We’ve been conference a fair bit of hum about INQ and Facebook getting all cozy-like as well as creating a Facebook phone. Well, that’s only half right: INQ has done the first Android 2.2 device, unequivocally focused upon Facebook formation, as well as appear to have unequivocally nailed it. The two inclination have been the INQ Cloud Touch (pictured on top of as well as a QWERTY device with exactly a same specs — but, with the QWERTY keypad, of march — named a Cloud Q. Features embody triband HSPA for a European folks, 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen monitor, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, all demeanour of mail support including Exchange, what appears to be legendary Facebook await, and Spotify onboard as a de facto song app with a dedicated key.

INQ’s two Cloud inclination are assumingly a initial mobiles to make use of a Facebook Social Graph API, which will see all your many critical Facebook calm crop up on your set’s homescreen. Another reward in here is a keyboard tech — based on SwiftKey — which will not usually predict what word you’re typing, but what words you may type based on a little AI necromancy, science, as well as your essay tendencies. The Cloud Touch is set to launch in April during Carphone Warehouse as well as BestBuy in the UK with the Cloud Q landing someday in Q3. We’re only about wheels-up for Barcelona to check out the haps at MWC subsequent week, as well as you can be certain we’ll be all over these sets as shortly as we land.
INQ launches Facebook-focused Cloud Touch as well as Cloud Q phones

Via Engadget

Say it with us, finally a PS3 firmware update which essentially does something utilitarian! We’ve grown so accustomed to Sony refreshing a software upon its console just to spite jailbreakers which we almost proposed to believe that’s all the word “refurbish” entailed. But, here comes Kotaku with word which v3.6 of the PS3′s firmware will come with the tidy small addition: saving games to a cloud. This seems a really judicious step toward delivering Sony’s overall idea of giving users a holistic, integrated experience. Indeed, during the NGP presentation, guest speaker Hideo Kojima specifically referred to saving your PS3 game upon a console as well as resuming it on a Next Generation Portable. “Online Saving,” as Sony’s reputed to be job it, would be a conduit through that which can be satisfied, yet it doesn’t appear similar to it’ll come for gratis. Kotaku’s sources prove it’ll be part of a PlayStation Plus subscription, during slightest initially. Still, we like cloud cover storage, as well as if it equates to never having to see an additional hard drive again, we’re all for it.

Via Engadget

The UK as well as Ireland are currently a first to get the taste of Sony’s big play for a online song marketplace, a reasonably titled Music Unlimited. This brand new subscription service (£3.99 a month for Basic entrance, £9.99 for the Premium stuff) will let you tide a library of about six million songs to your PS3, Bravia telly, or web-connected Blu-ray player, while also charity a option to sync playlists from other song services like iTunes. PERSONAL COMPUTER support is accessible as well, with “a wide range of Sony’s portable inclination” as well as Android-based smartphones on a roadmap for prospect harmony. Music Unlimited sidles up next to Qriocity as partial of Sony’s plan to expand the change in calm delivery, as if in an effort to thicken its revenue streams, as well as will be following up this British launch with arrivals in a US, Canada as well as many of Western Europe in a brand new year.

Show full PR text”Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™” makes UK debut

· Premium, digital song assistance, available upon Sony’s 2010 network-enabled inclination

· Offers extent of content and easy song discovery

London – 22nd December 2010. Sony currently announced a launch of “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™”, a new, cloud-based, digital song assistance which gives song lovers entrance during any time to millions of songs from major labels together with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group as well as EMI Music as good as heading eccentric labels as well as vital publishers worldwide. The “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” catalog will primarily suggest about six million songs and will continue to expand over time.

Through “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” users can play song any time on the far-reaching variety of Internet-connected Sony inclination together with Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc™ player, Blu-ray Disc Home Theatre scheme, PlayStation3 mechanism party scheme as well as VAIO as well as other personal computers. It will additionally become accessible upon a wide range of Sony’s portable inclination, as good as upon Android-based mobile inclination.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is initially available in a U.K. and Ireland with assistance availability in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and U.S. to be voiced in due course during 2011.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is a next extension of services ‘powered by Qriocity.’ Sony debuted “Video On Demand powered by Qriocity™,” a reward video streaming service, in a U.S. in April 2010 and stretched a service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and a U.K. in November 2010. Through “Video upon Demand powered by Qriocity” customers can instantly lease from the growing library of thousands of Hollywood blockbuster movies opposite Sony’s 2010 models of network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray Disc player and Blu-ray Disc Home Theater system.

