Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original
Chumby isn't just taking its platform to dedicated devices from other manufacturers, it's also moving to software -- a strategy that right out of Amazon's playbook now that Kindle is available on just about every computer and handheld under the sun. The company's new Android app simply connects to your Chumby account and lets you view and use the same Flash-based apps that you would on any other Chumby device, a testament to the fact that pretty much every Android handset hitting the market these days comes Flash-capable out of the box.
Categories: Android, Mobile Phone, Other Tags: amazon, manufacturers, phone, press, quite-as-plush, release, simply-connects, sony, the-original, under-the-sun
Symbian Foundation winding down operations?
2010 hasn't exactly been a banner year for Symbian , with Symbian^3 getting lipstick-on-a-pig reviews via the just-launched Nokia N8 , top-tier supporter Samsung moving on , and chief exec Lee Williams either quitting or being shown the door . On that note, it comes as little surprise that doomsday rumors are starting to swirl -- and The Register is citing a "source close to Symbian" as saying that new CEO Tim Holbrow is under orders to square things away for closure while some employees have apparently already been offered severance packages.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: chief, doomsday, engadget, ericsson, innovation, lipstick, little-surprise, manufacturers, nokia, result, rumor
Hacker reveals how Apple artifically restricts iPhone chargers (video)
Most cell phone manufacturers have charging standards these days, even if they can't always agree on which version of USB to use, but as the hair-tearing message above shows, third-party renditions of Apple's proprietary dock connector haven't always been universal solutions for iPods and iPhones. Now we know another important reason why -- secret resistors placed on the data lines in connectors for each iDevice. Minty Boost creator ladyada recently reverse-engineered the chargers for a variety of Apple gadgets, and discovered that iPhones in particular don't draw electricity until they detect 2.8V and 2V signals when they attempt to charge
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: accepting-500m, appleiphone, chargers, charging, electricity, electronics, handsets, manufacturers, particular-don, phone, result, source
General Motors partners with mystery organization to bolster OnStar technology
Thought the Chevy Volt's OnStar apps were impressive?
Categories: Android, BlackBerry, Mobile Phone, Other Tags: apps, automobiles, chevy, chris pruess, conditioning, entry, functionality, gm onstar, gmonstar, hybrid, infotainment, manufacturers, money, phone
Palm also looking at licensing webOS and / or finding new investors
Although we've got the feeling that Palm will eventually be sold off, apparently that's not the only option on the table: Reuters has followed up last night's news that Palm is up for sale with some more details, including the revelations that Cisco is an interested buyer and Palm is also considering licensing webOS and / or seeking an additional infusion of cash from an outside investor. We're at all sure who'd be willing to join Bono's Elevation Partners in pumping more cash into Palm as it stands right now, but we can certainly see the company loosening the strings and licensing webOS to other manufacturers, something it did with great success back in the Palm OS days
Categories: htc, Mobile Phone, Other Tags: cisco, decisions, dollars, eventually-led, familiar, manufacturers, match, palm, portfolio, press-release, strategy, webos
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review
Of the world's largest phone manufacturers, perhaps none has taken a more twisted road to smartphone ubiquity than Sony Ericsson. It began its journey back in the pre-joint venture Ericsson days by throwing its weight behind Symbian , a smartphone platform that would ultimately become the world's most popular -- but it made a fatal error in supporting the doomed UIQ flavor that never saw even a fraction of the support its S60 cousin did. UIQ's untimely (but predicted) collapse last year left the company nearly rudderless and ill-equipped to deal with competitors like Nokia, HTC, and Apple, all of whom had long since embraced other platforms -- all with fighting chances of market dominance.
Categories: Android, htc, Mobile Phone, nexus one, Other Tags: apple, brink, collapse, ericsson-xperia, htc, manufacturers, nexus, nokia, result, sony, sonyericsson, windows, x10, xperia
Samsung acquires ‘Android’ trademark for mobile hardware sales in Korea
As it turns out, Korea operates two separate trademark systems for hardware and software.
Categories: Android, Mobile Phone, Other Tags: authorities, chocolate, clearly-decided, intellectualproperty, korea, korean, legal, manufacturers, Mobile Phone, result
Vertu taste on a Nokia budget: meet the N97 Mini Gold Edition
Phone manufacturers usually leave the gilding to jewelers and other specialty shops that are more willing to show complete disregard for taste and common sense than themselves, but once in a while, pure, unadulterated emotion gets the better of someone in a position to make product decisions -- yes, even at Nokia -- and something like this slips through the cracks. Meet the N97 Mini Gold Edition, which is pretty self-explanatory: it's an N97 Mini with 18-carat gold on the important bits
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: decisions, edition, engadget, important, manufacturers, meet-the-n97, middle, model, n97 mini gold edition, other-specialty, phone, product, slips, specialty, standard
Twenty-four telecom operators unite to form Wholesale Applications Community
Big doings over in Barcelona today. Twenty-four telecom operators, with the support of the GSMA and three major hardware manufacturers, have formally announced they will come together to form the Wholesale Applications Community. Essentially, the goal of the alliance will be to create a viable, cohesive and open industry platform for mobile app developers.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: 2010, after-the-break, application, applications, barcelona, china-mobile, china-unicom, developers, doings, endeavors, manufacturers, operators
The Missing Sync for Android Updated to Version 1.1
The team at Mark/Space just sent me a note to let me know about an update to The Missing Sync for Android . Looks like it has been updated to support Android .
Categories: Android, BlackBerry, htc, Mobile Phone Tags: bio, black, BlackBerry, carriers, htc, manufacturers, missing, Mobile Phone, motorola-droid, photo-galleries, platforms, posts, sections, twitter, videos