What's new on SlashGear.com |
- Phil Taylor Power Play Darts App Mini Review
- $45.8Million Awarded to Lockheed Martin by US Navy for Unmanned K-MAX Helicopter
- Sony Demonstrates Solar Power Window Panels
- Voim Smartphone Concept for the Visually Impaired
- Electronic Chip to Block Pain Signals Being Developed in Australia
- Windows Phone 7 Gets Silverlight Enhanced Movie Apps from Paramount Digital Entertainment
- Five 80s Tech Movies That Deserve a Refresh
- Acer Aspire One 721 Features AMD K145 CPU in Czech Republic
- Google Contacts Now Lets You Restore Deleted Entries
- MeeGo User Interface Shown Off on a Tablet [Video]
- Carbon Design Group’s Domino Clock Concept Uses Huge Domino Blocks to Tell Time [Video]
- SlashGear Google Cr-48 Giveaway
- TRON Skatecycle is DIY Treasure [Video]
- Nexus S Review
- OnLive patent cloud gaming tech
- Google Voice adds iPad and iPod touch support
- Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry released for OTA music downloads
- Apple accused of Japanese iBooks piracy
- SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: December 14 2010
- Nokia 2011 smartphone plans revealed: 1GHz, dual-core & more
- AIDS cure with stem cell transplant found claim German doctors
- Google Chrome OS is “careless computing” warns GNU founder
- Dell Venue Pro delayed until Jan 6 2011
- Toshiba unveils enterprise class SSD
- Hitachi 3TB HDD ships to OEM
- Acer Iconia dual-touch laptop arrives UK on Jan 14 2011 for £1,499
- Nokia E7 delayed until early 2011 [Updated]
- eLocity A7 tablet now shipping
- IBM Watson supercomputer to challenge all time great Jeopardy champions
- Chevy Volt loaded on to car carriers and on way to first customers
| Phil Taylor Power Play Darts App Mini Review Posted: 14 Dec 2010 03:27 PM PST So you like darts, eh? So you’re at a place that both doesn’t have darts and also you’ve got an opportunity to play a game on your iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad with another person, yes? Perhaps a bit of the ol’ darts app is up your alley? Take a peek at Phil Taylor Power Play Darts, a brand spankin new app available in the Apple App Store right this instant. We had a chance to take a peek at this sporty little number today and have a few things to say about it, a few things indeed.
If you’ve ever played darts on any sort of video arcade system, any console, screen, or what have you, you know it can be a tricky situation. Sometimes it’s basically impossible to hit your mark, and other times it’s WAY too easy to NOT get a perfect score. It takes quite the engineer to create a system that’s as challenging as the real deal yet not so complicated it cannot be played and enjoyed. Phil Taylor Power Play Darts is the closest I’ve ever seen to hitting this mark. The controls themselves are the most difficult to understand piece of the entire game, but when you consider the precision it take to throw an actual dart into a tiny hole in a board 10 feet away, you’ll be understanding. You place your finger on the screen where you’d like to hit, wait for the undulating circle to hit the perfect toss, lower your finger on the screen and flick it upwards. Sounds easier than it is. Graphics are great, if not really weird (look at those weird dudes!), games are plentiful, and I ALWAYS like a game that allows for two players on an iDevice (there aren’t enough of them, I say it and I say it again.) Take a peek at it in the Apple App Store today.       
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| $45.8Million Awarded to Lockheed Martin by US Navy for Unmanned K-MAX Helicopter Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:52 PM PST You love war, right? Everyone does. You know who does the most? Robots. Robots love to go to war because even if their body is destroyed, their mind can be transferred back to the mainframe. It’s a fact. Building on that idea (or not) is Lockheed Martin, now creating a helicopter that’ll run entirely unmanned. The contract they’re working on is called K-MAX and this helicopter’s been given a $45.8 million dollar go-ahead by the US Navy.
Lockheed Martin Aviation Systems vice president Dan Spoor says of this helicopter project: “The K-MAX UAS was specifically designed for the battlefield cargo resupply mission. K-MAX’s capabilities directly answer the Marine Corps’ requirement to augment ground and air logistics operations, supplement rotary-wing assets and keep warfighters supplied and out of harm’s way.” Of course, I and we, our first question should be – what’s the point of war if noone’s lives are put at risk? The contract given to Lockheed Martin is set to have them create TWO K-MAX vehicles and three remote control ground stations for the Marine Corps to do a “Quick Reaction Assessment.” Think Tony Stark showing the troops that scatter bomb and giving them drinks. Similar thing. This aircraft is capable of carrying more than 4000 pounds of cargo at 10,000 feet and 6000 pounds at sea level. An intermeshed rotor system is employed to get rid of the need for a traditional tail rotor. No more rockets to the rear end for these flyers! This system also improves lift and reduces maintenance costs. A four-hook carousel is used to allow multiple supply drops as well. Features and features. Terry Fogarty, Kaman Aerospace Unmanned Aircraft Systems general manager notes: “K-MAX is the optimal choice for an affordable unmanned cargo delivery capability. With reduced operational and logistics costs, increased fuel savings and less manpower required compared to a ground vehicle convoy or manned helicopter, the K-MAX is the lowest-risk solution for the mission.” [Via i4U]
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| Sony Demonstrates Solar Power Window Panels Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:11 PM PST Take a look at this flower power right here. This is what Sony calls Hana Mado (aka Flower Power), a solar panel that uses screen printed dye to generate custom designs for windows. What’s that? windows that double as solar panels? I’ll take them all, thank you. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) in any color combination and design you like. For the demonstration at Eco Products 2010, Sony attached a tiny cute fan to an approximately 10 inch(?) panel that when light was introduced turned, and when light was taken away, stopped. In my walls and in my car next too, please?
Sony says that the tech costs less than the average solar technology today and it installs easily into already existing buildings. Neato! Sony says it cannot say when these cells will be available commercially. Let’s hope for asap. [Via EcoFriend]
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| Voim Smartphone Concept for the Visually Impaired Posted: 14 Dec 2010 12:24 PM PST Behold a concept for a phone by the name of Voim (seeing in Korean.) This phone is designated as a smartphone by its designers Youngseong Kim & Eunsol Yeom, working both with braille via a full face silicon panel on the front and a camera and earpiece on the back. A simple concept whose implications are fantastic: the front of the phone changes form as new screens are reached, braille dots prodding upward into the panel for simple reading by the visually impared. And what’s the camera and earpiece for? Such lovely things!
