Reports out of India this morning claim that RIM has agreed a deal with the local government to permit its security agencies to "monitor" email and messaging done on BlackBerry devices. There's even a roadmap for this snooperiffic rollout, as all consumer email is expected to be opened up within 15 days and tools are being developed over the next six to eight months to allow chat surveillance as well. A very detailed report indeed, but the IDG News service reports RIM has rubbished the entire thing, stating it's in a continuing dialog with the Indian government and discussions remain confidential. Then again, we'd expect RIM to keep up the facade as long as possible, considering the likely domino effect a capitulation in India would have in nearby states that have similar security concerns. In the mean time, Nokia has meekly announced it'll be complying with the Indian government's rules for push mail and is "installing the required infrastructure." For more on that and the BlackBerry saga, hit the source links below.

RIM reported to have agreed snooping deal with India, says 'no way!' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Without question, AT&T's wireless growth these past few years has been largely based on iPhone -- and with apparently good reason, if you look at the numbers. As far as other platforms go, however, it's not been as rosy. Android's relation with the carrier, for example, is a story woven with years of hesitation, some questionable releases, and a rival that's fully embraced it to notable success (releases like the Captivate and Streak suggest a stronger future). So with all that in mind, what we're hearing from AT&T in the wake of Windows Phone 7 is decidedly more committal. Here's what a spokesperson told PC World this week: "We'll be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7" (emphasis ours). Strong words, but we still haven't heard concrete plans from anyone, including Microsoft, on what's going on with the release. Whispers care of our friend Michael Gartenberg suggest AT&T has "signed up for 8 million" phones and our own eyes have espied some launch materials, but we'll just have to see. Your move, Ma Bell. Assuage our doubts, k?

AT&T claims it will be 'the premier carrier' for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TSMC might not necessarily be a household name, but the product of its labors tends to be all over home electronics. Aiming to keep that trend going, the Taiwanese chipmaker has just broken ground on its third 300mm wafer plant, located in Taichung's Central Taiwan Science Park. The new Fab 15 will have a capacity of over 100,000 wafers per month -- earning it the prestige of being described as a Gigafab -- and once operational it'll create 8,000 new skilled jobs in the area. Semiconductors built there will also be suitably modern, with 40nm and 28nm production facilities being installed, and lest you worry about such trivial things as the environment, TSMC says it's doing a few things to minimize the foundry's energy usage and greenhouse gas emission. Then again, if you're going to spend nearly $10 billion on something, would you expect anything less?

Continue reading TSMC begins construction of new $9.3b foundry, wants to sate our constant hunger for chips

TSMC begins construction of new $9.3b foundry, wants to sate our constant hunger for chips originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mmm... we like where this is headed. While legacy airlines in America are struggling to outfit their fleets with in-flight WiFi alone, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways is showing 'em how it's done. The airline has just inked a memorandum of understanding with Panasonic Avionics for the "provision of full broadband connectivity on all Cathay Pacific and Dragonair passenger aircraft." Yeah, you read that correctly -- by early 2012, Cathay will make 50Mbps internet service, in-flight GSM cellphone service (voice, SMS and data) as well as live and pay-per-view television available to every last passenger. The finer details are still being hammered out, and we aren't told whether every single bird in its fleet will be online from Day 1, but we're still as giddy as ever for this to become a reality. Here's hoping this pushes those other airlines into getting with the program, and at the very least, it ought to give you plenty of reason to take that Asian vacation you've been putting off.

Continue reading Cathay Pacific bringing 50Mbps WiFi, live TV and in-flight calling to fleet

Cathay Pacific bringing 50Mbps WiFi, live TV and in-flight calling to fleet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel has managed to make Moorestown-based phones do an awful lot of things on stage. Multitask, scale photos sans lag, and automatically correct your grammar before it comes out of your mouth. But believe it or not, one thing we haven't seen the Aava Mobile-built reference design do is play the full PC version of World of Warcraft and / or Quake III (from within Moblin) for over an hour on a full charge. Well, until this week's Computex event. Peek a couple of videos just past the break if you're in disbelief, and trust us when we say that it had no issues keep the frames flowing at a comfortable clip. The future is bright, people.

Continue reading Aava Mobile's Intel Moorestown prototype plays World of Warcraft beautifully (video)

Aava Mobile's Intel Moorestown prototype plays World of Warcraft beautifully (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Think it's only Apple faithful who are adding an iPad to their gadget cache? According to Chitika Research, that's not true. The online advertising firm keeps a close eye on which platforms are downloading its ads the most, and it says that Mac computers accounted for 10.3 percent of wasted bandwidth in April. That's up from 7.4 percent in the January - March timeframe (you know, the pre-iPad era), and Chitika Research Director Daniel Ruby says "90% of that increase was due to the iPad halo effect." Meanwhile, NPD analyst Stephen Baker believes that the boost is instead thanks to the new MacBook Pro models that were released at the same time, and Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil says "early data on the iPad indicated that most buyers were already in the Apple club." Who is right? Survey says... your guess is as good as ours, and any of theirs, apparently.

