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Friday, December 24, 2010

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Dutch scientists develop half million euro, 'affordable' super laser

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:58 AM PST

The folks at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have lovingly referred to their latest contribution to the world of science as the "poor man's X-FEL." An X-FEL, or X-ray Free-electron Laser, is like a super strong video microscope that converts electrons to X-rays to observe high-speed molecular movement. TU/e's super laser alternative depends solely on a very specific bunching of electrons to do the same thing, allowing for a much smaller (it fits on a tabletop), much cheaper setup. With an estimated cost of half a million euro, the laser is hardly cheap, but it's far more affordable than the competition: Stanford's X-FEL runs hundreds of millions of dollars, and measures a whole kilometer. TU/e researchers admit that their laser can't do everything that an X-FEL can, but, hey, you get what you pay for. Up next for TU/e? In vitro pork products. Yummy.

Apple Remote app updated for AirPlay video streaming

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:01 AM PST

Version 2.0 of the app already brought support for the new Apple TV and the iPad, but Apple's has now just released another more minor update to its Remote app for iOS devices that adds another much-anticipated feature: support for AirPlay video streaming. What's more, the app now also boasts the ability to access internet radio stations from iTunes on your computer, as well as the ability to control movies and TV shows on your computer that are rented from iTunes -- not to mention the usual stability and performance improvements. As always, it's also completely free -- you know where to find it.

Archos 70 and 101 Internet Tablet review

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 08:15 AM PST

We've seen our fair share of budget tablets from the Augens, Cobys, and Viewsonics of the world over the last six months, but let's not forget that before everyone and their mother jumped into the cheap-o Android tablet pool, Archos was already in the shallow end with its own sub-$200 tablets. But, while the company was first to market, products like the Archos 5 and 7 Home Tablet certainly weren't anything to wait in line for -- they both packed slow processors, resistive displays, and ran outdated versions of Google's mobile OS. Whether it was the mediocre reviews or the competition coming up behind them, the French company knew it was time to step it up, and its Archos 70 and 101 attempt to right all those wrongs. The 7- and 10-inch tablet both have Android 2.2, 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processors, and capacitive screens. Oh, and don't forget the front-facing VGA cameras. With each ringing up at $299, has Archos finally mastered the art of the cheap tablet? Find out in our full review!
Archos 70 and 101 Internet Tablets


Look and feel

It's hard to say what you really notice first about the Archos 70 and 101 -- the incredibly chintzy feel or the extremely slender designs. We'll start with the better of those two, since we truly wish every tablet out there was as thin and light as these slabs. The 70 is only .43 inches thick and .66 pounds, whereas the Galaxy Tab is .4 inches thicker and almost .2 pounds heavier. In fact, it compares better in size and weight to the latest Kindle or Nook Color. Obviously, the .45-inch / 1.1-pound 101 is larger and heavier than the 7-inch version, but even so, it is thinner and lighter than the .5-inch / 1.5-pound iPad.

What does that mean in real life? Well, that they are much easier to manage than the other tablets out there -- the 70 is very comfortable to hold in one hand when reading a book, and the 101 is easier to handle than the iPad while lying down (although, you'll still probably want to prop it up more often than not). Speaking of propping up the tablets, both of them have integrated plastic kickstands -- the 70's extends from the right back side, while the 101's is centered on the back of the tablet. The one on the 101 can actually be extended quite far, putting it at a nice angle to type on. The stands, like the rest of the tablet, feel extremely flimsy -- these aren't HTC quality by any means (see: Evo 4G, HD 7), but it is really nice to have them integrated into the design, and it certainly saves you from having to pick up an extra accessory.

As we've already seriously hinted, the 70 and 101 look and feel very cheap. Both are primarily made of black plastic, though a squircle-shaped piece on the back, which is adorned with a white Archos logo, feels like it could be made of some sort of metal. And that's really the unappealing part of the designs: there are lots of different shades and types of plastic being used, and they both just look like a toddler that picked out their outfit -- mismatched and untidy. For instance, the bezels aren't flush with the edges and the material covering the edges is different than the one being used on the rear cover. Neither of the devices are what we'd call attractive, especially once they become seeped in fingerprints. We just don't have much confidence in the longevity of the device either. In hand, the materials feel far from solid, and even after wrapping it in a scarf, we worried about keeping it safe from bumps and bruises in our bag. While they won't be winning any design or durability awards, both do have a very well-rounded array of ports, including mini-HDMI, mini-USB, 3.5mm headphone jacks as well as a microSD card slot. The 101 uses its extra edge room to accommodate an additional full size USB port.

Screen and speakers

As you'd expect, the cheap make isn't limited to the surrounding parts of the tablet -- the plastic displays on the 70 and 101 suffer from the same issues. We weren't expecting Gorilla Glass quality here, but both of them are flimsy and when pressed firmly, they start to cave in quite a bit. However, it's the 1024 x 600-resolution LCD on the 101 that's the real eye sore -- when turned off, the uber glossy panel (we're talking mirror glossy) is a metalic greenish color. See what we're talking about? Thankfully, when powered on the color goes away, but there's really no describing how off-putting the discoloration of the screen makes the entire device. With that said, the capacitive displays are actually quite responsive -- tapping and swiping lightly was no issue when navigating the OS and we actually found our fingers to slide quite nicely over the glossy coating. After suffering with the Archos 7 Home tablet's resistive display with a fingernail and stylus, the experience is a breath of fresh air. The accelerometers on both tablets are decently responsive as well -- we managed to steer through Raging Thunder Light on both devices without a problem.