“As we goon to enhance Qriocity globally, these services ‘powered by Qriocity’ suggest the singular ID log-in and wallet solution, and empower users to simply consume content together with song as well as video across a growing series of integrated inclination,” pronounced Kazuo Hirai, President of Networked Products & Services Group, Sony Corporation. “Seamless accessibility to calm by these uninformed user practice will enrich Sony’s network assistance offerings as well as continually supplement worth to the singular aspects of Sony’s network-enabled products.”

Sony has developed “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” in partnership with Omnifone, a heading provider of cloud-based unlimited music services, with Omnifone engaged by Sony to coordinate calm chartering as good as growth as well as smoothness of a service, leveraging its existent imagination in a music industry.

“Omnifone is delighted to partner with Sony to move ‘Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity’ to hundreds of millions of Sony as well as alternative inclination,” pronounced Rob Lewis, Executive Chairman of Omnifone. “‘Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity’ is designed to move digital music into the homes as well as living bedrooms of consumers, as well as to PCs as well as portable inclination, with each users’ song experiences synchronized automatically opposite their inclination without needing to conduct media files.”

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” Features

With Basic (£3.99) as well as Premium (£9.99) monthly subscription plans, “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” offers breadth of calm and easy music discovery, facilities cited as many critical by music enthusiasts.

Unlike most alternative renowned song services, a simple plan permits unlimited brazen skipping of a songs to ensure users discover song they wish to hear. With entrance to an expanding catalogue of about six million songs, a simple devise works as an gigantic ad-free radio hire as well as subscribers can listen to dozens of personalized channels – categorized by genre, era as well as mood by SensMe™ *1 – without a order to download or manage their music files.

Additionally, the reward subscription devise offers the a single time 30 day Premium free trial enabling users to attend in full to every strain upon direct, emanate personal playlists of favourites, as well as benefit entrance to reward Top 100 channels that are regularly updated with a ultimate hits.

By study users’ listening day to day, incorporating their ‘like/dislike’ song ratings, analysing their existent song collections as well as some-more, “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” adapts to users’ song preferences as well as constantly tailors music channels to offer the many compatible as well as enjoyable list of songs. Therefore, a some-more you attend, a some-more uniquely personalized your music channels become.

Furthermore, users can additionally synchronise their existing song files and playlists from other media players including iTunes into “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” and enjoy their existing song at any time across all concordant devices*2.

*1 SensMe™ is Sony’s exclusive 12 Tone Analysis technology to weigh music marks

*2 Applies to DRM-free music files and to song that has been protected for playback upon “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity”

“Qriocity™” is a trademark of Sony Corporation

“PlayStation” is the purebred heading of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

“iTunes” is the purebred heading of Apple Inc.

Via Engadget

If you’re similar to us, you’ve probably come to rest upon Dropbox quite a bit in your day-to-day activities. Hell, our crowd-sourced air blower supplement to The Social Network about which “Tom from MySpace” guy would never have got off a ground without it! Well, if you’re as enthusiastic about cloud storage solutions as we are, you’ll be some-more than excited to know that Dropbox 1.0 has only been announced. Among a brand new facilities that we’re many seeking forward to putting to a exam have been Selective Sync (choose which folders get downloaded to that computers) and Extended Attribute Sync (improved support for Mac apps similar to Quicken as well as Quark whose resource forks bedevil most sync applications and hurtful data in a routine. But that ain’t all! Hit a source couple to get proposed.

Via Engadget

You’ve already seen it on the Jolibook, but now anyone with the netbook or suitable mechanism can get their hands upon the Jolicloud 1.1 operating complement, that promises the series of improvements over chronicle 1.0. Chief among those is the brand brand-new HTML5 desktop, along with a made easy login routine regulating Facebook Connect, a in all spiffed up UI, as well as a slew of other tweaks that promise improved performance and battery holdup compared to the previous version. Hit up a couple below to try it out for yourself, or revisit our Jolibook review for an in-depth look during a pretender OS.

