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Host: Laos101

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BIG WEEK: MIX IS IN THE HOUSE!

NEXUS ONE To be SPRINTIFIED!
NEXUS ONE ON SHELVES!
Sprint Hitting up the Supersonic WiMAX?
Google, Apple, FIGHT!
Touch Proz - 6.5 Official?
What's up with that TP3?
Windows Phone 7 - ITS LEAKED!
Youtube app updated!
XNA Games, What are we expecting?
HSPL - IMAGIO EXCLUSIVE!
Verizon to offer FREE 3G Smartphone upgrades?!
TMobile's HD2 set for the 24th!
The WinPhone gets the lowdown!
Apple! What's going on here? HTC Lawsuit gets worrysome!
Looks like VZW Gets the Turtle Soup!

Episode 15,for 03/18/2010!

And MUCH MORE! Enjoy!

The guys over at Engadget did some digging after 12 noon came and went without a single report from the Droid community of the ROM being pushed.  They were able to produce a snapshot of a screen showing that the "OTA software update for the DROID by Motorola is TBD.  A new date will be communicated as soon as possible."

Hang in there folks, it's bound to be pushed out some time this decade.

Source: Engadget

The latest buzz on the street is that Sprint plans to unveil the HTC Supersoinc, the fist handset compatible with Sprint’s 4G data network, at the CTIA next week. The device will be running on Sprint’s new WiMax network, which is claimed to offer speeds up to 10 times faster than its current network.  The Supersonic is claimed to be sporting a 4.3 –inch non-AMOLED touchscreen, a Snapdragon (1GHz) processor and only measure in at 11mm thick and running Android 2.1 with Sense UI. I guess we will have to wait for the CTIA next week to find out more on this highly anticipated handset.

Well what do we have here? It looks like every carrier is jumping on the Nexus One bandwagon lately, Sprint being the latest. In a Sprint news release today, Sprint has announced that the Google Nexus One device will be arriving on the Sprint network, although a release date has not been decided upon.

Sprint, in the process has decided to throw a few jabs at their competitors with the following quote in the press release:

Nexus One(TM) is planned for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network with twice the network coverage of AT&T and ten times the network coverage of T-Mobile, both by square miles; Expands Sprint's Android(TM) portfolio

So the question now for everyone is, Who here is still waiting for the HTC SuperSonic? or will you jump on the Nexus One bandwagon? Be sure to leave your comments below.

Be sure to read the full news release here

Thanks Sporkman for the news tip!

New handsets will include the updated operating system while existing owners can upgrade through Samsung's proprietary PC Studio 7 software (available at http://www.samsungmobile.com).  The upgrade is available in Germany and Samsung has detailed that it will be gradually rolled out to other European markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Asia, Africa and rest of the world (Antarctica and Americas.)

Motorola Droid owners are shaking their heads in disapproval and perhaps a little misplaced jealousy as the Samsung incantation of Android Eclair will sport no less than nine screens (Droid has three).  The Galaxy Spica will also experience some additional multimedia improvements over and above it's current ability to play divx files (which Droid doesn't).  The new media browser permits user to easily browse through Media files stored on the memory card and updates to the camera software promise 'enhanced picture options and viewing functionality.'

Source: Samsung Press Release

Sporting a 4.3 inch screen and a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor this is one beautiful beast that will surely attract the eye of even the most dedicated iPhone and Nexus One owners.  The HD2 comes loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5 and a customized multimedia software bundle to showcase it's screen including: preloaded copies of Transformers™ and Transformers 2, MobiTV® mobile television on demand, GoGo® inflight wifi trial, and Barns & Noble and Blockbuster software pre-installed.

This device has been a long time coming for PPCGeeks.com forum members.  Some have even forked out upwards of $800 dollars for an unlocked HD2 from europe.  The $199 price tag will likely make this phone a hit and might even lure a few over to big pink.  Hey! one of our forum users has already been spotted with one!

