Author Archive: Gareth

Sony Ericsson X10 to be on time

Sony Ericsson have gone on the record to say that the Sony Ericsson X10 has not been delayed. A spokesman has reinforced the Q1 release date, “If anything appeared (on the Sony Ericsson website) saying otherwise, then it was incorrect.”

So we can look at it in one of two ways. Sony Ericsson has focused their attention and applied all resources on the device, ignoring the X2 and Satio to produce something special. Or, Sony Ericsson don’t have any phones selling at the moment since the bad press of the X2 and Satio has killed their rep and are desperate to get something out by hook or by crook.

220 Palm Pre’s sold in Ireland

That little country to the South of my own tiny little land doesn’t really seem to be loving the Palm Pre too much. Whilst, it is a country that has been through recession and almost all have been hit in some way by it it appears Palm on one of the biggest casualties. Read on for the full article:

You know things aren’t going too well for Palm when a heavyweight industry source gives you a call to say ‘you’ll never believe this’.

I always have to steady myself just in case it’s something shocking. You know, like ‘Larry Page has just bought Vodafone — he reckons it’ll be quicker’.

Today, though, the call was about the Palm Pre’s performance in Ireland. It seems the Irish haven’t taken to the old Pre. My source reckons that a whopping 220 units have been sold since launch. Now, the launch date was October 16. So it’s been out for roughly 85 days or about 12 weeks. So on that basis, o2 Ireland have sold about 16 Palm Pre devices per week since launch. Or 2.3 Palm Pre units per day.

My source tells me that the Pre is equally as successful at o2 UK. Surely not? Can this be accurate? Does anyone know differently?

[Source Mobile Industry Review]

Palm unveils new phones, new carriers, developer programs, and video capabilities at CES

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Palm and Verizon Wireless introduced Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus, two new phones combining the power of the Palm webOS platform with several new enhancements. Palm Pre Plus sports a streamlined design that simplifies navigation, 16GB of storage (15GB user available storage), and a Touchstone Back Cover. The incredibly thin and lightweight Palm Pixi Plus adds Wi-Fi along with an optional splash of color, thanks to new Touchstone Back Coversavailable in pink, blue, green, orange and black for all Palm Pixi phones. Both Verizon Wireless phones will be available January 25.

The companies also introduced Palm mobile hotspot, a Palm webOS app that turns your Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus into a mobile Wi-Fi router. The app provides wireless broadband access for up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices. Palm mobile hotspot will be available in the Palm App Catalog for Verizon Wireless customers.

Another carrier will soon be bringing webOS phones to its customers: Palm and SFR announced the availability of Palm webOS phones in France in the second quarter of 2010.

Current and future Palm webOS customers can also look forward to an even broader range of powerful apps for their phones. The Palm developer program is now officially open to all. Any developer can sign up at the Palm Developer Center and immediately start developing and distributing applications for Palm webOS devices. Developers have the option of distributing apps through the Palm App Catalog or over the web. Palm also unveiled a $1 million developer Hot Apps bonus program to encourage continued innovation in the rapidly growing Palm webOS developer community.

At today’s event, Palm also demonstrated some of the additional options that developers will be able to leverage, including Flash content in the browser on a Palm Pre. Palm expects a free Adobe Flash Player 10.1 plug-in to be posted to the Palm App Catalog in the coming months and expects Palm webOS to be one of the first mobile platforms to include the full Flash Player in the web browser.

Finally, Palm demonstrated a new feature that all Palm webOS customers can look forward to: the ability to capture, edit, and share video. This functionality will be available via a free over-the-air software update.

For more details on today’s announcements, click here.

via Palm Blog

3D gaming has landed on the Palm webOS platform!

3D gaming has landed on the Palm webOS platform! Seven 3D games are being introduced today in the Palm App Catalog for Palm Pre customers:

• Need for Speed Undercover (EA Mobile)
• The Sims 3 (EA Mobile)
• MONOPOLY (EA Mobile)
• Asphalt 5: Elite Racing (Gameloft)
• Let’s Golf! (Gameloft)
• Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
• X-Plane (Laminar Research)

Five other mobile games are also being introduced: EA Mobile’s Tetris, Sudoku, and SCRABBLE, and Gameloft’s The Oregon Trail and Brain Challenge. 

Thanks to some new capabilities offered by the Palm webOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK), the seven 3D games feature graphics-intensive gameplay. The PDK extends the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK) with a set of tools that enable the functionality needed for immersive 3D gaming. A public beta version of the webOS PDK is scheduled to be available to all developers in March.

