By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide

In an attempt to make their phones more business-friendly and win back market share from competitor Research in Motion, and stem the advances of other phones such as Apple’s iPhone, Nokia will be embedding Microsoft’s Activesync into all S60 Symbian phones to automatically make them compatible with Exchange.

The company made the announcement just before the opening of CTIA in San Francisco that all future N-Series and E-Series phones will also come with Activesync, making them compatible with Microsoft’s business mail service out of the box. Previously, users had to jump through hoops to download a poorly advertised plug-in from Nokia that did not always work to spec.

This announcement will see Activesync become available immediately on 43 different varieties of handset, accounting for over 80 million phones worldwide; and will make Nokia a more attractive option for corporate users who make big use out of Microsoft Exchange. This will in turn allow Nokia to bring the fight to their biggest rival in the smartphone arena, RIM, who’s BlackBerry devices have ruled the field in the U.S. in particular.

Microsoft Exchange support has become an increasingly important check box to fill for handset makers, with Apple’s 3G iPhone also coming with Activesync to make it a viable, if extravagant, option for business users.

"The costs of mobility are contained as companies are able to utilize existing Microsoft Exchange infrastructure, and there is the strong possibility that a large number of employees already have on or more of the 43 Nokia devices that enable Exchange ActiveSync," said Nokia’s executive VP of new markets Anssi Vanjoki, in a statement.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Guide

Maker of the Blackberry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM), announced Wednesday the release of the company’s first flip phone- the Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220. As part of RIM’s continual expansion from the corporate market into the consumer market, new consumer-oriented Blackberries have been expected and the new flip smartphone delivers just that.

With a quick flip of the wrist, the user gains access to web browsing, messaging services, camera functions, video, music and even the ability to make or answer phone calls. With the external LCD display, users can preview incoming email, text messages and phone calls without ever needing to use the new flip feature, but the internal LCD display does offer an attractive and large 240 by 320 resolution transmissive LCD display for added detail. Both displays are able to automatically adjust its brightness according to ambient light levels. The Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 uses quad-band GSM/EDGE, has Wi-Fi, measures 3.9-inches by 1.9-inches by 0.7-inches in size and weighs in at 3.6-ounces.

One attraction of Blackberry phones has been the tactile Qwerty keypads they offer and although the new Pearl Flip does not use a full sized keypad, it does feature SureType technology, allowing the user to use the hybrid Qwerty keypad as if it were virtually a full sized one. With the built-in 2-megapixel camera users are not just limited to taking photos, but video recording is possible as well and users can upload their photos directly to sites like Facebook and Flickr. The built in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) allows users to potentially save some money by being able to check email, shop online, make phone calls and stream video when connected to a Wi-Fi network without ever needing to use a cellular network.

The Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 does not feature GPS as some other Blackberry Pearls do, nor does it have a tethered modem capability, but it does have a 128 MB flash memory, a trackball, the BlackBerry Maps software, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, a 4-hour talk time, a 14-day standby time and most the other features offered by other Blackberry Pearl models today. Available in black or red, the new smartphone should be available this fall from T-Mobile, with further information to come then.

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By Michael Brown - Source : Tom's Hardware

Semiconductor manufacturer DS2 has announced new features for its Aitana 200 Mbit/sec. powerline networking chipset that enable the component to deliver transmission speeds four times faster than standard wireless networks.

Powerline networking devices enable a home’s existing electrical wires to carry data—including audio and video—as well as electrical power. This enables homeowners to deploy hard-wired Ethernet networks without the need to string new wires. Unlike wireless networks, however, there is currently no IEEE standard for powerline networks, which means there’s no guarantee that one powerline product will work with another.

Three consortiums are competing to have proposals adopted as the IEEE P1901 standard for broadband-over-powerline networking: The Universal Powerline Assocation (of which DS2 is the principal member), the HomePlug Powerline Alliance (Intel is a major player), and the Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (whose membership includes Panasonic). HPA and CEPCA merged their proposals last year and won an early round of IEEE working group voting, dealing a significant blow to DS2 and the UPA. But the game isn’t over yet.

The IEEE working group is scheduled to meet again on September 29. If the HPA/CEPCA proposal fails to win 75 percent approval in this round of voting, DS2’s proposal could be brought back for further consideration.

