Today's Mobile News in Brief (April 8, 2011)

As reported here on Cell Phones Etc. and across the Web, here's your daily brief on what happened in the world of mobile phones this Friday, April 8th, 2011.

Future Shop throws in a $50 Gift Card with Rogers/Fido Nexus S on 3-year

Rogers/Fido hasn't officially released the Nexus S yet to the public, but you that's not stopping Future Shop from offering it to their customers. In fact, they're further sweetening the deal by bundling it with a $50 gift card. So, any takers out there?

Mobilesyrup

Fring lanches Group Video Calling beta

Don't look now as a new era of video calling is upon us. Fring, one of the pioneers in video calling/VoIP for the iPhone, is now testing out their newest service, group video calling. Group Video calling will be available for both the iPhone and Android platform, and allow users to engage in simultaneous video call with up to 4 users. It's already in beta so it probably won't be long now before it's finally released to the public.

Engadget

TELUS joins others and reduces Nexus S price to $499.99

So I guess Telus finally saw the light. When they outted their Nexus S, it had one of the most expensive price points – $179.99 on a 3-yr contract and $549.99 off-contract. Rogers, Fido and a number of other carriers are offering it much lower – $100 on a 3-yr deal and $500 outright purchase. Today, Telus has lowered their off-contract price to match the competition. Unfortunately, their 3-yr contract price still remains the same. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this too gets lowered soon.

Mobilesyrup

Symbian No Longer Open Source

The title already says it all. After becoming open in February of last year, Symbian will now cease to become an open source code as it returns home to Nokia from its erstwhile stint with the Symbian foundation. Nokia will, however, still continue to provide thesource code to their small developer community and Japanese OEMs. It's just won't be open anymore.

DialAPhone

Update: Bell & Virgin HTC Incredible S already price dropped by $50

Wow, that was fast. After being released a week ago with a $99.99 3-year contract price, the Incredible S is now retailing for just $49.99 under the same contract term. Both Bell and Virgin Mobile have lowered its 3-year contract price for their new HTC Android phone by $50. This should be good news for those who held off on buying the Incredible S last week. I can't say the same though for the early adopters out there.

Mobilesyrup

Source

A Google A Day at The New York Times

The New York Times, an institutional newspaper all by itself, has worked closely with Google to roll out A Google A Day, which is a trivia game that encourages you to use the search engine in order to solve each daily question. Google claims that the questions will be posted near the crossword puzzle each weekday in the Times, not to mention on its virtual presence as well. Similar to the Times crossword puzzles, you can expect to work that brain harder as the week goes by. Talk about getting a thorough mental exercise regardless of which medium you look at! In order to prevent yourself from finding the answers by accident, you are encouraged to use the Google search on the trivia game's site. Tomorrow will unveil the answers in the paper as well as on A Google A Day. It would be interesting to see whether using other search engines like Bing or Yahoo would be able to yield and accurate and correct answer…

Sourcen

AVCCAM Importer from Panasonic will offer direct edition of AVCHD into Final Cut Pro

Well finally we will have the chance this summer to speed-up things a little when working on AVCHD on Final Cut Pro! Panasonic announced yesterday that it will release this summer AVCCAM Importer, a free QuickTime plugin that eliminates the needs for you to convert AVCHD Files into ProRES422 via Final Cut Pro Log and Transfer interface and let you directly edit .mts file like any other kind of media.

AVCCAM Importer is a software plug-in for Apple Final Cut Pro to enable direct editing of an AVCHD ".mts" file without conversion. Since AVCCAM Importer is a plug-in component for Apple QuickTime, QuickTime Player can play an ".mts" file directly after installation of AVCCAM Importer on a MAC.

The AVCCAM Importer will be available this summer as a free download from the Panasonic web site.

About AVCCAM

Panasonic's AVCCAM series brings the benefits of solid-state HD recording to budget-conscious professionals with a range of affordable camera and recorder products that record with inexpensive, widely-available SD/SDHC cards. The professional AVCCAM line includes the AG-AF100 large sensor HD cinema camera, the AG-3DA1 Full HD 3D camcorder, the AG-HMC80 shoulder-mount, the AG-HMC40 and AG-HMC150 handhelds, and the AG-HMR10 AVCCAM recorder and its optional AG-HCK10camera head. AVCHD is supported by a wide range of editing options, including Apple Final Cut Pro 6 or 7, Adobe Premier Pro CS4 or CS5, Grass Valley EDIUS Pro 5 or 6, EDIUS Neo 2 or 3, and Avid Media Composer 5. In addition, a free transcoder, available for download at www.panasonic.com/avccam, converts AVCHD files to DVCPRO HD P2 and downconverted DV files for use with most existing professional editing packages.

