But what’s most unique about this app is the way it reformats the text for the small screen. The “floating text” reading experience, which gives the app its name, reflows text originally formatted for the Web for better reading on mobile devices.

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“Floating” Text Makes the Web Easy to Read on Mobile

This floating text experience has its roots in the technology Scribd introduced last year, when it began offering a way to convert Adobe PDF documents into HTML5. At the time, the company learned a lot about to transform and rearrange text from one format and one type of interface to another.

In the new native iPhone app called Float, the team leveraged that expertise so that you can now zoom in on text using pinch gestures, and then see that text automatically reflowed for that particular zoom level. You can also scroll left or right in the app, as you would with a book or magazine.

Content Sources

The content in Float comes from over 150 websites, including The Associated Press, Fortune, CNET, HuffingtonPost, Engadget, Entertainment Weekly and People, but it also comes from the information your friends are sharing on social sites like Facebook, Twitter and, of course, Scribd. And you can share content from the app back to those same sites, too.

A special browser bookmarklet lets you save items you find online for later reading on Float.com or within the iPhone app.

A Unique Mobile Reading Experience

Does the idea of yet another “social reading” app leave you dry? This is, after all, a crowded space – filled with apps like Pulse and Flipboard and others like them. But Scribd says its key differentiating factor is its focus on the reading experience, particularly the small screens of smartphones. In addition to the reformatted text, Float offers an Instagram-like “reading styles” option which lets you choose between different formats that work better for different users, like e-ink, high contrast as well as fun ones like “Gutenberg,” because, well, just because.

The app itself exists in a unique niche – somewhere in between the social news readers and the “Read It Later’s” or Instapaper’s of the news consumption world.

In the future, Scribd will look at different business models to aid its publishers – for example, offering them the opportunity to insert ads into the articles in a better format than is typically possible on mobile. It will also attempt to bring in premium publishers offering subscriptions, and is now in talks with newspapers interested in exploring that option.

At launch, Float is available for the iPhone and Web only, but an iPad app and Android version will launch this fall. You can give Float a try for yourself, here.

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When Microsoft rolls out its Mango operating system for Windows Phone 7 this fall, the company will debut a new web-based version of its Windows Phone Marketplace at the same time, according to Microsoft’s Windows Phone Developer Blog.

The web-based Marketplace will let users select and buy any of the platform’s 17,000 apps on a web browser and then send them directly to their Windows phones over the air.

When clarifying the service to Engadget, Microsoft said it expects most customers to download apps to a Windows phone over the air, but that if the Marketplace service is not activated on a cellphone, it will use SMS to turn on the over-the-air app service before software is downloaded and installed.

Microsoft added that users will also have the capability of sending themselves an email with a link to the app, but the company expects most users will instead let the apps install in the background.

The Mango operating system aims to make cellphones “smarter and easier,” focusing on efficient multitasking, enhanced cloud integration and better platform tools for developers.

More About: apps, mango, marketplace, microsoft, web-based marketplace, windows phone

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WordPress has a perfectly adequate commenting system built-in. But it can quickly grow unwieldy and commenting can take up a lot of system resources if you run a high-volume site.

That’s why alternative commenting systems such as Disqus (recently integrated on WDD) and Intense Debate have been developed.

They handle your comments for you, making it easier to moderate and manage comments, and to view analytics related to blog comments.

Below we’ve taken a look at five major commenting systems available for WordPress (all are also available for other platforms).

We’ve also covered a few interesting alternative commenting systems and methods that you might want to look into.

Disqus

Disqus is one of the most popular commenting systems out there, with more than 200 million users. It’s used by sites like CNN, TechCrunch, Engadget, and IGN, among others. It can be integrated with WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Drupal and other CMSs.

The Disqus Core Platform is free (and will remain so). If you need additional features, like analytics, realtime updating, moderation reports, the advanced theme editor, partner API access, or dedicated servers for high-volume sites, Plus, Professional, and VIP plans are available (for $19/month, $199/month, or starting at $999/month, respectively).

Features

• Realtime comments
• Mobile commenting
• Notification and reply system
• Inline media embedding
• Social integration, including liking and sharing
• Community profiles
• Moderation tools, including blacklists and whitelists
• Import and export tools
• Customizable themes

Intense Debate

Intense Debate, developed by Automattic, is used by sites like Dumb Little Man and Laughing Squid, and can be integrated with WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, TypePad, or any other site or CMS. Because it’s built by Automattic, you can sign up with your existing WordPress.com account.

Features

• Comment threading
• Commenter profiles
• Plugins API
• Moderation/blacklisting
• Reply-By-Email, including moderation by email
• Works with OpenID
• Comment voting and reputation points
• Twitter and Facebook Connect integration

Echo

Echo is an enterprise-level Javascript commenting system. It’s used by sites like NyMag.com and the Washington Post. It can be integrated into any site that supports Javascript (including WordPress, Tumblr, and other CMSs and blogging platforms). Case studies can be viewed on their website. No information on pricing is available on their site.

Features

• Enterprise-level system, designed to handle large traffic and engagement spikes
• Real-time comments
• White label
• Fully customizable in terms of look, feel, and even behavior
• Support for social media sign-ons
• Full analytics
• Support for pre-moderation and post-moderation, user bans, and more
• Can be integrated on any site with Javascript

coComment

coComment is a cross between a social network and a commenting system. Integrating coComment is simple, and there are a couple of options available (one self-hosted, and one integrated with the “CoCo Bar”).

Features

• Customizable themes
• Pre-defined skins
• Moderation and spam-prevention options, including Captcha
• Video commenting support
• Users can track their comments across any site using coComment

Livefyre

LiveFyre is a real-time commenting system built around the “social web”. Your readers can access their entire social network right from your site, and take advantage of social networking features from within your content. It’s used by NewsGrange, FYI Living, The Sociable, Spin Sucks, and thousands of other sites.

Features

• Live commenting
• Intelligent moderation tools, including ban and white-lists and community flagging
• User ratings and comment voting
• Nested replies
• The ability to tag friends on social networks within comments
• Social sharing and social media syncing
• Single sign-on
• Mobile-specific interface

Facebook Comments

In March, Facebook launched a new commenting system that can be integrated into any site. Users on your site can post comments using their Facebook identity, meaning the vast majority of people would be commenting under their real identity. There are a number of pros and cons to this system. (TechCrunch also has a good overview of the pros and cons.)

Pros

• Visitors are signed-in automatically if they’re logged into Facebook
• The use of real identities means less trolling
• Comments are automatically posted to the person’s Facebook account, which means more exposure for your content

Cons

• Replies to your newsfeed items by your friends are automatically posted to the originating site (which might be good for site owners, but bad for users)
• Must have a Facebook account to use (there’s no support for Google IDs or Twitter, though you could run FB Comments in conjunction with regular WordPress comments)
• No back-ups means getting your comments out of Facebook if you want to switch commenting systems at a later date is tricky.

Resources for integrating Facebook comments

There are some great tutorials and plugins for getting Facebook comments up and running on your blog. Here are a couple:

Facebook Comments for WordPress – Also works with Yahoo! accounts. Comment box can be styled to match your site’s theme. Upcoming features will include a backup method.

How to add the New Facebook Comment System to WordPress Blog – A brief tutorial for adding the Comment System without plugins.

More interesting comment systems

CommentLuv is a simple WordPress or Blogger plugin that rewards your commenters by adding a titled link to their most recent blog post or tweet at the end of their comment (based on their site URL). Commenters can also sign up for CommentLuv and include even more links in their profiles.

Digress.it is a WP plugin that let’s users leave paragraph-level comment threads in the margins of a page. It makes it easier to comment on specifics within a blog post (especially a longer post).

MCEngine (“The micro-comment engine”) let’s users leave comments on paragraph and smaller blocks of content in your blog posts. It’s built on jQuery, with a comment form that slides in and out of view. It’s perfect for leaving corrections or clarifications on blog posts, or for annotating longer documents.

Written exclusively for WDD by Cameron Chapman.

What’s your favorite WordPress commenting system or plugin? Let us know in the comments!

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Engadget is reporting that a trusted source has informed them that Nintendo’s little white console will be dropping $50, from $200 to $150 soon.  They report that the date for the price drop will most likely be May 15th.  The last universal price cut on the Wii was way back in September of 2009, when the price also dropped $50, from $250 to $200.

Popularity of the Wii console has diminished for the past few years.  The drop-off has been steady, with the console selling over 10 million units in 2008, down to 9 million in 2009 and most recently 7 million in 2010.  Most recently, Microsoft’s Xbox sales beat the Wii by nearly 100,000 units in February, according to CNET.

Last year, Nintendo partnered with the American Heart Association to promote healthy living through video-game-exercise.  Their seal of approval appeared on Wii consoles,  Wii Sports Resort, and Wii Fit.  This writer definitively links does not want to correlate the declining Wii sales to the fact that Americans are fat and lazy.

Adding fuel to the rumor, GoNintendo has posted a leaked internal price sheet from Kmart that also has the new Wii price set at $149.99.

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Engadget is reporting that a trusted source has informed them that Nintendo’s little white console will be dropping $50, from $200 to $150 soon.  They report that the date for the price drop will most likely be May 15th.  The last universal price cut on the Wii was way back in September of 2009, when the price also dropped $50, from $250 to $200.

Popularity of the Wii console has diminished for the past few years.  The drop-off has been steady, with the console selling over 10 million units in 2008, down to 9 million in 2009 and most recently 7 million in 2010.  Most recently, Microsoft’s Xbox sales beat the Wii by nearly 100,000 units in February, according to CNET.