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By Marcus Yam - Source : Tom's Hardware

In the realm of PC gaming, there have been few developers with as solid a track record as Ensemble Studios. It’s a sad day for PC gamers then, as Microsoft has confirmed reports that it intends to shut down the developer as soon as its work on Halo Wars is complete.

Despite its legacy of producing some of the very finest strategy games with its Age of Empire and Age of Mythology series, Microsoft decided that it would be financially disadvantageous to continue to operate the wholly-owned Ensemble Studios.

“Microsoft has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars,” the company said in a statement. “This was a fiscally-rooted decision that keeps [Microsoft Games Studios] on its growth path.”

The leadership at Ensemble Studios already have planned to form a new development studio following the closure, but will also continue to support Halo Wars and other Microsoft projects. Microsoft expressed that it still believes in the talent at Ensemble, and said that it “is working to place as many Ensemble employees who do not move to the newly formed studio into open positions within Microsoft as possible.”

Up until Halo Wars, Ensemble Studios’ focus has clearly been on the core PC gamer. It is rather disappointing for the PC crowd, then, that Microsoft not only shut down the developer, but also that its last project be one that may never grace a keyboard and mouse.

As expected, the development team is suffering a blow to its motivation in continuing work on Halo Wars; but according to reports, Microsoft is offering special incentives for employees who choose to see the completion of the project.

“This decision does not reflect at all on Ensembles talent or the quality of Halo Wars,” said Microsoft. “In fact, many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game.”

Halo Wars is expect to ship only on the Xbox 360 sometime during the first half of 2009.

Ensemble Studios was founded in 1995, later acquired by Microsoft in 2001.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Guide

Microsoft’s new BlueTrack mouse technology promises to take mice where no mouse has worked before.

Microsoft has announced Tuesday a handful of new computer peripherals, but none more exciting than its new Explorer Mouse with BlueTrack technology. Unlike traditional laser or optical mice, a mouse with BlueTrack technology will allow the mouse to work on virtually any surface, from shag carpet to concrete, though mirrored surfaces or clear glass will still remain a problem.

According to Mark DePue, platforms engineering manager at Microsoft and co-inventor of BlueTrack Technology, “research shows that people aren’t sitting at a desk all day, but they’ve gone mobile. In fact, 72-percent of PCs sold are notebook PCs, and consumers need a mouse that can go with them anywhere.” In a demonstration of the mouse, Microsoft shows the mouse working accurately and precisely on granite, marble, wood flooring, carpet and a dusty surface. For those who may have shared the experience and frustration of trying to use a mouse on such surfaces may appreciate what Microsoft has done.

The new mouse looks and seems a lot like a typical laser mouse, but Microsoft claims the technology differs due to the use a blue beam of light that is four times larger than that of what many laser mice use today, which allows the sensor to work even on shag carpet. Other technologies involved include a specular optics architecture, proprietary pixel geometry and a Microsoft-designed image sensor. The Microsoft terminology being used may not mean much to everyone, but if the mouse works as claimed, that’s all that really matters.

There will be two versions of the new Microsoft Explorer Mouse, a desktop version and a more portable mobile version called the Explorer Mini Mouse. Both come with BlueTrack technology, five-buttons, a 2.4 GHz wireless connection, a snap-in transceiver for added portability and a right-handed ergonomic design that features a blue light and chrome detailing. The Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse come with a three-year warranty and will be available at Best Buy stores in November for $99.95 and $79.95, respectively.

Also unveiled by Microsoft on Tuesday was the very stylish and unique Microsoft Arc Mouse for those fashion conscious users, two new seemingly-interesting LifeCam web cameras and the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000, featuring a wireless keyboard and mouse.

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By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide

The 100 percent increase in the cost of sending an SMS text message over the past three years has been called into question by the chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I am concerned with whether this market consolidation, and increased market power by the major carriers, has contributed to this doubling of text messaging rates over the last three years," the Chair, Senator Herb Kohl said in his letter to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless regarding the price hikes.

Since 2005 the price of a text message has increased across the board from 10 cents to 20 cents a text, with only four companies serving 90 percent of the U.S. market – down from six, with carriers continuing to make local acquisitions and eat up more of the market share.

