The Zune? Not always a joke!

Well it is and it falls in line with M$’s media, PR culpability. So you want to release a new media player in a line of successive devices, you think you’ve got the packaging right? You think you have the device form factor right? It ends up on the shelves of a retailer, before you can post the press release. That’s not “Priceless” although there’s a receipt!

There’s a bunch of unboxing pictures at Gizmodo, if anyone’s interested!

I know it takes a very special person to appreciate a Zune

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Chrome your Android, or is it nickel plated?

Has everyone tried Google’s new browser, ok I’ll wait just a minute whilst you install it…

Chrome has made a big shiny splash this week and there’s lot’s of speculation about what it means, for Cloud computing and for Mobile computing. Maybe even for OS’s?

Now most of the rumours are actually being fuelled by Google (or it’s representatives) itself, and it raised a few questions for me, when I turned on random brain functionality. (read: sat down and thought about all of the stuff I’ve read about it in the last couple of days, and started to formulate a new possibility). What really kicked off this train of thought was a post from Matt Miller over at ZDnet, his observations of the construction of the Chrome browser, really triggered off a phantasmagorical train of thought for me.

the new Chrome browser is based on the WebKit open source project like the Nokia S60 and Apple iPhone browsers I think it is very possible that it will be coming to the mobile space and may actually be the browser that we see launched on the Google Android

That simple statement made me think, if Android, S60 and Apples apps are that similair, based on a comparable operating environment, might this be Google’s “incognito” route to an open source operating system? I know it’s a big jump, but Sergey looks rather tired, and any challenge to Microsoft that Google may make in the OS war, would have to start covertly with mobile and migrate to the desktop, this is just some speculation on my part.
If you build a browser that is Desktop and Mobile compatible, you might start to think that the mobile OS that will run the Mobile compatible Browser, will run a Desktop computer?

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HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, Coming (Very) Soon To A Sprint Store Near You

Rumors are swirling around the impending release of the CDMA versions of the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.  According to this report which was unearthed by IntoMobile, the Touch Diamond is coming in mid-September, while the Touch Pro is due to be released October 19.

Looks like the Diamond will cost $549.99, but will be reduced to as little as $249.99 with a two year contract.  The Touch Pro is $579.99, but will be reduced to $329.99 with a two contract.

Keep in mind, that despite the official-looking document in the image, this is all still firmly in the rumor category until we actually see devices in the store.  Still, it is nice to know that these may be coming sooner rather than later.

[via IntoMobile]

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i Rumours…

Kevin Rose posted a picture of what might be the new iPod Nano, then Brandon shared a link with me, that indicated there was a company out there making cases to fit an iPod that resembles this form factor. Anyone recall the furor around the “fattie” the iPod ugly duckling? It turned out to be a swan didn’t it? 

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I got an apps store, You got an apps store, We all got an apps store…

Funnily enough, the evolution of the iPod, into the iPhone seems to have been seamless, and a lot of the time we forget that this music player from Apple has been almost dictatorially managed. Probably the most exploited loophole over the years has been the inability of iTunes to tell the difference between a ripped CD and an original CD, actually purchased. The  evolution of the internet and online services, have actually circumvented a lot of those problems, by that I mean if you utilise the online service that Apple provide via iTunes, your music is licensed and non transferable. Once purchased though, it’s always there, just like a CD (well almost, compact discs do deteriorate over time). As Doug noted in the last of his series in his iPod Touch review

In addition to storing your music, however, iTunes is also a full media store, with thousands of songs, movies, TV shows, and more.  In fact, I found this store to be a little too integrated with iTunes.  It was all too easy to slip from the parts of iTunes which display media you already own, to the store where you have to pay to download media.

Now the advancement of the iPod to the iPhone, and I’ll include the Touch in that to save confusion, and the introduction of iPhone 2.0., the iPhone people love to hate, after they’ve gotten over the new device fascination, has led to the inclusion of the App store in iTunes. the iPod has grown up, obviously, and Apple has added access to the programs, that the now adult iPod “handheld computer” has become. So it’s a business model that works and other OS providers are trying to go there, namely Google/Android and now Microsoft. It seems that some other, not inconsequential software developers have taken note of the iTunes model, and are going down the App store track no matter what they want to call it.

Google/Android, with the release of the first Android device imminent, you will have to find relevant software, to make your new device a mobile helper.

For WM devices, you might want to take hope, because MicroSoft is also launching some sort of online store, but the interesting thing, is that they hint at Windows Mobile 7,

you can sell me that !

Apparently the Apple model is worth emulating???????????

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HTC Dream… or your worst nightmare?

Now I don’t know if it’s the leopard skin background, or the fact that this is probably the  ugliest HTC device that I’ve seen in a long time, you’d have to assume that the OS makes up for it. The aforementioned specs for the Dream, let’s face it, were not super, as far as the current batch of HTC devices go.

More info has come to light, suggesting that the original quoted specs were undercooked, and the dream is empowered with 256Rom/128Ram, which would make a lot more sense.  We’ve also got a new moniker, the G1

The G1’s specs and features are still unknown but it is rumoured to sport a 528Mhz Qualcomm 7201 processor; Data kit for USB connectivity in the box; 128MB Internal RAM; 256MB Internal ROM, 1GB MicroSD card; Dedicated camera button; 3.1MP camera (no flash) 2048 x 1536; Video playback files - H.264, streaming, 3GPP, MPEG4, and Codec 3GP and a Dedicated YouTube Player.  Yes, I agree the memory is really low, but this is still a rumour so take it with a grain of salt.

All right I’m looking at this and I’m thinking, well I’m revising my thoughts, the images are bad, and actually are probably misleading. I’m taken aback by the unfamiliar design, and I’m hoping this works, it’s like a weird tilt. The T-Mobile branding and the cornucopia of comparative shots, seem to defy the possibility of a mock-up, but the dream might still be something that keeps you awake at night.

via AndroidCommunity, Gizmodo, Engadget

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