Mozilla Announces Boot to Gecko, Jumping Into the Mobile OS War
With smartphones becoming as commonplace as they are these days, it's no surprise that companies other than Google, Apple, and Microsoft are trying to get into the lucrative market of programming apps and operating systems for mobile devices. And why wouldn't they? As more and more people make the switch from feature phones to smartphones, any tech company worth its salt has to have some hand in the market, be it accessories like headsets, cables, or cases, if not an app or operating system.
Although Mozilla has been battling Google and Microsoft on the internet browser front for a while, it's been noticeably absent from the mobile OS front that's been very hotly contested in the past few years by its competitors. Until today, that is. MozillaWiki added an entry today describing B2G, a shorthand reference to Boot to Gecko, a project by Mozilla "to pursue the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web."
Here's the lowdown: Mozilla plans to use use a small amount of Google's Android operating system code for hardware interaction. Everything aside from that will be built from scratch, including an entirely new user interface, as well as a suite of unique apps to go along with it. Unlike Android, it will not be using Java as its coding language, and it won't support programming in native code. The project is still in its infancy, and Mozilla has announced it in order to get as much feedback as it can from the public (at least, the programming public).
Source: Gizmodo, Tech Radar, MozillaWiki
Google Nexus S Confirmed
Way back around the time the Nexus One was released, Google CEO Eric Schmidt had said that there would not be a "Nexus Two." Most people took that to mean that Google would not be making another smartphone; but in reality, it was only a comment on how the next smartphone by Google would not be named.
Today, Google officially announced their second smartphone, the Google Nexus S. Made by Samsung, it will be the first phone to feature Android 2.3, or "Gingerbread," as its operating system. In terms of hardware, it's not as radically advanced as the Nexus One was at the time of its release, but it still has a respectable spec sheet:
- 4-inch, 800 x 480 WVGA Screen
- 1GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) Processor
- Accelerometer
- Three-axis gyroscope
- 5.0 megapixel camera
- 16GB internal storage
- 512MB RAM
It'll support Voice-over-IP right out of the box, which sounds promising for anyone hoping to use a Skype app. In terms of physical design, the Nexus S has a slight curve on the front, which will supposedly fit better when held up to the side of your face, if you ever plan on using it for, you know, actually calling people.
Available on December 16th for $199 with a 2-year plan from T-Mobile, or $529 unlocked.
Sources: Gizmodo, Engadget, Google
Apple Addresses iPhone 4 Antenna Issue in Press Conference, Offers Free Cases
Everyone knew that Apple's press conference today was coming, but nobody knew just what Steve Jobs would say. It was clear from the beginning that the press conference would address the widely publicized problem with antenna reception for the iPhone 4 (specifically, how holding it a certain way would kill reception) but how it would be acknowledged and the resulting actions taken by Apple to deal with the problem was not.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs started the conference by giving some statistics about the iPhone 4: 3 million sold in 3 weeks, and the title of #1 smartphone according to numerous tech sites, in addition to the highest customer satisfaction rating of any smartphone or iPhone. Next, the presentation showed a number of other smartphones (the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II) and demonstrated how they would similarly lose reception when held in a particular way.
Next, Jobs compared missed calls and returns of the iPhone 4 to those of the 3GS. Basically, downplaying the negative publicity and image that the press had created for the problem.
Once that was out of the way, Jobs explained what Apple would be doing to resolve the problem. As many people had suggested and predicted, the answer was... FREE CASES.
Since the problem with the antenna was the result of the user's skin shorting out two adjacent segments of the iPhone 4 antenna (which runs around the outer edge of the phone), the solution was a case that would provide insulation between the hand and the phone. Those unhappy with their purchase can return their undamaged iPhone 4's within 30 days, and everyone who has already bought a bumper will be refunded.
Damage control has been rendered, now the only thing that remains will be to see how the public and current iPhone 4 users will react.
Source: Engadget 1, 2
Apple Submits Patent for E-Ticket… on Steroids
How many of you have ever bought tickets to a show or event (be it a concert, a festival, trade show, or sporting event), anxiously waited for the day to arrive, driven miles, and paid way too much for parking, only to realize that you had forgotten your ticket? It's one of the worse feelings in the world. If Apple has it's way, however, these situations will be a thing of the past.
The Cupertino, California-based company has filed a patent for an NFC e-ticket that will be located in your mobile device; no more archaic paper tickets! The big thing about the design is not the ticket itself, but rather the additional content that can be linked to it.
The "bonus digital content" that Apple proposes be linked to the ticket include:
"a live recording of the event, exclusive interviews with... or studio recordings by artists associated with the event... discounts or prepaid refreshments for the event, discounts or prepaid merchandise like a T-Shirt for the event... a digital map... [or] your seating positioning relative to the stage."
The e-ticket could be carried by a mobile device such as the iPhone or iPod Touch. However, neither product currently features the wireless technology that would be required to implement this idea, so it is still a ways off.
Source: Patently Apple via Engadget