Amazon Wireless is severely discounting 4G Android smartphones for its Memorial Day sale. How does a Droid Charge for $179.99 or a Motorola Atrix 4G for $99 sound?
Amazon is offering big Memorial Day discounts on 4G smartphones such as the pricey Samsung Droid Charge, Motorola Atrix 4G and other handsets.
When shoppers go to Amazon Wireless, the e-commerce giant's mobile gadget subsidiary, they will find roughly 18 4G Android handsets and the HP Veer 4G WebOS phone on sale through 11:59 PDT May 30.
Verizon Wireless normally sells the Droid Charge subsidized for $299.99 with a contract. Amazon Wireless is now offering this fun phone for $179.99. The kicker is that buyers must take a two-year contract with Verizon for the extra subsidy.
The Atrix 4G, which AT&T has been selling for $199.99 since February, now costs $99 through Amazon Wireless. Consumers may also buy AT&T's Samsung Infuse 4G Android phone, which normally retails for $199.99, for $129.99. Ditto for Verizon's HTC ThunderBolt.
Sprint and T-Mobile aren't being shut out of the Android sell-off either. T-Mobile's G2x 4G, which retails for $199.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate, can now be bought for $99.99.
Sprint's Samsung Nexus S 4G, normally a $199.99 gadget with contract, now runs an incredibly low $49.99. Considering that this is the only smartphone that will work with Google's Wallet service when it launches in New York and San Francisco this summer, that could prove quite a bargain for those who want to test the NFC-based mobile payment waters.
Amazon Wireless is also offering an Amazon Student exclusive in the form of a $10 Appstore credit with the purchase of the Sony Xperia Play, now through June 4.
Finally, anyone who buys a Windows Phone 7 handset from May 30 on will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. This discount comes as Microsoft is struggling to sell smartphones based on its new mobile operating system.
Gartner said that of the 3.6 million phones running a Microsoft mobile OS sold worldwide in Q1, only 1.6 million were based on Windows Phone 7.
Gartner added that these devices failed to catch on as consumers bought Android phones or Apple's iPhone for the holiday season. Android grabbed 36 percent market share for the quarter, while Apple's iOS came in third with 16.8 percent of the market.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Microsoft unveiling new Windows Phone features as it plays catch-up with Apple, Google
Despite the new jewelry, Microsoft's mobile software remains far behind Apple and Google. How Microsoft performs with Windows Phone 7 continues to dog its stock, which shareholders complain has been just about flat for the past decade.
"The two obvious overhangs on the stock that investors are focusing on are its lack of offering in the tablet market, which is the hottest trend in the consumer market, and smartphones," said Yun Kim, analyst at Gleacher & Co. in New York. "They are late to the game and trying to gain traction against iPhone."
Setting aside the tablet issue — which Microsoft is expected to address at a September developer conference — the company's partnership deal with the world's largest phone maker, Nokia, offers the most hope to its smartphone efforts.
Windows Phone 7, a mobile operating system Microsoft sells to phone makers, has been available on phones for seven months.
Until Thursday, Microsoft couldn't even say a Windows Phone is available on all the major U.S. wireless carriers.
AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile USA were the first to start carrying the phone in the U.S., and Sprint started selling one in February. Verizon Wireless said it will start selling the phone online Thursday and in stores June 2.
The premiere of the "Angry Birds" mobile game for Windows Phone 7, previously scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed until June 29. The arrival of the game has seemingly come to mark when a smartphone is ready to be introduced to society.
The last time Microsoft gave any sales figures for Windows Phone 7 was in January. After the holiday shopping season, Microsoft said 2 million copies of Windows Phone software had been bought by phone makers. The phone makers then sell the phones to the carriers, which sell them to individual customers.
Instead of discussing Windows Phone sales, Microsoft has been publicly proclaiming the numbers racked up by another device it makes: the Xbox Kinect, which has sold more than 10 million units. At the very least, Windows Phones clearly are not the "fastest selling consumer-electronic device" ever made, which Microsoft has been saying about the Kinect.
Gartner said Thursday it estimates 1.6 million Windows Phones were sold in the first quarter of this year, which the Stamford, Conn., research firm called "only modest."
In comparison, Google said last week more than 400,000 people are buying an Android smartphone or other device daily, and there are now more than 100 million Android mobile devices in use. Google offers Android, its operating system, to phone makers free.
In the first quarter, Google Android was installed on 36 percent of smartphones shipped to wireless carriers; Nokia's Symbian was in 27 percent; Apple iPhone's iOS in 17 percent; Research In Motion's BlackBerry in 13 percent; and Microsoft in 3 percent, Gartner said.
Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, has said it plans under its deal with Microsoft to start selling a large number of Windows Phones in 2012.
Research firm IDC says that because of Nokia, Microsoft's chances look far better in the next few years. If Microsoft can deliver a solid lineup on Nokia phones, the Framingham, Mass., research company said it expects fast growth in 2012 and the potential for Windows Phone to get to second place behind Android in four years.