Via Engadget

The Jolicloud Jolibook. Oh yes, it’s sounded similar to a made-up device ever given a pictures of it started to trickle out, but a netbook centered around a Jolicloud Linux operating complement is indeed a real product. So genuine that we’ve been regulating a Atom N550-powered system over a past few days. Sure, we’ve gotten looks in public since its cartoon-covered lid, though a £279 ($443) appurtenance isn’t meant for “grown-ups” — the dictated for the younger set, or those in between a ages of 15 as well as 25. You know, those which tend to live in a Cloud. So, does a netbook have interest over a young’uns? And is a social, app-based Jolicloud 1.1 OS, that is built on Ubuntu as well as HTML 5, strong sufficient to take you divided from Windows or another season of Linux? We’ve got a answers to those questions as well as so most some-more in the full examination. Jolicloud Jolibook review

Look as well as feel

Whether or not you similar to a Jolibook’s lid obviously comes down to personal preference — a little we showed it to couldn’t get sufficient of it, whilst others pronounced they wouldn’t be caught passed with it. Personally, we consider it looks the bit childish, though we’re continuously intrigued by a what’s starting on in a motif — what have been a garland of netbook computers you do unresolved in a little sort of town with a Joli Office as well as Joli Coffee!? Is this what life is similar to upon a Jolicloud? Is there a Joli Juice where they can recharge? Never before has a laptop lid done our mind churn so most with questions.

If you can look past the trippy lid, you’ll find a Jolibook to be your normal 10.1-inch netbook. Built by Vye, an ODM in a UK, a inch-thick framework is made of black plastic as well as is surrounded by 3 USB jacks, VGA as well as Ethernet ports, as well as headphone as well as microphone sockets. There’s additionally an eight-in-one label container on a right corner. It’s actually not the bad feeling little laptop, yet patently there are more svelte seeking systems out there — we’re seeking during you, ASUS Eee PERSONAL COMPUTER 1018P. And let’s be honest, you can’t stop starring during that large prominent six-cell battery up there. We have to contend it gives the netbook the really antiquated look, and additionally adds utterly a bit to the three-pound weight of a device. Also, the battery itself is a bit rootless — even when sealed in, it jiggles a bit.

Keyboard, touchpad, and shade

The chiclet keyboard upon a Jolibook is reminiscent of those on ASUS’ netbooks, and that’s not the bad thing. The lifted, plastic keys have been well spaced, as well as while a layout is still the the bit close, you were means to sort the infancy of this examination with very couple of typos. As a Vye Jolibook is usually being sold in a UK as well as alternative tools of Europe right right away the set of keys blueprint was the bit unfamiliar to us Americans, but when you first foot the complement you are means to collect the software layout. Still, the right as well as left Shift keys are shrunken, as well as approbation, it’s extremely frustrating.

The touchpad also seems to steal the look as well as feel from ASUS’ playbook (no, not RIM’s tablet) — a pad is washout with the palm rest and is usually differentiated by tiny braille-like dots. The small bumps aren’t as pronounced as the ones upon ASUS’ pads or even Lenovo’s ThinkPads, but it is still strong gentle upon a index finger. That said, we did run into some navigating issues — for the most partial it allowed us to indicate and click only excellent, though other times it only didn’t want to concur as well as a cursor only kept jumping all over the shade. We’re prone to censure the tighten vicinity of a desk pad to a set of keys, but we didn’t have the calm to deal with it so we whipped out our Logitech Anywhere MX rodent. The Jolibook also packs Bluetooth, so the regular Bluetooth rodent will fit the check as well.

The 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-resolution arrangement is splendid sufficient for examination videos upon YouTube or Hulu, but a peculiarity of a row leaves some-more to be preferred. The screen is only excellent for watching the latest SNL clip with a crony, however straight observation angles aren’t stellar as well as setting it back a bit requires you to adjust the screen forward utterly a bit. We grabbed the Cheese webcam program from a app store, and had the round snapping cinema of our mug regulating the 1.3-megapixel webcam. The speakers are standard for a netbook — they’re not shrill and comparatively tinny.

