Continuing with their newly adopted speedy release cycle for Firefox, Mozilla has now launched the first beta for the Firefox 6 desktop browser for Windows, Mac and Linux based computers along with the Android version.
The following are the list of changes in the desktop version of Firefox 6:
The Sidekick series of QWERTY phones has been among T-Mobile USA’s bestsellers ever since its launch several years ago. All members of the family have featured a full keyboard which pops out through an unusual mechanism. That’s why, when we got the chance to spend some time with the latest member of the highly successful line, we barely hesitated.
The T-Mobile Sidekick 4G is a major departure from its predecessors – not in terms of design, but in hardware and OS. While the older Sidekicks were made by Danger or Sharp, featuring a blend of feature and smartphone functionality, the latest one is manufactured by Samsung, packs Android 2.2 Froyo, and quite capable hardware for its price range.
HTC Thunderbolt users on Verizon are being treated to a new software update, v1.70.605.0. Unfortunately, this won’t update the phone to Gingerbread but brings with it some nice new features as well as fixes some issues with the current firmware.
For starters it reduces the number of power cycles and resets on the phone. There is also an improvement in data connectivity. Apart from that you get enhanced call history view, tabbed layout in application menu, people search function, Backup Assistant, Desktop cradle app and the addition of NY Times as a bookmark in the browser.
So far there has been a lack of a good turn-by-turn navigation software for the Windows Phone 7 platform. So to address this issue, Garmin has stepped in and released their StreetPilot app on the Windows Marketplace.
The app costs a hefty $39.99 but comes with a host of features such as the aforementioned voice prompted, turn-by-turn navigation, real time traffic updates, integrated local search, lane assist with junction view, current weather with forecast, etc.
Nokia has updated its Maps app today to version 3.08. It brings both visual and functional improvements that will be appreciated a lot from the people using it on a regular basis.
Maps 3.08 comes with improved design and new dashboard for Drive guidance and assistance. The settings have also been reorganized and shortcuts for easy switch between the different metric systems have been added on the screen.
The second of the HTC Facebook phones has just arrived at our office, where it should be receiving the full review treatment. Unlike its ChaCha cousin, the HTC Salsa lacks a hardware keyboard, but the Facebook button is still there so sharing stuff on your favorite social network is as easy as it gets.
As the tradition goes in these cases, we are giving you a few live shots and a quick unboxing video for a basic idea of what to expect. We included a short demo of the Facebook button functionality at the end so make sure you watch the whole thing.
There’s just so many iPhone rumors these days that it’s hard to keep track. Luckily, here comes this Brazilian tech site to the rescue summarizing them all and creating a hot-looking concept based on them.
So yeah that mockup doesn’t bring much new information (in fact none at all), but it just helped us realize how hot of a device the new iPhone will be. The slimmer body, following the iPhone 4 design lines, carries one less aperture and much more screen on the front and the result is just marvelous to behold.
The ultra-popular Swype text input method has finally landed on iOS. An early beta of the alternative keyboard is already being seeding to iPhones around the globe. So if you want to try some of its predictive magic, now is your chance.
Of course, being still in the beta stages of its development, the Swype app is far from a finished affair. The blue line tracing your swipes isn’t available just yet and it only works with the stock iOS apps.
It’s usually a good thing when rumors about an upcoming device start to intensify – it means that its official premiere nears. That’s why we are getting increasingly optimistic about seeing another iPad this year, rather than have to wait until 2012.
The latest piece of online gossip has it that the next iPad will appear in late 2011, and will carry the name iPad 2 Plus, rather than iPad 3. Despite the modest naming, the third iOS slate should represent quite a significant upgrade over its predecessor.
Although the Motorola Xoom launched with the bragging rights of being the first ever Honeycomb tablet, it never really tasted the kind of successes that Motorola (or Google) may have been hoping for. Not only was it considerably overshadowed by the iPad, it also got forgotten when newer and more exciting Honeycomb tablets started appearing.
One of the reasons for its lackluster sales could be attributed to its high price. So to address this Motorola has finally slashed the price of the base model by $100, bringing it down to $499. This, coupled with the fact that it has 32GB on-board storage, unlike 16GB on most of its similarly priced rivals, makes it bit better value.
Okay, file this under “accessories no one will ever buy”, but the iPhone 4 DSLR lens mount just looks so cool that we couldn’t help, but share it with you. Here’s the deal – you part with $250 and get a case which lets you attach your expensive DSLR gear to your favorite smartphone.
You then get the ability to do close-up shots and ones with shallower depth of field, which are two particularly problematic areas of cameraphones. Adding a filter is also possible, if you feel like it.
The juggernaut that is the iOS App Store has reached yet another landmark. Apple is now reporting that users have downloaded over 15 billion apps till now from range of 425,000 apps out of which 100,000 are native iPad apps. Apple also said that they have collectively paid developers a cool $2.5 billion, while earning about a billion dollars for themselves thanks to the 70:30 policy.
Whichever way you look at them, those are some serious numbers, especially for a store that came into existence only three years ago. I’m sure Apple competitors would kill to have these numbers, apart from Android which is the only one that comes close. Of course, while it may not be so great for the competitors, the developers are laughing all the way to the bank and even the customers couldn’t be happier with the kind of choice they have. Here’s to another 15 billion downloads.
According to a 30-day survey conducted by Nielsen, games is the most popular category of apps downloaded and used in the US on mobile phones. 64% of the users that were asked said they played games on their phones, with 60% using weather apps and 56% using social networking apps. Also, 93% said that they wouldn’t mind spending their money for a game, as compared to 87% for apps in the entertainment category and 84% for productivity.
On an average, users spend 7.8 hours playing games on their phones. iOS users spend the maximum amount of time, clocking at 14.7 hours while Android users come second with 9.3 hours. Those with BlackBerries, Windows Mobile/Phone devices and feature phones spend less than under 5 hours each
Gameloft, the developer of some of the finest Android games will be giving away some of its works for free this weekend. There will be three titles in the giveaway, one for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
To participate you need to follow the Gameloft UK account on Twitter, so you can learn on time when a free game has been made available. Each of the giveaway games will only stay free for a couple of hours so unless you pay close attention you might miss it.
LG has just announced the launch of Optimus 3D in South Korea. This is not actually the news here, but thanks to this press release we learned a few other tasty bits about the device.
We finally get to see the list of the free full games to come pre-installed with the Optimus 3D plus the titles to be available at half price.
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