Author Archives: Zhou Renjian

Mobile World News Review v2010-Oct

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

Mobile world is full of underway war. So I think you should not miss those big news or updates. Here comes the mobile hardware battles:

AT&T, T-Mobile to Offer Service in NY Subway Stations —  Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA customers will have mobile-phone service on New York City subway stations after the carriers signed 10-year agreements to access an underground network being built by Transit Wireless LLC.

Psst.  Sprint 4G is Lit up in San Francisco —  You folks in Silicon Valley who are waiting for Sprint to light up the 4G network are going to like what I have to tell you.  I've been in San Francisco for four days and have tested the 4G coverage all over the SOMA (south of Market Street) area.

T-Mobile myTouch gets reintroduced, 1GHz Snapgradon, 3.8″ display, 4G speeds —  Well, this one came out of nowhere... T-Mobile has just introduced the new myTouch, and it's a beauty.  Packed with a 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 CPU, 5 megapixel camera, 3.8″ display, and front facing camera …

iPad Adoption Rate Fastest Ever, Passing DVD Player —  Apple's iPad sold three million units in the first 80 days after its April release and its current sales rate is about 4.5 million units per quarter, according to Bernstein Research.  This sales rate is blowing past the one million units …

T-Mobile to Sell Microsoft Windows Phone —  T-Mobile USA will join AT&T Inc. in selling a smartphone using Microsoft Corp.'s revamped mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, according to people familiar with the launch plans.  —  T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG …

Palm ‘Mansion’ coming: 800x480, no physical keyboard —  Device rumors surrounding Palm smartphones are starting to heat up.  After we saw the P102 appear in a certification database (and subsequently get pulled) and heard that we might see something in October, another very reliable tipster …

Verizon announces the Droid Pro — and it's not what anyone expected —  Score one for Verizon!  In a world full of constant, spot-on leaks (not that we're complaining), they've managed to not only launch a device without leaksters getting it first, but also make (intentionally or not)

The Impeccable Timing Of The Verizon iPhone Rumors —  The Verizon iPhone rumor is as old as the iPhone itself.  So whenever anyone trots it out, you take it with a grain of salt.  It's like The Beatles coming to iTunes.  It will happen eventually, but who knows when.

News Outlets Circle Samsung's Galaxy Tab —  Several major news organizations are lining up behind a new tablet device from Samsung Electronics Co. built on Google Inc. software, in order to broaden mobile readership beyond owners of Apple Inc. popular iPad.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Details Come To Light, $399 After Rebate? —  At this point there isn't much we don't already know about the Galaxy Tab heading the Magenta way but two questions have lingered, price and release date.  Given the above image (and assuming its legit, real, believable etc)

With Antennagate over, is Glassgate next for the iPhone 4? —  Whether or not you've experienced the iPhone 4's famed death grip, or even believe it's a real phenomenon (and based on extensive personal experience I can assure you that it is), the whole Antennagate scandal undoubtedly left...

About this 7-inch Apple iPad —  Analyst are predicting that Apple will begin work on its 7-inch iPad very soon.  They are wrong.  —  The fact is, Apple already has a 7-inch iPad.  They have had one of the smaller devices since they started making the 9.7-inch iPad that we have now.

Windows Phone 7: A Fresh Start for the Smartphone —  The phone delivers a new user experience by integrating the things users really want to do, creating a balance between getting work done and having fun.  —  The goal for Microsoft's latest smartphone is an ambitious one …

Why The Verizon iPad Is A Very Good Sign For The Verizon iPhone — And The Future —  This morning, Apple issued a press release where the first word in the title was one many of us have been waiting years for: Verizon.  No, they didn't announcing a version of the iPhone for Verizon's network.

And here are the mobile world battles on software, marketing or intellectual properties:

Google Acquires Impressive Touchscreen Keyboard Startup BlindType —  Google has just acquired BlindType, a very impressive technology that allows you to type on touch screens without even looking at them.  See our past coverage of the startup here.  —  BlindType doesn't force you to type using …

Microsoft sues Motorola over Android patent infringements —  As many of you may have seen, Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola's Android-based smartphones.

Apple Approves BitTorrent App For App Store —  Apple is known for the stringent guidelines it applies when deciding which software to allow into their App Store - BitTorrent is one of the things on their ban list.  However, one developer who carefully avoided the dirty word …

Google responds to Oracle's Android patent lawsuit, we break it down —  It's been just over a month and a half since Oracle first sued Google for infringing various Java-related patents in Android, and the big G's just filed its official response to the lawsuit after calling it “baseless.”

