IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 01/05/2010

Engadget Podcast 194 - 04.30.2010

The Engadget Podcasters 'double down' on the juicy goss from this week. And when we say "juicy goss from this week" it means more than in other weeks - like if the juice were from a succulent, perfectly ripened, just about to fall from the vine grapefruit of a gossip week as opposed to a shriveled, 2-month old lime you forgot to use that's been sitting out in the sun of a gossip week.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Syphus - Save a Prayer

Hear the podcast

00:02:37 - HP buys Palm
00:03:03 - HP: 'We're doubling down on webOS,' Palm: 'That was the whole point'
00:03:15 - HP: opportunities for webOS 'smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks'
00:08:55 - HP buys Palm: the liveblog
00:21:00 - HP and Palm: what happens next
00:30:40 - Palm Developer Day reveals interesting bits on the webOS 2010 roadmap
00:40:00 - Microsoft confirms, kills Courier in one fell swoop
00:49:09 - Microsoft says Android infringes on its patents, licenses HTC (update: talking to other Android manufacturers as well)
00:56:25 - Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash
00:58:21 - Adobe's CEO: Jobs' Flash letter is a 'smokescreen' for 'cumbersome' restrictions
01:17:03 - RIM shows off BlackBerry 6 on video
01:19:40 - BlackBerry Bold 9650 hands-on: yeah, it's a Tour with an optical pad
01:19:50 - BlackBerry Pearl 3G first hands-on!
01:22:28 - Engadget app update: iPhone app passes the 1m download mark, Android and webOS get an update!


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Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Laptops, Tablet PCs, Wireless, Internet

Engadget Podcast 194 - 04.30.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple #1 US phone manufacturer, RIM enters top 5 worldwide, Motorola feels the burn

Apple, love it or lump it, has seen some big numbers lately: one million App Store apps downloaded, ten billion iTunes, and now it looks like the company can claim to be the number one phone maker in the US. According to Forbes, Apple sold 8.8 million iPhones in the first quarter, as opposed to 8.5 million mobile devices sold by Motorola -- quite a slide when you figure that four years ago the company moved something like 46.1 million in Q1. If that ain't enough to give Motorola pause, industry analysts IDC have issued a report stating that, while the mobile phone industry continues to recover (growing almost 22 percent in Q1) Motorola has been knocked out of the top five worldwide mobile vendors by RIM. We guess the next question is, will Motorola's all-Android, all-the-time strategy be enough to bring it back into the big leagues?

Apple #1 US phone manufacturer, RIM enters top 5 worldwide, Motorola feels the burn originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW, SlashGear | Forbes, IDC | Email this | Comments
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Secrets of the Chumby One: it can be turned into a 3G router

Need another reason to plop down a hundred bucks for a Chumby One? How about the fact that it can be turned into a 3G router without so much as a few minor tweaks? Of course, you'll also need a 3G USB modem, but the only other modifications required are a few changes to the Network Config settings, and a quick command in the drop-down console to configure the Chumby One as an access point. Add in a rechargeable battery and you've got a genuine MiFi alternative -- albeit perhaps the bulkiest one ever, which may or may not last for more than an hour. Hit up the link below for the complete details.

Secrets of the Chumby One: it can be turned into a 3G router originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Make | Bunnie Studios | Email this | Comments
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Confirmed: LG's Moorestown-based GW990 won't be made

Considering the almost complete absence of love in the commercial marketplace for Moorestown and Moblin -- and the fact that there's no sign of MeeGo building serious momentum just yet -- we're sure that Intel would've just loved for the drop-dead-sexy GW990 to serve as the platform's crown jewel for 2010. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, because we've just been able to confirm that the 4.8-inch beast (and potential Dell Mini 5 foil) has been wiped off the product roadmap. Though we don't know exactly what happened, the fact that Moblin is effectively dead and MeeGo isn't ready for prime time might be part of LG's justification for killing it off; if you might recall, the GW990 was introduced before MeeGo was official, and the original plan was to have it on the market in the second half of this year. Then again, this might be just as well -- we weren't impressed by the fact that LG was positioning the phone as a closed device back at CES, and there are still plenty of open questions as to how Intel and Nokia plan to offer apps on MeeGo -- so let's just hope this form factor reemerges from LG's labs soon enough, yeah?

Confirmed: LG's Moorestown-based GW990 won't be made originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence: Technology is fashion and the new fashion is technology

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

I've been a technology industry analyst for some time now, and I can tell you that the benchmark of a great analyst is the quality of the advice you give based on how well you're able to forecast trends. In my tenure, my team hasn't often been wrong. But let me share a secret -- here's one where we totally missed the ball.

