It appears that bluebox Ai is responsible for future version of iPad customized for airline travel. The iPad devices will give passengers the full iPad experience including access to iPad games and apps, iBooks, consumer magazines offered through Zinio and airline-specific custom applications.
We'll have to wait a while and see what they will come up with…
Source: Runway Girl
We are really hoping everything works out OK for Microsoft this time. Smartphone OS arena definately could do with another strong player, competing with iPhone OS, Android, BlackBerry OS… Windows Mobile failed to deliver, and frankly, versions 6.5.x were a big disappointment. So we bring you a recap of the important news since the unveiling we covered live at Mobile World Congress 2010, Barcelona.
We really dig the new flat 2D look, with effective annimations in all the right places. The search engine linked to the hardware button is, of course, Bing. The most interesting part was not shown completely -- The way Office Hub will look and function like. Now we have more details, and two videos of Office Hub in action.
Video #2 on YouTube, (courtesy of Mobility Digest).
As far as the hardware goes, for starters new WP7 phones need to have 3 hardware buttons below the screen: back, windows, search. Therefore some of the current high-end models do not qualify for the upgrade (for instance HTC HD2). Processors must be ARMv7 compliant, video vith hardware acceleration, all the screens must be capacitive (no more stylus) multi-touch, camera and WiFi/BT are a must as well as the FM radio receiver (why?). All the sensors you'd expect from a new phone must be present in all of the upcoming WP7 devices: Accelerometar, digital compass, light sensor, proximity sensor. More info on the architecture and update process can be found at BGR.
Then came the MIX10 conference in Las Vegas, where guys from Microsoft presented more info on this platform. All the recorded sessions can be found on a Windows Phone Developer Blog.
Windows Live ID account will be needed to use the phone (did anyone say Gmail+Android?). It is great to hear that 3D grapics are run using Direct3D 11, and one of the demo games was shown on a couple of occasions.
Windows Phone Developer home page has all the necessary tools, so you can join the hype and start developing. Or you can just try out the emulator and get to know the look and feel of the new OS. One of the guys from Microsoft has been very productive on Twitter, so everyone that wishes to be informed on this topic, check out Charlie Kindel's Twitter page.
One of the cool applications shown on Microsoft events was Foursquare. 
We really like the directions and positive vibe Microsoft is sending to the developers. There is just one small problem, new Windows Phone platform is not compatible to previous applications that made Windows Mobile popular. Microsoft is starting from the beginning. At this point iPhone has about 185.000 applications, and Android has been chasing them with over 50.000 and rising fast (april 2010). Microsoft will definitely have a great plaform, but near-empty marketplace. A lot of effort has been communicated towards the developers, and the required tools made free (check the above address). Silverlight all the way.
Another controversy is multitasking, as far as things stand at this point -- WP7 won't have it for 3rd party applications. We could think of many situations where we would like multitasking (even iPhone users will say they need it as soon the OS gets it 
). Microsoft still has to decide if it will allow copy/paste, something that was missing in the first versions of the iPhone OS. Strange…
To recap:
Google has released new version of SkyMap application for Android phones, maybe just to mark two decades of Hubble telescope in space, this month?
With Google Sky Map for your Android phone you can discover and browse the night sky just by pointing your phone to space, and now also see images from Hubble telescope
By using your Android phone's orientation sensors, you can see a star map above your current location or explore planets, stars and constellations.
Great use of Android phone sensors to learn something new.
Google's Gesture Search application for Android is finally out. It enables you to quickly find a contact, bookmark, application or music track simply by drawing alphabet gestures on your device's screen.
Sadly, it is only working on Android 2.0 and up, supports only English language, and according to some user comments, is available only on selected Markets. If you can't find it on Market available in your country, you can try to use Market Enabler application, but only if your device is rooted.
Source: Google Labs via Android and Me
It is now possible to explore new set of historical aerial images, taken over European cities during World War II, via the historical imagery feature in Google Earth. They can now be compared directly to images from the present day.
To access all the imagery for yourself, and compare to the present day cityscape, click the clock icon in the top-level toolbar to activate a time-line in the Google Earth display. Move back in forth in time by dragging the time slider from left to right or by clicking the back/forwards arrows.
Source: Wired
Now it is official as Firefox was announced for Maemo plaftorm. Firefox is the only mobile web browser that supports add-ons (life is just not complete without AdBlock plus ). The list of features also includes:
Firefox will be announced for Android soon…
We are eager to see how Maemo will do in the future, as it has great potential.
After Acer Liquid, we present you the review of Acer F1. If you are looking for a less-expensive alternative for HTC HD2, then read more about it.
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As usual, here are specifications:
It is another happy day for Maemo 5 users. Nokia has released the first major update for the Nokia N900. Some of the most important fixes include Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 support and solved problems with bluetooth handsfree. Complete changelog can be found here. More info here.
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For those willing to go flashing instead of update over the air: Global, USA and MENA images are available. Check out the instructions on how to flash your device. More info on Maemo and N900 to follow… Source: maemo.org |
We bring you the exclusive preview of the new Nav N Go software for Android phones. iGO GPS navigation software for Windows Mobile and iPhone was among our favorites. Now IGO Amigo is available for Android platform as well. It works offline, so no high price data transfers while roaming !
As you can see, the user interface is simple and intuitive, and the program uses g-sensor to rotate the screen contents when needed. The real power is in the extensive POI database, so we may finally advice anyone who hesitated – Android platform just got richer for another great application. At this moment, iGO Amigo supports 320×480 resolution (HVGA). Check out the gallery of screenshots.
Check Nav N Go for other products
We have tested another smartphone. This time, it's all about style and speed. For a full review, go here. Have you tried it / do you own it? What do you think about it?
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Specifications sheet:
