Cooler Master has announced that it will be on hand and MWC 2011 with its line of Power Fort offerings. I have talked a bit about the Choiix Power Fort offerings before; it’s a line of external batteries and power solutions for smartphones and other gadgets.
At MWC 2011, Cooler Master will have some gear on hand at the show that we have not seen before. One of the more interesting items is the Power fort solar iPhone 4 case. The solar case has a small solar panel on the back to charge up the internal battery while you are on the go. Exactly how much power the battery inside the case has is unknown, but those details should be offered at MWC.
Other gear that will be shown at MWC will include the Power Fort 5.5Whs/1500mAh battery that is for any USB device including the iPhone. The Power Fort 2700mAh battery will also be shown off along with a boxy 1500mAh battery. A brand new product will also be unveiled at MWC called the Power Fort Go Music.
Amazon is reportedly preparing to bundlestreaming movie content with its Prime subscription service, in an attempt to better take on Netflix in the US. According to the FT‘s sources, the web retailer has been readying the streaming system for some time now; rather than pushing individual rentals, as the current Amazon Video On Demand system offers, it will follow a subscription-based pattern with unlimited access to movies and TV shows.
Amazon Prime currently offers unlimited fast shipping on purchases, for a flat fee of $79 per year. It is currently available in the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan; Amazon recently purchased European rental and streaming company LoveFilm in a $200m deal that will see the retailer gain an instant catalog of licensed titles to distribute.
Whether or not that acquisition heralds the start of an Amazon Prime streaming bundle in Europe as well remains to be seen.
Egypt is reportedly back online, after the government pulled the plug last week in an attempt to undermine protests in the country. According to multiple reports on Twitter, connectivity has been restored including 3G mobile networks and BlackBerry services.
In the meantime we’ve seen services spring up to offer alternative routes for digital information to propagate, including speak2tweet led by Google, Twitter and SayNow, allowing for Twitter updates to be dictated by voicemail messages. It’s unclear to what extent the period offline will have affected the Egyptian economy.
After the desktop stalwarts of Windows 7 and Mac OS, the world’s third most popular platform for web browsing turns out to be Apple’s iOS. The software that makes iPhones, iPod touches and iPads tick has been identified by Net Applications as responsible for over two percent of the global traffic data analyzed in the web statistician’s latest report — the first time iOS has crossed that threshold. The UK and Australia had more than five percent each, while the USA clocked in at 3.4 percent. Leaving operating systems aside, Chrome has continued its steady growth on the browser front and now stands at a 10.7 percent share, more than doubling its slice from this time last year. Internet Explorer overall has dipped to its lowest level yet, at 56 percent, however Net Applications indicates IE8 is showing nice growth. So at least it’s looking like we’re finally ready to bury the zombies known as IE6 and IE7, whatever other browser we choose to migrate to.
If you’re game for Windows Phone 7 on Bell, you’ve got one lonely option right now, and you’d better like landscape QWERTY sliders: the LG Optimus Quantum, a phone you may know better simply as the Quantum on AT&T in the US. Looks like that might change in just a few days’ time, though, as MobileSyrup has scored some launch documentation for HTC’s HD7 — a phone that’s on T-Mobile in the States — that indicates it’s launching on the 10th of this month. Unfortunately, pricing is a little uncertain because the documents are showing CAD $599.95 (about $606) regardless of contract length, so realistically, that’s probably what you can expect to pay if you choose to forgo a contract altogether. At this point, we’d be curious what Microsoft and its hardware partners have in store for round two of Windows Phone 7′s retail push rather than buying a first-generation device — but then again, it’s always hard to resist a 4.3-inch display, isn’t it?
Google is broadening support for its Hotpot recommendations system, adding 38 new languages – including French, German and Chinese – and adding search results for the crowd-sourced review system to Google.com. The news is important since Google plans to tie Hotpot in with its Android NFC drive; Hotpot window stickers – currently seeing a trial roll-out – already work with the NFC reader on the Nexus S.
Video demo after the cut
It will take some time for that to build up any sort of momentum, but Google isn’t letting the content side of Hotpot sit until manufacturers wake up to NFC. Hotpot results – which can be left at google.com/hotpot or via the Android widget or iPhone app – will now show up for restaurant, store and other search queries on the Google homepage.