As with many smartphones of this modern age, there are functions in this one to use the camera on the back to identify objects. When a new object is identified (for example, a box of cereal), the name or otherwise simple identifying set of words are delivered to the user via the Bluetooth earpiece. This same process is used as the phone is hung around the users neck and the camera is employed as a sort of radar device, telling the user what lies ahead. Thirdly, you can use the camera on this phone to translate text into braille instantly – radical! [Via Yanko Design]
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| Electronic Chip to Block Pain Signals Being Developed in Australia Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:55 AM PST Researchers in Australia are working on helping those in the world who suffer from chronic back pain with a chip that’ll block that pain from reaching the brain. They’ve yet to try the device on humans, but they’re confident that it’ll work. I should hope so! Also this sort of thing frightens me. What happens if you get a giant stick jabbed into your back and you can’t feel it? What then, science? You’ll have stick-back syndrome. But this device will be more precise than all that – blocking only the pains that are useless to the human brain, the kind that never go away.
This chip was designed by biomedical, electrical, and mechanical engineers in Australia and will be inserted into the body with a biocompatible device (so your body doesn’t reject it.) The device will be sewn into a 1.22mm-wide polymer yarn fixed with electronic wires. Each of these wires are sewn directly unto the human spine without causing a bit of damage. The device is hooked then to a separate device which contains a wirelessly chargeable battery and a processor so that the initial device can be monitored and its output adjusted as necessary. This device is being developed by NICTA CTO implant technologies and is about the size of a matchbox. In addition to helping with chronic back pain, this device, NICTA says, could help with leg pain, pain from nerve damage, migraines, Parkinson’s disease tremors, and epileptic seizures! [Via Nexus404]
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| Windows Phone 7 Gets Silverlight Enhanced Movie Apps from Paramount Digital Entertainment Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:28 AM PST So Paramount has decided to release some movies, each one of them individually, as apps on Windows Phone 7. How will this work? Each movie (starting, strangely enough, with the Jack Black movie “School of Rock”) will release by itself as an “enhanced” movie app, each of these apps containing the full movie plus bonus features and “unique experiences not available on other platforms.” Other movies coming up soon are Zoolander, Waiting for Superman, and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Clearly they’re trying to find the most random movies they could possibly think of to… cast a wide net?
These movie apps are set to be utilizing Windows Phone 7′s Silverlight technology. Geremie Camara, Vice President of Product Development for Paramount Digital Entertainment had the following to say: “Through our relationship with Microsoft, we’re able to provide consumers new, enhanced ways to enjoy movies from anywhere on Windows Phone 7. Using Silverlight technology and adding interactive and social networking features, our enhanced movie apps transform the movie viewing experience into a true entertainment experience.” Features in these movies include the ability to create custom clips, view the movie with pop-up-trivia (HOORAY, POP UP VIDEO FOREVER) – powered by “Scene It?”, and Movie Info including “dentify actors, objects, music, and places in the movie, while providing rich, contextual information, such as bios, descriptions, and even maps to the locations.” Starmaps! Neato! But will it float? We’ll see.
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| Five 80s Tech Movies That Deserve a Refresh Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:11 AM PST With Tron: Legacy rebooting the aging 80s sci-fi film, I started thinking about other movies from the 1980s that could use a refresh, if not a long-awaited sequel. These were usually a mix of fantasy and technology, some with a vision of the future, and others with a bent perspective on what was technologically possible. None of these have ever had a feature film sequel, though there may have been occasional TV spin-offs and such. Here’s my list, in no particular order.
1. Weird Science Why has there never been a sequel or remake for Weird Science? By far John Hughes’ geekiest movie, Weird Science was one of my favorite pseudo-sci-fi movies of the 80s. Gary and Wyatt (Anthony Michael Hall and, uh, that other guy) use a computer to “create” a perfect woman. They end up with Kelly LeBrock, who was pretty close at the time. But instead of simply using her for nefarious, sexual purposes, she actually tries to teach them how to be more confident and endearing to women. Only in an 80s John Hughes movie would two losers create a supermodel who helps them land serious relationships. Bill Paxton does an awesome job as Chet, Wyatt’s bully of an older brother, and Robert Downey, Jr. even shows up for a bit-part in this 1985 classic. Perhaps Al Pacino’s clunker “S1mOne” took this concept to its next level, creating a character who was entirely virtual, but I always liked the somewhat Frankenstein conceit of Weird Science. This movie was created before cloning, stem cells, and most genetic research had reached the popular zeitgeist, and well before digital effects were the norm. I’d love to see this movie reimagined for modern times. Get Andy Samberg and, uh, some other guy to play the lead roles. Avoid the temptation to do some gender bending with the plot. It worked when two guys created a supermodel woman. Seeing two geeky girls create their ideal man with Ryan Reynolds (wait, did that guy really win an award for sexiest man?) teaching them how to appeal to men would be creepy. 2. Electric Dreams In Electric Dreams, Miles buys his first computer, complete with a home automation kit. Of course, home automation never actually caught on, so even today we don't control our blender or our lights from our computers, but in 1984, this seemed entirely plausible. In any case, one night Miles spills champagne into his computer, and it comes to life. Then, as all artificial intelligences must, it starts giving him advice on how to woo women. I’m sensing a theme in 80s tech movies. Apparently, early prognosticators knew that technology would be most useful for dating first, productivity second. At first, the computer helps Miles hit on his neighbor, played by Virginia Madsen, but soon the computer decides it must have this pretty cellist for itself, and hilarity ensues. It starts to rebel and wreak havoc on Miles’ life, even putting him in physical danger. This movie came out not only before Facebook and eHarmony, but also before we had microchips in our refrigerators or DVRs. Of course, today’s version might have the computer devilishly causing Miles to miss the finale to Lost, but I’d take a look into the near future and give the computer control over Miles’ social networks, his phones, maybe even an electric car or two. Hilarity ensues, indeed. 