Archive for June 19th, 2009

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/software/Palm_Pre_webOS_1_03_Update_Available_Now’; Looks like the first post-Pre-launch webOS update is now being pushed out — Pre owners, get ready for 13MB of 1.0.3 awesome. We’re getting a full list, but Palm just told us some of what’s new includes better Exchange email support, faster Google calendar syncing, and a bunch of app improvements.

Update: Palm’s posted the full release notes here.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm webOS 1.0.3 update now available originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the one-line summary of the Kindle DX: It’s a Kindle 2 with a larger screen, hair-trigger orientation sensor, and an awful keyboard. Seriously awful. Yes, we know we should be focused on things like PDF support or even content partners like newspapers and textbook publishers, but we’re having a hard time getting over the keyboard — it’s emblematic of some puzzling design choices Amazon made with the Kindle DX. What do we mean? Read on.

Continue reading Amazon Kindle DX review

Filed under: Handhelds

Amazon Kindle DX review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No, no – that headline wasn’t intended as commentary on the hygiene of Android users (though if a good chunk of the Android devotees I know are any indication, it very well could be. Zing!) Earlier this morning, mobile analytics group Flurry gave us an exclusive sneak peek at their Smart Phone Industry Pulse report for June. Flurry’s June report harvests data from 1,100 applications running across 4 platforms (iPhone OS, BlackBerry, JavaME, and Android) on over 40 million handsets, and sheds a bit of light on the usage habits (stickiness included) of smart phone users over the past few months.

So, you want to be a webOS developer, huh? That’s great kid, we’re excited for you, but there’s a catch: Palm won’t be handing out an actual SDK to most people until the end of Summer. In a post just published on the Palm Developer Network Blog, reps from the company say that although they’ve been cranking away on getting their full SDK in shipshape (the version given out to current devs is apparently pretty rough), they won’t have anything for a broader audience anytime soon. In their words:

With the Pre now in customers’ hands and reports of webOS hacks in the news, we know that you are more anxious than ever to get access to the SDK and start developing for webOS.

We’ve been working very hard on the SDK and are eager to open access on a wider scale, but the software and the developer services to support it just aren’t ready yet.

This should come as a bit of a blow to developers hoping to get cracking on Pre software, and will unquestionably turn those who can’t bear the wait towards the fully stocked iPhone or Android platforms. However, Palm does say that they’ll be opening the program up a bit wider, stating in the post that they plan to crank the number of devs with the early SDK in their hands up from “hundreds to thousands” over the next few weeks. Apparently, that’s part of process the company is beginning to ration out access, building to a full release.

Another bit of puzzling wordsmithing in this post comes in the form of the company’s stance on homebrew and DIY “experiments” (their words) which have come to light in the past couple of weeks. So says Palm:

As on any popular platform, we recognize that some developers will experiment in ways that cross official boundaries, but we believe that our formal offerings – and community efforts built around those offerings – will provide the best experience for the vast majority of webOS developers and users.

So while it’s not exactly a keep-off-the-grass statement, it certainly reads vaguely as to whether or not the company will lock out jailbreakers hoping to dive deeper into webOS. Further confusing the matter? Palm has just released the Linux source code used to compile the Pre’s firmware, making the possibility of cooked / custom ROMs a very serious reality, and obviously opening the floor to a lot of said experimentation. Mixed messages? Yes. Our word to Palm right now? Put every effort into getting that SDK out, or you’re at risk of quickly burning through all the good will you’ve just engendered.

Update: We’ve added some info above which reflects Palm’s statement that it will be considerably widening its pool of developers over the next few weeks with access to the early SDK.

Read – An update on the early access program and the SDK
Read – Open source packages

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm says no webOS SDK till end of Summer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been one hell of a month, hasn’t it? New Palm phones, new iPhones, a big Kindle, that Natal thing… LL Cool J. Yes, a lot has happened in the past few weeks, and it’s tough to contain all of that activity inside one teensy podcast — but we’ve tried. Join Josh, Paul, and Nilay for another adventurous adventure through time, space, and love as they explore the deeper meanings of the cosmos, the universe, and consumer facing gadgetry. If you don’t love the way you feel after listening to this thing, you may already be a zombie.

