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Google Nexus S preview

12/07/2010 04:56:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


We're here at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference in San Francisco, and we've just had a chance to lay our ever-loving hands all over Google's latest wunderkind, the Nexus S. As you've probably already read and seen, the device is set to be the next flagship phone sporting a pure Google experience. That is, full-on Android 2.3 (AKA Gingerbread), sporting a subtly reworked user interface design, and touting some potentially powerful new features, like near-field communication compatibility (hardware permitting -- and this hardware does indeed permit). Speaking of nuts and bolts, the phone is no slouch, boasting all the design leanings of Samsung's wildly popular Galaxy S line, but packing them into a tighter, sleeker, faster package.

As you can see in the pictures and video below, we spent some quality time with the newest Nexus, and we've made a few professional observations -- so follow along after the break to get the full scoop.

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Honeycomb Motorola Android tablet previewed by Andy Rubin

12/07/2010 04:55:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments


Google’s Andy Rubin has previewed Motorola’s Android tablet prototype, confirming that the mysterious slate does indeed run the tablet-centric version of the mobile OS, Honeycomb. Full specifications are unclear at this stage, but the unnamed tablet apparently uses a dual-core NVIDIA processor.

Rubin went on to confirm that Honeycomb was indeed due sometime in 2011 – he wouldn’t be any more specific than that – and then ran through a very brief demo of the tweaked OS. That has a feel more like a mainstream platform, with a bar running along the bottom of the screen for launching apps, and windowed task-switching, than its current mobile counterpart.

Motorola has been tipped to be developing both 7- and 10-inch versions of their Android tablet, and it’s unclear which Rubin’s demo model is; it looks, from the image, more like a larger slate.

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iPad 2 shipping Feb 2011 for April release tip insiders

12/07/2010 04:53:00 PM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

iPad 2 manufacturer Foxconn is tipped to be preparing for shipment of the second-generation iPad “within the next 100 days”, putting the new slate shipping in late February 2011 and, according to the sources, on sale in April 2011. That’s according to DigiTimes, whose component manufacturer sources are suggesting that firmware development delays have pushed mass production of the iPad 2 back by around a month.



The company apparently intended to begin mass production in January next year, but longer than expected testing of the firmware has meant that schedule had to be pushed back. Initial shipments are tipped to amount to 400,000 – 600,000 units.

As for the hardware itself, there have been various rumors about the iPad 2′s functionality, including talk of an iPhone 4-style Retina Display and a carbon fiber frame. The iOS slate is also expected to have a front-facing camera for Face Time video calls.

The Google Nexus “S”: Because Samsung Doesn’t Like Being No. 2

12/07/2010 10:20:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

When rumors first broke about Google’s second Nexus phone it was referred to as the Nexus Two. That’s because even people inside Google called it that. And that was supposed to be the launch name.

Google launched the phone formally today, which is built by Samsung. Except they didn’t announce the “Nexus Two,” they announced the “Nexus S.” Our review of the Nexus S is here.

Why the change? When Google suggested “Nexus Two,” since it is the second Nexus phone, Samsung’s response was, according to a source, “We don’t like being number two.”

The original Nexus One was manufactured by HTC.

So they went with “S”, which fits with Samsung’s naming style for the Galaxy S, which the phone is based on. It stands for speed, or smart life, or smart phone, or something (we’ve gotten conflicting information on that).

Nexus S is cool by Samsung. Nexus Two? That’s just being second.

AT&T is the worst carrier in the U.S. according to Consumer Reports

12/07/2010 10:19:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments


Among the top carriers in the U.S., AT&T is the worst by a healthy margin. The news comes from this year’s Consumer Reports reader survey, which ranks Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile along with some regional carriers. Verizon Wireless was ranked as the nation’s top major carrier, though its score of 74 positions it in the No. 2 spot overall behind U.S. Cellular. Readers were asked to grade each carrier on several criteria including value, voice service quality, data service quality and customer support. The ratings were on a scale of “Worse” to “Better,” with three increments in between. AT&T received the lowest possible rating of “Worse” in eight out of nine categories, managing too eke out a next-to-lowest rating for SMS service quality. In response to the survey, AT&T had this to say:

We take this seriously and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience. The fact is wireless customers have choices and a record number of them chose AT&T in the third quarter, significantly more than our competitors. Hard data from independent drive tests confirms AT&T has the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network with our nearest competitor 20 percent slower on average nationwide and our largest competitor 60 percent slower on average nationwide. And, our dropped call rate is within 1/10 of a percent – the equivalent of just one call in a thousand – of the industry leader.