The displays are also both sufficiently bright; a 720p clip of Black Swan looked crisp and vivid. That was only when watching straight on or just a tad to the right or left of the screen, however, since vertical viewing angles are incredibly bad. Tilting the screens slightly off axis to about 30-degrees caused a ton of color distortion, and if you happen to be standing above the displays while they are propped up on the kickstands, it's nearly impossible to see what is on screen -- seriously, we've had to bend down just to select the home button. We have heard a few cases of people getting units with faulty screens or ones that may have been placed upside down within the unit, but thankfully, our review unit didn't have that issue.

Camera and speakers

We're not sure if it's a hardware or a software problem, but the VGA cameras on both tablets are incredibly sluggish, and when we finally were able to snap some stills, they came out blurry and grainy. Similarly, when we shot some video, the footage was very choppy and the audio wasn't in sync with the video at all. We stuck a few of those stills in the gallery below, but it's really a struggle to get these things to take clear shots.

Surprisingly, the speakers on the backside of the 101 and on the edges of the 70 are quite loud. The 101 seemed to blast out our tunes at a higher frequency, but still they are both decent for watching a movie. Archos does include a pair of standard 3.5mm headphones in the box, though you'll want to take the money you saved buying one of these tablets and get yourself a more comfortable pair of earbuds -- take it from our irritated inner ears.


Android experience

Unlike Samsung (with its Galaxy Tab), Archos has done little to no work on top of Android 2.2, meaning it's really just an enlarged version of the phone experience. Whether or not that works for you is going to depend on what you are looking for in a tablet, but our only real complaints about the OS comes with the lack of preloaded Google applications and Market. Of course, that's become a common issue with a number of these Android tablets -- at least the ones that lack 3G connectivity -- and to make up for that shortcoming, Archos has preloaded its AppsLib store, which currently has over 10,000 apps. While the selection has been improved, some favorites are still missing -- we came up empty handed when we went searching for Pandora and Amazon Kindle. ArchosFans has made it incredibly easy to download an Archos-specific Market apk and sideload it to the devices, and that's exactly what we did. Within a few minutes we had recreated our usual Android experience with our go-to third-party and Google apps, including YouTube. There's no doubt that it's a hassle to do and that it probably wouldn't occur to the average consumer, but at the very least it is an option for those willing to take matters into their own hands.

Other than that, the Android experience is well, you know, Android-y. There are no physical navigation buttons on the device, so Archos has added a permanent panel with Search, Home, Back and Settings buttons. For the most part those work just fine, though there were a few instances where we found the panel to be sluggish or overlaying an app. Speaking of apps, Archos has preloaded a handful of them, including Touiter for Twitter, eBuddy for chatting, and Aldiko for reading. The stock Android keyboards were fine for inputting text -- though, unsurprisingly, we were able to type at a faster clip on 70 as we couldn't thumb type on the 101's wider display.

Oh, and don't forget about Archos's superb codec support. As you'd expect from a company with deep PMP roots, the 70 and 101 support AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, and loads of others. Both the 70 and 101 come with 8GB of storage -- there are also 16GB versions.
Archos 70 screenshots / test shots


Performance and battery life

Compared to the 600MHz CPU powering the Archos 7 Home Tablet, the 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor powering the 70 and 101 is a major step up. With the help of its 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 accelerator, both tablets had no issue playing 720p trailers smoothly or handing a game like Racing Lite. (You can even output this to an HDTV with Archos' software, but we didn't get the chance to try that out.) However, the tablet can get annoyingly sluggish at times, and things really started to lag on them when we started to toggle between an app or two and the browser. And as we mentioned above, there were a few times where the onscreen navigation controls just became unresponsive. As for browsing, pages loaded quickly over our home WiFi network and scrolling was smooth -- there was no lag like we experienced with the Galaxy Tab, though Flash is disabled on these for now. Archos is planning to release a Flash plug-in before the end of January that will enable full Flash 10 support as well as hardware acceleration for optimized video decoding, but it's currently waiting on that good ol' Adobe certification. If you're looking for how these fare on Android benchmarks, the 101 consistently scored at around 10 MFLOPS in Linpack and the 70 around 9.5 -- both of those trail behind the Galaxy Tab's 14. (Note: Apparently, it's quite easy to overlock the CPU to 1GHz -- it's down clocked at 800MHz. That should help speed things up, but we didn't test that out.)

Battery Life
Archos 70
 6:00
Archos 101 7:20
Samsung Galaxy Tab 6:09
Apple iPad 9:33


Both the 70 and 101 provide some impressive battery life. One our video rundown test, which loops the same standard definition video at 65 brightness, the 70 lasted six hours while the 101 lasted seven hours and 20 minutes. That's not as long as the iPad's nine hours and 33 minutes, but it's still a solid showing and both will last you the flight from New York to California. We also found battery life to be very good during average use, but we encountered some issues with standby, so we'd suggest turning off the device completely when you're not using it. We should also mention that the back right side of both the 70 and 101 became quite warm while playing video or just running some applications. It's not totally uncomfortable, but you'll notice it.

