News Archive for 09/09/04

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GizFever intros mobile speaker, solar charger, USB cable

09/05, 12:00am

GizFever intros new iPhone accessories

GizFever has introduced three new products to its line of mobile phone accessories, the All-in-One USB Power/Data Link Cable, MultiFunctional Mobile Speaker, and the Multifunctional Digital Solar Charger II. The all-in-one USB cable enables users to power, recharge and transfer data from mobile phones such as the iPod and iPhone 3G, along with other portable gaming and music devices. The cable comes with seven different connectors including one for the DS Lite, PSP and a 5-pin mini USB; the cord itself stands approximately 138cm long.

Nokia sells 2m N97 smartphones in three months

09/04, 11:55pm

Nokia sells 2m N97s in first three months

Nokia has revealed that it has sold two million of its flagship N97 smartphone since it went on sale in June. The company claims the numbers have "surpassed expectations" and that the tally beat the record for its previous best-selling smartphone, the long-serving N95. The company added that it has sold a total 10 million touchscreen phones in 10 months, the remaining 8 million of which were the older, less expensive 5800 XpressMusic.

Users reporting Snow Leopard issues with software, hardware

09/04, 6:00pm

Snow Leopard update causing problems for many

Following the recent Mac OS X Snow Leopard release, users have reported a variety of problems upgrading their systems. A number of forum posts on Apple's Support page point to problems with printers. One user reports incompatibility with Canon's Multifunction Laser printers, while several others cannot print to select HP devices.

Motorola staff profiles spoil Win Mobile 7 beta, features

09/04, 5:50pm

Win Mobile 7 features revealed by Motorola staff

While Windows Mobile 6.5 is just around the corner, a series of LinkedIn profiles (one), two, three) of a number of Motorola employees reveal Windows Mobile 7 has been in development for a number of years, as well as a number of features of the beta version of the new OS. Chief among them will be handwriting recognition, and there will be support for NVIDIA's Tegra (APX 2500) platform. The OS will also have native support for MEMS sensors, including an accelerometer and compass.

LG reveals launch timeline for Chocolate Touch

09/04, 5:30pm

LG Chocolate Touch due in Europe mid-September

LG on Friday announced that its first touchscreen phone, the Chocolate BL40 handset will begin shipping in the UK starting in mid-September, then arrive at other European countries before making a full worldwide release in October. The device sports a wide 4-inch, 800x480 resolution touchscreen with a 21:9 aspect ratio which can be split into two virtual halves for multitasking.

Nokia Twist pictured, dated for Verizon

09/04, 5:20pm

Nokia Twist gets customizable faceplates, QWERTY

Photos of the Nokia Twist 7705 handset have been revealed in what appears to be an ad for Verizon Wireless, thanks to a Friday Engadget[leak. The device sports a swiveling form factor, with a QWERTY keyboard that is unveiled when the device is opened. When closed, the device is square shaped, and it's expected users will be able to customize the look thanks to an assortment of faceplates and lights around the swivel ring, the color of which can be changed by the user.

Navigon intros car kit for iPhone

09/04, 5:05pm

Navigon intros car mount for iPhone

Navigon on Friday introduced a car kit for Apple's iPhone. Although full specs are unknown, the new model appears to be simpler than the TomTom version as it doesn't have extras like a speaker.

JAMF enterprise titles now Snow Leopard-compatible

09/04, 5:00pm

Suites survey networks, push images

JAMF Software has announced that its enterprise product line is now fully Snow Leopard-ready. Casper Suite 7.1, Recon Suite 7.1, Composer 7.1 and the Imaging Suite are all certified. Casper Suite aids administrators with a centralized framework used to inventory, image, update and maintain Mac computers, while the Recon Suite provides a method of surveying network devices and computers, along with iPhones.

Amazon compensates for pulled Kindle e-book

09/04, 4:45pm

Amazon offers $30 or re-delivery of novel

Amazon has made reparations for deleting classic classic Orwell novels Animal Farm and 1984 from users' Kindle readers by sending them a letter of apology and checks for $30 or an Amazon gift certificate in the same amount. Users also have the option of having 1984 re-delivered, complete with any annotations they have made to the text. There is no indication if the other pulled titles also fall under the same deal, but it is likely.

Photos of LG Chocolate Touch for Verizon surface

09/04, 4:40pm

LG Chocolate photos don't match expectations

New images of what is said to be the LG Chocolate Touch for Verizon Wireless have surfaced recently. Although the new photos don't match up with older sightings of the device, the phone is nonetheless described as the successor to Verizon's existing Chocolate line. No new specs for the handset were revealed. There is also the possibility that the device in these images is not a Chocolate, but some other, as yet unnamed LG handset.

