Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » août 22, 2011

BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

Even with drastic price reduction, TouchPads still get 50GB free cloud storage

Publié: août 22, 2011, 11:45pm CEST par Tim Conneally

One of the nice bonuses of the HP TouchPad is that it comes with a lifetime 50GB cloud storage account from Box for free. This is exactly ten times more storage than they offer standard users on their free tier.

With the sudden discontinuation of the TouchPad and the subsequent liquidation of all stock, this little bonus looks a lot sweeter, but we wondered if Box could pull out of the deal due to behind-the-scenes agreements and arrangements.

We contacted Box over the weekend just to make sure that the offer was still safe, even as the TouchPads are being liquidated.

Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie told us that there's no stopping the free accounts.

"We’re absolutely still offering 50GB of free cloud storage to all TouchPad owners, and not surprisingly, we’ve seen a significant spike in signups through the Box for TouchPad app in the past few days, bringing total app downloads to 30,000," Levie said. "Because our goal is to make accessing and sharing content simple across all devices, these users will benefit from our 50GB offer across the many mobile operating systems we support, including Box apps for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Playbook, and our HTML5 mobile web app.”
Microsoft offers free Windows Phone gear to disenfranchised webOS devs

Publié: août 22, 2011, 11:12pm CEST par Tim Conneally

(Alternate title: "From Dead to Dead Last")

Now that webOS has zero official hardware manufacturers supporting it, Microsoft is hoping to lure webOS developers over to Windows Phone by giving them free hardware, training, developer tools, and so forth.

This officially began on Friday with a tweet from Senior Director of Windows Phone 7, Brandon Watson. who said "To any published webOS devs: We’ll give you what you need to be successful on #Windows Phone, including free phones, dev tools and training, etc.”

Over 500 people reportedly responded to this initial message, to which Watson issued the following official reply:

"First things first. Thank you so much for reaching out to the Windows Phone team to signal your interest in bringing your talents to our platform. To be honest, we didn’t expect this level of response, so we were caught a bit flatfooted. It took a few days (on the weekend) to pull all the mails together into one place to allow me to respond in a smart way and not retype every mail by hand. Consider this a first step in building a relationship with the Windows Phone team. We are psyched to have you aboard and to see what your imagination can do on the Windows Phone canvas."

Windows Phone is currently the fifth-place mobile operating system behind Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Symbian.
Motorola's Android sales are kaput...no big deal

Publié: août 22, 2011, 9:28pm CEST par Tim Conneally

According to market research company NPD Group, the sale of Android-based handsets grew 29% in the second quarter of this year, bringing the operating system to a 52% share of the US market. Contributing to this growth were South Korean manufacturers Samsung and LG, which both experienced "substantial gains."

But while Samsung and LG were improving their Android sales, Motorola Mobility fell dramatically.

A total of 22% of all Android-powered phones that sold in the second quarter were made by Motorola, a significant share. But this is exactly half of the percentage Motorola held last year. During the course of the year, between Q2 2010 and Q2 2011, Motorola lost a quarter of its overall handset market share as well, down to 9% from 12%.

Still, NPD's news of depressed handset sales have had very little impact on Motorola Mobility's stock price, which is still trading high on the news that the company is going to be acquired by Google.

Handset sales, it would appear, are only a minor concern right now when it comes to Motorola and its future parent company.

"Google's acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors," NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin said in a statement today. "Android's momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola's Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer."

Indeed, when Google acquires Motorola, it will pick up an estimated 17,000 patents, and a Bloomberg report on Monday picked out a core of eighteen of these patents that could prove pivotal in protecting Google from infringement suits from Android rivals Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Apple.
Best Buy offers free iPhone 3GS ahead of iPhone 5 launch

Publié: août 22, 2011, 8:01pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Likely aiming to clear its inventory of the now two-year-old iPhone 3GS model, Best Buy said Monday that it would offer the device for free with a two-year contract with AT&T. The 3GS had previously sold for $49.

The offer is available from Best Buy's website and in store. It is unclear what type of stock the retailer is working with, but it's likely supplies are limited.

Apple is widely expected within the next month or so to start shipping the iPhone 5. While initial reports placed the next-generation phone's release in September, more recent reports are suggesting Apple may launch the iPhone 5 in early October, possibly October 7.

Three weeks ago, Best Buy offered the Samsung Nexus S through its "Deal of the Day" program, giving the $99 device away for free with a two year contract.

At that time too, it was speculated that the retailer may be clearing its shelves for a new model. Rumors surfaced in June that a 4G model was in the works, possibly releasing in the Thanksgiving timeframe.
Got HP TouchPad but want Android? Touchdroid is coming

Publié: août 22, 2011, 7:29pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

I failed to snag TouchPad, when HP was practically giving them away this weekend -- $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB one. Like many other attempted or successful buyers, I was thinking: "Wouldn't it be great if this tablet ran Android?" Perhaps it will.