3. Runaway Did you know Magnum P.I. once made a movie? And the evil villain was Gene Simmons from Kiss? It’s true, and that movie was Michael Crichton’s 1984 sci-fi thriller Runaway. Runaway is about a cop from the near future who chases down evil robots. No, it’s not Blade Runner. These aren’t evil humanoid robots, they’re more like robot spiders, or robotic bullets. In a way, Runaway still resonates today. Most of the robots Selleck’s character tackles are industrial. A crop harvesting robot. A construction robot. But things get cooler when Selleck uncovers a maniacal genius who is creating evil robots that can hunt and kill people. Sounds like a plot for this decade if I ever saw one. We’re running wars and factories with evil robots already. And none of the robots in Runaway could fly, they could only creep around on tiny legs. Plus, I never understood why Tom Selleck couldn’t hold down a lucrative career in movies that didn’t involve babies and Steve Guttenberg. 4. Deadly Friend In 1986, Wes Craven directed a horror movie about a nerdy kid who lives with his own robot. He befriends a cute girl next door, and she becomes one of his only friends. Then, a series of accidents disrupts his life. His robot is smashed by a horrible neighbor, and his friend is accidentally killed by an abusive father. So, he does what any of us would do. He plucks the robotic brain from his toy and implants it into the corpse of his dead friend. It’s sort of a Monkey’s Paw story for the digital age. Of course she comes back, but she’s more mechanical monster than girl next door. Hilarity ensues. Oh, wait, not hilarity. Horror. She starts killing people. This week, a college professor implanted a camera into his own head. That’s not a movie plot, that’s the life some idiot is now living. If that doesn’t scream for a Wes Craven horror adaptation (pun intended), I don’t know what does. This movie needs some nanotechnology, some cool digital effects and just the right bit of irony and social commentary that Wes Craven can bring to the table. 5. War Games Again, how have we not revisited War Games? This movie is not only a classic, it’s even more timely today than it was in 1983. Remember when you could hack into NORAD with a 1200 baud audio modem? Neither do I, but it sure looked cool. In War Games, Matthew Broderick hacks in to impress a girl (Ally Sheedy, no less), but then an artificial intelligence takes things too far and tries to start a Global Thermo Nuclear War. Today, more bits of our military are computerized and robot controlled than ever. Hacking is now part of the government war effort, and the largest document leak in U.S. history might have come from a disgruntled soldier. Time to dust off the old WOPR, I say. I would make this one a real sequel, in the vein of the recent Wall Street sequel. Surely, Matthew Broderick’s David went to jail for his crimes. Let’s start when he gets out and becomes a consultant for the pentagon. He creates his own artificial intelligence, perhaps named for the girl who decided to date guys in college instead of waiting for him to be released. Maybe even flip the tables and have the computer try to stop David from rearranging her Netflix queue or screwing up the daylight savings time on her iPhone alarm clock. Bonus: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off At its heart, Ferris Bueller is a movie about a hacker. His sister got a car for her birthday, he got a computer. So, he uses the computer and a synthesizer to convince his mother he’s sleeping. He hacks into the school to give himself more available sick days. He changes grades. He eventually tries to hack his friend’s Ferrari to roll back the odometer. Hilarity ensues. I’d love to see this again for a modern age. Today, the hackers always learn a lesson in the end. There is always a price to pay. In Ferris Bueller, it was the authority figures who learned a lesson. His sister learned that being so uptight was keeping her from living her life. His friend learned to confront his father. His principal learned not to keep child porn on his computer. Everybody learns a lesson except Ferris, who simply wants to have a good time. That’s the sort of movie we need to reintroduce. That’s the lesson from the 1980s that we need to relearn today.
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| Acer Aspire One 721 Features AMD K145 CPU in Czech Republic Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:09 AM PST It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s not so rare that we’re shocked to find an unannounced chip supposedly making its way into a very announced laptop. The Acer Aspire One 721 originally launched with the Nile line of AMD processors, which are said to offer better performance and battery life than their Intel competitors. The Aspire One 721 is able to play back HD video, and it has plenty of performance under the hood for quick operations. However, with the upgraded chip, it looks like the laptop could get even better.
The new, upgraded version of the Acer Aspire One 721 is listed on a product placement page, but only in the Czech Republic right now. The listing has the Aspire One 721 featuring an AMD Neo K145 CPU. As far as features for the chip go, it seems to be pretty similar to the K125, however the total clockspeed of the processor is 1.8GHz, and not 1.7GHz. It also features 1MB of L2 cache. As far as total power draw, it’s listed at 12W. As far as the rest of the laptop goes, none of the features have changed. It still has a 11.6-inch display, with a resolution of 1366 x 768, GB of DDR3 memory, a 6-cell battery, and integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi. There’s also a 1.3MP camera, and Bluetooth connectivity. [via Liliputing]
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| Google Contacts Now Lets You Restore Deleted Entries Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:37 AM PST Google is definitely in tune with users. At least, that’s the way it looks. After announcing that you can actually “unsend” an email you didn’t mean to send, the search giant is now letting users of Gmail restore contacts to those they’ve put into Google Contacts. Mistakes happen, right? Well, now you can recover those contacts you might have deleted by accident, as long as it’s within the last 30 days that you hit that delete button.
The new feature has already been added to Gmail, so users won’t have to wait on some lengthy roll out process. The idea is pretty simple: those of you out there who use Google Contacts will be able to head into the “More Actions” sub-menu, and from there select a variety of options for restoring contacts. Whether it was because you deleted them by accident, or you removed them because you never thought you’d talk to them again, only to find out you desperately need their number, you now have the option to bring them back to your contact list. Options for a time frame are pretty wide. You can restore from 10 minutes, all the way to 30 days. The bulleted options stop at one week, but thanks to the custom option, you can put an exact day in there, if you know what it is. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your Google Contacts from that day. So, if you’ve added contacts since the date you’re restoring, they’ll be deleted. So, if you’ve got contacts in there now that didn’t exist then, make sure to write down their contact information, or you’ll be finding yourself restoring yet again. [via Google Gmail Blog]
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| MeeGo User Interface Shown Off on a Tablet [Video] Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:18 AM PST MeeGo is still a work in progress, but at least with these little tid-bits, we get to see how that work is coming along. Even if this video doesn’t show everything we’d like to see, and it’s probably missing a few extras from Nokia themselves, we do get to see some homescreen action, menus, and even Mozilla’s mobile Fennec browser. The look and feel of MeeGo, as far as the “demo” goes on this tablet device, seems to be a bit of an upgrade over previous iterations.
