What’s the first Android device with CDMA and the Sense UI? The HTC Hero, US version, of course!
A few days ago, I was lucky to attend the Sprint Open Developer Conference (thanks Tony) and to receive a free Hero (like the other participants). But then the Motorola Droid crashed the party
So here is a proper Hero unboxing, albeit slightly delayed. Enjoy my pictures above and my video after the break…
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 30, 2009
HP has been honored with a Fall 2009 STAR Award for Service Excellence from the Technology Services Industry Association.
HP received the Service Excellence in Innovative Support Award for its continued innovations in technology, process and staff dedicated to delivering great customer support. HP was presented with the award at the recent Technology Services World conference in Las Vegas.
“Innovative support programs and technologies are helping HP connect with customers in new ways, gain a better understanding of their needs and deliver great support experiences,” said Tara Bunch, vice president, Global Customer Support Operations, HP. “We are thrilled to be honored with this achievement.”
The Service Excellence in Innovative Support award is presented to a company that has embraced innovation in people, process and technology to increase agent productivity, service levels and customer satisfaction; increase problem avoidance; and effectively handle more interactions using unassisted channels.
“The STAR Awards are recognized throughout the industry as one of the highest honors for service and support organizations,” said Stephen Smith, chief financial officer and chief information officer, Technology Services Industry Association. “This award acknowledges that HP has been honored by its peers for providing world-class support as one of the best in the business.”
Since 1990, the STAR Awards have recognized technology companies that display exceptional leadership, innovation and commitment in service excellence.
HP products are backed by HP Total Care, the company’s award-winning service, solutions and support, both in and out of warranty. HP’s online support options include consumer support forums, online classes offered at no charge, a dedicated support video channel, the PC Tune-up Center and the newly designed HP Customer Care site. HP support professionals also are available 24/7 by phone.
More information is available at www.hp.com/go/totalcare.
Also known as Sholes
General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 – American version Announced Not officially announced yet Status Rumored Size Dimensions 115.8 x 60 x 13.7 mm Weight 169 g Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 480 x 854 pixels, 3.7 inches - Multi-touch input methodSo Verizon’s Droid is official, and officially arriving a week from Friday. I’m smart enough to know it’s pointless to call any phone an iPhone killer, or even a potential iPhone killer–and that competing with the iPhone is much more about software and overall integration than it is about hardware specs. (If you could kill the iPhone through trumping its specs, it would already be a goner.) But the Droid does pack better specs than the iPhone 3GS in many areas–including its screen, which has well over twice as many pixels. It runs the promising Android 2.0 OS. And it’s on a network that doesn’t provoke much in the way of squawking from its customers. In short, it’s the most formidable Google rival since the Palm Pre.
I have a Droid in hand (lent to me by Verizon) and will report in with a hands-on report soon. But as is my wont, I’m going to begin with a features comparison. Note that the information that follows mostly doesn’t take third-party applications and products into account,
This T-Grid is a work in progress, subject to expansion and revision.
The phones Verizon Droid by Motorola
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Innovations in gallium nitride technology extend the reach of fiber deep solutions while delivering cable operators up to 20-percent savings
October 26, 2009
HORSHAM, Pa., October. 26, 2009 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Home & Networks Mobility business today announced an innovative implementation of gallium nitride technology that extends the reach of its fiber deep portfolio of optical nodes and RF amplifiers.
With this innovation, Motorola has taken the lead in providing the highest-available RF output levels for cable operators driving fiber deeper into their networks, resulting in as much as a 20-percent reduction of active components in N+1 architectures. By reducing the actives in the network, Motorola allows the operator to lower both capital and operational expenses, while reducing system powering requirements and increasing network reliability.
Cable providers continue to successfully leverage cost-effective fiber deep technologies as they drive fiber deeper into hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks to deliver higher throughput video and broadband services to their subscribers. By introducing extended reach RF amplification, Motorola makes it even more affordable to deploy fiber deeper in the network by reducing the number of active components and their associated installation and operational costs. Additionally, the new technology minimizes the need for re-spacing amplifiers as operators upgrade to 1 GHz and higher technologies, which provides a significant cost benefit over existing technologies. Motorola will integrate its advanced Gallium Nitride technology inside its SG4000, BTN100, MBN100 and BLN100 optical nodes and BT, MiniBridger and BLE RF amplifiers.
