Sep 26

Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21st launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?)

Posted in: launch, Microsoft, Release Date, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

We’d heard October. We heard Europe in October. We heard next month. Now, Neowin cites anonymous sources that Windows Phone 7 will arrive in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy on precisely October 21st, and is preparing a good deal of marketing fanfare to support a fancy October 11th unveiling in New York City. We can’t say whether the rumor’s correct, but it’s certainly picking up steam, as these particular numbers were independently reported by Pocket-lint and the Spanish publication El Economista earlier this month as well. Now all we need is an alleged US release date — misery loves company, right?

Update: Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott says that while Redmond’s indeed holding an October 11th shindig in NYC, it’s not a Windows Phone event… but his source tells him the long-lost US launch date is actually November 8th. Imagine that!

[Thanks, Stephen]

Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21st launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocket-lint  |  sourceNeowin, Eleconomista  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 23

Verizon CEO Throws Wet Blanket on iPhone Rumors

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, lte, Phones, rumors, Today's Chili, verizon

By Chris Foresman

Though rumors about the possibility of Apple launching a CDMA-compatible iPhone on Verizon have been picking up steam lately—our own sources have told us that an LTE-capable iPhone has been in testing in Boston for several months—Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg suggested Thursday that it might not be coming in January as many had hoped.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York, Seidenberg made no mention of an iPhone model being made to work on Verizon’s current EVDO/CDMA network. Instead, he “hoped” that Apple would consider making an iPhone to work with its nascent LTE 4G network.

“We would love to carry [the iPhone] when we get there, but we have to earn it,” Seidenberg told investors. “I think 4G will accelerate the process, and any other decisions Apple makes would be fine with us. Hopefully, at some point Apple will get with the program.”

Those comments may be bad news to the significant percentage of current iPhone users locked to AT&T in the US who would likely switch to Verizon if given the chance. Our own reader survey earlier this year also suggested that there are plenty of existing Verizon customers who would be interested in an iPhone that worked on the largest US network. Though Verizon has been very successful with a strong lineup of Android-powered smartphones from Motorola and HTC, pent-up demand for a CDMA-compatible iPhone definitely exists.

However, other evidence suggests that a CDMA-compatible iPhone is in the works, even if Seidenberg isn’t willing to work with Apple to bring it to his network. Component suppliers have hinted that Apple is prepping to build at least 3 million CDMA iPhones in December, which would track with a manufacturing ramp-up for a rumored January launch.

As mentioned above, we’ve heard through the grapevine that an LTE/CDMA iPhone has been in testing on Verizon’s network in the Boston area, and that the rumored January launch was contingent on Verizon meeting its stated goal of launching its LTE network in 30 major markets by year’s end. If Verizon isn’t on track to meet that goal, it may have resulted in Apple changing its mind. Still, a CDMA-compatible iPhone could launch on other networks, including Sprint in the US, and China Mobile and SK Telecom in Asia.

Whatever the problem is between Verizon and Apple, though, customers certainly don’t care—they just want the popular device to work on their preferred network. It would be beneficial to both Verizon and Apple to work out a deal, and work it out soon, while demand is still high.

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.

Image credit: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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Sep 22

New BlackBerry Tablet May Debut Next Week

Posted in: BlackBerry, research in motion, rumors, tablet, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

The tablet wars are set to heat up. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion may announce its tablet next week at the company’s developer conference — which starts Monday in San Francisco — according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

RIM has already trademarked ‘BlackPad’ and ‘SurfBook,’ and it’s likely that the firm’s new tablet could carry one of these names.

Chinese paper Apple Daily reported last month that RIM has chosen Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Quanta to produce at least 2 million tablets this year. RIM and Quanta were said to be targeting a $500 price tag for the BlackPad to make it competitive against Apple’s iPad.

RIM’s tablet announcement, if it happens next week, will come just weeks after the debut of the Samsung’s 7-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab.

