Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230

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Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230
March 25, 2010 at 5:49 AM

We caught up with Sanyo and its recently announced, sub-$230 GH2, CG102 and CG20 high-def camcorders this morning, and have to say the company has done it again. While we didn't have enough time to test the video quality, for less than 300 bucks you sure can get a compact and solid feeling cam, regardless of which model your big heart desires. We're especially taken with the CG102 and GH2, which are virtually the same, only housed in two different form factors. Both record full HD 1080i60 videos,
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have 14 megapixel still cams and Sanyo's 12x "double-range zoom," which lets you switch between a wide-angle and telephoto zoom when shooting vids. Cleverly, the horizontally-built GH2 -- which can be ordered with an expansion lens -- now has two sets of record / stop controls for tho! se that tend to hold the cam in different ways; one set is on the top and the other on the inside of the LCD pane. Those that don't want to shell out the extra $30 for the vertical CG102 can grab the $199 CG20, but keep in mind that it drops you down to 10 megapixels and nixes the dual zoom function. We're looking forward to thoroughly testing one of the $229 units in due time, but for now you can check out their sleek bods and buttons in the hands-on gallery below.

Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale
March 25, 2010 at 4:11 AM

Plain they are not, and Samsung's Touch of Color laptops that were launched at the tail-end of CES this year have finally begun to ship. As of now, the Core 2 Duo-equipped R430, Core i3-packin' R480, and Core i5-based R580 / R780 are all on sale at Best Buy, with prices ranging from $629.99 to $829.99. The whole lot seems to be available for shipping or direct pickup, so give that source link a look to figure out which configuration fits you best. Or don't -- no pressure.

Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use! of feeds.

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Hulavision sues NBC Universal, Hulu stuck in the middle with gloom
March 25, 2010 at 3:47 AM

Ask Hulavision founder Errol Hula, and he'll tell you Hulu is a stolen idea, from concept to even the similarities in name. He's so confident, in fact, that he and his company have filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal, claiming a series of meetings (all under the umbrella of a nondisclosure agreement) with the media conglomerate and business development exec Raymond Vergel de Dios laid the foundation for its eventual web portal. The suit runs the gamut of brokenhearted business fellows: misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract (both implied and the NDA), breach of a confidential relationship, unfair competition,! unjust enrichment, and stolen ice cream on the playground. The suit seeks unspecified damages. Given the nature of these things, we doubt the two will ever get the point of actual courtroom entanglement, but if it does... can we get it streamed?

Hulavision sues NBC Universal, Hulu stuck in the middle with gloom originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo Premiere review
March 25, 2010 at 2:57 AM

When we first heard rumors of new TiVo hardware back in April of 2009, our imaginations started racing. The current TiVo HD and HD XL have been the best DVRs on the market for their entire three-year run, and while they've received significant feature updates in that time, the overall experience of using a TiVo simply hasn't kept up with the explosion of online content and the revised viewing habits of consumers -- in fact, the interface has remained largely unchanged for nearly a decade. So while the actual TiVo hardware has actually gotten smaller and simpler, it's the software ! that's received a substantial makeover this time around -- it's migrated to Flash, and the main elements have been totally redesigned for HD displays and the invisible integration of online video services. Is it enough to keep TiVo afloat in a sea of cheap cableco DVRS? It is worth upgrading from an existing TiVo HD? There's only one way to find out -- read on for our full review.

Continue reading TiVo Premiere review

TiVo Premiere review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC
March 25, 2010 at 2:14 AM

If all these tablet and smartbook shenanigans haven't won you over, but you still feel the call of Tegra 2, Pegatron might have your number. We spotted this details-scarce nettop-ish home theater PC lurking around the NVIDIA booth today, just looking to be loved. The thin plastic box is topped by what looks to be bamboo, with HDMI, Ethernet, microphone and speaker plugs around back. We're very much in the dark as to supposed capabilities or software, but Tegra 2 gives us a good hint: the chip can decode 1080p and Flash video, runs Android or Windows CE, and is the same thing under the hood of the Boxee Box. We imagine something like this going for $100 (though no price or release date has been mentioned) or so and acting as a great little home theater PC for the right sort of user if and when it hits the market.

Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards
March 25, 2010 at 1:37 AM

It's sure taken 'em long enough, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that NVIDIA will finally allow the long-awaited Fermi design to reveal itself to the world. We're guessing that the GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480 that we've been hearing (and hearing) about will be the flagship GPUs to get launched, but whatever the case, the WSJ assures us that the new line will "more than double the performance of its current products." As you'd expect, the Fermi cards -- which will ship with 512 cores, three billion transistors and a whole heap of expectations -- will support 3D titles along with the latest video processing software, but they'll also be aime! d at more unconventional markets like "medical research and oil-field exploration." Sounds gnarly, NVIDIA, but we're just interested in seeing our frame rates hit triple digits in Crysis 2 -- got it?

NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea
March 25, 2010 at 12:58 AM

How's a company to follow-up on a point-and-shoot camera with two LCDs? Why, by tossing out a new one with integrated WiFi, of course! Originally teased last month, Samsung has gone ahead and rightfully introduced its new ST5000 and ST5500 over in South Korea, both of which tout 14.2 megapixel sensors, a 7x optical zoom and your choice of black or orange color schemes. The ST5000 gets gifted with a 3.5-inch rear touchscreen, while the ST5500 steps it up ever-so-slightly with a 3.7-inch AMOLED panel. The both of 'em can handle 720p movies at 30fps (H.264 format), and the HDMI output ensures that these will easily pipe footage to your nearby television. If you're looking for built-in wireless for uploading or emailing pictures sans a ! PC, you'll need to focus on the ST5500, but most every other internal feature on the big boy is also on the lesser guy. These seem to be headed out to South Korean shops as we speak, and we know that they'll be landing within the next month over in Britain for £279.99 ($417) and £349.99 ($521), respectively. As for you Yanks? Be patient, we guess.

Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's PSP turns 5, may very well live forever
March 25, 2010 at 12:20 AM

It's somewhat hard to believe that Sony as a whole turned 60 just under 4 years ago, and since then we've seen the PlayStation turn 15, the PlayStation 2 turn 10 and the PlayStation 3 celebrate its first. Today, the outfit's PlayStation Portable (or PSP, in shorter terms) is gettin' down on its fifth birthday (while our own bionic Thomas Ricker parties on his 482nd), with the North American debut happening on March 24, 2005. To date, over 17 million of the iconic handhelds have been sold, over 820! titles have been created for it and an all-new, UMD-free version has come along to dazzle those who are champing at the bit to ditch physical media. The platform as a whole still has aways to go before it catches the Big N and its Game Boy / DS line, but hey, the millennium is young.

