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Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - Posts
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Life doesn't present many opportunities to watch the entire Star Trek canon and call it "research," and when it does so, you'd be a fool to pass up the chance.
Brian Briggs is no fool, and when Citadel Press offered the BBSpot editor a contract to write The BBook of Geek, Briggs used the book as an excuse to burnish his geek cred. He watched every original Star Trek episode and set his phasers to stun. He watched X-Files episodes and wanted to believe. He watched Babylon 5 and, err... admired the Amiga-produced CG effects.
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AMD's plan to split itself into a foundry and a design firm have continued apace through the financial upheaval of the past few months, even though the company
was forced to revalue some aspects of the deal due to its declining stock price. As of today, AMD announced that it has received final shareholder approval to
issue common stock and warrants to an affiliate of the Mubadala Development Company. All terms of the transaction have now been met; the deal will close (and The
Foundry Company will launch) on or before March 2, 2009.
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A couple of years ago, a Mac OS X application came along and
blew my socks off. I raved about it at the time, and continue to do so just
about every chance I get. That app was Papers, which has done for scientific literature what iTunes did for music files. Now, the company behind Papers, Mekentosj, has
done it again, this time by bringing its killer app to the iPhone in a timely
manner. It doesn't disappoint.
What made the desktop app so great was the way it took all
the hard parts of maintaining an electronic literature database and hid them,
while at the same time providing a great-looking interface from which to read
papers, search for new ones, and even export them to bibliographic apps. The
iPhone app works in pretty much the same way as the desktop version, bringing
some or all of your desktop library over to your iPhone or iPod touch, along
with the option to search for new articles and so on.
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- K-PAX
- Mars Attacts
- Legend of 1900
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
- Sleepy Hollow
- The Butterfly Effect
- The Time Machine
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
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Okay, so maybe Palm hit its head on the corner of a goalpost in a charity hockey tournament recently (stupid ego -- no helmet) and hasn't been the same since. Maybe they've lost their ever-loving minds, gone back to 2006, and resurrected the original Centro ID with a build of webOS so janky that it looks like a knockoff of webOS. We prefer a couple more reasonable theories: someone's hard at work on a webOS skin for Palm OS (bless their heart) or Palm had used a Centro for early mockups / prototyping on webOS and the shots of that effort are just now starting to leak out. Either way, dude pressing on the screen in the middle picture: nice stylus. Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Don't worry, this isn't the Centro 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The battle for the fourth generation wireless networks is officially on. At the Mobile World Congress trade show in Bareclona today, Verizon Wireless announced that it has selected Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent to provide the bulk of the telecom equipment for... 
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Even after bloggers and consumer rights groups kicked up a cloud of suspicion around changes Facebook quietly made to its service agreement in weeks prior, the social networking site didn't back down. Instead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stuck up for these... 
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While perusing the Samsung booth for something fresh and fun we happened upon this, the Samsung SCH-M830. The M830 is a WiBro (mobile WiMax) and HSPA set, WiFI, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel camera, a 3.3-inch LCD, memory expansion with microSD, and runs Windows Mobile 6.1. The interface and all the UI elements were in Korean (see that Anycall branding? That's the hint) so if there were any special goodies in there we definitely didn't catch them. Impressions? It felt great and was really solid, but as to performance we can't add much there -- though just that big display had us smiling. Lovely gallery and a quick video flip-through follow the break.
Continue reading Samsung SCH-M830 hands-on Filed under: Cellphones Samsung SCH-M830 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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In a recent survey, Sprint Nextel's CEO Dan Hesse has received the highest employee satisfaction score among carrier CEOs, of 50%. By comparison, CEO of AT&T Mobility only received a 36% rating. What gives? 
