News Archive for 09/04/02

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A closer look: Qualcomm's eZone wireless charger

04/02, 11:55pm

Qualcomm eZone charging

Qualcomm at CTIA demonstrated its upcoming eZone system that will provide wireless charging across a wide range of devices from a variety of manufacturers. The technology utilizes near-field magnetic resonance to eliminate the need for a direct electrical contact. Devices can also be placed anywhere on the charging pad, regardless of positioning. A relatively small size area will simultaneously charge several batteries.

NavTrac RTV10 has two-way messaging, live tracking

04/02, 11:45pm

LiveWireGPS NavTrac RTV10

LiveViewGPS has announced the release of its mobile data network connected in-car navigation system, the 4.3-inch touchscreen NavTrac RTV10. The paid monthly data access service includes unlimited two-way messaging and unlimited web port access, as well as vehicle tracking that is updated every 10 seconds. The device is suitable for use in businesses with courier or delivery drivers, allowing a central location to track vehicles, communicate with drivers and even update or change their routes. Tracking is done via a website interface, without the need to download software.

HTC Magic delayed at Vodafone

04/02, 11:40pm

HTC Magic delayed to May

The launch of the HTC Magic, the successor to the original Android powered handset, the T-Mobile G1, has been pushed back to May from its earlier April release date due to a last minute hardware change. The Magic was due for an initial release via Vodafone UK before eventually making its way to T-Mobile in the US, most likely under the T-Mobile G2 name. The delay has not been acknowledged by Vodafone, at least on its website, which still lists the launch date as April, though the phone sales department confirmed it will arrive later than originally planned, now on May 1st.

Apple mistakenly confirms Nehalem Xserves

04/02, 11:25pm

Apple Slips Nehalem Xserve

Apple today has accidentally confirmed plans of its own to launch Xserve rackmount servers based on Xeon processors using Intel's Nehalem architecture. A Hong Kong product page (still active as of this writing) has a broken image link that asks users to "pre-order the new Xserve using Intel Xeon (Nehalem)" but doesn't take visitors to a relevant page. No specifications or other details have surfaced with the link itself.

Clearwire launches Spot personal WiMAX hotspot

04/02, 10:35pm

Clearwire

Clearwire at CTIA launched the Spot, a personal hotspot device that connects to the company's WiMAX network and provides Internet via Wi-Fi. The 3-inch by 5-inch router is manufactured by CradlePoint and matches the appearance of the PHS300. Users must insert a CLEAR USB modem into the port on the side of the router. The Spot contains a lithium ion battery that powers the USB modem.

Sanyo ships hybrid still/video camcorders

04/02, 10:35pm

Sanyo Ships Hybrid Cams

Sanyo on Thursday said it had started shipping its combination photo and video Dual Camera Xacti line. The series is headlined by the FH1 and HD2000, which can both shoot 1080p video in H.264 while capturing 8-megapixel photos, carry 10X lenses, and both slow motion video as well as burst photo modes that take advantage of large memory buffers. The CA9 and WH1 (pictured) capture movies in 720p but are waterproof and snap 9-megapixel still shots, while the CG10 and TH1 have the same video resolution but 8-megapixel stills and either an extra-small (CG10) or horizontal (TH1) form factor.

Quickoffice debuts file editing app for iPhone

04/02, 8:50pm

Quickoffice for iPhone

Quickoffice has released its Microsoft Word and Excel editing application for the iPhone and iPod touch, Quickoffice. The software provides users with document spreadsheet editors, along with file access and content management tools. Users have the ability to modify documents in landscape mode, and can insert and resize Excel rows and columns within the application. File-sharing is also available, that enables users to transfer files to and from a desktop using Wi-FI, and can remotely access their MobileMe iDisk account.

Pocket Tunes Radio 5.2 for iPhone adds sat radio

04/02, 8:35pm

Pocket Tunes Radio 5.2

NormSoft has released an update to its radio app for the iPhone and iPod touch, Pocket Tunes Radio 5.2. In the new version support has been added for web-based stations that allow users to listen to Sirius Internet Radio and XM Radio Online through the application. Users however, still require a subscription with either Sirius or XM Radio in order to access the music. The update also adds the ability bookmark web pages to the user’s favourites, and improved performance and battery life for aacPlus streams.

