Wireless Archive

Nokia’s crazy hardware experiments

Thom Holwerda 2012-10-09 Wireless 34 Comments

Sorry for linking to a long picture (why this isn't an article I don't know, but bear with me for a second), but this is an excellent overview of some of the crazy hardware experiments Nokia has performed during its golden years. For me, this is the best device Nokia ever made - and also, my personal best and favourite mobile phone I've ever owned. You hear people talking about how solid the iPhone 5 or the HTC One X feels? Fisher Price compared to the 8800. They don't make 'm like that no more.

Open webOS Galaxy Nexus port source code now available

Thom Holwerda 2012-10-04 Wireless 4 Comments

"Just a few days ago we told you about Open webOS being ported to the Galaxy Nexus. Now, the WebOS Ports team has released the source code. They have been extremely kind to the open source community, and have provided everything you need in order to build the port for the Galaxy Nexus." I would be so delighted if it is ported to the Galaxy SII.

Jolla to unveil user interface, SDK 21 November

Thom Holwerda 2012-10-04 Wireless 6 Comments

"A date and place has been set to reveal the new Jolla smartphone user interface and deliver the Jolla developer story and SDK. Jolla will demonstrate the Jolla user interface, based on the recently announced Sailfish alliance OS, at the Slush event in Helsinki, Finland on 21-22 November. Jolla is very excited to be able to share the user interface, and talk about the Jolla SDK and application ecosystem with the developers. Jolla will publish the device information, ID and expected availability before Christmas." Hell yes.

Submitted by porcel 2012-10-04 Wireless 5 Comments

"Today a free software update has been made available for Wi-Fi BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. This release brings with it many new features for business customers and IT administrators that make the tablet a seriously enterprise-ready device and a productivity powerhouse. Combined with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and the coming BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets just got a whole lot more functional."

Jolla launches ‘mobile alliance based on MeeGo’

Thom Holwerda 2012-10-02 Wireless 33 Comments

After a few months of relative silence and vagueness, we're finally getting something tangible from Jolla, the promising mobile phone company which came forth from former Nokia employees. It's ambitious - they're not just going to create a mobile operating system, not just a mobile phone, but an entire ecosystem, including cloud services and data centres. At its heart? The beautiful city of Hong Kong. The prime target market? China.

Open webOS 1.0 released

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-28 Wireless 10 Comments

"Today is a great day for Open webOS. We have completed our initial roadmap and are releasing Open webOS 1.0 on schedule, as promised." The only use they mention in a video of WebOS running on a TouchSmart? Hotel kiosks. Sigh.

Submitted by fran 2012-09-27 Wireless 7 Comments

You'll be forgiven for thinking Tizen is dead and resting in the large cemetary of failed mobile operating systems. Not only has the Tizen SDK 2.0 alpha been released, with highlights that include broader HTML5 support, USB accessory function support, web UI framework, Tizen web API's, improved IDE and development tools, but also an actual (insert rumour) phone, named the GT-i9300_TIZEN. Yup, an SIII running Tizen.

BlackBerry 10 beta 3 hands-on photos, video

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-26 Wireless 11 Comments

"RIM has just unveiled the latest iteration of the BlackBerry 10 operating system, set to be released on new devices early next year. We have finally gotten a look at the UI RIM will be shipping, and it's an interesting mix of user interaction metaphors we've seen on multiple devices to this point and a strong progression from the version of the software we first saw back in May." It looks nice. I like it.

Jolla: the market wants an alternative to iOS and Android

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-26 Wireless 45 Comments

"Right now, the mobile wars have just two major combatants: Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Nokia could yet make Windows Phone a serious third player, but there are also a few more minor actors with the potential to disrupt the market. Jolla is the most mysterious of those players, which also include Firefox OS and Open WebOS. Jolla (a Finnish word for a small sailing boat) arose from the ashes of Nokia and Intel's MeeGo project, canned in favour of Microsoft's mobile OS. The Linux-based OS has not been shown off yet, but Jolla has already scored a deal with China's top phone distributor, DPhone. The first Jolla device is due later this year, so to find out more I spoke with the company's chief executive, ex-Nokian Jussi Hurmola." Please let Jolla succeed. Pretty please with sugar on top. The industry needs this. Please.

Submitted by bowkota 2012-09-25 Wireless 22 Comments

On the same day I bought a brand new iMac and switched back to Mac (no joke!), and teased the employees at the Apple retailer with my Galaxy SII, Samsung goes around and pulls something idiotic like this. TouchWiz, Samsung's Android skin, has a very severe flaw which passes digits along from JavaScript (via their modified browser) to the modified dialler, allowing your device to be factory reset (!) by just visiting a link - via NFC, QR, or plain. This doesn't affect all Samsung devices, but those that are affected are all TouchWiz devices. This just proves once again that you should either buy Nexus, or make the switch to Cyanogenmod (or any of the other AOSP-based ROMs).