Source

Microsoft looks at flexible hardware specification for Windows Phone 7

WinRumors has gotten wind of whispers that Microsoft could be exploring the possibility of having flexible hardware specifications where its Windows Phone 7 platform is concerned, and this could result in different hardware companies rolling out more affordable Windows Phone devices. Of course, with varying hardware on different handsets, you could end up with a software fragmentation problem that Android is currently experiencing – some games which require a high level of processing muscle can only be played on certain high-end phones, leaving the rest of the Android community in the dark. Is Microsoft willing to follow such a route? Apparently, an announcement on the matter might be made as early as the company's MIX11 conference sometime later this week. Of course, there are pros and cons to this situation, where the added flexibility lets device manufacturers use cheaper components in order to make owning aWindows Phone a whole lot more affordable. What do you think – should Microsoft maintain a high standard, or can they relax a bit?

Source

Windows 8 app store revealed in leaked screenshots

If you've not known, Microsoft has been fighting with Apple for quite some time over the "App Store trademark, even before Amazon go and name their new online app store the Amazon App Store, which got themselves a letter from Apple as we've already known.

Now we may be able to slightly guess what Redmond has been so consistently fighting to prevent Apple from getting that sole right to use that popular term. Hopefully this is not some crude and late April fool joke. Chinese site cnBeta's been busy dishing out alleged screenshots of Windows 8 at its infancy, and the latest seem to be rather wacky. It appears that Microsoft's next flagship OS will be shipped with its very own built-in app store, which is simply dubbed Windows App Store at this stage.

As with previous Windows milestone builds, the final appearance may differ slightly, but word has it that this new store's passed its internal tests and will soon go beta. While it's too early to tell, here's hoping that this feature will open the floodgate to a whole bunch of cheaper Windows software.

Source

Google Latitude, now with 100 percent more check-in deals

A couple of months back, Google brought check-ins to Latitude, its location-sharing service, through Google Maps 5.1 for Android. Naturally, iPhone users only recently received the same functionality, but some would argue they should be grateful to be included at all. (Kidding. Sort of.) Now, Latitude's inching closer to direct competition with Foursquare and Groupon by offering check-in deals at retailers like RadioShack, American Eagle, Quiznos, and Finish Line. Google is currently namechecking over a dozen nationwide partners, and that list will surely grow as the bandwagon approaches Mach 5. Curious as to how this all works? Check in at RadioShack, for example, and you might receive ten percent off an in-store purchase. Offers are tied to check-in frequency, building on Latitude's three-tiered status system; higher status means better deals. If you'd rather peek nearby offers before you decide to leave the house, head to Google's official check in page in the source link below.

Source

G-Technology crashes NAB with portable, Thunderbolt-equipped RAID arrays

The Thunderbolt goodness just keeps on rolling out at NAB. G-Technology just announced it will be adding support for the high-speed connection to its line of RAID devices for those who spend their days chopping up HD video. The first batch of products will hit in either Q3 or Q4 and start with the company's smaller arrays in the four to eight-disc size. A prototype of a four-drive model can be seen in the photo above, which rep Pete Schlatter described to us as "the sweet spot" in terms of portability and storage. Sure, calling an eight drive array "portable" sounds like a stretch, but don't forget: these are designed to be paired with laptops and carried people editingvideo on the go - you know, guys with giant cases of equipment and biceps to match.

Source

Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25, includes lot of enticement

up for 842 email marketing scams? Thankfully, none of those scenarios are ones we're looking to tell you about. Instead, we're here to introduce you to the world's first ad-supported Kindle, going on sale within Target and Best Buy locations for $114. That represents a gentle $25 savings compared to the price of today's cheapest Kindle, but those 2500 pennies don't come free -- you'll be asked to endure "advertisements on the bottom of the device's home page and on its screen savers." Furthermore, it sets a new precedent in the gadget arena that could very well carry over to ad-discounted tablets, netbooks, PMPs, and who knows what else. At this point, Buick, Olay and Visa will be advertising, and we get the impression that said list will bloom in due time. It's hard to say just how intrusive they'll be, but Kindle director Jay Marine seems to think that "customers are going to love it."

We aren't so sure. While it's crystal clear that the general populace adores coupon cutting, it seems problematic to us to ship a pair of identical products that cost within $25 of one another and expect Joe Sixpack to grok the difference. In fact, we're guessing that this will inevitably lead to consumer complaints from those who can't figure out why their "on sale Kindle" isn't nearly as enjoyable to read as "Bob's Kindle... that he found during a sale." At any rate, a demo of the new device displayed a screen saver deal "where customers would pay $10 for a $20 gift card to Amazon," and while no ads will appear in e-books, there's still "a clear advertisement" along the bottom of the home screen. All that said, here's the key feature that Amazon's seemingly overlooking: an option in the software to pay back the $25 a customer skimped on to do away with the ads on their ad-supported e-reader. Solves the buyer's remorse problem, at least.

