The Red Monkey

First Shots and Specs of Microsoft’s Secret Project Pink Phone

These are the first photos of Microsoft’s Project Pink phones, snatched from deep within the bowels of the Microsoft/Verizon industrio-complex —not the Turtle, but the larger, Sidekick-like Pure. This doesn’t look like Windows Phone 7, so what is it?

The shots come just hours after a leaked advertising campaign for the Turtle outed Verizon as a carrier for the Pink Turtle, without so much as a mention of the Pure.

Our tipster confirms the Pure is also headed to Verizon, but doesn’t have a release date. (Though it’s hard to imagine the release date would fall too far out of line with the Turtle, which is expected to hit stores at the end of April.) Anyway, this thing: It’s strange! The paneled interface, with fixed squares for everything from music (with Zune typography) and email to RSS feeds and what looks like a unified social networking hub. As hinted earlier, the aesthetic is similar Windows Phone 7, but the software is distinctly not Windows Phone 7. This looks like Windows Phone 7: Feature Phone edition.

Our source got a few seconds to use the Pure, and said it was intuitive, “better than Android,” and decorated with Windows Phone 7-style animations throughout. That said, the app situation still doesn’t add up. There’s apparently an download screen for new apps, but it’s not populated with anything yet. This could mean two things: Either the Pink phones will tap into the Windows Phone 7 marketplace somehow, which would be great (but also doesn’t make sense), or they’ll have apps like the Zune has apps—which is to say, only sort of, and only from selected partners.

The more we see, the more the Pure and Turtle look like they’re stacking up to be Zune-ified followups to the Sidekick. It’s an interesting move, but who does Microsoft think they’re going to sell this thing to? Tweens?

Update: Firmware Leak

We’ve got our hands on leaked Pink firmware, and we’ve dumped all the icons and photos we could extract. Sadly, there’s not way to run this right now, but we can see a lot of what’s shown above, like the homescreen application icons, in full resolution. There are also traces of Zune, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and Windows Live. There are some shots (discovered by someone else who’s got the firmware) that show a lockscreen dialer, but these are likely placeholders of some sort. Finally, we’ve got a shot from the Turtle’s camera, which appears to have flash. (Filenames included in the gallery, because they’re pretty descriptive)

Here’s what we can glean from the dump so far:

• The carrier is definitely Verizon, though there are references in the firmware to AT&T and T-Mobile in the US (which are probably placeholders, since the rest of the evidence points to CDMA as the standard for these phones.

• The OS is based on Windows CE, like the Zune and Windows Phone 7. This doesn’t mean a ton to users, but the guy who passed us the firmware sums up what that means under the hood:

Everything is programed in .NET a lot like 7 is. It does not say it inside the files where I have seen, but It is coded in XAMl and is in the structure that CE 7 is supposed to be structured, it is my belief that it will be based off CE 7, and it will have a lot of tie in to Windows Live as well.

• Turtle and Pure codenames are used in the firmware, but that doesn’t mean that those’ll be the shipping names for the product. There are also codenames for the “Pride” and “Lion” handsets, which appear to just be the international versions of the Turtle and Pure, respectively.

• The Turtle’s screen is 320×240, while the Pure’s is 480×320—the same as the iPhone.

• There are reference to something called “The Loop,” which sounds like some kind of central social networking hub.

We’re powering through the firmware dump now, so we’ll post more as we get it. [Special thanks to our tipsters, and Conflipper]

The Consumerist is running a story about a store caught restocking returned underwear. Pretty nasty. Click on the link to see what they had to say.

Leaked Documents: Microsoft’s Secret Phones Coming to Verizon (Update: In April?)

After the Windows Phone 7 launch passed without so much as a mention of Project Pink, Microsoft’s other new phone project started to fade into memory. Today, we can confirm: Pink is coming, and Verizon’s the carrier. UPDATED

A tipster passed us a load of 3rd-party marketing materials, in which a promotional plan for Pink is laid out in detail. (Campaign specifics and most graphics have to be witheld to protect the innocent, but rest assured, they’re legit.) The documents don’t talk about specs or software details, or more importantly why the hell Microsoft thinks this weird little pebble is a good idea, but there’s plenty we can learn:

• The early Pink renders leaked to us back in September? Those are exactly the same ones included in the proposal.

• Of the two phones in prior leaks, only one shows up here: The Turtle vertical slider. It’s a messaging phone, basically—one part Pre, and two parts Sidekick. (Or maybe three.)

• Verizon is a launch partner for the device, and probably an exclusive carrier. The branding and marketing in the documents suggests a joint Microsoft/Verizon launch, but another carrier isn’t completely out of the question.

• The phones aren’t running Windows Phone 7, unless it’s hidden behind a different interface. Virtually all rumors around the Pink platform implied as much, and again, this appears to be something fundamentally different.

• Social Networking! It’s all over the proposal, and presumably, the phone.

• It’s suggested that the platform has apps of some sort. For a phone like this to share apps with Windows Phone 7 is pretty much impossible—the minimum hardware requirement for a Windows Phone look out of reach for this little black lump—so this one’s a big question mark. Is it another SDK? Or closed app development like we’ve seen on the Zune HD? Web apps?

Since the documents come from a party working with Microsoft, and not Microsoft itself, a few things are missing: there’s no mention of a release name for the product (Pink is the codename we’ve been using, but the launch title could be different.); stil no sense at all as to how the interface works; and no announcement or launch date. The documents are just days old, and hint at a near-term launch, which would be inline with what we’ve been hearing about a second Microsoft phone launch at or around CTIA at the end of this month. And remember, this are marketing materials, designed to promote a launch, not just an announcement. In other words, Pink, or whatever the hell it is, will likely beat Windows Phone 7 to market. So that explains all those Tweets, I guess.

All these missing pieces add up to a massive gap, not just in the phone’s feature sheet, but in our understanding of what it’s supposed to be. If it’s a replacement for the Sidekick, the obvious question is, is anyone asking for a replacement for the Sidekick? If it’s just a Microsoft-branded feature phone, er, why? Doesn’t the future of youth/budget phones all about scaled-back smartphones (see: Pixi, Backflip), and not glorified feature phones?

UPDATE: More insiders have come forward, and now we have a possible timeframe: Late April. Oh, and there are two phones, as implied by the original leak. The second, according to our tipster, is the Pure horizontal slider, pictured below:

So these two phones – the Sharp PB10ZU and the PB20ZU – there are names for them but I can’t tell you what they are, cause Verizon may just put out different code names in order to find out where any leaks occur. And frankly the names are really really awful sounding so I hope what I’ve been told aren’t the final names anyway…

Apparently the interface shares some aesthetic elements with Windows Phone 7, albeit with “some sort of UI skin/more of a social-networking edge to [it].” As for release, apparently Verizon is “looking at a late April launch date,” though this isn’t set in stone. [Thanks, Tipsters!]

Send an email to John Herrman, the author of this post, at jherrman@gizmodo.com.

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Gizmodo is reporting that the two project pink phones seen previously are real. Not sure how I feel about that form factor.

Disney Confirms Tron and Avengers Animated Television Series

Posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 by Peter Sciretta

We’ve been hearing rumblings of a Tron television series for the last month or so (first, second), and now Disney has confirmed the reports during their upfront presentation Tuesday evening. The mouse house has also revealed a new animated series for Marvel’s The Avengers.

The Tron animated series would be broadcast on the Disney Channel and geared towards kids aged 6-14. The bad news is that the pilot has yet to be greenlit, and the earliest we can expect it is late 2011/early 2012. Before they broadcast full episodes, Disney plans to release a a 10-part “Tron” micro-series premiering in fall 2011 on Disney XD. According to reports, Disney showed some stills from the early development of the series, but nothing has been released online publicly.

The other piece of news coming out of the upfront is that Disney is already begining to take advantage of their acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, and will be releasing an animated series on Disney XD in fall 2010: “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes“. Disney Channels Worldwide entertainment president and chief creative officer Gary Marsh is also quoted as saying that Disney has “been pouring through the library of 7,000 Marvel characters looking for the next Spider-Man,” adding that “fans of the Marvel Universe should expect to see more cooperative ventures in the near future.”

source: THR

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2011 Ford Mustang V6 First 300 HP+ Car To Achieve 31 MPG

2011 Ford Mustang V6 EPA certification has just finished and, though Ford predicted 30MPG from their 305HP 3.7-liter V6, they actually got 31 MPG. According to Ford, it’s the first 300HP+ car ever to return over 30MPG. Having cake, eating it too.

Send an email to Ben, the author of this post, at ben@jalopnik.com.

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Ford Tempo Fanatic 12:34 AM

Smugness has a new name, and its not Toyota Prius… Reply

two wheels are enough 12:28 AM

The cake is a lie. No one will ever achieve 31 MPG in real-world conditions because it’s a Mustang, and people who buy Mustangs generally don’t drive like grannies. But I tip my hat to Ford’s engineers for their not inconsiderable accomplishment. Reply

Ben Wojdyla promoted this comment

Bad Juju 12:19 AM

Wait, you mean all those guys with Corvettes that swore they could get 30.1 mpg in 6th (if they felt like it) were…wrong? Noooo… Reply

Ben Wojdyla promoted this comment

Optixtruf 12:15 AM

Ok, cool.

In the end though, its still a V6 mustang. Does this thing have a live axle? Reply

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‘Jersey Shore’ Parodies ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Avatar’

by Christopher Campbell Mar 3rd 2010 // 12:45PM

Filed under: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Oscar Watch

So that Jersey Shore spoof of The Hurt Locker I posted the other day was — to my delight — only the first of a week-long series of Oscar parodies made for the talk show Lopez Tonight. It was also only a preview, so I’ve updated that post with the full sketch. And now I present to you the next three parodies, two of Inglorious Basterds and one of Avatar, all featuring the reality show stars you love to hate. Unfortunately, they aren’t tackling all ten Best Picture nominees, but the rest of this week will bring more spoofs of Precious, The Blind Side and Up in the Air. As far as guilty pleasures go, I’m fairly satisfied with the effort, though now I am left only to dream of what they could have done with District 9, Up, A Serious Man and An Education.

