Apple/AT&T customer William Gillis was unhappy with the performance of his iPhone 3G. So he filed a lawsuit. But what’s unique in this case is that the lawsuit isn’t complaining just that the iPhone 3G is underperforming, but that the iPhone 3G is underperforming because it’s been consciously oversold in a plot by AT&T and Apple.
OK, so it’s now nearly 24 hours since I downloaded Google Chrome and my initial impression is that of a happy camper.
The initial set up was very pain free. Install took under 3 minutes and it allowed the import of favourites from my other browsers.
One of the first things I noticed about this new browser was that it differed very much from the other stand alone browsers on the market at the moment. There is no header bar which means that the page tabs sit right at the top of the screen.
Before getting into browsing I took a look around to see what it had to offer. To my amazement I found a whole load of goodies which I will describe below.
Google Chrome Options
This has to be, in my opinion, the easiest to manage options page I have seen yet on a browser. It has only 3 tabs named Basics, Minor Tweaks & Under the Hood. As you can see from the screen shots below, this options page has been set up with ease of use in the forefront of the mind
Incognito Mode
Described by Google Chrome as:
You’ve gone incognito. Pages that you view in this window won’t appear in your browser history or search history, and they won’t leave other traces, like cookies, on your computer after you close the incognito window. Any files that you download or bookmarks that you create will be preserved, however.
Going incognito doesn’t affect the behaviour of other people, servers or software. Be wary of:
- Websites that collect or share information about you
- Internet service providers or employers that track the pages that you visit
- Malicious software that tracks your keystrokes in exchange for free smileys
- Surveillance by secret agents
- People standing behind you
Learn more about incognito browsing.
This could be described in two ways, first being a dream for those who want to hide their tracks and second being a nightmare for the parents / wife / husband / other who are now be unable to see what their loved ones have been up to. Personally my own feelings are pointing towards the second option.
Obviously anyone can partially hide their tracks by clearing cookies, history etc… but this is just screaming out for abuse.
Developer
Not being a developer this didn’t mean a great deal to me but one thing I did like was that the browser had it’s own task manager which allows you to see what windows are running high on CPU etc….
Another interesting feature inside the task manager was a link to a page which Google calls "Stats for nerds". I guess I must now officially be a nerd because I loved this feature.
Browsing
Once I started on the browsing I noticed that the page seemed to render itself a lot quicker than on most other browsers but like all Beta versions it did hang on occasion. Clicking on Ctrl T brought up a really cool section that showed most viewed pages and recent bookmark pages.
Overall the browser is easy to use and likeable. I would say that if your into handling the odd bug here and there then start using it now but if your one of those people who just cant handle that sort of thing then wait for the release version which should be a lot more robust.
Posted by: John
Clove Technology who regularly supply us with review devices, just shot us an email letting us know that they have got their hands on the HTC S740 and have posted a video overview for us to take a look at. Their initial impressions of the device are that it is a great looking device, feels solid and tests show a strong performance. You can watch the video after the break along with a folder containing some nice pictures of the phone.
Our friends over at Clove Technology just dropped me a line to say that they’ve just got their hands on a new HTC S740 and have put together a quick video demonstration.
I think the S740 will be a popular device but to me it looks a little chunky, reminds me more of the old DECT cordless home phones! Have a look at the video below and make up your own mind!
HTC S740 specification:
- Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528MHz CPU
- Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard
- ROM: 256MB / RAM: 256MB SDRAM
- 116.3 mm (L) X 43.4 mm (W) X 16.3 mm (T)
- 140g with battery
- 2.4 inch TFT-LCD with backlight LEDs and QVGA resolution
- HSDPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz for Europe
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Quad-band 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
- Standalone GPS / AGPS
- Bluetooth® 2.0
- Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
- 3.2 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
- Standby time:
– Up to 400 hours for WCDMA
– Up to 280 hours for GSM - Talk time:
– Up to 320 minutes for WCDMA
– Up to 380 minutes for GSM
Posted by: Matt
Nokia today announced the availability of the much anticipated Nokia N96, its flagship multimedia computer in the iconic Nokia Nseries range. It boasts live TV, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, turn-by-turn voice navigation, 16GB of internal memory that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, superior sound and music, N-Gage gaming and a stunning 2.8" display. First shipments of the Nokia N96 have started and it will be available with an estimated retail price of EUR 550. Full release after the break.
Well this is kind of interesting, Sony Ericsson have just released the SDK to enable developers and content creators to develop mobile content for the phone. Whether it is music, photography, email or instant messaging, gaming, social networking or video applications, developers can now create a host of unique multi-media entertainment and content for the Xperia X1 for consumers to enjoy. This is good news and points at least to the fact that the X1 is definitely on its way. The full statement and a link to the video is after the break.
Unfortunately due to other commitments we had to miss the Palm Treo Pro launch event in London today but luckily the guys over at wmpoweruser managed to get the info even though there wasn’t much that we did not already know. The highlights are after the break.
I’m just heading back from the Plam Treo Pro launch event which was held today in London. I’ll have some photos and video online just as soon as I can download and process them so do watch this space!
Initial impressions of the Treo Pro is that it’s a nice looking device that seem to have everything built in! We should have a review unit in a few days too so that’s another thing to keep your eyes open for!
Here are a couple of images of the Treo Pro for you to look at. The video is taking a while to process but that too will be here soon!
A Selection of Treo’s!
Palm Treo Pro side view
Palm Treo Pro bottom view (showing the micro USB and 3.5mm headphone socket)
I’ll have better pictures for you over the next few days. The lighting at the venue wasn’t great!
The presentation video will appear below as soon as it has finished processing. I’m sorry about the quility but I took a different camcorder with me to this event and it was quite dark in the room. If anyone wants to give me a decent HD camcorder then please email me! 🙂
Make yourself comfortable – the video is almost 30 mins long.
Posted By: Matt
Google yesterday released a comic book guide to their new powerful browser Google Chrome on their official Google Blog. Today they released the actual browser for all to use
I’m not going to depress everyone with thousands of text about this browser but simply say "go have a look", I think you will be simply impressed with what Google have to offer.
Google Chrome Logo
"On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn’t the browser that matters. It’s only a tool to run the important stuff — the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go."
"Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today’s complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren’t even possible in today’s browsers."
A full review of this as a stand alone browser will be posted tomorrow at some point.
Posted by: John
Nokia’s "free," all-you-can-eat, music subscription service is set to world premier in the UK next month before hitting continental Europe and Asia in 2009. Nokia already has Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music on board and plans to have EMI signed before launch. In total, Nokia expects to offer some 2.1 million tracks at launch. While touted as free, the service costs will be baked into the price of Nokia’s pre-pay 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music Edition handset (currently priced between £70-£80 for the pay-as-you-go, non-CwM handset) when purchased though the UK’s Carphone Warehouse. You must then purchase another CwM-compatible device at the end of the year in order to continue downloading tracks. For those not wishing to re-up with Nokia, your 5310 CwM edition phone will continue to make / receive calls and text messages and, like your computer, continue to playback all those DRM-wrapped WMA tracks they will not play anywhere else. While the approach is interesting, the DRM-enabled time-bomb and device lock-in makes the entire model sound fatally flawed to us.
Nokia Comes With Music
Expect the service to launch at, or shortly after, a Nokia Comes With Music press event scheduled for October 2nd.
Posted by: John
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