PLANET Gadgets

Most PC users hit the web using Internet Explorer by default, simply because that's what came along with Windows. Now, after antitrust investigations, European users get a choice of browser to install via ballot screen, and initial reports are not good for 'ol IE. According to Statcounter, IE use in France has dropped 2.5 percent since last month's implementation of the ballot, 1.3 percent in Italy, and 1 percent in Britain. It's still early days, and it'll take more than this to chip away from IE's 62 percent lead in the browser war, but it's certainly not a good trend for Microsoft. With that in mind, we're going to have to ask you to place your bets now.

A group of German researchers have shown off the technology that may well allow the consumers of the future to shroud themselves in clothes that will render them invisible. So far invisibility-inducing products have been the stuff of science fiction and fantasy, but its seems that we are now at the ...

Looks like the Big Blue has now started a battle with rival the Big Red on the LTE front with an article on the WSJ claiming that an AT&T exec has said people won’t be able to make much use of next generation wireless networks for another 2 years.

The Big Red is aiming to roll out their LET network in a minimum of 25 markets covering some 100 million customers by the end of this year, and AT&T is also adopting LTE but will not be able to offer it until next year, so a bit of sour grapes then.

John Donovan, Chief Technology Officer at AT&T has struck out at Verizon Wireless by stating that Verizon may be turning to the new LTE technology before it is fully mature and it will be some time before developers can work out the kinks in mobile phone able to use LTE.

Cricket T20 Fever from the largest gaming company Indiagames as won an FICCI BAF Award for best mobile game.

The cricket based mobile game ‘Cricket T20fever’ seems to be very popular indeed to have won an award; the award-winning game catches all the fun of a live T20 match on the iPhone. The game has 3D graphics with superb realistic ball physics and animations.

Users can select their best team from the eight world-class international teams and so much more, there are multiple game play modes, compare achievements with friends online is a good feature as well.

Sure, all the talk lately is about Windows Phone 7 Series and all the things it can and can't do. But, in the months between now and its release, companies still have to make money, and so LG has turned to Windows Mobile Classic 6.5 to drive its VS750. We first heard wind of this Verizon-bound machine back in December, and now it's been spied by Mr. Blurrycam over at PhoneArena, apparently due for a mid-April release. The QWERTY slider is intended as a world phone, and its list of wireless support certainly sounds comprehensive: CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 800/1900MHz, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/190MHz and UMTS/HSDPA. Why, it'll even include plug adapters for Europe, Asia, and Australia right out of the box. It's fronted by a 3.2-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen, backed by a 3.2 megapixel camera, sports WiFi and Bluetooth, a microSDHC slot and, if our eyes don't deceive us, its case has more than a passing resemblance to the prototype unveiled on The Engadget Show a few weeks back.

VS750 confirms LG's love for WinMo Classic, starts torrid new affair with Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I guess we should all start referring to Windows Mobile 6.5 as Windows Phone Classic now, so according to an article over on phone news; Verizon Wireless will gain the as yet unannounced LG VS750 smartphone around mid April.

The latest info available on the LG VS750 handset is that it will sport Windows Phone Classic 6.5, and is the first smart device developed for Verizon Wireless and will be a global roaming handset.

The LG VS750 sports quad-band GSM/EDGE along with single-band HSDPA and EVDO Rev.A and features a 3.2 inch WVGA resistive touch screen, 3.2 megapixel camera with VGA video recording, horizontal sliding QWERTY, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm jack.

Want to make a giant Gundam monument more better? Give it a beam saber and erect it just 45 minutes outside of Tokyo by bullet train. The resurrected 18-meter (59-foot) tall RX-78-2 mech will replace the dismantled 30th anniversary statue built at Shiokaze Park, complete with smoke, dramatic lighting effects, and animatronic head. Look for it outside of the Shizuoka station in July assuming the latest LHC collisions don't delay things by inadvertently destroying the mecha in a cloud of Minovsky particles. One more mock-up after the break.

Nothing like jumping ship when the chips are down, which it looks like the Big Red is about to do with the Palm Pre Plus, as according to an article over on examiner, Verizon Wireless will cease promoting the Palm Pre Plus at the end of this month.

Firstly, one can’t really blame the Big Red for stopping promotion of the Palm Pre Plus when you consider the news about Palm stock and such which no doubt is worrying to Verizon.

Then again, the article states that their source says people would go into a Verizon store and look at the Palm Pre Plus and Verizon reps would show them their Motorola Droid, which no doubt swayed some people from purchasing the Palm Pre Plus.

By Andrew Liszewski

Learning to play an instrument is by no means an easy endeavor, and it’s further complicated if you don’t already know how to read sheet music or musical notation. But that’s where this ‘Piano Learning Pen’ is supposed to come into play. It allows you to click on and hear a specific note so you know if you’re playing it correctly. Now if you’re thinking this device uses some kind of impressive camera and image recognition technology to read the notes on paper, let me shatter that illusion for you. With a price tag of just $20.69 it actually relies on special music books, and while I don’t know the specifics about the technology it does use, having to buy special sheet music is very limiting.

