Archives for June 2010

Samsung Galaxy Apollo i5801 Android Smartphone Details

The Samsung Galaxy Apollo was first spotted a few days ago over on the Samsung website. No details about the phone were available at the time and no specifications either.

The Samsung site has now been updated with the details showing us what’s inside the device and what it will run. From what we see, it will have a 3.2 inch touchscreen, a three megapixel camera with autofocus and four times digital zoom.

The software will be provided by Google [GOOG] and it will run Android. No specific version is mentioned but it is expected it will be at least 2.1 with an update to Android 2.2 following at a later date. [Read more…]

iPhone Angry Birds sells 4 Million Downloads

Angry Birds for the iPhone and iPad launched just 5 months ago and within that time the company behind it, Rovio, has managed to sell four million downloads of the paid version. Angry Birds sells for 99c per time.

Along with 4 million downloads being done on the paid version, the free Lite version of Angry Birds has shifted another six million copies.

The game launched in December 2009 and only took off in February when Apple [AAPL] noticed the game and featured it. At that point it hit many top 10 charts around the world and just grew and grew at that point. [Read more…]

iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Cancelled by AT&T in Some Cases

We heard reports last night that AT&T [T] had cancelled a few orders. There was nothing we could find at that time to show what had happened. This morning we came across this information on ModMyi where a user has put the text of a cancellation of a users iPhone 4 pre-order.

Dear xxxxxxxxxx

Thank you for choosing AT&T.

Unfortunately, we were either unable to verify the information you provided or you have exceeded the number of lines of service that we allow customers to purchase online. As a result, your order has been canceled.

If you would like to purchase additional lines of service, please visit one of our AT&T retail locations and present your identification to our representatives. They will be happy to help you purchase new wireless devices, accessories, and service.

Go to att.com/storelocator to find a store near you.

We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to serving you.

Thank you.

AT&T

[Read more…]

iTunes 9.2 Launched in Preparation for iOS 4 and iPhone 4

If you want to sync up with your iPhone 4 next week, or iOS 4 3GS or 3G, then you need to start downloading and install the latest iTunes 9.2 update that arrived last night.

Apple [AAPL] has put a number of new features in to iTunes 9.2 which includes folder support for iOS 4, iBooks support on the iPhone and iPod Touch and PDF syncing.

Faster backups are also possible with the new iTunes 9.2 update. A full list of features can be found below… [Read more…]

Logitech Google TV Box gets a name – Revue with Google TV

Google TV was announced officially a few weeks back. Google TV comes in two forms. The first is Google TV built in to new TV’s and the second is a companion box for those who buy a new TV that isn’t powered by Google [GOOG] or for those with an older TV.

Logitech is the first company to make a Google TV companion box which we saw a few weeks back. At the time it was just called the CE4100. Now it has been renamed to Revue with Google TV.

Nothing else new has been provided about the Google TV companion box and for now we only have the standard information that says it exists and that it will arrive in the future. No pricing or exact dates are known just yet. [Read more…]

Mac Mini Teardown

On Monday Apple [AAPL] launched the iPhone 4 as we all know about. The same day the new Mac Mini was introduced which now comes with a unibody and a HDMI port.

iFixit has managed to get hold of one, despite all the systems going down for a while on Monday, and have torn it down to see exactly what’s going on inside it.

Some things to note is that the new Mac Mini (mid 2010 model) is slimmer in height but slightly wider than the previous model. The power supply is now internal which gets rid of the brick used on previous models to keep it powered.

The casing is unibody as mentioned above and is machined from a single block of aluminium. To get inside the Mac Mini was simple in that no tools were needed to crack it open. A simple twist opened it up. [Read more…]

Swype Beta for Android Ready for Download

Swype has announced that the Swype keyboard is available to download as a beta version from the companies site. The Swype beta download will be available for a few days only it seems and as it’s beta, there are a few limits on what you can do with the keyboard.

We tested the Swype keyboard on a T-Mobile G1 a few months back when the keyboard was previously available as a beta and from what we saw, it worked very well and was actually quite impressive how accurate it was. [Read more…]

Horizon MiniPak Pocket-Sized Fuel Cell Charger

The Horizon MiniPak is a portable fuel-cell charger that can be used to power mobile phones and other similar devices while on the move.

The device costs $100 and provides enough power to keep devices charged. The unit accepts fuel cells and once inserted in to the charging unit, power is instant. The power generated it output through a standard USB port built in to the device and this USB port is used to connect devices such as an iPhone, BlackBerry and other devices including tablet.

With the device using fuel-cell technology the device can generate power as soon as the fuel cartridge is topped up or replaced. There is no need to wait around to use the charger as power is instant the moment fuel is inserted in the cartridge. [Read more…]

iPhone 4 Pre-orders Delayed Again

It took just a single day for Apple [AAPL] to deplete it’s stock of iPhone 4 in the US. This morning the new shipping date for new pre-orders was July 2. In just half a day that second batch has also been depleted and the date for new pre-orders is now July 12.

Apple are selling a lot of iPhone 4’s this week and from what we saw earlier, 600,000 of them were pre-ordered yesterday alone.

If you want to get your hands on an iPhone 4 on launch day we recommend you call by your local Apple store in the US, or one of the other participating stores which includes Walmart, Radio Shack and Best Buy. [Read more…]

Apple Apologise for iPhone 4 Ordering Issues – 600,000 Sold Day 1

Apple [AAPL] has published a formal apology on the Apple website for the issues many people experienced yesterday. The company say that more than 600,000 were sold on the first day which is their biggest product launch to date.

Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple’s new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.

[Read more…]

iPhone 4 UK: O2 micro SIM Details Emerge

O2 is following tradition of this past week and leaking just a little bit more information out about the iPhone 4 and has revealed details of how to pick up a micro SIM ready for the iPhone 4 UK launch. Unfortunately the details are for new and existing customers and not those who already purchased an iPhone 4 direct from Apple (unlocked).

If you are an existing customer and order an iPhone 4 from O2 (store pickup on June 24 only) you’ll get a new micro SIM with the phone. Write down the 19 digit number written on the card when you get it.

When installed in your iPhone 4 you need to switch the iPhone 4 on which then asks you to sync with iTunes. When you do that you’ll need your SSN number (the 19 digit number you wrote down) and once entered your new micro SIM will be active and old SIM will die… problem here is that there is up to a 24 hour delay before you can use the microSIM although we suspect it will be less. [Read more…]

Robot Plays Pool and Pockets Shots

Check out the PR2 robot that has been hacked to play pool. The “Poolshark” team who are working on the project have been busy for a week and have now managed to get the PR2 to pocket shots on the table. This includes long shots and awkward angle shots too.

To achieve this the team chose the PR2 robot and modified it to be able to hold the cue along with a special grip and bridge.

Cameras mounted on the robot are capable of capturing images which are fed to a computer to detect the edges of the table as well as the location of each ball on the table. By using software the team managed to program the robot and adjust the system so it is capable of playing a game of Pool. [Read more…]