scattered technology news

Verizon: HTC ERIS & BlackBerry Curve 0

It’s November 6th and Verizon’s major launch of the Droid, which we reviewed earlier this week, is finally on sale! Although it might not be a well-kept secret, the HTC ERIS is also available in stores today. It’s quite similar to the Sprint HTC Hero, which we also reviewed a week ago. It runs on the Android OS, unfortunately not v2.0 like the Droid, but is available for a more affordable price of $99. That’s after a $100 rebate and a new 2-year contract, of course. For some quick specs, it’s got a 5 megapixel camera, an included 8GB microSD card, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, GPS, and a Browser with Flash support.

On another note, Verizon Wireless also announced the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530. Unlike the clickable touch-screen the Storm2 features (see our review), it has traditional form factor with a physical QWERTY keyboard. Unlike older BlackBerry phones, this one does away with the trackball, replacing it with a touch-sensitive trackpad. And for some quick specs for this phone, it’s packed with WiFi, 3G, GPS, 2 megapixel camera, and mainly a lot of business/enterprise features. The Curve 9530 will be available on November 20th for $99 after a $100 rebate and signing a 2-year contract.

We will be getting a hold of both of these phones in the coming days and will be publishing full reviews shortly after. In the meantime, to be the first to read our reviews, subscribe to our RSS Feed, sign up for Email Subscriptions, or find us on Facebook or Twitter!

Verizon Motorola Droid Unboxed 5

Skatter Tech received the upcoming Motorola Droid which runs on Verizon Wireless earlier today. The phone will be available for purchase online and in retail stores on November 6th, 2009. The price is currently set at $199 with a new 2-year contract after a $100 mail-in-rebate. The phone runs on the new Android 2.0 operating system, uses the Verizon Wireless 3G network, has a slide out QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, a high resolution touch screen, and even a 5 mega pixel camera. To top that off, it comes integrated with just about every service Google offers: Search, Google Talk, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and more. And as a bonus, it features a free beta version of Google’s new GPS Navigation software that offers voice guided turn-by-turn direction. It’s going to take a few days before we post a full review, but for now here’s a great gallery of some product shots I just took:

I had some time to handle the device and mess with the interface. My first impressions were quite positive. Everything from Verizon’s marketing to the quality of the hardware to the Android 2.0 software are stunning. Ian Thackston will be publishing an in-depth review of the phone in the next couple of days, prior to launch. This should give you guys some time to read the review and decide whether it’s the right phone for you before you pick one up. In the meantime subscribe to our RSS Feed, Email Subscriptions, or on Facebook/Twitter to get notified when the review is up!

UPDATE: Read Our Full Review!

Link: Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid

Sprint: Palm Pixie For $99 0

Earlier today Sprint announced that the Palm Pixie would become available on their network on November 15th, 2009 for $99. The device features a QWERTY keyboard, GPS, a multi-touch display, and the webOS interface. What’s not so exciting might be hidden fees behind the price. It only reaches the sub-$100 price after signing a 2-year contract, sending in a $50 mail-in-rebate, and filing $100 rebate. This is the second webOS-based Palm device Sprint has picked up. Earlier this year in June, Sprint added the Palm Pre to their lineup. The Palm Pre was the first of it’s kind and was originally announced in January at CES 2009.

The Pixie shares a lot from Pre, but has a few changes. The form factor is similar to BlackBerry-esque single candy-bar device. The Palm Pre has a slide out keyboard. The display is a bit smaller, but still is a fully capable multi-touch interface. The Pixie will also be compatible with the Touchstone cable-free charger. There will even be new and updated social networking applications including an upgraded version of Facebook. A new version of Synergy which syncs contacts with all your networks, will also connect with Yahoo. The biggest difference might be the lack of WiFi. Despite that, Palm hopes to reach a larger market by introducing another webOS device with a new form factor at a lower price-point.

