Hasta La Gadget!

In an interview with Pocket-lint, Microsoft UK’s Ashley Highfield said the company won’t be delivering a dedicated OS for tablets anytime soon. “We won’t do anything in the tablet market unless we can be distinctive,” he said. Given, we’ve already seen a number of slates rocking Windows 7, but Highfield was apparently tight-lipped about any solid plans to move into the tablet market in any substantial way, saying Microsoft sees itself as an underdog in certain areas. As far as we know, Highfield made no mention of how this relates to Windows Compact 7, which we’ve seen in prototype form in the past. Of course, all of this is coming from the guy who warned of the impending death of television as we know it, but we’re inclined to believe him on this one. On another note, Microsoft’s UK managing director said he gets his tablet fix on a Dell Inspiron Duo — we suppose it’s a good sign he’s not rocking an Android or iOS tab.

Microsoft’s Ashley Highfield says no dedicated tablet OS until the time is right originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re hankering to be riding the very latest mobile software from Apple, hit up your iTunes, for version 4.3.2 of iOS is now available for downloadin’ and updatin’. Fixes for occasional “blank or frozen” FaceTime video and iPad 3G issues get top billing, while the obligatory security updates fill out the rest. The size of this mighty software drop? A hefty 666.2MB.

Update: Well, someone’s skipping class today. A tethered jailbreak is already in the wilds, if you dare. Thanks, Jeff!

Update 2: Looks like Verizon customers are getting a slightly different update of their own: iOS 4.2.7. It promises only “bug fixes and security updates.”

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 4.3.2 / 4.2.7 now available to download, fixes iPad 3G and FaceTime woes (update: jailbroken!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lest you thought HP‘s Windows 7 slate was for large businesses and its upcoming webOS ones were reserved for consumers, not so fast. In a video (embedded after the break for your viewing pleasure), HP touts Citrix running on its forthcoming Touchpad to show it can play nice with enterprises’ IT departments, too. As with Chrome OS, Citrix Receiver runs inside the browser, letting people choose the desktop apps they want. Both platforms, it seems, are capable of running computer-aided design applications in the cloud, with HP showing a 3D model in AutoCAD eDrawings Viewer. The frame rate isn’t as fluid as HP would have you believe, but getting started appears idiot-proof, thanks to some large, tap-able icons. In any case, with 80 percent of the Fortune 100 already deploying the iPad, it’s wise of HP to woo corporate customers with webOS. Isn’t that right, Microsoft?

Continue reading HP demos Citrix running on Touchpad, tries to make webOS corporation-friendly (video)

HP demos Citrix running on Touchpad, tries to make webOS corporation-friendly (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This thought was first given voice by Myriam Joire on last night’s Mobile Podcast, and the simple, lethal accuracy of it has haunted me ever since. All the hubbub and unrest about whether Google is trying to lock Android down or not has failed to address whether Google should be trying to control the OS, and if so, what the (valid) reasons for that may be. Herein, I present only one, but it’s arguably big enough to make all the dissidence about open source idealism and promises unkept fade into insignificance.

Continue reading Editorial: Android’s problem isn’t fragmentation, it’s contamination

Editorial: Android’s problem isn’t fragmentation, it’s contamination originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A storm seems to be brewing over the realm of Android development. Bloomberg’s Businessweek spies have received word from “a dozen executives working at key companies in the Android ecosystem” that Google is actively working to gain control and final say over customizations of its popular mobile OS. That might not sound unreasonable, and indeed Google’s public position on the matter is that it’s seeking to stabilize the platform and ensure quality control, but it does mark a major shift from where Android started — an open source OS that was also open to manufacturers and carriers to customize as they wish. Not so anymore, we’re told, as apparently Mountain View is now demanding that content partnerships and OS tweaks get the blessing of Andy Rubin before proceeding. The alternative, of course, is to not be inside Google’s warm and fuzzy early access program, but then, as evidenced by the company recently withholding the Honeycomb source code, you end up far behind those among your competitors who do dance to Google’s pipe.

Things have gotten so heated, in fact, that complaints have apparently been made to the US Department of Justice. They may have something to do with allegations of Google holding back Verizon handsets with Microsoft’s Bing on board, ostensibly in an effort to trip up its biggest search competitor. Another major dissatisfaction expressed by those working with Android code is that Google needs an advance preview of what is being done in order to give it the green light — which, as noted by a pair of sources familiar with Facebook’s Android customization efforts, isn’t sitting well with people at all. Google and Facebook are direct competitors in the online space and it’s easily apparent how much one stands to gain from knowing the other’s plans early. As to the non-fragmentation clauses in licenses, Andy Rubin has pointed out those have been there from the start, but it’s only now that Google is really seeking to use them to establish control. The future of Android, therefore, looks to be a little less open and a little more Googlish — for better or worse. As Nokia’s Stephen Elop puts it:

“The premise of a true open software platform may be where Android started, but it’s not where Android is going.”

Google tightening control of Android, insisting licensees abide by ‘non-fragmentation clauses’? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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