Open your eyes: Google Goggles now available on iPhone in Google Mobile App —  Searching with Google on your mobile phone can be an eye-opening experience.  Now your phone's camera can even help to find out more about the world around you.  —  Back in December we introduced Google Goggles on Android

Android Most Popular Operating System in U.S. Among Recent Smartphone Buyers —  According to August data from The Nielsen Company, Android is now the most popular operating system among people who bought a smartphone in the past six months, while Blackberry RIM and Apple iOS

Verizon, Apple quarreled over iPhone retail options, digital content —  Major sticking points in negotiations between Verizon and Apple have reportedly been the wireless carrier's interest in allowing retail partners to sell the iPhone, and Verizon's promotion of its V Cast digital video-on-demand store.

Wal-Mart Preparing to Offer iPad [Updated] —  Back in May, Wal-Mart announced that it was expecting to begin offering the iPad for sale in its U.S. retail stores “later this year”, and with the holiday shopping season rapidly approaching and rival Target launching the device in over 1700 stores around

Updated Yahoo Messenger app now live in App Store, 3G video calling bonanza awaits you —  Not stoked on Skype or FaceTime?  Looks like you've got another option, bub.  That overhauled Yahoo Messenger app we told you about 48 hours ago is now live in the App Store, offering multitasking …

Google Launches Two New Android Apps To Help The Blind Navigate Around Town —  They rarely get much press attention, but some of the greatest features to come out of the new era of smartphones are related to accessibility.  A few months back, blind iPhone user Austin Seraphin wrote about how the device had changed his life.

Apple Patents Anti-Sexting Device —  Today the US Patent and Trademark Office approved a patent Apple filed in 2008, which, get this, prevents users from sending or receiving “objectionable” text messages.  The patent's official title?  “Text-based communication control for personal communication device”

Amazon iPhone app now supports barcode scanning for price comparison —  Amazon just updated their Amazon Mobile app for iPhone to now include barcode scanning.  Basically, while you are out and about shopping, you can use your iPhone to scan the barcode of whatever you are thinking of buying …

Apple Wins Three Colossal Multi-Touch Related Patents —  The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 18 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today.  In this first report, we focus on one of the most important technologies that are empowering Apple's smart device revolution: Multi-Touch.

Please keep eyes on the mobile world. Opportunities and chances are there, so are the competition and war.

Google Acquires Impressive Touchscreen Keyboard Startup BlindType —  Google has just acquired BlindType, a very impressive technology that allows you to type on touch screens without even looking at them.  See our past coverage of the startup here.  —  BlindType doesn't force you to type using …
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Camera Weekend Review v20100815

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

Here are some camera reviews for this week (from Engadget):

First, Ordro HDV-D350S camcorder packs removable pico projector

It's not the first video camera to pack a built-in pico projector, but Ordro's HDV-D350S does look to be the first camcorder with a removable pico projector. In addition to that accoutrement -- which pumps out a WVGA image at 15 lumens -- you'll get full 1080p recording, a 10x optical zoom, a 3-inch touchscreen LCD, and an SD / SDHC card slot for storage. Of course, you'll also have to pay a considerable premium over your usual 1080p camcorder from a little known manufacturer -- look for this one to set you back $549.

Sources: PicoProjector-info.com

Second, Pentax K-x introduced in four new colors, double rainbow now fully complete

Well, well -- what have we here? Oh, four more K-x hues? Who would've guessed. Just months after Pentax introduced the latest round of colors to hit its long-standing entry-level DSLR, along comes a new foursome to consider: chocolate, beige, olive and pink. We actually witnessed the last one there back in mid-February (go on and guess, we'll wait), but now the whole group is up for sale on the company's webstore for $649.95 each. Too bad Pentax seems more interested in pumping out more exterior variations than a bona fide K-x successor, eh?

Third, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 reviewed: the best megazoom shooter your dough can buy

Panasonic and superzoom cameras go together like... well, like any two things that are undoubtedly meant to be together. The company has a history of outdoing itself time and time again when it comes to enlarged point-and-shoots with atypically long zooms, and the all-new DMC-FX100 is most certainly not bucking the trend. Announced just a few weeks back, this here Lumix carries a 24x optical zoom, 11fps burst mode, 1080p movie recording and a 14 megapixel sensor. The gurus over at PhotographyBLOG have been testing its every feature for the past few days, and they drew some rather positive conclusions. Confessing that the FZ38 was a hard act to follow, they still felt that the FZ100 managed to top even that, with the only real (expected) knock being the noise that made itself too evident once you pushed beyond the ISO 400 mark. They also felt that the $499.95 asking price was a bit on the high side, but now that Panny's building somewhat of a reputation in this space, we guess it's entitled to try and take advantage. Hit the source link for the fully skinny, but don't even bother if you're hoping for someone to talk you out of pulling the trigger.

