Hopefully Microsoft wasn’t hoping to surprise anyone with their Service Pack 1 release for Windows 7 and Server 2008 — because it has been leaked online. The version number comes in at 7601.17514.101119-1850, features both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and packs mostly bug and performance enhancements. Full spec sheet after the jump…
Normally we don’t write about incremental or .x.x.xxx BlackBerry OS updates. But this one is a bit more important. BlackBerry 9700 owners have been promised since the revealing of OS 6 that their beloved device would bridge the gap between old and new. And thus far, not much has been said by either RIM or the carriers providing the 9700 as to when said update would be available.
Thanks to the ever persistent internet community (and a few loose lips/fingers), BlackBerry 9700 owners can finally get in on the OS 6 action — albeit in a pre-release, non-supported form. For those of you keeping track, the official numbering for this version of OS 6 is 6.0.0.344. Get your links inside…
Some good news and bad news. First, the good news — the new Macbook Air looks like it’s going to feature better battery life (bigger battery) as well as offer up some more USB ports. To some, the same 13″ screen size is also a plus. The bad, however, is a pretty big bad: System info still shows the aging Core 2 Due and a measly 2GB of RAM. That’s hope that this is an early production unit. Shipping a “new” computer that will cost a couple of benjamins away from $2k and still features 2+ year old tech is not a good situation. Then again, speed isn’t everything, right?
Wow, if this leaked image above turns out to be real, Gizmodo is 2 for 2 on breaking new iPhones for the year. Supposedly, this is the CDMA iPhone. Notice the brushed metal back — no more glass problems. (Nevermind the fact that a glass back on a phone was one of the worst engineering/design decisoins…ever.) As far as fakes go — if this is fake, it looks pretty decent. The serial numbers and other markings state:
Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China
[...]el41332EVC38CA FCCID-BCGE25BDA IC:579C-E258DA
From my untrained eye, it looks kind of like a sticker/skin is stuck on top your typical black iPhone. But without a video or a couple of other pictures showing some different angles, it’s hard to say at this point.
What do you guys think? Is this better than the current glass-backed iPhone 4? Would you switch to a CDMA carrier for this design alone?
As suspected, it’s a fake folks. And yes, it’s a case. Nifty. Continue on…
Those of you holding out for a BlackBerry 9330 Curve have something new to play with tonight. It appears that OS 6.0.0.212 has been leaked, taking a massive leapfrog over the last release — 5.0.0.857. We’ve known for some time that the 9330 was one of the few “legacy” devices that would support OS 6 moving forward. Though, the 9330 hasn’t even been officially released yet.
Regardless, those with a 9330 holding a spot near and dear to their heart ought to give the download a shot and see what you can find.
If there’s one thing about Android’s awesome Gmail app that could be improved, it’s the UI — and on a lesser note, speed. The former is getting a nice little facelift via a new floating reply/reply all/forward bar that is many times better than the old buttons being located at the very bottom of an email. In regards to speed, it’s supposedly many times improved.
The best part is that rooted and non-rooted users alike can get in on this Gmail beta action by following this link right here. Or, if you’re to lazy for such things, the direct download can be found here.
If doubt and fear are in the back of your head, relax. If you decide that you need to uninstall the update for whatever reason, simply navigate to the Gmail app within the applications pane in the settings menu and click “uninstall updates”. You’ll be good as…old.
Try it out and let us know what you think.
For what it’s worth, I’m running Cyanogenmod 6.0 stable release and the features I pointed out above are already present. Any other custom ROM users want to weigh in?
It may not be hot off the press, but a story it is nonetheless. The HTC Mozart, the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship later this year, has come out once again to tease us phone aficionados. This time however, the images come with a few specs to wet our whistles. To get the ball rolling — the battery will top out at 1400mAh. A tad small I’d reckon. Though Microsoft’s new OS and accompanying hardware is thus far untested. We’re in uncharted waters, so you never know, perhaps Windows Phone 7 will be a battery sipper. Moving on, the HTC Mozart will not come with an SD card slot for expandable storage, and will drop on a GSM carrier initially. (That pretty much means AT&T here in the states.) And last but not least, HTC has managed to keep things rather plain this time around, as there isn’t a custom UI image anywhere to be seen. It’s straight up Windows Phone 7.
