Blog

Mark Fields, president of the Americas, FoMoCo, announces vehicle electrification

FoMoCo announced today that it is investing $135 million to design, engineer and produce key components for its next-generation of hybrid-electric vehicles.

Ford will be moving work currently performed in Mexico by a supplier to its Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which will assemble the battery packs beginning in 2012. The Dearborn automaker’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights will build the electric drive transaxles starting in 2012 from a supplier facility in Japan. The two plants will add a total of 170 jobs.

The move will make Michigan the center of Ford’s vehicle electrification, which now includes the design and manufacture of electrified components as well as total vehicle manufacturing for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles. Ford will be adding more than 50 engineers to work as it brings these technologies in-house.

Ford plans on launching five new full-electric and hybrid vehicles in the compact, mid-size and LCV segments for North America by 2012 and in Europe by 2013. The lineup will consist of the Transit Connect Electric, which goes on sale later this year in North America. The Lincoln MKZ hybrid will arrive this fall followed by the Focus Electric in 2011. A next-generation hybrid and plug-on hybrid based on the company’s global C-car platform will debut in 2012 followed by the C-MAX electric and plug-in hybrid electric model for Europe in 2013.

Hit the jump for the press release for more details.

Press Release:

FORD TO ENGINEER, ASSEMBLE HYBRID BATTERY PACKS AND TRANSAXLES IN MICHIGAN, ADDING 220 NEW JOBS

* Ford is investing $135 million to design, engineer and produce key components for its next-generation hybrid-electric vehicles that go into production in 2012 in North America
* Ford is adding green technology jobs in Michigan as the state becomes its center of excellence for vehicle electrification, including a combined 170 jobs at the Rawsonville and Van Dyke Transmission plants, and more than 50 electric vehicle engineers
* Ford’s Rawsonville Plant will assemble battery packs for the next-generation hybrid vehicles, moving work to Michigan that is currently performed by a supplier in Mexico
* Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant will produce a new electric-drive transaxle for the new hybrids, moving work to Michigan that is currently performed by a supplier in Japan
* The new hybrids are part of Ford’s plan to launch five electrified vehicles in the U.S. by 2012 and in Europe by 2013

YPSILANTI, Mich., May 24, 2010 – Ford Motor Company – moving to create a center of excellence in Michigan for vehicle electrification – today announced it is investing $135 million to design, engineer and produce key components for the company’s next-generation hybrid-electric vehicles.

Ford engineers in Dearborn will design the battery packs while engineers in Livonia will design electric-drive transaxles for the next-generation hybrids, based on Ford’s global C- and CD-car platforms, which go into production in North America in 2012.

“Electrified vehicles are a key part of our plan to offer a full lineup of green vehicles, and we are building a center of excellence in the U.S., here in Michigan, to keep Ford on the cutting edge,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Today’s announcement is another important step in our larger strategy to launch a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles around the world.”

Ford’s Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., will assemble the battery packs beginning in 2012, moving work to Michigan that is currently performed in Mexico by a supplier. Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., will build the electric drive transaxles beginning in 2012 from a supplier facility in Japan. Ford is adding a combined 170 jobs at the Rawsonville and Van Dyke facilities to build these key components.

“I am proud of the tremendous success of the UAW and Ford in working together to keep good manufacturing jobs in the U.S.,” said Bob King, UAW vice president, National Ford Department. “We are pleased that both Rawsonville and Van Dyke Transmission have been selected to produce these important components for Ford’s next generation hybrid-electric vehicles. These new products will help the community and local economy in Michigan by creating 170 new direct jobs at Ford and hundreds of other supporting jobs in the community, while helping to reduce emissions that cause air pollution and global warming.”

Center of Excellence in Michigan
Ford’s creation of a center of excellence for vehicle electrification in Michigan now includes the design and manufacture of electrified key components as well as total vehicle manufacturing for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles. Ford is adding more than 50 engineers to work on electrification as we bring these technologies in-house. By physically bringing research, engineering and manufacturing closer together, Ford, its suppliers, universities and related industries can drive both innovation and job growth in this evolving form of transportation.

“We’re working hard to make Michigan the center for electrified vehicle technology and production,” said Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm. “Today’s announcement by Ford represents another step forward in moving Michigan from the Rust Belt to the Green Belt by investing in green technology and creating green jobs.”

