Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites, Online Music/Video Anybody here who actively uses Apple’s Ping social network that you can access via a small portion on the upper right corner of the iTunes homepage? Well, guess what? If you login to iTunes right now, you’ll notice an announcement sitting right on top of your iTunes screen. Yes, saw it? Well, welcome aboard Twitter. That’s right, you can now connect your Twitter account to Ping to make it easier for you to share your music discoveries while in iTunes and using Ping to your Twitter followers. I don’t know if you still remember, but Twitter is not the first social network to connect with Ping. Facebook was in fact used to be part of Ping when it was launched. But it was immediately pulled out. Since then, Facebook never came back to Ping. We don’t know for sure how many people are using Ping right now. But it seems Twitter wants to take advantage of these users and decided to connect with Ping. Is this a good move on both parties? That we will have to know once the influx of Ping users connecting their Twitter accounts come in. Have you noticed any of your Twitter contacts already posting their Ping activities on their timeline? Connecting your Ping account to Twitter is easy. Just click on the link on top of the iTunes screen and you will be prompted for your Twitter credentials. Once connected to Twitter, all your post, like, review, or purchases on Ping will be automatically posted to your Twitter timeline. And that’s not just a simple tweet but will contain previews of songs and links to purchase them from iTunes. When you receive a tweet sent via Ping containing an iTunes link, you will see the song or album in Twitter’s details pane. That’s it. Will you be connecting your Ping account to Twitter? Read [Twitter Blog] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers Life has always been hard on the JooJoo pad. It started out as the CrunchPad, which was meant to be an inexpensive web-browsing tablet. Then Fusion Garage split with TechCrunch and went on to make the JooJoo tablet into a $500 browser-centric tablet. Today Fusion Garage has announced that the original JooJoo is officially dead, as in it has been discontinued. If anything, it’s surprising that the JooJoo wasn’t discontinued earlier. Around the time of release, it was said that only 90 people had pre-ordered the device. Since then we’ve seen the iPad and numerous Android tablets which have proven to be much more popular, and can do more. Fusion Garage is still in business despite the JooJoo debacle. The company’s founder has said that they will be making a new tablet based on Android sometime in the future. With an Android tablet the company can join the distinguished group comprised of just about every other tech company that isn’t Apple, RIM or Microsoft. Perhaps that tablet will wait for whatever version of Android supports tablets outright, whether that be Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice cream or whatever comes after that. Read [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers Do you prefer Verizon Wireless to other carriers and have an interest in the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab? If you answered yes to both questions, then you’ll be pleased to know the Samsung Galaxy Tab for Verizon has officially launched today for $599. The one complaint with the Galaxy Tab on Verizon is the fact that the carrier will not be subsidizing the tablet even if you purchase it on a two year contract. Unlike other carriers, such as T-Mobile, who plan to subsidize the Galaxy Tab by $200, the Verizon version of the Tab is one flat fee of $599. Of course, if you didn’t plan to purchase the device on contract, then the pricing isn’t really an issue, but it probably comes as a disappointment to those looking forward to a cheaper, subsidized cost for the Tab. If you’re not on Verizon and still want the Samsung Galaxy Tab, then check out T-Mobile who launched it yesterday, Sprint who will launch in a few days, and AT&T who is rumored to launch it in a week or so. Check it out [Verizon] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Netbooks Just a few weeks ago Jolicloud CEO Tariq Krim teased us with the possibility of a Jolicloud netbook. At the time the only ideas we had about the netbook were that it would run Jolicloud, would be affordably priced and that it should come out sometime soon. Today we have a smaller launch window, complete with some specs. The Jolicloud netbook, dubbed the Jolibook, is set for release apparently by the end of November. The Jolibook will ship Jolicloud 1.1, a newer version of the OS which we can presumably download for ourselves around the same time. The version that ships with the Jolibook will come preloaded with Chromium for a web browser, which should hopefully auto-update to the newest version every so often to make it easy for the average user. As for specs, the Jolibook will be powered by the latest Intel Atom N550. The Atom N550 is a dual-core CPU that runs at 1.5 GHz, which would theoretically be comparable to the CPU inside the base 11-inch MacBook Air. Unlike the 11-inch MacBook Air, the Jolibook will have quite a bit of storage on a 250 GB HDD, which will be slower but will be more useful to those who want to have a lot of media on their device. Since the Jolibook will be able to play 720p video that storage space likely won’t be going to waste. There’s still no talk about the size of the Jolibook (though a 10.1-inch screen would seem likely), the RAM, exact price or the exact release date. It’s easy to assume that Jolicloud will sell the device, but we don’t know if there will be any partners that will be selling the netbook. We should find out all of these things in the weeks to come, let’s just hope for Jolicloud’s sake that there aren’t any major Chrome OS netbook/tablet announcements before the end of the month to steal the attention away. Read [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking 