Vuzix adds iPhone compatibility to 3-D video eyewear

04/02, 8:30pm

Vuzix eyewear for iPhone

Vuzix has announced its high-quality 3-D mobile video eyewear is now compatible with the iPhone. The new cable is designed specifically for use with the iPhone and has been certified by Vuzix to meet Apple’s performance standard. Support is offered for 3-D video in formats such as side-by-side, interlaced, and all three major anaglyph modes. Vuzix is providing the cable as an upgrade for all current video eyewear customers, and will also be bundling it with the iWear AV230XL.

Springy 1.5 updates archiving utility for Mac

04/02, 8:20pm

Springy 1.5 update

Dragan Milic has released an update to its archiving utility for the Mac. Springy 1.5 redesigns and enhances the handling and processing of RAR archives, the preview column in column view, and the view preference panes. Support is available for archiving and extracting files that contain extended attributes, ACL lists and quarantine data. New options provide simpler adding and extracting of files, the ability to show a list of files in list view, a search view using alternate row colors, and a path text field that allows positioning to folders in an archive by typing the folder’s full path into it.

Sony Ericcson hands on at CTIA: T707a clamshell

04/02, 7:55pm

Sony Ericcson T707a

Sony Ericcson established a small presence at CTIA, with a few handsets nestled inside the larger Ericcson area. The upcoming T707a clamshell was on hand, sporting a metallic green finish. The 128 by 36 pixel external LCD remains relatively invisible below the reflective surface until a button is pressed, making it fairly difficult to read in bright light conditions. Although stylish, the display would probably be ineffective in direct sunlight.

Apps: Flexteam, AutoRate, Mail-Grab

04/02, 7:45pm

MBS Filemaker, AnyToISO

Flexteam 2.1 ($40) is a group scheduling program that helps users share information and work jointly on schedules. Users can display their schedules in different formats, such as by day, week, month, or year, generate PDF files, and publish a schedule to a website. The update includes a new search function that has been integrated into the tool bar and a new "Tasks to assign" window for managing temporary tasks. [Download - 11.8MB]

Verizon starts offering MP3 music on the web

04/02, 7:15pm

Verizon MP3 Music on Web

Verizon this afternoon chose CTIA as the venue to launch MP3 music downloads on its media store. The move brings about 5 million of the unprotected tracks and complements the ringtones that have dominated the company's web store in the past. Buying tracks doesn't require using a Verizon phone and thus lets buyers put songs on iPods or other general media-capable hardware.

Microsoft job postings hint at Zune expansion

04/02, 7:10pm

MS hints at future of Zune

The first hints of Microsoft making good on its promise of bringing the Zune platform to other devices than the current portable media players have come in the form of two job postings discovered today. The first is seeking a software development engineer for the Zune team to help deliver digital entertainment into the living room, while the other is hinting at the Zune service and Zune Marketplace extending globally.

DealNN: Samsung Blu-ray, Panasonic Lumix, more

04/02, 7:10pm

DealNN: Samsung Blu-ray

Today's featured DealNN deals include hard drives, Blu-ray players, digital cameras and more. For today only TigerDirect.com is offering the refurbished Samsung Blu-ray player for $149.99, which is a savings of $100 off the original price of $249.99. The Samsung Blu-ray player provides playback of Blu-ray disks and DVDs in 1080p (via the HDMI connector) and offers CD playback with high quality audio.

Verizon in talks with e-book reader makers

04/02, 7:05pm

Verizon in e-book talks

Verizon Wireless is receiving queries about providing a wireless data connection from hardware manufacturers for an electronic book reader that would be similar to Amazon's popular Kindle 2 device, says a Wednesday Yahoo report. The wireless provider's head of access to non-phone devices, Tony Lewis, said at the CTIA show that five companies have made such an inquiry, though he wouldn't name them. Lewis did hint that the makers are considering offering books the Kindle doesn't, such as college textbooks.

Nova launches iCON 225 USB modem for Mac

04/02, 7:00pm

iCON 225 3G USB Modem

Nova Media has launched the iCON 225 (not as pictured), its newest 3G USB modem for Macs. The device provides HSDPA connections with up to 7.2Mbps download and 2Mbps upload speeds, as well as EDGE and GPRS connections providing a maximum of 80kbps upload and 220kbps download speeds. iCON 225 is not SIM locked or bound to a specific network, and allows users to insert SIM cards from most service providers.