Wrap-up

If the Archos 70 and 101 were priced at $399, we'd find a lot of the shortcomings to be unforgivable, but for $299 (and in some places $275), we're just not sure you can beat the duo. Yes, we can all agree that the displays are seriously cruddy and the overall build quality and design, for lack of a better work, suck, but at this point we've just come to expect that for a tablet under $300. That said, the browsing and media experience are quite good, and once you get the Market loaded you've got a solid Android experience. If we were you, we'd still consider shelling out some extra cash to buy a more solid-feeling and better performing option like the iPad or Galaxy Tab -- they will undoubtedly wear better and the experience is more user friendly -- but for the price, Archos still makes the best tablets on the cheap.

Skype finally bringing video calling to iPhone 4, maybe other mobile platforms?

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 07:33 AM PST

So let us set this up for you: Skype has been telling everyone that it'll be making a "series of video-related announcements" at CES next month... and it's participating in a panel called "Video Calling Gets Ready for Primetime," so yeah, needless to say, we'd have to guess that Skype's finally getting ready to enter the mobile video calling game in a big way. Anyhow, the final piece in the puzzle filtered into our inbox this morning: a help document on Skype's site detailing making video calls using Skype for iPhone. We don't know whether there's a corresponding document out there for Android, Symbian, or other operating systems, but we're certainly hoping so -- because if these guys come to the table at once with versions for all the major phone platforms, we've got a feeling they'll be dominating the mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-PC video calling market in no time.

Oh, and here's a little trivia fact for you: the Nokia N900 was actually the first device to get official video calling support from Skype, so this isn't a first for these guys -- but it'll certainly be the first time they've taken it to a mass market. Seems like they'll probably have the MeeGo build ready to go, at least.

[Thanks, Nelson]

FCC releases full net neutrality rules

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 06:23 AM PST

Here's a fine Christmas Eve present from Uncle Sam: the FCC has just released the full text of the net neutrality rules it passed earlier this week by a hotly-debated 3-2 vote. The rules are basically what we expected: the three basic rules require ISPs to be transparent about their network management practices, and further forbid them from blocking any lawful application or service or discriminating against different types of traffic. The biggest tweak comes in the language around paid prioritization, which would let some companies pay for selectively faster access to an ISP's customers -- the FCC is pretty clear that such arrangements will be heavily scrutinized and probably won't pass muster. And then, of course, there's wireless, which is subject only to the transparency and no-blocking rules; the FCC decided to take "measured steps" with mobile because it believes that is still too new and fluid. We'll have a full breakdown later today, but hit the source and check out the full rules yourself -- you're going to be hearing a lot about them over the next few weeks.

[Thanks, Phil]

Monster sues Fanny Wang, purveyor of fine knockoff headphones

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 06:10 AM PST

Monster Cable's reign of legal terror has resulted in several things over the years -- a tiff with the Chicago Bears over the "Monsters of the Midway" nickname, a lawsuit against a minigolf company, and eventually even a hard ban on the pages of Engadget -- but we can't say we ever expected the target of a Monster lawsuit to try and use the case for cheap free publicity. Well, surprises come in all forms: the delightfully-named Fanny Wang is now proudly proclaiming that it's being sued for copying Monster's Beats headphones and trying to score some free good press -- even though it appears that Fanny's headphones are indeed a fairly close copy of Beats. (Just check the image above.)

To give you an idea of the ridiculousness at work, Fanny's presently hosting a copy of the Beats design patent and Monster's complaint on its own website, right next to a rebuttal of the charges. Fanny claims its headphones have different packaging and minor design differences such that "no reasonable consumer would likely confuse the two," which we suppose is arguably true -- but we'd also point out that Fanny's original press release proudly proclaims that "the same sound engineer who designed the Beats by Dr. Dre acoustics tackled the Fanny Wang collection." Copy, coincidence, or crafty PR strategy? You be the judge... for now.

Apple applies for 'logo antenna' patent, hides your resonator behind the brand indicator

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 05:05 AM PST

Apple applies for 'logo antenna' patent, hides your resonator behind the brand indicator
Embedding an antenna in the external body of a phone? Maybe not such a good idea. Hiding it behind the logo sounds a little more practical, and that's the idea Apple wrote up in a patent application dated June 17th, 2009, back before we knew antennas and gates could be so wickedly conjoined. That was also before we knew about the iPad, which seems to have one of these so-called "logo antennas" within it, as found when iFixit did their dirty thing. The same can be said for iMacs, which also have antennas peering through an apple-shaped hole to avoid any reception issues caused by an aluminum chassis. It looks to be a good solution, but not exactly a novel one. In roaming around the USPTO archives we found a similar 2003 patent from Dell also called "Logo Antenna," the big difference being that while Apple's logo forms a window for the antenna the logo in Dell's patent actually is the antenna.

Nanopore DNA sequencing technique promises entire genome in minutes or your money back

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 04:08 AM PST

Scientists refine speedy nanopore DNA sequencing technique, entire genome in minutes or your money back
Those vaguely affordable DNA tests that promise to tell you just how likely you are to be stricken by some horrible and unavoidable genetic affliction in the future? They only look at a tiny fraction of the bits and bobs and bases that make up your genetic code. There's a race on to develop a quick and inexpensive way to sequence a human's entire genome, a process that costs about a million dollars now and takes ages but, via the technique under development at Imperial College London, could be done in a few minutes for a couple of bucks in 10 years. The process relies on nanopores, which are the go-to tech for companies trying to pull this off. Basically, a DNA strand is pushed through a 2nm hole on a silicon chip and, as it moves through, that chip is able to use an electrical charge to read the strand's coding sequence. That is then spit out to a supercomputer to crunch the numbers at a speed of 10 million bases per second and, within minutes, you too can have some hard data to make you freak out about the future -- and maybe a place to put your iPod, too.

