certification
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iPhone 4 supply stabilizes in Hong Kong, China greenlights iPad 2
Supplies of the iPhone 4 in Hong Kong have nearly caught up with demand, according to a report from MacNN. The popular handset is now regularly available on the Apple online store in Hong Kong, with wait times of 5–7 business days. Previously, Apple intermittently suspended sales of the iPhone 4 in the region, presumably in response to incredible demand. Since Hong Kong has no sales tax, visitors from mainland China and other neighboring countries would reportedly visit the region, buy as many bargain-priced iPhones as they could, bring them home and then sell them for up to twice as much on the gray market. As a result, the Apple online store in Hong Kong often listed all models of the iPhone 4 as "currently unavailable." Now, in response to increased supply or tapering sales, Hong Kong apparently has enough iPhone 4s to keep the device on sale full time. On a related note, China certified Apple's iPad 2 for sale on the Chinese mainland last Friday. The China Compulsory Certification (3C) is mandatory for many products sold in China. Apple has yet to announce a launch date for the iPad 2 in China, but the compulsory license, which lasts until April 8, 2016, allows the company to begin official sales of the device on the Chinese mainland at any time. The iPad 2, which is currently shipping in over two dozen countries, is scheduled to go on sale in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong later this month.
Galaxy Player 5 stops by the FCC, only takes the easy tests
When you only have WiFi to worry about, testing in the foam rooms of doom at the FCC gets a little bit easier. Or so we'd imagine, anyhow. Samsung's WiFi-only PMP, the Galaxy Player 5 (aka YP-G70, aka Galaxy Player 70), just got rubber-stamped by our favorite federal body, passing with flying colors. While we weren't treated to any teardown antics, we do have the lovely sketch above showing you where you can find the FCC logo. It's the thing on the pointy end of the red arrow above, a label that hopefully you'll be able to see in person very soon. [Thanks, James]
ICANN has .xxx domain names? Yes!
The controversial step to approve .xxx domain names has today been taken by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, paving the way for a whole slew of new addresses suffixed by the famous triplicate x. Funnily enough, before the decision was made today, opposition to it was proffered by both conservative groups opposed to pornography and adult entertainment companies fearing they'd be more easily compartmentalized and potentially blocked by overzealous governments. Moreover, every popular adult website at present will pretty much be forced to buy its .xxx version, which, for an industry famous for its frugality, will be an understandably tough pill to swallow. We are surprised not to see the people of Amsterdam consulted, however -- their city's emblem features three Xs too, shouldn't they have a say in this? A further meeting is scheduled by ICANN for June 20th to discuss opening up all possible domain name suffixes to registration, pending the validation of a set of guidelines for approval. That's looking quite likely to be passed too, as the AFP sagely notes that there's a celebratory party scheduled for two days after the event. URLs are about to get a lot more varied, it seems; they're certainly going to feature a lot more of the (English) alphabet's 24th letter, whatever the case.
Skifta Android app nabs DLNA certification: tablets and smartphones now streaming to STBs and more
Using your Android phone as a remote is hardly new, but using it to actually send content to a TV-connected set-top box? Now that's a novel concept. Skifta for Android has just become the first piece of software to be certified by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) under its new Software Certification program, enabling any Android-based smartphone or tablet to stream onboard media to any DLNA source, including TVs, stereos, PCs and Sony's PS3. It's hard to say what kind of phone (and what kind of bandwidth) will be needed for this to actually be an enjoyable experience, but those curious to find out can download the app for free in the Android Marketplace... provided you're using a device with Android 2.2 (Froyo) or higher, of course. Head on past the break for a explanatory video.
Super Meat Boy patched on XBLA, new levels to follow
If you envision Microsoft's nebulous certification process as a sadistic Super Meat Boy level -- some lava pits here, a few saw blades everywhere -- you may understand why a tiny weakling of a file, less than 1MB in size, spent over 3 months attempting to survive the gauntlet unscathed. Yes, the Super Meat Boy patch, which should cover up all of the squishy protagonist's oozing faults (including that auto-save glitch), is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. Just launch the game to download it automatically. With the XBLA version corrected, Team Meat can continue pushing new content to "Teh Internets," the in-game hub that hosts free, downloadable levels. Indie developer Gaijin Games is constructing a level pack for Commander Video, and Michael "Kayin" O'Reilly -- indefensibly evil creator of I Wanna Be The Guy -- is making some Kid-unfriendly levels. Team Meat's Edmund McMillen says that a pack remixing Super Meat Boy's best bits is also on the way. "We also have a few other devs lined up but we want to space level updates out a bit," he tells us. The game's level editor and level portal will be live on Steam "as soon as possible," he adds, and "we will also have a few cool bits of info about the future of SMB around that time as well." So ... that's a lot of incoming levels. When you've conquered all of them, it'll be time to concern yourself with a different kind of certification -- that of your inevitable insanity.
