TECHBUZ

The first rule of the iPhone developer program is: You do not talk about the iPhone developer program.

Before you create software for the iPhone, Apple demands that you sign away a laundry list of rights, including the ability to sell rejected apps through other channels, the ability to sue Apple for more than $50 (in the US, that is), and the ability to reverse-engineer or modify the iPhone or its SDK — and even the right to talk about your agreement with Apple.

The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement (.pdf) spells out all these requirements and more. Previously secret, the agreement has been acquired and published with the help of the Freedom of Information Act…… Read more…

Unboxing the news Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Netbook or Netvertible with Intel Atom N450 CPU, Multitouch Display, Svivel, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium

Who says you have to pick between a netbook and the coming onslaught of standalone tablet devices? Okay maybe some (eh hem Apple), but Lenovo’s trying to have it both ways with the IdeaPad U1 and the S10-3t. In clamshell mode the S10-3t looks like any old 10-inch netbook, but swivel around its capacitive mulitouch display and it turns into that slate device you’ve been dreaming of. That’s not all: the S10-3t is one of the first netbooks (or netveritbles) that has the new Intel 1.83GHz Atom N470 processor. But can the S10-3t straddle both worlds and do it well? And perhaps more importantly, is it worth the premium $649 price tag? That’s the question we’ve been asking ourselves for the last few days, so hit the break for some answers in our full review.%Gallery-87678%

Look and feel There’s nothing too jaw-dropping about the S10-3t’s design, and we’d actually be totally fine with that if it didn’t have the glossiest black lid known to man. While the lid is inlaid with a subtle glitter tint and boxy pattern, you wouldn’t know it with all the smudgy fingerprints it collects. And though the plastic chassis feels solid enough, the lid did collect some scratches from being in our bag so you’ll want to pick up a case to keep the little guy clean and warm.

For a netbook the .79-inch S10-3t is actually rather trim, and it’s noticeably narrower than other 10-inch systems. While it’s obviously thicker than standalone tablets or e-readers like the Kindle DX, when equipped with its four-cell battery the 2.7-pound tablet was light enough to hold up in bed while reading. However, that eight-cell bulging battery version that we saw at CES looks like it would be incredibly uncomfortable to hold in arm….. Read more…

Target’s announced it is launching a scannable mobile coupon program — the first of its kind. The opt-in program will provides Target shoppers with a customized webpage on their mobile phones, with all offers scannable at checkout via a single barcode. Target’s no stranger to innovative marketing — its gift cards are well known for their cute, gadgety ways — and while this new program is essentially a text message driven sale (meaning it could quickly become a mere annoyance), anything that minimizes our interactions with fellow humans gets our stamp of approval, so the ability to scan your own barcode at the register? Thumbs up. The full press release is after the break.

Show full PR text
Target Launches First-Ever Scannable Mobile Coupon Program

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Target is the first national retailer to offer a scannable mobile coupon program that allows guests to receive exclusive offers directly on their mobile phones. Coupons are redeemed by scanning a barcode on the phone at checkout.

“At Target, we know that mobile phones are an integral part of our guests’ lives, and mobile coupons are just another way we’re providing convenient, on-the-go shopping solutions”

“At Target, we know that mobile phones are an integral part of our guests’ lives, and mobile coupons are just another way we’re providing convenient, on-the-go shopping solutions,” said Steve Eastman, president of Target.com….. Read more…

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Zoho, a web-based productivity suite that was called a “fake Office” by a Microsoft VP, is announcing a significant partnership with Google today. The startup will be a launch partner for Google’s recently launched Google Apps Marketplace, which allows vendors to sell applications that compliment Google Apps. Here are our notes from the announcement. Zoho will be integrating two of its over 20 business applications – Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects with Google Apps.