Sources: PhotographyBLOG

Fourth, Nikon D3100 SLR, Coolpix S1100pj and S5100 compacts leaked in German magazine

We've definitely seen new Nikon gear leak in the foreign press before, and it looks like the cycle continues: that rumored Nikon D3100 SLR just made an appearance in the pages of Germany's Foto Digital magazine, along with an updated Coolpx S1100pj projector-cam and a new Coolpix S5100. The D3100 is obviously the main attraction -- it has a 14 megapixel sensor with up to ISO 12800 sensitivity, a new 1080p video mode, and an improved processor and autofocus system, for a body-only price of €650 ($831). Not bad -- although we don't know if it has that rumored continuous autofocus mode for video yet. We don't know nearly as much about the new Coolpix S1100pj, except that it'll retain the projector from the S1000pj, come in colors and add a touchscreen and remote control the mix; the Coolpix S5100 is less of a mystery, with a 12 megapixel sensor and a 28-140mm zoom lens pegged in the magazine. Of course, none of this is officially official yet, but we'd imagine we'll be hearing more real soon -- stay tuned.

Sources: Nikon Rumors (D3100), (Coolpix)

Fifth, Digital Reflex Camera concept puts the viewfinder on top, everything else in a tube

Can't say we've ever seen anything like this before... well, aside from those cameras of old that forced you to look down into the viewfinder while cradling the camera against your gut. In fact, that's exactly the experience that Yaniv Berg is attempting to recreate here, with his Digital Reflex Camera concept shaped more like a periscope and less like a camera. In theory, at least, all of the hardware would be encased in a tube, and if you flip the camera, the LCD turns into a display, creating an undercover spy device of epic proportions. Naturally, there's probably no hope that this will ever hit retail, but feel free to check back a few score from now to see just how close this was to predicting the future.

Source: Switched, Yanko Design

We would like collect and share more news about gadgets. And keep tuned.

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This Week's Big News Report v20100814

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

This week's big news are major about Android market.

Google was releasing voice action for Android phone:

Just speak it: introducing Voice Actions for Android —  (cross-posted with the Official Google Blog)  —  Our mobile phones have become modern-day Swiss Army knives.  An Android phone is a handheld computer, a music player, a notepad, a GPS navigation unit and more, all rolled into one sleek device that fits in your pocket.

And Oracle filed lawsuit about Android, which triggered lots of discussions:

Oracle sues Google over Android and Java —  Two Silicon Valley heavyweights are about to reenact the Java wars: this time, in a court room.  —  Oracle issued a press release late Thursday saying it has filed suit against Google for infringing on copyrights and patents related to Java …

Big discussion about net neutrality:

A joint policy proposal for an open Internet —  Posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications  —  The original architects of the Internet got the big things right.

Other news:

Pushing Our (Tweet) Button —  Twitter is great for sharing interesting things you find on the web.  In fact, close to a quarter of all Tweets include a link in them.  Despite the high volume of sharing, there is plenty of room to make it easier.  Copying and pasting, link shortening …

Facebook Live Launches, Broadcasting Celebrities, Product Launches and More from Company Headquarters —  Facebook debuted its official live video stream channel today, Facebook Live, at the company's Palo Alto, Calif. headquarters.  Starting now, it is beginning to feature celebrity guests …

Skype Files for IPO —  Skype, the Internet telephony company is looking to raise upto $100 million in an Initial Public Offering, according to a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  The company will be selling American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and will trade on the NASDAQ Global Market.

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Web 2.0 Services Weekend Review v20100808

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

First, a report:

What Americans Do Online: Social Media And Games Dominate Activity —  Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8 percent just a year ago (43 percent increase) according to new research released today from The Nielsen Company.

Upon social networking, Facebook and Google were preparing a war.