"Some industry experts contend that these increased rates do not appear to be justified by any increases in the costs associated with text messaging services, but may instead be a reflection of a decrease in competition, and an increase in market power, among your four companies," he wrote.

Text messaging has taken off in the U.S. at a slower pace than in other markets, particularly Europe where SMS messaging is the most mature and outstrips traditional calls as a percentage of mobile phone usage amongst many market segments.

"Also of concern is that it appears that each of companies has changed the price for text messaging at nearly the same time, with identical price increases," he wrote. "This conduct is hardly consistent with the vigorous price competition we hope to see in a competitive marketplace."

Sprint was the first to raise the price of a text message to 20 cents in the fall of last year, with the remaining carriers also raising their prices shortly after. Kohl has asked the four carriers to explain this, and the differences in pricing and service offerings they are competing against.

He also asked for data on the utilization of text messaging from 2005 to 2008. He gave the companies till October 6 to respond.

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By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide

New York City has announced that the city’s 911 and 311 hotlines will now accept images and videos from people’s cell phones.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, DoITT Commissioner Paul Cosgrave and Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt yesterday announced that citizens would be able to send images and clips to aid law enforcement officials in solving crimes.

“When it comes to crime fighting, a picture is worth more than a thousand words," said Commissioner Kelly. "This is just one more tool to help the public help the police in our powerful partnership."

While this seems like a great idea, we can’t help but think there will be some people who’ll take advantage of this. Nearly every single cell phone on the market has a camera these days and of course, it’s ten times easier to track a picture than it is to track a phonecall from a blocked number however, we’re willing to bet there’ll be dozens of kids that don’t know any better sending pictures and videos to emergency hotlines every week.

Again, the same could be said of citizens ability to send pictures to 311. 311 is a non-emergency hotline, which means people would be more inclined to pull pranks. The press release says citizens can send in pictures to 911 to help solve crimes and send images to 311 to report quality of life complaints. It’ll be interesting to see how many people try and pass off a neighbor or ex as noise pollution or vagrancy.

Currently photos submitted are not available in patrol cars although according to the Associated Press, this will be addressed by next year. The technology comes at a pricetag of $250,000 and has been in the works for the last year and a half.

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By Gavin Steacy - Source : Tom's Hardware

On Sep. 20, 2008, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) will stage its prestigious annual Honors Ceremony. Most notable among the award recipients is Intel co-founder Gordon Moore.

According to the IEEE press release, Moore is receiving the IEEE Medal of Honor "for pioneering technical roles in integrated-circuit processing, and leadership in the development of MOS memory, the microprocessor computer and the semiconductor industry." The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition that an individual can receive from the institute, which is given for an outstanding contribution to, or career in, the IEEE fields of interest.

Gordon Moore is probably best known for his 1965 Electronics Magazine publication "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits," where he detailed his original observation that the number of components that can be fit on an integrated circuit at minimum cost per component doubled every year. Dubbed "Moore’s Law" by Dr. Carver Mead at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), this observation was refined in 1975 so that the law stated that the number of components doubled every two years.

Misconception ensued when a former workmate stated that computer performance would double every 18 months, because the transistors were becoming faster. This is sometimes confused with Moore’s law, however, as Moore explained in an interview transcript (PDF warning) published on the Intel website in 2005, he never mentioned an 18 month time period in his observations.

Other notable events with which Moore was involved include co-founding the largest semiconductor company in the world, Intel, of which he is now Chairman Emeritus. Moore and his wife also donated $600 million to Caltech in 2001 for research funding and a further $200 million in 2007 to Caltech and the University of California to build the world’s largest optical telescope.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Guide

A camera for the ages, the Sony A900 was released Tuesday after months of speculation and rumors.

While many will still prefer a Canon or Nikon DSLR, the new Sony A900 is not a camera that can be ignored easily. Featuring a full-frame CMOS sensor with a massive resolution of 24.60-megapixels, photos should look crisp and detailed, although memory card sizes today may suddenly seem inadequate. The camera also features a 3.0-inch LCD screen, sensor-shift image stabilization, five frames per second shooting, an ISO of 100 to 6400 and a shutter speed of 30 to 1/8000th of second.

