Xperia emulator featured in new Sony Ericsson SDK
In what could conceivably become a serious alternative to alternatives swayed by the allure of Apple's iPhone, Sony Ericsson released today its SDK for developers of applications for its Xperia X1, which is still due for availability this month.
Since the Xperia is a Windows Mobile phone, its applications will be programmable using Microsoft Visual Studio. However, the phone's key features are exclusive to the Xperia, including slidable "panels" that represent miniature, running applications. Unlike the iPhone's sliding icons, these can literally be active programs, providing some form of useful information nearly all the time, in spaces just smaller than that of a postage stamp.
Samsung backs out of Symbian, Nokia buys its stake
Samsung has agreed to sell its stake in Symbian to Nokia for a reported $410 million this week, pushing Nokia ever closer to total ownership.
In early 2003, Symbian announced that Samsung had joined the likes of Ericsson, Matsushita, Motorola, Nokia, Psion, and Siemens as a 5% shareholder in the company and its eponymous mobile operating system. At the time of Samsung's entry as a shareholder and on Symbian's supervisory board, Nokia held a 19% stake in the company, equal to Ericsson and Motorola.
Nokia ships its N96 everywhere but North America
Despite the delays predicted by some analysts, Nokia is now shipping the N96 smartphone to most areas of the world, although North American release looks likely to wait until the fourth quarter, as originally expected.
In a statement today, Nokia confirmed that the N96 -- a phone equipped with support for live TV reception -- is now shipping in Europe, the Asia Pacific, China, the Middle East, and Africa, with unlocked models selling for €550 ($794.50 USD) before taxes and subsidies.
Review: The first Google Chrome beta
Companies to add IT jobs in Q4 despite the slow economy
More CIOs plan to increase rather than decrease their IT staffing levels from October through December 2008, according to a survey of companies' CIOs in multiple major US cities, released today.
If you're looking for an IT job, the transportation industry, the Middle Atlantic States, help desk/tech support, network management, and Windows administration are all potential hot spots, according to Robert Half's latest Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.
Commodore introduces its own 10-inch netbook
The brand had already been through a line of high-end gaming PCs, however the familiar logo will make it onto a line of netbooks later this year.
Commodore is showing off the UMMD 8010/F at the IFA 2008 electronics show, held this week in Berlin. The device will have a 10" inch screen, and the base model will include a 1.6 GHz Via C7-M processor, 1 GB of RAM, and an 80 GB hard drive.
Google adds facial recognition to Picasa photo sharing
Download Picasa for Windows 3.0 Build 57.19 Beta from FileForum now.
In launching the public beta of Picasa 3 this week, Google also updated its online Picasa Web Albums space with facial recognition.
DirecTV and TiVo kiss and make up, again, with HD agreement
After subscribers were already receiving notices that they'd have to drop their TiVo equipment if they want to go HD, DirecTV is trumpeting the news that an HD TiVo will be a customer option after all...albeit in late 2009.
In the clearest signal to date that the new management at DirecTV is changing course, the satellite TV provider announced this morning it has renewed -- rather than let elapse -- its agreement with time-shifting hardware provider TiVo. Although it may still be a little late for some consumers, TiVo is now promising a new HD box for DirecTV subscribers for the second half of 2009.
San Francisco event will unveil new iPods
Yesterday Apple distributed conspicuously designed invitations to an event on September 9, widely expected to be the third annual iPod refresh event.
While the event hasn't received an official moniker yet, San Francisco has played host to Apple's iPod announcements for the last...three...Septembers. This year's announcement looks like an iPod screen that says "Playing Soon: Lets Rock."
Hurricane could delay North Carolina's DTV transition
The first US market to officially cease analog television broadcasting is Wilmington, North Carolina, but an approaching tropical storm could force all local stations to continue use of their analog frequencies for emergency alert.
Though the rest of the country has until February 2009 to cease analog broadcast operations, broadcasters in Wilmington, North Carolina decided they would test their "big switch" on September 8. There is no significance to that date, as WWAY ABC 3 General Manager Andy Combs told us this afternoon. Broadcasters just arbitrarily chose a date because they were all prepared.
Analysts: How is Chrome tied to Android?
Download Google Chrome 0.2.149.27 Beta from FileForum now.
Although Google's Chrome is designed for PC environments, the newly unveiled Web browser is closely allied with Google's strategy to take greater control of the mobile Web environment through Android, in the view of some industry analysts.
Chrome's objective: to speed up the Web for Google
Download Google Chrome 0.2.149.27 Beta from FileForum now.
As Google's lead developers for Chrome and its own co-founders made extremely clear in a press conference this afternoon, it's in the Web applications business, and it will do what's necessary to eliminate obstacles.
Google's business video service targets SharePoint users
It seems Google may not have taken a long weekend along with the rest of the world. Over the weekend, it rolled out Video Sharing for Business, adding yet another tool to its growing artillery of weapons against Microsoft Office.
Although Google's new service will mimic the company's free YouTube video offering in many ways, Google's new video service for businesses is a paid service available only through Google Apps, and -- as its name implies -- it is geared strictly to businesses. Also unlike YouTube, it includes access controls that can restrict viewing to designated individuals.
Intel buys mobile Linux startup
Intel has acquired Linux development startup Opened Hand as a part of the chipmaker's Moblin mobile Linux project.
Moblin is an open source software stack specifically designed for integration with Intel's Atom processors in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), netbooks, and embedded systems. The project started last year, prior to Asus' release of its Celeron M-based Eee PC -- which is credited for ushering in the netbook craze.
Nokia's 'Comes with Music' to launch first in UK
Nokia's today announced that "Comes with Music" -- another step in its strategy to become "more like an Internet company" -- will launch in the UK first, and pre-orders for special edition 5310 are phones now being taken.
First unveiled last December, the latest potential competitor to Apple's iTunes and Microsoft's Zune Marketplace will offer downloads of tunes that Nokia claims will belong to the user "for keeps."
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.