This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 19, 2011: Opera Software, builder of the popular mobile browser, announced it was acquiring Handster, an app store platform that supports Android, WP7, BlackBerry, and Symbian. [ TechCrunch ] Samsung unveiled three new HSDPA feature phones destined for India: the Champ 3.5G (S3770), Primo (S5610) and Chat 527 (S5270). [ UnwiredView and SammyHub ] A leaked image indicates the HTC Hero S will be coming to US Cellular in the near future. The device appears to be the Kingdom, and is expected to feature a 1.2GHz single-core Qualcomm CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 4-inch qHD display and Gingerbread. [ PocketNow ] Speaking of US Cellular, the Motorola Electrify officially became available for purchase online this week (expected in stores on September 26th), and can be yours for $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate. [ AndroidCentral ] Wirefly accidentally outed press renders of the Samsung Stratosphere — on the retailer’s Pantech Breakout page. The images have since been removed. [ OwenJohnston ] A white version of the Samsung Galaxy S II is making the rounds in the UK , but we learned this week that Bell Canada will be launching it well before the holidays. Interestingly, the device in the image (seen above) has retained the global version’s three-button layout, a stark contrast to every other Galaxy S II device we’ve seen in North America so far. [ MobileSyrup ] Among the barrage of new phones Sprint’s releasing on October 2nd is the BlackBerry Curve 9350, according to another leaked employee memo. The price will likely be $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate. [ CrackBerry ] T-Mobile MVNO Simple Mobile announced a new unlimited prepaid plan for BlackBerry devices for $60 / month, which includes access to T-Mo’s HSPA+ network. [ N4BB ] Huawei appears to have outed press images of the Honor , which is said to have a 4-inch FWVGA LCD, Gingerbread, 1.4GHz CPU (no specifics known yet), and an 8MP rear camera accompanied by a front-facing cam (again, no details on the resolution here). [ EuroDroid ] A member of the iPhone Dev Team has released a new version of Redsn0w, its popular iOS jailbreaking software, known as 0.9.9b1. Check the link to get the full list of new features. [ Technobolt ] Mobile Miscellany: week of September 19, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iOS-controlled iW500 RC car defies gravity, paint job may drive you up the wall (video)
September 24, 2011 No Comment
Driving cars on the floor is so passe, which is exactly why you need iHelicoter’s wall-scaling iW500. We’ve seen similar gravity-defying propositions in the past, but this is the first to be controlled by your iOS device. Belying its 90s toy looks, the car attaches itself to vertical surfaces with a sealed vacuum that even has enough suck to drive upside-down across your ceiling. As you’ll see in the video after the break, controls are handled using the built-in accelerometer on your phone or tablet as well as the touchscreen interface on the dedicated app. It’ll join a crowded starting grid of iPhone-friendly RC cars, helicopters and monster trucks , priced at $59.99. Continue reading iOS-controlled iW500 RC car defies gravity, paint job may drive you up the wall (video) iOS-controlled iW500 RC car defies gravity, paint job may drive you up the wall (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We here at Engadget Mobile tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there, we’ve gathered up all the raw info you may want (but probably don’t need). Enjoy! Phones Read – Fujitsu F04D Read – HTC PI06110 Radar (AWS) Read – Huawei C2931 Read – Huawei C8511 Read – Huawei C8651 Read – Huawei G6050 Read – LG E510G Read – LG L85C Read – Motorola WX306 Read – Samsung GT-E2600 Read – Samsung SGH-I857 Read – Samsung SGH-I937 (Focus S) Read – ZTE Movistar Vega Read – ZTE V860 Tablets and peripherals Read – Archos A100H Read – Kobo Vox Read – Motorola HZ720 Read – Motorola KZ500 bluetooth keyboard Read – Samsung HM6000 FCC Fridays: September 23, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The ZTE Skate — spiritual sucessor to the Blade and current flagship — is pushing on with its global roll-out and it looks like it may reach the US. Now on sale in Hong Kong, Brazil and Spain, the Skate is rolling down the French Alps and into France and the UK , where the Orange-branded Monte Carlo (a Skate in phone network clothing) is already available. With a different ZTE device set to arrive on Cricket soon , the electronics giant also intends to bring this 4.3-inch phone to the US in the near future, though there’s nothing concrete on dates and prices just yet. According to ZTE’s executive VP He Shiyou, the company is set to launch “a total of 30 smartphone models” by the end of the year. We fear the company may run out of flat-shaped names before the end of November. Head on over to our Chinese site for some hands-on shots. Continue reading ZTE Skate launches worldwide, attempts to stick landing in the US ZTE Skate launches worldwide, attempts to stick landing in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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There’s a burgeoning population of users who can’t live without Splashtop’s remote Windows app for Mac , iOS and Android . Now there’s a new version in the works that’ll let you telecompute from your TouchPad too. The official blog says the launch is “getting close” and it’s offering the app free if you manage to persuade a bunch of other TouchPad users to register their interest. In fact, we can’t help but notice that some guy called Tim has already signed up 2,508 of his mates. We don’t know who Tim is, but we want to be just like him when we grow up. Update : Tim, the man with a commanding lead in the chart above, contacted us to say he asked Splashtop to remove him from the contest. He initially used the referral link in a post on PreCentral, not realizing that the company would be giving out the software to the top referrers. So, Tim is out, and now rawonthego is the man with the target on his back. Splashtop will bring remote desktopping to your TouchPad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Intel’s Skoool software brings study materials to healthcare workers in developing countries