Ford’s in-house team will design and engineer the advanced lithium-ion battery systems powering its next-generation hybrid vehicles. These battery systems will be designed specifically for the company’s next-generation hybrids, including the new global CD-car platform hybrid and the new global C-car platform hybrid, which will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in 2012.

To support battery pack assembly at the Rawsonville Plant, Ford will invest approximately $10 million in capital equipment and add about 40 jobs. Ford’s investment also supports the necessary engineering and launch costs for the advanced battery systems.

“Southeast Michigan has the talented, skilled work force that can turn 21st Century visions into reality. I am delighted that Ford will expand its presence in our area with a new operation critical to the company’s future,” said U.S. Congressman John Dingell. These are the jobs that will revitalize our region, strengthen our environment and allow us here in Southeast Michigan to power the high-tech economy of the 21st Century. This is the kind of announcement that shows the green shoots of our economic recovery.”

Hybrid Electric Drive Transmission
Ford also will internally design and engineer an electric, front-wheel-drive, continuously variable transaxle to supply its next-generation hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles in North America. Beginning in early 2012, Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., will produce the HF35 transaxle. Current model electric-drive transaxles are provided by a supplier in Japan.

To launch the new transaxle, Ford will add engineering and production jobs in Southeast Michigan, including about 130 manufacturing jobs at its Van Dyke facility, while investing about $125 million. The investment includes a grant received from the Department of Energy to help create green technology jobs in the U.S. This investment includes manufacturing capital equipment, launch and engineering costs and supplier tooling upgrades, all required to support the production launch of the HF35 transaxle.

Ford’s Electrified Future
Ford’s global electrification strategy includes plans to launch five new full electric or hybrid vehicles in the compact, midsize and light commercial segments for the North American market by 2012 and European markets by 2013. This lineup includes:

* The Transit Connect Electric light commercial vehicle in North America later this year and in Europe in 2011
* The Focus Electric in North America in 2011 and in Europe in 2012
* A Lincoln MKZ hybrid, available this fall in North America
* A next-generation hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle based on Ford’s global C-car platform in North America in 2012
* A C-MAX hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric model for Europe in 2013

“Electrified vehicles are one part of Ford’s broader strategy to offer a wide range of environmentally friendly transportation solutions designed to improve fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions affordably for customers around the world,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification.

– By: Omar Rana

Warner Bros. is preparing to relaunch its classic cartoon characters, something they do every few years or so, with a half-hour show on Cartoon Network. Called The Looney Tunes Show, it will cast all the familiar faces as neighbors in a contemporary cul-de-sac. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will be roommates, which will only add fuel to the implicitly gay fire that’s been blazing around their feet since my parents were little. Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote are also being pulled out of mothballs for some 3-D shorts, the first of which will hit movie theaters in July. What separates this project from all the other failed ones, according to Warner Bros., is the lack of forced modernization: Bugs etc. will be presented as they were during their golden era. Which is fine by me—Space Jam and Tiny Toons were the only updates to make money, and they both sucked—and Warner seems to be investing serious money and time into making this thing work. But they risk looking like a once-great company still trying to squeeze blood from old ideas, as opposed to Disney’s parallel operation of creating new characters and maintaining their classics. Plus, Warner’s theories about how to connect to modern audiences are often, uh, misguided. But as long as they don’t revisit their basketball phase, I wish them luck.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Apple’s CEO and luminary leader Steve Jobs will kick off Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote on June 7 at 10:00 a.m.

And, if history is any indication, this is where the company will unveil its fourth iPhone (and for that matter, anything else new the iPhone-, iPad- and Mac-maker is cooking up). While Jobs does not typically make many public appearances, he will be in the spotlight at least one other time before June 7. Jobs along with Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer will kick off The WSJ’s 2010 D Conference by AllThingsD.

Related

• AT&T’s iPhone Exclusive Ends In 2012—Or Maybe Not

This Strategas chart shows just how badly things have gone off track:

Today’s market may seem boring, with minor moves in the major indices, but financials have being moving largely downward, and to a significant degree.

The big name big loser, Morgan Stanley down 4.28%.

