Archive for March, 2010

iGrip mount brings inductive charging to your windshield (video)

At CES this past January we took a look at a number of high-end concept dashboards destined to fill up the insides of the car of the future . One of those concepts, from Visteon , even had an inductive pad upon which you could throw your phone and have it charged up by the time you got where you're going. Cool, but it doesn't do those of us driving the car of the present much good

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Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus approved for European vacation

With Palm's Pre Plus (model P101) and Pixi Plus (model P121) already granted US domicile by their FCC host, it's only natural that they'd seek adventure elsewhere before getting serious and going to work for AT&T . Now the Global Certification Forum (GFC) has approved what must be the European versions of Palm's Plus handsets: models P101UEU and P121UEU.

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MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available

Chalk up another two wins for cheap consumer GPS. Like Google Maps Navigation before it, the MapQuest 4 Mobile iPhone app has just now added gratis turn-by-turn voice directions... and ahead of schedule , TomTom has begun bundling its new 2010 Personal Navigation Devices, including the XL 340S and the XXL 540S -- with lifetime traffic and maps subscriptions

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Artificial Muscle ramps up production — expect touchscreens that push back in 2011

Last we heard from Artificial Muscle, the company was trying to convince hospitals, cell phone manufacturers and more that its technology -- a silicon film that expands and contracts with an applied voltage -- would provide a real sense of touch to their cold, hard touchscreens.

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Vodafone UK to bring HTC Legend on April 2nd, still mum on date for Desire

Compared to some gadgets , a two-week waiting period is only as painful as a mere mosquito bite, but we're pretty sure that British fans of the HTC Legend would strongly disagree. Thankfully, our friends over at TechRadar ended this torture today with the news that Vodafone UK finally has a date for its exclusive Legend -- "arriving on 2 April." This presumably refers to stock availability in retail stores, since Vodafone is still honoring its website's April 6th date for its pre-order deliveries. As for the Desire , Vodafone's still pointing at the April window, which provides plenty of time to choose between the various UK carriers

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iPhone SDK 3.2 goes gold, seeded to paying dev program members

Us freeloaders still have a bit of a wait left, it seems, but paying members of Apple's iPhone Developer Program (which now services iPad devs, too) now have access to the Gold Master seed of the iPhone SDK for OS 3.2. This is a pretty big deal since it's the very first version of the operating system to support the iPad , of course -- and seeing how the first volley of iPads hits retail this weekend, it couldn't come at a better time. Let us know if you find anything wild in this new build, and we'll do the same, alright?

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LG BL40 gets fancy gold lettering, not much else for Russian special edition

Remember that fancy schmancy Christmas Edition of the LG BL40 -alike for South Korea's domestic market, the SU630? No?

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Windows Phone 7 Series screwed and chopped onto HTC Touch Diamond (video)

If there's any better argument for rigid spec requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series hardware, it's this video of an HTC Touch Diamond running the OS at an especially syrupy pace. Indeed, the lag is so severe that it could very well be some trickery in the form of a RDP client running on a 7 Series emulator, which is in turn running on a PC -- which, now that we think of it, is a pretty good possibility. Whichever way they achieved this feat, it's certainly not a recipe for a viable handset.

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WSJ: Apple ‘developing new iPhone,’ plus another for Verizon (update: iPhone HD?)

You heard right, folks -- according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently "developing a new iPhone to debut this summer," and as if that weren't enough, it's also "working on another model for US mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless." As of this moment, details about the break are nowhere to be found, but it's not like either tidbit is shocking. This summer will mark the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 3GS , and if the Cupertino-based company keeps with its historical refresh pattern , we're just a few months out from seeing the latest and greatest iPhone. There's also been no shortage of iPhone-to-Verizon rumors over the years, with the latest of 'em happening during the run-up to the iPad's launch

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Seidio 3200mAh Nexus One battery hands-on

We just took delivery of a 3200mAh powerplant for the Nexus One from the extended battery specialists over at Seidio , and if we had to sum the kit up in a single phrase, we'd say this: it's not for the faint of heart. Gone are the Nexus One's gentle sloping curves around back, replaced with a giant soft-touch shell designed specifically to accommodate the hulking cell within. We haven't had a chance to stress-test it and see exactly how much more real-world life it gives us against the OEM battery's comparatively meager 1400mAh, but we know already that only the hardest-core users -- road warriors who can't be tied down long enough to slip in some extra juice here and there -- should be considering this behemoth of a kit, especially considering the $70 asking price and the fact that it'll preclude you from using Google's dock.

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