Posts tagged breaking news

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones

Uh, whoa. When we heard Google's threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can't say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto's Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 -- and the partnership is described as "global," so there's a chance it could spread. That's just one more slap in Google's face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip -- and another step away from the tight relationship that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We'd say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Move motion controller launched at GDC, starter kit to be under $100 with game

No surprise here: Sony just officially announced the PlayStation Move motion controller at GDC 2010, calling it the "next generation of motion gaming" because it's so precise -- latency is about the same as the DualShock 3. As expected, it uses the PlayStation Eye camera to track the controller, and Sony says it becomes an "extension of your body." The plan is not only to engage casual gamers, but to use the precision of the controller to create "new experiences for core gamers" -- many of the demo videos we saw involved using a controller video in each hand, and there were quote a few demos of action / RPG games. We also saw a demo of Move Party, which uses the camera to do augmented reality gaming and video chat. The demos are pretty impressive -- Sony's not kidding when it says the Move is incredibly precise. There's also going to be a secondary "subcontroller" with an analog stick for shooters -- you can play all the way through SOCOM4 with just the Move and the sub-controller. (Yes, it's just like the Wii Nunchuk, only wireless.)

You'll be able to get Move in three ways: in a bundle with a PS3, standalone, and in a starter kit targeted at "under $100" with the PS Eye, a controller, and a game. That's all the pricing info we have right now, but it certainly sounds aggressive -- Sony says they're treating this like a major console launch, so expect to see this everywhere when it launches around the holidays. Video after the break.

Update:
The European PlayStation Blog says some games will come bundled with Move as well.

Check out our hands-on right here!

Continue reading PlayStation Move motion controller launched at GDC, starter kit to be under $100 with game

PlayStation Move motion controller launched at GDC, starter kit to be under $100 with game originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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‘PlayStation Move’ trademarked by Sony in Europe, reeks of motion controller involvement

We're exceptionally likely to find out the official name of Sony's PlayStation motion controller in just a few hours during the company's GDC press event, but till then, we've got one more late-breaking morsel to chew on: Move. According to trademark divers across the web, Sony has filed a European trademark for "PlayStation Move," which certainly sounds like a plausible title for some sort of motion-sensing apparatus. To date, we've also heard "Arc" thrown around (which we tend to prefer, if we're being candid), and the logo shown here -- which is said to belong to a separate trademark application -- definitely looks more like an "A" than an "M." Keep it locked right here for more as we get it.

'PlayStation Move' trademarked by Sony in Europe, reeks of motion controller involvement originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  sourceNeoGaf, The Netwerk  | Email this | Comments

Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications

There's no denying that the Mini 5 is real, but up until now, we've had to provide all of our own promotional material. At long last, it seems as if the suits in Round Rock are finally getting around to crafting the first advertisements for the upcoming slate, and while we knew about the 5-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, capacitive touch front buttons, front-facing VGA camera (for video chatting) and the 30-pin docking connector, we weren't aware of Dell's plans to reveal a slew of vivacious color options. If this here flyer proves legitimate, we could eventually see the Mini 5 available in an array of premium finishes and hues (thanks, Design Studio!), and we're hoping for a few different spec builds as well. So, are you opting for the pink, or are you crossing your fingers in hopes that Dell allows you to print that embarrassing shot of you and Mr. T on the rear of one?

Update: Oh, snap! We just landed a few more official slides from an internal Dell document, and it's safe to say that the company is going to call this beauty the Streak. Or, at least that's the internal codename. Better still, it looks as if it'll launch with an Amazon content partnership, which will bring a Kindle e-book reader app, Amazon MP3, Amazon video streams and pretty much any other material that Amazon sells in digital form right to the slate. C'mon now -- how's about a ship date and a price?

Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 drops in

Suspense! Drama! Surprises! Unrealistic expectations! It's always a veritable roller coaster of emotions whenever Apple gets around to cutting a new SDK build -- and without a doubt, iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 is no exception. We don't yet have a good read on what's new here, so if you're a member of Apple's $99 dev program and happen to get it downloaded and installed, let us know if you find anything awesome, like an iPhone 4 or iPad 2. Or, you know, anything else. Have fun!

iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 4 drops in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Courier ‘digital journal’: exclusive pictures and details (update: video!)

We've been dying to know more about Microsoft's Courier tablet / e-book device ever since we first caught wind of it last September, and while our entreaties to Mr. Ballmer went unanswered, we just learned some very interesting information from an extremely trusted source. We're told Courier will function as a "digital journal," and it's designed to be seriously portable: it's under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn't much bigger than a 5x7 photo when closed. That's a lot smaller than we expected -- this new picture really puts it into perspective -- and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we're told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we're taking to mean Windows CE 6.

As we've heard, the interface appears to be pen-based and centered around drawing and writing, with built-in handwriting recognition and a corresponding web site that allows access to everything entered into the device in a blog-like format complete with comments. We're also hearing that there will be a built-in camera, and there's a headphone jack for media playback. Most interestingly, it looks like the Courier will also serve as Microsoft's e-book device, with a dedicated ecosystem centered around reading. It all sounds spectacular, but all we have for a launch date is "Q3 / Q4", and we have no idea how much it's going to cost, so we're trying to maintain a healthy skepticism until any of this gets official -- call us any time, Microsoft. One more pic showing the interface after the break.

