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Henry Tirri appointed CTO of Nokia, permanently replacing Rich Green
Not much of a surprise here, but today it finally becomes official: Henry Tirri has been appointed CTO of Nokia, nearly four months after assuming the position on a temporary basis. Tirri, who joined the company in 2004 and previously served as head of its research center, will permanently replace former CTO Rich Green, who took an indefinite leave of absence from Espoo back in June, citing "personal reasons." At the time, some local media outlets reported that Green's absence would be permanent, due to disagreements over CEO Stephen Elop's smartphone OS strategy. Reportedly a one-time Meego advocate, Green will now return to the US to "pursue new opportunities" and, as of today, is no longer a member of the Nokia Leadership Team. Tirri, meanwhile, will be responsible for designing "Nokia's technology agenda both now and in the future, and driving core innovation to enable business development opportunities." We'll have to wait and see where that path leads, but you can find more details about the appointment in the full press release, after the break.
Android-friendly Samsung CTO abandons ship for Citigroup
Android lost a major ally at Samsung Mobile this week, with the departure of Omar Khan. The CTO is leaving the hardware manufacturer for the industry analyst side of things, joining Citigroup's mobile solutions team. Khan has led the charge on a number of Android-based devices, including, recently, the S II and various other products in the Galaxy line -- he also made a memorable appearance on The Engadget Show, back in August of last year. Samsung's Nick Dicarlo and Gavin Kim will be stepping in to grab some of Khan's PR responsibilities at the company.
Rich Green, Nokia CTO, takes leave of absence for 'personal reasons'
Rich Green's only been with Nokia since 2010, making his way onto the leadership team in February when the Elopcalypse rolled through Espoo. As CTO, the former VP of Sun Microsystems is charged with defining Nokia's technology vision; be it hardware, software, user experience, cloud services, or developer programs. So yeah, he's the guy looking at what's next, what's beyond Windows Phone and S40. Well, we just got official word from Nokia that he's taking a leave of absence for an unspecified duration for "personal reasons." Of course, that could mean anything -- business is always personal, regardless of those empty bromides tossed around whenever something distasteful happens between corporate personalities. The story first broke in the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, citing two independent sources claiming that Green likely won't be returning to the company because of disagreements over strategy. Interesting, don't you think? Update: Reuters says that Henry Tirri, head of Nokia Research Center, will be acting CTO
APB Reloaded keeps us up to date on development
It's always good to see a games company keep the lines of communication open in regard to an upcoming title. It's especially nice to see those frequent morsels of communication presented in an open and downright amusing fashion! The team behind All Points Bulletin: Reloaded is certainly managing to do just that, as we can see in its most recent update. According to none other than the COO/CTO for GamersFirst, Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson, the team currently working on ABP: Reloaded has made a huge find in terms of server bugs. Apparently, the way the current in-game death camera is coded, the entire sector hits a lag spike -- or as he puts it, "take[s] a brief 100ms moment of silence" when a player is killed. This, in turn, causes a lot of the rubberbanding that players see on their end. Finding this bug means that the team is now hard at work on a fix, and Book-Larsson is hopeful that we may even see it released to closed beta players within a matter of days. If you're curious about the progress GamersFirst is making on APB: Reloaded, then be sure to head over and check out the newest blog post or go get signed up for closed beta! [Thanks, Connor!]
HP shows off MetaWatch concept (video)
Give yourself a cookie if you can still remember as far back as August 29th of last year. That was the day when HP's Phil McKinney teased the world with images of three new prototypes being developed in his company's labs -- there was a tablet, now known as the HP TouchPad, a smartphone that's since taken on the name of Pre 3, and something snaked around his wrist that looked suspiciously like a watch. Today, we learn more about this MetaWatch, as HP calls. It's a continuation of the company's overarching theme of mobile interconnectedness, however unlike its webOS devices, this connected watch is nowhere near ready for prime time (or maybe it's just like them since none are actually shipping yet!). The new Meta fella is still a research project as much as anything else, but it's seen as a key part of our future, acting as an easy-to-use information aggregator. It looks just like any old watch to us, but why not jump past the break and let HP's CTO enlighten you on what makes it special? [Thanks, Obstacle-Man] Update: Turns out this concept device is actually called MetaWatch, not Metal Watch. We've updated the post accordingly, but hey, Metal Watch doesn't sound too bad, either.
