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Google backs an undersea cable that will give the internet a big speed boost
The internet is quickest when you have a direct connection to the sites you're trying to reach, but that's a daunting challenge in the Pacific -- undersea network cables can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It's therefore good to hear that Google and a host of telecom giants (China Mobile, China Telecom, Global Transit, KDDI and SingTel) are backing FASTER, a $300 million fiber optic cable that runs between Japan and the US. As the name implies, it's all about speeding up data transfers between Asia and the Americas; the cable should offer a whopping 60 terabits per second of bandwidth between the two regions, which makes even Google's gigabit home internet service look puny by comparison. You won't see the difference until FASTER is finished in the second quarter of 2016, but it promises to improve the internet as a whole when it's ready. Don't be surprised if foreign multiplayer games and video streams get noticeably smoother within a couple of years. [Image credit: US Pacific Fleet, Flickr]
Jinni's TV search tools selected by Time Warner and Vudu to power intelligent search
Whenever you ask a friend to suggest a good TV show, they often just bellow praise for The Wire, Breaking Bad or My Little Pony -- not useful if your tastes are a little more diverse. That's why major players Time Warner and Vudu have signed up Jinni's taste engine to build into their platforms to help you find entertainment -- no more boring grid-style guides, Jinni promises. We're apparently entering, "a new era of intuitive, personalized user experience," which sounds perfectly swell to us. A duo of European providers are also hopping on board -- Bouygues Telecom and C More Entertainment -- as well as Asia's SingTel and Africa's Multichoice. Nobody's talking specifics on when we'll see these metadata-pulling suggestions appear in homes, but if your horizons suddenly start to broaden, you know who to blame.
Intel, Acer, Qualcomm join Futuremark's 3DMark for Android development program
Benchmarking outfit Futuremark has announced that Intel, Qualcomm, Acer and SingTel-Optus are joining the development program for the company's 3DMark for Android. The quartet is in good company, joining a list of industry heavyweights that includes AMD, Microsoft and NVIDIA, amongst others. While the Helsinki-based outfit hasn't mentioned a specific release date for its latest analysis application, it's on course to arrive "later this year." For us, that simply isn't soon enough -- but then again we don't get out much.
Ecclestone proclaims no 3D broadcasts for F1 as the sport prepares for HDTV this weekend
If you thought that the upcoming debut (delayed after Bahrain withdrew due to unrest in the region, leaving Australia on the 27th) of Formula 1 racing in high definition this weekend would finally put an end to Bernie Ecclestone commenting about broadcast technology, you were wrong. According to PitPass, the F1 chief said "I've always said 3D will never be used," when asked about it recently. This, despite LG's tests of the technology last year and curious declaration by Korean provider SingTel that it will actually broadcast races in 3D this year, according to Crave Asia. Of course, this is the same guy who claimed we would have to wait until 2012 for HD, but the article also notes he may have a personal objection to the technology due to being blind in one eye. We haven't seen any footage of F1 action in 3D yet, but after the long, long wait for F1 HDTV broadcasts, we wouldn't expect it to lead the way in other formats regardless of any potential health issues.
Microsoft announces ten Windows Phone 7 handsets for 30 countries: October 21 in Europe and Asia, 8 November in US (Update: Video!)
