Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Mobile: 06/29/10

2010년 6월 29일 화요일

Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for AT&T

I can’t say much about the Galaxy S Captivate that hasn’t been said, other than to inform you that this ultra-slim Android phone is amazingly small, light, and very exciting. Styled like the EVO 4G but running on AT&T, the phone features 16GB internal storage and a 1GHz processor. The model I saw was production-ready and ran Android 2.2.

All 5 US variants of the Samsung Galaxy S compared

We knew that Samsung had a winner on their hands with the Samsung Galaxy S, and we knew that a US version would probably be popular, but we didn’t think we’d end up with 5 versions across 5 US carriers.

If you’re stuck deciding on which variant would best suit you, we’ve compiled this handy list outlining the main differences, prices, and launch dates for the next Android super phone, as they compare to the original non-US model.

Evo 4G vs. iPhone 4: Sunlight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHPn40QQLs4&feature=player_embedded

iPhone 4: First Impressions

iPhone day 2010 has come and gone — and so has the world’s iPhone 4 inventory. If you haven’t gotten your hands on one yet, give it a few days (or weeks, if things keep up this way) and chances are you too will have a chance to pick one up.

In the meantime, several of us here at TheAppleBlog have gotten our sweaty mitts on the new iPhone 4, and have had a chance to jot down some impressions after a few days with the new hardware. Perhaps you’ll find the following helpful in making the decision to purchase Apple’s new mobile phone.

1.7M iPhone 4′s Sold in First Weekend; Most Successful Apple Product Launch Ever

Apple announced today that it has already sold more than 1.7 million new iPhones in the first three days of the device being on sale. That’s a record among Apple’s own product launches, and I’d guess that it might be some kind of record for the industry at large.

Remember also that the iPhone 4 is only available for sale in five countries so far, including Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. Even with the limited initial launch, Apple had trouble keeping the iPhone in stock and shortages caused crowds to become disgruntled at multiple locations.

Despite Glitches, iPhone 4 is Apple's Biggest Launch Ever

Apple announced this morning that it has sold over 1.7 million units of the new iPhone 4 smartphone through Saturday, only three days after its launch on June 24. These numbers, touts the Cupertino-based company, make the iPhone 4 launch the "most successful in Apple's history."

Oddly enough, it's also the launch that seems to have had the most technical issues as well, like, for instance, the antenna reception problems Apple confirmed both officially and unofficially last week. Holding the phone in a particular way leads to a weakened signal and sometimes even dropped calls, according to numerous reports from new users, testers, gadget blogs and mainstream media news outlets.

Kindle App for iPhone, iPad Now Does Audio and Video

Amazon announced today its Kindle application for Apple mobile devices including the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, now offers embedded video and audio clips within its e-books. At launch time, there are just thirteen titles sporting the new functionality, including a cookbook augmented by video demos and a nature guide called Bird Songs that lets you read about - and hear - various bird calls.

But this is only the beginning, says Amazon. "We look forward to seeing what authors and publishers create...using the new functionality," said Dorothy Nicholls, director of Amazon's Kindle unit.

Chrome Surpasses Safari in U.S.

Internet users in the U.S. have finally caught up with the rest of the world in their browser choice today, with Google's Chrome taking over third place from default Apple browser Safari. The browser, first released just two years ago, has led Safari worldwide since last September, but just this week surpassed it in the U.S. as well, according to Internet traffic analytics company StatCounter.

For some, this is seen as a big win for Google over Apple, as the two companies battle over the search and mobile spheres.

iPhone 4: Pros & Cons After a Weekend of Tinkering

A lot of speculation was dished out leading up to the launch of the latest iteration of the iPhone, and plenty more has followed since it has started landing in the hands of early adopters. I was one of the lucky few that managed to secure a pre-ordered phone, but wasn't able to get it shipped to my home. Instead, I woke up and the crack of dawn and stood in line for several hours to get my iPhone 4 - meeting several great people during the process. Since having time to play and experiment over the weekend, I've been surprised by several things - good and bad, big and small - about the phone and the new OS.

White Label Cloud Servers with ElasticStack

The cloud provider ElasticHosts announced today the launch of the ElasticStack, a platform that allows hosting providers and data centers to offer their own branded cloud servers.

ElasticStack is a turnkey solution which enables service providers to offer cloud server capacity for scalable web hosting and on-demand burst computing. As the web control panel and billing are customized with a company's branding, "customers have a totally seamless experience from beginning to end," says ElasticStack.

Additional States to Adopt Google Apps in Schools

Following trailblazer Oregon, two more U.S. states are adopting Google Apps in their educational systems statewide.

Colorado and Iowa join Oregon in Google Apps for Education, which offers Gmail, Docs, Sites, Video and Groups to elementary school, junior high and high school students across both states.

Part of the motivation for states adopting Google Apps is financial. In a tight time software licensing fees are no doubt a wonderful thing to leave off. Oregon, Google said, would save $1.5 million in the change-over.