Kamis, 31 Maret 2011

What's new on SlashGear.com

What's new on SlashGear.com

Dell Venue Pro Receiving Windows Phone 7 Update “Copy and Paste” Starting Today

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 02:14 PM PDT

In addition to a Windows Phone 7 update, users of the Dell Venue Pro will be being sent a separate update for the handset that will provide additional enhancements and fixes. There’s no ETA on this update, but the WP7 update is indeed rolling out to users today, March 31, 2011. This update is known as “Copy and Paste” and will continue to be released in a phased fashion over the next few weeks.

This set of updates will come to you in three separate cycles. First there’s an update known as the “February Update” which you may well have already received. Without this update, you cannot update to the Copy and Paste update. Once you’ve got the first, you can start working on the second – Copy and Paste will also be sent over the air and downloaded by you essentially automatically (with notification, of course.)

What the Copy and Paste update will do, in short, is give you faster app speed and gaming load times, tweaks to the Marketplace, tweaks to Outlook, and more. The process which you must go through is thus, provided to us by Dell themselves:

Connect your Venue Pro to a machine that has the latest Zune software installed. If you want to manually check for the update, launch the Zune software, click the Phone link, then choose the View Synch Options button, and click Update on the left hand side.

When I clicked update, it notified me that I needed to update my Zune software first.

Next, I started the Phone Update process.

The whole process took about 20 – 25 minutes for me overall. The longest part was creating the backup.

Then, I got the confirmation that the update was successful.

After the update, my Venue Pro shows the OS version as 7.0.7390.0 (in the About section under Settings):

Simple, right? Apparently this update also adds speed to loading everything overall, Facebook, Twitter, Neflix load and movie playback included.

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The PS3 Is the Best Entertainment Device

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:46 PM PDT

When it comes to being entertained in the living room, there are some things that practically all consumers are looking for. They want a device that's affordable, offers a nice selection of content, and can survive the next few years without becoming obsolete.

Admittedly, there are many such devices on store shelves right now. Consumers can opt for the Apple TV, Roku's set-top boxes, and even HDTVs that come with built-in apps. The choices are endless, and for the most part, the entertainment opportunities are, as well.

But if I were to choose a single device that can best them all and deliver the kind of entertainment that would satisfy just about any customer in the living room, it would be hard not to pick Sony's PlayStation 3.

Now, I know that there are some out there — especially Xbox fans — that hear that and scoff. For years now, they've heard people say that the PlayStation 3 is the go-to platform for entertainment, and they're sick of hearing it. But the fact is, the PlayStation 3 is offering the best entertainment options in the living room today. And as worthwhile as the Xbox 360, Apple TV, and Roku set-top boxes are, they can't match the PlayStation 3.

Sony's console delivers just about everything entertainment-seekers are after. It comes with a Netflix app, Hulu Plus, the ability to listen to music, and support for 3D content. It's also a game console, which means those who want to play a video game, rather than watch a few shows, can do so. It also boasts support for online gaming for those who spend most of their time engaging in that activity.

That alone would make the PlayStation 3 a good buy for consumers. But when one considers that the device also comes with a Blu-ray drive, and its player is widely considered one of the top options on the market, it quickly becomes clear that the device's $300 price tag is a downright bargain.

If you're still not convinced, think of it this way: for $100, you'll get an Apple TV that can handle all your iTunes content and let you watch Netflix. You can also rent content, and access both Flickr and Internet Radio. It lacks gaming and a Blu-ray player. The same can be said for Roku set-top boxes, which offer a host of entertainment options, but lack those extra elements.

The Xbox 360 comes close to matching the PlayStation 3. It has all the same features as its chief rival in the gaming space, as well as the same price. However, it lacks a Blu-ray drive, which as 1080p sets enter more and more homes, is jumping higher on the average consumer's list of desired features.

As someone who has spent ample time in the living room enjoying all forms of entertainment, I simply don't see any other device that can deliver the same value proposition as the PlayStation 3.

Are there better game consoles? Perhaps. Is accessing Netflix content easier on the Apple TV or my HDTV? Sure. But for $300, those who are looking for a single option that will satisfy all their needs simply won't go wrong with Sony's console.

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Amazon/Google Ramping Up Interest in NFC

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:20 PM PDT

According to the site Near Field Communications World, Google and Amazon.com are both showing some interest in Near Field Communications, or NFC. Google has joined the NFC Forum as a Principal member, which allows them to use their own in-house facilities to conduct NFC Forum certification testing. Amazon, also is showing serious interest in the technology, considering expanding Amazon Payments to include payments via mobile phones. Read more about these developments after the cut.


No word on what Google plans to do with the NFC technology, but being able to test in-house is a big benefit to confidentiality.

Amazon has more concrete objectives. They are “considering the introduction of a service that would let consumers pay for goods in brick-and-mortar stores using their mobile phones, according to two people with knowledge of the project,” a Bloomberg report states. Amazon is also looking at creating NFC-based marketing services. Using the service, if you were shopping for clothes and couldn’t find what you want in your size, you could tap your phone against the item’s NFC tag and locate the item for order on Amazon.

Amazon has an app for the iPhone, called Price Check by Amazon that lets you compare prices by scanning bar codes, snapping pictures or typing the name of the product, but this would be taking things a step further, kind of like “one-tap” orders.

Amazon will decide when and if to unveil the mobile payment service sometime in the next three to five months, according to a unnamed source within the company.

[via Near Field Communications World]

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A New Concept for Rechargeable Batteries – USB

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 12:36 PM PDT

When my son was born, and his vibrating bouncy seat started eating through AA batteries like jelly beans, I bought rechargeable batteries. But I found them kind of a pain. They didn’t always charge back up very well, and it took a long time to charge them. Therefore, the battery charger is now in a drawer, and while we still go through AAs like crazy for all those electronic toys, I just buy regular batteries. But if this concept design comes to light, I might just switch back. Continuance is a battery with a USB port right in the side.


As a bonus, and this might be the more popular feature, the batteries can provide a charge to USB-chargeable devices while on the go. Just plug your charger into the battery, then into the device, and get some extra power. The only drawback would be needing to charge them one by one, but I’m sure there is an easy solution to that. This is just a concept, but I’m encouraged to see them in actual packaging. Maybe it won’t be too long before this concept is a reality.

The battery is an IF Concept Design entrant for 2011.

[via Yanko Design]

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eBay Sales of iPad 2 are Brisk Due to Limited Supply

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 12:11 PM PDT

Demand is still far ahead of supply for the iPad 2, which has proved to be quite a boon to eBay sellers. AppleInsider was able to get initial iPad 2 sales data from eBay, which shows what models are the most popular, and who is buying them. Most of of the units (65%) are being sold in the U.S., showing that even though the device has been out for a few weeks now, there is still a shortage.