However, there’s a few pieces that seem to have been brought over from the N900 and the Maemo 5 User Interface on that device. One thing we’re happy to see, though, is the usage of multitasking. It is similar to that of Maemo 5, but there’s nothing wrong with that. This seems to be just the bare mobile Operating System, so we’re still missing what Nokia might include, or make better in their own eyes. In any event, go ahead and check out the video below. [via GottaBeMobile]
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| Carbon Design Group’s Domino Clock Concept Uses Huge Domino Blocks to Tell Time [Video] Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:48 AM PST If you’re a fan of dominos, then maybe you should take a second look at these huge blocks. Not only can they be hung from a wall, but they will also stand on their own somewhere in your lovely abode, all the while telling you the time. Thanks to Carbon Design Group, this new Domino Clock is a concept that, if everything goes to plan, will be made into a real working clock in the early part of 2011.
The concept design is a pretty simple one. It’s three dominos, put right next to one another, which are connected wirelessly. The dots on the face of the blocks are what tell you the time. The articulated “dots” will flip back and forth, and create the design on the front of the block to tell you the time in hours, and minutes. Right now, as we mentioned above, the Domino Clock is regrettably just a concept design, but the folks at Carbon Design are planning on making it a real thing in 2011. They plan on hanging it up on their office wall. Of course, we hope they start dreaming a bit bigger, and offer it to the general populace. It really would make a great wall ornament in the office. [via Yanko Design]   
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| SlashGear Google Cr-48 Giveaway Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:33 AM PST Notebooks running Google Chrome OS aren’t expected to hit the market until mid-2011, so until now the only way to get your hands on a Google laptop is to sign up to the search giant’s pilot program and hope you get picked to try out one of the 12.1-inch ultraportables. Now, though, there’s another way: Google has given us five Cr-48 notebooks to give away, three for SlashGear readers and two over at our sibling site Android Community.
To take part, all you have to do is sign up as a fan of the SlashGear Facebook page, and share the link to this competition on your Facebook wall with a post saying why you want a Cr-48 notebook. Remember, Google is pushing their cloud apps in a big way with Chrome OS, and the Cr-48 is all about cutting ties and going mobile. We’ll draw the first SlashGear winner at random on Thursday December 16 2010 at midnight PST, the second on Friday December 17 at midnight PST, and the third on Sunday December 19 at midnight PST. Unfortunately, due to the terms of Google’s pilot scheme, only US entrants can be accepted. Good luck! Rules: Competition is open to residents of the US over the age of 18. Family members of Google and SlashGear/Android Community are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear Facebook page; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized. One entry per person (and yes, we check). Winners of the SlashGear Cr-48 giveaway are ineligible to win the Android Community Cr-48 giveaway, and vice-versa. The winners will be announced on SlashGear and contacted via email; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, Google and SlashGear. Prize consists of three Google Cr-48 notebooks to be shared between three winners. There is no cash alternative. Should this prize become unavailable, SlashGear and Google reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.
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| TRON Skatecycle is DIY Treasure [Video] Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:32 AM PST For whatever reason, whether it be price or the fact that riding a “real” Lightcycle may not be the safest idea out there, you decided to go ahead and skip the options for picking up a Lightcycle of your own. But if your’e still aching to have something you can ride, and also show off your love for all things TRON, then this Do It Yourself idea from Alon Karpman may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Karpman is a huge TRON fan, and he decided to show it off in New York City. He picked up a Freerider skate cycle, and then went ahead and strung together a few blue LEDs right onto the wheels. He didn’t just go with blue, though. He also made an orange variant as well. Unfortunately, you can’t just go out and buy this great TRON-themed skatecycle. You’ll have to pick up your own Freerider, and then add your own LEDs to it. Check out the video of the TRON Skatecycle making its way around New York City below. [via DVICE]
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| Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:00 AM PST Google shook up the Android world with the Nexus One, throwing down the gauntlet to manufacturers to step up their hardware game and pushing the open-source platform to the bleeding edge of smartphone functionality. Now the search giant is back with its second self-branded device, the Nexus S, a Samsung-made handset with a few unique features of its own. Is this the best Android smartphone today, or just another Galaxy S sibling? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
HardwareWith the Nexus S, Google shifted its allegiance from HTC – who produced the Nexus One – to Samsung. It’s perhaps a timely move, too, echoing Samsung’s recent announcement that the company’s phones have seized the top sales spot in the US Android marketplace. That’s primarily down to the success of the Galaxy S family of devices, a range with which the Nexus S shares significant overlap.
Out goes HTC’s over-engineered metal chassis and matte-finish casing, replaced by Samsung’s glossy black plastic. It’s a design decision that has earned the Nexus S some criticism, but in the hand it doesn’t feel cheap. There are only a few grams between the two devices, but we prefer the lightweight Nexus S and a willing to make the trade-off. Samsung’s weight distribution also makes a significant difference to hand-feel; the HTC-made myTouch 4G feels far heavier, despite only a minor difference on paper, predominantly because of how the handset is balanced.
Up front is Samsung’s 4-inch Super AMOLED display running at 800 x 480 WVGA resolution, just as on the Galaxy S. As ever it’s a beautiful, color-saturated panel with inky blacks and crisp edges; in daily use, there’s little difference between it and the iPhone 4′s Retina Display, despite the Apple handset’s greater resolution. New with the Nexus S is the so-called Contour display technology, a single, curved fascia that leaves the handset with a slight chin. It reminds us of the curve of the Palm Pre, or indeed a revisiting of the original G1 design, finessed to suit Android’s own improvements. Samsung hasn’t confirmed it, but we don’t believe this is Corning’s Gorilla Glass, since from what we’ve heard the company hasn’t made curved panels of their toughened glass suitable for smartphones.
Although it’s not a huge arc, the Contour shape does make single-handed use more straightforward: we were able to hold the Nexus S a little further up and still reach the touch-sensitive buttons – bizarrely in a different order to those on the Nexus One – under the display. Going back to the Galaxy S felt foreign afterwards. The curvature also helps avoid screen scratching, lifting the display off of the table when the handset is placed face-down. On the front there’s a VGA-resolution camera for video calls, while on the back there’s a 5-megapixel autofocus camera.
