Intel invests $8 billion in new chip factories
Intel is investing a cool $8 billion (a shade over £5 billion) in new chip manufacturing plants in the US, with the focus on developing increasingly small 22-nanometer chips. Intel's latest investment will see upgrades to its factories in Arizona and Oregon, in addition to an entirely new fabrication plant in Oregon.
RIM boss hits back at Steve Jobs
Blackberry manufacturer RIM's co-chief executive has hit back at Steve Jobs recent attack on his company and products. Research In Motion's Jim Balsillie was responding to comments made by Steve Jobs earlier this month, in which Jobs said he could not see RIM catching up with Apple in the smartphone market, taking some time out to trash the idea of a 7-inch tablet PC at the same time. RIM is of course readying its very own 7-inch tablet PC, the PlayBook.
Get Online Week Should Also Be Get Offline Week
For those not in the know, Get Online Week has a simple and self evident message: a one week drive by some of the largest brands in the UK to try and persuade some of the estimated 9.2m Brits who have never used the Internet to take that brave first click. Partners behind the scheme include the BBC, Post Office, BT, Google, Sky, 3, PriceGrabber, Microsoft, Facebook, McDonalds, TalkTalk, Directgov, ITV, Comet and the Daily Mirror.
HP Unveils WebOS 2.0, Palm Pre 2 on the Way
When HP bought Palm last year it was not certain Palm as a handset brand had much of a future. All is now clear however, as HP has announced the arrival of webOS 2.0, a major update to the Palm OS, and that the Palm Pre 2 will be released as soon as this Friday – in France. The US and Canada will get the handset in the coming months, but there’s no word of UK availability at this time.
The Cheapest 3D Blu-ray Player Costs Just $140
I hear you. You've just spent over a grand on a 3DTV, $400 getting enough glasses for the whole family, and you still need a Blu-ray player for all those 3D films. Samsung's C5900 is now the cheapest, at $140. Of course, you can buy better models out there for another $100 or so, and there's always the PS3 with its upgradable firmware. But, if you're wanting out-of-the-box 3D, with HDMI 1.4, Internet@TV support, BD-Live and Wi-Fi, the discounted C5900 at Amazon will mean you've still got enough dimes left over for some popcorn.
So what now for Symbian?
It's a little heartbreaking for anyone who knows Symbian - or anyone who appreciates good system design - to see its predicament today. It's a bit like gradually watching a divine beauty turn into a neglected and unloved hag in middle age. Through lack of care and attention, Nokia has let those good looks go to waste. Now Lee Miller, chief executive of the Symbian Foundations, has stepped down for "personal reasons", with the Foundation's operations guy Tim Holbrow replacing him with immediate effect.
Mozilla preempts Google with 'open' web app store prototype
Mozilla has released a prototype for what it calls an "open web app ecosystem," a browser-agnostic answer to Google's upcoming Chrome Web App Store. The open source outfit proposes a store that works with any "modern" desktop or mobile browser, offering both free and for-pay apps based on standard web technologies. "The open Web is a great platform for rich applications," reads a blog post from Mozilla man Jay Sullivan. "It would be even better if it had additional capabilities to ease discovery, acquisition, installation, and use of apps, while also enabling monetisation for developers."
Google Street View broke Canada's privacy law with Wi-Fi capture
Google violated the privacy of thousands of Canadians when it inadvertently collected personal information about them with its Street View mapping cars, the country's privacy commissioner has ruled. But the decision not to pursue legal proceedings against the search giant, despite being found breaking the law, has been described as "worrying" by influential privacy groups. Google committed a "serious violation of Canadians' privacy rights" when it accidentally intercepted and stored data including emails and, separately, names of people suffering from certain medical conditions, Jennifer Stoddart, the Canadian privacy commissioner said on Tuesday.
Synchronica Signs Up 10th African Operator
Mass market messaging services provider Synchronica has signed a new framework agreement with a pan-African operator for distribution of the group’s Mobile Gateway tool, bringing its tally of carriers spanning the continent to 10 in total, writes Martin Conway. Under the terms of the agreement, the African operator, whose identity Synchronica declined to divulge, has confirmed purchase orders worth $752,000, and is expected to launch Mobile Gateway across all subsidiaries in the immediate future. Mobile Gateway provides a multi-protocol gateway, combining IMAP, SyncML, ActiveSync, email to MMS and email to SMS, thereby enabling push email and synchronisation to any mobile phone, without the need for the downloading of additional clients.
Gingerbread: Android 3.0 details leaked
Android 3.0 is on the way and while a lot is still unknown about the forthcoming OS, some new leaked information has thrown light on some of the new operating system’s core features. The leaked information, along with one of the blurriest screen shots we’ve ever seen, comes via Phandroid. According to Phandroid, the new Google OS will feature built-in video calling as well as some serious tweaking and improvements to the UI.
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