By contrast, only 35 percent of eBay sales of the original iPad were to the U.S. The Wi-Fi only 16GB model is the most popular, with 30% of all sales, with the second most sought after option being the 3G 64GB version at 23%. And resellers are making a bundle, selling for quite a bit above retail. The 16GB Wi-Fi model sells for $198 average above retail, and the 64GB model sells for $406 over the asking price.

eBay has been much stricter with iPad 2 selling rules, only allowing Apple authorized resellers to list 50 items per week, and top-rated sellers four items per week. With the iPad, there were no limits for resellers, and eBay top sellers could list 8 items per week.

Apple has improved estimated shipping times, however, with new orders shipping in three to four weeks. They have also begun selling the iPad 2 at RadioShack.

[via Apple Insider]

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Google’s Facial Recognition App Found Falsified by CNN

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 11:46 AM PDT

Google has just reached out to us to let us know that CNN has reported entirely false information on what they’re calling a Google Facial Recognition app. In fact, as Google tells us, there is no such app, and any functionality like what CNN has reported on will not be implemented in any Google application until they’ve got full privacy policy and more in place. Google’s privacy model for this functionality is currently not in place, nor have they reported or noted when this will be complete.

In a disappointing bit of reporting by CNN, there’s been a story written up saying that Google is “introducing a mobile application” that will recognize the face of the user and store said data. The official word we’ve been told firsthand from Google is the following:

“We are NOT “introducing a mobile application” (as the CNN piece claims) and as we’ve said for over a year, we would NOT add face recognition to any app like Goggles unless there was a strong privacy model in place. A number of items "reported" in the story, such as a potential app connecting phone numbers, email addresses and other information with a person's face, are purely speculative and are inventions of the reporter.”

We hope that this situation will encourage CNN to improve their research department and report more responsibly in the future.

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play Review

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 11:14 AM PDT

Frankly, it’s a surprise it’s taken them this long. The idea of a PlayStation phone hasn’t been so much a persistent rumor as it has a cellular cloud hanging over both Sony and Sony Ericsson. It overshadowed the launch of the PSP Go and has been responsible for untold speculation about terse relations between the divisions. Throw in more pre-announce leaks than average, and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play has quite the reputation to live up to. Can the first gaming-centric Android smartphone deliver both the polished day-to-day experience we now expect, and live up to the PlayStation branding? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

The family similarity between the PSP Go and the XPERIA Play is obvious. Both have a slide-out gaming keypad and a chubby little body: 119 x 62 x 16 mm for the Sony Ericsson, 128 x 69 x 16.5 mm for the Sony. Even so, Sony Ericsson manages to fit in a larger display, a 4-inch panel running at 854 x 480 resolution. Colors and viewing angles are fine, but brightness falls well short, being mediocre indoors and oftentimes unusable outside. That’s with the backlight set to maximum, too; there’s no auto-brightness option, though we can see that the XPERIA Play is indeed adjusting in relation to ambient light (cover the top section of the phone and the screen dims automatically).

Above the display is a front-facing VGA resolution camera and proximity sensor, while underneath are four frustratingly spongy buttons for back, home, menu and search. The power/lock button is on the top edge, while the 3.5mm headphones socket and microUSB port are on the left side, set into a slice of chrome-finish plastic. On the right side are the left and right gaming shoulder keys – more on which in a moment – and, centrally, a volume rocker; we consistently had trouble pressing the latter, thanks to their slightly recessed position and the tendency of the slide mechanism to open slightly with any pressure. On the back is a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash.

Of course, it’s the gaming controls that have prompted the most interest. Slide up the spring-loaded display – something that’s easy to do one-handed – and you find a D-pad, PlayStation-style face buttons (triangle, square, circle and cross), and two touch-sensitive analog controls that attempt to mimic the physical analog pads on a DualShock. On the bottom left is a second menu button (useful, since it means you needn’t reach up to tap the fascia key) while on the bottom right are select and start buttons.

The physical keys are good, nicely sprung and responsive, just as you’d hope. Sony Ericsson’s analog pads take a little more getting used to, however. The center dimple makes finding them without looking straightforward, but without a physical limit to how far we could move our thumb – as you’d get with a real stick – we sometimes found ourselves overshooting and slipping off the control altogether. As for the shoulder buttons, they’re bizarrely wobbly and flappy, though broad enough so that our fingers found them easily.

Build quality and hand-feel is a mixed bag. The slide is sold, and generally the XPERIA Play feels reassuringly weighty, but Sony Ericsson’s choice of plastics smacks of cost-cutting. The matte silver of the gamepad is sturdy and tactile, but the glossy black battery cover and screen surround feel cheap. While the tubby little chassis makes for a noticeable bulge in the pocket, it makes holding the XPERIA Play in landscape orientation for gaming more comfortable.

Under the hood it’s a pretty standard Android phone, with a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, Adreno 205 graphics, 512MB of RAM, 400MB of internal storage and a bundled 8GB microSD card. Pop off the battery cover and there’s a 1,500 mAh pack along with the memory card slot and SIM slot; the latter two can be accessed without removing the battery, and the microSD is automatically unmounted when you remove the cover. Although you can pull the SIM without powering down the phone first, we did find we had to power-cycle anyway if we wanted the XPERIA Play to reconnect to the mobile network once we’d slotted it back in.

Connectivity includes quadband GSM/EDGE and then various configurations of UMTS/WCMDA depending on location; there’ll also be a CDMA version for Verizon. WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and of course microUSB 2.0 round out the main specs, along with some surprisingly effective stereo speakers.

Software and Performance

Sony Ericsson’s big push for 2011 is keeping its Android installations up to date, and hopefully avoiding the same software debacle as affected the XPERIA X10. The XPERIA Play runs Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread, on top of which is Sony Ericsson’s custom UI; however, the company tells us that they’ve been careful this time around not to cement the two elements together. That, so the promise goes, should allow them to update the underlying OS more readily, or indeed tweak the custom software without demanding a whole new Android ROM be pushed out.

Obviously there’s no way to know exactly how well that will translate into the real-world, at least until the first Android platform update is available. Sony Ericsson obviously has a vested interest in making it as streamlined as possible, considering the fall-out over its first generation devices, but we imagine there’ll still be some delay between Google releasing new versions of Android and them arriving on the XPERIA Play.

What you do get is Timescape, Sony Ericsson’s social networking app, which pulls together Facebook and Twitter updates into a single stream. As before, there are flickable cards on a homescreen widget – each with profile pictures – and the XPERIA Play will link up your contacts with recent Twitter updates. Sony Ericsson has also added some widgets of their own, including a PlayStation game carousel, data traffic monitor and various media controls, all with a rather elegant UI skin that replaces Gingerbread’s black and lime green with blues and plenty of transparent effects. Happily it doesn’t slow the system down noticeably, either, though Timescape can suffer a little lag as it updates.

We ran Quadrant, the Android benchmarking tool, and the XPERIA Play scored 1403. That puts it in-between the Desire S, which managed just 1147, and the Incredible S, which hit 1559, both of which use the same MSM8255 chipset but have 50-percent more RAM. Meanwhile, in SunSpider browser benchmarking, the Sony Ericsson scored 5582.9ms (lower is better). In general use the browser was satisfactory, though we did see some stuttering when zooming on heavier pages.

