Do you hear the music Desire owners? The tinkling melody of “Greensleeves” playing in the distance? That’s the HTC ice cream truck dropping off a fresh batch of Froyo. That’s right folks, today’s the day. The Android 2.2 update for Telstra-branded HTC Desire handsets is finally available to download via HTC’s Australian website. The file, …
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Three new Walkman MP3 players from Sony — the NWZ-W252, NWZ-A845 and NWZ-B150 range — offer waterproof fun, iPlayer high-jinks and all manner of musical tomfoolery. The NWZ-W252, pictured above, holds 2GB of music and runs for up to 11 hours. It’s water-resistant, designed for the gym, and even the shower afterwards (where do you put it?). It comes in …
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The Federal Communications Commission is laying the groundwork for freeing up wireless spectrum. Last week, the FCC held a workshop that examined the looming spectrum crisis. In a report published as part of the meeting, the FCC indicated that over the next five years, data usage will increase 35 times, compared to rates of today. While the wireless industry is …
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Save the date, cell phone fans. Samsung sent out media invites this morning for a November 8 event in New York where it plans on announcing its new Android phone. Unfortunatley, the invite doesn’t offer up very many clues as to the identity of the device, but I’m sure that won’t stop people from talking. Of course, we’ll be there …
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About a month after RIM announced its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the company is releasing its BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR, a software developer kit that can be used to program apps and games for the PlayBook. The SDK specifically targets Adobe AIR, a tool that allows developers to create software that can work on a variety of platforms, …
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The Samsung Intercept may be a first for Virgin Mobile, but we hope it’s the start of a beautiful relationship between the prepaid carrier (a Sprint subsidiary) and the Android platform. There’s a lot to like about this Android phone, including the Android 2.1 operating system, a combination touch-screen-plus-QWERTY keyboard, and all of Google’s tightly integrated apps and services, including …
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The next generations of phone network haven’t made a big enough advance to qualify as 4G, according to a global telecoms standards body. The International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) has ruled that neither WiMax or LTE, the technologies currently loosely marketed as 4G, aren’t sufficiently faster than 3G to be worthy of the extra digit. The ITU has decided …
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Welcome to The 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I’m stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at [email protected]. If you …
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Apple’s imperial march to smart phone domination is smoothly proceeding, with the company now selling more handsets than BlackBerry makers RIM and closing in on Nokia. The launch of the iPhone 4 in June resulted in a huge Q3 (July to September) in terms of global smart phone shipments, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Apple stormed into second place, …
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Wi-Fi Direct helps making connections between Wi-Fi-enabled devices much more flexible. Wi-Fi Alliance First demonstrated at CES 2010, Wi-Fi Direct has taken another step to become part of the Wi-Fi usage spectrum. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the group that tests and certifies Wi-Fi products to make sure they interoperate, announced today that it has begun certifying products capable of making Wi-Fi-based …
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In brief A spokesperson for Telstra today confirmed that the long-awaited Froyo update for the telco’s variant of HTC’s Desire will be made available “this week”, following the recent approval of the update ROM by Google. The ROM, which will upgrade the Desire from version 2.1 to version 2.2 of the Android operating system, will be available to download from …
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Samsung Galaxy Tab Sprint Update: CNET’s full, rated review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is now available. Sprint announced today that it will offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab starting November 14 for $399.99 with a two-year contract. Customers will be able to choose from two 3G Tablet Mobile Broadband plans: a 2GB data plan with unlimited messaging for $29.99 per …
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I’m a longtime fan of refurbished gear–especially Apple’s refurbished gear, which looks and operates like new and comes with the same warranty as the new stuff. I speak from experience, having purchased several refurbished iPhones and iPod Touches. But I’ve yet to land an iPad this way–mostly because Apple didn’t offer them. Until now. For the first time, refurbished iPads …
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Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti Complicated at first but easy to grasp, Samurai II: Vengeance offers a balanced mix of slashing, bloody violence, and a puzzle-solving storyline. The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Samurai: Way of the Warrior brings a retooled gameplay method, ultrasmooth manga-inspired graphics running at 60 frames per second, and, of course new, bloodier fight techniques. …
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Engadget obtained a couple of images that show a very sleek-looking LG handset bearing Verizon Wireless branding. As Engadget reports, there are very few details to share at this point, but looking closely at the touch-only phone, you can discern what appears to be a screen in the range of 4 inches or larger with a high-definition camera on the …
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