Links: Sprint.com | Palm.com Pixie

5 Days Until Ubuntu 9.10 0

Apple announced OS X Snow Leopard at the end of August, Microsoft rolled out Windows 7 just two days ago, and now we’re 5 days away from Ubuntu 9.10. For those of you that don’t know, Ubuntu is a free open source Linux distribution. It’s powerful and is a great alternative to both Macintosh and Windows. If you are afraid it’s too complicated, don’t be. The installation is a simple 6 step process. The user interface is easy to use. Plus just about all the basic applications you’ll need are included!

So what’s new with version 9.10? A Lot. It offers encryption to better protect your files. It features the latest version of the GNOME interface. The Pidgin chat client has been replaced with Empathy. A file syncing service called Ubuntu One, similar to Dropbox, is included. There’s a lot of performance improvements when it comes to startup. It also uses a new Intel Video Card architecture, the new ext4 file system, and the GRUB 2 boot loader. There’s even better power management handling. So what does that mean for average consumers? It’s more compatible and much faster than ever before.

Ubuntu 9.10 also includes plenty of graphical improvements as well. There’s a new sharp looking login screen, new wallpapers, a new default color scheme, and cleaner looking icons. When you are done using your computer, it even has a clean animation for that! I’ve used the last few iterations of Ubuntu on netbooks, laptops, old desktops, and even in VirtualBox for the past few years. It’s a great OS whether you are a programmer, a geek, or just don’t want to spend the cash on Windows 7 or Snow Leopard. Plus it’s probably the most secure and it’s something unique to show off. If you are interested in giving Ubuntu 9.10 a shot, it will become available for download on October 29th, 2009.

P.S. If you can’t wait, the Release Candidate is already available for download here.

Links: Ubuntu.com | 9.10 Release Notes

Free Google WiFi On Virgin America 0

Are you flying for the upcoming Holiday Season? If you are, Google’s got a special treat for those flying with Virgin America. All flights between November 10, 2009 and January 15, 2010 will have free WiFi internet access for all passengers thanks to Google. Virgin America normally charges $6 for flights under 1.5 hours, $10 for those in between 1.5-3 hours, and $13 for those longer than 3 hours.

So if you find yourself getting sick of the on-flight entertainment, just pull out your laptop and get online. Even mobile devices such as a Blackberry or iPhone are allowed to connect to the WiFi network as long as the cellular component is turned off. I haven’t had a chance to test the network speed, but they are suppose to be decent. Google claims it to be comparable to “the mobile broadband experience on the ground.” However that probably won’t be the case this holiday season. With flight full of passengers connecting to the network since it’s free, rather than the usual few business folks, it will probably slow down a lot. If you’ve tried in-flight WiFi, please share your thoughts below!

Links: Google Holiday WiFi aboard Virgin America

Sprint’s New Android Phones 3

Over the next few weeks Skatter Tech will be publishing a reviews of Sprint’s latest Android-powered devices.  For those of you who haven’t heard of Android, it’s a new open mobile platform which began development under Google. It’s a competitor to other mobile platforms such as the Apple iPhone OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM BlackBerry OS, and Palm Web OS. What sets this platform apart from the rest? It’s open source. Any developer can download the source to customize or built applications for it. The first device Android device that will be featured on Skatter Tech is the HTC Hero. We’ll be following up with a review of another Android device, the Samsung Moment, thereafter. Plus, on another note, we’ll be even taking a look at the Samsung Reclaim, an eco friendly phone.

In the meantime, subscribe to our RSS Feed or Email Notifications to be one of the first to see the reviews. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, you can find us over there as well!

Links: Sprint.com

Apple Event: “It’s Only Rock and Roll” 5

Apple held there long awaited Media Event earlier today for members of the press in San Francisco. They announced a couple of updates to existing products which include: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and iTunes. The Apple iPhone also received a small treat, a software update to the 3.1 OS. Read More

Snow Leopard Ships On August 28 1

Looking to upgrade your Mac to Snow Leopard? Apple announced earlier today that the new OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) will go on sale on Friday, August 28, 2009. The new operating system will be available in Apple Retail Stores, Apple’s Online Store, and at authorized retailers. A single license will cost just $29, while a “family pack” (5 users) will be priced at $49. Also if your purchased your iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, or Mac Pro after June 8, 2009, as a part of Apple’s  “Up-To-Date Program,” you can grab yourself Snow Leopard for just $9.95. Here’s a blurb from the Press Release in regards to what’s new:

Users will notice refinements including a more responsive Finder; Mail that loads messages up to twice as fast; Time Machine with an up to 80 percent faster initial backup; a Dock with Exposé integration; QuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video; and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 7GB of drive space once installed. System applications including Finder, Mail, iCal®, iChat® and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications.