Here is what the company has already said it will add to the Windows update, code-named "Mango." In February, CEO Steve Ballmer said Twitter integration with the phone's address book is coming, as are multi-tasking features and a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9. He showed a demo of the phone being used as a controller for an Xbox Kinect game.
In April, the company said developers could build apps that can animate tiles on the phone's home screen, and that the phone's Bing search engine would search through apps, as well as websites.
The company has already sent an update code-named "NoDo" to Windows Phone users, adding the basic "copy and paste" and some improvements for software speed.
Windows Phone owners complained NoDo came later than promised, and Microsoft was slow to explain what was going on. The company eventually acknowledged in late March that the update process had been "rocky" and apologized, both online and at the MIX developer conference in April. As of early May, the company said it was in the process of delivering the update.
"I would have to think the bigger thing that is hurting them is all this discussion about updating and problems," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm in Kirkland.
"If they can roll out the next incremental improvement — well, if they can do it smoothly — it's the thing people are asking for that could have a driving factor" in sales.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Lindsay Lohan Accuser to 911: 'She Hit Me with the Phone'
In a newly released 911 call, a worker the Betty Ford Center says she ordered Lindsay Lohan to pack her bags and leave the facility after the actress hit her during a December argument.
The Associated Press reports that the six-minute call started with a chaotic exchange between Lohan and the worker, Dawn Holland, as they argued over control of the phone at the rehab center in Palm Desert, CA.
Lohan and Holland take turns talking with the dispatcher, with the worker at one point saying: "I have a problem because Lindsay Lohan pushed me and hit me with the phone while I was trying to talk to you." Holland is heard on the call telling the actress: "Lindsay, you need to pack your (expletive). Cause now I'm getting ready to file charges on you."
At one point during the call, Lohan tells the dispatcher she had never seen Holland before. "She's freaking me out," Lohan said, when she was able to get on the phone.
The December 12 incident prompted an investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, but prosecutors announced last week they had not found sufficient evidence to file any charges. Holland was later fired by the center after giving an on-camera interview to celebrity website TMZ.
When the dispatcher asks whether Lohan tried to sneak out of the facility, she replies: "Oh yes, she got busted trying to hop back over the fence."
Lohan still faces a felony grand theft charge for allegedly taking a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, CA jewelry store shortly after she was released from the Betty Ford Center. The actress is due back in court for that case on April 22.
CECT ZW6 Touchscreen Cell Phone Watch
It functions as a watch, cell phone, mp3 player, and movie player, plus the ZW6 Touchscreen Cell Phone Watch also has built in functions including a calendar, calculator, world clock, rate exchange, unit converter, health manager, memo, and notebook.
ZW6 Touchscreen Cell Phone Watch Highlights
1.Touchscreen interface makes it extremely easy to input phone numbers and text messages.
2.Unlocked: Just insert sim card and start to talk. No contract to buy!
3.Text messaging made easy with the handwriting input mode.
4.Internet browsing is no problem.
5.Quad band 850/900/1800/1900MHZ mobile phone can be used for worldwide including North America. Call your cell phone service provider to confirm.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Windows Phone Will Beat iPhone Next Year
New leaks strongly suggest that the Windows Phone will beat the iPhone next year, as opposed to in 2015.
Microsoft late last year introduced the new Windows Phone, or at least that's what the company claimed it was doing. It turns out that Windows Phones like the HTC HD7 and Samsung Focus are internally referred to as "KIN on Steroids", while the actual Windows Phone is slated to make its debut in mid-2012.
Sources close to the matter describe the Windows Phone as the device that gave Nokia no other choice than to join forces with Microsoft. "It immediately became apparent to Nokia VPs that they were standing on a burning platform," an insider said.
While minimum required specs for the Windows Phone is still unknown, Microsoft is said to have teamed up with ARM to produce a custom M8 chip, possibly indicating a 8nm architecture that will be several years ahead of competing chips when it comes to power consumption.
The Windows Phone concept is said to focus on a new generation of Natural User Interfaces (NUI). An insider describes it as the highway to the future. We can only speculate about what kind of interfaces the Windows Phone will offer, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for the possibility to extend the Windows Phone screen beyond the actual screen.
The truly amazing part of the Windows Phone is said to be its price, however, as a new partnership between Microsoft and Nokia aim to give it a MSRP of $50. While a final agreement has yet to be reached, a source says that the motivation on Nokia's end to prove Steve Jobs wrong when it comes to the quality of a $50 smartphone will ultimately close the deal.
Do we smell a Carphone Warehouse exclusive at launch in the UK? We certainly do. It remains to be seen if the Windows Phone will reach U.S. shores though, as Google and its many friends at U.S. carriers are reportedly working on a similar project that involves face recognition and more. Google denies it, but CNN claims it's indeed happening. But can they match the Windows Phone's $50 MSRP? Only time will tell.
Microsoft late last year introduced the new Windows Phone, or at least that's what the company claimed it was doing. It turns out that Windows Phones like the HTC HD7 and Samsung Focus are internally referred to as "KIN on Steroids", while the actual Windows Phone is slated to make its debut in mid-2012.
