• android,  apple,  google,  ipad,  mac os x,  macbook pro,  mobileme,  rumors

    Rumor: Apple To Give Mobile Me Subscriptions Away

    May 11, 2010 /

    File this under “Crazy Ass Rumor of the Week”, but if Electronista.com and MacDailyNews.com are right, Apple might be feeling some pressure from Google’s free cloud services.

    “A tentative new rumor asserts that Apple may turn MobileMe into a free service. The plan would drop the $99 annual fee and let anyone with an iPad, iPod, iPhone or Mac get the online sync service for free.”

    “Free MobileMe access would likely be a shot across the bow of Google, for whom online sync has been an inherent feature in most of its software. Android users can sync accounts and contacts for free through Google’s existing services. Apple handheld owners can already sync Google features to some extent but don’t have the live updating of more unless they use Exchange or MobileMe.”

    Personally, the only reason why I don’t have a MobileMe.com account is that I really don’t feel like paying Apple another $69-99 a year for an email account – all be it a really handy email account. If the service was made available to me for free since I own two iPods, an iPad, a MacBook, and my recently purchased 17-inch MacBook Pro, hell ya, I’d jump on MobileMe in a second. Google who?

    Until we get some more details, however, I’m going to stick with my Google Gmail and Calendar accounts.

    [Via Electronista.com…]

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  • android,  droid,  google,  sprint

    Sprint to Google: We’ll Pass On the Nexus One

    May 11, 2010 /

    The Sprint, the Now Network, told us that they, like Verizon Wireless, won’t be carrying the Nexus One smartphone either. Take that Google!

    BoyGeniusReport.com reported late yesterday afternoon that “Sprint’s PR people have let it be known that the Google Nexus One will never have a home with the Now Network. Singling out the lack of need for the handset in their portfolio thanks to the bigger, better, faster and stronger HTC EVO 4G[…]”

    [Via BGR.com…]

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  • foleo,  hp,  rumors,  tablet,  web os,  windows

    Rumor: HP webOS Tablet Later This Year

    May 11, 2010 /

    Over the last week reports have been popping up around the web that HP could have a webOS tablet ready to go sometime in the back half of 2010.

    Reported by webOSRoundup.com, HP could be ready to bring out a tablet computer running webOS as early as Q3, 2010 or as late as the 2010 holiday shopping season. Adding fuel to this rumor is another rumor that HP has killed a project to release a tablet computer later this year running Microsoft’s Windows 7.

    My personal opinion is that a commercial release of an HP tablet running webOS before November is an incredibly aggressive timeline. Even if HP’s hardware is ready to go, there is still the issue of actually acquiring Palm and the license(s) for webOS. Then there is the time required to recode the webOS Linux kernel to run on the new tablet, beta testing, manufacturing, software imaging, shipping, etc. Needless to say, there is a lot of work to be done. If HP wants it done, they can pull it off, but at what cost? The last thing that HP would want is to race to market with a new webOS tablet and to have it be a train wreck. That already happened with Palm’s Foleo. I would much rather see a product that can deliver on the promise of the Foleo that is done well and not rushed out against some imaginary schedule.

    [Via webOSRoundup.com…]

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  • android,  droid,  eris,  google,  verizon

    Rumor: HTC Droid Eris 2.1 Update Coming “Soon”

    May 11, 2010 /

    Depending on which rumor you have read, the Google Android 2.1 update for the HTC Droid Eris could be coming to Verizon Wireless customers as early as tomorrow, May 11, or as late as the end of the month. Regardless, if a report back in February from Android And Me is true, all of today’s Google Android smartphones will be getting the Android 2.1 treatment.

    I’ll give you our option: Bring on the yummy Android 2.1 goodness!

    Regardless of when the update finally becomes available, we can read about the details of the HTC Droid Eris upgrade on the Verizon website.

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  • blackberry,  droid,  motorola,  rim

    Wow! I Like the Storm2 On-Screen Keyboard!

    May 6, 2010 /

    I never thought I would say this, but I really like the BlackBerry Storm2’s on screen keyboard. I reviewed the Storm2 back in December, and I had this to say about the on-screen keyboard:

    “After using the Storm 2’s Qwerty keyboards, I can say that I prefer the landscape keyboard the most. It offers the largest key cap clickable area of all the keyboards and the clickable screen did a good job tricking me into thinking that I was pressing a key on a physical keyboard. That isn’t to say that I didn’t make any typing mistakes, but I think that the Storm 2 offers the best on screen keyboard of all the smartphones I’ve tested so far. My one basic gripe about the landscape Qwerty keyboard is that when it is displayed, it takes up a significant portion of the screen; which can severely limit the space on the screen to see what you are doing.”

