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Optimus One is LG's fastest-selling phone ever: one million in 40 days
One million units sold in the realm of smartphones isn't quite as impressive of a feat as it once was -- especially if your phone is available on numerous carriers around the world. Still, there's something to be said for the pace at which it reaches the milestone, and for LG, the Optimus One managed Seven Digits in just 40 days after initial launch. Given that it's still rolling out globally -- Verizon's about to pick it up November 18th as the Vortex -- we doubt that number's letting up anytime soon. On a related note, given the success of this budget-minded Android 2.2 phone, something tells us LG will be focusing much heavier on that market segment.
LG Optimus One and Optimus Chic specs confirmed, joining the Froyo party in November
If you're not much of a Nokia connoisseur, then how about something a little different to boost your appetite? Today, LG has finally let loose the juicy details about its Optimus One (pictured left) and Optimus Chic Android 2.2 handsets, which were actually unveiled a little over two months ago. The spec sheets -- embedded after the break -- confirm that both low-end Froyo phones carry a 600MHz chip, 3.2-inch 320 x 480 LCD capacitive touchscreen, and the usual wireless package (802.11b/g WiFi, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and FM radio). The difference? Apart from the appearance and button configurations, the One's 1500mAh battery beats the Chic's by 250mAh, but loses out in the megapixel race with only 3 to the Chic's 5MP imager. No prices announced just yet, but we'll keep our eyes peeled open when they arrive at European stores in November.
Gateway brings ZX4300 and ZX6900 all-in-one touchscreen PCs into a world of fingers
We've still yet to find a great reason to eschew our tried-and-true mouse / keyboard tandem in favor of using our desktop with just our fingers, but if you know better, Gateway has a new duo it'd sure love for you to check out. The ZX4300 line, which is the lower-end of the two, gets served AMD's Athlon II X2 CPU, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), a 20-inch touchpanel (1,600 x 900 resolution), integrated ATI Radeon HD 4270 graphics, 4GB of DDR3 memory a 640GB hard drive, 8x SuperMulti drive, a bundled wireless keyboard and mouse, inbuilt WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 sockets and a pair of five-watt speakers. The Gateway One ZX6900 family sports a 23-inch LCD (1,920 x 1,080), and while the vast majority of the specs mimic the others we've mentioned, the Core i3 power plant is a notable reason for paying extra. Speaking of which, the ZX4300-01e is slated to first hit stores next month for $749.99, while the ZX6900-01e lands alongside of it for $1,019.99. %Gallery-93320%
Microsoft One and Two Project Pink phones appear in Verizon database? (updated)
What's this? Two devices apparently of Microsoft origin in Verizon's database prefixed by MSONE and MSTWO on the eve of Microsoft's big presser -- an event widely thought (and even announced) to be the unveiling of Project Pink. We're also seeing Sharp, the Sidekick manufacturer named on the Turtle and Pure looking handsets that passed through the FCC. Really though, "One" and "Two?" Surely those words are just placeholders awaiting today's event before getting properly named, right? Who knows... when you're believed to be launching a competing platform against your own Windows Phone 7 OS while simultaneously keeping the WinMo 6.x dreams alive for businesses, hell, anything goes. Update: 9 to 5 Mac is suggesting that the actual retail names of the devices will be Kin. As in next of, as in family. Since the company has an event in just a few hours, we'll obviously know for certain very soon, but it does look likely given the use of Kin in the listing above.
AddOn Spotlight: Battle of the Bags
AddOn Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience - the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond - your AddOns folder will never be the same! This week, Bag mods are serious business. Stuff. We sure do have a lot of it. Sometimes it's important stuff. Other times it's fairly stupid stuff that somehow accumulates over years. Somethings we just cannot throw away. This week on AddOn Spotlight, we dive into what makes our stuff manageable, from tabards and weapons to gems and ores. This week's Spotlight features addons, sure, but we will be grouping these addons by philosophy, not necessarily function. Let's roll.
Final episode of 'Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian' drops on Halo Waypoint tomorrow
Tomorrow, the final installment in Halo Waypoint's ongoing four-part motion comic, "Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian," will be available. The comic -- which is written by Frank O'Connor and animated by ONE -- centers around ODST Baird, last remaining human survivor on the UNSC ship Destroyer. Baird must stop the invading Covenant forces before they discover the location of Earth and all of its Burger Kings. What? You didn't know the Covenant loves their chicken parmesan sandwiches?
Vodafone promises Nexus One 'in a few short weeks'
Nexus One's vague Europe-bound release window has tightened up quite a bit. A Vodafone spokesperson said the Google Phone is coming first in the UK and -- here's the kicker -- within "a few short weeks." France, Germany, and a few other unnamed companies are following after later in the year. Enjoy your new Android device across the pond, ladies and gents.
Live from Google's Android press conference
We're live at Mountain View for Google's super-secret Android press conference. Sure, we've got a pretty good idea what'll be announced here (note: it's probably not multitouch capabilities on Maps), but you never know, there might be a few surprises in store. The whole shebang is supposed to go down in just a little bit, so stay tuned!