It may have "Windows" in the branding, but Windows Phone 7 is not the desktop PC experience shoehorned into a cellphone. Microsoft tried that with Windows Mobile... and we all know how that turned out. Today, eight months after the Windows Phone 7 OS unveiling in Barcelona, we're finally seeing the official launch of the retail hardware: nine new WP7 handsets, some available October 21 in select European and Asian markets and others from early November in the US. The phones will find their way to over 60 cellphone operators in more than 30 countries this year. Microsoft tapped Dell, HTC, LG, and Samsung to deliver the Snapdragon-based handsets with a carrier list that includes AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Vodafone, TELUS, América Móvil, Deutsche Telekom AG, Movistar, O2, Orange, SFR, SingTel, and Telstra. And that's just for the first wave -- Microsoft has even more handsets coming in 2011 including the first for Sprint and Verizon in the US. Here's the lineup of 480 x 800 pixel (WVGA) phones announced today: HTC 7 Surround -- The 3.8-inch T8788 with slideout speaker for AT&T and Telus HTC HD7 -- Schubert comes of age as a 4.3-inch HD2 cousin for T-Mobile and beyond HTC 7 Trophy -- the 3.8-inch Spark headed to international carriers HTC 7 Mozart -- another heavily leaked int'l player with 3.7-inch display Dell Venue Pro -- 4.1-inch portrait QWERTY slider for T-Mobile we broke as Lightning Samsung Focus -- AT&T's 4-inch Super AMOLED slate we broke as Cetus Samsung Omnia 7 -- the i8700 is a 4-inch Super AMOLED jobbie for Europe LG Optimus 7/7Q -- the E900 is the official 3.8-inch global workhorse LG Quantum -- AT&T's 3.5-inch landscape slider first seen as the C900 HTC 7 Pro -- a 3.6-inch QWERTY slider for Sprint (2011) "Glance and Go," is the slogan Microsoft is using to differentiate itself from an already crowded smartphone market. Something we've already seen alluded to in that leaked AT&T ad. As Ballmer notes, "Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience - one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a 'glance and go' format." He's referring to WP7's customizable Live Tiles, of course. Xbox Live integration is another biggie with EA Games just announcing its first Xbox Live-enabled wares coming to Windows Phone 7 in the fall including "Need for Speed Undercover," "Tetris," "Monopoly," and "The Sims 3." The other big differentiators are the slick Metro UI, integrated support for Zune media and Zune Pass subscriptions, Bing search and maps, Windows Live including the free Find My Phone service, and Microsoft Office Mobile. Now quit stalling and jump past the break for the full list of handsets per carrier and country. Update: Added the official WP7 overview videos after the break.
HTC HD7 is a HD2 lookalike with Windows Phone 7 and 720p video, exclusive to T-Mobile in US
Stop us if you've heard these specs before: 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) TFT screen, 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 system-on-chip, 576MB of RAM, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and Microsoft's latest mobile OS on board. Yes, the HTC HD7 is almost a carbon copy of the much-loved HD2, albeit with a major upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software and an appreciated bump to 720/24p video recording. Beyond those enhancements, American buyers will be greeted with preinstalled Netflix, Slacker, and T-Mobile TV entertainment apps, along with 16GB of built-in storage. T-Mobile gets the honor of being the exclusive US carrier, with exclusives also going out to O2 in the UK and Ireland and Telstra in Australia. O2 Germany will also distribute the phone, along with Movistar in Spain, Bouygues Telecom in France, and a choice of carriers in Italy. Bear in mind that the non-US HD7s are likely to come with a less capacious 8GB of storage. The phone is scheduled for an October 21 retail debut in Europe, to be followed by a mid-November arrival on US shelves. You'll find the full press release after the break, although you shouldn't bother if you expect it to explain why the nearly identical HD2 isn't getting a WP7 upgrade.%Gallery-104727%
LG Optimus 7, Quantum, and Optimus 7Q welcome Windows Phone 7 to the fold
LG was naturally expected to show up for today's announcement seeing how the company has been a longtime "strategic" partner of Microsoft's -- and indeed, they're bringing two models into the fold. First up is the Quantum (known as the Optimus 7Q in markets outside the US, pictured right) that we broke as the C900 back in August, a landscape slider equipped with quadband EDGE and triband HSPA (850 / 1900 / 2100MHz), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video capture, a 3.5-inch WVGA display, and an all-too-familiar 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon core; as you might have guessed from the 3G bands, this puppy will be coming to AT&T. Next, the Optimus 7 (pictured left) will be seeing a much wider international release on Telus in Canada, America Movil in Mexico, Movistar and Vodafone in Europe, and SingTel in Singapore. What is it, you ask? Well, it's exactly what you'd figured by now from the leaks -- a 3.8-inch WVGA slate at 11.5mm thick with specs that largely mirror the Quantum's otherwise: 1GHz Snapdragon and 5 megapixel cam, notably. Both models will support "Play To," the brand name for the DLNA features LG touted back at IFA, allowing users to fling media to DLNA-compatible TVs, set-top boxes, and the like. Expect both the Optimus 7 and 7Q to start rolling out on October 21, eventually deploying in over 35 countries; on AT&T, the Quantum will run $199.99 when it hits in the next few weeks. Follow the break for LG's full press release.
