August, 2011

BlackBerry Messenger music sharing service incoming?

August 19, 2011 10:01 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: BlackBerry Bold 9900, blackberry messenger, music, RIM, spotify

BlackBerry Messenger has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently but a new report suggests it could soon be used for sharing songs as well as riot updates. CNET and the Wall Street Journal both claim to have heard from multiple sources that RIM is in talks with the big four major labels to add a music sharing service on top of BlackBerry Messenger.

Rather than an all-you-can-eat Spotify-style streaming affair, the rumoured BlackBerry Messenger music service will apparently offer subscribers a stash of 50 songs at a time which they’ll be able to listen to on their phones and share with other BlackBerry users via BlackBerry Messenger. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is in the frame as the first device to get access to the BlackBerry Messenger music features.

Adding new features to BlackBerry Messenger makes sense as its the platform’s biggest unique selling point but the idea of such a limited offering doesn’t sound thrilling. We assume the Kaiser Chiefs won’t get a look in either…

Out TBC | £TBC | RIM (via CNET/WSJ)

HP ditching mobile: will webOS really live on?

August 19, 2011 9:27 am by Mic Wright

Categories: Computers & Accessories Tags: HP, opinion, Pre 3, TouchPad, webos

Oh, HP TouchPad and HP Pre 3, we hardly knew you! Over night, HP announced that it’s killing off its webOS devices and plans to spin-off its PC division as a seperate entity while the bulk of HP turns towards enterprise software with the acquisition of British firm Autonomy.

While the devices are dead, This Is My Next reports that webOS boss Stephen DeWitt repeatedly told employees: “We are not walking away from webOS.” But though HP is making all the right noises about licensing or selling webOS, who might pick up the baton? Can webOS really live on?

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Vodafone lists Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray as ‘coming soon’

August 18, 2011 5:58 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: Android 2.3, Android Gingerbread, mobile Bravia engine, Reality Display, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, Vodafone, xperia ray

Not exactly a release date, but news nonetheless. Vodafone has just launched a sign up page for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. The not-so-Neo Xperia Ray had us stumped in June, but we’ve found much to love in the bite-sized handset since. With a 3.3-inch FWVGA resolution touch screen and Gingerbread on-board, this could be one of Android’s finest value handsets to date.

As the most likely successor to the popular X8, the Xperia Ray packs an 8.1-megapixel camera, Reality Display and Mobile Bravia engine in a 9.4mm thin shell. While we’re still a bit flustered over the lack of a HDMI-out port, having the latest build of Android is a perk not many Sony Ericsson handsets can contend.

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Three unveils Huawei E586 MiFi: the UK’s first HSPA+ mobile hotspot

August 18, 2011 5:35 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Mobile Phones Tags: E586 MiFi, HSPA+, HSUPA, Huawei, Huawei E586 MiFi, OLED, three, Wi-Fi

Ah, the power of speed. Today, Three announced the Huawei E586 MiFi. As the first mobile Wi-Fi device in the UK to support HSPA+ mobile broadband technology, the E586 MiFi will be able to ride Three’s upgraded 21.1Mbps network later this year. Upload speeds are set at 5.76 Mbps (HSUPA) and this bad boy even has a microSD card slot which supports up to 32GB cards.

Beyond the blistering fast speeds and storage options, the Huawei E586 MiFi has a horde of other features. Firstly, there’s an OLED display on the front of the unit which displays key information like the amount of data used, speed of the current connection, length of browsing time and dashboard for viewing SMS and changing settings. Compared to other MiFi units, the display alone is enough to win our hearts.

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Future Apple iPads to be powered by Sharp displays

August 18, 2011 4:50 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Computers & Accessories Tags: Apple, ipad 2, IPS, LG, Samsung, Sharp

Currently the iPad 2 features displays from LG and Samsung with LG commanding the lion’s share of production. According to Reuters this is due to change. Allegedly Apple is “working out a deal with Sharp” involving a pre-payment (up to $1 billion) to ensure future display supply.

Although LG is the primary supplier of iPad 2 displays, according to 9to5Mac the biggest loser will actually be Samsung. Samsung only recently began supplying IPS panels for the iPad 2 and following reports over quality control issues with LG’s displays, Samsung was in a position to increase production.

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Tegra 3 delayed: Will the Asus Transformer 2 miss its August launch?

August 18, 2011 4:20 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Computers & Accessories Tags: Asus, Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2, Asus Transformer 2, kal-el, NVIDIA, Tegra 3

Today, new evidence surfaced from Fudzilla confirming previous reports that the Asus Transformer 2 would sport a quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Also confirmed was that Tegra 3, codenamed Kal El, would make its debut on the second generation slate. Unfortunately it might be time to grab that Snickers bar because Kal El “has been slightly delayed for at least a month”.

When Nvidia teased that Tegra 3 (Kal El SoC) would debut in August it was a surprise. Not only was the timing alarming but Jen Hsun Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, said the chip consumed less power than Tegra 2. With better computational power than Intel’s Core 2 Duo, Tegra 3 looks to be the holy grail of mobile computing — at least as far as Android tablets are concerned.

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Apple tops the mobile PC Market, passes HP with 13.5m units shipped

August 18, 2011 3:50 pm by Nick Marshall

Categories: Computers & Accessories Tags: Apple, DisplayResearch, HP, ipad 2, mobile PC, Q2 2011

The latest findings from DisplayResearch show that Apple has passed HP in mobile PC shipments during the second quarter. Thanks chiefly to the success of the iPad 2, Apple managed to ship a reported 13.5m units, representing a rise of 136 percent from the year-ago quarter. Not a bad to start the day for the Cupertino gang.

According to DisplayResearch, the 13.5m units Apple shipped in the second quarter represent 21 percent of the mobile PC market. This information along with other manufacturers’ data is contained in the company’s “Quarterly Mobile PC shipment and Forecast Report” which it release today.

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August, 2011

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