Sources close to the matter describe the Windows Phone as the device that gave Nokia no other choice than to join forces with Microsoft. "It immediately became apparent to Nokia VPs that they were standing on a burning platform," an insider said.
While minimum required specs for the Windows Phone is still unknown, Microsoft is said to have teamed up with ARM to produce a custom M8 chip, possibly indicating a 8nm architecture that will be several years ahead of competing chips when it comes to power consumption.
The Windows Phone concept is said to focus on a new generation of Natural User Interfaces (NUI). An insider describes it as the highway to the future. We can only speculate about what kind of interfaces the Windows Phone will offer, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for the possibility to extend the Windows Phone screen beyond the actual screen.
The truly amazing part of the Windows Phone is said to be its price, however, as a new partnership between Microsoft and Nokia aim to give it a MSRP of $50. While a final agreement has yet to be reached, a source says that the motivation on Nokia's end to prove Steve Jobs wrong when it comes to the quality of a $50 smartphone will ultimately close the deal.
Do we smell a Carphone Warehouse exclusive at launch in the UK? We certainly do. It remains to be seen if the Windows Phone will reach U.S. shores though, as Google and its many friends at U.S. carriers are reportedly working on a similar project that involves face recognition and more. Google denies it, but CNN claims it's indeed happening. But can they match the Windows Phone's $50 MSRP? Only time will tell.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sony Ericsson: We're Committed to CDMA, Android
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Verizon Wireless
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, for Verizon Wireless, is the first phone with a PlayStation gaming experience on board.
Here I'm playing Star Battalion. The control pads make a huge difference in gaming.
The Xperia Play comes with several top games preloaded, and you'll be able to download more from Verizon's or Google's app stores.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Windows Phone 7 update resource debuts
Windows Phone 7 owners now have a resource that provides them with basic information on when their devices will receive their next update.
The appropriately named "Where's my phone update?" Web page lists six available Windows Phone 7 devices in the U.S., along with the status of software updates--in testing, scheduling, or delivery. The resource will be updated once a week.
When a device is in the testing phase, its software update is undergoing "mobile operator network and quality tests." Once that's complete, it moves to scheduling, at which point the software giant is deciding which day to launch the update. According to Microsoft, scheduling takes up to 10 days. After that period, the company launches the update to customers "in batches." According to Microsoft, it could take Windows Phone 7 users "several weeks before you receive notice that an update is available to you."
Microsoft's new resource, which launched yesterday, comes just a day after the company started to roll out its latest Windows Phone 7 update, which includes the ability for users to copy and paste text. It also boasts better searching for the Apps Marketplace and speed improvements.
But as the phone update page shows, the chances of many users getting their hands on the update anytime soon seem slim. The Dell Venue Pro, HTC HD7, HTC Surround, LG Quantum, and Samsung Focus are still awaiting the February update, which featured minor improvements. With the March update, only the Dell Venue Pro and the HTC HD7 have made it out of the testing phase.
Of course, there might be good reason for Microsoft to want to take its time with these rollouts. Last month, the company started updating Windows Phone 7 devices, only to find that the update caused what Microsoft called a "technical issue" with a "small number of Samsung phones." That "issue" rendered some of those phones inoperable.
After nixing the update and releasing it days later when issues had been addressed, reports surfaced claiming the updates were once again causing problems with Windows Phone 7 devices.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20046688-17.html#ixzz1HWqKzJ4h
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Fashion goes pop
From Lady Gaga's fantastical creations to Katy Perry's tongue-in-cheek costumes - today's female pop stars are in competition to top the charts for outrageous fashion. So what happened to elegant red-carpet styling? And how much more bizarre can their outfits get?
Spring is a fertile time. Not just for the lambs and the budding trees, but for fashion and trends. The first months of each year bring the latest round of catwalk shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris, and the concurrent awards season sent the best dressed in film and music trotting up the red carpets to the Grammys, the Brits, the Baftas and the Oscars. Spring is an orgy of style.
In the old days, if you wanted to look at the beautifully ridiculous, the conceptual or the just plain silly, the fashion shows were your best bet. Awards ceremonies, by contrast, used to be elegant oceans of pretty, colourful gowns by Valentino, Marchesa and Versace. They were so sedate that, in 2001, when Björk wore a swan dress by fashion designer Marjan Pejoski and laid six eggs on the red carpet at the Oscars, she was lampooned for years. In 2011, a decade later, nobody would blink if Björk had taken off and flown to her seat. This spring, at the Grammys, Katy Perry sported angel wings, 10-year-old actress and pop star Willow Smith turned up in 8in platform trainers, US singer Nicki Minaj added leopard-print highlights to her pompadour hair to match her leopard-print dress and Lady Gaga arrived in an egg, carried like a Roman emperor.