Update: And it's official -- PR's after the break!

Press Release:
AMAZON INTRODUCES NEW KINDLE FAMILY MEMBER: KINDLE WITH SPECIAL OFFERS FOR $114

$25 less for the same #1 bestselling latest-generation Kindle plus special offers and sponsored screensavers

Special offers in the initial weeks include $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card, $1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store, and a $100 Gift Card with a new Amazon RewardsVisa Card

Amazon also introduces "AdMash" – the new free Kindle app and website where customers vote for the most attractive sponsored screensavers

SEATTLE-April 11, 2011-(NASDAQ: AMZN)-Millions of people are reading on Kindle, Kindle has more 5-star reviews than any other product on Amazon, and in just five months the latest-generation Kindle became the bestselling product in the 16-year history of Amazon.com. Today, Amazon introduced a new member of the Kindle family – Kindle with Special Offers for only $114. Kindle with Special Offers is the same #1 bestselling Kindle, plus special offers and sponsored screensavers. Kindle special offers and sponsored screensavers display on the Kindle screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen. Learn more about all three latest-generation Kindle family members-$114 Kindle with Special Offers, $139 Kindle, and $189 Kindle 3G-at www.amazon.com/kindle. Kindle with Special Offers is now available for pre-order to customers in the U.S. and will ship on May 3.

"We're working hard to make sure that anyone who wants a Kindle can afford one," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "Kindle with Special Offers is the same #1 bestselling Kindle – and it's only $114. Kindle is the best deal in consumer electronics anywhere in the world."

Buick, Olay (Procter & Gamble), Visa, and Amazon.com Reward Visa Card (Chase) are sponsoring the first series of screensavers specially-designed for Kindle's high-contrast, no glare electronic ink display (for screensaver examples, visit www.amazon.com/aboutkindlespecialoffers). Examples of deals that will be delivered directly to Kindle with Special Offers devices in theinitial weeks include:

* $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
* $6 for 6 Audible Books (normally $68)
* $1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store (choose from over 1 million albums)
* $10 for $30 of products in the Amazon Denim Shop or Amazon Swim Shop
* Free $100 Amazon.com Gift Card when you get an Amazon Rewards Visa Card (normally $30)
* Buy one of 30 Kindle bestsellers with your Visa card and get $10 Amazon.com credit
* 50% off Roku Streaming Player (normally $99)

To make sure customers don't miss any of the offers, a full list of active offers will be available from the menu of Kindle with Special Offers at any time.

Amazon is also introducing "AdMash" – the free Kindle app and website where customers choose the most attractive and engaging displayadvertisements that will become Kindle sponsored screensavers. Kindle's sponsored screensavers are specially-designed display advertisements that take advantage of Kindle's high-contrast, no-glare electronic-ink display. Before these advertisements can be presented to Kindle customers, they are first previewed by customers using AdMash. Users are presented with pairs of sponsored screensaver candidates and asked to select which one they prefer. Screensavers with the most preferred votes qualify to become sponsored screensavers. The AdMash Kindle app will launch in the coming weeks – for a preview, visit www.amazon.com/aboutkindlespecialoffers.

In addition, Kindle with Special Offers customers can give Amazon hints on the style and types of sponsored screensavers they would like to see. From the Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.com, customers can use Kindle Screensaver Preferences to indicate whether they like to see more or less screensavers that include elements such as landscapes and scenery, architecture, travel images, photography, and illustrations. Together, AdMash voting and Kindle Screensaver Preferences help Amazon present sponsored screensavers that customers find attractive and engaging. For screenshots of Kindle screensavers, AdMash and Kindle Screensaver Preferences, visit www.amazon.com/aboutkindlespecialoffers.

"The opportunity to offer custom-designed Kindle screensavers was a natural fit for Buick because Kindle is such a unique device surrounded by a community of intelligent, passionate people," said Craig Bierley, Director ofAdvertising and Promotions, Buick. "Kindle's high contrast e-ink display eliminates glare and is perfect for emotionally engaging and impactful brand imagery, allowing us to connect with Kindle readers wherever and whenever."

Kindle with Special Offers includes all the same features that helped make the third-generation Kindle the #1 bestselling product in thehistory of Amazon.com:

* Paper-like Pearl electronic-ink display, no glare even in bright sunlight
* 8.5 ounce body for hours of comfortable reading with one hand
* Up to one month of battery life with wireless off eliminates battery anxiety
* Kindle Store with over 900,000 books – largest selection of the most popular books
* Seamless integration with free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android-based devices

Learn more about all three latest-generation Kindle family members-$114 Kindle with Special Offers, $139 Kindle, and $189 Kindle 3G-at www.amazon.com/kindle. Advertisers and agencies interested in learning more about Kindle sponsorship opportunities can contact kindle-sponsorships@amazon.com.