So starting today, Google Apps users will be able to add on-demand CRM app Zoho CRM and project management software Zoho Projects into Google Apps. While Zoho has previously rolled out the ability log-in to its applications via your Google Apps IDs, the two applications have been specially formatted for further immersion into Google Apps with App’s extended APIs. IT admins will now have an option to add Zoho Apps to their domains through Google Apps Marketplace. Once the IT admin adds a Zoho application to their domain, all users within the domain will have access to the Zoho Application through Google universal navigation….. Read more…

For a long time, dating sites and social networks have been two very different beasts, rarely co-mingling as users maintained two entirely separate online identities. But that’s starting to change. Zoosk, a social dating site, has largely passed under our radar until now, but it’s posting some serious stats: the service sees an average of 12 million unique users a month, and has a member base totaling over 40 million. Based on last month’s performance, the company says it has a $30 million run rate, and expects to close out this year with $18-$20 million in revenue.

Zoosk launched back in 2007, and has been showing some strong growth recently, particularly on social networks. Zoosk co-founders Alex Mehr and Shayan Zadeh say that the site differentiates itself from other dating sites like Match.com by tapping into your social graph. The site has a strong presence across social networks including Facebok, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster, and users can also sign in through the site’s web portal at Zoosk.com. And if that’s not enough, you can reach Zoosk through a desktop AIR client and a mobile app. To help build your Zoosk profile, you can import information from whichever social network you’re using Zoosk on. You can also tie it together with services like Last.fm and Netflix, to give potential matches an idea of your music and movie taste……. Read more…

Beautifully constructed and designed. Cool virtual trackball. Super-fast operation. Compact. Irritating button layout. Small lo-res screen. Little internal storage.

The HTC Legend has a lot to live up to. For starters it’s the successor to the award-winning HTC Hero. Then they went and called it “Legend”.

Not content with it having to muscle up against Android’s new champion, the Google Nexus One, HTC has forced it to compete against Robin Hood, King Arthur, Beowulf et al.

It might not be ready to kill any mythical creatures or redistribute wealth to the poor, but there’s no disputing that this is a worthy follow-up to the superb Hero.

It’s got the look
The beautiful metal chassis is described as a “unibody”, which sounds like the kind of nipple-exposing leotard you’d find on the kids of Fame, but just means it’s hewn from a single piece of aluminium. It’s certainly a lovely thing to hold and behold.

The Legend’s considerably slimmer than the Hero, and seems even more so because the jutting chin doesn’t jut nearly so much. Frankly, it makes the Hero look like Bruce Forsyth in a gimp mask.

The screen is the same size at 3.2 inches, though. Seems a bit ickle and lo-res by today’s standards – smaller than the iPhone’s and dwarfed by those on the Nexus One and Motorola Milestone – but it’s now bright AMOLED and does help the phone to maintain compact dimensions.

Well-oiled Android
We’re in Android 2.1 Éclair territory with the Legend, with Google’s iPhone-rivalling operating system gaining multi-touch for web browsing (but not for Google Maps), as well as Goggles and Google Voice.

Despite the lack of the seemingly de rigueur 1GHz Snapdragon processor – the Legend’s is just 600MHz – the operation is as slick and fast as they come. No slow screen re-orientation or juddery flicking through photos here…… Read more…

TODAY

Dell Mini 5 – lots of colours to choose from
We first clapped eyes on Dell’s Mini 5 tablet at CES, but after a brief tease on stage, we’ve been a little starved of information on the tiny tablet since.

Luckily for us, someone has leaked an internal Dell document with a few more juicy details, that suggests the tablet may be in fact called the Streak, and could launch with some sort of Amazon content partnership.

Looking to be perhaps part of a presentation, the slide suggests the Streak could come with a Kindle ebook reader app (possibly similar to that on the PC and BlackBerry apps), as well as access to the Amazon Store for video on demand content and MP3 downloads.

Some leaked promotional material has also shown that the tablet will come in a whole host of colours, with the option for personalisation too.

In case you’ve forgotten, the 5-inch slate looks set to come with a 800×480 capacitive touchscreen and touch buttons, a 5-megapixel camera and extra front-facing VGA cam for video calls, and a docking connector.

We’re looking forward to hearing more details on this as and when they become available, but try not to keep us waiting too long, eh Dell?