HTML 5 for IE9 - Microsoft inadvertently helping Apple?

Microsoft will launch IE9 sometime next year. It is positioned to finally kill off the 9 year old IE6, but won't run on XP. It's touted to be faster, more secure and more importantly, use HTML 5. Will this help with the push for HTML 5 and inadvertently help Apple?

(Download the IE9 preview here)

(via guardian)

Google Places

Google recently launced a store-front MIS platform called Google Places which gives the ability to craft a message on Google Maps as well as customise details for maps users.

See the video here

Acer announces new Android phone and HTC baffled

Acer announced it's new Android phone - Acer Stream. Looks quite sexy (and slim - just 11.2mm thin), and packs in quite a bit too! 3.7" WVGA AMOLED display, Acer Touch 3D UI, Accelerometer, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, UPnP, GPS, Social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter), Nemo multimedia player, Dolby Mobile sound, Bluetooth and even an HDMI port! And for good reason too! The 5MP rear camera is capable of HD (720p) video recording. All these powered by the 1GHz Snapdragon processor with 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM and 2GB internal memory. It comes loaded with Eclair (Android 2.1), but with spec like this, it really deserves Froyo (Android 2.2)!

Meanwhile, HTC UK are said to be "baffled" by the announcement that the HTC Desire would be upgraded to Android 2.2 by 23 June. Good thing I guess judging by the way they actually roll out OS upgrades for their Android handsets. They had earlier announced so proudly and loudly, way back in December 2009, that the HTC Hero would get the Eclair update by Q1 2010, they then announced that it would be done by March 2010, then April, then May, and most recently June. They just keep moving the dates. It's almost June now, I'll keep my fingers crossed for one last month.

Apple Ipad Launched in Sydney

iPad hits Sydney, Australia.

The Apple iPad launched in Sydney today to a crowd of around 300 avid fans some of whom had lined up and camped overnight in the wind, cold and rain.

See the full story from Sydney Morning Herald (a local paper) here.

Astroboy Phones Anyone?

You can apparently get an Astroboy phone in China.

Besides the basic mobile phone features, you also get:

1) Bluetooth

2) a micro-SD card slot which supports up to 4GB.

3) English and Chinese language user interface

4) a 3.5mm standard headphone jack

5) mini-USB port

6) dual SIM card slots

7) front-facing and rear cameras

8) built-in accelerometer which allows you to change music or wallpaper by shaking the phone.

Not too shabby for 790 RMB (US$113/S$158)! I wouldn't mind getting one myself actually.

You can see more pictures of the phone in this link.

Both Sides of the Spectrum

It was announced yesterday that Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable tech company (worth US$222 billion vs US$219 billion for Microsoft). Around the same time, the 11th death of the year and yet another suicide attempt at Foxconn was reported.

While Apple, or any of the big OEMs using Foxconn's services are directly responsible for the deaths. It just shows the vast contrast in fortunes between the OEMs and the workers who actually make the products.

Read the translated report by published in the Southern Weekly on the working conditions at Foxconn (pardon the grammatical errors).

Froyo

Here's a quick look at the improvements in the recently announced Android 2.2 (Froyo) OS:

1) Improved Speed - Judging by the test done by the good people at Android Central, it's impressive!

2) Better Enterprise Support - FroYo will include over 20 new enterprise features. These include better Exchange support, with auto-discovery, improved security etc. Great for folks who want to be connected to work.

3) Cloud-to-Device API - Google services, Chrome extensions, and soon-to-be released Chrome apps will be able to sync with your Android device. Hmm... maybe this is the first step to merge Android and Chrome?

4) Tethering - makes your phone a portable wi-fi hotspot! Good stuff!

5) New Browser - The Javascript interpreter in Chrome will be used in FroYo's native browser, it will be the fastest mobile browser available.

6) Install apps on SD memory - In FroYo, apps can be moved to, and launched from, the phone's SD card. This is what has been terribly lacking in the earlier versions of Android. You can now load as many apps as you want!

7) Flash 10.1 and AIR support - +1 over the iPhone.

8) Web-based Android Market - Apps can be purchased on the Web-based store and synced down to your Android device.

9) App auto-updating - You can now "Update All" and have the ability to check "allow automatic updating" when you download a new app.

10) Music Sync - Users will be able to sync their local music collection with their Android device and stream wirelessly.

Massive, massive improvements over the previous versions.

Now to wait for what Apple has to offer with their next version of the iPhone. Hopefully Steve Jobs will unveil it at WWDC on 7 June 2010. Wait for it!