Smartphones were also ranked in the same issue of Consumer Reports, and all but one of the top devices in the country are powered by Android. In fact each of the four variants of Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone received top honors, either solely (Sprint’s Epic 4G, T-Mobile’s Vibrant) or as part of a tie — the Fascinate tied the Motorola DROID X for the No. 1 spot on Verizon Wireless, and Captivate tied the Apple iPhone 4 on AT&T.

Windows Phone 7 shown copying and pasting on video

12/07/2010 10:18:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments


You unfortunately still have a bit of a wait in store for your off-the-self Windows Phone 7 device, but those lucky enough to have a developer device are now starting to receive an update that includes the much anticipated copy and paste functionality, and we're now seeing the first videos of it in action. That expectedly functions much as we've heard before, and it appears to work reasonably well in the (admittedly brief) video. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself.

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Verizon Wireless may pay to keep Sprint, T-Mobile away from Apple’s iPhone

12/07/2010 10:18:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , , 0 Comments


Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu is never shy when it comes to disseminating Apple-related suppositions, and he had quite the interesting tidbit for investors on Monday. According to a Forbes report, Wu thinks Verizon Wireless may be willing to pay Apple to keep the iPhone away from Sprint and T-Mobile. Citing channel checks, Wu wrote to investors, “we are hearing that VZ does not want iPhone, the hottest selling smart phone, available on T-Mobile USA and/or Sprint and may be willing to pay for exclusivity to itself and AT&T.” Wu also claims that Apple got the terms it was looking for, and there will be a Verizon iPhone in 2011. Wu’s note is the latest in a long line of unconfirmed reports suggesting Apple’s iPhone will finally be launched by Verizon Wireless early next year. For the sake of anxious Verizon Wireless subscribers across the country, let’s hope that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

More here

Reese Witherspoon Approves of "Really Sweet" Kristen Stewart!

12/07/2010 10:17:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

OK, maybe we can be too hard on Reese Witherspoon's judgment in men. Because while promoting her new flick How Do You Know, she gave her stamp of approval to our fave couple, Robsten.

"I'm not gonna lie. He's a very, very handsome man," Reese gushes to USA Today 'bout the Twilight hunk.

And about his GF Kristen Stewart?

"[Rob] is sweet and loving and has the nicest family. Kristen (Stewart, Pattinson's girlfriend) is really sweet, too. He's a very sensitive soul. He worked really hard. He looks great in the movie, too."

Can't say we're surprised that K.Stew made sneaky set visits. After all, Water For Elephants was filmed mostly in L.A., and this was when Robsten had that love nest of theirs.

Add this to the growing list of set visits between the two!

Kristen also visited Rob in Budapest when he was filming Bel Ami, and he returned the favor all over the place when she was filming On The Road.

Pshhh! And haters still try to say this is a showmance.

But back to Reese, whose likeability has jumped up a lot in our book. It turns out she was a Twi-hard before working with Rob:

"I really liked them, me and all my 30-year-old friends! I love the books."

Donna Freydkin, who interviewed Witherspoon for USA Today, joked that it must be written in her contract to have hunky costars.

"I do. How did you find that out? Someone's gotta do it. It's like America's Test Kitchen, but for making out with hot costars. I do it for the girls. I love my job. They're all really good guys. And I know all their girlfriends," she smiles.

Can't say we disagree, babe!

Angelina Flashes Some Leg on The Red Carpet

12/07/2010 10:17:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments

Angelina Jolie showed off her sexy side when she hit the carpet Monday night with beau Brad Pitt, 46,for the NYC premiere of The Tourist.

The 35-year-old Oscar winner, who stars with Johnny Depp in the thriller, skipped her usual black in favor of an ivory low-cut Atelier Versace gown with a thigh-high slit and Ferragamo pumps. Finishing off the looks? Earrings by her personal jeweler Rober Procop.

Jolie, who visited Manhattan's Lee's Art Shop with Pitt and their 2-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne Saturday, recently gushed about exploring Venice with her brood while filming the drama in Italy.

"My whole family came, so we had this beautiful home looking out at the Grand Canal," she told British paper The Daily Mail. "The kids got very familiar with it and they often did their homework in boats, to break up the day."

5 Reasons We're Excited About Android 2.3 Gingerbread

12/07/2010 10:16:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


The Nexus S might be a groovy piece of hardware, but what we're really hot and bothered for is Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Google has an in-depth overview for developers, but here's the highlights of what we're digging in Android 2.3.

