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Gadget and Techno Updates
HTC Shooter may be Evo 3D, bring dual-core and qHD to Sprint
Mar 17th
HTC’s Evo 3D may have been spotted under its working codename in a GLBenchmark test. The Shooter would be a high-end device running Android 2.3 and a 540×960 screen on Sprint’s network. While the processor wasn’t caught, the phone is running Qualcomm’s new Adreno 220 graphics and would have to be a Snapdragon; original spotter Blog of Mobile has speculated that it would be a 1.2GHz dual-core chip.
While it isn’t attached to the Evo 3D badge by name, the phone is the only one of the three devices Sprint is expected to show next week that doesn’t already have an More >
Tesla Model S to get third-party apps
Mar 17th
Tesla chief Elon Musk at the Cleantech Forum on Wednesday said the Tesla Model S would get third-party app support. He hoped developers would write car-specific apps for the 17-inch, Tegra-powered touchscreen system in the electric sedan. Text-to-speech was cited as a major example at the San Francisco meet as it would help cut down on driver distraction from reading text during a drive.
The extra-large, touchscreen stack was always planned from the start to bring features that are rare or difficult when depending on physical buttons, such as a very large GPS map or a truly dynamic media player. More >
Apple’s fate not tied to Foxconn, analyst contends
Mar 16th
A creeping slowdown at Foxconn is not likely to drag Apple down with it, argues Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. Challenging a view taken by JMP Securities Alex Gauna, Reiner notes that while Apple and Foxconn once managed to grow together, the pattern may have been coincidental rather than connected as the former’s contribution to Foxconn is “limited.” Foxconn manufactures products for a number of major corporations, not just Apple.
To illustrate, Reiner points out that Apple generated about $ 20 billion of Foxconn’s $ 93.4 billion in 2010 sales. Apple thus accounts for a “relatively modest portion” of Foxconn’s revenue. More >
Staples has BlackBerry PlayBook due no later than April 15
Mar 16th
An image of a calendar sent out to Canadian Staples stores and posted on Wednesday by CrackBerry has virtually confirmed the BlackBerry Playbook should be on sale on or before April 15. The calendar entry for that day shows a sales challenge that puts up stores from the district on a competition to see who sells the most PlayBooks that day. The challenge will be repeated on April 22.
The slip means the tablet will be on sale by April 15 in Canada at the latest. It’s also possible that it will arrive in the US sooner, and at carriers with More >
Samsung brings TA750, TA950 3D TV/PC display hybrids to US
Mar 16th
Samsung’s string of US news on Wednesday brought its new line of 3D TV/PC display hybrids to the country for the first time. Both output a 1080p, 120Hz stereoscopic 3D picture on their 23- or 27-inch screens. They have conventional PC inputs like DVI, but they also have two HDMI inputs and an ATSC tuner to take in video from a game console or Blu-ray player as well as to catch over-the-air HD.
The two also bring in some of the features from the TV-only realm, including support for TV apps, and can search across the whole local network to More >