Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky will unveil the company’s latest Windows 8 operating system running on a tablet during Microsoft’s BUILD conference in California next week, Reuters reported on Thursday. According to Korea Economic Daily, the reference model device will be manufactured by Samsung. “Investors are hungry to see how [Microsoft is] going to join where the market’s going,” HighMark Capital Management portfolio manager Todd Lowenstein told Reuters. “They’ve been lagging and they need to catch up and surpass what’s going on, to demonstrate they truly are an innovative company.” It isn’t the first time Microsoft will demo the operating system on a tablet. During the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July, the Redmond-based firm briefly showed a concept tablet running the new OS. We hope Microsoft allows conference attendees to go hands-on and take a closer look at the device this time around. The BUILD conference kicks off on September 13th.

Read [Reuters] Read [Korea Economic Daily]

When Google first introduced its Chrome operating system, the search giant touted its rock solid security. In an effort to keep hackers out, Google automatically installs the operating system on three different hard drive partitions: one swap partition, one encrypted user partition and one read-only operating system root partition. Despite those security enhancements, VentureBeat says researchers Kyle Osborn and Matt Johanson of White Hat Security’s Threat Research Center were able to break into the operating system using “web-based hacker tricks,” that provided access to Google Docs, the address book, Google Voice messages and emails. The two hackers demonstrated how easy it was during the Black Hat security conference. “This conversation is about the web, not Chrome OS,” a Google spokesperson told VentureBeat. “Chromebooks raise security protections on computing hardware to new levels. They are also better equipped to handle the web attacks that can affect browsers on any computing device, thanks in part to a carefully designed extensions model and the advanced security available through Chrome that many users and experts have embraced.”

Read

It’s a beautiful day in San Francisco, California today — the perfect setting for the Google’s 2011 global developer conference, better known as Google I/O. The battalion of Google staffers is currently putting the finishing touches on the Moscone Center before it’s swarmed by Android enthusiasts, developers and the press, and we’re here to bring you the action live. What does Google have up its sleeves for this year? We’ll find out soon enough. The Day 1 keynote kicks off at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 12:00 p.m. Eastern, and we’ll be live blogging it right here in this post. Be sure to check back then for the live coverage, and don’t forget to refresh the page for all the details as they break!

11:43AM:We've found out seats! There is a great buzz in the room. Google VP Andy Rubin is a few rows in front of us, and we're ready to rock. T-minus 17 minutes!

11:50AM:Here's what we see on stage: a Life Fitness exercise bike, a main speaking podium, a podium left of center with a video-based projector and a few Apple laptops, and a right of center podium with two Android devices hooked up to speakers.

11:54AM:Five minute warning. Get your popcorn ready!

11:58AM:Voice over PA: "We should begin in 2 minutes."

12:01PM:Now taking the stage, senior Vice President Vic Gondtra

12:02PM:"We want to thank you for making Android the global phenomenon it has become. This year, for the first time we did something new. We allowed developers to set up their own viewing parties."

12:03PM:"We are humbled by your enthusiasm and thank you for sharing your most precious resource: your time."

12:04PM:

12:04PM:

12:04PM:"Today we are going to focus on three things: mobile, momentum, and 'more'"

12:05PM:"Remember this device?" *holds up a G1* "We were on one carrier in one country, and now, we're everywhere."

12:06PM:"We've activated over 100 million ANdroid devices worldwide."

12:06PM:"There are over 312 devices in over 120 countries."

12:07PM:"Today we're activating over 400,000 Android devices every day."

12:07PM:"Today, we've announced that we've hit over 200,000 apps in the ANdroid Market."

12:08PM:"It took the Android ecosystem to see 1B application installs. 5 months to get to 2B. And today, we have 4.5B application installs."

12:09PM:"This wraps up the momentum section. Now we're going to cover Mobile and show you 2 exciting new services that we're announcing today."

12:09PM:We're about to see some demos!

12:10PM:"Today, we're announcing Android 3.1 for Verizon XOOM owners."

12:12PM:New features include: a new multitasking functionality, resizable widgets, Android 3.1 devices can act like USB hosts (allows you to download images directly from digital camera to tablet; supports game controllers, keyboards, mice, etc.)