Update: We had some issues with the MP3 of the podcast — should be working now. Ping us if you have trouble!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Viva La Vida

Hear the podcast

00:02:05 - iPhone 3G S review
00:13:47 – Video: Josh, Jimmy Fallon, and the iPhone 3 Ga-Speed
00:25:54 – MacBook Pro (mid 2009) in-depth impressions
00:41:30 – Nokia N97 hands-on and impressions
00:45:12 - LL Cool J’s hilariously aggressive N97 ad: “don’t call it a comeback”
00:50:20 – WebOS homebrewers say ‘Hello World!’ to Palm Pre
00:58:00 – Pre gets NES emulation in Linux; our thumbs are in for a world of hurt
00:59:18 – Amazon Kindle DX unboxing and hands-on!
01:06:30 – Project Natal basis for new Xbox console coming Fall 2010?
01:06:50 – Like weeds: new Natal Xbox rumor shot down, 3D Xbox rumor pops up to take its place
01:07:35 – Project Natal recognizing retail shelves in 2010, says Ballmer (update: maybe not)
01:09:50 – Johnny Chung Lee joins Project Natal team, puts Wii hacking experience to good use
01:13:17 – Olympus E-P1 ‘digital Pen’ gets official, so does our lust
01:15:25 – Olympus E-P1 video samples posted, camera turns up in ad-within-an-ad Blendtec spot
01:19:00 – Engadget Chinese goes hands-on with the Olympus E-P1
01:20:00 – Adamo redux: Dell teases new thin-and-light laptops in Paris with no specs

Subscribe to the podcast

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Download the podcast

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Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 151 – 06.19.2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday evening, Facebook hurriedly launched a Persian (Farsi) version of the site for users in Iran. Following the past week’s events surrounding the Iranian elections and subsequent protests, Facebook felt that there was an immediate need to provide a Farsi version of the social network as an act of solidarity with the citizens of that country.

But this recent move may be in violation of Facebook’s own terms of service. Clause 4.3 of Facebook’s terms of service states, “You will not use Facebook if you are located in a country embargoed by the U.S., or are on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals.”

A spokesman for the Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, confirmed to us that there are currently five countries that the U.S. has imposed embargoes against: Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, and Sudan.

Hold onto your hats folks, ’cause Microsoft has just done the unthinkable and extended availability of its Windows XP downgrade option, again. This latest move, of course, follows complaints that new licensing issues with Windows 7 could cause some serious headaches for businesses still hanging onto XP, and basically force them to either stock up on XP-ready systems before April 23rd, 2010 or face the possibility of Vista-only downgrades thereafter. The new deadline isn’t quite as clear cut as past ones, however, with Microsoft saying only that the XP downgrade option will be available for 18 months after the release of Windows 7, “or until the release of a Windows 7 service pack, whichever is sooner.” So, as ComputerWorld notes, if Microsoft pushes an SP1 update out the door six months after Windows 7 is released, folks could well be out of luck yet again — at least until Microsoft sets a new deadline, that is.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft extends XP downgrade availability to 2011. When will it end? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In honor of the iPhone 3G S launch today, I thought I’d point out a humorous little deal circulating around the web. Apparently, you can use Microsoft’s Cashback program that it runs through its search engine (and now through Bing), to get a healthy 35% discount off of the device.

Depending on your eligibility for AT&T’s subsidy (more on that here), that means you can get an iPhone 3G S 16 GB for $129.35, the 32 GB version for $194.35. Or, perhaps even better, an 8 GB iPhone 3G for $64.90. Yes, you can get a new iPhone for $65 — thanks to Microsoft. Crazy.

Here’s is a full rundown of how to make it happen:

Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema.

Previously on Movie Gadget Friday, we tapped into the near dystopian future of fear in Brazil. Keeping on that 1980′s near-future vibe (but with a slightly more sentient twist), this week we check out Michael Crichton’s Runaway, starring Tom Selleck, Gene Simmons, Cynthia Rhodes and Kirstie Alley. Filled with circuitry and hardwired chips, the movie reinforces wholesome family values by featuring warranty voids as the gateway hack to murder.

Leaping Insect Robot

Measuring in around the size of a human head, these six-legged, spider-like, autonomous robots are mechanical in movement but shockingly precise in killing prey. The autonomous insects have the ability to propel themselves up to seven feet in the air, allowing for attacks on unsuspecting victims. Dual-functioning, the legs are able to crawl and grasp a multitude of surfaces, albeit awkwardly and rather slowly. After programming targets into a mainframe, the robots are able to identify and kill victims by injecting them with acid via a probe before short circuiting and eventually exploding into a ball of flames. Sadly, the robots lack any sort of remote control, making human errors in target-programming unable to be edited.

Continue reading Movie Gadget Friday: Runaway

Filed under: Robots

Movie Gadget Friday: Runaway originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube search now has its own Wonder Wheel. The Wonder Wheel is a visual navigation tool which Google first rolled out on its main search page a month ago when it added some new search options to filter results in different ways.

If you do a search on YouTube, which on its own would be the second largest search engine in the world, you will see a new option under the search box on the right called Wonder Wheel. If you click on that, your search term appears in a circle with lines branching out to related tags. Anytime you click on a related tag around the wheel, it creates a new wheel attached to the original with its own set of related searches.