Hasta La Gadget!

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

As CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates would often talk about his dream of “information at your fingertips.” The company he co-founded, though, is now taking literal steps toward that goal. By the end of the month, Microsoft will have released three new devices or platforms that embrace or extend touchscreen support — but the impact touch will have on each varies significantly by their legacy, usage, and manufacturers.

Windows has long had touchscreen support. Such support, in fact, was the basis of the Tablet Edition of Windows XP, and Tablet PCs were proclaimed to be the future of notebooks. Early iterations were larger and thicker keyboard-lacking slates much like the new Archos 9pctablet. But this was before rampant Web browsing, streaming video, casual games and electronic books — all of which now provide relevance for a new generation of touchscreen PCs as content-consumption devices.

Continue reading Switched On: Microsoft’s touchy subjects

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Tablet PCs

Switched On: Microsoft’s touchy subjects originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so we understand Microsoft is trying hard to rebrand Windows Mobile as Windows Phone with the launch of WinMo 6.5, but this commercial — labeled with AT&T logos in the US but also running unlabeled worldwide — doesn’t seem to do a good job of pointing out that Windows Phone is a platform and not a device. In fact, if we didn’t know better, we’d think that the HTC Pure is, in fact, the “Windows Phone” — even though the dude in the spot is holding a totally different generic device. See how that could be weird for people? It’s almost confusing enough to distract from the jubilant anthropomorphic app icons in tights. Video after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone commercial is confusing for a variety of reasons

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Phone commercial is confusing for a variety of reasons originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a cool grand to drop on a Windows Phone? Oh, yeah? Then have a gander at Samsung’s latest fashion piece, the Armani-branded M7500. The cool cats over at PhoneArena managed to get their paws around a unit, and as predicted, they didn’t hesitate to bust out the camera and give us all a good look. They also took the chance to give us a brief overview of how the handset handled, calling it “bulky even for a WinMo smartphone,” though praising the high-res display and well-spaced keyboard. Feel free to hit the read link if you’re interested in more, but don’t be shocked to hear more than a little criticism.

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Arnaud]

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s WinMo 6.5-powered Armani smartphone gets previewed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the crazy week of news we’ve had, never has the ever-insightful, industry-encompassing commentary of the Engadget Podcast been so necessary, so vital, so… vigorous. Sure, you could try to make your way through the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 and an onslaught of Android news all by yourself, but then you’d just be alone and sad. And who would be there to comfort and hold you and tell you how terribly overpriced the VAIO X is and how little Dell revealed about its new Adamo this week? Nobody, that’s who. Don’t be another statistic, slip on some relatively comfortable earbuds and come on over to the Podcast side.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Cyberdelic – Such Great Heights

Hear the podcast

00:02:30 – HTC HD2 hands-on and impressions… on video!
00:03:02 – Entelligence: The HTC HD2 and the future of Windows Mobile
00:05:00 – HTC HD2 to arrive Stateside in early 2010 — huzzah!
00:08:00 – Windows Mobile 6.5 review
00:15:00 – Robbie Bach sits down for a roundtable discussion, Engadget is there
00:31:40 – Windows Mobile 6.5: a family portrait
00:40:00 – Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 update guide: no, no, maybe
00:43:05 – Verizon plans to support Google Voice, will launch two ‘game-changing’ Android devices in coming weeks
00:45:08 – Second Verizon Android phone to be an HTC, Motorola Sholes makes an appearance
00:45:35 – Verizon Motorola Sholes not running MOTOBLUR?
00:47:00 – Motorola Sholes to launch by holidays, along with the BlackBerry Storm 2 and Nokia Booklet 3G
00:49:31 – Samsung Behold II marries Android, TouchWiz for T-Mobile
00:50:30 – Samsung Behold II caught behind glass
00:52:05 – Samsung Moment for Sprint first hands-on!
00:55:00 – Samsung Moment slider coming to Sprint, packing Android (update: official, $179)
00:59:29 – AT&T now allowing iPhone VoIP calls over 3G
00:59:35 – VAIO X spotted in champagne, propped up by extended battery, ripped apart
01:00:00 – Sony VAIO X announced, starts at $1,299
01:03:33 – HP Mini 311 reviewed with earnest, ION-enhanced affection
01:06:45 – Dell reveals new Adamo XPS, gives no details
01:19:50 – The next Engadget Show tapes live October 22nd — with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer!

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
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[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
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Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 166 – 10.09.2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey developers, Nokia’s got a special treat for you today. It just announced the official port of the community-driven Qt for Maemo project. That means a common framework for writing native applications (and web apps and services thanks to Webkit integration) across Maemo 5 and future Maemo 6 releases, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. That’s a broad reach in terms of devices (including the hotly anticipated N900) and marketshare and a smart move by Nokia in an era where devices are differentiated not by hardware and OS but by their ability to run apps and connect to web services. A “technology preview” release is available now and scheduled for final release (based on Qt 4.6) in Q1 of 2010. Click through for a wee taste.

Continue reading Nokia makes Qt port to Maemo 5 and N900 official (video)

Filed under: Software

Nokia makes Qt port to Maemo 5 and N900 official (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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