Google and Slide: building a more social web —  We're excited to announce we've acquired Slide, a social technology company with an extensive history of building new ways for people to connect with others across numerous platforms online.  —  For Google, the web is about people …

Facebook on ‘lockdown’ as it prepares for war with Google —  It looks like Google isn't the only one gearing up for a social network battle.  —  Rumors surfaced in June that the search giant was developing a Facebook competitor called Google Me, and the company's social networking ambitions became …

And about online map:

Google Earth Used To Fine People With Pools, Again —  “Under the table” pools may be the catalyst of the next technology revolution in government.  During last February's economic collapse in Greece, the normally technophobic Greek government used Google Maps and Google Earth to find people …

Bing's Bringing Sexy Maps —  Over the last few weeks a few of you lucky ducks got to experience a new map type we were flighting.  Around 10% of users were seeing our new maps in all its aesthetic glory.  Today, we're releasing it to everyone.  The new map type has two experiences …

Google finally waved goodbye to Google Wave. And Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that Google celebrated on this failure. Aha. But someone reminded its former closed Dodgeball was providing the same service of today's popular FourSquare service.

Wave Goodbye To Google Wave —  Maybe it was just ahead of its time.  Or maybe there were just too many features to ever allow it to be defined properly, but Google is saying today that they are going to stop any further development of Google Wave.  —  Wave, a real time messaging platform …

Let's Celebrate Google's Biggest Failures! —  “We celebrate our failures,” Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday when speaking at the Techonomy confernce, in response to the surprise closure of his company's Google Wave product.  When it comes to failures, Google's celebrating more than you might realize.

Perhaps Not Fondly, Google's Schmidt Remembers Dodgeball “Quite Well” —  Yesterday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt sat down with a group of reporters after his panel at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA.  He said he was open to taking any questions, so I decided to ask him about Foursquare.

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Mobile Phone, eBook Reader, Tablet Weekend Review v20100807

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

So, the first week of August has gone. In his week, some big news were out on mobile phones and other devices. Here there are.

Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S. —  Sales of Google Android phones in the U.S. are rising so quickly, the devices have outsold Apple handsets for the first time on record.  New smartphone subscribers choosing Google phones accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales …

Ya, Android is inevitably going to be popular. While Android phones is selling well, we should also mention iPhone.

Official: iPhone 4 jailbreak hits from iPhone Dev Team (updated with video) —  The Library of Congress made it legal, MuscleNerd showed us it was a go, and now Comex and company have delivered the long-awaited jailbreak to the fourth rendition of iPhone.  According to their new page JailbreakMe …

Jailbreak Only: FaceTime Goes 3G —  Well that was quick!  Less than 24 hours after the public release of the iPhone 4 jailbreak, FaceTime has already been tricked into working over 3G connections.  It's made possible thanks to My3G, a jailbreak app that tricks your iPhone into thinking it's on Wi-Fi instead of 3G.

Jailbreak has its huge market!

Executive Leaves After iPhone Antenna Troubles —  Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of hardware for the company's flagship iPhone, has left the company in the wake of widely reported problems with the antenna of the recently introduced iPhone 4.

So it seems that iPhone was not doing good in these few weeks.But it is keeping developing new stuff.

New Images of 4th Generation iPod Touch LCD with FaceTime Camera —  An iPhone parts supplier sent us these photos of what are claimed to be the front LCD and bezel of the upcoming 4th generation iPod Touch.  The new part clearly shows a front-sided hole that would leave room for a front-facing FaceTime camera.

Leaked Details On 2010-2011 iPods, iPhone 5, Bumper 2 + iPad mini —  Take this report with the requisite grains of salt, but here's what we've heard about the upcoming late 2010/early 2011 iPod, iPhone, and iPad lineups from a highly reliable source.  If you remember our exclusive first details …

And another competitor RIM was releasing new products!

BlackBerry Torch for AT&T: available August 12 for $199.99 … It may have been outed early a couple of times this morning, but now the BlackBerry Torch 9800 is officially official, complete with pricing and availability.  The Torch will be available on AT&T beginning August 12th for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

But RIM had its problems:

Two Gulf states to ban some Blackberry functions —  Two Gulf states have announced bans on some functions of the Blackberry mobile phone, claiming security concerns.  —  The United Arab Emirates is to block sending emails, accessing the internet, and delivering instant messages to other Blackberry handsets.

BlackBerry Chief Fires Back —  Research In Motion Ltd. co-CEO Michael Lazaridis lashed out at governments seeking to ban his company's BlackBerry phones, saying they risk undermining the growth of electronic commerce by demanding access to secure communications and transactions.

So it is enough for a week on mobile phones. And let's review the e-book reader news, mainly about Kindle.