“No other vendor can drive an RF signal as far as Motorola,” said Joe Cozzolino senior vice president and general manager, Access Networks Solutions, Motorola Home and Networks Mobility. “This innovation extends Motorola’s leadership in RF technology and offers cable operators improved economics for driving fiber deeper into their networks while providing consumers with the advanced video and broadband services they demand.”
Driving fiber deeper into the HFC network means cable operators can choose to serve more homes from a single node or install fewer amplifiers in the network. In both cases, Motorola enables operators to extend the reach of fiber more affordably. For cable operators, this translates into greater throughput for advanced services and more economical network deployment. For consumers, this offers the potential for both higher quality and a broader range of services from their cable operator.
Motorola’s comprehensive fiber deep portfolio offers four key solution sets to help cable operators migrate fiber deeper into their networks:
· RF amplifier to node conversion
· Migration from segmentable node to optical hub node
· Multi-wavelength solutions
· Extended reach optical nodes and RF amplifiers
Motorola will have demonstrations at the 2009 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo®, October 28-30 in Denver, Colo. — Colorado Convention Center, Booth # 4116
Cincinnati Star Takes Social Networking to the Next Level, Providing Exclusive Fan Information and Breaking News from Both On-and-Off the Field
October 26, 2009
Cincinnati, OH, & Libertyville, IL, Oct. 26, 2009 – One of professional football’s most animated stars and avid Twitter user, Chad Ocho Cinco, has announced the creation of the Ocho Cinco News Network (OCNN) – the nation’s first athlete-operated social media news network, powered by Motorola’s MOTOBLUR technology. Ocho Cinco broke the news regarding the launch of OCNN via Twitter this past weekend.
Known for his headline-making quotes, the Cincinnati wide receiver is teaming up with Motorola and tapping into its innovative MOTOBLUR technology to form the heart of OCNN and fuel its ongoing mission to provide fans with the latest insider information and breaking news from on-and-off the football field. Whether through his highly-anticipated end-zone dances, or patented catch phrases, including “child pleeez” or “kiss da baby,” Ocho Cinco has become an entertaining lightning rod for both media and fans alike.
“Everyone knows that I’m more than just a football star. I’m all about entertainment and doing things that no one else has ever done before,” said Ocho Cinco. “OCNN is exactly that, a first of its kind, and thanks to Motorola’s MOTOBLUR technology, I’m powered up and ready to take tweeting and social networking to an even higher level.”
Ocho Cinco’s vision includes daily and weekly OCNN reports to be delivered using MOTOBLUR via his Motorola CLIQ™ on sports, entertainment, lifestyle and a host of other topics. OCNN reports will be delivered with the same animated and flamboyant style that has characterized Ocho Cinco since he entered the league and are certain to draw the attention and discussion of football fans across the country.
Motorola’s MOTOBLUR technology brings your social networks, contacts and important news together in one convenient and efficient interface – allowing for streaming emails and conversations with friends while syncing all of your social networking platforms with continuous updates and backups. There are no logins or applications to open, and your data is always secure.
“We are excited to work with Chad to create OCNN – the nation’s first athlete-operated social media news network,” said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobile Devices. “It is powered by MOTOBLUR – our newest technology that brings together all of the various aspects of a person’s life into one seamless device. We look forward to Chad’s updates that will surely keep us entertained and engaged.”
Ocho Cinco and Motorola have been putting bold and exciting plans in place for OCNN this season. Stay up-to-date by following Chad on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OGOchoCinco and Motorola at www.twitter.com/MotoMobile.
I am not going to lie. I have not been been down with a Moto product since my beloved Timeport that I dropped in the toilet! (Don’t ask) But from what I heard, the Verizon Droid is the phone to get.
We have been hearing about an iPhone killer since the iPhone first dropped. And needless to say, the iPhone is still alive and kicking. But can the Droid create the much hyped homicide? For starters, it is part of a more superior network, it has a keyboard, a 5 mega-pixel camera, it can multitask, it has speech recognition, it has, it has, it has……. the list seems top be endless.