Continue reading Sony's PSP turns 5, may very well live forever

Sony's PSP turns 5, may very well live forever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia's PUSH N900 finalists in action: meet Bike Dashboard, Niko, and Pit Crew
March 24, 2010 at 11:52 PM

I personally had the honor of helping to judge the finalists of Nokia's PUSH N900 MOD IN THE USA contest this morning, and in the process of watching all three teams do their thing, I took the opportunity to film some footage. All three hacks showed some serious ingenuity -- not just in terms of the sheer difficulty of pulling a serviceable demo together in a little over three weeks' time, but also in the breadth and depth of the concepts: Pit Crew takes classic slot cars out of the stone age by using the N900 as a wireless controller, Bike Dashboard is a handlebar-mounted N900 with a number of sensors and features for tracking your bike ride, and Niko is a Lego Mindstorms-wrought robot with an N900-powered brain and a penchant for Twitter. Follow th! e break for video of all three pitching their wares -- and find out who won this thing!

Continue reading Nokia's PUSH N900 finalists in action: meet Bike Dashboard, Niko, and Pit Crew

Nokia's PUSH N900 finalists in action: meet Bike Dashboard, Niko, and Pit Crew originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire CEO mentions that WiMAX could join LTE as one, Verizon Wireless CTO says no way
March 24, 2010 at 11:28 PM

It's no huge secret that the differences between LTE and WiMAX aren't exceedingly drastic, and with the right support, the two could theoretically form one big, happy family. During this morning's CTIA keynote with Dan Hesse (Sprint's CEO) and Bill Morrow (Clearwire's CEO), the latter noted that he wasn't interested in waging a war with LTE, suggesting that his spectrum is "designed and built so we can add on LTE should we need to." 'Course, one would suggest that Clearwire's in no position to get angry with the standard that boasts larger industry support, but we digress. A few hours later during Verizon's LTE roundtable, the carrier's CTO (Tony Mel! one) responded to an audience question related to LTE and WiMAX becoming one. His brutally honest opinion? It'll never happen, and the "only big happy family" he can think of is the 3GPP to LTE crew, of which Verizon Wireless is obviously a member. He wouldn't elaborate on the whys or whats, only noting that it was his frank opinion on the matter from his knowledge in the field, but we can't candidly say that we'd love for the war to rage on -- competition is stellar, but joined efforts to create a larger, more robust 4G network sounds a lot sweeter to our ears than the clanging of swords.

Clearwire CEO mentions that WiMAX could join LTE as one, Verizon Wireless CTO says no way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of ! feeds.

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Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available
March 24, 2010 at 11:06 PM

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode -- which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you're some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you're in luck -- the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available -- officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 -- hit the source link to get started. PR after the break.

Continue reading Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available

Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T's mobile U-verse getting upgraded: download your recordings on the go
March 24, 2010 at 10:43 PM

In a session held by AT&T at CTIA today, the carrier previewed an upgraded version of its mobile U-verse app, and let's just put it this way: it's significantly more important to AT&T's "three-screen" strategy than the version that launched in the middle of last year. The big deal is that shows recorded on your box at home can be streamed to your phone from any WiFi hotspot, a nice little bonus for U-verse subscribers who haven't ponied up for something like a Slingbox. We don't have a launch date yet, but what we saw demoed today certainly looked like it was just about ready to go -- and fortunately, they'll be bringing the app to a number of platforms, not just the iPhone alone. Follow the break for a few more shots of ! AT&T's David Christopher demoing the goodies on the overhead.

AT&T's mobile U-verse getting upgraded: download your recordings on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey finds people eager to 'work on the go' with iPad, we wonder what line of 'work' they're in
March 24, 2010 at 10:21 PM

So, give this a listen -- a survey from the lairs of Sybase has found that among smartphone-owning respondents (770 of 2,443 polled), some 52.3 percent of them "would use a tablet device such as the Apple iPad is for working on the go." We fully understand that this phrase leaves open the possibility of using tablets not Designed in Cupertino, but the mere fact that it's highlighted gave us pause. We're still trying to figure out how exactly Apple's forthcoming tablet is going to fit between our daily laptop and workhorse-of-a-smartphone, and without a major overhaul of the iPhone OS, we definitely can't visualize ourselves using it for "work." 'Course, maybe they're into something that doesn't require the use of multiple applications at once, and maybe the dearth of a real keyboard isn't much of a productivity killer, but we're jus! t not sold on the iPad being a bona fide work machine as-is. So, what say you? Are you one of those 52.3 percenters? Or do you relate more with the vocal minority?

Survey finds people eager to 'work on the go' with iPad, we wonder what line of 'work' they're in originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's Koller says Nintendo 3DS is a 'bit of a stretch,' no plans for 3D PSP
March 24, 2010 at 9:57 PM

Sony has never been one to mince words when it comes to Nintendo, and it looks like the company's newly announced Nintendo 3DS is no exception. Speaking with IGN, SCEA Director of Hardware and Marketing John Koller confirmed that Sony's "focus on 3D right now is on the console," and added that "the amount of interest in 3D from the retail side and game publishers is off the charts." No surprise there, but things get a bit more interesting when Koller is asked about the 3DS, with him saying that while he thinks "it's an interesting move", he'd "like to see where they go from a demographic standpoint," adding that "8 and 9 year-olds playing 3D is a little bit of a stretch given where some of our research is right now." Of course, Nintendo usually gives as good as it gets, and it should have plenty to say when the 3DS makes it debut at E3 later this year.

