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Forget active shutter glasses: Ford’s got an active shutter car
US Update: HP Pre 3, HP Veer, HP TouchPad
webOS battle: Palm Pixi Plus versus HP Veer
webOS battle: HP Pre 3 versus Palm Pre 2
HP Veer fits webOS power in the palm of your hand
HP Pre 3 packs a punch: webOS meets business
HP TouchPad revealed: world’s first webOS tablet
INQ Cloud Touch review: First look
INQ Android tablet: CEO spills plans
INQ Cloud Touch Android phone official!

Forget active shutter glasses: Ford’s got an active shutter car

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:00 PM PST

We've been gawping at the new Ford Focus, taking it for its very first test drive on British roads. But the biggest surprise wasn't the mind-boggling about of gadgetry behind the wheel, it was behind the grille: Ford's new family runaround uses "active shutters", but no, they're not there to make the new Focus 3D capable.

Instead, these shutters stop cold air entering the Ford Focus' engine on cold days. Ford says it lets the motor heat up quicker, getting to optimal operating temperature before the shutters are opened means it runs more efficiently, and can warm up the car's interior quicker too.

We might be kissing goodbye to a bitterly cold British winter, but Ford's already thinking of the next one, with an Active Grille Shutter that can vary between 16 different positions, to open precisely the right amount.

Not advanced enough for you? Take a look at the all-new Ford Focus Electric

And the result isn't just a more efficient engine or a warmer cabin. The Active Grille Shutter system dramatically alters the aerodynamics of the new Ford Focus, and when it's shut Ford says there's a 2% reduction in CO2 emissions because of it.

Ford Focus models packing Active Grille Shutter technology will begin rolling off production lines in March.

US Update: HP Pre 3, HP Veer, HP TouchPad

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 07:00 PM PST

Today was the day of all things HP and Palm webOS. In our US Update we break down the details of three new webOS devices: HP Pre 3, HP Veer, and HP TouchPad. Later we look at two major webOS battles and you help us decide the winners.

The HP TouchPad is now official, becoming the world's first webOS tablet. Powered by a dual-core Snapgdraon processor running at 1.2 GHz, the TouchPad looks to take the fight to Apple's iPad later this Summer.

The HP Pre 3 is the third installment in the Pre handsets. Aimed at business users needing 24/7 connectivity, the Pre 3 adds a larger display and 1.4 GHz processor. Look for the Pre 3 Summer 2011.

The third device announcement today was the HP Veer, a credit-card sized smartphone. Replacing the Pixi and Pixi Plus, the HP Veer doubles the memory and bumps the processing power to 800 MHz (up from 600 MHz). Is this the perfect pint-sized smartphone?

We wrap up the morning with two webOS showdowns. First we pinned the Palm Pre 2 against the HP Pre 3 and later we compared the Palm Pixi Plus to the HP Veer. Help us decide the true champion.

That wraps up things from my side of the pond. As always I'm Nick Marshall saying over and out. I'll see you again tomorrow.

webOS battle: Palm Pixi Plus versus HP Veer

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 05:53 PM PST

Hot on the heels of our webOS battle between the Palm Pre 2 and the HP Pre 3 is our next installment – the Palm Pixi Plus versus HP Veer. The credit-card sized HP Veer will take the honors as the smallest webOS phone to date when it launches later this year, but is it worth the upgrade? Let's begin.

Adding a slide out keyboard, instead of the candy-bar, fully-exposed keyboard of the Palm Pixi has its compromises. For one, you increase the thickness of the device from 10.85 mm to 15.1 mm, and second, you are left with a slightly wider device, 111 mm versus 84 mm. The other downside is that the removable battery seen on the Palm Pixi Plus is no more, the Veer uses a smaller, non-removable 910 mAh battery (down from 1,150 mAh).

The screens are relatively unchanged, the 2.63 inch 400 x 320 pixel touchscreen of the Pixi Plus is .03 inches smaller on the Veer. Where we start to see some changes is the camera, up from 2-megapixels to 5-megapixels, matching the Veer's camera to the Pre 3. Both phones offer 8GB of internal memory and bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The Veer adds wireless n support, HSPA instead of HSDPA and touch-to-share capability.

The bread and butter of the HP Veer can best be seen in processing power and memory. Now using a 800 MHz Qualcomm processor instead of the Pixi Plus' 600 MHz, the bite-sized Veer should deliver snappy performance. The upgrade from 256MB to 512MB of RAM should also help in multi-tasking and overall device performance. These two categories could prove to be the most important when considering the HP Veer.

