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Nokia: 'We don't have a Plan B'

Wander into Nokia's corporate HQ and, if Victor Saejis is to believed, you'll be hard pressed to find any manilla folder bearing the legend "Plan B." The handset maker's European Manager told Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri that the company has no contingency plan in the event that Windows Phone loses out to Android and iOS saying that "Plan B is that Plan A is to succeed." It's a pretty unequivocal statement that Espoo's betting the farm on consumers embracing Microsoft's OS. Commenting on the company's recent troubles, the winding down of Symbian and the demise of MeeGo, he said "it's like starting all over again. But we must succeed in the U.S. if we are to succeed in the world" -- pretty honest, if a little disappointing to anyone who hoped there was an Android-powered white N9 lying in a Finnish skunkworks.

Baidu-powered Dell Streak Pro D43 gets hands-on treatment

Dell's dual-cored Streak Pro D43 has arrived in the hands of our colleagues over at Engadget Chinese. In a detailed tour of the first Baidu Yi smartphone, they've unearthed a built-in ...

HP Envy 14 Spectre available now, starts at $1,399

HP Envy 14 Spectre available now, starts at $1,399
Weeks after teasing the masses with bits of what it could become, the HP Envy 14 Spectre is quietly hitting the virtual shelves today. A whopping $1,399 (with an instant discount courtesy of Meg Whitman & Co.) will get you the entry level model. If that's indeed the route you're willing to take, you can be walking out with Intel's Core i5-2467M processor and HD Graphics 3000, as well as NFC capabilities, a 128GB SSD, 4GB of memory and a 14-inch BrightView Infinity LED (1366 x 768) 1600 x 900 Radiance display. Needless to say, if you feel like this isn't quite up to par with your standards, you can head over to the source and customize one to your heart's content. Meanwhile, you can check out our own preview of the Envy 14 Spectre to decide if it's the right fit for you.

Update: Looks like HP's product page went live with a typo. As reported when the Spectre was first announced, it will come standard with a 1600 x 900 Radiance display, not a 1366 x 768 BrightView Infinity LED screen. HP has since updated its page accordingly.

$60 Aakash Tablet to cost no-cash?

Kapil Sibal's not resting after the explosion of interest that followed the initial launch of the $60 Aakash education tablet. He's now pushing to get the rebadged DataWind Ubislate 7 into ...

Apple asks European standards body for more transparency on FRAND licensing

With its legal battles intensifying across the globe, Apple has appealed to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, calling for a more consistent approach to the licensing of essential patents. In a letter dated November 11th, Cupertino outlined its issues with today's licensing system, with a particular emphasis on patents licensed on a FRAND basis. According to Apple, the entire telecom industry lacks a "consistent policy" on FRAND licensing -- an issue that, not surprisingly, is especially critical to the company's ongoing court cases in Europe. Because of this inconsistency, Apple argues, patent royalty rates are often negotiated arbitrarily and in secret, resulting in abnormally high rates and, of course, plenty of lawsuits. "It is apparent that our industry suffers from a lack of consistent adherence to FRAND principles in the cellular standards arena," wrote Bruce Watrous, Apple's head of intellectual property. The company went on to suggest an alternative solution, calling for ETSI to establish "appropriate" FRAND licensing rates for companies to follow, adding that these rates should be limited to an industry-wide standard, and that companies should be barred from using industry-essential patents to force injunctions.

Nokia ends European, Mexican production: it's all Asia now (Updated)

Nokia's wielding another axe to its operations, cleaving away a further 4,000 employees from its operations in Finland, Hungary and Mexico. It follows a shedding of roughly 10,000 employees and a troubled withdrawal from Romania as the company pushes more operations towards Asia in an attempt to compete with its competitors. Whilst no more phones will be assembled in Europe, the company isn't closing the facilities outright, they'll be retained for "high value activities" (presumably R&D and other big-ticket projects). Whatever comes of Steven Elop's reign of the world's number one handset maker, it's clear to see that he's got a plan and he's sticking to it.

Update: Nokia got in touch to clarify that the factory in Manaus, Brazil is unaffected by these cuts. The three factories mentioned (in Salo, Reynosa and Komarom) will furthermore be used for the software-portion of production, including installing carrier-and-region-specific features in the Americas, Europe and Eurasia. Hardware assembly will now take place at the company's existing facilities in Beijing (China) and Masan (South Korea).

