Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Software / Applications After announcing last year that the Xperia X10 would never go past Android 2.1 Sony Ericsson has changed their tune, and is now planning to upgrade the phone. The Xperia X10 will see an upgrade to Gingerbread sometime near the end of Q2 and start of Q3 this year. Sony Ericsson is saying that it’s work on the Xperia Arc, Play and Neo have enabled the upgrade for the X10. The upgrade will bring Android 2.3.3 to “generic trade” X10s, so if you bought the phone unlocked from Sony Ericsson itself and not a carrier you’ll be getting the upgrade. If you bought the phone from AT&T in the US you’ll have to wait and see if the carrier will support the upgrade. Sony Ericsson can only promise the upgrade to the generic trade phones, not to carrier specific models. There is a bit of catch with the upgrade, though. Some features will be changed or removed in the upgrade. The Sony Ericsson-made camera app will be replaced with the stock camera, so facial recognition and smile shutter will be lost. The Mediascape features will also be replaced by the new media apps and widgets found in the Arc, Neo and Play. The plan is to keep the X10 mostly in line with the features of the company’s 2011 phones, except features that rely on hardware the X10 lacks like HDMI out. Another important note, the upgrade will cause you to lose all your data and settings on the phone. Sounds like it pretty much brings it back to factory fresh software. Don’t rely on the Sony Ericsson Backup and Restore app to restore your data, it won’t work in Gingerbread. So make sure you backup all you data to a PC before the update comes. Read [Sony Ericsson Product Blog] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Web, Downloads Facebook just announced the second coming of its previously released Questions service. Facebook Questions was put into a test by selected users during the summary and so now Facebook announcing that it is now available to everyone. In case you’re not aware, Facebook Questions is somewhat similar to Yahoo! Answers and the recently much-talked about Quora. Facebook Questions lets post a question and allow your friends to answer. You can supply answers which your friends can select or you can let them post their own answers which in turn can be selected by your other friends who are about to answer your question. In other words, Questions lets you create a quick poll with your Facebook friends as respondents. However, since your friends’ friends will see this, they too can post their answer to your questions - hereby expanding the coverage of your “mini survey” beyond your network of friends.
This new service is of course Facebook way of answering users’ needs as they noticed that users have been consistently posting questions on their account walls with the hopes of getting advices and tips about any topics. Product [Facebook Questions] Via [Facebook Blog] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Communications, Smartphones  A couple days ago, HTC filed a court document with the US District Court in Seattle over its right to use the HTC Inspire trademark. This filing was made in response to a letter Samsung sent HTC on March 3. Samsung claims that HTC’s use of the word “Inspire” for its smartphones would confuse costumers. Samsung was granted a trademark for the word “Inspiration” before HTC’s trademark for “HTC Inspire” was approved.
HTC argues that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S.P.T.O.) signed off on the HTC Inspire trademark without voicing concerns of confusion with Samsung’s trademark. Samsung is worried that it will be hurt financially if the court allows HTC to continue to use “Inspire” in its products. As such, Samsung is requesting that the court order HTC to “cease all use of the mark for mobile phones and computing devices.” Should HTC not comply with Samsung’s request (and it probably won’t), Samsung will “seek all remedies available to it.” HTC wants the court to grant the following: - HTC has the right to use the HTC Inspire trademark.
- HTC can continue to sell products with the HTC Inspire trademark.
- HTC Inspire will not cause marketplace confusion.
- Samsung must provide monetary compensation to HTC to cover legal fees.
- Any other compensation the court finds reasonable.
Read [Electronista] and [HTC Inspire trademark] and [Samsung Inspiration trademark] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile Yesterday we saw that Motorola acknowledged issues with the audio quality in the Atrix 4G. Today there’s a more official response than comments on the company’s forums saying that the issue is being looked into. Inthe statement Motorola claims that the issue only affects “a very small number of users.” The full statement reads: Motorola Mobility is aware of a very small number of ATRIX 4G users who have reported low audio issues when placing voice calls. Motorola ATRIX 4G is designed and tested to meet our high standards for audio quality. As part of our longstanding commitment to delivering high quality products that our customers love, we believe in reacting even when identified issues impact only a handful of users. Motorola is evaluating further optimization of audio levels in a future maintenance release. Any consumer who experiences this issue should contact a Motorola customer support center. Motorola takes great care to ensure devices are developed with quality in mind. We appreciate consumer feedback and will continue working to refine our product experience.