Source: TMONews.com

And so the saga continues..............   What once seemed as a beautiful friendship and had many in the Washington DC Administration worried with Google and Apple working so closley together in harmony to prevent Microsoft from dominating the Smartphone industry has turned into a bitter rivalry. According to the NYT, the heart of the dispute is betrayal, or Jobs' belief that Schmidt (a former Apple board member) "picked his pocket" by developing cellphones that "physically, technologically and spiritually resembled the iPhone." Here's how one especially feisty encounter is described:

"At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Google's campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch - the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers - he would sue. Two people briefed on the meeting described it as "fierce" and "heated.""

In recent news Apples has filed lawsuit against HTC (a phone manufacture for Google’s Android platrfrom) for infringing in 20 apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. Wasn’t Apple who allegedly stole or lifted the ubiquitous graphical user interface (GUI) from Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

XML co-creator Tim Bray on Monday said he has joined Google as a Developer Advocate, primarily for Android. The former Sun worker made the pick both because Android embraces an open-source, web-heavy philosophy but also as a direct opposition to Apple's iPhone policies. Bray praised Apple's hardware but couldn't abide by the at times arbitrary filtering of the App Store, which he likened to censorships, his words for the iPhone are pretty harsh.

"The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet's future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord's pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it."

"Apple apparently thinks you can have the benefits of the Internet while at the same time controlling what programs can be run and what parts of the stack can be accessed and what developers can say to each other. I think they're wrong and see this job as a chance to help prove it."

Yesterday on CNBC Jim Goldman picked up on the Jobs v. Schmidt meme and stated he has been told by many sources that, “Steve Jobs simply hates Eric Schmidt right now.”

That's right the heat is on! Google’s Nexus one hit the shelves today equipped for 3G action on AT&T and Rogers networks, free of any contract from carriers. The device is available for purchase from Google’s on-line phone store carrying a price tag of $529. For more information on the phone visit Google's phone store.

While we can't use it on our devices, it may offer some more insight into Windows Phone 7 Series and may reveal details that Microsoft hasn't released yet. This build was extracted from the emulator that was released yesterday at MIX10. The build date is March 2, 2010 and it will only run on x86 machines. Maybe, just maybe, someone will be able to port this for our devices, but even if they can't, it will give us something to watch until the official release.

Source: XDA-Developers

We knew Microsoft was planning big things for MIX10, which started today. There are quite a few announcements from the blogosphere today, including developer tools, Marketplace news, etc. Read on for more details!

First, according to Endgadget, the only official way to get apps on a Windows Phone 7 Series device is through the Marketplace app. In a meeting with Todd Higgs, he confirmed this rumor, which means that all developers will have to follow Microsoft's guidelines to get published. Sound familiar? Very Apple-like if you ask us. While this is the only "official" way to get apps, that doesn't rule out the fact that there may be "unofficial" ways to do it too. According to Todd, Microsoft plans on avoiding the headaches like Apple head by making the process transparent and predictable.

• Windows Phone Marketplace appears to take some of the best parts of the App Store and the Android Market and throw them together into a hodgepodge, but they've strayed a bit with the trial period system -- with the Marketplace, it's up to the developer to decide how the trial works. There are API hooks to let the developer manage the whole process, actually -- to quote Biggs, a game dev could end the trial after you've killed 50 trolls, for example. There's no additional download after the trial expires; the game just unlocks if you choose to buy it.
• Marketplace membership for developers still costs $99 a year, though Biggs says they're looking at tweaking the 5-app limit per account present in 6.5 -- whether that means they'll remove the limit altogether, though, we don't yet know.
• There are no fees for developers to update their apps, nor fees for users to download them.
• Speaking of user downloads, you'll be able to uninstall purchased apps and redownload them at a later time at your leisure -- the purchases are tied to your Live account, not your phone, so you can move between devices at will. That's a Microsoft policy that developers won't be able to override.
• If a dev wants to post a free, ad-supported app, they've only got two hurdles: the $99 fee and -- of course -- approval by Microsoft. For ad-supported apps specifically, the company will have some guidelines specifically targeted at making sure the ads are appropriate and germane.
• Microsoft's only dealing in real money here -- no points (though there's still an opportunity for direct carrier billing).
• Though there's some development synergy between Zune and WP7S at this point (with XNA, specifically), there's no ecosystem synergy beyond that -- different marketplaces for the developers to submit to and manage.
• You'll be able to browse and buy apps and games through the Zune client.