Last year, Nintendo partnered with the American Heart Association to promote healthy living through video-game-exercise.  Their seal of approval appeared on Wii consoles,  Wii Sports Resort, and Wii Fit.  This writer definitively links does not want to correlate the declining Wii sales to the fact that Americans are fat and lazy.

Adding fuel to the rumor, GoNintendo has posted a leaked internal price sheet from Kmart that also has the new Wii price set at $149.99.

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After nearly four years at Engadget, it’s time to make my exit. There are things I’m after and challenges I want to take on that just don’t fit with my day-to-day schedule here, so off I go.

I didn’t make this decision lightly. The time I’ve spent here has been — without question — the most amazing, rewarding, and just insanely fun period of my life. And I like to think I’ve had some pretty good times. The Engadget staff is easily the greatest collection of human beings I’ve ever encountered, and they’ve made waking up and freaking out over tech news for 12 to 18 hours a day into basically a party. I’ve never worked so hard or had so much fun doing it. I don’t use religious terms very often, but if there’s such a thing as being blessed, I would say the opportunity I had to work with these people certainly made me feel that way.

…

Don’t worry though, Engadget is going to keep doing what it does best: being awesome. We have an amazing staff of senior editors and writers that will keep the machine chugging along (and growing!) for years to come. My friend and our editorial director Josh Fruhlinger will be taking on a bigger role in our day-to-day during the transition, and I won’t be completely disappearing from the site — I’ll stay on as editor-at-large, to advise and direct when necessary. I’ll also be sticking around to host more episodes of the Engadget Show, so you can continue to get your fix (if you’re into nerdy video shows about gadgets and technology, that is).

Read the whole thing here.

There have been a lot of changes at AOL since the company announced its acquisition of the Huffington Post. Last week, the company announced a new round of layoffs.

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Joshua Topolsky, editor in chief of Engadget, has just announced that he is leaving the popular AOL-owned technology news site.

Topolsky has been with Engadget for nearly four years and has held the role of editor in chief since 2008. According to Kara Swisher at All Things D, managing editor Nilay Patel is also on his way out.

These departures come just two days after AOL announced the layoffs of 900 employees — including 200 editorial staffers — as part of its restructuring and re-organization process in the wake of its acquisition of the Huffington Post.

According to Swisher, Topolsky’s decision was not related to The Huffington Post deal — in fact — Arianna Huffington tried to persuade Topolsky to stay. It appears, however, that some of the same issues that saw the departure of associate editors Paul Miller and Ross Miller back in February — notably issues over the so-called “AOL Way” and the editorial direction of Engadget’s parent company — may have driven the latest departures.

In a blog post announcing his exit, Topolsky says that he won’t be “leaving the industry or the news game” and that he has a “few fantasy projects in mind.” Topolsky also writes that he will continue on in a role as editor-at-large and will be hosting a few more episodes of the Engadget Show.

Historically — AOL has been very hands-off in its dealings with Engadget. If that policy has changed (which remains unclear), more departures might be on their way.

More About: aol, engadget, joshua topolsky

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If you’re heading to Austin, Texas, for Hipster Spring Break (SXSW Music, as opposed to Geek Spring Break, SXSW Interactive), and are feeling a bit at sea when it comes to finding info about bands, never you fret. RCRD LBL has partnered with Foursquare to bring you info about bands, free downloads and more music-y goodness.

If you’re not familiar, RCRD LBL is a curated site that launched as a joint venture between Downtown Music LLC (Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids, Santigold) and Peter Rojas (Engadget, Gizmodo, Weblogs, Inc.), featuring music that the site’s editors think is catching on or will be catching on soon.

During SXSW Music (March 16-20), music fans who follow RCRD LBL’s Foursquare brand page and check in at certain venues (click here for more info on that) will get info on shows, free music and the chance to win an iPad 2 (no queuing up, folks!).

RCRD LBL’s Foursquare partnership is just one of many ways you can navigate the musical jungle that is SXSW. Keep an eye on Mashable for even more methods of macheteing through the Texas undergrowth in the coming days!

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Bliz

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To first discuss who’s supposed to be safe: employees of Engadget and TechCrunch should all be left alone, as Arianna Huffington said in an interview with Beet.TV that she “won’t mess” with them.

Also, if it’s of any comfort to anyone, Armstrong, who said at the PaidContent 2011 Conference that his father had once been laid off, did at least promise, “[W]e’ll do it thoughtfully.”

As for some of the people who could be at greatest risk, the Times of India reported this morning, “There is a buzz that AOL India is about to lay off people.  Some say the scale of layoffs would be substantial.”

Not much else is known for sure.  AOL’s supposed to see $20 million in savings thanks to the acquisition, but the company hasn’t discussed the details of where all that money will come from.

If we can confirm how many people or which departments will be affected, we’ll be sure to report those facts later.

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To first discuss who’s supposed to be safe: employees of Engadget and TechCrunch should all be left alone, as Arianna Huffington said in an interview with Beet.TV that she “won’t mess” with them.

Also, if it’s of any comfort to anyone, Armstrong, who said at the PaidContent 2011 Conference that his father had once been laid off, did at least promise, “[W]e’ll do it thoughtfully.”

As for some of the people who could be at greatest risk, the Times of India reported this morning, “There is a buzz that AOL India is about to lay off people.  Some say the scale of layoffs would be substantial.”

Not much else is known for sure.  AOL’s supposed to see $20 million in savings thanks to the acquisition, but the company hasn’t discussed the details of where all that money will come from.

If we can confirm how many people or which departments will be affected, we’ll be sure to report those facts later.

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Apple introduced the iPad 2 today, and as CEO Steve Jobs appeared on stage, he said this new model is not a tweaked or marginally improved piece of hardware, but a completely new design.

Under the hood is what Apple calls a “dramatically faster” processor, Apple’s custom-designed 1GHz dual-core A5 chip that uses the same amount of power as its predecessor, the A4, but it’s twice as fast, and Apple says its graphics processing is “up to nine times faster.” Job says that despite that new power, battery life will be the same at 10 hours.

Jobs said the iPad 2 is 33% thinner than the first iPad, and a mere 8.8mm thick (down from 13.4mm of the original iPad) — thinner even than the iPhone 4. It’s also lighter, 1.3 lb as opposed to the 1.5 lb weight of its predecessor. There will be both of front and rear facing cameras on board, with the back camera capable of video recording at 720p at 30 frames per second, and the front camera is a VGA quality camera for videoconferencing.

Along with the new hardware, Apple will offer a $39 HDMI adapter that will allow users to output 1080p video in a mirrored configuration. That will allow users to watch iPad content on an HDTV while still viewing that same content on the iPad’s screen (which is the same as its predecessor at 1024 x 768 pixels).

Ordering starts for the iPad 2 in both white and black on March 11 in the U.S. (March 25 in 26 more countries). It’ll be offered in 16GB, 32GB of 64GB models, either with Wi-Fi or both Wi-Fi and 3G, all for the same prices of the original iPad:

Full iPad 2 specs from Apple here.

Images courtesy Engadget and Macworld

More About: apple, iOS, iPad 2, steve jobs

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Apple introduced the iPad 2 today, and as CEO Steve Jobs appeared on stage, he said this new model is not a tweaked or marginally improved piece of hardware, but a completely new design.

Under the hood is what Apple calls a “dramatically faster” processor, Apple’s custom-designed 1GHz dual-core A5 chip that uses the same amount of power as its predecessor, the A4, but it’s twice as fast, and Apple says its graphics processing is “up to nine times faster.” Job says that despite that new power, battery life will be the same at 10 hours.

Jobs said the iPad 2 is 33% thinner than the first iPad, and a mere 8.8mm thick (down from 13.4mm of the original iPad) — thinner even than the iPhone 4. It’s also lighter, 1.3 lb as opposed to the 1.5 lb weight of its predecessor. There will be both of front and rear facing cameras on board, with the back camera capable of video recording at 720p at 30 frames per second, and the front camera is a VGA quality camera for videoconferencing.

Along with the new hardware, Apple will offer a $39 HDMI adapter that will allow users to output 1080p video in a mirrored configuration. That will allow users to watch iPad content on an HDTV while still viewing that same content on the iPad’s screen (which is the same as its predecessor at 1024 x 768 pixels).

Ordering starts for the iPad 2 in both white and black on March 11 in the U.S. (March 25 in 26 more countries). It’ll be offered in 16GB, 32GB of 64GB models, either with Wi-Fi or both Wi-Fi and 3G, all for the same prices of the original iPad:

Full iPad 2 specs from Apple here.

Images courtesy Engadget and Macworld

More About: apple, iOS, iPad 2, steve jobs

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"I’d love to be able to keep doing this forever, but unfortunately Engadget is owned by AOL, and AOL has proved an unwilling partner in this site’s evolution," he wrote on his personal blog. "It doesn’t take a veteran of the publishing world to realize that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content. As detailed in the ‘AOL Way,’ and borne out in personal experience, AOL sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against. That might make good business sense (though I doubt it), but it doesn’t promote good journalism or even good entertainment, and it doesn’t allow an ambitious team like the one I know and love at Engadget to thrive."

Now, Engadget has lost another editor in Ross Miller, who says "The AOL Way" is not his only reason for leaving, but it certainly appears to be part of it. 

Ross Miller wrote, "As for the reasons why, I won’t get too far into it. The AOL Way isn’t the sole reason, but it’s certainly a catalyst, a symptom of concerns I’ve had for a while. I worry about the long-term viability of what I foresee is the future business model. How our brand will be affected and how much control we’ll maintain over it. If we can continue to nurture the talent without burning them out. If we can get the needed resources to expand on our ideas. (Update: Just to be clear, Engadget is not currently subject to the AOL Way, and I’m not sure it ever will be. It’s not the driving reason behind why I left.)"