Don’t know if your computer is compatible with the new OS? It’s quite simple to figure that out. Just click on “About This Mac” from the “Apple Menu.” If you are running Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard on an Intel based machine, you are good to go! All you’ll have to do is purchase Snow Leopard and pop in the disk to upgrade! So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Apple’s Online Store which even guarantees FREE delivery to your door on August 28th, 2009!

Buy: Snow Leopard – Apple Store | Snow Leopard – Amazon
More Info: $10 Up-To Date Program | Snow Leopard Info

The Sony PlayStation 3 Slim 5

Today at the Gamescom conference in Germany, Sony announced the long rumored and awaited PlayStation 3 Slim. As implied merely by the title the unit is actually about 35% smaller than the original PS3 in volume and weighs about 4 pounds less. Despite being put on a diet, the compact unit doesn’t lack features either. The PS3 Slim is packed with a 120GB HDD and a Blu-Ray Player. And as a bonus for those of you saving on electricity, the unit now consumes about 35% less energy.

This isn’t the first time Sony’s slimmed down on a console. It’s predecessor the PlayStation 2 also shed a few pounds and was re-launched with a new look a couple of years after launch. The PlayStation Portable also was re-branded as a more compact PSP Go and will be reaching stores later this year.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 hasn’t dominated the console war as the PS2 had during it’s time, mainly due to competing prices. As of early 2009, the Sony PS3 has sold about 24 million units worldwide behind both Microsoft’s Xbox 360 at ~32 million units and Nintendo’s Wii at ~52 million units. For consumers, the good news might be the new price tag of $299, which is effective immediately, for both the upcoming Slim model and the currently available one. One quirk that still disappoints is a continued lack of backwards compatibility for PlayStation 2 games. Despite that, if you are interested in grabbing a unit, the PS3 Slim will be available for purchase online and in stores on September 1st, 2009.

Pre-Order: Sony PS3 Slim – $299
Links: PlayStation Blog

CES 2009: Shure SE115 Headphones 3

During the Consumer Electronics Show, Shure announced a new set of headphones, the SE115. The series is their most affordable earphones to date, with a retail price of $99. Although these earphones are on the lowest-end of their lineup, they offer an incomparable listening experience versus most generic earphones that are included with most devices. The headphones are available in Blue, Pink, Black and Red to match different portable audio players. Shure has also packed more bass into these earphones will shrinking down the size of the unit. The earphones help eliminate background noise too help fully experience whatever you might be listening too.

Specifications Speaker Type:

• Dynamic MicroSpeaker II
• Sensitivity (at 1kHz): 105dB SPL/mW
• Impedance (at 1kHz): 16
• Frequency Range: 22Hz-17.5kHz
• Cable Length: 18 in. (45 cm)
• Warranty: 2-Years
• Price (MSRP): $119

As always Shure provides a kit with a variety of earpieces to ensure that the buds comfortably fit into your ear canal. The earphones have a modular cable which can extend from just 18 inches to 54 inches with the extension. Shure provides a 2 year limited warranty on these earphones, so rest assured that if they happen to fail or cause problems, you’ll be able to have them replaced. The headphone jack is a standard 3.5mm pin, which will fit into any standard computer, laptop, cd player, or digital audio player.

The earphones will become available for purchase in Spring 2009. Although the expect sale price is $99, it should be available for cheaper through many retailers. We’ll be getting a unit to review as soon as we can, so check back for a full review! Meanwhile checkout our review of the Shure SE110 and the SE210.

Links: Shure.com SE115