19 November 2009 19:10
Google today demonstrated an eee PC netbook running its cloud-based Chrome OS - but said that the software wouldn't get a full release for another year, and would require hardware specified by Google.
The free, browser-alike operating system booted up in seconds, and was shown running Flash and Windows Live web applications from 'application tabs' and in 'moles': persistent pop-up windows for multimedia content.
Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management, said the Chrome OS would have 'TV-like' boot-up speeds measured in seconds, and would allow users to access their files from any Chrome OS computer, with all data stored online.
Pichai announced that the open source software would be freely available to outside developers but insisted that Google would reserve the right to specify the hardware for Chrome OS devices. For example, all local storage must be solid state, only certain wireless cards will be supported and there will be minimum requirements for the size and resolution of displays.
Cameras, MP3 players and 'anything that identifies itself as a storage device' will work although other peripherals may not. Pinchai says that Chrome OS will use an 'innovative approach' to allow printing.
Google expects most people who buy a Chrome OS device next year to have another computer at home and Pichai said the initial focus is entirely on netbook-style devices, primarily connecting via Wi-Fi (802.11n). Google aims to have Chrome OS devices on shelves in time for next Christmas.
17 November 2009 23:43
Keep your eyes open for a full test of the Droid in Stuff magazine soon but we couldn't help whetting your appetite with our first opinions of what we think is the best Android handset to date.
Over here in the US, Verizon is pushing the Droid under the taglines 'Deactivating Compromise' and 'iDoesnt', confident that its blistering 500MHz processor, efficient multi-tasking, hugely sharp screen and free sat-nav are enough to eclipse Apple's mighty iPhone.
The screen is jaw-droppingly impressive, not just for fine detail and eye-watering brightness, but also thanks to fluid scrolling and finger-friendly capacitive touch sensors. Hard-wired touch keys (back, menu, home and search) mean that all apps work in a similar way - and you're never more than a single button push away from a Google search.
The Droid's voice recognition is (we think) a shade better than the iPhone's, but it's a shame it only works with Google searches, Maps and your contact list. To be honest, if the Droid's flat, unresponsive Qwerty keyboard is the best Motorola can do, we'd be more than happy to wave goodbye to physical keyboards for good.
Android 2.0 isn't a massive change from 1.6. Microsoft Exchange is apparently difficult to get up and running, while the Droid (or possibly Verizon) refused to let us make Google Voice calls at all. The contacts list can now grab photos and status updates from Facebook, and gives one-touch links to email, phone, texts or social networks.
The browser is fantastically smooth and detailed, but still a touch slower than the iPhone. With pinch-and-zoom disabled, you're stuck with a less intuitive double-tap-to-zoom. By the time the Droid reaches the UK, however, it should have pinch-to-zoom reactivated - and may even be enjoying Flash Lite for mobiles, in which case all bets are off. It'll be a small consolation, at least, for not getting the excellent Google Maps Navigation sat-nav software.
Not only does this give free turn-by-turn voice guidance, it smoothes your way through life with live bus arrival times, Wikipedia icons for points of interest, searches en route and Google Street View photos of every turn along the way. It remains to be seen whether Motorola's MotoNav software (for Europe) will keep any of the cooler features.
The 5MP camera works well with Android's much-hyped (but rarely used?) barcode scanning apps, but anything more complicated than vertical black-and-white lines baffles its autofocus. Standard def (720x480-pixel) video clips fare better. Sound quality is fine through the external speakers or the 3.5mm jack, and it's great to be able to stream music while using other apps.
But if apps are the new gadgets, then Android is very much the 8-track player to Apple's audiophile 7.1 home cinema. Browse the Market and the few, thin apps on offer fail to mask the the empty shelves echoing behind them.
That won't matter to anyone who partners with the Droid for its class-leading sat-nav, screen and multi-tasking grunt. But if you're pining for the marriage of a seamless interface, speedy browsing and the sheer variety of the App Store, Apple remains the top choice for saying 'iDo'.
