Right on cue (sort of), Verizon Wireless’ branded V Cast Apps market has finally seen the light of day. We’ve actually heard about the store since last summer, but it wasn’t until the carrier’s LTE forum at CTIA that we had a confirmed date. As noted then, the first device to get the portal is the BlackBerry Storm2, with other RIM devices (and hopefully other mobile platforms) in the coming months. It’s not taking the place of BlackBerry App World, so now that we’ve got two coexisting markets on one device, it’s time to see just how strong that V Cast branding is…

[Thanks, Cameron]

Verizon’s V Cast Apps store is a go, first on BlackBerry Storm2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Ross Miller

There’s a surprising abundance of tech geared toward helping out people with visual impairments, but you won’t find too many smartphones populating that sphere of electronics. Aiming to reverse this trend, LookTel is in the Beta stage of developing so-called artificial vision software that combines a Windows Mobile handset with a PC BaseStation to provide object and text recognition, plus voice labeling, easy accessibility and remote assistance. It can be used, much like the Intel Reader, to scan text and read it back to you using OCR, and its camera allows it to identify objects based on pre-tagged images you’ve uploaded to your PC. Finally, it allows someone to assist you by providing them with a remote feed of your phone’s camera — a feature that can be useful to most people in need of directions. Skip past the break to see it demoed on video.

[Thanks, Eyal]

Continue reading LookTel’s ‘artificial vision’ makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video)

LookTel’s ‘artificial vision’ makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Vladislav Savov

So this is what all those “yo’ network’s so slow” jokes were about. The Wall Street Journal has today penned a story framing AT&T’s hefty recent investments in building out its network as a defensive move against a “huge exodus to Verizon” when its rival gets the iPhone. These preventative measures include working with Apple on streamlining the iPhone’s network load, and infrastructure spending that is expected to total $2 billion by the end of the year. The WSJ claimed yesterday that Apple was working on a CMDA version of its iPhone that could hit mass production as early as September. However, concluding that the iPhone on Verizon is a done deal is something of a stretch. Sprint has shown a remarkable ability to attract cutting edge phones, and China Unicom’s exclusivity agreement is about to hit its precarious first anniversary about the time this handset is set to roll out. Still, setting aside the analyst blather and extrapolation, the picture that emerges is of AT&T feverishly patching up its service offering in the face of a rapidly expiring exclusivity arrangement.

AT&T building out network capacity to prevent exodus to Verizon’s iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Vladislav Savov

It’s slow, jerky, and may not even work on your Android device even after installing the 41MB package. But it’s FireFox for Mobile (aka, Fennec) on Android, brother, and isn’t that worth the hassle? Based on our experience with it on the N900, the only gold platform at the moment, it most definintely is. MartinSchirr of Android Forums is credited with the port and it’s your best option until the cats at Mozilla issues a formal Android release (currently in Pre-Alpha) later this year as expected. Check the video after the break if you want to experience it right now, mess free.

[Thanks, Will]

Continue reading Firefox for Mobile (Fennec) escapes in a rough Android port

Firefox for Mobile (Fennec) escapes in a rough Android port originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

For Americans, the ability to blow dollar after hard-earned dollar in the Android Market is old hat — it’s been happening since early last year — but Canada’s had a rougher go of it. Rogers just flipped the switch not long ago, and now Telus has joined the party, meaning most Canadians currently using Android-powered handsets can spend US dollars, euros, or yen to fill up their handsets’ internal memory (the Market shows prices in each apps’ local currency, and we’re not aware of any Canadian apps at the moment). It’s long overdue, so we’re picturing an epic spending spree this week as these guys blow off some steam — but hey, there are worse ways to go bankrupt, right?

Rogers, Telus both offering paid Android Market apps originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Cable companies have been pushing into wireless with more urgency than ever lately — take Cox and Comcast, just to name a couple — and now it seems Cablevision is taking a good, hard look at launching a cellphone service under its Optimum brand. Current service subscribers are being asked if they’d be interested in “unlimited calling, texting, and internet data access” for $29.95 a month, which is ridiculously, mind-numbingly low for such a package if Cablevision is actually capable of delivering. It seems they’ll try to bridge the gap by launching the service with a WiFi slant — presumably using UMA — falling back to cellular on the road when you’re outside the range of one of Optimum’s hotspots. They’re promising “a variety of smartphone choices that offer features comparable to those offered by iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry,” so hey, if the price is right and the service actually works, why not? There’s no word on when Optimum might launch this action, but we have a hard time believing many of the people that got the survey actually responded “no.”

[Thanks, Maikel]

Cablevision considering ultra-cheap unlimited cellphone service? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Can’t wait for Windows Phone 7 Series, but can’t hack the emulator, either? Don’t lose hope, Windows junkies — you can still bring some semblance of WP7S order into your life with this Metro UI-inspired desktop HUD. Based on the open-source desktop customization platform Rainmeter, the “Omnimo UI” will overlay your desktop with a minimalist, tiled interface not unlike the one you’ve been drooling over for weeks, with live hooks into many useful services (including Gmail, iTunes, Steam, Twitter and SpeedFan) as well as the usual widgets and a host of program shortcuts. The best news of all? It’s available now for all versions of Windows since XP, completely free of charge; simply follow the source links or flit over to Lifehacker, where good folks will teach you how it’s done.

Omnimo: desktop Windows given fashion makeover with Phone 7 Series flair originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Hollister

Clearwire has made it crystal clear that it isn’t taking a “WiMAX or die” approach to 4G — and frankly, it couldn’t afford to, considering that the infrastructure suppliers and hardware manufacturers could easily continue their trend toward shunning the next-gen underdog. What’s interesting, though, is that the company now appears to be taking a very active role in developing an LTE-based standard that could supplant WiMAX in its 2.6GHz spectrum should the need arise. Along with Motorola, Huawei, ZTE, Cisco, Nokia Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, and — surprise, surprise — Clearwire partner Sprint, the company is asking the 3GPP to define a standard for running TD-LTE in the 2.6GHz slot. Unlike the more commonly-used FD-LTE — the standard Verizon is using, among others — TD-LTE operates unpaired, meaning it can operate in slimmer chunks of spectrum than its counterpart. Asking for a standard is clearly a far cry from actually building out a network, but it’s interesting to note that Clearwire and Sprint alike both have their eyes firmly fixed on an LTE-based technology if the WiMAX industry packs it in.

Sprint, Clearwire among companies asking for TD-LTE standard in WiMAX spectrum originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler