Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Why is it that every time a picture of an unannounced product leaks to the web, it always seems to be taken with a camera they’ve had for like last decade? Well, whatever the reason, the HTC Bravo joins that list. Or at least what we suppose is the Bravo. It looks like the Bravo when we compare it to the pictures in the leaked product portfolio we had last month. What makes this exciting is the specs this phone is supposed to have. To quote the article above: The Bravo sports a 1GHz CPU, a 3.7-inch touchscreen, capable of HD 720p Video, and included is a 16gb MicroSD card
The timing for this leak is appropriate as well since the phone was speculated to be released in April of this year. This is the HTC phone I am most excited about; except of course the Nexus One but really the only difference between the two is that the Nexus One has a trackball. Read [omio] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web Browsers  Mozilla Firefox 3.6 has finally arrived a few hours ago! You can go on and update your browsers to version 3.6 now. I’ve had some issues with addons incompatibilities, such as the IEtab, but everything else is fine so far. I’ve noticed a slight improvement in performance since updating my Firefox.
Just to recap, Firefox 3.6 offers the all-new Personas feature, where you can switch themes without restarting the browser, a plugins updater (a security feature; outdated plugins such as the Adobe Flash Player may contain security holes), improved stability (less crashes from usage of third party software), improved performance (better Javascript performance, browser responsiveness and browser startup time), and the “world’s best implementation” of HTML5 audio and video support. Read [The Mozilla Blog] Full Story » | Written by Cheng Hung for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Online Music/Video  YouTube has just launched a complete redesign of their video playback page. If you want to try it out, you will have to opt in. Alternatively, you can see the changes from the screenshot below this post.
One main feature removed from the old design is the 5-star rating system. The new system now involves “Like”-ing and “Thumbs down”-ing (Dislike) a video. Liking a video adds it to your favorites, while a “Thumbs down” (Dislike) really does nothing apart from telling YouTube that you don’t like that video. I find this system rather crude; YouTube should have separated “Like” and “Favorite”. Some people may want to “Like” a video, but not add it to their “Favorites”. Some other changes are: - The HD video button is now more specific; You can select 360p, 480p, 720p or 1080p.
- Many user actions and information are now moved below the video. You can find the video description, sharing links, video embed code, video link, video statistics, flagging, liking/favoriting and disliking options there.
- The uploader’s name and the “Subscribe” button is moved above the video title. You can see other videos that the uploader has uploaded by clicking on a drop down box. A line filled with the uploader’s videos will appear when you click it.
- The comments interface is now more streamlined. The comment input box is placed above the list of comments, rather than below them in the old user interface.
The design isn’t final yet as YouTube is still gathering feedback from its users. What do you think of the new design?
Read [YouTube Blog] Via [Mashable] Full Story » | Written by Cheng Hung for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks  Finally, Amazon has either read a few of my posts or looked into some economics: Amazon is offering free Kindle ebook readers to some pre-qualified customers. These customers are enticed to purchase the Kindle, then if they find it not to their liking, request a refund and keep the Kindle. The endgame is content, not hardware.
It appears that Amazon is being extremely selective, choosing only folks who have a history with Amazon of buying books over the years. A couple of books a month seems to be the common thread between those who’ve seen this offer. It seems that being a Prime member helps as well. Amazon is hedging it’s bets: by picking folks who love books, chances are good they’ll love the Kindle. If they are a loyal Amazon customer, the time and effort to call or email for a refund might be too much. Even if these screen users get a refund, their buying habits suggest they’ll keep buying books, perhaps for the Kindle and Amazon recoups the outlay. I’ve been suggesting a similar scheme for some time. We Americans seem to dislike big upfront payments. We can justify smaller monthly payments a lot easier. The MPAA should have spent their money on buying iPods for every man, woman, and child rather then on lawyers; as their fortunes would have risen more by providing everyone a way to get content. Amazon is getting over the early-adopter tax and moving on to mass adoption. Is this all about Apple’s imminent tablet perhaps taking a bite out of Kindle’s niche? Perhaps, but I see this as a better way to reach the masses, rather than just loyal Applites gobbling up the latest shiny thing. At least for the first few iterations. Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks  With the wide range of available ebook readers, and the allegedly looming Apple Tablet, Amazon seems to be looking for a way to make the Kindle even more appealing. Of course, it could always try lowering the price or something of that nature, but that still makes the Kindle the same reader it’s always been. Amazon looks to make the Kindle more appealing by adding in more functionality.
