Texas Instruments has been busy making the sequel to the OMAP3 chipset, which powers the Droid and Palm Pre, among others. The sucessor is the OMAP4 chipset- which has insanely fast performance and 145 hours of battery life. TI went as far as to make a demo device with two screens, Android, pico projector, 12MP camera, and HDMI out to show the potential of the chipset. The demo device can also shoot 1080P video and universal decoding, impressive for any smartphone. The chipset will be destined to compete with the Apple A4, and Tegra 2 in the mobile category in the near future. Launch date is sometime late this year or early 2011.
And did we mention that its dual core? It sports a dual core 1Ghz processor, far better than anything on the market today. But, of course, by 2011 we’ll have advanced greatly in mobile processors. Only time will tell if it will live up to its current hype.
The Nexus One hit a milestone today, scoring both 3G issues plaguing the device, plus getting multi-touch on its browser and maps, among others. The update, which will be available over-the-air for Nexus One users, will not be instant. Some customers will be getting it today while more will get it within a week. Wait until you receive a message on its notification bar, download and install. It couldn’t get any simpler. Here’s a portion of the official release:
Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive an over-the-air software update on their phones. This update provides some great new features, and fixes a few problems that some users might have experienced, including:
Google Goggles: this mobile application will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu. Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web
Google Maps: the Maps application with be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include:
Starred items synchronized with maps.google.com – access your favorite places from your phone or computer
Search suggestions from your personal maps.google.com history – makes it easy to search for places you’ve searched for before
Night mode in Google Maps Navigation – automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving
Pinch-to-zoom functionality: devices will now include a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone’s Browser, Gallery and Maps applications
3G connectivity: we will provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones
Apple Insider has recently learned that among those leaked pictures of the iPad at Engadget (the ones we decided not to repost), there was also a fourth generation iPhone prototype sitting there, but the news of the iPad completely engulfed any sign that it was a prototype. Looking closer, it appears it is a prototype since the bezel that surrounds the phone is replaced by some kind of black plastic. And if history has anything to show, it will announced at WWDC 2010.
iPhone OS 3.1.3 was launched into the hands of iPhone and iPod touch users everywhere today, but it only a minor update, fixing the accuracy of the iPhone 3GS battery level and where third party applications would not launch. Seems small and worthwhile for some if it weren’t that it would cut your jailbreak. If you don’t experience app crashes on startup, experiencing problems with the the Kana keyboard or don’t have a iPhone 3GS, you need not upgrade and lose your jailbreaking freedom. Until then, it is probably best until the iPhone Dev-Team release an iPhone OS 3.1.3 jailbreak. However, there is a workaround for iPhone 2G users: point the .ipsw during the jailbreak with yellowsn0w to iPhone OS 3.1.2 and restore. iPhone 3G users can use the same workaround if they don’t mind losing unlocking.