The OS: Jolicloud 1.1

Ah, the handling complement. The Jolicloud! The vital differentiator in between the Jolibook as well as a other Windows 7 Starter netbooks out there. Yep, it’s the center of the knowledge here, as well as those that have used Jolicloud 1.0 or 1.1 before will be right at home, though if you’re brand-new to a Ubuntu-based, web app-centric operating system there’s utterly the bit to try.

In hint, a OS is a antithesis of Windows or a “desktop” based OS — all the applications you need live upon the first tab of a categorical menu, what a company calls its Dashboard or “App Launcher.” As you can see above, it looks the lot like iOS in the clarity which the a grid of applications as well as you can add as most pages of apps as your heart desires. (The netbook comes with many of a apps you’ll want right off the bat pre-installed, together with Gmail, Chromium, Twitter, OpenOffice, Skype, etc. You can install some-more from the app store, but you will get to that shortly When you launch the web app or module, it lives upon a tip of a screen and you can toggle between them up there or by hitting Alt + Tab. Pressing the Jolicloud symbol upon a keyboard always lets you return to a categorical menu.

The second tab on the categorical menu is what a company calls its “Social Stream,” as well as it’s really a underline that differentiates a OS from any of a other law netbook Linux builds (i.e. Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Meego, Easy Peasy, etc.) out there. When you first get a netbook or use Jolicloud upon any other computer, you’re required to sign up for an account regulating your e-mail residence. You are additionally able to log in regulating your Facebook username, but that’s usually after you’ve had a Jolicloud comment setup. The reasoning behind all this is two-fold. Firstly, it lets Jolicloud store report about “your Jolicloud” — what apps you have, your settings, etc. — upon the servers so you can record into a OS on any mechanism. They don’t call it a “Anywhere OS” for nothing! Secondly, it lets you bond with friends that also may be Joliclouders. Once you “follow” or crony those individuals, the Social Stream pulls in report about them — what apps they similar to or they’ve downloaded, etc. You can follow them as well as they can follow you behind. You see, it’s a amicable OS — not only an OS built around social networks.

The third tab is where you can perspective your files and folders as well as entrance Cloud storage services similar to Box.net as well as Dropbox. The fourth contains information about your Jolibook as good as you comment.

In being, you will outlay the infancy of your time on the netbook in a various web apps, that have been for a many partial only websites which launch as apart apps rather than only as another add-on in a Chromium browser. There isn’t the approach to create your own web app or shortcut based upon the website (no Engadget app for you!), but there are over 700 giveaway apps in a store, which include popular sites like YouTube, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, etc. and loads of others. The complete experience is familiar given it’s really just the browser based OS, but there are additionally non-web based apps similar to VLC Player, 280 Slides, OpenOffice, GIMP, and Boxee. Luckily, that equates to that if you aren’t near the WiFi hotspot, a netbook isn’t only a section — you can still write papers, take pictures or watch a little local video. (Sadly, we’ve been hearing Chrome OS won’t have which same sort of offline functionality.) Overall, it’s the very user friendly handling system as well as intensely simple to master. Those which have been scared of a large, bad scary Linux, have nothing to be concerned about here, however, those which wish to examination with Sudo authority this as well as that can regularly get at the back of a scenes by hitting Alt + F1 to access a depot. Jolicloud 1.1

Performance as well as battery life

Because Jolicloud was built for underpowered systems (and actually for resurrecting comparison / slower laptops), a operating system sails on a netbook’s 1.66GHz dual-core Atom N550 processor as well as 1GB of RAM. Not only does it take about 20 seconds to foot, but the Chrome-based web apps are only discerning to respond. There was absolutely no lag when you wrote this examination in OpenOffice while simultaneously listening to music in the Pandora app and checking e-mail by Gmail. As we’ve seen with alternative N550 netbooks, the processor is excellent for personification 720p internal content and full screen Flash video, but 1080p video still plays similar to the slideshow. Jolicloud went with the 5,400rpm, 250GB tough drive instead of the not as big, faster solid state drive, that is nice for storing more local files, but it’s the bit odd as since chances have been many of your files will live in a Cloud here.

So, does that bulging 48Wh six-cell battery provide some serious cord-free runtime? Uh, not unequivocally. On the video outline test, which loops the same customary definition video during 65 percent brightness, the Jolibook ran for four hours and 46 minutes. That’s not terrible, but not as prolonged as other dual-core notebooks out there similar to a HP Mini 5103 that runs for over six hours or even the ASUS 1015PN with NVIDIA’s Ion. We approaching better generally with which large cell strapped to the behind. We should additionally note that a right side of the system did get noticeably comfortable after a few mins of use.

