IBM celebrates its 100th anniversary today. The company was founded in 1911 and holds more patents than any other U.S.-based technology company.
In 2011, Fortune ranked IBM the 18th largest firm in the U.S., as well as the 7th most profitable. Globally, the company was ranked the 31st largest firm by Forbes for 2011.
What a great way to start off memorial day weekend. Ahead of the “unofficial official” kickoff to the summer, folks are seeing some strange goings-on with their clocks. Namely, those with HTC phones seem to be experiencing time offsets anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Some fix them with manually setting the clock and rebooting, others claim the clock just fixes itself on its own after some time. And we’re not exactly sure how widespread this minor anomaly is. But whatever you do, don’t leave work ready to barbecue all weekend without confirming that the time on your phone is actually accurate. We wouldn’t want you folks getting fired for leaving early or anything. [AndroidForums.com, Thanks Matt!]
You can now start pre-ordering your Motorola Xoom from the AndroidSPIN store today. We have included a video (courteous of WireFly) and some specs of this revolutionary tablet.
Motorola Xoom Specs:
Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
10.1″ HD Widescreen Display
NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz Dual-core Processor
5MP Rear Facing Camera
720pHD Video Recording
and so much more.
Check out the video below of the unboxing
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the AndroidSPIN store and pre-order you Motorola Xoom today. Be the first to experience Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
Wirefly has published their presale plans for T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy S 4G, an HSPA+ enabled follow-up to the Samsung Vibrant You can get the phone a bit cheaper than you would get it from T-Mobile, and it should be on your doorstep sometime next week. Click on through to Wirefly to check it out.
[Update] And now Wal-Mart is starting to get their devices in, though they aren’t allowed to put it up for sale until February 23rd – just like Wirefly. Awesome. Let us know if any of you are planning to grab this up. [TmoNews]
Angry Birds has been teasing us with a Valentine’s Day-themed update. Today, that update went live. A whole new set of levels, teeming with reds and pinks and hearts and all things Valentine. If you already have Angry Birds installed, head for the market and grab the update. And if you don’t, be sure and pick it up from our apps database, or by scanning the QR code below.
Today, Rovio Mobile Limited announced that they have released a new additions to Angry Birds, and no, it’s not the anticipated Angry Birds Seasons Valentine edition. It’s a completely different update, adding 30 new levels in a whole new western themed world called “Ham ‘Em High”. There are a few new bonus items and they’ve even added a graphics toggle for lower end devices, eliminating the needs for Angry Birds lite. The only other thing worth noting in this edition is in the permissions. Looks like Rovio wants access to your SMS capabilities. Now, what on earth can that be for? Take a peak for yourself and note the other additions. Only time will tell what Rovio has up their sleeves. Rovio is definitely keeping busy these days as they are also working on the release of their Angry Birds Rio edition. Hit the break for the permissions list and to check out some more screen shots. Don’t forget to head on over to our apps database if you’re an Angry Birds newbie. Read More…
Just in time for the Super Bowl, Steelers fans can get the famous Terrible Towel, right on their phone. Android owners can get their black and yellow on this Sunday by grabbing the app to show their support for Pittsburg. In addition to being a digital representation of the towel, the app also gives real-time team news, highlights, and tweets from the team. It does require the Adobe Air plugin, so if you have that, you can get the app for .99 from our app database or by scanning the QR code below.
As we mentioned a few days ago, our inbox was graced with an invite from Google to attend their headquarters in Mountain View for an “in depth” look at Honeycomb. And though we’ve seen a bit of the new OS at CES, we’re looking forward to grabbing a bigger tidbit from the event. Well, that day is here and we’re all underway. If you’re not able to attend the event in person, Google will be streaming the event live at 1pm eastern on the search giant’s YouTube page. There’s also a big chance that we’ll hear more on the new online Android Market and music services. Enjoy!
Amazon.com has the Archos 5 500GB Android tablet on sale half-price today only. Normally $499, it’s now on sale for $239. The 32GB flash memory version, normally $379.99 is now 289.96. While these tablets don’t have the full range of Google apps, like Gmail, the market, and maps, and they only come with Android 1.6, they can be hacked in. They do each come with a 5-inch screen and an 800MHz CPU, which makes them very adequate tablets. Do a little reading up on them and see if they might be what you’re looking for, if you’re shopping for a tablet. And if you’ve been waiting for a good deal on this one, today is the day to pull the trigger!
Not familiar with curling? Check out the wikipedia page to learn more.
