The new Samsung Series 5 ChromeBook laptop running Google’s Chrome operating system has gone on sale in the United States.
The Samsung Series 5 is a 12.1-inch netbook powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual-core CPU, and has 2GB of RAM and a 16GB solid-state drive.
The Chromebook is available in WiFi only and WiFi and 3G models for $429 (£266) and $499 (£310) respectively.
It is expected to sell for between £349 and £399 when launched in the UK in August.
Ruper Goodwins from ZDNet said: “For all the things that are on the web browser, this works really well – better than anything else. But for all the stuff you do on the desktop, it doesn’t do very well at all.
“The idea that this doesn’t matter – that you’re always connected and always online – isn’t quite true yet. The idea is very good but it’s a little premature.”
A second Chromebook, made by Acer is due to start shipping soon
FRONTLINESMS ALLOWS YOU TO TEXT MESSAGE WITH LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE ANYWHERE THERE IS A MOBILE SIGNAL
FrontlineSMS is award-winning free, open source software that turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a central communications hub. Once installed, the program enables users to send and receive text messages with groups of people through mobile phones. What you communicate is up to you, making FrontlineSMS useful in many different ways.
It does not require an Internet connection.
Attach a phone and SIM card, and pay your local operator per SMS as usual.
It stores all phone numbers and records all incoming and outgoing messages.
All data lives on your computer, not on servers controlled by someone else.
You can send messages to individuals or large groups, and reply individually – useful for fieldwork or during surveys.
It is easy to install and requires little or no training to use.
Developers can freely take the source code and add their own features.
It can be used anywhere in the world simply by switching the SIM card.
The current version of FrontlineSMS (1.6) comes with on-screen language support for English, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and Chinese
Yahoo! AppSpot gives personalized app recommendations for your iPhone and Android device. Both app search on the PC and the AppSpot mobile apps are intended to make apps more discoverable and provide more context to users.
“Yahoo AppSpot, a new mobile application, works like a flashlight in the darkness of more than 425,000-plus apps in the Apple App Store and 200,000 apps in Android Market,” Yahoo said in a statement. “Yahoo AppSpot offers a new way to take the guesswork out of finding relevant and interesting apps for mobile users.”
Features:
• Daily Personal Picks: AppSpot provides new, personalized picks every day based on the app categories that are most important to you.
• Quick Search: Leveraging Yahoo! search assist technology, AppSpot helps you quickly zero-in on relevant apps by showing matching app titles, as well as related keywords.
• Related Apps: To aid in discovery, AppSpot allows you to seamlessly continue down that search path by providing “more apps you’ll love” on app product pages.
• At-a-Glance Shopping: The bold and bright interface allows you to see the price, ratings, reviews, screenshots, and description all on one screen.
• Fast & Easy Downloads: Direct links to the specific app pages within the App Store make downloading selected apps a snap.
Google has announced new features including Voice Search, Search by Image, and Instant Pages t an event called “Inside Search” at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
These new features will only be available through the Chrome or Firefox browsers by using plugins.
Sony Ericsson have announced the XPERIA Mini and Mini Pro reports Will Park writing on Intomobile.
“The Mini and Mini Pro are designed to be extremely pocketable without compromising the kind of performance that savvy smartphone users are used to these days. The Mini rocks a slate-style form-factor, while the Mini Pro is basically the same phone with an added front-facing camera and slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Both phones feature a 3-inch (320×480) capacitive touchscreen that thankfully supports multitouch inputs and makes use of Sony’s Bravia Reality Engine. The miniature smartphone duo also sports a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor to keep things running smoothly, a 5-megapixel camera (with LED flash) that’s capable of recording 720p HD video, a hot-swappable microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and runs the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS skinned with Sony Ericsson’s custom UX layer.
As for performance, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS combined with a snappy Snapdragon processor endow the Mini and Mini Pro with the guts to go head-to-head with other higher-end smartphones on market today.”