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We've seen many wonderful, exciting things at Mobile World Congress this year. This isn't one of them. Chris: "Listen, you (expletive), I'm only two months behind on the Easy Bake." Darren: "Hawha? Iaowe u six five dolars? Huh? Moommiieeee!" Josh: "It will be a $35 charge to reinstate service, and no, you can't have a cookie." Richard: "How could I have sent that many SMS? I can't even read. Put your manager on." Joe: "Is this what they mean by 'the future underwriting the present?'" Jose: "Sshhhh! I'm talking to my marketing consultant - he loves the banner!" Paul: "Sure, the hold times suck, but at least they play tunes from The Wiggles in the background." Nilay: "I'm sorry, but they just haven't taught us the difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents in math class yet." Filed under: Cellphones Caption contest: the most depressing thing we've seen all day originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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That was short lived -- it hasn't been six months since Boxee added one of its most popular features yet and now Hulu is putting a stop to it. A real reason wasn't given -- big surprise -- but Hulu is saying it was at the reqest of the content providers. While no one really knows what Fox and NBC's objections are to Boxee, we're sad to say it actually kinda makes sense to us. Both media giants make most of their money from traditional cable and broadcast TV, and offering this content on your TV in a convenient way threatens the current model (read money) -- you can't say you haven't thought about getting Hulu on your TV so you could cancel cable. The real bad news is that we'd bet that this is just the beginning, and that every STB out there with Hulu will follow. Of course some of them won't comply, but either way it puts them in a bad situation. Hopefully this won't another trend and that the likes of ABC, CBS and Netflix don't follow. [Via Boxee Blog] Filed under: Home Entertainment Hulu asks Boxee to pull content, it complies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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If you were thinking offline Gmail on your desktop was the greatest thing since sliced bread, prepare yourselves people. If an MWC keynote from Google's VP of engineering, Vic Gundotra, is any indication, the same functionality might be coming soon to an iPhone / Android phone near you. Amongst other things, the souped up web app boasts an overhauled interface, supports labels, and of course, offline access. Despite our own hunch that Google's just using black magic and voodoo to make this happen, Gundotra claims that it's all made possible through HTML5 standards -- AppCache being the biggie. This development certainly opens the doors to more offline-enabled web apps in the future -- Docs, anyone?. Of course, we know Apple has a thing about people messing with its own apps, so it's probably going to take some time / knee-breaking to get them to come around, but for some reason, we don't think it'll take as long with Android. There's a demo video available after the break, and please, try to contain yourselves. Continue reading Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC Filed under: Cellphones Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Adtec's just released its Bluetooth wristband, which enables hands-free -- well, sort of. The band, which is equipped with a speaker and volume control, connects to your cell phone via Bluetooth, and comes in white or gray. The company suggests one might find this little gadget useful while fishing or running. Maybe it's just us, but we were thinking it might be neat to use it while conducting highly confidential espionage missions, too. Or... you know, blogging. Pair it with this guy and you've got a match made in heaven! It's available now in Japan for ¥5,980 -- about $65 -- but will probably (sadly) never makes its way across the waters to North America. [Via DVICE] Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Adtec unleashes Bluetooth wristband, delusions of grandeur originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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For all the fears of sophisticated digital intrusions preoccupying many computer security professionals, President Obama’s leading candidates for “cyber czar” also are focusing on an all-too-human vulnerability: The nation’s inability to respond to a full-fledged Internet-borne crisis for lack... 
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You know, when armchair futurists (and jive talkin' bloggists) make note of some of the scary new tech making the rounds in defense circles these days it's one thing, but when the Doomsday Scenarios come from official channels, that's when we start to get nervous. According to a report published by the California State Polytechnic University (with data made available by the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research) the sheer scope of the military's various AI projects is so vast that it is impossible for anyone to fully understand exactly what's going on. "With hundreds of programmers working on millions of lines of code for a single war robot," says Patrick Lin, the chief compiler of the report, "no one has a clear understanding of what's going on, at a small scale, across the entire code base." And what we don't understand can eventually hunt us down and kill us. This isn't idle talk, either -- a software malfunction just last year caused US. Army robots to aim at friendly targets (fortunately, no shots were fired). The solution, Dr. Lin continues, is to teach robots "battlefield ethics... a warrior code." Of course, the government has had absolutely no problems with ethics over the years -- so programming its killer robots with some rudimentary values should prove relatively simple. Filed under: Robots Navy report warns of robot uprising, suggests a strong moral compass originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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No gaming setup is complete without the obligatory cushy chair. In our previous exploration of what makes a great gaming setup, we have noted that the chair is an important—and often overlooked—part of the overall experience. Like most other Ars gaming enthusiasts, I'm very particular about where I put my posterior. Unfortunately, I can't afford the epic $40,000 gaming throne that Ben discovered at CES, so I've had to search for the next best thing in my price range.
Everyone has a favorite, and there are a lot of really intriguing options from which to choose. There are leather floor rockers, massive theater-style chairs with integrated speakers, and a multitude of innovative niche options such as the transformable Trey Chair. I am a bit of a beanbag aficionado and I have several in my collection. My favorite, which I reviewed last year, is the Sumo Omni.
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While some NAS devices can get a bit unwieldy or unsightly, that is thankfully not the case with Western Digital's new My Book World Edition, which keeps things clean and simple without skimping on the features most folks are looking for. Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities ($230 and $450, respectively) this one boasts both DLNA 1.5 and UPnP certification to allow for streaming with a variety of devices, and it packs a single USB port to let you turn any other USB drive into a network drive, though you're out of luck if you were hoping to plug a printer in there. What's more, our pals at Engadget Spanish have already managed to get their hands on one, and they've naturally wasted no time doing a complete unboxing. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and be sure to check back later for their full impressions.
