venues

Foursquare debuts venue pages to share with non-members

Foursquare launched its shareable mobile venue pages for non-members today, as it continues down the path of becoming less of a social network and more of a recommendation search engine -- a la Yelp.

"Foursquare has tons of helpful information about places, like photos, menu items, and great tips from insiders and local experts," the company wrote in a blog post today. "When you Tweet, post to Facebook, email or text about a place with friends who don't have Foursquare on their phones, they'll be linked to a shiny new page showing all the most … Read more

How to flag duplicate Foursquare venues on iPhone, Android

When checking into a venue on Foursquare, it can be frustrating to see there's more than one venue listed. With some venues leading to unlocking badges, earning a mayorship, or even a special, duplicates get in the way. Marking duplicated venues is nothing new to the iOS app. In the past you'd have to visit the venues page and then flag it as a duplicate, or you could use Hopscotch if you're a Foursquare "superuser" to mark venues as duplicates.

About Foursquare pointed out a new feature in the latest update to the iPhone app … Read more

Showtime nears as Apple spruces up venue for iPhone 5

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ahead of its much-anticipated news event next week, Apple is already preparing the inside and outside of the venue.

That event, which is widely expected to bring the next version of the company's iPhone, is being held in the theater at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Just as it's done with past events there, Apple has begun covering the front of the building with colorful window dressings. Where March's iPad event brought splatters of paint, this time around Apple has gone with a decidedly more controlled style with what look … Read more

CES: Dell Venue smartphone debuts

LAS VEGAS--At its press conference on Thursday, Dell unveiled its new Venue smartphone.

We'll have some hands-on impressions shortly, but here are the initial specs and info.

Dynamic 4.1-inch AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass 8-megapixel camera Runs Android 2.2 and full Flash 10.1 implementation Offers the full Dell Stage interface with Stage widgets

Pricing and availability: details in the coming weeks.

Dell Venue Pro equipped for AT&T passes through FCC

T-Mobile has yet to deliver its Dell Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 handset, but a version of the device for AT&T passed through the Federal Communications Commission this week. We also saw a mess of Samsungs (of course) and the Huawei Ideos, aka the T-Mobile Comet.

Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a … Read more

Dell provides update on Venue Pro delays

Over the past couple of days, there have been numerous reports and some confusion over whether shipments of the Dell Venue Pro have been delayed till January 6 (original estimated ship date was December 9).

We contacted Dell to try to get to the bottom of the situation and was directed to check out the Dell community blog where it is providing updates on the status of Windows Phone 7 device.

In the blog, Dell's chief blogger Lionel Menchaca admitted that it "recently experienced a slight delay in shipment times," which would affect the shipping date for … Read more

Dialed In 152: Soul of a tablet

Acer claims its new 4.8-inch Android smartphone has the "soul of a tablet." Seriously? At that size, maybe they should just call it a tablet, soul and all. We also discuss the Dell Venue Pro, Motorola Olympus rumors, the burgeoning 4G market, and all the latest reviews.

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News Dell Venue Pro now on sale Acer unveils 4.8-inch Android smartphone AT&T Facebook account confirms Motorola Olympus Content ratings latest feature on Android Market Snap up the AT&T R225 for $20, contract-free … Read more

Dell Venue Pro now on sale

Saving the best for last? Well, we'll have to see about that, but the Dell Venue Pro is finally available for purchase directly from Dell.

The Windows Phone 7 device is available in two configurations: 8GB or 16GB. The former costs $99.99 with a two-year contract with T-Mobile or $449.99 without contract, and the latter goes for $149.99 and $499.99. Both have an estimated shipping date of December 9.

The Venue Pro features a portrait slider design that offers a full QWERTY keyboard and a 4.1-inch Gorilla Glass AMOLED display. A 1GHz processor and … Read more

Dell replacing employee BlackBerrys with its own phone

Dell is looking to market its own smartphone as an alternative to the BlackBerry and is starting the push with its own employees.

The PC maker will give its BlackBerry-carrying employees new Venue Pro smartphones in return for their existing phones. The transition is expected to save the company around 25 percent in mobile communications costs, mostly by getting rid of its BlackBerry servers, Dell's chief financial officer Brian Gladden told The Wall Street Journal.

The 25,000 employees who currently have BlackBerrys will receive Venue Pro phones with both voice and data plans; remaining employees (about 71,000) … Read more

What's inside the first Windows Phone 7 devices?

Qualcomm's Snapdragon silicon made a sweep of all of the Windows Phone 7 smartphones announced today, rendering the hardware from various manufacturers relatively homogeneous inside.

Against a backdrop of phone announcements from companies such as Samsung, HTC, and Dell, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer posted a video today discussing the relationship between the two companies.

"Qualcomm and Microsoft have a long history of working together to optimize the mobile operating system for Qualcomm chips and platforms...We're excited to bring a new generation of Windows phones exclusively featuring Snapdragon mobile processors," Ballmer said.

"This really shows...what can happen when people bring together great software and great hardware," said Jacobs in the video.

But this collaboration also brings Windows PC-like hardware uniformity. Just as the PC world has the Windows operating system and Intel processors, this first crop of Windows Phone 7 smartphones feature a Microsoft OS and Qualcomm silicon.

"If all of them feature the same hardware (internal) and same operating system, what happens to the differentiation?" asked Ashok Kumar, managing director and analyst at Rodman & Renshaw. Other smartphone processor suppliers include Texas Instruments, Marvell Technology, and Samsung, who provide chips for Android and BlackBerry phones, among others.

And it remains to be seen if Windows Phone 7 devices can find a place in a very crowded market. "I think one of the biggest questions is what are the prospects of Windows Phone 7," said Kumar. "Most of the resources are targeted toward Apple and Android and then you have RIM and the QNX (operating system). There are many questions here, not least of which is what will the receptivity of the consumer be?" Kumar said.

Windows Phone 7 smartphones include the Dell Venue, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC HD7, HTC Surround, HTC 7 Pro, LG Quantum, LG Optimus 7, Samsung Focus, and Samsung Omnia 7. Inside these products is Qualcomm's 1GHz application processor, a 3D graphics function, support for high-megapixel cameras, and the requisite 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, among other functions..… Read more