Today is the International Day of the DROID. Well, not really, but Verizon did follow through and officially announced its new flagship Motorola Android device – DROID.
Along with the official presser, Motorola was also kind enough to provide some glistening press shots of the DROID, “A no-compromise supergenius” as they like to call it, along with an official DROID by Motorola Fact Sheet (all after the jump).
As many of you are aware, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple last week in the Federal District Court in Delaware. Nokia’s complaint alleges that Apple has infringed on 10 of Nokia’s patents for various, “fundamental” GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies. In particular, the patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Nokia believes that all 10 patents have been infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced back in 2007.
This brings up the question: Why wait until now, Nokia, to sue Apple? Clearly, without speaking directly to Nokia’s legal team, all of the following is pure (albeit educated) conjecture. Nonetheless, with intellectual property (i.e. copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets) becoming increasingly important and relevant to (technology) companies around the globe, it is worth taking a few minutes to explore some of the possible motives/strategies behind Nokia’s latest legal muscle flexing.
Short Version: Western Digital’s newest addition to its growing lineup of media players, the WD TV Live, essentially picks up where its older sibling (the great WD TV) left off. With the newly added networking capabilities via a built-in Ethernet port or USB Wi-Fi adapter (sold separately), the WD TV Live has taken Western Digital’s little black box to the next level. Be it photos, music, video (encoded with just about any codec under the sun), or the newly added access to YouTube, Flickr, Pandora, and Live365, the WD TV Live can handle just about any kind of media thrown its way. Overall, it is a highly capable, easy to use, and relatively affordable all-around high definition media player.
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What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate iFrogz’s Timbre headphones w/mic and their iPod touch 2G & 3G Luxe case. In a nutshell, the Timbre headphones (which work with both the iPhone and iPod touch) provide decent audio playback, a reasonably comfortable fit (thanks to the three different ear bud choices), and the convenience of a built-in microphone for voice memos, Skype, etc albeit for the slightly higher than desirable price of $49.99. As for the Luxe, it is mediocre at best with a suspect design and very little going for it, especially considering it runs $29.99.
Short version: Western Digital’s refreshed My Book Essential external hard drive provides a simple, unobtrusive, and relatively inexpensive home backup solution. With an enormous 2TB capacity, built-in WD SmartWare software, 256-bit built-in encryption with password protection, an “illuminated capacity gauge,” and a MSRP of $249.99, there is very little not to like here.
Late last night, around midnight if you really must know, the ATSC (aka the Advanced Television Systems Committee) ratified the A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard which “defines the technical specifications necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices using their digital television (DTV) transmissions.”
In other words, digital TV will soon be playing on mobile handsets all across the U.S. of A.
Rumors have been swirling about a Dell smartphone for what feels like an eternity. Sure, the Round Rock crew managed to launch a smartie over in China at the end of the summer, but until last week, a US-bound device was still more vaporware than fact…until now.
Starting all the way back in December of 2008, Acer let it be known that it was working on a self-branded smartphone. Then, this past June, Acer up and joined the Open Handset Alliance and said that it would release its first Android device by Q4 of 2009. Well what do you know. Q4 is here and Acer has actually put its money where its mouth was with the announcement of its first Android-based, Snapdragon-powered smartphone, Liquid.
Verizon Wireless is offering 25% off a trio of its QWERTY-equipped phones: the Motorola Rival, LG enV3, and the Samsung Alias 2.
Seems like just yesterday when we started to get a funny feeling about an official Rock Band for iPhone release. Turns out, our very own Inspector Gadget, one Mr. Kumparak, was spot on with his sleuthing – Rock Band for the iPhone / iPod touch was officially announced by Electronic Arts earlier today.
Oh, U.S. Senate. Just when we thought you had turned your collective attention to the plethora of incredibly important issues to tackle (read: healthcare, 2 wars, global warming, education, etc), you go and pass the Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009.
Hot off the presses! Samsung has announced a new Android-powered phone: the Moment. The new Android-powered Samsung Moment is the first Sprint phone to use Samsung’s new 3.2″ AMOLED touchscreen display and will feature a landscape sliding QWERTY keyboard. And it’s not priced all that bad either.
T-Mobile wants to help spread more holiday cheer this year. Thus, the the number 4 US mobile carrier announced that it will be offering “the broadest selection of Android-powered phones among national wireless carriers in the United States” to help make the 2009 holiday season the most droidish ever!
First came the rumors. Then came the leaked images. And now, 3 all-knowing (conveniently unnamed) analysts have predicted that Verizon’s long awaited foray into Android will happen some time next with the announcement of Motorola’s Sholes/Tao smartphone. The timing seems feasible, especially considering that Motorola is holding a MOTODEV Android-related press event next Tuesday, October 6 (WinMo 6.5 who?).
Think what you will, but we’re big believers in “keeping it real” ’round these parts. While we swoon whenever a new smart phone hits the scene, the vast majority are still stuck in the flip phone zone – and you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. Have no fear, flip fans, Verizon is here to fulfill all your flipping needs with the new Nokia 2705 Shade.
Great news, fandroids! The one and only FCC has just approved Sprint’s (rumored) second foray into Android – the Samsung InstinctQ.
The highly anticipated Motorola announcement has come and gone. After all the dust cleared, the world of Android handsets had grown by one – Motorola’s first Android-powered smartphone, CLIQ.
Western Digital has announced 5 new external hard drives of various shapes and sizes. The refreshed lineup represents WD’s shift towards “smaller, smarter, and safer” storage solutions. As a result, all of these new drives come standard with built-in automatic backup software, password protection, and 256-bit hardware encryption.
Way back in February, when iPhone OS 3.1 was but a distant “dream,” we posted 8 Little Things We Still Can’t Stand About the iPhone. More than half a year has passed and we can finally knock #7, “Arranging applications sucks something terrible,” off the list with the release of iPhone OS 3.1.
Looks like the never-ending “sync war” between Apple and Palm continues to rage on. According to numerous PreCentral forum contributors, iTunes 9 does NOT sync with their beloved Pres. What now, Palm?
Generally speaking, the preferred method for procuring a 1UP Power Up is collecting 100 golden Mario coins to smash your fist into a giant question mark block. BUT, if you’re really in need of a quick (and less painful) pick-me-up, grab yourself a shiny new radish, a paring knife, and maybe a Sharpie (for the eyes?!). Follow the visual instructions above and…voila! 1UP! Power Up!
After months of speculation (and frustration) MMS for the iPhone 3G and 3G S is officially arriving on September 25, AT&T has confirmed. This is a full 3 days after summer officially ends (AT&T’s original deadline was “late summer”) as our own MG pointed out earlier today, but like a lot of things with Apple/AT&T, better late than never.
Spotify, a free and increasingly popular music streaming service available on the other side of the pond (and currently by invite only in the US), has yet to launch an official Android Market app.
But not to worry. A group of Spotify fans have developed Droidify, an unofficial Spotify client for Android. The free app:
If I was the FCC, I’d start my own gadget blog in light of the fact that I’d have first dibs to all the new gear. Er, wait…nevermind. Scratch that, stick to your federal duties and leave the blogging to us.
Sony Ericsson’s newest (T-Mobile-bound) slider phone, the Cyber-shot CS8 (known elsewhere as the C905), has received approval by the FCC.