* Update: Wow. It came down to the final rock in an extra end of play, but we pulled it off. Team McEwen wins their second Grand Slam of the year! *
Like the sport of curling? If you do, or want to check it out for the first time, be sure to tune into CBC television today at 1pm ET (viewers outside of Canada can watch online) to watch Team McEwen take on Team Howard in the finals of the BDO Canadian Open, which is the third Grand Slam of Curling event this season (where the world’s best curlers from around the world play for $$$ and glory).
I’m actually the 5th man (alternate player… if one of the boys is sick or has to miss a game I fill in) for Team McEwen and personally sponsored them this year – you gotta love the CB logo on the jerseys and crackberry.com down the pants! And what a year it has been. The team is sitting at the top of the World Curling Tour money list for the 2010/2011 season, and is also ranked #1 in Canada on the CTRS points system which is used to determine which teams will go to the Olympic Trials to duke it out for who gets to play for Canada in next winter Olympics. Team McEwen won the first Grand Slam of the season, lost out in the semi-finals of the 2nd Slam after going undefeated in the round robin, and are undefeated this week leading up to the finals against Howard, who has the homecrowd advantage with the event being held in Ontario. It should be a great game.
If you’re curious to meet the CrackBerry curling team, I’ve posted a couple of Team McEwen videos below (and yes, everybody on the team is a hardcore BlackBerry user and we have a BBM group to keep things in order). As for the question of can I get a curling game for my BlackBerry? the answer is you used to be able to… Curling Challenge was one of the first reviews I ever wrote for CrackBerry back in 2007 when I played it on my 8700. It looks like the game is no longer available though, so it would be great to see a good curling game hit for the PlayBook!
For more info on the team, be sure to check out mcewencurling.com and you can also follow us on twitter at @mcewencurling. That’s it. Rock on! Be sure to tune into the game!
Dungeon Defenders, the ever popular mobile game, brought to you by Trendy Entertainment, has released a new version of their game bringing it up to v2.0. The new update allows for cross platform gaming between multiple OS’s like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platform. Check out the new additions included in this update with the PDF version of the press release here and let us know what you think in the comments below. And don’t forget, if you grab the game for the remainder of the day, it’s only 99¢. After Jan 19th the price goes back up to $4.99. So, head on over to our Talk Android apps database or check it out on the Android market.
It’s January 10th which means today is the last day of our ShopCrackBerry.com Start of Year Sale. You have until the end of the day to save up to 70% on select BlackBerry accessories. Don’t miss out on this one. And yes, there is FREE SHIPPING on all orders of $50 or more (within continental USA – click for details). Click the image above or link below to browse the deals!
Browse All BlackBerry Accessory Deals at ShopCrackBerry.com
This is a video shot outside Kuroshio Sea, the main tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. The tank is home to an amazing array of sea life, including manta rays and — my favorite — whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. The music, which I think works well with the video, is a song called “Please Don’t Go” by indie rock band Barcelona. The video is embedded below with HD selected, so just switch it to full-screen, sit back and watch.
We’re well into 2011 by now and most of you US-based Galaxy S owners still have yet to see Froyo. (Officially, anyway.) What the heck is going on with that? Samsung’s Twitter account tweeted that they wanted users to have a simple and reliable upgrade – the type of hesitation you’d expect from Samsung considering past upgrades didn’t go too smoothly for a lot of users of their other phones.
The second line of the tweet states that they “[are] running tests due to complexity [and] unique functionality.” Translation: “Getting around TouchWiz is tougher than we thought it’d be.” That’s not really fair to say, though: European variants have had the upgrade for quite some time. Most will tell you that the carriers are to blame, and a lot of that blame does fall on them. Even Sony Ericsson admitted to as much when they hadn’t committed to a date for the Xperia X10′s Eclair upgrade. It’s entirely possible that Samsung is being treated the same way by all four major carriers.
So they still can’t commit to a date, but I think it’s about time we cut them some slack – at least direct some of your anger toward the carriers.
In lighter news, though, the Nexus S could soon be headed to Europe as a device being named the GT-I90003 has recently been approved by the Global Certification Forum. The Unwired’s Arne Hesse has it from a trusted source of his that this device – unlike the Nexus S released here in the states – would be coming with a Super-LCD display as opposed to a Super AMOLED. Doesn’t sound too farfetch’d considering the Russian version is said to be getting the same treatment. The only thing we’re still waiting for is a release date and pricing, but I’m sure that isn’t long off.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy writing, was born January 3, 1892 in what is now South Africa. Best known, of course, for his works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, Tolkien served in the British Army in World War I and was the father of four children, two of whom currently survive. He was also a close friend of fellow author C.S. Lewis, for whose conversion to Christianity from atheism Tolkien was partly responsible — thus one can accurately say that Tolkien was in part responsible for the existence of Lewis’s famous Narnia series, though he (Tolkien) cared little for the books.