Hardware controls are limited, with only a power button on the right edge and a volume rocker on the right; no camera shortcut key, sadly. Ports have all been shifted to the bottom of the phone, with the 3.5mm headphones jack next to the microUSB port for charging/syncing. We prefer the placement of the audio port, since it keeps the headphones cable out of the way. Gone, though, are the Nexus One’s dual-microphones, which helped the smartphone with noise reduction, and the color-changing trackball; in fact the Nexus S lacks any sort of LED indicator light.
Also gone is the microSD card slot; peel off the battery cover and you’ll find the SIM reader and a 1,500mAh battery – the same capacity as that in the Galaxy S, but physically a little smaller – but no way to augment the 16GB of onboard storage. It’s unclear whether this is a conscious move by Google to push Android handsets in the direction of Windows Phone (and iPhone before it), a compromise Samsung were forced to make in order to fit in NFC, or something else.
NFC – or Near Field Communications – is the newest of the Nexus S’ wireless connectivity options, and it joins WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 (not, as in the Galaxy S, Bluetooth 3.0) for short-range communication. Cellular connectivity, like with the original Nexus One, supports quadband GSM/EDGE and triband UMTS/HSPA (900/1700/2100): that means T-Mobile USA and broad European/Asian carrier support. Unfortunately it also means no AT&T 3G in the US, and no support for T-Mobile USA’s faster HSPA+. Perhaps, again, it’s a matter of fitting hardware into a finite space, but when Nokia can include pentaband UMTS/HSPA in their recent handsets, we wonder why Samsung can’t do the same. Google may well end up releasing an AT&T-specific Nexus S, but the inability to roam between the two key US GSM networks is a frustrating limitation. Similarly frustrating can be GPS performance; we haven’t observed the dire positioning problems originally found on the Galaxy S, but at times the Nexus S proved simply incapable of getting a GPS lock: we drove for around 30 minutes of open, clear freeway and the handset continued to show “Searching for GPS.” The issue is intermittent, however, with the phone not liking it if you try to get a fix while moving.
It’s a shame, because performance in general from Samsung’s own 1GHz Hummingbird processor is swift and satisfying. It’s paired with 512MB of RAM and 1GB of ROM, and while it may not be a dual-core chip like the Tegra 2 – which we’re expecting to show up in handsets like the LG Star come early 2011 – the Nexus S is still very fast. Google could’ve chosen a Tegra 2 or other dual-core handset to launch Gingerbread, but the Nexus S shows it’s simply not necessary: the Samsung does a fine job showing off the performance of Android 2.3 on a single-core processor. Unfortunately we could only run benchmarking tool Quadrant once – the Nexus S scored over 1,600 – as the app crashed on subsequent attempts. SoftwareWhile Android went through its share of significant updates, particularly in the jump from 1.6 to 2.0, the progression from Froyo to Gingerbread is less dramatic. That’s not to say it’s a meaningless upgrade, of course; simply that Android is already a solid, well-developed platform in its own right.
The Nexus S appeals as a pure Google experience, something many users are looking for in the hope of seeing earlier OS updates, and the untampered Gingerbread UI is the most usable to-date. The color scheme has been tweaked, with the grey status bar replaced by a black version; rather than being merely aesthetic, it also reduces power consumption. The call screen is much slicker than before, and call logs are now threaded like emails; you also get all of Google’s usual Android apps, including the recently updated Gmail app, and the promise of v5.0 of Google Maps with its 3D city rendering and offline caching when it’s released imminently. Demo of Google Maps in Android 2.3 The tweaks continue throughout the OS. There’s a new, dedicated download page which shows everything you’ve pulled down onto the phone, and a new battery page which augments the previous horizontal usage bars with a matrix showing power consumption over the course of the Nexus S’ uptime. It’s not entirely polished, however. On some occasions we were unable to add app shortcuts to the homepage. We’d also like to see the ability to set different times for when the display shuts-off and when the phone actually locks, as on the DROID X. Gingerbread’s biggest change is in text entry and editing, with a refresh both of the on-screen keyboards and of how copy/paste is handled. The latter, despite being something taken for granted on traditional computers, still remains controversial on mobile devices: Microsoft omitted it completely in Windows Phone 7, and it took Apple years to get it right for iOS. Google’s approach falls short of the consistent UI on the iPhone, though it’s an improvement over Froyo. Instead of double-tapping to select a word, the new Gingerbread method is to tap and hold; you then get easily dragged highlight cursors. Unfortunately, it seems the new system is yet to propagate throughout the OS, as some apps continue to offer the old double-tap method.
It’s a shame, because the keyboard is much improved. Google has added multitouch support, meaning you can now hold down a modifier, such as the shift or number buttons, with one finger and tap at the changed layout with another. The keys themselves are a little smaller than on the Froyo layout, though it’s not an especially dramatic change, and Google’s auto-correct and predictive systems are strong and reasonably accurate. Voice control also works well, though you’ll still need a network connection for the servers to crunch your dictation. As with Froyo, Gingerbread supports Flash Player 10.1 for in-page video and games in the Android browser; oddly, though, we had to install the Adobe package ourselves, since it wasn’t pre-loaded. The Hummingbird CPU and Gingerbread’s own enhancements kept things running smoothly, with less of the sluggishness in scrolling and panning that we’ve occasionally seen in 2.2 when using Flash, but also appears to have introduced some issues of its own. Some Flash sites simply refused to work, such as Dropcam’s live video streaming, whereas we had no problems whatsoever viewing them on a Froyo handset. Near Field Communications (NFC)Near Field Communications looks to be one of Google’s key drives for 2011, a short-range wireless technology that will – eventually – allow for two-way communications between devices. We say eventually; at present, all the Nexus S’ chip can do is read tags, such as the Google Places business sticker bundled in our reviewers’ pack. They, Google expect, will be snapped up by companies keen to link their online presence in with the real world – simply run the new Tags app on the Nexus S, hold the phone near the sticker, and you get whatever information is encoded on it popping up on your handset. That could be a link to a website, online video (as in the case of the bundled sticker) or a contacts entry.