12:13PM:"Android 3.1 is not just for tablets, it's coming to Android 3.1 this summer. Google TV will also be getting the Android Market."

12:14PM:"Let's look a little further down the road. Our next mobile release: Ice Cream Sandwich. We're targeting a Q4 launch and it will be our most ambitious launch to date."

12:15PM:"We're taking our Honeycomb holographic UI and mutitaking UI to Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS from now on)."

12:18PM:We're seeing a demo of head tracking and OpenGL. Running on the GPU, the device's camera can track your movements and orient the screen and applications to your point of view.

12:19PM:"Now we're going to shift topics and talk about media. We're going to announce a new service."

12:20PM:"Starting today, users can rent movies from the Android Market and stream them directly to their devices using the cloud."

12:22PM:"Movies have a 30-day rental period. Once you being watching you'll have 24-hours to complete viewing. You can also stream the movie over your browser and watch on your computer."

12:22PM:"We enable offline viewing with a feature called 'pinning'. What this means is that these movies will be automatically downloaded to the device and viewable offline; like when you're on an airplane."

12:23PM:"In addition to playing back movies we can rent movies directly from a smartphone or tablet. There is a new section in the Market with categories and featured content; similar to the applications and books sections."

12:25PM:"Verizon XOOM 3G users will begin getting Android 3.1 today and it will include the movies rental feature. It will be available on smartphones running Android 2.2 and higher in the next few weeks."

12:25PM:"We just talked about movies, what's the other content we love?" MUSIC!

12:26PM:Paul Joyce is on stage: "Today we're introducing Music Beta by Google. No wires, no syncing. You music is stored in the cloud so you can stop worrying about storage and starting enjoying your music."

12:27PM:"Applications will be available for both PC and Mac. It will help you get the content you already own into the cloud."

12:28PM:"We have a new feature called 'Instant mix'. Select a song and Instant Mix picks 25 songs that are similar. Unlike other services, Mix actually listens to your track and finds similar sounds tracks... it's truly ingenius." ZING!

12:29PM:"My phone connects to the cloud. I'll never have to use a cable to get songs on my device again!"

12:30PM:"We cache music that is recently played. So you instantly have access to songs when offline. You can also pin songs to your device, making them available offline at all times."

12:31PM:"The best part? If I get a brand new phone all I have to do is sign in, my music is now right there right away."

12:32PM:"We're really excited about this service. We're rolling it out in beta today, you can add up to 20,000 songs to your library and... at least while it's in beta... the service is free."

12:32PM:"It will roll out in stages, to the U.S. only at first. All those attending Google IO that are based in the United States will get an invite (eat your heart out), others interested can visit music.google.com/about to apply for the beta."

12:34PM:"We're creating a new team that will determine how quickly devices will get updates when we push out new Android platforms and for how long they will get those updates."

12:34PM:"We're jointly announcing today, that devices from our partners will receive updates for 18 months as long as the hardware allows."

12:35PM:"Now we want to talk about 'more'. ABout our vision for the future."

12:36PM:"

12:37PM:"Today we're announcing Android Open Accesory" which will provide hardware makers the ability to create hardware that will work with any mobile device."

12:38PM:We're seeing a demo of the Life Fitness bike controlling gameplay on an Android devices that encourages and tracks progress.

12:39PM:Open Accessory supports USB now and will support Bluetooth in the future. They are also releasing a hardware development boards."

12:40PM:We're seeing a demo of someone moving a XOOM tablet that is controlling a physical labyrinth board.

12:41PM:More information is at accessories.android.com

12:42PM:"This program is completely open. No NDAs, no feeds, no restrictions."

12:43PM:"So we're going to go one step further and talk about what the ultimate accessory is: your home. We call this vision ANdroid@Home."

12:44PM:"We want to think of every device in your home as a potential Android IO device."

12:44PM:We're seeing a demo "Hello World" type application that is controlling the stage lights.

12:46PM:"To bring this vision to reality we're partnering with Lighting Science. You can buy Android@Home light bulbs beginning later this year."

12:48PM:Next, we're working on something called Project Tungsten. You can enjoy your music throughout your house, syncronized, via this Tungsten boxes. And these protocols will be completely open to developers."

12:51PM:We're getting a recap of what we've covered.

12:53PM:We're seeing the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1... and we're all getting one.