Since Apple introduced the iPad in April, tablets have made a big comeback and become the hottest consumer gadgets of the year. Apple has sold more than 3 million iPads. Dell launched the Streak, a tablet with a 5-inch screen, in June. Samsung has already said its tablet will be available on all four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile — but hasn’t announced exact pricing or availability.

BlackBerry’s new tablet will differ from its peers. It will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity but through tethering the device to a BlackBerry smartphone. (Other tablets have these connectivity features built in.) Essentially, the BlackBerry tablet has been designed as a “companion” to the phone, according to earlier reports.

The BlackBerry tablet will likely have a 7-inch screen and run a new operating system designed by QNX Software, a company that RIM acquired earlier this year, says the Journal.

RIM has been trying to go beyond its core audience of business users and attract more consumers, especially with the launch of such devices as the recent touchscreen phone Torch. A BlackBerry tablet seems like yet another step in that direction.

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Photo: (Sean Hobson/Flickr)


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Sep 22

Nintendo 3DS Specs Leaked: Dual ARM Processors

Posted in: 3ds, leaks, nintendo, rumors, Today's Chili, Toys and Games

You know those “persons familiar with the [something]” who seems to know an awful lot about corporate secrets? Well, they’ve blabbed again, this time to game site IGN’s UK colony. The secret? The internal specs of Nintendo’s 3DS.

According to the fact-spilling source, the 3DS will have a pair of 266MHz ARM11 CPUs (yes, two of them), a 133MHz GPU with 4MB of dedicated VRAM, 64MB of regular RAM and 1.5GB flash storage.

It’s those dual ARM processors that have us excited, and they kind of make sense on a machine with two screens, one of which sends images to two eyes (the screen works by using prisms to send images out in different directions, which you adjust with a sliding switch until the aim is just right).

We still don’t know when the 3DS – described by Wired.com’s Chris Kohler as “stunning technology” – will be in stores. Rumors point to a November release in Japan, so our guess is on sometime next year. 3D Mario Kart? I can’t wait.

New Nintendo 3DS Hardware Info [IGN]

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

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Sep 21

HTC Trophy with Windows Phone 7 caught in the wild?

Posted in: HTC, in the wild, InTheWild, rumors, Today's Chili, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7

HTC Trophy isn’t an entirely new name ’round these here parts — in fact, we’ve seen it twice now on two documents that have propagated the internet before their respective time. But this is the first claimed sighting of such a device, and according to Pocketnow, what we’re looking at is indeed the Trophy itself, packed with Windows Phone 7. And that’s about all we can say here, as there’s no indication of price, release date, or if this is actually one of the many other WP7 devices HTC has cooking. At any rate, have no fear, the manufacturer’s all but guaranteed to bring you numerous options from which to choose.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Trophy with Windows Phone 7 caught in the wild? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePocketnow  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 21

Rumored Nintendo 3DS specs include two separate 266MHz ARM11 processors, 1.5GB storage

Posted in: 3ds, DS, leak, leaks, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

The mystery of what’s actually under the hood of the Nintendo 3DS is likely to elude us until launch date, when the inevitable teardown commences. That isn’t stopping IGN, however, from pooling together its rolodex of sources to report what it believes the specs are: two 266MHz ARM11 CPUs, a 133MHz GPU, 4MB dedicated VRAM, 64MB RAM, and 1.5GB flash storage (in addition to the previously-known SD card expansion). If based on ARM11 architecture, it’d certainly be in good (if not wildly disparate) company: iPhone (original and 3G), the first two generations of iPod touch, all Amazon Kindles, Palm Pixi, a plethora of Nokia handsets, and… the Kin One and Zune HD. Two separate processors isn’t too far fetched, either, as the original DS had both a 67MHz ARM9 and a 33.5MHz ARM7 (quite an uptick, eh?). Digital Media Productions took credit for the GPU back in June, claiming its Pica200 would be the chip of choice. That’s got a maximum speed of 200MHz, which according to this rumor is being underclocked.