    Now that I have to live with the Storm2, I’m glad that to see that my views haven’t really changed much about the keyboard and that I still find the Qwerty landscape keyboard the most useful of all of the virtual keyboards I’ve tried to date. I’ve also been working with the Motorola Droid lately. You can get used to the Droid’s flat keyboard (as compared with a raised keyboard on the BlackBerry Tour/Bold or the Palm Pre); however, I have discovered that I can type faster on the Storm2 because the on-screen key caps are larger than the physical key caps on the Droid.

    The punch line here is that I still stand by my years long assertion that buying a smartphone is a very personal choice. you can read reviews and get recommendations from people, but at the end of the day, I still think the best thing you can do if you are in the market for a smartphone is to go to a local retail store and play with the selections and try it out for yourself.

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  • apple,  blackberry,  ipad,  iphone,  macbook pro,  palm,  pre,  rim,  sprint,  verizon

    Admitting I Have a Problem

    May 6, 2010 /

    Another long work day has come to an end and I’m “degearing” for the night. Just a few minutes ago, I realized why my blog has the word “Fanatics” in it.

    Right now, on my person, I’m carrying my Sprint Palm Pre, a 2G Apple iPhone, a 5th gen iPod, my iPad, and my new company issued Verizon BlackBerry Storm2 9550. Oh, and let’s not forget the 17-inch MacBook Pro that I needed at work today.

    So, I have to ask myself, why the hell and I carrying all this gear anyway? “They” say that admitting you have a problem is the first step. I’ll have to pencil that into my calendar at some point?

    I’ll have to take a break from all of this technology by drinking this can of Diet Coke.

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  • android,  blackberry,  blackberry os,  google,  rim,  treo,  verizon

    Returning to BlackBerry Nation

    May 4, 2010 /

    Today I was issued a company phone. I had the choice of selecting either a Motorola Droid or a BlackBerry Storm2. I chose the Storm2.

    I had the chance to work with both phones late last year as I worked with a team of people to select the phone, or in this case, the phones, that would replace our aging fleet of Treo 755p smartphones for mobile email and calendaring access. At the end of the day, our team decided to support both BlackBerry OS and Google Android because we use Notify Technology’s NotifyLink middleware server. NotifyLink is a robust platform that quickly allows small and mid-size businesses to connect just about any current smartphone with just about any standards based email and calendaring platform.

    You can read my BlackBerry Storm2 and Motorola Droid reviews here on Smartphone Fanatics.
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  • hp,  pixi,  pre,  web os

    HP Posts Slides, Transcript from Yesterday’s Investor Conference Call

    April 29, 2010 /

    HP has posted the slides and a transcript from yesterday afternoon’s bombshell announcement that the PC and printer maker intends to acquire Palm the troubled handset maker for $1.2 billion dollars later this year.

    HP has stated that they plan to continue to develop and grow the webOS platform after Palm is integrated into the Personal Systems Group, lead by formed Palm CEO, Todd Bradley.

    You can view the slides and read the transcript on Slideshare.net.

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  • hp,  pixi,  pre,  web os

    HP to Acquire Palm for $1.2B

    April 29, 2010 /

    Earlier today, Hewlett-Packard announced their intention to acquire troubled smartphone maker, Palm for $1.2 billion dollars, or $5.70 per common Palm share.

    Palm announced the deal on their corporate blog by posting:

    “In case you didn’t hear, we just announced a merger with a little shop down the street called HP. That little shop happens to be the world’s largest technology company, and certainly one of the most revered companies in all of tech-land. Can you say “webOS acceleration”? We’re pretty excited, and pleased we surprised the world again.”

    In a separate posting, HP wrote:

    “Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

    “We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm. ”We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”

    You can read HP’s full press release on the HP news release website.

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  • app store,  apple,  dataviz,  docs to go,  iphone os,  itunes

    Documents To Go for iPhone OS Updated

    April 27, 2010 /

    Documents To Go 3.2 for iPhone OS has landed in the Apple iTunes App Store.

    The biggest updates in this release are enhancements to searching, application optimizations, and bug fixes. I’m excited to learn that the next update for Documents To Go for iPhone OS will support the iPad! I’m really looking forward to that since Documents To Go will allow you to work with native Microsoft Office documents.

    DataViz is also running a special promotion to upgrade to the Premium edition of Documents To Go. On my iPod touch, using the in app upgrade option, I can step up to the Premium edition to gain Exchange attachment support and Box.net/Dropbox support for $4.99. Not a bad offer if you ask me.

    Hit the App Store icon on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to get the latest update to Documents To Go.

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