SyncMate is a sync tool which allows you syncing data between your Mac and various devices and accounts within one app. You can sync your Mac with Windows Mobile, Nokia S40 and Android phones, other Macs or PCs, Google accounts, USB drives, Sony PSP and back up data online.
SyncMate comes in two editions:
Free edition helps you solve basic syncing problems like iCal and Address Book synchronization with multiple devices or Google, while usually similar applications are quite costly. You can also freely read SMS messages on big screen of your Mac.
Expert edition has to be obtained for a small fee, but is totally worth it as it offers an extremely wide range of synchronization options of your Mac with multiple devices. This turns SyncMate into versatile tool that will replace many one-sync-feature programs.
MyWi enables the creation of a iPhone® WiFi HotSpot or iPad® WiFi HotSpot – you can connect your laptop or other mobile device to your iPhone®/iPad® easily to use your iPhone/iPad’s data connection.
MyWi™ 4.0 enables iPhone WiFi tethering support to iOS 4! Will work with all jailbroken iPhones (including 2G/3G/3GS/4) and iPad on 3.1.2 or later.
Features:
# Create iPad or iPhone WiFi Hotspot to connect mutiple laptops or mobile devices to share your iPhone/iPad’s internet connection
# 40 bit and 104 bit WEP Security to prevent others from accessing your WiFi HotSpot
# Ability to enable USB and Bluetooth Tethering on your iPhone or iPad
# Broadcasts the Network Name (SSID) – no need to fuss with creating an adhoc network on your laptop
# Shows up and down bandwith usage for iPhone WiFi Tethering or iPhone USB Tethering
# Uses less battery and much faster then other tethering apps due to native routing
Please check your contract/carrier agreement regarding WiFi tethering other devices to your iPhone/iPad. Additional charges may apply.
WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.
WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia and allows communication between these different platform.
In addition to basic messaging iPhone, Android, Nokia and BlackBerry WhatsApp Messenger users can send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages.
Virgin Mobile has announced the Motorola Triumph With Froyo Android. The device has 2GB of built-in storage, 512MB of RAM, a five megapixel camera, WVGA display, 1400mAh battery, A-GPS, WiFi a Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU and HDMI output. It also comes pre-loaded with Virgin Live 2.0.
KEY FEATURES:
• 5MP back-facing camera and VGA front-facing camera
• HD video capture and playback in 720p, both on device or over HDMI
• Massive 4.1″ display (800×480 WVGA) and ultra-thin at .0.4″
• 1400 mAh battery
• 512MB RAM with 2GB ROM and SD card slot for extended
• Froyo (Android 2.2) with Flash support for enhanced browsing
(download from Android Market)
• Soft touch design for comfort in hand
SPECIFICATIONS:
• Software Platform: Android – Froyo
• Messaging/web/apps: MMS, SMS, email
• Camera: 5MP AF with flash, VGA front facing
• Video: 30 fps @ 720 p decode
30 fps @ 720 p 14 Mbps encode
• Connectivity: microUSB, 3.5mm , HDMI port
• Browser: Android Webkit Browser
• Bluetooth: BT V2.1 + EDR
• Memory: 512MB RAM/ 2GB ROM, uSD Slot
• Location Services: aGPS
• Form Factor: Tablet
• Experience Category: Media Centric
• Baseband: Qualcomm MSM8655
• Weight: 143g
• Dimensions: 4.8″ x 2.5″ x 0.4″Display: 4.1″ 800 x 480 WVGA
• Battery: 1400 mAh
• Bands/Modes: CDMA 1900 MHz EVDO RevA, 802.11 b/g/n
Altek has announced Leo, the world’s first Android-enabled 3.5G smart phone to feature an HD-capable 14-megapixel camera.
“Memorable moments usually happen when you least expect them,” observed Altek CEO, Alex Hsia. “You want to be able to capture those precious moments anytime and anywhere, and Leo is the device that lets you do just that. ” Hsia added, “Leo is the product of design know-how that comes from years of creating breakthroughs at altek in digital imaging technology, integrated with most advanced Android smartphone system.”
