News Archive for 09/11/12

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Wondershare launches iPhone Ringtone Maker for Mac

11/12, 11:25pm

Creates and converts files for use on the iPhone

Wondershare Software has launched its newest audio/video conversion software, iPhone Ringtone Maker for Mac. The app enables users to convert almost any audio or video file for use on the iPhone, while providing options to create and transfer ringtones. Its equipped with a wave-form function, an editor which allows users to choose what specific sections of files they want. The utility provides control over both the starting and stopping time of ringtones. Additionally, users can add fade-in and fade-out effects to their edited audio or video clips.

KeynotePro debuts Copenhagen for Keynote '09

11/12, 11:10pm

Copenhagen contains 27 master-slides

KeynotePro has announced Copenhagen for Keynote ’09, a new set of master slides featuring themes designed for presentations or business-related projects. The package contains 27 master slides, consisting of a mix of narrative and image-driven styles, as well as a gallery of Copenhagen slides. Users can choose from three different versions including the Standard Edition, the Pro Edition, and the Copenhagen EP Edition.

PGI 2010 compilers add Snow Leopard, CUDA Fortran support

11/12, 11:00pm

New version supports up to 256 cores

The Portland Group has announced the 2010 version of its PGI compilers and development tools. The new release is the first to fully support the PGI Accelerator Programming model 1.0 standard for x64 processor systems that use NVIDIA CUDA-enabled GPUs. CUDA Fortran, which is the primary GPU interface, is also now included to give developers direct control of NVIDIA GPUs.

Google confirms acquisition of VoIP company Gizmo5

11/12, 10:45pm

Buy could help company compete with Skype

Google on Thursday officially confirmed its acquisition of the VoIP company Gizmo5. Unnamed sources leaked the information earlier this week, including the alleged $30 million price tag. The startup initially had been eyed by Skype, however the deal never materialized.

YouTube to add support for 1080p video content

11/12, 9:30pm

Users will be able to upload full HD next week

YouTube has announced that it will allow users to upload 1080p HD video content without limiting playback to a lower resolution. The web-based interface will provide a choice between the current maximum, 720p, and full 1080p. The change brings YouTube up to speed with the limited number of video portals, such as SmugMug, that support the higher resolution.

Panasonic intros MW-10 photo frame and audio system

11/12, 9:00pm

Device integrates iPod dock

Panasonic on Thursday introduced the MW-10, a device that combines a photo frame with an audio system and iPod dock. The system integrates a CD player, AM/FM tuner, 45-station preset memory, and a 9-inch WVGA LCD with 4GB of internal memory for picture storage. Users can add memory or offload photos from a CD or SD memory card.

Livestream Procaster outs app-free iPhone video streaming

11/12, 8:15pm

Company utilizes H.264 capabilities on iPhone

Livestream has launched its live internet video service, Livestream Procaster, allowing for app-free access to streaming video on the iPhone. The service allows users to stream video content from webcams, video cameras or the desktops of a Mac or PC. The feeds can be accessed from an iPhone and iPod touch, using either 3G or Wi-Fi. The turnkey service uses H.264 HTTP live streaming functionality built into the native QuickTime player included on the iPhone, allowing streams to play in the Safari browser instead of a standalone app.

T-Mobile's Behold II Android phone due Nov. 18

11/12, 8:00pm

Samsung Behold II gets ship date

T-Mobile tonight gave the Samsung Behold II a definitive ship date and price. The Android 1.5-based phone is due to ship on November 18th. Pricing will be high and sit at $230 on a two-year contract.

Microsoft patents sudo system used in Mac OS X, Linux?

11/12, 7:40pm

Tech used to elevate user rights

The USPTO recently granted Microsoft a patent, No. 7,617,530, which describes a method for running a command as an administrator. The filing has sparked outrage by many, including Groklaw blogger Pamela Jones, who believe the company has simply rebranded the sudo Unix command developed in the 1980s by members of the Computer Science department at SUNY/Buffalo.

Xbox update with Facebook, 1080p videos due Nov. 17

11/12, 6:30pm

Xbox 360 fall update due next week

Microsoft today confirmed that its Xbox 360 fall update should go live for all users next week, on November 17th. The upgrade will give those outside of the preview program the major features promised in late spring, including Facebook and Twitter, Last.fm streaming and 1080p Zune Marketplace videos.