Sounds sincere enough. Motorola makes the issue out to be that the issues might just fall to a defect in a small number of handsets. It’s nice to see such a quick response from the company. Hopefully the issue can be resolved quickly. Let’s also hope that a small problem like this doesn’t creep into other Motorola phones like the upcoming (decidedly Atrix-esque) Droid Bionic. Read [Android Central] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers, Hardware It took Asus this long to officially launched its Android tablet so everybody must be expecting a lot from the Eee Pad Transformer. Featuring Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, this Asus Android tablet comes with an optional expandable keyboard, docking station and Waveshare user interface. The question now is whether the Eee Pad Transformer can face up with the other Android tablets lurking in the market and of course the iPad 2? The answer to that question will perhaps depend on what the Eee Pad Transformer has under its hood. For starters, the said tablet is powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, durable and scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass Panel, 10.1-inch iPS panel with LED backlighting and 1280x800 resolution, built-in SRS sound technology, a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear-facing camera, HDMI output port, touchpad, 3.5mm audio jack, 2 USB port, built-in SD card reader and up to 9.5 hours battery life which can be extended up to 16 hours through the docking station. No words yet on when the Asus Eee Pad Transformer will be available and for how much. But at least, we now know that Asus still has plans of releasing the said Android tablet. That’s enough for now. via [Android Community] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Video, HDTV  If you’re in the market for a 3D television, but don’t want to spend a ton of money on it, Vizio has your back. The Vizio website lists three 3D LCD HDTVs at reasonable prices. The smallest 3D TV is 32-inches and has a price of $549.99. The 42-inch model is $729.99, and the 47-inch is $899.99.
These televisions require 3D glasses if you’re going to use the 3D feature. Vizio sells a pair of 3D glasses for $49.99 each. You may not even need to buy the glasses because Vizio includes two pairs of 3D glasses in the box. All three TVs have a maximum screen resolution of 1080p HD in 2D. 3D content won’t be displayed in full high definition. All three TVs also come with support for Vizio Internet Apps. Vizio supports apps such as Netflix, Pandora, NBA Game Time, HuluPlus and Vudu. All of this is complimented by three HDMI ports, an ambient light sensor and SRS TruVolume. The backlight of the TVs adjusts automatically depending on the lighting conditions in the room, and volume is kept at a steady level. This helps to eliminate really loud commercials from freaking you out in-between shows. Here’s the best part. One of Engadget’s sources says these TVs will be even cheaper at Walmart. Instead of $549, Walmart will sell the 32-inch TV for $498. The 42-inch TV will be sold for $698. Site [Vizio] Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile While there are likely still plenty of BlackBerry users that have not even thought about an upgrade to OS 6 at this point, it seems that RIM has OS 6.1 in the works and it is going to be a “major upgrade.” Taking that a step further, it was described as being “an overhaul” as compared to what is currently available. That said, and without getting down on RIM, a complete overhaul is probably a good thing. Otherwise, OS 6.1 is expected to arrive sometime in the spring, and we are hoping to get a better look during BlackBerry World which takes place in May. Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week? Here's your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! - Apple iPad 2 international pricing for the Uk, Canada, Germany, France and Australia
” Apple has confirmed the international release of the iPad 2 to 25 more countries this coming March 29. The iPad 2 will be released at exactly 5 p.m. local time on Apple’s authorized resellers and distributors in those countries,…” MORE » - AT&T buys T-Mobile for $39 billion
” Not long ago there were rumors of a possible merge between T-Mobile and Sprint which didn’t make much sense. Today’s deal make much more sense: AT&T has bought T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom. Unlike the rumored T-Mobile/Sprint merger, AT&T and T-Mobile actually…” MORE » - Netflix streaming is currently down
” A disappointed three year old with an iPod touch and the Netflix app prompted me to head on over to the Netflix website—and low and behold—they are down. Bummer. Anyway, if you check out the site as of now you will greeted with…” MORE » - Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11 announced
” Opera has just announced the latest versions of two of its mobile browsers - Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mobile Mini. In case you’re not aware, Opera Mobile 11 is the mobile browser meant for Android, Symbian and Meego smartphones…” MORE » - Creative Ziio 7” tablet gets Android 2.2
” If you own the Creative ZiiO Android tablet which has bee running Android 2.1 for quite some time now, you can start rejoicing starting March 25 as you will soon be able to upgrade your tablet’s OS to Android 2.2 Froyo…” MORE » - HTC Flyer tablet (the Wi-Fi only version) will retail exclusively at Best Buy
” HTC has officially unveiled the Flyer tablet during CTIA and it looks like Best Buy is going to have the exclusive offering on the Wi-Fi only version. The tablet is…” MORE » - Sprint announces the HTC EVO 3D smartphone with Android 2.3 Gingerbread