Update: We've added a gallery of user interface shots -- some of which we've seen and some of which are new.

Update 2: We've just gotten two full-length HD videos of the interface in action. We've seen parts of these before, but there's some new stuff here that's quite interesting. Check it below.

Continue reading Microsoft's Courier 'digital journal': exclusive pictures and details (update: video!)

Microsoft's Courier 'digital journal': exclusive pictures and details (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th?

Details on Microsoft's Pink phones seem to be leaking all over the place this week, and we just got a huge piece of the puzzle: an extremely reliable source just told us the two Sharp-made devices will launch exclusively on Verizon, with a possible street date of April 20th. We've also got two more photos of the Pure and Turtle -- which are legit, as far as we can tell -- and some info on the Pink ad campaign, which will indeed be targeted at teens and twentysomethings and centered around that "truly madly deeply" line Microsoft employees have been tossing around lately. (Sort of explains that 4/20 launch date, right?) Whether any of this is good enough to overcome the fact that Pink seems to be a limited featurephone platform launching into a world of cheap smartphones remains to be seen, but this thing is definitely happening. New pic of the Turtle after the break.

Update: We've just heard that Pink will be coming to Vodafone internationally as well -- which explains why we've heard of both CDMA and GSM variants of the two devices.

Continue reading Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th?

Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad launches on April 3rd, pre-orders begin March 12th

Word from Apple is out -- so get your credit cards ready. The iPad will be launching on Saturday April 3rd (and on the shelves, er... display tables at Apple retail stores), but you'll be able to plunk down cold, hard cash for it in just a week. Pre-orders will begin on March 12th for the US version (non-3G) for that April street date, with the 3G version coming in late April along with iPads for eager buyers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Says our man Steve Jobs: "We're excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before." Remember, it's magic. US pricing will be as follows (just in case you need to figure out how many piggy banks to smash):
  • 16GB WiFi only -- $499
  • 32GB WiFi only -- $599
  • 64GB WiFi only -- $699
  • 16GB WiFi + 3G -- $629
  • 32GB WiFi + 3G -- $729
  • 64GB WiFi + 3G -- $829
Need more info? Full PR after the break!

Continue reading iPad launches on April 3rd, pre-orders begin March 12th

iPad launches on April 3rd, pre-orders begin March 12th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility

Microsoft is keen on unveiling the meat of its developer story around Windows Phone 7 Series at MIX10 in less than two weeks, but with GDC coming up next week, they're figuring that now is a good time to start dropping hints -- they'll want to be capturing the collective imagination of the gaming industry, after all, what with that Xbox Live integration they've got going on. To that end, Charlie Kindel of WinPho's developer experience team has outed a few key items at a reception in San Francisco this evening.

The major points are that Silverlight, XNA, and .NET will figure prominently into the developer story -- not a surprise considering that Microsoft is heavily invested in both, gaming is central to the Windows Phone 7 Series story, XNA is a big deal on Zune HD already, and this all lines up with what we'd heard in the past. In fact, Kindel boldly proclaims that "If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you're gonna be really happy." On the flipside, it's a bit ironic considering that Silverlight spends much of its existence going head-to-head with Flash, and all indications are that we won't see Flash support on 7 at initial availability (though it's sounding like a lock post-launch).

One final note at today's event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won't be compatible. Though that's likely to be a pain for existing owners with specialized apps who are looking to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, Windows Phone 7 Series itself is a very different beast than the operating system it replaces -- it feels different, seeks a different demographic, and symbolically represents a very important clean-slate departure for a company that had lost its way in the mobile space. The bright side for the 6.5 faithful, we suppose, is that Kindel closes by saying that they "will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come" -- a message Microsoft has been echoing recently.

We expect to hear much, much more on this at MIX -- and we might hear a few more tidbits at GDC as well -- but in the meantime, there's a developer Q&A going down on Twitter around 9:00PM ET (check the #wp7dev tag) where we could get some details. Stay tuned.

Microsoft talks Windows Phone 7 Series development ahead of GDC: Silverlight, XNA, and no backward compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCharlie Kindel, Twitter Q&A session  | Email this | Comments

Verizon suffering ‘nationwide’ data outage (update: fixed)

Verizon suffering 'nationwide' data outageHaving a little trouble checking in on your tweeps this morning on your Droid? Is your new Pre Plus not syncing with Facebook, or your Storm2 acting a little too calm? The problem seems to lie with Verizon, which is suffering from a "nationwide" data outage at the moment. The reason we keep putting that in quotes is because we in NY are not affected (our Droid is connecting just fine) but Verizon representatives have confirmed the issue, while people in various places all over the US are unable to connect according to the forums we've been perusing this morning. Verizon indicated it does not have an ETA for when things will be fixed and, sadly, it doesn't have any status message on its site, but we'd advise not calling and bothering the support folks about this -- based on how long we were on hold we're guessing they have their hands full at the moment.

Update: We're hearing that things are popping back online for most folks, so enjoy a little 3G with your morning cuppa.

Update 2: According to this official tweet the problem has been resolved: "VZW resolves early AM data issue that involved parts, not all, of eastern US: mix of some out, slower service, many unaffected from 4-8 AM." So, if you're still out, the time has come to hit up those customer service agents.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Verizon suffering 'nationwide' data outage (update: fixed) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDroidForums.net, CrackBerry.com  | Email this | Comments