Boy Genius Report

Symbian opens up its source code, available now for your downloading pleasure

by Kelly Hodgkins on February 4th, 2010 at 5:29pm
Filed under: News, Symbian 14 Comments

It is official. The Symbian Foundation has released Symbian as an open source product today, four months ahead of its scheduled mid-2010 completion date. As with other open source projects, the move will allow developers to modify and contribute to the source code in hopes of improving the overall quality and hastening the development of the operating system. An open source Symbian can also be installed on any compatible device for free which should help to further expand Symbian’s reach and solidify Symbian’s position as the dominant mobile OS worldwide. Beating Android to the punch, Symbian will publish its platform roadmap and planned features up to 2011, an outline which the Symbian Foundation notes can be modified and expanded based upon developer contributions to the mobile OS. The full Symbian source code is available for download now at Symbian’s developer website.

Google and NSA team up to protect the cloud

by Andrew Munchbach on February 4th, 2010 at 3:05pm
Filed under: News 66 Comments

The Washington Post is reporting that internet search giant Google, and America’s electronic security agency, the NSA, will be teaming up to analyze data from the recent cyber attack that is believed to have originated from China. Neither the NSA nor Google is commenting on the partnership, however the Post has an anonymous source who claims, “the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications.” The Post went on to say, “the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.” What do you think? Does the thought of the NSA working with Google make you feel more secure?

Clearwire to pursue its wholesale business as it curbs WiMAX equipment purchases

by Kelly Hodgkins on February 4th, 2010 at 1:39pm
Filed under: 4G, 4G Center, Sprint, WiMax 17 Comments

According to Taiwanese WiMAX CPE makers, Clearwire is slowing its purchases of WiMAX equipment as it begins to ramp up its wholesale business. This expansion is not unexpected as Clearwire first offered wholesaler services in Q3 2009 and indicated that is looking to grow its wholesale business and add additional wholesale customers in the intervening quarters. Currently, Clearwire offers wholesale 4G services to Comcast, Sprint and Time Warner Cable, all three of which are strategic investors in Clearwire. Each reseller has the ability to sell 4G services with their own WiMAX CPE products, resell services in different geographic markets and offer individualized pricing schemes. Additional details on Clearwire’s wholesale business is expected during the company’s Q4 2009 earnings conference call on February 24th. Perhaps, Clearwire will slip in some info on that rumored Sprint Android 4G handset as well.

AT&T finally approves a 3G-compatible version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone

by Kelly Hodgkins on February 4th, 2010 at 12:49pm
Filed under: AT&T, News, Video, Wireless 22 Comments

Ten months after we broke the news on the WiFi-only SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone, it looks like AT&T and Sling have finally come to terms on a 3G version of the video streaming product. During these intervening months, SlingMedia has developed a 3G optimized version (read: it won’t kill AT&T’s network) of SlingPlayer Mobile that AT&T has been testing since mid-December. Sling’s well-written code coupled with AT&T loosening grip on the application requirements for its 3G network has lead to success as AT&T announced today that it has given the rubber stamp of approval to Sling’s 3G mobile app. No word on when this 3G version will hit the App store but we are reaching out to Sling to see if we can get a ballpark date. We’ve been using a 3G-enabled SlingPlayer iPhone application for a while, and we’re not sure how we’d live without it, so this is really, really, exciting. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Comcast rebrands services, new name is marginal at best

by Andrew Munchbach on February 4th, 2010 at 11:17am
Filed under: Residential, Services, TV 69 Comments

So… how do you overcome negative public perception and customer service issues that won’t seem to go away? Fix the root of the problem? No. You re-brand yourself of course! Today, Comcast announced that the company name will stay the same; however the services have been renamed to… XFINITY? Yes, XFINITY. Starting next week, Comcast will be rolling out the new name in 12 major markets. Comcast customers of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Hartford, Augusta, Chattanooga, and San Francisco, you are now XFINITY Internet, XFINITY Cable, and/or XFINITY voice customers. XFINITY…sort of rolls off the tongue… wait, actually, no it doesn’t. Here is the corporate justification for the move: “XFINITY is about offering our customers more — more HD, more speed, more choice and more control over their services.” We would love to see Comcast improve their services and stop spending money on fighting net neutrality and changing all of the logos on their letterhead, but hey, that’s just us.

TELUS rumored to launch the MILESTONE on the 18th

by Michael Bettiol on February 4th, 2010 at 9:36am
Filed under: HSPA, Handsets, Motorola, Rumors, Telus, UMTS 48 Comments

Canadian Android aficionados who wait with bated breath for TELUS to release the Motorola MILESTONE might soon be able to breathe easy if a new rumor has any truth to it. According to the folks over at MobileSyrup, TELUS recently sent out a memo its employees that the MILESTONE will make its debut on February 18th with pre-orders at Best Buy starting as soon as the 5th. Pricing wasn’t mentioned, but it’s looking as if the MILESTONE start at $199 and max out at $549 without contract. Pretty damn tempting, eh?

T-Mobile kills off the BlackBerry Curve 8900

by Michael Bettiol on February 4th, 2010 at 6:38am
Filed under: BlackBerry, Handsets, RIM, T-Mobile 48 Comments

There comes a time in every smartphones life when, after a long and illustrious career in which it has accomplished many things, it just wants to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of daily life and bow out gracefully. According to T-Mobile, the latest to do so is the BlackBerry Curve 8900 as T-Mobile which is now residing in a retirement community in Florida having reached the “end of its life cycle”. It remains to be seen whether its son, the Curve 8520, will take up the family business, but rumor has it that its grandson is just about to come of age and make a splash.