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Sony PSP2 Dead on Arrival, Says Analyst

12/07/2010 10:16:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments

The mobile gaming market may not be as intense as the home console market, but there’s obviously still a lot of money to be made within its reach. So there’s no surprise that analysts would want to get their opinion out there about what’s coming, and how they think it will affect the market as a whole. When it comes to Sony’s PlayStation Portable 2, there’s a lot of discussion about whether or not it will be a waste of time for Sony, or be a smash-hit. Obviously, Sony believes that they’ve got a hit on their hand, and even some developers out there who have managed to get some hands-on time with the portable gaming console think it’s nice. But, for analyst Michael Pachter, none of that matters, because the PSP2 is already DOA.



Pachter is an analyst from Wedbush Morgan, and during a “Pach Attack” webcast, he outlined in brief why he believes the PSP2 won’t be worth the attention it will receive when it launches, and even went on to say why he believes the mobile market as a whole is over-saturated, but that Apple’s iPod Touch will thin the market soon enough.

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Google Nexus S Review soon by TechCrunh

12/07/2010 10:16:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


For the last few days we’ve been using the Google Nexus S, manufactured by Samsung, with the new Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” operating system. This is a phone that was designed with direct input from the Google Android team. And like its predecessor, the Nexus One, which was released in January 2010, it has a “clean” install of Android. That means there is no additional software layer from third party OEMs or carriers to interfere with the user experience. Like the Nexus One, this will become the reference phone for this generation of Android.

Unlike the Nexus One, the phone was not built from scratch – the starting point was the Samsung Galaxy S, released earlier this year. And Google will not be selling this phone directly to consumers. They say that experiment is over, and this phone will be available initially at Best Buy in the U.S. (on T-Mobile) and Carphone Warehouse in the U.K. Google says the phone is currently expected to be available starting December 16, although pre-orders might be taken earlier.

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Angelina Jolie on Plastic Surgery: "I Haven't Had Anything Done"

12/07/2010 01:11:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments

Angelina Jolie has one of the most famous faces in the world -- and it's all natural, she insists.

"I haven't had anything done and I don't think I will," Jolie, 35, says in a new interview with British paper The Daily Mail. "But if it makes somebody happy then that's up to them. I'm not in somebody else's skin to know what makes them feel better about themselves. But I don't plan to do it myself."

In the extensive interview, the actress opens up about life with Brad Pitt and their six kids -- who've helped her "enjoy" her high-flying career. "I enjoy the work more now because I enjoy life more," she says. "When you have children the whole world shifts for you. You have these little people that make you laugh and remind you every day of what is important, and you get to be their parent and that's the most important thing you'll ever be. Everything else comes from that."

The Jolie-Pitts had a blast shooting The Tourist in Venice last spring. "My whole family came, so we had this beautiful home looking out at the Grand Canal," she said. "The kids got very familiar with it and they often did their homework in boats, to break up the day."

Date nights away from the kids, Jolie added, are crucial: "You also have to stay focused on each other so that you stay strong. And you staying strong as a couple keeps the kids in an even better place."

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Google's Nexus S official, coming December 16th to US, 20th to UK $199 on contract, $529 unlocked

12/07/2010 01:10:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


This thing is all but official anyway, but for what it's worth, Google's now got its own product page live for the upcoming Nexus S from Samsung. Here's the rundown: 4-inch WVGA display, triband HSPA with AWS support (no HSPA+, seemingly), 5 megapixel camera, NFC, 16GB of onboard storage, 512MB of RAM, available on T-Mobile. It's also got a gyroscope -- as do the existing Galaxy S phones -- along with something being called the "contour display" (which matches up with rumors we've heard), integrated VoIP support, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Interestingly, the phone's quoted as having nothing more than a 1GHz Cortex A8-based Hummingbird processor, seemingly shooting down rumors that this thing would be rocking the Orion dual-core setup. Ah, well! Peep all the shots in the gallery below.

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'Terriers': FX cancels freshman series; 'Dexter' renewed for sixth season

12/07/2010 01:06:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , 0 Comments


FX has canceled its fledging series Terriers, a show starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James that follows two best friends who become become unlicensed private investigators in San Diego County. The series from Ted Griffin (Oceans 11), executive producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Tim Minear (Dollhouse) ran for 13 episodes but only averaged about 500,000 viewers per episode.

