Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Sierra Wireless sure doesn't seem to be skimping when it comes to USB HSUPA modems, with it now following up its recently-released 880U and 881U models with its new and somewhat improved Apex 880 modem. About the biggest addition here is an always useful microSD card slot, which should let you ditch at least one USB thumb drive from your bag. The modem itself is also slightly smaller than the previous models, measuring just 85mm x 37.5mm x 15mm. Otherwise, you'll get the same peak data speeds of 7.2 Mbps on the downlink and 2.0 Mpbs on the uplink as before, and support for tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM/ EDGE networks to keep you connected at all times. No word on a price just yet, but it'll apparently be available in January.
Is it just us, or does this teeny, tiny image bear a striking resemblance to one ASUS P550, a feature-packed Windows Mobile handset that hit the FCC a couple months back? The few specs Vodafone lists on its site for this coming-soon device match up with the aforementioned FCC docs, too, so we'd say it's pretty safe to assume ASUS is the ODM in question here. Anyway, it looks like Voda will be getting this bad boy as the self-branded v1520 -- and while the 3.5 inch screen is pretty hot, the headlining feature seems to be an astounding 12 hours of rated talk time (rather real-world results are anywhere near that remains to be seen). No word on price or drop date yet, but you UK folk keep your ears to the ground, k?
We're probably going to be hearing a lot about Google's Open Handset Alliance and Android mobile phone software platform in the days to come, but the official press release contains quite a few things to chew on while we wait for the deluge. The big dogs in OHA appear to be Google, T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm and Motorola, but the list of companies that have joined the group is insanely long -- we're counting 33, and that's just the companies who've joined as of today. Notables include Intel, LG, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, KDDI, Broadcom, Marvell, Texas Intruments, NVIDIA, and, randomly, eBay. Equally interesting are the prominent absences from the list -- it looks like Nokia, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon and Softbank aren't in on this party just yet. Peep the full list of companies after the break.
Read -- OHA press release Read -- OHA members page
Google will be holding a conference call at noon eastern to unveil the details of its long-rumored Android mobile operating system. Joining CEO Eric Schmidt will be other members of the 34-member Open Handset Alliance, including the chief executives of Deutche Telekom, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola. According to the press release, the "Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses," and will be composed of a "fully integrated mobile 'software stack' that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface and applications." More details to follow.
Read - Google press release Read - Android mobile OS overview Read - Google blog: "Where's my Gphone?
We've had our eye on this willowy little minnow ever since we first gave it a proper once over at CeBIT earlier this year, and now E-TEN has announced that its everything-but-the-keyboard Glofiish X800 WM6 Pocket PC is finally shipping (we saw it unlocked on MobilePlanet for $650). Very similar to a number of 3.5G HTC devices already on the market, the X800 steps up the game by offering a sexy 2.8-inch, 640 x 480 screen, 500MHz Samsung processor, and dedicated SiRFstar III GPS chipset. Still, if you can hold out just a little bit longer, a QWERTY-fied M800 boasting the same specs is right around the corner.
Unless you're living in the UK, it's hard to get your hands dirty with Nokia's new Music Store. Unless you're living under rock, you know that it's Nokia's intention to take the service global as it vies for dominance over digital downloads. Fortunately, a quickie, video review from Nokia's new N81 has been posted by NokNok.tv. They claim that "hunting out tracks is a doddle, as is downloading." A good thing, apparently, judging by the 4 / 5 stars awarded. Check the action after the break.
Sony Ericsson's been announcing new models at a pretty nice clip lately -- and seeing how we've seen at least two of these handsets in the wild already, we've no reason to cast too much doubt on Cellpassion's claim that the company will be announcing the W380i, K660i, and W890i on Tuesday. Starting at the bottom, the W380i is a clamshell that we caught an all-too-brief glimpse of a few months back; it replaces the W300i, and although 3G apparently isn't in the cards here, it'll feature the gesture-based control for its music player that Sony Ericsson's been including on some of its latest models. The K660i (pictured) rocks HSDPA 2100 alongside quadband EDGE, and it'll up the standard for web browsing among Sony Ericsson's dumbphones by allowing landscape browsing and using an actual mouse pointer for navigation; this one's pretty much a lock since they've already thrown up the official product page for it. Finally, the W890i replaces the W880i and includes 3G, gesture control, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. Just a few more hours 'til we get to celebrate or debunk this spread, eh?
Announced in August, LG's HSDPA-totin' touchscreen KS20 was just released for retail in Europe -- France and Germany to be specific with more countries coming on the quick. Nothing new to report, same business minded, 12.8-mm thick Windows Mobile 6 handset with 3.6Mbps data, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera (VGA up front), up to 4-hours talk, and built-in stylus for navigating with precision on that busy, 240 x 320 pixel, 2.8-inch WinMo interface. No prices given but we're sure your carrier will happily oblige.