” Sprint has officially unveiled their latest in the EVO device lineup, the handset is the HTC EVO 3D and its being billed as able to offer a glasses free 3D experience while…” MORE » - Verizon extends free HTC Trophy offer (for Microsoft employees) until April 1st
” Verizon has extended its free HTC Trophy offering until April 1st. But wait, don’t get too excited immediately because this offer is good for Microsoft employees only. Unfortunately Verizon is not saying as to when the device…” MORE » - Why it’s now awesome to be a Sprint customer
“Boom. All of a sudden Google Voice just became a big deal after getting Sprint to come aboard. As of today, Sprint customers can make their number a Google Voice number. Just like that, Sprint customers can choose to ring any number of phones when someone calls their…” MORE » - Samsung unveils the 8.9 and 10.1 inch Galaxy Tab tablets
” There you go folks, Samsung has officially unveiled its second wave of attack against the iPad through the release of two new Samsung Galaxy Tabs which will be available in 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch models. Both Galaxy Tab units will…” MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section:  A research firm by the name of Ovum published a press release today that outlines its predictions for the smartphone market over the next few years. By 2016, Ovum believes smartphones powered by the Android operating system will account for 38% of the smartphone market. This will put Android well ahead of Apple iOS, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry OS.
Android is expected to dominate because the OS is not limited to one set of devices. Smartphone manufacturers from all over the world can adopt Android to power their devices. Android also has the advantage of being available on phones at various price points. Android will be utilized by less knowledgeable consumers and die-hard Android loyalists alike. Apple iOS will be second to Android, claiming 17.5% of overall smartphone market share. Windows Phone 7 will take 17.2% and Blackberry OS will be last with 16.5%. Microsoft’s recent deal with Nokia will help propel the adoption rate of Windows Phone 7 smartphones. At the same time, the number of Symbian-powered phones will likely fall. Ovum expects smartphone shipments around the world to reach 653 million units by 2016. Of that number, 40% of mobile phones shipped will be smartphones. The leading markets will be located in Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and North America. Ovum also expects another operating system to achieve success. Ovum mentions WebOS, MeeGo and Bada as potential candidates. Via [Data Monitor] Read [Boy Genius Report] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile As far as rumors go, this one would be nice to see—the Droid X get updated to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. According to the details that have been given so far, it looks like that just may be happening. So far it looks like Verizon is going to begin the rollout this Sunday at midnight and that business users will be the first in line with the update continuing on through next week for everyone else. That said, lets hope we see something a bit more official come from Verizon before any Droid X users get super hopeful. Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, VoIP, Mobile, Web, Google  GV Mobile+, one of the nicer Google Voice apps for iOS has just been updated. And it has been given a rather nice update at that. But first, the basics, this update has brought the app up to version 2.0.031811 and it requires iOS 3.1.3 or later and has been tested on iOS 4.0. In addition, GV Mobile+ is priced at $2.99 and the update is free for those who have already made the purchase.
That being said, onto the new features, which include push notifications, picture messaging, group messaging, a new user interface and much more. According to the “what’s new” section in the App Store, here is the complete list of new features and changes; - New UI
- Push
- Picture messaging
- Multiple Recipient Texting (up to 5)
- Support for all GV folders
- Search
- Pull to load older data
- Key Tones Off/On
- Default Contacts Action (Favs/Iphone)
- More Call Methods (call using your iPhone # in app, or with GV using other dialers - customizable)
- Support for non-standard Gmail only GV accounts (limited)
- Welcome/Setup wizard
- Favorites is back
- Spell check is back
- Access Call Methods via Keypad
- Voicemail transcription highlighting during playback
- Support for GV related call actions (read/unread,star/unstar,spam,block,archive/unarchive)
Via [GV Mobile+ (App Store link)] and [Sean Kovacs] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers It is being reported that Verizon has slashed the pricing on the original iPad, though at present we should point out that the price cuts appear to only be in-stores. That said, the details are coming by way of MacRumors who have stated that the 16GB iPad is now $299.99. And then the higher storage models are $399.99 and $499.99 for the 32GB and 64GB model respectively. Furthermore, while the online pricing seems to have not been changed, the in-store pricing is noted as only being with the corporate owned stores. With that, while an iPad 2 would be nice, it is hard to argue with pricing like that. Of course, remember Verizon was selling a Wi-Fi only version of the original iPad with a bundled MiFi. Via [MacRumors] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones  O2 UK customers will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. O2 confirmed via a blog post that the Xperia Play won’t be released on April 1 as originally expected. O2 performed some rigorous tests and determined the Xperia Play contains too many software bugs to be released on its network.