Associated Press, Amazon

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Vulkano Flow now available, does 480p placeshifting for under a hundred bucks

Monsoon has announced the "general availability" of a new placeshifting box, the Vulkano Flow. As we learned during CES, this box has a $99 price tag and trims last year's Vulkano to just the placeshifting essentials. It's most similar to the Slingbox Solo in that it will accept HD inputs but can only stream video at a max 720x480 resolution, which could be passable watching on a PC with a small screen or one of the mobile apps (iOS, Blackberry, Android, $12.99/ea.) There are a few hands-ons and reviews out already, with ZatzNotFunnynoting a few tweaks were still necessary to get things running while The Gadgeteer has a bevy of screenshots for you to check out the UI. Monsoon's other new box, the Blast, is still launching in "the near future," which builds on the Flow's specs (detailed after the break) with DVR recording capability and HDMI output for $199.

SOurce

CyanogenMod 7 Stable Now Available

Finally! It's been in the works for quite a while now, but the team behind CyanogenMod for 30 different devices have announced that version 7 is finally available. To be honest, CyanogenMod release candidates are as stable as some phones are stock, but if you were holding off until the team could deliver some stable gingerbread love then this is your lucky day. Head over to Team Douche's mirror to get your own taste now.

SOurce

Stealth unveils the LPC-670 mini-PC: small in size, vast in price

Stealth has been in the compact computing game for some time, and the company has just rolled out its most powerful pint-sized PC to date, the LPC-670. Packing Intel's Arrandale Core i5-520M, Core i5-580M, or Core i7-620M silicon, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, a DVD or Blu-ray burner, a max 750GB 2.5-inch HDD or 128GB SSD, optional 802.11g WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and DVI connections, Stealth's new mini-PC has the brawn of much bigger machines. The price of such lilliputian luxury? An account-emptying $1650, and that's just for the base model - check the right option boxes and the final tally will run you over three grand. That should ensure the customer base will be just like the machine itself... tiny. Press release is after the break.

Press Release:
Stealth.Com Introduces a New Powerful, Advanced Mini PC
Featuring the Latest Intel Core i7/i5/i3 Mobile Processor Family

Toronto, Canada/San Jose, CA ~ April 2011 - Stealth.com Inc. (Stealth Computer) a leading ISO 9001 manufacturer of industrial rugged computers and peripherals has released their most powerful and advanced mini pc yet, the LPC-670 LittlePC. The new Stealth LPC-670 small form factor PC offers tremendous power in a tiny package that measures 6.5" x 6" and less than 2" in height. The diminutive machine is about the size of a hard cover novel yet surpasses performance of computers many times its physical size.

"The Stealth Model: LPC-670 is the most powerful and advanced small form Little PC we have ever offered. This full featured machine utilizes the new Intel® Core i7/i5/i3 mobile processor family and we believe it competes for the most processing power per square inch of any personal computer available today." stated Ed Boutilier President & CEO of Stealth.com Inc.

The LPC-670 mini PC features a multitude of I/O connectivity built into its impressively small design such as; Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi 802.11g, 4-USB 2.0, Serial, DVI-I, Audio and HDMI ports. The LPC-670 supports up to 8GB in DDR3 memory and has a built-in 2.5" mobile hard drive with up to 750GB's of storage space for archived data. For applications that require extra high shock, vibration and wide temperature ranges optional SSD (Solid State Hard Drive) are available. A slim DVD/CD-RW optical drive comes standard with an optional Blu-ray burner available. The LPC-670 operates from an external 20VDC power adapter (included) or can be connected to an external DC source of 12 to 20VDC, ideal for mobile and in-vehicle applications. Systems are compatible with Microsoft Windows 7/XP, Linux etc and can be custom configured to meet the exact needs of the end user. Stealth's new LPC-670 Small Form PC is currently shipping with a base price starting at $1,650.00 USD.

Stealth products are ideal for demanding applications within the Industrial, Commercial, Scientific Research, Military, Public Safety, Utility, Transportation, mining and Telecommunications markets.