Chumby grows up, gains competitors' Dashing good looks?

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 03:19 AM PST

There's not much to go on here -- just a picture of a small-screened device we've never seen before -- but if that six-fingered squid is the real deal, there's a brand-new Chumby on the way. Gizmodo says the T-shaped unit's working codename is "Chumby Opus," and we wonder if that might actually refer to song; If that grille on the left's also duplicated on the right, perhaps we'll get some stereo speakers this time around. Wouldn't that be nice? Either way, it looks like black, slightly leaning flat-panel displays are still in style.

Google and NORAD's Santa tracker is another victory for terrorists

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 02:05 AM PST

Google and NORAD should rethink their annual Santa tracking service. Do we really want the evil doers to know the exact whereabouts of Mr. Claus on Google Maps and Earth from any PC or smartphone? A man so old that he's ineligible for a driver's license in some states yet pilots a 353,000-ton missile around the globe at a rate of about 650 miles per second? For shame.

BenQ rumored to debut 10.1-inch R100 Android tablet in early 2011

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 01:09 AM PST

Chances are that we'll find out for sure next month at CES, but PC World has it on authority that BenQ will be throwing its hat into the overcrowded Android tablet ring early next year. The so-called R100 will be a 10.1-inch device, complete with a 1024 x 600 resolution touchscreen, an unspecified flavor of Android and a Samsung-built ARM CPU humming along at 833MHz. Moreover, we're told that the battery will run for a solid 12 hours before begging for mercy (and calling it a night), and it can also be used with a stylus -- you know, for handling both simplified and traditional Chinese handwriting. 8GB of internal storage, an SD slot, mini-USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a mini-HDMI socket are also marked for inclusion, and of course, an 802.11b/g/n radio will be planted right alongside a Bluetooth module. There's no mention of a price just yet, and a company representative noted that images wouldn't be available until the device "was officially launched." Bah! Humbug!

Nokia N8 earns its fashion wings, fills in for DSLR on magazine cover shoot

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 11:56 PM PST

There's really no higher compliment a cameraphone can receive than when a professional team of photographers is blown away by the results they're able to achieve when using it, so Nokia's N8 gets a well-earned tip of the hat for shooting the December / January cover of South African photography mag PiX. In the team's own words, "we wanted to show that it is not the hardware that makes a good photographer but rather the technical execution of an idea" -- very true, we think, but it obviously doesn't hurt when you know your way around Photoshop and you're using just about the best-equipped camera on the smartphone market today. See the pretty stunning final result (and the making-of video) after the break.


Logitech said to be halting Revue production until Google TV software revamp

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 10:24 PM PST

Oh dear. Google TV isn't having the best of starts to its life in the internet-connected TV world and Logitech seems to have taken notice. DigiTimes' nameless sources today report that Gigabyte, the company charged with building Revue units for Logi, has been instructed to stop production of them for the period covering December 2010 through January 2011. The restart in manufacturing will be conditional, we're told, either on a significant update to the current Google TV software or a whole new version rolling out. The Revue is still available to buy through Logitech -- shipments are only drying up in the channel between manufacturer and vendor -- but if the insiders have their story straight, this'd be a clear indication that early sales expectations have not been met. Better luck next year, we say.

Sony buying back Cell chip fabrication facilities from Toshiba, it's official

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 09:47 PM PST

It's official. Sony and Toshiba just issued a press release saying that the two companies have signed a binding memorandum of understanding to transfer Tosh's fabrication facilities, operated by Nagasaki Semiconductor Manufacturing, back to Sony. A deal that is rumored to cost Sony some 50 billion yen (about $835 million) -- a bargain considering that Sony sold the facilities that manufacture the Cell Broadband Engine, RSX graphics engine, and other SoCs to Toshiba for 90 billion Yen back in 2008. Unfortunately, Sony's being coy about its plans for the new facilities. The two hope to complete the transfer sometime in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
Show full PR text
Toshiba and Sony Sign Memorandum of Understanding for the Transfer of Semiconductor Fabrication Facilities

Tokyo, Japan, December 24, 2010 --- Toshiba Corporation ("Toshiba") and Sony Corporation ("Sony") today announced that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding expressing their intent to transfer from Toshiba to Sony the semiconductor fabrication facilities owned by Toshiba and operated by Nagasaki Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation ("NSM"), a joint venture among Toshiba, Sony and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ("SCEI"), and, following the contemplated transfer, terminate their NSM joint venture relationship.

NSM, which was established in March 2008 and is located in the Nagasaki Technology Center of Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation ("SCK"), has been manufacturing the high-performance "Cell Broadband Engine™" processor, the graphics engine "RSX" and other high-performance semiconductors and leading-edge SoC (system-on-a-chip) for applications in digital consumer products of Toshiba and Sony. The facilities to be transferred would be the fabrication facilities and equipment for the 300 mm wafer line located within the Nagasaki Technology Center purchased by Toshiba from Sony and SCK and leased to NSM in 2008 and other facilities that Toshiba and Sony will agree to transfer among those in which Toshiba invested in connection with the operation by NSM after the purchase.