(Watch NFC in action in hands-on video below) In the future, though, there’s a lot more potential for NFC. Once Google unlocks the functionality, you should be able to exchange data – such as your contact details – by holding two handsets near each other. You’ll also be able to write to NFC tags, potentially creating your own smart business cards to hand out. There are undoubtedly security concerns still lingering over the technology, but with Google betting strongly on the system there’s plenty of motivation to get that ironed out. Camera & MultimediaAs with the Galaxy S family, Samsung has used a 5-megapixel camera for the Nexus S, complete with auto-focus and an LED flash. The biggest difference is in the UI, with Gingerbread bringing a new camera control layout, which makes much more sense for everyday use. Quality is also strong, a little better than on the Galaxy S, though as ever the low-light performance with the LED flash is heavily dependent on whether you’re in the sweet spot of not-too-close, not-too-far-away. It’s actually easier to get stronger low-light shots with the flash turned off, in fact.
Video, meanwhile, is underwhelming, being limited to 720 x 480 resolution whereas the Galaxy S manages 720p. It’s perhaps a concession to the non-expandable storage – 720p HD takes a fair chunk of memory space – but remains an obvious gap on the spec sheet. Still, the clips the Nexus S can produce are “good enough” for a phone, though you’re unlikely to be replacing your Flip camcorder with the new handset. Nexus S sample video As with the missing 720p support, there have been complaints over the Nexus S lacking either HDMI connectivity or DLNA streaming. While some users will certainly rue their omission, we can’t say we’re particularly disappointed not to have them onboard. Although we’ve had HDMI ports on smartphones before, we’ve only ever used it a handful of times and on several occasions encountered problems with the TV we’ve connected it to anyway. Similarly, DLNA remains a niche option, with consumers uncertain on both what it is and how to use it, and it demands a compatible device (whether TV, STB or other). Neither is a deal-breaker, we’d wager, to most users. The front-facing camera will take stills but, at VGA resolution, they’re hardly impressive. Instead it’s intended for video calls, though the glaring absence is any sort of video chat functionality baked into Gingerbread itself. Apps like Fring and Tango do take advantage of it, however, and will work over WiFi and 3G, unlike Apple’s WiFi-only Face Time. Still, we can’t see video calling on Android reaching a tipping point until Google packages the functionality in the core OS. Phone & BatteryDespite lacking the Nexus One’s microphone array, audio quality on the Nexus S is particularly strong. Callers reported hearing us loud and clear, despite whatever ambient noise was around us, while the Nexus S’ earpiece and speaker were both loud and crisp even at the highest volume settings. Obviously you’re limited to T-Mobile’s 3G network in the US, though you could still use an AT&T SIM for GSM/EDGE calls and data. Another option is VoIP, with native SIP support baked into Gingerbread. You’ll need an account with a VoIP provider, of course, but with that – and assuming your carrier doesn’t mind data use for VoIP purposes – you can bypass regular calls altogether.
Battery life, meanwhile, is also much improved. We’re not sure if it’s the UI tweaks, Gingerbread’s own frugality, Samsung’s power management or something else – most likely a combination of all these factors – but the Nexus S bucks the trend for high-powered Android smartphones to run out of juice sooner rather than later. A full charge from 0-percent to full power took 4hr 15min, and we managed a full day with extensive use without needing to top the Nexus S up. Some apps proved more hungry than others, however, and Gingerbread’s new battery monitoring tools helped pick them out: Twitter app Seesmic proved one such culprit. We’ve spoken with Google about the perhaps excessive full charge time, and have been told that subsequent recharges should be faster as the battery is conditioned. Wrap-UpThe Google Nexus One was a game-changer among Android devices, and it set a blueprint for hardware that has persisted throughout 2010. The Nexus S, meanwhile, has a tougher challenge: a balance between hardware and software that, the search giant hopes, will shape the development and feature-adoption of future Android devices from third-party manufacturers. With Gingerbread, Google has hit the reset button on a worrying trend of increasingly power-hungry handsets, and that’s something we particularly hope new devices continue.
Google’s other big investment will take more time to mature: NFC. With applications limited at present – Google’s Places stickers are currently only available in one trial market in the US – it’s going to be a harder sell for manufacturers than, say, a higher resolution camera or faster processor. Nonetheless, Google isn’t the only company pushing for it: Apple has several patents for NFC-related mobile technologies, such as payments and digital event ticketing, and rumors persist of an NFC-enabled iPhone refresh in 2011, while Microsoft has long been touting NFC in its vision of the future. There’s the potential, then, for Google to shape the NFC field by virtue of being first to market, but only if it can persuade other Android device manufacturers to follow suit. Happily, the Nexus S is a strong contender in the smartphone space whether or not NFC catches on, though it remains to be seen how 2011′s dual-core handsets will change the field once again. There’s a compelling argument for the Nexus S, especially if you want your future OS updates sooner rather than later, but we’re also keen to see how Gingerbread affects the performance of similarly specified Android handsets on the market today. It’s the best Android device around, and a strong alternative to the iPhone 4, but a big part of that appeal is – at the moment – the rarity of the platform it runs. Nexus S unboxing video: Nexus S hands-on:                          
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| OnLive patent cloud gaming tech Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:52 AM PST OnLive has successfully patented its cloud gaming technology, IP which the company describes as “fundamental” to its system of wireless video gaming. Patent 7,849,491 – “Apparatus and method for wireless video gaming” – describes the OnLive system of a remote server running the game itself while a low-power MicroConsole is used to interface with the gamer’s TV and the controllers.
The newly granted patent joins the company’s existing portfolio – which apparently extends into the hundreds – and was originally filed on December 10 2002 by company founder Stephen Perlman. Core to the experience is the latency involved, which the patent describes as less than 80ms but greater than 5ms, so as to enable a “high twitch-action video game.” OnLive began broadly shipping MicroConsoles earlier this month; that was followed by an iPad app earlier this month. A version for Android-based tablets is currently in beta. Press Release:
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| Google Voice adds iPad and iPod touch support Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:39 AM PST Google has released a new version of Google Voice for iOS that now supports the iPad and iPod touch. Following on from the official Google Voice for iPhone launched last month, the updated version allows the Apple tablet and PMP to send and receive free text messages; although they obviously can’t make cellular calls, Google has added Click2Call functionality which lets users trigger a new Google Voice call and choose which of their phones they want to use to make it.