Sony's Koller says Nintendo 3DS is a 'bit of a stretch,' no plans for 3D PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq | sourceIGN | Email this | Comments

Verizon Wireless: 'all' 4G WWAN devices will support 3G, too
March 24, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Hear that, kids? Tony Melone -- Verizon Wireless' Senior VP and CTO -- confirmed to us during a one-on-one meeting after the company's CTIA roundtable discussion that every last one of the data-only LTE WWAN devices (aircards, MiFi-type products and USB data sticks, for example) would also support 3G. Not too surprising given the natural ties between the two technologies, but it's still refreshing to hear that every 4G data-only product that launches (at least initially) on VZW will also be able to hop onto the company's 3G network if you just so happen to break away from an LTE area. Can't say that for a smattering of existing WiMAX products. In related news, Tony also affirmed that Verizon would! be "interested" in getting a smartphone on its LTE network that could double as a mobile hotspot, exactly how the Palm Pre Plus does now (but on 3G, obviously). As for pricing when it comes to LTE data rates? Tony wouldn't give us any indication of the carrier's plans, but if it's anything similar to whispers we've heard in the past (not to mention rates already seen through Clearwire), it'll probably be at least marginally more expensive than what you're paying today for third-generation access.

Verizon Wireless: 'all' 4G WWAN devices will support! 3G, too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon 'wrapping up' Boston and Seattle trials, 'friendly user' ones coming this summer
March 24, 2010 at 9:13 PM

Remember those LTE trials that Verizon Wireless started up in Boston and Seattle back in August of last year? Good news, mobile surfers -- the operator has today confirmed in a roundtable at CTIA that they're both nearing their end, giving us hope that they're gleaned the necessary information from them to start moving onto bigger and better things. Namely, more elaborate trials in more locales around the nation. As you might expect, Verizon Wireless is indeed gearing up to move into its next phase of commercial LTE testing, with Tony Melone (Senior VP / CTO) stating that 'friendly user trials' were slated to begin this summer. He declined to elaborate on the whos, whats and (most importantly) wheres, but there's no doubt that these are likely the last hurdles befor! e we see its 4G network go live in "one third" of the country. We're told that those tests will be used to kick the tires on "commercial" gear, which is starkly different than the non-commercial kit that has been used in Beantown and the Emerald City. So far, the company's seeing peak rates of around 40Mbps and 50Mbps (down), with average download rates hovering in the 5Mbps to 12Mbps range and upload speeds falling between 2Mbps and 5Mbps. Be sure to let us know if any undercover VZW engineers start installing weird antennas near your abode in the coming months, cool?

Verizon 'wrapping up' Boston and Seattle trials, 'friendly user' ones coming t! his summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon to blanket 'one third' of America with LTE this year, double coverage in 15 months
March 24, 2010 at 8:54 PM

Remember when we heard that Verizon Wireless just might be able to bump its commercial LTE rollout to the first quarter of 2010? Man, talk about having our hopes and dreams dashed. Here at CTIA, we heard a few details on the company's most up-to-date deployment plans, and it sounds like things are pretty well locked into place at this point. Tony Melone, the company's Senior Vice President and CTO, seemed remarkably enthused that a bona fide LTE network would be launching "in the not too distant future," and when pressed for specifics, he stated that they would launch "25 to 30 networks this year, covering one third of America by the end of 2010." Beyond th! at, we're looking at a footprint twice that size "15 months" after the initial rollout, and by the end of 2013, the company's 4G coverage map will be the same size, "if not larger," than its existing 3G map. Of course, the carrier insisted that they wouldn't be abandoning 3G advancement while being fixated on 4G, noting that it was moving "fast and aggressively" on both fronts, with hopes that its LTE network would eventually eclipse even the 3G networks (in terms of coverage size) of competitors. Them's bold words, VZW, and we'll be carefully watching to see if that really does come to fruition.

Verizon to blanket 'one third' of America with LTE this year, double coverage in 15 months originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for u! se of feeds.

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Verizon talks commercial LTE deployment details: data devices first, smartphones in '1H 2011'
March 24, 2010 at 8:42 PM

We just spent a tick talking with Verizon Wireless' Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Tony Melone (shown speaking) after the company's LTE roundtable here at CTIA, and while we've heard a lot through the grapevine recently, we wanted to set a few things straight for ourselves. For starters, VZW affirmed that data-centric devices would be splashing down on its commercial LTE network first, possibly as early as the end of this year. When we asked specifically what kinds of devices he meant, he stated that "aircards, USB data sticks and MiFi-type devices" would be first out! of the chunnel, with smartphones being "about a quarter behind." Naturally, we asked why there would be a delay, and he stated that getting a smartphone onto a new network is more difficult than a simple data-only product; there are obvious voice-related issues to work through that aren't present when you're only sucking down torrents, and it'll take some time before full-on phones join the fray. He assured us the earlier data-only device launches wouldn't be "a public trial," and he noted that a conservative estimate as to when we'd see LTE phones on Verizon would be "the first half of 2011." Though, he did confess that folks would likely be pushing for earlier ship dates, and we may see a few phones drop closer to January than July if all the stars align.

Verizon talks commercial LTE deployment details: data devices first, smartphones in '1H 2011' originall! y appeared on Engadget o! n Wed, 2 4 Mar 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear-free
March 24, 2010 at 8:35 PM

Belkin may have once been about flashy, blue LED-glowing routers with alpha-numeric model numbers, but its new Surf, Share, Play and Play Max are certainly horses of a different color. We caught a glimpse of the new range this morning, and while routers are usually a bit of a snooze fest, this group of boxes show potential of being the easiest routers in the world to configure. While they are surely vanilla-looking, they come with the SSID and encryption pre-configured. Just plug in and you are good to go, though if you want to change your network name to something "creative" you can do that with the included software. Beyond the simplistic setup, all of the 802.11n routers -- save for the entry level $49.99 Surf -- come with "apps." For instance, the $79.99 2.4GHz Share comes with a USB port that supports external USB hard drives or printers and Belkin's own backu! p and printing software. By far the snazziest of Belkin's "progs," as we now like to call them, is the Vuze Torrent Genie, which gets baked into the $129.99 Dual-Band, Gigabit Play Max. The software shifts the download of your totally legal torrents to the router when your computer isn't powered on or has been disconnected from the network, ensuring that your transfer keep on humming with or without PC intervention. We know, the fact that we're remotely excited by a group of new WLAN routers seems like an early April Fools joke, but this time around we actually encourage you to read the PR below for more details on these boxes.

