Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Verizon Wireless have announced the HTC Ozone, their counterpart to Sprint’s Snap. The QWERTY-blessed Windows Mobile 6.1 phone has EVDO Rev.A support, VZ Navigator for audible turn-by-turn directions and a 1,500mAh battery. It’s also a global-roaming phone, and comes complete with international power adapters.
To enable that there’s a pre-fitted GSM SIM card, and in a pleasant change for Verizon devices the Ozone offers WiFi b/g too. Visual Voicemail is an option – for $2.99 per month – and the Ozone supports Exchange and webmail email, preloaded IM clients for AIM, Windows and Yahoo! Messengers, and a one-touch messaging shortcut key.

It’s also surprisingly affordable. Verizon are asking $49.99 (after a wretched $70 mail-in rebate) assuming you’re willing to sign up to a two-year agreement, while VZ Navigator is the usual $9.99 per month add-on. The Verizon HTC Ozone will be available from June 29th online, and in stores from July 13th.

Microsoft have announced official pricing for Windows 7, their next-gen OS which will arrive on October 22nd. Both upgrade and full prices have been revealed, the latter being $199.99 for Windows 7 Home Premium, $299.99 for Windows 7 Professional, and $319.99 for Windows 7 Ultimate.

Those upgrading from Windows XP or Vista will pay slightly less: the Home Premium upgrade is $119.99, the Professional upgrade is $199.99, and the Ultimate upgrade is $219.99. From Thursday June 26th, Microsoft will be offering cut-price pre-orders to those in the US, Canada and Japan, where buyers will be able to get the Home Premium upgrade for $49.99 and the Professional upgrade for $99.99. Similar deals will start from July 15th in the UK, France and Germany. However availability at these discounted prices is limited, though Microsoft are keeping quiet as to how many licenses they’ve set aside.

As HP have already announced, there’ll also be a Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program, which will begin on June 26th. Participating retailers and OEMs will be offering free (or reduced cost) upgrades to Windows 7 for machines bought between the 26th and October 22nd.

HP have announced a new range of consumer desktop PCs, together with an update to their MediaSmart Server software for TouchSmart PCs. Slimline, Pavilion and Elite desktops have all been announced, together with a new Compaq Presario desktop. In addition, HP have announced that select consumer PCs bought from today onwards will be eligible for their Windows 7 Upgrade Program.
Both AMD and Intel processors are available across the ranges, and Blu-ray is also an option on some models. The Pavilion Slimline kicks off with an AMD Athlon single-core LE1660 CPU, 2GB of RAM and 320GB hard-drive, climbing to a Pentium dual-core CPU, twice the RAM and a 500GB drive. As for the Pavilion, that kicks off with an AMD Sempron LE1300, while the Pavilion Elite starts with a dual-core AMD Phenom II X2 and rises all the way to an Intel Core i7-920 with 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 750GB storage and a 1GB ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics card. Finally the Presario machine has an Athlon X2 dual-core CPU, 3GB or RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics.

The HP Pavilion Slimline s500 series begins at $289, while the Pavilion p6000 series starts at $269. Meanwhile the Pavilion Elite e9000 starts at $599 and the Compaq Presario CQ5000 is $379.

Samsung may have managed to get several models from Sharp’s TV and monitor ranges banned from import into the US, after convincing the U.S. International Trade Commission that the products infringe one of its patents. The IP refers to LCD display technology, with sets from Sharp’s Aquos range of HDTVs named as potentially in violation.
While ruling against other Samsung patents the company had accused Sharp of violating, the agency decided that one particular patent, granted in 2004 and titled “Liquid Crystal Display having wide viewing angle”, was indeed infringed. The ITC are now suggesting that Sharp LCD products should be banned from import into the US.

A final ruling in Sharp’s complaint against Samsung is yet to be reached, though an ITC administrative judge actually Sharp’s spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing process, while Samsung could not be reached for a statement.

We’ve already seen what’s going on inside the iPhone 3GS, now courtesy of iSuppli we know roughly how much it all costs. The analysts have been picking through the iPhone 3GS’ components and have deemed that Apple’s handset costs $178.96 to produce in its 16GB form.

That’s made up of $172.46 in hardware costs, and a further $6.50 in manufacturing expense. Significant components include the flash memory, produced by Toshiba and priced at $24 for 16GB, and the display, with the 3.5-inch LCD estimated at $19.25. The ARM SoC application processor is pegged at $14.46.