It's a tough decision anytime you consider upgrading smartphones, especially for webOS faithfuls who so rarely get a hardware refresh. Let us know whether you'll be trading in that Palm Pixi or Palm Pixi Plus for the HP Veer.

Coming Spring 2011 | HP | TBD

webOS battle: HP Pre 3 versus Palm Pre 2

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 05:10 PM PST

The HP Pre 3 has taken the reigns from the second-generation Palm Pre 2 this morning. During the event, we began to ask ourselves – what makes the Pre 3 so special and is this truly a worthy upgrade for the webOS faithful? Let's find out.

Only subtle upgrades accompanied the launch of the Palm Pre 2 for existing Palm Pre owners. Even more surprising is that with today's announcement and all the buzz surrounding the Pre 3, tomorrow Verizon Wireless begins taken pre-orders for the older, Pre 2. Let's run down the core features and see how these two handsets differ.

First up, processing power. The Palm Pre 2 is powered by a 1 GHz OMAP 3630 processor while the Pre 3 using a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon. A 40 percent boost in clock speed could yield considerable improvements in performance. The display is key — the Pre 2 uses a 3.1 inch 480 x 320 pixel multitouch display versus the 3.58 inch 800 x 480 pixel display on the Pre 3.

Memory remains roughly the same on the Pre 3 as it uses the same 512MB of RAM on the Pre 2, but instead of 16GB of internal storage, there's two choices: 8 or 16GB. The camera of the HP Pre 3 remains at five megapixel, the same as the Pre 2, but adds 720p HD video recording instead of an inferior VGA resolution. Since there's no front-facing camera on the Pre 2, the Pre 3 definitely takes the cake in the imaging department.

Battery life is crucial in smartphones, the Pre 3 ups the ante with a 1,230 mAh battery compared to the 1,150 of the Pre 2. A minor bump, but we'll take anything we can get to keep our phones lasting longer throughout the day. The last notable comparison is the new touch-to-share feature of the Pre 3 which allows you to place your phone on the HP TouchPad and share URLs, receive text messages, and opens the door to a new webOS ecosystem.

Overall the HP Pre 3 offers several notable improvements over its predecessor. Until we have the Pre 3 in hand to compare to the Pre 2, real-world value cannot be determined. On paper it looks solid, sit tight as we put the HP Pre 3 through its paces next week at MWC 2011.

Coming Summer 2011 | HP | TBD

HP Veer fits webOS power in the palm of your hand

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 04:01 PM PST

At first glance, the HP Veer might seem like a bite-sized feature phone. Trust me when I say this couldn’t be further from truth. Dubbed the world's smallest webOS phone to date, taking the title from the Palm Pixi, the HP Veer delivers a true webOS experience in the size of a credit card and thinner than a deck of cards.

Fueled by an 800 MHz processor and measuring just 15.1mm in thickness, there's plenty of power inside the petite, HP Veer. Beneath the 2.57 inch glass (320 x 400 pixel) display is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Inside you'll find 8GB of storage, integrated-GPS, and the same array of radios found on the HP Pre 3.

As with all webOS devices, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta is in tow, delivering a "complete" web browsing experience. Synergy brings the HP TouchPad, HP Pre 3 and HP Veer together, allowing complete device interaction. To power the pocket-friendly Veer, a 910 mAh rechargeable battery is included.

The HP Veer is a world phone, touting tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM/EDGE support. Like the Pre 3, the Veer features a 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack and the full line up of email account support. Think of the Veer as a smaller, slightly slower, Pre 3 with total webOS functionality.

The HP Veer is expected to land in early Spring, and like the HP TouchPad and Pre 3, exact pricing and availablity will be announced at a later date. With three new webOS devices schedule to be on display at MWC 2011, we'll have our work cut out for us. If there's anything you'd like us to confirm on the handset, feel free to drop us a line.

Coming Spring 2011 | HP | TBD

HP Pre 3 packs a punch: webOS meets business

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 03:19 PM PST

The third installment in the Palm Pre trilogy is now official. Introducing the HP Pre 3, the webOS smartphone that aims to deliver professional productivity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With a blistering fast processor and new high-resolution display, this could be the Pre the doctor ordered.

