tech news and opinions
Palm did confirm that games are in development for webOS, and seems a little defensive at accusations that the OS can’t handle that stuff — Palm hasn’t changed its stance on app development, of course, there are no “native” apps allowed currently, but they seem more reticent to admit that web-style app development will limit gaming options.
Palm confirms games are in development for Pre, drops a few other tidbits – Engadget.
Hopefully we will eventually start to see some Android phones that don’t even have track balls, maybe then we won’t have phones with chins (I think phone chins are ugly).
Hopefully this will get some more developers on board. But, I don’t know if this is what Android needs, personally I think Android needs a better user experience. The developers working on the core code of Android should worry more about how well the OS works and that should be the focus right now.
Just remember that Apple didn’t even launch the App Store until their phone worked well.
Android Developers Blog: Android Market update: support for priced applications.
Google Sync keeps your calendars and contacts synced from Google’s servers to your iPhone (or other phone) by pushing the data between the two places.
The video above explains it all but I can tell you right now that if you aren’t into the whole Google ecosystem it isn’t exactly for you. Since my Contacts and Calendars sync to my iPhone through iTunes I don’t really see any benefit to using this. I would rather live in the Apple ecosystem then the Google ecosystem just because I like the fact that everything is stored on my computer and no one elses.
To clarify a bit of confusion, the sheet shows a target in-stock date of 3/15 for the Pre. It also shows that it will be replacing the Palm 755P which has a projected EOL in late May.
Sprint EOL list reveals target Palm Pre launch, plenty more : Boy Genius Report
Garmin and Asus have just announced a strategic alliance to design and build co-branded mobile phones. The original Nuvifone announced by Garmin will now be called the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 and will be the beginning of a line of cell phones built by the two companies.
The Nuvifone G60 is still scheduled to be released in the first half of 2009 and there is still no carrier or price but Garmin says that they are in active negotiations with North American GSM carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile).
The next phone in the Nuvifone linup won’t be running Android but will be running another major platform, which most likely means Windows Mobile (and most likely means it will be garbage) but this will be revealed for certain at Mobile World Congress next month.
Garmin and Asus will most likely still be building an Android powered phone, since both of them are in the handset alliance but it won’t be the next phone after the G60.
This new agreement will use the manufacturing power of Asus and the software development skill of Garmin to (hopefully) build some pretty powerful cell phones.
This new model has dual touchscreens and may replace the previous OLPC model. There is some question as to whether or not this will be released.
Erstes Foto des OLPC 2.0 | Netbooknews.de – das Netbook Blog.
The Meizu M8 is ready for a full scale launch (and by full scale I mean mainland China) sometime in March.
The Meizu M8 has been an incredibly interesting phone to watch since it was first announced shortly after the iPhone was. The phone is obviously inspired by the iPhone and it is very possible that Apple may try and take them out with any lawsuits they can pin on the manufacturer.
The video above shows the Meizu M8 unboxed and demoed a bit. Although I am not going to be switching from my iPhone (not just because of the fact that I live in the US but also because I prefer the iPhone user experience) it is a really cool phone and I hope to see some of its more unique features in an upcoming iPhone release.
During Apple’s latest earnings conference call Tim Cook said said that sales of the Apple TV were up 3 times what they were at the same point last year. Although they still describe the Apple TV as a hobby Cook noted, “We think there’s something there.”
I’m convinced that the Apple TV was the best purchase I’ve made in the past decade when it comes to home theater gear (not including my HDTV of course) and truly believe that Apple is going to do some really interesting things with it in the coming years. But, the fact that it is selling so well is what gets me excited. I hope that some day I won’t have to explain to people what the Apple TV is when I mention it in conversation.
Apple also dismissed the idea of a low end iPhone in the same earnings call saying “We’re not going to play in the low end voice phone business. That’s not who we are, that’s not why we’re here. Goal is not to lead unit sales, but to build the world’s best phone.”
Regarding Apple’s interest in the netbook market Cook said “we’re watching that space, but from our [point of view] the products are based on hardware that’s much less powerful, software technology that’s not good, cramped siplays. We don’t think that people are going to be pleased with those type of products. It’s a category we watch, we have some ideas here, but we think the products there now are inferior and won’t provide the kind of experience people want.”
So all indications show that Apple isn’t going to sell an iPhone Nano or a Mac Netbook, but then of course if you remember that Steve Jobs said that they never wanted to have a video iPod and now one of the best features of the flagship iPod is video playback.