Meanwhile there are also various tweaks and changes made to all versions of the app. These include intelligent shut-off of text forwarding when Push Notifications are active, so that users don’t get duplicate alerts, a universal do-not-disturb option which sends all callers straight to voicemail, and a dedicated Contacts button in the dialler tab. Text messages have also been streamlined, and you can tap and hold messages in the inbox to either archive or delete them. As long as you have an iOS 3.1 or above device you can download Google Voice for iOS here [iTunes link]; you’ll obviously need a Google Voice account too, which are only available in the US.
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| Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry released for OTA music downloads Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:07 AM PST
Downloaded tracks are automatically included in the smartphone’s media library, and you can browse content by new titles, top songs and albums, by genre and by sub-genre. Any BlackBerry 5.0 device or above can run the app, and you can use Amazon gift cards and promotion vouchers toward your purchases.       
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| Apple accused of Japanese iBooks piracy Posted: 14 Dec 2010 07:51 AM PST Apple has been accused of selling pirated ebooks by Japanese authors in its iBookstore, with titles by high-profile authors such as Haruki Murakami and Keigo Higashino among the texts. According to a consortium of Japanese publishers, “some of the works have been deleted in response to requests from authors and publishers but a majority of them continue to be illegally distributed.”
Although not detailed by reports coming out of Japan, it seems likely that the furor has been caused by self-published iBooks content. Apple opened up the iBookstore to self-publishing authors back in May 2010 via iTunes Connect, and – as Amazon has discovered with its Kindle ebook store – it makes a tempting target for unofficial copies of electronic texts. In a statement, Apple said “We fully understand the importance of intellectual property including copyright” and promised to “promptly and appropriately respond to complaints about violation of copyright.”
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| SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: December 14 2010 Posted: 14 Dec 2010 07:23 AM PST Get pumped up with caution! Why? Because they may have found a cure for Aids. Remember though, this study has provided ONE success – not like we’ve discovered aliens here. Learn after that, if you’re a parent how to use technology. Take a peek at final details of Nexus S sales at Best Buy on opening day. Get Lotus Notes on your Android. Get Android 2.3 Gingerbread on your Nexus One. Get futuristic with KAIST selling eight HUBO 2 robots to US and Singapore and get prepared for a wacky day here on the R3 Media Network. Believe that.
R3 Media Network Editor’s Choice Android Community SlashGear To see more wrap-up posts, follow the following tags: [The Daily Slash] or [SlashGear Morning Wrap-up]
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| Nokia 2011 smartphone plans revealed: 1GHz, dual-core & more Posted: 14 Dec 2010 07:08 AM PST Nokia is looking to significant hardware and software updates in 2011 to keep its smartphone lines competitive, with dual-core CPUs, boosted graphics and a heavily modified Symbian UI all promised for the new year. According to Nokia exec Gunther Kottzieper, the company will look to 1GHz processors in Q2 or Q3 2011, as well as increasing graphics memory, to lessen the gap between current Nokia devices and their high-spec rivals.
Meanwhile Nokia is pencilling in dual-core CPUs in Q4 2011 – though that could slip into Q1 2012 – together with a “true zoom camera”. The latter isn’t detailed, but it could well mean a Nokia handset using a proper optical zoom rather than digital magnification, something few manufacturers have attempted. As for software, Kottzieper touched on the previously-vaunted Q1 2011 refresh of Nokia’s Symbian platform, which will apparently see over 50 enhancements including the long-awaited browser update. These will be followed in subsequent quarters by ”a new look and feel for the user interface, a more flexible home screen, an updateable HTML5 browser and an easier software update experience.” We’re working on getting hold of the slide deck from the presentation from Nokia. [via Engadget]
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| AIDS cure with stem cell transplant found claim German doctors Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:46 AM PST As breakthroughs go, finding a cure for AIDS would be pretty high on the list, and that’s what Berlin doctors believe they have achieved. US citizen Timothy Ray Brown was treated for acute myeloid leukaemia in 2007, with doctors carrying out a stem cell transplant using bone marrow resistant to HIV infection. That marrow lacked the CCR5 co-receptor on CD4 cells – to which the most common form of HIV initially binds with – and by replacing all of the patient’s infected CD4 cells, the HIV has seemingly been eradicated.
It seems the combination of chemotherapy and CCR5-lacking stem cell treatment is the key to this particular breakthrough. The chemotherapy – which took place prior to the transplant – killed off most immune cells in Brown’s body, and then the donor CD4 cells repopulated over the course of two years. Various tests – including viral load testing (RNA), tests for viral DNA within cells, and in cerebrospinal fluid – indicated that HIV antibody levels had declined to the point that the patient has no antibody reactivity to HIV core antibodies. Scientists are quick to point out the unusual conflation of factors that led to Brown’s treatment, and that the process itself was not for the faint-hearted, but are hopeful that genetically engineered stem cells could be used in future for HIV cures. “For me” said Dr Gero Hütter, who was in charge of the treatment program, ”it is important to have overthrown the dogma that HIV can never be cured.” [via Derren Brown]
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| Google Chrome OS is “careless computing” warns GNU founder Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:19 AM PST Google Chrome OS may liberate you from fire and awkward little children who dump ice cream on your notebook, but according to GNU founder Richard Stallman it also liberates you from too many of your legal rights. The outspoken Free Software Foundation founder believes that rather than “cloud computing”, Chrome OS encourages “careless computing”, and highlights the fact that the rules over what information police can or can’t seize without a search warrant change depending on where your data is stored.
In fact, Stallman sees Chrome OS as another example of governments pushing for easier access to user data without having to jump through too many legal hoops. “The US government may try to encourage people to place their data where the US government can seize it without showing them a search warrant,” he suggests, “rather than in their own property.” Google, meanwhile, is arguing that users are better served by not having to worry over hard-drive maintenance, local backups and other day to day chores. Indeed, for some users, those benefits may well outweigh any potential privacy concerns. Still, it’s the flipside to cloud computing that we seldom hear about, and could give many Chrome OS users pause for thought before they pick up a machine in mid-2011.
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| Dell Venue Pro delayed until Jan 6 2011 Posted: 14 Dec 2010 05:53 AM PST Dell’s Venue Pro was meant to be hitting eager Windows Phone 7 users’ hands last week, having gone up for pre-order on December 1, but it seems the QWERTY smartphone has been quietly delayed. Multiple pre-order customers on xda-developers are reporting that Dell has updated their shipping estimate to January 6 2011, despite having told several people that the handset had already shipped.