'Built for BlackBerry' program is ready to add another label to your BB and PlayBook accessories
Look for the logo, says RIM. Don't look for the distinctively BlackBerry-shaped case, car mount, screen protector, or holster ... look for the logo. Apparently, BlackBerry users have been struggling with picking out accessories for their smartphones, so RIM has decided to roll out a licensing program for specially certified "Built for BlackBerry" peripherals. Case-mate, Incipio, Speck and other manufacturers have already signed up for this authentic accessory program and you'll see a video loaded with marketing speak after the break explaining the synergistic benefits flowing from this industrial collaboration.
Advent Vega's Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification
The Advent Vega was never the most polished Android tablet in the world -- after all, we had to rely on a custom ROM just to get native Android Market access -- but a reasonable price tag and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 has still made it hard to resist. For those who've managed to snag one already, you may have noticed that the Flash playback isn't exactly... awesome. That's probably because the version loaded onto already-shipped versions isn't certified by Adobe, and in order to fend off future complaints, the company's yanking Flash Player entirely from newly-shipping models for the time being. The certification process is apparently underway, and the outfit expects Vega tablets shipped "in the early part of 2011" to have a green-lit build pre-installed; as for everyone else, they'll be provided a gratis update as soon as it can be pushed out onto the interwebs. Head on past the break for the full statement.
NFC certification program announced just in time for Android 2.3 Gingerbread launch on Monday?
Call it coincidence if you want, but a December 7th press conference to launch the NFC Forum's new Certification Program likely has something to do with NFC read / write support built into Google's new Android 2.3 "Gingerbread." An OS that could be officially unveiled as early as today according to a cheeky blog post by Notion Ink that includes this bullet: "6th December is another big day for Android and you will find out how fast Notion Ink can work. (Eden is extremely compatible with 2.3)." Recall how gung-ho Eric Schmidt was on the topic of Near Field Communication while demonstrating it using a still unannounced Nexus S with an embedded NFC chip at the Web 2.0 Summit. That was way back on November 16th when Schmidt promised a Gingerbread release "in like the next few weeks." According to the NFC Forum, a device must be certified in order to display the official "N-Mark" (pictured) -- a symbol for NFC that tells you where to touch in order to initiate NFC services on your device. So, Google... anything you'd like to announce before Tuesday? P.S. Almost forgot that Google's Andy Rubin will be kicking off the D: Dive into Mobile event later today. We'll be there live just in case Andy feels like introducing something pungent and tasty during the opening session scheduled for 6:30pm San Francisco time.
Samsung Galaxy S first smartphone to be Wi-Fi Direct certified
Samsung has generally been on the cutting edge when it comes to giving its smartphones the latest and greatest in terms of compatibility, with the Omnia being the first DivX certified handset in America this month two years ago. Now, it's looking to wrangle yet another first, with this one having the potential to be far more important. The outfit's hot-selling Galaxy S smartphone (GT-I9000) is now listed on the Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Direct certification docket, and while we knew that a handful of Wi-Fi modules and chipsets were about to get green-lit, this marks the first actual device to join that crowd. As we mentioned before, any modern-era WiFi device is capable of becoming Direct certified (via a firmware update given that there's no hardware change in the protocol), but it seems as if Sammy is being Johnny-on-the-spot. We'll keep an ear to the ground regarding an actual update that brings this functionality to life, but for now, let's all cross our fingers and hope those other phone makers get their handsets in line, too.
