There are still rumours running rampant that Palm is going to be taken over. First it was Lenovo, now its HTC. The latest rumours mention those two companies as potential suitors for Palm. According to Reuters, Palm’s stock soared earlier this week as investors covered short positions on renewed speculation that the smartphone maker might be an acquisition target.
It’s been a long long time in the pipeline but today will see Microsoft launch ‘Project Pink’ which is essentially a range of social networking phones.
We know what two of the phones will look like, thanks to Gizmodo. On the right is the ‘Turtle’ and on the left is the ‘Pure’.
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Looks like HTC has just filed a patent for a device that would feature dual touchscreens in a clamshell design. Many are comparing the device to the Microsoft Courier, a similarly dual-screened device, but the Courier would be lacking one key element that is sure to make its way on to this interesting HTC design: Android.
As you can see in the above image from the patent report, the device would open up across a central hinge to reveal two screens. Word is that one will hold the content while the other will make up a virtual keyboard, at least in some instances. There is no doubt that the device could be oriented as a book reader, with a page on each screen. If this isn’t in the plans, well, HTC is missing out on a golden opportunity. An eBook reader application on a device that actually opens up and looks like a book is something I would definitely be interested in. HTC could pull off something similar to the enTourage eDGe Dualbook and no doubt improve on the concept vastly.
While there is no confirmation on whether or not the device will run Android as of yet, given HTC’s loyalty to the OS and their pioneer-spirit for Google’s open-source system if they get the little green guy on this thing and we have a real winner.
[Source Techradar]
The HTC HD mini is the last of the ‘big three’ handsets to be announced by HTC at MWC earlier this year. Hot on the heels of the HTC Legend and HTC Desire the HD mini is the smallest of the three handsets and also the only one that has Windows Mobile 6.5.3, the others sporting Android.
There aren’t too many Windows Mobile handsets being released at the moment but we have seen a few lately. The HD mini follows in the footsteps of its bigger brother, the HD2, and offers a very similar experience albeit within a smaller package.
James is putting together the full review of the HD mini for us as he was was the one to review the HD2 we thought it was fitting that he follow up with the HD mini!
As the recent format of our unboxing videos has proven to be quite popular we’re going to stick with it for now so below you will find the normal unboxing followed by a demo of some of the key features of the device. This is probably the first final retail unit to be reviewed and unboxed!
I’m sure that by now you wont have been able to miss the fact that Apple announced iPhone OS 4.0 earlier this week.
I know that critics will argue that many of the features introduced are long overdue and I wouldn’t argue with that. However, I’ve been using the Beta version of it since yesterday and have to say that I am very impressed with what Apple have introduced. Multitasking works flawlessly and the multiple exchange email support, consolidated inbox view, multiple calendars etc. all feel like they were designed just for me! 🙂
If you didn’t see the presentation in person (few people did!) or didn’t see Engadgets fantastic coverage then you might want to take a look at the video presentation (links below) of the whole event.
Last night Sony Ericsson celebrated the UK launch of the Xperia X10; their first Android handset to feature TimescapeT and Mediascape. The event was hosted by model Poppy Delevigne and rugby star Danny Cipriani (London Wasps and England Fly Half).
TimescapeT Ambassador Poppy Delevingne provided insight into how the X10 complements her everyday life by integrating all her social networks and digital interactions into a single device. You can view a demo of Timescape using Facebook connect on the X10 product page.
London Wasps and England Fly Half and now Mediascape Ambassador Danny Cipriani uses his X10 on his travels to catch up on his favorite films and listen to music. He uses Mediascape regularly to discover new associated content by pressing the infinite key to pull in information from the internet.
For more details of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 read on.
Just a quick but important announcement. If you have ordered an HTC Desire from any of our sponsors ( Devicewire, Clove or eXpansys) the good news is that they now have devices. Today they will attempting the task of sending out their back orders – so if you have ordered one I suggest you keep an eye out for the postman tomorrow.