Let's get right down to the nuts and bolts. The HP Pre 3 builds upon the original Palm Pre and Pre 2, but adds a new Snapdragon 1.4 GHz processor and 3.58 inch 480 x 800 resolution display. Beneath the razor sharp display is the familiar QWERTY keyboard. The gesture area, adjacent to the display, remains unchanged.

Inside the HP Pre 3 you'll find either 8 or 16GB of storage. On the rear is a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, capable of 720p HD video recording. Up front, a fixed-focus VGA resolution camera has been added for live video calling.

With an eye for business, the Pre 3 offers a variety of email account support: EAS for Exchange servers, Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3 and IMAP. Combined with robust messaging support for IM, SMS, MMS and you have all the fixing for a true business smartphone.

Other highlights of the HP Pre 3 include an assortment of sensors (proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer and compass), a removable and rechargeable 1,230 mAh battery, HP Touchstone compatibility (sold separately), and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

In business, connections are key — the Pre 3 embodies this philosophy with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n support, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and A2DP, and mobile hotspot capability (five devices). Both a CDMA and GSM version of the HP Pre 3 are expected to land later this year, as early as Summer 2011.

Overall the HP Pre 3 looks to be a well-round smartphone, that combined with enough worldwide carriers, could position webOS as a contender in the smartphone space. For now, we're excited about the webOS, but until we have the Pre 3 in our hands at MWC 2011 next week, we'll refrain from passing formal judgement. Until then, go ahead and sound off with your thoughts on the HP Pre 3.

Coming Summer 2011 | HP | TBD

HP TouchPad revealed: world’s first webOS tablet

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:48 PM PST

During HP's webOS event today in San Francisco, the computing giant unveiled three ground-breaking devices, the first of which is the HP TouchPad. As luck, and rumors would have it, the HP TouchPad lands this summer — here's what you need to know.

Powered by a dual-core Snapdragon processor running at a blistering 1.2 GHz, the HP TouchPad will deliver the ultimate webOS experience. A 9.7 inch XGA (1024×768) resolution capacitive, multitouch screen with 18-bit color provides plenty of real estate to get the job done. In terms of storage, there's two choices: 16GB or 32GB.

Not to be outdone by tablet giants, the HP TouchPad features a complete web browsing experience thanks to support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta. Though Steve Jobs might care to disagree, the addition of Adobe Flash Player pits the TouchPad against several Android-based rivals.

What's a great tablet without wireless connectivity options? Well, the HP TouchPad comes standard with WiFi b/g/n support, including WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication. There's also A-GPS, if you are inclined to opt for the 3G model. Other standard features include Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo support.

To help differentiate the TouchPad from the other tablets on the market, HP tapped into their advanced audio technology, using internal stereo speakers with Beats Audio. On the front of the tablet is a 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling, light sensor, accelerometer, compass and gyroscope — basically a sensor for every possible scenario.

At the core of the new webOS is device "synergy", in the new ecosystem your Palm Pre and TouchPad work together. For instance, you can easily share a URL with your Pre by tapping the two together. You can even receive text message or answer phone calls on your TouchPad, then start reading a website and send it to your Pre for the ultimate "connected experience".

So we've gone through many of the great features, but how about battery life and dimensions — will this thing fit in a bag? The dimensions and weight of the TouchPad are almost identical to the Apple iPad, it's a half inch thick and about a pound and half in weight. If you'd like to get down to specifics, the TouchPad is .54 inches thick and the iPad is .5 inches. Powering the TouchPad is a rechargeable 6300 mAh battery, you can use either a microUSB cable or take advantage of the built-in HP Touchstone technology, we'd opt for the latter.

In this extensive preview of the HP TouchPad we've given you a full dose of what to expect this Summer when the tablet goes on sale. Following HP's announcement today, Amazon stepped up to the plate and announced a webOS version of their Kindle app, optimized for the TouchPad, will be available free at launch.

Today is a huge day for HP now that their acquisition of Palm has finally materialized into some product announcements. The future of webOS is bright and we couldn't be more excited to get our mitts on the new slate. Look for hands-on coverage next week when we hit the floor of MWC 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. Anyone else feeling like a return to webOS for 2011?

Coming Summer 2011 | HP | TBD

INQ Cloud Touch review: First look

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:34 PM PST

The INQ Cloud Touch is the British-based company’s long anticipated first foray into Android. We’ve gone over the launch details already, but we’ve also had a chance to see the Froyo phone before release and try it out for ourselves. Read on, and see what we make of it so far.

