Devices
Bluetooth 4.0 specification gets official, devices expected by Q4 2010
Outside of Samsung’s Wave , we’re having a hard time thinking of a meaningful device that has shipped with Bluetooth 3.0 onboard. Kind of crazy when you think about it, being that the protocol offered some pretty promising stuff when it went official in April of 2009. Fast forward to today, and it looks as if the Bluetooth SIG is storming forward regardless, as the Bluetooth 4.0 core specification has now been adopted with ” low energy technology ” as the standout feature
Twitter for BlackBerry shakes the beta label
Though RIM’s official Twitter client for BlackBerry devices has been slinking around in public beta form for a solid three months now, we understand — not everyone is okay using software that’s rough around the edges.
Amazon Kindle dual-screen e-reader patent granted, Barnes & Noble Nook potentially in trouble
Looks like the battle for e-reader dominance between Amazon and Barnes & Noble could soon expand beyond the recent spate of price drops and into the courtroom as well: the USPTO just granted a 2006 Amazon patent on e-readers with secondary LCD displays (like the original Kindle’s scroller-navigation panel ), and several of the claims are potentially broad enough to cover the Nook and many other devices with both electronic paper and LCD displays. What’s more, Amazon agreed not to file for any corresponding foreign patents during the four-year approval process and thus wasn’t required to publish the patent application — meaning this is likely a complete surprise to the entire industry
AT&T stores getting Windows Phone 7 retail materials, launch coming sooner than expected?
Microsoft’s mobile efforts may look like they’re slightly in disarray after the expensive and embarrassing Kin debacle , but it looks like Windows Phone 7 may yet emerge unscathed from the chaos — and potentially even earlier than expected, if this sheet of AT&T retail signage that’s being sent out for a July 24th store overhaul is to be believed.
BlackBerry Curve 9300 gets FCC approval?
Like many companies, RIM generally does a superb job of concealing model numbers of unannounced devices when it files for FCC certification — but given what we know of Waterloo’s product pipeline, we think it’s safe to take a stab at what we’re looking at here. In all likelihood, this is the upcoming Curve 9300 , evidenced by the general shape of the rear and…
HTC Vision with Android, full QWERTY in the wild?
For reasons seemingly known only to Peter Chou himself, HTC has mostly steered clear of producing high-quality physical QWERTY devices running Android, despite the fact that there might be no phone manufacturer in the world more skilled at making them (let us remind you of the Touch Pro2 , among many others dating back the better part of a decade).