Filed under: Storage, Networking WD debuts My Book World Edition NAS, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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You'd think with an in-demand new product like the Mini 10 Dell would want to snag as many pre-orders as it can for itself, but it looks like none other than QVC will be getting first dibs on the company's latest netbook, as Dell has now confirmed after the netbook made an appearance on shopping channel's website. It'll apparently be offering one configuartion of the Mini 10 for $559, which includes a 1.6GHz Z530 Atom processor, a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, Windows XP and, of course, that 10.1-inch SVGA display. Shortly thereafter, on Feburary 26th, Dell will begin taking orders itself for a couple more configurations, including a $399 model that includes a 1.3GHz Z520 Atom processor and a 3-cell battery. [Via NotebookReview.com] Filed under: Laptops Dell Mini 10 shows up for pre-order... from QVC? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We had a brief peek at yest another pico projecting set at MWC, this time an NTT docomo Samsung affair without a name, price, or even a release date. Specs are as sketchy as these are usable in a brightly lit room, but the hopes are this device will be used for services like mobile TV, home theater (yeah, right), document editing, presentations, and video calling. We were enthused to see the mock ups (pictured above) of where the design of this device could go -- and we're hoping that by next year the bricks we've seen lately will be gone and sleek design will become the norm. We filmed a bit of it in action and honestly, we've seen TI's pico projector before and it doesn't seem to have changed significantly. Follow the link to see the media.
Continue reading NTT docomo and Sharp show projector phone at MWC Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Portable Video NTT docomo and Sharp show projector phone at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Well, it looks like RIM's top executives weren't about to get off the hook after just paying a little fine to the Ontario Securities Commision over that backdated stock options issue, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission is now getting on the act with some charges of its own. In a bit of a twist, however, the SEC has simultanesouly announced that it has already reached a settlement with the four top RIM executives in question (co-CEOs Balsillie and Lazaridis, plus Chief Operating Officer Dennis Kavelman and former vice president of finance Angelo Loberto), who have agreed to pay $1.4 million in fines and give back the more than $800,000 they made in profits. No more shakeups on the board, it seems, although there's only so many times you can step down from your position before you start to look silly. Filed under: Cellphones SEC charges, settles with RIM executives over backdating issue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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I live in Kentucky, which means I see NASCAR treated as something halfway between a religion and a philosophy. EA creating a kart-racing game based on a Nascar license on the Wii sounds like a big pile of fail, with a heaping helping of pain for any reviewer stupid enough to go near it. Luckily, I hate myself. So I opened a cheap beer, practiced my left turns, and slammed NASCAR Kart Racing in my Wii.
Imagine going into a dive bar, getting drunk enough to decide ordering food was a good idea, and discovering the ribs aren't actually that bad. Not only is NASCAR Kart Racing not terrible, I found myself cracking a smile a few times.
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Yes, the kids at RAmos have arrived with that 800 x 480 PMP we first espied sometime in December. As you might have guessed, the T9 iMovie 2 is the followup to the smash hit T8 iMovie, sporting a polished aluminum alloy frame, 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, and 16GB storage. No further details at the moment, but if you can track this guy down he'll run you about $132. [Via PMP Today] Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video RAmos T9 iMovie 2 PMP: 800 x 480, 16GB, $132 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Looking for some red hot photo printing action "on the go," as it were? Canon has just announced the newest addition to its line of SELPHY compact photo printers. The CP780 boasts faster print speeds, improved image quality, and ( count 'em!) three colors. That's right, three. Apparently the Face Detection brightness and color correction have been improved on this guy as well -- so all those embarrassing candid photos you're famous for will be rendered in "natural and realistic colors," if the PR is to be believed. The printer carries an estimated MSRP of $99.99, but once you start throwing in goodies like the optional battery pack ($80) and Bluetooth adapter ($50) things start getting rather pricey. Still interested? We have some pics for you after the break. Continue reading Canon announces the Selphy CP780 portable photo printer Filed under: Peripherals Canon announces the Selphy CP780 portable photo printer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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If you thought Gigabyte's M912 mini convertible tablet was hot stuff, get a load of this. Expected to be officially unveiled at CeBIT, the company just couldn't resist bringing along a M1028 demo unit to MWC in order to mix things up. Reportedly, the swivel-screen netbook was equipped with a comparatively roomy 10-inch display (1,024 x 600), and packed within was a standard issue Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, WiFi, Ethernet, optional WWAN module, an SD card slot, ExpressCard, VGA output, a trio of USB ports, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and Windows XP Home. We ought to hear (and see) more when we land at CeBIT in just under a fortnight, but for now, you can see a Gigabyte-approved "sneak peek" vid just after the break. [Via jkkmobile] Continue reading Gigabyte shows off 10-inch M1028 convertible netbook Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs Gigabyte shows off 10-inch M1028 convertible netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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After a revision to its terms of service contract landed Facebook in hot water with users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg this morning issued a mea culpa and pledged to come up with a new agreement that incorporates input from the site's... 