12:54PM:Thank you and have a great Google IO. That's it folks. Thanks for tuning in!

A carefully crafted tweet has sparked rumors of a native video-chat feature coming to Android 2.3.4 in the near future. “Just had a video call using gmail on Nexus S. Impressive quality @googlenexus Gingerbread 2.3.4 #io2011,” reads the post in question. The implication is — obviously — that Google will migrate its Gmail, browser-based video chat service to Android and unveil the new offering at this year’s Google I/O conference, which is set to kick off May 10th in San Francisco. We can’t say we’d be surprised to see it… but we’re still pretty excited.Read [Android Police] Read [Twitter]

The CTIA Wireless conference is just around the corner, and in preparation for the three day extravaganza, the Wireless Association is starting to make its final preparations for the event. Part of these preparations include listing the finalists for conference awards, and the “Phones/Smartphones” category has yielded some interesting information. The first three finalists include the HTC ThunderBolt, Motorola ATRIX 4G, and LG Revolution. The final two candidates included on the list are two, unnamed LG handsets simply listed as “LG Mobile Phones.” What could these mysterious handsets be? PCMag, the discoverer of the mysterious device listings, suspects that one of the devices could be T-Mobile’s version of the Optimus 2X — the unannounced but expected Optimus G2X. If we had to venture a guess as to what the second device might be: we would assume that it is a version of the company’s dual-core Optiums 3D handset we saw at Mobile World Congress. Which carrier the handset will land on is, however, anyones guess. BGR will be roaming the halls of the Orange County Convention Center to bring you all the CTIA news as it breaks, be sure to keep your browser locked here during the week of the 21st!

[Via PCMag[

Read

Research In Motion just hit us up to let us know that registration has officially opened for BlackBerry World 2011. Ah, but what is BlackBerry World 2011, some of you might be asking yourselves? It’s WES renamed — news we broke a couple months back, remember? It’s being held May 3rd to the 5th in sunny Orlando, Florida and will feature over 100 breakout sessions, hands-on labs, BlackBerry training, and of course, live productions demonstrations and announcements. Might we be seeing the BlackBerry Bold Dakota, BlackBerry Curve Apollo, BlackBerry Storm 3 Monaco, or BlackBerry Torch 2 make an appearance? You betcha’!

Read

Just like we reported a little while back, RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symnposoium has been renamed, and the new official name is BlackBerry World. RIM let us know that:

BlackBerry World will feature keynotes from leading mobile thinkers, over 100 breakout sessions, Hands-on Labs, BlackBerry training, and opportunities for certification.

Attendees of BlackBerry World will also be able to:

• Hear the most current information about the BlackBerry solution, new application partners, and roadmaps for the future
• See live demonstrations of the BlackBerry solution at work
• Get answers from BlackBerry experts to develop value-driven wireless solutions, as well as carriers and vendors who can help provide valuable wireless research information
• Meet and connect with key executives who are making the BlackBerry solution part of their business planning, and the industry leaders who are shaping the future of global wireless technology
• Get training on the BlackBerry platform, with additional opportunities for technical certification

In addition to that, RIM is still making all the WES tracks and content available at BlackBerry World. What’s the consensus on the new name and focus of the conference? Anything is better than Wireless Enterprise Symposium in our book… BlackBerry World will take place from May 3rd through May 5th next year in Orlando, FL.

Read

If you happened to catch Andy Rubin’s talk at the D:Dive Into Mobile event last night, you undoubtedly noticed his demo of an unreleased version of Google Maps, on an unreleased Motorola tablet prototype, running an unreleased version of the Android mobile operating system. Rubin, who was pretty sparse with details, looked to be palming a 10-inch tablet manufactured by Motorola that contained “a dual-core NVIDIA processor.” When asked about a potential price point of the future hardware, Mr. Rubin responded with a TDB; although he did quip that if you wanted to buy the prototype he was holding, it would probably cost around $10,000. The tablet is also, “not due out for a while.” Hit the jump to see the complete 8-minute video and let us know what you think.

