Analysis

T-Mobile In Talks For A Sub-$200 Android Phone

Submitted by jive on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 23:39

Who says Android phones need to be expensive? The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mo is working with Huawei to add an inexpensive Android phone to their product line up, the Ideos.T-mobile would be the first carrier to have a phone made by Huawei, and the Ideos would be available for less then $200, vs. the $500 most Android phones cost without a contract.

The Ideos does have a smaller screen at 2.8 inches, but it still features GPS and Wi-Fi. Currently the Ideos runs Android 2.2 with 3G mobile hot-spot functionality, making it a sure winner for T-Mobile if the talks are successful. Huawei is also in talks with Cricket to bring the Ideos to their network.

[via Electronista] continue reading »»»

Hey Palm: Take A Deep Breath. Leaks Happen. Be Proud. [Updated]

Submitted by jive on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 20:03

Just days ago, Palm revealed a bunch of details surrounding webOS 2.0, which, as the name implies, is an upcoming major update to their webOS platform. Shortly thereafter, they released a big chunk of webOS 2.0 to a small section of their development community as part of a Beta program.

Almost immediately, someone unearthed one little bit that Palm didn’t intend anyone to find: a lingering mention of a virtual keyboard — something which webOS doesn’t have, and that Palm has yet to confirm as a feature.

So, what do you think Palm did? Did they pull the stone-face routine, and say they don’t comment on rumors and speculation? Did they send out an e-mail saying “Hey guys, we gotta be more careful!” and move on? Nope. They freaked the hell out.

That Beta program we mentioned before? It’s now closed until further notice.

Earlier, Palm’s webOS Developer Connection team tweeted out:

Because of the leak, we are freezing new admissions to early access for the time being. If you’re in queue, you’re going to stay in queue

followed by: continue reading »»»

Come to the Dock Side, Luke: R2-D2 Edition Droid 2 gets its own matching dock

Submitted by jive on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 18:32

Verizon’s got this crazy challenge going on over at the teaser page for the R2-D2 Edition Droid 2, wherein users are given clues that lead to special codes. Once one person finds and inputs one of these special codes, everyone gains access to a new section of the site, and the original finder scores themselves a free handset.

Fortunately for D2-devotees everywhere, the force was strong with a gent named David Holt.

Following the clues lead David to a Star Wars book on Amazon, and copying that book’s ISBN into the code input screen unlocked a handful of pictures of the R2-D2 Edition Droid 2′s thematically-matched dock. (Want to know how it all breaks down? You can follow the trail of clues here.) It’s essentially just a white dock with “Star Wars” scribed on the back — but you know what? Sometimes, including this time, simplicity just works. continue reading »»»

Motorola Pulls Out Another Full Page NYT Ad Aimed At Apple’s Head

Submitted by jive on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 17:24

Oh my, how I love some good ol’ fashion mudslinging.

“Flash Websites? There’s A Phone For That.”

To any ne’er-do-blog-read layman, the full page ad that Motorola just put in the New York Times might just seem oddly worded. To anyone who has even considered considering themselves a gadget geek — or has, at least, turned on their TV anytime in the past year and a half and seen Apple’s “There’s An App For That” campaign — there’s no question who this one’s aimed at.

This isn’t the first time Moto has done this. Heck, it’s not even the second. Moto pulled out two separate full page ads (here’s one, and the other) during the iPhone 4 Antennagate madness, lambasting Apple with tongue planted firmly in cheek. continue reading »»»

Twitter for iPhone/iPad getting push notifications soon

Submitted by jive on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 08:01

It seems that when the Twitter for iPad app launched a few days ago, a few users were accidentally blessed with push notifications. Those privileges have since been revoked, but it seemed to confirm that the option would be coming soon.

We’d dug up hints of this late last night over at TechCrunch, and were able to confirm with Twitter that push notifications are, indeed, coming to the iPhone/iPad soon, but it’s still being tested internally for the moment.

Twitter’s confirmation:

“When we launched Twitter for iPad, there was a configuration error that caused us to offer push messages to a small set of users,” wrote a Twitter spokesperson. We’ve stopped sending push messages, but users may see an option to turn on push until we release an updated version of the app.”

“We’ve been testing push notifications internally,” the rep continued. “Push isn’t ready yet, but we look forward to rolling this out soon.”

continue reading »»»
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