Section: Computers, Netbooks, Software / Applications Next year looks to be a good year for netbooks in terms of hardware and software. Intel’s newest version of the Atom, “Pine Trail,” will see the light of day sometime later this month or next, giving the small laptops more processing power. Intel is also preparing an app store in addition to its Moblin Linux-based OS. So far, Intel has been seeing a lot of growth in the app store which will spread across both Linux and Windows netbooks. The numbers are around 20,000 independent software vendors for the Intel software partner program. The program was reportedly seeing thousands of developers signing up before even an SDK could be released. Makes sense, as Intel is following the Apple method for the netbook app store, developers keep 70 percent of sales, while Intel will retain 30 percent. Not a bad deal for such a popular section of the industry. The Intel app store isn’t yet available for netbooks, though it should be launching next year. With support for all but the hackintosh netbook community, there’s a good chance it could turn out very well. The apps themselves will finally be tailor-made for netbooks, rather than hoping that standard software will work with the devices. The store should come bundled with new netbooks running Windows and Moblin, and hopefully be available for download for those with older netbooks. Combined with the ease-of use that is Moblin, it might make Linux netbooks more viable for those afraid of the potential of having to use the terminal to install apps. Read [CNet news] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Apps, Websites  Google Map’s newest competitor, Bing Maps, went live in its beta stage early this afternoon. Just like the rest of Bing.com, it features a very aesthetically pleasing interface. But looks aren’t everything so can it compete with Google Maps? Well after playing around with it for a while, I think it just might.
For starters, it has every basic feature you expect to see with an online map resource; directions, traffic, satellite and road view. Something that I found to be innovative is what they call “Bird’s Eye” view. Basically, it’s a more detailed version of the aerial view and it’s at a slight angle. It gives things a little bit of a different perspective. Just light Google Maps, Bing Maps has its own version of StreetView called StreetSide. The biggest difference is that Bing doesn’t yet have a very large amount of streets you can use it on; mostly in big cities. But this can be expected because it is only a beta that was released not 12 hours ago. Something else is that it is very slow and laggy but we can hope for improvement as the days go by. Bing also features a “What’s Nearby” function. It does exactly what it sounds like it would do; tells you what’s around. Not just restaurants, but everything that’s around like automotive shops, art galleries, bars, gas stations, etc… Another cool, stalker-like function Bing Maps has is Twitter Maps. Whenever someone updates their twitter status, if Bing knows where you updated it, someone else can see that plus what your status is. You can even retweet tweets from Bing and see previous tweets from the same user. It may be a bit stalker-prone but it is still cool nonetheless. Microsoft’s new technology, Photosynth, is also present in Bing Maps. Photosynth allows you to look at pictures of 3D objects from every angle. But these objects have to be determined before hand, you can’t just look at every street pole from any angle. They usually seem to be landmarks or sometimes even random items like this Acura. Bing Maps has quite a few other features, too much to go through in this article but here is a picture of all of them. Some of them like the Travel Webcam sound pretty neat. Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile  AT&T, presumably with tail tucked between legs, has asked the court to dismiss its lawsuit against Verizon. In return, Verizon has agreed to drop its countersuit against AT&T. The original lawsuit was filed in response to Verizon's "There's a Map For That" ad campaign which featured a comparison of its 3G coverage to AT&T's. AT&T argued that the ads were misleading to consumers and gave the impression that AT&T provided no coverage at all outside 3G areas. Verizon replied by saying the ads clearly stated it was only 3G coverage being compared, and AT&T lost their quest for an injunction stopping the ads from airing.
The dismissals of the lawsuits will free up Verizon to focus on the lawsuit it has filed against Sprint over its ad slogan "The Nation's Most Dependable 3G Network". The company says the claim is false because a Nielsen.com survey showed that it, not Sprint, had the least dropped calls. Sprint is not backing down, however, and a recent PCWorld report seems to be on its side. A survey the magazine did in June found Sprint tops in reliability. So who's king of reliability? I guess it really depends who you talk to, a Sprint customer, or a Verizon customer! Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile LG along with AT&T have both quietly and recently unveiled the LG GW820 eXpo. Feature wise, the GW820 is a slider style handset offering a full QWERTY keyboard along side a 3.2-inch display that is touting an 800 x 480 screen resolution. Additionally, the GW820 is running Windows Mobile 6.5 and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm processor. Other features include a built-in fingerprint sensor, 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 7.2, GPS, Bluetooth, an accelerometer, proximity sensor, FM radio and a 1500 mAh battery. As far as when and where the GW820 will be available, we can expect it to land with AT&T sometime in the “coming weeks” at which time it will be $179.99 on contract. Of course, according to the rumor mill, the release date is December 7, 2009. Finally, just in case there was going to be anyone that decides to hold tight on a purchase and wait for this release—it looks like it will be first available only in the business channel. In other words, regular consumers are going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Read [LG] Via [PC Mag] and [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Here’s an interesting quirk, try to look up AT&T’s iPhone on their website and enter a New York City zip code. What you’ll find, or rather won’t find, are no iPhones. No 3GS, no 3G, no refurb’d versions. Nada. Plug in a zip code from San Fransico, Chicago, Houston and you’ll find plenty of iPhone choices, but none for NYC. The reason might surprise you.