On the wire this morning was a nice little piece by Reuters that reported a response from Hugo Barra, Google’s head of mobile product development. Reuters took the response as proof the two will not compete head to head against each other. The problem? Reuters got it wrong; see for yourself. Reuters quoted this statement from Barra, “We’re not working on a social network platform that’s just going to be another social network platform.” The implication here is that Google is thinking bigger than silly Facebook. What is implied is Google’s social network platform is going to be more than just another social network platform. That response makes it pretty clear where Google is headed, but wait, there’s more. “We do think that social is an ingredient for success for any app going forward, search and advertising being probably the best two examples that I would mention. So that’s how we’re thinking about the problem.” Google’s intentions seem pretty clear here. There have been rumors of a new social platform from Google for sometime after Orkut didn’t catch on in the US, despite finding success in Brazil and India. For now, we’ll have to guess what Google is up to, though one thing is clear: Google is up to something. Read: [Yahoo!] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Hardware, Netbooks, Wireless The reviews are in and frankly, I am a bit confused. The Samsung Tab is the first real tablet that has a legitimate shot to compete with the iPad since Apple launched the device back in April. Since then, tablets have become the darling of the tech press and we even saw Mr. Mossberg recommending a tablet for your next computer. The Samsung Tab is a 7” tablet running Google’s Anrdroid 2.2 (Froyo). The Tab is part of the Galaxy family, features a microSD card reader, has two cameras and 3G wireless connectivity. The WiFi version has been delayed until after the holidays. The reviews of the device vary wildly. From the New York Times to Wall Street Journal to tech review sites, we’re getting treated a big difference in opinion. Is the Tab really that polarizing a device? Let’s start with the positive: David Pogue, New York Times: “Samsung sweated the details on this thing. The screen is gorgeous. The touch response is immediate and reliable. The whole thing is superfast and a pleasure to use.” Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal: ” It's a serious alternative to the iPad and one that will be preferred by some folks. It includes the three most-requested features missing in the iPad: a camera (two in fact); the ability to run Web videos and applications written in Adobe's Flash software; and multitasking, though, to be fair, the latter feature is coming to the iPad imminently via a software update.” Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo: “This thing is just a mess. It’s like a tablet drunkenly hooked up with a phone, and then took the fetus swimming in a Superfund cleanup site. The browser is miserable, at least when Flash is enabled. It goes catatonic, scrolling is laggy, and it can get laughably bad.” Wait, what? How do we go from “superfast and a pleasure” to “laughably bad”? Were they testing the same unit? What’s a consumer to think? Let’s look at the bad, each reviewer found things they didn’t like. Pogue thought the lack of apps for the 7” size, mobile-only versions of websites with no option to visit the full site and the no USB power from a computer was odd. Mossberg thought getting twice the screen size on the iPad was a better value. Buchanan had trouble with the device feeling like a phone in some areas and like a big-boy tablet in others. One things is quite clear: the Samsung Galaxy Tab would be much easier to love if it were the low-price option out there. Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile It seems as if Samsung Windows Phone 7 handsets have the ability to tether over USB. Though, we will caution as there is a bit of trickery involved in order to get this up and running. In other words, use with caution. That said, it does not seem all that difficult to get it up and running. You start by dialing ##634# and getting into a diagnostics menu. And for those who proceed, just remember that you are changing a setting away from Zune Sync, which means you will need to reverse this process after you are done tethering. With that, if you are the owner of a Samsung Windows Phone 7 device and feel the desire to tether over USB then hit the Mobility Digest link below for a nice step-by-step guide to getting setup. Read [hdblog.it] and [Mobility Digest] Via [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, Content, Video Providers, Gadgets / Other  When the Boxee software first launched, users were able to watch TV shows streaming from Hulu on the software. Then Hulu blocked Boxee, and Boxee included a web browser in the software to get around the blocks. The results were messy and cumbersome.
Now, Boxee and Hulu are “pals,“and they’re working together to bring Hulu Plus to the Boxee Box.There was no word on when the service would arrive on the box aside from “soon.” Unsurprisingly, Hulu Plus is the only way to get Hulu content on the Boxee Box, but it’s much better than not having that content. With Hulu Plus on the Boxee Box, especially if the price for Hulu Plus does get cut in half, the Boxee Box could replace cable for many. The only thing missing now is premium cable content (HBO, Starz) and the NFL. Those two problems are easily solved in a variety of way. Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile Yesterday we were told that the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace had nearly 2,000 apps. And it seems that the “nearly” part was key because in reality the number of apps is just below 1700. Either way though, here we have some proof that the total number of available apps is not always the most important item to consider. As GottabeMobile so nicely points out; “Jonathan Brooke has published 76 conversion apps that convert currency from ONE SINGLE currency to ANOTHER SINGLE currency.”