According to Gizmodo, Microsoft's Marketplace Partners include Pandora, Foursquare, EA Mobile, AP, and more.

According to MobileTechWorld, Microsoft's development tools for Windows Phone 7 is available for download now.

According to WMExperts, Microsoft has also released a carrier's worst nightmare, Netflix Streaming! You can also manage your queue and browse their catalog, but the live streaming is huge. We wonder if carriers will try to make this a WiFi only feature.

Slashgear has reported on a new feature, which reminds us of Android, and that's push notifications. Even apps that aren't running in the background can use the new system, which has a blue scrolling bar across of the top of the device.

WMExperts is also highlighting Microsoft's huge use of using Silverlight 4 in the new Windows Phone 7 Series.

• Hardware-accelerated video with multicodec digital rights management (DRM) and Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming support
• Vector and bitmap graphics with perspective 3-D
• Multitouch support with Accelerometer, an intuitive control that responds to motion
• Deep Zoom support for rich reading experiences
• Camera and microphone support
• Notification Service for pushing information to the phone, regardless of whether or not an application is running
• Integration with the core Windows Phone 7 Series experience features such as hubs

IntoMobile has just posted a picture of the second known Windows Phone 7 device, made by Samsung! We're not sure where the HTC devices are, but so far we have seen a LG device and now a Samsung one, which was shown during Joe Belfiore’s UI demo.

GSMArena has released the hardware requirements for Windows 7 Phones. At launch, the only available resolution will be WVGA (480x800) with HVGA (320x480) being available later. They will be required to have capacitative touchscreens. Hardware keyboard is optional. The CPU needs to have a Cortex or Scorpion, which is inside the Snapdragon. At least 256Mb of RAM and at least 8Gb of flash storage (rumors are that there will be no external storage, so no more memory cards). There is also mandatory GPU acceleration and DirectX support. It will also natively support DivX and H.264. The camera has to be a minimum 5MP with a hardware shutter key and LED flash. Other requirements include A-GPS, compass, accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensor. The other three required hardware keys are Start, Search and Back.

Also, it has been confirmed that the HD2 will not be getting an upgrade.

The developer team over at alldroid.org has  managed to gain root access to the version of the Motorola Milestone which was recently released by Telus Mobility in Canada.  At first glance this doesn't seem like news; both the Droid and Milestone were rooted months ago.  The difference is the Telus version was released with the root exploit patched.

A few days after the Droid/Milestone exploit was discovered, a developer submitted the patch for it to the Android Open Source Project.  The patch was accepted and merged into the source code.  Interestingly, this developer was Steve Kondik aka Cyanogen who is best known for his custom ROMs which he has developed for rooted HTC phones.  You can review the patch here.

The way to root a Telus Milestone is covered in detail here.  Basically it consists of completely wiping the memory of the phone and then flashing the memory with the Brazilian Milestone's operating system.  This version of the Milestone software doesn't have the exploit patched.  Once this is flashed, you simply continue as normal by downloading and running a modified 'update.zip' file which piggybacks the root access inside an over the air update file.

Although this does give the user root access, none of the Milestone branded devices will run a boot image unless digitally signed by Motorola.  This means no overclocking, custom roms, or custom recovery menu; but there are already tutorials for running interactive wallpapers, blocking unwanted advertisements, removing unwanted apps, and installing customized themes available over at alldroid.

I wonder how long until these guys figure out how to digitally sign custom ROMs?  At this pace we should see them by Friday.

Sources:  alldroid.org; telusmobility.ca

Cmonex and friends have been silently working on the HSPL for the HTC Imagio for quite some time now. Although the unlocker anticipation did not reach such fame as the HTC Touch Pro 2, this is definitely a nice treat for Imagio users who can finally start loading their devices with customized ROM upgrades. Although the unlocker has been released, there are very few ROMs to choose from at the moment with NRGz and Mr.X leading the way. Get in the kitchen everyone and lets get this device going!