While we were unable to take photos, we were able to get a good long look at the INQ Cloud Touch and play around with its new features plastered on top of Android 2.2, and while we don’t intend to pass judgement on non final hardware or software, what we saw was already bug-free and at the very least a new vision for how an Android phone should work.

Or rather, how a Facebook centric phone should work: you can bet the INQ Cloud Touch was the handset at the centre of all those rumours TechCrunch came out with last year. INQ worked closely with Facebook on the software skin – but first, to the hardware.

Hardware

The INQ Cloud Touch has internals that are pretty much par for the course in a lower end Android phone at the moment: a Qualcomm 7227 600MHz CPU, with 512MB of RAM and around 2-300MB of user space free (plus SD card support) – on the back there’s a five megapixel camera. On the top, you’ll find a 3.5mm audio port and micro USB slot.

The INQ Cloud Touch looks a lot different form most however: it’s sporting a smooth, bright plastic backing in very much the same vein as the casing of the INQ Chat 3G, while the select button on the front is in the shape of INQ’s logo. It’s not for everyone, no, but we like the cheery colours (You can get black, red and white cases for it).

If the INQ Cloud Touch has a fatal flaw in a low price Android phone, it’s the screen: it’s a HVGA (320×480) 3.5-inch capacitive display, which puts it behind the curve compared to the incredible 800×480 OLED display on the £99 ZTE-built Orange San Francisco. There’s no getting round it: you can see the grainy pixels. INQ is selling the phone on experience of course, and it would be hard to match a huge manufacturer like ZTE for scales of economy, but we do wonder if people will notice this disparity testing phones out in the shop. We shall see.

Software

INQ’s point of differentiate has always been software: it made Brew OS usable with its first three handsets, bringing Facebook to the forefront, and with the INQ Cloud Touch, it’s going all out to make Android more user friendly, and we can’t deny that that’s something it could do with.

The INQ Cloud Touch runs Android 2.2, though we understand that INQ is considering a 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade – and as you would imagine, it’s extremely heavily skinned. Let’s go through the features.

Facebook

This is the biggie: if you don’t want to use Facebook, then you’re all but killing the point of the INQ Cloud Touch. By default, you’ll find widgets for People, Events, Notifications and Places on your homescreen. Most of them do what you’d expect, but the People widget is unique to the INQ Cloud Touch and worthy of note: it’s very visual, with images taking the lead. If you opt in, Facebook’s social graph works out the five people you interact with most and puts them in there for you, and you can expand this to 25, or add people manually. The result is a news feed that looks nice, containing gossip from the people you’re friends with Facebook who actually are your friends – an important distinction.

The carousel at the bottom of the launcher on the INQ Cloud Touch meanwhile contains deep links to Facebook services, not just the Facebook application: you can jump to Facebook Chat, your profile, messages, notifications and photos with a click. It’s a thoughtful touch for the social networking obsessed.

There’s plenty to keep people happy here, and we have to say it’s smartly done compared to the likes of Motoblur and HTC Sense, even if there’s no equivalent Twitter integration. We understand that because it’s based on the native Facebook Android app, you’ll get the new features any Android owners will get in future updates right away too.

Spotify
Those Spotify INQ rumours are true too: the INQ Cloud Touch has a heavy reliance on the Spotify Android app. In fact, it’s the default music player, because it can now play locally stored music files too, and it can be launched from the media key on the side of the phone. The native Android music player is still in there, but you won’t see it unless you seek it out, and it’s one of Android’s weakest features anyway so it won’t be missed. We love Spotify on Android, and frankly this is a very savvy move: it’ll be interesting to see how many people embrace Spotify Premium because of it.

Best Android apps of all time: Top 100

We also understand INQ will be providing a Wi-Fi sync solution for PC and Mac for those who don’t want to use Spotify, but we didn’t see this in operation.

The new box for the INQ Cloud Touch looks gorgeous, as you'd expect

Wi-Fi Manager
There’s a dedicated “Info” key on the left hand side of the INQ Cloud Touch: give it a push and it’ll produce a colourful screen with simplified settings toggles for Wi-Fi, GPS and the like. That in itself isn’t any more useful than the regular power control widget on Android, but INQ’s made the Wi-Fi manager very user friendly. Not only does it use GPS and cell tower location to turn the Wi-Fi on and off (IE when you get home, it flicks on by default), it’ll even ping supposedly open Wi-Fi hotspots to see if they are actually open, or if there’s some form of paywall, which is certainly handy for when you’re out and about.

