Latest Rumored Delays Behind Google Music Service Makes 2010 Launch Unlikely
The latest rumors behind Google Music, a streaming music service, may make the launch of said service unlikely for 2010. Google Music was at one point rumored to appear alongside Android 3.0 Gingerbread, but it seems that Android head Andy Rubin is no where close to securing a deal with record labels in time for the holidays. If true, this could potentially delay the launch of Google Music to 2011, though Reuters is reporting that record labels are still open on trying to break free of Apple's control of the music industry with its iTunes ecosystem.
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Samsung Planning Android Honeycomb Tablet Next Year
Samsung's Galaxy Tab has only just gone official and whispers are already out regarding the next-generation tablet from Samsung. According to WP Hong, head of product planning for Samsung, the next software upgrade for the Galaxy Tab will be Google's Gingerbread, but there will be no Honeycomb update for the current Galaxy Tab. Apparently Honeycomb will be used in the next-generation tablet which will be arriving next year, as the operating system is optimized for a different type of tablet, thus requiring a different product. Do you think Samsung's Galaxy Tab will be a strong challenger to Apple's iPad?
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Samsung Planning Android Honeycomb Tablet Next Year
Samsung y Google trabajan en una tablet con Honeycomb, el Android para tablets
La semana pasada estuvimos intentando adivinar cuál sería el siguiente nombre en clave de Android tras Gingerbread, parecía lógico que iba a empezar por “H”, siguiendo el orden alfabético de la primera letra de cada versión. Hoy nos confirman desde el IFA que será bautizada como Honeycomb.
Ha sido Samsung la que ha soltado la liebre durante la sesión de preguntas y respuestas en la presentación de Samsung Galaxy Tab, y la noticia no sólo tiene de interesante el nombre, sino la especialización de esta versión en tablets.
Toshiba’s Folio 100 with Android and Tegra 2 spied in the IFA wilds
That Folio 100 (alias Smart Pad) from Toshiba we'd been hearing about? Yep, totally real, and totally Tegra 2-powered -- a theme that we think is going to be pretty popular among tablet makers this season. We caught a handful of Folio 100s firmly affixed to a wall at IFA today, showing 10.1-inch multitouch LCD displays paired with a remixed version of Android 2.1, a handful of capacitive buttons, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, 16GB of on-board storage, and not much else -- there's really nothing visually stunning about the setup as far as we can tell, and it's not particularly thin. After bouncing out that crazy Libretto W100, Toshiba's going to have to turn up the style dial to 11 if it wants to rise above the forthcoming onslaught of Google tablets, we suspect.
Toshiba's Folio 100 with Android and Tegra 2 spied in the IFA wilds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google Maps Adds Sponsored Icons, Puts Logos on Your Searches
Starting today, you might notice something different about your searches in Google Maps: company logos. After a trial period in Australia and New Zealand, Google is expanding its sponsored map icons program to the States. Bank of America, Target, Public Storage and HSBC will now have their logos, as opposed to generic business icons, displayed in Google Maps to indicate their locations. The program is only in beta at the moment, but it's eventually expected to be opened up to all companies that wish to pay to have their logos displayed. The sponsored icons will become visible in the next few weeks on mobile phones, as well, where they'll likely be much more useful. Businesses paying to have their icons in Google Maps will benefit by having their locations more visible in searches and increasing brand awareness, while consumers will be happy to navigate map with added ease.
The common worry is that if enough companies buy into the program, our Maps may become buried in a sea of logos, but Google says it will decide which logos to display based on the search context to prevent customers from being overwhelmed. If you search for a restaurant, Google may display logos for banks (in case you need to hit an ATM), whereas you probably won't see Public Storage locations.
Google Maps Adds Sponsored Icons, Puts Logos on Your Searches originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
ViewSonic 10-inch dual boot ViewPad preview
ViewSonic hasn't settled on a name for this thing yet, vacillating between the ViewPad 100 and the ViewPad 10i. What it has settled on is a pretty delicious for factor for an Atom N455-based Windows 7 tablet, and the dual boot option to Android is really just gravy. Unfortunately it's rather outdated gravy: Android 1.6 is the most recent version to support x86 processors, so we won't be seeing any of the new Android goodness on here unless Google pulls together another Intel-friendly version of the OS in the near future -- which seems relatively unlikely with Chrome OS around the corner, but you never know. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 16GB SSD, and a 10-inch 1024 x 600 LCD (the same resolution as the new Galaxy Tab, incidentally). We weren't impressed with the quality of the display, or with the pixel density, but at least the capacitive touch seemed to be working fine -- we actually managed to do a bit of typing with Windows 7's touchscreen keyboard, if you can imagine that. The actual hardware is delightfully thin and light, though a bit on the plasticy side, and we particular appreciated the thumb friendly buttons to the right side of the display. The tablet has a quoted price of "sub 500 euros" and a sketched in release date for later this year. Check out a video hands-on, including the super exciting boot-up process, after the break.
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ViewSonic 10-inch dual boot ViewPad preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung Gem for Verizon shows up in Best Buy buyer’s guide
We've heard talk of the Gem before, and a new listing for the phone in Best Buy's September buyer's guide confirms the existence of Verizon's new low-end Android piece that'll likely slot in below the Fascinate in Sammy's lineup for the carrier. Looks like it's slated to launch with Android 2.1, not 2.2, and will include both TouchWiz 3.0 and Swype -- both Samsung staples at this point -- along with a 3.2 megapixel cam and 16GB of microSD expansion (though it's not clear whether they're going to do you the favor of throwing a card in the box). Despite the high-end name, we'd argue pricing is definitely going to determine the success of the Gem, especially in a world where Vibrants go for next to nothing on contract. $79.99 at launch, perhaps?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung Gem for Verizon shows up in Best Buy buyer's guide originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google Sued By Floridian Over Nexus One’s 3G Issues [Android]
On behalf of his neighbors in Florida—as well as California—Nathan Nabors is attempting to take on Google in a breach of contract class action lawsuit, due to the continuing problems with the Nexus One's 3G signal. You'd think he'd be better off taking his issue up with T-Mobile, really. [TechCrunch] More
Google Sued Over Nexus One 3G Connectivity Issues
You might have heard of some of the connectivity issues that the Nexus One had before this, and now a class action lawsuit has been filed against Google, citing breach of contract. The plaintiff claims that the phone failed to maintain 3G connectivity while Google made misleading claims about the product's capabilities, and also failed to properly support customers who were searching for answers. It's also worth noting that the only defendant in the lawsuit is Google, meaning that HTC and T-Mobile USA are exempt from this suit. The outcome of this lawsuit isn't clear yet, but the plaintiff is seeking damages and class action interest on behalf of residents of his home state as well as California who purchased the Nexus One. It's also worth mentioning that Google has stopped selling the Nexus One online to consumers.
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Google Responds to Steve Jobs’ Thinly Veiled Insults [Google]
During today's Apple event, Steve Jobs bragged about how many iOS devices are upgraded each day and remarked that he thinks "some of [Apple's] friends are counting upgrades in their numbers." Google caught this thinly-veiled accusation and retorted: More