Gadget and Techno Updates
Techno Updates
UAE to block small-scale BlackBerry BES access
Apr 17th
The United Arab Emirates detailed on Saturday how it would strike its balance with RIM on BlackBerry security. The Middle Eastern state will allow BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) access only for companies and groups that have 20 or more accounts. Individuals and smaller groups will have to go without, but everyone will have access to the usual BlackBerry Internet Services such as the web, e-mail, and BlackBerry Messenger.
It’s not clear if the move involved putting any RIM servers inside the UAE. Security officials had been concerned that they couldn’t easily intercept data since much of it was centralized at More >
HP’s TouchPad cloud music, video plans leak in presentation
Apr 17th
HP’s intention to build a webOS cloud media locker, and possibly beat Apple and Google to the feature, was given more definitive support late Friday after a leaked presentation. A pair of slides describing the TouchPad reportedly showed both the known HP Movie Store but also an intelligent, online music syncing option. PreCentral‘s copy showed that it would not only allow remotely storing and streaming music, including songs users “don’t yet own,” but would determine owners’ preferred music and prioritize it for local caching on the TouchPad itself.
The app mockup in the slide wasn’t likely to reflect the real More >
Square readers reaching Apple stores in major partnership
Apr 17th
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square payment readers got a major lift this weekend after Apple started officially selling them in stores. Both the online Apple Store and its retail shops are carrying the reader this week, including in a new black color. The company confirmed that it would be the only one with a payment device in Apple’s shops and that Apple was coordinating with Square on in-store seminars, TechCrunch said.
The reader costs $ 10 and includes $ 10 of Square credit to handle the first few transactions. Square may be breaking even or losing money on the device sales More >
Newer MacBook Airs shipping with faster Samsung SSDs
Apr 17th
Apple was found on Friday to have given a low-key but significant speed boost to the solid-state drives in newer MacBook Air production runs. Most batches have been using Toshiba’s X-Gale SSD, but AnandTech saw a more recent model using what’s likely a Samsung-made 470 series drive. The 128GB example is much faster in sustained reads and writes, jumping from about 210MB per second and 176MB per second respectively in the old Toshiba SSD to 261MB per second and 210MB per second in the Samsung storage.
The upgraded drive, which Apple identifies only as SM128C, also supports Native Command Queuing to More >
Samsung Galaxy S gets Android 2.3 in Europe
Apr 16th
Samsung began making amends for long upgrade intervals with reports from users that it was pushing out Android 2.3 to some Galaxy S models. Europeans, including the Netherlands and multiple other countries, are being told of a new build when they sync the phone with Samsung’s Kies app on the PC. Early anecdotes from the XDA-Developers forum suggest the build is fast and lag-free.
Most are expecting the update to lead to an official source code release from Samsung that would let users load unofficial firmware.
Original Galaxy S owners won’t get the same benefits from Android 2.3 as they would on More >