NDrive iPhone navigation app arrives on App Store for $30

11/12, 5:50pm

Full US base map for $30 lifetime license

NDrive Navigation Systems has released its self-titled iPhone app on the US App Store. The GPS utility provides full map coverage for the US, including 3D representations of important buildings or other landmarks. Users can take advantage of a large keyboard for quick entry, while the interface supports multi-touch input for zoom, tilt and shortcuts.

Core i5 iMac arrives: first benchmarks

11/12, 5:50pm

Quad-core iMac near 3X faster than past gen

Electronista has received one of the first Core i5 iMacs and is putting it through its paces. Since many already are already familiar with the 27-inch iMac in Core 2 Duo form, we'll provide impressions specific to the faster model. We also have some of the first benchmarks of the system, which is Apple's first quad-core system ever outside of its Mac Pro workstations.

Windows Mobile gets web store, tougher DRM

11/12, 4:40pm

Windows Mobile gets security, PC shopping update

Microsoft on Wednesday said it has released new updates to Windows Marketplace for Mobile, just over a month after its launch. Among them is stronger anti-piracy protection and improvements in the developer portal. To the average Windows Mobile user, however, the more important news is the newfound ability to browse for and buy apps from the web on a computer and then transfer the purchases to their handsets wirelessly.

Incipio, CAZE announce new iPhone and iPod touch cases

11/12, 4:35pm

Incipio Feather, Argyle Love Premium

Incipio and CAZE have announced new cases for the iPhone and iPod touch. Incipio's latest is the Feather, a shell for the iPhone 3G/3GS and the second-gen iPod touch. It is less than 1mm thin, and made of a light polymer. A soft matte finish is used, and bundled with the case are two surface protectors and a cleaning cloth. The Feather comes in five different Touch colors, or 14 different iPhone variants including black, turquoise, purple, yellow and green.

ViewSonic shows Windows XP phone

11/12, 4:30pm

ViewSonic shows phone with Windows XP, Intel ULV

What appears to be a rebadged Nokia E90 handset is actually a ViewSonic handset, the VCP08, which is running on Windows XP. The device is said to have an Intel ULV-series processor at its core and otherwise has a 4.3-inch display, along with 512MB of RAM and 8GB of integrated storage space.

Sony polling customers on potential new PSP Go colors

11/12, 4:25pm

PSP Go to get new colors?

Sony has released a customer survey for owners and potential owners of Sony products in the UK recently, revealing it may be looking to produce the PSP Go in a new color. One of the questions asks the poll takers to pick from one of 14 colors for the portable gaming system, including the current black and white PSP Go platforms.

Palm Pre coming to Mexico

11/12, 4:20pm

GSM version of Palm Pre due at Telcel in Mexico

The Palm Pre in GSM guise is coming to Mexican wireless provider Telcel, the companies announced on Thursday. This will be the second webOS-powered handset that is compatible with GSM networks, after O2's device in the UK and several other countries in Europe. Apart from the different network support, the Pre will be identical to the US-spec device in its features.

USBfever launches iPhone telescope, Smart Stand

11/12, 4:10pm

Telescope provides 8X zoom

USBfever has released two new products in its line of iPhone and iPod accessories, the 8X Telescope with Hard Case and the Smart Stand. The telescope is designed for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, and attaches via the case, offering 8X optical zoom when capturing images. A focus ring is mounted on the lens, and an included stand can be attached for stability.

Toshiba TG01 may reach Verizon

11/12, 3:50pm

New image supports Toshiba TG01 at Verizon

Another indication that the 1GHz Qualcomm CPU-powered Toshiba TG01 smartphone may be soon coming to Verizon surfaced on Thursday. This comes in the form of an image of a Cellebrite device screen showing a handset called TG01CV. The Cellebrite machine is used to transfer database content between handsets and implies Verizon is readying its system to accept the new phone in its system.

iPresentee launches Keynote Motion Themes 8.0

11/12, 3:40pm

Includes five new themes

iPresentee has launched Keynote Motion Themes 8.0, an updated graphics collection for Apple’s Keynote software. Each theme provides an animated background, and includes up to 22 different layouts. With the expansion the collection now contains more than 100 themes, which can be used in anything from business presentations to seminars or school lectures.