Games

Open the controller slide and the handset automatically shifts into gaming mode, with a two-tab XPERIA Play UI showing a side-scrolling list of titles you already have on the smartphone and what else is available to download. Tapping any of the latter takes you into the regular Android Market; alternatively a smaller Market logo automatically searches for anything labeled “XPERIA PLAY optimized.” As of testing there are 40 titles to be had, with prices ranging from free to around £5/$7.99. Sony Ericsson preloads Bruce Lee, FIFA 10, Star Battalion HD and The Sims 3.

Of course, Sony has a catalog of PS One titles to mine, and so there’s also the “PlayStation pocket” app. This shows your recently played titles, the pre-loaded Crash Bandicoot and, if you hit the tiny search button, gives you five more options: Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, Jumping Flash, MediEvil and Syphon Filter. Tapping any of those takes you into the Android Market again, though oddly Sony’s own PS One titles don’t show up in the XPERIA Play app and there’s no apparent way to combine the two sets of games.

It’s all more than a bit confusing, and we can only assume that Sony was loathe to allow its titles to get mixed up – and potentially eclipsed – by third-party games. The end result, though, is more menu jumping than we’d prefer to see, which gets in the way of simply gaming. Sony Ericsson’s idea to have a game-theme UI auto-load when you slide open the controls is sensible, but it needs to be more consistent and self-explanatory.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play hands-on:

Games themselves are a mixed bag. Those from the Android Market are scaled to fit the WVGA display, but PS One games are 4:3 aspect and so end up with black bars on either side. Alternatively you can zoom or stretch the game to fit, but neither looks especially impressive. Only certain titles make use of the analog pads, and you’ll likely spend some time digging through the settings to make sure the controls are mapped out as you’d expect them to be; it will probably take a while before developers begin coding specifically for the XPERIA Play’s gamepad. Get a call while you’re playing, meanwhile, and it’s title-dependent as to whether you can resume afterwards from where you left off, or if the game shuts down completely and you have to hope there was a recent save-point.

Camera

Sony Ericsson has stuck with the regular Gingerbread camera interface, which is short on settings but at least relatively straightforward. It’s easy to flick between the front VGA camera and the rear 5-megapixel camera, as well as toggle into camcorder mode. Considering the emphasis on imaging quality Sony Ericsson has placed on its 2011 range of handsets, though, the absence of 720p HD video recording is baffling. Instead, you get WVGA resolution clips at 30fps, which are blurry and uninspiring.

XPERIA Play video sample:

Stills are crisp and clear however, and we prefer the XPERIA Play’s shots to what the Desire S produced. Colors are nicely balanced, and while there’s no dedicated macro mode, close-ups are kept nicely in focus. The LED flash is, like most of its ilk, woefully underpowered in truly dark situations, but does a reasonable job in moderate low-light environments. Pinch-zooming of photos is smooth and responsive.

Phone and Battery

No great surprises when it comes to phone performance from the XPERIA Play, with par for the course in-call quality. The speakerphone is a little louder than most, thanks to the boosted speakers. There’s obviously Bluetooth headset (and stereo A2DP) support.

Sony Ericsson suggest users will see up to 6 hours 25 minutes of 3G talktime (8 hours 25 minutes of GSM) or up to 413 hours of 3G standby (425 hours GSM). Alternative they predict up to 5 hours 30 minutes of solid gaming. In practice, with a mixture of browsing, push Gmail turned on, a few photos and some gameplay, we coaxed a day’s use out of the XPERIA Play before it required a recharge, again pretty standard for a current Android device. Nonetheless, heavier gaming will see runtimes take a tumble, and of course that means you’re not only without your games platform but your phone (and camera, and PMP) as well.

Wrap-Up

As we said before, the rumors about Sony Ericsson making a PlayStation phone with plenty of Sony gaming input aren’t new. Neither are the mutterings that Sony execs refused to allow the cellular partnership to use the PlayStation brand, over fears that a sub-par product might dilute its appeal among the gaming community. So, where does that leave the XPERIA Play, a device which gets to wear half the branding from each company?

Frankly, you can see why Sony might be cautious, and the XPERIA Play doesn’t quite deliver the knockout punch that will instantly dispel their concerns. The gamepad works, and the premise of playing PS One titles while mobile is brilliant, but there’s still a disconnect between Sony Ericsson’s hardware and the games on offer. Part of that is the simple number of titles to choose from – six from the PS One and a bigger handful of Android games – but there’s also the more concerning fact that even what’s available already isn’t the polished experience we’d hoped for.

That will likely improve in time, though there are hardware concerns – such as the dim display and some of the cheap plastics – that won’t. Sony has ambitious plans to get Android gamers involved in beefing up the number of titles that will run on its own NGP handheld, and that should deliver a significant boost to the software ecosystem; problem is, the NGP isn’t expected until sometime in Q3 2011, meaning it might be six months or more before that boost actually happens.

Can a single-core Android handset maintain its allure until that point, even with the USP of a physical gaming keypad, given the current pace of the smartphone market? Sony Ericsson’s target market occupies the space between casual gamers content with normal touchscreen control and hardcore gamers for whom only a dedicated console will do. The scope of that market will depend on how quickly it can draw in games developers: the XPERIA Play is a solid device that will live or die by its software.

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Google Working on Facial Recognition App [UPDATE: False!]

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 10:58 AM PDT

Google is busy at work on a mobile app that will use facial recognition technology to identify people and access their personal information using photos found on the web. So presumably, if you were to Google someone using the app, you would not only get their information, but also photos of them, even if they are not labeled.


Privacy concerns? Google is way ahead of you. Remember, this is the company with the motto, “Don’t be evil”. They will require an opt-in checkbox to participate in the service. And they are working to add layers of security and privacy to make sure that you will be found only if you want to be.

If you are not wholly reassured, I don’t blame you.

Google has had this technology for some time, but has been delaying it to make sure it launches in the right way. They will not say when the product will be released, or even give a rough timeline. When it does, we will have to see if all of Google’s precautions have paid off. This could be a cool feature, or it could be a disaster.

UPDATE: We’ve been updated by Google directly saying that the original CNN report of this story was entirely falsified by the reporter responsible for it. Check out our full report [here], including quote.

[via PopSci]

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Windows Phone 7 Drawing Developer Interest

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 10:28 AM PDT

Microsoft has reported that there are 1,200 new developers joining the AppHub community each week, showing that there is considerable interest in building apps for Windows Phone 7. Even though the platform has only been available to consumers for four months or so, the developer tools have been available for over a year. And celebrating that first year of Windows Phone development, Microsoft’s Brandon Watson has come out with a list of statistics that help to show the progress of Windows Phone 7 AppHub and the developer community.


All 1,200 new developers may not be working on Windows Phone, though, since AppHub also includes Xbox Live games developers. But 40% of registered developers have published an application in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Other Numbers

There are 36,000 paid members of the AppHub community, and the developer tools for Windows Phone have been downloaded 1.5 million times.