Engadget Editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky tweeted:

The AOL Way, was exposed in an article at Business Insider recently, when an internal memo was leaked. The AOL Way is a document the company is using to train editors, telling them to decide what topics to cover based on traffic potential, revenue potential, edit quality, and turn-around time. The whole thing can be seen here.

Clearly, The AOL Way has been a huge PR disaster for the company. Even if Engadget isn’t part of it, the fact that Engadget is so adamantly distancing itself from it, kind of gives off the impression of a rocky relationship between the publication and its owners. 

AOL of course announced the acquisition of The Huffington Post earlier this month, appointing Arianna Huffington Editor-in-Chief of all AOL content. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

As part of the transaction, Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include all Huffington Post and AOL content, including Engadget, TechCrunch, Moviefone, MapQuest, Black Voices, PopEater, AOL Music, AOL Latino, AutoBlog, Patch, StyleList, and more. (emphasis added)

As previously noted, these Engadget losses do not represent the first time there has been a little turbulence between AOL and its content producers. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington recently implied that AOL may have been responsible for an annoying interstitial ad that appeared on that blog. The fact that he wrote a post about that (after a public feud with Engadget) seemed to indicate that he was not worried about stepping on his parent company’s toes.   

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AOL’s strategy appears to be taking its toll on some of its content producers. Engadget Editor Paul Miller announced his resignation last night, and left no room for speculation about the reason. 

On his personal blog, Miller wrote, "I’d love to be able to keep doing this forever, but unfortunately Engadget is owned by AOL, and AOL has proved an unwilling partner in this site’s evolution. It doesn’t take a veteran of the publishing world to realize that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content. As detailed in the ‘AOL Way,’ and borne out in personal experience, AOL sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against. That might make good business sense (though I doubt it), but it doesn’t promote good journalism or even good entertainment, and it doesn’t allow an ambitious team like the one I know and love at Engadget to thrive."

This will only fuel the fire of criticism of AOL and The Huffington Post no doubt. Upon that acquisition, AOL appointed HuffPo’s Arianna Huffington editor-in-chief of all of AOL’s content properties. 

Miller’s criticism of AOL isn’t the first we’ve seen from its internal content producers. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington (who interestingly enough also had a separate blog war with Engadget not too long ago) recently suggested that AOL could have been responsible for an annoying interstitial ad that appeared on that blog. 

It will be interesting to see if more of AOL’s content producers follow Miller’s lead, or speak out against the company. 

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Yet despite this, one company is reaping almost all of the rewards: Apple.

The concept of a tablet computing device isn’t new, so it would be foolish to chalk Apple’s dominance of this nascent market up to first-mover advantage. The real reason for Apple’s lead with the iPad is simple: no other technology company is capable of convincing consumers that they need a new type of computing device quite like Apple.

But this doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for competition. Case in point: HP’s new TouchPad, which the company officially introduced to the world yesterday. It’s HP’s second tablet device. The first, the HP Slate 500, is geared towards business users and runs Windows 7.

The TouchPad more closely resembles the iPad on the outside; it’s roughly the same size, for instance. But on the inside, there are some key differences: it comes with a gyroscope, a webcam and support for multi-tasking. The TouchPad is also the first HP tablet that is running on webOS, which HP got as part of its acquisition of Palm. Engadget says “the software UI we’re seeing looks downright luscious,” and there’s support for Flash.

If the initial reviews and impressions are any indication, it looks like HP may have a winner on its hands, and the iPad may have some worthy competition. But it’s far too early to state with any certainty that the TouchPad will be a viable iPad contender.

The Palm Pre seemed to stack up well against the iPhone when it was released, and even though we’re talking about HP here, not Palm, what the tech media likes and what consumers actually buy can be two very different things.

There are also plenty of unknowns. Pricing hasn’t yet been revealed, and that will naturally have a huge impact on sales. There are far fewer apps for webOS, which may complicate HP’s consumer push. And with the iPad 2 coming, we may find that some of the TouchPad’s features don’t look nearly so impressive.

From this perspective, we may find that the TouchPad, and webOS, are greater competition to Android devices and Android than they are to the iPad and iOS, but the good news overall is that companies like HP are in it to win it, and they have the money and technical resources to give other players in the tablet market a run for their money.

That doesn’t mean that Apple still won’t simply step on the gas and leave them all in the dust, but it should help propel the tablet space to new heights.

Photo credit: Robert Scoble via Flickr.

As much as we all like to hear about advanced cameras, more memory and faster processors in upcoming tablets, there’s one very important feature – especially to business customers – that’s been lacking from Android tablets so far: data encryption.

This is about to change with Android 3.0, a.k.a. Honeycomb, which brings the option to encrypt all data on the tablet and protect it with a password.

Engadget spotted the option on the Motorola Xoom, but Google claims it’s not a Motorola exclusive, which means it’ll be available on most upcoming Honeycomb-based tablets. The description of the option (see image below) claims you can “encrypt your accounts, settings, downloaded applications and their data, media and other files”.

The encryption process takes an hour or more, but there are still many unknowns about the feature; We don’t know what crypto standard is used for encryption (the iPad uses 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption) and if encrypting the data will slow down your tablet and drain more battery in everyday usage.

Image courtesy of Engadget.

More About: android, android 3.0, data encryption, Google, honeycomb, Motorola, motorola xoom

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More details are surfacing about the next generation of iPhone and iPad, including that both devices will feature Qualcomm chipsets and that the iPad 2 will have an SD card slot.

The Verizon iPhone 4 utilizes a Qualcomm chipset instead of the Infereon version used in the AT&T/GSM iPhone in order to connect to Verizon’s CDMA network. However, Engadget reports that the Verizon iPhone 4 is just the first of many Apple devices that will use Qualcomm as its primary chipset.

Both the iPhone 5 and the iPad 2 will utilize a dual CDMA/GSM chipset from Qualcomm, assuring that both devices work on Verizon and AT&T simultaneously. There won’t be a need for two different versions of the same device.

According to Engadget‘s sources, the new iPad will be slimmer and sleeker, but will retain its 10-inch screen. It will have two cameras (something that we’ve often heard) and a “super high resolution” screen much like the Retina Display in the iPhone 4, though it won’t have the same pixel density.

The most surprising revelation though is that the iPad 2 will have an SD card slot built into the device. And contrary to previous reports, it will not have a USB port. Still, the ability to load and unload media and documents via a traditional SD card is a surprising but welcomed addition. The iPad is on track for an April release, once again in line with previous reports.

There is no word about what new additions will be made to the iPhone 5, but it is going once again be a complete redesign of the device. It will run on Apple’s A5 multi-core CPU. One thing it won’t have is support for 4G LTE connections, though.

While we have to classify all of this information as unconfirmed rumors, all of this information lines up with previous leaks and reports about Apple’s upcoming 2011 line of iOS devices. We want to stress though that Apple still has a few months before the release of either device, so they could easily change designs or features before their eventual releases.

More About: apple, iOS, ipad, iPad 2, iphone, iphone 4, iPhone 5, qualcomm, trending

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It began with the announcement from Apple and Verizon that the iPhone would be available for Verizon subscribers next month. One of the big draws to the Verizon version was that it could serve as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot that would allow users to connect up to five devices. Then it was confirmed that this would actually be a feature for all iPhones with the release of the next version of iOS – iOS 4.3. 

Now, Apple has gone ahead and released the beta version of iOS 4.3 to developers. The release reportedly brings new multitouch gestures, AirPlay video support to apps, the aforementioned hotspot feature,  a new FaceTime icon, and full screen iAd banners. 

(Video Via MacStories)

MacRumors found a setting for a new feature called Find my Friends. "The obvious interpretation is that Apple may be looking to offer a location-based friend-finding service like Loopt and Google Latitude," writes Arnold Kim.

Engadget notes that the Photos app has gained new AirPlay functionality for photos and videos, and that there’s a "slightly tweaked camera shutter sound, as well as bigger app icons in the App Store’s Update menu."

9to5Mac found some files in the latest SDK indicating that the next-generation iPad will have a camera.

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It’s time for our best news of this week. We have a lot of graphic and web design, a bit of architecture, ads, tech news, awesome reads and other crazy stuff! So take a look at the links we’ve selected for your inspiration and to keep you updated about what’s going on out there!

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We want to give a big thanks to our sponsors:
Wix, Taste of Ink Studios, Shutterstock,W3-Markup, P2H.COM, VectorStock™, inkd, Site24x7, Skwibble and SiteGrinder. A special mention to Media Temple for the excellent service and support with Abduzeedo!

You can keep sending me your suggestions via Twitter twitter.com/FabianoMe or twitter.com/abduzeedo, and include #abdz_best in the message.

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Featured set of the week from WeGraphics:

Sketchbook Swirls and Curls

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Friday 01/07

Engadget interviews 50 Cent: inside the mind of a hip-hop mogul techie

Ford unveils Focus Electric with MyFord Mobile smartphone integration

More iPad 2 rumors. Kevin Rose tells us what we already knew.

Quora Answers The Question: How Will You Avoid Becoming Yahoo Answers?

Hulu Plus is Coming to Android

Ask Unclutterer: Tips for moving in together

Vectorfunk Rorschach Poster Series. A…

Casa Cedeira – MYCC

I Shot The Serif / Vote for your favourite Sans-Serif typeface

DeadBuryDead

A Starbucks Polemical New logo

Duchesse – 20 bewitching photographies by Julie de Waroquier

30 Best Prints of 2010

Lego

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 hours of special features, available for preorder now (video)

LinkedIn reportedly preparing to go public this year

Skype acquires Qik, a video streaming service for a rumored $150 million

Thursday 01/06

4 things Apple needs to improve in the Mac App Store

Twitter For Mac Is Like Massively Multiplayer IM — Will It Alter Twitter Itself?