Read

Why not start off the week with an unconfirmed and tantalizing Android rumor, right? Thanks to one piece of known information, and one slightly more speculative nugget, the latest gossip has Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) due to drop sometime today. A few weeks ago, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt quipped that his company’s next OS iteration, Gingerbread, would be available in “the next few weeks.” Combine that with an interesting one-liner from a Notion Ink press release:

“6th December is another big day for Android and you will find out how fast Notion Ink can work. (Eden is extremely compatible with 2.3).”

and you have all the ammunition you need for a sizzling internet rumor. If that still isn’t enough for you, Andy Rubin, Google’s VP of mobile platforms, is speaking at AllThingsD‘s D: Dive into Mobile event later this evening ( 6:30PM PT).

If you’re an Android enthusiast, throw salt over your left shoulder, keep your fingers and toes crossed, and charge up that Nexus One. Today could be a big day for you!

[Via Engadget]

Read

Yesterday, Palm front-man Jon Rubinstein sat down at the Web 2.0 Summit to talk about his company’s past glory and present predicament. Mr. Rubinstein was cautious, but optimistic, when briefly discussing Palm’s — now HP’s — future plans.

“Palm created the PDA space with the Pilot and the smartphone space after it with the Treo,” said Mr. Rubinstein. “So by birthright, Palm should have owned the smartphone market, but it just lost its way.”

After likening Palm’s missteps to those of Apple, Inc. in the 1990′s, he continued: “We needed more resources. We could not compete in a fashion that would allow us to be one of the premier companies in the marketplace. And HP needed a strong mobile strategy around which they could innovate–one that would allow them to control their own future and not rely on the kindness of strangers.” If we’re not mistaken, that was a small, not-so-subtle, shot at Google’s Android operating system.

When asked about his company’s future plans, Rubinstein said, “We’ve got some great products in the works; some smartphones, a great tablet coming. I think we have several products that will be hits when they come out.” Earlier in the interview, the chief noted that HP’s goal is to “deliver a unified experience” around webOS in an attempt to capitalize on the trend of more and more consumers moving to advanced mobile devices.

Hopefully, we’ll see some of these “great products” come to market in early 2011.

Read

Blog OLED-display has images of what they are claiming to be a Samsung Galaxy Tab with a 7-inch Super AMOLED display. The website claims Sammy was showing off the new panel — which purportedly has a WXVGA 1200 x 600 pixel resolution — at the FPD-International conference in Japan this week. OLED, which originally touted its images as the first of the Super AMOLED Tab, later amended its post with: “It can be possible that this prototype is only a AMOLED and not Super-Amoled but SMD [Samsung Mobile Display] plans to introduce Super-Amoled for the 7 inch panel size.” It’s all very speculative at this point, and — to be honest — we would have been a little disappointed to see Samsung showcase a new Tab display before the original was available in most areas.

Read

What’s better than a developer conference? A secret developer conference of course. Business Insider is reporting that Apple, Inc. will be hosting a “secret iOS developer summit next week.” The event, which is being billed as an invite only, could be an effort by the Cupertino handset maker to polish iOS 4.2 applications that will be ready when Apple makes the next iteration of its mobile OS official. Business Insider cites “an industry source” in the report. It’s all speculative at this point, but we’re sure more information about the double-secret meeting will leak out next week… if it does happen to go down.

Read

Nokia’s annual conference covering, well, all things Nokia, is set to kick off this coming Tuesday and apparently the Finnish giant has something special in store for us. There is a mysterious countdown timer front and center on Nokia’s dedicated events page, and the clock is ticking down to 9:15 am CET when Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and Executive VP Anssi Vanjoki are scheduled to begin their keynote speech entitled transforming the way we connect. That title leads us to believe this Nokia World announcement will be service-oriented rather than device oriented, but there is no way to know with any certainty for the time being. The countdown page however, also includes a sharing widget with the text, “it looks like Nokia is planning something big,” to be delivered to any recipient with whom the page is shared. “Big” of course is a relative term, especially where marketing is involved, so we’re not getting overly excited just yet. We do know that Nokia has some departures from its normal offerings coming up in the future – an Nseries touch device, the QWERTY sliding E75, its first SureType-style half-QWERTY “Wahoo” – but Nokia World historically has not been the venue for Nokia’s big handset announcements. Regardless, Nokia fans will certainly be sitting on the edges of their seats wondering what Tuesday has in store and as always, we’ll keep you posted.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

Read