White iPhone 4 is now unofficially official

There’s better things in Belgium than just waffles right now: an official white version of the iPhone 4. The rumors pinpointed the launch of the device for sometime this week, and those rumors seem to be correct. Official iPhone 4 boxes that depict a white iPhone 4 inside are hitting retail shelves.

So, it seems that after approximately 10 months after the iPhone 4 went on sale in the black variety, the white version is finally going to be available. Way to go Apple; you’ve painted your phone white, and kept the proximity sensor working.

via [Engadget]

Google Nexus S on Sprint

Samsung and Sprint have announced that the Google Nexus S 4G from Google will be coming to Spring on 5/8. Pricing will be the same as on other carriers, $199.99. It is currently unknown if Sprint will have both the black and white versions of the Nexus S available. Will you be getting one?

White iPhone 4 on T-Mobile

"That’s right, you’re looking at photos of an iPhone prototype with T-Mobile USA 3G bands. The actual internal model is N94, and if you remember, the Verizon model is N92 while the standard GSM variant is N90. We have verified that the phone itself is running a test version of Apple’s iOS, much like the one we saw in those videos from Vietnam, and it includes internal Apple test apps like Radar and Apple’s employee directory app. Additionally, the front of the white iPhone pictured looks a little different from the photos of the retail white iPhone 4 that surfaced recently — specifically, the proximity sensor has changed on the retail version. Combined with the fact that it wouldn’t make sense to release an iPhone 4 on T-Mobile at this point in time, we’d wager that Apple is just testing the new T-Mobile-friendly radio with its current iPhone 4 hardware, possibly in preparation for integration in a future device. It’s also entirely possible the internals on this iPhone prototype are being disguised in an iPhone 4 shell, though we doubt it. Let’s see what happens with the iPhone 5 and if that makes it way to T-Mobile. If that AT&T acquisition gets approved though, the iPhone will eventually make its way to T-Mobile customers regardless."


via [BGR]

MobileNotifier: Better iPhone alerts

If you haven’t jailbroken your iPhone yet then you should seriously consider doing so if you are like many iPhone owners who are dissatisfied with Apple’s less than spectacular push notification system. MobileNotifier beta v3 is a free redo of iOS’s push notification system coded by Peter Hajas and Kyle Adams. The nice thing about MobileNotifier is that all alerts are unobtrusive and out of the way, they appear at the top of the screen or open app unlike Apple’s notifications that appear smack in the middle of your screen. MobileNotifier’s alerts can also be ignored, you can leave them on the screen without hindering the usability of your iPhone. 

Another feature of MobileNotifier is AlertDashboard. AlertDashboard appears in the unused area above the app switcher (You can access this by double-tapping the home button). Another nice thing about AlertDashboard is that you can also view pending alerts as a line item on the lockscreen of your iPhone.

Although MobileNotifier isn’t perfect, it is perhaps one of the greatest additions to the jailbreak market since WinterBoard.

MobileNotifier Beta v3 Demo

iPad 2 and iOS 5

Engadget is now saying that they’ve heard that the new iPad 2 will receive a spec bump, but not much else, at the upcoming March 2nd Apple event.

The iPad 2′s RAM will match the iPhone 4 with 512 MB of RAM, an updated Apple A5 processor and graphics chip, and more than likely at least a front-facing camera. Those are all pretty safe modifications to the tablet, and Engadget is reporting that major features like a ‘Retina Display’ will not be on this version. This might set up the iPad 3 for an announcement in the fall, which has been rumored for the past month or so.

On the brighter side, Engadget is also reporting that iOS 5 will be shown off ahead of a June launch, alongside the iPhone 5. There’s been no word on any new features, though a revamped notifications system is a safe bet. There’s also been whispers that Apple will make iOS 5 much more cloud-centric than past versions of the operating system.

Regardless, we’ll know soon enough

[Engadget]

New HP Products

HP has just unveiled three new products, the Pre 3, Veer, and the rumored TouchPad.


The Pre 3 is a 3.6 inch phone with a 1.4 GHz Snapdragon processor, 480-800 screen resolution, larger keyboard, 512 MB of RAM, and two cameras that can be used for video calling. It isn’t the most high-end device ever, but it does emphasize that HP wants their devices to be easy to transport, and to only be noticeable when you need it. The Pre 3 will work on both GSM and CDMA carriers, like Verizon and AT&T.

Next up we have the HP Veer, a tiny (seriously, it’s extremely small) device that is basically a Pre, but smaller in every possible way. The Veer is about the size of a credit card, and packs an 800 MHz processor (as far as I can tell, it is nearly identical to the one in the HTC G2, so this shouldn’t be a slacker by any means). The screen is 2.6 inches, with a 320×400 resolution. The keyboard is minuscule, just like everything else about the phone, so it remains to be seen how usable it is. The Veer is currently only available for GSM carriers, like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Last, but certainly not least, is the TouchPad. It basically matches every spec the iPad currently has, and then some. 1.2 dual-core Qualcomm processor, with a 1024×768 display, with Beats Audio makes for an interesting tablet. The device itself weighs 1.5 pounds, and is 13 mm thick. Overall, it isn’t the specs that make the tablet compelling; it’s the software. HP isn’t slacking in this aspect; webOS on a large form factor looks very compelling. Many other media outlets have already noted that this blows away the current iPad in terms of the possibility to be productive.