Leo doesn’t skimp on the features users have come to expect in today’s crowded smart phone market. That includes a generous 3.2-inch WVGA multi-touch capable display for easy input. Each phone ships installed with Google’s Android 2.1 (Eclair) mobile OS, allowing simple access to e-mail, Web browsing, and social media services like Facebook YouTube, and Flickr. Leo keeps you connected with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3.5G (HSPA/WCDMA) wireless and network protocols. Enjoy high-speed broadband connections via 5.76mbps HSUPA or 7.2mbps HSDPA.
Leo’s built in GPS makes navigation and geotagging images a snap. Accelerometer, digital compass and handwriting recognition all contribute to what this powerful smart phone can do for you. Whether listening music or watching movies, you will discover Leo supports most major audio and video formats. Don’t worry about finding room for your files; Leo’s memory is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.
Digital imaging and video are where Leo really shows its teeth. Few smart phones can deliver a comparable set of photographic features that start with a 14-megapixel CCD and 3x optical zoom lens. High-definition, professional-quality images are always a click away. It doesn’t stop with digital photography. Leo also shoots crystal clear 720p HD digital video, capturing life’s memorable moments anytime and anywhere.
This predator has sharp eyes. Leo’s 3x optical zoom represents a breakthrough in smart phone design by delivering a feature photographers have come to expect from today’s cameras, but not from their mobile devices. It puts users right in the action, opening up a world of photographic possibilities. Whether at 36mm or full 108mm equivalent magnification, Leo takes sharp, vivid images every time. Like its feline namesake, Leo is at home in the dark. Low-light situations are not a problem thanks to Leo’s powerful built-in xenon flash and auto-focus assist lamp.
When it comes to getting the perfect image when you need it, Leo is ready to help with smile- and blink-detection technology. Why wait to transfer photos to a computer before editing them? Leo packs a suite of handy options that allow “editing on the fly,” so users have the image they want before it leaves the camera.
How does the leader in digital camera technology start a revolution in smart phone design? Altek assembled one of the most experienced and dynamic R&D teams in the industry, drawn from tier-one mobile phone manufacturers.
A dedication to excellence in design and quality has made Altek one of the largest DSC ODM companies in the personal electronics field. At the core of Altek’s camera technology is the Sunny 9 digital image processor. It is the brainchild of Altek’s crack team of design professionals-industry leaders and PhDs working to develop latest chip technology to power Altek’s cameras and smart phones.
“The challenge facing Altek’s design team was how to integrate a fully functioning 14-megapixal camera with 3x optical lens while maintaining Leo’s smart phone form factor,” said JS Liang, Altek vice president and head of R&D. “An optical lens requires precision moving parts and mechanisms that ensure the device functions properly, but it also has to be attractive and easy to use. We achieved this without compromising Leo’s look and feel.”
HTC announced Thursday it will soon launch the HTC OpenSense software development kit, which aids developers in creating apps designed specifically to interact with HTC’s Sense software., according to Wired.
“HTC Sense is the company’s custom graphical user interface, built atop the Android platform. Because HTC is competing with other manufacturers like Samsung and Sony Ericsson — all three of which ship phones using the Android platform — Sense’s custom interface serves to differentiate HTC phones from other devices.
Instead of having the stock Android interface, for example, the company’s hardware comes with HTC’s version of many common apps. On an HTC phone, Twitter is relabeled as “Peep.” Menu screens also come preloaded with things like an HTC-branded media player, and calendar and contacts apps.
“As the devices become more and more alike, manufacturers will do anything they can to differentiate themselves,” Gartner research analyst Ken Dulaney told Wired.com.”
Tony Bradley writing on PCWorld is publishing “30 Days With Ubuntu Linux” a series of articles on how to get the best out of Ubuntu Linux.
The series starts in ernest on Day 2 which covers how to install Ubuntu Linux as a stand alone OS or dual boot with Windows and using an installation utility called Wubi.