Apple Goes After The Parody @CeoSteveJobs Twitter Account

1 million apps downloaded from the Mac App Store in 24 hours

Inspiring Web Design

Why the Mac App Store Sucks [Downloads]

Victorinox Swiss Army debuts Slim, Slim Duo and Secure SSD USB drives, we go hands-on

Official Google Video Preview Of Android 3.0 Spied Briefly

Apple’s Mac App Store Opens With More Than 1,000 Apps

A Watch for Automotive Enthusiasts

AD Classics: Cathedral of Brasilia / Oscar Niemeyer

Barnes and Noble launches Nook kids iPad app

Microsoft Touch Mouse unveiled, available for $80 in June

Google shows off Android 3.0, the ‘Entirely for Tablet’ Honeycomb (video)

Drupal 7 Released, With Improved UI and Semantic Technology

7 Reasons Quora Could Be The Breakout Star of 2011

Wednesday 01/05

How Restaurants are using the iPad

Meet the LG Optimus Black, the “world’s thinnest smartphone”

Asus Announces A Family Of Upcoming Tablets and Slates

Deal Of A Lifetime: First Marriage Proposal On Groupon

Guinness – Dark Life

7 Cheap and Easy Home Office Improvements

For Sale: The House From Ferris Bueller

Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Urban Biophillic Pavilion / studio d’ARC

Advertising: Clever Automobile Ads

Cooper & Ford

Rio 2016 Polemical logo

Tuesday 01/04

The art and science of color forecasting

Web Design Predictions for 2011

O making of de “TRON: Legacy”

How to create accessible web app forms

Design a futuristic 2011 wallpaper

iPhone app Turns Your Daily Activities Into Stats

Are you a business or a company?

Why mobile apps will get you out of the house in 2011

Apple: Actually, $50 Billion Isn’t Cool Either. You Know What’s Cool? $300 Billion.

Twitter And Facebook Really Are Killing RSS (At Least For TechCrunch Visitors)

Monday 01/03

Dear Facebook, We Need Fun Photo Filters Now

Winnipeg Library Addition / Patkau Architects and LM Architectural Group

Casa Pez – Guz Architects

33 of Amazing and inspiring typography designs

Webkit Font Smoothing

35 New Clean & Minimalist Websites to Inspire You

The Creative Workspace: Kicking Cubicles to the Curb

The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People

Carlsberg: O (provável) melhor anúncio do mundo

Seven Technologies That Will Rock 2011

Facebook raises $500 million from Goldman Sachs; has $50 billion valuation

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Continue reading: Kin Studio Closing Under Verizon [As Verizon Relaunches the Kin As A Featurephone, They Remove The Smartphone Functionality From The Device]

1 Comment | View latest news in Mobile/Cell Phones | TFTS Home.

TFTS Holiday Gift Guide 2010 | HOT POST: Motorola Droid X Android 2.3.340 (Gingerbread?) Update Hitting Soon?

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

1. Verizon Launches Mobile Recovery For Smartphone Users With Total Equipment Coverage [Verizon Mobile Recovery Offers GPS Device Tracking, Remote Data Wipe, Remote Device Locking & More] by Robert Nelson
2. Microsoft Uses Sixaxis To Remove Image Shake In Cameras [Microsoft's Sixaxis Image Stabilization Not Perfect, Closing In] by Steve Andersen
3. Samsung Intensity II Coming To Verizon, Sold At Best Buy [Text-Heavy Featurephone From Verizon Will Be Sold For $1, Features 2-megapixel Camera] by Kevin Schram
4. Verizon Wireless Stores Closing Early This Sunday [Early Store Closing Leads To Tons Of Rumors - CMDA iPhone, Droid X, Layoffs and More] by Kevin Schram

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Continue reading: PlayStation Phone Teased By Sony Ericssson CEO [The Famous Bert Nordberg Teases Possibility Of The PSP Phone To Newspaper, Possibly Confirming The Device?]

Comment | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | Mobile/Cell Phones | TFTS Home.

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL ADVISORIES | HOT POST: The Top Six Reasons Fallout 3 Is Better Than Fallout New Vegas

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

1. New PlayStation Phone Pictures, Specs & Features Uncovered; Android Smartphone Really Real? [While Sony Still Sort-of Denies the Phone, The Web Is Filled with New PlayStation Phone Details] by Chris Smith
2. PlayStation Phone “Definitely Real” Despite Sony Denial [PlayStation Phone Deemed "Real", Sony Still Mum] by Catalin Alexandru
3. Sony Says PlayStation Phone Images “Definitely Fake” [PlayStation Phone Images Fake According To Sony, PSP Phone Was Fun While It Lasted] by Catalin Alexandru
4. Kaz Hirai: PlayStation 4 Won’t Be Download-Only [Despite Famous Claims Made Some Years Back, The Next PlayStation Won't Follow PSPgo And Be Digital Media-Only] by Kevin Schram

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Microsoft’s Kin was one of the biggest failures in the mobile industry this year, having been pulled after only three months on the market. Seeing both Kin One and Kin Two come back to Verizon’s inventory is definitely a surprise, but that’s exactly what’s happening, according to a leaked Verizon Q4 road map, unearthed by PPCGeeks.

Kin One and Kin Two are listed as feature phones in the Verizon road map and will be coming without a data plan. Originally, both Kin phones had required smartphone-like data plans which, in the eyes of many users, were too steep for phones aimed primarily at teens and young adults.

The question is: are the Kins without a data plan interesting enough to make a successful comeback? Engadget has learned that Zune Pass will work over Wi-Fi even if you’re not signed up for a proper data plan, but features such as unlimited photo uploads and Loop won’t be available.

Is Verizon really hoping to rekindle interest in the Kins, or is it just trying to clear its inventory? What do you think? How well will the Kins do when they return to the market? Please, share your opinion in the comments.

[via PPCGeeks]

More About: Kin, Kin 2, microsoft, Mobile 2.0, phone, verizon

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AT&T will start selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab on November 21 for a recommended price of $649, Engadget has learned through a leaked AT&T internal document.

The price and the launch date haven’t been officially confirmed but the document and the information it contains seem legitimate. Other major U.S. mobile carriers — Verizon and T-Mobile — have already launched the device, and it’s slated to come to Sprint’s stores on November 14.

A quick rundown of the pricing for the Tab reveals that you can either get it for $599 from Verizon without a contract, or for $399 at Sprint and T-Mobile provided you sign a two-year service agreement.

At AT&T (provided the document below is genuine) you’ll be paying $649.99 without a contract, but with the same pre-paid mobile data plans you get when you purchase an iPad: 200 MB of data for $15 per month or 2 GB of data for $25 per month.

What do you think, which carrier offers the best deal? Let us know in the comments.

[via Engadget]

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More pictures of the rumored PlayStation Phone have shown up, and the device looks as sleek as ever. Details about the device’s software and Sony’s plans have also been revealed through an earnings call and sources close to the project.

But first let’s deal with the question of the device’s authenticity. When we reported on the PlayStation Phone last week, it was the culmination of a long series or rumors about an Android-powered, Sony-designed gaming device. The source for this big development was gadget blog Engadget, which simply posted pictures and details under the headline “The PlayStation Phone.”

When some gadget enthusiasts questioned whether or not the device was real, Engadget staked its reputation on the news and followed up with a claim that multiple, reliable sources very close to the project were behind the leak. Furthermore, Sony was asked about the leak in an earnings call and while its executives didn’t confirm it, they assured listeners that something similar was inevitable, and that prototypes exist.

Engadget believes this is one of those prototypes, and it acquired new photos, some of which we’ve included here. It also reports that the device’s codename is “Zeus,” and that while it runs Android, different prototypes seem to be running different versions. One prototype carries an 8 GB SD card to supplement “at least” 512 MB of internal data storage.

As we reported before, the device has a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, a touch pad, and a 5-megapixel camera. Those specs should be more than enough to play classic PlayStation games and new games alike. Here are the pics; head over to Engadget for more.

More About: entertainment, gadgets, gaming, Mobile 2.0, playstation, PlayStation Phone, PSP, smartphone, sony, Sony Ericsson, tech, trending, video games

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Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on three particular stories of interest today.

Facebook is Testing a Places-Powered Deals Service?

According to Nick O’Neill at All Facebook, Facebook is testing a new “Facebook Deals” service that is integrated into Facebook Places.

This would give businesses the ability to provide discounts and specials when a customer checks in to a physical store. Facebook has declined to comment on the purported e-mail from one of the companies testing the service, and there are some inconsistencies in the e-mail’s wording that make us less than 100% sure that this is entirely accurate. However, the idea makes an enormous amount of sense.

For more than a year, we’ve been talking about how the real potential of location-based services is at the hyper-local level. The success of companies like Groupon and the growing number of deals and sponsorships adopted by companies like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt makes it even more clear that this is a trend that is becoming more enticing by the day.

It only seems natural that Facebook would assert its social graph to offer businesses and users a synergistic experience to incentivize checkins.

NOOKcolor Processor Revealed

When the NOOKcolor was unveiled earlier this week, Barnes & Noble did a pretty solid job of laying out the technical specifications of the device, with one exception — the processor.

Engadget has confirmed that the NOOKcolor features a Texas Instruments ARM Cortex A8-based chip running at 800MHz. We still don’t know how much RAM the unit has, but coupled with an IPS-backlit capacitive touchscren and the underpinnings of Android 2.1, this $250 device just might turn out to be the Android tablet hackers and modders have dreamed of.

YouTube CEO to Step Down

WebProNews reports that YouTube co-founder and CEO Chad Hurley will be stepping down from his post and assuming an advisory role at the company. Hurley made the announcement at the F.ounders conference in Ireland.