16 November 2009 22:34
Does the world really need a cheaper, slower netbook? Menq (no, we haven't heard of them either) thinks so, with the release of the EasyPC E790 notebook that TechVideoBlog reckons could sell for as little as $80 (a few quid under £50).
The ARM-powered palm-top has a 7-inch, 800x480-pixel screen, 128MB of RAM and 2GB ROM. There's no hard drive but you do get three USB jacks, an RJ45 Ethernet port, b/g Wi-Fi and, er, a headphone jack.
With its 400MHz Samsung processor, the E790 comes with Windows CE on board, although an Android version is rumoured to be in the works. TechVideoBlog's bizarre hands-on video test shows the E790 handling YouTube easily enough, and it also claims to be Skype-friendly. Worried about malware? Forget about it - Menq says that the E790 works "without virus break-in". Phew.
Sure, the E790 makes the eee PC look like a MacBook Pro, but I wouldn't write it off just yet. Even in the US, there's a huge hunger not just for bigger and better, but also for smaller and cheaper. In fact, you could be looking at next year's top-selling stocking filler.
14 November 2009 01:06
The days of Yanks and Brits getting their paws on the latest kit first could be fading. Dell has confirmed that its first smartphone, the Mini 3, will be debut in China in November, launch in Brazil by Christmas and appear in the US and UK, er, sometime. Possibly.
The 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreened Android handset doesn't exactly have a cutting edge spec - it's just a 2.5G GSM device and (like most Chinese phones) lacks Wi-Fi. It will get Bluetooth 2.0, a 3MP camera and A-GPS, though, and promises to be priced at a fraction of the iPhone.
Developing nations will account for virtually all the new mobile phone users in years to come, with customers there increasingly seeking higher tech handsets. If it's successful, the Mini 3 could give Dell and Android a headstart in markets that are still enjoying double digital growth, unlike the handset-saturated West.
Google shouldn't get too back-slappy just yet, though. Dell's US press release today was quick to point out that only "the initial Mini 3 smart phones" are designed around the Android platform.
10 November 2009 22:14
Esquire US has been wandering into not-beating-but-joining territory for a while now, trying to out-tech the internet with gimmicks like an E Ink cover. Its latest cross-media experiment is 'augmented reality' (also known as a barcode) - a huge cover-mounted icon on its new issue that you wave in front of your PC's webcam to activate special software.
Hosted by Robert Downey Jr, the AR software offers you the chance to interact with features from the November issue, such as viewing a fashion shoot with different backgrounds or getting a daily rotation of old jokes told woodenly by a bored-looking (but hot) Gillian Jacobs.
Of course, it's not really augmented reality as we know it, and could all have been achieved just as easily with a URL and a nice Flash website. What's your take on it? The birth of a new inter-connected medium or just the extravagant death throes of the printed page?
09 November 2009 22:25
Just a second, didn't Google used to be the king of free? Microsoft is so keen to migrate mobile surfers to its 'decision engine' that it's bribing them with free Wi-Fi minutes.
A partnership with wireless advertising specialist JiWire means that travellers using 'premium hotspots' in thousands of airports and fancy hotels across America can earn a free Wi-Fi session just by completing a search on Bing.
A single search gives at least 20 minutes' access, with some providers giving up to a couple of hours. No registration is required.
The campaign, which started in September, is based on the idea that once people experience Bing they will come back and use the engine again. Initial results at the free hotspots suggest that Microsoft might be on to something, with many users returning for multiple Bing searches - even if it didn't top up their surfing time.
Update: Looks like Google didn't like being out-nothinged. Mountain View is now offering free Wi-Fi for all at 47 airports across the US and on every Virgin America flight until the middle of January - no search required.
Stuff has done the maths and it works out that if you're going to spend more than 65 hours online in an airport, it's worth flying from London to New York to do it. Sweet.