PS3 v4.10 update is live with an improved browser, Sony Entertainment Network nameplate

The latest update for Sony's PlayStation 3 is live and available for download from via your PlayStation Netw...oops, Sony Entertainment Network account. While we get used to the new ...

Amazon, Viacom deal brings more TV shows to Prime Instant Video service

Just as rumors indicated yesterday, Amazon has announced a new licensing deal with Viacom that will add TV shows from its networks -- MTV, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, Spike, Nickelodeon and the rest -- to the Prime Instant Video service. There's still no word on any potential spinning off of the all-you-can-eat video portion from the rest of Amazon's Prime membership program, but it does bring the count of movies and TV shows available to around 15,000, up from the 13,000 cited recently. The details are in the press release after the break, but it appears Amazon will have many of the same selections Netflix obtained in its earlier deals, from MTV favorites like RJ Berger and The Hills to kids shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and iCarly.
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Vodafone bringing LTE speeds to Germany, with the HTC Velocity

HTC has confirmed plans to bring its very first LTE handset to Germany, with the launch of the Velocity. The phone, known Stateside as the Vivid and in South Korea as the Raider, features ...

White Nokia N9 hands-on: behold the last unicorn (video)

White Nokia N9 hands-on: behold the last unicorn (video)
Let's keep this short and sweet. This is the rare snow-white Nokia N9 and it's absolutely stunning. We first captured a glimpse of it at Nokia World and now we've obtained a specimen. The only difference between this piano-lacquer white handset and its more pedestrian sibling is the (likely less durable) shiny clearcoat finish covering its machined polycarbonate body and the leather pouch replacing the silicone case normally supplied in the box. Everything else is exactly the same as the matte black phone we reviewed last year. We've attempted to document the exquisite beauty of this mythical beast -- sadly the last of its kind -- in our hands-on gallery below. Go ahead and take a look, then hit the break to watch our unboxing video. Just be warned that there's a strong chance you'll drool profusely whilst ogling these pictures. At least the white Lumia 800 and 900 are just around the corner, right?
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Sprint adds Kansas City and Baltimore to list of LTE markets

Sprint LTEIf you've been waiting to see if your 'hood would be next up for Sprint to bless with a shiny new LTE network we've got some potentially good news: by mid-2012 both Kansas City (regardless of what side of the Kansas / Missouri border you happen to be on) and Baltimore will be online. Those two cities will bring the total number of Sprint LTE markets to six, as they join the previously announced Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Atlanta. The carrier and CEO Dan Hesse refused to be any more specific about a launch date on today's earnings call, though, we can tell you the service should be launching alongside the Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper and a Sierra Wireless mobile hotspot capable of connecting via CDMA, WiMAX and LTE. Check out the PR after the break for more details.
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Study: 'App Economy' has created 500,000 jobs since 2007

It's no secret that the rise of smartphones, tablets and social networking has fostered an entirely new market for app developers, but a freshly released study has now attempted to quantify this impact, in terms of real jobs. According to TechNet, a bipartisan network of tech execs, the so-called "App Economy" has created an estimated 466,000 jobs since 2007, when the iPhone was first unveiled. The report specifies that this estimate includes all jobs at Facebook-focused companies like Zynga, as well as dev gigs at Amazon, AT&T and Electronic Arts, in addition to the obvious heavyweights, Apple and Google. As far as geography goes, California leads the way as the most app-friendly state, though New York City tops the list of metropolitan areas. It's not an entirely bi-coastal affair, though, with some two-thirds of all app-related jobs located outside of California and New York. TechNet acknowledges that the App Economy "is only four years old and extremely fluid," so it's likely that these numbers will fluctuate in the years to come, though the organization says these numbers underscore a fundamental principle: "Innovation creates jobs, and in this case, lots of them." Read the full report at the source link below.

Microsoft's OneNote Mobile takes up roost in the Android Market

Microsoft's OneNote Mobile takes up roost in the Android Market
Hot on the heels of its OneNote app for the iPhone, Microsoft has gone ahead and given the Android Market a similar nod of acceptance with the release of OneNote Mobile. Like the iOS version, the app is free to try -- which allows tire kickers to create up to 500 memos -- but after the limit is reached, you'll need to plunk down $4.99 or be forever stuck in read-only mode. In addition to syncing all notes with SkyDrive, the app allows users to open notebooks from OneNote 2010. Android 2.3 is necessary admission for this one, and naturally, all users must have a Windows Live ID. So, Google, are you going to just stand there and let Evernote and Microsoft have all the fun?