Unfortunately, it seems Dell customer services are tricky to pin down with a consistent explanation for the delay. Excuses so far include “excessive demand” and “a missing part”; meanwhile Dell has seemingly failed to notify many pre-order buyers that there’s a problem, despite the company’s Twitter representatives claiming that “Dell should be calling you regarding this to give you some options.” We’re trying to get Dell’s feedback on the situation to hopefully clear up what’s happening, but it looks like those who expected a Venue Pro under the tree this holiday season will have to make do with a cardboard cut-out until early in the new year. More on the Venue Pro here. [via WMPowerUser]
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| Toshiba unveils enterprise class SSD Posted: 14 Dec 2010 05:47 AM PST Toshiba has unveiled a new enterprise class SSD for the business market that is a 2.5-inch form factor device using 32nm SLC NAND for storage. The SSDs connect to 6Gb/sec SCSI SAS interface and Toshiba plans to make samples available in Q1 2011 with mass production set for the first half of 2011.
The new SSD will be offered in 100GB, 200GB, and 400GB capacities and all of the SSDs fall into the MKxx001GRZB family. The SSDs have nice performance with random sustained read performance of 90,000 IOPs and wire performance of 17,000 IOPS. The sequential sustained read is 510MB/s with write speed of 230MB/s. The SSDs only consume 6.5W of power during operation and have a power efficiency rating of 13,800 IOPS/Watt. The SSDs are rated for five years of use.
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| Posted: 14 Dec 2010 05:13 AM PST
Hitachi is also offering a new kit with the 3TB HDD and the other items like screws and instructions needed for installing a new high-capacity HDD inside an existing computer system. The 3TB HDD spins at 7200rpm and it comes with software to allow 32 and 64-bit OS’ to see and use the entire 3TB of storage. The 3TB kit uses the 6Gb/s SATA port and is shipping this week for $249.99. Hitachi is also shipping a couple new external storage solutions with the Hitachi XL Desktop external drives at $249.99 for 3TB, $169.99 for 2TB, and $99.99 for 1TB.
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| Acer Iconia dual-touch laptop arrives UK on Jan 14 2011 for £1,499 Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:48 AM PST Acer UK has just confirmed to SlashGear release details for the Acer Iconia dual-touchscreen notebook, announced as part of the company’s tablet frenzy late last month. The twin 14-inch touchscreen clamshell will hit UK soil on January 14 2011, priced at a hefty £1,499 including VAT ($2,380).
Your money will get you a Core i5 processor paired with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 750GB of HDD storage. There’s also optional 3G, USB 3.0, VGA and HDMI connectivity, together with audio in/out and WiFi. OS is Windows 7, but Acer has done some extra work fettling the Iconia for dual-display use; there’s a multitouch keyboard, for instance, which is automatically loaded when you place all ten fingertips on the bottom display. A circular shortcut menu and various gesture-based controls have also been loaded. What remains to be seen is battery life, which with two large touchscreen displays could be the Iconia’s downfall.     
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| Nokia E7 delayed until early 2011 [Updated] Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:39 AM PST The Nokia E7 has been delayed until early 2011, missing its December release window. Nokia had been insisting the E7 was on track for retail availability before the end of the year as recently as last month, but unspecified issues have forced the company to postpone that. “To ensure the best possible user experience on the E7 we have decided to begin shipping it in early 2011″ a Nokia spokesperson told Reuters. Update: Nokia comment after the cut
Announced at Nokia World 2010 back in September, the E7 has a full QWERTY keyboard and a 4-inch touchscreen, and was described by the company as the spiritual successor to the original Nokia Communicator. We’re waiting to hear back from Nokia, hopefully with some more details as to the E7′s untimely release. Update: Nokia spokesperson Ray Haddow has given us the following statement:
Ray couldn’t specify which aspect of the hardware was giving Nokia problems, but he did tell us that as far as he’s aware it’s not a major fault and instead something the E7 team were not entirely happy with. Nokia E7 hands-on:
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| eLocity A7 tablet now shipping Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:39 AM PST I mentioned back in October that the eLocity A7 tablet was up for pre-order. The tablet has now started shipping to the users that pre-ordered the thing. The A7 will also be available for purchase at other online locations stating this week.
The online locations include Sears.com, Newegg, Walmart.com, BJs, TigerDirect, and Microcenter. The A7 is a 7-inch screen Android tablet that runs Android 2.2. The machine has an NVIDIA Tegra T-250 processor with dual cores and the 7-inch screen is capacitive touch and supports multi touch. Other features of the thing include 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage, and a USB port that supports as much as 64GB of storage. The tablet also has 1080p HDMI output. The tablet was on pre-order for $370.
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| IBM Watson supercomputer to challenge all time great Jeopardy champions Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:25 AM PST
The contest is set to take place on February 14, 15, and 16 of 2011 and two matches will be played on the three consecutive days. The Watson supercomputer has been designed to compete against humans with the ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy, and confidence. The IBM designers say that the Jeopardy challenge is prefect to test Watson because the game has clues involving analyzing the meanings in irony, riddles, and other complex clues that humans traditionally do well in and computers do not. The prize in the contest is $1 million for the winner, $300,000 for second, and $200,000 for third. The two human players will give half their winnings to charity and IBM will give all to charity.
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| Chevy Volt loaded on to car carriers and on way to first customers Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:08 AM PST We first heard about the GM Volt way back in 2007 and it has taken a really long time for GM to get the Volt ready for delivery to the first round of customers that ordered the extended range EV. GM announced that the first of the Volt’s left the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant yesterday.
The first round of Volt’s are being delivered to consumers in California, Texas, Washington D.C. and New York and will be in the hands of customers in a few days according to GM. The first couple carriers full of Volt vehicles are the first of 160 units that are expected to ship this week. The Volt is good for a total of 379 miles of driving before needing a recharge and a fresh tank of gas to generate more electricity. "Today is a historic milestone for Chevrolet," said Tony DiSalle, Volt marketing director. "We have redefined automotive transportation with the Volt, and soon the first customers will be able to experience gas-free commuting with the freedom to take an extended trip whenever or wherever they want."
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Amazon’s MP3 download store has 
One of the reasons to move from 32-bit to 64-bit versions of an operating system is to allow the computer to see more memory. 
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