There's already a project underway to port Android to the TouchPad, which is sure to delight lots of people who wanted the hardware but couldn't care less about WebOS or don't see much future in it. HP insists WebOS will continue, but, c`mon, who will develop apps if there are no devices?

The project, Touchdroid, is assembling a team of developers. From the Touchdroid Wiki: "First going to build with Gingerbread and be AOSP based. After we are able to successfully boot Android, we are going to move to a CM7 base. Once we reach what we deem a 'stable' beta, we will continue to provide bug fixes for Gingerbread build, but also begin working on a full Honeycomb port. If ICS is released before or during our development of the Honeycomb port, we will stop and begin work on ICS. (Please be October…)".

So your HP TouchPad could have a Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) or Honeycomb (Android 3.x) future. If you want one.

"If a stable porting option is available to us Touchpad owners, then we just purchased a brilliant device at one hell of a steal," capncoad comments to an earlier TouchPad story. "From what I've read, there is a project being developed called TouchDroid to allow Android on the device. We will have to wait and see".

"The Android port announcement came via Twitter, with Erik Hardesty, a Cyanogen contributor saying that; '[...]I plan on doing an AOSP port to the TouchPad, not Honeycomb'", commenter ilev responded. (I sure hope we get more real names with Betanews switch to Disqus.)

"I purchased three", David Carroll comments to a different TouchPad story. "I'll run WebOS till it's outdated, then put a stable Android on it".

Betanews reader Nikolay Kolev is clear about his reason for buying HP TouchPad: "To install Android on it, of course".

Will you?

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
BlackBerry users, would you pay $5 a month for 50 songs?

Publié: août 22, 2011, 4:43pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

It's a strange question given the alternatives, but it must be asked. All Things Digital's Peter Kafka reports $5/month for 50 songs will be the going rate for Research in Motion's rumored BlackBerry Music Service.

You can stop laughing now. Please. Someone will hear.

Kafka asks: "So why would anyone pay $5 a month to get 50 songs on their phone, when they can pay $10 a month and get an unlimited number of songs, that work on lots of different devices, from services like Rdio and Rhapsody?" How about MOG, which I use to stream to my Chromebook and to download to my Nexus S. Or Spotify? There are so many cheap or free alternatives, the plan is mind-boggling.

What? Has there been a reversal in the exchange rate with the Canadian dollar (going up in value)? Is RIM management so incompetent it couldn't negotiate better terms from the music labels? Is same management so inept as to think BlackBerry users will pay a premium price for music? Or perhaps you would, which is one reason for the question posed by the headline.

I'm not a big fan of rumors, but Kafka has an exceptionally good record of being right about them. So as unbelievable as this story seems, it's more likely true than not.

So, what's your answer? If it's no, do you use a music service now? Which one(s), and how much do you pay? Comments await your answer.
Sony Ericsson keeps 'feature phones' alive with Android Walkman line

Publié: août 22, 2011, 4:38pm CEST par Tim Conneally

It's not uncommon for Sony Ericsson phones to prominently feature one of Sony's consumer electronics brands, and there are now handsets sporting Cybershot, Walkman, PlayStation, and Bravia branding. Today, the joint venture debuted the Sony Ericsson "Live with Walkman" Android smartphone, another device capitalizing on the music player brand Sony popularized nearly 30 years ago.

The smartphone features a 3.2" touchscreen, a single core 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), and a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video capture.

The main points of interest of this particular device are, of course, its music features, which include a Walkman app, a quick-launch hardware button on the chassis to turn the music player on, built-in stereo speakers with xLOUD technology, integration with Qriocity streaming, and Sony's TrackID music identification software.

As it happens, this isn't Sony Ericsson's first Android Walkman phone, but its second in as many months. It appears that Sony Ericsson is keeping the "feature phone" concept alive in the smartphone era by turning Sony's brands into general purpose smartphones that are specially equipped for a single function.

There is not yet a launch date or price for the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman.
Need More from Windows 7? Try Explorer Toolbar Editor

Publié: août 22, 2011, 4:06pm CEST par Mark Wilson

As you browse the contents of your hard drive in Windows Explorer, you will no doubt have noticed that depending on the type of folder you have selected, different buttons are displayed in the toolbar. While Windows generally does a pretty good job of determining what you might want to do with a particular type of file, it is not always right. Explorer Toolbar Editor enables you to choose which buttons you would like to have on display and when.

For example, when you are browsing through folders containing music, or performing searches of these folders, it is likely that you will either want to listen to these files or burn them to a disc so it makes sense to have the relevant buttons on display in the toolbar. However, if you would prefer different buttons to be displayed, or you would like these buttons to be displayed for other folder types, Explorer Toolbar Editor enables you to makes the necessary changes without having to edit the registry.