The TouchPad WiFi model will be shipping this summer, and 3G/4G versions of the device will be announced later on. It will be interesting to see if this new device will be able to compete with the next iPad, which is expected within the next few months.

Also of note: the “Palm” brand is dead. No products today have it, everything at the event is coated in “HP,” and there is no reason to assume that “Palm” as a brand will live on. Still, it was great while it lasted. Here’s to the startup that lasted for nineteen years!

[Palm]

Next Generation Portable by Sony

In a move that shocked precisely no one, Sony confirmed months of speculation by officially unveiling their next handheld video game system at a press event in Tokyo on Thursday.

Codenamed "NGP" for Next Generation Portable, the system packs a load of impressive technology, including two analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED touchscreen (for reference, an iPhone's screen is 3.5 inches), a second touchscreen on the back of the device, and a new flash-card media format.

Sony announced that the system will be released before the end of 2011, though no word on whether that's a worldwide date or just for Japan. No pricing details were released.

To better compete with longtime rival Nintendo's soon-to-be-released 3DS system and Apple's formidable iOS devices, the NGP will also feature 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, front and rear cameras, an electronic compass, and six-axis motion-sensing capability. Yikes. Five to one it will also cut through this tin can!

Sony revealed a few other NGP functions, such as a location-based application that lets users find nearby players and a user-interface that ties social-networking features to every game.  The system has a new rounded form factor as well (Sony calls it the 'Super Oval Design') and is physically a bit larger than the current PSP-3000 model.

A slew of first-party NGP games were announced -- including new titles in the Hot Shots Golf, LittleBigPlanet, WipeOut, Killzone, Resistance and (gasp!) Uncharted franchises -- as well as games from publishers like Capcom, Sega, Tecmo, Konami, and Activision, who will be bringing blockbuster franchise Call of Duty to the system.

Much of Sony's presser focused on the NGP's varied control schemes. In addition to standard game fare like a D-pad and shoulder and face buttons, the system is the first of its kind to include dual analog sticks -- a feature widely requested by PSP fans. Motion-sensing control via the built-in gyroscopes was also on display, but perhaps most impressive is the dual touchscreen interface. The touch pad on the back of the device is positioned directly underneath the main screen, which allows for innovative 'pinch' control by using the two touchscreens simultaneously.

The device is a serious step up from Sony's last handheld release, the underwhelming PSP Go, which did little to help Sony gain ground on Nintendo's league-leading DS line. However, DS sales have slipped in recent months in anticipation of the 3DS, which produces 3D visuals without the need of special glasses.

While Sony failed to announce a PSP-capable phone (as many had expected), the company did find time to unveil the Playstation Suite, a cross-platform service that will make Playstation games available on Android phones and tablets.

[via Yahoo]

Key Coder

Key Coder is a useful tool for coding in actionscript, it provides the character keys for all the keys on the QWERTY keyboard excluding those on the num-pad.

http://goo.gl/efbbZ

Geek Test

InfoWorld, a news website dedicated to the decidely geeky-side of infomation technology, has posted it’s 2010 InfoWorld Geek IQ test. 

The quiz posits 20 multiple choice questions designed to cull the average users from the decidely hard-core tech gurus.  Hint: if you were once a fan of The Big Bang Theory, but stopped watching because you found their computer jokes too rudimentary, you may score well.  But watch out, as some of the questions may serve as a history lesson to anyone born after 1990.  It’s a fun quiz, as most geeks have a sense of humor:

[InfoWorld Quiz]

iOS 4.3 Launching Next Month?

According to a source for MacStories, the next release of iOS, 4.3, will be released on December 13th. This is surprisingly close to the release of the current version, 4.2.1, which just went public this week. Of course, the current release had a few delays due to bugs, so Apple may have been thrown off schedule by quite a bit.

The update will supposedly include needed bug-fixes and code maintenance, along with support for News Corp’s tablet-only publication, “The Daily”.

News Corp. has spent the last three months assembling a newsroom that will soon be about 100 staffers strong. The Daily will launch in beta mode sometime around Christmas, and will be introduced to the public on the iPad and other tablet devices in early 2011. It is expected to cost 99 cents a week, or about $4.25 a month. It will come out — as the name suggests — seven days a week.

An update to iOS would be necessary due to a possible change to iTunes’ back-end, in order to support a new recurring subscription model, which could also affect App Store application. (Changes in code would need to be made to add the necessary API.)

Optimistically, Apple may also be using this release to introduce the long-awaited iTunes cloud music service, though there are no additional rumors of this happening at this point.

[MacStories]