There are 11,500 apps available for download for Windows Phone, and Watson hastens to point out that Microsoft has been careful what counts as an “app”, excluding things like wallpaper and not allowing competitors apps to run on the platform “to increase “tonnage”". According to Watson, “we believe we have the standards and processes in place to continue ensuring that customers have the ability to quickly and easily locate and acquire quality apps and games that extend the value of their phone.”

Also, 7,500 of WP7 apps are for pay, and 1,100 are funded by ads. While the Android Market started with only 50 apps and grew to 10,000 in one year, the overwhelming majority of those apps were free, and there was much less oversight on what was allowed. Apple’s App Store launched with 800 apps in 2008 and grew to 50,000 in one year.

Looks like developer interest in WP7 is strong, and the app marketplace is growing at a healthy rate. As more handsets become available, it will be interesting to see how things play out.
[via The Windows Phone Developer Blog]

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BlackBerry Touch aka Monaco/Monza caught in wild

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 10:07 AM PDT

Perhaps the most interesting device from RIM’s leaked 2011 roadmap has been caught in the wild, the BlackBerry Touch (aka Monaco/Monza). The all-touch smartphone has found its way into BGR‘s clutches, who have wasted no time in sharing hands-on photos of the BlackBerry OS 6.1 device.

According to their sources, the Touch will not be part of RIM’s existing Storm line, and in fact the Canadian company has supposedly axed that range altogether. It takes SureType with it, the little-loved “physical touchscreen” technology. What OS 6.1 seemingly brings is a switch from a BlackBerry PIN to a BlackBerry ID, which looks like it could be a link to various new cloud services.

Very little in the way of new details from this particular leak, so we’re assuming the specs hold true from the original roadmap: that would make it a 1.2GHz CDMA/UMTS World Phone hybrid with a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen and 5-megapixel camera with flash. RIM will apparently make the BlackBerry Touch official – along with the BlackBerry Bold Touch, BlackBerry Curve Touch and BlackBerry Torch 2 – at BlackBerry World 2011 in May.

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Logitech Introduces Blazing Fast 5Ghz Wireless Router in Japan

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 09:42 AM PDT

If it is speed you are looking for, better start packing for Japan. Logitech has just announced a new Wireless LAN router, the LAN-WH450N/GR with speeds we can only dream of here in the US. The router is set to be released sometime in April, and boasts download speeds of 450Mbps. And no, that is not a propeller on the top.


The Logitech Japan site calls this a “triple antenna router”. And it will retail for 19,950 Yen, or about $240. The router supports 5GHz bandwidth on IEEE 802.11a/n, and gives you 450Mbps speed on compatible devices. The LAN-WH450N/GR comes with all the basic features you would expect on a router, with UPnP, Dynamic DNS, etc. And here is the shot from the Logitech Japan site, showing how lightning fast it is.

[via Akihabara News]

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Sunix VGA2788 USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter supports Full HD

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 09:25 AM PDT

DisplayLink‘s USB graphics technology has made adding multiple screens to notebooks straightforward, but there’s always a limit on performance thanks to the throughput potential of USB 2.0. Unsurprisingly, then, the latest breed of USB display adapters, such as Sunix’s imminent VGA2788, turn to USB 3.0 to allow for Full HD 1080p support.

In fact, it will go all the way up to 2048 x 1152 resolution, and demands just 400mA. Output is via a single HDMI port, and you can either mirror or extend your existing desktop. Up to four VGA2788 units can be used at any one time (assuming your computer’s CPU can keep up).

It’s backward compatible with USB 2.0, of course, though you’ll probably lose some pixels in the process. No word on pricing or availability at this stage.

[via Everything USB]

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ASUS Eee Pad Transformer at Best Buy Soon for $400

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 08:04 AM PDT

After having looked at this lovely new Android tablet in person yesterday, it connecting nicely to its keyboard bottom and hosting a nearly final build of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, we’re quite excited to see it popping on on Best Buy for a mere $400. One of the contention points for recent Android tablet announcements has indeed been the price, prices inevitably compared to Apple’s $500 wifi-only iPad trumping most of the competition, but here we’ve got a possible price competitor!

This tablet is still not available for pre-order yet, and there appears to be no Best Buy release date, but “coming soon” might be encouraging enough to wait by our screens clicking reload. Is it for you? Here’s some specs for if you’re unaware: 10.1″ IPS display sizing up at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution covered with Gorilla Glass. Inside you’ll find a fabulous NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB flash storage.

Additionally, there’s a 1.2-megapixel webcam on the front, 2x USB 2.0 along the sides, Bluetooth 2.1 inside, and it’ll be connecting along 802.11 b/g/n Wifi. This unit weighs 2.2-lbs and has a thickness of .5-inches. Feel free to take a closer look with us in our ASUS Eee Pad Transformer first-impressions video and photo gallery. Then of course get the rest of the prices and release dates from our price and date guide.

[via Android Community]

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Apple 3D camera patent application promises quality boost

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PDT

With 3D the Next Big Thing in mobile devices, it comes as little surprise that Apple should be considering the technology, at least as far as patents are concerned. A new Apple patent application, “Systems and Methods for an Imaging System using Multiple Image Sensors” has been spotted, describing using separate luma, chroma and depth/distance sensors to more accurately create 3D pictures and video.

In what Apple describes as a “paradigm shift” for 3D photography, the proposed setup would add a depth sensor – which could be lidar, radar, IR triangulation, acoustic, light-based or something else – to a pair of cameras independently grabbing luma and chroma data. Rather than, as with current 3D systems, attempting to align the images using edge-detection and software-based extrapolation, the more precise distance data would allow for a hardware system to combine the 3D output.

Apple argues its hardware approach would not only be more accurate but reduce load on the host device, as well as allowing for the introduction of further sensors – such as infrared – to reduce noise and other elements. There’s no telling whether Apple’s patent interest will graduate to a full 3D camera array on a future iPhone or iPad, of course.

[via Apple Insider]

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HTC April 12 Event: Pyramid or Honeycomb tablets?

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 06:06 AM PDT

HTC had no shortage of new devices at CTIA 2011 last week – the HTC EVO 3D being perhaps the highlight – but there’s still more to come. The company’s UK arm has just sent out invites to a press event on April 12 to “see what’s next” in the HTC pipeline.

There’s an interesting liquid-metal theme to the invite, though we’re not sure whether that’s a giveaway as to the identity of the device or devices HTC might be showing. Most likely candidates are the HTC Pyramid and the European version of the HTC EVO 3D (with GSM support rather than CDMA for Sprint).

Of course, it could also be a new Windows Phone device, though so far we’re yet to hear of any leaks or rumors suggesting such a handset is in the pipeline. Meanwhile, HTC is also believed to be readying two more tablets, running Android 3.0 and with screen sizes around 10-inches (rather than the Flyer‘s 7-inch panel) so it could well be one or both of those. We’ll find out for sure on April 12, so join SlashGear then for all the details!

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mSpot Music adds 5GB of online storage

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 05:49 AM PDT

With Amazon unveiling its Cloud Player music service recently, mSpot has felt the need to add a new and important feature to keep up. mSpot has now announced that it is offering users of its music service 5GB of online storage space.

