Samsung Pulls The Wraps Off Four New Galaxy Smartphones, New Naming Scheme

August 24, 2011 10:49 AM ⋅

Four new Galaxy smartphones will be displayed at IFA in Berlin next month: the GALAXY W, GALAXY M Pro, GALAXY Y and GALAXY Y Pro. Now it’s time to put them in order. The Galaxy W has a decent 1.4GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.7-inch display, the Galaxy M Pro has a full QWERTY keyboard with a 1GHz processor and is pre-loaded with enterprise applications (like Sybase Afaria, CISCO Mobile and CISCO WebEx), and the GALAXY Y has a 2.6-inch display and which will be marketed towards young consumers, has an 832MHz processor, 3-megapixel camera and will be available in a variety of colors. Finally, the GALAXY Y Pro is a second QWERTY smartphone with a 2.6-inch screen and an 832MHz processor — all of the new GALAXY phones do not have release dates yet, but Samsung thought it would be confusing to have a naming scheme with so many letters, so here is how things are explained, as according to Samsung: GALAXY S means “Smart,” GALAXY R means “Royal,” GALAXY W means “Wonder,” GALAXY M means “Magical” and GALAXY Y means “Young.” It is also worth explaining that all of the models use the newest Touchwiz UI interface and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. 

Um, okay Samsung. Press release after the break.
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Posted in: Android, Did You Know?, Mobile, Samsung ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Nikon Unveils A Bunch Of New Coolpix Cameras — But Two Are Really Cool

August 24, 2011 2:36 AM ⋅

So, Nikon went ahead an refreshed their Coolpix line, like they do every year. In this case, the Coolpix AW100 is a rugged point-and-shoot camera, which can shoot geo-tagged 16-megapixel shots and full 1080p video at depths of 33 feet underwater, temperatures as low as 14-degrees Fahrenheit, or after a drop from up to five feet (nice!). The AW100 will cost $379.95 and be available in the colors of black, blue, and orange. So that’s nice going there Nikon.

The second P&S camera worth mentioning here is the Nikon Coolpix P7100, with the same 10.1-megapixel sensor found in its predecessor, the old P7000, but instead adds an articulating LCD screen, which is incredibly useful or just plain annoying, depending on your uses of LCDs on cameras in the field. It will cost $499.95. Lastly, to round things off are the S8200, S6200, S1200pj, and S100 — the S1200pj is the most interesting of the latter because of its ability to project an image to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, complete with 20 lumens of light — for $429.95. Check out the Nikon source link if you are so inclined. The new pack of Coolpix cameras come out in September.

Via: Nikon USA

Posted in: Cameras, Nikon ⋅ Tagged:

RIM Announces The New BB7 Curve Line: The 9350, 9360, And 9370

August 23, 2011 1:58 AM ⋅

RIM sent out a new line of BlackBerry Bolds this summer and now they’ll take care of the entry-level Curve line for consumers still interested in the BlackBerry. All of the new Curves use the new and improved BlackBerry 7 OS along with that great new web browser — though hopefully not priced like the new Bold line, which is fairly absurd if you think about it.

All of the new BB7 Curves have .43-inch depth, a 5-megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, an 800MHz processor, NFC, and a smallish 2.44-inch 480 x 360 display. The differences include the highest-end Curve 9370, with CDMA/EVDO, Quad-Band Edge support and 1GB of storage. Second is the Curve 9360, as the GSM variant, offering Tri-Band UMTS and Quad-Band Edge, with storage of merely 512MB. Lastly, the 9350 is simply a CDMA variant destined for Verizon and/or Sprint (with the same 512MB storage), much like the 9360 is destined for AT&T and T-Mobile. Hopefully things can go well for RIM, since a decent competitor just called it quits.

Via: RIM PR, TiMN

Posted in: BlackBerry, Breaking, Mobile ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

HP Begins The Dreaded Liquidation Of The Touchpad — 16GB For $99 And 32GB FOr $149

August 20, 2011 10:18 AM ⋅

Last week at this time I would have told you I would’t buy a Toucpad. I’d say it’s a pretty good tablet ith the times I’ve had hands-on with it, but actually wouldn’t buy one myself. Well, fast-forward and find that HP is stopping its software dedication to webOS, and thus will discontinue all webOS devices. The HP Touchpad got some pretty good reviews (especially post-update, where tons of bug fixes and speed increases showed up) before that, and now HP has send notices to all of its affiliates asking them to cut down the price to $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model. It is also important to note that the webOS App Catalog is still live, and even though a few devs are pulling their apps, there are always ways to sideload them much like you’d do with Android. Also since the HP Touchpad has incredibly capable specs (9.7-inch 1024×768 IPS screen, 1.2GHz Snapdragon dual-core processor, etc.) that it is perfect for web browsing (the browser rules) and simple note-taking, along with all of the other things you can come to expect of tablets. Also you can be sure modders will port Android to it, in an almost non-buggy state. 