Early reviews of the camera are showing many praises, but the A900 is still not without some faults. The Sony A900 is not the lightest camera to carry around for example, weighing in at 4.17-pounds with the inclusion of the battery, lens and compact flash card, but with the Carl Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 zoom lens attached it sure does look impressive. The camera also lacks a pop-up flash that some users may find disappointing, but in its place we see the presence of a large pentaprism that helps provide the viewfinder with a spacious 100-percent view of the scene. Lastly, the Sony A900 lacks a Live View mode, a popular new feature among DSLRs, but in substitution Sony has included a near equally useful raw preview mode.

While the camera still does have some other small faults, it does beat its only competition, the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, in a couple important ways. First, the Sony A900 is lighter than the competition, but more importantly its priced at just $3,000, $5,000 cheaper than the Canon.

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By Marcus Yam - Source : Tom's Guide

The first bit of new Apple product that Steve Jobs chose to unveil during his presentation on Tuesday was iTunes 8.

While iTunes is synonymous with music, the Apple media service will also happily provide movies and television shows. Jobs was happy to report that the TV selection is now better with NBC back on board supply shows such as “The Office,” “Monk,” “Battlestar Galactica,” among others.

Image quality addicts will enjoy iTunes 8’s new addition of high-definition television shows from ABC, NBC and Showtime for $2.99 per episode. While the added resolution of high-def video won’t add anything to those viewing on iPods or iPhones, those watching on Mac, PC, or on their widescreen TV with Apple TV will appreciate the upgrade.

iTunes 8 also includes iPhoto’s browsing interface with the ability to display and navigate movies, TV shows, iPhone apps, podcasts and audiobooks using album and video covers.

The real star of iTunes 8 is the new Genius feature, something Steve Jobs pushed as a revolutionary way to rediscover your music collection. A feature that seems perfect for those who like to be served what they listen to, Genius will use special algorithms to put music into groups that users should agree with.

Apple details the new feature’s operation, “click the Genius button, and iTunes instantly creates a playlist of songs that go great together from your own library.” Conveniently, Genius will also recommend music from the iTunes Store that aren’t already owned, making it a selling point for the music industry.

Privacy nuts may take issue with Genius, however, as iTunes collects anonymous music collection data (and perhaps listening habits) to send to Apple to help develop the playlists.

With the iPod Shuffle, Apple wanted to convince users that “life is random.” With Genius, Apple is taking the next step by adding some method to the madness.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Hardware

AMD has released three new triple-core processors Monday along with further price cuts to its processor range.

Although not able to compete with Intel in the high-end market, AMD has shown it still has some bite left by slashing prices once again in their processor line up and by releasing three new triple-core Phenom processors. The newly announced AMD Phenom X3 8450e and Phenom X3 8250e are both energy efficient processors with a TDP of just 65 W each, which translates into reduced heat and a savings on the power bill.

In comparison, AMD’s standard Phenom triple-core processors have a 95 W TDP and Intel’s desktop dual-core processors have a TDP of 65 W. Both new processors have a triple L2 cache of 512 KB and a 2 MB L3 cache, with the Phenom X3 8450e featuring a 2.1 GHz clock-speed and the Phenom X3 8250e a 1.9 GHz clock speed. Prices are not yet available.

The third newly announced processor is the AMD Phenom X3 8750 Black Edition, proving once again that where there is an unlocked multiplier to be had, there is an extra dollar to be made. The processor features a 2.4 GHz clock-speed, a 95 W TDP, a triple L2 cache of 512 KB, a 2 MB L3 cache and an unlocked multiplier for those wanting to put their cooling system to the test. Priced at $134 in bulk, the processor offers a good deal for the enthusiast on a budget.

Last but not least, AMD is slashing prices again for the second time in the last two weeks with price reductions set for the AMD X3 8450, dropping the price to $104 in bulk, and the AMD X3 8650, with a price drop to $119 in bulk. Last week Intel introduced its new Intel Pentium dual-core E5200 processor, offering a 2.5 GHz clock-speed, an 800 MHz FSB and a 2 MB L2 cache, priced competitively at $84 in bulk. AMD is rumored to be releasing its new Phenom processors based on the upcoming Deneb core in January 2009, which just does not seem to be soon enough.

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