Nokia will be allowed to customize every part of Windows Phone 7

In a bit of an about-turn, Microsoft will allow Nokia to "customize everything" in Windows Phone 7 in order to both differentiate it from handsets made by current WP7 OEMs, such as HTC and Samsung, and presumably to ensure smooth integration with Nokia's existing services.

Microsoft had, until now, kept a draconian grip on the look and feel of Windows Phone 7. In fact, other than being allowed to customize a couple of tiles on the home screen, OEMs aren't allowed to change anything on WP7! This change not only means that we'll see distinctively unique Nokia-Microsoft phones, but also that Nokia will retain more of its identity than just an embossed logo on its handsets.

The big question, though, is whether this represents an exclusive deal for Nokia, or a complete shift in Microsoft's WP7 strategy. You can be sure, however, that HTC, who was forbidden from installing its Sense UI on its WP7 phones, will be quick to question Microsoft's new stance.

Nokia will be allowed to customize every part of Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/11/nokia-will-be-allowed-to-customize-every-part-of-windows-phone-7/

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Qualcomm demos AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology (video)

It's simple, but highly complex. You dig? Qualcomm's AllJoyn demonstration here at MWC was quite the eye-opener, but it's hard to say how much traction it'll gain in a world already inundated with short-range transfer protocols. Bluetooth, Infrared, Wi-Fi Direct... the list goes on and on (and on). Essentially, AllJoyn is an open-source software system that doesn't actually have to run atop Qualcomm hardware; if implemented in a particular app, it can enable peer-to-peer sharing with others based on location. If you're standing near someone who also has an AllJoyn-enabled application, you two (or more) can interact -- if you're both using Bluetooth, the range will be around 30 feet, but if you're both using Wi-Fi, it'll obviously be greater. Qualcomm's hoping to entwine its homegrown FlashLinq (more on that in a separate article) in order to let people use this while being up to 1km away from one another.

The company describes AllJoyn as a software framework for developers that enables easy P2P access; rather than an app developer having to write this functionality in from scratch, they can simply grab Qualcomm's code and integrate it. Currently, the spec only supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi Direct and FlashLinq support it in the works, and those will hopefully be added by the end of the year. We're told that the company's also working to create a constant link between devices, which could one day (soon) enable streaming support. There's C++, Java and Javascript models available, with Qualcomm's goal being to have developers port this all over the place. The demo (embedded after the break) involved a foursome of phones sharing photographs with one another, while a nearby laptop was shown engaging in a multiplayer game with two smartphones. We were told that the company's currently in talks with a number of large gaming firms to get this ingrained in future titles, but no specifics were available. Another application would be within a social network, enabling AllJoyn apps to alert users when a friend is nearby. A huge boon there is that this doesn't require data, so international groups who'd like to keep tabs on one another's location will be able to do so without roaming on a foreign network. So, any app developers considering bundling this in with your next update?

Continue reading Qualcomm demos AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology (video)

Qualcomm demos AllJoyn peer-to-peer sharing / gaming technology (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/16/qualcomm-demos-alljoyn-peer-to-peer-sharing-gaming-technology/

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Mapquest Gives Android Users a Free Turn-By-Turn Nav App [Androidapps]

Android users now have the luxury of another free turn-by-turn option to choose from— Mappquest's free voice-guided nav app is now available in the Android Market. You can talk to it (search for destinations with voice); it can talk to you (it'll pipe up when you need to make a turn); and it has live traffic data refreshed every five minutes. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/z5opMMpw3Ag/mapquest-gives-android-users-a-free-turn+by+turn-nav-app

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A Close Up View of the Navy's New Stealth Combat Airplane [Video]

After completing its first flight on February 4 at Edwards AFB, here is a new video showing the US Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Airplane up close and personal, including shots of its air intake, weapons bays and a brief look of the ground-based control system. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Sb6zp4zStUs/a-close-up-view-of-the-navys-new-stealth-combat-airplane

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With RSS Face Down In A Ditch, Lifeless, Pulse A Heartbeat Beyond It

We love the "RSS Is Dead" meme here at TechCrunch. Hell, we started it. And while RSS isn't exactly dead as in gone, it is dead in that the vast majority of people who consume content on the web have absolutely no idea what it is and will never know what it is. But even that's not necessarily bad news for RSS. What is bad news is that services that previously only relied on it are now moving beyond it. Today, Pulse, the visual news-reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Android, is announcing that they're moving beyond RSS, and instead hooking up with APIs to get access to content. What type of content? Content from Reddit, Digg, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, and PicPlz. Yes, you'll now be able to browse all of those within Pulse.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/f2UGSFQyuoI/

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BlackBerry Playbook to ship with Tetris, Need For Speed Underground

RIM's upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook may be aimed at enterprise users, but the company showed today that its upcoming tablet isn't all work and no play. At Mobile World Congress, RIM showed off Need For Speed Underground on the PlayBook -- and you can check out a video of its demo after the break.

The PlayBook will also ship with Tetris. Both games are full versions, and both are included totally free. Gaming is all well and good, but we're more curious to see how rumors of the PlayBook running Android apps via a Dalvik-like virtual machine pan out.

Continue reading BlackBerry Playbook to ship with Tetris, Need For Speed Underground

BlackBerry Playbook to ship with Tetris, Need For Speed Underground originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/14/blackberry-playbook-to-ship-with-tetris-need-for-speed-undergro/

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Renesas Wins DivX Plus HD Certification, For MKV Files on Your Phone [Smartphones]

The DivX Corporation has awarded its first DivX Plus HD certificate to Renesas Mobile, producer of several HD-capable system-on-chip processors. Any phone that features Renesas Mobile's SH73704 will therefore be able to manage full HD 1080p playback, including the popular HD content ripping format MKV. In this age of ever-growing screens, that has to be a good selling point. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/C3TKOPkbcYw/renesas-wins-divx-plus-hd-certification-for-mkv-files-on-your-phone

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Super Bowl search stats from Google: Packers prefer guacamole, Terrible Towels selling like hotcakes

If you're a football fan, or you're simply into delicious statistics, take a look at Google's Packers vs. Steelers search analysis. Apparently Googlers are sports fans too, and as the big G has offices in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, it thought that some good ol' Google Insights analysis was in order.

There's a ton of graphs which we're not going to replicate here, but here's some highlights:

Incidentally, the humble but oh-so-tasty chicken wing reaches its peak during the Super Bowl, too.

Super Bowl search stats from Google: Packers prefer guacamole, Terrible Towels selling like hotcakes originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/04/super-bowl-search-stats-from-google-packers-prefer-guacamole-terrible-towels/

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Renesas Wins DivX Plus HD Certification, For MKV Files on Your Phone [Smartphones]

The DivX Corporation has awarded its first DivX Plus HD certificate to Renesas Mobile, producer of several HD-capable system-on-chip processors. Any phone that features Renesas Mobile's SH73704 will therefore be able to manage full HD 1080p playback, including the popular HD content ripping format MKV. In this age of ever-growing screens, that has to be a good selling point. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/C3TKOPkbcYw/renesas-wins-divx-plus-hd-certification-for-mkv-files-on-your-phone

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