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Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Intel's Atom Z6 Moorestown Chips Will Run Android and MeeGo [Processors]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5531356/intels-atom-z6-moorestown-chips-will-run-android-and-meego

Intel's Atom Z6 Moorestown Chips Will Run Android and MeeGo Intel's new Z6XX chips under the Moorestown banner will be used in devices running Android or MeeGo, Intel and Nokia's new OS that's sprung from Moblin and Maemo's loins.

Other OSes will likely be seen sporting Z6XX chips, but for now Intel's only talking about the two more recent platforms. We can expect to see it in phones, clocking up more than 1.5GHz, thrusting its sword into the throat of the mighty Snapdragon, and when used in tablets or netbooks it could go as far as 1.9GHz.

Battery life, well. 5 hours so far for web browsing, though standby time is said to be 10 days. In a briefing with Intel, TechRadar saw three-way video conferencing and the ability to play Quake 3 and 1080p video decoding demo-ed on an Aava Mobile device. [TechRadar]

Confirmed: BlackBerry two-way sync for Gmail is now live

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/confirmed-blackberry-two-way-sync-for-gmail-is-now-live/

We've just heard from the boys and girls at RIM that the company did, in fact, deploy the long-awaited two-way Gmail synchronization capability to North American BIS users this week. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means that if you've got a BlackBerry on any North American carrier that isn't going through BES, Gmail should behave more like it should -- deleted items will disappear from your phone, emails read elsewhere will show up as read on the device, and you'll have access to all of your sent items. Oh, and you can create and delete labels from the comfort of your QWERTY thumb board, too, which is a sweet deal. Sure, the feature might be literally years late as far as we're concerned -- but hey, better late than never.

Confirmed: BlackBerry two-way sync for Gmail is now live originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe shows off prototype Android tablet running Air and Flash 'flawlessly' (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/adobe-shows-off-prototype-android-tablet-running-air-and-flash/

Well, here's something of a surprise. In addition to demonstrating Flash running on phones like the Nexus One and Palm Pre at the now-happening Web 2.0 Expo, Adobe also has a prototype Android tablet of some sort on hand that, according to Zedomax, runs Flash and Air apps "flawlessly." Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any details at all on the tablet itself, and judging from the looks of things, it is a prototype in the truest sense of the word (check out the other shot after the break). It does seem to deliver the goods when it comes to Air and Flash, however, with it able to run Wired's Air-based magazine app and play YouTube videos without so much as a hiccup, although we'd definitely like to see it in a few more taxing situations. See for yourself in a pair of all too brief videos after the break.

Continue reading Adobe shows off prototype Android tablet running Air and Flash 'flawlessly' (video)

Adobe shows off prototype Android tablet running Air and Flash 'flawlessly' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 20:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kin One and Two review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/kin-one-and-two-review/

Make no mistake: the Kin One and Two are coming into the world as the black sheep of the phone industry, and Microsoft would have it no other way. Straddling the fence somewhere between a dedicated smartphone and high-spec featurephone, they've been tricky to understand since the day they were first leaked (even Microsoft seemed unsure of what the devices meant until very recently). Billed as a Gen-Y (the "upload generation") social networking tool -- and sold in advertisements as the gateway to the time of your young, freewheeling life -- the Kin phones have admittedly been something of head-scratcher to those of us in the gadget world. Built atop a core similar (but not identical) to the Windows Phone 7 devices coming later this year, manufactured by Sharp, and tied into partnerships with Verizon and Vodafone, the phones dangerously preempt Microsoft's reemergence into the smartphone market. Hell, they're even called Windows Phones. But the One and Two aren't like any Windows Phones you've ever seen. With stripped-down interfaces, deep social networking integration, and a focus on very particular type of user, Microsoft is aiming for something altogether different with Kin. So do these devices deliver on that unique, social experience that Redmond has been selling, or does this experiment fall flat? We've taken both handsets for a spin, and we've got all the answers in our full review... so read on to find out!

Gallery: Kin One and Two review

Continue reading Microsoft Kin One and Two review

Microsoft Kin One and Two review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel reaches for the 'smartphone zone' with Moorestown-based Atom Z6, comes up shorthanded

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/intel-reaches-for-the-smartphone-zone-with-moorestown-based-at/

We've seen the future of Intel's mobile platform, and it isn't all roses and sunshine. Three years after the chipmaker told us Moorestown would reduce Atom's energy consumption by a factor of 20, company execs told us earlier today that they've more than reached that goal with the new Z6xx series. Problem is, in the smartphone realm Intel's competitors haven't been sitting idle; according to one of Chipzilla's cantaloupe-and-magenta bar charts, it seems the company has merely caught up in terms of battery life. That's not to say the chips aren't worlds better than previous Atoms -- Intel sees 1.5GHz smartphone processors that slay Snapdragons and up to 1.9GHz in a tablet PC variety -- but 5 hours of web browsing is most decidedly not the 24 hours of productivity Intel previously promised. Besides, who knows: Qualcomm also has a 1.5GHz SoC in the works, though it may not be available by the time Intel's chips ship in the second half of the year.

None of this is to say that Intel won't continue to dominate in the netbook marketplace -- we shudder to think at the potential when combining a nice, chunky battery with Intel's nearly leakproof new chips, and perhaps a small serving of switchable graphics while we're at it. But without a single new MID or smartphone to show us this morning -- Aava Mobile and OpenPeak's offerings seemed unchanged from our previous encounters -- we're not sure if the company's other mobile ambitions have any sway. Not technical enough of a discussion for you? Peruse our gallery for the nitty-gritty.

Gallery: Highlights from Intel's Atom Z6xx briefing