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First Else's Splay officially comes to Android as a thumb-friendly launcher (video)
Emblaze's long-canceled First Else may never come back in its original form, but to our surprise, its futuristic Splay interface has finally been ported to Android! Released as a free beta by the same company, this fan-shaped launcher offers a similar single-hand experience that the ALP device once promised to deliver. The UI's main menu has four categories: Phone (call log, contacts and profiles), Diary (email, calendar and messaging), Media (music, video, photos, camera and file manager) and Apps (with seven customizable shortcuts). Upon laying your right thumb onto any of these, a sub-menu expands and you can go one level deeper by dragging your thumb to the left of your desired sub-category, and then let go to toggle the item. Similarly, dragging to the right takes you back to the previous menu, or you can drag to a blank area and let go to jump back to the main menu. All of this is accompanied by slick graphics like before, thanks to the good work by Israeli design house Sugapusher back in the day. The only downside of this release is that some of the features need serious refining. For instance, the Music Player sub-menu fails to filter out ringtones, and the Video Player sub-menu only managed to load the latest few clips taken with the phone's camera. We'd also like to see integration with other apps, obviously, but this simple beta will do for now. Check out our hands-on video after the break, and head over to Google Play to grab the free Splay launcher.
Emblaze Mobile's ex-CEO: First Else was eventually ready but the market had changed
We were rather heartbroken when Emblaze Mobile announced the premature death of its First Else project back in June 2010, with the culprit being "critical delays in deliveries;" so when we caught up with ex-CEO Amir Kupervas -- who's now running a startup called UIU -- at MWC, we had to see if he had anything to add to the sad story. "It was ambitious for a small Israeli company to come into consumer electronics, build a brand and try to push it," Kupervas emphasized. "When we started this project it wasn't about ecosystem and apps and things like that. Eventually the iPhone came with its app store, and then Android came with its app store, and we were left behind."
Emblaze First Else UX engineer embraced by HP / Palm, magic ensues
Remember that day when Emblaze wowed the world with its First Else "death of main menu" smartphone? What a shame, eh? While it's unlikely that said Linux handset will ever be resurrected, there's a small chance that bits of its legacy will be passed onto other products. For instance, a recent LinkedIn newsletter led us to Itai Vonshak, who was one of the main engineers behind the architecture that powered the First Else's brilliant, mesmerizing UI. Now, according to his profile, our man has recently moved into HP / Palm's comfy little house to do UX strategy. Whether this means webOS will get a slice of that Minority Report action, we don't know; but it'll be interesting to see what Vonshak will surprise us with at the HP / Palm event next month. For now, there's a hands-on video of the First Else after the break for old time's sake.
RIP: Emblaze kills First Else
Hate to say it but we were right: Emblaze just announced that it's shutting down the First Else handset. $40 million and the hopes of many (ok, a few) gone in an instant. In a regulatory announcement issued today, Emblaze states the following: Due to critical delays in deliveries and the current status of the project, the board has now decided to cease any further investment towards manufacturing of the First ELSE mobile device and to concentrate efforts only on licensing the ELSE Intuition platform and technology in order to realize its potential upside. So there's still hope that we'll see the First Else user experience applied elsewhere if Emblaze can find a buyer. See the full release after the break. [Thanks, Yair M.]
Emblaze's First Else in danger of becoming a smoldering slab of vaporware?
We have word from an industry insider that the First Else handset running the ALP OS is in trouble. Not a surprise since Emblaze, the company behind the handset, has been dead quiet about Else ever since CES where it promised a March beta and Q2 launch. From what we hear, the software simply isn't ready and Emblaze has been unable to sign on any major carriers as the components continue to age inside a cellphone first demonstrated in November of 2009. We've also been told that Emblaze has instructed its employees not to speak to the press about First Else. And indeed, when we called the number that formerly belonged to the Emblaze Mobile marketing manager we were greeted with a very casual "hello" without any mention of the company or the person with whom we were speaking. After confirming that we were indeed speaking with Emblaze Mobile, we related the news about First Else and were promptly transferred to the voicemail of Emblaze's legal representation. Curious don't you think? Your move Emblaze.
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 and Emblaze Mobile unveil Else Intuition, the Linux-based mobile OS of your dreams
It's been a long, long time since Emblaze Mobile and Access engaged in holy cellphone matrimony, and the fruit of that relationship is finally coming to bear. It's called Else Intuition, a Linux-based mobile platform that comes with such a hyperbolic press release that we can't help but think every other mobile manufacturer should just pack up and go home. It's said to match the functionality of "top ranked MP3 players, best-in-class GPS devices, and more, while maintaining an exceptional ease and simplicity of use." Golly. At this point we only have a few images to go by, and though they do look plenty nice, we wouldn't consider our minds blown just yet -- particularly those of us with a left-handed bias. Remember, Access is the company that turned Palm OS into Garnet OS and then failed to win anyone over with its Access Linux Platform, so what could go wrong here? What's it going to be, readers: WebOS or Else? Update: Another right-handed pic (ironically taken on an iPhone) added after the break.
Edelweiss to launch first ALP-powered smartphone?
It's somewhat difficult to believe that the Access Linux Platform (also referred to as ALP) still has proponents out there, but apparently, Edelweiss could be gearing up to launch what would be the very first ALP-powered handset available on the open market. Slated to launch exclusively in Russia, the touchscreen-driven smartphone would boast a 3.5-inch 854 x 480 resolution screen, quad-band GSM / tri-band UMTS support, 8GB / 16GB of internal capacity, GPS and a 3.2-megapixel camera with Auto Focus. Word around the block has it that the device was actually designed by Emblaze and will eventually be manufactured by Sharp, but that's if the teaser site actually leads to anything tangible.[Via PalmInfoCenter]
Emblaze Mobile's iPhone competitor detailed, hitting Russia next month
We don't hear too much from Emblaze Mobile around these parts, just the occasional boastful proclamation about revolutionizing mobile communication. So, color us surprised when we got wind of an entirely new and impressive sounding handset due to ship in just a month. The Edelweiss (named after a flower representing purity) is a 3G, touch-screen handset with internal GPS and either 8 or 16GB of storage. That may sound familiar, but what this has over the competition is a massive resolution of 854 x 480, more than twice that of the iPhone and greater even than the previous high-res handset king, HTC's Touch HD. Right now Herr Edelweiss is due only to release in Russia, but if it lives up to it promise we'd certainly expect to see it elsewhere. Oh, and that other project to revolutionize mobile communication? They're still working on that too, dubbing the Linux-based device "Monolith" and promising release sometime in the first half of next year.
Emblaze Mobile inks deal with Sharp and ACCESS
Emblaze Mobile, Israeli-based phone designers / makers, have inked a deal with Japanese powerhouse Sharp, and software developer ACCESS (of Palm OS fame, amongst others) to create a new mobile device which will "revolutionize mobile communication." You know... just a small goal. The companies plan to reveal this magical device sometime in 2008, which will be based around Sharp-developed hardware, and ACCESS-grown software (go figure). Guy Bernstein, CEO of Emblaze, says, "The device represents one of the most ambitious projects in the high-tech mobile industry." Of course, given that said device is still a total mystery, statements like that should be very easy to make. Your poker face is good, Guy, but let's see your cards.
