Feb 25, 2011

Microsoft pulls Windows Phone 7 update from Samsung phones until it can resolve issues

Such a big load of trouble for such a small update. Microsoft's first WP7 firmware refresh has been causing some unfortunate brick-like behavior in Samsung Omnia 7s and the company has wisely decided to pull the new software back until it can correct whatever's going wrong. An official communiqué toWinRumors says Microsoft has identified the issue at hand and is working to correct it and redistribute the update as soon as possible. For any Samsung WP7 phone owners who haven't been able to resuscitate their device yet, the advised course of action is to go back to the store and swap it for a livelier one.

Forget the white iPhone 4, white iPhone 5 rumors begin!



It's the perfect rumor: the officially delayed and frequently tattled white iPhone 4 has reemerged as the white iPhone 5 riding a horned stallion through virgin rumor fields. According to the Economic Daily News, the previously unheard of white iPhone 5 will feature a touch panel supplied exclusively by Wintek. If true, then the white iPhone 4, officially scheduled for a spring 2011 launch, should be available just prior to the launch of the next generation white iPhone 5, anticipated for a summer launch in keeping with Apple's typical launch cycle. Not exactly ideal, but hey, it's only the first of many related rumors to come. 

Microsoft pushing small update to Windows Phones to prepare for copy and paste update later on

Don't get too excited when you see this update notification pop up -- as far as we can tell, it's got nothing users will notice -- but we've just been told by Microsoft that the company is getting ready to send out the first software upgrade to Windows Phone 7 devices in the field early this week. It's being billed as a "minor update to help prepare" for the copy and paste stuff(which we're assuming is still targeted for early- to mid-March, per Ballmer's MWC keynote), though the exact timing of this first one will vary a bit depending on carrier. Oh, and a note before you hook up to try to grab it: it also required a recently-pushed update to the Zune software (or the Connector for Mac OS), so you'll need to get that first before restarting the app and looking for the phone firmware.

AT&T Motorola Atrix 4G now on sale, $149.99 at Amazon or RadioShack (update: $129.99 at Walmart)



The hotly reviewed and already rooted Atrix 4G is now on sale at AT&T. As expected, the privilege of buying direct from the carrier will set you back $199.99 with a two-year contract in the range of $39.99 per month for the Nation 450 on up to $69.99 for the Nation Unlimited with another $15 per month for a 200MB DataPlus plan or $45 per month for a Data Pro 4GB + tethering plan. Or shop on over to Amazon (or RadioShack) who lists the same HSPA+ device for $50 less with a 24-hour ship time. Remember, if you just have to have the laptop dock then you'd best do it now while it's offered with the handset in a $499 bundle (after $100 mail-in rebate and purchase of the Data Pro plan with tethering add-on) -- the same laptop dock purchased separately will cost you $499.99. No, really. Walmart is offering the Atrix 4G handset for a measly $129.99 for those of you activating a new account before Thursday.

Video - Researchers steal iPhone passwords in six minutes

Losing your smarpthone is bad enough. But if you lose your iPhone and don't issue a remote wipe command (available for free with the Find My iPhone app) then you could find yourself in a world of hurt. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute Secure Information Technology (Fraunhofer SIT) can jailbreak and decrypt passwords from the iPhone's keychain -- for say, your Gmail account, corporate VPN, home WiFi, and MS Exchange -- in about six minutes using existing, known e

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo video

The rumored Xperia Neo still isn't official -- we think we're probably looking at MWC next week for that -- but there are enough floating around at this point so that they're getting tested pretty thoroughly (or, at least as thoroughly as you can test a pre-production device). The latest tidbit comes via a series of videos and stills that put the phone's 8.1 megapixel sensor through its paces; frankly, they look a little washed out, but it's really common for camera performance to improve by leaps and bounds through firmware updates right up until a phone's commercial release so we don't want to sound the alarm quite yet. My Android Life has also thrown together a quick video walkthrough of the UI, where you see that Sony Ericsson seems to be standardizing on the same experience first seen on the Xperia Arc and later on the Xperia Play -- highly widgetized with a Gingerbread core. All things considered, it seems the Arc's a higher-end device -- but if the price is right, this Neo could win some hearts as well. Follow the break for the UI walkthrough. 

TI announces OMAP 5: two high-performance and two low-power cores, devices next year

Were the Dual core 1GHz processors for phones too much for you? Than how do you feel about 2GHz smartphone processors? We're still waiting for the first OMAP 4 devices to hit the market, but TI's planning ahead -- way ahead -- with its announcement today of the OMAP 5 platform that really kicks things into high gear. The headline feature would be the inclusion of two Cortex-A15 cores, each running at up to 2GHz; Cortex-A15 is the fastest architecture ARM has announced to date, featuring performance roughly 50 percent better than Cortex-A9 at the same clock speed. What's more, there are another two Cortex-M4 processors along for the ride, ready to take over less intensive tasks at much lower power consumption to improve device responsiveness. The platform can support up to four cameras operating at the same time, offer 3D playback, recording, and 2D upsampling to 3D at 1080p resolution, and control up to 8GB of RAM. The chips start sampling to device manufacturers in the second half of this year with retail devices expected in the second half of 2012.

