Microsoft’s vice president for the Greater China region has revealed that the company’s Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade will begin rolling out in the country in the “coming weeks,” backing up a previous promise to release the software before the end of the year. Speaking to Chinese newspaper BJD, the executive also confirmed that Windows Phone 8 handsets will go on sale in the country next month.
First announced back in June, Windows Phone 7.8 is seen as a compromise between versions 7.5 and 8, providing a revamped start screen with fully resizable tiles. It will be available as an upgrade for older handsets such as Nokia’s Lumia 900, as well as powering new low-end devices, and is expected to roll out to the rest of the world following its…
Shipping times for Apple’s iPhone 5 have improved from 3-4 weeks, to 2-3 weeks as of today. Times are now one week better for all models of iPhone, including 16 through 64GB of storage and on all carriers. The iPhone 5 expected ship times had dropped to 3-4 weeks as of Tuesday, Sept. 18, a few days after pre-orders began, and remained there until today.
The improvement in ship times indicates that either A) initial demand is dropping off, or that B) Apple has managed to improve its supply chain yield in order to meet demand. Some recent reports suggest that the latter might be more likely, like the Wall Street Journal’s article from mid-October that described the reasons behind iPhone 5 shortages, and suggested progress was being made towards improving the process.
Apple’s iPhone 5 continues to be hard to find in retail stores, and Reuters reported last week that Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou said to continue expecting constrained supplies because of continued problems meeting demand, but analyst estimates last week suggested we’d see supply and demand balance improve. An jump to to 2-3 weeks, while still not ideal for those hoping to get their hands on a device quickly. should come as a welcome surprise to anyone who was hoping to have the device delivered in time to wrap it up as a holiday gift this season.
When T-Mobile announced it would carry the LG Optimus L9 earlier today, I bemoaned the carrier’s lack of compelling exclusive devices. As it turns out, that may have been a bit hasty of me — Nokia has just let slip that its new Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 810 will hit T-Mobile’s shelves in the coming weeks.
As the name implies, the Lumia 810 is a mildly-tweaked version of the Lumia 820 that rival carrier AT&T will carry later this year. Most of the device’s basics remain the same — it still sports a 4.3-inch OLED Clear Black display (running at WVGA, for better or worse), Nokia’s slew of software additions, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera — but the 810 is obviously tuned to play nice with T-Mobile’s 4G network. What’s more, the 810′s Skype HD certified 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera is just a hair more robust than the VGA shooter used on the 820.
The Lumia 820 (and by extension, the 810) was positioned by Nokia as more of a mid-range device in comparison to the flagship Lumia 920, but T-Mobile’s Windows Phone fans are probably used to getting stuck with the mid-range treatment. After all, the last Nokia Windows Phone to hit that carrier’s magenta-tinged airwaves was the relatively dull Lumia 710 — not a bad phone by any stretch, but it came to look chintzy and unrefined compared to Nokia’s preferred Lumia 900.
Just as you’d expect, T-Mobile isn’t ready to talk price points just yet but I wouldn’t expect to pay much at all. Considering the 710′s low starting price tag (and the fact that plenty of retailers ended up selling for free), the shiny new 810 it shouldn’t ding your wallet too much with a two-year contract.
You only have to look at the tidal wave of Ultrabooks to know that Intel design specifications can carry a lot of influence with manufacturers. That’s why the chip-maker’s claims about its latest reference tablet, built around a dual-core Atom Z2760 processor (aka “Clover Trail“), likely give us a broad hint of what to expect from devices like the forthcoming Lenovo Think Pad 2, ASUS Vivo Tab and Samsung ATIV Smart PC.
In particular, Intel has shown us slides claiming that the dual-core 1.8GHz chip with Imagination SGX545 graphics will offer the “best Windows 8 experience” on a tablet with “compatibility and support for traditional apps and peripherals.” And if you think that sounds like a subtle jibe at ARM-based tablets running Windows RT — a version of the OS that doesn’t even try to play nice with existing software — then you could be right. To be fair though, the point of RT is to offer superior portability, and that’s why Intel is also keen to emphasize that Clover Trail won’t impact too heavily on your freedom of movement. Tablets should come in below 1.5 pounds (680 grams — similar to the RT spec and much lighter than a Windows 8 Pro tablet) and 8.5mm in thickness, with built-in 3G, 4G and NFC. You shouldn’t need to carry a charger either, since a new power management system promises a distinctly un-laptop-like three weeks on standby and a full day of “active use” — defined as being at least 10 hours.
Windows 8 tablets won’t be like Windows 8 Pro machines, however, so don’t go expecting USB 3.0, or a guarantee of 1080p visuals (most Clover Trail devices we’ve seen are 1,366 x 768) or souped-up security — the Atom Z2760 is very much an evolved Medfield processor, with similar silicon and firmware, rather than a shrunken laptop chip.