Continue reading Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear-free

Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear! -free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T 3G MicroCell starting nationwide roll-out in mid-April
March 24, 2010 at 8:13 PM

Unless you've been in one of a few key test markets, you've been pretty much out of luck boosting your AT&T signal in the comfortable confines of your home since the 3G MicroCell first launched -- until now. Starting in the middle of next month in a deployment that spans "several" months, customers across the country should expect to see MicroCells pop up in their local regions. The device itself will run a one-time fee of $149.99 before a $100 mail-in rebate (when purchased with a "3G MicroCell calling plan," though we don't yet know what that constitutes). Separately, there'll be a $19.99 plan bolt-on that offers unlimited calling when connected to the device -- and anyone tacking on a new U-verse or DSL line of 1.5Mbps or higher will get another $50 rebate. It's not the end of AT&T's spectrum or backhaul concerns, we're sure, but it's a start.

AT&T 3G MicroCell starting nationwide roll-out in mid-April originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cardo Scala Rider G4 headset review: advanced noise cancellation for riders
March 24, 2010 at 8:11 PM

We'll get this out of the way up front: riding a motorcycle on the road is a generally dangerous and frequently challenging thing. Doing so while dialing into a concall or grooving to some chill tunes is, well, not something we would exactly encourage. So, when we were given the opportunity to test ride Cardo's latest helmet-friendly Bluetooth headset, the Scala Rider G4, we were a little unsure of just how useful the thing would be for a conscientious, safety-minded rider. We took a pair of the headsets for a spin just the same and were left firmly convinced that that this is a product worth giving up our in-helmet singing careers for. Click on through to read why, and for a demonstration of some supremely impressive noise cancellation.

Continue reading Cardo Scala Rider G4 headset review: advanced noise cancellation for riders

Cardo Scala Rider G4 headset review: advanced noise cancellation for riders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon launching V Cast Apps on March 29th, RIM devices get first dibs
March 24, 2010 at 7:50 PM

We're here at Verizon Wireless' LTE forum at CTIA 2010, and a higher-up speaking about application development just let a sweet little nugget of information slip: the long-awaited V Cast Apps market will launch on March 29th. If you'll recall, we've been hearing about this portal ever since last summer, but we're guessing that a bona fide launch was put on pause in order to tweak things for Verizon's eventual LTE release (a bit we'll touch on here later). Initially, the BlackBerry Storm (and Storm2, presumably) will be supported, with other RIM devices coming onboard shortly thereafter. The rollout will continue over the coming weeks and months, hopefully to a few other mobile operating systems.

Responding to a few questions, Verizon insists that its own storefront won't take away from "other markets," namely the Android Marketplace. Instead, they're "perpetuating the ecosystem," with the app store simply being a vessel of distribution. In other words, app devs are stoked that their software could be found in multiple stores.

Verizon launching V Cast Apps on March 29th, RIM devices get first dibs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iWonder Android tablet fixes major bug: the logo is right-side-up
March 24, 2010 at 7:34 PM

Remember that ultra-low-cost Android-powered tablet that Marvell was showing off back at MWC this year? It seemed neat enough considering the aggressive goal of getting it into Chinese customers' hands for somewhere around $100, but there was a single unforgivable problem: the iWonder logo was upside-down. Fatal flaw, right? Well, not to worry, because Marvell's back with the iWonder here at CTIA, and this time the logo's facing precisely the same direction as the display (in landscape mode, anyhow). We've also learned that the tablet is being produced in a wide variety of colors -- we saw white at MWC, black here -- so if you've ever dreamed of owning a cherry red Google-powered tablet that's as big as your frickin' skull, Marvell knows a guy who knows a guy who can probably hook you up.

iWonder Android tablet fixes major bug: the logo is right-side-up originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultra vague accelerometer patent filed in 2006 seems to cover every touchphone on the market, granted last week
March 24, 2010 at 7:11 PM

We're going to try and avoid the hysterics: patents are a complicated business, and the fact that they're business usually means that in the worst case scenario, an appropriate amount of money can make problems like this go away -- nobody's going to take our phones away from us. Still, in what we have to chalk up to regular United States Patent and Trademark Office hijinks, or perhaps just a very forward-looking innovator, Durham Logistics (some secretive LLC based in Vegas) has been granted the patent to pretty much any use of an accelerometer in any computing device ever. Its "Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system" describes basically any use of a motion detection sensor in changing the state or implementing functionality in a device, which would obviously apply to most every smartphone on the market, along with a good number of laptops that use accelerometers as free fall sensors to know when to pa! rk the hard drive. The patent was applied for back in 2006, and is based on earlier patents from 2004 and 2001 to give it some extra cred (Apple's own motion control patents, for instance, weren't filed until late 2007). Still, it's rather general, vague, and obvious, and all the examples given seem to be about scrolling, selecting icons, and swiping through pages (not popular uses from accelerometers currently) so time will tell if it will hold up in court if Durham decides to go after any one of the multi-billion dollar companies that are currently "infringing."

Ultra vague accelerometer patent filed in 2006 seems to cover every touchphone on the market, granted last week originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of fee! ds.

Permalink Slashdot, AllThingsD | sourceUSPTO | Email this | Comments

AT&T announces deals with OpenPeak, Zeebo, American Security Logistics
March 24, 2010 at 6:48 PM

Well, it looks like AT&T is maintaining a steady pace with its non-cellphone news during CTIA (in addition to cellphone news, of course), with it now following up yesterday's announcements with another three. That includes a deal with OpenPeak that will see AT&T provide 3G service for the company's OpenTablet device (now slated to be available in "late 2010"), and an agreement with Zeebo to provide mobile broadband for the company's gaming / entertainment / education console. That's currently only available Brazil and Mexi! co, but Zeebo is apparently "planning for commercial opportunities in the domestic market " sometime next year. Rounding things out (for now) is a deal with American Security Logistics, which has announced that it will be using AT&T to wirelessly connect a whole range of location-based tracking devices -- including everything from cargo shipments to pet tracking to Alzheimer's patient monitoring. Alright, AT&T. Anything else left up your sleeve? A 3G-equipped sleeve, perhaps?