About Stealth

Founded in 1990 Stealth.Com, is a leading manufacturer of specialized Computers and Peripherals. The company is ISO 9001 registered and continually develops innovative products designed to meet the exact needs of their clients. For two decades Stealth has provided thousands of proven reliable product solutions that have assisted clients with a myriad of applications. Our impressive customer base includes a wide range of customers from single man operations to Fortune 500 companies, Military installations and Governments worldwide. www.stealth.com

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Editorial: Android's problem isn't fragmentation, it's contamination

This thought was first given voice by Myriam Joire on last night's Mobile Podcast, and the simple, lethal accuracy of it has haunted me ever since. All the hubbub and unrest about whether Google is trying to lock Android down or not has failed to address whether Google should be trying to control the OS, and if so, what the (valid) reasons for that may be. Herein, I present only one, but it's arguably big enough to make all the dissidence about open source idealism and promises unkept fade into insignificance. Let's start off by setting out what the goal behind Android is. It'd be impossible to identify the flaw with Google's strategy if we aren't clear on what it's strategizing toward. From its very inception, Android has been about expanding the reach of Google search. Never mind all the geeky professions of wanting to build a great mobile operating system and one which Googlites themselves would want and be proud to use -- there's no reason to doubt the veracity of those proclamations, but they're symptomatic, a sort of nice side benefit, of the overarching business decision. Google makes its money by selling ads. It sells those ads by serving them up in front of its vast audience, which in turn comes to it primarily through the use of Google search. When faced with the rampant ascendancy of mobile internet use -- and Google deserves credit for identifying the oncoming smartphone craze in good time and reacting to it -- the company knew it simply had to maneuver its products into the mobile realm or face a slow, ignominious path to irrelevancy. Ergo, what Google was really and truly striving for with Android was ubiquity. Instead of having to dance to the merry tune of carriers -- as Microsoft is now having to do with Verizon in order to get it to bundle Bing on some Android devices -- or appease manufacturers' many whims, Google opted to build its own OS, with that specific aim of expanding availability as rapidly and as broadly as was possible.

To say that the goal has been accomplished would be an understatement. Android has stormed every Symbian castle, ransacked every webOS village, threatened the mighty tower of Mordor iOS, and thoroughly resisted the upstart challenge of Windows Phone 7. The reasons for its success and universal acceptance have been twofold. Google has invested plentiful resources into expeditiously building up its Linux derivative for the mobile space, on the one hand, and has decided to make the fruit of that labor available to phone manufacturers without hindrance or demand -- to use as they pleased, for it was open and flexible, and while it wasn't initially beautiful to look at, it was a sturdy platform from which to build.

Many have characterized the resulting melange of multivariate Android skins and devices as generating fragmentation within the OS' ecosystem. That may be true, but is not in itself problematic. If there were no qualitative difference between Android on an HTC device and Android on a Sony Ericsson phone, the end user wouldn't care. He'd call that choice.

Where the trouble arises is in the fact that not all Androids are born equal. The quality of user experience on Android fluctuates wildly from device to device, sometimes even within a single phone manufacturer's product portfolio, resulting in a frustratingly inconsistent landscape for the willing consumer. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a loud and proud Android phone, but it features an older version of the OS, has had a checkered history with updates, and generally leaves users sore they ever picked it up. At the same time, Samsung's 10 million unit-selling Galaxy S is too an Android phone, one that Google can rightly be proud of. The most irksome example, however, is LG's Optimus 2X -- it has Froyo on board both in its European 2X garb and in its US-bound G2x variety, but the former crashes the browser any time you look at it, while the latter, eschewing LG's customizations and running the stock Android 2.2, is one of the slickest and smoothest devices we've handled yet. The point is not that carrier or manufacturer customizations should be abandoned entirely (we know how much those guys hate standardization), it's that some of them are so poor that they actually detract from the Android experience. Going forward, it's entirely in Google's best interest to nix the pernicious effects of these contaminant devices and software builds. The average smartphone buyer is, ironically enough, quickly becoming a less savvy and geeky individual and he (or she) is not going to tolerate an inconsistent delivery on the promise contained in the word "Android."

It may seem odd for us to pick faults with an operating system in the midst of a world-conquering tour, but then you only need to look at Symbian's fate to know that fortunes change quickly in the breathlessly developing smartphone realm. All Google really needs to do to patch the cracks and steady its ship is to live up to those rumors of Andy Rubin ruling from above. Dump the X10s and 2Xs from the portfolio of real Android devices -- and Google can do that by denying them access to its non-open source products like Gmail, Maps, and the all-important Android Market -- and give us some respite from having to worry if the next Android will be a rampant robot or a dithering dud. Custom skins can still live on, but it's high time Google lived up to its responsibility of ensuring they're up to scratch before associating its mobile brand with their final product. Such a move may dent the company's valuable reputation as a do-gooder, but if it helps the even more valuable Android OS keep its course toward world domination, surely it'd qualify to be called a good thing in and of itself?

Source

eFun's Nextbook Next5, Next6 now available, likely not the next big tablets

As you might recall, we weren't exactly head over heels for eFun's new line of tablets when we got our hands on the things at CES. Well, we've yet to see much of the sluggish Next4, but both the Next5 and Next6 have quietly made their way to market. Like we said before, the Next6 is more of an e-reader than a tablet, and the same goes for its sibling. Both sport Android 2.1, 7-inch LCD touchscreens, 800 x 480 displays, and WiFi connectivity - the Next6 sports 4GB of memory, while the Next5 offers 2GB and a 600MHz dual-core processor, based on the ARM926EJ. We've said it once, and we'll say it again, the best thing about these slabs is probably the price: the Next5 rings in at $200 and the Next6 at $230.

