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PSA: Samsung's Galaxy S III is out in the UK today!
If you're European, or you pre-ordered Samsung's Galaxy S III, then you're already registering for that extra Dropbox space, playing with Flipboard or clutching your Olympics tickets. For everyone else, today's the day you can wander down to your local store and buy the flagship handset in the flesh. No-one's certain if you'll be able to grab the handset in Pebble Blue on launch day, so best make sure that you really want the 16GB marble white edition, lest you're disappointed when you arrive in town.
Sparrow mail app for iOS hits version 1.1, Push support to follow 'with or without Apple'
Good news today for Sparrow iOS users. As expected, the company has updated its splendid lil' email app to version 1.1 and loaded it with a few hotly anticipated features. Among some bug fixes, you can now make use of a built-in browser, "Send and Archive" messages, filter specific folders and labels, clear your spam and trash bins and even set which accounts you'd like to show or hide dock badges for. While the app is still sorely lacking Push support, Sparrow believes that Apple may change the privacy guidelines for its Push API, which the company plans to include in version 1.2. That said, it's partnered with folks outside of Cupertino's walled-garden, so that it can bring the feature to fruition "with or without Apple." Furthermore, that future version's other features have been detailed -- it'll include landscape support, vertical swiping through messages and localization for an additional nine countries. In related news, version 1.6 of Sparrow for Mac OS X is being readied for release, and it'll pack support for POP email accounts. You can glide on down to the source link for further details.
Sparrow for iPhone released: just a POP and Push away from email perfection
Sparrow's made a name for itself over on the Mac desktop side, and now it's doing its darnedest to do the same on iOS. The email-client-that-could has launched its long-awaited iPhone edition into the App Store today, with $2.99 netting you a highly polished program that integrates a "pane navigation" concept, a unique threading system and full IMAP support. In other words, Gmail, Google Apps, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL and custom email addresses are fine to use here, but there's no support for POP or Push notifications just yet. The latter is apt to put off the power users, but more casual readers may appreciate the unified inbox, direct-attachment feature and plenty of other details that provide for an overall delightful experience. It's available now in the source link (or the App Store, if you're up for a search), and we're told that localization, landscape mode, a built-in browser and 'Send and Archive' will be coming in future builds.Psst... hit the More Coverage link to read Sparrow's explanation of why Push is being left out. If you couldn't guess, it's about privacy.
Motorola Atrix 2 just a few clicks away from your purchase at AT&T for $100
The latest high-end Android phone on AT&T's lineup definitely looks like a hundred bucks, and fortunately it won't cost you a penny more -- on the contrary, it'll be a penny less before taxes and fees get involved in the ruckus. We're talking about the Motorola Atrix 2, announced and shown off last week at CTIA Enterprise & Applications. If you're anxious to get a new phone and one of them fancy iDevices aren't doing it for you, this 4.3-inch qHD handset with a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 21Mbps HSPA+, an 8MP camera with 1080p HD video capture and front-facing cam, Android 2.3 and a full gigabyte of RAM will be a stunning option at a midrange price. Envisioning a beautiful future together with the Atrix 2 right now? Check it out (and checkout) at the link below.
Firefox 5 is officially released, how are you liking it?
Why it seems like only yesterday that our little Firefox had its last major upgrade. As expected, the browser turned 5.0 today, and you can celebrate by downloading it now from Mozilla's site. We'd like to know how your test drive of the update is going so far. Let us know in the poll and the comments below.%Poll-65563%
Sony Photo Movie Creator app builds video collages, vacation slide enthusiasts applaud
Nothing brings back the memories of your wedding, family reunion, or Bar Mitzvah quite like a sappy four-minute slideshow video with the soothing sound of John Mayer over it. Thanks to Sony, Android and iOS devices are on the receiving end of a new video app that will let us capture these cheesy memories easier than ever. Dubbed Photo Movie Creator, this app grabs your desired photos plus music, and then cranks out a cute little movie using one of the 18 preloaded themes. What's more, you can then share your slideshows on Facebook, as we're sure your friends would absolutely adore every precious moment as you do. Head over to the Android market now for this $2.49 app (free trial available), or you can wait for the iOS version due May. Demo video after the break.
Firefox 4 is officially released, how are you liking it?