Ouch, looks like Palm is in trouble despite the hopes an prayers of their saviour smartphones the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi as according to an article over on street insider, a Motgan Joseph analyst has downgraded Palm shares to Sell and placed a price target of a Palm crying $0.

The $0 price target follows on a weak Q3 result and resulting drop of 9 percent in the Palm stock, Morgan Joseph believes that Palm is in a “death spiral” and it is accelerating and that they are doubtful about Palm’s survival.

Morgan Joseph has said that they are sceptical that Palm’s efforts to train Verizon Wireless reps are going to have any meaningful impact on consumer demand for Palm devices. They also said that despite Palm’s cash conserving efforts they estimate that Palm will have sufficient cash to operate through mid-CY2011.

Birds fly, grass grows, and the FCC auctions off wireless spectrum. It's just one of those inevitable facts of life. In 2008, the Commission sure sold plenty of the stuff, with both AT&T and Verizon trading billions of dollars for enough building-penetrating 700MHz bandwidth to start LTE networks (that's 4G, vaquero!) as early as next year. One huge chunk of spectrum didn't sell, however: the infamous Block 'D,' subject to a unique FCC mandate that required it to be shared with first responders and government agencies for public safety. Last we heard, 'D' was in limbo awaiting a new auction, but Reuters reports that said wait may be nearly over. According to Jamie Barnett, the FCC's Chief of Public Safety, the entity could test the waters as early as this summer, and start Auction 76 in earnest by Q1 or Q2 of 2011. Who might bid at that late date is still uncertain -- would-be 4G competitors will be way behind Verizon and AT&T by that time -- but it seems a mighty fine idea for paramedic phones to work while buried under rubble, regardless.

Thanks to the guys over at noknok.tv for this one, details on the Nokia E Series.

As we all are aware now the E Series isn’t known for being cool and trendy with its gadgets as it would seem generally it is all business class and nothing else.

The Nokia E72 White Edition is about as colourful as it is likely to get, but wait a minute we now have Purple the Nokia E72 Purple Edition which popped up over the weekend. It does look amazing and the colour is really cool.

By Evan Ackerman

If you are a mobile phone toting fan of Rihanna and love her new single Rude Boy then you can now get Rihanna Rude Boy as a mobile phone ringtone reports an article over on prlog, a must have for all Rihanna fans out there in mobile land.

Rihanna’s Rude Boy is one of the top downloads on iTunes and has received massive radio coverage and has been working its way up the US charts across North America including the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100.

The Rihanna Rude Boy video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube and is one of the hottest dfownload in the US and now you can get the Rihanna Rude Boy ringtone for your mobile phone too.

FROM APPLETELL - Samson might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of USB mics, but with microphones like the G-Track, they’re getting closer.
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An article over on arstechnica.com explains why it’s over for Palm. To read the full story then head over to arstechnica.com It seems the once almighty Smartphone maker has attempted to save itself from uncertain death.

In January 2009 the shares of palm traded just over $3 as everyone awaited for details of the companies plans to save itself.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Pre launch has to have been the promise of a new platform for app developers. Palm’s webOS and app catalog were intended to be so many things that the iPhone wasn’t.

Orange UK has joined with HMV to launch a new mobile gaming service called HMV Mobile Games and will be powered by Orange, and this new gaming service should be available sometime next week to customers across any network along with over 1000 java enabled mobile phones.

To access the new mobile games service customers need to text ‘HMV’ to 80710 and they will receive an SMS with a link to hmv.mobile, once clicked they will then be able to access the website, read game reviews, see previews, download demo games for free along with buying games that are in HMV stores and online at hmv.com.

Orange customers will be billed direct for their mobile game play however other networks customers will be able to use the ‘Pay For It’ billing system where an individual cost per game applies.

By Chris Scott Barr

HTC's new flagship device is now almost certain to officially land on British shores ahead of its Sense-less elder brother, the Nexus One. T-Mobile's official online store is ready to take your order for the Desire right this minute, though it does come with the proviso that delivery may take up to seven days. That meshes almost perfectly with Amazon's April 1 delivery date, though the most exciting news might relate to pricing. At the high end, you can have the phone for free on £35 ($53) per month over two years -- nothing new there -- but at the £15 ($22) a month price point, you can have 300 minutes, 300 texts, unlimited (with an asterisk) internet and the Desire for £129 ($194). With Orange and Vodafone also confirmed as carriers, it's looking like a good time for Android lovers in the UK. In the meantime, a black prototype Desire has been spotted online, following swiftly in the footsteps of the silver Desire we saw setting Dutch hearts aflutter last week. It's not yet clear if or when it'll be making its way into retail, but the video awaits after the break in any case.