So raise a good deep mug of Shire-made beer or a glass of Elven wine — or, if you must, a similar substitute — to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, gone from this world since 1973 but always remembered for the world he brought to life.
Courtesy of a Twitter update from @EAMobile, we just learned that they have put their entire collection of Android powered games on sale for the holidays. If you have been on the fence about purchasing The Sims 3 or NFS: Shiftdue to the 5 dollar price tag, you might want to hop in the market and pick them up today. No indication on when this promotion will end, so I would get them before they are gone. I’ll even help you out with a couple QR codes to get you going in the right direction.
It’s no secret that Gameloft makes some of the best Android games you can get. Usually running $4-$6, Gameloft features a lot of HD games that both look great, and play well. You may remember that they gave away a copy of Dungeon Hunter HD earlier this month. Today’s offer is similarly great, only it’s more reminiscent of Spartacus than King Arthur. Today, and today only, you can get a free copy of Hero of Sparta from Gameloft. If you’ve played Dungeon Hunter, the gameplay will feel familiar — it’s a very similar style. If you haven’t played either, catch the trailer below, or just jump straight to the source link and start downloading! At a price of NOTHING, you can afford to take a risk. (Note: the game may change on you once you select your phone. If it does, just re-select the free game from the list of games toward the bottom of the screen, and begin your download.)
I have a rather huge audience over on ZDNet so I posted an article I have been thinking about for a while regarding the Nokia N8 and the fact that Nokia put technology and capability in it that is not matched with any other smartphone today. You can read my uncompromising Nokia N8 article and see some of the idiotic discussions that people make who have likely never even tried the Nokia N8.
I am currently using my Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy Tab, both on T-Mobile, and have no plans to change to anything else for the foreseeable future. The Nokia E7 does look sweet and if I do anything it will be move to that and pass my N8 to someone else in my family.
Do you agree or disagree with my take on the fabulous N8 hardware specifications and functions?
Looks like our friends on the other side of the ocean might be in store for a treat today. T-Mobile UK has been working with Samsung very closely to help get Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) updates out in a more expedient fashion. This could be a good thing for everyone very soon. If carriers can work with the manufacturers to obtain better results in their always slow update process, then we might all actually be able to keep up with what’s going on in Android instead of waiting months for solutions. Here is a blurb from Barry on the forums.
Our goal is to make the update process smoother and we are working to become the only mobile operator offering FOTA (Firmware over the Air) updates for the Samsung product range. The aim was and still is to have the FOTA update available at some point today. If for reasons outwith our control we are unable to have a FOTA update process fully functioning by close of play today, then we will make the update available for download via Samsung KIES tomorrow (Dec 1st)
Anyone across the pond received an update yet? If not, don’t forget KIES will have it available tomorrow if the project fails.
Alright, I’m on the road watching my brother and sister helplessly try and bump apps which got me thinking… what app or capability am I most eager to share with my family today?
First I’d say the Phandroid/AndroidForums/AndroidApplications app which is well on its way to a public beta. Then I’d say a “secret project” codenamed CC that you’ll likely see a post about in the next couple weeks. But what about public apps that my folks could download themselves?
Here are a quick few I’ve been using a lot lately, and why I’ll share them:
This American Life – definitely family appropriate, this “App” version of the public radio program is stellar. College kids and younger should share this with their uncles, aunts and grandparents to impress them with their maturity level. And trust me, you’ll love it yourself
DropBox is a productivity app I think a lot of people would use/enjoy if the knew how easy it was to set up
City Jump has become my new favorite game to waste time
Groupick is the “app” version of City Jump for me – another fun time waster that isn’t game oriented but instead allows you to answer random questions or pose a question of your own. I’ll share this with cousins who will get a kick out of it.
Although my Droid Pro isn’t an app, I’ll DEFINITELY be showing my review unit to my two Uncle’s who are heavy BlackBerry users. They both need new phones but haven’t seen an Android phone they like based on form factor. They like their BlackBerries but are eager to try out this “Android” they’ve heard so much about. What I’ve shown them they love… but they’re waiting for a more familiar feel. The Droid Pro might be it.
I’ll also be showing them off some sports apps while watching today’s NFL Games. The Verizon NFL App, Sports Tap, Scoreboard by Google and some others. Although today’s games have clear “favorites”, let’s see how many people pick the underdog in these games. Who do you think will win each?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been off to a slow start, and there is no arguing that it is due to its pricing. Want even more proof of this? For a much more manageable £249, those in the UK can snag a 10-inch Tegra 2 badboy running at 1GHz with 512MB of RAM. Actually, they can’t snag it just yet because only a few hours after it went on sale it is already sold out, and won’t be available again until at least next week when PC World and DIxons stock up again.