Sprint announces Q4 2011 results: the iPhone brings in 720,000 new customers

Sprint announces Q4 2011 results: the iPhone brings in new customers

Following its bittersweet Q3, the latest financial report from Sprint this quarter offers up another mixed bag of news. Net operating losses totalled $438 million, more than the $139 million posted in the same quarter last year. It suffered a staggering $1.3 billion net loss (much of that due to upfront costs associated with launching the iPhone), dwarfing the Q3's $301 million losses. Operating revenue increases were, however, the largest in the last five years, up to $8.72 billion from $8.3 billion. Net subscribers now total 55 million, with 33 million postpaid, 14.8 million prepaid and around 7.2 million arriving from wholesale, adding an extra 1.6 million Sprint customers in the last quarter. This was also the first time in a long while that new subscribers on the Sprint platform outpaced losses at the Nextel and wireline businesses. Sprint hoped to see its iPhone draw customers into its network, putting it toe-to-toe with the bigger carriers, and it largely did, with 40 percent of the 1.8 million iPhones sold landing directly in the hands of new customers. However, the higher subsidy costs of the iPhone was also responsible for these tougher financial results. Last year also saw the tentative launch of Sprint's LTE network, and that's where the future appears to be for the carrier, with its forward-looking statement hinging on exactly how fast they're able to grab the 4G bull by the horns and get it into their customers' hands. Compatibility with Clearwire's next generation network is mentioned here, as is the "financial performance of Clearwire and its ability to build, operate, and maintain its 4G network." Lightsquared, however, was conspicuously absent from Sprint's future machinations.

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Alienware X51 gaming PC: We go hands-on at the London launch event

Alienware's latest PC is an attempt to fire a salvo right across the bows of Sony and Microsoft's gaming flagships. It looks like the (slightly overweight) lovechild of the pair; like an alternate universe console. The X51 borrows liberally from the design schools of both the Xbox (matte sides) and the PlayStation 3 (slot-loading optical drive, front panel gloss). The Alienware logo rotates to suit both vertical and horizontal setups. The device is around the size of the original PS3, but it looked pretty petite in comparison to the rest of Alienware's gaming hardware. There's a litany of holes on the back of the X51, including plenty of USB ports and audio options. Reacquaint yourself with some technical specifics after the break, alongside our hands-on impressions with Super Street Fighter IV.

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Virgin Media's Q4 2011 report: Brits love TiVo, Fast Broadband, Vampire Diaries

Virgin Media's school report for both last year and last quarter has been pretty positive for the Branson-Branded service. It pulled down £4 billion ($6.3 billion) in revenue for the ...

Maingear's Titan 17 has a change of heart, keyboard

Maingear has been tickling us with its gaming PCs for a while, and now it's adding some extra muscle to its catalog. The company's Titan 17 notebook is hitting the operating table for a processor transplant, the previous Intel i7-990X being swapped out for either the i7-3930K or i7-3960X. But what good is an internal update without some external flourish so folk know where you stand on the spec table? Maingear appreciates this, and that's why it's throwing a backlit keyboard into the mix. The souped-up Titan is up for pre-order now, with prices starting at $3,499. Tap the PR after the break for the full specs.
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DARPA's crowdsourced UAV competition heats up, takes off (video)

Late last year, DARPA launched UAVForge -- a competition that invites contestants to create their very own unmanned aerial vehicles, and submit them for voter-based evaluation. The project is far from over, but competing teams have already started sending in their proof-of-flight videos, giving us a glimpse of what's to come. So far, it looks like the GremLion UAV (pictured above) is the early favorite, after coming out victorious in the first round of voting. Developed by a team from the National University of Singapore, the GremLion looks like a bite-sized Death Star and flies around using a coaxial set of rotors that expand tulip-style out of its shell. Also included in the UAVForge showdown is a guy known as X-MAUS -- an Arduino-controlled quadcopter that can apparently transform into a more aerodynamic plane form upon liftoff. And, rounding out the list of notables is a submission from TU Delft known as the QuadShot, which is basically a miniature B-Wing from Star Wars. Except it's real. Hit up the break to see all three in action.
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Logitech Touch Mouse M600 mouse lets you swipe and scroll sans buttons for $69