As WebProNews notes, Hurley was the last of the YouTube co-founders to retain close ties with the company after selling it to Google for $1.65 billion. At F.ounders, Hurley said, “Right now I am in the process of transitioning into the role of adviser, stepping down, still being involved in the company but it’s given me an opportunity to work on new projects.”

Google’s Salar Kamngar has been handling much of the day-to-day business for YouTube for the past several years and he is the most likely person to assume Hurley’s position (assuming Google decides to keep the CEO spot).

Further News

• Apple Sells Out of iPhone 4 units in China — Just 10 hours after launching its Chinese online store, Apple has sold out of all iPhone 4 units in China.
• Nexus Two Reports — Count us as “dubious” on this one — but purportedly the Nexus Two will be appearing on November 8, 2010 and it will be a Samsung handset. Gizmodo claims that a source has sent them a “hands-on” report, but it appears that this might just be a Samsung Galaxy S.
• Microsoft Posts Record Earnings, Still Behind Apple – Microsoft’s latest earnings report was buoyed by strong sales of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010, however, the tech juggernaut is still losing $2 billion a year from its online ventures.
• Study Looks at When Facebook Users Are Most Active — Social media management firm Vitrue analyzed three years worth of Facebook data to gleam when users are most active on brand pages and streams.

More About: Chad Hurley, china apple stores, facebook, Facebook Places, first to know series, iphone 4, morning brief, Nexus Two, nook color, nookcolor, youtube

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Continue reading: PlayStation Phone Revealed [Images, Details Of Android Powered PlayStation Phone Hit The Web, World Is Shocked]

2 Comments | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | Mobile/Cell Phones | TFTS Home.

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

1. T-Mobile G2 Breaks Cover As Rendered Images [T-Mobile G2 Images Revealed, Showing Vanilla Android Install Instead Of Rumored Sense UI Interface] by Robert Nelson
2. Motorola Android Handset Revealed By Way Of Blurry Images, Gives New Meaning To MotoBLUR [Unknown Motorola Droid With Portrait Slider Revealed, Possibly Coming To Verizon] by Robert Nelson
3. Motorola’s Android i1/Opus One Confirmed [Pictures, Details Leak on Android-powered iDEN Smartphone with MOTOBLUR] by Kevin Schram
4. DSP Multimedia Android Based Home Phone [Next Gen DSP Android Powered Landline Phone Comes with Touchscreen, Widget and Android App Support, Looks Cool] by Andrew Tingle

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Samsung has announced that it will unveil a new Android device on November 8. Details on the invitation are sparse, but judging from the iconography, the device will be media-heavy.

Engadget has speculated that the device will be the Samsung Continuum. Based on the funnel of stock quotes in the invitation, we’re inclined to agree. The Continuum is said to feature two OLED screens, one of which is specially designed to scroll data like a ticker.

Another factor to consider is the recent arrival of a gingerbread man on Google’s campus. He stands alongside statues of Froyo and earlier builds of Android. The arrival of the gingerbread statue can indicate only one thing: The Gingerbread Android build is coming.

Could it be that Samsung will be the first to market with a mobile device running Android 2.3 Gingerbread?

More About: android, Continuum, gingerbread, OLED, samsung, samsung galaxy s, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Mobile

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Are you ready to buy desktop applications through an app store? Apple thinks you are. In the next few months, it will roll out the Mac app store, which will let Mac owners purchase desktop software apps the same way iPhone owners purchase apps for their phone. And Microsoft has plans of its own for a Windows desktop software app store.

The big question: will the app store model work on the desktop? And is the desktop even a market worth targeting?

While the iPhone/iPad App Store and platforms like Facebook are sexy, desktop
software is still a billion-dollar a year market. And whereas many of
the most developers in the App Store and Facebook make their money selling their apps for $1 or
$2, or through ads and virtual goods, many desktop software vendors
still sell their software for much more.

Of course, making millions developing desktop software isn’t a walk in the park, and that’s one of the reasons to question the potential of a Mac app store. As Engadget’s former editor Ryan Block notes:

The real issue with the desktop software market is that (unless you’re talking about productivity software) there just isn’t all that much consumers need to buy anymore. The boxed software business didn’t die because of app stores, it died because of an overabundance of great programs that are free, open, or otherwise subsidized that are available through other web or internet services. To put it another way: lately, how often have your parents bought software for their computer (that wasn’t Microsoft Office)?

Block’s points are well taken, but the desktop software business isn’t dead. It’s simply very mature and has been marginalized in some areas by the internet. But it’s possible that app stores targeting the desktop could help revitalize the desktop software market. Here are the four big reasons why:

More and more consumers are familiar with the app store model

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the prospects for a desktop app store’s success. But now that lots of consumers been exposed to the app store model, and use it as the primary means to discover and purchase software for their mobiles, it’s logical that at least some of them will be comfortable buying desktop apps in the same fashion.

The desktop is waiting for innovation

There’s a lot to like about ‘software‘ available as a service over the internet. But let’s not write off the desktop. The desktop still has plenty of advantages over the internet; there’s a lot that developers can do on the desktop that they can’t do on the internet. And when desktop software is combined with the internet, you often get the best of both worlds.

Arguably, the desktop could use some innovation, and the app store model could conceivably help it do just that. As TechCrunch’s MG Siegler observes:

[The Mac app store] may give rise to a whole new crop of small apps that otherwise might get lost in the sea of web apps — or not exist at all. You could certainly make the case that great new services like Instagram would have never existed without the iPhone App Store. Perhaps the Mac App Store will lead to developers creating new experiences and a new crop of apps as well.

If successful, desktop app stores will lure developers

Developers of desktop software may have plenty of reasons not like the app store model. To be sure, giving Apple a 30% cut of your sales isn’t immediately appealing. Nor is the possibility of having to produce low-cost software that only makes money in volume.

But developers will follow the money. If the Mac app store proves to be a viable marketplace for selling software applications, developers will participate. And they may even eventually find that having to water down their applications to be competitive price-wise is actually a good thing. After all, a lot of desktop software developers build in features that aren’t really necessary to the vast majority of their customers. If they can build simpler applications and make money doing it, there’s no reason not to be happy.

Conclusion

The success of the app store model on the desktop is certainly not guaranteed. But the model shouldn’t be written off. Software applications, and how consumers discover and use them, have changed dramatically over the past decade. Chances are how consumers discover and use them will change dramatically in the coming decade. Whether app stores play a role in that only time will tell.

Photo credit: mattk1979 via Flickr.

We were supposed to find out about LG and Samsung’s new smartphones, based on Microsoft’s upcoming mobile operating system Windows Phone 7, later today, but the specifications and images of both phones were uncovered a little earlier than expected.

Samsung Omnia 7, which showed up on Samsung’s Russian site, has a 4-inch Super AMOLED, 800×480 pixel screen and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video. It’s powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 CPU, it sports 8 GB of internal storage and it supports HSPA, as well as Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi.

Optimus 7, outed on LG’s official UK blog, has a 3.8-inch screen with 800×480 pixels, and – again – a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, which seems to be the standard for most new smartphones these days. It has 16 GB of memory, and supports Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi.

More details about both devices will surely be revealed at Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 event, but this is more than enough to satisfy our curiosity – and, admittedly, nothing out of the realm of expected.

How do you feel about these two new smartphones? Based on the leaked specifications, do you think they will be able to compete with the other high-end smartphones currently on the market? Share your opinion in the comments.

[via Samsung Russia, LG UK, SlashGear, Engadget]

More About: LG, microsoft, samsung, smartphone, windows phone 7

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For this post, we’re recommending 10 Tech Blogs Web Designers Should Be Reading. From emerging technologies that will change the web, to the best hardware for getting your work done, these blogs will keep you informed.

TECHi

Techi is an exciting platform that serves fresh daily technology news, funky new design stuff, in-depth editorial articles, and reviews. It’s maintained by a passionate collective of geeks from different backgrounds and as such we bring diversity and insight to our articles.

Mashable

Mashable is the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture.

Engadget

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics.

Ars Technica

Ars Technica specializes in original news and reviews, analysis of technology trends, and expert advice on topics ranging from the most fundamental aspects of technology to the many ways technology is helping us enjoy our world.

ReadWriteWeb

ReadWriteWeb is one of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day’s Internet industry news.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) is your source for tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.

GigaOM

TechCrunch

TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

CrunchGear

CrunchGear is a blog covering gadgets, gear and computer hardware. It is a part of Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch Network.

The Next Web

The Next Web launched as a spin off to The Next Web Conference. It’s focus is on delivering technology news with an international focus.

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Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on three particular stories of interest today:

The Wizard of Oz Gets an Anniversary Google Doodle

71 years ago today, The Wizard of Oz had its first premiere screening. Google is honoring one of the most beloved films of all-time with a special Google Doodle that mixes the “Google” lettering amongst the landscape of the Emerald City. Over at The Guardian, the writers have compiled 71 facts about Oz for its 71st birthday.

Dell Thunder Prototype Photos and Video Leak

Earlier this week, pricing and availability details for the Dell Streak were released to the public. Today, Engadget has posted some exclusive photos and videos of another Dell mobile device, the Dell Thunder. The Thunder is less tablet and more bonafide smartphone, but it sports a 4.1″ OLED display and a knockout industrial design.

Sprint Epic 4G Hits Stores August 31

Samsung is bringing variations of its Galaxy S handset to all four major U.S. wireless carriers. The Captivate from AT&T and the Vibrant from T-Mobile are already in store and now it looks like Sprint will be the next carrier to launch a Galaxy S phone.

