Use your Kindle 2 to send free Tweets over Sprint's 3G network
Even if you're not a big Twitter fan, it's easy to appreciate that nearly any device can be connected to it. Because it's such a simple text-based service, many unlikely devices have their own Twitter clients, like the Commodore 64, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and the Nintendo DS. Just for fun last month, I connected an old Sony Clie NX-70V running Palm OS 5 to Twitter, and it actually worked reasonably well.
So today, owners of the Amazon Kindle can manually update the software of their E-readers to Version 2.5, and can start Tweeting. This is especially useful because the Kindle has a free connection to Sprint's 3G network, and you post semi-standalone Tweets (I'll explain further) or links to longer text segments.
Microsoft Office 2010 hits retail today
The latest installment of Office, Microsoft's long-running productivity suite was slated for a June release, and today is the day it lands in retail.
Yesterday, popular office supply store Staples sent out a mass email saying "Microsoft Office 2010 is Here!" with a link to a pre-order site, but we checked three local Staples stores in the Baltimore metro area, and none of them had the software stocked on shelves yet.
Microsoft surprises with a smaller, sleeker, redesigned Xbox 360
With all the attention given to Kinect, Xbox 360's new motion controller, Microsoft was able to close out its presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Los Angeles today with a total surprise: a newly redesigned Xbox 360 that ships to retail today.
The new version of the console is physically smaller, quieter, has a 250GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi built in, and will cost $299.
Will FTC's Apple investigation lead to fairer competition or give Google a free pass?
Apple apologists need to get a grip regarding a reported US Federal Trade Commission investigation. It's not the least surprising, and Apple has a discernable monopoly around which business practices the FTC -- or even the US Justice Department -- would want to monitor.
The apologist line is this: Apple doesn't have a monopoly for cell phones and has the right to decide what developers can do or which ones have access to the iOS platform. In my May primer, "10 things you should know about Apple and antitrust," I explain how the company has two monopolies, and one of them is large enough to trigger an investigation (and there is official complaint from Adobe). If you haven't read that post, stop reading this one and go to that one. Then come back here, of course.
Starbucks promises totally free Wi-Fi after July 1, new content network with Yahoo
Starbucks, the ubiquitous U.S. coffee shop chain will begin offering totally free unlimited Wi-Fi on July 1.
Previously, Starbucks coffee shops offered different degrees of connectivity depending upon whether they had T-Mobile or AT&T hotspots inside. Once all of the corporate stores shifted fully to AT&T hotspots in 2008, customers with Starbucks loyalty cards received two free hours of Wi-Fi per day before having to pay.
HTC launches first AT&T-exclusive Android 2.1 phone
AT&T was the last of the "big four" U.S. mobile operators to start selling phones based on Google's Android operating system, and has only had a single Android phone available since March.
Currently, AT&T's only exclusive Android handset is the Motorola Backflip. However, the network could have had an HTC device powered by Android almost one year ago, "Lancaster" was reportedly scrapped, well ahead of AT&T's Android launch.
AT&T: We will prosecute hacker that found iPad security hole
Mobile network operator AT&T sent a message out to all 3G iPad owners yesterday which attempted to explain and apologize for a major security breach which disclosed every 3G iPad owner's email address. The company said no other information was exposed, and the matter has been resolved.
Last week, a group going by the name Goatse Security took credit for discovering the exploit, which exposed an estimated 114,000 subscribers' email addresses, and ICC-IDs. ICC-IDs are "integrated circuit card identifiers" which identify SIM cards and relate them to the subscriber's phone number.
Microsoft's Project Natal 360 motion controller becomes 'Kinect'
Even before the doors of the Electronic Entertainment Expo got to open, the name of Microsoft's Xbox 360 motion controller has been revealed. Formerly known by its project name, Natal, Microsoft's camera-based motion controller will be known as Kinect when it comes to market later this year.
The Xbox 360 add-on was first shown off at last year's E3, and promised to bring a new "controller-free" experience to the four-year old gaming console. Similar to both Nintendo's Wii controller and the Playstation Eye, Kinect will utilize the player's bodies, voices, and even facial expressions to interact with their Xbox 360.
Where to safely watch the FIFA World Cup 2010 online
According to datacenter traffic management company Akamai, today has been one of the busiest days on the Internet, with more than 11 million visitor requests to its news network per minute, a dramatic 233% spike in daily traffic. This is thanks to the FIFA World Cup 2010, which officially begins today with matches between South Africa and Mexico, and Uruguay and France. It appears that more people are turning to the Web for their news than ever.