That is enough space for quite a bit of music and that music can be streamed to all sorts of devices like the iPhone, Android, and PCs or Macs. The music can also be streamed to web-connected TVs as well. Users can upload their tunes to the mSpot Cloud and start listening wherever they go.

The mSpot service launched in June 2010 for the Android platform and in December 2010 for the iPhone. So far it has 1.2 million downloads. “We think we have a better service than storage lockers with a simple ‘player’ User Interface – and in order to remove any price barriers we’re going to offer 5 GB free storage. Going forward, we expect that the market for storage will be very commoditized and price-driven; but unique music services like mSpot will appeal more to music listeners looking for a complete experience on both the mobile and computer,” said mSpot CEO Daren Tsui. “The music locker is only one component of mSpot Music – which is actually a complete cloud music service that will soon include a unique music discovery offering that builds on everything we’ve learned from our customers over the last year.”

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Netbook Navigator NAV7 Slate PC Tablet hits pre-order

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 05:25 AM PDT

If you like the idea of a tablet, but you have been waiting for a tablet to surface with Windows 7 onboard so you can use some of your apps from your notebook or PC a new options is here. The NAV7 Slate PC running Windows 7 has turned up and is now available for pre-order. The tablet runs Windows 7 and has lots of features that sound more like a netbook than a tablet.

The machine weighs in at 1.25 pounds, uses a 1.6GHz Intel processor, and can have up to 2GB of RAM. The tablet stores to a 1.8″SSD with up to 64GB of storage. It also has a pair of USB ports for connecting accessories.

Other features of the tablet includes a front webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional 3G modem inside. The screen is 7-inches and has a 1024 x 600 resolution. The battery promises four hours use per charge and the tablet has an accelerometer and more. The pre-orders are underway right now starting at $649 and shipment is expected to kick off in May.

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HTC Flyer official video hits YouTube

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 04:58 AM PDT

HTC has offered up the official video for the HTC Flyer Android tablet on YouTube. The tablet looks pretty cool and one of the coolest features is the stylus that lets you write on anything on your screen and lets you draw right on the tablet as well.

The HTC Sense UI looks very interesting. This is the first time we have seen the official video offered by HTC even though we already know most of all there is to know about the Flyer. We even saw some promo material for T-Mobile leak not long ago.

The Flyer has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution screen, will run on the HSPA+ network at T-Mobile for the US and a WiFi only version will be coming too. That stylus is one of the coolest features and the Flyer has a single core processor inside.

[via Android Community]

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Adobe shows off Photoshop for iPad

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 04:31 AM PDT

If you are a fan of the iPad tablet and have used some of the less powerful photo editing apps on your tablet before you will like this. Adobe has shown off a real Photoshop app for the iPad at its Photoshop world symposium. The new app promises to allow you a much better photo editing experience and lots more.

Adobe offered up a live demo of the new app. One of the key features for the new app is the ability to use layer animation to give a look at what is going on behind the scenes in the app with your photos.

When the full app will land isn’t known, but photography types should like the idea of more interaction with photos for editing while on the go using the light iPad. Check out the video demo at the source below.

[via Photography Bay]

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IntelliGuard Systems adds flash storage to RAVENAlert

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 04:20 AM PDT

There have been some high profile and tragic shootings on college campuses and many schools are taking to technology to alert students when there are emergency issues. Some campuses are using a system called RAVENAlert from IntelliGuard Systems to warn people when emergencies arise.

The RAVENAlert system is a small device that can be hooked to a bag or to a key ring that looks like a flash drive, it’s actually wirelessly connected device with an LCD screen that the school can use to send messages out to students and faculty. The system can warn all connected devices at one time within 20 seconds.

The company that makes the RAVENAlert device has announced that it has now crammed a flash drive inside the device to make it more useful to users. Inside the alert device is now a 4GB flash drive. The device also has a digital clock and uses a rechargeable battery. The small portable screen works with wall units for classrooms and large LED display for common areas.

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Harry Winston Opus Eleven looks awesome

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:59 AM PDT

I can really appreciate how good designer watches look. I would never buy one though. Geeks don't really wear watches today. This is perhaps the most awesome watch ever and it is called the Harry Windows Opus Eleven. It reminds me more than a little of Mickey Mouse though.

It’s nothing like that mouse on the inside; this watch has the most awesome movement I have ever seen. The shards of the numbers inside the main face align together at the right time to make a number that looks like its digital. You can see all the workings exposed too making the watch even more interesting.

The top mouse ear on the side has the minutes, in the image above it would be 11:30. With all the intricate parts and cool style along with the designer name on the watch, you know this thing isn’t cheap. The watch sells for $250,000 making this timepiece more expensive than my house.

[via Uncrate]

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iPad accounted for $9.566B out of $9.6B in tablet sales in 2010

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:46 AM PDT

I have an original iPad and I really like it, I can certainly see why the tablet did so well on the market. Take into account that for much of 2010 it was the only media tablet on the market and you can see why the numbers for tablet sales in 2010 were so lopsided. According to numbers released by Gartner, the iPad accounted for almost every bit of the tablet sales last year.

Gartner reports that $9.6 billion was spent last year on media tablets by consumers. Out of that number, the firm has Apple selling $9.556 billion worth of iPads. A little math will leave all other tablets that were on the market last year selling a combined $34 million in revenue.

IDC’s numbers showed that the iPad had 83% of the market last year. This year is likely to be even better for sales of iPads with the iPad 2 on the market. There will be more competition this year and a few of the tablets may have what it takes to make this a two horse race. IDC still figures that the iPad will grab 70% of the tablet market in 2011 putting a cool $20 billion into the coffers in Cupertino.

[via BetaNews]

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Verizon 2011 roadmap leaks showing the way to new Android gear

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:35 AM PDT

Verizon Wireless’ roadmap for 2011 has leaked on that map are a bunch of X’s marking a hoard of new Android devices that are inbound for the network. The Casio Commando is one of the Android devices on the map. It is a rugged smartphone that will be welcome by field workers and those that tend to not take good care of their gear.

The next smartphone is the Samsung Charge also known as the Stealth and Droid Charge. This will be a 4G phone and is set to land on April 7. The list shows off the big handsets that we have been talking about too. The Xperia PLAY still coming on April 14 along with the HTC Incredible world phone on the 28th.

After April showers leave and the May flowers bloom we will see the LG Revolution on May 5. The last three new Android devices will include the Motorola Bionic, Droid X2, and the Samsung Galaxy S II. Looks like the next few months will be happy ones for Android fans on Verizon.

[via Andorid Community]

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Apple offers up new OS X Lion build for devs

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:19 AM PDT

If you are an Apple fan, you have undoubtedly heard at this point that the focus of WWDC this year will supposedly not be hardware but the OS X Lion operating system for Macs and iOS for the iPhone and iPad. Apparently, the first version of Lion that was offered up for devs to check out had a lot of bugs in it. Apple is also said to consider this new build to be a GM1 revision.

That first offering stayed just the way it was for a month and now TechCrunch reports that Apple has put a new updated version of the OS up for devs to download and try again via the Mac App Store. Normal geeks can’t get the OS, it’s only for developers.