Feuding analysts argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple may be a despot of its own walled garden, but that doesn't mean it's not benevolent. The iPad's international launch on May 28 has prompted the company to open Stores an hour early, at 8AM local time, in order to give its devotees a reprieve from hours of queuing outside. Then again, that little asterix up there points us to an ominous "while supplies last" note at the bottom, which together with current pre-orders being fulfilled at some unidentified point in June, might force the most impatient to just get to the Store even earlier. UK buyers will get an alternative option thanks to Dixons Group stocking Apple's slate in Currys and PC World outlets, an arrangement that we keep hearing might be exclusive for the first sixty days after launch. Either way, you've been warned, don't be tardy if you wanna be trendy.

P.S. The iBooks app has also made its debut outside of the US today, though at present it's limited to just freebie titles, and the iBookstore is still described as "US only."

Apple will open international Stores early for iPad launch this Friday, iBooks app available now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Had enough Android excitement yet? Of course not. Following up on the Froyo release yesterday, we've got the no less vital news that the iPhone 3G port of Android is now ready to download and install. Having shown off Google's OS running on a 3G two weeks ago, author David Wang has clearly had to iron out a few kinks before serving up the necessary binaries, but here they are now, replete with a handy install guide he's penned over at PC World. Time to get yourself on the dual-booting bandwagon, no?

iPhone 3G's Android port is ready to download originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 03:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel promises to bring wireless display technology to other mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 02:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might not be aware of this but the official Chinese iPhone offered by China Unicom since October 2009 doesn't include WiFi -- part of the reason for a continued Chinese grey market for iPhones sourced from neighboring countries. Now we're seeing a China-approved 3G / GSM / Bluetooth device from Apple capable of using China's homegrown WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) protocol. The new device -- presumably a 4th generation iPhone -- will join Dell's Mini 3i as one of a few foreign handsets to feature the Chinese national standard for WLAN. See the 26 April approved regulatory filing after the break.

Update: The reference to "A1303" in the chinese language filing means this is likely a WAPI version of the iPhone 3GS, not a 4th gen device.

Continue reading Chinese iPhone approved with WAPI WiFi

Chinese iPhone approved with WAPI WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 03:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tech blog, Conecti.ca, reportedly got its hands on a pre-release copy of the HP Slate and did a quick unofficial hands on review. The review, in Spanish and machine-translated by Google, is not kind toward the Windows 7-powered device. The review is peppered with negativity including the observation of ”a long and annoying load time operating system” and a final verdict upholds the less-than enthusiastic theme of the review by proclaiming that the device and its experience is “meh”. On the plus side, the device has “expansion ports ad-nauseum” and, though made of plastic, the slate “feels dense and tough”. Overall, the reviewers see this device as a portable competitor to netbooks and not necessarily the proverbial iPad killer that the device is touted to be.

[Via PC World]

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How do you sell a generation of hardware manufacturers on yet another standard? If you're Intel, you tell them that it'll transfer files at 10Gbps and is compatible with every major protocol that came before... and if that doesn't work, you simply fail to give your competitor hardware support. But PC World reports that while Intel is still dragging its feet regarding USB 3.0, it's planning to have Light Peak fiber optic devices in the market next year. Intel insists Light Peak isn't meant to replace USB, in so much as it can use the same ports and protocols (photographic evidence above), but at the same time it's not shying away from the possibility of obliterating its copper competition with beams of light. "In some sense we'd... like to build the last cable you'll ever need," said Intel's Kevin Kahn. Now, we're not going to rag on Light Peak, because we honestly love the idea of consolidated fiber optic connectivity. We just want to know now whether we should bother locking ourselves into a USB 3.0 ecosystem if better things are just around the corner.

Intel says Light Peak coming next year, can and will coexist with USB 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After last year’s embarrassment at SXSW, AT&T is going overboard to ensure a similar wireless network meltdown does not happen again this year at the annual technology conference in Austin, Texas. To avoid a second such disaster, AT&T is throwing a ton of cash and bringing in an equal amount of equipment for the SXSW conference including:

• Installing a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at the Austin Convention Center. The DAS is comprised of 50 antenna nodes that provide the equivalent coverage of eight cell sites.
• Improving the cell sites in the surrounding area by utilizing 30MHz of spectrum for 3G instead of the standard 10MHz and upgrading the system to include the 850MHz band and HSPA.
• Bringing in three temporary cell sites that are positioned in areas expected to see high traffic.
• Improving the backhaul by beefing up the fiber optic connections that serve the eight cell sites of the DAS and the three temporary sites. According to sources within AT&T, the backhaul capacity has seen a fourfold increase.