PDF2Office for iWork 1.0 converts PDFs for Pages, Keynote

11/12, 2:55pm

Converter keeps layouts, graphics intact

Recosoft has launched a new PDF converter for Apple's iWork suite, PDF2Office for iWork v1.0. The software attempts to restore layouts in its conversion process, recreating paragraphs and tables. It can also regroup independent graphic elements. Users have access to preset conversion options and font mappings, but can also make fine adjustments as necessary.

Gartner: iPhone widens lead over smaller rivals

11/12, 2:50pm

Only RIM, Nokia top smartphone share

Apple has extended its influence on the smartphone market even further, Gartner says in its data for the summer. The combined iPhone platform leapt from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent of worldwide share in the summer, or third place, where the next-best competitor, HTC, topped out at 6.5 percent after increasing from 4.5 percent a year earlier. Samsung was near-flat and moved up just slightly to 3.2 percent.

CalDigit increases hard drive capacities to 2TB

11/12, 2:40pm

Increased storage for hard drives, RAID systems

CalDigit has announced increased storage support in terms of its hard drives and several of its RAID storage systems. The company’s previous hard drives were only available in capacities up to 1.5TB, but can now range up to 2TB at no extra cost. Enhancements have appropriately been made to the company’s CalDigit VR, HDElement, HDOne and HDPro RAID systems. Capacities can now extend from 4TB up to 16TB, or as much as 32TB when combined with other supporting systems.

Lenovo making smartbook for AT&T

11/12, 2:10pm

Lenovo smartbook uses Snapdragon chip

Qualcomm at its investor conference today showed what should be one of the first production smartbooks. The Lenovo design (pictured) would sit in between netbooks and smartphones in size and will run one of Qualcomm's own Snapdragon processors. It's similarly expected to use AT&T-based 3G for Internet access beyond Wi-Fi.

Boxee device coming Dec. 7

11/12, 1:40pm

Boxee finds hardware maker

Boxee today confirmed talk that it would produce its own hardware. The media center startup now says it has partnered with an unnamed home electronics company to make its own set-top box and that a mockup as well as further details will be shown at an already-planned December 7th event that was to mark the Boxee software entering beta. Most details aren't known, but Boxee stresses that the device will still let users choose from a wide variety of sources rather than a narrow channel.

TomTom iPhone app to gain text-to-speech, lane guidance

11/12, 12:55pm

Part of free software update

The TomTom navigation app for the iPhone will soon receive a major software update, the company says. Some planned changes include the addition of text-to-speech, a feature common to most dedicated GPS devices, providing an audio description of directions for busy drivers. Also new is lane guidance, showing necessary switches at difficult intersections.

Intel plans three ultraportable Core i5, i7 chips

11/12, 12:45pm

Intel ultraportable chips dated in 2010

Intel is planning on releasing three new 32nm dual-core CPUs for ultrathin notebooks in the first half of next year, Digitimes reported on Thursday. Their notebook manufacturing sources claim the 1.2GHz Core i7-640UM, 1.06GHz Core i7-620UM and 1.06GHz Core i5-520UM would be aimed at the high- to mid-range ultraportable markets and replace the current 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SU9600. As Core i7 models, the two faster chips would support Hyperthreading and sometimes give these chips the behavior of quad-core models.

Qualcomm outs hybrid HSPA+/EVDO chipset

11/12, 12:25pm

Possible Verizon iPhone candidates?

Qualcomm today updated its MDM family of cellular chipsets with some of the first anywhere to support dual, advanced 3G and 4G formats. The MSM7630 supports GSM, HSPA and HSPA+ standards but will also work on CDMA phone networks and support up to EVDO Revision B for 3G on those services. The addition would let a phone work on a CDMA carrier like Sprint or Verizon but still work with AT&T or T-Mobile and roam at speeds of up to 21Mbps on networks from Rogers, other international carriers, and eventually T-Mobile USA.

Apple pulls wraps off of Upper West Side NYC store

11/12, 11:50am

Public store opening set for November 14th, 10AM

Apple has revealed that its Upper West Side store -- based in New York City -- will open to the public at 10AM on November 14th. The outlet is Apple's fourth in Manhattan and 280th worldwide; it will employ over 200 workers, and on its basement level feature the company's "largest area ever" devoted to training and tech support, for instance incorporating a 45-foot Genius Bar. Normal operating hours will run from 9AM to 9PM Monday through Saturday, and 9AM to 7PM on Sunday.

