Uncategorized — Tech Tidbits

Samsung, NTT DoCoMo to develop smartphone chips in proposed joint venture

September 13, 2011 By webadmin

Qualcomm may be facing some new competition in the mobile chip space, now that NTT DoCoMo and three other Japanese firms are looking to join forces with Samsung. According to Japan's Nikkei business daily, the quartet of firms (which includes Fujitsu, NEC and Panasonic's mobile unit) is currently finalizing negotiations with Samsung over a proposed joint venture that would design, develop and market smartphone chips. The partners are reportedly planning to incorporate the new chips into their own devices, while selling them to other handset manufacturers, as well. DoCoMo would hold a majority stake in the

Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: fujitsu, money

Leeds researchers tout gel-based batteries as better, safer and cheaper

September 13, 2011 By webadmin

They're some fairly bold claims, but a team of researchers at the University of Leeds say they've managed to develop a new type of polymer gel that could lead to batteries that are safer, cheaper to manufacture and more flexible than traditional lithium-ion batteries. That last detail could have some particularly interesting consequences, as the researchers say it allows for batteries that can "shaped and bent to fit the geometries of virtually any device." What's more, all of that apparently comes with no compromise in performance, and the team has already licensed the technology to Polystor Energy Corporation, which is now conducting trials to commercialize the battery cells. The only catch is that there's not so much as a hint as to when such batteries might actually be available.

Leeds researchers tout gel-based batteries as better, safer and cheaper originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: gel

Samsung Galaxy Y coming soon to Vodafone UK’s budget lineup

September 13, 2011 By webadmin

The Samsung Galaxy Y recently appeared on Vodafone's "Coming Soon" page, where Sammy's youth-oriented smartphone will look to carve a niche among the UK carrier's value options. While the handset compares favorably to the current bottom-of-the-line Galaxy Mini (free on all contracts over

Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: galaxy y

Is Samsung’s T679 a T-Mobile bound Galaxy W?

September 13, 2011 By webadmin

Are you a T-Mobile subscriber itching for more "Wonder?" You might be in luck, as Cell Phone Signal notes that the T679's FCC schematic lines up perfectly with the previously announced Galaxy W -- you know, Sammy's midrange 3.7-inch, 1.4GHz Gingerbread smartphone that we briefly coddled at IFA. Of course, there's no word on when it'll land on our shores, but here's to hoping Deutsche Telekom delights us with its white tuxedo variant.

Is Samsung's T679 a T-Mobile bound Galaxy W? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: galaxy w, samsung t679

Orb Live finally lands for Android: streams video, delivers Hulu without the Plus

September 12, 2011 By webadmin

Orb may have taken its sweet time, but an Android port of its Orb Live streaming app is finally available. By now you probably know the deal: install the Orb Caster app on your PC then fire up Live on your handset and you can start watching Netflix, Hulu (without a Plus account), YouTube, live TV (with the aid of a tuner) and video from other streaming sources like ESPN3 right on your phone over 3G, 4G or WiFi. In fact, Orb will stream just about any media from your PC to your phone, provided you can swallow the $10 price of the app. Orb Live for Android isn't showing up in the market just yet for us, but we suspect it won't be much longer now.

[Image credit: GigaOM]

Orb Live finally lands for Android: streams video, delivers Hulu without the Plus originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: app, apps

HTC chairwoman Cher Wang: we might buy a mobile OS, if it feels right

September 12, 2011 By webadmin

Samsung seems to the go-to company these days when it comes to mobile OS acquisition rumors, but now it looks like HTC's on the proverbial hot seat. According to a report from Taiwan's Central News Agency, chairwoman Cher Wang has affirmed that HTC is at least mulling the idea: "We have given it thought and we have discussed it internally, but we will not do it on impulse." The report goes on to make strong mention of HP's recently-backstabbed webOS platform, but stops short of suggesting that it's the only OS in the running. Continuing on, Wang stated: "We can use any OS we want. We are able to make things different from our rivals on the second or third layer of a platform. Our strength lies in understanding an OS, but it does not mean that we have to produce an OS." Of course, that's a cheerleading session surrounding the outfit's polarizing Sense overlay, and we're guessing that webOS would eventually look a heck of lot different under HTC's control. On second thought, maybe Wang's actually trying to acquire iOS -- she sure seems to love those Apple stores!

