Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Motorola's Android Offerings A Challenge To iPhone?
Motorola has been long rumoured to be releasing a couple of android powered smartphones for the last quarter of '09. Now an android fan site, Android and Me, is reporting specifications on two devices that they say were obtained from a trusted insider. The phones codenamed Morrison and Sholes, if they indeed come as speculated here, will be serious iPhone challengers.
Unconfirmed Morrison Specs:
CPU: Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz
Memory: 256MB RAM
Flash Rom: 512 MB
Memory Card Type: microSDHC, Class 6, 32 GB supported (max)
Display: 320×480 (HVGA)
Accelerometer: 3-axis, Four-way screen rotation
Magnetometer; Proximity Sensor; Ambient Light Sensor
Voice Bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, W-CDMA 900/(1700 or 1900)/2100
Wireless: 802.11 b/g, WEP, WPA, 802.11i (WPA2)
Bluetooth Version: 2.0 + EDR
Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, GAP, HFP 1.5, HSP, SDAP, SPP
USB: USB 2.0 High Speed, Micro USB connector
Headset Jack: 3.5mm, Stereo out, Mic
Camera Resolution: 5 megapixels
Image Capture Resolution (max): 2560×1920
Camera Features: Autofocus, White Balance, Geotagging, Color Effects
Camera Digital Zoom (max): 5.4x
Video Recording Resolution: 320×240 (QVGA)
Video Recording Frame Rate: 25 fps
Location Services: Standalone GPS w/ internal antenna, Assisted GPS, E-Compass
Unconfirmed Sholes Specs:
CPU: OMAP3430 - 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX 530 GPU + 430MHz C64x+ DSP + ISP (Image Signal Processor)
Dimensions: 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm
Weight: 169 g
Battery: Li-ion 1400 mAh.
Standby 450 hours, talk time 420 minutes
3.7-inch touch-sensitive display with a resolution of 854×480 pixels, 16 million color depth. Physical screen size is 45.72 mm by 81.34 mm.
512MB/256MB ROM/RAM
microSD / microSDHC expansion slot
Camera: 5.0 megapixel with autofocus and video recorder
Connectivity: USB2.0, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Wi-Fi
Supported audio formats: AMR-NB/WB, MP3, PCM / WAV, AAC, AAC +, eAAC +, WMA
Supported video formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, WMV
GPS navigation
Monday, August 10, 2009
Who Cares About Breakfast, Do I Have Any E-mail?
After my morning shower I walk straight through the kitchen (no breakfast), down the stairs and hang a right to my office... and it appears that I am not alone. The New York Times has an article that discusses this trend, which I'd not really thought much about until I read this.
“Things that I thought were unacceptable a few years ago are now commonplace in my house,” said Dorsey Gude of East Lansing, Mich., “like all four of us starting the day on four computers in four separate rooms.”
“It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth and picked up the newspaper,” said Naomi S. Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, who has written about technology’s push into everyday life. “But what we do first now has changed dramatically. I’ll be the first to admit: the first thing I do is check my e-mail.”
Don't know about you, but I think it's time to take a step back and rethink this practice!
“Things that I thought were unacceptable a few years ago are now commonplace in my house,” said Dorsey Gude of East Lansing, Mich., “like all four of us starting the day on four computers in four separate rooms.”
“It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth and picked up the newspaper,” said Naomi S. Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, who has written about technology’s push into everyday life. “But what we do first now has changed dramatically. I’ll be the first to admit: the first thing I do is check my e-mail.”
Don't know about you, but I think it's time to take a step back and rethink this practice!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Top 10 Smartphones in US for Q2
IDC Research has released its' list of the top ten smartphones in the U.S. for the second quarter of '09. The list includess 4 BlackBerry devices and 2 iPhones:
- BlackBerry Curve (83xx series and 8900)
- Apple iPhone 3GS (both 16GB and 32GB versions)
- BlackBerry Pearl (81xx series not including the Pearl Flip)
- Apple iPhone 3G (8GB and 16GB versions)
- BlackBerry Bold
- BlackBerry Storm
- T-Mobile G1
- Palm Pre
- HTC Touch Pro
- HTC Touch Diamond
The top ten list broken down by smartphone platform:
- BlackBerry- 4
- Windows Mobile- 2
- iPhone- 2
- WebOS (Pre)- 1
- Android- 1
I expect the Androids to come on strong for Q4 with dozens of new phones promised.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Twitter, Facebook, And Others Affected By DOS Attack
A "single, massively coordinated attack" appears to have been the cause of problems experienced by users of Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, and Blogger yesterday. CNet news is reporting that a pro-Georgian blogger with accounts on all 4 of these sites was the primary target of a denial of service attack that affected traffic to the sites for much of the day Wednesday.
In a post on the official Twitter Blog, Biz Stone writes "Please note that no user data was compromised in this attack. This activity is about saturating a service with so many requests that it cannot respond to legitimate requests thereby denying service to intended customers or users.