Is your current wireless mouse not up to snuff? If that's the case, you may want to take a gander at the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 that lets you do your navigating via a touch surface instead of those ol' clicky buttons. The peripheral is outfitted with the company's Flow Scroll software that touts a similar feel to scrolling on your touchscreen smartphone of choice. From wherever your fingers contact the top of the mouse, you can scroll and swipe in order to keep powering through those Photoshop files. The M600 works just as well for lefties once click areas are reconfigured with Logitech's SetPoint software. If you're thinking about taking the leap, look at the details in the PR below and get ready to shell out $69.99 later this month.
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No discounted UMD transfers to Vita for US, angel loses its wings

No discounted UMD transfers to Vita for US, angel loses its wings
Hey, America ... no soup for you! Vita apparently means no discounted downloads of your beloved disc-based PSP games as Kotaku reports Sony won't be offering its "UMD Passport" service in the US. Since December, Sony has let existing Japanese PSP owners upgrade UMD games to Vita downloadable copies for around ¥500-1,000 ($6.50 - $13). Penny-pinching US gamers can perhaps console themselves with the fact that they can still get a discount for digital downloads of Vita games. Well, that or make hungry eyes for free at Vitas displayed in kiosks at select stores.

Android 4.0.4 ROM leaks for Verizon's Galaxy Nexus

A little gem known as Android 4.0.4 wriggled its way onto the interweb last week, and while it was geared specifically for Sprint's Nexus S 4G, a similar version has just cropped up for the ...

Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Simple Touch upgrade WiFi issues, fix coming

Been having WiFi troubles ever since you gave your Nook Simple Touch the old 1.1 upgrade? You are not alone. Barnes & Noble confirmed what e-reader forum frequenters have known since ...

LG teases Optimus Vu Android smartphone with 5-inch screen, 4:3 aspect ratio (video)

LG teases Optimus Vu Android smartphone with 5-inch screen, 4:3 aspect ratio (video)
If you're into high strangeness in the mobile realm, you'd be wise to check out the video of the Optimus Vu that LG just posted -- just follow the break. While our Korean translation skills aren't quite up to par, we've been able to decipher that this boxy number packs a 5-inch touchscreen and a rather unique 4:3 aspect ratio. The telltale capacitive touch buttons reveal this as an Android device, which the Korean manufacturer suggests is more comfortable to hold than traditional portrait-based solutions. It'll be interesting to see what this means for application compatibility, but for the moment, we're going to keep digging for more specs. Oh, and if you happen to know Korean, don't be afraid to drop additional tidbits into the comments below.

[Thanks, Byungjin]

Update: We've stumbled upon an image -- embedded after the break -- from Datacider that purports to be a shot of the Optimus Vu in the wild. They've also included a smattering of specs, which include a 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 SoC, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, NFC, an eight megapixel camera and Android 2.3. More interestingly, the screen shows a "February 21st" date stamp, which may or may not be a hint. Feel free to hit up the source link for that extra peek.
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StatCounter: Mobile web usage doubling every year, Nokia leads the way

We already knew that Nokia sits atop the world's market when it comes to shipments and market share. As it turns out, though, the Finnish manufacturer leads the way in terms of mobile web browsing, too. That's according to the latest report from StatCounter, which found that Nokia handsets account for about 40 percent of the world's mobile browsing, followed by Apple, at around 29 percent. Coming in at a relatively distant third is Samsung, with an approximately 14 percent share. Android OEMs as a whole, however, account for a little under 25 percent of the world's mobile browsing, while RIM came in at just 8.3 percent (thought it still ranks second in the UK, behind Apple). Overall, global mobile web usage has just about doubled every year since 2009, which is both crazy and not crazy. For more numbers and insight, check out the full PR after the break.
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Engadget HD Podcast 285 - 02.07.2012

It's been a busy week in HD, with surprising new streaming offerings on the way from the likes of Sky and Verizon / Redbox, while Apple and Google each also pushed more minor updates to ...
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"I will be attending college next year and figured that getting a tablet + keyboard combination to take to class instead of a netbook or small laptop would be a better idea. I was looking into getting the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, but my grandparents gave me an iPad 2 as a graduation present. A friend of mine is considering getting the Transformer, but doesn't want to pay $150 for a keyboard dock. Both of us will be using our tablets for essentially the same purpose and we were both wondering what the best wireless keyboard was for a tablet. Thanks!"
25,000
applications

The amount of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace

Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace has now reported to have passed 25,000 apps by one site tracking comings and goings within it. (source: WindowsPhoneAppslist, July 2011)

The Infuse 4G is another solid offering from Samsung that we think those of you with wide pockets and big hands are going to fall in love with.

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