Google Nexus One stands with iPhone and Hero, interface gets a 5-minute walkthrough
The Google Nexus One trickle continues. Today's two menu items include a 5-minute demonstration of the Android 2.1 interface -- shaky, sure, but it's a pretty thorough rundown of all the menus. We're also serving up some low-resolution picture comparisons of the Nexus One laying side-by-side with the iPhone and HTC Hero. It still eludes us how all these leaking parties don't seem to have in their possession a decent DSLR or camcorder (feel free to give us a buzz, we'll gladly help out). Video after the break. %Gallery-80805%
Another Google Nexus One sighting, this time a wee bit more clear
How a phone given to thousands of employees still manages to be nothing more than an occasional blip on the internets continues to boggle our mind. This latest Nexus One / "Google Phone" sighting comes care of two Twitter chatters -- @djrobrob and the less protected account of @phillm. It's the clearest shot of the interface we've gotten, and given our previous go-to videos have been subsequently pulled, the best "motion picture" interpretation we've got -- take a look for yourself after the break. %Gallery-80730%
Outnumbered presents an interesting twist on iPhone multiplayer
Veiled Games sent word of their new game, Outnumbered [iTunes link], on the iPhone app store, and it seems intriguingly different. It's basically a multiplayer arcade game, which pits two iPhones or iPod touches against each other via Bluetooth. One player takes over the role of the O.N.E., a singular robot armed with weapons and special attacks, and the other player controls M.A.N.Y., which is a top-down view where you can control waves of attacking units and robots. The two players duke it out, with the first controlling his robot around the arena, and the second overseeing the armies and buying new units with collected currency. When the single robot is dead, players switch sides, and whoever earns the most points while fighting (for attacking, moving, or a few other criteria) wins the game. Interesting idea. Of course, you'll need a friend with their own iPhone or iPod touch to do all of this, and you'll have to be in the same room, as the connection only works (so far) over Bluetooth. If you're still confused as to how it all works, there's a nice tutorial video up (although that voice gets to be a bit much after a while) that explains how the game goes down. Most of the big iPhone titles we've seen this year mostly focus on single player gaming, so it's cool to see an attempt like this to try something that more than one player can share. Outnumbered is available in the App Store [iTunes Link] right now for 99 cents, and a lite version (that will allow a second player to play along, although one of the two players must own the full version) is due out soon.
Motorola Opus One caught on video, dawg
It's pretty rare that a tech demo starts with the phrase "you know what I'm gonna do?" But, this one certainly does, a dark, shaky, but thoroughly comprehensive exploration of the recently rumored Motorola Opus One smartphone. Jive- or profanity-averse readers (or anyone who hates zebra cake) will probably want to skip the four videos embedded below, but we'll give you the highlights: iDen is confirmed, Android 1.5 Cupcake is currently installed with Motoblur frosting, there's a five megapixel camera on the back, and with its push-to-talk this one looks to be going to Nextel or Boost Mobile. Those are the deets, but click on through if you want to do that video, dawg. [Via iNicc0lo]
HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated)
Well lookie here. A little phone by the name of "NEXUSONE" just slipped through the FCC as model number PB99100 built by HTC. The filing also confirms a few more details including microSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. But the real news comes from looking at the radios: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with UMTS/HSUPA on 850/1700/1900 frequencies. In other words, this 3G phone is capable of both 2Mbps up and 7.2Mbps down for both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks in the US of A. If this device is sold unlocked (as rumored), at a reasonable price (as hoped), and with a jaw dropping user experience (as tweeted), well, it could be very disruptive to the status quo. Then again, that's a lot of ifs. Update: We're going to pull this back a bit. So far the FCC has posted a trio of reports this morning for the Nexus One but the outcome is inconclusive based on our own continued research and from the discussion in our comments. According to the bands listed (I, IV, and VIII) we're definitely looking at a T-Mobile USA device as well as applicability on European networks (among others). The whole AT&T range is in doubt as the test lab incorrectly lists 815-880MHz frequencies as part of band VIII. Hold tight as we dig deeper. Update 2: Only WCDMA Band IV was tested in the Part 22H / 24E / 27 Report, leading us to believe that the Nexus One is going to be HSPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 (a pretty common tri-band 3G setup) plus quadband EDGE. Sorry, AT&T, but that's how the cookie crumbles.
Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)
Look familiar? For a story that broke on Twitter it's only fitting that the first reported picture of the mythical, magical "Google Phone" (AKA, Nexus One) would appear there as well. The tweeted image above appears courtesy of one Cory O'Brien, an account manager at a San Francisco Bay Area marketing agency that does not list Google as a client. That note of caution aside, the image above is an exact match to that leaked HTC Passion / Bravo image from October, only this time lacking the HTC logo on the top-side bezel. Besides the pic, O'Brien tweets that the "Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android." Granted, none of this is confirmed yet, but with Google releasing so many of the devices as part of its "mobile lab" concept, well, we expect to see plenty more sightings in the run up to the rumored January launch. Update: A quick search for "nexus one" on Google's Picasa photo service reveals several pictures taken with a camera pegged as the HTC Nexus One in the EXIF data. The very first of these geotagged 2592×1944 pixel (that's a 5 megapixel sensor folks, hardly "weirdly large" as described by TechCrunch) images were taken by user Bradley (who just happens to be a Picasa friend to Sergey... hint) in the SF Bay Area on November 27th. A few are clearly lit by an onboard flash as well. In fact, many of the pics appear to be taken from within Google's offices and at Google sponsored events. The quality is not exactly spectacular and that won't likely change in the final product because even Google's bound by the laws of physics when it comes to tiny cellphone sensors. Update 2: The device seems to have been around earlier with an EXIF identifier of "Phone88." Fortunately, Google's own employees have uploaded pics of the device, by the device, for us to marvel at -- so meta. Check the gallery for the images or a quickie close-up posted after the break. %Gallery-80187% [Thanks, Alberto and Aaron C.]
Acer's Ferrari One netbook now available -- might not help you get a date
You're probably already fairly familiar with Acer's foray into speedy netbooks with the the Ferrari One -- the 11.6-incher we found to be slightly underwhelming when we got our hands on it back in September. Still, the famous branding and the red hot lid is sure to be a draw for some, and other than that, this laptop boasts an 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU, an AMD M780G chipset, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 graphics, plus WiFi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN and a 6-cell battery. It'll run you about $600 to grab one up and it's available now. Full press release is after the break.
Chumby One now on sale
Looks like the new Chumby One just snuck its way into the Chumby store, with a listed ship date of the 25th. The One might not be as cuddly and adorable as the OG model, but it's got a slightly faster 454MHz processor, a battery for on-the-go use and a lower $100 price tag, so we're not complaining -- especially since you also get an FM tuner, a dedicated volume knob, and a 2GB microSD card in the package. On the other hand, the Classic still comes with a free set of Chumby Charms, so this could be a tough decision for you.
New ONE Power-Up game card acts as currency in 21 games
An interesting new item arrived at US Rite-Aid stores yesterday, the ONE Power-Up game card from Open Network Entertainment. The card can be purchased at Rite-Aid, and when redeemed on the ONE site, can be used for microtransactions in 21 different MMOs. So what does this have to do with us, as MMO gamers? Well, the ONE cards seem to have several advantages over regular credit card transactions. The cards will net users special perks like discounts, exclusive items, and special access to launches and promotions. This seems like a handy solution for those who don't have a credit card, or don't feel comfortable sending out their credit card information. More significantly, this could mean some big advantages to parents who don't love the idea of handing a credit card over to their MMO-playing children every time they see something in-game that they'd like to have. A fixed, prepaid amount offers less negotiating and more discipline (and could act as a handy reward). Add in the wide array of games available, perks for card users, and a lack of interest fees, and ONE might just have a winner here.
GeeksPhone One in the wild, now packing a physical keyboard
Remember the Spanish-borne Android device GeeksPhone One? It was late June when we got our first (and so far only) look at the phone. Of course we've been wanting some more time, but apparently Xataka's beaten us to the punch, and lo and behold, she's gotten herself a shiny new physical keyboard. The site stresses that the user interface isn't done and the icons temporary, but does note that the keyboard is comfortable and the total weight and size is apparently comparable to the HTC Dream / Ion / MyTouch 3G. Additionally, our compadres at Engadget Spanish have read that One's release been pushed back from fall until sometime in January. We'll certainly be keeping an eye out, but given the bevy of Android options on the horizon, we can't promise we'll be waiting. Read - One in the wild Read - One delayed until January
Mission One electric motorcycle surpasses 150 MPH, heading to Snake River Canyon
It was no idle boast when Mission Motors claimed that its Mission One all-electric motorcycle could reach 150 MPH speeds. In fact, the company's showing in the 2009 BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah has proved all this and more, with the bike hitting single pass speeds as high as 161 MPH, and a two-pass average of 150.059 MPH, setting the Land Speed Record for Electric Motorcycles in the process. And this isn't a vehicle that taunts you, forever unavailable, like Evel Knievel's rocket-powered cycle. No, this is a production prototype featuring the same powertrain that customers can look forward to shelling out close to $70,000 for when it becomes available sometime next year. But don't take our word for it, peep the video for yourself after the break. [Via AutoBlog]
Acer Ferrari One hands-on, and more from AMD's VISION event
Despite the infamous logo and hot red lid, Acer's Congo-based Ferrari One "ultrathin notebook" (read: netbook) managed to blend in rather well among a number of other laptops (at least 15, by our count) on display at AMD's VISION event yesterday. The chassis felt pretty sturdy and the keys had the right amount of bounce... and we'd love to tell you more, but like all but a handful of portables on display, it was resolved to play the same video over and over again, refusing to acknowledge our key-pressed directives. We also decided to take snapshots of the entire display lineup, although more than a few here are previously-seen models -- it was pretty much just a rebranding, after all. See them all for yourself in the galleries below! More Galleries Acer ASUS HP MSI Toshiba