The Sprint Epic 4G will be released on August 31 and will be priced at $250 after $100 mail-in-rebate. The device has the same internals as the other Galaxy S devices, but also has support for Sprint’s 4G network and a modified form factor. The Epic 4G will also be the only device in the Galaxy S family with a slide-out keyboard. The Epic 4G also adds an LED flash to the 5 megapixel camera, something other variations of the Galaxy S lack. The Epic 4G is available for pre-order beginning August 13, 2010 [disclosure: Sprint is a sponsor of the Morning Brief series]

Further News

• Rumors suggest that Sony Ericsson is working on a new PlayStation branded gaming phone, powered by Android 3.0 and styled like the PSP.
• The next Apple TV might be renamed iTV and include support for iOS apps and streaming iTunes content. It might also be limited to 720p playback.
• The Old Spice Guy is headed for the big screen in a major role in Tyler Perry’s next Madea film.

This series is brought to you by HTC EVO 4G, America’s first 4G phone. Only from Sprint. The “First to Know” series keeps you in the know on what’s happening now in the world of social media and technology.

More About: dell thunder, epic 4g, first to know series, galaxy s, google doodle, wizard of oz

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If rumors are true, the mobile and gaming markets are about to get a big surprise from Sony Ericsson: a PlayStation-branded gaming phone, powered by Android 3.0.

According to Engadget, Sony Ericsson is working on a hybrid mobile phone and gaming device that is a “cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go.” It supposedly includes a landscape slider complete with PSP-like controls, a touchpad in place of the joystick, a 3.7″-4.1″ screen, a 5 megapixel camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The phone will carry both the Xperia and PlayStation brands.

This is not the first time rumors have surfaced about a PlayStation phone. We first heard industry back-fence talk about such a device in March. It was supposed to be the result of collaboration between Sony’s PlayStation brand and its Sony Ericsson phone division. However, this is the first time we’ve heard that it would run on Google’s Android OS.

Engadget’s sources say that the device will run the 3.0 operating system, codename Gingerbread. It will run standard Android apps and will also include a marketplace just for Android-based games, especially ones that use the phone’s PSP-like controls. We could see classic PSP and PSX games being ported to the device via Android apps, similar to what Square-Enix have done on the iPhone. The device could be announced later this year.

For now, file this story under the “credible rumor” category. Given Apple’s domination of the mobile gaming market, it only seems logical for Sony to respond. Google would also be more than willing to help; turning Android into a legitimate gaming platform would make the OS far more competitive against Apple’s iOS and its impressive array of gaming apps.

What do you think of a PlayStation/Android phone? Is it crazy enough to work, or will it fall flat on its face? Let us know what you think.

[Img credit: Engadget]

More About: android, android 3.0, gingerbread, Google, playstation, playstation network, PSP, PSP Go, sony, Sony Ericsson, Xperia

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New rumors suggest that an upcoming refresh of the Apple TV will bring iOS app support, as well as a new name for the device.

According to Engadget, the next version of the Apple set-top box will be called the iTV. Mac history buffs will recall that this was the original name Apple announced for the device back in October of 2006; we can only assume the company has settled the trademark disputes over that name if it intends to go forward with a change.

In addition to supporting iOS applications and a long-rumored streaming iTunes service, Engadget also reports that Apple will be downgrading the video output on the device to 720p. Previous reports indicated that playback would be in 1080p, but Engadget’s sources claim the version of the A4 chip being used in iTV isn’t powerful enough to push full HD video.

On the one hand, that’s a blow to videophiles (who aren’t the target market anyway), on the other, it makes sense if only from a streaming and downloadable content perspective. The new device is rumored to only have 16GB of flash media storage, which indicates that movies and TV shows will be designed to be streamed off of other computers or Apple’s servers. While some companies are successfully pushing out 1080p streaming video (like Vudu), it’s still not the most scalable solution.

Right now it isn’t clear if the new set-top box will support current iOS apps built for the iPhone or iPad or if developers will need to specifically target the new device. With any luck, companies that already have apps on the iPad, like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and ABC, will be able to quickly bring that experience to the television screen.

We expect that Apple will be announcing the new device this fall at the company’s annual iPod event. We’ll keep you posted.

What do you think of the rumored new direction of Apple TV? Let us know!

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"A jailbreak is simply the ability to run apps and use themes and tweaks not approved by Apple," explains the site. "Jailbreaking doesn’t slow down your device or use any extra battery, and is fully reversible (just restore in iTunes). A jailbreak lets your device be how you want it."

Engadget has posted this video trying to jailbreak the phone, but some issues were encountered:

Apple recently gave the following statment to Cult of Mac:

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

Some have had problems with FaceTime and MMS after jailbreaking, but Redmond Pie offers a solution.

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Additionally, what really sets these content providers apart from each other? In order to demonstrate what really sets content providers apart, we dive right into news content providers and technology content providers such as ABC, CNN, BBC, Engadget, and others.

Design is a major aspect of running a successful service. Having a disorganized design can destroy your user base, thus, it is critical to assure your design decisions are for the better and what users can benefit from. When you first setup a service of this magnitude, you want to look at what makes up your competitors design and why it keeps users coming back. This gives you a general idea of how users who frequent such sites like their content organized and displayed, which is a great start.

CNN

Look at CNN as an example of design organization. Its layout really sets itself apart from the others as it really emphasizes on two very important news pieces at first site. As you get lower into the page, the news titles begin to get smaller from very important to least important. This is definitely a key element in organization and to keeping your visitors frequenting your site.

The site’s header is also very clean and organized, allowing you to easily identify what topic you are currently on, and what other major topics they cover. If these major topics were not displayed in the header or navigation bit and were rather hidden in a small sidebar, users will be less inclined to locate and frequent them.

BBC

BBC’s design is quite different compared to the others. It does have the general navigation in the header and a large news headline, however, what really sets it apart from the others is its category grouping and drag and drop functionality.

Its categories are separately grouped allowing you to easily find and read what you came for straight away. With its drag, drop, and group deleting functionalities, you can easily organize the page with your most important news categories on top, or to be able to remove the sections you really do not care for like the business section or sports section. For users, these features definitely allow them to feel like they designed the website, which increases the possibility of your site being their homepage.

MSNBC

As soon as you visit msnbc, your eyes immediately catch onto the top headlines instead of catching onto the logo and header navigation, this is definitely what users want to see. Below the header are the usual news headlines and other news articles that are generic between many other content providers of the same genre.

Therefore, the only element to its design that sets the site apart from others is the unique top headlines bar that comes before anything else. As a designer, this proves that users will favor different content providers over others for selective design elements and organization methods.

ABC

ABC is another major content provider aimed towards the general audience. Its design is very lightweight to suit everyone alike. The unique thing that really separates this site apart from the others is that its layout is built by its content, which is a definite plus for those who do not want to see all sorts of design elements instead of content.

Yahoo!

Yahoo is definitely top on this list as a content provider. Not only does it offer a set of services, it also serves as a news portal. Its unique design is really, what makes it feel how a true homepage should be. It is feature-filled with color customization, drag and drop containers, and a completely customizable sidebar where you can add all your favorite sites and gadgets.

Despite all these additional goodies, it definitely catches your eye on the latest news from political, to tech, to personal, and to a whole set of genres by its intriguing news headline slider. As a designer, many of its site elements are perfectly placed in great locations, and it definitely offers what users want in a design and layout.

Engadget

As a tech blog, Engadget really nails it with its design and layout. It separates itself from others by keeping its design simple and content based. Right below the header, it places a banner of its most interesting review, and below that comes its navigation bit.

This is great for users, as they always want to see what made it to the tech headlines immediately. Other than that main highlight, its content is displayed on the page in importance order, starting with its top stories than its latest posts. A key feature with its latest posts bit is the ability to easily flip through between latest reviews, feature posts, and all news. It is definitely a great way for users to directly browse through for what they came for, making it a must key element for your designs under this genre.

Gizmodo

Gizmodo, another tech blog, has a simple yet unique design and layout to set itself apart from others. Before the main header, several articles, reviews, or interviews are displayed, it is a great way to view what is happening straight away without rummaging through the rest of the site. The simple design and the items before the header is all what Gizmodo has to keep its design and layout set apart from others, it is simple, but it goes along way.

TechCrunch

Techcrunch’s design is very well organized and well laid out. Its navigation is uniquely set above all content with a sub-navigation below the logo. What really makes Techcrunch’s design stand out is its simple layout. It holds a great lightweight slider for its popular news pieces, and then its latest postings.

Users always love to share great reads, thus, Techcrunch really pointed out its social networking tools by providing them on the homepage for each posting as well as within each posting. This really gets users connected with their friends and favorite readings having them frequent often, which makes it another key element to your design.

Neowin

Neowin’s design is very sleek and intuitive compared to other tech blogs. Its navigation is well compact and blends in well, keeping the focus on the content. Its postings are really compacted on the homepage and easy to browse through what are most important to you. Another great element to the website’s features is the Social Activity box in the sidebar, keeping their users connected with Facebook while reading great postings.

CNET

CNET’s design is unique and intuitive, and sets itself apart the most from others by far. The header is very simple and contains all you need, a search bar and the navigation. Its content is well organized and displayed. However, what really makes it stand out is the CNET user bar that sticks to the bottom of your browser wherever you navigate on the CNET website.

It contains a list of your saved reviews and products. The CNET user bar also contains a TechTracker, which sends out reminders to you about outdated software and what needs updating, a definite great tool.

To Conclude

As you know, content is also a major aspect to why users choose a content provider over others. However, design and features are also main elements to the experience.

It is always a great idea to look at your major competitors and see what they have done to keep their users coming back, which gives you a general idea of what your users would be looking for too. Taking the best of what users want and putting it together can create the perfect design and user experience your viewers are looking for.