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 Well, just when it was starting to look like TiVo and DISH / Echostar may finally have put their seemingly never-ending patent dispute behind them, the two companies now look to be rekindling things in Texas this week, where they've landed in court once more to sort out that pesky patent involving TiVo's Time Warp software. As patent dispute junkies may recall, TiVo first wound up being awarded some damages in the matter way back in 2006, after which Echostar was forced to develop some workaround software that it claims no longer infringed on TiVo's Time Warp patent, which allows for recording of one channel while the user watches another. In the meantime, Echostar / DISH continued to fight back against TiVo, with things finally, apparently coming to an end when the Supreme Court ultimately denied DISH's appeal and once again awarded TiVo some $100 million in damages. Now, TiVo is alleging that the aforementioned "workaround" software does still violate its patent after all, and it's asking a U.S. District Court Judge in Texarcana, Texas to sort it out. If this latest round plays out as TiVo hopes, DISH could be forced to disable most, if not all, of its DVRs, and potentially buy new DVRs that don't infringe on TiVo's patents. Filed under: Home Entertainment TiVo and DISH / Echostar head back to Texas for another patent duel originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Microsoft and Google have been locked in a struggle with both botnets and human networks devoted to cracking both companies' CAPTCHAs for over a year. Security
researchers have continued to research more advanced forms of the security test (CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and
Humans Apart), but the vast majority of companies that employ CAPTCHAs (including Microsoft) use variations of warped letters on a pixelated background.
CAPTCHAs were initially quite successful at stymieing automatic bot registration; it was big news last year when spammers cracked both Microsoft's and Google's
CAPTCHA systems. Microsoft resecured its own with a new algorithm, but the company's renewed security has been short-lived. Spammers have cracked Windows Live
Hotmail once again in a countermove that will have Redmond scrambling for its own response.
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Oh, brother. Another Intel / NVIDIA paper fight? As fate would so fittingly have it, these two giants are meeting up yet again, this time in the courtroom. After talks "of over a year" failed to amount to anything, Intel has filed suit against NVIDIA that -- according to Intel -- "seeks to have the court declare that NVIDIA is not licensed to produce chipsets that are compatible with any Intel processor that has integrated memory controller functionality, such as Intel's Nehalem [Core i7] microprocessors and that NVIDIA has breached the agreement with Intel by falsely claiming that it is licensed." Of course, NVIDIA's official stance is that Intel is simply trying "stifle innovation to protect a decaying CPU business." We have all ideas that the whole truth (and nothing but the truth) lies somewhere in between, but we guess that's why we have people called "lawyers" heading to work each day. If you're daring enough to dig deeper, all the links you need are neatly positioned below. [Via HotHardware]
Read - Intel's take Read - NVIDIA's official response Read - Further Intel comments Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets, Gaming, Peripherals Intel takes NVIDIA to court over chipset licensing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Never mind the Magic -- we've run across another Android device lurking in the midst at MWC, and if you squint, you might just see some HTC influence in this one, too. We'd heard General Mobile's dual-SIM DSTL1 would launch here, granted, but given its reasonably high-end look and the fact that we'd only seen renders ahead of the show, you have to appreciate our skepticism. Of course, we're delighted to be proven wrong in these sorts of situations, and we had a chance to play around with a DSTL1 today; WQVGA feels weak and there might be just a little too much Touch Diamond influence, but you have to respect the 5 megapixel AF cam, 4GB of internal storage plus microSD expansion, dual SIM slots, and on-board FM radio. Ultimately, the fact that this thing'll only be available in two tri-band EDGE flavors kills the dream, but goodness, these guys are getting close, aren't they? Follow the break for video!