Sony Ericsson CTO: first LTE device coming 'pretty soon,' also considering Android tablets
Back in late 2008, Ericsson boldly predicted that 2012 will be the year of LTE; and fast forward to today, one year shy of the big one-two, said company's joint venture with Sony is already teasing its first LTE device. In a recent interview with Fierce Wireless, Sony Ericsson CTO Jan Uddenfeldt talked about SE's renewed focus on the US market, and how its relationship with Google helped securing its first-ever deal with Verizon. While emphasizing that SE's been in the CDMA business for years in Japan, Uddenfeldt also referred to the TD-LTE demonstration with ST-Ericsson and China Mobile at MWC, which featured a prototype LTE device developed by his own gang. Looks like SE's all set to enter the game, but the question is when will we see its first LTE device on the market? Uddenfeldt said "pretty soon," and he further fuels speculation by mentioning a potential collaboration with Sony on some Android tablets (maybe the S1?). Oh, such a teaser this man is. Update: Swapped in an image of the prototype looking a bit too much like a 2007 UMPC above.
Panasonic's CTO takes your 3D questions live via Ustream tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Panasonic should be living the easy life, the newest iteration of its acclaimed V-series plasma HDTVs have been touted as having the best looking 2D and 3D available, the first 24-hour US 3D channel launches this week, and there's even at least one Blu-ray 3D movie is on retail shelves. But even with all that, there's a lot of confusion and questions about whether or not 3D is a good thing and what consumers should expect, so it's taking the unusual step of putting Chief Technology Officer Eisuke Tsuyuzaki on a live Ustream webcast taking questions from you, the public. Whether you're wondering if any focus has been taken away from 2D image quality, what can be done about cross manufacturer 3D glasses compatibility or anything else, show up at 3 p.m. EST tomorrow, June 30 and see what Panasonic has to say in response. Check the read link for the Ustream channel or just pop right back here, it's embedded after the break.
Sony Ericsson scoops a new CTO
Seems like it was just last year that Sony Ericsson was replacing its CTO -- oh, that's because it was last year! For reasons unknown, the company is repeating history already -- and this time looking outside its own workforce (but just barely) by heading over to parent Ericsson to nab Jan Uddenfeldt, who current holds the roles of senior vice president and senior technology advisor there. Uddenfeldt's based in San Jose, which means it'll be a short jaunt to his new office in Redwood Shores where he'll pick up the duties come July 1. We'd mentioned last year that we'd hoped that having an Americas-focused CTO at the company would mean wild new things for its US presence, but that dream hasn't really materialized yet; here's hoping.
Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch: the full interview
If you've seen the most recent Engadget Show, then you know that Kevin Lynch is one interesting dude. In fact, we had such a lengthy conversation with him that we couldn't fit the whole thing into our allotted time! Still, we thought what he had to say was pretty darn interesting, so we wanted to share the entire clip here. If you've got about 37 minutes and a hankering for Flash talk... today is your lucky day.
Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June -- will Froyo follow suit?
