Page 215 of 258

      13-Year-Old Trades iPod for a Walkman

      June 29, 2009 /

      Scott Campbell and his mom.This article from the BBC’s The Magazine is quickly making its rounds and it’s definitely worth the read. The author, 13-year-old Scott Campbell, was given a Walkman by his father. The near ancient artifact was meant to replace Scott’s iPod for a full week, after which he could return to his digital life.

      Scott had some interesting observations/struggles in dealing with his old technology. Here’s a few excerpts:

      *It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.
      *As I boarded the school bus, where I live in Aberdeenshire, I was greeted with laughter.
      *[on battery life]; it is nearly completely dead within three hours of firing it up. Not long after the music warbled into life, it abruptly ended.

      We’re probably not too far from seeing those things all but extinct, as in, unable to find almost anywhere. I have to wonder, should I be saving my 3rd generation iPod to show my son someday? What will his music experience look like?

      I’m lucky enough to live up the street from a store called Big Fun that sells old toys, video games, and general nostalgia, so I can get my paleolithic tech fix whenever I want. Where do you get yours?

      Audio

      Trouble in 3GS Land: the Roundup

      June 28, 2009 /

      iPhone activations unavailable.It’s been more than a week now since the new iPhone launched and we’ve heard a couple reports of trouble with the new hardware. For a launch, though, the phone seems fairly bug free, along with the Palm Pre and even Nokia’s N97. Here’s what we’ve heard:

      Activation
      Enough people experienced extended activation times (as long as 96 hours) to warrant a response from Apple. The 3GS manufacturer is sending out $30 iTunes gift cards to say I’m sorry to affected customers, giving up $30 of apps to tend to their understandable frustration.

      TetheringWhile tethering is still unsupported by AT&T it is possible to enable the feature via a quick hack. Some users have seen errors reminding them that the feature is unsupported. Uninstalling and reinstalling the hack seems to fix this problem.

      GSM NoiseBoy Genius Report was the first to put out the GSM Noise…report. Apparently some sounds on the iPhone trigger a high-frequency “whistle,” typical to GSM phones running near magnets (hello, compass/speaker).

      White Burns PinkThe latest trouble comes from french site nowhereelse.fr, where a tipster sent pics of his white 3GS that had apparently been “burned” when it got to hot while running GPS on a 3G connection. The burn looks like a light pink ring around the perimeter of the phone. This is the first and only report we’ve seen of this problem.

      Had any trouble with your phone? Leave us the info in the comments.

      Apple, iPhone

      WebOS Mojo SDK Beta Leaked – Let There Be Apps

      June 27, 2009 /

      Palm Pre WebOS SDK BetaI’ve tried to be clear about my feelings concerning Palm’s late SDK release for WebOS, the operating system that runs the Pre. In my mind it’s a terrible, bass ackwards plan that’s done nothing to help Pre sales figures.

      There was a bright light today, though, when I saw that the Mojo SDK Beta build had be leaked via torrent. That light’s still at the end of a long tunnel, though, as Palm maintains strict control over the final release build, and certainly won’t publish any apps made with the beta. The good is that developers can finally get their hands on development tools and start polishing their apps for a clean release, whenever that may be.

      Palm also mentioned this week that they are adding developers to their early adoption program, doubling their membership this week. They predict the number should double again next week, though without an original stat, this might not be as many developers as I would hope.

      At any rate, movement is movement, and at the very least the homebrew community just got a new toolset to fiddle with.

      Apps, Mobile

      UK Retailers Show No PSP Go Pre-orders

      June 27, 2009 /

      Sony's PSP Go.We already know the PSP Go is a ripoff. It’s essentially a minor upgrade over the current hardware at a premium price. In the UK things are even worse. Our friends across the pond are looking at prices as high as £230 (approx. $380), which is nearly double the price of the current generation mobile gamer.

      Whether it’s the price, the hardware, or just an utter lack of interest, UK retailers are showing zero, yes, zero pre-orders, and they’re not happy. The problem comes with the margins on hardware retail, which are historically small. Now that the PSP no longer supports UMD drives, the only justifiable revenue stream comes in the form of Playstation Network cards, which can be purchased in $20 and $50 increments in the US, but remain unavailable in the UK.

      Sony’s banking on mobile software delivery for games instead of your typical physical media with the PSP Go, and it’s already got retailers wondering if they should bother with the new device. Seems like a lot of people share that sentiment where Sony is concerned. Will they listen, or just continue to frustrate retailers and developers out of doing business together?

      Gaming

      Sprint Takes Their First Shot

      June 27, 2009 /

      Sprint's Pre vs. iPhone ad.Remember how Palm and Sprint weren’t going to position the Pre against the iPhone? Because the Pre isn’t meant to run against the iPhone. Because it was was designed for its own subset of consumers, not iPhone malcontents. Because, because, because.

      The world didn’t pay much attention to that plan, though, because frankly, the devices are similar enough for comparison and in the world of cellphones, it’s usually an either/or decision. Either I get an iPhone or I get a Pre. You get the idea.

      Sprint has finally caved, taking their first shot straight at Apple’s face. They posted the ad at right on their Facebook page this week, which features the Pre leaning against a chewed-to-the-core Apple. As if they they thought the ad was a little too subtle, it also includes text like, “The Palm Pre does things the iPhone can’t. Run multiple applications at the same time with real-time updates and even save $1200 over two years.”

      The ad does seem to be well timed, at least. Original iPhone contracts should be up right around now, and who knows, maybe the Pre will nab a few of those folks away from Apple, but I’m pretty unimpressed with their sales pitch. Run multiple applications? Like…all 30 of them at once? Pitching your multitasking is great if you have some sort of reasonable app selection, but 30? Why not remind people that you’ve got a full keyboard, a flash on the camera, a slick new operating system? Granted, the first two are obvious, but they’re benefits the customer will see immediately, not in six months when you finally release your SDK.

      Apple, iPhone, Mobile

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 Gadget Teaser

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