More information about the webOS PDK is available at the newly updated Palm Developer Center. And if you’ve got the need for speed, check out the new games at www.palm.com/applications or in the Palm App Catalog on your Palm Pre.

Via Palm Blog

HTC announces the HTC Smart

LAS VEGAS, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), – Jan. 7, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global smartphone designer, today unveiled HTC Smartä, a new type of smartphone that creates a new category of easy-to-use, connected smartphones that are accessible by people all over the world.  The HTC Smart will be available this spring across Europe and Asia.

“HTC has always focused on listening to customers and setting the stage for new mobile categories and HTC Smart is the response to customer demand around the world for an easier-to-use, affordable smartphone,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “Just adding a touch interface doesn’t mean a phone is a smartphone; The integration of HTC Sense brings an unparalleled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone.”

Bringing HTC Sense To The Masses

HTC Smart begins with a friendly compact touch design and integrates an intuitive user experience that is centered around HTC Senseä, an HTC design philosophy that puts people at the center by focusing on three core areas: Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.  HTC Smart enables personal customization of each person’s own phone experience.  It also provides a quick and easy way to see what friends are up to via various social networks as well as quickly communicating over the phone, through text messaging or email.

“HTC Smart breaks new ground in delivering the powerful, in-demand smartphone features that consumers want on a more accessible device for global markets,” said Paul Jacobs, chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated.  “We are pleased to be supporting HTC as they utilize the capabilities of Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform open operating system to offer high-end capabilities and a compelling mobile user experience at mass-market price points.”

Qualcomm Brew Mobile Platform (Brew MP)

HTC Smart utilizes Qualcomm’s Brew MP, a popular mobile operating system that enables smartphone devices to be offered at more aggressive price points, providing HTC with the flexibility to deliver smartphone features on devices across multiple tiers.

Facebook for iPhone upgraded

While Facebook app for Windows Mobile is shoddy and made by Microsoft, Facebook app for iPhone is made by Facebook itself and now, in the latest version (3.1) it brings 2 essential upgrades:

Drum Kits for iPhone released

What are your chances for becoming a drummer? 100% if you buy this app!

Important iPhone software released today

Here at Mobile Tech Addicts we like to think of ourselves and mature, responsible adults who provide vital information for the mobile enthusiast. Today see’s the launch of another important piece of software guaranteed to change your outlook on life. You can also check out a site for freeware here.

iPhone developer Nor Eagle today is proud to announce Farting Boobs 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch, an application they claim will redefine the platform. Farting Boobs successfully combines two of the most popular tasks in one single pleasant to use interface.

Oslo, Norway – iPhone developer Nor Eagle today is proud to announce Farting Boobs 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch, an application they claim will redefine the platform. “Revolution might be a strong word, but I think it fits” said T. Benjamin Larsen, Nor Eagle’s CEO, creative-director and hand-model. “You’re going to love this! We’ve spent a lot of time analyzing user patterns and App Store trends. We’ve successfully combined two of the most popular tasks in one single pleasant to use interface.” Larsen continued.

Another Sony Ericsson bites the dust (Nokia too!)

It seems Vodafone has pulled the Sony Ericsson X2 from it’s UK Launch due to conflicts with Vodafone’s network specific applications. Doesn’t sound like the tragic Satio but this is probably another headache Sony Ericsson could do without.

Similarly, Orange have kicked the N97 Mini out the door for unspecified reasons however if you were *lucky* enough to get one Orange will still support the device. Rumour has it that the returns rate was too high.

Looks like the iPhone will reign supreme in the wake of any phones that might pose a threat in this quarter. HD2, X2 and N97 Mini were modest adversaries that never made it into the ring.

3 and T-Mobile to stock Nexus One

3 and T-Mobile in discussion with Google to stock the Nexus One handset, alongside Vodafone, but O2 rules out move at this time

Operators 3 and T-Mobile are expected to stock Google’s Nexus One handset within the next couple of months. T-Mobile and 3 are in dialogue with Google to stock the HTC Nexus One handset, which is to be avaialble through operators  during Q1. Vodafone has already confirmed it will stock the device in the coming months.

The handset is now on sale SIM free through Google for £331 and can work on any GSM network. It is ALSO expected to be available at a subsidised cost when purchased as part of a monthly contract.