The designers' most outrageous creations were papped on celebrities at red-carpet events rather than at the fashion shows. In fact, the most talked-about turn on the catwalk this season wasn't by Kate Moss, Lara Stone or any other model – it was Lady Gaga's debut at the Thierry Mugler womenswear show in Paris. Something odd is happening with celebrities and style. The stars are becoming more daring, more avant garde than the designers.
Nowadays, the biggest female names in music don't particularly set themselves apart from their predecessors through musical style – most of them create surprisingly traditional pop – but the way they look is a whole new world. Mainstream pop stars have typically had mainstream styling. (This trend is mainly centred on music – film stars are rarely extreme in their style choices, perhaps because they need to be believable in a versatile range of personas.) The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie, Girls Aloud, even Madonna – all the platinum-selling female acts of the past decade have fitted within received ideas of fashion and femininity, be it sexy, pretty or cool. Singers typically wore clothes that were easy to sell or easy to copy for the high street: Buffalo trainers, hot pants, hipster jeans.
Professor Mathieu Deflem is a sociologist who teaches a course called "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" at the University of South Carolina. He says Gaga's fashion is a change from that of other pop stars. "Lady Gaga reassembles and restyles familiar items in an unfamiliar way. Her sense of style and sex is different. It is artistic, not commercial. Her fashion is the goal, the expression, not a means."
The new generation don't go out without a carapaced catsuit, flame-throwing bras, dresses made of cupcakes or flowers or Muppets, and hair that defies logic and gravity. Singers such as Rihanna, Jessie J and Paloma Faith choose to look kitsch or theatrical or even warrior-like rather than follow a standard idea of beauty. Not only is their style a break from tradition but it's impossible for fans – or retailers – to recreate their looks, well, at least without the aid of a mechanic and a pastry chef.
These new stars have unique relationships with the designers. Traditionally, when performers forged partnerships with labels, they were equal. Kylie works with Dolce & Gabbana, an Italian label which shares her often kitsch and flamboyant style. Julien Macdonald is known for pretty dresses and so are Girls Aloud. No one blinked when he created stage outfits for them. But when Giorgio Armani dressed Lady Gaga for the 2010 Grammys, the partnership seemed crazy. The designer is synonymous with restraint and the colour "greige"; Lady Gaga likes wearing a lobster on her head. Armani completely abandoned the style he has developed over 36 years to dress the pop star in spangles. "It wouldn't be possible to give Gaga a look from the collection because she wears pieces of art," a spokesperson admitted.
This year, Armani dressed Katy Perry for the Grammys and gave her a custom-made, winged, crystal-encrusted gown. Gaga, meanwhile, went to Hussein Chalayan, who is known as creative and experimental, but it was Lady Gaga who convinced him to make her an egg. That so many of these new pop stars wear custom-made clothes from established names, clothes which differ wildly from the labels' signature looks, marks a shift in the fashion status quo. These pop stars are inspiring designers to change. Particularly with the Gaga/Armani collaboration, it didn't feel that Armani dressed Gaga – more that she inspired him to rethink his idea of a dress.
The fashion designers haven't always been so fascinated by these stars. Nicola Formichetti is creative director of the Thierry Mugler label and has worked as a stylist at magazines such as Dazed & Confused, Another and American Harper's Bazaar. He is also Lady Gaga's fashion director, the man responsible for finding the meat dress, the veils and the dildo she wore on the cover of Q magazine. He has said that labels weren't always keen to work with the singer. "At the beginning, fashion designers didn't get her. Nobody would lend her anything. I had to lie and say I needed it for my editorial work."
Hussein Chalayan cheerfully admits he wasn't a fan of Lady Gaga or her dress sense until he saw her perform. "I wasn't interested in her at all until I went to see her in concert. She's likable and warm and makes an effort with everyone – I hope she doesn't change. I think what she's doing is a regurgitation of the past, but it's fresh packaging."
Being snubbed by the fashion establishment has meant these stars and their stylists have worked hard to find their fantastical looks. Whether the singers are underground or transgressive is debatable; the fact that they've brought new fashion talents into the international spotlight is not. Formichetti tweets the credits for all the clothes Gaga wears, and being worn by Beyoncé or Rihanna is now as important as being name-checked by US Vogue's Anna Wintour. Designers such as David Koma, Gareth Pugh and Francesco Scognamiglio have achieved international reputations in part from working with pop stars. The Blonds, David and Phillipe – otherwise known as David Trujillo and Phillipe Rollano – are a rising New York fashion duo who have made their reputation dressing stars such as Fergie, Rihanna and Katy Perry in sculpted, outrageous outfits.
"Over-the-top glamour is our speciality," says David Blond. "The 'Blond' aesthetic and themes hark back to a time when women dressed to kill, like the golden age of Hollywood. Now there is a real need for fantasy and escape from the everyday, and elaborate costume plays a huge role in this. Life is theatre for us and we want to bring a bit of that into everyone's life."
The Blonds believe the charisma of the new wave of pop stars is about more than their clothes. "Stars like Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry understand the impact of how they present themselves and we believe that comes from within, because without these women the costumes don't have life."
