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Geohotz goes tropical, Motorola web-based OS, PlayBook battery life: US Update
BlackBerry PlayBook to rival iPad 2 10 hour battery life?
Samsung enters the DVR market with SMT-S7800
Sony Ericsson Xperia line up now listed as coming soon on Orange UK
Motorola Mobility prepping its own web-based OS?
George Geohotz Hotz heads for South America, adios Sony
Apple satnav and Firefox 4 downloading like hotcakes: Teatime Tech
Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Sr. Mistu
Apple satnav service in the works?
Sony unveils pro NEX camcorder

Geohotz goes tropical, Motorola web-based OS, PlayBook battery life: US Update

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:53 PM PDT

Rise and shine, it's time to kick off your morning with the US Update. Headlining this morning's news is an update on PS3 jailbreaker Geohotz who reportedly left the US for a South American vacation. We follow up with rumors of Motorola Mobility's web-based OS then drop details on the BlackBerry PlayBook battery life. This and more on today's US Update.

Maybe it's the food, maybe it's the women, heck maybe it was just Sony's legal team. Anyway you shake it, George 'Geohotz' Hotz now resides in South America. The PS3 jailbreaker is now enjoying the tropical lifestyle. A report was released yesterday suggesting Motorola Mobility is hedging its bet on Android, hoping to release its own mobile OS. The purported web-based OS seems to be a likely move according to industry analysts.

Orange UK has listed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Neo and Arc as coming soon on their website. We've got the scoop. After yesterday's DVR announcement, we're back again with huge news for Samsung fans. The Korean manufacturer has released its first Freesat DVR this morning and it comes with an impressive set of features for a newcomer.

Last up this morning is confirmation the BlackBerry PlayBook's battery will last up to "10 hours with continual use". We knew the PlayBook would match the iPad 2 pricing, but now it matches the battery life? Could we be looking at the tablet dark horse? That wraps up the latest and greatest in the world of tech news this morning. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again tomorrow.

BlackBerry PlayBook to rival iPad 2 10 hour battery life?

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:33 PM PDT

RIM has kept battery details for its upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook on the hush — that is, until now. The 5300 mAh battery has been the subject of much speculation, but today Staples has taken the initiative by listing battery life information online. Look at their website, the page clearly states, "10 hours with continual use".

April 19th is the big day for RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook as sales kick off in North America (Canada, US). Carrier pricing remains very much a mystery, but now we have a clear picture of just how much juice that 5300 mAh battery packs – 10 hours.

For comparison sake, the Motorola Xoom WiFi has "approximately 10 hrs." and the Galaxy Tab has "about 7 hours" of battery life. Real world usage will certainly vary, but with a price and battery life that rival the iPad 2, has RIM cooked up a winner?

April 19 | Staples

Samsung enters the DVR market with SMT-S7800

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:16 PM PDT

At long last Samsung has taken its talents to the world of DVRs. The Korean manufacturer introduced the SMT-S7800 this morning, a Freesat DVR with a 500GB hard drive and two tuners, perfect for watching one show while recording another. Welcome to the big show Samsung.

Compared to yesterday's SlingLoaded HDS-600RS HD DVR, the Samsung SMT-S7800 has some room to grow. While both DVRs offer two Freesat tuners, and offer 500GB hard drives, the ability to watch live and recorded TV anytime, anywhere gives the HDS-600RS a leg up on the competition. Sure, you could buy a SlingBox Pro-HD and attach it to your SMT-S7800, but that's a costly move.

To Samsung's credit, they've packed a solid feature set into their innagural DVR. The SMT-S7800 packs a USB port for external storage playback, ethernet, WiFi, YouTube, BBC iPlayer and soon, ITV Player. Overall this is looking like a great start from Samsung, bring on encore.

Out Now | Samsung | £300

Sony Ericsson Xperia line up now listed as coming soon on Orange UK

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 03:51 PM PDT

Sony Ericsson's big three, the Xperia Play, Arc and Neo are now listed on Orange UK's website as coming soon. After being announced last month with an estimated availability of Q2 2011, this morning's revelation came as quite the surprise. With Android 2.3 in tow for all three smartphones, Orange UK subscribers now have a few reasons to celebrate.

Today was not our first rodeo with the Xperia Play. Last month we spotted the smartphone on mobiles.co.uk with a release date scheduled for March 28. As you know, O2, Orange and Vodafone will all be carrying the Xperia Play, so this is purely a tentative release. With a white Xperia Play on tap as an O2 exclusive, Orange UK is destined for a black beauty.

We'll do our best to wrangle in more details on Orange UK's release dates for the Xperia Play, Arc and Neo soon. For now, "coming soon" is about as good as it gets.

[via SlashGear]

Motorola Mobility prepping its own web-based OS?

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 03:34 PM PDT

Android has certainly emerged as Motorola Mobility's primary focus over the past two years. However, according to a report from Information Week, the company might be hedging its bet on Android as it hopes to launch its own web-based OS in the near future. Officially, Motorola has neither denied nor confirmed the existence of such project.

