Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It’s a little difficult to delay a device that hasn’t gotten a more specific release window than “the second half of 2008″ (from official sources, at least), but Sony Ericsson is doing its darnedest. The scuttlebutt at IFA is that the XPERIA X1 has been delayed to the end of the year, and a Sony rep confirmed to us that it’s looking like December 2008 or January 2009. To blame is the software, specifically Windows Mobile 6.1 (or perhaps SE’s implementation of it), which appeared to be actively destroying the display units Sony has on display at IFA — of the three devices, one had some green status lights, one didn’t work at all, and one turned on briefly, only to crash hard and never return again… a pretty poor showing for day one of the show. Some hands-on shots are below, glaringly void of actual device usage.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Looking for the Touch Pro in a slightly less conspicuous package? HTC (who else?) thinks it has the answer in the S740, a pretty thorough revamp of the S710 of old. The basic concept is the same — wrap Windows Mobile Standard into a candybar package with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard — but the S740 takes design cues from the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro for a thoroughly 2008-ish look. The feature list has naturally been refreshed, too, with 7.2Mbps HSDPA on the 900 and 2100MHz bands (read: screw you, North Americans), quadband EDGE, a 3.2-megapixel fixed focus cam, WiFi, GPS, and a 2.4-inch QVGA display. And, you know, if all that isn’t enough to impress your snobby friends, just slide open that keyboard, say “boom,” and watch the jaws drop. Look for it to filter across Europe starting next month.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

A few new details have leaked in from corroborating tipsters about Sprint’s Verizon-slaying version of the HTC Touch Diamond, and we’re pretty sure you’ll be interested in hearing ‘em. The biggest news is the release date — instead of having to wait until after Labor Day, Sprint users interested in nabbing the handset will reportedly be able to do so this Thursday. Also of note, it sounds as if Sprint will indeed be referring to the Diamond as, well, the Diamond (and not the Victor). Oh, and the extra bulk over the GSM counterpart will net it a more capacious 1,350mAh battery. For those that skipped straight to the closer (it’s cool, really): August 28th, $299 on a 2-year contract, or $549 straight out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It won’t be the first launch in North America — those honors go to Telus at this point — but Sprint won’t be far behind. A pretty believable new slide deck suggests that big ol’ Number Three will take delivery of its Touch Diamonds in September and start hawking them for the princely sum of $299.99 on contract after rebates, netting customers a 3.2 megapixel cam, 4GB of internal storage, and EV-DO Rev. A, among all the other spoils that only Windows Mobile 6.1 can offer. Is the back end of it red? Can’t really tell from this angle, but if the goal is to offer up a high-end business tool, we’ve gotta believe black will be available either way.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

In case there was any lingering doubt that the Treo Pro (alias Treo 850) was real — and there probably shouldn’t be, considering it got snapped all the way back in May — this round of non-blurry (dare we say artistic?) shots should pretty much seal the deal. The glossy shell, promise of a 320 x 320 display, and a general acknowledgment of circa-2008 industrial design definitely have us feeling just a little less pessimistic about Palm’s prospects right now; if anything, it makes us wish they had some Android kit up their sleeves rather than slaving away on the thus-far vaporware Palm OS 2. As WinMo goodies go, though, this thing looks like it’s ready to hang with the best of the best — so bring it on, Palm. A legion of fans with well-worn 750s awaits you. In the meanwhile, check another shot after the break.

[Via WMExperts]

Continue reading Palm’s Treo Pro in the wild, probably not fake

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

With all the Touch Diamond / Touch Pro news surfacing for these US CDMA carriers, quite a few AT&T subscribers are beginning to get restless. Calm down, folks — it seems the AT&T Touch Pro is a reality waiting to happen after all. Based on some admittedly dodgy claims and even dodgier photographs, one particular soul has apparently paid $900 for a pre-release Touch Pro with North American 3G. Only time will tell if he got duped, but we’re going to believe that AT&T wouldn’t let this gem pass it by for too much longer until proven wrong.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Surely that “last stand” Motorola handset is still burned into your memory, right? No? Anywho, said mobile was just given a face courtesy of Boy Genius, and it’s an, um, interesting face at that. We’ll let you be the judge on its unsightliness (or beauty, depending on inebriation level), but aside from design, we’re expecting this one to include Windows Mobile 6.1, NVIDIA graphics, a 5- to 8-megapixel camera, A-GPS and a Q4 release date. As always, we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Want downloads on your Touch Diamond to exceed the pace of a molasses-covered snail when on North American soil? Well, if you already have a Touch Diamond, you’re outta luck — but future buyers have another version to look forward to that packs HSDPA on the all-important 850 and 1900MHz bands. We don’t have any word on when this is coming, where it’s going, or how much it’ll run, but hey, it exists. That’s a solid start.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Last month you let us know in the comments how you felt about the MPAA’s latest effort to close the analog hole — by removing the FCC’s ban on selectable output control (SOC), giving them the ability to remotely disable the analog output on your cable box — now try telling someone who can actually do something about it. The FCC has opened the petition to public comment until June 25, and replies to comments by July 7. Currently, the MPAA is arguing that allowing SOC will actually hasten the digital transition, once it feels comfortable offering early release flicks on HD video-on-demand, people will have more incentive to upgrade their TV sets. Of course, owners of older HDTVs without HDMI connections or anyone else who’d rather use analog outs would be left in the dark, and Ars Technica notes the EFF and Home Recording Rights Coalition have already spoken out against the plan. Give the MPAA’s proposal a read then let the FCC know which side of the line you fall on before it’s too late.