There is so far the impression that these parodies will decrease in quality as the week continues. Monday night’s clips for The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds were pretty well done, particularly in their self-parody. The latter features Jersey Shore’s Vinny inserted into the opening scene, chatting with Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa (now meant to be an MTV exec) while the show’s “guidette” members hide under the floorboards. Even Jersey Shore haters can appreciate how this one ends. But then last night’s second Inglorious Basterds sketch was as bad as the first was good. Featuring Snooki in Brad Pitt’s role, it’s less self-mockery than merely an acknowledgment of depravity. Subbing the assignment of “banging” Floridians and killing braincells for the film’s Nazi scalping only reminds me why I don’t actually watch the show regularly. As for the Avatar spoof, it seems it was just a short one-gag excuse for George Lopez to make a crack about the film’s running time.

You can watch Lopez Tonight for those Precious and Blind Side parodies, and tomorrow night brings us two bits based on Up in the Air. Check out the two Inglorious Basterds videos and one Avatar after the jump (some language and content may be NSFW). And keep up the expressions of hatred for the show in the comments.

via cinematical.com

eBay Find of the Day: Sensational ex-Rat Pack Dual-Ghia L6.4 Barris Kustom

by Frank Filipponio (RSS feed) on Mar 3rd 2010 at 6:39AM

1962 Ghia Barris Kustom – Click above for high-res image gallery

While perhaps not a household name, there was a time when the Dual-Ghia brand was the epitome of cool. Eugene Casaroll formed Dual Motors in the 1950’s to build production versions of Chrysler’s Virgil Exner-designed Fire Arrow show cars. Casaroll worked with Carrozzeria Ghia in Italy to build the restyled vehicles on Dodge chassis using Chrysler engines for motivation. Because of Ghia’s contributions to the exterior styling, the cars were sold under the Dual-Ghia banner. Altogether, 117 D-Gs were sold from 1956-1958, mostly to the rich and famous.

As his health floundered, Casaroll concentrated more and more on his other business interests leaving Dual Motors Chief Engineer Paul Farago in charge of developing the follow-up model. The L6.4 was introduced in 1961 with a bigger 335-horsepower 383 engine, fresher styling and a big bump in price, going from $7,600 to a whopping $13,500. Only 26 L6.4s were sold before the company was finally shuttered for good in 1962, but those Dual-Ghias found their way into some interesting hands. Well-known Dual-Ghia owners included actors Desi Arnaz, Glenn Ford and Sterling Hayden, U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson, and a certain group of legendary entertainers known as The Rat Pack. Dean Martin had one. So did Frank Sinatra. Eddie Fisher owned a Dual-Ghia. Even Peter Lawford had one. In fact, Lawford once owned the very car you see above.

This particular 1961 Dual-Ghia L6.4 is even more rare than most of the other 25 examples made, as one of eight cars modified by legendary Kustom Kar King George Barris. It was the second L6.4 produced and shares the prototype’s lower roofline, but was also remodeled by George Barris at his Kustom Coachworks when it arrived in Hollywood. According to the eBay Motors listing, the headlamps were remodeled into flush oval Euro Headlamps (the original design were traditional ovals), and the turn signals were subtly hidden inboard behind the grille.

One of the regular Dual-Ghia L6.4 models recently sold for better than $400,000 up in Pebble Beach, so the current price of just over $100,000 seems like a steal. Of course, the reserve hasn’t yet been met. There are still three days left to scrape together a little extra scratch if you’re interested in reliving your Rat Pack fantasies. Check out the listing for even more details and take a peek at the gallery below for more high-res images.

Gallery: Barris Kustom Dual-Ghia on eBay Motors

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[Source: eBay Motors]

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Chrysler, Luxury

Tags: 1962 Dual-Ghia, 1962 Dual-Ghia L6.4 Barris Kustom, 1962Dual-ghia, 1962Dual-ghiaL6.4BarrisKustom, Barris Dual-Ghia, Barris Kustom, Barris Kustom Dual-Ghia, BarrisDual-ghia, BarrisKustom, BarrisKustomDual-ghia, dual ghia, Dual-Ghia, Dual-Ghia Barris, Dual-Ghia Barris Kustom, Dual-Ghia Kustom, Dual-ghiaBarris, Dual-ghiaBarrisKustom, Dual-ghiaKustom, DualGhia, eBay, ebay Find of the Day, eBay Motors, EbayFindOfTheDay, EbayMotors, Kustom Dual-Ghia, KustomDual-ghia

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• Comments (3)

This is one damn sexy car.