“iOS Cellular Protocol SW Engineer-SH/BJ” doesn’t have the sex appeal of “chief designer” or anything, but someone is being sought for that very position, to work under the Haus of Apple. And what does the job entail? Among other duties, “Implementation, Integration, customization, enhancement and maintenance of L1-3 Protocols for one or more of the following air interface: GSM/UMTS, CDMA (1x/EVDO), LTE etc.” You read that right, LTE. It’s not the first time we’ve seen such the technology listed (hello there, since-removed “Cellular Technology Software Manager” job posting), but at the same time, it’s not surprising that Apple’s looking to the future. Just don’t get your hopes up for an LTE iPhone or iPad in the near future.
RIM’s 2011 CDMA device roadmap has leaked, bringing with it details of a renewed push for the Canadian company into touchscreen handsets. According to what looks like a RIM presentation passed to CrackBerry, the BlackBerry PlayBook release in Q2 2011 will be shortly followed by the all-touch BlackBerry Monaco, a 1.2GHz CDMA/UMTS World Phone hybrid with a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen and 5-megapixel camera with flash.
The Monaco will also have an optical trackpad, 4GB of storage, 768MB of RAM and a memory card slot; connectivity will include WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, microUSB and NFC, along with GPS, a digital compass and accelerometer. The smartphone will run BlackBerry v6.1 and measure 120 x 62 x 11.5 mm.
It’ll launch in Q3 2011 alongside the BlackBerry Bold Touch (aka Montana), at 10.5mm the thinnest BlackBerry to date, and taking the top spot in RIM’s QWERTY range with its forged, machined steel chassis. The Bold Touch pairs a physical keyboard and a 2.8-inch VGA capacitive touchscreen, together with an optical trackpad, CDMA/UMTS and WiFi b/g/n. More specs in the gallery below.
Finally there’s the BlackBerry Sedona, set to bring its simple QWERTY phone ways to the market in Aug-Sept 2011, though still packing NFC, and the BlackBerry Curve Touch, a 3.25-inch HVGA all-touch smartphone with 5-megapixel camera and WiFi b/g/n. Full details in the gallery. RIM is pushing for NFC support across its range, which will be used for peer-to-peer networking and with special accessories.
The BlackBerry Curve has always been our favorite ‘berry because of its solid keyboard and lack of pretension to any functionality beyond great messaging, but it looks like things are about to change fast: you’re looking at a leaked image of what CrackBerry says is the Curve Touch, codenamed “Malibu,” and it’s all touchscreen — unlike the rumored Apollo, there’s no keyboard in sight. We’ve only got specs on the CDMA version, and they’re right in line with what you’d expect for a midrange device due out in late 2011 / early 2012: 800MHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor, 3.25-inch HVGA screen, 5 megapixel camera with HD video, 1GB storage with microSD expansion and 512MB of RAM, GPS, and NFC. Of course, CrackBerry says those are just “proposed specs,” so anything could change, but man — are we crazy for thinking an all-touch Curve definitely seems to redefine everything about what a BlackBerry is and is not?
RIM’s been hyping AIR apps and web apps for the PlayBook for a while now, but there’s a chance much bigger things are in the works: BGR says the company wants to add in Java compatibility for legacy BlackBerry apps, and that among other options it’s considering using the Dalvik virtual machine found in Android to get there. That makes a lot of sense — Dalvik is one of the most advanced Java(ish) virtual machines out there, and it’s open-source, so RIM could conceivably take it and tweak it to work with existing BlackBerry apps, which are built in Java. Clever, clever.
But that’s not all: BGR goes on to speculate that using Dalvik will also allow the PlayBook and future QNX devices to straight-up run regular Android apps, which is obviously a much bigger deal than simply using the same virtual machine. Exactly how or why BGR’s making that leap is unclear, since running Android apps on the PlayBook would require porting much more than just Dalvik, but it’s out there. In fact, it’s been out there since December 7, when Fortunepicked up a note from Gleacher & Company analyst Mark McKechnie suggesting that RIM was planning to offer Android compatibility, so we’re curious if this rumor’s just taking another trip through the internet meat grinder. Honestly, our bet is that RIM is far too proud to offer Android compatibility and that it’s just investigating Dalvik as a Java environment, but we’d love to be proven wrong — we’ll see what happens.
Okay, armchair sleuths, this one’s for you — we’ve got two very legit-looking logos here, but not a lot of proof. Our tipster tells us that both of these high-quality vector graphics are the names of upcoming devices for Sprint, with the HTC Arrive (née Ruby) allegedly an upcoming Windows Phone 7 device, while Kyocera Echo is apparently the retail name for the phone internally known as the Sanyo Orange. It just so happens that the trademark for “HTC Arrive” was registered the very same day we received this logo, so we think we’re onto something here, but the truth of the matter is that all of these codenames are falling on virgin ears.