Let's take a break from Apple and Adobe's back-and-forth, shall we? Instead, we'll let the latter company talk about its work with Google, specifically the Android platform. Flash-based CTO Kevin Lynch said today in a post, "We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June." Good news, indeed, but with all this talk of Froyo having native Flash support, and this month's conference serving as the largest gathering of Android developers, we can't imagine a better platform (pun intended) for Andy Rubin and company to unveil its fragmentation-curbing Froyo update. Might Flash 10.1's May preview / June release schedule line up with the OS, as well? Just some fat-free food for thought. [Thanks, Steven]
Verizon promises first 4G handset for next summer, foretells end of unlimited data plans
Alright, you ultrafast mobile broadband zealots, whip out your calendars and draw a big red tick around the middle of 2011. Verizon's CTO Anthony Melone has identified next summer as the carrier's release window for its first LTE handset, which should be preceded by the 4G service being rolled out by the end of this year. If you're wondering what you'll be using on that "faster than 3G" network while waiting for the vanguard handset, we saw plenty of LTE-equipped gear at CES and let's not forget about that 1080p-decodin' NVIDIA tablet that was teased during the show. The one bit of bogus news from Melone was the statement that contracts with "as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change." Verizon seems resolutely set on introducing some type of tiered or metered price plans, which is unfortunately the same path AT&T is headed down. The message from the networks is therefore clear: with great (downloading) power comes great (bill-paying) responsibility.
Sony Ericsson gets a new CTO
Never mind what the company's official line says -- 2009 is likely a make-or-break year for Sony Ericsson, and to help turn around its fortunes, it's contributed to UIQ's demise as it tries to ramp up support for Android, Windows Mobile, and the Symbian Foundation. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say -- and to that end, CTO Mats Lindoff will be departing the company at the end of the month (seemingly of his own volition) after six years of marriage. He'll be replaced by Ron Louks, who currently holds the dual roles of Head of Technology, Americas and Deputy CTO, so it shouldn't be too foreign of a role for the guy. With an Americas-focused guy at the helm, maybe we can get a sudden firehose of awesome Sony Ericsson sets this side of the pond, eh?
CCP Games to present at Game Developers Conference 2009
CCP Games, the developer of EVE Online, has announced that they'll have a presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) next month. The company's CMO, Ryan Scott Dancey (aka CCP RyanD), is slated to speak about how CCP uses social network engineering to reach out to more subscribers. Specifically, he'll describe how the company puts Tipping Point theory (about how information spreads) into action. That session is titled: "Network Marketing: Leveraging Social Networks to Grow an MMO".On the technology front, CCP's CTO Halldor Fannar will speak at GDC 2009 in a session geared more towards programmers and technical artists, "From Evolution to Revolution: Upgrading the Graphics Engine of EVE Online". Fannar will lay out the issues CCP has faced with upgrading EVE's graphics engine, and explain how their ideas went from being on paper to a shipping game. His presentation will show the tools in action that allowed them to "take the required generational leap in art production." Game Developers Conference 2009 runs from March 23-27 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, and as we've mentioned previously, will have a lot to offer MMO fans of all genres.
Verizon's LTE vendor partners to be revealed at MWC
Looks like Verizon's LTE (Long Term Evolution) service might be on track to launch this year, after all. Speaking at a Digital Broadband Migration event at the University of Colorado at Boulder, executive VP and CTO Richard Lynch said the company's in the final stages of selecting vendor partners, and they'll be announced at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. He also reiterated that service, which they've been trialing in conjunction with Vodafone, will co-exist with its current 3G platform. He said all vendors have been told that the they need to be and running this year. Hey fellas, let's not let Lynch down here.
