Google’s reportedly trying to put all of its product eggs into one self-branded basket . According to Mashable , two of its most popular services — Picasa and Blogger — may go under the branding knife and come out the other side looking like ‘Google Photos’ and ‘Google Blogs.’ With the exception of the latter’s planned UI overhaul, both services should function exactly the same. The move — alleged to take place within the next six weeks — would unify the search king’s user offerings ahead of the public launch of Google+ . And if that social service’s rumored July 31st launch date pans out, we could be seeing this overhaul very soon. But don’t expect crown jewel YouTube to receive similar treatment, that site’s brand equity already sent its ugly step-sister — Google Video — to the grave . Picasa, Blogger to get renamed: now with more Google? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This Monday marked the 15th anniversary of the birth of Hotmail . That July 4th launch date is no coincidence — the service’s founders intended its release to highlight the symbolism of its independence from more traditional e-mail models. The following year, the service would be snatched up by Microsoft and housed under the software giant’s MSN umbrella. The subsequent years haven’t always been easy for the brand, thanks in part to competition from Yahoo and Google-owned services. In 2007, the service fired back, revamping and rebranding itself as Windows Live Hotmail. It’s been a decade and a half of ups and downs, but the webmail service continues to be one of the most widely used in the world. Got any Hotmail-related memories? Please share them in the comments below. Hotmail turns 15, checks spam folder for misfiled birthday wishes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …SK Telecom and LG U+ launch LTE in Seoul, fellow South Koreans seethe with envy
July 5, 2011 No Comment
Frustrated by a lack of choice amongst LTE carriers ? We sympathize, so join us while we ponder a relocation to Seoul where not one, but two major telcos — SK Telecom and LG U+ — have enabled access to the high speed protocol. Service began on July 1st for data devices (read: modems) while phones from Samsung and LG are scheduled to make an appearance this fall. While those in Seoul are already surfing at higher speeds, the LTE wave is slated to go nationwide by 2012 for U+ subscribers and in 2013 for those on SK. Still not enough 3GPP goodness for you? Add the nation’s third major carrier KT Telecom and their Q3 LTE trials to the mix, and we’ll know where to send you next time you’re hankering for delectable download speeds with a side of spicy kimchi. SK Telecom and LG U+ launch LTE in Seoul, fellow South Koreans seethe with envy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …SK Telecom and LG U+ launch LTE in Seoul, fellow South Koreans seethe with envy
July 5, 2011 No CommentFrustrated by a lack of choice amongst LTE carriers ? We sympathize, so join us while we ponder a relocation to Seoul where not one, but two major telcos — SK Telecom and LG U+ — have enabled access to the high speed protocol. Service began on July 1st for data devices (read: modems) while phones from Samsung and LG are scheduled to make an appearance this fall. While those in Seoul are already surfing at higher speeds, the LTE wave is slated to go nationwide by 2012 for U+ subscribers and in 2013 for those on SK. Still not enough 3GPP goodness for you? Add the nation’s third major carrier KT Telecom and their Q3 LTE trials to the mix, and we’ll know where to send you next time you’re hankering for delectable download speeds with a side of spicy kimchi. SK Telecom and LG U+ launch LTE in Seoul, fellow South Koreans seethe with envy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Try as you might to maintain your nonchalant demeanor, we know you’re fired up about the potential of the Wii U . Well, we won’t spill your secrets, but we thought you might like to know that Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, recently sat down with David M. Ewalt at Forbes to talk about the company’s upcoming console. You’ll find the full interview at the source but here are a few of the more interesting tidbits. As you may have guessed, the original Wii won’t be disappearing immediately. The two will be sold side by side in stores for at least a little while. Interestingly, while we already knew that games will be playable entirely on the controller, turns out there is nothing technically stopping the console from streaming other media to the portable screen — including content from your Netflix account. Sadly, you’ll be waiting till at least Q2 of 2012 to pick one up — as Fils-Aime revealed, the next-gen gaming device won’t launch until “after April 1st.” Wii U landing after April 1st 2012, may stream video to controllers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yes, what you’re looking at is a shackled Toshiba Thrive tablet out in the wild at Best Buy — not just waiting caged in a cardboard confine in some dreary stockroom. Though the device most likely won’t ship until until July 10th, “Dandroid” over at Toshiba Thrive Forums is reporting that his local Austin, Texas location is evidently neglecting that memo. The store apparently has several 16GB and 32GB WiFi models ready to fly off the shelves for $480 and $580, but we won’t hold our breath until we see a proper YouTube unboxing . Still, it may be worth a detour on the way home if you’re feeling lucky or just can’t wait any longer to inspect those full-sized ports. Toshiba Thrive tablet on display at Best Buy, possibly on sale too? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Representing a letter of the Greek alphabet can be a daunting task. The Nokia 700 “Zeta,” however, is busy getting primed for the massive duty on hand, indicated by a pair of possible press shots that surfaced from Indian site KnowYourMobile . A comparison of these new pics with the spyshots grabbed last week show very little difference besides the obvious color change, with the 1GHz, Symbian Belle-powered Zeta opting for a white front and chrome back instead of the black and candy-apple combo we saw previously. This could mean that, like many Nokia handsets before it, a rainbow of various hues will be available to choose from the moment the device launches. We sure hope that’s soon, because nobody wears white after Labor Day. [Thanks, Mark] Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ gets classy, dresses in white for leaked press shots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Representing a letter of the Greek alphabet can be a daunting task. The Nokia 700 “Zeta,” however, is busy getting primed for the massive duty on hand, indicated by a pair of possible press shots that surfaced from Indian site KnowYourMobile . A comparison of these new pics with the spyshots grabbed last week show very little difference besides the obvious color change, with the 1GHz, Symbian Belle-powered Zeta opting for a white front and chrome back instead of the black and candy-apple combo we saw previously. This could mean that, like many Nokia handsets before it, a rainbow of various hues will be available to choose from the moment the device launches. We sure hope that’s soon, because nobody wears white after Labor Day. [Thanks, Mark] Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ gets classy, dresses in white for leaked press shots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve gotten a few peeks at Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon chips, codenamed Krait, but now we’ve got a proper roadmap, including time frames for release, model numbers, and even details about the memory channels. Glancing at the slide above doesn’t reveal anything terribly surprising — the dual-core 8960 (LTE), 8270 (HSPA), and 8260A (HSPA+) will all be shipping to manufacturers later this quarter, in speeds ranging from 1.5GHz to 1.7GHz and come packing the latest Adreno 225 GPU. In Q3 of next year Qualcomm’s 28nm tech will trickle down from the high-end to mid-range phones, just ahead of the launch of those quad-core, 2GHz mobile monsters the company teased back in February. Check out the full PDF presentation at the source for more nitty-gritty details. [Thanks, Gadgeteer] Qualcomm Snapdragon roadmap leaks, Krait slithering on the scene soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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When it wanted to increase its search market share in the US, Microsoft sought out a partnership, resulting in a Yahoo-branded engine with Bing-flavored results. So, it seems natural that the company would look for a similar deal in China, the world’s largest market, where the company only manages a presence of around one-percent of search. This time, however, Microsoft’s managed a deal with the number one search engine, Baidu, which currently lays claim to three-quarters of the Chinese market — far greater than Google’s 20-percent or so. Baidu and MS announced a deal this week that will put Redmond in charge of English searches on the site. No money changed hands with the deal — Baidu gets advertising revenue, Microsoft gets a larger slice of China’s search pie, and we get an excuse to do an image search for Steve Ballmer on a Chinese search engine. Microsoft, Baidu strike China search deal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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