After due diligence on the facilities to be transferred and continuing negotiations, Toshiba and Sony aim to execute definitive agreements (with respect to the contemplated transfer of the semiconductor fabrication facilities) as soon as possible before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. Thereafter, Toshiba and Sony aim to complete the transfer early in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, subject to any necessary government approvals.

KinEmote: Kinect gesture control for Boxee and XBMC media centers now available (video)

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 09:12 PM PST

We've seen plenty of Kinect hacks over the last few weeks -- trouble is, beyond the initial wow factor they're just not very useful on a daily basis. That situation just changed, however, with the release of KinEmote, a free public beta that lets Windows users navigate XBMC and Boxee menus using nothing but hand gestures. Better yet, the software is built around OpenNI and NITE middleware from PrimeSense, the company behind the Project Natal reference gear. It certainly looks impressive in the video after the break. Good enough that we suspect many of you will hit up the source link below instead of finishing up your last minute holiday shopping -- hey, Santa can wait, this is progress!

Ask Engadget: best high-capacity (250GB or more) portable media player?

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 06:32 PM PST

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Dhruv, who needs to live about 20 years in the future, where all PMPs start at 160GB. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
"So I'm a music lover of sorts and my (already compressed) iTunes library is nearing 150GB. I used to have an iPod Classic 160GB, but that doesn't allow for much growing room. Seeing as Apple has pretty much given up on the Classic's future, I was hoping there was another player out there that would have higher capacity drives in it. I know Toshiba makes a 240GB and 320GB 1.8" drive, but I see nothing using it.

Also, I would love for it to have physical buttons. And like the Classic, it should be portable. I saw the Archos 5 online and it's a mammoth. Basically, my ideal player is an iPod Classic with at least a 250GB HDD inside. Thanks!"
It's a shame that Cowon's gorgeous X7 tops out at 160GB, else that'd be a solid solution. Outside of the Archos 5, does anyone have any solid, high-capacity solutions? Looks like your best bet may be to snag a lower-end PMP that'll hold a 1.8-inch drive, and then hack a larger one in yourself.

Cambridge developing 'mind reading' computer interface with the countenance of Charles Babbage (video)

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:01 PM PST

For years now, researchers have been exploring ways to create devices that understand the nonverbal cues that we take for granted in human-human interaction. One of the more interesting projects we've seen of late is led by Professor Peter Robinson at the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, who is working on what he calls "mind-reading machines," which can infer mental states of people from their body language. By analyzing faces, gestures, and tone of voice, it is hoped that machines could be made to be more helpful (hell, we'd settle for "less frustrating"). Peep the video after the break to see Robinson using a traditional (and annoying) satnav device, versus one that features both the Cambridge "mind-reading" interface and a humanoid head modeled on that of Charles Babbage. "The way that Charles and I can communicate," Robinson says, "shows us the future of how people will interact with machines." Next stop: uncanny valley!

EOps Noisezero i+ Eco earbuds get cornstartch construction, finger-friendly design (video)

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 03:58 PM PST

Hard to say when (or if) these beauts will ever hit the market, but we've all ideas they'd move quite briskly if positioned in a nondescript kind of store that tends to sell fruit, peripherals and things heavily prefixed with "i." Designed Michael Young has teamed up with EOps to create the Noisezero i+ Eco Edition earbuds, which are constructed with cornstarch (you know, in honor of Ma Earth), equipped with an iPod / iPhone-friendly inline remote and outfitted with a unique design that purportedly makes it easier for these to be inserted into one's ear canal. We're told that they'll eventually be available in charcoal, rustic brown, midnight blue and sage green, and yes, a carrying case would be included. Too bad there's nary a hint as to where you can actually buy 'em, but the video just below the break will give you a better idea of what to hunt for.

See more video at our hub!

Acer Aspire One 522 falls from the clouds, sporting dual-core 1GHz Ontario APU?

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 02:46 PM PST

AMD Fusion's taken its sweet, sweet time getting here, but we're hearing you'll be able to get your hands on some Atom-beating netbook chips soon -- for instance, in this Acer Aspire One 522, which will reportedly drive its oh-so-glossy 10.1-inch, 720p screen with a 1GHz AMD C-50 Ontario APU. In case you need a brief refresher, Ontario's the chip rated at just nine watts, meaning we should expect some fairly decent battery life here, though possibly not the heroic performance of its 1.6GHz Zacate cousin. Aside from those specs, the Acer's mostly your standard netbook -- three USB ports, VGA-out, a webcam and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi -- though it does have HDMI out, something you won't find on the otherwise similar Aspire One D255. It's hard to say what it'll cost stateside, but a Thai e-tailer's ringing up a version right now with 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive for 12,829 baht (about $425). Wonder if it runs Android?

Volvo turns the C30 hatchback into an EV, loans it out for a short test drive

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 01:49 PM PST

Volvo turns the C30 hatchback into an EV, loans it out for a short test drive
In many ways, Volvo's C30 is the perfect blend of modern styling and retro sensibility with its aggressive front-end and that oversized glass hatch on the back. Now, with the EV model, it's looking better than ever. Okay, so we could do without the obligatory graphics up the side, but the wing on the back (shown below) gives it a smooth profile and, oh yeah, did we mention it's an EV? The car has been graced with a 110hp equivalent electric motor and 24kWh battery pack that's expected to deliver an average of 100 miles worth of range along with performance that, according to The Truth About Cars, matches the current petrol-powered version's. Handling too is said to still be taut despite a 260lb weight disadvantage. Volvo is pledging the car will be making an appearance as a 2012 model, though we're guessing lucky Swedish drivers will be getting a first crack at this one.

Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million

Posted: 23 Dec 2010 12:51 PM PST

Rovi Corporation has already gone though a few significant transformations -- it was once the DRM-centered company known as Macrovision -- and it's now set to undergo another big one. The company has just announced a "definitive agreement" to acquire Sonic Solutions in a deal valued at $720 million. Among other things, Sonic owns RoxioNow (the service formally known as CinemaNow), which will give Rovi access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows, and Sonic also just acquired DivX earlier this year, which Rovi points out has a presence on more than 350 million consumer electronics devices. Head on past the break for the official press release, and look for the deal to close sometime in the first quarter of next year if all goes according to plan.
Show full PR text
Rovi Corporation Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Sonic Solutions

- Combined Company to Enable Broad Solutions for Content Distributors, Service Providers, CE Manufacturers, and Retailers to Deliver Premium Digital Media Entertainment and Accelerate Rovi's Advertising Opportunity -

SANTA CLARA and NOVATO, Calif., December 23, 2010 – Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) and Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) today announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement for Rovi to acquire Sonic in a stock and cash transaction. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $720 million and the per share value of Sonic common stock at signing of the agreement is $14.17, a 38.2 percent premium to Sonic's 30 day average per share closing price as of December 21, 2010. The acquisition is structured as an exchange offer for all of the outstanding shares of Sonic common stock, to be followed by a merger.

Rovi, a provider of next generation guidance solutions including TotalGuide, discovery, metadata, advertising and networking technologies and Sonic, a provider of digital video processing, playback and distribution technologies, both leaders in the digital entertainment industry, together will bring an end-to-end solution that enables integration across the ecosystem. The acquisition of Sonic will enable Rovi to broaden its solutions to content owners, device makers, retailers and operators.

Sonic has licensed its industry leading cloud-based digital media delivery infrastructure known as RoxioNow, to major retailers, movie studios and CE manufacturers. RoxioNow incorporates a catalog of over 10,000 movies and TV programs, which are accessible through connected CE devices such as digital televisions, Blu-ray players and mobile phones. The RoxioNow technology is expected to be on over 30 million connected devices by June 2011. Sonic's DivX offering is distributed in over 350 million CE devices. The DivX player software has been downloaded over 100 million times per year and 500 million times cumulatively, and has had over 2.5 billion launches since 2009. Sonic's broad offerings coupled with Rovi's guide software and metadata will generate an expanded solution and a richer user experience. With a footprint spanning hundreds of millions of devices and households, Rovi believes this will expand its advertising distribution opportunity.

The combined company will be able to power the next generation of digital entertainment offerings with content discovery, delivery, and enhanced interactivity capabilities that support advertising and drive consumer engagement. Integration between RoxioNow and TotalGuide has already occurred as part of the TotalGuide general availability release – RoxioNow's retail customers are supported through TotalGuide. In the future, Rovi expects to power RoxioNow's user experience with the same web services that power TotalGuide. Rovi believes this integration will result in accelerated uptake of premium content.

"Rovi and Sonic share a vision for the future of digital entertainment and how to deliver the best consumer experience possible," said Fred Amoroso, president and CEO of Rovi Corporation. "We believe Sonic has built an exciting portfolio that complements Rovi's TotalGuide as well as our broad portfolio of solutions. Together, we believe the two companies will be able to address the expanding digital entertainment market with unique capabilities that will bring enhanced value to consumers."

"The digital entertainment sector is transforming at a faster rate than just a year or two ago and consumers are seeking new ways to discover and enjoy digital content, specifically premium content." said Dave Habiger, president and CEO of Sonic Solutions. "By joining forces with Rovi, we will provide the industry with a broad range of solutions that strengthens our customers' ability to compete as consumers' primary source for digital entertainment. For our Hollywood studio partners, eager to expand digital delivery, the larger footprint of our combined company enables them to market their content broadly."

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by both Boards of Directors, Sonic shareholders may elect to receive either $14.00 or 0.2489 shares of Rovi common stock for each share tendered and accepted in the exchange offer, subject to proration and adjustment pursuant to the definitive agreement. Cash consideration paid in the exchange offer will equal 55 percent of the aggregate value of consideration paid in the exchange offer and stock consideration issued in the exchange offer will equal 45 percent of the consideration, with shares of Rovi common stock being valued at $56.24 (the average closing price of Rovi common stock over the 20 trading days ending immediately prior to the date of the agreement) for purposes of such calculation. Upon consummation of the exchange offer, Rovi intends to complete a merger in order to acquire all the shares of Sonic common stock that remain outstanding after the completion of the exchange offer. If the initial exchange offer and related actions permitted by the agreement do not result in Rovi owning at least 90 percent of the outstanding shares of Sonic common stock, the consideration paid to Sonic shareholders in the merger may consist entirely of Rovi common stock at an exchange ratio of 0.2489 shares of Rovi common stock. Upon completion of the merger, Sonic Solutions will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rovi.

Rovi intends to commence an exchange offer for all of the outstanding shares of Sonic Solutions in January 2011, which will remain open for at least 20 business days. Sonic directors and senior management, who own approximately 11.2% of Sonic's total equity, have agreed with Rovi to tender their shares and to vote any remaining shares that they own for the merger.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, as well as the valid tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Sonic common stock in the exchange offer, on a fully-diluted basis. The exchange offer is expected to close during the first quarter of 2011.