iPad data cost by country analyzed and charted
Sure, you may already have a general idea of how countries stack up when it comes to iPad data costs, but sometimes there's nothing like a good chart to drive a point home. Thankfully, the folks at Tableau have done just that and, while there may not be a lot of surprises, the differences in cost are certainly striking. As you can see in more detail in the interactive chart after the break, the United States just barely cracks the top five with a minimum cost of $12.50 per gigabyte, leaving it behind only the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France, which comes out on top at a hefty $25.47 per gigabyte. As for the cheapest iPad data in the world? That honor goes to Singapore, where you can use a gigabyte of data for a mere 51 cents. As PC Magazine notes, that figure is a tad misleading, since it's based on SingTel's cheapest pre-paid plan that gives you unlimited access for three days -- although that itself is still a welcome change from most other countries.
Research finds iPhone hurting operators, Boy George unavailable for comment
We've long since known that Apple (as opposed to AT&T) was getting the better end of the pair's exclusive partnership here in America, but new research from Strand Consult has found that the situation is fairly similar all around the globe. According to the report, nary a one of the telecom operators it studied had seen a boost in market share, revenue or earnings as a result of introducing the iPhone, and some carriers even issued profit warnings due to the heavily subsidized handset. The study goes on to shed pity on firms like SingTel and TeliaSonera, both of which are purportedly seeing margins and ARPU (average revenues per subscriber) sink due to Apple's darling joining the fray. But really, we can't help but express our doubts about the all encompassing, almost sensationalized nature of this; we've watched AT&T's profits soar ever since it snagged the iPhone, and considering that every iPhone buyer also coughs up a significant monthly fee for a data plan, we can't imagine revenues tanking that severely. Or, you know, maybe we're all just getting a really good deal on our bloated iPhone plans.
Linden Lab reportedly seeking EU data center
Word has come down to us that Linden Lab is in negotiations with a number of hosting and colocation firms to set up a new Second Life data-center in the United Kingdom. Linden Lab's requirements for such a facility are quite steep, and the information comes from one firm who was contacted, but whose infrastructure was unable to accommodate the Lab's initial requirements. The implications of Linden Lab establishing a fourth data-center in the UK are interesting. It would be the first outside of the USA, and provide significantly faster access for EU residents to assets and simulators (aka regions) that were hosted at the facility. By the same token, grid stability tends to be compromised when any pair of the Lab's data-centers are unable to communicate with each-other, and an additional facility would seem to double the potential risk of such troubles.
Optus' HTC Dream spotted, photographed passionately
Low light, candles in the corner -- seriously folks, these shots are downright sultry. Optus' HTC G1, er, Dream has been spotted and photographed in some random corner of the world, and while it basically looks like every other G1 you've ever seen in this hue, we're absolutely certain that Australians in attendance are more than happy to have a look. You know where to head for the rest. [Thanks, Tom]
Singaporean iPhone 3Gs drop visual voicemail, iTunes
Just how badly do you want the iPhone 3G, Singapore? Badly enough to do without two of its headline features? SingTel kicks off sales today (local time) along with a whole host of other countries, but neither visual voicemail nor the iTunes WiFi Store will make the cut. In the case of iTunes, the reason is kinda obvious: Singapore has no iTunes Store at all, and it never has. The explanation behind the mysterious absence of visual voicemail is less clear, other than carrier laziness in getting the feature implemented on its back end. The silver lining here seems to be pricing, though -- subscribers will be able to pick up the phone for diddly squat, assuming they sign up for a S$205 monthly package (about $145).[Via mocoNews]
SingTel confirms iPhone for Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia
In a singularly uninformative press release, SingTel, Singapore's largest telecommunications company, has announced that it is bringing the iPhone to "Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia later this year" through several subsidiary carrier brands: SingTel, Bharti Airtel, Globe and Optus. The latter confirms our earlier post that Aussies won't be limited to Vodafone for their iPhone needs. Unfortunately no dates or pricing have been announced; it seems safe to assume this will cover the forthcoming 3G iPhone. In any case, this is good news for some of our Asia / Pacific iPhone brethren.Thanks Peter!