AT&T announces deals with OpenPeak, Zeebo, American Security Logistics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kobo eReader is Kobo's $149 E Ink play for Borders, we thumb through its virtual pages
March 24, 2010 at 6:26 PM

We've seen so many e-book readers of late that it's difficult to get excited about another, but Kobo's angle here might just make the Kobo eReader worth a look. Kobo's game is ecosystem, and in fact it doesn't plan on making a big splash in the actual e-reader market, since it's primarily about building branded software and delivering branded e-book stores for others, including manufacturers (like Plastic Logic), and booksellers (like Borders). Still, the 6-inch E Ink reader is fine hardware in its own right, with quality plastics throughout, a nice patterned rubber back, and a big friendly d-pad for paging through books. The device is actually laid out to mitigate accidental button presses -- even the menu buttons labelled on the front are actually located on the side of the device. As far as software and ! capabilities, the device is utterly barebones, but at least it keeps its aesthetics throughout, and everything seems responsive and intuitive. There's no 3G onboard (you sync your e-pub titles with a desktop app over USB), no specific word on storage (our guess is in the 1GB to 4GB range), and there don't seem to be any other activities available to reading books. Hopefully you're into that sort of thing, and Kobo at least pre-loaded 100 public domain titles to get you started. The unit will be sold at Borders this summer for $149, preceded by Indigo Books & Music in Canada in May.

Meanwhile, Kobo isn't neglecting its devices strategy. It already has BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Mac, and PC (and some others we're likely forgetting), but it's also showing an iPad app that looks all ready to go. There aren't many details about it, but like all things Kobo it looks pretty single purpose and slick -- check out the screenshots below.

Editor's note: due to the horrible lighting conditions at the CTIA event we were attending, we had to photograph the device under the warm lights of a meat-cutting station, hence the incongruous backdrop of these hands-on photos.

Kobo eReader is Kobo's $149 E Ink play for Borders, we thumb through its virtual pages originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Korg debuts pocket-sized Monotron analog synth, and we want it (video)
March 24, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Don't take this the wrong way -- we're glad to be in Las Vegas with all our friends at CTIA, playing with new handsets from Samsung and Motorola. But as you know, we also love us some new music gear, especially when it sounds good -- so we wouldn't exactly mind being in Frankfurt for Musikmesse right now, either. Currently on display at Korg's booth, Monotron is a pocket-sized analog synth featuring a ribbon keyboard, VCO, VCF, and LFO controls, and the same analog filter found in the Korg MS-10 and MS-20 -- and it sounds great. Check it out in the gallery below and and in the video after the break to see / hear the thing in action.

Continue reading Korg debuts pocket-sized Monotron analog synth, and we want it (video)

Korg debuts pocket-sized Monotron analog synth, and we want it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Wave is world's first DivX HD phone, Galaxy S in a hurry to be world's second
March 24, 2010 at 5:42 PM

Want some DivX-encoded 720p goodness on your fancy new superphone? Samsung will be the way to go, at least in the short term. The Korean company has announced that its Bada-infused Wave handset will be the first phone with certified support for DivX HD playback, with the freshly announced, Android-driven, Galaxy S following up at an unspecified point in time. Guess we're finally going to get the content to do justice to those spectacular Super AMOLED displays. Hit up Engadget Spanish for the full PR while we get to work on transcoding our entire DVD collection.

Samsung Wave is world's first DivX HD phone, Galaxy S in a hurry to be world's second originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG X300's slack-jawed hands-on
March 24, 2010 at 5:18 PM

You know, we see a lot of ultraportable laptops these days, it's not like it's virgin territory for us, but we'd say the last time we were this blown away by a form factor was the VAIO X, or maybe the Adamo XPS in all its weird-hinge glory. LG's X300 is simply thin. Cramming 11.6-inches of screen and premium netbook parts (2GHz Atom Z550, HDMI out, up to 2GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, even some 3G and Bluetooth for good measure) into a 0.68-inch thick form factor is impressive, but we're even more struck by how insanely light this thing is -- it feels more like holding an e-book reader in hand than a laptop. The plastic build feels very solid, and the textured pattern on the back falls into the realm of "premium," not "gaudy." The keyboard isn't the best action-wise, but there's zero flex because there's nowhere to go. Our biggest concern is the trackpad: it's nice and big, but th! ere's a "virtual" click mechanism where you tap to click the button portion and get a haptic response -- it might be the evolution of the "click pad" concept, or it might be a pain in the ass. Even the screen was bright and quality, though too glossy for our taste. We're told the laptop is headed to the US, but we're not sure when -- hopefully soon, since it's starting to ship internationally this month. Check out a video walkthrough after the break.

Continue reading LG X300's slack-jawed hands-on

LG X300's slack-jawed hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from CTIA 2010's day two keynote with Dan Hesse
March 24, 2010 at 4:59 PM

Hot off the killer HTC EVO 4G announcement yesterday, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is helping to lead up CTIA's day two keynote session today alongside Clearwire boss William Morrow, Deutsche Telekom chief René Obermann, and more. So sit down, pour yourself a hot cup of something, and enjoy -- this should be a good one!

Continue reading Live from CTIA 2010's day two keynote with Dan Hesse

Live from CTIA 2010's day two keynote with Dan Hesse originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MotroPCS bringing LTE to Las Vegas this year, Samsung doing infrastructure and first LTE handset: the SCH-r900
March 24, 2010 at 4:53 PM

Look out folks, we're about to go LTE, and it's not from where you were expecting: MetroPCS is building out an LTE network in "various metropolitan markets," with Las Vegas due to go online first in the second half of 2010. Samsung will be doing the infrastructure work, and is running the presser here at CTIA, with a pretty impressive display of room-based LTE show of force. Samsung, as previously announced, will also be building the first 4G handset for the network, dubbed the SCH-r900, though they aren't sharing any other details about the device at this point. Samsung ran a quick demo of 4G performance using some laptops and a couple of racks of LTE parts (we'll have video up momentarily), and was also running some sort of LTE prototype (pictured above), though we don't know squat about it. Developing..! .

MotroPCS bringing LTE to Las Vegas this year, Samsung doing infrastructure and first LTE handset: the SCH-r900 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM's two-seater EN-V concept makes 'urban mobility' hip again
March 24, 2010 at 4:43 PM

We'll confess -- the Segway did a lot of damage to urban mobility as a whole, but General Motors (of all companies) might have just mended a wound we thought un-mendable. Unveiling today in Shanghai, the two-seater EN-V concept is a play on last year's altogether riveting (albeit forgotten) P.U.M.A., and yes, it seems as if some of those design cues have worked their way into this one as well. The Electric Networked-Vehicle was engineered to "alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability for tomorrow's cities," and they're also fully capable of transforming this place we call Earth into a next-generation Epcot. A trio of designs made their debut -- Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh) -- and we're told that twin electric m! otors and "dynamic stabilization technology" allow 'em to turn on a dime and operate autonomously (!) using integrated GPS. The Li-ion batteries can be juiced from a conventional wall outlet, and the expected range is around 40 kilometers on a single charge. Best of all? There's built in wireless of some sort, enabling your fellow EN-V owner-friends to keep track of your late-night escapades if you so allow. We know -- you'd buy one of each if these were available today, but mum's the word on when (or if) they'll ever hit the production line; meanwhile, expect something called a "Malibu" to remain in the product pipeline for the better part of next decade.