07 November 2009 01:09
Americans already love their cars but get ready for a whole new wave of autophilia when 4G LTE technologies get piped into the next generation of ng Connect automobiles.
Alcatel-Lucent, Atlantic Records, QNX Software Systems and Toyota have teamed up to produce a prototype Prius that spends as much time in the cloud as it does on the road.
The 'smartphone on wheels' allows passengers to stream and purchase all types of media content to their seats via touchscreens and a mobile broadband LTE of up to 100Mbps. You'll be able to pause a TV show on your home PVR, get in the car and press play to continue watching from the same point.
Passengers will be able to play games with each other, nearby cars or players around the world, send emails, socially network, do a spot of shopping or use any of thousands of apps developed for in-car use.
The driver won't be left out, either, thanks to always-on sat nav features with up to the minute traffic info, over-the-air firmware updates and live access to parking spaces and petrol spaces.
ng connect is still a few years from commercialisation - and there are rival ecosystems out there - but it's hard to deny that cars are the one space that (a few connected sat navs aside) the internet has yet to really revolutionise. Maybe we've just found the real home for Apple's upcoming tablet.
05 November 2009 01:55
In case you were still in any doubt as to what the hottest tech trend of the year was, welcome to the world's first (and probably, only) dedicated Twitter device.
The TwitterPeek is a cut-down version of the Peek handheld emailer, itself a cut-down, voice-less version of a mobile phone. The small, solid device has a grey or Twitter-blue housing and a Twitter-blue inbox that lets you follow your Tweets, 140 characters at a time. There's no email or SMS access, no web browsing or media playback, and definitely no boring old voice calls.
You do get miniature Twitpics, though, and Peek is promising support for previewing links 'in the near future' via firmware upgrades. The TwitterPeek costs $200 (£125) with unlimited, lifetime Tweets (sending and receiving) or $100 (£63) if you don't mind paying $8 (£5) a month after six months. That's probably the better option, seeing as the whole Twitter phenomenon might have faded back into the ether by then.
The TwitterPeek works across the US only, with no plans for a Euro version at the moment.
03 November 2009 19:25
One of the most impressive features of Motorola's Droid phone is its ability to pull up Street View images for every turn, junction and lane change in the Google Navigation app.
But there's a reason why the Android 2.0-based software sports that all-important 'beta' tag - and it's probably down to things like this: a turn that suggests driving the wrong way up a freeway before veering through a lane of oncoming traffic into a solid concrete underpass.
Keep coding, guys.
02 November 2009 20:42
Still looking for that gimmicky Secret Santa office present? Your co-workers could do a lot worse than a Sonic Fabric necktie made from recycled cassette tape.
NY designer Alyce Santoro has come up with a way of threading audio tape together with normal cotton to create ties that can literally be played. The ties come in three colours (black, brown and grey) and feature recordings from Alyce's very own 'between stations' album, which is based on looped and layered samples collected on the streets of Manhattan - although you'll need a de-constructed tape head to listen to them.
The bad news is that they cost a hefty $90 (£55) each, and sorting out international shipping could be tricky.
23 October 2009 00:14
As if launching music gifts with Facebook and being tipped to partner Google in its new search-and-share music venture wasn't enough for one week, streaming audio service Lala confirmed today that its long-awaited iPhone App would be available within a month.
In an exclusive interview with Stuff, Lala founder Bill Nguyen said that the US-only App, which will be submitted to Apple for approval very shortly, will offer free streams of over 9 million tracks, and song purchases for as little as 10 cents (6p).
While Lala also sells DRM-free MP3s for the usual 89 cents, its 10 cent deals are a little different - giving unlimited high quality streams of the song from Lala's 'music locker' in the cloud, but not a downloadable file.