Don’t miss: the 8 hedge fund managers getting killed on financial stocks >

From FinViz:

Join the conversation about this story »

by David Hanson

The Breaking Through Concrete bus on the way to Oregon.(Michael Hanson photos)

Breaking Through Concrete team(Michael Hanson)The Breaking Through Concrete team—David Hanson, Michael Hanson, Charles Hoxie, and Edwin Marty—is taking a 21st century road trip to document the
American urban farm movement. Driving across the country and back in a biodiesel-fueled, Internet-enabled short bus they’ve nicknamed Lewis
Lewis, they’ll visit 14 diverse projects that are, in distinct ways,
transforming our built environments and creating jobs, training
opportunities, local economies, and healthy food in our nation’s
biggest cities. Along the way, David will post stories for Grist (and for one of the team’s sponsors, WHYHunger), illustrated by
his and Michael’s stunning images—material that will ultimately be collected
into a
book—and Charles’ short video snippets.

A bottle of Korbel’s christened
the front right bumper of Lewis Lewis last Tuesday night in Seattle. We rolled
out Wednesday morning, picked up five pounds of farm-direct Sumatra beans from
our friends and sponsors at Caffe Vita, and hit I-5.

Flipped the switch to veggie
grease south of town and ran on the waste fry-juice for over 370 miles. It
doesn’t smell nearly as bad as they say, and Lewis Lewis ran smooth as butter.

Pulled off in Eugene, Oregon, for
a visit to Huerto de la Familia,
a community garden project for low-income Latin American families. Sarah Cantril
and the Huerto project were recently awarded one of WHY Hunger‘s 10 annual Harry Chapin
Self-Reliance awards, honoring community-based organizations for innovative and
sustainable approaches to fighting hunger and poverty.

Norma and Jesús will have a plot for the
first time this year. They used to farm in their hometown of San Pablo Tecaleo,
Mexico. They guess that they pulled 80% of their household food from the farm.
They came to America last year to find a better life. This year they hope to
grow 70% of their veggies here at the Churchill Community Garden.

We slept in Lewis Lewis outside Talent,
OR.

Look for the white short bus emblazoned Lewis Lewis, and if you see
us, come and get some coffee. We want to hear where your food comes from.

Related Links:

Boost your support for urban agriculture with a rice-growing bra

Rooftop farming and beekeeping boom in New York

Cuba’s urban-ag revival offers limited lessons

[YouTube link]

That’s right, we’re not nearly done with the Google IO cover. Here we have the LG Ally, a mid-level Android phone that’s going for $99 after rebate with Verizon. In and of itself, it’s not a bad little phone. But when you consider that you can get another horizontal slider on Verizon — what’s it called? Oh, yeah, the Motorola Droid — for next to nothing these days, it’s kind of a tough sell.

The keyboard itself wasn’t bad, but the overall experience (and we take this with a slight grain of salt given that who knows how many people used this thing before us) was a bit sluggish and, again, just not as quick as the Droid.

This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store

Intel is ready to take on the Apple A4 CPU and will show off its solution at the upcoming Computex conference. The chip maker is apparently almost ready to unveil a silicon meant specifically for tablets. Who knows if Intel PC Client Group VP actually had the green light to reveal the upcoming announcement, but that’s exactly what he did.

CarryPad has the audio clip but the man basically stated the chip will be physically thinner than the current crop of ULV chips. Of course it’s also designed for lower power consumption and heat output, which is a must for a tablet.

The VP didn’t let anything else slip, though, so we’re going to have to wait until Computex for any more details.

Commenter Randomhookup would like to contribute to the problem of Consumerist posting too many of these.

Yes, I know it’s been done to death on Consumerist; yes, a bunch of commenters will be upset; yes, it’s lazy journalism — but I’m a rabble rouser.

I spotted this at a Boston-area Modell’s and did a doubletake. I give them credit, however, for accepting their mistake. The associate I pointed it out to took it down almost immediately since he is good at math.

Please direct your complaints to Randomhookup, thank you!

MobileTechReview have published this video review of the LG Fathom, one of the most vanilla Windows Mobile handsets I have ever seen.

The flash performance is surprisingly good, and the device is of course a true world phone, but the handset otherwise does not do much else to differentiate itself.

Anyone picking up this smartphone? Let us know below.

Mac users may get a kick out of this, the elgato EyeTV HD. It’s a DVR solution that works with your cable and satellite channels, sending everything to your Mac instead of a plain ol’ TV. From there you can watch or edit whatever you’ve recorded. Easy as pie.

Why would you need such a device? Perhaps you don’t own a TV, but you want to be able to DVR every episode of “American Idol” or “The Best of PRIDE Fight Championships? Hook up the EyeTV HD to your Mac, and off you go. It’s a niche product, yes.

That said, it does seem to be fairly thorough. You connect the device to your cable or satellite box via component cable, then connect the device to your Mac via USB. You install the software, then let her rip. The device encodes all video with h.264, which makes it easy to create iPhone or iPad-friendly files.

Who needs to join shady BitTorrent Web sites in order to download iPhone-ready episodes of The Simpsons when you can make them on your own, legally. At least I think it’s legal, you never can tell with the DMCA.

She’s $200.

MySpace is planning a major relaunch this summer, co-presidents Jason Hirschorn and Mike Jones said in an onstage interview at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference today. The release will include a “reimagining” of the site’s front end around the concept of discovery as well as a logo redesign, said Hirschorn, and will be backed up with a marketing campaign to “help solidify this is what we’re going to be.”

“This summer more product will be released than ever in the history of MySpace,” Hirschorn said. In the hallway after the interview, Jones told us he considers the launch “risky” because it involves changing so much of MySpace’s core functionality.

MySpace co-presidents Mike Jones and Jason Hirschorn

Areas of focus will include reorienting to enable discovery of content, trending and targeting products, dashboards for musicians and a better understanding of mobile as the remote control of young people’s lives. MySpace gets a third of its daily audience from mobile, said Jones, adding that such info isn’t included in comScore figures — which indicate dropping traffic for the main MySpace portal.

Hirschorn said that MySpace has put so much effort into keeping its site up that it built an “almost bullet-proof” platform, making the introduction of new features and tweaks with any kind of speed “frustrating.”

The MySpace co-presidents, who took over in February when former MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta was dropped by parent company News Corp, both said they’re happy with their respective roles within News Corp and News Corp’s involvement in their business. Hirschorn noted that News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch recently called and woke him up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning to say the site’s Twitter sync wasn’t working fast enough.

Hirschorn graded the duo’s progress so far a B+ “given the situation.” Jones said that the site has 120 million global unique users, same as when they started — and contrary to measures claiming that usage has dropped.

While Jones noted that the two have made a commitment to MySpace, Hirschorn also said, “I’m an entrepreneur. Am I going to be at MySpace at five and 10 years? Probably not. We deal in the now.” (Though as Om noted on Twitter, Hirschorn’s recent resume is heavy on big companies rather than startups.)

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Big Data Marketplaces Put a Price on Finding Patterns

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Racing

The crew at the Axis of Oversteer have managed to snag what could be the first images of the upcoming Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge, and while no one’s claiming that this is the real McCoy just yet, it’s certainly packing the right kit.

The standard coupe’s five-lug wheels have been nixed in favor of a single lug units, with each nine-spoke, lightweight hoop framing massive carbon ceramic stoppers. The Challenge appears slightly lower than stock and includes some revised aero bits in the form of longer, wider side skirts, a revised fascia and a bonnet sporting a set of hood pins.

Out back and inside, things appear to be slightly rough around the edges, so it’s safe to assume this is just a prototype for the time being. However, the roll cage, plastic windows and deeply bolstered race seat are all sure to make the cut when the Challenge debuts later this year.

One thing we do know: The launch of the 599 GTO is going on this week in Italy, so it’s likely that journalists are getting a sneak peak at the Challenge between making runs in Ferrari’s Enzo-beating GT. That being the case, expect all the details to be revealed shortly.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]

Spy Shots: Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Back when Twitter announced its own Promoted Tweets plan, COO Dick Costolo hinted it would “prohibit” third-party alternatives. Now it’s making good on the promise…

In the second recent threat to Twitter’s developer-friendly reputation, Costolo announces in a blog post that: “Aside from Promoted Tweets, we will not allow any third party to inject paid tweets into a timeline on any service that leverages the Twitter API.”