GM's two-seater EN-V concept makes 'urban mobility' hip again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's N150 netbook picks up some Corby branding, Starburst color
March 24, 2010 at 4:18 PM

Spotted first crawling its way through the FCC, then on the floors of CES and most recently at WMC with some LTE inside we're going to go ahead and say the Samsung N150 has earned its new stripes, err rainbow colors. Trying to add some brightness to its well stocked Pine Trail netbook line up, Sammy has gone and painted the $379 10.1-inch N150 in Flamingo Pink, Bermuda Blue and Caribbean Yellow, though kept its internal 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive and 1GB RAM unprimed. Interestingly, in some countries the netbook has acqu! ired Samsung's affordable mobile phone Corby brand, though here in the U.S. that doesn't seem to be the case. We'd probably just stick with the black hue, but that doesn't mean we couldn't go for some sort of tropical-flavor candy right about now.

Samsung's N150 netbook picks up some Corby branding, Starburst color originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T9 Trace lets you Swype through your text messages
March 24, 2010 at 3:49 PM

You may or may not yet be aware of the Swype virtual keyboard (comes preloaded on the Cliq XT from Motorola), but you'll definitely be hearing about the T9 Trace from Nuance. This is because, although it's fundamentally the same thing as Swype (but from a different maker), the T9 Trace is on offer from the company behind the T9 predictive text dictionary that pretty much everyone from your 7-year old nephew to your octogenarian grandpa has used. The big idea here is that you trace out the word on your virtual keyboard without lifting your finger off, with short stops at each letter you want to add being taken for input. Once you get over the seemingly unintuitive idea of abandoning those woodpecke! r taps for the grace of tracing, it promises to be a real fun and rapid way to input text. Nuance has bundled the whole thing with error correction, word prediction and auto-completion, while supporting 70 languages. The company has yet to tell us when the T9 Trace will be showing up on phones (touchscreens only, for obvious reasons), but you can check out video of the competing Swype implementation after the break.

Continue reading T9 Trace lets you Swype through your text messages

T9 Trace lets you Swype through your text messages originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mobile Burn | sourceNuance | Email this | Comments

Nokia N8 being announced mid-April
March 24, 2010 at 3:24 PM

We've just been told by a trusted source that Nokia will announce a new flagship device dubbed N8 in the middle of next month. That's not around any major trade shows that we're aware of, but it is just before the company's Annual General Meeting in Helsinki -- and naturally, it doesn't hurt their relationship with major investors to have just introduced a killer new device. For what it's worth, we just saw a leaked photo yesterday morning of a Symbian^3-based phone purporting to be the N8, so this lines up rather nicely, doesn't it? Announcement certainly doesn't equate to availability in Nokia's world, so until we hear otherwise, we'll assume that Eldar Murtazin's claim of a September retail launch is likely accurate.

[Image via IT168]

Nokia N8 being announced mid-April originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UK VHS sales more than double in 2009, Bill Cosby enjoys the attention
March 24, 2010 at 2:53 PM

The way we see it, unless you're old enough to have taped a world premiere Smiths video off of 120 Minutes (probably "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before") you have no business hoarding VHS tapes. But maybe you are enamored with their many charms: actual tape that gets taut, stretches, or simply loses signal over time, resulting in color bleeds and ghastly images; bulky physical media; cardboard cases that stain and tear quickly and easily. Well, you probably live in the United Kingdom, then! According to a report by that nation's Entertainment Retailers' Association (ERA), while music sales dropped by 0.8 percent in 2009 (the lowest decrease in five years) and all other video fell by by 10.6 percent, VHS sales more than doubled, from 44,377 in 2008 to 95,201 last year. Of course, everything is relative -- while PC games, for instance, declined nearly 25% last year, some 6.4 million titles we! re sold. Even so, this is no small potatoes when you realize that almost all the sales were attributed to Bill Cosby's Razzie Award-winning classic. What do you think, guys? Time for a Leonard Part 7?

UK VHS sales more than double in 2009, Bill Cosby enjoys the attention originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tech Digest | sourceBBC | Email this | Comments

Sony's 3D glasses rated at 55 Alice in Wonderland viewings per charge
March 24, 2010 at 2:27 PM

Sony's 3D glasses rated at 55 Alice in Wonderland viewings per charge
As we get closer and closer to being run over by a wave of 3D televisions, Blu-ray players, and assorted peripherals, we can start to see more of the details of that oncoming rush. Most recently revealed is the battery life of Sony's active shutter glasses. As we've reported before, Sony is diving face-first into 3D technology for the home and each face that wants to follow along will need a pair of $133 TDG-BR100 or TDG-BR50 glasses perched upon it. Both models will manage 100 hours of active viewing before running dry -- less than half the 250 hours Panasonic is pledging for its peepers, but more than double the 40 hours for NVIDIA's option. 100 hours sounds like a lot, sure, but coming hot on the heels of Nielsen's 35 hours per week of television report, we're thinking you'd better keep that recharger nearby.

Sony's 3D glasses rated at 55 Alice in Wonderland viewings per charge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceSony Insider |&nb! sp;Email this | Comments

Telecom Egypt loses revenue, government helps by banning international VoIP
March 24, 2010 at 1:58 PM

Egypt calls international VOIP illegal, Skype users ask 'What about an eagle?'State-owned Telecom Egypt hasn't been doing well lately, last week announcing 2009 voice call revenues dropped 13 percent from the year prior. It's not hard to see cheap/free VoIP calling as a primary reason, and so what do you do if you're a state-run commercial enterprise trying to make a profit? Why, you make the competition illegal of course. Egypt has specifically banned mobile international calls made through VoIP, immediately affecting the country's three mobile carriers (Vodafone, Mobinil, and Etisalat). However, according to the AFP the law states that "all internation! al calls must pass through state-owned Egypt Telecom," meaning at-home Skypers would also be out of luck. For its part Skype believes that " it should be up to consumers, not regulatory authorities, to choose the winners and losers in the communications space." We're guessing its customers would agree, but we're still waiting for their response -- damn lag.