The similarity between the iPhone 3GS and its predecessor, the iPhone 3G, suggests – iSuppli posit – that Apple have been able to counter the more expensive components new to the smartphone by taking advantage of lower general prices on legacy parts and buying in bulk. They’ve also taken advantage of combined hardware, such as the Broadcom Bluetooth/FM/WLAN chip which replaces two separate components in the iPhone 3G.

Celio are looking to broaden support for their REDFLY smartphone companion device, tipping compatibility with RIM’s handsets and potentially Google’s smartphone platform. The company is apparently looking into developing BlackBerry support for the REDFLY devices by the end of 2009, with Android likely to be the next candidate after that.
The REDFLY devices resemble netbooks, but in fact are intended to be used as interface devices with a user’s Windows Mobile smartphone. 7-inch and 8-inch models are available, providing more screen space for the smartphone, and the devices have QWERTY keyboards and trackpads for easier text-entry and navigation.

While waiting for BlackBerry and, later Android support, Celio are looking to boost sales of their existing range by reducing prices. The 7-inch REDFLY C7 is now priced at $199, a reduction of $30, and offers 5-hours of battery life; meanwhile the 8-inch REDFLY C8N, which has an 8-hour battery, has seen a $50 cut to $249.

Gateway have rolled out two new small-form-factor (SFF) desktop PC ranges, its SX Series and DX Series, offering a choice of AMD or Intel processors, HDMI connectivity and compact desk footprints. The first SX model is the Gateway SX2800-01, a Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz desktop with integrated GMA X4500 graphics, 4GB of DDR memory, 640GB hard-drive and a DVD burner.
Meanwhile the two first DX Series models are the DX3400-03 and the DX4820-02. The former has an AMD Phenom X4 9750 2.4GHz processor with 8GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1TB hard-drive, ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics (with 1GB of memory) and integrated WiFi b/g. The later uses Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz processor, with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 750GB hard-drive, and NVIDIA GeForce G210 graphics (with 512MB of memory).

All three systems have gigabit ethernet, a multiformat card reader, at least eight USB ports, VGA or DVI as well as HDMI outputs, and HD audio support. The two Intel-based systems also have Firewire and eSATA ports, while the AMD-based DX model has an integrated TV tuner. Gateway are also hawking their FHD monitor series, the 21.5-inch FHD2101 and 24-inch FHD2402, which both support 1920 x 1080 Full-HD resolution.

The new PCs will be available in the last week of June, priced at $499.99 for the SX2800-01, $749.99 for the DX4300-03, and $899.99 for the DX4820-02 (which also comes with a 23-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD monitor). The FHD2101 LCD display is $199.99 while the FHD2402 is $269.99; both are available now.

Sony Ericsson have announced a new entry-level cellphone, the T715, offering 3G connectivity, a 2.2-inch 240 x 320 LCD display and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The handset differs from the usual run-of-the-mill consumer device by adding Exchange ActiveSync support to the normal IM, MMS and SMS messaging; it also comes loaded with Google Maps.
The T715’s A-GPS is used for directions and also for geotagging photos. Sony Ericsson have loaded on a YouTube viewer and the NetFront browser, which take advantage of the handset’s quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSPA (both a 2100MHz UMTS model and a 850/1900/2100MHz UMTS model, the T715a, will be released). Internal storage is 90MB, augmented by microSD card, and the whole thing weighs 96.5g and measures 91.5 x 48 x 14.9mm.

GSMHelpdesk.nl had a chance to go hands-on with the T715, and you can see some of their live photos in the gallery below. The shots seem to confirm that it’s quite a chunky device, but they praise its full feature-set and media functionality.

LG have unveiled two new ”full LED” HDTVs, each with 55-inch LCD panels and 240Hz refresh rates. The LG 55LH95 and LG 55LH93 both use 3,360 individual LEDs and boast a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1; the company’s backlighting technology can individually control 240 sections of the display, dimming or brightening as suits the image on-screen.
Despite sliding in all those LEDs, the new HDTVs are still slimline. Depth is just 24.8mm, despite the company also fitting in wireless connectivity; it’s unclear from the press release exactly which format LG have selected, but considering they’re boasting zero degradation we’re assuming it’s some type of ultrawideband HDMI.

The two new sets will be released in July, priced at around $5,500 for the 55LH93 and around $5,900 for the 55LH95. Smaller 42-inch and 47-inch “full LED” sets will follow by the end of 2009, though they won’t be as slimline as these 24.8mm flagship models.

