Currently, mobile entrepreneurs wishing to hawk their wares on the Pre (or Pixi, or unnamed webOS device of the future) use a software development kit from Palm called Mojo, a stack of Java-based tools that must be installed, studied, understood, loved, and respected before serious development can get underway. Palm sees that as a barrier of entry for web-oriented developers who want to make the leap to mobile apps, though, which is why they’ve crafted a new SDK called Ares that’s based entirely on web technologies — in fact, there’s no install at all, apparently. Much of the interface is said to be drag-and-drop with enough JavaScript exposed to make your local .com designer feel right at home, potentially opening the app landscape to a whole new set of folks — and considering that the App Catalog is tens of thousands of goodies behind the App Store and Android Market, they can use every loyal dev they get.
Filed under: Cellphones
Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn’t have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we’ve been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID’s hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn’t do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it’s missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don’t despair, though — while I’m not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.
Continue reading iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)
Filed under: Cellphones
iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s not the only company working on metal-air batteries, but Scottsdale, Arizona-based Fluidic Energy may be in a better position to deliver on its promises than most, as it’s just managed to snag a $5.13 million research grant from the US Department of Energy to further develop the “breakthrough” technology. While that word’s thrown around quite a bit these, in the case, it may actually live up to the hype, considering that breakthrough in question would be a battery that’s able to deliver eleven times the energy density of the best lithium-ion batteries for less than one-third of the cost. The key to that, it seems, is the battery’s use of an ionic liquid as its electrolyte, which is described as a “wonder fluid” since it’s able to last significantly longer than other fluids because drying out isn’t a problem, and because it brings with it a significant boost in energy density. Of course, the company still apparently doesn’t have an actual battery to back up its claims just yet, and it’s not making any promises about when it might deliver one either.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Fluidic Energy promises better, cheaper metal-air batteries, wins DoE grant originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Looks like Windows 7 is off to a much stronger start than Windows Vista, with the NPD Group claiming the first few days of sales saw a 234% increase over Vista’s start. Part of that can be attributed to special deals and low-cost pre-sales — total revenue was only 82% higher — but it’s hard to deny people are stoked for Windows 7. Interestingly, the PC hardware growth was actually stronger for Vista than 7 (48% year over year compared to 68% year over year), but there are enough variables at play there to make sure Microsoft won’t lose sleep over it. In fact, 7′s biggest threat seems to be Microsoft’s other products, since Windows 7 PC sales were up against 20% of PC sales being comprised of Vista and XP computers, compared to the 6% of non-Vista PCs sold during that launch.
[Via Windows 7 Team Blog]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software
NPD: Windows 7 sales 234% higher than Vista’s first few days originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You can’t keep a phoenix down and this Xbox 360 wireless n adapter seems to be a bird of similar feather. After discretely showing up on US retail sites and subsequently managing to drop off into internet obscurity, the 802.11n-compliant peripheral has returned to the scene via Costco’s site, this time with a November 10th shipping date and a more attractive than before $88 price tag. With only five days until the 10th, will this finally be the price and date that stick? Who knows — but at least this time we won’t have to wait long to find out.
[Thanks, WeakSasco]
Filed under: Gaming, Networking
Xbox 360 802.11n adapter rebirths on Costco site, ships November 10th for $88 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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