile operating systems by 2012, says research originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Maemo 5 screen shows fascinating, unique array of settings

Nokia may have shot down rumors that it was planning to completely replace its Symbian OS with Maemo, but that hasn’t taken all the shine off the mobile OS, and a new, lone screenshot has now surfaced to further stoke those flames of anticipation (it’s okay, you can admit it). As you can see above, however, it’s not exactly the most exciting of screens to capture, but is supposedly the real deal and not just another SDK sourced image.

[Thanks, Eric]

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New Maemo 5 screen shows fascinating, unique array of settings originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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