Continue reading General Mobile's DSTL1 Android phone eyes-on Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds General Mobile's DSTL1 Android phone eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We just played around with Viliv's latest MIDs, the stylish S5 and X70. Both devices use haptic feedback for onscreen keyboard input, and despite the resistive screen we found them both to offer some of the best touchscreen interaction we've seen on devices like this. They were both running Windows Vista, and seemed rather responsive and usable, even with Atom under the hood. What's really impressive is the X70 (pictured), which is thinner than the S5, and also can be mounted to an optional leather case that brings a keyboard and foldability to the device, and turns the unit into a laptop of sorts. Neither device is particularly thin or light, but there's a lot of quality going on here, and for folks sold on this sort of functionality and form factor, it would be hard to do much better than these at the moment -- of course, you'll have to swim to Korea to do it. Video of the S5 is after the break. Continue reading Viliv S5 and X70 MIDs hands-on with video! Filed under: Tablet PCs Viliv S5 and X70 MIDs hands-on with video! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The Engadget Spanish team just got their hands on the Samsung Show (the European, i7410 model) projector phone that we first caught a sneak peek of a CES. The Show's projector is powered by Texas Instruments' DLP pico technology, and though the fact that it packs a projector does increase the bulkiness of the phone as far as looks are concerned, the phone is still rather small and light. The Show can project an image of anywhere from five to fifty inches, with a 480 x 320 resolution . It's got a 3.2-inch WQVGA touchscreen, the TouchWiz U
and also boasts a 5 megapixel camera. There are plans for this bad dude to hit Asia and Europe (but no word on if it'll ever make its way to North America), but we still haven't heard when, nor how much it'll cost when it arrives. Check the video after the break. [Via Engadget Spanish] Continue reading Samsung Show hands-on and video at MWC Filed under: Cellphones, Displays Samsung Show hands-on and video at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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 Verizon went a step beyond simply revealing its LTE infrastructure partners at MWC this week (they're Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson if you're curious), announcing that it'll actually have live networks in action by the end of the year. Two lucky to-be-named cities will be recipients of the 4G action -- which sounds suspiciously similar to Sprint and Clearwire's current WiMAX situation -- where the company will get a better sense of the data rates commercial users can expect. Speaking of commercial users, they'll be added into the mix come next year in 25 to 30 to markets. With a clear path for continued HSPA evolution up to double-digit Mbps under its belt, AT&T is pretending like it's not feeling the heat here -- but there've got to be a few beads of sweat forming on executive foreheads at this point. [Via Unwired View] Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless Verizon launching LTE trials this year, commercial network in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The talk this week at Mobile World Congress has been largely positive about Microsoft's latest iteration of its smartphone UI, Windows Mobile 6.5. Still, some of us at Engadget (well, one of us, at least), feel like the folks in Redmond missed the mark by a longshot. Instead of demonstrating its technical prowess and vast resources, Microsoft limped out a half-hearted rehash of an OS we've seen all too much of, and managed to blind most onlookers with a storm of big time partnerships and bloated PR. While their major competitors (and even some allies) in the mobile space seem bent on changing ideas about how we interact with our portable devices, the company proved once again that it's content to rest on its laurels and learn little from its mistakes. To give you another side of the story -- a side which I think Microsoft has done an immaculate job of hiding this week -- here's ten reasons why Windows Mobile 6.5 disappoints. Continue reading Editorial: Ten reasons why Windows Mobile 6.5 misses the mark Filed under: Cellphones Editorial: Ten reasons why Windows Mobile 6.5 misses the mark originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Word on the street has it that the Meizu's M8 -- that vaporous iPhone killer from the east -- is now officially on sale, as of February 18. For real. Wait, you ask -- wasn't it available last week sometime? Well, yes and no. Apparently, the unit we've seen making the rounds was a beta version -- if you slapped down your $440-ish dollars on that one, you got something with "a fair amount of problems to be ironed out," according to DAP Review. The site, whose Chinese-to-English translator is apparently functioning better than ours, goes on to point out that while the test units had WiFi enabled, the final production version does not. A strange decision, sure, but this is a tale fraught with strange decisions. And danger. And excitement and glamor. By the way -- we just hit up the official Meizu site, and the 16GB version of this device is "out of stock" -- probably due to the rapturous reception the unit's received all over the world. [Via DAP Review; Thanks, Michael] Continue reading Meizu M8 defies the odds and officially goes on sale - again Filed under: Cellphones Meizu M8 defies the odds and officially goes on sale - again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We know that you're being crushed under the seemingly endless weight of economic despair and financial strife, and we want to help. That's why Engadget is giving away one gadget every day until we run out of stuff and / or companies stop giving us products to hand out. It's our little way of putting the recess back in recession! Today you'll be playing for a pair of Audioengine A2 speakers, so read the full rules below, and start commenting!
The rules:
- Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
- You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
- If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
- Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one pair of Audioengine A2 speakers. Approximate value is $199.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, February 18th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
- Full rules can be found here.