Toshiba has officially recalled select Sandy Bridge based notebooks, after Intel admitted a silicon flaw in the 6 Series Cougar Point chipset could lead to degradation of SATA 3Gbps connectivity. Over thirty Toshiba SKUs – across the Satellite, Portege and Qosmio lines – have been affected, with the company asking customers to “return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.” Meanwhile, HP has delayed a new product launch because of the issue.
According to a statement from the company’s PR company, HP “are postponing the business notebooks briefing on Feb. 10 as the availability of HP products will be impacted.” Intel has increased its estimate on how much the Cougar Point problem might cost to remedy, with the figure now hitting $1bn in missed sales and fixing costs.
Samsung and NEC have also been affected, with Samsung saying it will offer refunds on certain machines and NEC delaying releases of four new models. The full list of Toshiba models affected can be found below:
Satellite A660 See note below
Satellite A665 S5176, S5177, S5182, S5183, S5184, S5185, S5187, S5189, S6100
Satellite A665 3D Edition 3DV10, 3DV11, 3DV12
Satellite E305 S1990
Satellite L655 S5161, S5161BN, S5161RD, S5161WH, S5162, S5166, S5166BN, S5166RD, S5166WH, S5167
Satellite M645 S4116, S4118
Portege R835 P50, P55, P56
Qosmio X500 Q930
Qosmio X505 Q8100, Q8102, Q8104
Note: If you purchased a Satellite A660 from Toshiba Direct, with a Core i7 2630QM quad-core processor, you will be contacted directly by Toshiba.
It’s taken a while, but Verizon has finally released Mac drivers for its 4G LTE modems; well, at least one of them. The LG VL600 we reviewed – and were so impressed by its data speeds – is still Windows-only, but the Pantech UML290 now has official OS X support.
We’ve already actually seen an unofficial UML290 Mac hack, but this new release makes things a lot more official. The Pantech UML290 is priced at $100 with a new, two-year agreement; data plans range from $50 to $80 per month.
Apple has denied updating the App Store rules regarding in-app purchases – and which Sony fell foul of with their Reader for iPhone app – claiming instead that it is merely enforcing a rule that has been in the guidelines for some time. “We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told AllThingsD. “We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.”
The rule in question is believed to be 11.2:
11.2 Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected
It, along with Muller’s statement, implies that Amazon could continue to sell ebooks via its current method – opening up the regular Amazon webpage in the Safari browser – but if so it would also be required to offer an internal system using Apple’s in-app purchasing system. Since IAP items are treated as just more app store content by Apple, that might mean Amazon had to individually submit each ebook for approval, as well as handing over 30-percent of the takings in an iTunes tithe. It’s also unclear whether Amazon would then allow Kindle users to re-download – from their own servers – the IAP content on Kindle ereaders or non-iOS versions of the app.
If anything, the clarification has made the situation a little more confusing; Apple looks to be pushing for a bigger cut of the content pie, and since Sony’s Reader app looks to have used the same browser-based purchasing system as Amazon’s, that implies Amazon may well have to tweak the Kindle app too. Apple has also been using rule 11.2 to crack-down on emagazine subscriptions; according to Monday Note, publishers have been told that they have a “grace period” up until June 30 2011 to enable the required IAP support:
“For existing apps already on the App Store, we are providing a grace period to bring your app into compliance with this guideline. To ensure your app remains on the App Store, please submit an update that uses the In App Purchase API for purchasing content, by June 30, 2011″
Pinch of salt time, but images purportedly showing Apple’s second-generation iPad display have emerged, hot off the Chinese production line. According to 9 to 5 Mac and iFixYouri, the iPad 2 panel is both lighter and thinner than the existing LCD used in the first-gen iPad; that would certainly fit in with previous rumors.
In addition to being more than a millimeter thinner, the iPad 2 display also has a smaller bezel. That should give Apple more flexibility in its overall casing design, since there’s less bulk to fit in. Considering the first-gen iPad was basically a sandwich predominantly comprised of display and batteries – with the electronics squeezed in – that could make a huge difference to the overall aesthetic.
Going by the product code, LP097X02-SLN1, and some online deduction – still unverified – one of the 9 to 5 Mac commenters has worked out that the display could well be an LG Philips panel running at 1024 x 768 XGA resolution and using H-IPS technology. Again, that would fit in with suggestions that Apple is saving an iPad Retina Display update for the third-generation model.
Apple has denied updating the App Store rules regarding in-app purchases – and which Sony fell foul of 
