Palm cutting jobs to gain ground on Apple, RIM...
Palm is responding to its recent losses by trimming its workforce of 1050 employees, in an effort to remain competitive against the iPhone 3G and the various BlackBerry models. Reuters reports that the move comes as Palm focuses on its Linux-based "Nova" operating system, as well as a device on which the platform will run. Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to say how many jobs will be cut, but said the first round began this week.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 8 comments]
Apple may see fines over poor data archives...
The latest development in the Apple-Psystar case may potentially see Apple stumbling over potential fines, as a recent filing shows that the company does not practice common document and email archiving etiquette. The Industry Standard reports that Apple maintains no company standard for email and document retention, a practice that can lead to millions of dollars in fines when adequate documentation is not found, when called upon in support of courtroom proceedings.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 5 comments]
Friday, November 21st
Last updated: 12:00 AM EST
Evening Edition
WSJ iPhone ad part of Apple's enterprise push...
A full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal is the latest indication that Apple is trying to push further into the enterprise market. With Goldman Sachs analysts reporting that 17 percent of the segment plans to support the iPhone, Apple appears ready to begin courting potential business customers. The Journal offers significant exposure, with daily business news coverage circulating to millions of readers. The ad, appearing in the November 20 edition, reads, "With the iPhone's 3G speed, enterprise support, and hundreds of amazing business apps from the App Store, it's no wonder J.D. Power and Associates ranked Apple 'Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Wireless Smartphones.'"[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Apple deals: MacBook, MacBook Air, iPod shuffle, more
Apple's online store is currently offering a range of refurbished products from MacBooks to iPods. Starting at $849 is the 2.1GHz MacBook with 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive and ComboDrive. The 20-inch, 2.66GHz iMac is available for $1,299 with 2GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. Refurbished MacBook Air models can be purchased for as little as $1,199 with a 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of memory and an 80GB hard drive. Two gigabyte iPod shuffles are priced at $59 and come in purple, blue, silver and green. The 8GB iPod nano is priced at $99 and comes in silver, green, blue and black. Two iPod classic configurations are available 80GB for $169 and 160GB for $249 both models come in black and silver.[print | email | comment]
The Iconfactory releases Frenzic for iPhone...
The Iconfactory and ARTIS Software have launched Frenzic, a game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Seven levels can be conquered, from Newbie to Frenzic Grandmaster, each requiring the player to move a wedge from the center circle and into one of the six corresponding circles surrounding it. Gamers can track personal scores, or compare performance against other players via the Internet. If the gamer fails to complete the tasks within a time limit, one life is lost.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
DealNN: iPod accessories and storage solutions
Deals at DealNN today include a variety of iPod accessories and storage solutions. The lowest priced deal for today is on a three pack of Init metal covers for the current generation iPod shuffle, priced at $2.99 at BestBuy.com. Next up is the Logitech FreePulse Bluetooth wireless headphones for $29 at MacMall.com. The Griffin Journi portable iPod speaker system is priced at $56 at OnSale.com. Buy.com is offering the Western Digital My Book Essential 750GB external hard drive for $99.99. The OCZ ATV 16GB flash drive is priced at $9 after a mail in rebate offer from eCost.com.[print | email | comment]
Afternoon Edition
Macgamestore adds Book of Legends puzzle game...
Macgamestore on Friday released Book of Legends, a puzzle-based adeventure game. The program, developed by Banzai and published by Goggi Games, allows players to follow the main characters -- Charleston Black and Zoe -- as they travel through five different countries to solve puzzles and find hidden objects. The goal is solve a mystery involving Excalibur, the magical sword from Arthurian myth.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Tricky posts Armado Lite for iPhone...
Tricky Software has released Armado Lite, a free version of the accelerometer-based game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Tricky has also lowered the price of the full version for the holiday season. The new Lite version gives players a chance to test the game, following the adventures of Armado the armadillo as he works to save eagles from ants. Players navigate terrain such as woodlands, mountains and volcanoes, defeating various enemies and obstacles along the way.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
Nokia patent for gesture-controlled phones spotted...
