|
|||||
|
AT&T has reportedly started receiving promotional materials for the Launch of Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has stated that the launch is targeted for the fourth quarter, but this may point to a sooner than expected roll-out. Engadget points out that it is not unheard of for these types of material...
Apparently, AT&T thinks that millions of iPhones pounding on its wireless infrastructure isn't enough. AT&T will also have Pandigital's new Photo Mail...
Lenovo’s Snapdragon-based Skylight smartbook is here at CES (see previous coverage). It’s light – really light. I didn’t have too much time to actually test out anything substantial but the physical design is certainly different enough to draw some attention. I couldn’t get a more firm release date than “sometime in April” and AT&T hasn’t revealed subsidized pricing. The full price, as previously reported, will be around $500.
Today Microsoft will kick off CES 2010 with a keynote speech by CEO Steve Ballmer and Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment & Devices Division. Neowin has a team that will be attending the keynote and will be live blogging depending on the Internet connection. We have embedded the chat below and the chat will open 1 hour before the keynote begins, and comments will be disabled during the duration of the keynote. Microsoft is rumored to announce a Tablet PC, new online services, and updates to other Microsoft services. The keynote is set to start at 6:30 PST, click here for local times near you. A live stream of the keynote is being made available here.
Read full story...
AT&T today announced at its CES 2010 press conference that the company is finally pushing its lineup of Android based devices. The company will launch five new Android devices from Dell, HTC, and Motorola later this year. One device that has already been announced is Dell's Mini 3, which debuted in Brazil and China last year. Dell announced that the device will be ready for AT&T in the first half of 2010. That leaves 4 more Android based devices will be coming from HTC and Motorola. In a press release, AT&T stated that the Motorola's Android based smartphone will be powered by MOTOBLUR and will have a unique form factor, while HTC's device will be an AT&T exclusive.
Read full story...
This years CES Keynote speech will be provided by Microsoft's Steve Ballmer (CEO) and Robbie Bach (President of the Entertainment & Devices Division), Possible subjects include the Microsoft Slate Device we covered earlier, rumours suggest the device will be manufactured by HP. Coverage will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. PST (Check the time near you), and as per usual the keynote will be streamed live over the internet, a link to the Webcast will be placed here closer to the event.
Read full story...
Since the release of Apple's iPhone, AT&T has seen a lot of negative criticism. From dodgy service to dropped calls and even completely unavailable reception, there are certainly improvements to be made. Earlier, the company announced completion of their 3G service, boosting the overall speed of the wireless. The upgrade today, one of a two-part deal, is a software one, helping AT&T roll out High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA for short) 7.2 Mbit technology across all of its 3G cell sites… though there's a catch. Without an upgrade of the back-end part of their service, this improvement won't make a huge difference.
Read full story...
Asustek unveiled some of its newest products at CES on Tuesday, including a new netbook with slide-out battery and the N90 Bang & Olufsen widescreen laptop.
Looks like we’re about to see Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon platform finally start to take off this year. One of the first devices out of the gate will be Lenovo’s unique “Skylight” smartbook. It’s a netbook-ish computer that weighs less than two pounds, sports 10-hour battery life, and an interface (Linux, presumably) full of continuously updating widgets. Wi-Fi and 3G connections are built in and the computer will be sold directly from Lenovo and through AT&T starting in April. There’s also a unique integrated USB stick that swivels out and detaches for taking your data with you elsewhere. The price tag is going to be a sticking point for some people: $499 unlocked. These Snapdragon smartbooks are supposed to be priced around $200, right? Subsidized units sold through AT&T ought to be priced more aggressively. At any rate, you get a 10.1-inch screen at 720p resolution, HD playback, and a relatively spacious keyboard. We’ll take a closer look at CES but here’s a demo video in the mean time. Lenovo Skylight [Press Release]
EA Sports is set to continue with plans to introduce a new Tiger Woods online game, despite the golfer's recent public relations meltdown as a result of his adultery scandal. The move comes just days after AT&T joined other companies by ending its sponsorship deals with Tiger Woods. Peter Moore, Electronic Arts Inc unit's president, said in a company blog that they would begin offering the browser-based "Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online" this month, after a year of development and closed beta testing. "Our relationship with Tiger has always been rooted in golf. We didn't form a relationship with him so that he could act as an arm's length endorser.
Read full story...
Gotta hand it to Bloomberg for this riveting one-sentence article written by two people.
