Man! Just this morning, we were looking at the Nokia N900 and thinking to ourselves, “Damn! If only this could run a 15 year old operating system, it would be perfect!”
And just like that, our calls were answered.
We’re not sure why you’d ever want to do this (beyond “Because I can”, of course) but now you know: if you want to run Windows 95 on the N900, you can go right ahead. You’ll need an IMG file of a Windows 95 live cd and a copy of the x86 emulator DosBox – but once you’ve acquired those through whatever means you’re using, you can just follow this guide.
As any good Android-obsessed geek should know by now, Google’s made a tradition out of alphabetically naming their firmware builds after sweets. Android 1.5 was “Cupcake”, v1.6 was “Donut”, v2.0 is “Eclair”, while the next release will be lovingly dubbed “Froyo”. “But what comes after that?!” you say from the edge of your seat.
According to Android kernel developer Brian Swetland, the next major build after “Froyo” will be known as “Gingerbread”. If nothing else, the good thing about that name: no matter what it contains, it’ll be a sweeter treat than the crap I was forced to decorate and eat as a child.
(Like the image? While I wish I could claim that little Android dude is just killer rendering on my part, I just ’shopped in one of the soon-to-be-released Android toys.)
Why the hell not, right? In an effort to ensure that your future mobile devices are as small as possible, Texas Instruments has developed a new chip that somehow manages to contain 4 individual radios for WiFi a/b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, and FM receive/transmit. Not only that, it’s (according to the press release, anyway) even smaller and more energy efficient than before. Sure, development was probably done under the auspices of moving the wireless industry forward, but it’s also a pretty big middle finger to TI’s competition – we’re already looking forward to what they come out with in response.
OEMs can get their grubby little mitts on samples today, but the rest of us will have to wait until the end of the year before they start popping up in the next big handset.
No one likes early termination fees, but for one reason or another they can sometimes become a necessary evil. When Google introduced a new channel for buying the Nexus One, I was excited at the thought of grabbing a phone without being hassled by a retail sales rep. The only downside was that if I bought it at the subsidized price and wanted to cancel within 120 days, Google would charge a $350 device recovery fee… on top of the carrier’s cancelation fees!
Luckily, Google has decided to drop that price down to $150. Not bad, but it’s still not appealing when added to T-Mobile’s $200 early termination fee. Owning a Nexus One could get expensive if you decide to cancel your contract! At the very least, if you cancel and it’s all said and done, you’ll end up paying exactly what you would have if you purchased the device unlocked and contract free.
This isn’t official or anything, just a concept that happens to use some Microsoft assets, but what it Windows Mobile 7 looked like this? I think we all know it will not, but until the hammer actually falls at MWC, hope springs eternal. The “location-based desktops” idea is a good one for a MID or powerful smartphone that acts alternately as your email client, GPS device, and TV.
When the Nexus One was announced, many folks were questioning Google’s game plan and why it would release such an amazing device shortly after the Motorola DROID’s release. If that wasn’t enough to make some DROID owners envious, the Nexus One received a multitouch update last week which allowed pinch-to-zoom gestures within Google Maps, the Android browser and photo gallery. What could possibly quell all this Nexus One envy?
If getting multitouch for Google Maps wasn’t enough for DROID owners last week, they’ll be thrilled to know that their handsets are going to be graced with Android 2.1 in the future. Best of all, it’s coming with all the bells and whistles that can currently be found only on the Nexus One. Here is a run-down of what’s included according to Engadget:
Google Goggles is now pre-installed (no matter how unhelpful it may be).
The browser’s now multitouch enabled, just like Google Maps 3.4. Huzzah! No Flash, but then again, we weren’t really expecting that.
Interestingly, the home screen’s still got the same look as 2.0.1, meaning it doesn’t adopt the Nexus One’s rotating 3D grid of app icons — it’s still got the pull-up drawer tab at the bottom.
No active wallpapers. Bummer!
The news and weather widgets introduced on the Nexus One are included. Maybe certain capabilities of 2.1 are going to be restricted to devices with minimum performance benchmarks?
Sadly, you’ll have to exercise some patience because there is no time frame for this update’s release. In the meantime, don’t look at your DROID with disdain and resentment. Instead, appreciate it and constantly remind yourself that when the Android 2.1 update comes out, you can one-up the Nexus One by saying, “Well, at least mine has a physical keyboard.”
While pundits were arguing about whether Doom was damaging to us kids, we were busy having our sensibilities shocked by the phenomenally violent Rise of the Triad. While it wasn’t as flashy as Doom (it was Wolf3D-based), it had crazy weapons, fire, and enemies that would beg for their lives. So ahead of its time! At any rate, it was a fun game and I played through the demo a million times. And it’s coming to iPhone (yes, and iPad).
1up reports that it’s coming “soon” and will be a full port with all the levels of the commercial game. I’m not really a big fan of iPhone shooters like this, but the old, simple ones fare pretty well with the new control schemes. It might be that an iPad will be a great old school game platform — can you imagine playing X-COM on one? I got goosebumps!
Market research firm IDC has just released their quarterly report on the top selling smartphones (or “converged mobile devices”, as they call them) in the US for the fourth quarter of 2009. RIM and Apple dominate the list in an almost absurd manner, but a few welcome surprises managed to sneak their way in.
Want to test your mobile expertise? Make a mental list of what you’d wager were the best selling phones at the end of 2009, and then click through to see how many you got right.