September 24, 2011 No Comment
When we consider Intel’s contributions to developing nations, it’s hard not to hone in on the 5 million-plus Classmate PCs it’s shipped over the past four years. This time, at least, Intel is leaving the hardware part of the equation to the Lenovos and HPs of the world and focusing on the software instead. The company just announced the Skoool Healthcare Education platform, a collection of online and offline educational materials designed to help healthcare workers in developing countries better treat women and children, tackling malnutrition, vaccination, communicable diseases and childbirth safety. To be clear, Intel isn’t getting into the medical content business — it didn’t write these resources but instead culled them from various third-party sources. The idea is that the company will provide the platform to governments and healthcare workers for free, forgoing what might otherwise be an opportunity to collect licensing fees. (It’ll be up to local governments to work with companies like Dell to secure low-cost PCs to run the software.) For now, Intel’s launching the program in Sri Lanka, where it already has a working history with the President and Minister of Health, but a rep tells us the outfit hopes to expand the program to sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Central Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, reaching 1 million healthcare workers by the end of 2015. [Image courtesy of Intel] Continue reading Intel’s Skoool software brings study materials to healthcare workers in developing countries Intel’s Skoool software brings study materials to healthcare workers in developing countries originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Say hello to the Magnetic Cello, the perfect companion to your magnetic drum kit . Crafted by college student David Levi (AKA “Magnetovore”), the instrument vaguely represents a traditional cello in structure, but the similarities pretty much end right there. To play it, for example, musicians use not a horsehair bow, but a magnetic rod that produces a voltage within an attached coil (the “bridge,” in this case). Its “strings,” meanwhile, consist of resistive ribbons connected to a voltage-controlled oscillator, allowing users to manipulate volume with the magnet-bow. The result sounds surprisingly cello-like, though Levi says he’s still tinkering with its tone and playability. Waltz past the break to see the beast in action for yourself, or find more details in Levi’s provisional patent application at the link below. Continue reading Magnetic Cello almost makes it cool to play the cello (video) Magnetic Cello almost makes it cool to play the cello (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This whole thing is starting to play out like a giant game of patent Risk. As it did in Australia , Samsung is hitting back against Apple in the Netherlands , asking for a preliminary injunction aimed at Apple’s mobile line, including the iPhone 3GS , iPhone 4 , iPad and iPad 2 , claiming that the products infringe on 3G patents held by the Korean electronics giant. The proposed ban would prohibit importing the products into the country and would recall them from Dutch retail stores. Samsung asks Dutch courts to block iPad, iPhone sales originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony Reader WiFi almost ready to let you (multi)touch it, up for pre-order now
September 23, 2011 No Comment
Well, it’s been almost a month since we first pinched our greasy fingers across the Pearl E-Ink screen gracing the front of Sony’s latest e-reader , and your opportunity to do the same is quickly approaching. The 7-inch, Android-powered Reader is now available for pre-order (at the source link) for $150, just as expected. The current shipping date is listed as “on or about” October 16th, so if you put in your order now, you’ll still have a couple of weeks to wait. Still, if you could hold out six years for A Dance with Dragons , what’s three weeks to you? [Thanks, knowmadd] Sony Reader WiFi almost ready to let you (multi)touch it, up for pre-order now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sezmi’s cable / satellite alternative TV service to shut down Monday, won’t be missed
September 23, 2011 No Comment
It’s been almost two years since Sezmi launched its hybrid antenna and internet TV service, and now it has announced the dream of pay-TV without cable or satellite is dead. An email went out to customers tonight informing them the ability to view or record programming on their Sezmi systems would be shut off Monday, September 26th. The only compensation given for the sudden disconnect? Free access to the VOD catalog before that disappears too, on November 1st. The $20 / month Select Plus package that offered pay-TV channels over antenna never spread beyond Los Angeles , although users happy to settle for basic channels and online VOD had access in other markets . Still, we predict it won’t be missed simply because it doesn’t seem like many people ever signed up. Despite nice features like unique profiles for different household members, the limited sports selection cut off many early adopters from the beginning. The company is apparently trying to pivot into selling its technology to other service providers, we’ll wait and see if a Moxi-like resurgence is in the cards. Check out the letter to subscribers and our original video demo after the break while we plan a month-long memorial service for those soon-to-be-useless 1TB DVRs. [Thanks, John] Continue reading Sezmi’s cable / satellite alternative TV service to shut down Monday, won’t be missed Sezmi’s cable / satellite alternative TV service to shut down Monday, won’t be missed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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