Posted by alect on January 26th, 2010 in
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FCC investigation be damned, Google has finally managed to bypass the App Store and release Google Voice to the iPhone (and webOS, too) the same way it pulled off Latitude, i.e. via a HTML5-based web app. According to Senior Product Manager Vincent Paquet, it should work with any HTML5-compliant device, although the formatting at this point has been tailored to Apple and Palm’s platforms. So here’s how it works: much like with its mobile Gmail site, the app caches your contacts list in a browser page. All the usual GV functionality is there, writing SMS messages, checking your inbox, and even listening to voicemails (although that latter functionality wasn’t working for us yet in our trials). Placing phone calls is an interesting trick: as pictured above, after you choose the recipient, the app prompts you to call one of Google’s local numbers via the native dialer — even for international calls, hence the lower rates by paying through Google. The recipient will see your proper GV digits, and upside with this method is you’ll still be able to utilize call waiting and background usage. The catch, of course, is a call history littered with random numbers. It’s not a perfect solution by any means — if anything, take solace in an assortment of home screen icons for each section of the app — but it’s probably the best we’re gonna get for the time being. The page should be up and running later today, so if you’re anxious, direct your mobile browser to voice.google.com and just keep hitting refresh.
Google Voice comes to iPhone and webOS, as a web app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 26th, 2010 in
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What’s the solution to Apple’s stinginess about Google getting an official Google Voice app on the iPhone App Store? A webapp that has about all the functionality, but usable on any HTML5-capable smartphone.
The webapp mimics the functionality of hitting up Google Voice on your desktop. You can make calls, send texts, listen to voicemails, change your settings and access your contacts all from your phone’s browser. It syncs up with your Google account’s contact list—not your iPhone’s contact list—so you’ll have to make sure to sync your contacts to Google first. The Pre however, if you already have your GV account as one of your contacts, should have a more transparent process.
Unlike the Google Voice app now, which calls your phone first and then connects the other party, you actually dial out directly into the Google Voice service, which then hooks you up with who you’re trying to reach. It’s going to be like the 406 numbers that Google Voice users are used to using for shortcuts to their contacts, but possibly not 406, since Google has a pool of numbers they are using.
Google also tells us that you can add dialing credits directly from the phone if you want to make overseas calls, saving you the trouble of having to get on a computer.
All in all, the experience is solid and fluid, mimicking an iPhone app as best as possible on a web interface. If we had any gripes, it would be that when you’re texting someone from your contacts list, it only grabs the phone number and doesn’t display the name after it. Also, that you can’t text multiple recipients. But calling from your contact list is fluid and takes only one more step than regular dialing from your iPhone.
It’s not as good as a native app, but it’s more than adequate. [Google Voice]
Posted by alect on January 26th, 2010 in
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We have absolutely no idea what kind of voodoo, pseudoscience, and black magic goes into making an analyst-grade industry forecast, but considering that our local weather dude can barely tell us whether it’ll be raining in a few hours — much less a year or two from now — you’ve got to take these sorts of things with a healthy dose of skepticism. That said, we’re finding it pretty notable here that IDC’s latest worldwide smartphone shipment forecast through 2013 has Symbian continuing to dominate the field of ever-stronger competitors thanks “primarily to the strength of Nokia in markets outside of the United States,” while Android will surge past Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and iPhone to become number two in the world on shipments of some 68 million devices. Falling back a bit in IDC’s Utopian vision are generic Linux devices along with webOS, which — while “growing steadily” — will be held back by a wee number of carrier partnerships. Everything that IDC’s saying seems plausible enough, and we’ve got every reason to believe that Android’s going to continue to heat up — particularly with four of the top five mobile players (Nokia notably excluded) devoting significant portions of their smartphone lineups to the platform over the coming months. As for Symbian, it’s an absolute juggernaut by any measure, so we can see it staying king for a while even in a complete vacuum of serious innovation — it’ll just be interesting whether to see Nokia and the Foundation can keep these hungry upstarts firmly in their rear-view mirror for much of the decade.
