FROM APPLETELL - Apple has seeded iOS 4.3 beta to developers, which confirms the rumor about the Personal Hotspot feature being available to all iPhone carriers. It also brings numerous new and useful features to iPad. MORE »
We talk a lot about the problems of fragmentation, that is, devices on the market running older versions of the OS. The problems of fragmentation are uneven distribution of new features, uneven access to new apps that rely on the latest OS version and even the commitment of manufacturers to correct this issue. A bigger problem seems to have just reared its head: cannabalism.
According to AndroidSPIN, a T-Mobile Android update is behing held hostage. The company is lying about the update and why users are not getting it according to this tipster:
Some disturbing things have happened the last week or so concerning our "Vibrant". Samsung has NOT allowed us to push the update OTA for 2.2 because they feel it will decrease the value of the upcoming Vibrant4G +. While from a marketing aspect i totally understand, as the Vibrant 4G is what the original Vibrant should have been in the 1st place. But to shun off and bold face lie to customers is NOT what T-Mobile is about.
…Being that, Vibrant 4G and Vibrant have exactly same stats, added FFC and a new movie and the 4G. But i will tell you this, the original vibrant CAN utilize 4G FULLY. Yes FULLY. not what they are telling you.
That’s pretty damning stuff. Google loves to crow about being open, but one of the issues with a dictator-less society is lesser-kings emerge. The mantle of power is just to tempting to refuse. So here, if true, Samsung is calling the shots to preserve their investment in the new model.
It seems odd to me that T-Mobile and Samsung would be at odds over this. That’s red flag #1. Surely T-Mobile isn’t an altruistic company, only acting in the best interests of their customers. Wouldn’t they be in cahoots on this?
There are so many Android devices out, that this lesser-king idea is bound to play a bigger role in the future. Companies cannot resist the temptation to control the device and bend it’s open will to their profit-motivated needs. Samsungs (and really everyone right?) nightmare is everyone running around with 1st gen hardware updating to the latest Android OS at will. Samsung surely has an interest in making sure Model A doesn’t compete with Model B. No one likes a cannibal.
Read: [AndroidSPIN] image credit: Business Insider
Recently, Google has updated its Translate for Android app. This useful Android app was first introduced in January 2010, one year after Google is bringing in most of the useful features of Google Translate web app to Android phones. These features include machine translation, romanization of non-Roman scripts and spoken translations. In addition, Google also added voice input capability that lets you speak word or phrase you want to translate, instead of the usual way of typing it. Translate for Android also now translates SMS you received which are written in foreign languages. Cool, right?
Aside from the new features, Google has also refreshed Translate for Android, specifically, the app now lets you interact with it easily. The app also now has better dropdown boxes to help you in selecting languages you want to translate from and into. The input box was improved, icons and layout were cleaned. In other words Translate for Android is easier to use now more than ever.
While all those features may seem well and good, there is however one more feature which is kind of experimental at this stage. This is called Conversation Mode. Basically, what this feature does is to let you translate foreign words into English. But since it is currently on experimental mode you can only translate between English and Spanish. The feature is currently rough right now which is pretty understandable since it’s still in alpha, so don’t expect perfect translation at all times especially since regional accents, background noise or rapid speech are still about to be resolved. Still, Translate for Android is worth your time and effort if only to experience the novelty of the app.
You can grab Translate for Android from the Android Market for free or simply scan the QR code below.
While we have yet to hear this directly from Apple, the crew over at the Boy Genius Report have apparently received word from “one of their Apple sources” that may surprise some. According to the details, Apple will be removing the home button from the next-generation iPad as well as the next-generation iPhone. Of course, this makes sense in the fact that we have often heard how Steve Jobs dislikes buttons. In that respect it almost seems like a done deal. But just to add a little further evidence, this would fit in perfectly with the multi-touch gestures that were found in the most recent iOS 4.3 beta. Anyway, it was further noted that these home-buttonless devices are currently in testing on the Apple campus. Personally I like having the Home button, but just like any other change, I am sure I would get used to it with some time.
Apple recently offered up the beta for iOS 4.3 and with that seems to be some discoveries, one of which is a feature called Find My Friends. And although not official just yet, it looks like this Find My Friends functionality will come as a part of the MobileMe service and allow for users to do just what the name implies—find their friends. Sort of sounds a little like Google Latitude and while not the best feature that Apple could be adding to MobileMe, at least they seem to be trying to make the $99 per year MobileMe price tag a little more bearable. Honestly Apple, the only reason I am holding onto MobileMe at this point is because I have been a subscriber for so long and like the @me email address that I have.
Those awaiting the next major release of Firefox may be in for a treat as it looks like the wait may be getting fairly short. According to details coming out of PC World, Firefox 4 is expected to arrive sometime towards the end of next month.
“In the coming weeks, then, the Firefox development team should aim to clear those hurdles by the beginning of February and ship a final version of the open source browser before the end of next month.”
And the good news with that, after it is complete and ready;
When Apple updated the iPad to iOS 4 they removed one nice feature—the orientation lock switch on the side of the device. Well, technically they did not remove the switch itself, however they changed the functionality from being an orientation lock to being a volume mute switch. With that, plenty of iPad users (most likely those who use their iPad for reading) become upset and began hoping that the orientation lock would return. Well, flash forward till today and the most recent iOS beta, iOS 4.3 and it looks like that many be happening. The latest details are shown in the above screenshot and clearly show the option to use the “side switch” as either a mute or lock. Now lets just hope that this remains throughout the beta and actually comes available once iOS 4.3 gets into the hands of the end users.
It looks like Verizon is officially doing away with their ‘New Every two’ upgrade program and those currently eligible and planning to upgrade to the iPhone 4—that will be your last time using a New Every Two discount. Yup, the official cut off date is January 13th, which means that those who sign a two-year agreement from the 14th and on will no longer be getting that same upgrade plan after two years. Of course, your contract will still end in two years, however you will no longer get that (up to) $100 discount towards the purchase of another phone. Furthermore, those early upgrades which were once possible beginning at month 13 are going to be stopping and moving forward any upgrade will be happening no earlier than 20 months into a 24 month agreement. With that, while all of this is disappointing, I suppose its a small price to pay when talking about getting a subsidized phone. After all, the longer a carrier can keep the customer on a plan and with the same phone the more money they stand to make.
Don’t you just love it when someone comes out with a device that is utterly pointless yet so cool that you can’t ignore it? If that’s the case for you, feast your eyes on the Vlctorinox Secure SSD: the world’s smallest pen-drive with a storage capacity of up to half of a terabyte. The drive comes equipped with a monochrome 96 x 46-pixel e-Paper display that shows pertinent information such as storage capacity as well as the owner’s name. And fear not of the SSD’s connectivity as it can easily be plugged into any standard USB slot. Victorinox has also added a connector to hook into an eSATA II port which allow for the regular desired transfer speeds.
The drive has not been officially been given a price tag just yet, but we can’t expect it to be all that pocket-friendly. I mean, can’t you just imagine being at a camping trip with a couple of buddies when you bust this drive out and show them how many digital files you can carry in your pocket knife? You’ll be the coolest cat in town.
The Victorinox Secure SDD is expected to be released in 128GB and 256GB models in March while the big daddy 512GB version will debut sometime later this year. Happy camping.
HP’s Todd Bradley recently made an appearance on MSNBC and as a result, it looks like we can expect to see a variety of tablets at their upcoming webOS event. The event is going to take place on February 9th and according to Bradley, they will be speaking “broadly about the future of webOS and the breath of products that it'll enable." But more to the point, speaking about the webOS purchase he stated that;
"As we think about how that enables everything from smartphones to tablets to PCs to potentially other large screen devices, we see an enormous opportunity, both for ourselves and for our customers, to get the best web experience, the best content experience, that they can."
Bottom line, while we may see another webOS smartphone, it looks like this event is going to be focused on the tablet. And given that, we hope to not be disappointed. After all, people have been saying how nice webOS would be on a tablet for quite some time now. Sadly though, regardless of how nice, this will not change the current disappointment that many have with webOS smartphones—the lack of apps which comes as a result of the lack of community and developer support.
FROM APPLETELL - The cost is a little bit more than what one would expect for a cord holder, but if you enjoy the aesthetics is well worth paying a little more to have something with a bit of style. MORE »
It looks like T-Mobile has not wasted anytime in letting people know that regardless of the carrier (AT&T or Verizon)—the iPhone is not a 4G device. Of course, in reality this seems like a convenient way to play on some of the recent Verizon iPhone hype and advertise their 4G network availability at the same time. For that we cannot fault them, but at the same time its unclear as to how many people are going to care. After all, how many people had AT&T and complained often about the iPhone and dropped calls but continued to stay just because of the iPhone. Given that its hard to think that many will switch, or not get, just because it is not 4G. Anyway, while this commercial is currently coming by way of YouTube it will also airing on television shortly.
U.S. Cellular is giving all its customers an early Valentine’s Day treat by way of a buy-one-get-one-free sale, starting now - yes you read it right NOW until Feb. 17. So, if you’ve been planning to score a new Android phone from U.S. Cellular, you have until Feb. 17 to do so. Take note, you’re not only getting one but two of those Android phones, with the other one for free.
Now, that’s a great offer, right? How good? Well how about if we tell you that aside from Android phones such as Samsung Mesmerize and Galaxy S, you’ll be able to score a Galaxy Tab as well? Make that two Samsung Galaxy Tabs. What’s the deal? Well, for the Samsung Mesmerize, you can score this nice Android phone for only $149.99 and get another one for free after mail-in rebate. As for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, you can score this Android tablet for only $399.99 after $100 mail-in rebate and get another one for free. All you need to do is to sign-up for U.S. Cellular’s $54.99 Belief Plan on both devices. This plan comes with a 5GB of network data usage, and that’s for each Galaxy Tabs that you’ll be getting.
“Our quality, high-speed nationwide network keeps our customers connected to the people and information that matter most to them,” said Edward Perez, vice president of marketing and sales operations for U.S. Cellular. “Our customers deserve a great wireless experience, so they can enjoy their cutting-edge devices that make their lives easier and more organized.” Great deal, right?
Other exciting offers include buy-one-get-one-free deals for HTC Desire for $99.99, LG Optimus U for $29.99, LG Apex and Samsung Acclaim for $49.99. All of these offers happen after $80 mail-in rebates.
Those awaiting the next major release of Firefox may be in for a treat as it looks like the wait may be getting fairly short. According to details coming out of PC World, Firefox 4 is expected to arrive sometime towards the end of next month.
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