RIM expected to lose subscribers for the first time

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-24 Wireless 38 Comments

It's going to be a rough month for what was once one of the most successful smartphone companies in the world. Between all the Android and iOS violence, it's easy to forget there's this Canadian company which was still growing its userbase every month. However, it's expected the company will lose subscribers for the very first time.

HTC rekindles its old Microsoft romance, bets on Windows Phone 8

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-19 Wireless 37 Comments

"High Tech Computer (HTC) has grown up with Microsoft, from the old HTC-built iPAQ's running on Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system, to the Orange SPV - Microsoft's first Windows smartphone. The Taiwanese company has always been a loyal aid to the software giant, but lately that close relationship has started to feel a little dated. HTC's investment in Android and its Sense user interface has taken precedent over its initial work with Windows Mobile, and the company's Windows Phone flagships have been impressive, but overshadowed by Nokia's colorful Lumia range and partnership with Microsoft. That all appears to be changing though." HTC announced some good-looking Windows Phone 8 phones (ugh) today, but from my personal experience of owning several devices from both brands for over a decade, Nokia has the edge on quality. Good to see a serious commitment to WP8 though - we wouldn't want the Android dominance to continue.

Elop running out of time to turn Nokia around

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-19 Wireless 46 Comments

"Stephen Elop only has a few months to show he can turn Nokia around if he is to survive but the new smartphone is unlikely to woo customers back from Apple and Samsung. Investors and analysts say the chief executive has until early 2013 to prove he made the right choice by partnering with Microsoft Windows or his future at the loss-making company will be called into question." Well, I'll be doing my part. I'm buying a 920.

RIM to pay Microsoft protection money for exFAT patents

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-18 Wireless 69 Comments

Microsoft and RIM have announced that RIM has licensed Redmond's exFAT patents. The press release contains a ridiculous amount of hyperbole nonsense, and if you translate it into regular people speak, it basically comes down to RIM paying Microsoft protection money for stupid nonsensical software patents. Ridiculous articles like like this make it seem as if we're talking about patents on major technological breakthroughs, but don't be fooled: this is because for some inexplicable reason, we're using crappy FAT for SD cards.

HP CEO: we have to offer a smartphone

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-14 Wireless 25 Comments

"'We are working on this,' Ms. Whitman told Fox Business Network in an interview. 'We have to ultimately offer a smartphone because in many countries of the world that would be your first computing device... We are a computing company.'" On the same day the Pre 2 a reader is loaning me arrives in the mail. This is just cruel. Update: "HP Bender Android smartphone appears in benchmark details". Eh.

Guest post by nej_simon 2012-09-12 Wireless 8 Comments

A video demonstrating the multitasking gestures of BlackBerry 10 has surfaced. The UI looks like a combination of PlayBook OS and Nokia's ill-fated MeeGo operating system. However, CrackBerry notes "... consider the video shows as being dated for June, yet is only appearing now in September. Something tells me someone sat on this until it was possibly no longer really relevant and therefore, may not matter all that much if people see it now."

Submitted by MOS6510 2012-09-10 Wireless 21 Comments

"The rise of the tablet has heralded changes big and small across the tech ecosystem, from a booming market for cloud storage to the fall of Flash. If the computing industry was a stagnant pond in late 2009, the introduction of tablets a few months later was less akin to a pebble flicked from the shore and more like a boulder hurled from 10 feet up. The ripples have been widespread and lasting." Simple question: if an ordinary user used her laptop to check Facebook, the news, and read a few blogs, and now uses a tablet to do the exact same thing - how much has really changed? Are any of the things mentioned in this article - the rise of HTML5, streaming video, and internet storage - really the result of tablets?

New Kindle Fires ad-supported

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-10 Wireless 22 Comments

Now here's an interesting little nugget Jeff Bezos didn't want you to know about when he introduced his new Kindle tablets: the Kindle Fire HD is ad-supported, and originally, you would not have been able to remove those advertisements from the device. Over the weekend, the company reversed this policy, allowing you to permanently remove the advertisements from your Fire HD for $15.

Sony does teardown of its latest Xperia tablet

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-10 Wireless 9 Comments

"Today the new Xperia Tablet starts hitting doorsteps and store shelves. And how do we mark this momentous occasion? Well... Sony engineer Takuya Inaba ripped apart the gear and explained what's inside. Okay, more like gently opened. Either way, if you love geeking out on parts, then this is the article for you." Sony - or, well, at least its mobile department - is starting to get very cosy with us on the geek side. I approve - although the company has a long way to go before it cleared its name.

Chinese phone makers patents iPhone 5 design from leaks

Thom Holwerda 2012-09-07 Wireless 37 Comments

"Android fans, especially those of you who love your Samsung devices, might have something to cheer about today as it looks like Chinese phone maker GooPhone have already patented the design of the new iPhone 5 before Apple have had chance!" This is just... Wow.