Tech News and Reviews
Cellphones
Dell rolls out Froyo update for AT&T and Rogers Streak 5 users
0450 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Dell already pushed out its Froyo update to users of unlocked Streaks way back in November, and it looks like those that bought their Streak 5 from AT&T or Rogers can now finally get in on the action as well. The company just began rolling the update for those users out over-the-air today, and it brings with it all of the features we’ve already seen on unlocked Streaks, including Flash support, Dell’s Stage UI and, of course, support for any apps that require Android 2.0 or later. Hit up the source link below for the complete details on the upgrade.
Amazon Prime Instant Video hands-on
0451 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Amazon has just turned on its Prime Instant Video service, letting paid Prime subscribers (sorry, students) in the US (sorry, foreigners) stream any of 5,000 movies and TV shows directly to their machines free of charge — well, free beyond the $79 Primers already pay. Jeff Bezos has confirmed that there will be no extra charge going forward for this service and that Prime itself will not be getting more expensive to pay for all these bits and bytes. Right now the selection is limited, particularly if you already have a Netflix subscription, but we just had to try it out. Click on through for our impressions on a variety of devices.
Apple’s App Store hits 10 billion downloads (update: we have a winner)
0481 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Now that the number of App Store downloads to iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads around the world has handily exceeded the population of Planet Earth, we can hopefully put this story to bed until they hit another factor of ten — and as unreasonable as 100 billion downloads sounds, we’ll bet it actually won’t take that long. That’s right: just a few days after kicking off its online counter, Apple’s officially hit the 10 billion mark, which is a whole lot of software any way you slice it. So, Android Market, you’re next?
Update: The lucky winner was Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK, who downloaded Paper Glider. PR after the break.
LG Optimus 2X goes on sale in Korea, teases white version for February
0481 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
No big surprises here, unless you count that snowy white number up above. Yep, LG’s not only stolen a march on Motorola in introducing the world’s first dual-core smartphone, it’s also about to beat Apple to the white handset punch as well. The 1080p-recording, Tegra 2-wielding Optimus 2X is now available in its home market of South Korea and, if LG stays true to its roadmap, should be filtering through into Europe before this month is out. We don’t know if its white variant will ever escape the clutches of Korea (and we sure hope it does), but it should be making its bodacious debut over there in February.
HTC 7 Pro now available on O2 Germany, €22 monthly or €599 up front
0487 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Not that we had any reason to doubt O2 Germany’s Twitter account, but a formal press release does help ease our few concerns. The HTC 7 Pro is now official on the European carrier for the asking price of €29 down and 24 months of €22.50. If you want to rip the proverbial band-aid off faster, it’s also available for a €599 flat fee — both of those without SIM lock. The rest of the world? We imagine it’s just a matter of time before HTC offers this through its other channels.
Windows Phone 7 can now act as a WiFi remote control for iTunes
0493 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Got iTunes? Got a Windows Phone 7 device? Then you’ll probably want to check out the new Remote app in the Marketplace. It promises to make the two sing in perfect harmony by making them talk over a WiFi connection. There’s a basic set of iTunes controls at your WP7 phone’s disposal, including volume, starting /stopping music, and searching by album, artist, and song, and a corresponding piece of desktop software you need to install to make the magic happen. It’s compatible with both Windows (XP and above) and Mac OS (10.5.8 and above), so all you really need now are $1.99 for the mobile app and the overwhelming desire to control your playlists remotely.
Sony Ericsson names Xperia Arc CPU, dubs Android 2.4 appearance a ‘misconfiguration’
0493 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
The Xperia Arc is one pretty slice of Gingerbread, don’t you think? We certainly did when we got the chance to handle one for ourselves at CES, but today we’re less concerned with its exterior and more interested in what lies beneath. The 1GHz processor we knew about already has been specified as a Qualcomm MSM8255 and will be joined in the good fight against sluggish performance by an Adreno 205 graphics chip. On the software front, that random sighting of an Arc with Android 2.4 has been put down as a simple “misconfiguration” by Sony Ericsson, exploding a million conspiracy theories around the web. One encouraging note here is that SE (kinda) acknowledges its inglorious record with Android updates and promises recent changes have put it in “a good position to make sure that Xperia Arc will get later versions in a timely manner.” We’ll believe it when you make it, Sony.
HTC 7 Pro arriving on O2 Germany ‘next week,’ priced at €569
0493 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Last we heard of the HTC 7 Pro, it was taking a casual stroll through O2 Germany’s website, throwing around boasts that it’ll be on sale come January 2011. Well, guess what? That promise has just been reiterated by O2′s German Twitter stream, which says that the 7 Pro will be on sale next week for an unsubsidized price of €569 ($735). That’s available via O2′s usual MyHandy payment plan, where you dish out €29 in advance and then pay off the phone in equal monthly payments over two years. We can’t imagine HTC leaving the rest of the world sitting idly by, twiddling their QWERTY keyboard-loving thumbs, so look out for this WP7 handset to filter through to your local market some time soon.
The Verizon iPhone
0493 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
We’ve waited and waited, and now Apple and Verizon have made a million dreams come true: the iPhone is coming to Big Red. After talking up his new LTE network a bit, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed a CDMA (non-LTE) version of the iPhone 4 is coming to Verizon Wireless next month. Talks started way back in 2008, and the phone has been in testing for a year — it sounds like they wanted to get this one right. Current Verizon customers will be able to pre-order on Feburary 3rd for the standard $200 price for the 16GB model on a two year agreement, $300 for the 32GB version — everyone else can order on February 10th (see it compared with AT&T’s iPhone 4). Just to clarify and put any wild rumors to bed, the phone is Verizon 3G (EV-DO) only, no 4G data or GSM roaming. It’s not a world phone or an AT&T + Verizon phone, it’s just a Verizon phone.
Outside of Verizon connectivity, the phone is basically unchanged, although Verizon’s CDMA network doesn’t support simultaneous voice and data as with the GSM version. It does have the new antenna design we were hearing about last week, but that’s just because CMDA requires a different configuration of antennas. (Apple says they didn’t go LTE just yet because first-gen chipsets would force unwanted design decisions, and customers want a Verizon device now.) That slight modification also equates to a slight bump in where the volume buttons and mute switch — a new case might be required. Software-wise the big innovation is five user WiFi hotspot functionality, something that’s standard on Android phones, while Apple has kept the iPhone only able to tether directly to one computer.
Check out our full hands-on with the Verizon iPhone right here, and stay tuned — we’ve got lots more coming up.
AT&T iPhone 4 vs. Verizon iPhone 4: what’s changed?
0493 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Is an iPhone 4, an iPhone 4? Not quite, now that Verizon has launched a CDMA version of the device — in fact, there are a number of notable differences that you’re going to want to consider before buying either model (or making the jump from AT&T to Big Red). We wanted to dig in and see exactly what has changed — how does pricing compare, for instance? What features have been added or removed? In light of both Verizon’s and AT&T’s harping on 4G data in the past week at CES, do either of these phones support it? Let’s have a quick look!