Rovi will use cash on hand to fund the cash portion of the consideration and the transaction is not contingent on any debt financing. Separately, however, Rovi intends to raise approximately $500 million of non-convertible term loan financing, which it expects to use for general corporate purposes, including the repurchase of its common stock and its outstanding convertible notes from time to time, depending on market conditions. Rovi's Board of Directors has authorized up to $400 million in stock purchases and up to $200 million in purchases of Rovi's outstanding convertible notes.

Rovi also announced that it is raising and narrowing its estimates for 2010 to a range of $538-$542 million for revenue and $2.08-$2.12 for Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share. This transaction is expected to generate over $15 million in synergies in 2011 and be $0.05 to $0.10 accretive to 2011 Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share.

Sonic was advised by William Blair & Company, LLC and Morrison & Foerster, LLP. Cooley LLP acted as legal adviser and JPMorgan acted as financial advisor and delivered a fairness opinion to the Rovi board of directors.

Conference Call
Rovi Corporation will hold an investor conference call at 8:30am Eastern time on Thursday, December 23, 2010. Investors and analysts interested in participating in the conference are welcome to call 877-941-6010) and reference the Rovi call.

The conference call can also be accessed via live webcast in the Investor Relations section of Rovi's website at http://www.rovicorp.com/. The on-demand audio webcast of the conference call will be made available as soon as practicable after the live webcast ends.

A replay of the conference call can be accessed by calling 800-406-7325 and referencing the Rovi call. A replay of the conference call will be made available as soon as practicable after the conference call ends.

Non-GAAP or Adjusted Pro Forma Information
The estimated Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share information provided in this press release is a non-GAAP financial measure that, for fiscal 2010, does not give effect to the proposed acquisition of Sonic. Rovi Corporation has historically provided non-GAAP or "Adjusted Pro Forma" financial information to assist investors in assessing its current and future operations in a way that its management evaluates those operations.

Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share is based on Adjusted Pro Forma Income, which has historically been calculated by Rovi as pro forma income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax, adding back non-cash items such as equity-based compensation, amortization of intangibles, amortization or write-off of note issuance costs, non-cash interest expense recorded on convertible debt under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 470-20 (formerly known as FSP APB 14-1), mark-to-market fair value adjustments for interest rate swaps and caps, and the reversals of discrete tax items including reserves; as well as items which impact comparability that are required to be recorded under GAAP, but that the Company believes are not indicative of its core operating results such as transaction, transition and integration costs, restructuring and asset impairment charges, payments to note holders and for expenses in connection with the early redemption of debt, court awarded fees, gains on sale of strategic investments, the loss on exiting the Guideworks Joint Venture, and expenses related to certain Gemstar pre-acquisition indemnification and other matters in excess of reserves established in purchase accounting. While depreciation expense is a non-cash item, it is included in Adjusted Pro Forma Income as a reasonable proxy for capital expenditures. Estimated Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share is calculated using Adjusted Pro Forma Income (estimated for 2010 consistent with the method used by Rovi to calculate historical Adjusted Pro Forma Income) and taking into account the benefit of Rovi's convertible debt call option when it allows the Company to purchase shares of its own stock at a price below what those shares could be purchased for in the open market.

Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share and Adjusted Pro Forma Income are supplemental measures of the Company's performance that are not required by, and are not presented in accordance with GAAP. The estimated Adjusted Pro Forma information does not substitute for any performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, including, but not limited to, GAAP basis pro forma information.

Management has been using Adjusted Pro Forma financial measures since the acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide International ("Gemstar"). Rovi management did so, in part, because it believes that including Gemstar's operating results only for the period since its acquisition on May 2, 2008 diminishes the comparative value of results from the prior year. Adjusted Pro Forma financial information assumes all acquisitions occurring prior to March 31, 2009 (including the Gemstar acquisition) and all divestitures (including Software, Games, eMeta, Norpak, TV Guide Magazine, TVG Network, TV Guide Network and TV Guide Online), as well as any discontinued operations and product lines were effective on January 1, 2007. Additionally, the TVG Network, TV Guide Network and TV Guide Online businesses are assumed to have been sold for aggregate proceeds of $275 million which is assumed to have reduced the debt issued in conjunction with the acquisition of Gemstar. The estimated Adjusted Pro Forma financial information for fiscal 2010, included in this press release, does not give effect to the Sonic acquisition.

