Sony today announced that it is going to purchase Ericsson’s share of the two companies’ Sony Ericsson cell phone joint venture for $1.47 billion. Once the purchase is complete, Sony Ericsson will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, which intends to integrate the handset division into its other consumer electronics products. As part of the deal, Sony gains five essential patent families related to wireless technology, and also struck a cross-licensing agreement with Ericsson concerning other, non-essential patents. The transaction has been approved by the boards of both ...
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RIM confirms BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0
RIM has taken to its blog to confirm that the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 release date will be in February 2012.The company says that the OS has been delayed “until we are confident we have fully met the expectations” of its customers and developers, obviously keen to avoid yet another misstep after a catalogue of errors over the past months.RIM has also decided that integrating BBM directly on to the tablet will have to wait until “a subsequent BlackBerry PlayBook OS release”.The company hasn’t given a reason, but it sounds as though RIM’s having a spot ...
Sprint Fixes Privacy Issue With HTC Phones
Sprint today started rolling out a software update to its HTC Android phones that fixes a previously-reported security issue that could allow malicious third-party apps to access sensitive information. The update will roll out automatically, but those wishing to install it manually can do so immediately. Tweet Vote on HN ...
Samsung Exhibit
T-Mobile and Samsung today announced the Samsung Exhibit II 4G. The new phone is similar to the first Exhibit in most respects, but switches from a Samsung Hummingbird processor to a Qualcomm Snapdragon. The screen is also slightly larger, at 3.7 inches compared to 3.5 for the original model. T-Mobile is using the phone to push its no-contract plans, with the phone being available first at Wal-Mart tomorrow with only a no-contract option. A week later on November 2, the phone will go sale elsewhere and with a two-year contract option. Features of the phone include a 1 GHz processor, ...
Nokia Lumia 800 Skins Windows Phone in N9-Like Shell
Nokia is pinning its turn-around story on the Lumia 800, what it calls a “hero device” that will be sold by 31 operators around the world initially. The Lumia 800 strongly resembles the MeeGo-powered N9, but runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system. It is housed in a polycarbonate shell that is milled from a single block of material. It includes a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display and is driven by a 1.4GHz single-core SnapDragon processor with 512MB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The camera includes Carl Zeiss optics and captures images at 8-megapixels. It ...
Nokia Lumia 800 and 710
The Lumia 800 is perhaps the most beautiful Windows Phone smartphone ever designed. That’s probably because it looks a lot like the impressive Nokia N9, a stunner in its own right.The Lumia 800 is a solid phone that is milled from a single block of polycarbonate. The materials feel excellent. The front has a (slightly) curved glass display and the overall fit and finish is top-of-the-line. Everything about the 800 exudes style, class, and sexiness.When I first held it, I was surprised at the size. Though it has only a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, it is heavy, and a bit thicker than I ...
Nokia Asha Series
Nokia also debuted three phones for emerging markets today, the Asha Series. Here are some thoughts on these devices.Asha 303Of the four Asha phones announced today, the Asha 303 is the top-of-the-line. It comes with the best combination of features and quality that feature phone users have come to expect from Nokia. The 303 is an interesting animal in that it combines a touch-based version of Series 40 with a full physical QWERTY keyboard.The display is capacitive, but I found it to be somewhat unresponsive. It looks a little dull, too, and doesn’t hold a candle to the amazing AMOLED ...
Nokia Reveals First Windows Phone
Nokia today announced the first applications that it has designed for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform and the Lumia 800 and 710 in particular. The first is Nokia Drive. This navigation application offers free, voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation to the 800 and 710, and incudes 3D mapping, offline support, and a landscape user interface for safer use while driving. Nokia also announced Mix Radio and Nokia Music. This offering streams pre-set playlists from Nokia’s servers to the 800 and 710. The application — or individual playlists — can be pinned to the start ...
Winamp for Android Adds Wireless Mac
Winamp has updated its Android application with one new key feature: the ability to sync music with Apple computers and iTunes wirelessly via Wi-Fi. There is a free version available in the Android Market and a pro version, which supports more features. Tweet Vote on HN ...
Motorola RAZR Pre-Orders
Verizon Wireless today said that customers wishing to pre-order the Motorola Droid RAZR Android smartphone may do so starting at 8AM Eastern time on Thursday, October 27. The RAZR costs $299.99 with a new two-year commitment. Tweet Vote on HN ...