GameSalad to aid in publishing user games on App Store

09/04, 4:35pm

Streamlines game development

GameSalad has announced it will soon launch an iPhone publishing system for titles produced with its game creation utility. The tool is free, and meant for non-programmers, as it is capable of implementing AI and other gameplay components using drag-and-drop construction. The software features project, scene and actor editors, and can uproot asset formats like Ogg Vorbis, PNG and JPG.

TiVo wins $200m more from DISH in patent fight

09/04, 4:00pm

TiVo wins $200m from DISH

TiVo on Friday won $200 million in extra damages from satellite TV provider DISH and its sibling EchoStar. The award comes after TiVo successfully argued that DISH and EchoStar were in contempt of an injuction that prevented the two from selling DVRs that allegedly infringed on TiVo's patents for its Time Warp feature.

iPhone creating more cash for Apple than widely believed?

09/04, 4:00pm

Analyst boosts stock target to $255

Most Street observers are seriously underestimating the amount of money the iPhone is generating for Apple, claims Societe Generale analyst Vicent Rech. Rech notes that while a number of analysts are accounting for Apple's two-year amortization of iPhone revenues, they are often ignoring profitability trends. Current gross margin on the iPhone is believed to be 60 percent, nearly double the 33 percent for the rest of Apple's businesses.

PS3 outsells Xbox 360, Wii following price cuts

09/04, 3:20pm

PS3 outsells X360 and Wii

Sony's introduction of the slim PS3 and the resulting price cut have led it to a rare lead in game consoles in North America, weekly data for the end of August shows. While the new model itself wasn't on shelves for most of the August 23rd to 29th period covered by VGChartz, the outgoing 80GB and 160GB models registered 75,931 sales. The number is more than double the 37,167 Sony sold the week earlier and in a rare instance had Sony not only outsell the Xbox 360, which came next with 74,689 sales, but also the Wii's 74,245 units.

Samsung slips out 0.6in thick ST45 camera

09/04, 3:00pm

Samsung releases ST45 ultra-compact

Although most of its recent camera announcements were made last month, Samsung today slipped out a new point-and-shoot camera designed for thinness first. It shoots a common 12.2 megapixels but has an aluminum shell that measures just 0.63 inches thick that renders it more pocketable. Other traits are simple and revolve around a 3X lens, ISO 3,200 sensitivity and image stabilization, but it gets recent Samsung software features like auto-sorting albums, a self-portrait guide and face detection.

Loopt iPhone app maintains tracking services in background

09/04, 2:15pm

Location-based app works around background limits

Loopt is set to launch the first third-party iPhone app to work in the background, according to The Business Insider. Apple has not yet allowed developers to utilize true background processes, although Loopt works around the limitation by monitoring information from servers.

Future Shop sells $330 X360 Elite with Halo 3, Wi-Fi

09/04, 2:05pm

Xbox 360 Halo 3 Wi-Fi bundle

Canadian retailer Future Shop this week went beyond Microsoft's official Xbox price cuts by launching an even more aggressively-priced bundle for the game. First spotted earlier in the week and now online, the Elite Value Bundle gives the typical 120GB Xbox 360 Elite a copy of Halo 3 as well as the Wireless Network Adapter for Wi-Fi. The pack by itself gives the console an edge over the slim PS3 by matching its Wi-Fi and adding a free game in the process.

iLive debuts new bar speakers with integrated iPod docks

09/04, 1:15pm

iLive iT319B, iT209B

iLive has unveiled two new bar speakers with integrated iPod docks, DVD players and AM/FM radio, the iT319B and iT209B. The iT319B is a 3.1-channel speaker system with a built-in subwoofer and SRS TruSound technology, capable of upconverting the DVDs it plays to 1080p. It includes 10 radio station presets, and a remote which can be used to control both the speaker and a docked iPod. A line-in jack allows for additional audio devices.

Sonos gaining Twitter support

09/04, 1:15pm

Sonos apps, gear get Twitter support

Sonos on Friday announced through a Twitter post that its CR200 touchscreen controller, Sonos CR for iPhone and Sonos CRs for Mac and PC will get the ability to post tweets on Twitter directly through a given device. The feature should come through a software update that, on the Controller or an Apple device, will bring an onscreen keyboard.

Samsung says OLED notebooks due in one year

09/04, 12:45pm

Dependent on industry progress

Samsung's first deployment of OLED notebooks should occur in about a year, an executive from the company explains. Samsung's head of worldwide sales and marketing for computers, Kyu Uhm, revealed the information at this week's IFA expo in Berlin. "Samsung is the largest OLED screen manufacturer. And as soon as it's available commercially for laptops we will adopt it," says Uhm. "Probably sometime Q3 next year."

ASUS intros N61 and N71 media notebooks

09/04, 12:00pm

ASUS notebooks get Windows 7, paper foam speakers

ASUS on Friday announced it will soon add two notebooks to its multimedia N-series, including the 16-inch N61 and 17.3-inch N71. Among the improvements, ASUS is touting a new SonicMaster amplification system that includes new paper-foam cones for the speakers that are said to improve sound quality. Both the N61 and N71 will be available with Intel's Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad CPUs and with up to 4GB of RAM.

