Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
HTC Magic Smartphone At Google IO
The HTC Magic smartphone is one sweet Google Android mobile computing device. The fact that Google gave all of us who are attending the Google I/O 2009 conference here in San Francisco an HTC Magic makes it even sweeter.
Here's what we got - the HTC Magic and all of its associated parts (charger, ear bud phone controls, etc.), a 2 GB micro SD card, as well as a T-Mobile phone card with thirty days of free unlimited calls and 3G data service.
See the full package pictured against the conference t-shirt below.
(HTC Magic Google I/O 2009 edition)
When I started it up, it went through a setup routine that automatically connected it to my Gmail and everything else.
And if that's not enough for you, those thoughtful googlers loaded it with a bunch of great tunes.
(HTC Magic Google I/O 2009 edition with tunes)
It has some great features:
YouTube™, Gmail™, Google Maps™, Google Talk™, Google Calendar™, Google™ Search.
High-speed 3.5G network connection and Wi-Fi technology with seamless transition to open networks.
Capture video or stills - the choice is yours on the auto focus 3.2 megapixel camera.
Easy viewing of PDF files and Microsoft® Word and Excel® documents via included PDF Viewer and Quickoffice applications.
Support for Bluetooth wireless stereo headsets (A2DP).
microSD™ (SD 2.0 compatible) expansion slot for all your storage needs.
3.2-inch touch-sensitive screen with HVGA (320 X 480 pixel) resolution.
The reason I'm writing about it here, on a science and science fiction website, is that although I love my iPhone, I've got a serious beef with it, and with Apple.
You see, the iPhone would be the coolest computer I ever owned, bar none. Think about it - it's that amazing.
Except for one thing.
I can't program it! I can't even put tiny BASIC or something on it to write my own software. And if I can't write software for it, if I can't program it, then it's not MY computer!. As turns out, it's Steve Jobs' computer.
This Google Android smartphone, on the other hand, is unlocked and ready to accept any programs I might care to download to it. It's my computer, in a way that the iPhone can never be.
So you science fiction mavens might be thinking about the pocket computer from Niven and Pournelle's 1974 novel The Mote in God's Eye or maybe the calculator pad from Isaac Asimov's 1951 novel Foundation in relation to the HTC Magic Google Android smartphone. I'm thinking that maybe this is the most remarkable pocket-sized computer I ever owned that's really my computer.
Thanks, Google.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/28/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Computer ")
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...' - John Brunner, 1975
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'- Peter Watts, 1999
AI Worms That Spread
'...there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net now' - John Brunner, 1975.
Great. Now AIs Have Access To Hacking Tools
'... when you and the Flatline punch through that ice and scramble the cores.' - William Gibson, 1984.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