Netflix delivers two-billionth DVD rental

04/02, 6:40pm

Netflix two billionth DVD

Online and rent-by-mail company Netflix on Thursday announced it has delivered the two billionth DVD to one of its subscribers in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday. The lucky subscriber, Clay Shannon, has received a free lifetime subscription to commemorate the achievement. The Blu-ray copy of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was shipped from Netflix' Atlanta-based distribution center, one of 58 the company operates in North America.

RIM ships 7.8m BlackBerries in early 2009

04/02, 6:35pm

RIM Ships Near 8m BBerries

RIM this afternoon set a new record quarter for itself by shipping 7.8 million BlackBerries between December and the end of February. The number is over a million more than the company's previous record of 6.7 million last quarter and includes word exactly half of the new buyers, or 3.9 million, were new subscribers to BlackBerry service. RIM shipped a total of 29 million of its smartphones through its just-ended fiscal year.

Dell updates business-oriented Vostro notebooks

04/02, 5:00pm

Dell updates Vostro range

Dell on Thursday announced it has updated its Vostro notebook line-up with three new models, including the 13.3-inch Vostro 1320, the 15.4-inch Vostro 1520 and 17-inch Vostro 1720, which are available now. Dell has outfitted the range with added security measures, including optional shock-proof solid state drives, fingerprint readers, and encrypted hard drives with Wave Systems software. All share standard 80GB hard drives and six-cell batteries, as well as integrated Wi-Fi capabilities. Processing power comes via Intel's 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo chips.

AT&T subsidizes netbooks in Atlanta, Philadelphia

04/02, 4:55pm

AT&T subsidizes netbooks

Wireless provider AT&T at the currently ongoing CTIA show in Las Vegas announced it will offer a netbook computer for as low as $50 if buyers agree to a two-year wired and wireless data plan, though this offer is limited to customers in Atlanta, with a similar deal in Philadelphia. The trial offer will give buyers the option of picking from the Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and LG Xenia, though some of these portable PCs are more expensive, with the subsidized prices ranging up to $250 depending on the model.

First look: Palm webOS apps vs. iPhone

04/02, 4:35pm

First Look at WebOS Apps

With news of Palm's expanded app support for webOS, the company has today been giving demos of multiple native apps, including those above and beyond what was mentioned Wednesday evening. The most immediately useful app is FlightView, a Palm-native version of the company's online efforts. In practice, the software is similar to iPhone apps like FlightTrack and lets users check flight schedules online, including the current position of the plane on a map; the interface is as intuitive as its equivalent for Apple's hardware, but the addition of a hardware keyboard to type flight info frees more of the screen for flight data. It also has basic background notifications for flight status.

Digital Pro Golf adds Mac analysis software

04/02, 4:30pm

Digital Pro Golf for Mac

Digital Pro Golf has introduced swing analysis and recording software for the Mac. Designed to work with the company’s various digital camcorders, the program draws lines, circles, and shaded polygons over any video, and can export clips either to another computer or to a public folder where it can be viewed by a group. Compatible import formats include AVI, DV and MOV.

Third-gen iPod shuffle experiencing control issues

04/02, 4:05pm

iPod shuffle 3G problems

Despite the player only being a few weeks old, problems are already being reported with the third-generation iPod shuffle, specifically in relation to contact with moisture. According to support discussions, play and volume controls may malfunction when used during activities associated with sweat, such as a run or a workout. Volume may suddenly ramp up to the loudest setting, or down to the quietest; play controls can become unusable, and some iPods may shut off completely.

Microsoft Office en route to iPhone?

04/02, 3:25pm

Office coming to iPhone?

Some form of Office may indeed be headed to the iPhone, Microsoft's Business Division president has suggested. Stephen Elop made comments to the effect at this week's Web 2.0 Expo, cautioning that while people should "keep watching," nothing is on track for a near-future release. Microsoft has hinted at some form of Office support for the iPhone for over a year.