A wealth of information can be found online, but unfortunately, such a popular event is great fodder for malicious websites, so in addition to FIFA.com's Matchcast which features live play-by-play, stats, and information about current matches, we've put together a small list of reliable resources for your World Cup 2010 needs.
Motorola looks to move beyond the 'superphone' with 2GHz devices
Motorola seriously changed the mobile phone industry in the 2000's with the RAZR. The low-profile flip phone sold more than 110 million units, spawned several successful follow-up models and imitations from competitors, and generally altered how we perceive "sexiness" in mobile phones.
It has had an excellent run, and continues to sell to this day. According to Neilsen Media, the RAZR was the third most popular mobile phone on the market last year with 2.3 percent of mobile subscribers owning one.
Most Betanews readers won't buy iPhone 4
On June 9, I asked: "Will you buy an Apple iPhone 4?" The answers are in via e-mail and comments. They are surprising, because they're so polarized. There aren't so many "maybes" among you as I expected. The majority of commenters are saying "No" to iPhone 4. The split is more two-thirds "Yes" among the people who sent e-mail.
I want to point out two differences from this post and others like it. Firstly, the comments are longer; I did less editing for space. Secondly, I only used comments or e-mail responses from people whose full names are clearly identified. However, the comments are still representative of them all.
Apple and Microsoft will face off for June 24 retail showdown
Guess what's coming to San Diego in two weeks? If you answered iPhone 4, congratulations for being right but not giving the right answer. Microsoft plans to open a new retail store on the same day (its second in California). The duo launches could be speculator competition and ground zero for fandom, should the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" crowds choose to rally for their camps. If the measure is the longest line on launch day, who will win?
In a rare lunchtime outing, today I hustled over to Fashion Valley Mall, where I was stunned to see the sign above. By the way, I snapped the photo using the Google Nexus One. What a lousy camera! Is the camera white balance-challenged or what? Nexus One muted the bright green, which I only partially revived through editing. Geez. Back on topic, yes, I was stunned -- by the date and by something else. The Microsoft Store is four shops down from the Apple Store. That's right four stores -- and a walkway between the middle two.
Will you buy an Apple iPhone 4?
Surely no one who regularly reads Betanews is surprised I ask the question. It was inevitable, like death or Whopper Wednesday. As usual, when I ask this kind of question, I'm looking for your responses -- in comments or by e-mail (joewilcox at gmail dot com). In a future post, I'll share your responses as I did with iPad. I asked the "will you buy" iPad question here and here, and offered your answers in separate January and March posts.
Apple and AT&T will start taking iPhone 4 preorders on June 15, and the phone officially goes on sale June 24. Preorders should help keep lines more manageable, as they did with iPad. I plan on hanging out at one of my local Apple Stores, interviewing people waiting in line and shooting video and photos. If you're in San Diego and willing to leave the baseball bat (gun, knife or other injuring tool) at home, look me up on iPhone 4 launch day. Maybe I could interview you.
Microsoft talks up Phone 7 smartphone apps at Internet Week
With previews of the Windows Phone 7 operating system and the launch of Microsoft Expression Studio 4 at Internet Week New York, Microsoft helped to set the stage for a forthcoming smartphone application store aimed at doing a much better job of rivaling Apple's App Store for iPhones and Google's Android Market.
In a speech at the Expression 4 launch in New York City on Monday, Bill Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, pointed to a day when Windows applications will run across devices ranging from smartphones to TVs, for example, while being outfitted with a series of user interfaces (UIs) geared to the requirements of the specific device, and even to the preferences of specific users.
Windows Phone Marketplace to include private app distribution, shareware modes
At TechEd in New Orleans, Microsoft unveiled some new features for Windows Phone 7 aimed at enterprise and developer communities. One of the upcoming additions to the Windows Phone environment will be a sort of "private app store" system that launches in the fall.
"Private distribution for beta-testing represents an important first step for Windows Phone," Partner group program manager Charlie Kindel said. "Our long term strategy is to adopt the public and private cloud model with Marketplace…Initially, we are enabling private distribution of applications for registered developers in a way that is optimized for beta-testers. This will enable developers to more easily distribute test applications in a secure way. We also appreciate that as phones come to market and people begin bringing them into corporate environments, IT will look for a similar private distribution solution."
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