Google and Sprint Buddy Up on Nexus S, Google Voice

The Googlephone. It’s a concept that sometimes sounds an exciting taste of the future, and sometimes sounds like it’s already fizzled. And today, it’s back to being exciting: Google has announced that there will be a Sprint 4G version of its fine Nexus S phone–and that it will give consumers all the goodness of Google voice without making them switch their phone numbers. That’ll make it the first true native Google Voice phone.

The news would be noteworthy whenever it came down, but the timing is fascinating. It came down hours after AT&T agreed to acquire T-Mobile–there latter being the carrier that partnered with Google for the Nexus One and original Nexus S, and the only national carrier other than Sprint that counts as a scrappy underdog. Sprint needs good news; Google needs a wireless partner that isn’t T-Mobile and that doesn’t insist on acting like an 800-pound gorilla. Short of Google buying a phone carrier, there are all kinds of interesting things it could do with Sprint if the two companies agreed to let Google take the sort of dominant role that Apple took with the iPhone but which otherwise just doesn’t happen.


Of course, Apple’s iOS is only available on Apple phones, while Android is primarily a piece of open-source software available on hundreds of phone models. The Nexus S and Nexus One were already odd glimpses of an alternative reality in which Google takes an activist role in Android hardware development and makes sure that everything’s just the way it should be. But the company seems comfortable with with this side bet. Android honcho Andy Rubin describes the Nexus S this way in his post about the Sprint news:

Nexus S 4G is part of the Nexus line of devices which provide a pure Google experience and run the latest and greatest Android releases and Google mobile apps.

I guess that means that every Android phone that isn’t a Nexus makes no guarantees about whether it offers a pure Google experience or runs the latest and greatest versions of Android and Google apps–which is another way of saying that Google’s okay with the possibility that the vast majority of Android phones might have a stale feel about them.

I made the mistake of buying one such phone, the Verizon Fascinate–a nice piece of Samsung hardware with such a butchered, obsolete version of Android that–as a friend pointed out to me–Google refuses to even mention it on its list of Android handsets. I was already toying with the idea of buying a T-Mobile Nexus S; now it’s the Sprint version that looks attractive.

[via Technologizer]

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Posted in: Google,Nexus,Sprint

HTC Arrive now available as first Windows Phone 7 CDMA device

HTC Arrive

Sprint has launched its first Windows Phone 7 CDMA device.
Available immediately, the device will set owners back $200 on a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate. Sprint has launched the device with Microsoft’s first Windows Phone 7 update, codenamed “NoDo”. The device is also available at a bargain $50 from Amazon.
The HTC Arrive includes the following:

• Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
• 3.6-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch capability
• Full HTML Web browser with Bing Search and Maps for turn by turn directions, address mapping and even street level views via voice search or typing
• Windows Phone Marketplace offers a single view to showcase apps, games, music and premium Xbox LIVE games
• Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®), personal (POP & IMAP) email and text messaging
• 5MP camera with flash, autofocus and digital zoom and 720p HD camcorder. The camera button will snap photos fast, even if the phone is locked.
• 16GB internal memory for storing pictures, videos and large files. With an additional 25GB of storage in the cloud at no additional charge using a Windows Live ID.
• Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g/n)

 [via Technologizer]

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Posted in: Bing,HTC,Microsoft,Windows phone 7,XBox Live

HTC Thunderbolt Now Available from Verizon

The world’s first LTE phone, HTC Thunderbolt, is now available from Verizon for $249.99 with a two-year contract or $599.99 if you want the contract-free, unlocked version.

The device itself is a very capable Android 2.2-based phone, with a a single core 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU, 768 MB of RAM (for some reason, Verizon’s site currently lists only 68 MB of RAM, but we believe it’s a mistake), 8 GB of built-in memory and 32 GB of additional memory on a microSD card. The touchscreen is a full 4.3-incher with a 480×800 resolution, and the 8-megapixel camera with LED flash (there’s another 1.3-megapixel camera on the front side) will make sure you can take some pretty photos to show off on that big screen.

You will not be buying the Thunderbolt for its hardware capabilities alone, however: its killer feature is support for LTE, the widely adopted 4G-ready mobile network standard that enables very fast wireless data transfer. Theoretically, it enables peak download rates of 326.4 Mbit/s, but users probably won’t be experiencing those speeds just yet.

Verizon is a little shy on the details, merely saying the technology will enable you to “download movies in minutes, photos in seconds”. We can’t wait to see the data transfer speeds in real life usage.

[via Verizon]

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Posted in: HTC,Tech,Verizon

Samsung’s Laptop Is Lighter, Thinner Than a MacBook Air [GALLERY]

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Before you rush out and buy that ultrathin MacBook Air, take a look at the Samsung Series 9 Notebook that will begin gracing store shelves starting Thursday.

You might remember this wispy little black number from CES 2011, where we briefly mentioned the Samsung Series 9 amid a flurry of product rollouts. Exciting? Yes, but talk is cheap, and now Samsung delivers this 13.3-inch laptop that’s lighter, thinner and packs a more up-to-date processor than a MacBook Air.

With all that miniaturization and speed, of course, there’s a price premium. The cheapest Samsung Series 9, packing an Intel 1.4GHz Core i5-2537M processor (vs. the MacBook Air’s 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo), 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD is going to set you back $1649, $50 more expensive than the highest-priced MacBook Air.

Well, this is a switch. Usually a comparable Mac is a lot more expensive than its Windows laptop counterparts. But look what happens when Samsung pays more attention to quality, and shoehorns faster components inside a swoopy, impossibly-thin enclosure. Things start getting pricey.