Costolo’s wordy, big-picture argument about “enduring value” says “third party ad networks are not necessarily looking to preserve the unique user experience Twitter has created” and “the basis for building a lasting advertising network that benefits users should be innovation, not near-term monetization”.

This boils down to: Twitter thinks it’s got a better way of advertising than those who use its infrastructure, it wants to safeguard users’ experience on that infrastructure and, if it can push Promoted Tweets instead of other methods, there’s a massive pay-day at the end of some future rainbow.

Several third parties had beaten Twitter to making a nascent ad platform out of the micromessaging service – among them, Magpie, Ad.ly and Tweetup, which Bill Gross started recently having raised £2.44 (£2.44 ()) million VC for the effort.

The question now – will the third parties (assuming they’re not totally pissed off with Twitter) get to transfer their ad system to Promoted Tweets? That could be a win-win for both sides.

Sawhorse Media’s founder Greg Galant, whose company made MuckRack, says: “We’re not concerned about it. It highlights the need for creatively working companies into the social media conversation, over easy fixes.”

But it’s not that Twitter isn’t expecting some discontent. “We understand that for a few of these companies, the new Terms of Service prohibit activities in which they’ve invested time and money,” Costolo writes.

LONDON    The first commercial promoting abortion services is airing on a British TV network.

The outfit behind it, Marie Stopes International, is one of the biggest abortion providers in the UK. It say the ad is “clear and non-judgemental”

“The ad is not about abortion,” Julie Douglas, marketing manager of Marie Stopes told Fox News, “It doesn’t mention abortion.  It’s about unplanned pregnancy.”

But  pro-life advocates in the UK say the commercial is ALL about abortion and it’s going mass-market. 

“This advertisement will go in between advertisements for car insurance and cornflakes,” Anthony Ozimic of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children asserted to Fox, “Many people have objected to it on that basis.”

As in the States, abortion is a controversial subject here.  It is legal in Great Britain. where abortion rates are some of the highest in Europe.  And with the National Health Service, the government here picks up the tab.       

For its part, Channel 4, the TV network airing the commercial, says it’s running it at an “appropriate time,” after 10:00 in the evening.

It says it’s been approved for broadcast by government authorities.

And that it’s up to the viewers to make their own judgement about its content.

That UK government approval is actually based on Stopes’ non-profit, charity status.  If it was a profit-making firm, the spots wouldn’t be allowed. 

As for the public, three quarters of those questioned in one survey said they had no problem with the ads airing.

“If people want to go for that,” one Londoner told us, “they should go for that.”

Another remarked, “I don’t think most people will object.”

But others are angry and want to push the Culture Minister of a new Conservative-led government to act against the commercial.

“The Minister should call on them to reverse the decision,” advocate Ozimic told us, “or overrule them if he has the power to do so.”

This ad campaign has just started…and so has the outrage.

Earlier this year, we wrote about how Lady Gaga had leveraged free music as a huge part of building up her popularity, and turned that into money via sellout tours and corporate sponsorship. However, most of that article focused on “legal” free music — such as the songs her label had put up on MySpace and YouTube and elsewhere. But what about the unauthorized kinds? Well, in a wide-ranging (and really quite fascinating) interview that Lady Gaga did with the Times Online in the UK (check it out before they put up the paywall), Lady Gaga admits she’s fine with people downloading her music in unauthorized forms because she makes it up in touring revenue:

She explains she doesn’t mind about people downloading her music for free, “because you know how much you can earn off touring, right? Big artists can make anywhere from $40 million [£28 million] for one cycle of two years’ touring. Giant artists make upwards of $100 million. Make music — then tour. It’s just the way it is today.”

Similarly, she knocks bands that don’t really try to work hard to please the fans, and who just expect them to automatically buy each album:

“I hate big acts that just throw an album out against the wall, like ‘BUY IT! F*** YOU!’ It’s mean to fans. You should go out and tour it to your fans in India, Japan, the UK. I don’t believe in how the music industry is today. I believe in how it was in 1982.”