Needless to say, what really matters is how well manufacturers adopt this design and what price points they manage to hit. Intel says that at least 20 different Clover Trail tablets are already in the works, and early price tags seem to be around the $ 799 mark — a hefty demand for sure, but perhaps one worth paying for those who need full-fledged Windows 8 and true portability at the same time. RT tablets, meanwhile, will have to come in much cheaper than that in order to be worthwhile.
Filed under: Tablets
Intel details Clover Trail tablets: three weeks on standby, 10 hours of use, ‘full’ Windows 8 experience originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As you may or may not know, Photokina’s taking place in Cologne, Germany in a few days, which has caused a plethora of cameras to make an appearance before they’re even made official. The latest round of unannounced, leaked shooters brings us a couple of Leicas, including the high-end, LX7-esque compact pictured above and a superzoom that takes a design cue from its smaller sibling. Unfortunately, details like pricing and availability are still at large, but with Photokina right around the corner, it won’t be long before we know more about this sleek pair. For now, head past the break to check out an extra pic, where you’ll find the larger member of the two posing for the camera — ironic, huh?
Continue reading Pair of unannounced Leica cameras get leaked ahead of next week’s Photokina
Filed under: Cameras
Pair of unannounced Leica cameras get leaked ahead of next week’s Photokina originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It was only a fortnight ago that T-Mobile announced it would be carrying Samsung’s Galaxy Note. Pink subscribers everywhere rejoiced in the confirmation — we’d suspected the Note’s arrival for quite a while, and a tweet from T-Mobile sealed the deal.
Now, however, it appears that T-Mobile is discontinuing the device, just a few weeks after it put the phablet on store shelves. Android Police reports that a trusted source has confirmed the EOL status of the Galaxy Note, which has been removed from T-Mobile’s website.
Update: A T-Mobile rep has just reached out to clarify the reports. The Galaxy Note is still available through T-Mobile retail outlets, and is out of stock online. She didn’t make mention of the phone’s EOL date, which Android Police reports to be November 1.
As uncomely as it looks for Tmo to flip flop at this rate, it actually makes much more sense to dump the old and bring in the new. Remember, word of an even bigger Galaxy Note II is spreading around the web.
Rather than sell a device released nearly a year ago internationally, and more than half a year ago in the States, T-Mobile (and its subscribers) are much better off waiting for the new new thing.
[via UberGizmo]
Previously, Archos has only ever given us a fleeting glimpse of the G10 xs tablets it’s planning to launch this year — FCC filings don’t count. Cogs in the company’s media machine are turning once again, as the company has posted a teaser press image on Facebook with confirmation that a launch is just three weeks away. It’s difficult to read the tea leaves from the oblique shot we’re given, although we already know that the Android 4.0 slate will support microSD, mini-HDMI and a connector for that Eee Pad Transformer-style keyboard dock. Our main questions now center on when the G10 xs pops up in the US as well as the degree of bang we’ll get for our buck.
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Archos teases G10 xs with first press shot, vows launch in three weeks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 03:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Users that have purchased the HP Envy Spectre XT are facing a long wait for their ultrabooks to be delivered. A HP representative tells CNET that “orders are taking longer to fulfill than HP expected,” adding that the company is “contacting all customers who have placed orders to provide updated expected delivery dates.”
The company’s online store invites users to “customize and buy” the ultrabook, but clicking on that option reveals that orders will not be fulfilled until August 28th at the earliest. For comparison, customers purchasing other “customize and buy” laptops will see their orders delivered on August 14th and HP also has cheaper laptops available for overnight shipping without customization.
The line for a MacBook Pro with Retina Display just got a bit shorter. The US Apple Store now pegs the new MBP’s shipping estimate at 1-2 weeks.
The MacBook Pro with Retina Display launched with much fanfare in early June. Apple called it the “most beautiful computer we have ever made.” The model quickly sold out, pushing shipping times to 3-4 weeks, which later fell to 2-3 weeks. Best Buy lists the model with a shipping estimate of 7-30 days.
MacRumors points out that the ship time improved to 1-2 weeks in the European and Asia-Pacific regions.
While the supply levels are improving, the models might still be hard to get a hold of for the forseeable future as the back to school season approaches. Apple’s PC market share is increasing as more people seemingly jump the Windows ship onto Apple’s party boat. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display does not currently have a direct competitor thanks to its amazing screen, thin chassis and class-leading battery life.
We’ve just heard from sources close to Sparrow that the man behind “Sparrow for Windows,” Panos Tsimpoglou, was never hired by Sparrow CEO Dom Leca, and was never officially associated with the company’s brand. “Sparrow for Windows“ also did not use the company’s famously speedy mail engine, and was merely a prototype, our source told us. The app was not even close to “weeks away” as Tsimpoglou had claimed, the source added.
Perhaps most importantly, Tsimpoglou wrote:
“I had asked specifically if the branding would be the same and that there would be no weird distinctions for the Windows app. We agreed that you were gonna go to sprw.me and if you had a Windows device you would get Sparrow for Windows”
He made it seem like Sparrow for…