Interview: AT&T says VoIP more likely on 4G

04/02, 3:15pm

ATT Christopher Interview

AT&T is significantly more likely to take a different approach to Internet calling and other aspects of its service when its 4G network becomes available, the carrier's chief marketing officer David Christopher said today in an interview with Electronista. While it's too early to discuss many details, the executive says that the upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard will likely mean a different approach that supports voice-over-IP apps rather than discouraging them. Since LTE creates an all-data cell network and has lower lag, a voice call is 'just an app' like anything else, Christopher notes.

Live 8, Suite 8 add techniques, effects

04/02, 2:35pm

Live 8, Suite 8 ship soon

Ableton has launched Live 8 and Suite 8, upgrading the real-time music creation software with new techniques, effects and workflow upgrades. Both packages have been given a new groove engine, as well as improved warping techniques and live looping. Five new effects are present, as well as a reworked MIDI editor; Suite 8 adds a new Operator plus two new instrument sets, Collision and Latin Percussion.

Garmin intros new Forerunner 310XT, 405CX watches

04/02, 1:55pm

Garmin fitness watches

Garmin on Thursday announced the upcoming release of a pair of new fitness watches, including the Forerunner 310XT and Forerunner 405CX. The former is waterproof down to 50 meters (164 feet) and thus meant for water sports as well as running and cycling and will be packaged together with a waterproof heart rate monitor as well as in a stand-alone version. Compared to the current Forerunner 305 that it's based on, the new watch has improved battery life, now rated at 20 hours, as well as a more comfortable design.

BoinxTV 1.2 adds screen capture, more

04/02, 1:25pm

BoinxTV updated

Boinx has released BoinxTV 1.2, featuring a screen source capture for Skype or iChat video and a new widescreen template. BoinxTV is live production software that allows a Mac to be a TV studio, streaming live video to disk, the Internet or to a projector. It can record studio shows, podcasts, sports events, concerts and interviews via the Mac, and supports multiple cameras. Version 1.2 also adds chroma keying improvements and several new and enhanced layers.

NVIDIA intros GeForce GTX 275

04/02, 1:00pm

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275

NVIDIA on Thursday announced that its GeForce GTX 275 is due to arrive in certain stores as soon as next week. The GPU features 240 processor cores operating at 1,404MHz, 80 texture processing units, and a 448-bit memory interface. The card uses the existing GTX 260's 896MB of memory, and shares the same 644MHz 55nm GT200 processor in the GTX 285, splitting the two existing products in terms of price and performance, according to NVIDIA. Many believe the company has made the announcement early in order to avoid being left out of the limelight, as competitor ATI also debuted its Radeon HD4890 on Thursday.

German carrier blocks use of Skype iPhone app

04/02, 12:25pm

Germany halts iPhone Skype

German iPhone owners have been banned from fully exploiting the recently-released Skype app, writes the Associated Press. In spite of the title being legally available to download from the country's App Store, T-Mobile warns that it considers use of the app on its network a violation of contract. All VoIP services on the iPhone have been blocked since 2007, notes a representative for T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom.

iPhone apps: Gravity Shmavity, Rattler, Otto Matic

04/02, 11:50am

Doodle Jump, MobiScope

Gravity Shmavity ($2) is a game where players must use a mixture of the accelerometer and touch based controls to complete 30 different levels. Tilting the screen will alter the direction of gravity and players can use this to guide the falling apples towards Issac Newton's head. The game also features two different modes of play, Endless and Challenge, and an up-beat remix of a classic Mozart piano concerto.

MSI X-Slim hands-on; new sizes coming soon

04/02, 11:40am

MSI X-Slim Hands-On

Electronista had the opportunity to try MSI's new X-Slim and Wind U123 notebooks at a press event last evening and came away impressed. The X340 is the centerpiece, as it's one of the first to use Intel's new CULV processors; that lets it run Vista Home Premium reasonably quickly without having to balloon the form factor. The system is disconcertingly thin: at about 0.7 inches deep and 2.8 pounds heavy, it's visibly almost as thin as a Dell Adamo and certainly feels much lighter. It should also cost half as much at about $1,000 while running about as quickly.