According to an unnamed phoneArena tipster, Verizon have confirmed that they will be offering the CDMA version of Samsung’s Omnia II this July. The source is seemingly Verizon’s customer services, who revealed that the touchscreen AMOLED Windows Mobile phone will be dropping just next month.
Samsung made the Omnia II official earlier this month, surprising with the fact that the device publicly announced was not the GSM HSPA handset expected but a CDMA device. Verizon’s latest smartphone will offer EVDO Rev.A; there’s no talk of it being a “worldphone” with both CDMA and GSM support for roaming.

Also unknown is a specific release date in July, and what sort of pricing the Omnia II might command. The phone has a 3.7-inch WVGA display, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi and A-GPS.

Speculation a-plenty today, after HTC’s Peter Chou apparently confirms that the company’s Sense UI “will be available on some other existing devices”. That, understandably, has prompted many Magic and G1 owners - previously to be found looking at their devices and sneering at the basic UI – to believe that at least one of the two phones will get HTC Sense. However, it might also be a little more complex than that.

HTC didn’t make it entirely clear during their press event yesterday, but afterward took pains to clarify that Sense is branding for their entire custom UI work. Speaking to an HTC executive at a dinner event in London yesterday, he explained that what you see on the Hero is just the latest step in a UI project that began all the way back at the inception of the original HTC Touch. That means Sense includes TouchFLO 3D for Windows Mobile, rather than being a separate Android strand.

That given, it’s possible that Chou meant that certain Windows Mobile devices could get new Sense UI updates, rather than the company’s two existing Android smartphones; likely candidates include the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2. It certainly seems more straightforward to port the new UI to other Android phones – in terms of processor and the like, the Hero is pretty much the same device as its predecessors – but until we get an official announcement we won’t know for sure.

SanDisk announced their brand new Extreme SDHC 32GB card today and it is intended for use in higher-end HD camcorders and DSLRs. In fact, it has a 30MB/s read and write speed and beats the AVCHD HD video recording requirements.

This card is capable of holding about 160 minutes of video at 1080p and up to 2,500 RAW images. Accompanying 4GB, 8GB and 16GB version of this SDHC are available now with the 32GB available starting in August.

The “Extreme” line can withstand low and high temperatures ranging from minus 13 F up to 185 F. While we don’t knowing the pricing for the new 32GB model, you can take a guess based on the pricing of the rest of the line, with the 4GB costing $70, the 8GB costing $120 and the 16GB priced at $200.

After HTC announced the Hero, we took the opportunity to coerce one of their team to spend a while running through the Android smartphone’s new functionality. The result is the usual excessively-comprehensive SlashGear video, a full fifteen minutes of HTC Hero demo that you can see after the cut.

In the video, you can see how HTC have integrated their new Sense UI with Android, adding an extra bevy of widgets for the newly-enlarged homepage. That same UI will eventually end up on all HTC devices, we’re told, so even if you’re a devout Windows Mobile fanatic you’ll be wanting to see exactly what’s what.

For the full hands-on gallery of live HTC Hero images, check here. If you want all the specs, check out our launch post, or the official Hero page at HTC’s site.

AT&T have released the iPhone version of their Navigator PND program through the App Store , offering turn-by-turn directions on the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. The Telenav-developed app supports both verbal and on-screen guidance, speech recognition, traffic alerts and full 3D mapping.

Those 3D maps are automatically updated in the background, too, as are POIs and street names. There’s also access to Yellow Pages, for business listings, together with online trip planning; users can set up their journey via their PC or Mac, and then have the route wirelessly delivered to their iPhone.

It’s all sounding great, aside from the price. AT&T Navigator for iPhone is priced at $9.99 per month, which works out at around $240 if you subscribe for the lifetime of your AT&T contract. With standalone GPS units going for bargain-basement prices right now, we’re not sure that’s cost-effective.

HTC have confirmed that the distinctive HTC Sense UI seen today on their Hero Android handset will in future be featured on the company’s Windows Mobile devices. According to the HTC press release, “all new HTC devices moving forward” will get the new system, which integrates Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other widgets into the homescreen.

What will be interesting to see is how Sense co-exists with Windows Mobile’s own UI and that of third-party apps and widgets. While Sense obviously has elements of TouchFLO 3D to it, one distinct difference is that it co-exists happily with Google’s own Android widgets and those of other developers. In contrast, TouchFLO 3D pretty much takes over a Windows Mobile device, leaving little to no room for other providers.

While there’s no definite timescale for Windows Mobile devices using HTC Sense, the press-release’s assertion that all new phones “moving forward” will use it does suggest sooner rather than later. Of course, HTC have only relatively recently launched the Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond2, which means there could be a few more months before a fresh Windows Mobile handset is forthcoming.