Filed under: Announcements Engadget's recession antidote: win a pair of Audioengine A2 speakers! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We were really impressed with Texas Instruments' OMAP 3-based mobile development platform when we saw it running Android earlier today, and the hardware seems to hold up well to all sorts of video-accelerated magic for a multitude of Linux-based interfaces. Not so much with Windows Mobile 6.5. Granted, this is a very early build of the OS according to Microsoft, and is lacking all sorts optimization mojo that will go into the final product due end-of-year-ish, but at the same time this is basically an interface skin to Windows Mobile 6 that Microsoft has had nearly a year to work on since 6.1, and it's not exaggerating to say that performance is a complete joke at the moment. TI's OMAP 3 was clearly struggling to handle basic scrolling of the home screen and app menu, though "smoothness" was slightly improved in scrolling through a gallery of photos. TI has been working with 6.5 for "a few months," and claims to have added optimizations to interface performance -- and interestingly is running this on a capacitive touchscreen device, something that isn't officially supported as far as we're aware. They're also saying that they plan on achieving full smoothness by the time this launches, but there's really a long way to go, and it's difficult to understand why this seems to be a last priority for Microsoft at the moment. On the other hand, TI is doing great things with its own 3D-accelerated interface, something which Windows Mobile 6.5 brings support for, so perhaps these will all one day (soon) meet in the middle and give us the sort of interface smoothness and usability we'd expect on a phone built a decade into this century. Check out the painful videos after the break. Continue reading TI's OMAP 3 hardware doesn't manage to do Windows Mobile 6.5 any favors Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds TI's OMAP 3 hardware doesn't manage to do Windows Mobile 6.5 any favors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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 Not content to let Apple be the only one having fun banning racy apps that might scar the fragile minds of its users, Google is apparently looking to get in on the action with its Android Market. The company has confirmed that no graphic sexual content will be allowed, nor anything that encourages violence or hate speech. That's bad news for those who like bad apps, but the good news is that if you find something you've downloaded to be just a little too mainstream for your edgy tastes you'll have 24 hours to return it. Keep your download and unlimited reinstalls will be at your disposal, but Google maintains the right to forcefully remove an app from your device whenever it feels like it -- pledging to do its best to get you a refund. Finally, there will be no upgrades provided through the Android Market, meaning you'll rather unfortunately need to get them through some other, less secure means. [Via IntoMobile] Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Android Market allows returns, but not sexy stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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You can probably tell from the image above that the Wheego Whip isn't the fastest automobile to ever hit the streets, but it'll still be getting Americans from point A to point B before most of those other " concepts" will. The company is currently looking to score dealers that will sell its "electric LSVs (Low Speed Vehicles)," the first of which is obviously the Whip. If all goes to plan, it'll have 50 dealers across America by May, and given that this is "the best affordable electric car in the world" (that's the words of RTEV CEO Mike McQuary), we'd say all 50 should be brimming with customers. Unfortunately, we're not told just how fast slow this thing actually goes nor how expensive cheap it'll be, but hey, May's just a few months out, anyway. Filed under: Transportation All-electric Wheego Whip hitting America in May... slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Man, that first edition VAIO P was not the one to buy. Just a month after we saw the thing unveiled at CES, we've already learned that a Gobi-equipped version is on the way. Furthermore, Corel has just proclaimed that all future VAIO Ps will ship with its own InstantON technology to alleviate slow boot times associated with running Windows Vista on an Atom CPU. As with most alternatives, Corel's version of the software enables users to surf the web, check email, chat online and play back photos, videos and music in seconds after turning on their machine, and it sounds like Corel has crafted a customized interface specifically for this pocket-friendly(ish) PC. If this just made your decision to run out and snag a VAIO P, you can find the Corel-equipped version now in Japan and elsewhere later this month. [Via GadgetMix] Filed under: Laptops Corel brings InstantON technology to Sony's VAIO P originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We've been waiting on more details about a "forthcoming" Samsung MID for what feels like centuries now, but if a recent find is what it says it is, we'd say a Samsung-branded, WiMAX-enabled Mobile Internet Device is pretty close to production. The so-called SWD-M100D was spotted chillin' out, relaxin' all cool at Sammy's MWC WiMAX kiosk, which makes perfect sense given its ability to connect to WiMAX networks. Unfortunately, it was caught running WinMo 6.1, though the slide out QWERTY keyboard, 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module, 4.3-inch touchscreen, microSD slot and TV output were all welcome inclusions. Samsung's PR folks have been somewhat dodgy so far, but a recent press release about its innovation in the WiMAX space specifically makes mention of an elusive MID. We're on to you, Samsung, and we're not looking away for even a second. [Via Pocketables] Read - In the wild shots Read - Samsung release Filed under: Handhelds WiMAX-equipped Samsung SWD-M100D MID spotted at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Videogame