Apple schedules Q2 results call for April 22nd

04/02, 11:40am

Apple sets Q2 call date

Apple has set a firm time and date for the disclosure of its second-quarter financial results, according to an announcement. A conference call with investors and analysts is now scheduled for 2PM Pacific time, 5PM Eastern, on April 22nd. The call will also be simulcast via the web, though a copy of QuickTime is required.

Apple pushes 64-bit testing for Snow Leopard devs

04/02, 11:10am

New Mac OS X 10.6 seed

Apple is asking developers to concentrate more heavily on 64-bit code testing for Snow Leopard, say people using the latest seed of the OS. While build 10A314 introduces some important changes, including an updated edition of Xcode and remote installation on the MacBook Air, one of the key changes is said simply to be direction from Apple to ensure 64-bit kernel extensions are functioning. The OS cannot operate in 64-bit mode if matching extensions are missing, reports note.

Panasonic intros pair of ultra-slim iPod D-docks

04/02, 10:45am

Panasonic intros D-docks

Panasonic on Thursday announced the upcoming release of two SC-HC-series iPod D-docks, with the main difference between the SC-HC3 and SC-HC4 being color availability and the inclusion of an SD card slot in the SC-HC4. Users have the option of copying music from CDs to an inserted SD or SDHC card at up to 8x speeds. Each dock features a pair of nearly 2.6-inch (6.5cm) diameter speakers made of bamboo fiber, powered by a 40W stereo amplifier.

Hackers jailbreak iPhone 3.0 beta 2 firmware

04/02, 9:40am

iPhone 3.0b2 jailbroken

Only a day after the release of the second iPhone 3.0 developer beta, the firmware has already been jailbroken, hackers claim. A new version of QuickPWN, described as "unofficial" because it is not based on iPhone Dev Team work, opens up iPhones and first-generation iPod touches for purposes such as file browsing and loading unofficial apps. Second-gen Touches are incompatible as a result of Apple's separation of the firmware line.

Apple forbids jailbreaking, more w/latest iPhone NDA

04/02, 2:50am

Apple forbids jailbreaking

Apple is taking a more aggressive stance against developers who create apps for "jailbroken" iPhones. According to a new report, the Cupertino-based company recently updated its "iPhone Developer Program License Agreement" - the agreement to which all iPhone developers are required to adhere -- to explicitly disallow jailbreaking, assisting in jailbreaking, and developing and distributing jailbreak apps. The Ars Technica report says that while previous agreements forbade the creation of apps that violate privacy, facilitate crimes, or violate intellectual property laws, the new one restricts developers from jailbreaking their own phones.

Palm webOS gets classic apps, cloud sync

04/02, 2:25am

WebOS Classic and Sync

Palm today took aggressive steps to expand support for the webOS by adding legacy support, Internet sync, a larger developer program and new third-party apps it says showcase the new mobile platform. The company has revealed that outside firm MotionApps has developed a utility known as Classic that emulates support for PalmOS software. Like its rough equivalent in Apple's Mac OS X, it creates a virtual environment that works with "most" apps; the change to a full touchscreen OS requires that MotionApps put in simulated buttons. It should launch at the same time as the Pre, which should ship to Sprint in late spring.

New ATI Radeon HD 4890 GPU offers 1.36Tflops

04/02, 2:05am

ATI Radeon HD 4890 GPU

AMD on Thursday morning further expanded its "Dragon" desktop platform with the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card, featuring 1.36 TeraFLOPs of computing power, faster GDDR5 memory, and engine clock speeds capable of nearly 1GHz. The GPU card offers support for DirectX 10.1 titles, including Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., Electronic Art’s BattleForge and SEGA’s Stormrise released last month, as well as GSC Gameworld’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky. According to the company, the new graphics card is not only designed to provide exceptional value to OEMs and channel partners but also to do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers.

Sony debuts titanium TG5V Handycam with GPS

04/02, 1:20am

Sony titanium HDR TG5V

Sony has debuted a new high-definition camcorder, the HDR-TG5V, that is designed for travelers requiring lightweight gear. The Handycam features a Carl Zeiss lens, with 10X optical zoom, and captures 1920 by 1080 pixel video and four-megapixel still images. A titanium body and compact form factor contribute to the low weight. An integrated GPS antenna and NAVTEQ maps can be used to automatically geo-tag videos or images to keep a record of the exact shooting location.