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hardware posts

Palm quietly improving Pre build quality, tweaking hardware

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 12th 2009 @ 6:23PM

It's not the most comprehensive survey, nor is there any official confirmation, but the crew at PreThinking has checked in with a number of new Pre owners and discovered that Palm's apparently building its webOS handset better lately -- and what's more, it's even made some minor improvements. The biggest change appears to be a fix for that nasty bug that caused the Pre to reset or turn off when the keyboard was closed -- that bit of grey foam pictured was added to the battery compartment to tighten up the battery connection. There's a also word that the screen cracking and unintended rotation issues have been addressed, although time will tell on those, and the button color has changed from pearl to silver. As for improvements, well, there's a new battery model, and the Palm logo is now embossed on the carrying case. Yep, just little stuff, but it's good to see Palm addressing the build issues on the Pre, which are by far the most common complaint about the device. Let us know if you've spotted anything else, would you?

Google's mobile plans to be unveiled soon

by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Oct 30th 2007 @ 8:21AM

For now it's not much more than a plan to announce a plan within the next few weeks, but since it involves Google and cellphone networks, we'll take it. The Wall Street Journal has the news that Google will announce its mobile offerings within the next two weeks, which could take the form of hardware, software packages, or -- most likely -- an open platform for phones that third party developers can build on. Interaction is the key word here: Google's platform won't involve locking down features, rather, it'll open them up so that they work together. How exactly the company will execute this plan will be revealed within the immediate future: although with most phone manufacturers already subcontracting development of their phone's software platforms, it doesn't sound like it should be too difficult a job to muscle in.

[Thanks, Harry; via MarketWatch. Image credit]

New Google Phone rumors get real specific

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 4th 2007 @ 9:29AM

As any avid Engadget reader knows, the persistent Google Phone rumor -- begun so many eons ago (er, last year) -- has been on the fast track as of late, with varying reports coming in concerning specific information such as launch date, OS, and the existence of prototypes. Well, now it looks like we've got another handful of data to add to the veritable mini-mountain of specs / info we've ascertained about the presently-vaporous device. According to "reliable sources," specific aspects of the GPhone are coming to light -- the first suggesting that the phone will run on a Linux variant (which is nothing new), and will be Java Virtual Machine-capable. Additionally, the OS of the phone will be Java-based (as well as the all phone apps itself), and performance is said to be "very responsive." The browser for the phone will be new (though some say it's based on the WebKit core, which Safari is built atop) and will tout "pan-and-browse" capabilities. Finally, the word is that HTC is manufacturing the handsets, and instead of a single form-factor for the prototype, there are a variety of phones, all with QWERTY keyboards (one article suggests the phone will be "simpler" and less "flashy" than the iPhone, with less screen space, and a BlackBerry / Treo form-factor). Certainly a lot of information, though -- just as certainly -- speculation and rumor right now, and if the past year has taught any lesson, it's to proceed with extreme skepticism.

Read -- Five Facts About Google Phone
Read -- Introducing the Google Phone

iPhone hardware unlock tutorial goes live

by Sean Cooper posted Aug 23rd 2007 @ 9:26AM

Well, looky what the internet has for us this morning friends, Geohot and crew have gone ahead and spilled the beans several days early. Apparently today is unlock tutorial day chez iphonejtag.blogspot.com, and not next week as he originally promised. Geohot is liveposting the unlock tutorial step by step with pause for Q&A sessions in between the steps. Hurry over, he just hit step three, so most of the mystery is still intact and the fun is just beginning. Be warned though, you'll need to bring some steady hands and your best eyewear as this is pretty detailed business. Hit the link to "free" your iPhone.