The original version of Lion that was offered was 11A390 and the new version that is up as of now is 11A419 so in that month time there have been many revisions. TechCrunch reckons this isn’t the golden master copy that will be produced since we are so far out form WWDC and that is where Lion is expected to be launched or at least a RC will be handed out.

[via TechCrunch]

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Samsung Galaxy S Plus i9001 official: 1.4GHz, Gingerbread and Super AMOLED

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:15 AM PDT

Samsung has outed its latest iteration of the Galaxy S, the Samsung Galaxy S Plus i9001. Initially headed to Russia at the end of April – where it will launch as the Galaxy S 2011 Edition – the new version packs a 1.4GHz processor along with the same 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display of the original.

There’s also 8GB of internal storage, HD video recording and playback, and a bigger, 1,650 mAh battery with a new metal back panel to cover it. The Galaxy S Plus i9001 runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with Samsung’s own TouchWiz 3.0 on top.

The new version will be priced at 23,990 rubles ($844) when it lands on Russian shores at the end of next month. No word on broader availability, but we’re guessing this new 2011 edition will be slotting in as the single-core mid-range device in Samsung’s range in a number of markets.

[via Android Community]

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Geek makes slingshot that shoots machetes

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 03:06 AM PDT

I vote this guy most likely to lose a finger. If you watched the Walking Dead, you know that we have to be ready for the zombie hoards at any time. One geek is ready with his own homemade slingshot gun that doesn’t fling any namby-pamby rocks or BB’s. This slingshot is for the zombie killer with vision and slings machetes, not the Danny Trejo type mind you.

This thing appears to be cobbled together out of scrap wood left lying around. Don’t worry about the builder though, should those thin pieces of surgical tubing and wood happen to break he is protected by what may be the only Esprit shirt to survive the 80′s, a green jacket and one of those face shields people wear when they grind things.

I just have the sense that this thing is a really bad accident waiting to happen. Still it’s cool, I just hope the next time we see this dude he has both eyes and all his fingers.

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Samsung 22-inch transparent LCD displays hit production

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 02:53 AM PDT

Samsung has announced that it has begun mass-production of 22-inch transparent LCD displays, with two models – capable of either black & white or color images – in the first range to be offered. Rather than a traditional backlight, the 1680 x 1050 displays (which have 500:1 contrast ratios) use ambient light to illuminate them; Samsung has boosted transparency to 15-20% (over 5% in normal panels) so that sunlight is enough to make the picture visible.

Inputs include HDMI and USB, and Samsung reckons that power consumption is down by 90-percent over traditional displays as well. Users can look straight through them, like glass, and while it envisages advertising and “interactive communication” uses initially, there are also some very appealing transparent notebook prototypes floating around.

No word on pricing at this stage, nor when the displays – which only went into production this month – will actually go on sale.

[via OLED-Display]

Press Release:

Samsung Electronics Becomes the World's First in Mass Production of Transparent LCD Panel

SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced today that it began mass production of a 22-inch transparent LCD panel in March this year.

"Transparent displays will have a wide range of use in all industry areas as an efficient tool for delivering information and communication. With the world's first mass production of the transparent LCD panel, Samsung Electronics plans to lead the global transparent LCD market by developing various applications."
The panels come in two types, the black-and-white type and the color type, and they have a contrast ratio of 500:1 with WSXGA+ (1680*1050) resolution.

Compared with the conventional LCD panels that use back light unit (BLU) and have 5% transparency, Samsung's transparent LCD panel boasts the world's best transparency rate of over 20% for the black-and-white type and over 15% for the color type.

The transparent LCD panel has a high transparency rate, which enables a person to look right through the panel like glass, and it consumes 90% less electricity compared with a conventional LCD panel using back light unit. It's because a transparent LCD panel utilizes ambient light such as sun light, which consequently reduces the dependency on electricity for generating power.

Also, Samsung's transparent LCD panel maximizes convenience for not only manufacturers but also consumers by incorporating the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

Transparent display panels have endless possibilities as an advertising tool, which can be applied to show windows and outdoor billboards or used in showcase events. Corporations and schools can also adopt the panel as an interactive communication device, which enables information to be displayed more effectively.

Younghwan Park, a senior vice president of Samsung Electronics LCD Business, said, "Transparent displays will have a wide range of use in all industry areas as an efficient tool for delivering information and communication. With the world's first mass production of the transparent LCD panel, Samsung Electronics plans to lead the global transparent LCD market by developing various applications."

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Coffee Joulies will keep your tongue from burning

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 02:52 AM PDT

I am not a coffee drinker, my wake up and get going drink is a nice can of Dr. Pepper. I know some people that simply can’t function if they don’t have their coffee in the morning. If you are one of these sorts that must have coffee to get going and you are too impatient to wait for your brew to cool Dave & Dave over on Kickstarter have a project that you need to help fund.

The project is called Coffee Joulies and they are larger than life stainless steel coffee beans. Inside the polished, shiny shell is some sort of secret non-toxic material. That material inside is a solid at room temperature. Once you drop a few of the Coffee Joulies into you cup of Joe that material starts to melt.

As it melts, it soaks up some of the heat from your drink making it a comfortable temperature faster. The coolest part is that while the shiny beans cool your drink down to start, once the solidify on the inside the absorbed heat is released back into your drink keeping the coffee warmer for longer. The makers claim these things will cool your coffee three times faster than normal and keep it warm twice as long. Win!

[via Kickstarter]

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Three UK gets HSPA+ modem: up to 40% faster [Video]

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 02:18 AM PDT

UK carrier Three has announced its first HSPA+ USB modem, which will be headed to the network on April 7 and, it’s claimed, offer 40-percent faster speeds than the existing HSDPA dongles. The Huawei E367 has a rotating USB plug rather than an easy-to-lose cap, and will be available on both pre-pay and a rolling one-month contract.

On pay-as-you-go, the “1GB Ready To Go” package – which, unsurprisingly, includes 1GB of data – will be £69.99; on a rolling one month contract the modem will be £49.99 and then £15.99 per month for 5GB of service (or with no upfront charge and 5GB for £18.03 per month on a 24 month contract). Existing customers will also be able to upgrade their existing Three dongles for a one-off payment of £59.99.

[youtube ynFR04gbuUY]

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Dell Streak 7 tablet UK launch detailed; Stage to get sync upgrade

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Dell has priced and dated the Dell Streak 7 for its UK launch, with the 7-inch Android tablet expected to hit the market at the end of April 2011. The 3G and WiFi equipped tablet will be sold by Dell direct, SIM-free and unlocked, for £299 (including VAT and delivery); that matches the price Samsung is expected to ask for its WiFi-only Galaxy Tab.

The main difference is screen resolution, with Dell lumbering the Streak 7 with a WVGA display where the Galaxy Tab has a crisper 1024 x 600 panel. For more on the Dell tablet, check out our original review of the US version from back in January.

