Friday 23 July 2010

BBC To Launch Mobiles Apps    [ 23-07-2010 16:20 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin   Source: TechRadar     Translation by: Paul Smith     

One very glaring omission from many an app store has been the lack of an official app from the BBC. Just about every other news and media organisation under the sun has their own app, but not Auntie. There were moves earlier in the year to launch some BBC apps for the iPhone, but that plan was shot down in flames after commercial news outlets protested that it would wreck their business models and the BBC Trust put a stop to the plan until it could assess it. Well the Trust has now given the plan the green light and users can look forward to an official BBC News app.

The news app will launch first on the iPhone and iPad and then later in the year on both Android and Blackberry platforms. Why they couldn't launch the app on all three platforms simultaneously wasn't addressed, but better late than never as the saying goes. Erik Huggers, Director of Future Media & Technology at the BBC said:

"We know that increasing numbers of you want to access BBC output on-the-go and the rapid growth of internet-connected mobiles and smartphones in the market means we can cost-effectively provide our content and services on these devices, and this is a really important way for us to deliver online services in the future. The first class journalism that you expect from the BBC is now available to you in a way that is simple, personalised and optimised for mobile devices."

Hopefully this is the first in a range of BBC apps we can look forward to, especially given the BBC's massive archive of content as well as their extensive access and reach into fields such as sport, technology, science, the environment, etc.

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HTC Win Phone 7 Codenames Leak    [ 23-07-2010 16:04 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin   Source: IntoMobile     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Nothing gets you going quite like a good old fashioned leak! It comes in the form of a list of leaked HTC codenames from ROM hacker extrodinaire 'Conflipper'. The story goes that Conflipper is calling it a day in terms of Windows Phone modding and as such he's posted up HTC's codenames for their forthcoming Windows Phone 7 handsets. Conflipper's site, Shipped-ROMS, will no longer be updated and will effectively cease operations although it will remain up and running in its present form for users to access. This came about at the request of HTC who sent a cease & desist letter in the mould of other manufacturers who don't seem to realise the enormous benefit that modding sites and communities bring to their brands.

The list of devices includes Salsa, Motion, Maestro, Swing, Blitz, Sage, Tango, and Vienna. Admittedly the codenames sound like a combination between an evening of dancing  and kids' cartoon characters, but nevertheless it's an exciting list. Mozart has already been confirmed as a Windows Phone 7 device from HTC and ties in nicely with the musical/dance theme we see here. There isn't a massive amount of information available on each handset, but here's what's being bandied around at the moment:

• Maestro - global handset supporting both GSM & CDMA
• Swing, Salsa & Vienna - GSM handsets
• Swing#C, Salsa#C & Vienna#C - CDMA handsets

Of course some, or even all, of these handsets might not make it to market, but they are apparently all current codenames of handsets that are at the very least in the planning stage. It also demonstrate that Windows Phone 7 won't just be a one trick pny for HTC, they look to be embracing it as widely as they have done with Android and Windows Mobile in the past.

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Video: Condescending Apple Press Conference    [ 23-07-2010 15:39 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin   Source: CollegeHumour     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Another day, another Apple parody. You would think the material for parodying Antennagate would have dried up by now, but, in part thanks to Apple themselves, it just keeps flowing. Here we have the fine chaps over at CollegeHumour sending up Apple's recent press event where they promised to give away free bumpers.

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Microsoft Wants Employees To Developer Apps In Their Spare Time    [ 23-07-2010 15:17 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: TechFlash via MobileTechWorld     Translation by: Paul Smith     

You'll remember that yesterday Microsoft was being uber generous by providing all its 90,000 employees around the world with a free Windows Phone 7 device ... well you know the old saying, nothing in life is free. TechFlash has a hold of what they are saying is an internal memo from Microsoft. The memo basically says that Microsoft expects its employees, (you know, the ones getting the free phones) to 'evangelize' the product at every possible opportunity. Ok so that's not unreasonable, especially if they're working for the company that makes the OS powering the phone. However, there's a bit more to it because Microsoft are also expecting their employees to set aside some spare time to develop apps for the platform, and yes I did indeed type 'spare time'. How much 'sapre time' Microsoft employees have, and whether they will want to use it developing apps remains to be seen. Still a free phone isn't bad, even if you do have to look busy using it.

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