I don’t recall seeing Woods in any TV or print commercials for AT&T but he definitely had a few big, fat AT&T logos on his golf bag. The company still has Luke Wilson and the iPhone, so sleep easy, friends. It’ll be most interesting to see what EA Sports does this year. The company hasn’t announced any plans to drop its sponsorship but with Woods taking an “indefinite” leave of absence from professional golf, a game called Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 might sound a bit silly. We may see a return to the standard PGA Tour Golf moniker from the early days of the franchise. AT&T Ends Sponsorship Agreement With Tiger Woods [Bloomberg.com] Photo: Flickr
Tube or valve amplifiers are electronic amplifiers that make use of vacuum tubes to boost the power of a signal. They’ve been around for decades, and some audio freaks still love the sound they help to produce. And they look kind of pretty, too. Reason enough for Hanwha Japan to come up with the US-0498 [JP], a PC speaker that looks like a tube amplifier (but isn’t one). Connect the simple 38mm speaker to your Windows PC (Windows XP/Vista/7) via USB 2.0 and you’ll get 0.35W×2ch sound with 45db max. It needs two USB ports. The four tubes will start lighting up in blue when the music goes on.
Sized at 125x 98x 80mm (weight: 220g), the speaker is available in black or silver and costs $25. It’s Japan-only, so you might want to contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya if you’re interested in getting one.
Looks like AT&T isn't the only carrier than can't handle the iPhone and its data hungry users. Since UK based, O2, got the iPhone, their network has slowly started to see issues. Customers have been experiencing dropped calls, the inability to make calls, and weak data connections. According to Financial Times, Ronan Dunne, the head of O2, has publicly apologized to customers for the network's shortcomings. He says that he, himself, has been disappointed with the network performance since the summer. He goes on to say that the company is making progress towards fixing the underlying issues, but wants it to be known that the issue is not widespread, and is mostly confined to London.
Read full story...
When we talked to AT&T earlier Monday about the unavailability of iPhones for New York shoppers using the AT&T Website, a company spokesman told us that...
As we have reported in recent weeks about AT&T experiencing data problems in major cities like San Francisco and New York, it seems that AT&T has taken the next step in preventing the towers from being over loaded, by stopping any new sales of the iPhone. AT&T admitted that smartphone consumers are using 40% of the total wireless data, and that customers need to reduce their usage or possibly pay more if they go over their 5GB allowance.
Read full story...
Also, new orders will not ship out until February 1, 2010 so you may want to hold on to your money a bit longer. Your local B&N store might get a few in before then. B&N’s full statement is after the jump.
Cellular coverage in the BART tunnel across San Francisco Bay has been delayed by AT&T and is still spotty for other carriers.
It’s really not a bad idea at all. What better way to prevent footsteps and other vibrations from messing with your vinyl? My turntable skips when I walk into the room all the time. Would I spend $500 to have it suspended in the air by magnets? No. But then, I bought my speakers for $5 at a garage sale and the amp crackles like a brush fire. Skipping is the least of my worries. In conclusion, I have this to say: magnets are awesome, and as long as they’re guaranteed not to mess with the audio components or catapult them off if there’s a sudden shift in charge, then I fully support using this thing. [via OhGizmo]
Yesterday, Gizmodo posted the results of their 12-city 3G speed test. Last year, they did an 8-city test, declaring Sprint the overall winner. This year, the results were a bit different. Overall, AT&T came out on top, destroying other carriers in upload speed, and narrowly beating Verizon in overall download speed. The cities tested, along with their results, can be seen below. Gizmodo says that their tests were conducted in five locations from each city (only three in Maui and Chicago), using the best 3G modems that the carriers provided. Using various tools, the networks were put through a series of tests--bandwidth and latency, page load, and download.
Read full story...
Firefox 3.5 has managed to overtake IE7 as the most popular single version web browser. According to StatsCounter, Firefox 3.5 has surpassed all other browsers, as a single version, in user choice. Internet Explorer still has the overall edge on all other browsers combined, with 55% of the mark share. Users are still slow on upgrading from Internet Explorer 6 & 7, showing a steady decline week over week. Users are however slowly upgrading to Internet Explorer 8, but during the upgrade period, Firefox 3.5 managed to surpass all other browsers, as a single version, in market share. Firefox 3.5 ended the week with 21.93% of the market share, just surpassing Internet Explorer 7 with 21.20%.
Read full story...
According to BusinessWeek, Verizon Wireless Chief Technology Officer, Anthony Melone, said that in the event that AT&T's exclusivity deal is broken, Verizon is ready for the iPhone. Melone confirms that Verizon has been beefing up its network to prepare for the possibility of adding the world's most popular smartphone to their lineup. "We have put things in place already... We are prepared to support that traffic." Melone feels that Verizon's network and equipment would do a much better job of handling the heavy traffic load produced by the iPhone, stating, "Absolutely, I think we could handle it." Verizon has consistently poured money into improving their network across the US.
Read full story...