Perhaps Samsung’s Vibrant 4G won’t be tied to Froyo, after all. Although the initial leak suggested Android 2.2, Boy Genius Report’s managed to obtain what it suggests is an in-the-wild shot with a lock screen that looks remarkably reminiscent of the aesthetic touches from Android 2.3 Gingerbread. No TouchWiz UI here, but word on the street (i.e. from its source) is Sammy’s hard at work to remedy that disconnect and make the skin jibe with the new version. And if that’s not enough, TmoNews is claiming a leaked document that indicates Vibrant 4G will launch February 23rd. Back to the picture, though: if that timestamp is at all accurate, and this is really just hours fresh, perhaps that lucky right-handed gent can snap a few more convincing shots while it charges.
Update: As a number of readers have pointed out, there’s some odd discrepancies between this image and the Gingerbread lock screen we all know, chief among them the inclusion of AM / PM in the top bar (that option doesn’t exist in actual 2.3. we just checked to be sure). Brief Mobile’s got a more nuanced breakdown, but the point is, this looks to be either a half-baked ROM or the work of a certain Robin Goodfellow.
Motorola said its fantastical modular dual-core smartphone the Atrix 4G would appear in the first quarter of the year — and it’s looking like the device will be as late in that first quarter as can be managed without completely bumming us out. Alleged AT&T internal documents found their way into the hands of Android Central, which specify a March 1st launch date for the handset, as well as pointing out pentaband radio frequencies which might help it roam globally but probably won’t play nice with T-Mobile data. And what, pray tell, is the Atrix 4G? We’ll have to assume you were living in a cave during CES if you need to ask, but we’re more than willing to bring you up to speed with the hottest item of the show — just click on this, this and this.
While the second generation iPad hasn’t been announced yet, there’s already folks talking about when the tablet device will launch. With as many rumors already swirling around, a release date is something we’ve been expecting to hear for quite some time now. According to MacNotes.de, the iPad is set to launch either the first or second Saturday in April, the 2nd of 9th respectively. Of note, the original German headline suggests that the 9th is a more likely date than the 2nd.
The report from MacNotes.de is coming from the site’s trusted source, and suggests that the second version of the tablet will follow a similar release pattern as the first iPad. It will launch in the United States in April, but the international release will probably be held off until some time in July. Furthermore, the report says that Apple will be handling initial sales themselves, for as long as six months, before the company lets retail partners, like Walmart, get their hands on it.
As for details about the device itself, there’s nothing we haven’t heard before. The new tablet will supposedly feature a Retina Display, have a USB port, and dual cameras.
Rumors regarding the upcoming, but still as of yet unannounced PSP2 may have all been knocked down a notch, when compared to this latest one. MCV is reporting that Sony is going around telling developers and publishers that the portable gaming system is just as every bit as powerful as the PlayStation 3 home video game console.
Obviously, Sony has to do quite a bit to make the PSP2 attractive to developers, especially in light of the overall unattractive sales of the PSP Go, so comparing the handheld gaming device to the powerful PlayStation 3 isn’t so surprising. Additionally, with the focus on mobile gaming so high right now, with Apple’s presence now a dominating factor and Nintendo’s 3DS on the verge of being released, Sony has to show that their upcoming handheld device not only measures up, but surpasses the competition.
In the same report, it states that the PSP2 will have a strong downloadable content backing, but that the device will be able to play physical media too. This means that games will be able to be sold in stores again. As for a release date, some time in the fourth quarter of 2011 has been suggested. It could even find its way onto store shelves as early as October.
The invites are pouring in. We’ve already heard from Verizon, and we’ve still got HP’s webOS announcement around the corner, but it looks like Sprint wants to get into the madness as well. We’ve received an invitation to an invite-only event on February 7th, where Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse will be on hand to unveil something.
This particular invite has “master illusionist” David Blaine on the front of it, where the man will be on hand for something. We’re not sure how it relates to whatever Sprint is announcing, but considering the “See what Sprint has up its sleeve” line at the top, we’re assuming that the carrier believes they’re about to pull a magic trick in the wireless industry.
Speculation about a Sprint iPhone is already picking up speed, along with the fact that there could be 4G tucked away inside. We know that Apple chose not to go with 4G for their Verizon device because of modifications to the device that they were not prepared to make, so it would indeed be a magic trick for Sprint to land the first 4G-enabled iPhone. Though, it’s probably more likely that the carrier has another Android-related announcement to make, which makes the “another industry first” part quite interesting.
Anyone want to take a guess as to what Sprint has ready to announce?