SingTel ropes iPhone distro in Singapore, India, Australia, and Philippines
Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it's secured agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore (on SingTel Mobile) and its partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (on Optus), India (on Bharti Group), and the Philippines (on Globe Telecom). Vodafone's also distributing the iPhone in India and Australia though, so we'll have to wait until later this year to find out who gets to shoot first.
SingTel offers cellphone controlled spycam
Yeah, yeah, the caption reads "watch over your loved ones wirelessly..." but we know by "watch over" they mean spy. With SingTel's dubious intentions aside, the Mobile LIVEcam looks to be a reasonably inexpensive and capable -- albeit optically challenged -- 0.3 megapixel remote camera. For only $240 upfront and about $6 month in service costs you get a 3G SIM card and the camera which can pan, tilt, zoom, and even record video onto a microSD card. If your preferred recording location is a bit dark, the camera features an infrared recording mode to help get the dirtiest of dirt ensure your family's safety. The LIVEcam is controlled via SMS commands or through a web interface -- also accessible by up to 20 others via password control -- on your mobile phone, and with a touted 300 hours standby time, should give you enough time to capture the perfect shots. Yep, anti-privacy never looked so fun.
Singapore to get VOOM HD, Sling HD via SingTel's IPTV service
While we've mentioned Singapore getting a little HDTV love in the past, it now seems that the nation will be getting a whole lot more when SingTel's IPTV service launches commercially "later this year." On deck is the entire suite of VOOM HD channels as well as the first Singapore-created HD channel, dubbed Sling HD, which will showcase "computer gaming and extreme sports." Singapore's Mega Media and Rainbow Media have joined forces to deliver the high definition content, and current testing on IPTV technical trials have proved successful. Unfortunately, there's no set timeframe in which to expect the service to leave testing and go mainstream, but at least you Singaporeans have a good bit of HD action to look forward to in 2007.
Nokia, SingTel collaborate on VoIP solution
It appears that another carrier has decided to give VoIP its warm, loving embrace. Nokia will be supplying Singapore's SingTel with its E60, E61, and N80 Internet Edition handsets, all of which support both GSM and WiFi; add some SIP-compliant VoIP into the mix, and you have yourself a nice little dual-mode solution. SingTel hasn't announced pricing, but plans on offering a flat-rate service enabling its customers to hop on the VoIP bit from any hotspot, including SingTel's own Wireless Surf Zones. There's no mention of handoff capability between networks, but if the price is right, we'll let it slide -- just don't go wandering off while you're hitting up the WiFi.[Via Slashphone]
BlackBerry Connect finally available for Treo 650s -- abroad
The long wait is over for Palm enthusiasts, as the highly-anticipated but seemingly always out-of-reach BlackBerry Connect service is finally available for Treo 650 owners -- specifically, future 650 owners who are in one of the seven non-US markets covered by Singapore-based SingTel, the sole carrier offering the service at rollout. We first heard word of a BlackBerry service for Treos last October, and more recently saw the Connect service working "in the wild" at 3GSM, which takes all of that push email goodness and formats it into an interface familiar to Palm OS users. SingTel will be offering the 650 for a very reasonable $186 to customers who sign up for the $38/month BlackBerry Enterprise Solution Unlimited Local Data Usage Plan through May 12th.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, photo credit: Treonauts]