Top 10 Best Selling Phones of Q4 2009:
RIM – BlackBerry Curve
Apple – iPhone 3G S
Motorola – DROID
Apple – iPhone 3G
RIM – BlackBerry Pearl
RIM – BlackBerry Bold
RIM – BlackBerry Storm
Palm – Pre
RIM – BlackBerry Tour
T-Mobile – myTouch 3G
RIM absolutely dominates the list, snatching up more than half of the slots for themselves. Apple follows close behind on two counts: they’ve got the second best selling handset, and they’re the only other manufacturer with more than one handset in the top 10. The Motorola Droid continues to pave the way for Android in the mainstream, securing a higher spot on the list (#3) than any other Android handset has in the past.
It’s important to note that this list only represents vendor sales, and not consumer sales. In other words: if a third party vendor ordered 500,000 units but only actually managed to sell 400,000 to end-users, it’s still counted as 500,000 sales. It’s an inevitable weakness of studies like this, considering how secretive carriers tend to be with their handset numbers.
When the Nexus One was announced, many folks were questioning Google’s game plan and why it would release such an amazing device shortly after the Motorola DROID’s release. If that wasn’t enough to make some DROID owners envious, the Nexus One received a multitouch update last week which allowed pinch-to-zoom gestures within Google Maps, the Android browser and photo gallery. What could possibly quell all this Nexus One envy?
If getting multitouch for Google Maps wasn’t enough for DROID owners last week, they’ll be thrilled to know that their handsets are going to be graced with Android 2.1 in the future. Best of all, it’s coming with all the bells and whistles that can currently be found only on the Nexus One. Here is a run-down of what’s included according to Engadget:
Google Goggles is now pre-installed (no matter how unhelpful it may be).
The browser’s now multitouch enabled, just like Google Maps 3.4. Huzzah! No Flash, but then again, we weren’t really expecting that.
Interestingly, the home screen’s still got the same look as 2.0.1, meaning it doesn’t adopt the Nexus One’s rotating 3D grid of app icons — it’s still got the pull-up drawer tab at the bottom.
No active wallpapers. Bummer!
The news and weather widgets introduced on the Nexus One are included. Maybe certain capabilities of 2.1 are going to be restricted to devices with minimum performance benchmarks?
Sadly, you’ll have to exercise some patience because there is no time frame for this update’s release. In the meantime, don’t look at your DROID with disdain and resentment. Instead, appreciate it and constantly remind yourself that when the Android 2.1 update comes out, you can one-up the Nexus One by saying, “Well, at least mine has a physical keyboard.”
If you’ve been camping outside of your local T-Mobile store ever since word first got out that they’d be replacing busted trackballs on a handful of BlackBerry models, you should probably run to the store and grab some more supplies. Looks like things have been pushed back a few days.
According to TmoNews, the trackball replacement program has been pushed back to February 24th, 9 days after it was originally expected to launch.
Why the delay? According to details from T-Mobile’s intranet, RIM has decided to replace the tweezers in the ball replacement kit with a specialized tool they call a “spudger”. Wikipedia defines a spudger as a “wiring [tool] used for poking or adjusting small wires or components, generally in the electronics or telecommunications industries”, while I define it as “an awesome name for the totally killer rock band I’ll eventually create”.
Vertu, French for “virtue,” has a pink phone just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s the Constellation Ayxt, only it’s pink. Fascinating.
There’s really not too much to say about the phone. It originally launched late last year, and it’s Vertu’s first “fold phone,” which surely must impress those of you living in the year 2006.
I’m going to venture a guess: if you buy your lady friend a pink phone for Valentine’s Day, you’re probably a jerk.
When it comes to bar-shaped smartphones, it takes a good amount of effort to design something visually appealing. There’s really only so much you can do with a flat slab – and whatever can be done likely already has.
With that said, there’s just something about this handset, the Qisda QCM-330. I’m not sure what that “something” is, but I like it.
The QCM-330 has emerged as one of the winners of an iF mobile design contest, though the awards won’t be passed out officially until CeBit in March. Congratulations and all that to the design team for snatchin’ up a trophy, but we’re far more interested in the handset itself.
Check out the beast of a display on the front; not only does it measure in at a massive 4 inches, but they’ve also purportedly managed to crank the resolution on that thing all the way up to 1280×1024 (though, with a widescreen like that, it’s more likely to be running at 1280×720). That’s a considerably higher resolution than we’ve ever seen on a smartphone, as far as I know. The recognizable home key on the bottom right gives us high hopes that this thing is rocking Android, though they’ve yet to confirm as much.
What has been confirmed, however, is the WiFi, HSDPA, 3 megapixel camera, and accelerometer packed inside. The only thing we don’t like about this handset? There’s no indication thus far that it’ll be heading stateside.
If you’re a Russian reader, the guys over at MobileReview have the scoop on a handful of other (considerably less exciting) design contest – but if you’re English-only, Unwired View has a pretty exhaustive write-up in your tongue.
There isn’t much to be said about a few in-the-flesh images leaked about a device we’ve all heard of other than the confirmation of a few things. To start, it looks identical to renders seen in the past, and the images depicted in HTC’s handset line-up which was leaked back in early December.
The form factor looks exactly the same and we can even see the clickable, optical trackpad that replaces the trackball typically seen on HTC Android devices. The back of the device tells us this is going to be a solid, aluminum device. Not sure what’s going on at the top where the camera and flash are located, and all the dots indicating a speaker and perhaps something else. One thing to keep in mind is that this is likely a pre-production device. Lastly, I’m glad to see Sense UI on what looks to be the successor to the Hero as it is an absolutely gorgeous interface over Android’s plain, bare-bones look.
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