Basically, one person is responsible for 76 of those 1658 apps. And they are not even necessary apps, they are all currency converters each of which are selling for $0.99. Of course, we cannot fault Jonathan from trying to make a buck, but how about coding a better app—one that converts multiple currency formats as opposed to flooding the market. In the end though, I guess the blame ultimately falls on the people behind the Marketplace. Lets keep this clean Microsoft, because otherwise, you seem to be off on a good start with Windows Phone 7. Via [GottaBeMobile] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Communications, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous, Web A recent rumor indicated that the Sprint ZTE Peel intended for use with the Apple iPod Touch would launch on November 14, and that rumor came to fruition as the ZTE Peel will be available for general purchase on November 14. Today, Sprint issued a press release about the ZTE Peel which brings 3G connectivity to the iPod Touch (second and third generation), which otherwise only accesses the Internet through a WiFi hotspot. The ZTE Peel fits like a case for the iPod Touch, as you simply slide the iPod Touch into the ZTE Peel and press the power button to activate the device. The ZTE Peel creates a WiFi network of which the iPod Touch connects to. Sprint priced the special case at $79.99 for the device and a $30 monthly data plan of 1GB. Fortunately, there is no monthly agreement so you can decide which months to use it and not be bound to a two year agreement. In addition, the WiFi network it creates is secured through WEP. Again, you can purchase the ZTE Peel starting November 14 through all Sprint retail locations. Read [Sprint] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers  Those in Canada now have two options available for purchasing the Dell Streak tablet with Android. You can opt to shop with Dell and get a SIM-free version of the Streak for $549.99 or you can opt to shop with Rogers and get the Streak for $149.99 with a three-year agreement. Personally, three-years sounds like a long commitment, but that is the normal length, not to mention the $149 price tag sounds much nicer than $549. Needless to say, regardless of where you make the purchase you are still going to get the same device which features Android 1.6 along with a 5 inch WVGA touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera on the back, VGA quality front facing camera, 2GB internal storage, microSD card slot, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM and the usual goodies for connectivity including 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. And no, that mention of Android 1.6 was not a typo. Thankfully though, Rogers expects the Android 2.2 update to arrive sometime before the end of the year. Product [Rogers] Via [Rogers Redboard]  Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, Content, Video Providers, Gadgets / Other 
There was a lot of talk about partners at the Boxee Box launch event. There were hardware, software and content partners mentioned, many of them big players like D-Link, Intel, and Vudu. In terms of content, the biggest news came from Netflix and Hulu.
Netflix has been in the Boxee software for quite some time, letting users stream movies and TV to their computers or hacked AppleTVs. There was always a question as to whether Netflix would appear in the Boxee Box. Right now, the service is nowhere to be found. That will be changing soon, however. Before the end of the year, the Boxee Box will be able to stream Netflix content in full HD. The experience, like the Boxee Box software itself will be different from the current version. Avner Ronen promised that the experience would be a great one. Not only is Netflix coming to the Boxee Box, but there will also be a special remote for Netflix addicts. The remote will be sold separately and feature a Netflix button which will bring you straight to the service. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Sounds like it’ll be great for those homes that have at least one or two people that just want to use Netflix and are still confused by the Boxee Box interface. Or it’ll be great for those who are just a bit lazy to go through the menus. Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers Here in the US we are waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab to come available with a variety of carriers. In total it looks like T-Mobile (which actually launched yesterday) as well as Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular and AT&T. We also know that the Verizon launch is happening today and that leaves Sprint on the 14th and US Cellular and AT&T—neither of which has offered up a release date and/or price. As it turns out, the AT&T details may have been leaked. According to some internal training documents, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is going to be available with AT&T on November 21st. In terms of the price, $649. And while that sounds on the high side, we do have to point out that is for an unsubsidized price which means no contracts. Lastly, the available data plans for the Galaxy Tab will be the same plans that AT&T is currently offering which means either 250MB for $14.99 or 2GB for $25 per month. Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, HDTV, Gadgets / Other After a few delays and hardware changes, the Boxee Box is finally here. The Boxee Box is now shipping in a number of countries for $200, featuring an overhauled, simpler interface. Boxee has seen a few user interface changes during it’s lifetime, the latest one coming with the announcement of the Boxee Box. That’s the interface we’ve been seeing since CES this past January. It was a bit busy, but easily decipherable by your average nerd. Others, however, may have had a bit of trouble with the design. With the launch of the Boxee Box comes the simpler interface which does away with a lot of the information that was shown on the previous home screen. The home screen is now a simple row of icons for different features and three images representing media.
Avner Ronen kept bringing up the fact that the Queue is now called the “Watch Later” list. It still functions in the same way, with content able to be added to it from anywhere in the software. Content be added automatically: if you favorite a series, when there’s new episodes they will automatically be pushed to the Watch Later list. You can also add content to your Watch Later list through a bookmarklet on your browser. The menu overlay is also much simpler to use, with just a few options for shows, movies, apps, files, and search rather than the full row of icons that were there before. The interface while in one of those options is more straightforward, with icons for content on the left, and descriptions on the right. The left sidebar which housed the options seems to be gone now, so you can’t accidentally move into it. It should just as simple to use as the AppleTV, if not a bit simpler for some thanks to the keyboard on the remote. Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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