T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S4 arrives in 'select stores' from May 8
Yesterday we informed you that T-Mobile had announced a change of plan concerning its Samsung Galaxy S4 online availability. Due to an "unexpected delay with inventory deliveries", the US mobile operator revealed that the smartphone will be available online starting Monday, April 29, instead of yesterday, April 24, as was previously planned.
Because of the delay in inventory deliveries it looks as if T-Mobile customers will also have to wait a tad longer to actually purchase the Galaxy S4 from the mobile operator's brick and mortar stores.
Does Microsoft have a developer crisis?
The web is now the next great application development platform. Webkit is by far the most popular development “platform” among the web development community. Many are calling for Microsoft to ditch Trident (the rendering engine in Internet Explorer) and replace it with Webkit. I personally think that would be a huge mistake and apparently Google feels the same way or it wouldn’t be forking Webkit as the basis of its own rendering engine.
Nevertheless, the web development community is uber focused on non-Microsoft technologies for development. This presents a big problem for Microsoft and ability to hold on to its development community. I believe Microsoft can overcome this threat if by making a few key moves.
Live! from! Yahoo! it's! Saturday! Night!
So, is Yahoo trying to become a media company again? It's question to ask as former Googler and current CEO Marissa Mayer snags an exclusive distribution deal for Saturday Night Live. Late last night, Mayer announced the agreement, with Broadway Video, which starts September 1.
"The partnership gives Yahoo users exclusive access to the entire 38-year archive of SNL content as well as clips from the current season", Mayer says. However, current season, which will be 2013-14 when the deal begins, will be "non-exclusive".
T-Mobile USA struts out HTC One
HTC One gets no respect, and that's not right. We've written stories up the river and down to the sea about Samsung Galaxy S4, and little about its rival. My colleague Mihaita Bamburic posts about the smartphone's arrival on T-Mobile USA next week, for example. But HTC One is available there today. We shouldn't mention the one and ignore the other.
HTC One is available in Glacial Silver color for $99.99 upfront, plus 24 $20 monthly payments, or $579.99 outright. For a limited time, buyers get a free car dock with their purchase. AT&T's upfront price is $199.99, or $599.99 outright. Sprint charges the same upfront, or $99.99 for those bringing a number from another carrier. Otherwise: $549.99.
Alert the kids! Ice Age arrives on Windows Phone 8
I find that having children is an excellent excuse for watching movies like Ice Age, Up, Cars and more. After all, I would feel a bit silly watching those flicks on my own, as I do with scary movies like Paranormal Activity, thanks to a wife and kids who would not sleep for a week if they joined me in front of the screen.
Now Ice Age, and all of its classic characters, like Sid, Manny, Ellie, and Diego, are coming to your phone -- providing that you are using a Windows Phone 8 handset.
Microsoft can't wait until E3 to show off the next Xbox
During the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft set up a countdown clock to the E3 game show in Los Angeles. Major Nelson (aka Larry Hryb) posted the timer, and, being Mr. Xbox, led to lots of speculation that's when the next-gen console would be announced. Apparently not.
Today, the software giant invites you, me and everyone else to a special shindig on May 21. Select press get invites (I'm not among them) for onsite, while the rest of us can watch online or, in the United States, Spike TV. "On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future", Hryb says.
What is Bing's China problem?
A few weeks ago, while doing a bit of research for a story, I had occasion to visit the Bing search page. More importantly to this article, it was the Chinese version of Bing. Over the following days I forgot about this brief foray into Asia, but my web browser remembered.
When I return to Bing several days later I am defaulted to the China site -- it still says I am on www.bing.com, but all information is displayed in Chinese characters, which Chrome helpfully translates on the fly. I close the tab, re-open and try again with the same results. I close Chrome and try again -- still nothing.
Windows tablets make big share gains
Back in December, I explained: "Surface RT sales are quite good, you just don't know about it". The Internet Idiocracy called the tablet a failure, while based on sales per store I saw success. Surface Pro shipped the following month. Now there are real numbers, and they're quite good -- for all Windows tablets -- validating touch-focused Modern UI.
During first quarter, Windows captured 7.5 percent global branded tablet market share, according to Strategy Analytics. That's up from zero a year earlier. Unit shipments: 3 million. Right now, Microsoft is the major seller of branded Windows tablets. Granted there are others, like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Samsung.
BurnAware 6.2 gives more control of what's backed up when
Burnaware Technologies has released BurnAware 6.2 Free and BurnAware 6.2 Premium, the latest builds of its free and paid-for disc burning products for Windows.
BurnAware 6.2 adds two new features to its roster: the first allows users to set individual priorities for any file or folder in the Compilation window -- simply right-click the item in question and select Properties. The default setting is Very Low, but can be cranked incrementally all the way up to Very High via the Priority dropdown menu.
Switching from Google to Microsoft, part 4 -- In with the Bing
Fourth in a series. Before I switched to using Bing full time my view of Microsoft’s search service was that it was a slightly less reliable alternative to Google, but with some smart touches. I’ve been using it for over a month now and -- spoiler alert -- I actually really like it. Although it’s far from perfect.
As a Brit I do have a gripe with Bing though, and that’s it presents me with two choices. I can set my country to UK and get results that relate more to my life, or I can set it to the United States and get an all-round better search experience. Seriously, what’s THAT all about, Bing?
Nokia unveils the inexpensive Asha 210
If you were expecting Nokia to unveil a mighty new smartphone today then you will certainly be disappointed. Two days after the company released a teaser which showcased bits of a new device, the Finnish maker simply unveiled another phone in its Asha series, dubbed Asha 210.
The highlights of the Asha 210 include a QWERTY keyboard, a 2 MP back-facing camera with a dedicated physical button, WhatsApp button, support for Facebook, Twitter and email accounts, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as well as support for dual-SIM in one of its two variants.
Forget QWERTY it's time for KALQ
Typing on touchscreen devices is very different from using a conventional keyboard and the traditional layout doesn’t help much. Researchers at the University of St Andrews, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and Montana Tech have come up with a new layout that claims to allow tablet users to thumb type 34 percent faster.
Named KALQ after the order that the characters appear, it's been developed to provide optimal character positions when typing on a tablet. By spreading the characters used in commonly typed words such as "on", "see", "you" and "read" which on a QWERTY keyboard would all need to be typed with one thumb, KALQ speeds up typing and minimizes strain.
Popular keyboard Swype lands on Google Play
Swype is one of the most appealing and competent third-party keyboards that you can get on Android today, touting more than 250 million users worldwide. The app practically made swipe input popular, a feature which has since been adopted by SwiftKey and even the green droid itself in the second Jelly Bean iteration.
And today, citing user demand, Nuance Communications -- the company behind the third-party keyboard -- brought Swype to Google Play. The app is available for practically any device running Android 2.2 Froyo and higher and comes in at 15 MB.
Samsung Galaxy S4 available at T-Mobile next week
If you are a T-Mobile customer waiting to receive the Samsung Galaxy S4 then we have some bad news for you. The US mobile operator has announced that the smartphone's availability is delayed until next week.
The Galaxy S4 was supposed to be available starting today, April 24, on T-Mobile's website. However, according to the carrier, due to "unexpected delay with inventory deliveries" the smartphone's official sales date is now pushed to next week. "Online availability is expected to begin on Monday, April 29", says T-Mobile.
Photo Commander 11 adds auto backups, 3D support, new effects
Ashampoo has announced the release of Photo Commander 11, its all-in-one tool for organizing, editing and sharing digital images.
New features this time start with the program’s automatic backups. Images are preserved as you work, and with a click you can restore a previous copy, or return to the original file.
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