Dick Lynch: Verizon's LTE rollout to launch next year, not 2010
After winning purchasing spectrum in the 700MHz FCC auction, we were all a little disappointed to hear that we'd have to wait until the year 2010 for high-speed LTE networks to launch (widescale deployments coming later) on both Verizon and AT&T. In a surprise, seemingly off-the-cuff statement made Tuesday at Cisco's C-Scape conference, Verizon's unfortunately named executive VP and CTO, Dick Lynch, said, "We expect that LTE will actually be in service somewhere here in the U.S. probably this time next year." Lynch also said that Verizon plans to coordinate the rollout of femtocell base stations (likely with WiFi) to extend the signal indoors -- something that shouldn't be too difficult since LTE will be riding the old home-penetrating 700MHz analog TV signal. With LG demonstrating 60Mbps download speeds on the world's first LTE chips for cellphones and data cards yesterday, consider us packed and ready to move to the first city VZW lights up. [Via PhoneScoop]
Mythic CTO to keynote at East Coast Games Summit
Mythic Entertainment's Chief Technology Officer Matt Shaw is slated to keynote the America's Video Game Expo (VGXPO) and its East Coast Games Summit. VGXPO will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, from November 21-23.In a session titled "MMOs, Everyone Wants to Do One!", Shaw will discuss the differences in developing single player games versus MMO titles, and the lessons learned along the way. Some highlights of the upcoming East Coast Games Summit at VGXPO include: "Pitch Your Game Idea": a session for entrepreneurs to pitch their game concepts to industry leaders. "Scrum Deconstructed": a hands-on workshop for game industry management and technologists. "Breaking In": a conference for students and others interested in making a career out of games. Speakers from companies like Acclaim Entertainment, Electronic Arts, BioWare, and Nexon will be at VGXPO as well. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Verizon's CTO speaks on DTV transition, FiOS TV and IPTV migration
Verizon has been expanding its FiOS TV footprint at a pretty regular clip, but that's not all the telco has up its sleeve for the future. In a recent interview with Telephony, the outfit's CTO, Mark Wegleitner, explained that Verizon was looking to add more SD and HD channels as the transition to digital TV continued. Granted, that's no different than most every other programming provider out there, but it's good to know Verizon has additional HD on the brain. Speaking about IPTV migration, he explained that the company was "moving toward IPTV in the interactive VOD world and digital QAM in the broadcast world." Sure, the subject matter here is pretty technical, but if you're geeked out by what you've already heard, hit the read link for lots more where this came from.
Nokia's CTO steps down for "personal reasons"
We thought he probably would've at least stuck around long enough to see the Tube get announced later this week, but Nokia CTO Bob Iannucci has announced that he's stepping down from the world's number one cellphone maker effective immediately for undisclosed "personal reasons." Though it might seem that the move leaves a gaping hole in Espoo's senior leadership, the company actually says that Bob will continue on in an advisory role while it decides whether it even needs a CTO going forward. Bob also served as head of the Nokia Research Centre -- also known as the place where you get to play with Haptikos -- where Henry Tirri, current head of the center's Systems Research group, will be taking over.[Via mocoNews]
T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed
While there was a flurry (actually, a full on snowstorm) of news today about the G1, there's a few bits of info you might not have heard, largely because no one is reporting them. We had a chance to speak with T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman after the event today, and he had some illuminating -- and frankly refreshing -- takes on some of our more pressing questions. When asked about what T-Mobile's reaction would be to users creating tethering or unlocking apps for the phone, he was surprisingly even-keeled, noting that while the company didn't encourage the practice, they wouldn't lock down the OS or update the software to break those applications. Our impression was that as long as their use was relegated to a small percentage of owners, T-Mobile likely wouldn't take action, though he did voice concerns over tethering apps and their effect on the network, with a clearly guarded eye to letting users have free reign. More interestingly, buyers would be able to have access to a "contract free" G1 (with a price point of $399), and could unlock the device with T-Mobile's blessing after 90 days. Brodman also said that the company's policy of unlocking phones for customers in good standing wouldn't change for this phone.
J Allard, CXO, surfaces at Microsoft C-level
J Allard, previously of Veep stature, has been elevated to the position of CXO (Chief eXperience Officer) and CTO of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division. That puts the man synonymous with the Zune, Xbox, and once questionable, 80's style in charge of "the technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division." He's also cracking the whip on the E&D's "incubation team" responsible for scouting out new opportunities for the division. You know, like the Zune Phone, Xbox 360 with Blu-ray, and Microsoft Surface Sphere. Thus making him the most important man inside Microsoft... from our perspective anyway.[via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