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The smartphone portal is for HTML5-supporting smartphones, providing a touch-driven interface that allows for easy scrolling through articles and content, as well as location-based services for weather, movies, traffic, etc. There is also an app directory for users to find mobile apps, and it supports video content.

The focus on Android is interesting, though. "Android has emerged as a top-tier smartphone platform," says David Temkin, the company’s new Vice President of Mobile.  "So, while we’ll continue to focus on development for multiple mobile platforms, this time, we are releasing an early version of an app on Android first — the AOL app.

"We’re also releasing DailyFinance, one of the most popular apps on other platforms, on Android," he adds, pointing to AOL’s growing library of smartphone-optimized sites and apps as the beginning of a new focus. "Today’s smartphones offer a completely different experience from the previous generation of WAP-based sites, and AOL will be taking full advantage of the possibilities these new devices can offer, both on the mobile Web and in apps."

The AOL app provides content from some of AOL’s most popular sites like PopEater, Engadget and FanHouse, as well as access to MapQuest, AOL Mail, and the AOL app list.

The DailyFinance app lets users receive real-time stock quotes and financial news. Users can track up to 25 portfolios.

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Engadget has an interesting piece on "What Killed the Kin", Microsoft’s ill-fated feature phone that has not been around for very long. The article seems to suggest that the product line may have been doomed from the get go.

Gizmodo reports that Finland’s policy to make broadband a legal right went into effect today. This was originally announced back in October. "It’s only a 1Mbps connection for now, but by 2015 they’re promised 100Mbps," writes Kat Hannaford.

Complaints about the iPhone 4′s antenna troubles have amounted to multiple class action suits against Apple, according to reports. Boy Genius Report has an alleged "conversation" with Steve Jobs, who appears to be playing down the antenna issues.

HP completed its acquisition of Palm, after just a couple months. HP got it for a pirce of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash.

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According to Reuters, there is a great deal of concern about such a deal among the travel industry. (hat tip: Greg Sterling).

Last week, Salesforce made Chatter available to everyone. This has been described as a "Facebook for the enterprise." It’s also been described as "more than just Facebook for the enterprise." Either way, the company has now published a Best Practices guide for using it.

UnwiredView.com reports on some alleged details and specs for the next (after FroYo) version of Android – Gingerbread.

MeeGo announced "Day 1" of the MeeGo proejct. The MeeGo handset baseline source code is now available to the developer community.

TechCrunch points to an interesting new service that launched from Appsfire. It’s called AppTrends, and it aims to rank iPhone apps based on how much people are talking about them on Twitter. This may not only be a good tool for discovering new and interesting apps, but it also illustrates a practical use of real-time search.

Microsoft has issued a reminder that its Windows Anytime Upgrde offer will come to an end on July 3rd. Engadget points to more details from Geek.com.

Apple’s iPhone 4 antenna issues have received a lot of press since the release of the phone. Most recently, there is a lot of discussion about Apple’s hiring of antenna engineers, a job posting that appeared the day people started complaining, as Engadget points out. Meanwhile, Boy Genius Report has an interesting article about Apple’s troubleshooting process.

I personally seem to have been caught in some “old experiment” of Google’s which is now preventing me from seeing Google’s recently rolled out interface in Firefox. While I can see it in other browsers, and until today could in Firefox, I am no longer able to see the new UI, and am instead presented with the old version of Google results pages (where I have to click a link to bring up the search options).

I asked Google about this, and Jake Hubert from the company’s Global Communications and Public Affairs division told me, “I’ve verified that what you are seeing is likely related to an old experiment. We have no plans to remove the left-hand panel.”

Has this happened to anyone else?

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(…)
Read the rest of Sprint Bashes iPhone, Droid X In Epic 4G Training Chart [Sprint Employee Briefing On Samsung Epic 4G Compares Sprint's Phones To iPhone, Droids]

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Since the phone was featured in the Verizon bathroom all those months ago – and even after tech blog Engadget posted an illicit early preview of the device, some reported that it “wasn’t” a 4.3-inch screen. Not sure what they were smoking, but Motorola and Verizon have confirmed it being a 4.3-inch “edge-to-edge” screen with a resolution of 848×400.

How will the Droid X with it’s big screen and high resolution stack up to the iPhone 4? Obviously Apple has captured the imagination of the tech community with their high-resolution Retina display. We’ll see how they look side-by-side.

Other specs include HDMI-out and the ability to use the Droid X as a WiFi hotspot for 5 different people.

The phone has a 1GHz processor (Motorola didn’t name who made it, but we imagine it’s probably Texas Instruments). 8GB of ROM, and a 16GB microSD card included in the box. The phone can support microSD cards up to 32GB.

The phone’s on-screen keyboard will support multi-touch and will come pre-loaded with Swype. Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha said that “We’re really excited about what Swype can do for us.” (paraphrasing via MobileCrunch’s live blog).

Other features include three microphones for improved noise cancellation, GPS, Bluetooth and a 1500 mAh battery.

The Droid X surely looks like a hot phone. Stay tuned to TFTS for more news about the phone as it’s announced.

[See original posting for applicable credits]

HOT NEWS: Motorola Droid X Officially Launched: See TFTS’s Full Motorola Droid X Launch Coverage Here.

Other Posts Popular with Readers Relating to this Posting:

1. Verizon to Launch Motorola Droid Next Week [Full Specs & Features to be Revealed at Droid Press Event on October 28]
2. Motorola Droid Android Phone Coming From Verizon Next Week? [Motorola Droid aka Tao aka Sholes to be Announced on October 6 at MOTODEV Android Event; Available in December from Verizon]
3. Motorola Droid Makes an Official Appearance on Motorola USA Website [Droid Pictures, Specs & Features Revealed a Week Before Launch]
4. Motorola Droid X Touchscreen Display to Beat iPhone 4’s Retina Display? [Verizon Says Motorola Droid X Comes with 720p Display Then Modifies It to “Captures 720p”]
5. Motorola Droid Officially Available from Verizon for $199.99 [Specs, Features, Pricing & Official Press Photos Released Today; GSM Droid Spotted Too]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Motorola Droid Officially Available from Verizon for $199.99 [Specs, Features, Pricing & Official Press Photos Released Today; GSM Droid Spotted Too].

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And these reviews also tell a thing or two about how the new iPhone handles drops. The device survived drops from 1 to 2 feet drops and worked perfectly thereafter. That means you’ll be able to drop your new iPhone more than a few times before rendering it useless, and, whether you like it or not, that will happen.

But what about that glass that protects both the front and the back of the iPhone? While the Gorilla Glass is 30 times more durable than regular plastic, that doesn’t mean it won’t scratch. The picture above shows the Engadget test unit and there’s a visible scratch right on the back panel of the handset.

On the other hand iFixit tore down the iPhone 4 earlier and while they were able to reveal details about the front glass panel, they were not able, at least not yet, to say if the back is made of the same material. It’s definitely resistant, hardened glass, but is it exactly the same?

iPhone 4 owners won’t be happy to have their devices scratched as easily as this one. The iPhone Joshua Topolsky reviewed for Engadget has been with him for only a few days and the scratch there is pretty visible.

You could always buy iPhone 4 accessories that would protect the device from ever getting such nasty wear marks. You can consider it an investment for the future especially if you plan to sell your iPhone 4 in a year from now when the iPhone 4G will be rolled along. But it’s still annoying to see the iPhone scratch that fast.

[See original posting for applicable credits]

HOT NEWS: Motorola Droid X Officially Launched: See TFTS’s Full Motorola Droid X Launch Coverage Here.

Other Posts Popular with Readers Relating to this Posting:

1. New iPhone 4 Not as Tough When It Comes to Drops? [Unofficial Drop Tests Show iPhone 4 Breaking Glass, Should We be Worried?]
2. Commodore 64 Emulator App For iPhone Drops To Free [Looking To Relive The Classic Computing Days On Your iPhone, Load Up The Commodore 64 App, Its Free For Today Only]
3. UK iPhone Users–Telefonica O2 Drops Unlimited Data [Telefonica O2 Drops its Unlimited Data Plan in Light of Increased iPhone Usage]
4. Palm Pixi Plus Drops to Free on AT&T With 2-Year Contract [WebOS Powered Palm Pixi Plus Drops to $0 With 2-Year Contract and $15/Month Data Plan]
5. Verizon Palm Pixi Plus Now Free On Contract [Palm Pixi Plus Drops To Free With Verizon, Still Comes Touting The 3G Mobile Hotspot App]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Verizon Palm Pixi Plus Now Free On Contract [Palm Pixi Plus Drops To Free With Verizon, Still Comes Touting The 3G Mobile Hotspot App].

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On the Google Support forums for Android, there is a thread dubbed “when will Froyo come out” where all the Android fans were speculating together on when the next Android OS would come out. With Monday’s release of iOS 4 – the thread got hot, really hot, and it was up to over 1409 replies at press time. Google ‘stickied’ it to the top of the message board, providing some legitimacy to the thread, too.

Somewhere in the thread, Google engineer Ry Guy popped in and added this:

Hey guys,

Just dropping in to let you know that the FRF72 build that is floating around is not the official update. The Android team is feverishly working to get a final version out the door, but like passion-ate has mentioned this will only happen once a release candidate meets our quality criteria.

Since today is the Summer Solstice, we know things will be heating up a bit so hopefully Froyo will be on its way shortly. Thanks for your continued patience!

-Ry Guy

The pictures above are from Engadget, and are allegedly what Android 2.2 will look like in the stock UI. In Android 2.2, the UI will get some very minor changes, but in Android 2.3, we’ll see major changes that are supposed to improve the way that Android looks, to end the need for custom UIs like HTC Sense and MOTOBLUR. Of course, I suspect that we’ll see those custom UIs, anyway.