Enterprising readers have probably been rocking the four-point-oh release of Firefox since it slipped out a little early last night, but now you can get yourself that same, fully-legit version from a new, fully-legit address. The browser's live and, as you can see from the rolling download counter Mozilla has set up, a couple-hundred-thousand of you have already got it going on. So, what are your thoughts? Let your voice be heard in the poll and comments below. %Poll-61994%
Nintendo 3DS launches in Japan, populace tears through initial 400,000 unit shipment
You won't be able to snap one up at your local GameStop for a full month, but the Nintendo 3DS had a solid launch in Japan today, reportedly liquidating nearly its entire initial shipment of 400,000 spiffy stereoscopic gaming handhelds by the end of the day. Some of those sales were to customers waiting in a few lines up to 2,000 persons long, but those lines were exceptions to the norm -- several publications note that very few stores actually had any lines to speak of, as most Japanese electronics retailers sold out when the 3DS went on pre-order over a month ago. Get a refresher on what to expect from the system here (and here) or read all about the surprisingly orderly Japanese launch at our source links. Update: Our friends at Engadget Japanese were on hand for the 3DS launch, and picked up a pair of systems themselves -- get a closer look at one of the first retail 3DS units in the gallery below! %Gallery-117673%
Pleco Chinese Dictionary iPhone app now handling real-time image translations
Talk about timely. We've been waiting for months (with bated breath, might we add) for Pleco 2.2 to finally hit Apple's App Store, and after dealing with a few launch day bugs last week, we can finally say it's out and ready to dominate any Chinese homework you've been hastily procrastinating on. The Pleco Chinese Dictionary is now available in the app store at version 2.2.1, supporting both fullscreen handwriting input and live camera-based character recognition. Have a peek at the video past the break if you're still curious as to what this app can do for you, and feel free to toss your experiences with it down in comments below. Here's hoping this is only the first of many languages Pleco decides to tackle -- not that we're much on tossing out subtle hints.
App Store algorithms down and back up, probably tweaked
Regular users may not have noticed this, but I'm sure developers have -- the App Store's charts have been in a freeze for the past few days, leaving apps in exactly the same positions as they were last Thursday. That might not seem like too big a deal, but for many developers, the App Store charts are where they make or break a profit -- not only do the charts provide a good inkling of how popular an app is compared to others, but the top 10 on the charts provides a huge amount of exposure -- just getting in the top 10 often boosts app sales just by virtue of the extra eyeballs. For the past few days, though, the App Store charts haven't changed, and that usually means that Apple is messing with something, either tweaking the way the charts are calculated, or just plain changing the way that they work. Last year the company fixed an issue where developers could constantly update their apps to keep them on "Recently Released" charts, but this year we haven't quite figured out what changes have been made. At any rate, it seems likely Apple was simply getting things ready for what's sure to be a busy holiday season for the App Store. Hopefully developers who released their apps on Halloween didn't fall too far through the cracks while things were down.
Facebook Places goes live in UK, rest of Europe today
In case you've been waiting, we can confirm that Facebook Places is now active in the UK. The Daily Telegraph is saying that it'll also be available "in the rest of Europe" today, though it only seems semi-functional (we can see friends but can't check in) in The Netherlands. Then again, our friends are only semi-functional too, so maybe that's the issue.
iTunes 9.0.3 released
iTunes 9.0.3 is out now for download on Software Update and in the usual places. The update features the option to remember your password when purchasing items in iTunes (finally!), fixes problems with Smart Playlists and podcast synching on iPod, and resolves a few bugs and issues. There's no word of any updates in compatibility for iPad, but it's probably just too soon for that yet. That "remember my password" fix will definitely come in handy, though. Get it while the gettin's good!
CrossOver Games 8.0 released
Codeweavers tells us that they've released version 8 of their Crossover Games software -- I tried it out a while ago, and found that while it was a pretty good way to play their recommended games, once you went off the reservation, things got a little hairy. Then again, that was a long time ago, and since then, they've updated the recommended games list quite a bit -- they're now saying that version 8 will allow you to play most of the Steam games, including the excellent Left 4 Dead, and the new Tales of Monkey Island episodic games. Additionally (and perhaps we're burying the lead a little bit here), this version is completely compatible with Snow Leopard. So while you still may be banging your head against compatibility for some apps (I'm actually sort of glad now that SL was sold out at Best Buy when I went by to pick it up -- think I might just wait until the compatibility issues get ironed out), Crossover Games should work just fine. And it of course works on both Mac and Linux, so if you have a spare 'nix box sitting around and want some Windows games running on it, there you go. Existing customers with a support entitlement can upgrade right away, the app can be bought for $40, or there's a free trial to try out as well if you'd rather do that.