IDC: Symbian should keep dominating the market, Android to take second originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 25th, 2010 in
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No CommentsSprint’s seven month run as the exclusive carrier of Palm’s webOS handsets has come to an end as the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are now available from Verizon Wireless. Verizon customers interested in the refreshed devices can score…
Posted by alect on January 24th, 2010 in
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No CommentsHow long does it take for a smartphone to go from two hundred bucks on contract all the way down to a big, fat goose egg? If you’re Bell — and the phone is the Palm Pre — the answer is right around five months, apparently. Following its August release and a couple of mid-course pricing corrections, Bell’s now making Palm’s first webOS-based device available for free just as long as you’re willing to commit to three years at a minimum spend of CAD $50 (about $47) a month. The move likely comes on the announcement of the Pre Plus, perhaps as a preemptive strike against any of its competitors planning on carrying it — and if we were Sprint right now, we’d be paying very, very close attention to these guys.
Bell’s Palm Pre now free — in exchange for three years of your life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 23rd, 2010 in
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No CommentsPardon us if we’re playing the role of Captain Obvious here, but just a heads up: we’ve got some pretty solid evidence before our eyes that Palm has GSM versions of both Verizon’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus in the pipe. Said proof comes via the certification gurus at TUV Rheinland who’ve listed both a P101UNA and P121UNA in their systems from Palm; P101 and P121 are the numeric codes for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, respectively, and “UNA” indicates a GSM variant (versus the deliciously underhanded “EWW” for CDMA). Now, neither AT&T nor Palm have given a lick of indication what two models they’ll be releasing later this year — but this is certainly a convenient coincidence, isn’t it?
Palm crafting GSM versions of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 23rd, 2010 in
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No CommentsOfficially speaking, the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus still have a weekend ahead of ‘em before they can be sold, but if you know the right person in your local Best Buy, you could very well be playing with one hours before your contemporaries. An anonymous tipster beamed over the image you see above via our handy iPhone app, noting that both of Palm’s first entries onto Verizon’s network were in stock. Granted, neither are for sale per se, but what’s stopping you from moseying on down and giving it a shot? Nothing, that’s what.
[Thanks, Anonymous]
Palm’s Pre Plus and Pixi Plus slipping into Best Buy locales everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 22nd, 2010 in
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No CommentsNot much else to report other that what’s in the title. Verizon will be having a buy one get one free promotion on the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus, a deal that will run from launch day…
Posted by alect on January 22nd, 2010 in
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No CommentsIn case you missed it in our review, Palm has gone and spilled its Verizon pricing info on its official blog. The Pre Plus is hitting shelves at a cent under $150, closely followed by the Pixi Plus at $99.99 — both after $100 mail-in rebate and on two-year commitments. Available to buy from this coming Monday, the new handsets are also incentivized with a free Pixi Plus coming with every purchase — a limited offer running until February 14. That’s after yet another mail-in rebate, meaning you’ll probably be shelling out a cool $450 to get your webOS fix on Verizon, but we can’t argue with the final tally after all the paperwork has been done, filed, triple-checked, lost, recovered, and your money’s finally reimbursed.
Verizon prices Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus — offers a free Pixi Plus for limited time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 21st, 2010 in
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No CommentsYea, you read that right — fifty apps loaded side by side by freaking side on the Pre Plus, and the thing just kept on ticking. The chaps over at Pre Central decided to test out specifically how much of an improvement the doubling of RAM and storage in the new handset delivered, and they were not disappointed. Opening up the same apps on both phones, they found the original Sprint Pre (sporting a mere 256MB of RAM) ran out of puff at the 13 app mark, whereas the Pre Plus soldiered on until a nice round fifty was reached. Go past the break to see the video evidence for yourself — long live multitasking!
Continue reading Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video)
Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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