Another 10-inch tablet with a Tegra 2 chip and a pricetag that could shame the Galaxy Tab is the ViewSonic “G” Tablet. At $399 (the subsidized cost of the Galaxy Tab on a few carriers), a Wi-Fi only version of the device will be available via a Black Friday promotion at Staples. The tablet holds Android 2.2 and features specs similar to the above Advent Vega.
Good to see some companies are managing to pack some decent hardware in at a price that won’t make you cringe too hard.
There’s been a lot written about the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives going on in the United States, on this and many other blogs. If you’re an American geek, you’re probably just as concerned as we at GeekDad are about the current state of science and math education in this country, and if you’re not, you should be. The number of students choosing to study STEM-related fields has been steadily dropping over the past several decades, and we can’t let the trend continue if the U.S. is to remain prominent in the global intellectual community.
To that end, in addition to the efforts of the federal government, it’s great to see the private sector get involved. Time Warner Cable last year launched a $100 million, five-year program called Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) to address the deficiencies in STEM education in the United States. I spoke with Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt yesterday, and it was very reassuring to hear in his voice the commitment the company has to make sure the next generation of Americans is able to meet the challenges of the future.
To that end, CAMM is presenting an online Town Hall today called “Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation,” hosted by Al Gore and with panelists including inventor Dean Kamen, former astronaut Sally Ride and MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, and with students all over the country participating! The Town Hall starts at noon EST, and you’ll be able to submit questions to the panelists via online comment or webcam on the CAMM website.
I highly encourage all of our readers to join in at noon EST today, and to follow CAMM on Twitter to stay abreast of future events. You can watch the Town Hall in the embedded video below [Embedded video has been removed as the event is over. - Editor].
UPDATE: I’ve just received word that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) and Kudo Tsunoda (the creative director behind Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox) have been added to the panel!
UPDATE, AGAIN: If you missed the event, video of it will be made available on the CAMM website.
For all you Big Red customers interested in the Samsung Galaxy Tab running Android, it’s become available today! Verizon Wireless’ version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab goes for $599 without a contract or rebate. A data plan will run you $20 a month.
November 21st looks like the date when AT&T will launch their version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. AT&T’s Galaxy Tab will run you $649, with data plans at $14.99 for 250MB and $25 a month for 2GB of data.
T-Mobile’s Galaxy Tab is already available, and Sprint’s will be available on Nov. 14 for $399 on contract.
Many of you are familiar with Swype. Many of us love it and use it daily. What some of you don’t know is that they are constantly looking to make Swype better and have been beta testing various updates with a selected group of users. This is not the Swype you have installed on your stock or potentially rooted device.
The Beta is up to version 2.10.52.13753, which taking a look at the version I have right now on my Samsung Vibrant (2.8.50.12808), I am pretty far behind. The latest update includes:
Resolved an accuracy issue that was introduced in the last Beta update. New software features supporting additional languages were included in the beta before the test plan for those features was complete (it is a beta after all). Subsequent testing identified the accuracy issue and corrections made. These new tests have been incorporated into our regression testing to prevent future accuracy issues.
Added Double-Tap-to-Edit and Cursor Restore
Added microphone button (QWERTY only. Requires Google Voice Search be pre-integrated in your phone’s ROM)
Added French & EXPERIMENTAL Chinese Pinyin languages
Modified new word priority defaults. The word-choice-window will now be ordered more intelligently when encountering custom dictionary words
Fixed a bug where an extra space would be added when replacing a word by Swyping after opening the word choice window
Improved the “Hidden-Word” dialog handling so it doesn’t show up as often (more improvements to this next time)
Improved prediction when handling various path collisions
Lots of minor bug fixes
Thats a pretty good list of additions to an already really great keyboard. Any Beta testers out there care to comment on how the progress is going? Do you think an update will hit for the rest of the general users soon?
I have a rather huge audience over on ZDNet so I posted an article I have been thinking about for a while regarding the Nokia N8 and the fact that Nokia put technology and capability in it that is not matched with any other smartphone today. You can read my 
Looks like our friends on the other side of the ocean might be in store for a treat today. T-Mobile UK has been working with Samsung very closely to help get Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) updates out in a more expedient fashion. This could be a good thing for everyone very soon. If carriers can work with the manufacturers to obtain better results in their always slow update process, then we might all actually be able to keep up with what’s going on in Android instead of waiting months for solutions. Here is a blurb from Barry on the forums.
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