Will the HTC Thunderbolt be shown by Verizon at CES: Verizon announced the rollout of their LTE network in early December, but stated we wouldn’t see handsets with LTE support until later in 2011. The Droid Life website received some photos and is shown off the HTC Thunderbolt, an Android device supposedly running Android with a LTE radio.
The HTC Thunderbolt looks like a slimmed down HTC EVO 4G, which makes sense as HTC tends to reuse form factors that work several times. The device may be revealed at CES next week, but still may not launch on Verizon for a few months. It would be sweet to see Verizon roll out a LTE mobile phone in early 2011, don’t you think.
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Rumor #1: There Will Be Three Versions of the iPad 2
One of the biggest rumors sweeping the web recently is that there will be three version of the iPad 2. One will be Wi-Fi only, one will support Wi-Fi and UMTS, the 3G technology utilized by AT&T Mobility, and the third model will support Wi-Fi and CDMA, used by Verizon Wireless for its 3G network. In other words, there will be a Verizon iPad.
According to DigiTimes, Apple will be shipping the Wi-Fi, UMTS and CMDA iPad 2 models in a 3:4:3 ratio, specifically because nearly 2/3 of current iPad shipments are 3G models. There are currently two models of the iPad, a Wi-Fi version and a Wi-Fi + UMTS version that works exclusively on the AT&T network in the U.S.
This rumor makes total sense: Apple wants to expand the reach of the iPad and adding a CDMA model for Verizon would compliment a Verizon iPhone perfectly. Recently, Verizon started selling the Wi-Fi iPad with the Verizon MiFi 2200. We’re sure Verizon would much rather sell a CDMA iPad instead.
Rumor #2: iPad 2 Will Have a Front and Back-Facing Camera
Ever since the iPhone 4 was released, there have been multiple reports claiming that the new iPad will finally come with a front and a back-facing camera.
The primary reason cited for the change from the original iPad is Facetime. In order for Facetime to succeed as a product, Apple needs to flood the market with as many Facetime-capable devices as possible.
We expect Apple to rectify its biggest omission from the original iPad with the next generation model.
Rumor #3: Slimmer, Lighter and Retina Display
Earlier this month, Reuters was told by its sources that the new iPad would be slimmer and lighter than its predecessor and would have a better resolution display than the first iPad.”
Well, duh. Apple always tries to make its products slimmer and lighter. Just look at the iPhone’s evolution or the new MacBook Air for proof. It’s also a no-brainer that the iPad 2 will support Retina Display.
Rumor #4: The iPad 2 Will Have a Flat Back
This week there has been buzz about the 2nd generation iPad sporting a flat back after a supposed third party case was leaked to the web.
There’s no way that case is real, and you can take that to the bank. Why? Because Apple never releases the specs for new products to third party accessory makers — they’ve been burned too many times by leaks from third parties to make that type of rookie mistake.
This was completely apparent with the launch of the iPhone 4. There were no third party cases available at launch because none of the manufacturers knew the dimensions of the device. So trust us when we say the supposedly leaked iPad 2 case is total crap.
With that said, we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple did decide to make the back of the device flat. It makes more sense ergonomically. Still, the new iPod touch has a curved back, so it’s anybody’s guess what Apple plans to do.
With the launch of Latitude, competing friend finder applications such as Loopt, Whrrl, WHERE, Brightkite, GyPSii and others will now have some serious competition. Even for the well VC-funded start-up among them, launching in 27 countries and supporting 42 languages on multiple devices is today an unachievable dream.
However, it is important to notice a difference here with Latitude. Indeed, these location-based social networks are more than friend finders because their users can share content: geo-tagged pictures and videos, post-its, reviews, etc… In addition, many of them are open to the big league of web-based social networks such as MySpace and Facebook or blogging platforms such as Twitter. Their users can automatically distribute content and location to their pages across these services.
At the current stage of this market it is difficult to clearly evaluate what users are really looking for among the various services offered by these platforms.
More success than Dodgeball
Interestingly, Google is launching this new service one month after announcing it will shut down Dodgeball, another friend finder service it acquired in 2005 and never bothered to really take to the next level with sufficient investments.
But this time we can expect Google will have more success because it will leverage on the existing Google Maps - and to a certain degree Google Talk - users. In addition to that, and probably even more important, Google will build its user base on the existing partnerships it has developed with wireless operators and handset manufacturers which already offer Google Maps to their customers.
Ultima actualizacion el Lunes, 26 de Julio de 2010 12:36
Back in May, Google announced that the Nexus One online shop was closing so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the giant search engine is saying farewell to its beloved handheld device (though I had hoped Canadian wireless providers would offer it in-store).
Google received its final shipment order last week and the website statesthat once we sell these devices, the Nexus One will no longer be available online from Google.”
Current Nexus One customers will continue to receive customer support and although Google will no longer sell their smartphone, its partners in Europe and Korea will continue to do so. Google has also made Nexus One phones available to developers to ensure our developers have access to a phone with the latest Android OS.”