Meanwhile, Dell told Android Community that it was readying updates for its “Stage” UI system – found on both its Android smartphones and tablets, and on its main PC and notebook range – to turn the app into a cross-platform synchronization tool. Among other functionality, it would automatically transfer photos between devices, such as pulling new images taken on the Streak 7′s 5-megapixel camera onto your PC for later viewing.

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Sony Ericsson confirms XPERIA Play shipping delay; will miss April 1 release on some carriers

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:59 AM PDT

Sony Ericsson has confirmed shipping delays that could mean the XPERIA Play might miss its April 1 release date in the UK at some carriers and vendors. SlashGear was contacted by several XPERIA Play pre-order customers who had received a Vodafone update that, due to a hiccup in Sony Ericsson’s delivery process, their pre-orders would not arrive on April 1 as promised.

Sony Ericsson has confirmed the issue – the full statement is below – but suggests that the issue will not impact all retailers. Meanwhile, Vodafone has given us a statement – also below – that suggests the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc is also delayed. However, the carrier also claims the delay has nothing to do with the firmware issues that caused O2 to delay the XPERIA Play earlier this week.

The exact stores where the XPERIA Play can be found from Friday has not been detailed, but we’d recommend calling around if you’re desperate for a handset on launch day. We’re told the “freight issue” will mean the delay is a matter of “days rather than weeks.”

Sony Ericsson Statement:

We can confirm that the Xperia™ PLAY handsets are still planned to launch in the UK for 1st April, as originally communicated. However, as of today, we have experienced a freight issue that may impact the number of Xperia™ PLAYs arriving at some retail outlets. This said, consumers can purchase Xperia™ PLAY as of April 1st at a number of stores across the UK.

Vodafone UK Statement:

Sony Ericsson has advised us that it will not be able to supply the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and Arc devices to meet their original launch date of 1 April. Unfortunately, this means there will be a small delay before pre-order customers receive their orders and the device is made available for sale in our shops.

We’re working closely with Sony Ericsson to ensure our customers’ phones are delivered as soon as possible and we will contact people directly with specific timescales when we know more.

We appreciate this is disappointing and are doing our very best to resolve this as quickly as possible.

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Microsoft demands EU antitrust investigation into Google

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:42 AM PDT

Microsoft is demanding the European Union begin an antitrust trial investigating Google, with the company planning to make an official request today. According to Microsoft’s Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Brad Smith, the company is ”concerned by a broadening pattern of conduct aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative” and points to two interventions by the US Department of Justice as evidence that steps are required to “thwart Google's unlawful conduct from impeding fair competition.”

Now, Microsoft argues, the same Google slap-down needs to be carried out in Europe, where the company is already responsible for around 95-percent of search. Smith points to a number of cases there Google has limited rivals’ access to data and thus impacted their ability to create competitive products, such as preventing the Windows Phone OS from accessing YouTube metadata.

Microsoft is upfront about the potential irony of the situation; after all, it itself was the subject of European Commission investigations. On that matter, Smith says:

“Having spent more than a decade wearing the shoe on the other foot with the European Commission, the filing of a formal antitrust complaint is not something we take lightly. This is the first time Microsoft Corporation has ever taken this step. More so than most, we recognize the importance of ensuring that competition laws remain balanced and that technology innovation moves forward.”

Google is yet to comment on the allegations.

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Amazon chasing Cloud Player deals over label “bad blood”

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:27 AM PDT

Amazon may have taken a cavalier attitude toward music licensing issues when it launched Cloud Player, but behind the scenes it’s believed to be scurrying desperately to secure new streaming deals with labels. According to a WSJ report, Amazon is in talks with the four major record labels “aimed at minimizing bad blood”; the retailer had only informed labels as to its intentions with Cloud Player the week before the service launched.

The exact nature of those deals is unknown, amid disagreement over whether Amazon’s implementation of cloud-based storage and streaming actually requires different licensing at all. Previously Cablevision won the right to stream copies of customers’ shows from a “remote DVR” service; however, that system could only be accessed by one user at a time, whereas Amazon Cloud Player can stream one track to up to five separate people simultaneously.

The Cablevision deal also insisted that the company hold a separate copy of each TV show for each customer; that could soon become unwieldy for Amazon’s system. Instead, it’s believed the retailer is pushing for licenses whereby it could maintain a core database of popular tracks from which all users would stream, significantly reducing the amount of server space required.

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Acer CEO quits over product development disagreements [Updated]

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:17 AM PDT

Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci has resigned, stepping down from the company with immediate effect. Acer claims the change – which will see chairman J.T. Wang take the acting CEO role in the interim – was down to Lanci holding “different views from a majority of the board members” which “could not reach a consensus following several months' of dialog.”

Lanci and the Acer board “placed different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation.” The company has struggled to differentiate its new tablet and smartphone range from the competition, especially in the tablet segment which Apple’s iPad dominates.

Although not spelled out in Acer’s release, it appears that Lanci could have held more ambitious intentions for mobile devices than the board was comfortable with. Wang says Acer will “invest cautiously” in such products from now on, and that “the personal computer remains the core of our business.”

Update: Acer has announced a new EMEA president, Walter Deppeler. Full press release below.

Press Release:

Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci resigns

With immediate effect

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (March 31, 2011) – Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci has resigned from the company, with immediate effect. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang takes acting role in the interim. The company has commenced with the planning of organizational and operational adjustments for the sustainable future of Acer.

The resignation was approved at a meeting of Acer's Board of Directors today, and the company has communicated internally with its worldwide employees.

On the company's future development, Lanci held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following several months' of dialog. They placed different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation.

The change does not affect current operations which are functioning as normal. Acer's strong management team of multi-nationals has been well-informed and is committed to overseeing and implementing the company strategies, as does the amicable company relations with industry partners persist. Acer will continue to push for globalization, follow its multi-brand and channel business model, develop competitive products and services, and foster closer relations with key vendors and channel partners.

Acer Chairman, J.T. Wang expresses, "The personal computer remains the core of our business. We have built up a strong foundation and will continue to expand within, especially in the commercial PC segment. In addition, we are stepping into the new mobile device market, where we will invest cautiously and aim to become one of the leading players."

"In this new ICT industry," continued Wang, "Acer needs a period of time for adjustment. With the spirit of entrepreneurship, we will face new challenges and look to the future with confidence."

In his role as President and CEO, Lanci has contributed significantly toward Acer's growth. The company expresses its true appreciation for Lanci's efforts and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

Press Release:

New Acer EMEA President – Walter Deppeler

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (March 31, 2011) – Acer announces the appointment of Acer Deputy President of Acer EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Walter Deppeler as the new Acer EMEA President, with immediate effect.
Gianfranco Lanci, who served as both CEO and President of Acer Inc., and President of Acer EMEA, resigned from the company on March 31. Hence, Walter Deppeler becomes new President of Acer EMEA.
Born in Baden in 1957, Deppeler joined Acer in 1997, and currently serves as Senior Corporate Vice President of Acer Inc. and as Deputy President of Acer EMEA. He has extensive sales and marketing experience in the region, and has contributed significantly toward Acer's growth.
Deppeler will take over the strong foundation in EMEA laid by Lanci, and lead the EMEA management team to pursue further growth. EMEA is Acer's largest market, and where our notebooks rank No. 1.