Aava Mobile reportedly set to reveal Medfield-based Android / MeeGo phone at MWC

Want Android and Meego on the same phone? Will that be a dream come true? Well if you'll recall, Intel briefly showed off a Medfield-based phone late last month, and now we're hearing that Aava Mobile -- the same company responsible for a WoW-crunching Moorestown demonstration at Computex -- is poised to release a real stunner in Barcelona. Slashgear has it on good authority that Aava's second-generation Core design will be officially rolled out in a matter of days, complete with Intel Inside, an 8.9mm-thick chassis, Android and MeeGo. You read correctly -- both mobile operating systems will be supported. It's said that Aava doesn't actually plan on hawking these to consumers; instead, they'll be shuttled off to developers in order to promote its integrated ACPU and modem platform. 

SUBARU CONSIDERS CNG CONVERSION IN SWEDEN



Few automakers are better positioned to offer vehicles to buyers in frigid climates than Subaru, so the Japanese brand says it plans to capitalize on the strong Nordic market by upfitting its vehicles with compressed natural gas at a plant in Sweden. The automaker says it has signed a deal with Italy’s BRC Gas Equipment to convert brand new Subaru Legacy and Subaru Outback models to environmentally-friendly CNG and it is in talks with Saab about using a vacant facility owned by the Swedish automaker. Saab would not be involved in the project beyond renting out one of its holdings to Subaru. Hit read more for details.

Verizon iPhone 4 gets torn apart, Qualcomm MDM6600 chip found inside

Not exactly a huge surprise here, but the folks at iFixit have gotten their hands on a Verizon iPhone 4, and they've already torn it apart without even bothering to make a phone call. In addition to the expected differences, they found that the phone packs a slightly lighter battery than its counterpart (same capacity, though), that the mechanical vibrator has been redesigned and moved from the top right corner of the phone to the bottom left and, most notably, that it boasts a Qualcomm baseband chip, which lines up with what we've been hearing since last month. That's a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip, to be specific, which supports HSPA+ data rates up to 14.4 Mbps, and is the same chip used in the Droid Pro. Yes, that also means that the chip technically supports both GSM and CDMA, although Apple has apparently decided not to take advantage of that capability for one reason or another -- iFixit speculates that it may have been easier to design antennas for a CDMA-only phone. 

Google's 3rd Feb event full video! On Honeycomb on the Xoom, Android Market website, in-app purchases, and Cee-Lo Green


There was plenty about Google's Android event that didn't make headlines but was worth noting. Hardware acceleration of both 2D and 3D UI elements -- shown off to great effect by Google's Hugo Barra, who managed to scroll through three lists simultaneously without inducing any lag on the Motorola Xoom -- should make Honeycomb as delicious to look at as it sounds, while our personal favorite, the new tablet-specific email interface, should be part of Gmail yesterday. The email UI is built out of elements Google calls fragments, which will supposedly be easy to transition down to smartphones, so thumbs up all around. The video above also runs you through the big news of the day, namely that Android Market can now be accessed via a dedicated website and apps downloaded to your device remotely, along with the equally important (for devs) addition of in-app purchases. Finally, Cee-Lo Green pops in for a video chat session from wherever he is on the internets, and we're all treated to an exhibition of lag-afflicted, awkward conversation. What's not to love? Hit read more for the full video!

iOS no accounts for over 2% of GLOBAL internet traffic!

After the desktop stalwarts of Windows 7 and Mac OS, the world's third most popular platform for web browsing turns out to be Apple's iOS. The software that makes iPhones, iPod touches and iPads tick has been identified by Net Applications as responsible for over two percent of the global traffic data analyzed in the web statistician's latest report -- the first time iOS has crossed that threshold. The UK and Australia had more than five percent each, while the USA clocked in at 3.4 percent. Leaving operating systems aside, Chrome has continued its steady growth on the browser front and now stands at a 10.7 percent share, more than doubling its slice from this time last year. Internet Explorer overall has dipped to its lowest level yet, at 56 percent, however Net Applications indicates IE8 is showing nice growth. So at least it's looking like we're finally ready to bury the zombies known as IE6 and IE7, whatever other browser we choose to migrate to.

Agility Saietta unveiled, the decidedly unconventional electric sports bike

Agility Saietta unveiled, the electric sports bike with unconventional styling
A new player has entered the electric motorcycle game, joining the likes of Brammo's Empulse but doing it with rather more... unconventional styling. It's the Agility Global Saietta, an all-electric sports bike that will come in two flavors: the 50 mile range Saietta S and the 100 mile Saietta R. The latter of the two will be quicker than the first, getting to 60 in under four seconds, whereas S riders will have to wait another tick of the stopwatch. Naturally that extra range and speed will cost you: £9,975 for the S and £13,975 for the R, figures that equate to roughly $16,200 and $22,650. Hefty sums, both, but nobody said being on the cutting edge of the humpbacked sport bike trend was going to be cheap. We weren't given any specific horsepower or weight figures, but we're told the power to weight ratio is 675hp per ton. You can make your own guesses about weight to try and get a firm power figure, but it certainly should be peppy enough. Hit read more for details.

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