Wrap-up

The Jolicloud Jolibook — oh, it’s the real product, and it’s an engaging a single at that, though a single we’re not wholly certain you need for £279 ($443). Don’t get us wrong, you adore a Cloud-based operating system as well as there’s nothing utterly similar to it out there right now (well, at least until Chrome OS arrives), though when you cruise which most netbooks with Windows 7 Starter price around £229 (or $299 in a US) and which you can download a Cloud OS for giveaway a worth proposition isn’t all which great. Sure, the dual-core Atom N550 Aspire One in the UK is around the same price (man, things is expensive over there!), but we’re not sure you need the additional horsepower here to run this lightweight OS, not to mention you could regularly waylay up the Acer, that has the some-more stable touchpad and slimmer battery, as well as load upon Jolicloud yourself. (We’ve got Jolicloud using upon an comparison Atom N270 netbook as well as it’s the really pleasing knowledge, yet Jolicloud tells us its optimized 720p Flash for the N550 processor.)

And in conclusion, that’s what it comes down to — if you’re seeking for a netbook that’s all about Jolicloud, the Jolibook as well as the crazy lid will fit the bill, but if you’re not all about one Linux OS, giving up Windows, or carrying the animation all over your netbook you’re best only scooping up one of our elite netbooks like the Toshiba Mini NB305 or HP Mini 5103, downloading Jolicloud 1.1, and making a Jolibook of your own.

Via Engadget

Have you been riding a OnLive bangwagon from a begin? If so, you’ll want to mind this little Thanksgiving note from the company, that is offering the giveaway MicroConsole to the early cloud gaming use users — whom it dubs Founding Members — provided they’ve paid for licenses for at least dual games in their time. The diminutive TV adapter typically costs $99, though qualifying Members will be means to get it for giveaway if they pre-order it right away, though they will have to spring for covering smoothness costs. As to the more shy between you who only ever bought a one PlayPass, OnLive will let you have the giveaway Full PlayPass (equivalent to a giveaway diversion in a place of the hardware. So, whichever approach you cut it, it’s great to be first.

Via Engadget

Clouds are pleasing things which fill our skies with wonderment, as well as as it turns out they have extremely good places to store our changed data, as well. In which approach European Union wants to make them even better, on condition that the €15.7 million (that’s $21.4 million US) research plan called Vision Cloud. It’s set to tackle the number of associated storage issues, including a capability to run applications within cloud storage, proper auditing as well as access restriction, as well as mobility of pronounced data, so that it can be accessed from anywhere. IBM’s Haifa, Israel consider tank is starting to be heading the effort, whilst Siemens and CORRUPT will be playing good as well. Really, when you’re getting paid to think about clouds, how would it be possible to not play good?

Via Engadget

Just the few weeks ago, you got word (by way of a few Tweets) that Jolicloud was clearly — if a images were any indication — in the final stages of developing the netbook of the own. Well, we’ve just gotten some official headlines upon just which subject. The Jolibook, as it’s going to be well known, is of often different specifications during this point, though here’s what you do know: a Jolicloud 1.1-powered laptop will exaggerate an Atom N550 CPU, and the 250GB hard drive. Jolicloud additionally says that the netbook’s arrangement will boast the “gorgeous” screen as well as an affordable cost. Sadly, that’s all you know for now, yet the company is promising that all this is starting down this month, so we’re starting to keep our eyes peeled for you.

Via Engadget

We were betrothed cloud cover gaming obscurity on June 17, as well as OnLive has in truth kept to the self-imposed report. The brand-new service which allows you to play resource-hungry games via usually your browser window has taken the first steps into the genuine (non-beta) world with an primary catalogue of 23 games. It’ll be giveaway for the first year for those who showed conviction early on as well as pre-registered, or $15 per month for brand-new bandwagon riders. Do let us know your thoughts if you’ve gotten onboard during this nascent stage: does it play fantastically well, is it tighten to spectacular, or is it just the pedestrian bid aiming to capitalize upon geeks’ lust for unbound gaming? We have to know.

[Thanks, Mike]