Amazon is opening up the Kindle for developers to create apps. The apps that come for the Kindle might not be as impressive as the ones for the iPhone/iPod touch or Android, but will play to the strengths of an ebook reader. The example given by Amazon is from Handmark, which is creating a more interactive version of the Zagat restaurant guide that will allow users to search for places to eat more easily than they could in an ebook. Amazon has also distributed the development to EA Games, so when the Kindle’s app store launches it wouldn’t be surprising to find some version of Tetris. The beta of the program will launch next month, with finished apps being put on a waiting list for the service when it does launch. There is no release date yet, though if Amazon can get it out before the rumored summer launch of the Apple Tablet, it might take away a tiny bit of Apple’s hype. With this release, it’ll be interesting to see if the next version of the Kindle will be optimized to run apps better than the Kindle 2. Read [Amazon] Read [Kindle Developmet Kit] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Reviews, Peep Shows, Features Despite the fact that this will further brand me as a Zune lover and open me up for even more ridicule from from fellow Gadgetell bloggers, I will go on with this review as planned… What is being reviewed? Up for review is a PixelSkin case for the Zune HD, which is made by Speck. The PixelSkin for the Zune HD is available in black (as shown in the images) and retails for $24.95. My thoughts What can I really say? Its a case and it protects my Zune HD. But to add just a little to that thought, I would say that the PixelSkin case works well. It is easy to slip on and off, and also still allows the user to easily use the on/off button (on top) as well as the side volume controls and the dock connector and headphone jack along the bottom. Basically, the case offers protection without sacrificing any features of the Zune HD. But in addition, the case is made out of a soft rubbery material and has the pixel look, which adds a little thickness, but also some grip. Personally I found that useful while running and holding the Zune HD in my hand. Plus, I felt just a little better knowing that should I trip and fall, which would cause my Zune HD to go flying that it was well protected. The bottom line I like the protection it offers, I like the look and I like the price. And with that I would not hesitate to recommend the Speck PixelSkin case for the Zune HD. Product [Speck Products] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Video, Content 
The Boxee Box has always promised to bring the best content we can find on our computers in one slick interface on a TV. That’s what Boxee has been doing since it’s inception, and the result so far has been great. Aside from content streamed over the Internet for free, there hasn’t been a lot of legal ways to get of content using the software, though it looks like that could change this summer. Boxee has announced it’s upcoming Payment Platform, an easy way to purchase content for your Boxee set-up. Using the platform users will be able to buy channels, shows, movies or pay-per-view. The content will be controlled by the content partners, with Boxee taking a small cut of the profits (said only to be less than standard 30 percent). The goal of the platform is to make the Internet the fourth major method of delivering premium content (the other three being cable, satellite and IPTV). The Payment Platform is said to be simple, requiring only one click on the remote. There are no partners announced yet, though Boxee does mention that is in talks with content providers both large and small. If the company can manage to get a large number of content providers, or at least interesting ones, the Boxee Box could become an even better replacement for a cable subscription when it is released. Read [Boxee] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile The embargo seems to have lifted and that means the web has recently been flooded with reviews for the soon-to-be released Palm Pre Plus. Of course, we already know that the Palm Pre Plus is going to be available with Verizon Wireless as of January 25, but thanks to this selection of reviews we can see if it is indeed going to be worth the money. And I will say that I picked and read these reviews carefully because despite previously feeling like the Palm Pre, or more accurately webOS was stalled I may end up grabbing this once its available. My reason for purchase, not so much to have a Pre or webOS device but because I can have that along with a device that has MiFi like Internet sharing all in one. Gizmodo There isn’t enough to call this an entirely new series of Palm phones, or even a Palm Pre 2. The Pre Plus improved on the Pre in a few important regards, don’t get me wrong, but it’s essentially the same phone we’ve seen for the last six months. You won’t notice the increased memory unless you’re a habitual window-opener, nor will you appreciate the keyboard unless you really had a problem with the previous one.
Engadget As you can probably tell, it’s not a sea change for Palm with the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. In fact, it’s barely a bump at all. If you’ve just purchased one of these devices on Sprint, you may feel a little sting, but don’t let it get to you—they’re not markedly better on Verizon—especially the Pixi.
SlashGear Is the Verizon Pre Plus a must-have upgrade? For existing Pre owners, probably not, thanks to incremental rather than revolutionary changes. Those who've considered a Pre – or webOS – but been put off by the keyboard feel or the limited storage, however, should definitely take a look at the Pre Plus. Our typing felt faster and we had fewer concerns about side loading reasonable catalogs of music onto the smartphone. Lastly, webOS is faster and more responsive thanks to the extra RAM doesn't hurt either.
PreCentral The Palm Pre Plus is the flagship for Palm, then, but can it legitimately be called a flagship for Verizon? Almost, but not quite yet. The key is Mobile Hotspot, which is awesome and one of the best reasons for recommending the Palm Pre Plus to a business user. Palm already has pretty decent push email and Exchange support - all they need now is full Document editing (and perhaps some battery life improvement) to make the case that the Palm Pre Plus is amongst the best business smartphones on the market.
Laptop Mag So the Pre Plus is basically a good value, even though we wish it had more horsepower. And this smart phone will get even better once webOS 1.4 rolls out next month, which will offer welcome features like video recording and full Flash support.
MobileCrunch While AT&T continues to promise that tethering on the iPhone is just around the corner, Verizon and Palm have launched what is quite possibly the slickest tethering solution to ever grace a mobile handset. The $40 monthly price tag seems a bit steep considering the 5 gigabyte cap, but that same 5 gigabyte plan would set you back $60 if you instead opted for a MiFi. At this price, it's certainly not for everyone – but if you've got a need for multi-person mobile broadband and were already looking to pick up a Pre Plus or Pixi Plus, it's your best bet.
It was interesting to note that most of the reviews pointed out that this is mostly the same phone as what Sprint already has available. Well, the same phone with the addition of more internal storage and also the fact that the hardware “home” button was removed. And one other noticeable difference is that the Verizon Pre includes the touchstone compatible backing, but of course, you are still required to purchase the Touchstone separately. All things considered, these reviews read mostly the same as what we have been reading about the Palm Pre in the past. In fact, it seems the one major difference that Verizon can offer with the Pre is that they have that special app for sharing your 3G connection in a MiFi like manner. And just as an FYI, that monthly service is going to be $40 per month, which sounds expensive considering its in addition to your monthly phone service, but at the same time it will save you some money if you have (or want) a MiFi because that service would be $70 a month. Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
More Recent Articles | |
No comments:
Post a Comment