On that note, I’d say Microsoft was pretty adamant about keeping “their image” plain and easily distinguishable from other competitors on the market. That’s an awesome idea. As nice as some Android skins are, at the end of the day they end up making the platform less useful as they slow down updates, with some (read: Samsung’s TouchWiz) skins simply looking downright god awful.
That’s it for now. While you chew on that late night cookie, hop inside for a trio of pictures…
Well well well. That gloriously tasty looking TweetDeck Android app we talked about yesterday has found one of its early builds leaked (Download here). Based off of an early pre-review by Android Central, they note the app’s nicely styled UI, but knock it for it’s “waterfall approach” to grouping multiple account updates in one column. (Mind you, @username updates and DM’s are separate. Multiple accounts’ status updates such as Twitter, Facebook, Buzz, etc. are grouped together…to clear up any confusion.)
However, I have been begging for a social app like TweetDeck to support a host of social networking accounts *and* put them all in one view. With a total of 5 accounts that need to be simultaneously logged on, I don’t want to have to jump between account views. Thankfully TweetDeck looks to please.
But there’s even better news. Fresh off news that an early build of TweetDeck has been leaked, TweetDeck’s official Twitter account pushed out the update you see above — TweetDeck beta is coming to Android tomorrow! I’m stoked. Who’s going to be refreshing their Android Market app throughout the day…?
Are you going to jump on it early or wait for the real deal?
If the wait for official DROID 2 announcements and images is starting to get to you, you’re in luck. Droid-Life has scored the official DROID 2 owners manual for the world to partake. Not wasting any time, it’s evident that the re-worked Moto BLUR that is featured on the DROID X is front and center, as are the Swype and multi-touch keyboards, and yes — Froyo!
Speaking of that multi-touch keyboard, I’m hoping some talented dev can rip it out and port it over to the D1. To the best of my knowledge, no one has taken it off of the DROID X and got it working on a Droid 1 running Froyo, though users still back on 2.1 have voiced success. Seeing as how the D1 and D2 will share Android versions, it looks like that succulent multi-touch keyboard will finally make its way across the hardware gap.
Sadly, looking back at all the known hardware specs and now the manual, I’m left wanting more. The D1 was a game changing Android device back in November. The D2 is merely a ploy by Moto to capitalize on the D1′s success while spending as little R&D as possible. It’s not really different at all. Simply put, compared to the EVO 4G’s, and Samsung Galaxy S’s of the world, the D2 is merely average.
Mini rant aside, you can download the manual in its entirety and find several more images over at Droid-life. Hop to it!
Download: Droid 2 User Guide (PDF)
AT&T’s Data Throttling Threshold Is Based On Black Magic And Unicorns.
[Update 4] Free At Last – A5 Untether Has Been Released!!
AT&T Needs To Cater To Lite Data Users, Better. 300 MB Isn’t Going To Cut It.
Fight: HTC Rezound vs. Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Droid RAZR.
The Evolving World of Software
Hands On: Cheers For iOS.
Review: BodyGuardz Mykase & UltraTough Clear Case Friendly ScreenGuardz
Review: Phonak Audéo PFE 232 Earphones.
Speck CandyShell – Review & Roundup
Review: id-America Spark Earphones.
Another Day, Another Google Wallet Security Bug.
HTC Further Details Android 4.0 Update Schedule, Beginning In March.
Motorola: We’re Slow With Android Updates Because We Make To Much Hardware, Install Custom Skins.
Tweetbot 2.0 Is Out! Here’s What’s New. (It’s Awesome).
G-Form’s New X-Protect iPhone Case Takes An 82 MPH Slapshot To The Gut, Survives
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