Obtain information and Unlocker here

Here is The Harvest (click on the images to see the original size):

Here is Battle Punks (click on the images to see the original size):

Source: Engadget

The developer of this widget pack modestly describes this as "just another weather widget".  This is perhaps the most polished and well put together weather forcast widget pack available for the android.  He also has some amazing flipclocks that moderately resemble clocks from some paid applications (Check out the 'Weather forcast 4x2 widget.)  Definitely a 5 star application.

This widget is so handy that I am surprised it doesn't come on Android phones from the factory.  This is simply a 1x1 widget that displays one of ten gmail icons and will show how many unread messages are in your gmail account.  Tap the widget and it opens up the  Gmail application and goes to the inbox.  Simple, beautiful, customizable and functional.

The premise of this widget is simple: allows you to put more icons on your homescreen.  This widget app allows you to put 3 applications in the space of one; the fourth location links to the widget's settings screen.  At first it seems as if the icons might be too small, but the developer has done a good job and it's easy to select the icon you're after.  This  is a perfect addition for people like me as it allows for more room on the homescreens to put widgets.

This is an app that almost everyone would find useful at one point or another.  It's an open source task list that is simple to use and works very well.  The widget alone is enough to generate 5 stars.  The widget will display one of your todo lists in a nice and easy to read format.  Even if you don't use Astrid task manager, the widget can synchronize with other applications such as 'Remember the Milk, Locale and more.

Although it does consume an entire page, the 4x4 widget is stunning.  The widget gives buttons for the important musc player functions and displays the album art.  Beneath the surface this player will also scan through your music and make recommendations based on the songs you are listening to.  All around a great application over and above being an awesome widget.

UPDATE: My bad, I confused two different programs both titled 'Weather Widget' and after looking through the Android Market, there appears to be a few others. Anyhow, here is the link to the barcode image for the one I originally posted. Even though it's not what I had intended to post it is still very nice and is pictured above.

Now you can see Windows Phone 7 in action. It looks very smooth and you can see working hubs also. Let us know what you think!

WMPowerUser has posted this video from TechEd Middle East that shows cross-platform gaming between a PC, Windows Phone 7, and the XBox.

WMPowerUser also posted this video from TechEd Middle East of 2 forms of multi-tasking (which, according to the rumors, didn't exist in WP7).

The PPCGP, All the Mobile News You'll Ever Need!

WE NEED YOUR HELP! REVIEW THE PPCGP!

Be sure to follow us on twitter!

Host: Laos101

Other Guests:

Topics: (For Sources, See here.)

A look at ZAGG's invisibleSHIELD! (Plus a contest announcement!!!!)
WM7 Photon, was it fake? Was it real? WHAT was it?
Want a free Nexus One, or perhaps a DROID?
Apple sues HTC!!!
What's going on HD2? Mixed Signals?

And MUCH MORE! Enjoy!

Episode 14,for 03/04/2010!

During the last few weeks, Motorola's forums and facebook pages have been overloaded with Milestone owners trying to "encourage" Motorola to un-sign or unlock the boot section of the phone which would allow users to load custom ROMs, overclock the processor, and of course, void their warranty (like Droid does).

Motorola finally responded to their customers through their Motodev Blog in a rather surprising manner.  You have to admire their candor as they have chosen to respond by encouraging their customers to buy a phone made by another manufacturer:

"We understand there is a community of developers interested in going beyond Android application development and experimenting with Android system development and re-flashing phones. For these developers, we highly recommend obtaining either a Google ADP1 developer phone or a Nexus One, both of which are intended for these purposes."  (source)

Motorola has made it abundantly clear to the entire Android OS consumer base that they have no intention of allowing users to ever modify the boot section of the phones they manufacture.   The Motodev Blog post goes on to describe how Motorola is well within their prerogative and rights to lock their phone down in this way.  If you want to install ROMs, overclock your phone or install custom kernels, you should look at something other than a Motorola.   People and companies do change, but for now it looks as if the Milestone user base  is going to have to stay on the side lines of the modding community indefinitely.