The phone is dropping next week at a Verizon store near you.
Courtesy: Boy Genius Report
[qi:gigaom_icon_google-android] We’ve gone back and forth on the existence of a Google phone for a long time now. In the beginning, there was a talk of a Google Phone that turned out to be Android, Google’s mobile operating system targeting handset makers such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung. Now there is word that Google might actually be looking to make its own handset. Again! This comes from Ashok Kumar, a veteran technology analyst with Northeast Securities. In a note to his clients, Kumar notes that “Google is expected to launch a self branded -smartphone by year end followed by –netbook (sic) early next year.”
According to Kumar, Google will embed the same iteration of Android as the one currently being used in the Motorola Droid and the device will be based on Qualcomm baseband chips. Google will also introduce its own branded netbook, again embedding Qualcomm Snapdragon, early next year. Acer, one of the largest PC makers in the world, recently said that it would be making an Android-based smartphone and a netbook.
About six months ago, I heard that Google had been extremely conflicted over its desire to make a Google phone. I’ve spoken to some of my sources, who have indicated that Google wants to do its own phone in order to better integrate its services. But at the same time it didn’t want to tee off its partners.
It would be a very curious move for Google, considering that Android is finally building up the momentum it needs to take on more established rivals such as RIM, Nokia (s NOK) and Apple. The decision to make its own branded device would certainly sow seeds of dissension in the Android camp. Already there are fears of too many flavors of Android causing confusion in the market. The handset makers who are betting the farm on Android, Motorola (s MOT) for instance, must feel double-crossed.
My view is that even if Google makes this device, success isn’t assured. Google, for all its success in online advertising and search, has yet to prove that it can build a product-centric infrastructure like, say, Microsoft (s MSFT) and Apple. Google, in fact, would be fighting its own corporate structure.
Verizon Wireless, just days after announcing a far-reaching deal with Google to collaborate on Android smartphones and services (GigaOM Pro, sub. req’d), over the weekend put up a web site touting what it’s positioning as an iPhone slayer: the Droid phone. It was buttressed by a TV ad, which puts the Droid’s launch date in November. Indeed, the trifecta of Google, Verizon and Motorola mean this device will have heavy-duty, pointed marketing behind it. But will that be enough to give the iPhone a run for its money?
Specifications for the Droid phone were laid out on the web site. It will have:
It may also run the TI OMAP3430, according to The Washington Post, the core of both the iPhone and the Palm Pre. Most existing Android phones run the slower Qualcomm 528MHz ARM11.
It’s easy to see from the marketing spin being put on the Droid that it’s very directly aimed at competing with the iPhone. Both the site and the TV ad are peppered with a series of swipes at the Apple device, including “iDon’t have a keyboard,” “iDon’t have interchangeable batteries,” iDon’t run simultaneous apps,” and “iDon’t allow open development.”
Let’s not forget the enormity of the iPhone’s momentum, though. Apple said this afternoon that it sold 7.4 million iPhones in its most recent fiscal quarter, 7 percent more than the same three-month period a year earlier and 43 percent more on a sequential basis. To win against the iPhone, the Droid phone needs:
The Droid phone is already getting an exceptionally rare level of marketing for an open source-based device. As we’ve noted numerous times over on the open source-focused OStatic blog, many open source platforms, including Linux (which Android is based on) suffer from lack of marketing. That’s often the case because open-source platforms become forked and fragmented, and no well-funded single entity puts marketing dollars behind them. As Joe Brockmeier, community manager for Novell’s OpenSUSE Linux and noted open source pundit, noted in a post last year:
“If you took the marketing budgets of all the Linux vendors combined, and then doubled that figure, and then added a zero, you might start approaching what Microsoft spends on marketing Windows. Maybe.”
So all the marketing may give Droid some oomph compared to other open-source launches. Whether it can convince smartphone buyers to forgo an iPhone, however, remains to be seen.