"If you think about the web as a music platform, it's the last file format you'll ever need," says Nguyen. Users can 'upload' their iTunes or Windows library to Lala's lockers (it takes just a few minutes), then stream all the songs they already own (whether legally acquired or not) for free. Nguyen says that Lala hopes to upgrade streaming rates (currently 128kbps) 'every year' as bandwidth increases.
Next week will see a joint announcement by Lala and the MySpace-owned iLike, hotly tipped to be bringing their services to Google's search page. The new venture is rumoured to be called 'Google Music', 'Google Audio' or 'OneBox' - the same name as a mobile messaging start-up company Nguyen sold in 2000. Coincidence? All will be revealed on Wednesday.
21 October 2009 01:22
Coincidence? Or CONSPIRACY? Just a day after the announcement of Spring Design's double display Alex ebook reader, Barnes & Noble launches the similarly styled but far more ridiculously-named nook.
Like Alex (we're on first name terms already), nook has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen beneath a more traditional 6-inch E Ink display, and has Google's Android OS roiling around inside. Unlike Al's full web browser though, nook's mini-screen is used only for flipping through book covers, adjusting settings and as a virtual keyboard for searching.
Priced head-to-head with Amazon's Kindle at $259 (about £160), nook has some other intriguing features. LendMe allows you to digitally share purchased ebooks (even those with DRM) with friends and family for 14 days - they can read them on other nooks or using the free B&N reader software for PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPod Touches and BlackBerrys.
There's wireless downloads, natch, via 3G or Wi-Fi, of over a million books, mags and papers from B&N online, including about 500,000 free, out of copyright titles courtesy of Google Book Search.
And just to make sure you don't abandon real bookstores forever, Barnes & Noble says that taking a nook into one of its shops will activate special offers, discounts and free browsing of complete ebooks.
16 October 2009 22:23
Someone had better tell Joey Roth to start putting his prices up: a mere $495 (£300) for a pair of 6-inch ceramic speakers, complete with a 15W per channel amplifier, will earn him no friends in the world of exotic audiophilia. It even ships with 16-gauge oxygen-free copper speaker cable and matching interconnects, for heaven's sake.
The speakers are made from porcelain, cork and birch wood, while the amp is stainless steel sheet metal with a cast iron base and a wooden volume slider. Aside from the electronic components, plastic is completely absent - this is one mini system made to last.
13 October 2009 19:21
Is that an encyclopedia in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? Openmoko has just launched the WikiReader, a $99 (£62) portable touchscreen gadget for experiencing the 'joy of information' through offline access to the entirety of Wikipedia.
The handheld unit stores all three million plus articles currently found on the English language Wikipedia site, but without any imagery or external links. It runs on two AAA batteries that Openmoko claim will let you flip through pages for 'months' at a time.
Three buttons let you search for specific words (using a virtual keyboard on the capacitive screen), browse your history or simply call up a random info-nugget from the Wikipedia archives.
If you want to keep your WikiReader (slightly) up to date, $29 (£18) a year buys six-monthly updates via microSD - or you can download each 4GB-ish update yourself for nothing.
No word yet on a UK release but if the WikiReader catches on, expect to see e-Bibles and other cut-down micro readers hitting the e-book shelves shortly.
09 October 2009 23:49
The end of the wallet is nigh - and you won't need a fancy RFID-enabled phone. Amazon has just announced a service for retailers that will let you use your Amazon account to pay for all kinds of products and services on your mobile phone.
The Amazon Mobile Payments Service will bolt on to existing mobile apps and websites, giving you all the options you get on Amazon's site, including 1-Click purchasing.
The idea is that that you'll be more likely to trust Amazon's payment system than the dodgy online pizza delivery service whose URL you found in the pub.
Starbucks is trying a different approach, moving its pay-as-you-caffeinate Starbucks Cards into an iPhone app. From the new app, Americans can enter their Starbucks Card numbers to register it, check their balance and - in Seattle, Cupertino and Mountain View at first (gee, I wonder how they chose those cities?) - pay for their beverages virtually.
