Hasta La Gadget!

As 2010 nears its end, it’s time to start getting all nostalgic. There were a lot of ups and downs in the world of tech this year, and as we take a look at some of our top stories for the calendar, it’s impossible not to notice just how diverse the selection is.

We start this first of a two-part retrospective with a surprisingly popular “sex robot” and cap it off with a bit of bad press for Apple in what was largely a pretty decent year for Jobs and co.

[Above, sorry, a little Bieber couldn’t be helped.]

Sure, we just spent the last four or five years chiding Microsoft for its anachronistic Windows CE interface, a UI which was holding Windows Mobile back in a post-stylus world, but now that Windows Phone 7 is here we get to start feeling all nostalgic, right? The ongoing Liberate project for the Zune HD, which just hit version 1.5.1, strips away that flashy Zune veneer and boots the device to Microsoft’s stock CE 6.0 copy of explorer.exe. Notably, the latest version adds an onscreen keyboard and better right click support. Folks are using the freedom of CE to run applications like Foxit Reader, Opera Mini and Pocket Word, and with support for GDI, DirectDraw, and OpenGL ES 2.0 there’s hope of gaming ports as well.

[Thanks, David R.]

‘Liberate’ for the Zune HD unlocks hidden Windows CE potential originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The screen that just keeps on going meets the OS that refuses to fit on a single display. Yes, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, like Windows Mobile 6.5 and Android before it, is getting treated with a 4.3-inch display from HTC for its launch party. The aptly titled HD7 is, by virtue of Microsoft’s stringent hardware requirements, mostly just a stretched-out version of its WP7 contemporaries: it offers the standard 800 x 480 res, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, 576MB of RAM, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a 720p movie mode. So what sets it apart? HTC will have you believe its Hub enhances the buttery smooth WP7 software, while outside the shell there’s a handy kickstand for landscape lounging and you do of course benefit from an enlarged canvas for your finger inputs. Join us after the break to discover how much that matters in day-to-day use, along with the rest of our thoughts on the HTC HD7.

This review is primarily of the HTC HD7 hardware. Check out our full review of Windows Phone 7 for our thoughts on the OS.

Continue reading HTC HD7 review

HTC HD7 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already knew AT&T was giving away ilomilo and a free month of U-verse Mobile to folks who buy one of its glorious Windows Phone 7 phones. What else? Well, AT&T is tossing in a free month of Zune Pass for good measure. Now, Microsoft already offers 14 day free trials to the Zune-curious, and there’s nothing stopping other carriers or Microsoft itself extending this deal to the rest of the world — we think the “first one’s free” method of addiction generation is particularly great for subscription music. Still, it’s nice to know AT&T has such an offer sewn up. Now that the Xbox is getting a native Zune UI at long last, how about a free month of Zune for Xbox Live subscribers as well? Microsoft can afford it.

[Thanks, Morgan G.]

AT&T offering a free month of Zune to folks who buy a Windows Phone 7 handset this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It never really occurred to us that Windows Phone 7 buyers wouldn’t be able to use their phones in tandem with Apple computers, but here’s the confirmation all spelled out: Microsoft’s Oded Ran recently tweeted that Zune will let Mac users sync WP7 phones, presumably using an OS X compatible version of the desktop software package. Of course, since the tweet was deleted shortly after it was written, it’s possible this was some sort of mistake, but if buyers find the twain incompatible come launch day, you’d best believe there’s going to be some consumer outrage. Here’s hoping that if the software does exist, it’ll sync good ol’ Zune media players as well.

Zune software headed to Mac, the better to sync your Windows Phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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