A vendor -- who shall remain nameless -- briefed us in the late 90s with the idea of creating a line of PCs targeted at a mass market audience, with a special focus on the female demographic. The idea was to build PCs in a range of and shapes and focus the marketing efforts through places like Cosmo instead of the usual PC magazines. We were asked to evaluate the plan, and without the slightest hesitation I responded that it was the dumbest idea I'd ever listened to -- period. (This is the tact that only an analyst can bring to the table.) I recall saying something to the effect of no user will ever buy a PC because it comes in five delicious flavors. The vendor forgot all about their plans and our analysis proved accurate -- until Steve Jobs and the iMac came along. If I had to put a stake in the ground that's when technology became fashionable.

Continue reading Entelligence: Technology is fashion and the new fashion is technology

Entelligence: Technology is fashion and the new fashion is technology originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo being replaced to soothe frustrated investors?

Well, here's a surprise: Reuters says Nokia might consider replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in order to please unhappy shareholders who don't see the cellphone giant effectively competing in the smartphone market. The report is mostly based on analyst chatter and doesn't provide any hard sources, but we've certainly seen analysts swarm around blood in the water like this in the past, so it's not totally out of the question -- especially given core concerns about Symbian^3 delays, stagnant profit growth, and (uh oh) competing against the iPhone. What's more, OPK pledged to build up Nokia's US presence when he took over, and he's obviously failed to deliver on that promise -- US marketshare has fallen from 20 percent to 7 percent, prompting one analyst quoted in the Reuters piece to wonder if "Nokia really has the desire to fix the problem." Ouch. That's a lot of big questions with no easy answers -- OPK is scheduled to speak to shareholders next week, we'll see what he has to say.

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo being replaced to soothe frustrated investors? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Reuters | Email this | Comments
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Family Nanny robot is just five years and $1,500 away from being your new best friend

While Japan's busy preparing its robotic invasion on the moon, China's Siasun Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. has its eyes on Planet Earth instead. Meet Family Nanny, a two-foot-seven, 55-pound robot that can talk, email, text, detect gas leaks, and run around on its two wheels for eight hours on a single two-hour charge. No, this Teletubby-like bot won't be cooking for you, but it'll make great chatty company for the elderly while it relays vital stats back to health monitoring systems. In case of emergencies such as a gas leak, the Family Nanny will alert the owner via text and email. Not bad for ¥10,000 ($1,465), we'd say, but we'll remain skeptical on its chatting skills until it launches -- supposedly sometime around 2015. An early video of two prototypes in action after the break.

Continue reading Family Nanny robot is just five years and $1,500 away from being your new best friend

Family Nanny robot is just five years and $1,500 away from being your new best friend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DVICE | Xinhuanet | Email this | Comments
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HP Slate killed? Rumor mill says 'yes'

Last night TechCrunch reported that, according to an unnamed "source briefed on the matter," HP had stopped development of the Slate in its tracks, killing off the project entirely. Why? Well, according to the source, HP isn't thrilled with Windows 7's performance on the tablet. The Slate -- which was officially unveiled in January by Steve Ballmer himself -- had a rumored price of $549, and was supposedly launching in June. So, what should we make of all this? Well, there's probably some major chaos over at HP with the news of the Palm acquisition, so we wouldn't be surprised to hear some shaky -- or even incorrect -- information coming out of the company right now. On the other hand, HP killing off the project doesn't sound completely out of the realm of possibility to us. We've reached out to HP for comment, but they've yet to get back to us. We'll let you know when we hear something more concrete.

HP Slate killed? Rumor mill says 'yes' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung announces pasty white Limited Edition NX10

Some cameras just beg to be taken out in the sun, and such is the new Limited Edition NX10 from Samsung, a Silas-inspired model that looks quite good in white and is perfect for documenting your self-flagellation techniques. This special edition will come as a kit with a slinky 30mm pancake lens and a leather case. (Yes, folks, leather. No flimsy vinyl enclosure for this bad boy.) Samsung isn't saying how much the Limited Edition will set you back, but has indicated it'll launch on May 7 in Korea, the Netherlands, China, Taiwan, and the good 'ol US of A -- making us think it perhaps isn't so terribly limited after all.

Gallery: Samsung NX10 Limited Edition

Samsung announces pasty white Limited Edition NX10 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BallP bowling ball 'bot puts your sense of balance to shame (video)

digg

We've seen robots play Soccer, Tennis, and Battle Ball, and now Dr. Masaaki Kumagai, director of Tohoku Gakuin University's Robot Development Engineering Laboratory, brings us BallP (or Ball Inverted Pendulum): a 20-inch, 16.5-pound robot that derives its name from the bowling ball that it balances on. Using three omni-directional wheels, the robot can stand still, move in any direction, and pivot along its vertical axis. A combination of motors, micro-step controllers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers allows the thing to carry equipment -- either on its own, or with the help of a human operator (sort of like a high-tech wheel barrow). If anything, it's a lot less intrusive than CMU's Ballbot -- our previous favorite robot butler (yes, in the end it all comes down to who can get us a cold one the fastest). Video after the break.