Now why, dear readers, would the Apple store at the Eaton Centre in Ontario, Canada, be hosting an iPhone workshop? Could it be that the iPhone is headed to colder climes in time enough for the holidays? Or is it just a simple mistake? Judge for yourself. We just hope this little mishap doesn't get that Eaton Centre Apple events coordinator fired.
Oh, and that not-so-"unlimited" data the iPhone was getting in the UK on O2? Turns out that apparently the carrier's reversed its decision to cap iPhone users' data at a mere 100-200MB, apparently stating, "There is no limit on the monthly network usage. However if we feel that your activities are so excessive that other customers are detrimentally affected, we may give you a written warning (by email or otherwise)." We're not really sure what the fuss is about, O2's rolling out a legacy EDGE network specifically for the use of iPhone users, why fuss over a device that can't be (easily) tethered to a laptop and has slow-ass EDGE data and quick WiFi?
Read - Apple schedules iPhone workshop in Canada [Thanks, Ethan] Read - O2 scraps limited-unlimited data [Via TUAW]
Alongside KDDI, Softbank and NTT DoCoMo have both announced their autumn / winter '07 handset lineups as well. More on the NTT DoCoMo goodies shortly, but for now, let's take a closer look at just what Softbank has to offer our friends on the other side of the Pacific, shall we?
Don't be fooled: Samsung officially calls this the M4650 Multi-Touch, but get this, it doesn't support multi-touch. It does support single touches of its 2.8 inch screen, though, which'll have to do seeing how it lacks either numeric or QWERTY keypads. The Korean company is prepping the Windows Mobile 6-based touchphone for its domestic market, matching a recent trend toward keyless, finger-friendly input that LG, HTC, Apple, and others have adopted in recent months. A customized build of Windows Mobile isn't the only trick up the handset's sleeve, either: haptics give users a little bit of positive feedback when they make contact with the display, and when Office Mobile finally ceases to be entertaining, the terrestrial DMB tuner should come in handy. Ironically, the M4650 will be offered through LG Telecom -- of all carriers -- for something in the range of 500,000 won (about $550) before rebates.
If red's more to your liking than black -- and Palm OS is more to your liking than, say, Windows Mobile or S60 -- give yourself a little high five. The bright red version of Palm's Centro for Sprint is now available for the very same $99 you'll spend for the black version from Sprint stores, Palm stores, and both companies' websites. Unfortunately, Palm chose some rather poor wordplay in announcing the thing with a blog post proclaiming "We're Seeing Red," and we're not going to lie, we thought those clowns were making light of some crappy financials at first. Whew!
Every carrier needs a massive, over-engineered camera-first, phone-second kind of device in its lineup; for Verizon, that had previously been the Samsung a990, and it's looking more and more like the u900 is going to make for a fabulous successor. The camera sensor itself doesn't grow at all -- 3 megapixels, to be exact -- but the autofocus is an important and increasingly ubiquitous feature in this range that makes a huge difference in picture quality. There's a flash too, naturally -- and the u900's screen rotates around to do an even better job of feigning a true point-and-shoot. Still no word on a release, but it sure looks ready to launch from all these press shots we've seen.
When we first got our hands on the UK iPhone back in September, it was already running the 1.1.1 firmware. The same firmware which helpfully bricked a number of hacked iPhones Stateside upon later release. Now T3 is claiming that the UK iPhone -- set for release on November 9th -- is kicking 1.1.2 under the glass. Besides support for French and German keyboard layouts and characters, the other notable change is the shuttering of the TIFF exploit used to jailbreak and then install (and unlock) third party applications on the 1.1.1 iPhone and iPod touch. With the possibility that Apple might release 1.1.2 globally with the UK launch on Friday, consider yourselves warned. It's not like there's a lot of incentive for you to update anyway (remember, it's optional) what with the latest jailbreak simultaneously exploiting and then plugging the TIFF exploit to keep your browsing safe. For whatever it's worth, the February SDK isn't too far away -- perhaps you should wait 'till then to get right with The Steve.
Nokia's versatile widget platform, WidSets, has come out of beta (although they've had boatloads of users and a solid offering for months now, so calling it "beta" may have been a bit of stretch anyway) with a refreshed look. The headlining feature seems to be the pictured "Explore" feature, which uses Flash to present you with a crazy web to drill down to the widgets that might (or might not) interest you. It's free, it works on a lot of phones, and it's cool -- so now that the ominous "beta" label is officially gone, y'all may as well check it out, no?
We're probably going to be hearing a lot about Google's Open Handset Alliance and Android mobile phone software platform in the days to come, but the official press release contains quite a few things to chew on while we wait for the deluge. The big dogs in OHA appear to be Google, T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm and Motorola, but the list of companies that have joined the group is insanely long -- we're counting 33, and that's just the companies who've joined as of today. Notables include Intel, LG, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, KDDI, Broadcom, Marvell, Texas Intruments, NVIDIA, and, randomly, eBay. Equally interesting are the prominent absences from the list -- it looks like Nokia, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon and Softbank aren't in on this party just yet. Peep the full list of companies after the break.