Even if you are happy with the default buttons that Microsoft has chosen to display in the toolbars, it is possible that they do not appear in an order that works for you. Again, this is something that Explorer Toolbar Editor can help with. In a few mouse clicks you can easily move the more commonly used buttons to a more prominent position, remove those that you never use and add any that are missing.

The application also allows for customization of the Explorer toolbar that appears when no files or folders are selected. While it makes sense to have cut and paste buttons when selecting files, when nothing is selected, there are probably more useful buttons to display. Any changes you make can be easily reverted if you change your mind or make mistakes, but the software is likely to stay on your hard drive as it can prove a real boost to productivity as the tools you need are always right where you need them.

You can find out more and download a copy of this free utility by paying a visit to the Explorer Toolbar Editor review page.
Did you miss these 26 software downloads last week? Get them now

Publié: août 22, 2011, 3:58am CEST par Mark Wilson

It was such a busy week -- what with Google planning to buy Motorola Mobility and HP killing TouchPad -- you could easily have overlooked a momentous number of new software releases. As the new week begins, we look back on what you might have missed during the last one.

The major release last week was more about the migration of Mozilla Firefox 7 from Aurora to the Beta channel, rather than the recent announcement that Firefox 6 is now stable. Firefox 7 is a bigger update, with much improved memory management and a host of similar features. Read through the blog announcement for more information. In addition to Firefox 6 going stable and Firefox 7 entering beta, Firefox 8a2 hit the Aurora channel, whilst the first preview of Firefox 9a1 hit Nightly. None of the planned UI enhancements have been implemented in this first alpha of Firefox 9 and, for OS X Lion users, these recent Firefox updates may leave you disappointed. The full screen mode does not place Firefox on a separate space and the scrollbars do not mimic the new bars introduced in the new operating system.

For OS X Lion users, we’d recommend Chrome 14, which moved in to the Beta channel recently. This build provides full support for gestures, the new scrollbars and proper full screen via Mission Control. The latest v14 beta also ships with a print preview for Mac users -- although it doesn’t always work very well. For serious users, the recent Chrome 15 Dev is updated overnight to give you the very latest features, and bugs.

Mozilla pushed out their Thunderbird 6 release last week and you’ll struggle to find many new features. Thunderbird 6 is based on the updated Gecko 6 engine, supports Windows 7 jump lists and ships with further stability and performance improvements. Expect Thunderbird 7 to hit the beta channel within days. There’s also a separate Thunderbird 6 Portable edition, which can be used on a temporary machine and removed without requiring installation.

The popular file synchronization and backup tool, Dropbox 1.1.40, was made available this week and the primary change is Finder support for OS X Lion. If you’re a serious user, take a look at the Dropbox Experimental Edition v1.2.27 which contains bleeding edge features, security enhancements, but also can be unstable. Talking of synchronizing content, take a look at the free Air Playit Sever 1.0.1 which will enable you to setup and stream video from your computer to your iPad or iPhone. You could setup an old PC as your media server, install Air Playit and be able to show video wherever you are located. You’ll need to install Air Playit for iPhone and the separate version for your iPad, so you can view the streamed content.

Skype launched a brand new app this week, Skype WiFi 1.0. This free app for your iPhone or iPad enables you to use pre-purchased Skype credits to pay for WiFi access whilst you are on the road. The idea here is that you do not need to get your credit card out and pay via your iPad when you’re away from the office. You might also want to take a look at Viber for iPhone/iPad or Viber for Android, which is another free app that will enable you to make calls via your 3G or WiFi network, which is always going to prove cheaper than paying for regular calls from your mobile provider.

Before you start streaming video to your iPad, you may want to convert the content to a format more suitable. MediaCoder 2011 R8, which is available for 32-bit and 64-bit PCs, is one of the better free conversion tools. Avidemux 2.54 is another, again provided with separate 32-bit and 64-bit builds. You might also want to look at Free Studio 5.1.7, which is a collection of conversion tools for video and audio. VidCoder 1.0, again available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions, was finally given a stable 1.0 release.

IObit Advanced System Care 5 beta 1 was made available for public beta testing this week, whilst the existing ASC v4 was upgraded to 4.1 at the same time. iolo System Checkup 3 (which is a brand new tool, despite the v3 tag) is a recent release which enables you to manually optimize your system, rather than allowing the app to sit in the background taking up precious system resources. Similar tools, Tweak Me! 1.2.0.3, TuneUp Utilities 2011 v10.0.4320 and Auslogics BoostSpeed 5.1.1 were made available this week.

Lastly, take a look at a couple of these Chrome extensions. Click&Clean for Chrome 7.6.0.0 gives you one-click access to a range of cleaning, history removal and other tools to get the most from Chrome. IE Tab for Chrome 2.7.14.1 enables you to run the Internet Explorer engine in Chrome, which is interesting for developers and for websites that are still designed specifically for IE, such as your bank. Note that this extension will only work with the Chrome for Windows, for obvious reasons.