Tech’s biggest misfires of 2011

The past 12 months have been a boon of technological innovation, particularly in the world of mobile devices, where top companies have been waging an arms race for the top of the smartphone and tablet hills. Not everything has been smooth sailing, however -- 2011 has also been dotted by delays, false starts, security breeches and straight up technological turf outs. Check out some of the lowlights from the year that was after the break.

Continue reading Tech's biggest misfires of 2011

Tech's biggest misfires of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Open source, open issues for webOS

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.


HP's decision to contribute webOS to the open source community represents, at the very least, a detour from the company's plans to "double down" on the operating system acquired from Palm, Inc. The good news for fans of the OS is that HP will continue to invest in the software's development, albeit probably not at the unsustainable rate at which it was going it alone. And for webOS fans, the decision is certainly more favorable than another possibility that HP considered -- ending the development of webOS software as abruptly as it ended the hardware..

Still, webOS faces an uphill climb if it is to emerge as a viable option for device makers. HP itself says that it may not enter the webOS device market again until 2013 and we've seen no public statements from other major device makers champing at the bit to build devices based on the software, at least not in its current state. That means that the addressable market for webOS updates is the relatively meager installed base of TouchPads and the handful of Pres, Veers and Pixis, and many owners of those smartphones will likely move on as their contracts expire..

Continue reading Switched On: Open source, open issues for webOS

Switched On: Open source, open issues for webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pre 3 owners greeted by webOS 2.2.4 update, eradicates some bugs (update: Pre 2s as well)

Yes, friends, webOS is still alive and kickin' -- and no matter how uncertain the future may be for the open-source mobile platform, it's still cranking out fresh maintenance releases. This time, the Pre 3 is the beneficiary of an update to webOS 2.2.4. Though it's natural to be on the lookout for crazy new features, you'll find so such luck this time around -- it's just meant to offer some software improvements and bug fixes. Still, we're always happy to see signs of life with the OS.

Update: And it's also rolling out to Pre 2s. Thanks Bryson!

Pre 3 owners greeted by webOS 2.2.4 update, eradicates some bugs (update: Pre 2s as well) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchPad returns in TigerDirect bundle, if only for a moment

"We've got TouchPads!" That's the slogan, but even TigerDirect admits that it's expecting its latest batch of TouchPad slates to evaporate in a matter of minutes. Strangely enough, we've seen the zombie-like webOS tablet on sale in a variety of locations during the past few months, and if you're quick, you'll be able to buy yet another from yet another vendor at 2:30PM ET today. The company's not saying how many are in stock, but we're told to expect the entire batch to be claimed "by 2:32PM ET." The deal? $249.99 nets you a 32GB TouchPad, a 10.1-inch Belkin tablet case and Creative Labs' D80 Bluetooth speakers, while a $299.99 bundle replaces the speaker with a Photosmart printer. Oh, and don't even bother trying to order over the phone -- this one's online only, and it's one bundle per customer. We're telling you now so you've got time to memorize your credit card number. Feel free to talk about nerves, shaking limbs and tales of luck in comments below.

[Thanks, Andrew]

HP TouchPad returns in TigerDirect bundle, if only for a moment originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011

Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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