Stuart Hibberd is the head of O2’s testing team. His job is to put phones through a series of performance tests over a number of weeks to ensure they’re ready for prime time. Unfortunately, O2’s testing team deemed the Xperia Play unworthy of being sold at this time. From the blog post: We've been testing the phone non-stop for weeks and have found some bugs in the software that, if they're not fixed, means customers won't have a great experience. O2 is currently working with Sony Ericsson to fix the bugs as soon as possible. O2 didn’t give details as to the nature of the bugs. Hopefully the bugs aren’t related to the Xperia Play’s gaming experience since that is the phone’s biggest feature. A new release date is unknown, but Hibberd wrote that O2 will work with Sony Ericsson “over the next couple of weeks.” O2 is the only UK carrier that is delaying the Xperia Play. Via [O2 Blog] Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous When you think about it, who really needs a tablet computer? Since its release roughly a year ago, the iPad has dished out over 15 million units. Along with its stellar sales, Apple has also managed to make the name “iPad” synonymous with tablets much the way Kleenex did with tissues. The tablet has undoubtedly made its mark on our culture and is here to stay. But when you sit back and take an objective look at the device, what is it that a tablet offers you that laptops and desktops don’t? Is it the hardware? Absolutely not. Tablets are far inferior in terms of specs when compared to other computers. Is it the software? Hmm, not quite. Just about every application or program you find on a tablet can be found anywhere else on the web. Is it the user experience? Yes. This seems to be the main factor that’s drawing people to these devices. If you were to take a simple speed test pitting a laptop against an iPad, who do you think would win? I guarantee that you would be able to type, download, copy, paste and browse much more quickly on a laptop than a tablet. So why exactly is the public so eager to give Apple $500 a pop for these seemingly inferior devices? It’s simply because the medium is the message; Marshall McLuhan had it right decades ago. The content that we’re consuming on tablets isn’t any different than what we’ve been getting on our computers for years now. The games, applications and software are similar all the same. The fact that we’re using a flat tablet device that uses a touch-screen interface and that is what the public is attracted to. So before you make your purchase, ask yourself if a tablet is actually something you need or it’s more of a socioeconomic statement. Via [Wired] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Computers, Mobile Computers, Web, Google 
Hackers will have to wait a while before making their own custom versions of Honeycomb. BussinessWeek is reporting that Google won’t release Honeycomb as open source for quite some time. As you’re probably aware, Honeycomb was designed specifically for tablets, and Google wants to keep it that way. Google isn’t sure Honeycomb will work on smartphones and it doesn’t want to risk hackers or manufacturers shoving it on them. Some corners were cut with Honeycomb to make the release as soon as possible. Heck, the Xoom still has bugs in the OS and it shipped without being able to use the microSD card slot. Tablets and phones from smaller companies are buggy enough with fully stable releases of Android, an arguably incomplete Honeycomb could only make things worse. It is possible that Google won’t even release a new version as open source until Ice Cream, whatever number it will have. For those outside the hacking community that isn’t so bad. For the hackers it’s sad that they can’t have their hand at customizing the OS to their whims. For everyone it means more terrible, buggy, cheap Android tablets with Eclair, Froyo or Gingerbread without the Android Market. Read [BussinessWeek] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Video, DVD/DVR/Blu-ray, Video Providers  The pricing models that were put in place by video stores have died. Gone are the likes of Blockbuster and Hollywood video. Services such as Netflix, Hulu and others provide access to thousands of movies and television shows for the price of a couple new rentals from video stores of the past. Redbox has taken up the task of providing customers with DVDs and Blu-rays in popular locations such as McDonalds and Walmart. Spot is the new kid on the block, and it’s undercutting Redbox’s prices.
