Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Android Honeycomb
Google, in an interesting but not entirely unexpected twist, will not be open-sourcing Android 3.0 Honeycomb for the foreseeable future.

Historically, Android is usually open-sourced via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) a few days or weeks after the code is finalized. While this departure from the norm won't affect OEMs like HTC and Motorola that have access to internal builds of Android, small-time developers will likely have to wait months before rolling their own distributions.

As to why Google is holding back Honeycomb, its reasons are actually rather rational. Honeycomb, while originally intended to run on all mobile form factors, is only ready for deployment on tablets. "To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs," says Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group. "We didn't want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut."

In other words, Google wants to prevent OEMs and homebrew developers like Cyanogen from rolling their own smartphone versions of Honeycomb -- it doesn't want to see the same bitter-tasting tabletified bastardization that occurred with Android 2.1 and 2.2 last year.

Continue reading Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/google-holds-back-on-open-sourcing-honeycomb-heralds-shift-android/

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Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 Rumored for Nov. 2 Release

The Nokia Lumia 920 is rumored to hit the shelves on Nov. 2, just in time for the holidays. Photo: Noah Devereaux/Wired

Nokia was short on release and pricing details when it announced its two new Windows Phone 8 smartphones, the Lumia 920 and 820, at an event on Wednesday. But now several rumors are pointing to a Nov. 2 release date for Nokia’s flagship Lumia 920.

The handset will be available in the United States on AT&T, according to reports from The Verge and TechRadar. Reuters sources also confirmed that Nokia would start selling the Lumia 920 in Europe around the same time in early November. The Lumia 820 will also ship in the first week of November, rumored to be available through T-Mobile in the U.S.

Other stateside carriers might also offer the Lumia line. Verizon has plans to carry several Windows Phone devices by Q4 of this year, and has been in talks with Nokia, according to CNET, though there’s no word on timing or specific models.

A Nov. 2 release would follow closely on the heels of the formal launch of Windows Phone 8, which is expected for Oct. 29. That would get the new Lumias out for the holiday season, but it would also put the devices more than a month behind the rumored Sept. 21 release for the iPhone 5.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/nokia-lumia-920-rumored-for-november-2-release/

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webOS 3.0 beta now available to developers

hp touchpad webos 3.0
With the webOS 3.0 SDK available for almost two months, HP has now given developers access to a beta download of webOS 3.0 -- which powers the upcoming TouchPad and will likely ride along on HP desktops and laptops in the form of an emulator.

Right now, the webOS 3.0 beta is only available to Early Access developers. The crew at PreCentral states that HP appears to have eased up on access restrictions, however, so hopefully more devs will get on board and those of you who are planning to buy a TouchPad in the next couple months will have plenty of slick webOS 3.0 apps to install on your new tablet.

webOS 3.0 beta now available to developers originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/webos-3-0-beta-now-available-to-developers/

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Music Is Still Too Expensive To Be Free, Too Free To Be Expensive [Spotify]

In this corner, we have recording artists - those beleagured believers clinging dearly to the notion that they can quit their day jobs, just like their tune-slinging forebears did. As many have pointed out, they don't make much per stream from even today's most popular streaming services - about $0.003 from iTunes Match and $0.001 from Spotify, according Josh Davidson, whose September 3 tweet sparked this latest round of speculation. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/P7fzAXh3A2c/music-is-still-too-expensive-to-be-free-too-free-to-be-expensive

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Hydro Flask Vacuum Insulated Steel Growler Review: Big. Cold. Beer. [Happy Hour]

You take beer seriously. You want it as pure as it was the day it left the brewery—untainted with light and heat. You want the best beer possible, and you want to take your time drinking it. Do you want a 64-ounce wide mouth vacuum insulated stainless steel growler? More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Md3iK2cd5r4/hydro-flask-vacuum-insulated-growler-review-big-cold-beer

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Hands-On With Amazon’s New Kindle Fire HD

Playing with fire. Photo: Dennis Provost/Wired

Amazon’s push to sell consumers more content by selling them hardware they can use to buy and consume that content continued on Thursday. At a press event in Santa Monica, the company introduced not only updated Kindles and a beefier Kindle Fire but also three new Kindle Fire HD tablets.

After the presentation, we got a chance to get our nerdy hands on the newest HD version of the Fire. We were impressed.

The is the Kindle Amazon hopes will take on the iPad in the tablet space. According to Amazon, the Kindle Fire currently owns 22 percent of the tablet market. Clearly Jeff Bezos wants more. The new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD feels more like a true iPad competitor. It sheds much of its predecessor’s bulk and delivers a speedier more refined experience. The screen is crisp, with better contrast than the old Kindle Fire. However, while Amazon says that it has reduced the glare on the Fire HD’s display, it’s still a struggle under bright lights.

buttons to the top. Photo: Dennis Provost/Wired

The external button has been moved from the bottom to the top on the Fire HD. And it now sits flush with the case of the tablet, which should reduce instances of users accidentally putting the Fire into sleep mode while propping it up to read a book — an all-too-common occurrence with the previous design. There are now physical volume buttons at the top of the device, too — a welcome improvement over the software-based volume control.

Amazon’s customized Android skin remains, but with tweaks that improve navigation. Sliding a finger from the top of the screen brings up settings, for example, which is much better than trying to tap that tiny gear. The new Coverflow-esque feature that replaces the bookshelf of the current Kindle Fire seems more like a lateral move than a step up, but the Favorites drawer is a welcome addition.

The speakers on the back are hidden within the distinctive black stripe that, even if not intentionally decorative, sets the Kindle Fire HD apart from other tablets. Unfortunately, the noisy airplane hangar where Amazon held its launch event was no good for testing audio performance, so we can’t say anything about the sound.

All these tests were done on the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. Amazon had 8.9-inch tablets out, too, but only in the hands of Amazon employees who were giving demos. The larger Kindle Fires looked stunning, but we had zero hands-on time with them.

The Kindle Fire HD is available for pre-order at $199 for the 16GB model and $249 for the 32GB version. Prices for the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD at 16GB and 32GB are $299 and $369, respectively. There’s also a Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE, which will cost $499 for a 32GB model and $599 for 64GB of storage.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/hands-on-with-amazons-new-kindle-fire-hd/

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Deal of the Day – 23.6″ Asus VS247H-P LED-Backlit Ultra-thin LCD Monitor

LogicBUY’s Deal for Thursday is the thin 23.6″ Asus VS247H-P LED-backlit LCD monitor for $179.14.  Features: 1920 x 1080 full-HD resolution, mercury-free panel, 300 cd/m² brightness, 2ms response time, 50,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 16.7 million colors, VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI connectors.

$219.99 – $40.85 savings = $179.14 with free shipping.

This deal expires September 11, 2012 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY home page for other deals.

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Deal of the Day – 23.6″ Asus VS247H-P LED-Backlit Ultra-thin LCD Monitor originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 6, 2012 at 9:14 am.

Concrete Lamp, Outdoor Bed, and More [Most Beautiful Items Of The Week]

Congrats! You made it to the weekend. And your reward is a host of lovely things to gaze upon. Among the most beautiful items of the week are an amazingly restored farmhouse, a crazy outdoor bed, and much more. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_CpLS8FmKLk/concrete-lamp-outdoor-bed-and-more

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