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Google +1 embeds recommendations into search [Video]

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 01:07 AM PDT

Google has launched a sharing button of its own, competing for space with Facebook’s “Like” button and the Twitter “Tweet” button. Google +1 takes advantage of the search engine’s huge user base, flagging up the recommendations of your friends and contacts directly on the search results page; as long as you’re signed in, you’ll see positive feedback on the results your friends approve of.

Video demo after the cut

Initially +1 buttons will only be found in among Google search results, but eventually the company plans to offer the same functionality to third-party sites to include. That will allow readers to flag up good content directly in the search results, rather than requiring them to go to Facebook or Twitter to see recommendations.

[youtube 4RyY2-ofP4g]

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Google puts Android on lock-down: Non-fragmentation contracts, standardized ARM chips, more

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 12:43 AM PDT

Google’s approach to Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the version of its OS designed for tablets, has drawn criticism recently over the search giant’s refusal to release the source code to OEMs; now, it seems, that could be part of a push to reduce fragmentation. According to DigiTimes‘ sources, Google is considering “standardizing” not only the Honeycomb software but collaborating with ARM to standardize the chipsets Android 3.0 will run on. Meanwhile, BusinessWeek claims execs from multiple big name companies have confirmed that Google now insists on “non-fragmentation clauses” from partners hoping to have the earliest access to Android code, limiting the changes they can make to the UI, services and apps, and even which companies they can partner with.

The exact nature of each of those standardizations is not spelled out, so it’s hard to say how the plans, if followed through, would sit with the open-source nature of Android at present. One suggestion the sources make is that it would mark a shift in Google’s strategies to something closer to Microsoft’s approach, where partners are limited in their access to the underlying code.

If true, the move could increase consistency and, with more boilerplate chips, smooth the upgrade process for device users. While Google is yet to comment, it’s interesting to note that in our discussions with ASUS yesterday at the launch of the Eee Pad Transformer, one of the company’s representatives pointed out that Google had been displeased with the custom battery-level wallpaper ASUS had developed, apparently suggesting that ASUS modified the core code in order to make it.

That fits with BusinessWeek’s multiple sources, which claim Google has been clamping down on OEM individualization. While project lead Andy Rubin argues limits have always been part of the Android contract – such as the criteria which must be satisfied if a device wants to sport “with Google” branding – the leaks suggest Google has recently tightened its policies. Facebook’s moves in Android have apparently been frustrated by Google’s demands to see all code tweaks, and it’s alleged that the company attempted to delay the release of Verizon smartphones that replaced Google search with Microsoft’s Bing.

LG, Toshiba and Samsung are all believed to have been affected by the new policies, and it’s alleged that the US Justice Department has received complaints over how Google handles Android and its OEM partnerships.

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Samsung installed laptop keyloggers claims researcher; Company launches probe [Update: False alarm]

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 12:23 AM PDT

Samsung has been accused of installing keylogger software on its notebooks by security researchers, and has launched an investigation into the allegations. Mohamed Hassan claims to have discovered the StarLogger keylogger software on both a Samsung R525 and R540 notebook, each factory-fresh, when running basic scans. He says a Samsung tech support agent told him that “We just put it there to find out how the computer is being used.”

“This key logger is completely undetectable and starts up whenever your computer starts up. See everything being typed: emails, messages, documents, web pages, usernames, passwords, and more. StarLogger can email its results at specified intervals to any email address undetected so you don’t even have to be at the computer your[sic] are monitoring to get the information. The screen capture images can also be attached automatically to the emails as well as automatically deleted” Mohamed Hassan, Network World

Samsung has quickly responded, with spokesperson Jason Redmond saying “We take these claims very, very seriously” and that “We have no understanding of a relationship with [StarLogger developers de Willebois Consulting] and we have no prior knowledge of this software being on our laptops.” de Willebois Consulting is yet to comment.

Unsurprisingly, privacy advocates and their lawyers are already circling. If the installations were indeed at Samsung’s behest, then the company could face both civil lawsuits and challenges from states over consumer protection laws.

Update: That was quick; Samsung has explained that the result is a false positive, thanks to security app VIPRE mistaking a Slovenian language file folder as StarLogger. [Thanks aiden9!]

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Fiber Optics: Past Copper

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 05:15 PM PDT

Most of the active connections to this globe spanning network we all love to hate come in the form of cable or DSL. Modulated electric signals get transmitted over metal wires, coaxial or twisted pair respectively. These technologies transmit the internet as most experience it. Verizon has begun to break down this model with it’s FiOS fiber optic lines, but they have been really slow to roll out. They’ve only managed to cover 10% of the households in the United States. AT&T isn’t doing much better at getting Fiber to the people, U-Verse (where most AT&T fiber customers fall under) has even fewer subscribers than FiOS. Fiber-optics, while ten or a hundred times faster than the connection you’re probably using, isn’t available most places, yet. We wrote about Google’s Fiber Project earlier today.

Data speed is like oxygen, right? Oxygen you take for granted until it disappears. And then it becomes everything.

Cable and DSL weren’t originally designed to transmit and receive digital signals. Originally it was all just the system of copper lines that transmitted analog signals for commercial telephone systems. DSL takes advantage of some property of electromagnetism that I don’t entirely understand to send the signal through the field surrounding the twisted pair. Cable internet, likewise, was bolted-on to the Cable TV system after-the-fact.

It’s not there already because the physical infrastructure that would actually funnel all of the clips of Katy Perry and Justin Bieber to millions of computers through laser beams just doesn’t exist. The beams are not there yet. This allows for some really smart and creative business minds (a.k.a. Google) to have an opportunity to fill these gaps, demand seems to be growing just a little bit faster than the old telecom giants are able to keep up. This is why this project is so important, this allows Google to begin investing some real capital into the Real Stuff that makes up the internet. This market has massive barriers to entry, and Google is taking the leap over the wall.

It’s not all on the telecoms to make these changes to the US network. The Federal government has gotten involved in spreading high-speed access. They have a website that promotes, “Broadband is the great infrastructure challenge of the early 21st century.” As a part of the National Broadband Plan those fine folks put together this interactive map of broadband coverage throughout the US.

Note though, Google’s entire project hangs on the approval of KC’s Board of Commissioners. I wonder how many telecommunications lobbyists linked with AT&T and/or Verizon made appointments, phone calls, or visits down to KC’s City Hall today?

This could give Google the leg-up it needs to start building it’s own broadband empire in infrastructure, the only place it matters. Google has been looking to open large parts of the US telecommunications networks, starting with the FCC Auction for the ~ MHz spectrum last year. They have been unsuccessful thus far. It doesn’t really matter that much to consumers which company gets to provide them with fiber. That’s a battle that’s going to be fought in board rooms and City Council meetings over the next decade or so. But the best part of this whole project, if it goes through… This will link the entire town of Kansas City together with hair-thin fibers of glass and laser beams, and that’s a step in the right direction.

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