Motorola handset rocking Android and MOTOBLUR pictured in Brazil

by Andrew Munchbach on February 3rd, 2010 at 5:29pm
Filed under: Android, Hardware, Motorola 44 Comments

It looks as though Gizmodo Brazil got their hands on a yet-to-be-announced Android handset from device manufacturer Motorola. The full touch-screen device, which is being described as a Motorola BACKFLIP without the keyboard, is running Android 1.5 and is cloaked in the MOTOBLUR UI. Giz Brazil didn’t report on any specifications, however we can tell from the images the phone is SIM based, has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, micro-SD slot, and camera with flash. The phone is rumored to be released in March, although the chances of this little number Stateside appear to be pretty slim, and go after feature phone users looking to upgrade to their first semi-smart phone. Hit the link for the translated article and image gallery.

Windows Mobile 6.5.3 details emerge

by Kelly Hodgkins on February 3rd, 2010 at 3:45pm
Filed under: Microsoft, Sony, Windows Mobile 34 Comments

With the introduction of the Sony Ericsson Aspen, Windows Mobile took a small jump forward to version 6.5.3. This latest version includes a few notable features, including capacitive touchscreen support which will cause all non-HD2 owners to toss their stylii into the air and jump for joy. Other changes include:

Platform to enable multitouch
Touch controls throughout system (no need for stylus)
Consistent Navigation
Horizontal scroll bar replaces tabs (think settings>system>about screen)
Magnifier to bring touch support to legacy applications
Simplified out-of-box experience with fewer steps
Drag and drop icons on Start Screen
Browser page load time decreased and memory management improved
Browser pan & flick gestures smoothed and zoom & rotation speed increased
Updated runtime tools (.NET CF 3.5, SQL CE 3.1)
Arabic read/write document support
Watson (error reporting) improvements and bug fixes

Thus far, the Aspen is the only handset to run this latest version of the Microsoft’s mobile operating system and we may have to wait until MWC 2010 for additional 6.5.3 handsets to emerge and updates for current handsets to be confirmed. Until then, Windows Mobile 6.5.3 is an SE exclusive.

Textbook publishers prepare content for iPad/e-ink readers

by Andrew Munchbach on February 3rd, 2010 at 2:01pm
Filed under: News, e-book 28 Comments

Major textbook publishers, including McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Kaplan, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, have completed a deal with software company ScrollMotion Inc. to prepare their textbook offerings for digital outlets like the iPad. Textbook publishers, having seen the impact of technology and the internet on the newspaper industry, are desperately trying to stay ahead of the technology curve and viable well into the 21st century. Rik Kranenburg, group president of higher eduction at McGraw-Hill had this to say: “Nobody knows what device will take off, or which ‘killer app’ will drive student adaptations. Today they aren’t reading e-textbooks on their laptops. But ahead we see all kinds of new instruction materials.” The Wall Street Jounal, citing a report by research firm Compass Intelligence, predicts technology spending among educational institutions will increase $14.3 billion over a five year period (tracked from 2008 to 2013); a figure publishing companies clearly are not going to ignore. Check out the WSJ article for all the details.

Colorware BlackBerry 9700 strikes again…

by Boy Genius on February 3rd, 2010 at 12:21pm
Filed under: BlackBerry, Handsets, RIM 64 Comments

Kind of went for an opposite color vibe on this one. Maybe we’ll give it away in a bit, or something… what do you think? Pictures are in the gallery if you’d like to see some more shots. Also, special thanks to Colorware for the hook up!

Click on over to our Colorware BlackBerry 9700 Gallery!

Motorola DEVOUR gets official on Verizon Wireless

by Andrew Munchbach on February 3rd, 2010 at 10:08am
Filed under: 1xRTT, Android, CDMA, EV-DO, Motorola, Verizon 91 Comments

We knew it was coming, and now, it is here. Today, Verizon Wireless and Motorola officially announced the Motorola DEVOUR’s availability on America’s largest wireless carrier. As previously reported, this Android handset will come complete with MOTOBLUR, a 3.1″ capacitive touch screen, touch-sensitive track pad, 3G connectivity, aGPS, Bluetooth, and a micro-SD card slot. The device will fall under Verizon’s list of “advanced devices” and require a $29.99 data plan and, presumably, will come with a $350 early termination fee as well. Look for it to become available in early March. Hit up the official press release for all the details.

Amazon’s stronghold on e-book pricing crumbles, will renegotiate with Macmillan and HarperCollins

by Kelly Hodgkins on February 3rd, 2010 at 8:27am
Filed under: News, e-book 119 Comments

Days after Macmillan books disappeared from Amazon’s inventory due to a feud over pricing, Amazon has confirmed that it has caved to Macmillan’s demands and will be raising the prices of Macmillan e-books from $9.99 to $12.99-$14.99 for hardcover and bestselling editions. The online retail giant expressed its strong disagreement with this pricing but decided to still offer the books to customers who can decide with their wallets whether they want to purchase Macmillan e-books at at what it calls “needlessly high prices”. A domino effect is beginning to be seen with News Corp-owned HarperCollins now jumping on the “We want higher pricing” bandwagon. In its earning conference call on Tuesday, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch clearly and concisely summarized the situation by stating:

We don’t like the Amazon model of selling everything at $9.99. They don’t pay us that. They pay us the full wholesale price of $14 or whatever we charge. We think it really devalues books and it hurts all the retailers of the hard cover books. We are not against [inaudible] books. On the contrary we like them very much indeed. It is low cost to us and so on. But we want some room to maneuver in it. Amazon, sorry Apple in its agreement with us which has not been disclosed in detail does allow for a variety of slightly higher prices. There will be prices very much less than the printed copies of books but still will not be fixed in a way that Amazon has been doing it. It appears that Amazon is now ready to sit down with us again and renegotiate pricing.