The new stars do seem to be more humorous and self-aware than their pop predecessors. When Jessie J won the Critics' Choice at this year's Brit Awards she wore a Vivienne Westwood minidress. "I look like the evil queen from Snow White," she told reporters. "I just need to go and find my dwarfs now." Similarly, when asked about her big-cat Givenchy couture at this year's Grammys, Minaj described her outfit as "miraculous meets her cub meets ferocity meets fabulosity meets the runway". Katy Perry is more pragmatic. "We're all unique. That's why we all win and we all can exist. People don't just want vanilla. They want 31 flavours. I couldn't do what Rihanna does. I couldn't do what Gaga does. They can't do what I do."
What these stars do is create a break in the monotony of style that has smothered culture of late. Trends used to wash from catwalk to stage to club and pavement unhampered. They may not be of vast cultural significance, but these new celebrities' style is vivid and fun. We have come a long way from laughing at a star for laying eggs on a red carpet to applauding one for arriving in an egg. It's going to be entertaining to see how much further we can go.
Spring is a fertile time. Not just for the lambs and the budding trees, but for fashion and trends. The first months of each year bring the latest round of catwalk shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris, and the concurrent awards season sent the best dressed in film and music trotting up the red carpets to the Grammys, the Brits, the Baftas and the Oscars. Spring is an orgy of style.
In the old days, if you wanted to look at the beautifully ridiculous, the conceptual or the just plain silly, the fashion shows were your best bet. Awards ceremonies, by contrast, used to be elegant oceans of pretty, colourful gowns by Valentino, Marchesa and Versace. They were so sedate that, in 2001, when Björk wore a swan dress by fashion designer Marjan Pejoski and laid six eggs on the red carpet at the Oscars, she was lampooned for years. In 2011, a decade later, nobody would blink if Björk had taken off and flown to her seat. This spring, at the Grammys, Katy Perry sported angel wings, 10-year-old actress and pop star Willow Smith turned up in 8in platform trainers, US singer Nicki Minaj added leopard-print highlights to her pompadour hair to match her leopard-print dress and Lady Gaga arrived in an egg, carried like a Roman emperor.
The designers' most outrageous creations were papped on celebrities at red-carpet events rather than at the fashion shows. In fact, the most talked-about turn on the catwalk this season wasn't by Kate Moss, Lara Stone or any other model – it was Lady Gaga's debut at the Thierry Mugler womenswear show in Paris. Something odd is happening with celebrities and style. The stars are becoming more daring, more avant garde than the designers.
Nowadays, the biggest female names in music don't particularly set themselves apart from their predecessors through musical style – most of them create surprisingly traditional pop – but the way they look is a whole new world. Mainstream pop stars have typically had mainstream styling. (This trend is mainly centred on music – film stars are rarely extreme in their style choices, perhaps because they need to be believable in a versatile range of personas.) The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie, Girls Aloud, even Madonna – all the platinum-selling female acts of the past decade have fitted within received ideas of fashion and femininity, be it sexy, pretty or cool. Singers typically wore clothes that were easy to sell or easy to copy for the high street: Buffalo trainers, hot pants, hipster jeans.
Professor Mathieu Deflem is a sociologist who teaches a course called "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" at the University of South Carolina. He says Gaga's fashion is a change from that of other pop stars. "Lady Gaga reassembles and restyles familiar items in an unfamiliar way. Her sense of style and sex is different. It is artistic, not commercial. Her fashion is the goal, the expression, not a means."
The new generation don't go out without a carapaced catsuit, flame-throwing bras, dresses made of cupcakes or flowers or Muppets, and hair that defies logic and gravity. Singers such as Rihanna, Jessie J and Paloma Faith choose to look kitsch or theatrical or even warrior-like rather than follow a standard idea of beauty. Not only is their style a break from tradition but it's impossible for fans – or retailers – to recreate their looks, well, at least without the aid of a mechanic and a pastry chef.
These new stars have unique relationships with the designers. Traditionally, when performers forged partnerships with labels, they were equal. Kylie works with Dolce & Gabbana, an Italian label which shares her often kitsch and flamboyant style. Julien Macdonald is known for pretty dresses and so are Girls Aloud. No one blinked when he created stage outfits for them. But when Giorgio Armani dressed Lady Gaga for the 2010 Grammys, the partnership seemed crazy. The designer is synonymous with restraint and the colour "greige"; Lady Gaga likes wearing a lobster on her head. Armani completely abandoned the style he has developed over 36 years to dress the pop star in spangles. "It wouldn't be possible to give Gaga a look from the collection because she wears pieces of art," a spokesperson admitted.
This year, Armani dressed Katy Perry for the Grammys and gave her a custom-made, winged, crystal-encrusted gown. Gaga, meanwhile, went to Hussein Chalayan, who is known as creative and experimental, but it was Lady Gaga who convinced him to make her an egg. That so many of these new pop stars wear custom-made clothes from established names, clothes which differ wildly from the labels' signature looks, marks a shift in the fashion status quo. These pop stars are inspiring designers to change. Particularly with the Gaga/Armani collaboration, it didn't feel that Armani dressed Gaga – more that she inspired him to rethink his idea of a dress.