Sanyo intros contact-less Wii MotionPlus remote charger

11/12, 11:40am

Eneloop charger can juice two Motion plus remotes

Sanyo has introduced a new version of its contact-free Eneloop battery and charging system for the Nintendo Wii's remotes with MotionPlus attachments. The system is an improvement over a similar one introduced last year by accommodating both a second controller as well as the new peripherals. It includes two battery packs specially adapted to the cradle and a USB cable that draws power from the console's USB port.

Samsung denies claims of dropping Symbian

11/12, 11:05am

Samsung dropping Symbian not part of strategy

Just one day after Samsung's senior VP Don Joo said the electronics manufacturer will be dropping Symbian in favor of its bada mobile operating system developed in-house, the company has responded by denying this likelihood. According to a Thursday statement, Samsung says such a strategy is not in line with its smartphone plans. The company also stated it's an initial member of the Symbian Foundation and will continue to cooperate with the group, which also involves Nokia, Sony Ericsson and others.

AT&T demands Verizon pull 3G ads

11/12, 10:50am

AT&T escalates Verizon ad lawsuit

AT&T late Wednesday amended its lawsuit against Verizon to demand its rival pull its ads. The new version of the complaint asks the Federal Court to block all Verizon ads attacking AT&T's 3G coverage and would silence much of Verizon's marketing campaign for the holidays. AT&T acknowledges that the coverage map itself is accurate for 3G but implies no coverage in many of the areas AT&T still services with 2G.

New Get a Mac ad takes over YouTube

11/12, 10:40am

Furthers campaign against Windows 7

Apple has deployed a new Get a Mac ad, this time directed not at TV audiences but at YouTube viewers. Mac (Justin Long) and PC (John Hodgman) stand at one side of the front page, watching security camera footage at the top showing former PC users entering Apple Stores. The people are switching instead of upgrading to Windows 7, Hodgman complains, because Apple is highest in customer satisfaction, and since they would have to migrate files anyway, they might as well switch to a Mac.

AMD, Intel call truce in antitrust, patent fights [U]

11/12, 10:00am

AMD and Intel agree to stop disputes

(Updated with info from conference calls) AMD and Intel this morning unveiled a surprise deal to end all of their respective antitrust and patent cross-licensing disputes. The move ends AMD's lawsuits against Intel in both the US and Japan as well as its "regulatory complaints" worldwide. In exchange, Intel promises to pay AMD $1.25 billion and to abide by a new set of business practices. The two have also entered into a five-year cross-licensing deal for each other's technology.

Second Microsoft official denies Mac influence on Windows 7

11/12, 9:45am

Original claims deemed 'inaccurate'

The appearance of Windows 7 is not based on Mac OS X, says Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc, writing on the official Windows Blog. A Microsoft partner group manager, Simon Aldous, recently told the the press that the "look and feel" of the new OS was based deliberately on the "graphical and easy to use" nature of the Mac interface, allegedly one of its main draws. Windows 7 does feature elements strongly similar to Mac OS X, such as the Expose-like Aero Peek and a Dock-like taskbar.

Eye-Fi adds FTP uploading to wireless cards

11/12, 9:20am

Eye-Fi now lets users upload to FTP sites

Eye-Fi has recently announced its Share Video, Explore Video and Pro memory cards are now capable of uploading directly to personal or corporate FTP sites. While only JPEG photos and videos can be uploaded, it supports both regular FTP and secure FTPS protocols. The feature should be especially useful to working photographers and livebloggers, who can upload photos before their deadlines to a company's FTP site.

Dell chases Mac mini with official Zino HD

11/12, 8:55am

Dell Zino HD uses AMD to undercut Apple

Dell this morning officially unveiled its most direct attempt at claiming the ultra-compact desktop space currently held by the Mac mini. Shown after multiple teases, the Inspiron Zino HD occupies roughly the same footprint as its Apple counterpart but uses AMD processors to keep the costs low while still supplying options its rival doesn't have. The micro PC is seen as a home theater PC and comes with native HDMI output as well as options of discrete Radeon HD 4330 graphics and a Blu-ray drive.

Apple patent points to tablet with pen support

11/12, 8:00am

Apple patent hints tablet not finger-only

Apple's rumored tablet may have the option of a pen for input, a US patent filing published today suggests. The application for a patent on getting ink data from "pen-aware computer systems" shows an example device with slight interface cues from the Newton, such as the bottom icon tray, but with a significantly different design and a different engine. Apple in the description makes clear that the technology would be an improvement on the writing systems implemented in the defunct PDA.