Amazon: We have 70-80 percent of e-book market —  Recently, I sat down with Ian Freed, Amazon's vice president of digital, to get a sneak peek at the new Kindles and discuss e-books and the Kindle business in general.  Naturally, a good portion of the conversation centered on the design …

Scholars Build Blog-to-eBook Tool in One Week —  Twelve digital humanities scholars walk into a barn-raising... It's not the opening line of a witty joke you try to deliver at your next tenure-track job interview.  —  This past week, a dozen scholars participated in the One Week One Tool workshop …

Kindle Development Kit finally births two games: Shuffled Row and Every Word —  We've covered the Kindle Development Kit (KDK) in the past, and each time we cover it, we mention how no titles have actually been shipped using it.  Well, today that all changes.

So at the end, we review some news about tablet. And tablet market is becoming hotter and hotter.

Ballmer (and Microsoft) still doesn't get the iPad —  “The operating system is called Windows,” claimed Steve Ballmer when asked about Microsoft's plans for the tablet/slate/pad form factor at the company's annual Financial Analyst Meeting on Thursday.  He expressed dismay …

Motorola and Verizon team up for TV tablet —  Motorola is developing a digital tablet device that will allow users to watch television on it, as the US mobile phone group attempts to chip away at a market established by Apple's popular iPad.  —  The device, which will have a 10-inch screen …

Dish to stream live TV on iPad, other devices —  PHILADELPHIA — Dish subscribers will soon be able to watch live satellite TV on their mobile devices at no extra cost.  —  Dish Network Corp. is planning to offer the feature on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry devices in September …

Best Buy's CTO Tweets Out Pics Of A Rocketfish Tablet.  Seriously, A Best Buy Tablet. —  Well, look at that.  A Rocketfish tablet.  Can't say we saw this coming, but Best Buy's CTO and Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens, just tweeted two pics of the surprisingly polished-looking tablet.

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Q&A, LBS, Kindle and Other - Weekend Review v20100801

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Zhou Renjian

Question and Answer services were hot this week. Both Ask.com and Facebook released their products:

Ask.com Gets Back to Its Roots: Launches Q&A Service —  Ask.com launched in 1996 and even though the site went through a number of changes through the years (remember Jeeves?), it is still one of the first services many Internet users think of when looking for a site where they can get their questions answered.

Searching for Answers?  Ask Facebook Questions —  Millions of people ask their friends questions on Facebook every day.  What new music should I listen to?  Where's the best sushi place in town?  How do I learn to play the piano?  —  Today we're introducing Facebook Questions …

Location Based Service ( LBS ) was still getting hotter and hotter.

FourSquare's Crowley on Facebook, Check-in Fatigue & the Copy Cats —  I was in New York this week, and as part of my visit, I decided to check-in (pun intended) with Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley.  He showed off the company's massive new office that is still under construction …

Facebook Closing In On Acquiring Check-In Service Hot Potato —  We're hearing from sources close to the deal that Facebook is in late stage negotiations to buy Hot Potato, the social activity service.  The deal is not yet finalized from what we're hearing, but could be at any moment.

Google Opens Places API With Initial Focus On Check-In Apps —  At Google I/O in May, the search giant indicated that they were about to take their commitment to location to the next level.  Sure, Latitude had been around for a while, but everyone knew that Google could do more in the space.

Yelp CEO: “There is real tension” between Google Places and Yelp —  Today at TechCrunch's Cruchup in Palo Alto, CA, Jeremy Stoppelman , Yelp's CEO and John Hanke , VP of Product Management at Google talked about the strain that is building up between Yelp and Google Places.

In device world

New Amazon Kindle announced: $139 WiFi-only version and $189 3G model available August 27th in the US and UK —  Let's be honest — you saw this one coming, didn't you?  Today Amazon is introducing a new reading device for e-book aficionados dubbed simply... the Kindle.

Kindle to Go ‘Mass Market’ —  Amazon Digs in Heels by Introducing New, Cheaper Version of E-Book Reader  —  Amazon.com Inc. plans to release a cheaper Kindle e-reader next month, said Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, laying out a strategy to go “mass market” with an inexpensive gadget designed …

Sony's Response To New Kindle: Not Chasing “Cheapest E-Reader” Title —  All the chatter about Amazon's new, $139 e-reader isn't forcing competitor Sony to lower its prices—at least not yet.  —  On July 29, the day after Amazon's new Kindle was unveiled, Sony released a statement proclaiming …

Apple iMac line gets speedbumped, low-end gets a Core i3 —  It's not as if we haven't heard the rumors building over the last few months, but Apple's long-standing iMac line is seeing its first real update since the Fall of last year on this fine morning.  As predicted, the refreshed iMac line …

Ya, summer days are always hot.

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