Continue reading BallP bowling ball 'bot puts your sense of balance to shame (video)

BallP bowling ball 'bot puts your sense of balance to shame (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hanvon suffers the tablet curse, delays multitouch B10, talks up cheaper F10 model

Manufacturers just can't seem to figure out this whole tablet deal. The poor things get delayed, canceled, or just make you fear that you've been ripped off. Hanvon's TouchPad B10 hasn't suffered the worst of those fates, but it is going to be a little later than planned. The last we heard they were due to ship on March 25, but according to jkkmobile the devices have just entered volume production and will instead ship to Chinese buyers sometime toward the end of May, while Europeans (and maybe lowly Americans) won't see theirs until June. Meanwhile, Hanvon is also talking about its H10 model, which uses a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor and lacks the multitouch of the B10, instead offering a stylus-based electromagnetic panel like the WISEreader. Cost is said to be "much less" than the B10, which is estimated to cost around $877 -- a figure that hopefully won't get any larger in the coming weeks.

Hanvon suffers the tablet curse, delays multitouch B10, talks up cheaper F10 model originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia sticks to its stylus roots, offers telescopic SU-36 for capacitive screens

You know what, we're not gonna make that joke. You can, but we'll just move right along to the meat of this story -- Nokia has listed a telescopic stylus for capacitive screens, the SU-36, which seems to have come out right alongside the N8 to serve as its Symbian^3 assistant. Compatible with the N8, X6, and any other phone with a proper touchscreen on it, this retractable accessory will substitute your fingers when they are either too cold or too imprecise to do the job themselves. It's not yet been priced or made available, but you'll be fine using that sausage stylus for another few weeks, won't ya?

[Thanks, Zabavan]

Nokia sticks to its stylus roots, offers telescopic SU-36 for capacitive screens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fusion Garage pledges 3G JooJoo by July, memory stick support coming soon

Yeah, okay, so the JooJoo didn't exactly rock our world and we're guessing it's had a similar effect on you, but CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan is saying that things are going to get better -- honest. First are plans to unlock that USB port, enabling the tablet to recognize USB storage and revolutionize the world. Next up will be a 3G version, which will release in roughly three months and enable users to revolutionize the world while traveling through it. However, Chandra has indicated he's not opposed to people tweaking the underlying Linux OS to enable external 3G adapters themselves; certainly a refreshing position compared to those who control the destiny of a certain other tablet. So, which of you hackers wants to get started? Anyone...?

Fusion Garage pledges 3G JooJoo by July, memory stick support coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Caption Contest: Justin Bieber is an eenie meenie miney mo lova... of the Sony Dash

Here's a little inside baseball on why yours truly typically works alone at night: when in control, I give writers some, erm, creative mandates. Such as watching an entire Justin Bieber / Sean Kingston music video to contribute to this caption contest... but not telling them when exactly the Sony Dash and Sony Ericsson X10 make their respective cameos. Blatant abuse of authority? Probably, but as we sow, so shall you reap. The unfortunately US-only music video (and a picture of Kingston totally geeking out on subpar smartphone technology) after the break.

Nilay: "Is there a widget that alerts me when I'm not a trending topic?"
Ross: "You don't need to roll the dice... there's already a widget for that."
Chris: "It's small, fits in any decor, and makes a great gift for mom. The Sony Dash also appears in the video."
Joanna: "The stars, err, prepubescent boys are just like us: they'd rather play with tech than party."
Richard Lai: "This Sony Dash should make.believe I've reached puberty."
Sean H: "Not trying to rewind... I've just got to turn down the color temperature, it's ruining my tan."
Sam: "Meh, by the time I reach puberty this thing is going to be obsolete."
Tim: "I'm glad you're not a real Chumby. This way I'm still the cuddliest thing in the room."
Thomas: "Who the hell is Justin Bieber?"
Paul: "And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhh, baby, baby... oh, were we supposed to come up with something funny here?

