Sprint on Monday announced that it will launch Research In Motion’s latest CDMA smartphones – the BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the BlackBerry Torch 9850 – on Sunday, August 21st. In line with YoGadgets’s exclusive report from earlier this month, Sprint will offer the Bold 9930 for $249.99 on contract and the Torch 9850 will cost $149.99 on contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. The Bold 9930 is RIM’s brand new touch-and-type flagship smartphone, which launched on rival carrier Verizon Wireless this morning at the same $250 price point. The Torch 9850 is an affordable full touchscreen smartphone that picks up where RIM’s Storm lineup left off. Both smartphones feature Research In Motion’s latest BlackBerry 7 OS and are part of the largest global launch in RIM’s storied history. Sprint’s full press release follows below.
Apple has yet to release a MacBook with an integrated 3G modem, but that doesn’t mean the company hasn’t toyed with the idea. A 2007 15-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced on eBay with a built-in 3G antenna and a SIM-card slot. The seller says he or she originally purchased the 3G-capable MacBook Pro “for parts,” from a former Apple engineer and said “it was immediately clear this was no normal MacBook Pro.” The machine’s SIM card slot is still recognized by OS X 10.6.8 Leopard but the seller has been unable to get the data connection working properly, and noted that “it’s entirely possible it never worked.” The high bid for the one-of-a-kind MacBook Pro was $11,211.11 at the time of this writing. Read on for a few more images.
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Google’s proposed acquisition of Motorola on Monday nearly overshadowed Motorola’s latest Android smartphone, the DEFY+. Like the original DEFY, the DEFY+ is water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof. It is equipped with a 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with MOTOBLUR, a 3.7-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, 2GB of internal storage and a 1,700 mAh battery. Motorola says the DEFY+ will be available in Asia, Europe and Latin America beginning in early fall, but we also suspect we’ll see a variant land on T-Mobile to replace the DEFY. Read on for the full press release.
ViewSonic on Monday unveiled the new ViewPad 10pro tablet, a dual-OS offering that packs both Windows and Android into a slim 10.1-inch slate. The ViewPad 10pro is one of the first consumer tablets powered by Intel’s 1.5GHz Atom Z670 processor, which minimizes power consumption and allows the 10pro to run for up to 8 hours on a single charge. “We listened to our customers. We made the ViewPad 10pro dual OS interface as quick and intuitive as possible, while partnering with industry CPU leader Intel to deliver the latest in design and innovation across all fronts,” said ViewSonic VP of business development Michael Holstein in a statement. The ViewPad 10pro will be available with Windows 7 Professional, Android 2.3 and a 32GB SSD for $699 or with Windows 7 Home Premium, Android 2.3 and a 16GB SSD for $599 when it launches later this month.
Though Apple had never made public its intention to release a third-generation iPad model this year, a new report claims the 2011 launch of the iPad 3 has been canceled. It has been widely reported that Apple intended to launch a new iPad model with a Retina Display this year, however DigiTimes on Tuesday claims Apple has canceled those plans due to display issues. The trade paper’s unnamed sources from within Apple’s supply chain believe the reason for the delay lies in the inability of Apple’s display partners — Sharp, LG and Samsung – to manufacture high-resolution 9.7-inch Retina Display panels quickly enough. DigiTimes says that Apple plans to have between 28 and 30 million iPad 2 units built in the second half of 2011 in lieu of an iPad 3.
Several alleged internal components from Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 have surfaced on websites belonging to two different online parts suppliers. As reported by MacPost, purported OEM camera lens replacement modules, OEM headphone jacks and other parts now appear on websites belonging to Chinese parts suppliers TVC-Mall and Truesupplier, further suggesting that a launch of Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone is not far off. Genuine iPhone parts have historically appeared on websites belonging to Chinese parts suppliers ahead of launch, and while not much can be gleaned from examining the parts, their emergence follows a pattern that has historically lead to a new device launch. More images of alleged iPhone 5 parts follow below.
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Philips has launched the Fidelio DS9000 iPhone/iPod/iPad docking station in India. This premium speaker looks painfully sexy in its curvacious design carved out of layered wood. The materials used in its construction – wood, fabric and metal; help to reduce unwanted vibrations and sounds. There’s a proximity sensor thanks to which the volume control bar lights-up as soon as your hand approaches it. It also claims to possess audiophile-quality drivers (for the music experience pretty close to original performance). The device also features a 3.5mm audio jack at the back. However, at a price tag of Rs 38,990, the absence of FM radio clearly takes away a few brownie points. Philips has also launched an-all-aluminum home theatre system HTS9520 which will retail at a price of Rs 79,990. Check out how this beauty looks like after the break!
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Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models. Weber reconfirmed that Nokia is still on track to release its first Windows Phone handset this year, likely the SeaRay device we’ve seen leaked, but said the majority of its phones will begin to land next year. Business Insider also said that Nokia is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s plans for a complete tablet, PC and mobile phone ecosystem, which loosely suggests Nokia may have a tablet in the works, too.
A security expert claims to have found new bugs in Android, which could enable hackers to remotely gain access to Android devices as easily as sending a text message. Riley Hassel, the security expert, claims the vulnerability is exposed by app developers when they fail to write apps with all security guidelines and he has identified a few apps that can open a device to such attacks. Hassel says he has informed Google about the exploit but Google has dismissed his claims. He is not willing to reveal the vulnerabilities or the apps fearing hacker attacks till a solution is put into place.
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So far we’d only seen glimpses of Apple’s envisioned ‘Spaceship’ HQ in Cupertino. But here we have the full monty of the mothership, courtesy of the City Council of Cupertino which is reviewing Steve Jobs’ application. The new HQ will be self-sufficient and will house more than 12,000 employees. Hit the break for a gallery of Apple’s Spaceship HQ and a video of Steve Jobs’ proposal to the Council earlier this year.