So, nothing that runs counter to the admittedly little we got via the 3DS’ FCC leak, and still nothing to keep the Tegra 2 hopeful in check (poor souls). Those with a need to know so passionate it runs through their very being will, as we said before, probably have to wait until it hits retail. And we should find out when that is next week.

Rumored Nintendo 3DS specs include two separate 266MHz ARM11 processors, 1.5GB storage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIGN  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 20

Sony’s PlayStation division looking for engineers with Android dev experience

Posted in: Android, developer, gaming, gingerbread, phone, playstation, rumor, rumors, sony, Today's Chili

It’s been just over a month since we broke the news that Sony’s working on an Android 3.0-based gaming phone with PlayStation branding, and a new job posting seems to indicate that progress is being made — the PlayStation division is looking for a senior server engineer in London with “experience in mobile development, specifically Android.” The rest of the listing sounds like this person will be involved in running an online game service, which certainly makes sense; Sony would do well to counter Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 and Apple’s Game Center with PSN on their own device. Either that, or this just means nothing — but you know us, we’re eternal optimists.

[Thanks, Saad073]

Sony’s PlayStation division looking for engineers with Android dev experience originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 20

Rumor: Apple Purchased Face ID Firm ‘Polar Rose’

Posted in: Apple, Phones, R&D and Inventions, rumors, Today's Chili

Your next iPhone’s interface could get more in your face with Apple’s acquisition of a face-recognition company, according to reports.

Apple has acquired Polar Rose, a Swedish augmented-reality firm, according to multiple independent news outlets. TechCrunch claims that Polar Rose sold for $22 million.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wired.com earlier reported on a conceptual smartphone app co-developed by Polar Rose called Recognizr, an augmented reality application designed to identify a person just by taking a photo of them.

Demonstrated in the video below, the conceptual app Recognizr uses recognition software to create a 3-D model of a person’s mug and transmits it to a server, which matches it with an image stored in a database. An online server performs facial recognition, shoots back a name of the subject and links to his or her social networking profiles.

The acquisition of Polar Rose comes in line with a recent patent application filed by Apple related to a security feature enabling the iPhone to listen to your heartbeat or scan your face to identify its rightful owner.

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Sep 19

Minox PX3D concept camera produces 3D images viewable sans glasses

Posted in: camera, concept, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

The doors of Photokina open in a matter of hours, and we’ll most definitely be venturing over to Minox‘s booth in order to have a look at the PX3D. According to the barebones teaser release, this here concept camera will be able to capture 3D images that are viewable sans glasses. It should be noted that the world’s first consumer-oriented 3D cameras haven’t exactly seen the fondest of reviews, but tossing the glasses requirement may just flip things on its head. It’s still unclear what kind of display / digital photo frame will be required to view the effect (we’re guessing a parallax barrier panel will be thrown up for display), but we’ll be barging in soon in order to get the full skinny.

Minox PX3D concept camera produces 3D images viewable sans glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |  sourcePhotographyBLOG, Press Anzeiger  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 16

New Apple TV’s iOS can be jailbroken and made to run apps?

Posted in: Apple, apple tv, ios, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

Remember the mysterious reference to iProd 2,1 that appeared in the iPad’s code? We thought it might be a new CDMA or camera-equipped iPad, but it just might have been the new iOS-based Apple TV instead. Diving through the iOS 4.2 beta, a TUAW tipster allegedly uncovered the above key, which hints that we might have been right about the device’s app potential all along. Though Apple may rely on a simpler media streaming UI for the home theater to enhance accessibility and ease of use, there’s always the chance the community might jailbreak the $99 set-top box to do far greater things. While you wait with bated breath for confirmation of this wondrous possibility, why not check out our Apple TV hands-on?

New Apple TV’s iOS can be jailbroken and made to run apps? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTUAW  | Email this | Comments

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