Pixelmator 1.3 Tempo is on the street
The team over at Pixelmator has announced the release of their much-awaited 1.3 version, which they've titled Tempo. TUAW did a preview of this version a while ago -- it features lots of back-end updates, making the app itself much, much faster, especially when handling large images. And it brings to the table a few things Pixelmator has promised since the app first came out, including the Magic Eraser functionality, and a few magic touches elsewhere (you can use almost any of the tools in the "magic" way, by clicking and then dragging until the program automatically fills in your selection). There are also updates to the Hue and Saturation, Colorize, and Replace Color tools, and there's an auto-hide feature (that can be turned off) that clears out some of the clutter when you're working with important tools. As a Pixelmator user, I really like the update -- I'm not sure if it's quite enough to pull you into the app if you aren't already using it (and as we've said before, this is not an app for power Photoshop users), but if you're looking for a relatively light, very stylistic photo editor, it's definitely worth a trial again. You can pick one up over on their site. %Gallery-32631%
Stefan Eriksson released from jail, awaiting expulsion
Just as expected, the former Gizmondo Europe director is free at last -- well, almost. Barely a year after Stefan Eriksson was sentenced to "three years" in the slammer, he's now been let loose from behind bars and is currently "awaiting expulsion." Purportedly, everything was nearly in place to ship him back to Europe prior to Christmas, but apparently, the Swedish consulate has taken its sweet time in preparing a new passport. What's still unclear, however, is whether the Ferrari Swede will be flown back to Sweden or Germany, but if all goes to plan, we'll be liveblogging the whole ordeal as soon as that news breaks (we jest, we jest).
Nokia's N810 internet tablet hits store shelves
Folks, we're going to level with you: Nokia's N810 internet table -- the magnetizing, multi-faceted gadget so many of you cats have been waiting for -- is officially on store shelves. According to the Finnish company's reps, the WiFi equipped handheld is now available for your general consumption at such luminous retailers as Best Buy Mobile, CompUSA, Micro Center, and Nokia flagship stores in New York and Chicago. If you'll recall, the Linux-based, touchscreen portable runs atop a 400MHz CPU, has 2GB of RAM flash memory (upgradable to 10GB), a built-in GPS receiver, a Mozilla-based browser, and a slide-out, full QWERTY keyboard. The silver dream machine is available right now for the suggested retail price of $479.Update: As our eagle-eyed readers have noticed, the N810 has a 400MHz processor, not 400GHz -- as much as we wish it were the other way around.[Via PhysOrg]
Microsoft releases DreamScene for Vista Ultimate users
Hot on the heels of the SP1 limited release, Microsoft has now announced the availability of Windows DreamScene for Vista Ultimate users. If you'll recall, we caught a glimpse of what an in-motion desktop looked like earlier this year, and while we're sure some will get more fired up (ahem) over this than others, it makes for good eye candy if you've nothing better to do with system resources. Additionally, it was noted that users will have access to a number of animated desktops in conjunction with Stardock, and those itching for even more Ultimate Extras can apparently look for more details to come their way later this year.[Thanks, Daniel O.]
Fujitsu gets official with U810, T2010 tablet PCs
Thanks to the oh-so-disclosing FCC, we already knew that Fujitsu's U810 and T2010 were headed this way, but now the firm is making things official. The 1.56-pound U810 will boast a snazzy LED-backlit display, last up to 5.5-hours on a single charge, will don the "world's smallest tablet convertible" label, and will be available for you to cuddle next month. The larger T2010 (pictured) weighs in at 3.5-pounds and also manages to pack a LED-backlit screen, but this pen-enabled convertible boasts a whopping 11-hours of battery life on the extended cell, or an impressive 9-hours on the standard iteration. Best of all, folks interested in the latter machine can get their orders in now starting at $1,599, and those eying the cutesy U810 will be coughing up a minimum of $999 when it's available.[Via Wired]
Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 for PS3 now available for free -- how is it?
It's been kinda sorta available since mid-November, but it wasn't since the past week or two that Terra Soft's Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 was freely available (i.e. you didn't have to pay $100 for the DVDs) to make all your open-source PS3 dreams come true. Granted, they've made it pretty damned difficult to find the free version online, but supposedly it's a done deal. For the uninitiated, anyone looking for a more refined and pre-packaged approach to getting Linux on their PlayStation 3 should look no further than the Yellow Dog for Sony's officially sanction build; so what we want to know is, for those lucky and brave enough to have a PS3 and try to install Linux on it (respectively), what have your experiences been like with the Dog? Has it been worth your while? We're still holding out until Ubuntu gives us the love we crave. Well, that or until the OSS community get started on making an XBMC-like PS3 interface, since Sony believes all of your home's media should live on the PS3, and not on a media server. Right.
This week in HD-DVD: do I know you? edition
It's Monday, time for the second week of "This Week in HD-DVD" and we've got some (how shall I say this) not so big blockbuster movies releasing. We guess it's that time of year when HD-DVD releases are sporadic as in years previous. And yes, that was a joke so no need to email us about how HD-DVDs were not available years ago ... we know friends. The only movies that really make us cheer this week would be the films Hulk and World Trade Center, but maybe you've been eagerly anticipating the release of Manilow Live! We don't judge here, but we must say that Manilow does have great hair as he has definitely perfected that "poofy look". Anyway, below are the HD-DVDs releasing this week ... enjoy. HD-DVD Movie Releases: December 12th Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire: Live at the Greek Theatre Field of Dreams Heart: Alive in Seattle Hulk Manilow Live! World Trade Center