An Android alternative is not the wildest rumor we've heard in the tech world lately. In fact, it might be in Motorola's best interest to pursue their own OS. According to Jonathan Goldberg, an analyst with Deutsche Bank in San Francisco, "the company recognizes that they need to differentiate and they need options, just in case. Nobody wants to rely on a single supplier.”

Both Mr. Goldberg and Information Week's Thomas Claburn are under the belief Motorola is working on a web-based OS. Golberg was adamant about his position in a phone interview, stating, "I know they’re working on it". Beliefs are one thing, but how about some supporting evidence?

Over the past nine months, Motorola has been hiring engineers whose talent would be well-suited in creating a new mobile OS. The recent hires include a significant number of ex-Apple and Adobe personnel, including Gilles Drieu, formerly Apple's head of rich media and applications group.

For now the ball is in Motorola's court. We can expect a formal response in the coming days, but for now the possibility that Motorola is working on their own web-based OS, is very much real. Is this a smart play for Motorola or will hedging its bet on Android prove costly? Sound off.

[via InformationWeek]

George Geohotz Hotz heads for South America, adios Sony

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 03:14 PM PDT

Notorious iOS, and most recently PS3, jailbreaker George 'Geohotz' Hotz is in route to South America. According to Hot'z legal counsel, George has hit the road, destined for a tropical destination. Details emerged this morning following accusations from Sony's legal team that Hotz had "thwart jurisdictional discovery".

Sony has officially hit a roadblock in the battle against Geohotz. According to a legal complaint filed by Sony (SCEA),

"Hotz has engaged in a campaign to thwart jurisdictional discovery at every turn –regardless of whether the Court has ordered such discovery or not. Most seriously, after Magistrate Judge Spero ordered an inspection of Hotz's devices and ordered Hotz to appear at a deposition in California, SCEA learned that Hotz had deliberately removed integral components of his impounded hard drives prior to delivering them to a third party neutral and that Hotz is now in South America".

In addition to details about his whereabouts, it appears Sony has tracked own a PSN account under the alias blickmanic, a screen name uses on forums discussing jailbreaking "of cellular phones". First a rap, now he heads to South America to evade Sony? It looks like Geohotz time in the lime light is finally coming to a close. At least until he reemerges in an American court room.

[via vghq]

Apple satnav and Firefox 4 downloading like hotcakes: Teatime Tech

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 10:53 AM PDT

Before we call time on another working day, let's recap on the afternoon's top stories. Yes, stop everything for a moment, put your feet up and enjoy some serious teatime tech.

First and foremost is the news – or rather the rumour – that Apple is planning to take on Google Maps Navigation with its own satnav style service for iOS devices. Is it gospel or more analyst-fuelled tittle tattle? Time will tell.

One thing we do know for sure is that people like Firefox 4. A lot of them. The new web browser was downloaded a staggering 5 million times in its first day, grabbing almost 2 percent of the worldwide browser market in the process. Blimey.

Need more tech news? Check out the homepage.

Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Sr. Mistu

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT

Today’s best iPhone apps entry is an odd one – a puzzle game with a blind man and his guide dog at its heart. That might sound bad taste but this game is just beautifully made with Sr Mistu (the blind man) and Gaido (his little guide dog) on a mission to collect olives to top his pizza while trying to avoid getting squashed.

The gameplay is simple (you draw the route for Gaido to lead Mistu to the end and collect olives on the way) but the levels ramp up in difficulty nicely and the graphics and music are charming. Definitely worth a purchase. See today’s best iPhone apps nominee in action after the break…

Out now | £0.59 | iTunes

Apple satnav service in the works?

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 09:57 AM PDT

Apple is reportedly mulling over the prospect of launching its own iOS device satnav service to take a bite out of Google Maps Navigation, and could implement a TomTom-style system that crowdsources user data to help calculate the quickest routes.

The report comes courtesy of analyst Toni Sacconaghi, so take it with a pinch or two of salt, but there are reasons to think it likely. There is the matter of Apple's soon-to-open North Carolina data centre – this facility could be used to run the service – plus the fact that Apple acquired voice search specialist Siri last year. Siri's voice recognition expertise could be used to understand navigation commands.

Interesting stuff. We'll bring you more on this story as we get it.

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via SlashGear)

Sony unveils pro NEX camcorder

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:54 AM PDT

The Sony NEX-VG10 was the first consumer camcorder to be compatible with swappable lenses, and now the firm has unveiled a professional variant. The Sony NEX-FS100JK can use Sony's E-mount lenses and features an Exmor Super35 CMOS sensor.

The Sony NEX-FS100JK records 1080p video at a super smooth 60fps in the AVCHD format. Footage is stored on SDXC, SDHC, SD or Memory Stick cards, and can be output via HDMI or HS-SDI for the pros. There are also XLR outputs for high quality audio output.

The Sony NEX-FS100JK isn't slated for a UK launch yet, but will be available in Japan later this spring with a price tag of 690,000 Yen – around £5,250.

Out TBC | £TBC | Sony (via Electronista)

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Thursday, 24 March 2011

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

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