The fashion designers haven't always been so fascinated by these stars. Nicola Formichetti is creative director of the Thierry Mugler label and has worked as a stylist at magazines such as Dazed & Confused, Another and American Harper's Bazaar. He is also Lady Gaga's fashion director, the man responsible for finding the meat dress, the veils and the dildo she wore on the cover of Q magazine. He has said that labels weren't always keen to work with the singer. "At the beginning, fashion designers didn't get her. Nobody would lend her anything. I had to lie and say I needed it for my editorial work."
Hussein Chalayan cheerfully admits he wasn't a fan of Lady Gaga or her dress sense until he saw her perform. "I wasn't interested in her at all until I went to see her in concert. She's likable and warm and makes an effort with everyone – I hope she doesn't change. I think what she's doing is a regurgitation of the past, but it's fresh packaging."
Being snubbed by the fashion establishment has meant these stars and their stylists have worked hard to find their fantastical looks. Whether the singers are underground or transgressive is debatable; the fact that they've brought new fashion talents into the international spotlight is not. Formichetti tweets the credits for all the clothes Gaga wears, and being worn by Beyoncé or Rihanna is now as important as being name-checked by US Vogue's Anna Wintour. Designers such as David Koma, Gareth Pugh and Francesco Scognamiglio have achieved international reputations in part from working with pop stars. The Blonds, David and Phillipe – otherwise known as David Trujillo and Phillipe Rollano – are a rising New York fashion duo who have made their reputation dressing stars such as Fergie, Rihanna and Katy Perry in sculpted, outrageous outfits.
"Over-the-top glamour is our speciality," says David Blond. "The 'Blond' aesthetic and themes hark back to a time when women dressed to kill, like the golden age of Hollywood. Now there is a real need for fantasy and escape from the everyday, and elaborate costume plays a huge role in this. Life is theatre for us and we want to bring a bit of that into everyone's life."
The Blonds believe the charisma of the new wave of pop stars is about more than their clothes. "Stars like Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry understand the impact of how they present themselves and we believe that comes from within, because without these women the costumes don't have life."
The new stars do seem to be more humorous and self-aware than their pop predecessors. When Jessie J won the Critics' Choice at this year's Brit Awards she wore a Vivienne Westwood minidress. "I look like the evil queen from Snow White," she told reporters. "I just need to go and find my dwarfs now." Similarly, when asked about her big-cat Givenchy couture at this year's Grammys, Minaj described her outfit as "miraculous meets her cub meets ferocity meets fabulosity meets the runway". Katy Perry is more pragmatic. "We're all unique. That's why we all win and we all can exist. People don't just want vanilla. They want 31 flavours. I couldn't do what Rihanna does. I couldn't do what Gaga does. They can't do what I do."
What these stars do is create a break in the monotony of style that has smothered culture of late. Trends used to wash from catwalk to stage to club and pavement unhampered. They may not be of vast cultural significance, but these new celebrities' style is vivid and fun. We have come a long way from laughing at a star for laying eggs on a red carpet to applauding one for arriving in an egg. It's going to be entertaining to see how much further we can go.
Yamaha unveils Power Beam damper to control motorcycle frame flex
Yamaha has introduced a new product aimed at dampening frame flex in motorcycles and scooters. All two-wheeled machines experience varying levels of deflection under hard riding, and while excess flex can give the impression of an unsettled machine, too little can numb the bike's handing at the limit. In order to find that Goldilocks sweet spot between the two extremes, Yamaha has introduced the Power Beam. The device soaks up energy from frame flex and converts it into heat energy, which is then dissipated. The company says that the device serves up a more comfortable, stable ride.
While you'd think that that the new tech would debut on the latest and greatest street rocket from Yamaha, the company says at first, the Power Beam will only be available on the company's T-Max scooter. From what we hear, the T-Max enjoys a fairly substantial tuning following and owners are quick to snap up the latest and greatest piece of kit from the Japanese manufacturer. There is some indication that the Power Beam may make its way to other products in the near future, however.
INQ Cloud Touch phone ships this April 6th
Remember the INQ Cloud Touch that went official last month? Well, we now have word that this fabled Facebook handset will hit the UK when April 6th rolls around. Among the known launch partners for the device would be Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse, where pre-orders for the INQ Cloud Touch has already been going around at £299.95 sans a SIM card. For folks who prefer a Pay As You Go scheme, then the INQ Cloud Touch is more affordable at £199.95 a pop. Folks who are looking at a free on £20 monthly or higher contracts are those who don’t mind tying themselves down to a long-term commitment. Well, the beginning of April isn’t too far away, and we do hope to see whether the amount of Facebook activity will increase with the proliferation of such handsets.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
HTC Arrive review: Welcome, Windows Phone 7, to copy/paste
The good: The HTC Arrive features a durable design with a responsive QWERTY keyboard and a tilting screen. It's the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship with Microsoft's cut-and-paste feature.
