Windows Mobile 7 details emerge?

February 8th, 2010

The folks at PPCGeeks and MobileTechWorld got their hands on what they claim are some of the initial details on Windows Mobile 7. Without citing any sources other than their inbox, both websites claim that Windows Mobile 7 will be introduced at MWC 2010 on February 15th in Barcelona. The official unveiling will reportedly focus primarily on the UI and in depth features will not be  shown. Some of the leaked information include the following snippets :

  • WM7 will have a user interface derived from codename “METRO” and will be similar to the Zune HD
  • The traditional Home Screen will get a whole new look and will not support custom interfaces like Sense and TouchFLO
  • No Flash support as time constraints prevented its inclusion
  • Will include Silverlight 3.0 with some aspects of SL 4.0 and mobile-specific features
  • Applications will be installed through the Windows Mobile Marketplace only, manual installation from a storage card will not be allowed
  • Say no to multitasking and yes to push notifications which may be provided by a Microsoft hosted push notifications environment
  • Windows Mobile Marketplace will include a “Try before you Buy” feature and offer API support
  • No .NET Compact Framework backwards compatibility so all those old apps will not work, but a portion of the data and business logic .NET CF may be ported at some point
  • Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality and is currently faster / better than the iPhone 3G
  • MS is actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists (seriously?)
  • Full Zune and Xbox 360 Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
  • No more active sync or Windows Mobile Device center. Zune software will handle all syncing
  • Full support for social networking
  • Devices are expected to ship by September 2010

All these details are consistent with what we have been hearing about the rumored Zune phone, though it is not clear whether the Zune Phone represents the next generation of Windows Mobile or is a completely separate entity. If this above information is indeed accurate (and that is a big “if”) and the aforementioned phone is indeed Windows Mobile 7, then there are lot of changes in store for those who are tied to the Windows Mobile platform.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Deutsche Telekom rumored to be eyeing T-Mobile USA spinoff

February 5th, 2010

Not a week goes by that we don’t hear of investor pressure on Deutsche Telekom to strengthen its financials and offload underperforming units — T-Mobile USA included — and the American outpost is back in the spotlight this evening coming off a report out of The Wall Street Journal that a spinoff might indeed be in the works. According to our favorite “people familiar with the matter,” DT has reached out to a few banks with the goal of raising enough capital for T-Mobile through an IPO that it’d be able to continue to fund its network build-out, something that’s going to become increasingly critical as it fends off 7.2Mbps HSPA and 4G competition from all of its national competitors. There are a few scenarios allegedly being discussed, ranging from a full-on excision of T-Mobile from its corporate parent to a merger with another US wireless firm — but the plan gaining most traction internally is said to involve selling around 20 percent of the carrier to investors while hanging onto the rest, a situation that would get the underperforming unit’s financials off DT’s books. Ultimately, whatever comes of this probably won’t happen for a few months while the options get mulled, but considering what went down in the UK, this certainly seems plausible.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Wanted at Google: Nexus One Phone Support

February 3rd, 2010

Google is looking for customer support professionals to handle its Nexus One phone, a clear sign it has recognized that its self-service support model has limits.

Digital Inspiration noticed a posting on Google’s job boards looking for a “Phone Support Program Manager, Android/Nexus One,” to be based at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. “As Phone Support Program Manager for Android and the Nexus One, you are responsible for ramping up and managing operations of Google’s telephone support for our direct-to-consumer Android/Nexus One customers,” Google wrote in the ad.

Google has gotten by with a pretty bare-bones customer support operation to this point in its history. Forums, FAQs, and e-mail support are pretty much the extent of what Google offers to everyone other than paid customers of Google Apps.

But following the launch of the Nexus One, Google’s support forums were flooded with questions from customers who were having shipping and technical issues. Google attempted to direct questions to HTC and T-Mobile, its hardware and carrier partners on the Nexus One, but the Nexus One is being sold exclusively through Google at the moment, and it’s the company that customers look to when they have a complaint.

Google declined to share specific plans for Nexus One customer support provided by live human beings, but confirmed the job posting was legitimate.

“We’re working quickly to solve any customer support issues as they come up, and we are trying to be as open and transparent as possible through our online customer help forums. We continue to address all issues in as timely of a manner as possible, and we’re flexible and prepared to make changes to our processes and tools, as necessary, for an optimal customer support experience,” the company said in a statement.

It seems no matter how Google builds out its customer support team, it will likely do so in its own way. One of the job’s responsibilities will be to “define and implement scalable business practices that leverage our internal best practices in one-to-many support to create efficiencies in high-touch support activities through channels such as phone and chat,” according to the post. The person will also be responsible for coordinating support efforts with partners, such as HTC, T-Mobile, and other carriers that will eventually support the Nexus One.