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Barnes & Noble Gearing Up for Launch of NOOKcolor Apps

Barnes & Noble is preparing to launch a a selection of NOOKcolor-specific apps, and has opened up their developer portal to those wishing to submit applications for the Android-based e-reader. NOOKcolor apps will come in both free and paid flavors and users will also have access to free trials before buying. Unlike Google, BN will be screening apps and denying those it does not feel fit.

NOOK-specific apps were first touted with the launch of the NOOKcolor, but it seems they have been pushed back as we await a major software upgrade that should enhance the tablet-factor of the e-reader.

Source

Google adds 'touchscreen-friendly' to their Chrome OS

When Google previewed their Chrome OS and the CR-48 laptop, there's talk of it being optimized for tablets too. But when Honeycomb came out, it changed the thinking of the public, that Google might not optimize Chrome OS for keyboard-less machines. But that's not true.

CNET has been doing some snooping in and around the latest iterations of Chrome OS, where it's discovered numerous pieces of circumstantial evidence, such as a new onscreen keyboard, suggesting tablets are still very much on the menu. Chrome OS kicked off life on the development device known as Cr-48 and will resume availability this summer courtesy of Acer and Samsung, though I think Google might still stick to netbooks and ultralow voltage laptops for the moment.

Mountain View has responded to CNET's queries with a pretty inconclusive statement, saying only that “We are engaging in early open-source work for the tablet form factor, but we have nothing new to announce at this time.”

Well, time will tell, but I think Google is gearing up their Android for smartphone and tablet sector, while their Chrome OS will more likely be contending with Windows and Mac OS.

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Android chief Andy Rubin tackles open source qualms, says Honeycomb isn't 'one size fits all'

Google got a lot of flak for withholding the Android 3.0 source code, and plenty more whenBusinessweeksources claimed the company had set aside its open stance to dictate from a throne, but today the man who would allegedly sit atop the royal seat says it isn't so. Andy Rubin, the man in charge of Android, says that "there are no lock-downs or restrictions against customizing UIs" nor "any efforts to standardize the platform on any single chipset architecture" as have often been rumored before, and that when Honeycomb is finally ready for phones, Google will indeed release its source code. Overall, he claims that Android's position when it comes to open source hasn't changed since day one - which is nice for those who would like to believe that Google's still sticking to its motto - but that's not likely to appease companies cut out of the loop simply because they weren't part of the early adopter club. If Google's methods will reduce fragmentation, though, who are we to judge?

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Amazon offers 4GB Xbox 360 with $50 credit

We know that the new Xbox 360 spring update will see the introduction of an update disc format, but before you are able to get your hands on such an update, you would definitely need to own an Xbox 360 in the first place, right? For those who want to turn the tide against the PS3, join the Xbox 360 brigade by picking a 4GB model up from Amazon. After all, the online retailer is offering said console with a $50 credit after you drop $199 for it, and this credit isn't just restricted to games but can also be used to pick up other merchandise on Amazon. Any takers?

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TvTak Makes it a Snap to Share Shows

In the vast expanse of iPhone apps, there is - on occasion - an app that is so incredibly useful it soon becomes a must-have. TvTak, which instantly detects the show or commercial you're viewing, is shaping up to be one of those apps and received great hype at Techonomy earlier today.

TvTak is a novel use of recognition technology; you simply point it at your TV screen and take a snapshot. Immediately, it tells you what TV show or commercial you're watching.

Besides being a practical way of figuring out the name of the show you've randomly channel-surfed to without having to wait for the TV listings to roll around, it also enhances your social networking experience. TvTak lets you post the snapshot of the show you're watching to your Facebook or Twitter. It's an easy way to alert people to what your favourite shows are, and to discover similar interests you may not have been aware of.

If that wasn't neat enough, it also does the editing work for you - scaling, zooming, and cropping are automatically done on the image. If you happen to blog about TV shows, this is a killer app - it essentially eliminates the need to search for screencaps online or posting poorly-taken cameraphone snapshots - worse yet, not using any images at all. It might be difficult to take a snapshot at the right moment, as you're not likely to know what pivotal scenes are until they've passed, but you're bound to get a few shots of the action.

TvTak's commercial recognition is another intriguing feature to consider. Not only will it tell you what product is being sold - which can already be a challenge given the cryptic nature of some commercials - but it can link interested buyers with advertisers and allow purchases to be made through the iPhone. If TvTak takes off in a big way, it might just change the nature of online shopping.