[Thanks, Krisopher]

Continue reading Caption Contest: Justin Bieber is an eenie meenie miney mo lova... of the Sony Dash

Caption Contest: Justin Bieber is an eenie meenie miney mo lova... of the Sony Dash originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple applies for 'disappearing button' patent

You know that little sleep indicator light on the front of your new MacBook Pro -- the one that simply disappears when your notebook is wide awake? Apple wants to do that for buttons, too. Cupertino's latest patent application is for pressure-sensitive, capacitive touchscreen materials it could build right into the surface of its aluminum-clad devices, and identify with laser-cut, micro-perforated holes that let light shine from within. According to the filing, the technology could potentially be used to eliminate existing buttons in favor of a smooth, solid slab, and / or integrate new ones into surfaces that weren't previously considered for use. Engineers imagine light-up controls on a laptop's lid that could be used while closed for things like USB charging and media playback, and local heat and sound sensors that selectively light up interface opportunities when users are in close proximity. Not bad, Apple. As long as you let us keep our nice, springy keyboards, we're all for revolutionizing the rest of modern input.

Apple applies for 'disappearing button' patent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AppleInsider | USPTO | Email this | Comments
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Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity

Has the Nokia N8 made a Symbian^3 believer out of you? If so, you'll be glad to know the beta tag has been peeled off the web application development tools for the platform, which -- according to Executive Director Lee Williams -- provide "an ideal entry point" for coders of all skill levels. This is because the primary languages spoken are HTML, CSS and JavaScript, familiar to almost anyone who's tried to create for the web, and with just a little extra JavaScript exercise, you're promised access to the phone's contacts, camera, accelerometer, and location. It sounds all kinds of refreshing, but the usefulness of this tool set and the entire environment will be determined by what people produce with it -- and to that end we've provided you with a link to the downloads page (Windows, Mac and Linux users are all being served) where you can get your Symbian dev career started in earnest.

Continue reading Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity

Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June -- will Froyo follow suit?

Let's take a break from Apple and Adobe's back-and-forth, shall we? Instead, we'll let the latter company talk about its work with Google, specifically the Android platform. Flash-based CTO Kevin Lynch said today in a post, "We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June." Good news, indeed, but with all this talk of Froyo having native Flash support, and this month's conference serving as the largest gathering of Android developers, we can't imagine a better platform (pun intended) for Andy Rubin and company to unveil its fragmentation-curbing Froyo update. Might Flash 10.1's May preview / June release schedule line up with the OS, as well? Just some fat-free food for thought.

[Thanks, Steven]

Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June -- will Froyo follow suit? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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James Cameron convinces NASA to use 3D camera on next Mars mission

diggWhat do you do once you've broken your own record for the world's highest-grossing picture film? Well, you go offworld, of course. James Cameron, in his infinite benevolence and multidimensional wisdom, has convinced NASA bigwigs not to forgo the inclusion of a high-res 3D camera on the Curiosity (aka Mars Science Laboratory) rover, which is set to depart for the red planet in 2011. Budget overruns had led to the scrapping of the autostereoscopic idea, but the director-man -- who has been involved with this project for a good few years now -- felt the results of the mission would be far more engaging if people could see them in 3D. Hey, if he can make us watch the Blue Man Group reenactment of Fern Gully, don't bet on Cameron failing to make extraterrestrial rubble interesting with his 3D voodoo.

James Cameron convinces NASA to use 3D camera on next Mars mission originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft weighs in: 'the future of the web is HTML5'

Where Steve Jobs leads, Microsoft follows -- how's that for shaking up the hornet's nest? It's said in jest, of course, but we've just come across a post from the General Manager for Internet Explorer, Dean Hachamovitch, and the perspective expressed by him on the subject of web content delivery broadly agrees with the essay penned by Jobs yesterday on the very same subject. Echoing the Apple CEO's words, Hachamovitch describes HTML5 as "the future of the web," praising it for allowing content to be played without the need for plug-ins and with native hardware acceleration (in both Windows 7 and Mac OS X). He goes on to identify H.264 as the best video codec for the job -- so much so that it'll be the only one supported in IE9's HTML5 implementation -- before turning to the dreaded subject of Flash.

This is where it gets good, because he literally repeats one of Jobs' six pillars of Flash hate: "reliability, security, and performance" are not as good as Microsoft would like them. Where Hachamovitch diverges from Apple's messiah, however, is in describing Flash as an important part of "a good consumer experience on today's web," primarily because it's difficult for the typical consumer to access Flash-free content. Still, it's got to be depressing for Adobe's crew when the best thing either of the two biggest players in tech has to say about your wares is that they're ubiquitous. Wonder how Shantanu Narayen is gonna try and spin this one.

P.S. : it's notable that in multiple paragraphs of discussing "the future," Microsoft's IE general fails to once mention the fabled Silverlight, itself a rich media browser plug-in. Given Silverlight's featured role in the Windows Phone 7 infrastructure and other things like Netflix, we doubt it's on the outs, but there are sure to be some sour faces greeting Hachamovitch this morning.

[Thanks, KnifeX4]

Microsoft weighs in: 'the future of the web is HTML5' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lala closing on May 31st, web songs and unused credit will head to iTunes