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BetaNews.Com (5 non lus)

Regional operator Cellular South gets the 'Nexus One's big brother,' HTC Desire

Publié: juin 16, 2010, 10:18pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Earlier today, HTC said its Android-powered Desire smartphone would be coming to select regional operators in August without naming who they would be.
Now, Cellular South has announced that it will be getting the device, which sports a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and Android 2.1 with the HTC Sense UI. The regional carrier did not announce pricing or exactly when the Desire would launch.
Earlier this year, I handled the Desire, and HTC told me it's something like the big brother of the Nexus One, offering the same screen, the same chips, same camera and everything, but with a different body, updated optical trackball and HTC's UI.
Indeed, it feels very much like the Nexus One, but provides a whole different experience because of the Sense interface.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Android - Nexus One - Snapdragon - HtcSense - HTC Corporation
T-Mobile begins public beta of 'Device Tune-up,' auto task killer for Android

Publié: juin 16, 2010, 9:31pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

T-Mobile has begun the beta of a new function called "Device Tune-up" for Android devices running version 2.1 and below.
According to the wireless carrier, "Device Tune-up is built to run in the background at all times and 'tune-up' the device by closing unused services that are running. [It] is different from most task killers because it does not require you to do anything. Device Tune-up will default to 'on'. While on, Device Tune-up proactively closes services to help the device and battery perform at their best. Most pre-loaded applications will not be affected by Device Tune-up. "
To run Device Tune-up, you must have My Account 3.3 installed, which can be downloaded from the Android Market. Then, allow installation of non-market applications (Settings > Applications > check the box "Unknown Sources") and download the beta .apk from this location and install it.
T-Mobile's forum for the beta can be found here.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Android - Betanews - Software release life cycle - Android Market - Handhelds
Beta invites for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack arrive

Publié: juin 16, 2010, 8:47pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

As announced at Tech Ed 2010 in New Orleans a little more than a week ago, Invitations for the first beta of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) have reportedly begun arriving in potential testers' mailboxes.
The beta of SP1 is expected to begin in July, with the release to market some time in the fourth quarter.
According to the invitation, the beta download will be available in English, German, Japanese, French and Spanish, but all bug reports and feedback should be sent in English.
As Microsoft said back in March, SP1 will not contain any new features that are specific to Windows 7, but instead bring two big new features to the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure in Windows Server 2008 R2: RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory allocation for virtual machine deployments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Windows 7 - New Orleans - Operating system - Windows Server 2008
Weak smartphone portfolio hurts Nokia

Publié: juin 16, 2010, 6:12pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Mobile phone leader Nokia today lowered its outlook for Devices and Services in the second quarter of 2010, citing increased competition in the smartphone space and the recent drop in the value of the Euro.
Nokia expects the second quarter to be at "the lower end of, or slightly below, its previously expected range of EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 7.2 billion," with no growth in its market share volume.
"Nokia now expects its mobile device value market share to be slightly lower in 2010, compared to 2009. This update is primarily due to the competitive situation at the high-end of the market and shifts in product mix," Nokia's notice to investors said this morning.
Smartphone buying trends have been increasingly favoring high-end smartphones for the last few quarters, and Nokia's portfolio of products is very light on the high end.
This is the result of a decision by Nokia last year to cut smartphone production to reflect the reduced market demand for the company's devices. Shortly after announcing production cutbacks, Jo Harlow, Nokia's Chief of Smartphones said, ""We see ... really fierce competition certainly in the high end, but we also see it in the mid to low end of smartphones increasing."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Nokia - Smartphone - Mobile phone - Market share - Mobile device
Sony Ericsson announces new Xperia X8, does not commit to the Android version it will run

Publié: juin 16, 2010, 4:43pm CEST par Tim Conneally
By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Though Sony Ericsson does not have a presence in the United States market for Android smartphones, the company's contributions so far have been very impressive in the global market.
Today, Sony Ericsson announced that it is expanding its line of Android-powered Xperia smartphones with the new Xperia X8, which falls in between the X10 and the X10 mini in size and functionality. The X10 Mini and Mini Pro have 2.5" screens, and the X8's is an even 3" in size.
So it's still very small when compared to the current trend of smart- and superphones which are rapidly nearing the 5" screen size, but it uses Sony Ericsson's "four corners" interface to simplify interaction. On the tiny X10 Mini line, this interface works brilliantly.
X8 Highlights
- Processor: 600MHz
- Networks: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual- and tri-band UMTS/HSPA (depending upon region of release)
- 3.2 Megapixel camera
- 2GB microSD included, support for up to 16GB
- A-GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Android Version: TO BE DETERMINED
- Release Date: TO BE DETERMINED
In Sony Ericsson's Blog today, there is an explanation why the X8 does not have its version of Android set in stone.
"As the improved timing for Android 2.1 availability now coincides with the launch window for Xperia X8, we are currently discussing with our customers the most appropriate way to bring the product to market for each operator in each country. As customer testing has already started in a number of markets it is important that we preserve the robustness of the launch whilst ensuring a compelling user experience. Xperia X8 will either launch on Android 1.6 with a subsequent upgrade to Android 2.1 a few weeks later or will launch on Android 2.1. The final decision will be taken on a market-by-market basis."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Sony Ericsson - Android - XPERIA - United States - Xperia X8