Apple is rumored to be making a 27 inch counterpart to it’s 24″ LED display for Macs. After the 27″ iMac debuted last year (to many, many problems), everyone knew that a standalone version as a monitor would be a dream come true. If AppleInsider is correct, it’s codenamed K59 internally, and will be launched come June as a big brother to the current 24″ display. Impulse buy, anyone?
As if that wasn’t a long enough wait, Amazon Kindle for Mac is now available to download off the Amazon website. The download was quietly released today and is a mere 22MB, Intel Macs only. There’s nothing special – it does what Kindle for PC does and has Whispersync, the full Kindle collection, and that’s about it. Click the source link to download.
Let’s face it, the Nexus One is a beautiful phone we would all like to use. The phone is already out for AT&T and T-Mobile networks and coming soon to Verizon, but it has no word for Sprint. That’s about to change. Just a little past a day after the announcement that the phone would work over AT&T’s 3G bands comes word from Sprint that they will be carrying the phone, and that a release date would be announced “soon”. Verizon still has to get their CDMA version of the Nexus One, but now we known that every major US carrier will sport the phone (probably at the same price) sometime this year.
For Microsoft, Internet Explorer was a flop in recent days compared to its rivals – Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (among others). However, its dreaded slow speeds and no support for modern web standards made it frustrating for web developers and users alike. Microsoft is now taking the same approach to browsing as they did to mobile OSes in Windows Phone 7 – starting over. With support for HTML5, h.264 video, embedded audio, and CSS3, and scalable vector graphics, Microsoft is throwing themselves back into the game with IE9.
For Internet Explorer users, many have noticed that the browser’s CSS compatibility was scare, and now with Internet Explorer 9, they’re at least trying to improve that.
Internet Explorer 9 also comes up ridiculously faster than Opera 10.10 and Internet Explorer in the SunSpider benchmark test, a tool which determines the performance of JavaScript on the browser. Many web-apps today, including Gmail and Facebook will run (and load) quicker with a lower score in terms of milliseconds. In the benchmark graph above, IE9 comes within reach of Safari and Chrome’s 350-ish range in SunSpider. Internet Explorer 9 also didn’t get anywhere near perfecting the Acid3 test – scoring a mere 55/100 compared to other browsers getting 100/100 on the test. Microsoft also added DirectX video acceleration to Internet Explorer 9, which applies not only to CSS3 rendering and SVG graphics, but text rendering as well.
It was also noted that Microsoft’s Hachamovitch said that Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP. Sure it’s a completely clean break, but Microsoft just made the remaining Windows XP loyalist furious. Those users can still install a later version of Windows or use a virtual machine.
Microsoft recently announced that the marketplace would be the only way for users to install applications onto their Windows Phone 7 Series handset. Looking at the iPhone, Apple is doing the same thing, making the App Store the only official download center for the iPhone and iPod touch. It doesn’t take a genius to wonder if Microsoft will hold the same authority over the Marketplace Apple is over the iPhone’s App Store (no cookie cutter or sexy apps). To avoid the same fate as Apple, Microsoft is saying it will take more of an objective approach to applications made by third parities. Microsoft will even go as far as to publish requirements for WP7 developers to guide developers and allow them to test it themselves. Microsoft even went as far as to say it will not be denied if it meets all the criteria as well as hinting that private company distribution (ad hoc) will also be possible using a USB cable.
Engadget has come across all the different prototypes currently existing for Windows Phone 7, side by side. The one to the left is the Samsung handset we just finished covering, in the middle was the poster child of Windows Phone 7 at MWC 2010, and to the right is the slider that was first introduced at the Engadget Show a while back. There’s no detailed specs on the phones other than what Microsoft laid down as the requirment for running Windows Phone 7 for OEMs. Hopefully that will change soon.
Among the endless stream of Windows Phone 7 stuff, we couldn’t help but notice this – an as of yet unnamed Windows Phone 7 Series handset by Samsung. No one will officially comment on the specs, so not much is actually known about it. Keeping in mind Microsoft’s minimum requirements for Windows Phone 7, we know it has a 5MP camera with flash, FM radio, at least 256MB of RAM, a capacitive multi-touch WVGA screen, and that it’s equal to or better than the other prototype phones with the mobile OS. It’s nearly the same as the Omnia HD on the outside.
Sad news for anyone who has a HTC HD2 smartphone or plans on picking one up soon: Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore has come right out and confirmed that the Windows Mobile phone will not be getting Windows Phone 7 Series because it is not complaint with hardware specifications required to run the OS. This puts the phone, which has not even yet been released in the US, in shaky grounds. Even more odd enough is that every Microsoft employee at MIX has one with them.
MIX 2010 started, and one thing quickly grabbed everyone’s eye: Windows Phone 7 Series Marketplace, and it’s sexy. Besides from its charming good looks, it has support for ad supported content, operator billing, and credit card charges. There’s also a try before you buy option similar to what Android has to offer, but developers get to pick the terms and the fine detailed things, like time of trial. The UI looks identical to rest of the well-polished OS and has a panoramic view where the user can see categories and titles, as well as get more information on their app that they’re seeking, including pricing, screenshots, reviews, and ratings.
Who are among the first to launch their apps for Windows Phone 7 Series? Well, these guys:
AWS Convergence Technologies, WeatherBug, Citrix Systems Inc., Clarity Consulting Inc., Cypress Consulting, EA Mobile, Fandango Inc., Foursquare Labs Inc., frog design inc., Glu Mobile Inc., Graphic.ly, Hudson Entertainment Inc., IdentityMine Inc., IMDb.com Inc., Larva Labs, Match.com LLC, Matchbox Mobile Ltd., Microsoft Game Studios, Namco Networks America Inc., Oberon Media Inc., Pageonce Inc., Pandora Media Inc., Photobucket Inc., PopCap Games Inc., Seesmic, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., Sling Media, SPB Software Inc., stimulant, TeleCommunications Systems Inc., Touchality LLC and Vertigo Software Inc
A nice, smooth set of first developers, but unless the platform gets lots of good apps quickly, it won’t be going anywhere. One of the biggest selling points on the iPhone is apps, over 140,000 of them. When a consumer is deciding whether to buy a WP7S phone or iPhone, one thing that they’ll think over is apps. Since apps extend what the phone can do, the consumer might be attracted more to the iPhone if the app catalog is as skimpy as the Zune HD’s catalog.
Oh, and it’s the only way to install apps on your Windows Phone.
We’ll know more soon, and keep checking back for the latest.