The bad: The HTC Arrive's heavy and bulky body will weigh some people down, and it requires some pressure to slide open the keyboard. Its camera could be better, and we were hoping for 4G WiMax support.
The bottom line: The HTC Arrive, Sprint's first Windows 7 phone, is a solid effort that largely delivers, although it will disappoint those looking for a 4G smartphone.
Editors' note: This review focuses on the HTC Arrive's design, performance, and differentiating features. For more on its operating system and core functions, please read our full review of Windows Phone 7.
HTC Arrive
First known as the HTC 7 Pro at its New York unveiling, the HTC Arrive is Sprint's inaugural foray into the brave new world of Windows Phone 7. And the Arrive also represents two other minor "firsts": it's the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 phone in the United States, and it's the first Windows Phone 7 model to ship with Microsoft's cut-and-paste update.
As a result there's a lot riding on the Arrive's rounded shoulders, and for the most part it succeeds in carrying that weight. Like the HTC Surround, the Arrive is a thick chunk of handset, but that extra bulk makes possible a responsive keyboard and a screen that tilts for optimal typing and media consumption. While the data speeds are fine, we were a little disappointed that 4G WiMax isn't an option.
While there's a lot to like, the Arrive also has its drawbacks, some having to do with the handset's construction and some stemming from the Windows Phone 7 OS. For the most part, though, it acquits itself well as a Sprint newcomer.
Design
The HTC Arrive looks good, and looks strong. Rimmed with shiny, dark-gray paint, the handset has a glossy appearance and feel. It has barely rounded corners, like the iPhone 4, and two cut-outs that reveal the front-facing speakers. On the back, a swath of brushed stainless steel and a decorative screw reveal that this is not a phone to be trifled with. And if there were any doubt, the phone's dimensions (4.6 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, 0.6-inch thick) and weight (a whopping 6.4 ounces, nearly half a pound)--attest that the Arrive is one brick of a phone. Its bulk makes it a little less comfortable to slip into a pocket, but you won't have to worry much if you drop it. We noticed, however, that the gray paint that rings the face easily flaked off in our bags and under our nail.
The HTC Arrive is Sprint's first Windows Phone 7 phone, and the first to ship with copy and paste installed.
At 3.6 inches, the WVGA capacitive touch screen is slightly smaller than that of the HTC Surround, but has the same 800x480-pixel resolution. While it's a fine screen that shows off bright colors and sharp edges, it doesn't have the richness or pop of the Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Focus.
Below the screen are three touch-sensitive buttons for Back, Home, and Bing search. A camera trigger button is on the right spine, and the Micro-USB charger and a large volume rocker are on the left. Up top there's a standard 3.5-millimeter headset jack and the power button. The Arrive's back houses a 5-megapixel camera and a flash. As with all Windows 7 phones, there's no card slot for expanding the phone's memory, but the 16GB built-in storage should be enough for most casual users' needs.
More than anything else, what makes the HTC Arrive stand out is its tilting screen. HTC is no stranger to this design; it brought us the AT&T Tilt and HTC Tilt 2, much ballyhooed back in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Those two handsets ran Microsoft's earlier Windows mobile operating systems.
As with its predecessors, the Arrive's screen slides out to expose a full QWERTY keyboard before tilting up 30 degrees (previous models tilted up 40 degrees.) You simply push the front face flat and slide it back over the keyboard when you're done. It takes a fair amount of pressure to open, and our thumb kept slipping on the phone's square design on our first few tries. The Arrive's tilting mechanism appears to be fairly sturdy, and makes a metallic click when you lay the face flat.
The tilted display is best when you're typing with the phone in your hand or setting it down to watch a video play; be aware, however, that the handset will rock back slightly if you put it down and then tap on the screen in the open position.
Below the display, the Arrive's keyboard manages to be spacious without being overly wide. Keys are fully separated, but barely rise above the surface. The backlit buttons are smooth and very responsive, although a skosh less comfortable than buttons with a more rubbery feel. There are dedicated buttons for emoticons and diacritical marks, and for adding currency symbols for euros and pound sterling.
Interface
We've examined Windows Phone 7 in depth elsewhere, but there are several features worth noting here. First, the Arrive comes with Microsoft's copy/paste feature installed, the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship with it. Touching a word on a Web page or in a document presents tags that you can easily drag to select an area. Highlighting a word also causes a "copy" icon to pop up. Tapping it then saves the selected text to the clipboard for later pasting. Finally, a "paste" icon appears when you tap an input field, like a Word document or a search field.
Unfortunately, some screens still don't convert to landscape mode.
Copy/paste works intuitively and smoothly, and we love the visual panache. You can paste the same text multiple times. However, the functionality isn't strictly systemwide, although it does appear in the obvious locations, like the browser, e-mail, documents, maps, contact cards, and search results. For instance, copy/paste doesn't appear as an option in some of the settings menus, so you can't use it when configuring your e-mail--something we could do with both Android and iOS.