Perhaps recognizing that a missed Christmas delivery could lead to much customer dissatisfaction--not to mention bad publicity--Barnes & Noble has informed...
It’s a well known fact of life that creativity flows better when the sun is down. The best essays are written the night before class, the best coding is done at 2 AM, and the best music is played when everyone else would rather sleep. Unfortunately, that last one can leave some very angry people in it’s wake. Vox’s series of headphone amps allow you to rock out without your neighbors calling the police. It’s exactly what you’d think it is. Plug the amPlug into your electrified instrument of choice (bass, guitar, eigenharp, whatever), plug your headphones into the amPlug, and enjoy your tiny musical world of your own creation. They come in 6 different flavors, each simulating a different Vox amplifier. Pick from acoustic, metal, bass, and a few lead guitar tones. There’s also an aux input so you can play along to your favorite rendition of The Final Countdown. They’re powered by 2 AAA batteries, and last about 15 hours. At anywhere between $56 and $64, they make a nice, albeit slightly expensive, stocking stuffer for a guitarist you know.
It’s hard to feel sympathetic to B&N. The bookseller obviously misjudged customer demand from the start, but inventory and supply management should have seen this latest shipping problem a lot earlier. Our tipster ordered his Nook back on November 12th and saw his order constantly pushed back at the last minute, which was no doubt a ploy by B&N to keep cancellations down to a minimum. All it takes to keep most consumers happy is timely, honest communication, not emails days after the delay is obvious.
It’s hard to feel sympathetic to B&N. The bookseller obviously misjudged customer demand from the start, but inventory and supply management should have seen this latest shipping problem a lot earlier. Our tipster ordered his Nook back on November 12th and saw his order constantly pushed back at the last minute, which was no doubt a ploy by B&N to keep cancellations down to a minimum. All it takes to keep most consumers happy is timely, honest communication, not emails days after the delay is obvious.
Plus the whole cast is back: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Don Rickles, R. Lee Emey. Even Timothy Dalton is in the new one. If Avatar doesn’t convince the general public that IMAX 3D movies are awesome, Toy Story 3 definitely will. Everyone enjoys a good Pixar film. [CNNMoney & SlashFilm]
Frustrated by the delay, he successfully completed the cancellation process on BN.com only to get an email several hours later that stated his order cannot be canceled because it “has entered the shipping process” even though according to B&N’s own website, the Nook will not ship for another three days. Now that’s some bull. The Nook is hot and rightfully so with the dual-screen setup and Android hackability, but this is not the way to treat early adopters. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising and you want these people on your side. Hopefully there is a plan to compensate the folks whose orders have been constantly pushed back. Even a free e-book credit might be enough for some to forget the frustration. B&N clearly has a problem here. The last few Nook stories that have popped up have all been about delayed shipments and limited availability. The retail market will not even get the device until early next year. But we haven’t heard anything about the Kindle not shipping on time despite the device being the most popular item sold on Amazon.com. Just saying.
Gizmodo put out an amazing graphical representation of the current AT&T situation. As previously reported, Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T's consumer services, said that AT&T is upgrading their network to handle the demanding iPhone and its growing customer base, but it may come at a cost to consumers who use a lot of data. The statement came in response to complaints about AT&T's poor network quality. As seen in the images below, AT&T's "commitment to improving their network" claim could not be further from the truth. Since the release of the original iPhone, AT&T has consistently spent less money on network construction. This seems very strange, considering they beefed up construction right before the iPhone's initial release.
Read full story...
The R&D geeks at the publishers of Popular Science and Wired, teamed up with the design agency BERG to create the concepts shown here. Basically the format named Mag+ has all the design elements we’ve grown accustomed to in magazines with flashy graphics, iconic covers, and bold headlines. And according to this concept, apparently there will be no need or room for advertisements. The whole thing works like a gigantic iPhone with finger-scrolling, auto-rotation and multitouch to access the user interface. Of course this product is as real as Wall-E or Optimus Prime, but it’s still fun to watch the video. We are finally reaching a point technically where such device is possible, but still not ready for general consumption. Can you really see your Mom reading Ladies Home Journal on today’s tablets? [BERG via SlashGear
|
|||||
|
Copyright © 2010 VicLovan.com NEWS - All Rights Reserved 183 queries. 1.519 seconds. Site last updated 2010/07/30 @ 7:34 pm |
|||||
The Q&A format surrounding mobile, location based social networking continues here at 
See that tablet concept thing designed by design agency BERG? Yeah, that might be the future of print publications. But you probably already knew that. For the past 20 years tablets have been deemed the next-gen magazine, but so far nothing has been produced that actually steps up to the task. And don’t get excited, that tablet isn’t real. It’s just a concept of the format and something fun to dream about.