The stakes are high for AT&T as a network failure could wipe away any gains in consumer confidence AT&T saw following its favorable review from PC World last week. With its reputation on the line, will AT&T and its 3G network rise to the occasion or will it crumble to its knees under the strain of a mob of iPhone-toting geeks? Predictions are welcome in the comments.

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Before we begin let’s just get this out of the way: if you are a customer of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon it is most likely because that particular company provides a service you want, need, and/or like. The following article is based on tests done by PCWorld in December of 2009 and January of 2010 and may not necessarily reflect your experience with, or preference of, mobile providers. Now, let’s continue…

The PCWorld tests, from December 2009 and January 2010, were done as a follow up to tests done last spring in an attempt to see if the major U.S. mobile networks had made any improvements to their wireless data infrastructure. The speed tests were conducted in: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle on both mobile phones and laptop data cards. We’ve linked to PCWorld’s thorough article for your scrutiny, however, here is the high level overview.

In the Spring 2009 tests the companies results were as follows:

• AT&T: average download speed 812 Kbps, average upload speed 660 Kbps
• Sprint: average download speed 808 Kbps, average upload not listed in article
• T-Mobile: not tested, no significant 3G footprint at time of testing
• Verizon: average download speed 951 Kbps, average upload speed 426 Kbps

In the Winter of 2009/2010 tests the companies results were as follows:

• AT&T: average download speed 1410 Kbps, average upload speed 773 Kbps
• Sprint: average download speed 795 Kbps, average upload speed 396 Kbps
• T-Mobile: average download speed 868 Kbps, average upload speed 311 Kbps
• Verizon: average download speed 877 Kbps, average upload speed 434 Kbps

As you can see, AT&T’s network, in PC World’s pretty rigorous tests, has improved tremendously and is over 67% faster. Not bad for less than a year, no?

Read [Spring '09 tests] Read [Winter '09/'10 tests]

You know, as much as we love our complex high-minded gadgets, we've always had a soft spot for simple, low-tech solutions to the problems posed by modernity. To wit, check out HP's latest data center, which is strategically located in a blustery part of northeast England and avoids costly and energy-sapping cooling systems in favor of good old wind cooling. Equipped with eight 2.1-meter (just under seven feet) intake fans and a bank of contaminant filters, the Winyard facility is purpose-built for the circulation of cold external air through and around the servers within. It's said to be HP's most efficient data center yet, and its natural cooling solution is estimated to save a healthy £2.6 million ($4.07 million) in annual energy bills. A couple other optimizations bear mentioning too -- such as the rainwater collection which is used to humidify the air if it's too dry, and the choice of lighter-colored servers racks, which saves on lighting costs inside. Hit the source link to learn more.

HP opens wind-cooled, rain-collecting data center originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After three years of spent treasure, Sharp and Samsung have finally settled their LCD patent fight. Although the terms of the agreement won't be made public, a Sharp spokesman was caught boasting about conditions that "will be in favor of Sharp" -- the company that kicked off the battle back in 2007. As a recap, the disputed patents covered LCD TVs, monitors, and mobile phones in lawsuits filed in the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. After a string of defeats in the US and Europe resulted in an import ban on its panels, Samsung, it seems, was left with little choice but to settle on Sharp's terms.

Sharp and Samsung settle LCD patent cases, end legal dispute originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

At the introduction of the iPad, Steve Jobs showed a simple slide illustrating one of the burning questions in the industry for many years. On the left was a smartphone. On the right was a laptop. And in the middle was a gap. Apple, like many companies in the PC industry, was seeking to create a product that filled this gap. Indeed, the iPad itself reflects elements of the Apple devices that flank it. Its enclosure resembles the silver metallic enclosure of a MacBook Pro, but inside, it has the ARM processor architecture and operating system of the iPhone.

But the iPad is but the latest in a long line of products and would-be general-purpose devices that seeks to fill this gap, most of them short-lived. Some of the more recent ones include the aborted Palm Foleo, the Sony Mylo, Nokia Internet Tablets, UMPCs, and MIDs. Why are so many companies convinced there is opportunity in these products?

Let's turn back the clock to 2002, the year Handspring launched its first smartphone, the monochrome 160 x 160-pixel Treo 180. It was the year that Verizon Wireless launched the first 3G network in the U.S. and the year MobileStar declared bankruptcy after deploying public Wi-Fi throughout many Starbucks locations in 2001. In 2002, PC World awarded its World Class Award for ultralight notebooks to the Fujitsu LifeBook P-2000. It was less than three pounds and had a 10.6-inch screen, but was 1.6-inches thick and had a starting price of $1,499. And it couldn't access Facebook, Hulu, YouTube or Engadget -- because they didn't exist.

Continue reading Switched On: Mined the gap

Switched On: Mined the gap originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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