Disc drive issue interferes with Snow Leopard installations

09/04, 11:50am

Discs ejected before they can run

A continuing problem with the optical drives in Mac notebooks is now preventing people from installing Snow Leopard, according to discussions on Apple's support forums. Affected systems may initially accept a disc, only to eject it without mounting. Within the problem group machines may reject all discs, only DVDs, or only some particular DVDs. The Snow Leopard upgrade is sold only on DVDs.

Samsung Intrepid, Moment seen in Sprint rebate sheet

09/04, 11:40am

Samsung Intrepid, Moment due with $100 rebates

A Friday report says two new unknown Samsung handsets, the Intrepid and Moment, will launch at wireless provider Sprint, according to an anonymous tip. The source of the information is a leaked rebate sheet at PhoneArena that shows the two previously unmentioned phones each selling with $100 rebates.

Microsoft sued over XP's "spyware" copy protection

09/04, 11:35am

Microsoft sued over WGA

Microsoft this week was sued in a Washington district court for allegedly violating privacy laws through Windows XP's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) copy protection scheme. Similar to cases filed in 2006, the new class action case accuses Microsoft of falsely representing what information WGA would send to verify the authenticity of Windows and that it would send back information that could be traced back to individual users. Although the company has claimed no personal information is sent, the authentication system is said to provide daily information on the user's IP address and other details that could be used to trace information back to an individual home.

Third-gen Touch, fifth-gen Nano cases appear at IFA

09/04, 10:55am

Cases may foreshadow new iPods next week

Cases on display at the IFA expo in Berlin may further validate reports of new iPods being announced next week. One exhibitor at the event, Hama, is already showing cases claimed to be for a third-generation iPod touch, as well as a fifth-generation Nano. In both instances the cases appear to have cutouts for cameras.

Toshiba says e-book reader coming in 2010

09/04, 10:40am

Toshiba to bring non-touchscreen e-book reader

At the currently ongoing IFA show, Toshiba's Business Manager of digital products and services, Graeme Simons, told T3 staff that the company is working on its own e-book reader and it should be out on the market by mid 2010. According to the Friday report, Simons said two models are being considered, including a 7-inch and 9-inch version, although the cost of the 9-inch model needs to be evaluated before its production status is confirmed.

ATI's Radeon HD 5800 to include five models

09/04, 10:15am

Radeon HD 5800 Five Parts

AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5800 line will have five models by the time it's complete, a detailed leak of data shows. The 5870 and 5850 known to be launching first are now believed by Xbit to be just upper mid-range parts that would replace the 4870 and 4850 sold today. Falling under the codename Juniper, they would use the same processor as higher-end chips but would be eclipsed by two higher-end models, Cypress and Hemlock.

Best Buy to sell HTC Hero for $180, no rebate needed

09/04, 9:30am

HTC Hero costs less at Best Buy

Best Buy late Thursday said it would undercut Sprint's pricing for the HTC Hero when it goes on sale October 11th. In contrast to the official pricing, which has the phone selling for $180 only after the combination of a $50 immediate discount and a $100 rebate, the third-party chain says it will match the price without needing the special discounts. The price is still attached to a two-year contract.

Initial Mac OS X 10.6.1 details exposed [u]

09/04, 9:25am

First Snow Leopard update makes minor fixes

The unfinished Mac OS X 10.6.1 update -- now in distribution to a small number of developers -- so far only makes a minor number of fixes, accounts say. These include improvements to compatibility, stability and security, such as better support for Sierra Wireless 3G modems, and the proper display of printer compatibility drivers in the Add Printer dialog. A more critical fix prevents freezing in Motion 4.

Samsung drops attempt to buy SanDisk

09/04, 8:50am

Samsung quits SanDisk takeover try

Samsung said (subscription required) late Thursday that it was no longer pursuing a buyout of SanDisk. The revelation comes nearly a year after Samsung put its plans on hold following SanDisk's rejection of a $5.8 billion bid and four months after the two agreed to license each other's patents and ultimately avoid what had prompted the purchase offer.

HTC Touch HD2 to drop Windows for Android?

09/04, 8:20am

Touch HD2 gets Android, speed-up

HTC could be signaling a greater shift away from Windows Mobile in favor of Android if a rumor from Friday is accurate. Where the original Touch HD was a Windows Mobile 6.1 device, the Register understands from an unnamed source that the Touch HD2 will drop Microsoft's OS for Google's Android instead. Most details aren't known, but the new model would also be a rough challenger to the iPhone 3GS with a much faster 628MHz Qualcomm chip versus the 528MHz chip used in virtually every HTC phone used to date; Apple's phone uses a 600MHz Samsung part that may not compare directly.