Are you waiting for Android 2.2? What do you think of the UI?

[See original posting for applicable credits]

HOT NEWS: Motorola Droid X Officially Launched: See TFTS’s Full Motorola Droid X Launch Coverage Here.

Other Posts Popular with Readers Relating to this Posting:

1. Google Nexus One: How to Install Android Froyo FRF72 Update? [Android 2.2 Froyo Manual Installation Instructions for Google Nexus One Now Available]
2. HTC Droid Incredible & Google Nexus One Android 2.2 Froyo Details Hit the Web [Droid Incredible Update Enables Wi-Fi n Hinting Froyo Is Next While Nexus One Froyo FRF72 Build Is Available Now]
3. New Android 2.2 Froyo Update Heading to the Google Nexus One? [New OTA Froyo Update Rumored to Hit Nexus One Owners Already]
4. Android 2.2 Froyo on Google Nexus One Already Available? [Android Froyo Spotted on Google Nexus One, Android Update Expected to Arrive at Google I/O]
5. Google To Nexus One Owners Waiting For Froyo: “We Are Striving Hard To OTA It ASAP” [Android 2.2 Froyo For The Nexus One Is Still In The Works & Google Is Not "Intentionally Holding Back"]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Google To Nexus One Owners Waiting For Froyo: “We Are Striving Hard To OTA It ASAP” [Android 2.2 Froyo For The Nexus One Is Still In The Works & Google Is Not "Intentionally Holding Back"].

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If you pre-ordered an iPhone 4 from Apple early enough, you may have received an e-mail from Apple saying that your device will be delivered on June 23 — one day earlier than what was originally promised.

Engadget is in possession of one such e-mail, and several other lucky users have received one as well. The text of the email is as follows:

“Dear Apple Store Customer,

You recently received a Shipment Notification email from Apple advising you that your iPhone has shipped.

This email is to confirm that your delivery will occur on June 23rd. Although Apple and FedEx tracking information may currently indicate a later date, you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd to track your package to your doorstep.

In the event that you will not be available to accept delivery on June 23rd, it may be more convenient to use our pre-sign delivery option by visiting our Order Status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus

Sincerely,

The Apple Store Team”

So, there you have it: your brand new steel-cased, glass-covered bundle of joy may be arriving one day early. Have you checked your e=mail?

Update: We’ve received reports that the iPhone 4 might be arriving a day early for customers who had ordered it through AT&T, too. Thanks, @stevehuskisson

Tags: apple, iphone 4, Mobile 2.0, smartphone

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The new, or should I say newly colored HTC EVO 4G is ditching the black backing in favor of white. And while I hate to make the obvious comparison to the iPhone, the HTC EVO 4G will now be available with two exterior casing colors — black and white.

I guess this is good news for anyone that wanted to, and has not yet picked up an EVO because you now have two color options to pick from instead of one. And aside from the case color, the specs are the same as what we have already learned which include a 4.3 inch display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4G/3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, Android 2.1 and more.

As for picking up one of these new EVO’s, that can be done by way of Best Buy who are said to have an exclusive offering — at least for a little while anyway. The details, which come by way of an anonymous Engadget tipster include that the phone will be sold exclusively at Best Buy until at least August 8th. After which its rumored to come available direct with Sprint. Additionally, other retailers such as Radio Shack are expected to also get the phone, but not until sometime in September.

Bottom line, it looks like the white EVO 4G will be officially available as of July 11th, however the pre-orders (with Best Buy) will begin today, that is as long as you are willing to sign a two year agreement with Sprint and plunk down your $199.99.

[See original posting for applicable credits]

Looking to catch up on all the E3 2010 news? See Click here to access our extensive E3 2010 coverage.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. Motorola i1 & Samsung Intercept M910 Coming To Sprint July 11th [Leaked Screenshots Suggest July 11th As Motorola i1 & Samsung Moment 2 (Intercept) Launch Date With Sprint]
2. LG Aloha, LG Fathom & BlackBerry Bold 9650 To Launch With Verizon In May [Microsoft KIN ONE & KIN TWO Tipped For Pre-Orders To Begin On May 6th, With BlackBerry Bold 9650, LG Aloha & LG Fathom To Arrive Later In May]
3. Sprint HTC EVO 4G Already on Display in Sprint Stores? [Sprint’s First WiMAX Android Phone, the HTC EVO 4G, Gets Spotted in Carrier’s Store]
4. Sprint Google Nexus One Still Happening According to Customer Support [Sprint Google Nexus One to Arrive in May Around Google I/O; HTC EVO Coming in June According to Sprint Customer Care Rep]
5. Sprint Android 2.1 Update Scheduled To Arrive In Q2 2010 [Sprint Makes It Official: Android 2.1 Update For The Samsung Moment & HTC Hero Coming in Q2 2010]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Sprint Android 2.1 Update Scheduled To Arrive In Q2 2010 [Sprint Makes It Official: Android 2.1 Update For The Samsung Moment & HTC Hero Coming in Q2 2010].

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If you’re jonesing for the new HTC EVO 4G but aren’t really feeling the black color, Best Buy is now accepting pre-orders for a white version that the chain will sell exclusively beginning July 11.

With the elusive white iPhone 4 and now the white EVO 4G, it looks like white is the new black when it comes to next-generation smartphones, at least for now. Engadget notes that while Best Buy will get exclusivity on the white version of the EVO 4G first, Sprint stores will get it in August and other resellers will gain access in September.

You can pre-order the white EVO 4G from Best Buy or Best Buy Mobile stores. The phone is $199 after rebate with a two-year contract.

White or black — which EVO do you prefer?

Tags: android, best buy, HTC EVO 4G

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Crazy? Perhaps. But Justin Wagoner, who is already camping in front of Dallas Apple store on Knox St., will definitely be the first in line to pick up an iPhone 4. He’ll also spend a week of his life camping in the Texas heat, but he doesn’t mind.

“Some would say I am crazy, but I say I’m a very determined fan. In fact I just might be one the biggest Apple fans you will actually meet. I have been the first costumer [sic] for this store since 2008 when the iPhone 3G was released. Normally I only camp out over night, but since I do not work due to the fact I am disabled with a seizure disorder and I am not in school at the point, I figure I just make it a fun experience and do it for a week,” Wagoner wrote on the MacRumors forum.

The iPhone 4 is landing in Apple stores on June 24.

Check out a video interview with Wagoner below.

[Dallas News via Engadget]

Tags: apple, camping, iphone 4

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According to Droid Life, Verizon Wireless is advising their retail stores that July 19th will be the release date for this hotly anticipated phone. In addition that information, Verizon employees are allegedly even placing orders for new t-shirts, kinda like the ones they wore to promote the Droid Incredible launch.

Will July 19th be the release date? It’s a credible rumor. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said during a conference call that they’d be releasing two new Droid phones during the month of July. Motorola and Verizon are holding a big reveal next week to announce the “next generation of Droid”, so it’s very possible that they’ll talk about the Droid X and then detail it’s July 19th launch.

Popular tech blog Engadget already posted a preview of the Droid X device, but apparently without Verizon or Motorola’s blessing as they’re unsure of the device’s exact specs. They recon it has a 4.3-inch TFT screen with a 1GHz processor and a new UI (called Ninjablur by some, Shadowblur by others). It’ll have all the bells and whistles, including a 8-megapixel camera and 720p video recording. Although again, all these specs are unconfirmed (and even Engadget isn’t sure of it’s size).

Anybody ready to stand in line for the Droid X on July 19th?

[See original posting for applicable credits]

Looking to catch up on all the E3 2010 news? See Click here to access our extensive E3 2010 coverage.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. New Verizon Motorola Droid to be Unveiled on June 23? [Verizon Schedules Droid Related Press Event on June 23 a Day Ahead of Official iPhone 4 Sales Start]
2. Rumor: Droid X In July, Droid 2 In August [New Rumor Has Motorola's Two Droids Coming This Summer]
3. Motorola Droid Specifications & Features Unveiled [Motorola Droid Release Date Set for Late October, Fastest Android Smartphone So Far]
4. Motorola Droid 2 (Shadow) Coming From Verizon Soon? [First Leaks Suggest Verizon Will Launch the Motorola Droid 2 or Droid Shadow in the Near Future]
5. Motorola Commits To Android, Verizon [CEO Sanjay Jha Says To Expect More Droid Phones Coming To Verizon From Motorola]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Motorola Commits To Android, Verizon [CEO Sanjay Jha Says To Expect More Droid Phones Coming To Verizon From Motorola].

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Given the fact that Android 2.1 has been around for half a year, and that Android 1.5 is older than one year, you’d think that most Android phones now sport the latest version of the software.

This is now true, but just barely; according to the latest stats from Android Developers, 50% of active devices are now running Android 2.1, while 25% of devices are based on Android 1.6, and 24.6% of devices are still running the ancient Android 1.5.

I’m a firm believer that this fragmentation is bad for Android. Engadget has discussed this topic at length, and although I generally agree that version fragmentation won’t be the end of Android, it’s definitely confusing. Developers have to worry about several different versions instead of one, and consumers have to deal with the fact that their brand new Android phone may not be running the latest software (often, it never will) for some weird reason. Furthermore, manufacturers often release a shiny new phone with an old version of Android, which never happens to Apple’s iPhone – at least not in a way that’s transparent to consumers.

With Froyo (Android 2.2) around the corner, and Android 1.5 refusing to die, the chart above is about to get even more complicated. Hopefully Google and phone manufacturers will finally agree on a pace this platform should be upgraded, so we don’t have to sadly conclude that “new phone X” is running an old version of Android – at least not very often.

Tags: android, Mobile 2.0, smartphone

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