Turns out they are incredibly hard to find, but thanks to my vast number of “internet frandz”, I have found one (much like I did with the iPad 2). 

So now are you buying a Touchpad? Via: PreCentral

Posted in: Did You Know?, HP, Mobile, Palm, Tablets, WTF ⋅ Tagged: ,

iOS 5 Beta 6 Now Available Via OTA To Developers

August 19, 2011 1:30 PM ⋅


It’s not gold master yet, but it’s iOS 5 beta 6 for the iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone. Unlike beta 5, you do not need to wipe your device in order to update. Developers (or anyone with a dev membership) can just use the built-in OTA function, and get the download onto the iDevice. The new features, fixes, and more can be seen in the changelog after the jump.

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Posted in: Apple, Breaking, Mobile ⋅ Tagged: ,

HP Is Quitting On webOS Phones And Tablets

August 18, 2011 3:38 PM ⋅


It’s over. HP will be dropping its line of webOS tablets and phones. Keep in mind webOS wasn’t bad at all, but it never caught a true place in the market. HP also let it be known that they will “continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward”, which still isn’t good news no matter how you look at it. Goodbye, webOS.

However on the flipside, HP might spin-off their PC business as well, which is another thing to keep a close eye on. And while I truly never liked webOS, I did find it to be visually appealing, and it’s a shame it won’t go anywhere, unless it is sold off to another company willing to handle it. Oh well.

Via: HP

Posted in: Breaking, HP, Mobile, Palm, WTF ⋅ Tagged:

Another Minecraft Beta 1.8 Teaser From Notch: Rivers

August 18, 2011 10:30 AM ⋅

So above is what part of the new biome code in Minecraft looks like. As according to Notch, “Ok, rivers are working.” Also that, “I’m knee deep in this code now, and I’m getting scared. I think I need coffee.” Otherwise, he’s in a long and hard process in getting Minecraft Beta 1.8 ready for the public. As I’ve covered many, many times before here on LaptopMemo, he is planning for NPC villages, new mobs, the Adventure update, and much, much more.

Posted in: FTW, Gaming ⋅ Tagged: , ,

BlackBerry Bold 9900 For T-Mobile Priced At $299 On August 31st — Yup, Crazy

August 17, 2011 12:45 AM ⋅

It’s really great what RIM is trying here. Freshen up their Bold lie with you know, modern technology. The Bold 9900 is going to use a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 768MB RAM, 8GB of internal storage (only 188MB for apps), a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 640×480 resolution, uses HSPA+ data speeds of up to 14MBps, the new BlackBerry 7 OS, and a 5 megapixel camera (no autofocus) with 720p HD video recording. So, technically they have some great specs, but miss in the storage and imaging areas (among a few other smaller things).  

But now that almost every carrier is charging $249 for a Bold 9900/9930 makes it look pretty bad. And now T-Mobile is making it worse. To snatch a Bold 9900 on T-Mobile this August 31st, you’ll need to shed $299 on a 2-year agreement, with $50 mail-in rebate. Excuse me, T-Mobile, but that’s just not very intelligent (for lack of a better word) of you. PR after the cut.

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Posted in: BlackBerry, Breaking, Mobile, T-Mobile, WTF ⋅ Tagged: , ,

AT&T Momentum 4G And Elevate 4G LTE Devices Go Live On August 21st — Without LTE

August 16, 2011 12:09 PM ⋅

So, wrap your brain around this one: both the Momentum and Elevate 4G mobile hotspot devices will go live on AT&T on August 21st, where you’ll be able to buy them — without 4G LTE coverage. A launch date for the service hasn’t been pinned yet, so you’d be using HSPA+. Data is priced as the following: 5 gigabytes of data for a monthly rate of $50 with any additional data consumed available for $10 per gigabyte, exactly like Verizon Wireless’ plan. If you’re okay with buying devices that support a network that isn’t out yet, then go right ahead on the 21st. Press release after the jump.
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Posted in: AT&T, Breaking, Internet, Mobile ⋅ Tagged: ,

Minecraft Pocket Edition Hits The Android Market — For XPERIA Play Owners Only, To Start

August 16, 2011 12:01 PM ⋅

The official Minecraft Pocket Edition has hit the Android Market for $6.99, courtesy of Mojang, Notch, and his cronies. The game won’t allow you to craft items, but instead is more like the classic mode, and allows you to plonk and create structures using 36 blocks from the full PC version. Much like the PC and Mac versions though, Mojang AB promises o continuously update the mobile app over time so that more features get added. It goes live for XPERIA Play users first, then a majority of Android phones later. Via: Android Market

Posted in: Gaming