'Dexter' renewed for sixth season

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Google publishes Android 2.3 SDK for developers, details improvements

12/07/2010 01:05:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , 0 Comments


When it rains it pours in Android-land! Earlier this morning, Google published an Android 2.3 video for developers. While the video focuses mainly on development, the developer website includes new APIs available in the new code, including: SIP-based VoIP support, NFC (Near Field Communication) support, support for gyroscope, rotation vector, linear acceleration, gravity, and barometer, and multiple camera support. Other improvements include UI refinements, faster keyboard input, better power management, and an improved task manager. Hit the jump to see the video and for a link to the official developer post!

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Emma Stone Goes from Red to Blonde for 'Spider-Man'

12/07/2010 01:04:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments


Emma Stone replacing Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy in 'Spider-Man' isn't the only change fans of the comic book-inspired franchise can look forward to.

As the 22-year-old actress begins her transformation into Spider-Man's love interest, she debuted a new blonde 'do at the Trevor Project's annual 'Trevor LIVE' event in Hollywood over the weekend.

In an interview with MTV, Stone confessed her feelings about changing her hair color for the role, "My natural hair is blonde, so it's kind of nice. I looked in the mirror and said, 'Oh my god, it's me again, it's been so long!'"

'Spider-Man' is scheduled to hit theaters July 3, 2012.

White Apple iPhone 4 coming next spring after all?

12/07/2010 01:04:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , 0 Comments


Not long ago, we’ve heard that Apple may have cancelled the launch of its white iPhone 4 – which, according to the company, has proven to be “more challenging to manufacture than expected.”

However, if this new piece of info is to be believed, the white iPhone 4 will be available in the end.

9to5mac has managed to snag an image according to which the white smartphone is going to be released by AT&T sometime in spring 2011 (thus in March, April, or May). This is, of course, in line with the previously rumored “early 2011” launch date.

Not long after next spring, the new iPhone 5 should be introduced, so I’m not sure how many customers would want to get the white iPhone 4, knowing that in several months they’ll be able to buy Apple’s next-gen handset (even if a white version of it may not exist).

“Glee” Cast “The X Factor” Performance [VIDEO]

12/07/2010 01:03:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , 0 Comments


A Treat From Our Pals in the UK: The cast of America’s favorite musical-comedy – Glee — ventured across to the pond this weekend to turn in a live performance of their signature song, a cover of Journey’s ’80s hit “Don’t Stop Believing,” on the hit UK talent competition The X Factor.

Google eBooks is live: just in case Amazon, B&N, and Apple aren't enough

12/07/2010 01:01:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , , , , 0 Comments


You hear about this whole e-books thing? We hear it's gonna be a pretty big deal. Google, always with its finger on the pulse of our ever-evolving digital lifestyles, has decided to take a wild stab at this nascent market, and is launching Google eBooks today. Formerly known as Google Editions, the Google eBooks ecosystem is actually a pretty grand gesture, and seems to combine most of the positives of the primary e-book contenders (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, naturally), while skimping on the UI flourishes, in traditional Google fashion. Books you buy are stored in the cloud, with your progress synced Whispersync-style, and can be read on your choice of native Android, iPhone, or iPad apps; from your browser; or on any device that supports the Adobe Digital Editions DRM for PDF and ePub files, which includes the B&N Nook and the Sony Reader (and plenty of other devices). Google is also trading on its vast repository of public domain books, with 3 million free eBooks on offer at its Google eBookstore, in addition to traditional paid fare. It's certainly a crowded market, full of sharp elbows, but it seems Google is having no trouble adjusting.

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Rumor: Mac App Store might open as soon as December 13

12/07/2010 01:00:00 AM kenmouse , Posted in , , , 0 Comments


Apple appears to be going full throttle with the development of its Mac App Store, which might open earlier than the expected January launch date.

According to Appletell, CEO Steve Jobs wants an early release, possibly to take advantage of the holiday shopping rush. Here’s the deal:

An inside source has just told us that Apple is targeting a Monday, December 13th launch of the Mac App Store. The company apparently told developers to have their software prepared for a launch as early as Monday the 6th of this month, but our contact would be shocked if that happened at this point. Apple has made no official announcements regarding this, and delays could always happen, but there’s a push to be launched before Christmas, well ahead of the previously estimated January release.

If there’s a launch today, that would be exciting and unexpected…but also unlikely. Don’t forget that anyone who wants to visit the future Mac App Store will need Mac OS X 10.6.6 to run anything, which means that will need to be released prior to this date as well if this is all true.

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