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Dell Inc. put its first U.S. smartphone on sale on Tuesday, making the computer maker the latest technology manufacturer to enter the competitive mobile handset market.
The Round Rock, Texas-based company said its 3.5-inch touchscreen phone, dubbed the Aero, runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system and is available for $99.99 with a new two-year contract from AT&T Inc. and $299.99 without. It can be ordered on Dell’s Web site. Get the full story »
Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it is developing technology for a 3-D television that won’t require viewers to wear special glasses. Toshiba’s new TVs will be a world first in offering glasses-free 3-D, according to the nationally circulated Yomiuri. Get the full story »
Following a string of suicides at its Chinese factories, Foxconn Technology Group raised workers’ wages and installed safety nets on buildings to catch would-be jumpers. Now the often secretive manufacturer of the iPhone and other electronics is holding rallies for its workers to raise morale at the heavily regimented factories.
The outreach to workers shows how Foxconn has been shaken by the suicides and the bad press they have attracted to the normally publicity shy company. The latest suicide — the 12th this year — occurred August 4 when a 22-year-old woman jumped from her factory dormitory in eastern Jiangsu province. Get the full story »
Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 will feature higher-capacity hard drives in North America this fall to let consumers to download more games and entertainment, the company said Tuesday.
The game console will come with about 33 percent more storage capacity than previous versions, but at least one analyst said that it is not likely to be a major selling point. Get the full story »
Motorola unveiled Tuesday its follow-up to the Droid smartphone it released last year, introducing a new handset with a redesigned keyboard and other improvements.
The Droid 2 will be available for online pre-sales on Wednesday and in-store sales at Verizon Wireless on Thursday. It will cost $199.99 after a mail-in rebate and requires a two-year contract and a smartphone data plan.
The original Droid was released in November at Verizon Wireless to generally positive reviews, although some users had gripes with the keyboard. Motorola said the new Droid 2 has a new keyboard “with raised keys for more responsive typing,” and also features increased processing power and the ability to be a mobile hotspot for up to five WiFi-enabled devices. The hotspot feature costs an extra $20 per month. Get the full story »
When President Barack Obama moved from Chicago to the White House, he also moved to an area with 53 percent more BlackBerries, according to a recent study that pits cities against one another in terms of the gadgets they use.
And if it seems like every hipster in Chicago is rocking out to streaming music at work and on the train, that’s because they are — 45 percent more than their counterparts in Washington, D.C. Compared to D.C., you also won’t see too many Chicagoans watching television on an iPhone or reading books on their gadgets: 66 percent more of us own three or more TVs and we have 50 percent fewer e-Readers per capital than our nation’s capital, according to the gadget census, conducted by Retrevo.com, an electronics review and shopping site. Get the full story »
Japan’s trade ministry has ordered Apple Inc’s Japan unit to state on its website that users who are concerned about their iPod nano portable music player catching fire can receive a replacement battery.
The ministry ordered Apple to publish an “easy to understand” statement online explaining how users of the devices — responsible for four cases of minor burns in Japan — can receive replacement batteries and obtain advice, a spokesman for the ministry said on Friday. Get the full story »
The United States will hold technical talks with the United Arab Emirates and other countries on the pending ban on the BlackBerry Messenger, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. Get the full story »
See more photos of the BlackBerry Torch here.
Research In Motion unveiled a new BlackBerry smartphone with a touchscreen and slideout keyboard, hoping to raise its consumer appeal and fend off competition from Apple’s iPhone.
The BlackBerry Torch will go on sale in the United States on Aug. 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract with AT&T Inc. The device uses a new operating system and has a faster and easier-to-use Web browser, RIM said on Tuesday. Get the full story »
Research In Motion pledged to satisfy the security needs of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.
In the latest of several disputes over BlackBerry security, the UAE said over the weekend that it would suspend BlackBerry Messenger, email and Web browser services from Oct. 11 until it could access encrypted messages. Get the full story »
Young customers at the grand opening new Microsoft Store in San Diego’s Fashion Valley Shopping Center. (Microsoft)
Microsoft is planning to open a store at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook by the end of the year, making the Chicago area one of just seven locations for the company’s new retail initiative.
The company announced the Oakbrook store last week at an analysts’ conference in Seattle and on its Microsoft Store Facebook page. Get the full story »
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating deals struck by Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. to offer low prices on electronic books, saying the agreements may block rivals from providing attractive pricing.
Earlier this year, Amazon and Apple worked out a “most favored nations” deal with major publishers, ensuring rival booksellers would not be able to work out an even lower price, Blumenthal said. Get the full story »
Google Inc.’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone in the high-profile smartphone sweepstakes, according to one market research firm.
New smartphone subscribers choosing Android handsets accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales in the first half of the year, surpassing the 23 percent share held by Apple’s wildly popular phones, the Nielsen Company said Monday. Get the full story »
The United States said it was disappointed that the United Arab Emirates planned to cut off key BlackBerry services and said the Gulf nation was setting a dangerous precedent in limiting freedom of information.
“We are committed to promoting the free flow of information,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. “We think it’s integral to an innovative economy.” Get the full story »