Motorola secures major WiMAX contract to deliver personal media experiences across Ireland
October 14, 2009Dublin, IRELAND – October 14, 2009 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today announced that its Home & Networks Mobility business has been selected by Imagine to design and deploy an end-to-end WiMAX network to replace Imagine’s existing wireless infrastructure nationwide.
“Customers across Ireland will soon experience a leap forward in terms of broadband access and speeds,” said Sean Bolger, CEO, Imagine Communication Group. “Motorola’s globally renowned WiMAX solutions are quick to deploy, flexible and scalable and allow us to meet increasing demand for next-generation voice and broadband data services at home, at work and on the move.”
Imagine will use Motorola’s end-to-end WiMAX solution to deliver voice and high speed data services to residential and small to medium-sized enterprise customers as well as offering mobility in city centers, using USB dongles. The solution is also optimized for Imagine to deliver a wholesale voice and data broadband service to other internet service providers.
“Today’s announcement further solidifies Motorola’s global WiMAX leadership position and we are delighted to be partnering with Imagine on this major project, bringing WiMAX to yet another country. Operators such as Imagine are selecting WiMAX solutions to offer customers cost-effective and high-quality mobile broadband connections in regions not yet fully served by a fixed broadband infrastructure,” said Steve McCaffery, vice president, European sales, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility.
Motorola’s market-leading WiMAX infrastructure, which will operate in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band, will enable Imagine to reach a wider subscriber base, including rural areas, as well as helping meet the growing demand for broadband and other IP-based services, such as voice-over-IP (VoIP) in a cost-effective manner. Customer experience will be enhanced by Motorola’s NBBS remote device management software platform – the first commercial deployment of the industry-leading platform for management of WiMAX devices. The software platform will enable Imagine to remotely access, configure, and troubleshoot their full portfolio of WiMAX devices to ensure high quality of service levels, while lowering operational costs, accelerating new service introduction, increasing revenue, and improving customer care.
Motorola will provide deployment, integration and support services to Imagine in addition to WiMAX equipment. This will include WiMAX Access Points, such as the WAP 450 for increased coverage and capacity in a compact design and the WAP 800 with beamforming antenna techniques for enhanced performance. For customer premises equipment Imagine will offer the USBw 100 dongle for high speed mobile connectivity; the CPEi 775 which includes a built-in Wi-Fi® router and ports for VoIP; and the CPEo 450 which extends the coverage of critical broadband and VoIP services, while reducing infrastructure and support costs.
Editor’s Note: This could be the start of the New World Order MATRIX, where every ‘thing’ in the world can be located and tracked on the internet
Augmented Google-Earth Tracks Real-Time People, Cars, Weather
Cryptogon
September 30, 2009
The surveillance side of this is the chickenfeed. There’s something far more sinister than the simple surveillance… an angle we haven’t heard about yet.
Tice never did tell his story to Congress about this different aspect of the program.
Well, my guess is that it has something to do with providing surveillance data for this SEAS World Sim thing, and that individual Americans are being watched and potentially targeted with it. Tice’s background seems to involve a lot of traditional electronic warfare, radar and ELINT stuff. Maybe Tice’s deal involved the collection of the mobile phone GPS and/or triangulation data which would provide realtime spacial/geographic data to the SEAS system. In other words, SEAS sees you. They could bring up a map of a city and plot your path based on the information that your phone is exchanging with the mobile network.
—Synthetic Environments for Analysis and Simulation
Via: Popular Science:
Researchers from Georgia Tech have devised methods to take real-time, real-world information and layer it onto Google Earth, adding dynamic information to the previously sterile Googlescape.
They use live video feeds (sometimes from many angles) to find the position and motion of various objects, which they then combine with behavioral simulations to produce real-time animations for Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth.
They use motion capture data to help their animated humans move realistically, and were able to extrapolate cars’ motion throughout an entire stretch of road from just a few spotty camera angles.
From their video of an augmented virtual Earth, you can see if the pickup soccer game in the park is short a player, how traffic is on the highway, and how fast the wind is blowing the clouds across the sky.
Up next, they say they want to add weather, birds, and motion in rivers.
Ubiquitous Computing: Big Brother’s All-Seeing Eye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I3T_kLCBAw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKZm34jsNHYDARPA building search engine for video surveillance footage
