We’ve heard twice in the last couple of weeks that we will be seeing Microsoft [MSFT] launch Windows Phone 7 sometime in October. Prior to that it was expected the launch would be closer to the end of the year.

The first time we heard an October launch date was when the HTC Mozart WP7 device was spotted with a bad photoshop done on a slightly different handset. The second time was at a Microsoft Advertisers event where the company were discussing advertising options as well as how to sell apps etc… Early on in that presentation the October date was also mentioned.

We now see over on Engadget a picture posted that shows some AT&T retail materials relating to Windows Phone 7 which indicates the launch is sometime soon. [Read more…]

Palm has released a new webOS updated. The new version is webOS 1.4.5 that brings 3D gaming support to the Palm Pixi.

The update has added support for 3D gaming by including the full PDK (plugin development kit) on the Pixi.

For those who own a Palm Pre, the update is also available for you although for Pre owners, it’s more of a minor update that doesn’t add much. The Pre is already capable of 3D gaming support so just a few smaller things will be added/secured etc… on the Pre. [Read more…]

We first mentioned the Puma phone back in February when it was on display at MWC in Barcelona.

The phone is a little unique and not only because it comes from a company who makes sports equipment, but in that it has a solar panel on the back allowing sunlight to charge the phone. Other features include a smallish 2.8 inch touchscreen. The Puma phone leans more towards those who enjoy sports.

We hear that the Puma phone is now available in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. [Read more…]

Check out this for a cool wallpaper. The Pac-Man wallpaper has been designed for the iPhone 4 and surrounds the apps on your iPhone home screen while the gaps are filled with pellets, ghosts and Pac-Man himself.

Setting the wallpaper as a background is simple in that you just need to go to settings > wallpaper and then select the image that you just saved on your iPhone.

As this is iOS 4 it is unfortunately unplayable and is just a static background. Either way, it’s quite cool and a good reminder of the early days of computer games. [Read more…]

iFixit are well known for their detailed teardowns of smartphones and other devices. However, the iFixit images are static whereas the TechRestore images form a stop-motion animation which looks rather good.

This time the iPhone 4 gets torndown in stop motion and then put back together quickly at the end. It’s an interesting video and shows you the amount of detail and attention that has gone in to building the iPhone 4.

The stop-motion video was created by capturing 1784 still images of the teardown and rebuild and has been put in to a video 3:35 in length. [Read more…]

The Samsung Galaxy S is a powerful smartphone. We’ve heard over the last few months that the device is capable of shifting a lot of triangles per second. When compared to the iPhone 3GS, it can shift just over 3 times more per second at 90 million.

This comparison shows the Samsung Galaxy S vs the HTC Desire with each smartphone running Quake 2. Technical spec wise, the Samsung Galaxy S uses a Hummingbird/Power VR chipset. The HTC Desire has a Snapdragon CPU clocked at 1GHz and an Adreno chip. Both configurations are quite respectable although you’ll sure see a difference when you see them side by side. [Read more…]

The Samsung Galaxy S is a fantastic device that has not long been out. We now are starting to hear rumours of a new next-gen version of the smartphone that will be called the Samsung Galaxy S2. The Galaxy S2 is said to have a 2GHz processor. We hear the S2 will also have a 720p HD display that can display an impressive 1280 x 720 pixels. The screen will measure 4.3 inches.

We also hear that the Galaxy S2 will have 1GB of RAM and 4GB of ROM along with 32GB of storage space built in. More can be added by using a microSD if needed.

On the back is rumoured to be an 8 megapixel camera. Back on to the 2GHz processor. It is unclear at the moment if it will be two 1GHz chips or a single 2GHz processor. Either way, it sounds powerful and should add more kick to the already fast Galaxy S. [Read more…]

We heard today that Google [GOOG] could launch it’s music service and Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread) together towards the end of this year. The information comes from Gaurav Jain who is the Android Product Manager where he confirmed the launch timing to an Israeli newspaper called Calcalist.

The reason that both are being launched together is that music will play a big part in the next version of Android perhaps making it a little more media centric.

‘Google will combine music download service next version of Android launched for the U.S. holiday season.

[Read more…]

If battery life for you is important and you want to squeeze more out of your Nexus One than normally possible, check out the tests done by Jeff Sharkey.

He managed to figure out that you could power each specific colour on the OLED screen used by the Nexus One. In doing so, the battery life is preserved.

Jeff performed a number of tests on the Nexus One switching off colours and modifying the settings and managed to find out when using just the red LED’s the battery life on the Nexue One was almost doubled. [Read more…]

Conflipper has managed to work out some sort of deal with HTC that allows the Shipped ROMS site to stay open a bit longer. If you remember back a few weeks back the site owner was sent a cease & desist by HTC.

In speaking with HTC, Conflipper says the following…

I have already removed all test files. They are talking with the engineers to get me a list together. They have said since I am doing my part to comply, that I have no reason to worry about the 2 weeks being up on July 1. That I am okay to keep everything online until this gets worked out.

[Read more…]

When returning the iPhone to an Apple [AAPL] store, you would normally incur a 10% restocking fee. However, it seems like this restocking fee is being waved for the iPhone 4. The information comes from the letter that Apple published yesterday that says users can take their iPhone 4 back for “a full refund” within 30 days of purchase. Normally you’d be charged $19.90 to return the 16GB model and $29.90 for the larger 32GB model.

ComputerWorld contacted an AppleCare support rep who confirmed the ditching of the restocking fee. [Read more…]