Like Mariah Carey, it looks like Lady Gaga has realized that this concept of Connect with Fans and giving them a Reason to Buy works at the superstar level just as much as it does down at the indie artist level. The specifics of implementing a business model around the concept are very, very different — but the core concept remains the same. Treat your fans right, learn to leverage what’s infinite to make something scare more valuable, and then sell the scarcity.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Here’s a moral dilemma. If you are undercharged for an item and you only notice later… are you under any obligation to go back and tell the store? Or should you just let it go. Reader M wants to know what you think:

M writes:

I recently visited an outdoor store chain to purchase a pair of high-end backpacking boots. The boots retail for around $200 and were sale for $150. When I went to pay for the boots, the cashier had trouble scanning the box; so, she went ahead and manually looked up the boots on her computer, which took awhile. I paid for the boots and the rest of my merchandise with a gift card that covered the entire purchase. I was on my cell phone during the transaction (rude I know), so I wasn’t paying too close of attention; I didn’t have to sign or verify the amount I had paid – I just handed over the gift card to the cashier for a swipe and was on my way.

That evening when I was taping the receipt to the gift card to track the remaining dollars on the card, I realized that I had not been charged the correct price for the boots. The price on the receipt was only $6.83; however, the description of the item appears to be accurate.

As a consumer, what is my obligation when I discover I have been undercharged for an item? Is it up to me to deal with the hassle of returning to the store across the city to correct their mistake, or do I go on with my life.

Well, it’s certainly nice of you to want to correct their mistake, especially since it was such a large error by the cashier.

We’ll leave it up to a poll.

Pioneer is taking a big step in bridging the two landmasses of Internet radio and vehicle entertainment. By utilizing a free iPhone app, Pandora Link, the company is bringing Pandora to two of its latest systems, the Pioneer AVIC-Z120BT and AVIC-X920BT navigation systems. Simply run the app and connect the iPhone to head unit with the USB cable; the in-dash radio system will then displays all of Pandora’s trademark functions like thumbs up and thumbs down formatted in Pioneer’s great-looking interface.

The two worlds are bound to collide eventually with a truly integrated solution, but until in-dish systems offer mobile wireless modems, a smartphone is currently required. Ford is bringing a very similar solution to first its 2011 Fiesta line later this year, and has plans to roll it out to future Sync vehicles next year. Ford’s system, however, works with Android and BlackBerry phones instead and works over Bluetooth while Pioneer’s system relies on a USB cable.

Perhaps relying a mobile phone rather than building in the function isn’t all that bad. Many users that will want this function likely already have a smartphone and possess the technical know-how to connect the two. But building in the function will no doubt introduce the platform to more users. The market will no doubt decide the future.

So I just happened to notice Adobe Reader in the Android Market a few minutes ago, sitting there with less than 50 downloads!  What a sneaky little product release that was, Adobe.  This marks only the second title from the company, following last year’s Photoshop app.  The photo editing tool has seen over 250,000 downloads since launch so we fully expect Reader to hit that mark too.  A free official PDF client has long been asked for by fans.

Features listed in the market description include:

• Open PDF files as email attachments and on the web
• Interact with PDF files using advanced multi-touch gestures like Pinch zoom, Double tap Zoom, Flick scrolling & Panning
• Reflow view fits the page contents to the screen for easy viewing

After spending a couple of minutes with the app, we’re already hoping to see support for opening locally stored PDF files.  We’d love to sideload our Watchmen comics to read back on a 4.3-inch EVO screen!  BE ADVISED: Reader needs Android 2.0 or higher to install.

Might We Suggest…

• Android 2.2 To Recommend ‘Flash-enabled’ Websites To Users
  
  Engadget is reporting that the latest version of Android — you know, the one with 450 percent performance improvement and  Flash playback — will, upon updating, guide you to visit a selection of…

Now Hong Kong looks to be getting into the iPhone Pro rumor mill and leak game, as it appears that a white casing for the next iPhone has been uncovered. In the past, with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, the phone has been available in black and white models, with the white only being available on the back casing—the black front of the phone has been consistent across all models. So if these images are accurate, Apple may be readying their first all-white iPhone. We should be finding out for sure on June 7 at WWDC.

Continue reading White casing for next iPhone seemingly outed

Tags:
apple,
apple rumors,
iphone,
iphone 4,
iphone hd,
iphone hd white,
iphone pro,
iphone pro white,
iphone rumors,
rumors,
smartphones,
white iphone,