With Finnish handset maker Nokia releasing its first touchscreen handset, the 5800 XpressMusic, early last month, now comes evidence the company will focus on a gesture-controlled interface, as per the company's Chief Designer, Alastair Curtis. He hinted at the potential of the gesture technology being incorporated into upcoming handsets earlier this week and Nokia already has a patent for the technology. The invention would use ultrasonic transducers (USTs) to detect a user's hand motion and gesture and track their relative location on the device's screen. Simple gestures such as opening or closing of a hand will open or close a program, respectively, and as an example.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Epson intros high-end HD Dreamio projector...
Epson Japan has introduced the EH-TW4000 projector to its Dreamio line-up, which is capable of creating 1920x1080 resolution images and has a fast 120Hz response time. Thanks to a new, twice as fast D7/C2 Fine panel, black levels are said to be improved over previous projectors and endows the EH-TW4000 with a 75,000:1 contrast ratio. Brightness is rated at 1,600 lumens.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Jumsoft publishes more free Keynote themes...
Jumsoft has continued its Goodies series of free releases by publishing 10 Keynote Themes. The themes are available to everyone but geared towards professionals, and include titles such as Artistic, Black, Education Pro, Iron, Old Paper, Simple and Wood. Each theme is presented with standard sizes from 1280x1024 through to 2560x1600, and also has custom bullets. Themes can be exported to PDF, QuickTime and other image formats.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
MacBooks slow down with battery removed...
Apple's newer MacBook range continues to exhibit an unusual design behavior that slows the system down when the battery isn't attached, testing by Gearlog confirms. Although only publicized in a support article from August that predates the late 2008 refresh, the unibody systems deliberately throttle back the processor when relying only on AC power. The company argues that the move is necessary to protect the system from an unintended shutdown if the system demands more energy than a wall outlet can provide by itself.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 14 comments]
Tests: Intel's upcoming Nehalem Xeons 2X faster...
Early tests conducted with Intel's upcoming Nehalem-based Xeons by TechRadar today show the processor running approximately twice as fast as its current equivalent. Based on the same basic design as Core i7 mainstream chips, a pair of 2.8GHz quad-core Xeon X5560 chips received a SPEC score of 160 in floating-point math tests versus 90 for two 3.4GHz Xeons from the current generation.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 1 comment]
BlackBerry Storm queues top 200 people...
Lineups for this morning's launch of the BlackBerry Storm have cracked the triple-digit mark and prompted sellouts, early reports note. One of the company's flagship stores in midtown Manhattan noted over 200 people in line for the touchscreen phone's morning debut and is said to have prompted a minor police response after a phone sellout angered those at the back of the queue. Sellouts have also been reported at other locations but haven't been given more definite numbers.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 8 comments]
AT&T experiencing 3G outages? [U]...
Scattered accounts indicate that AT&T may be experiencing new outages in its 3G network, in areas such as Boston and the general Michigan and Hawaii areas. In at least several circumstances the affected customers have been iPhone owners, who may be unable to receive any phone calls or notifications, regardless of the stated strength of the connection. The only way to begin receiving calls again may involve disabling 3G, limiting data functions to AT&T's 2G EDGE network.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 3 comments]
Marantz Japan intros Bluetooth iPod dock... Marantz Japan on Friday has introduced a new wireless dock for the iPod and iPod Touch personal audio and multimedia players. The system is composed of a receiver and multiple docks that will also charge the Apple devices and supports Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR A2DP and Bluetooth AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile). The system will allow users to play the content of their iPods via their home theater systems and control them via their home theater remote.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
StoryMill 3.2 ($45) provides a series of tools that help writers manage the creative process from the beginning of a story to its end. Users can track, tag and filter characters, scenes, locations and research. StoryMill also offers options for managing information including Smart Views, which allow writers to organize ideas in a project according to selected criteria. StoryMill 3.2 introduces a Project Find and Replace feature, word frequency filtering, text zooming available everywhere, and support for international date formats. [Download - 15.6MB]
Shark LT handles 2D and 3D CAD work...