All credits and information was found on gizmodo.com

Motorola Devour for Verizon gets boxed, shares Pixi’s processor? (update: Moto’s support site is live)

February 2nd, 2010

Motorola’s so-called Calgary has found itself on a lengthy, fascinating journey from rumor to retail — a journey that began way back in 2008. Finally, here we are a whole bunch of months later, the high-end Droid having been released back in November and Verizon still without a midrange choice for Android hopefuls — but that’s about to change. Right, Verizon? Right? The latest intel from Android and Me suggests that the Devour (as it’ll almost certainly be known to the public) will feature a Qualcomm MSM7627 — the same next-gen entry-level core being used by the Pixi that’s designed to replace the aging MSM7600 series, very likely a chip that we’re going to be seeing a whole lot of over the next 12-18 months in devices that manufacturers don’t deem worthy of Snapdragon. Meanwhile, Android Central seems to have scored a shot of some promotional material for the Devour suggesting that it’s not far off — the site says we’re looking at a retail box here, but considering how small and narrow the Droid’s box is, this could actually be some in-store signage or something to that effect. We’ll know soon enough, hopefully.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

AT&T-friendly Nexus One passes through the FCC

February 1st, 2010

We told you earlier this month that the Nexus One would be coming to AT&T and we now have the first sharable shred of evidence that our source was spot on. Spotted emerging from the testing halls of the FCC is an unknown mobile phone with the FCC ID NM899110. For the geeky folk, the NM8 is the FCC Grantee code for HTC while 99110 is the model. People who rock a Nexus One and have a penchant for studying FCC labels would notice that the FCC ID for this mystery handset is only a single digit away from the FCC ID of the current Nexus One (NM899100) and would be quick to recognize that this mystery handset is most likely a kissing cousin to their T-Mobile-friendly handset. Without looking at the FCC documents, one might casually pass this mystery handset off as the upcoming Verizon Wireless CDMA version, but a quick perusal of the testing report reveals that the handset in question is rocking WCDMA bands I, II and V which are decidedly AT&T. Any Nexus One owners crawling on AT&T’s EDGE a bit peeved by this discovery?

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Apple posts $3.38b Q1 profit: iPhone sales double, Macs up 33 percent, iPods down eight

January 26th, 2010

Apple just turned in its Q1 financials, revealing that iPhone sales have doubled in the past quarter compared to last year, Mac sales are up 33 percent, and iPod sales continue to decline with an eight percent dip from a year ago. The company brought in revenues of $15.68 billion, good for $3.38 billion in profit, or $3.67 profit per share. That’s up from last quarter’s profit of $2.26 billion on $11.88 billion in revenue, and in fact, it’s Apple’s all-time highest revenue and profits. Steve sounds pretty pleased in the PR, and hints at far more to come: “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.” We’re sure to find out more later on the analyst conference call, so stay tuned.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Verizon to offer BOGO on Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus

January 25th, 2010

Not much else to report other that what’s in the title. Verizon will be having a buy one get one free promotion on the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus, a deal that will run from launch day through February 14th, Valentines Day. All you webOS fanatics grab a friend or four and get ready to head to your local Verizon Wireless store starting January 25th if you’re up for some Palm-style multitasking. Besides, the handsets ship with Touchstone-compatible back covers — you know we’re all about inductive charging.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

HTC Obsession to launch on AT&T and T-Mobile as the Diamond3?

January 22nd, 2010

Windows Mobile 7 may be hitting AT&T and T-Mobile in the form of the HTC Diamond3, previously known as the Obsession. The Diamond3 will reportedly sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, GSM/HSDPA connectivity, 3.7 inch capacitive AMOLED display with multi-touch, 5 megapixel camera with flash and HD video recording, 512MB RAM/512MB ROM, 4GB of internal storage, microSD expansion (up to 32GB) and a 1230mAh battery. The Obsession/Diamond3 is also going to be a GSM only device, no CDMA counterpart is in the works as sales of the last CDMA Diamond were sluggish. With HTC and LG rumored to be prepping Windows Mobile handsets for a mid-year launch, what are the odds that Windows Mobile 7 will be unveiled at MWC 2010?

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

T-Mobile’s Fender edition myTouch 3G now available for $180

January 21st, 2010

We’d already heard that T-Mobile’s new Fender edition myTouch 3G would be rolling out on January 20th, but we hadn’t had much indication about what sort of premium (if any) it would demand over the standard myTouch. Well, as you can see above, you will have to pay an extra $30 on top of the $150 the regular myTouch 3G currently demands (on-contract, naturally), but that will get you a bundled 16GB memory card, not to mention a genuine 3.5mm headphone jack, a few pre-loaded songs from Eric Clapton and others and, of course, that classy woodgrain finish. Not too shabby for an extra thirty bucks, if you ask us.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

BlackBerry Tour2 9650 makes its debut in Cellebrite, Verizon launch imminent?

January 18th, 2010

Good news for Verizon Wireless BlackBerry customers that passed on the Storm 2 and the Curve 8530 in order to wait for the Tour2. The much-awaited BlackBerry 9650 was spotted by a Verizon Wireless employee while browsing through Cellebrite, a system used for transferring contacts from one phone to another. There is no confirmed time frame from when a phone appears in Cellebrtie to when it is launched but, in general, a phone’s appearance in Cellebrite is a good indication that a launch is somewhat imminent, though this isn’t a science and is not foolproof. While you wait for this beautiful BlackBerry to hit the shelves, you can drool over the pictures in our hands-on gallery.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com