Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile 
With more and more Android phones coming, making each different seems to be the main issue facing manufacturers now. Custom skins, physical keyboards and interesting body designs have all been tried so far. Now Motorola is trying another added feature, a useful if not annoying to others one at that. At CTIA in Las Vegas today, Motorola announced the Motorola i1, the first ever Android smartphone with Push-To-Talk. In addition to PTT, the i1 has a military-grade body design, made to withstand dust, shock, blowing rain and vibration. In terms of software, the i1 runs on Android 1.5, which is quite depressing. The default browser has been swapped out for Opera 5 with Flash Lite support, which can support sites that are Flash 8 compliant. The default keyboard has also been swapped out for Swype, which might make typing on the HVGA screen a bit easier. The i1 isn’t exactly the most impressive new Android phone, and with the specs it obviously doesn’t want to be. The i1 looks to be a smartphone for those who still use Push-To-Talk, or for the clumsy. The outdated Android version might cause some problems, if only because it only adds to the fragmentation in the platform already. The phone will go on sale this summer, presumably (hopefully) at a relatively low cost. The last thing anyone needs is another under-powered, over-priced Android smartphone. Read [Motorola] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Business News, Web, Websites, Google  For the past two months, Google has threatened to stop censoring search results in China in response to a series of attacks that it believes were influenced by or connected to the Chinese government. Google has made good on that threat and announced on its blog that it has officially stopped censoring those results. Chinese users who visit Google.cn are now redirected to a Hong Kong-based Google.com.hk. There, users will be able to access Google Search, Google News, and Google Images without the self-censored filter previously used to block content that might enflame the state government. This has led to a massive increase of load on Google’s Hong Kong servers, which will lead to slowdowns.
There were previous suggestions that Google would stop censoring and perhaps even move out of China if problems persisted. For now, Google has affirmed its plans to continue operations in mainland China. How long that will last is uncertain as the Chinese government has said that self-censorship is a “non-negotiable legal requirement” to operate in China. Google claims that forwarding customers to Hong Kong, a special administrative region attached to China, is a “completely legal” maneuver, but it’s unlikely to please the Chinese government. In anticipation of possible access issues that this new situation may create, Google has created a new webpage to monitor problems discovered by Chinese users. Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile The Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus will be heading to AT&T this year. Confirming what many analysts expected to happen after Palm’s disappointing earnings report, AT&T have announced via Facebook that they will soon offer both of Palm’s flagship webOS devices. This is great news for Palm, which has struggled to increase market share in the smartphone race after launching last year on Sprint and recently on Verizon. AT&T has the largest subscriber base, which gives Palm a chance to entice more potential customers who don’t want to leave the network. AT&T also took a page from its television advertisements and slipped a few digs at Verizon into the announcement. The company’s Facebook page made sure to mention that these would be “The only Palm webOS devices in the U.S. to support simultaneous voice and data.” (Sprint and Verizon use CDMA networks which are unable to hold data and phone connections at the same time; AT&T uses GSM, which supports that feature.) AT&T also took the time to announce its next Android phone, the Dell Aero. The Aero features a custom Android UI developed by Dell and AT&T and resembles a Dell Mini 3 based on the rendered photo placed on the company’s website. No details about price or availability have been announced yet, but more information is likely on the way during this week’s CTIA. Read [AT&T Facebook] Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Video, Content, Video Providers  Amazon has recently begun pimping the HD and HD-XR versions of the Roku set top box. This latest offer will give a $20 credit that can be used towards Amazon Video On Demand purchases if you buy a Roku HD or Roku HD-XR.
Price wise, the Roku HD is selling for $99.99 and the HD-XR is $129.99. Additionally, once you purchase the Roku you will also be able to browse and watch other content such as Netflix as well as the available channels in the Roku Channel Store which includes goodies such as Pandora, Revision3, TWiT and more. In terms of this deal, it is available for a limited time—it expires at the end of the month, on March 31. Read [Amazon] Via [CrunchGear] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Peripherals, Storage Active Media Products announced two new Flash drive, 16GB and 32GB that are eSATA capable for transferring data at 3x USB 2.0 speeds. The Flash drives are small and trusty with no moving parts. The drives sell for $69.95 and $109.95 for the 16GB and 32GB respectively. “eSATA flash drives are a great storage solution for people who need faster transfer speeds than USB 2.0 can offer, yet still need the portability of a USB flash drive,” says Mr. Jerry Thomson, VP of Sales for Active Media Products. Many of today’s laptops and desktops come with an eSATA port. Users that don’t have an eSATA port can still use the drives via the mini USB 2.0 port. The drives can be find online at Amazon. Product page: [Active Media Products] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Mobile Computers As one would expect after the news and continued hype around the Apple iPad—other companies are going to be announcing and releasing tablets. And the latest, which is coming from a German company called Neofonie seems to be playing the Apple card. The tablet is called the WePad, I guess they removed the I and added a We. Maybe We is better than I, which implies just one. Feature wise the WePad does seems interesting though. To begin with it will be running Android. Of course we have seen Android tablets come, and also have seen Android tablets fail. That means that just having Android alone is not going to make the WePad successful. Moving on though, the WePad will also come sporting an 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) touchscreen display and a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor. Other features include GMA 3150 graphics, two USB ports and a UMTS modem as well as two items that are left off the iPad—a webcam and built-in card reader. Additionally, the WePad is noted as being able to offer up to six hours of battery life. But in the end I should point out that the WePad is still just an idea and not yet a real device. That said, you can head on over to wepad.mobi and give up your email address so you can be notified when you are able to pre-order. Personally, I think I would hold off on a purchase here until (at least) you can actually order. You know, just to make sure this ends up being more than vaporware. Read [WePad] Via [Liliputing] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video To the amusement of my fellow Gadgetell bloggers, I have made no effort to hide my love for the Zune. And what better way to pass on some Zune HD love than to share a deal, a $45 deal to be specific. That means you can purchase the 32GB Platinum Zune HD for only $245. Of course, the obvious applies and you will be ditching iTunes for the pleasure of the Zune. But hey, the Zune HD is small and light and has a wonderful display. Plus you can finally find out just how nice a subscription based music service can really be. Read [Dell Home] Via [CrunchGear] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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