Ryan Whitwam
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Posts by Ryan Whitwam
LG Expected to Launch P880 Quad-Core Android Phone
03 months ago
by Ryan Whitwam
in Syndicated Sites
LG has not had the same presence in Android as the likes of Motorola, Samsung, and HTC, but the company might be looking to change that at the upcoming Mobile World Congress show. The details on LG’s new flagship device (currently called P880) have been leaked, and it’s looking like a real monster with a quad-core processor, and HD screen among other goodies.
The P880 will be one of the first smartphones to ship with the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC. This part is already shipping in tablets, but it will be a big step for phones, and is producing some incredible benchmarks in the leaked screenshots. To keep that chip chugging along, the P880 will come with a 3000mAh battery. The screen will also eat up juice with its 1280x720 resolution.
The P880 will also be LG’s first Ice Cream Sandwich phone. The leaked screens show version 4.0.3 and the newest version of the Linux kernel for Tegra. LG doesn’t have the best reputation for software updates, but at least this one ill be running the latest and greatest when it comes out, unlike last year’s Optimus 2X.
HTC Rumored to be Working on Streaming Music Service
03 months ago
by Ryan Whitwam
in Syndicated Sites
As it searches for a way to turn its fortunes around, struggling phone maker HTC is reportedly investigating the possibility of launching its own music streaming service. The client would be built into the default music app on all of HTC’s Android devices, and possibly as an add-on for Windows Phone. The company is, as expected, cagey about answering any questions at this point.
HTC took a large ownership stake in Beats Audio last year, and has been shipping phones with Beats technology for the last few months. So maybe a music service would fit right in. HTC has also shown an interest in bringing special services to HTC Sense, the company’s user interface used on Android. There is already an HTC movie streaming service, and upcoming phones will include 50GB of Dropbox storage for users. Talks with Spotify apparently went nowhere, which may have led to the development of an in-house solution.
Sources are saying that HTC could announce the service later this month at Mobile World Congress. Samsung has pulled back on MWC this year, so that could give HTC the opening it needs to make an impact.
Hulu Going After Netflix with Original Series of its Own
03 months ago
by Ryan Whitwam
in Syndicated Sites
Not to be beaten at its own game, TV streaming service Hulu has started airing its first original series to compete with Netflix. The show is called Battleground, and it centers around a Senate campaign in Wisconsin. Netflix just debuted it’s first series Lilyhammer, but the two companies are going about things quite differently.
Netflix is a subscription-only service, whereas Hulu has a public-facing version with limited content. Battleground is being offered up to paying and non-paying users alike on Hulu. Netflix chose to release all 8 episodes of the big-budget Lilyhammer at once for viewers to plow through. Hulu’s Battleground is dropping a new episode every Tuesday in classic TV fashion.
Both companies are trying to gain a foothold in scripted content outside the traditional TV industry. For Netflix, this is only natural, but Hulu is partially owned by TV studios. It seems unlikely its benefactors would like to see too much original web content take off.
Time Warner Releases Live TV Streaming Web App
03 months ago
by Ryan Whitwam
in Syndicated Sites
Time Warner has rolled out a new TV viewing option for its customers to enjoy from the safety of home (and only from home). Live TV streams are now flowing to compatible web browsers for those with Time Warner TV and internet services. The TWC TV web app is in beta, but supports Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. Although, the service does have a number of catches.
Users will first need to install the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in if it’s not already present. Viewers can only watch live TV at home, where the cable box is set up. Additionally, content from Viacom (like Comedy Central and MTV) are not included in the new streaming service. It was Viacom that pitched a fit last year when Time Warner started streaming content to mobile devices.
The TWC TV app also has guide data for 7 days and DVR controls. These features will work anywhere; it’s just the streaming that is limited to the home. Do you think content companies will ever get over their fear of online streaming?
Google Open DNS Now Out of Experimental Phase with 70 Billion Daily Requests
03 months ago
by Ryan Whitwam
in Syndicated Sites
Most users are content to use the default DNS servers run by their ISP, but it turns out that quite a few folks have made the jump to a third-part solution. Google announced today that its public DNS system is no longer “experimental” and has become the largest in existence with upwards of 70 billion requests every single day. To top it off, 70% of that traffic comes from outside the U.S..
DNS servers are used to turn the URL you type into the address bar into the IP address your computer actually connects to. Since Google Public DNS launched in December 2009, Google has been hard at work making the system faster for users in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Google also added access points in new regions like Africa, India, and Japan. There are also IPv6 versions of Google’s DNS servers.
Anyone that wants to try Google DNS can change their DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Your ISPs servers might work just fine, but users in many places fear government mandated DNS blocking. If you’ve been using Google Open DNS, let us know how it works for you.