The Ubercab is another neat implementation of Web 2.0 technology - in this case, it allows you to order a limousine with the touch of a button. If you pledge your allegiance to the Android phone instead, here are 9 must-have apps for the average Web 2.0 user.

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A Stretchable Phone? Surprising Elastic Smartphone Concept

When I switched from my first cell phone to my first smart-phone, I was a little worried as to what my reactions would be to a totally on-screen keyboard. The phone, a Blackberry Storm, was great, and I quickly grew to love it, though I always had issues with the keyboard, though new concept ideas have begun to further improve the field of on-screen keyboards.

Where to place a keyboard, if at all, and how to place it has been of concern since smart-phones have emerged, and one innovator seeks to change it once again with something called the Elastic Phone.

While it isn't exactly stretchable, the Elastic Phone is a brand new concept phone that features “a flexible keypad with OLED and touch-feedback technology.” This would allow users to place the “buttons” wherever he/she wishes, and allow for multiple formats for various situations, such as games, media playback, and messaging.

Moving the keyboard around the screen would not hinder the display, as the user can place it where ever they wish, and along with a moveable keyboard, it features little feedback devices all over the keyboard in order to provide a real keyboard feel to the phone. While these features may not be entirely new (my Storm had a click-able screen), it may be a vast improvement from anything that has previously been seen.

This phone is truly innovative, and possibly something to be seen on the markets in the future. It provides for all of the needs of everyone, from the basic phone user who simply needs phone and messaging, to the advanced user who requires their phone to act as a few devices in one. Not only that, but it provides many more opportunities for the future of all phones, allowing for designers to think outside of the box, like this designer did, and possibly incorporate new features and functions into phones that have yet to be seen.

Are you a phone junkie? Well then go check out some cool iPhone 4 cases and the awesome “PS Designed” smart mobile device.

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Logitech Alert 750i Master System Review

Even though, we live only fifteen miles from downtown Seattle, my family and I live (in some peoples' opinions) out in the sticks. We live at the end of a long gravel road. We can not see our neighbors or the county road we live on. My wife and I worry about security and have used ADT security monitoring for years. At least for our situation, I find their protection and service mediocre at best. So, I have been looking for (high-tech) alternatives to better monitor our property and house ourselves. There are many options to stream video to the internet. But few are designed to be more of a DIY home, web-feed monitoring system than just a pet-cam type of setup (although in recent months more have been coming to the market). Considering how integrated and capable it is, Logitech Alert 750i Master system seemed to be the best option for my application.

The key features that drew me to the Logitech Alert system:

* high resolution camera (960 x 720 @15fps)
* ability to set motion sectors (up to 16 motion detection zones within the frame)
* system can email photos after motion sensor is tripped
* ability to view live video stream via computer, tablet and/or smartphone
* ability to record video independent of a computer system


Both of the 750 series systems offer the features listed above, but the 750i (I was sent by Logitech) is the indoor model and the (add-on) 700e is the waterproof and night vision enabled outdoor version (I purchased myself, but more about that later). Both the 750i and 750e are 'master' cameras and serve as the core component to the security system and are capable of adding (up to) five additional cameras (700i or 700e) to the network with them. The only differences I have been able to find is that the 750′s include the setup/control software and second power supply that connects your Alert system to your network.

Logitech includes everything you need to install the 750i Master Alert System within your indoor space, down to the suction cup or molly-bolts to mount/place the camera depending on your needs.

Package Contents:

* Logitech Alert camera
* Camera power supply
* Network adapter: 2 x 10-ft (3-meter)
* Ethernet cables
* Software CD
* Window, desktop, and wall mounts with installation hardware
* 2 GB microSD card (expandable up to 32 GB)
* User documentation


System Requirements:

* Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
* 2 GHz or faster processor
* At least 1 GB RAM
* Available Ethernet port on your home network.
* Setup requires a high-speed Internet connection.
* Remote viewing requires a PC or Intel-based Mac with Adobe Flash Player 10 or later (free download).


The camera itself is a well-made piece of hardware, definitely rugged enough for indoor use. Logitech has engineered a connection, hard points on the front and back, allowing you to mount the camera in a multitude of different ways. They also include a cradle for the camera to sit in if you want to set it on a flat surface or a suction cup to attach it to a mirror or piece of glass.

The 750 series of cameras connect to your network through the HomePlug PowerLine system. This (as with many things) comes with its positive and negative sides. All of your cameras need to be plugged into an electrical outlet for power and network connectivity. Depending on your individual needs/situation this might be somewhat of a hassle (it was a bit for me). Along with the ethernet port, this picture also shows the microSD card slot. The microSD card enables the Alert system to independently (aka without needing to be tied to a computer) record video if the motion sensor is tripped.