Punch! Software is now shipping Shark LT, a professional-level CAD application. The software is aimed mainly at generating 3D models, but is also used to produce related 2D drawings, which can be generated automatically for items such as section and detail views. These can then be imported into apps more suited to 2D editing, such as Illustrator.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Morning Edition
BdEmailer expands iPhone e-mailing options...
Bad Dog Apps has released an update to BdEmailer, its e-mail software for the iPhone and iPod touch. The software attempts to expand on the functionality of Apple's own Mail client, by allowing landscape typing, bulk, draft and favorite messages, and a searchable history of sent items. The app now supports the SMTP protocol, which can be used to deliver pre-formulated quick responses without leaving the app.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Taiwanese iPhone hints at carrier freedom...
A new service package announced for the Taiwanese iPhone may suggest that Apple is allowing more freedom when it comes to carrier personalization. Local carrier Chunghwa Telecom has revealed the existence of Hami, a set of free services intended specifically for iPhone owners. People will have access to 11 services in total, including special news, weather and stock market trackers, as well as audio, video and images custom-produced solely for Hami. It is unclear whether Hami will be delivered via the web or as a custom app download.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
Samsung preps 23.6-inch, 50K:1 contrast LCD...
Samsung has finished its efforts on Friday with news of the 2494HS, its newest desktop LCD. The display relies on an unusual 23.6-inch panel that runs a native 1920x1080 resolution suited to 1080p movies but also manages an exceptionally high 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio comparable to TVs rather than computer displays. Accordingly, Samsung mounts stereo speakers on the LCD's chin and gives it HDMI input along with DVI and VGA.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
AMD Phenom II to reach 4GHz on air cooling...
AMD's mainstream Phenom II processors should rekindle the competition with Intel for clock speed, according to a collection of reports of an AMD demonstration session. Based on the recently unveiled Shanghai architecture being used for new Opterons, the quad-core desktop chips should make a modest leap to 3GHz in official clock speeds but will have room for overclocking previously only available with Intel's Core 2 chips. An example tested by AMD is capable of running reliably at 4GHz with fan-based cooling and shows the company could upgrade the clock speed to match or beat Intel if necessary.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | comment]
iPod touch 2.2 update omits Google Maps improvements...
In tandem with the release of the iPhone 2.2 firmware, Apple has published the iPod touch 2.2 update, a separate download through iTunes. The software contains most of the upgrades of its iPhone equivalent, such as auto-correction toggle, mobile podcast downloads, and improvements to Mail. Also present are a variety of security and stability fixes, for components like Safari, Office Viewer and Wi-Fi connectivity, particularly when dealing with WPA-protected networks.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 5 comments]
BlackBerry Storm shipping to Verizon...
Verizon today marked the official launch of the BlackBerry Storm on its network. The device matches the $199 contract price of the rivalling iPhone 3G at AT&T and is widely regarded as Verizon's best alternative to the Apple handset in features and focus. The Storm has a similarly-sized 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen meant for finger input but relies on a unique click action that requires a physical push downwards for some actions, simulating a physical button press.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 8 comments]
SoccerMate ($3) allows users to keep track of shots, cards, time and even stop of time in an interface that represents a soccer field. The stats can be quickly reviewed during a match or after with friends, family or co-players. Users can view the complied data in a match summary which can then be emailed for storage on a computer or to share with others.
iPhone 2.2 adds Street View, wide HTML mail, more [u]...
Apple on Thursday unveiled the long-awaited iPhone 2.2 update, offering users a number of enhancements and additions to maps and mail, as well as several improvements to stability and reliability. The v2.2 update provides the Maps app with Google Street View, and public transit directions. Dropped pins will now show addresses, and users can share locations over email. The Mail app itself had allegedly isolated issues resolved from scheduled fetching of email, and the formatting of wide HTML mail.[C o n t i n u ed... | print | email | 17 comments]
Early Morning Edition