Granted, Wi-Fi location switching is something you can do with any Android phone using the brilliant Tasker app, but it’s complicated to use: this is easy by comparison, and that’s the point.

INQ Type
INQ Type is the company’s own form of universal search on the INQ Cloud Touch, and unusually, it’s summoned by sliding up from the capacitive panel below the screen, like on a Palm webOS phone. Type in a word and it’ll whittle down your options – and then offer you the option to save, search or share. Save lets you store what you’ve typed as a note, while share lets you sling your words onto social networks.

Speaking of the keyboard that pops up with INQ Type: it’s a custom QWERTY powered by Touch Type, which tries to predict the next word you write. We can’t say we cared for the design of the keys themselves, but we’d definitely have to give Touch Type a long trial before we can objectively compare it to the fantastic stock Android 2.3 keyboard.

Verdict

The INQ Cloud Touch is definitely one to watch: while its previous handsets were dubbed “Facebook phones”, none came close to matching the power of Facebook’s iPhone apps. That wasn’t the point – but now Android is so affordable, the potential for the INQ Cloud Touch to be the phone of choice for all Facebook fanatics is there. We’ll be sure to let you know whether it lives up to this in a full INQ Cloud Touch review in due course.

INQ Android tablet: CEO spills plans

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:33 PM PST

Exclusive: An INQ Android tablet is “definitely” on the cards, according to the company’s CEO, who’s been watching the recent slew of Android flavoured iPad wannabes with interest. Read on for what he told us.

We spoke to INQ’s CEO, Frank Meehan, ahead of the launch of the INQ Cloud Touch Android phone, and asked bluntly whether INQ had any plans to produce its own INQ Android tablet. His answer? “We have, definitely,” he told us.

“Tablets are a very strong market,” he said. “I would say during the day my iPad and my INQ phone are the two things I don’t really want to be parted with…I can see the iPad is becoming an essential part of my life.”

If this INQ Android tablet is on the roadmap however, it’s a way off still: Meehan poured scorn on the current crop of Android slates. “The customer isn’t having a great experience at the moment” with Android tablets, he said, going on to pan the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first real high profile iPad rival. “The 7-inch thing didn’t really go for me.”

Best Android tablet: Top 5

“CES [The Consumer Electronics Show, held in January every year] was kind of amusing…you’ve got a whole bunch of manufacturers slapping each other on the back, then iPad comes out, slams them, then they spend the whole year rearranging their product roadmap,” he said.

Meehan also questioned whether tablet optimised Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” would change that. Honeycomb “goes some way to solving it”, he said, but “really the problem is she store itself and the marketplace…customers are not buying enough stuff from the Android Market.”

Meehan is biding his time, trying to avoid making a similar mistake with an INQ Android tablet. “We’re very closely monitoring the whole pad situation…we’re seeing some nice designs coming out…once the overall experience for the customer is closer to the iPad, then is the time to move, otherwise you’ve just got a second rate iPad”.

So, could we see an INQ Android tablet larger than 7-inches with heavy Facebook integration sometime soon? Don’t bet against it.

INQ Cloud Touch Android phone official!

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:33 PM PST

The INQ Cloud Touch is the name of the Android phone the British based company has been working on all this time. Specs? Details? Facebook integration? All right this way please.

The INQ Cloud Touch is the first of INQ’s new Android phone line – the company hasn’t released a new handset in more than a year. It’s a cheery looking handset running Android 2.2 on a 600MHz Qualcomm CPU, and packs a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen.

The big news however isn’t the hardware, it’s the software: the INQ Cloud Touch is deeply integrated with Facebook. It uses Facebook’s new single sign on for mobile, as well as it social graph to predict the most important news for you based on previous interactions, and has homescreen shortcuts to all the core services like Facebook chat.

Spotify is also the default music player for it, for both Preimum music streaming and your won locally stored music files – doubtless the result of the INQ CEO’s time on the board at Spotify.

There’s no word on an release date for the INQ Cloud Touch just yet, but we can reveal that it’ll be sold through Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy on 24 month contracts at around £20 per month.

Want more? Check out our full INQ Cloud Touch preview right here.

Out Q2 2011 | £varies | INQ