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First Else hands-on at CES: 'still alive and kicking'
We caught up with Else at CES to check on how they're doing with the First Else since we last saw them back in November. According to CTO Eldad Eilam, the basic functions of the ALP-based phone are finally done and dusted, so now Else will mainly focus on fine-tuning its snazzy visual effects until beta around the end of March. There's no doubt that it's also finalizing plans -- pricing, content distribution, and remote sync service, etc.-- with various partners in the US and Europe. If you happen to be in Asia, then sorry -- apparently Else has no intention to visit you guys just yet, but you might get lucky if you sneak into Sharp's factories in Japan or China. For the rest of us, we shall continuously gaze at our hands-on videos until First Else's expected end-of-Q2 launch -- we've got a new one for you after the break. %Gallery-82627%
Emblaze's First Else unveiled in London, promises to be a game-changer
Folks, today might be the day when you start to notice how ancient our smartphones have become, even if they only came out in last few months. Blame Else (formerly Emblaze Mobile) for its confusingly-named First Else, a phone "built from scratch" over the last two years and now powered by Access Linux Platform (ALP) 3.0 -- a mobile OS thought to have quietly died out since our last sighting in February. Until today's London launch event, the last we heard of this Israeli company was from October's Access Day in Japan where it previewed the Else Intuition OS, which we like to think of as inspired by Minority Report. While it's still too early to tell whether the First Else -- launching in Q2 next year -- will dodge the path of doom, we were already overwhelmed by the excellence of the device's user experience, both from its presentation and from our exclusive hands-on opportunity. Do read on to find out how Else is doing it right.
Access Linux Platform 3.0 live, in person, and oh-so-full of widgets
We got a quick look at the latest version of the Access Linux Platform (ALP) today, running on an early build of TI's OMAP 3-based Zoom hardware. Access seems excessively enthused with widgets, and really isn't doing a bad job at them, featuring transparency galore and even a second home screen for housing a separate set of them (perhaps "work" or "home" or "really great world clocks"). The machine also run's Access' own NetFront browser, which isn't quite as butter as we've seen WebKit get lately, but might be about on par with Microsoft's new builds of Internet Explorer Mobile. Unfortunately, aside from a jerky, barebones "flickable" photo browser, that's all Access is showing off of LiMo-compliant 3.0 at the moment, and we didn't get a look at that Garnet OS compatibility layer we all know and love. Still, if you suffer from some irrational fear that we'd be short on mobile operating systems here at MWC you can at last rest at ease. Video is after the break.%Gallery-45302%
ACCESS gets nod to craft NTT DoCoMo's mobile Linux platform
Well, would you look at that! ACCESS has finally landed a whale of a customer for its overdue, underloved ACCESS Linux Platform, the mobile software stack (and sort-of successor to Palm OS Garnet) that has failed to garner enough hardware partners to make a splash in the marketplace thus far. The Japanese firm is partnering with NTT DoCoMo and ESTEEMO -- NEC's joint venture with Panasonic -- to build a standard Linux stack that incorporates ALP while still using the carrier's existing Linux-based MOAP(L) platform. That's not all, though: they're tasked with making the new platform compatible with the LiMo Foundation's specifications, too. A tall order? Maybe, but it's likely an order that has to happen -- NTT DoCoMo's involved in all sorts of Linux initiatives, and it makes good sense to bite the bullet and have some company tie it all together. The one piece of the puzzle missing here is DoCoMo's tie-up with the Open Handset Alliance, and as far as we can tell, this announcement steers entirely clear of Android's domain. Confusing, yes -- but for a company used to releasing 23 handsets in one fell swoop, it's business as usual.
New ACCESS Linux Platform screenshots emerge
For those still remotely interested in the ACCESS Linux Platform, we applaud you, and to reward you for your faith, ACCESS has reportedly launched a web portal chock-full of new screenshots from the forthcoming ALP. Admittedly, a few of the captures look mighty similar to those we saw back in February, but the new "User Experience" demonstration vividly depicts the screens found when visiting your Contacts, Photos, Music Player, Dialer, Home / Incoming Call screens, and Launcher. Go on, hit up the gallery for some high-resolution footage.[Via Treonauts]%Gallery-5846%
ACCESS Linux Platform on display at 3GSM
As promised, ACCESS has rolled into Barcelona to let its long-awaited ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP) loose on the teeming masses at this week's big 3GSM conference, also taking the opportunity to introduce version 1.0 of its Product Development Kit and a pre-release version of the equally important Software Development Kit. As evidenced by the shot above, the OS is also looking a fair bit more polished than it was in the last few screens of it we've seen, with those in attendance at the conference also able to test out its all-important Bejewled and Solitaire capabilities (sadly, Doom doesn't seem to have been ported just yet). On the hardware side of things, both Marvell and Texas Instruments have hooked up with ACCESS to show off how their respective wares work with the OS, with both not surprisingly touting high performance and low power consumption. While that lone pic above will have to do for now, we're working to sneak in a few more peeks of the OS in action before 3GSM wraps up and we'll bring 'em to you when we've got them.
ACCESS renames Palm OS to "Garnet OS," Treo users die a little more inside
It's no secret: ACCESS hates you, and your futile little wishes for a usable, stable and connected OS. Just to rub it in, ACCESS is even destroying that one thread of hope you've clung to all these years while your buddies left the faith for Windows Mobile or other abominations. Palm OS is no more. That's right, you're a Garnet OS fanboy now that ACCESS has officially renamed Palm OS to Garnet OS -- just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? ACCESS calls this one of two "milestones in our evolution as a leading provider of a range of technologies, solutions, platforms and products specifically designed for the mobile phone and converged device markets." We're not sure what that's supposed to mean, but at least ACCESS didn't try to write this off as an attempt to reduce customer confusion, there's no chance of that at this point. The other milestone is the announcement of the "ACCESS Powered" logo, which will denote -- you guessed it -- ACCESS powered products, which we suppose will include Palm products for the moment, even though Palm has taken most of the Garnet development reins of late. What we're specifically hoping it means is that ACCESS is finally prepping to debut its long-awaited ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP), and just needed a fancy logo to slap on and make everything official.
PalmSource and Access drop more info on their ALP OS
The recent months have been dark days indeed for the Palm OS, especially for its spiritual successor, codenamed Access Linux Platform (ALP). Palm is letting its license to the oft-delayed OS expire this December, and we haven't heard of too many device manufacturers stepping in its place. The good news is that Access-owned PalmSource hasn't been just sitting around a doing nothing, and they recently hosted a one day mini-conference at LinuxWorld to show off their wares so far. Apparently the core OS is fairly completed, and PalmSource is mainly working on the bundled applications that will ship with the OS. Classic Palm OS emulation is said to work perfectly well, even with the requirement by the OS to scale those 320 x 320 native applications to ALP's preferred QVGA touchscreen resolution. There were plenty of Haier N60 flip-phones on hand running the chosen res, along with a few prototypes with VGA screens and a keyboard -- a good sign of things to come. Unfortunately, the only pics allowed were of the developer tools running a virtualized version of ALP in Ubuntu -- a boon to developers, but no device-based eye candy for us. The biggest enhancement so far is multitasking afforded by the Linux base, though sexy features in the NetFront browser, new HotSync interoperability standards, and a newfound return to Palm OS looks of yore seem quite popular as well. In fact, with the OS's ability to be skinned with SVG graphics, Palm could conceivably make a branded version of the OS that would be quite familiar to old users, and dub it the Palm OS 6 we've always wanted. PalmSource says they're still on track to deliver the OS to licensees at the end of the year, with the first ALP products finally emerging next spring.[Via Brighthand