The bad: The HTC Arrive's heavy and bulky body will weigh some people down, and it requires some pressure to slide open the keyboard. Its camera could be better, and we were hoping for 4G WiMax support.
The bottom line: The HTC Arrive, Sprint's first Windows 7 phone, is a solid effort that largely delivers, although it will disappoint those looking for a 4G smartphone.
Editors' note: This review focuses on the HTC Arrive's design, performance, and differentiating features. For more on its operating system and core functions, please read our full review of Windows Phone 7.
HTC Arrive
First known as the HTC 7 Pro at its New York unveiling, the HTC Arrive is Sprint's inaugural foray into the brave new world of Windows Phone 7. And the Arrive also represents two other minor "firsts": it's the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 phone in the United States, and it's the first Windows Phone 7 model to ship with Microsoft's cut-and-paste update.
As a result there's a lot riding on the Arrive's rounded shoulders, and for the most part it succeeds in carrying that weight. Like the HTC Surround, the Arrive is a thick chunk of handset, but that extra bulk makes possible a responsive keyboard and a screen that tilts for optimal typing and media consumption. While the data speeds are fine, we were a little disappointed that 4G WiMax isn't an option.
While there's a lot to like, the Arrive also has its drawbacks, some having to do with the handset's construction and some stemming from the Windows Phone 7 OS. For the most part, though, it acquits itself well as a Sprint newcomer.
The HTC Arrive looks good, and looks strong. Rimmed with shiny, dark-gray paint, the handset has a glossy appearance and feel. It has barely rounded corners, like the iPhone 4, and two cut-outs that reveal the front-facing speakers. On the back, a swath of brushed stainless steel and a decorative screw reveal that this is not a phone to be trifled with. And if there were any doubt, the phone's dimensions (4.6 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, 0.6-inch thick) and weight (a whopping 6.4 ounces, nearly half a pound)--attest that the Arrive is one brick of a phone. Its bulk makes it a little less comfortable to slip into a pocket, but you won't have to worry much if you drop it. We noticed, however, that the gray paint that rings the face easily flaked off in our bags and under our nail.
The HTC Arrive is Sprint's first Windows Phone 7 phone, and the first to ship with copy and paste installed.
At 3.6 inches, the WVGA capacitive touch screen is slightly smaller than that of the HTC Surround, but has the same 800x480-pixel resolution. While it's a fine screen that shows off bright colors and sharp edges, it doesn't have the richness or pop of the Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Focus.
Below the screen are three touch-sensitive buttons for Back, Home, and Bing search. A camera trigger button is on the right spine, and the Micro-USB charger and a large volume rocker are on the left. Up top there's a standard 3.5-millimeter headset jack and the power button. The Arrive's back houses a 5-megapixel camera and a flash. As with all Windows 7 phones, there's no card slot for expanding the phone's memory, but the 16GB built-in storage should be enough for most casual users' needs.
More than anything else, what makes the HTC Arrive stand out is its tilting screen. HTC is no stranger to this design; it brought us the AT&T Tilt and HTC Tilt 2, much ballyhooed back in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Those two handsets ran Microsoft's earlier Windows mobile operating systems.
As with its predecessors, the Arrive's screen slides out to expose a full QWERTY keyboard before tilting up 30 degrees (previous models tilted up 40 degrees.) You simply push the front face flat and slide it back over the keyboard when you're done. It takes a fair amount of pressure to open, and our thumb kept slipping on the phone's square design on our first few tries. The Arrive's tilting mechanism appears to be fairly sturdy, and makes a metallic click when you lay the face flat.
The tilted display is best when you're typing with the phone in your hand or setting it down to watch a video play; be aware, however, that the handset will rock back slightly if you put it down and then tap on the screen in the open position.
Below the display, the Arrive's keyboard manages to be spacious without being overly wide. Keys are fully separated, but barely rise above the surface. The backlit buttons are smooth and very responsive, although a skosh less comfortable than buttons with a more rubbery feel. There are dedicated buttons for emoticons and diacritical marks, and for adding currency symbols for euros and pound sterling.
Interface
We've examined Windows Phone 7 in depth elsewhere, but there are several features worth noting here. First, the Arrive comes with Microsoft's copy/paste feature installed, the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship with it. Touching a word on a Web page or in a document presents tags that you can easily drag to select an area. Highlighting a word also causes a "copy" icon to pop up. Tapping it then saves the selected text to the clipboard for later pasting. Finally, a "paste" icon appears when you tap an input field, like a Word document or a search field.
Unfortunately, some screens still don't convert to landscape mode.
Copy/paste works intuitively and smoothly, and we love the visual panache. You can paste the same text multiple times. However, the functionality isn't strictly systemwide, although it does appear in the obvious locations, like the browser, e-mail, documents, maps, contact cards, and search results. For instance, copy/paste doesn't appear as an option in some of the settings menus, so you can't use it when configuring your e-mail--something we could do with both Android and iOS.
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