We've worked hard to achieve technical stability and we're proud of our Engineering and Operations teams. Nevertheless, today's massive, globally distributed attack was a reminder that there's still lots of work ahead."
Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, told CNET News.
In a post on the official Twitter Blog, Biz Stone writes "Please note that no user data was compromised in this attack. This activity is about saturating a service with so many requests that it cannot respond to legitimate requests thereby denying service to intended customers or users.
We've worked hard to achieve technical stability and we're proud of our Engineering and Operations teams. Nevertheless, today's massive, globally distributed attack was a reminder that there's still lots of work ahead."
Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, told CNET News.
"It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him (the pro Georgian blogger Cyxymu) to keep his voice from being heard," Kelly said. "We're actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the back end and to take action against them if we can."
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Iowa 911 Call Center Accepting Emergency Text Messages
An emergency call center in Waterloo, Iowa, is believed to be the first in the U.S. to accept emergency messages via text. "I think there's a need to get out front and get this technology available," Black Hawk County police chief Thomas Jennings said.
John Snapp, a senior technical officer of Intrado, the company which upgraded the call center, says that calling is still be the preferred way to reach 911, but texting is a useful complement. A lot of kids already think they can text 911, he said.
The 911 texting is currently limited to one carrier within the area covered by the center but expect many more carriers and emergency centers to follow.
Source: Seattlepi
John Snapp, a senior technical officer of Intrado, the company which upgraded the call center, says that calling is still be the preferred way to reach 911, but texting is a useful complement. A lot of kids already think they can text 911, he said.
The 911 texting is currently limited to one carrier within the area covered by the center but expect many more carriers and emergency centers to follow.
Source: Seattlepi
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Space Agency Seeks Better Communications In The North
The Canadian Space Agency is launching a concept study into the possibility of sending two new satellites into orbit that could improve weather information, telecommunications and internet access in Canada's North.
"Right now, there is a gap in terms of coverage by telecommunications satellites. which are more or less located around the equator," Gilles Leclerc, the CSA's director-general for space technology told CBC News.
"Right now, there is a gap in terms of coverage by telecommunications satellites. which are more or less located around the equator," Gilles Leclerc, the CSA's director-general for space technology told CBC News.
"So, above 80 degrees latitude north, communications become very difficult."
If approved the satellites could be launched in roughly 7 years.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Palm Fires Back At Apple
When the Palm Pre was released one of the key selling points was it's ability connect to Apple's iTunes store. Apple however had different ideas and promptly went to work to block the Pre from iTunes. Palm has now filed a complaint with the U.S.B. Implementers Forum, the industry group that was established by the companies who developed the U.S.B. technology which, as we know, links computers to other electronic devices. Palm is claiming that Apple is restraining trade.
Mike Abramsky, an analyst with the investment firm RBC Capital Markets says: “There isn’t much precedent for this case,” and “It’s breaking new ground. In my mind, ultimately the users are the arbiters in the outcome of these situations.”
The fight with Palm combined with the refusal of Apple to allow Google Voice apps through iTunes store has begun to create a bit of an Apple backlash online. I guess the users will be the arbiters...
Source: The New York Times
Mike Abramsky, an analyst with the investment firm RBC Capital Markets says: “There isn’t much precedent for this case,” and “It’s breaking new ground. In my mind, ultimately the users are the arbiters in the outcome of these situations.”
The fight with Palm combined with the refusal of Apple to allow Google Voice apps through iTunes store has begun to create a bit of an Apple backlash online. I guess the users will be the arbiters...
Source: The New York Times
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Hand-Me-Up... Kids Keeping Their Parents In Technology
The Globe and Mail has an interesting article on what they are dubbing hand-me-up technology. A trend, that I can attest to, where kids are getting the very latest in technology and handing-up the old devices to mom or dad. In my case the iPod Nano that I use is a hand-me-up device from my son who now sports an iPod Touch, ironically I bought him both devices as presents. My "new" Nano replaces my old Shuffle which was also a hand-me-up.
Family therapist Joe Rich says this of the trend “It gives a sense of place and confidence. As kids grow up, they want to be seen as adults in the family,”
Family therapist Joe Rich says this of the trend “It gives a sense of place and confidence. As kids grow up, they want to be seen as adults in the family,”
According to the article "In a recent Angus Reid survey commissioned by Intel, almost half of the 502 postsecondary students surveyed said when they purchased a piece of technology, they passed their old one on to mom or dad. These “hand-me-up” MP3 players, cellphones and computers are the sorts of devices parents might not buy for themselves, but are happy to get second-hand from their kids."
Saturday, August 1, 2009
NHL 2K10 Trailer - Is Party Soon...
Check out the trailer for 2K Sports NHL 2K10 to be released in September, it seems all eyes are on OV!
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