Rovi's management evaluates and makes operating decisions about its business operations primarily based upon Revenue, Adjusted Pro Forma Income and Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share. Management uses Adjusted Pro Forma Income and Adjusted Pro Forma Income Per Common Share as measures as they exclude items management does not consider to be "core costs" or "core proceeds" when making business decisions. Therefore, management presents these Adjusted Pro Forma financial measures along with GAAP measures. For each such Adjusted Pro Forma financial measure, the adjustment provides management with information about the Company's underlying operating performance that enables a more meaningful comparison of its financial results in different reporting periods. For example, since Rovi does not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, management excludes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions, transaction costs and transition and integration costs in order to make more consistent and meaningful evaluations of Rovi's operating expenses. Management also excludes the effect of restructuring and asset impairment charges, insurance settlements, losses on debt redemption, court awarded fees, the loss on exiting the Guideworks Joint Venture, expenses related to certain Gemstar pre-acquisition indemnification and other matters in excess of reserves established in purchase accounting and gains on sale of strategic investments for the same reason. Management excludes discontinued product lines as it believes this exclusion is as meaningful for comparability purposes as excluding the results from a business that meets the criteria to be classified as discontinued operations on a GAAP basis. Management excludes the impact of equity-based compensation to help it compare current period operating expenses against the operating expenses for prior periods and to eliminate the effects of this non-cash item, which, because it is based upon estimates on the grant dates, may bear little resemblance to the actual values realized upon the future exercise, expiration, termination or forfeiture of the equity-based compensation, and which, as it relates to stock options and stock purchase plan shares, is required for GAAP purposes to be estimated under valuation models, including the Black-Scholes model used by Rovi. Management excludes non-cash interest expense recorded on convertible debt under ASC 470-20, mark-to-market fair value adjustments for interest rate swaps and caps, and the reversals of discrete tax items including reserves as they are non-cash items and not considered "core costs" or meaningful when management evaluates Rovi's operating expenses. Management reclassifies the current period benefit of the interest rate swaps from other income or expense to interest expense in order for interest expense to reflect the swap rates, as these instruments were entered into to convert, from fixed to floating, the interest rate Rovi pays on its convertible debt. Management includes the benefit of the convertible debt call option, which allows Rovi to purchase up to 5.4 million shares of its own stock at approximately $28.28, and is excluded from GAAP EPS calculation as it is anti-dilutive, because the pragmatic reality is management would exercise this option rather than allow this dilution to occur.

Management uses these Adjusted Pro Forma financial measures to help it make budgeting decisions, including decisions that affect operating expenses and operating margin. Further, Adjusted Pro Forma financial information helps management track actual performance relative to financial targets. Making Adjusted Pro Forma financial information available to investors, in addition to GAAP financial information, may also help investors compare Rovi's performance with the performance of other companies in our industry, which may use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP financial information.

Management recognizes that the use of Adjusted Pro Forma financial measures has limitations, including the fact that management must exercise judgment in determining which types of charges should be excluded from the Adjusted Pro Forma financial information. Because other companies, including companies similar to Rovi, may calculate their non-GAAP financial measures differently than Rovi calculates its Adjusted Pro Forma measures, these Adjusted Pro Forma measures may have limited usefulness in comparing companies. Management believes, however, that providing this Adjusted Pro Forma financial information, in addition to the GAAP financial information, facilitates consistent comparison of Rovi's financial performance over time. Rovi has provided Adjusted Pro Forma financial information to the investment community, not as an alternative, but as an important supplement to GAAP financial information; to enable investors to evaluate Rovi's core operating performance in the same way that management does.

Additional Information and Where to Find It
The exchange offer for the outstanding common stock of Sonic Solutions referred to in this press release has not yet commenced. This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of Sonic Solutions. Sonic Solutions shareholders are urged to read the relevant exchange offer documents when they become available because they will contain important information that shareholders should consider before making any decision regarding tendering their shares. At the time the offer is commenced, Rovi will file exchange offer materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Sonic Solutions will file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement with respect to the offer. The exchange offer materials (including a Prospectus and certain other offer documents) and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will contain important information, which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the exchange offer. The Prospectus and certain other offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, will be made available to all shareholders of Sonic Solutions at no expense to them. The exchange offer materials and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will be made available for free at the Commission's web site at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other offering documents will be made available by Rovi by mail to Rovi Corporation, 2830 De La Cruz Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95050, attention: Investor Relations, and free copies of the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will be made available by Sonic Solutions by mail to Sonic Solutions, 7250 Redwood Blvd., Suite 300 Novato, CA 94945, attention: Investor Relations.

Interests of Certain Persons in the Offer and the Merger
Rovi will be, and certain other persons may be, soliciting Sonic Solutions shareholders to tender their shares into the exchange offer. The directors and executive officers of Rovi and the directors and executive officers of Sonic Solutions may be deemed to be participants in Rovi's solicitation of Sonic Solutions's shareholders to tender their shares into the exchange offer.

Investors and shareholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of the directors and officers of Rovi and Sonic Solutions in the exchange offer by reading the Prospectus and certain other offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, when they become available.

About Rovi Corporation
Rovi Corporation is focused on revolutionizing the digital entertainment landscape by delivering solutions that enable consumers to intuitively connect to new entertainment from many sources and locations. The company also provides extensive entertainment discovery solutions for television, movies, music and photos to its customers in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment and online distribution markets. These solutions, complemented by industry leading entertainment data, create the connections between people and technology, and enable them to discover and manage entertainment in an enjoyable form.

Rovi holds over 4,700 issued or pending patents worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous offices across the United States and around the world including Japan, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. More information about Rovi can be found at http://www.rovicorp.com/.

About Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC) enables the creation, distribution and enjoyment of digital media from Hollywood to home. For more than a decade, Sonic product, service, and technology brands including Roxio®, RoxioNow™, DivX® and Main Concept, have fueled home entertainment, powered rich digital media functionality on a range of platforms for a variety of partners, and inspired unique personal media experiences for hundreds of millions of consumers. Sonic technologies deliver a universal platform for Hollywood Studios, retailers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and PC OEMs to provide consumers instant access to premium entertainment from virtually anywhere.

Exclusive: the Dell Streak 7 will be televised, here's the ad treatment

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Dell Streak 7 commercial treatment

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Posted: 23 Dec 2010 10:36 AM PST

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at 11:28 AM

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