Tag Archive

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Motorola_s_Android_phones_to_use_Bing_search_in_China’; Uh, whoa. When we heard Google’s threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can’t say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto’s Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 — and the partnership is described as “global,” so there’s a chance it could spread. That’s just one more slap in Google’s face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip — and another step away from the tight relationship that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We’d say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Hour timepiece: Because it’s always happy hour somewhere

You say that alcohol is your only friend? And you need a nice watch to wear while drinking it? The Happy Hour Timepiece is for you. While the watch itself is pretty standard – a quartz analog movement next to a Chinese LCD movement in a rectangular case – the buckle of the strap holds [...]

Newegg selling ASUS Eee Box with Red Flag Linux pre-installed

Newegg selling ASUS Eee Box with Red Flag Linux pre-installed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hai Bao robot

The folks over at Zhejiang University have developed a friendly robot known as Hai Bao, which when translated from Chinese would mean “maritime treasure”. Standing 155cm tall, it comes with an LCD display that shows off animated facial expressions. Apart from blurting out greetings in half a dozen languages, Hai Bao sports an intelligent hand-shaking system. Hai Bao is also able to interact with tourists by snapping photos on their behalf, perform a little jig or even sing some songs. Doesn’t sound like someone you would want to employ for your office reception area though.

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Sony VAIO Z with Quad SSD stripped down and explained by its project leader

For the average geek like us, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching a gadget skillfully torn apart by its creator. That’s why we’re slightly envious of Engadget Chinese, who saw Sony VAIO Z Series project leader, Takamitsu Kasai, explaining the differences between the old and new VAIO Z literally part by part. Hightlights include Sony’s proprietary Quad SSD (so not user-upgradable, sadly), a redesigned heatsink to accommodate the new chips’ higher TDP (thermal design power), and various features of the “one-piece milled aluminum” and “hybrid carbon” chassis. Of course, all we really care about are photos of the naked VAIO Z, so go ahead and gorge yourselves after the jump.

Sony VAIO Z with Quad SSD stripped down and explained by its project leader originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm sales ‘lower than expected,’ revenues to miss targets

Ruh-roh. Palm just confirmed what we heard from analysts yesterday: sales aren’t going so well. The company’s updated its third quarter financial guidance to say that consumer adoption of its products is “taking longer than expected,” leading to lowered order volumes from carriers and deferral of some orders to “future periods.” That certainly puts that “Chinese New Year” Pre / Pixi work stoppage in a slightly different context, doesn’t it? Looking at the new numbers, Palm says it expects non-GAAP Q3 revenue to be about $300m, or about the same it pulled in in Q2 before the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus launched on Verizon. That’s not a good sign, but we’ll see if that kicks someone at Verizon or Palm into realizing they might need a new, less-stupid ad campaign focused on capabilities, not stereotypes.

Palm sales ‘lower than expected,’ revenues to miss targets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s first Windows Phone 7 handset shipping as early as September

Our buds over at Engadget Chinese are just reporting back from a sitdown it had with LG Mobile in Hong Kong at a Chinese New Year event. The most tantalizing bit of truth is confirmation of that September launch date rumor for its first Windows Phone 7 Series device. However, this time LG padded the date a bit and said it would launch sometime between September and November. Of course, the only official word so far, has Windows Phone 7 launching before the “holidays,” so we’ll take what we can get. Maybe Mr. Ballmer meant Halloween?

LG’s first Windows Phone 7 handset shipping as early as September originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remeber that post about the wire shoe thing?

Exciting news, friends. I’ve just come back from the future, and I have some news to share. In the year 2050, the United Nations will hold a “Remember Blogging?” panel, and it will be chaired by the encapsulated head, à la Futurama, of Cory Doctorow. There will come a time in the panel when Doctorow’s head turns and says, “Now, blogging wasn’t all shits and giggles. Some of it was truly dreadful. Par example…” This will all be done in Mandarin Chinese, of course, which replaced English as the lingua franca of the world in 2035. Anyhow, Doctoro’s head will say, “You see, I seem to remember a post on reasonably popular tech blog CrunchGear that described some sort of wire-frame shoe. It was rubbish.”

Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward

You know, the vast majority of Chinese PMPs are underwhelming, and we can’t say for sure that the Windows G85HD is any different, but the video walkthrough of the user interface has us interested at the very lease. Reportedly, the all-white, touchscreen-centric device packs a Rockchip RK2806 processor, a 4.3-inch panel (800 x 480), 3.5mm headphone jack, 720p video output, 8GB or 16GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, FM radio tuner, a Chinese-English dictionary and support for a multitude of file formats. There’s nary a word on when and where you’ll be able to find this, but if you find yourself situated in Shenzhen, feel free to scope things out at the local market and fill us in.

[Thanks, Sere83]

Continue reading Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward

Window G85HD PMP is somewhere between awesome and awkward originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm stops production of CDMA Pre and Pre Plus

Word has it that Palm has told Foxconn to stop all production of CDMA Pre and Pre Plus smartphones, which currently see action from Sprint and Verizon, respectively. This temporary suspension applies to the month of February only, and it seems that nobody else knows whether shipment will resume from March onwards. Other quarters claim that Palm has issued this directive not because it is in trouble, but due to the Chinese New Year holidays. Do you buy that story from Palm?

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Motorola XT800 Android touchscreen phone hands-on in Shenzhen

Lusting for more Android love from Motorola? Then you should start searching for a Chinese soulmate. We’ve been told that this ￥5,680 ($830) XT800 dual-SIM (one CDMA and one GSM) smartphone had been out for just a few days in Shenzhen — right before the country shuts down for Chinese New Year on Sunday. Packing the same OMAP3430 core used by the Droid and Milestone, both the 2.0.1 firmware and a 720p sample video we watched were running smoothly on the lovely 3.7-inch 854×480 screen. The rubberized battery cover felt nice in our palm, too, but enough with the talking — go gorge yourselves on the gallery pics, won’t you?

Motorola XT800 Android touchscreen phone hands-on in Shenzhen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Debunk: Palm not halting Pre / Pixi production, just on hold for Chinese New Year

Oh boy. Research firm OTR Global is making some waves today with a report claiming that Palm ordered all Pre and Pixi manufacturing to be halted, but apparently they didn’t look at a calendar — or, you know, call Palm. We just talked to Palm and here’s the real deal: Pre and Pixi orders were halted for the Chinese New Year on the 14th, and production will go back online at the end of the month. That’s the whole story — Palm also told us that production for Verizon was ramped up early in the year to cover the downtime, so there shouldn’t be any effect on availability. We’ll be getting an official statement soon, we’ll update as soon as we get it.

Update: Here’s the official word from Derick Mains, Palm’s director of corporate communications:

Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.

Move along, nothing else to see here.

Debunk: Palm not halting Pre / Pixi production, just on hold for Chinese New Year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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