Get in on the limited beta of new suggestion engine, Zite
Late last year, I took a look at how search services were being affected by the unchecked growth of ultra-digested, 140-character-or-less news blips. In my research, I talked to a Vancouver-based startup called Worio that was tackling the difficult problem of creating a search engine that "understood" what kind of data was important to the user.
Now, the team is working on creating a new content discovery service, which it is calling Zite.
T-Mobile talks network upgrades
Rather than debut anything unknown or surprising, mobile network operator T-Mobile today presented everything it had already announced, and then concentrated on talking about the widespread 3G network upgrade it's rolling out this year.
While this doesn't always get people drooling, T-Mobile looks to be taking a level-headed approach to network growth which the company says will result in the overall fastest 3G network in the US.
CTIA's 'other' Android superphone: Samsung Galaxy S
HTC and Sprint's EVO may have stolen the show at CTIA today, but Samsung showed off its own Android 2.1 superphone called the Galaxy S. It's just as impressive as the EVO, just without the 4G muscle.
And while it may look like the fraternal twin of Apple's iPhone, especially with the TouchWIZ UI, Samsung's Galaxy S is no iClone.
Sprint has the game changer: The first 4G smartphone
Sprint and HTC this afternoon finally took the wraps off of the "Supersonic" 4G smartphone, the HTC EVO 4G, and everything about this device is killer.
HTC and Sprint have spared nothing in this top-of-the-line device. It has a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (QSD8650) processor, a 4.3" (800x480) capacitive touchscreen, an 8 megapixel dual flash camera, and a 1.3 megapixel forward-facing camera. Add Android 2.1, 4G WiMAX/3G EV-DO Rev. A, the ability to act as an 8-device 4G hotspot, an FM radio, Bluetooth 2.1, digital compass, proximity, velocity, and light sensors, GPS and 3.5mm headphone and HDMI output. In short, pretty much everything you could want.
Nintendo wants to try its hand at 3D again
Today, a very dodgy looking PDF file appeared on Nintendo's Japanese investor relations site with the title "Launch of New Portable Game Machine" (PDF available here).
In the document, Nintendo quietly announced that it will be launching "Nintendo 3Ds" during the fiscal year ending in March 2011. The new handheld gaming console will support 3D effects without the need for special viewing glasses, and Nintendo will talk more about it at the E3 conference in June.
Motorola launches the first rugged push-to-talk Android phone
Today, Motorola and regional US carrier SouthernLINC Wireless announced the launch of the iDEN-compatible i1, the first Android device to support the wireless protocol with Push-to-Talk walkie-talkie communications.
The i1, which is believed to have been called the "Opus One" internally, has been rumored since late last year.
SanDisk releases its first 32 GB microSD card
Flash memory giant SanDisk today announced that its highest capacity microSDHC card will be available for purchase tomorrow on US and European Web retail sites. The 32 GB microSDHC will cost $199.99 and is expected to ship immediately.
Worldwide availability of the new memory card is expected next month.
Don't count Palm out yet: Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to launch with AT&T
Palm had big shipments of its new Pre Plus and Pixi Plus last quarter, the
sellthrough was nowhere near what the mobile device company had expected. As a result, Palm posted another losing quarter, and the stock value dropped even further. As usual, the media took the opportunity to write Palm off as a lost cause.
But it's not time to quit on the company just yet.
Let the rejections begin: Apple opens first round of submissions for iPad App Store
In a message sent to developers today, Apple announced that it is now accepting iPad apps for the iTunes app store.
To have apps approved (or rejected) in time for the iPad launch, they must be submitted to Apple by 5:00 pm PDT on Saturday, March 27. Only apps built with the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 are going to be accepted in this round of reviews.
Viacom and YouTube: Timeline of pertinent events
This week, documents from Viacom's billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube for copyright infringement were published, and the three-year-long-and-counting lawsuit has again been brought to the public's attention. In case you haven't been following the case, here's a quick timeline of the major events that led up to the lawsuit, and those that occurred since the original complaint was filed:
May 24, 2005- Viacom subpoenas YouTube for information about a user who uploaded clips from Paramount Pictures' "Twin Towers."
Palm posts third quarter results: disappointing sales, more net loss
In late February, Palm issued a shareholder warning which said that profits for the full year were going to be "well below" expectations due to a surprisingly slow demand for Palm's smartphones.
Thursday evening, the company issued its third quarter earnings report, and though the numbers were actually up against the same quarter last year (when Palm posted a net loss of $98 million), the company is still losing money; $22 million, to be exact.
Netflix axes 'friends' feature due to unpopularity
For more than five years, Netflix has had a feature called "Friends" which lets users connect their Netflix account with others so they can view each other's queues, suggest movies to each other, or see how a movie ranks against their peers' ratings.
Todd Yellin, Netflix VP of Product Management said that after six years, only two percent of subscribers actually used the feature, so it is going to be phased out in the coming months.
Kindle for Mac released: Is Amazon's e-reader moving away from hardware?
When Amazon debuted its first Kindle e-reader just over two years ago, we asked "...but will anyone buy it?"
We still can't say for certain.
Google improves Maps for Android, rolls in bonus features
Today, Google has rolled out a significant update to the Google Maps application for Android 1.6+ devices, which now includes a new search results page, support for multiple accounts, a new Latitude home screen widget, and a new Maps live wallpaper for 2.1 devices.
Previously, when you performed a search in Maps, you would have to choose a result from a list of markers on the map. When you clicked the marker, it would open a page with three tabs: Address, Details, and Reviews. Under the Address tab, there were options to Show the result on the map, get directions to it, call it, look at it in Street View, or add it as a contact. The other two tabs contain exactly what you'd expect, details and reviews. If you wanted to pick a different listing, you'd have to go back to the map view and pick a different marker.
Unboxing: TiVo Premiere
Though you might come to Betanews expecting an article with either performance testing and graphs or inflammatory diatribes, we're not above a good unboxing; especially when it's a brand new piece of hardware that we intend to thoroughly test (or just very seriously play with.)
Today, we're fortunate enough to have received a new TiVo Premiere, the first TiVo DVR with an HD interface designed especially to unite content from multiple sources under a single experience. They call it "The One Box."
Tim's Bio
Tim Conneally was born into dumpster tech. His father was an ARPANET research pioneer and equipped his kids with discarded tech gear, second-hand musical instruments, and government issue foreign language instruction tapes. After years of building Frankenstein computers from rubbish and playing raucous music in clubs across the country (and briefly on MTV) Tim grew into an adult with deep, twisted roots and an eye on the future. He most passionately covers mobile technology, user interfaces and applications, the science and policy of the wireless world, and watching different technologies shrink and converge.
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