thumpad » portables

long live Windows Phone 7, Microsoft KIN is dead

thumpad.com — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:33:31 +0000

And so ends Microsoft's brief spell as a phone manufacturer. The company has just announced that it's terminating its KIN line and focusing all of its resources on the development of their upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS.

Here comes the official statement:

“Microsoft has made the decision to focus on the Windows Phone 7 launch and will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and techno……

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juicy specs confirmed, Android 3.0 Gingerbread detailed

thumpad.com — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:33:31 +0000

Froyo is barely out the door, but attention is already turning to the next Android version – 3.0 Gingerbread. It will impose minimum hardware requirements, the UI is getting overhauled and Android is splitting into two.

Android 3.0 Gingerbread, says Eldar Murtazin, edotor-in-chief of Mobile-review.com, will be for high-end devices only. A 1GHz CPU and 512MB RAM at minimum plus a display over 3.5″ inches in diagonal. Android 2.1 Eclair/2.2 Froyo will remain and run on mid-range and low-end phones.

Th……

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actually pack a large 4-inch touchscreen, Nokia N9 smartphone

thumpad.com — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:33:31 +0000

While earlier rumors of the still unannounced Nokia N9 predicted that Nokia's next Symbian^3-based device will come with a 3.5-inch touchscreen now it turned out that the phone will actually feature a way larger 4″ display. And there's a photo evidence to prove that!

Nokia N9 compared to the iPhone 4 and the HTC Evo 4G

As the following video reveals, the Nokia N9 (or whatever the prototype's name turns out to be in the end) multi-touch capacitive screen is considerably larger than iPho……

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everyone else told to wait, Samsung Wave brings Bada to Europe today

thumpad.com — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:42:37 +0000

Samsung's Wave (otherwise known as the S8500) may not be coming to Vodafone UK until June 1st, but it's available somewhere in Europe starting today. According to a new release from the outfit (seen in full after the break), today marks the first day in which its first Bada-equipped smartphone is available in Europe, with Germany, France and the UK mentioned in particular. We're also told that the “complete Bada SDK 1.0.0 will be available for download shortly,” and while pricing de……

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squares up to Android – Motorola Flipout

thumpad.com — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:42:33 +0000

Another week, another Android phone comes trotting out of the stable. This time it’s the Motorola Flipout, a square-shaped blower with a full QWERTY keyboard that “flips out” from the body (see what they did there?).The Flipout comes with Android 2.1, with Moto’s own Motoblur interface sitting on top of it. This automatically updates your email and favourite social networking stuff and shovels the lot……

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kickstand-equipped case makes a cameo, Dell Streak HDMI dock gets the hands-on treatment

thumpad.com — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:42:28 +0000

We managed to get an early look at the HDMI dock for the Dell Streak way back in February courtesy of T3's Greek site, but the accessory is now finally official (if not widely available), and Laptop Magazine has come through with what appears to be the first proper hands-on. Of course, there's not exactly a lot to go hands-on with, but it seems that dock does indeed function as a dock, and it also thankfully has a USB port and a line-out in addition to that HDMI port. Perhaps just as no……

Charging station in a biker helmet

thumpad.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:37:19 +0000

According to an article from SiliconIndia, students at Nirma University designed a helmet that doubles as electricity generator. How? Firstly there are solar panels covering the helmet converting solar energy into electrical energy.
As backup power generator for rainy days or after sunset the students Pragnesh Dudhaiya and Aalok Bhatt envision the use of wind turbines integrated into the helmet. Smart idea but I am not so sure if we can call this also practical as a wind turbine has some ‘moving pa……

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KlimaJack – self regulating climate inside a jacket

thumpad.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:37:19 +0000

The KlimaJack (Climate Jacket) research project, a collaboration between German clothing companies and universities under the lead of ITIV (Institute for Information Processing Technology) aims to create climate controlling wearable systems integrated into clothing.
Sensors integrated into the clothing’s fabric pick up vital body functions which are processed by miniaturized modules integrated in garments.
This research project which started two years ago and will be completed end of Feb 2011 will ……

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Sew-through circuit board: DIY soft electronics

thumpad.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:37:15 +0000

Meredith Scheff, self proclaimed artist, writer, mechanic and fabricator posted a really cool design of a soft, sew-through circuit board using DuPont’s Pyralux Copper Clad Laminate, a very thin and flexible sheet of polyimide which has copper on one side.
If you are familiar with making your own PCBs you will know how to make this soft version and if you are not experienced in DIY PCBs – just follow the nicely organized overview from Meredith over at SteampunkWorkshop.
Using this technique ……

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available in a month, Motorola MB511 FlipOut surfaces again

thumpad.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:20:48 +0000

While Motorola still haven't bothered to officially announce the FlipOut – their latest Android-running smartphone – rumor has it that its market release is nearing quickly. The handset has made yet another public appearance in Brazil, reinforcing the rumors that this might be the first (or even “only”) country to get it.

The new leaked photo of the Motorola MB511 FlipOut confirms that the device will pack a five-row full QWERTY keyboard and will sport GPS, Wi-Fi and dual-band 3G with HSDPA connect……

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