Wi-Fi Direct certification begins today, device-to-device transmission starting soon
So, Bluetooth -- last fall didn't end up being as frightful as you had probably imagined, but this fall is bound to be different. Or so the Wi-Fi Alliance says. If you'll recall, Wi-Fi Direct promised to do what Bluetooth had been doing for years, but with far less fuss and on a protocol that's much more widespread. A solid year has come and gone, and we've heard nary a word from any company who plans on implementing it. Thankfully for us all, that changes today. Starting in mere moments, Wi-Fi Direct devices will begin the certification process, and while we couldn't extract exact product details or a release time frame for future wares on a media call regarding the announcement, we did get the impression that at least a few partners were trying to get Wi-Fi Direct wares onto shelves before Christmas. As for functionality, the claims are fairly impressive. In order to make a direct device-to-device connection over WiFi, just one of the two need to be Wi-Fi Direct certified. In other words, a Wi-Fi Direct printer can recognize and interface with your Latitude D410 laptop from 1999, as all Wi-Fi Direct certified devices have to be able to control the one-to-one relationship. The goal here is pretty simple -- it's to create a protected connection between two devices over WiFi with as little hassle as possible. Think Bluetooth, but using WiFi. We also learned that "most" products certified will also support "one-to-many" connections, enabling a Wi-Fi Direct laptop to be in contact with a printer, connected HDTV and a tablet simultaneously, with no router in-between at any point. We should also point out that while 802.11a/g/n is supported over 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, there's no requirement for Wi-Fi Direct products to support 802.11b, so legacy users may want to pay attention to that quirk. There's also no new hardware requirements here, so in theory, any existing WiFi chipset could be upgraded via firmware to handle Wi-Fi Direct -- whether or not that'll happen on a large scale was a question the Wi-Fi Alliance couldn't answer for us. Finally, they noted that the app ecosystem is likely to make this whole rollout a lot more interesting, particularly considering that Direct is simply a pipe that software can dictate as it sees fit. We'll be keeping a close eye on the developments here; we've waited way too long for this to blossom, but we're pretty jazzed about the possibilities. Head on past the break for a video overview of how Wi-Fi Direct works.
EnergyStar program certifies 'gasoline-powered alarm,' other imaginary abominations
It'd be pretty difficult for you to reach Engadget without having seen the EnergyStar logo on something along your way here. Whether it was as part of your motherboard's bootup sequence or on the box of your new TFT monitor, EnergyStar certification has become a de facto standard for most electronics being manufactured nowadays. What you might not have known -- but probably could have guessed -- is that the process for obtaining that sticker is far from bulletproof. The American Government Accountability Office has recently done a bit of spy work by putting forward imaginary products and false claims to the validating authority, and regrettably found its bogus items "mostly approved without a challenge." The auditors' conclusion was that the program is "highly vulnerable to fraud," and the stuff they've had certified would seem to corroborate that verdict. Hit up the Times article for the full story of governmental incompetence while the Department of Energy -- the body responsible for running the program -- tries to get its act straightened out. [Thanks, Adam]
Japan certifies its first LTE device, LG says 'whoa, ours?'
In a country whose carriers' phone lineups are dominated by domestic giants like NEC, Sony, Sharp, and Fujitsu, you wouldn't necessarily think that the road to 4G would begin elsewhere -- strangely, though, South Korea's LG has garnered the honor of becoming the first company to have an LTE device certified by Japan's TELEC, a necessary, FCC-like step to getting cellular equipment deployed in those parts. NTT DoCoMo, which intends to launch commercial LTE service later this year, is undoubtedly stoked to hear that the LD100 external modem is the lucky recipient of TELEC's seal of approval (following FCC certification last year, coincidentally), meaning the carrier now has the green light to use it in trials. Considering that TeliaSonera's already beaten DoCoMo to the punch with a live, customer-facing LTE network, are the days of being shocked and awed by Japan's mobile tech drawing to a close, or are we just witnessing a little fluke here?
Apple's Mini DisplayPort gets VESA stamp of approval
We already knew that Apple's homegrown Mini DisplayPort connector was being baked into the DisplayPort 1.2 specifications, but now said socket has even more validity in the marketplace thanks to a ringing endorsement from the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). As of now, the diminutive connector has managed to comply with all of the signaling and protocol capabilities defined in the DisplayPort Standard Version 1, Revision 1a, and we're told that DisplayPort 1.2 -- which incorporates mDP and doubles available bandwidth to 21.6Gb/second -- is nearing finalization. Looks like we can finally look forward to seeing products take advantage of this socket aside from those Designed In California (and copied shamelessly in the outskirts of Shenzhen).
Wi-Fi Alliance updates Certified 802.11n program, intros shiny new logo
It's all paperwork at this point, but you had to know that the Wi-Fi Alliance wouldn't just let the two-year old 802.11n draft 2.0 program remain as it was now that the protocol is finally finished, right? Announced today, said organization is updating the Wi-Fi Certified program to add testing for "popular optional features now more widely available in WiFi equipment," all of which are detailed in the read link. The real news, however, is the new face. On the same day that we were shown an absolutely spectacular new Windows 7 logo -- one that will inevitably mar your next laptop's palm rest -- the Wi-Fi Alliance (or the WFA, as we call 'em at the poker table) is rolling out an updated logo, family of taglines and product labeling matrix. Thrilling, isn't it? Head on past the break for a few more... if you're into that kind of thing. [Via PC World]
Windows 7 logo program already 6,000-strong with products
The Windows Ecosystem Team has gone official with the new 'Compatible with Windows 7' sticker, which we sincerely hope won't be as laughably misapplied as its Vista-related predecessor. Set to appear on hardware, software and peripherals, the label is intended to reassure customers that they'll have the "optimal Windows 7 experience" thanks to "robust testing requirements" and a longer testing cycle. That's good to hear, as is the fact that already over 6,000 products have been given a passing grade, meaning that -- surprise, surprise -- when you get your Windows 7 machine, it will most likely be compatible with everything you own or intend to buy. An intriguing tidbit is that one logo will cover all flavors, including 64-bit, meaning that you'll have to wait for Intel's Pineview chips to come around the turn of the year if you want to get a certified Atom-based Windows 7 netbook. Update: Okay, so it looks like we were a little off the mark here. To be clear, this program is primarily intended for peripherals and accessories you purchase after you get a computer, which is why testing against 64-bit Windows 7 is a requirement. We're sure we'll see plenty of Atom netbooks running Windows 7 with a slightly different sticker on 'em just as soon as October 22 rolls around -- you just won't be able to buy an Atom-based mobo with this particular sticker on the box, because it won't run 64-bit Windows 7. You know what else you can't buy? A dragon.