Samsung also announced today it would be shipping another member of the Series 9 line next month (April, 2011), an 11.1-inch ultrathin laptop running the Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD. Samsung hasn’t announced pricing on that yet, but it will probably cost around $1,150, according to a price leak on Dynamism.

All these numbers are one thing, but what’s it like to hold it in your hands? According to Mashable’s Ben Parr, “I held it. It’s awesome.” Beyond its aesthetics, as a practical matter, Samsung said at CES 2011 that this laptop boots in 12 seconds.

Get a close-up look at this skinny lappie in the gallery, and then tell us in the comments: Is this worth more than a MacBook Air?

Samsung Series 9



Samsung Series 9 Top view
 


It's thin
  

It's small
 

Samsung Series 9



[via mashable]

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Posted in: Entertainment,Samsung,Tech

Japan Tech Shortage: Who’s Affected?

As Japan digs out from its worst earthquake and tsunami in recent history, and engineers scramble to contain the damage at the Fukushima nuclear plant, another crisis is unfolding behind the scenes: massive disruption to the global supply chain.
As relatively unimportant as it may seem, Japan’s factories are the lifeline for electronics companies the world over. Some 20% of all semiconductors and 40% of all flash memory chips sold in the world’s smartphones, tablets, cameras and computers are made in Japan. Manufacturers are facing a drastic reduction in supply, which could have significant knock-on effects in earnings, employment — and the global economy as a whole.
So which companies and products are most at risk? Here’s what we know so far:

Toshiba makes NAND Flash memory chips used in the iPhone, iPad and a string of tablets launching this year. Prices of the 32GB NAND chip jumped nearly 20% in component markets Monday. Toshiba says it is examining damage to its plant, and has no date set for reopening. Toshiba President Norio Sasaki has more important things on his mind at the moment: Prime Minister Naoto Kan has ordered him to help with efforts to stop radiation leaking from the Fukushima plant, according to reports.

Most affected products: The iPad 2 and similar tablets.

Sony, the nation’s largest consumer electronics exporter, shut down six factories last week and another two this week. One of those factories took a direct hit from the tsunami. The plants are all involved in making Blu-ray discs, magnetic heads, PlayStation 3s and lithium-ion batteries. The company makes about 10% of the world’s laptop batteries. The factories are likely to remain shut for at least the next two weeks.

Most affected products: Blu-ray DVDs, PlayStations, PC laptops.

Texas Instruments lost two of its plants making wafers and DLP chips. A spokesperson told Reuters it would take until July for them to come back online.

Most affected products: DLP TVs, video projectors.

Hitachi has six manufacturing facilities in the quake-struck north of Japan, all of them now closed, all of them now being inspected.

Most affected products: Plasma TVs, LCD TVs, camcorders and DVD players.

[via mashable]

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Posted in: Social Good,Tech

HTC Thunderbolt Available March 17 [REPORT]

HTC Thunderbolt, the first LTE-supporting smartphone on Verizon’s network, will be available starting March 17 for $199.99 with a two-year contract, according to online retailer Wirefly.
Without a contract, the device will cost $669.99.

Wirefly’s site showcases several photos of the device, as well as a full list of specifications: 4.3-inch touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera with LED flash on the back and another 1.3-megapixel camera on the front, 8 GB of built-in memory and 32 GB of additional memory on a microSD card, and a single core 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU.

As far as Android smartphones go, the HTC Thunderbolt is not a groundbreaking device, but its support for LTE makes it special. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the widely adopted 4G-ready mobile network standard that will enable previously unattainable data transfer speeds (up to theoretical peak download rates of 326.4 Mbit/s) on mobile phones.

[via Computerworld]

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Posted in: Android,HTC,Smartphone,Verizon

Google’s Street View Website Gets a Big Overhaul

Google has updated the website where it showcases its Street View service, now highlighting places of interest, the locations of Street View vehicles and more.
Probably the most interesting part of the site is the map that shows exactly where one can see Street View imagery. The service has come a long way since its launch in March 2007, when it covered only a handful of major cities. Now it covers most of North America, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, with pockets of availability in Japan, Indonesia and Brazil.
The new Street View site also includes a set of instructions for using the service, and explains the technology behind Street View’s 360-degree imagery. You can also see 3D models of the vehicles Google has developed for gathering imagery in places where its regular cars cannot go, such as the Trike, Snowmobile and Trolley.

[via @google]

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Posted in: Google

After 40 Million Downloads, Microsoft Launches Internet Explorer 9

After months of beta testing, Microsoft has finally released the final version of Internet Explorer 9 to the masses.
Microsoft debuted the new browser at a launch event at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Dean Hachamovitch, the corporate vice president of Internet Explorer, told the story of how Microsoft built IE9 from scratch.
Microsoft launched the IE9 beta last year [mashable's link] to generally positive reviews. Last month, Microsoft unveiled the IE9 release candidate [mashable's link]. In total, the IE9 Beta and release code have already been downloaded more than 40 million times.
IE9 is not just an update to IE8, but a complete rebuild of Microsoft’s popular but maligned browser. It boasts radical speed and graphics improvements, thanks to its increased adherence to web standards and use of hardware acceleration. On stage, Hachamovitch touted its advanced support for HTML5 and its UI improvements. Everything from the back button to the taskbar has been revamped.
Microsoft is also touting IE9′s security features. Hachamovitch outlined the company’s take on privacy earlier this year [mashable's link] at CES. IE9 includes tracking protection (its implementation of the “Do Not Track” list) and stronger filters against malware.
The final version of Internet Explorer 9 will be available for download at midnight ET/9:00 PM PT at BeautyoftheWeb.com.
[via mashable]

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Posted in: IE,Microsoft