I chose to mount the 750i camera to a wall in our kitchen eating area looking towards our entryway. Instead of using the molly-bolts Logitech included, I used my (handy-dandy) studfinder and drove several two inch screws into a 2×4 (much more secure). Once the mounting hardware is secured to the wall, the 750i easily screws onto its threaded end.

Along with being able to email picture notifications, stream live and record video, the Alert system cameras can also include audio as well. Both the indoor and outdoor cameras have a built in microphones to stream and/or record audio.

The ethernet cable stretching from the camera to the electrical plug did not look very good at all. Soooo, a construction buddy and I crawled around our attic to install a couple electrical outlets. Due to the distance, I had to use standard ethernet cables to connect the cameras to the plugs….thankfully the system allows for this (vs having to use the cables provided by Logitech).

As you can see, having the cabling going up into the ceiling/attic definitely made the Alert system look more ascetically pleasing. It worked well for both the 750i and 700e camera setup.

Once connected to our home network via the HomePlug PowerLine, the next step was to install the Logitech Alert Commander software onto your PC. Yes, I said PC. If you are a Mac user, you are not totally out of luck. Since this setup only needs to be accomplished once, you have a couple of options: 1) borrow somebody's PC (laptop preferably since you need to do this within your network) or 2) setup BootCamp or other application which allows you to run Windows on your Mac (I know, ick….). Anyhow, long story short, even when running Windows 7 in BootCamp, setting up the system was quick and easy.

The Logitech Alert Commander software enables you to zoom in or out of the cameras field of view, position where the camera lens looks, setup motion zones and email alerts, and watch/download video that each of the cameras has recorded.

Email notifications

The pictures below are thumbnails of the actual photos the Logitech Alert system sent me when it detects motion in its field of view. You can click on images to see the high resolution in their original quality.

The three pictures above were emailed to my iPhone from the 750i that I have monitoring my entryway. Both the 750i and 700e email 640×480 pictures.

Here are several pictures the 700e emailed me. The center one shows how well the 700e's night vision works. The last photo is letting me know someone is checking out my new polebarn without my consent :-I. I need to tweak the sensitivity of the 700e's motion sensor. When the wind blows the branches of our Sequoya tree, I receive email alerts due to just that (vs anyone on our property). Not a big deal though, I would rather get (to within reason) more notifications than not enough.

Once I receive a notification email, I can log into my system via my smartphone or laptop to see live video feed from my Alert system. The video quality to my iPhone or Droid X are both excellent on either WiFi or 3G connections. Depending on your connection quality, logging into your system through your smartphone is an issue at times. When you have a good/great connection logging in is relatively dependable. When in poor coverage, connecting to your Alert system rarely worked. But that really is not a function of the system itself but a reality of life.

The Logitech Alert Web Viewer

The Logitech Alert Web Viewer enables you to view your system from any computer or tablet connected to the Net; Mac, PC, iOS or Android device alike (Logitech is working on a web viewer for the Blackberry). Due to the larger screen size/resolution, the video does not look as good as it does on a smartphone but does enable you to see what is going on.

The Logitech Alert Web Commander

Logitech Alert Web Commander enables you to control your security system remotely via your web browser or smartphone apps as if you were using the Alert Commander software from within your network. Viewing your Alert system is a free service Logitech provides out of the box; the Web Commander is an upgrade service that costs $80 per year. To be honest, I am still debating on whether I want to subscribe to the Web Commander service….not sure if it is worth it for me. I do not believe I would use the added feature much, if at all.

Logitech Alert 700e Outdoor Add-On Camera

I liked the Logitech Alert 750i Master System so much, I decided to use it as our primary security system for our home. But that meant greater video coverage. So (as I stated above), I purchased the Logitech Alert 700e outdoor add-on camera to augment our overall system. Like the 750i, setting up and integrating the 700e camera into the system was quick and easy as well (it took me much longer to pull the ethernet cable through our attic than it did to get the camera operational).

The add-on cameras include everything you need to mount and connect them to a Alert Master system.

My ultimate plan is to purchase at least one, if not two, additional cameras to fully monitor our property. Installing the Logitech Alert system just the way I wanted, was a fair amount of work but I am very pleased with the results. That said, there have been a few minor glitches along the way but none major enough to make me second guess going down this path for home security. The master systems cost $300 for the 750i and $350 for the 750e. Additional add-on cameras cost $230 for the 700i and $280 for the 700e. For me at least, my ultimate setup will cost approximately $1000 when all is said and done. But I paid more than that for the ADT system we used for years that was prone to feline-caused, false alarms.

I will end this review with funny commentary from the Gadgeteer Kid. He was in the backseat with a couple of his buddies and they were discussing who's parents were tougher on them. The first two told their stories and the GK ended the conversation emphatically stating he will never be able to get away with anything, ‘MY Dad has me under video surveillance' . Parents, just think of the potential

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