USB 3.0 logos now being handed out to certified wares
Aww suki suki now. With CES 2010 leaning around the corner and refusing to leave our periphery, we're getting more and more evidence that the January trade show will be a launching pad for a new suite of USB products. Several months after the first USB 3.0 cables curiously went on sale, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced the availability of the USB 3.0 Compliance and Certification Program. What's that mean? It means that a program is now firmly in place to provide compatible wares with a SuperSpeed USB logo, which in turn means that USB 3.0 gear is that much closer to retail shelves. So, who's anxious to slap a USB 3.0 PCI expansion card into their shiny new PC? [Via HotHardware]
Samsung i5700 "Galaxy-lite" gets WiFi approval -- Android on the cheap?
We can say with some confidence now that HTC's planning on taking Android to a new, mega-cheap market with the upcoming Click -- and as the old saying goes, when it rains, it pours. Samsung -- which also looks to be making an Android push, hot off the launch of its inaugural i7500 Galaxy -- has just garnered WiFi certification for a heretofore-unknown i5700 "Galaxy-lite," which certainly has all the makings of a stripped-down Galaxy from its model name and number. We know precisely zlich about what the i5700 actually entails, but we're encouraged by the fact that they managed to leave WiFi in; question is, what features of the Galaxy would we be okay to see go on a lower-cost model? AMOLED? The high-spec camera? Awesomeness? [Warning: PDF link][Via mobile-review]
China Unicom's iPhone gets regulatory approval, pictured
Still having doubts that an iPhone will ever come to China via legitimate means? Have a gander at this. According to the listing after the break, which was discovered on China's State Radio Regulatory Commission (SRRC; basically the Chinese version of the FCC) website, we're looking at a GSM / WCDMA cellphone complete with Bluetooth, an internal model number A1324, a little-known manufacturer called "Apple Inc." and an approval date of May 7th, 2009. We're also told that the certificate expires in five years, which should give China Unicom plenty of time to capitalize on its reported three-year deal to offer the phone in mainland China. So, all we need now is what's we've needed for years: a handwritten note from El Jobs himself saying that this whole thing is more than some sick charade.[Image courtesy of Sina, thanks Joe]Update: Looks like this may be the first live look at a China Unicom iPhone 3G, complete with no WiFi to speak of.
802.11n finalization just a formality, interoperability to be preserved
C'mon, say it with us: "phew!" Considering that just about everyone has been shipping "802.11n" wireless kit since draft 2.0 was put into play two summers ago, we couldn't be more relieved to see the Wi-Fi Alliance confirm that it won't change the baseline requirements of its 802.11n certification program when the format gets certified this September. Just as we'd heard, the WiFi standard will leave its stagnant draft status and sashay into the wondrous realm of officialdom in merely two months, with the updated test program to "preserve interoperability with more than 600 Wi-Fi certified 802.11n draft 2.0 products released since June 2007, while adding testing for some optional features now included in the standard." Good thing, too -- can you imagine the uproar if your forthcoming 802.11n dongle wouldn't play nice with that draft-N router you snagged last June?[Via Electronista]
HTC Hero approved by Global Certification Forum, rocking GSM and HSPA
We're unfortunately light on details here, but The Unwired is reporting that HTC's Hero has been approved by the Global Certification Forum, listed here as "HERO100," with support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 1800/2100 MHz. With the company's touted London event just around the corner -- this Wednesday, to be exact -- we wouldn't be surprised to see the phone and its oft-rumored "Rosie" Android UI take center stage, in possibly two variations. Other than frequency bands and the associative name, the GCF isn't giving us anything else to work with, so for now just sit back and hope this uncertainty is cleared up sooner rather than later.