If you get one, have a great weekend with it!
Posted by: James
Matt posted a little snippet of news about iPhone 4.0 OS earlier, basically the biggest news being that it shall now and finally support multitasking without having to resort to being jailbroken!
There are 100 new or enhanced features in the updated OS, not surprisingly not all 100 were listed during the press conference but there were 7 key features or ‘tentpole features’ as they were called.
So what are these features all about?
CUPERTINO, California—April 8, 2010—Apple® today previewed its iPhone® OS 4 software and released a beta version of the software to iPhone Developer Program members. The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) with over 1,500 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch® users this summer. New features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with even better data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution and more; Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform; and iBooks, the delightful new ebook reader and online bookstore recently debuted on the iPad™.
“iPhone OS 4 is the fourth major release of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re delivering over 100 new features, including multitasking, folders, a unified inbox, deeper Enterprise support, and an iPhone version of our iBooks reader and online iBookstore.”
iPhone OS 4’s new multitasking offers users a new way to quickly move between apps, and provides developers seven new multitasking services to easily add multitasking features to their apps. These services include background audio, so apps like Pandora can play music in the background, and VoIP, so VoIP apps can receive a VoIP call even when the iPhone is asleep or the user is running other apps. iPhone OS 4 provides multitasking to third party apps while preserving battery life and foreground app performance, which has until now proved elusive on mobile devices.
Folders help users better organize and quickly access their apps. Simply drag one app icon onto another, and a new folder is automatically created. The folder is automatically given a name based on the App Store category of that app, such as “Games,” which the user can easily rename. Using folders, users can now organize and access over 2,000 apps on their iPhone. Users can also create and manage iPhone folders on their Mac® or PC using iTunes® 9.2.
iPhone OS 4 delivers the best mail experience on a mobile phone with its new Unified Inbox, allowing users to see messages from all their email accounts displayed together in a single inbox. With just a few taps, users can quickly switch between inboxes to see messages from any single account. In addition, users can now thread their messages by conversation, making it easier to stay on top of email discussions, as well as open email attachments with compatible apps from the App Store.
iAd, Apple’s new mobile advertising platform, combines the emotion of TV ads with the interactivity of web ads. Today, when users click on mobile ads they are almost always taken out of their app to a web browser, which loads the advertiser’s webpage. Users must then navigate back to their app, and it is often difficult or impossible to return to exactly where they left. iAd solves this problem by displaying full-screen video and interactive ad content without ever leaving the app, and letting users return to their app anytime they choose. iPhone OS 4 lets developers easily embed iAd opportunities within their apps, and the ads are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60 percent of iAd revenue.
The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes a developer preview of Game Center, which contains a set of APIs that allows developers to create apps with the ability to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking and track achievements and compare high scores on a leader board. Apps created with GameKit APIs will work with Game Center, Apple’s new social gaming network available to iPhone and iPod touch users later this year.
New enterprise features in iPhone OS 4 include improvements in security, scalability and compatibility. The new Mobile Device Management service can be integrated with third party servers to wirelessly configure, query and even wipe or lock managed iPhones, and iPhone OS 4 enables enterprises to securely host and wirelessly distribute their own in-house developed apps to employees. The new Data Protection feature uses a user’s passcode as an encryption key to protect mail messages and attachments stored on the iPhone. iPhone OS 4 now provides the option to set a longer, more complex passcode, making iPhone and its data even more secure. iPhone OS 4 allows IT managers to set up multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts, is compatible with Exchange Server 2010 and includes support for forthcoming SSL VPN applications from Juniper Networks and Cisco.
Today, more than four billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 185,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries. Over 85 million iPhone and iPod touch users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.
Availability
The iPhone OS 4 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iPhone Developer Program members atdeveloper.apple.com. iPhone OS 4 will be available as a software update to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer.* A version of iPhone OS 4 will be coming to iPad this Fall.
*Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS or third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB).
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