The city is full of thieves, or so AT&T would have you believe. According to AT&T, ” Due to increased fraudulent activity, the Apple iPhone may not be available to purchase online in certain ZIP codes.”
New York City should be ashamed of itself. Maybe it’s got something to do with the poor service in the city? Regardless of the service, potential iPhone customers in New York will have to slog to an AT&T store or an Apple store to bag their prize. I was unable to find another zip code that prevented iPhone purchases online. Anyone have better luck than I? Company site: [AT&T] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, VoIP, Mobile, Web, Google 
It appears as if Google has been working on merging, or at least integrating their recent purchase of Gizmo5 with Google Voice. A new update is available for those that have the Gizmo5 app installed on their computer that will bring the version up to Gizmo5 4.0 v 269. According to the details, the update offers various bug fixes, improved stability and improved support for Google Voice. Of course that last one being the most interesting, but personally I had expected to see support or features added to Google Voice before any updates to Gizmo5. But it looks like we are going to have to wait a little longer for that to happen. Either way though, its nice to see that Gizmo5 has not fallen to the side since the purchase. Via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Broadband Cards, Web, Downloads  While most of us freaked when Comcast put limits on just how much data users can download, the company is stepping up to the plate offering a tool that monitors data usage for all your home gadgets. The 250GB cap, imposed last year, can be almost impossible to guesstimate, leaving users in the dark fearing a bill with overages. The new meter will be rolled out to one test market before launching nationally. Do you know how much data you use?
The lucky folks in Portland, Oregon will be first to access the meter as part of comcast.com. The meter will analyze three months of data usage and refreshes every three hours. The meter will measure all data used by any gadget in your home, from TiVo to iPod touch to Chumby to well, you get the idea. These gadgets have to be getting you close to the cap right? According to Comcast, “the median usage for Comcast's customers is about 2 to 4 GB per month,” leaving a lot of headroom under the 250GB cap. For the 1% that fear the cap, this meter should help. Read [Comcast] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking Last night Facebook hit the 350 million users milestone. That is the equivalent of every single person in the United States owning a Facebook account and then roughly 40 million people elsewhere. To celebrate, Zuckerburg did two things: - He posted an open letter on every user’s homepage stating how thankful he is for the support of Facebook over the years.
- He updated the privacy policy.
This update will remove the regional networks feature of Facebook. You know, the cities, states, or countries that you would join so that everyone in them could see your data. This update has been a long time coming as the main issue surrounding Facebook is the privacy of its users. The new privacy plan of Facebook will also dumb things down (for the better) for the users. After implemented, users will select whether they want friends, friends of friends, or everyone to see their profile. The new update is supposed to hit within the next couple of weeks and will require that all users of Facebook to update their privacy status to fit the new model. Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile Brazillion website Zumo managed to get their hands on one of the new Dell Mini 3iX’s in Brazil earlier Tuesday afternoon. What they got to play with was a phone that: - Has a completely button-free face giving it a very sleek look.
- Has a 3 megapixel camera with flash, autofocus, and video.
- Other basic utilities such as 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot.
But what was most surprising is that this Android-based phone does not have the Android Market on it to download apps. Confirmed by Scott Schillington, director of retail for Dell Latin America, their is no Android Market despite it being an Android phone. And because Android is an open-source project, Dell can put a modified version of it on their phone. Instead, Dell wishes for users to download applications direction from the developers instead of through the Android Market. This move might be in an effort to show more appreciation for the developers of these apps which, in the past, has been mostly absent. Dell states that this phone is different from the one released in China which did not include 3G or Wi-Fi and sports a slightly different design. They also state that this phone will possibly be available in Brazil during the first quarter of 2010. No word on price or when this phone will go to other places but we can assume sometime during 2010. Read [Zumo] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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