Spot kiosks are only available in parts of California at the moment. It works very similarly to Redbox. A user inserts a debit or credit card into the kiosk at the rate of $1 for a single DVD or Blu-ray movie. The rental price is good for a full day. Alternatively, customers can rent two movies at one time for only $0.89 per disc for 24 hours. New customers are limited to two rentals, but repeating customers can rent up to five movies at once. Spot claims its advantages over Redbox include its kiosk’s storage capacity and the price for rentals. Redbox charges $1 for DVD rentals (24 hours) and $1.50 for Blu-rays. Spot also claims its kiosks can carry twice as many discs as Redbox (around 1,400 spaces), and dispenses disc’s substantially faster than Redbox. Spot kiosks have a slot dedicated to returning discs. Redbox has one advantage over Spot. Certain Redbox kiosks have videogames available to rent for $2 per night. Site [Spot] Read [Home Media Magazine] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile One of the best app developed for Nokia phones, Sports Tracker is finally arriving for both iPhone and Android phones. If you’re like me who has never used a Nokia smartphone for a long time now, Sports Tracker is actually built on the world’s biggest tracking communities boasting of more than 70 million km tracked in more than 200 countries. That’s just through users who own Nokia Symbian phones. So, expect that number to grow as the iPhone and Android version of the app is coming pretty soon. Both the app’s Android and iPhone version will have the same great tracking features that was built on the Nokia platform. Plus of course, the app will also have some new features brought about by the peculiar features of the iPhone and Android platforms. Unfortunately, these new features are yet to be announced. But in the meantime, Sports Tracker is teasing us with early screenshots of both the iPhone and Android Sports Tracker app. Have a gander at those good looking app interfaces then. Read [Sports Tracker] Via [Arctic Startup] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Gadgets / Other, ebooks The Nook Color is a surprisingly robust device. On the surface it appears to be a fancy ebook reader, but it’s also quite capable of performing the duties a mid-range tablet. The Nook Color is powered by Android, and some users have easily rooted the Nook Color to run Honeycomb, access the Android Market and enable Flash. According to a product page on HSN’s website, the Nook Color is getting an update in April which will add similar features. HSN will provide a sneak peek into the Nook Color’s upcoming features this weekend. If you want to check out the show, but can’t get HSN on television, their website streams shows. The first showing of the Nook Color’s new features will be this Saturday at 12am EST. April will bring a Nook Store to the device that will house new apps for users to enjoy. HSN lists Angry Birds, Drawing Pad and Lonely Planet Phrasebook as some of the Nook apps that will be available. The Nook Color will also get built-in email functionality. This will probably come in the form of another app that will take the place of checking email through the built-in web browser. The web browser is also getting Flash support provided by Android 2.2. Via [HSN] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Communications, Smartphones, Mobile  In as little as a few days, the Android Market will finally get a feature that has been present on iOS for what seems like forever. In-app billing is scheduled to go live sometime next week. Google hasn’t nailed down a specific date, but developers are now free to start adding in-app purchases to their applications right now.
In-app purchases are used to extend the life of mobile applications. Developers will be able sell new services and items to consumers with great ease. By keeping consumers engaged within an app, developers have the opportunity to earn a lot more money than usual. The image you see to the right is an example of the Android Developer Console. Developers can start uploading whatever they want to offer as an in-app purchase right now. They can also provide prices for those add-ons. Once that’s complete, developers can test those purchases to make sure the experience will be seamless to consumers. Google also stressed to developers how important it is to make sure their in-app purchases are secure from potential hackers. Developers also have to be careful to not repeat the same mistakes that were made in the Apple App Store. It became too easy for children to rack up large bills through microtransactions in certain games. Apple changed its policy regarding in-app purchases in iOS 4.3 in response to this. Via [Android Developers Blog] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Computers, Mobile Computers, Software / Applications  Independent and small developers will have to wait a little longer to get a legitimate copy of the Android 3.0 source code. Google has decided to keep the Honeycomb source code safely locked away for an undetermined amount of time. Google chose this direction because the company doesn’t think Honeycomb is quite ready to be torn apart by eager techies. This is an uncommon move when you consider Google’s track record of keeping Android open to anyone.
When you think about it, Google’s open attitude in regards to Android has been a gift and a curse. Android has become the most widely distributed operating system for mobile devices. At the same time, there is no universal standard for running Android. Hardware manufacturers from all over have created Android-powered devices of both superb and abysmal quality. Google most likely doesn’t want the same thing to happen with Android 3.0 so soon. The Honeycomb source code is only available to big manufacturers such as Motorola and Samsung. These companies have a better chance at making Honeycomb look good than individuals with limited expertise. Google knew Honeycomb’s source code wouldn’t be ready immediately. According to Business Week, Google’s vice president for engineering Andy Rubin said the team “took a shortcut” to release Honeycomb on time. Google didn’t have time to see what needed to be done to optimize Honeycomb for smartphones. Despite the delay, Google stands by its belief that Android is and will continue to be an open-source project. Via [Business Week] Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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