Telecom Egypt loses revenue, government helps by banning international VoIP originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ! ; | sourceYahoo! News, Portfolio.com | Email this | Comments

Inbrics M1 gets Android 2.1 and CPU bump to 1GHz, insists on being called a MID
March 24, 2010 at 1:29 PM

It looks like a smartphone, it has a smartphone's form factor, operating system, and an extra-slim slideout QWERTY keyboard, yet Inbrics still insists on calling the M1 a Mobile Internet Device instead. When the company's not busy sinking its own battleships, it appears to be doing actually beneficial stuff, such as cramming a new 1GHz Samsung CPU inside its device. The original 800MHz unit was the thing that worried us most during our otherwise praise-filled hands-on experience with the M1 at CES, so it's a good sign to see it getting a bit of extra brawn ahead of launch. The software has also moved with! the times, with Android 2.1 being the current OS on tap, which should look rather nice on that 3.7-inch OLED display. The M1 will have WiFi, but no cellular connectivity is planned just yet. It's all dependent on having a Western vendor pick up the hardware and infuse it with its own requirements. Although at CES we were told to expect the M1 in March, the current timetable is for a July launch in Korea and US availability by the end of the year, provided Inbrics finds a partner for the device. Netbook News have also finally squeezed a price out of the company and have been told to expect it in the "low $200" range. Sounds kinda promising, don't you think?

Inbrics M1 gets Android 2.1 and CPU bump to 1GHz, insists on being called a MID originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see o! ur terms for u! se of fe eds.

Permalink SlashGear | sourceNetbook News | Email this | Comments

Avatar disc opens up online-only extras until ultimate edition arrives in November, 3D next year
March 24, 2010 at 1:05 PM

Fox continues to pull back the layers of its release schedule for Avatar after yesterday's press event with director James Cameron, producer James Landau and Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers (above) as Reuters indicates the Blu-ray 3D version will arrive next year. What does 2010 hold for the most dedicated fans of Pandora? While the DVD and Blu-ray editions due April 22 will arrive stripped clean of any extras whatsoever, a registration code! slipped in the case will give owners access to "The AVATAR Program" to view bonus content online, adopt a "virtual hometree" among the million being planted and other enticements to string them along connect this release with an ultimate edition due in November. Check the press release after the break for all the details and see if you can resist the urge to triple dip.

Continue reading Avatar disc opens up online-only extras until ultimate edition arrives in November, 3D next year

Avatar disc opens up online-only extras until ultimate edition arrives in November, 3D next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:05:00 EST. Please see ou! r terms for us! e of fee ds.

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Tromso students put together the best interactive display wall we've seen yet (video)
March 24, 2010 at 12:33 PM

Take everything you thought you knew about multitouch and throw it out. Okay, keep the Minority Report stuff, but throw everything else out. What we're looking at here is a 22 megapixel display, stitched together from the output of no less than 28 projectors (7,168 x 3,072 total resolution), which just happens to respond to touch-like input in a fashion even Tom Cruise would find fascinating. You don't have to actually touch the wall, floor-mounted cameras pick up your gestures in 2D space and a 30-node computer setup crunches all the computational and visual data to deliver some buttery smooth user interaction. For demo purposes, the makers of this system grabbed a 13.3 gigapixel image of Tromso and took it for a hand-controlled spin. See the mesmerizing show on video after the break.

Continue reading Tromso students put together the best interactive display wall we've seen yet (video)

Tromso students put together the best interactive display wall we've seen yet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceUniversity of Tromso! | Email this | Comments

HTC HD2 launches on T-Mobile USA as Sprint EVO points, laughs
March 24, 2010 at 11:24 AM

What a rough ride it's been for the US launch of the HD2. Now available on T-Mobile several months after making its European debut, it arrives less than 24 hours after the 4G Sprint EVO was announced for a summer release, and a week after we received confirmation that it won't be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 OS when devices start landing later in the year. So $199.99 plus a 2 year commitment for this Windows Mobile 6.5 device is just crazy talk. Our advice: wait a few months and snap up the glorious hardware for pennies and then install your favorite cooked ROM.

HTC HD2 launches on T-Mobile USA as Sprint EVO points, laughs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell looking outside of China for 'safer environments,' according to Indian PM
March 24, 2010 at 10:56 AM

The Hindustan Times cover this morning has a generous space dedicated to Google's exit out of China and related efforts at redirecting mainland users to its Hong Kong hub, but couched cosily inside that story is perhaps an even bigger one. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is quoted as saying that Dell is considering taking its $25 billion's worth of business elsewhere, possibly India:
"This morning I met the chairman of Dell Corporation. He informed me that they are buying equipment and parts worth $25 billion from China. They would like to shift to safer environment with climate conducive to enterprise with security of legal system."
Michael Dell's outfit already has one manufacturing plant in India, and the man himself has been on a charm offensive in the country this week meeting and greeting local officials. It could well be, however, that Dell is just seeking to play China and India off one another to get itself the most favorable manufacturing deal, but it's still interesting to find such a high profile protestation against the supposedly enterprise-choking climate and uncertain legal system in China. It appears that Google's wrangle with the Middle Kingdom's leadership has forced consumer electronics execs to reevaluate their strong reliance on China, and the (very) long-term effects could indeed be a shifting, or at least diversification, of manufacturing away from Yao's homeland.

[Thanks, Piyush]

Dell looking outside of China for 'safer environments,' according to Indian PM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred?
March 24, 2010 at 10:25 AM

It seems that man's mad quest to unite Sense UI and Droid continue at breakneck speed. This next bit of evidence comes from the blurrycam of AllDroid forum member Greek35T, and befitting its status as an experimental Alpha release, there are a few hiccups. Data is available when 3G is enabled, but not voice (although a quick perusal of the forum has indicated that at least one user has had success placing 3G calls -- but none receiving them). Bluetooth is also out of the question, for the time being -- as is airplane mode and the GPS (although aGPS seems to be working fine). That said, you do get Flash (as a rousing game of Alien Attack demonstrates). See for yourself after the break -- or hit the source link to try it out for yourself. You know, if you're crazy like that.

[Thanks, Steven]

Continue reading Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred?

Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lee Kun-hee returns as chief of Samsung Electronics
March 24, 2010 at 9:57 AM

It sure pays to be a white collar criminal in Korea. Especially when you're the son of the founder of Samsung. Lee Kun-hee, the disgraced former chairman of the Samsung Group, is returning to the chaebol as the head of Samsung Electronics -- Samsung's largest division and of primary interest to us gadget nerds. Remember, this is the man convicted of tax evasion only to be pardoned (twice!) by South Korean presidents with all jail time deferred. His latest pardon was issued so that he could help South Korea win a bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. In an effort to stave off criticism from a local population that is at once proud of Samsung's global success but conce! rned with its immense power over all things Korean, Mr. Lee played the fear card in announcing the reason for his return:
"[The] best companies in the world are collapsing. We don't know what is going to happen to Samsung too. In the coming 10 years, businesses and products that represent Samsung today will mostly disappear."
Never mind that analysts are predicting the most profitable year ever for Samsung Electronics. So what'll it be South Korea: BubiBubi or pitchforks?

Lee Kun-hee returns as chief of Samsung Electronics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceWall Street Journal | Email this | Comments

Mythos XTR-50 speakers exude aircraft style, remain grounded by price tag
March 24, 2010 at 9:41 AM

Let's get this out of the way: at 38mm (1.5 inches) thick, these Mythos XTR-50 speakers are not the "world's thinnest," no matter what manufacturer Definitive Technology might have you believe -- JVC dropped 31mm satellites onto our secret wishlists just last fall. But unless you live in Japan, the Mythos XTR-50 may be the thinnest speakers you can actually buy. Made completely from aircraft grade aluminum, the enclosure houses six domed drivers and a tweeter, themselves shaped from aluminum, and connected with copper-covered aluminum wire. Why all the aluminum, you ask? The obvious reason is that -- in moderation -- it's lighter and stronger than alternative materials, which contributes to these satell! ites' luscious curves, but it also means that the entire assembly acts as a giant heatsink. Logical design -- who would have believed it. Too bad the units cost $700 each, and you'll need at least two -- if not five -- to get the full effect.

Mythos XTR-50 speakers exude aircraft style, remain grounded by price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News | sourceDefinitive Technology | Email this | Comments

Corsair's 100GB Force SSD scorches the test bench with its blazing speed
March 24, 2010 at 8:59 AM

The name's Force, SandForce. Corsair's making it kinda easy on us to spot its first SandForce-controlled SSD, and there's no reason it should be bashful about it, given that the SF-1500 is currently the fastest SSD processor around. The F100 in question has the SF-1200 onboard, offering a lesser 285MBps read and 275MBps writes (oh, such measly specs!), but that also means you might, might, actually find a way to afford one. The TweakTown crew took one for a spin recently and were happily surprised to find little in the way of performance difference between SandForce's supposedly enterprise-class SF-1500 and consumer-class SF-1200 -- both sped ahead of the Intel X25-M G2 and Indilinx Barefoot-controlled drives. The speed conclusion was clear cut, and with pricing for the 100GB F100 projected to be as low as $400, the value proposition doesn't look too bad either. The 200GB variant is expected to land somewhere around $700 when Corsair's Force SSDs make it out to retail in a few days' time.

Corsair's 100GB Force SSD scorches the test bench with its blazing speed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Conceptual 'CTRUS' football gets loaded with sensors, don't need no pump
March 24, 2010 at 8:11 AM

We've heard of soccer balls that play a tune when kicked, sure, and we're pumped to see the World Cup in 3D, but it's not often that someone comes up with a serious technological makeover for the sport that's nearly as old as life itself. CTRUS, however, is just that -- a theoretical revolution in soccer that begins with the all-important ball. To start with, a reinforced elastic structure means that CTRUS doesn't require any air. (So long, pump.) Next, GPS and RFID chips keep track of the ball's position at all times, and tell it to light up in different colors when it scores a goal or is accomplice to a nefarious violation. (Farewell, referee.) Last but not least, the sphere i! tself will report back with accelerometers that measure the ball's kick force and travel speed, and a camera that could (with magical software stabilization, of course) actually film action from the ball's own POV. Sadly, the ball is just a concept from an undercover marketing agency, but since we're dreaming, we urge its creators to add a second camera. Just imagine just how immersive it would be to have your face booted in at 130km/h in glorious 3D. Or, just peek the concept videos after the break.

Continue reading Conceptual 'CTRUS' football gets loaded with sensors, don't need no pump

Conceptual 'CTRUS' football gets loaded with sensors, don't need no pump originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo | sourceAGENT | Email this | Comments

China Telecom launching Palm Pre, BlackBerry handsets this summer
March 24, 2010 at 7:36 AM

We've been hearing that China Telecom would be grabbing hold of Palm and RIM's respective stables of smartphones since early last year, but at long last we've some official quotes to prove those whispers correct. According to a new report over at the Wall Street Journal, Chairman and Chief Executive Wang Xiaochu has affirmed that it will offer an undisclosed amount of BlackBerry devices in China this May, while Palm's Pre (no word on the Pixi) will hit this July. These deals could certainly bode well for the carrier; as it stands, it's going up against China Mobile -- which already sells BlackBerry handsets -- and China Unicom, which is home to Apple's iPhone. Unfortunately, pricing details weren't available, but we're guessing those will pop sooner rather than later.

China Telecom launching Palm Pre, BlackBerry handsets this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pre Central | sourceWall Street Journal | Email this | Comments

Sierra Wireless pledges undying affection, support for Windows 7 Device Stage
March 24, 2010 at 6:57 AM

Yes, we know you haven't exactly been champing at the bit to make use of Windows 7's Device Stage, but that might just be because you haven't had an opportunity, as manufacturers have to proactively register their hardware to let you make use of the streamlined device management service. Thankfully for mobile broadband users, Sierra Wireless has just volunteered. Starting today, all Sierra Wireless AirCards will automatically integrate with Windows 7 to allow you one-touch access to connectivity, support and firmware updates -- with the tradeoff that it also provides carriers a branded spot on your computer that "can be remotely updated to support marketing campaigns." We're not terribly worried about Verizon and kin selling us new phones, to be sure! , but we're always a wee bit cautious of providing another back door into our road warrior lives.

Sierra Wireless pledges undying affection, support for Windows 7 Device Stage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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