Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Mobile: 09/03/10

2010년 9월 3일 금요일

Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint) review: Noah's review

Epic 1

Overview

What's Good: Big, beautiful display; Roomy five-row QWERTY board with good tactile feedback; 3G/4G/WiFi connectivity; Dual cameras; Responsive controls and speedy performance.

What's Bad: Samsung's custom skin doesn't add much to Android and can't be disabled; Plastic materials feel cheap; Sprint's 4G service isn't everywhere and their 3G speeds can be slow; $249 price tag is high, and $10/month Premium Data add-on fee is mandatory.

The Verdict: Epic 4G might just be the best Android phone, nay the best smartphone, in the world if you want every feature imaginable backed by toucshcreen and hard QWERTY input. Epic has its flaws, but all in all is the first top shelf Droid in the U.S. for hardcore business users.

NOTE: Due to the similarities between the devices, portions of this review also appear in my review of the Samsung Captivate (AT&T).

T-Mobile G2 will sport Android 2.2, 800 MHz chip, Flash Player 10.1

T-Mobile G2 specs

Yesterday we finally got to see how much T-Mobile will be charging for their first HSPA+ handset, the G2. If the pricing wasn't enough to sway you, today we've got some confirmed specs that may just do the job. Thanks to T-Mobile's insider newsletter, the T-Mobile Scoop, we now know that the G2's processor, which we've heard will be one of Qualcomm's MSM7X30 chips, will run at 800 MHz rather than the 1 GHz speeds that we've heard in the past. The G2 will also have Android 2.2 pre-installed along with Flash Player 10.1 ready and raring to play some embedded Flash videos and games. Finally, T-Mobile has said that there will be "One-touch Quick Keys" on the G2 which will give you super fast access to your Google apps and shortcuts.

Dell Aero (AT&T) - Unboxing

http://www.phonedog.com/2010/09/02/dell-aero-at-t-unboxing/

Walking the Startup Pavilion at VMworld

Software Appliances and Package Management. UShareSoft provides UForge, an “appliance factory” that helps assemble, build, and maintain software appliances. Other companies and products in this arena include rPath and Suse Studio. UShareSoft also offers Open Appliance Studio: software tools that manage and configure multi-node software installations, such as bringing up a set of load balancers, web servers, and database nodes in concert.

Caught in the Wake of Apple’s Press Events

When you continually take such wide strides in innovation, intentional or unintentional, there will always be casualties. In 2010 alone, Apple held no less than five major media events that in some way affected the way markets were defined and revenues were earned for a significant number of companies.

Did Steve Jobs Accidentally Confirm Cameras for Next Gen iPads?

There was a flurry of activity today at the YBCA Theater in San Francisco as Apple unveiled a whole slew of new products and services to the public. With all of that information to remember, it's no surprise that Steve Jobs may have let something slip out that he perhaps wasn't intending to say. While discussing the latest version of the iOS software, Jobs said something that may hint that cameras will be coming to the iPad. So what was it that he said?

One of the tent poles of Jobs' keynote today focused on the iOS software and upgrades being made on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Next week, owners of these devices will be treated to some new features, including the ability to upload HD video over WiFi, TV show rentals, multiplayer Game Center and various bug fixes for hardware issues. But the most interesting new feature is the inclusion of high dynamic range (HDR) functionality into the iPhone's (and the new iPod Touch's) camera.

HDR photography is a practice by which three photos at varying exposures are blended together into one image. By picking the best parts of each photo, the picture becomes much richer as detail in shadows and light are more visible. Here's an example from a photo I took and ran through an HDR app on my iPhone. It's a cool feature, but what does that have to do with the iPad getting a camera?

Tablet Computers Will Thrive Because They Are Shareable

SamsungGALAXY%20 "...a tablet is, crucially, a more shareable computer. A laptop, with its fragile hinge-ware and space-gobbling keyboard, is just not comfy to share. A tablet is easier to bring to the café, easier to hand across the table or along the sofa, easier to seize in the heat of the moment, easier to hold up in triumph, easier to set aside when you need to meet someone's eyes.

How big a market is that? Anyone who says they know is lying."

-Google's Tim Bray, co-creator of XML and now Android Developer Advocate, discussing the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, and tablet computers in general. The Galaxy Tab has a 7" screen (almost 30% smaller than the iPad screen) and runs Android 2.2 (Froyo).

That was certainly our experience from the beginning with the iPad. Sarah Perez noted when her arrived that it was Easter weekend and took it to a holiday gathering. You can read about the eye-opening experience she had in her post iPad: The First Real Family Computer.

Headliner -- Windows Phone 7 RSS Reader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOC8d7Ik-3M&feature=player_embedded

Check Out This Awesome RSS Reader for Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 will be available in time for the Holiday Season, Microsoft says, and today the company unveiled a beautiful new RSS reading app built by an award winning team of Microsoft 2010 interns.

Called Headliner, the app adheres to the design standards of the rest of the OS (delightfully attractive, for Microsoft) and includes most of the features that mobile RSS users will want. See the demo video below and marvel at the slick UI, the clean display of feed items and the social media integration. Then tell us what you think it's still missing. I can only think of one or two things, really.