controllers are typically rated on ergonomics, durability, and responsiveness -- though they sometimes get a few bonus points by looking especially cool. The original NES game pad really didn't have any of those attributes going for it, but that didn't stop it from becoming a cultural icon, one that has inspired reproductions of all shapes and sizes. The latest one varies not in dimensions but in composition: it's made of soap. Yes, this controller, which sells for just $8.25, is designed for bath time fun, and what it lacks in functionality it makes up for with natural ingredients and lovely (we presume) fragrances that surely smell a good bit better than those musty hunks of discolored plastic you probably have stuffed in a box somewhere. [Via Shiny Shiny] Filed under: Gaming NES soap won't help you rescue the Princess, may help you get a date originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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It's not too often that a new product is leaked via its own support site -- in fact most companies can't even get drivers up ahead of release -- but if an update to Dell's download database is correct the Studio 15 is about to receive an update in the graphics department. A new model called the Studio 1555 was added yesterday to the Dell download site and included there is a driver for ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4570 GPU. The Studio 15's current Intel 4500MHD is also listed, meaning the faster 4570 will likely be an option, and a desirable one at that. No further information about this update or new model is available, but if you were looking for a new Studio you might just want to hold off until we can figure out what's up. If, on the other hand, you were looking for a new studio apartment then go for it -- we've heard that now is an excellent time to buy. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Filed under: Laptops Dell's Studio 15 line getting ATI graphics boost? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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According to the good chaps over at Joystiq (and, you know, Nintendo), you can get your grubby mitts all over the DSi in North America come April 5th. The system will launch for $169.99, will include all the goodies you've been reading about -- like those dual cameras and downloadable content called DSiWare (starting at the totally mysterious price point of 200 DSi Points). The handhelds will come in either blue or black, and while we can't quite explain why they've omitted white, we can be pretty sure we'll see some more colors join the fray before too long. Anyhow, this is Nintendo, so remember: it's never too early to get in line. [Via Joystiq] Filed under: Gaming Nintendo DSi to launch in North America on April 5th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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As we've seen in the decidedly botched digital TV transition, nothing involving government and technology is ever straightforward. With that in mind, let us present to you the most germane portion of the recently passed economic stimulus package with respect to gadgets and the overall nerd kingdom: $7.2 billion. That amount is what President Obama has set aside for "broadband grant and loan programs," though things get confusing right from the start. $4.7 billion will be distributed through a program run by the Commerce Department, while $2.5 billion is handed out by the Agriculture Department. In theory, at least, that latter chunk would go specifically to rural and underserved areas, but having one goal with two masters just seems like trouble waiting to happen. Oh, and then there's the mandate to the FCC that instructs it to create (within one year, mind you) a "national broadband plan to ensure that everyone in the US has broadband access." Granted, these aren't entirely unheard of -- Britain just did the same sort of thing a few weeks ago, and South Korea's already aiming at 1Gbps for all. We appreciate that the money's there, but only time will tell if leads to anything meaningful. Filed under: Networking Stimulus bill seeks plan to ensure all Americans have broadband access originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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This thing's been on quite a journey from concept to production, but here we are -- finally, a true successor to Pantech's quirky Duo on AT&T. The Matrix PRO features HSDPA (up from UMTS), integrated GPS with AT&T Navigator, Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel cam, Video Share support, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard, but the real draw lies in the device's pair of sliders -- one for QWERTY, one for digits. At nearly 23mm thick, it's not the thinnest smartphone in the world -- that honor supposedly belongs to the Nokia E55 -- but where else are you going to get this many buttons on a single device? Pricing and availability are forthcoming. Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Pantech's Matrix PRO slides two ways onto AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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It's no mind reader, but MIT researchers Brandon Taylor and Michael Bove's "bar of soap" device should be able to tell you what gadget you're pretending to use based on how you hold it. Loaded with 72 capacitive sensors and a three-axis accelerometer, the prototype has a small screen that says what it believes you're pantomiming -- camera, phone, PDA, gamepad, and remote control are demonstrated in the accompanying video. In a slightly more realistic / entertaining example, a baseball is stuffed with sensors and used to determine what kind of pitch you've. Bove speculates the idea could potentially be used for high-tech golf clubs that tell you how incorrectly you're holding it or power tools that don't work unless you're gripping it the right way, and while we're sure there's other, more beneficial uses, we're really looking forward to figuring out why we always seem to slice right. Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds MIT's 'bar of soap' knows just what you want when you hold it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The entirety of civilization seems fairly well and dedicated to one-upping each other in the "green" department, and Samsung is looking to up the ante once again by stating that "blue is the new green" and putting out the new Blue Earth solar phone to prove it. Sadly, the Blue Earth isn't quite ready to go -- currently it's only to be seen in non-working mockup form, though the hardware is certainly looking good. Samsung's showing off its eco-packaging and built-in energy-saving functionality, including an "Eco Walk" function to let you know how many trees you save by walking places. The phone itself is built from castor bean extract and recycled plastic, and Samsung claims the integrated solar panel saves up to 34.6% of the battery's energy. They're also showing off a hand-crank generator, external solar chargers, and even a solar-charged stereo headset. It's clear that Samsung isn't just playing lip service to green (or blue, as the case may be) but at this point in time this technology is likely to act more as a gimmick and promise of things to come than a truly life-changing device. Filed under: Cellphones Samsung's Blue Earth is saving the world from behind glass originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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We just got a great look at the potential of Android on Texas Instruments' new Zoom OMAP34x-II Mobile Development Platform, a sort of sexy cousin to Compulab's exeda. The OMAP3430-powered unit is being built by Logic and is meant for software developers to work on the OMAP3 chipset, but it's actually a pretty neat "device" in its own right, with a 4.1-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen LCD, HDMI out, all sorts of connectivity, 16GB of storage, an SD card slot, large QWERTY keypad and an 8 megapixel camera. There's also a debug board with Ethernet, USB plugs and some other technical stuff. For $1150 developers can pick up a WiFi-only unit, and $1399 buys you a 3G unit -- consumers can buy 'em too, and we can imagine certain enthusiasts wouldn't mind the cost for what basically amounts to the ultimate Android device. The unit runs other flavors of Linux, but we're really in it for the Android, especially thanks to that screen. Wind River has been doing development on Android for a while, contributing to the original source code as part of the OHA, and one of its developers even ported Android to OpenMoko. They've got a refined Android interface running on the Zoom, which includes a tabbed application browser, fancier widgets and a spruced up unlock screen. They wouldn't consider what they're doing a skin or a port, but it's exactly the type of stuff that device manufacturers will be looking for to differentiate their Android-powered handset. Video of all the magic is after the break. Continue reading Texas Instruments and Wind River do up Android right Filed under: Handhelds Texas Instruments and Wind River do up Android right originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Technically, i-mate's only official announcement at MWC this year is the mega-rugged 810-F that'll withstand 140 degrees of heat, 14 degrees of cold, water resistance, and shock resistance courtesy of a nasty rubber casing, but it's certainly not going to appeal to the average consumer -- especially consumers who aren't wearing clown pants with one-liter pockets. So to that end, the company is also showing off a Windows Mobile Standard device codenamed "Centurion" -- and we're pretty sure this is the most compelling device i-mate has ever made. The version we saw was literally the first working prototype they've assembled, which meant it was creaky, wobbly, and felt like it could break at a moment's notice, but we're not taking too much stock in that; the more important thing to note is that it's freakin' tiny. The keyboard was too mushy from its overwhelming prototype-ness to take stock of whether it'll actually be usable in production, but our quick impression gives us hope that it might be wide enough to get the job done. The battery is absolutely tiny, so i-mate will be throwing in a battery wallet (remember the Upstage?) to help mitigate the problem -- they didn't have a wallet ready to show, but even with such an accessory tacked on, you're still looking at a smartphone leaps and bounds smaller than pretty much anything else you've used. There's no date on the Centurion's launch, but they're targeting mid-year -- and yes, both the 810-F and Centurion will get free Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrades. Cheers to that.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds i-mate's 810F and Centurion handled with wild abandon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Remember what LG did at CES last year? Those crafty sons of guns showed off a shockingly decent-looking concept watch phone that ended up seeing a production announcement exactly one year later. Not to be outdone by its crosstown rival, Samsung came to MWC this year with a timeline showing its nearly decade-long history of designing and selling watch phones -- and interestingly, the rightmost entry in the timeline was dated "2009." We couldn't get any solid information on the GT-S1100, but like LG's GD910, the device features a full touchscreen, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone (probably a good thing for a phone you can't put up to your ear without getting a lot of odd looks). 'Course, in all likelihood, this is just another chapter in the book of Samsung heartbreak -- it'll either never see production or get released by precisely one carrier in precisely one country, then promptly fade into oblivion -- but it's looking awfully production-friendly. Same time, same place next year, Sammy -- just make sure you guys bring something more than a dummy behind a glass case this time, k?
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables Samsung teases wrists with GT-S1100 watch at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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