HTC chairwoman Cher Wang: we might buy a mobile OS, if it feels right originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: mobile os

Smartphones out-ship feature phones in Europe, Samsung leads the way

September 12, 2011 By webadmin

It was probably gonna happen sooner or later, but a new report from IDC confirms it: smartphones are now out-shipping feature phones in western Europe. According to the company's statistics, only 20.4 million feature handsets were shipped to the Old World during the second quarter of this year, representing a 29 percent decrease from Q2 2010. Quarterly shipments of smartphones, on the other hand, increased by 49 percent to 21.8 million units, marking the first time that they've surpassed basic phone orders. Smartphones also comprised 52 percent of all mobile shipments, which shrunk by three percent, collectively -- something IDC's Francisco Jeronimo attributes, in part, to Europe's brutal economic climate and Nokia's steep decline (see chart). On the OS front, Android once again came out on top within the region, thanks to a whopping 352 percent year-to-year increase in shipments, while Samsung controlled the manufacturing side, with 33 percent of the European market. You can find more IDC math in the full PR, after the break.

[Thanks, Pauly]

Continue reading Smartphones out-ship feature phones in Europe, Samsung leads the way

Smartphones out-ship feature phones in Europe, Samsung leads the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: europe, mobilepostcross

Samsung Galaxy S II ‘coming soon’ to AT&T, sign up page goes live

September 11, 2011 By webadmin

So a regional carrier from the home of Palin and moose meat beat 'em to the punch, but AT&T's at least showing signs that it's ready to get the Samsung Galaxy S II train rolling. While it still looks like Sprint will be the first of the Big Four to bring its variant of the Android phone to the US, AT&T's page for the handset is now live and sporting a nice big "Coming Soon!" That's all she wrote for now, but if you're dying to find out when Ma Bell will bring this Galaxy to you, hit the source link and sign up to get your email updates on.

Samsung Galaxy S II 'coming soon' to AT&T, sign up page goes live originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: hspa, mobilepostcross

Sharp Aquos SH8298U 3D smartphone goes under the knife, comes out in China

September 10, 2011 By webadmin

Same phone, different market -- that's pretty much what we're looking at above with Sharp's "new" 3D Aquos SH8298U. We first got our hands-on this device's twinner -- the Aquos SH-12C -- back at Computex, with that model sporting the Japan-only 1seg receiver, FeliCa (NFC) and 800MHz / 2100MHz bands. This time out, the OEM's made some subtle changes to its China entry, reducing the handset's storage from 8GB to 2GB, and packing it with GSM / WCDMA / HSPA radios. The rest of the spec list remains exactly the same, leaving this skinned Android 2.3 phone with a 4.2-inch qHD stereoscopic 3D display, dual 8 megapixel cameras, 512MB RAM and a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor. If translated pressers are your idea of fun, go ahead and check out the source.

Sharp Aquos SH8298U 3D smartphone goes under the knife, comes out in China originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed Under: Mobile News, Uncategorized Tagged With: 1.4ghz, china

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman Android phone gets busted open by the FCC

September 10, 2011 By webadmin

Somebody's not wasting anytime. Just last month we reported on the musically minded Android handset, and now what looks to be a decidedly darker version of Sony Ericsson's Live with Walkman has made its way through the FCC and come out the other end in pieces -- literally. Since the outfit didn't hold back much in its initial announcement, we won't be making any big discoveries here, but if you're into dismembered smartphones we've got a gallery of the shredded handset awaiting you below.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman FCC