[Via Ars Technica]

Read - MPAA proposal (warning: PDF link)
Read - FCC Electronic Comment File Submission (The docket number for field #1 (”proceeding”) is 08-82.)

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Original post by Richard Lawler

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While there’s a plethora of products out there meant to log your running miles, Seiko’s looking out for those who’d rather jump rope or do some heavy lifting rather than placing a beating on their knees. The adequately minuscule Slimstick (15-grams; 2- x 6.4- x 0.89-centimeters in size) is meant to reside in the pocket of a given exerciser and track calories burned along with an “overall workout value,” which can be benchmarked against one’s goal. To do so, it packs a dual-axis accelerometer and a decent amount of fairy dust, and yes, it promises to do all the things your paltry (or lazy, as it were) pedometer simply won’t. Your next fitness buddy is available now for just ¥5,775 ($55), or ¥6,980 ($67) with a presumably supreme “strap set.”

[Via technabob]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Wearables

For those breaking into a sweat trying to decide whether or not the Nike+ SportBand is really worth your hard earned dollars / euros / pounds / Schrutebucks, simmer on down. The runners over at the Stuff offices have snapped one up and tossed out their two pence. Summarized as a “Nike+iPod system without music,” the unit was given fairly high marks all around. It was noted that calibration was highly recommended before taking on the London Marathon, but that setup was a real lesson in simplicity. Design wise, most everything was kosher save for the detachable face (Link USB drive) that may not fit perfectly in slim laptops sitting flush on a table and the non-backlit display that proved difficult to see at night. Believe it or not, critics still found the SportBand to be a joy to use despite the aforesaid quirks, but given the drawbacks, we’d certainly recommend trying out a pal’s before throwing down for your own.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

Nothing like a little reassurance on tax day, right? We already knew that GameStop was gearing up to offer Nintendo’s Wii Fit for $89.99, but now the Big N has stepped in to affirm said price point. Beginning on May 19th here in the US, Wii Fit, along with the bundled Wii Balance Board, will be sold together for a penny under $90. And for those located near New York City, you can score a sweat rag, er, Wii Fit t-shirt if you’re one of the first 1,000 to lay down a $5 deposit at the Nintendo World store between April 18 - 20. Bonus points if you run there, we swear.

[Via Joystiq]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Wearables

Nah, it’s not April 10th just yet (in most of the world, at least), but one particular bloke managed to score one of Nike’s new SportBands at a London marathon exhibition today. The going rate on that side of the pond was £40 ($78), but we wouldn’t mind that dreadful exchange rate too much if you’re curious about eventual US pricing. Nevertheless, feel free to tap the read link to peep the unit fresh out of its packaging, but be forewarned, there aren’t any surprises.

[Thanks, Terry]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

While Panasonic’s rugged Toughbook 30 has been strutting its stuff with a Core 2 Duo within, the poor, poor Toughbook 19 has been going without. No more, however, as Panny has just announced that it’ll be boosting the speed and expanding the memory available in the beastly convertible tablet. Available now, the 5.1-pound rig is stuffed with a 1.06GHz U7500 processor (2MB L2 cache), up to 4GB of SDRAM, 80GB shock-mounted HDD, 10.4-inch daylight-readable display, a battery good for around seven hours, optional integrated WWAN / GPS / 2-megapixel webcam and a magnesium alloy case that won’t mind getting trampled. So, what’s the price for such an (almost) impossible-to-destroy machine? $3,199 and up, we’re afraid.

Continue reading Panasonic Toughbook 19 gets Core 2 Duo, expanded memory

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Take Panasonic’s 9.1 megapixel TZ5 with 10x optical zoom and 3-inch LCD, slap in some 802.11b/g WiFi and what do you get? This, the Lumix DMC-TZ50. As with most WiFi cameras, the TZ50 can upload your pictures from any WiFi hotspot but is then locked into specific image sharing sites; in this case, Panny’s own Lumix Club. There is hope for a more open model, however, when the TZ50 goes global. After all, the Panasonic / T-Mobile WiFi demo we saw at CES tied images to Google’s Picasa. Ok, it’s not Flickr but it’s a start. Available May 16th in Japan for ¥49,800 or about $500.

[Via Impress]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker