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Barnes and Noble's nook fact sheet [pdf link] has revealed upcoming Android and Windows Mobile versions of their ebook reader software, though the software is not yet available to download either from the publisher's download page or the Android Market. The document suggests that the apps will support B&N's last-page-read sync, and be available for free.
Kempler & Strauss has been very busy over the last week with new products being introduced. First we were hit with the cool W PhoneWatch with its included Communicator. Today the company is back with the official launch of its Billionair 7 mobile phone.
The Touch HD released last year, and while it held its own within its fifteen minutes of fame, like many other HTC/Windows Mobile devices out there, it quickly faded into the throes of the past. Well, it’s time for HTC to release a sequel, and yes, you can guess what it’s called: the Touch HD 2. But we’re not getting a simple rehash this time around, or even an upgraded Windows Mobile 6.5. No, we get to see more Android.
Amazon is pretty much a bastion of information at this point, isn’t it? Things keep popping up on their site, both locally and globally that would lead most manufacturers to pull their hair out in frustration. And while we’re sure that this time around, in regards to Samsung, no one is all that upset with the phone finding its way to the digital shelves, we’re sure that someone has to be upset. Or maybe angry at the world. Because that’s the only realistic way the Omnia II could have acquired a price like this.
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And it's going to cost a pretty penny. While the T-Mobile Touch Pro 2 is already available for the same price, there were a few people out there who were hoping that HTC's Touch Pro 2 would see at least somewhat of a price drop, once it reached the Now Network. Either way, we're sure someone out there is still clamoring for this thing, and thankfully September 8 seems to be the day of days, so to speak.
We’re accommodating, understanding sorts here at SlashGear, and so we’ll let slide the fact that Sunno’s S880 looks in no minor way like Sony Ericsson’s Idou smartphone. Instead we’ll concentrate on the fact that the Chinese company is claiming that the S880 will dual-boot between Android and Windows Mobile, each OS sharing the handset’s capacious 3.6-inch WVGA display.
While it may be getting on for a year old now, we’ve still got a soft-spot for HTC’s Touch HD, so it’s nice to see the homebrew ROM community endevoring to bring the latest software to the smartphone. XDA Developers forum member Miri has put together a combination ROM of Windows Mobile 6.5 and the new TouchFLO 3D 2.6 build fresh from pre-production HTC Leo handsets, and you can see it demonstrated after the cut.
Video demo after the cut
Windows Mobile has been around for a long time. It started life in 1996 as Windows CE (which some say stood for Consumer Electronics and Microsoft insisted was an acronym for nothing) with the first clamshell device coming from Casio, called the Cassiopeia. Over time, it’s evolved into a stable platform, with both enterprise and consumer appeal and devices from multiple vendors available for carriers around the world. Despite selling 20 million devices last year, there’s still a lot of negative buzz about the platform. Bloggers, analysts and journalists have all called the platform’s future into question (while still calling for a mythical Microsoft-created phone) and continue to raise the question of platform viability. I think the latest version of Windows Mobile, 6.5 addresses many of those issues along with strong support from OEMs who are still committed to the platform and will help drive business adoption further over the next 18 months.
Could Microsoft be the next in line to take a pot-shot at Apple’s App Store approvals process? That’s certainly one interpretation of the company’s latest promo video for the Race to Market Challenge, Microsoft’s competition intended to drum up submissions for their upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile download store. In the video, a developer is shown bringing his new app to a well-stocked application store, only to be rejected.
Video after the cut
The Xbox Live update went out today, which included a bit of a shocker in of itself, but something a bit more interesting has emerged from a Microsoft job posting, sent out yesterday. It looks like Microsoft is looking LIVE Community Director in the Entertainment & Devices Division. From the posting, it looks like Microsoft is vying to bring together not just the Xbox 360 and Zune, but also Windows Mobile.
JP
