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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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Altec Lansing Mix iMT810 is big, loud, desperately seeking Ione Skye's affection

Posted: 25 May 2011 11:17 AM PDT

Altec Lansing popped by our offices earlier today to show off the successor to its oversized Mix iMT800 iPhone / iPod dock. There's not a heck of a lot to talk about in terms of changes with the iM810 -- the dock is now iPhone 4 certified, the gold trim has been changed to silver, and the amber LED has been swapped for blue. The company does get some bonus points for reenacting the one scene from Say Anything that anyone remembers with the winner of its in-office John Cusack look-alike contest, however. The new dock packs in a 5.25-inch subwoofer, a seven band graphic equalizer, and a slot for storing its little carabiner-equipped remote -- the hulking accessory can also achieve relative portability with the help of eight D size batteries. It's available now for $300, Peter Gabriel album not included. Press release after the break.
Altec Lansing MIX 810 Hands-On
Show full PR text
Just in Time for Summer, the New MIX Delivers Shattering Volume and a Robust Feature Set

MILFORD, PA – May 25, 2011 – Today, Altec Lansing announced the next generation of the epic MIX digital boombox, the MIX iMT810 for users looking for a powerful complement to their iPod or iPhone. With an aggressive design and massive sound amplification, the MIX is sure to fuel any sized backyard bash from the small family Memorial Day BBQ to a raging pool party.

Building upon the success of the iMT800, the MIX is now refined for broader device support, including certification for the iPhone 4. The design retains a functional yet industrial appearance with brushed aluminum accents and grips. The bright electric blue LCD information screen allows for custom personalization when powered on and displays track, device and battery information.

"The MIX digital boombox is for the user who wants to make a statement - it offers unrivaled presence and amazing audio quality with thunderous bass," said Steve Schlangen, Senior Product Manager, Altec Lansing. "Hearing is believing, and the new MIX is an extremely impressive and versatile audio accessory that delivers powerful sound."

Geared to keep the party jumping, the MIX delivers room filling sound with the help of specially engineered horn-loaded tweeters and mid-range drivers. The huge 5.25" side-firing subwoofer and 5.25" tuned passive radiator pump out natural roaring bass, further enhanced with XdB technology for an extra heavy punch. With four factory presets as well as a digital 7-band graphic equalizer, music lovers can quickly tailor the sound to their preferred taste. True to its retro boombox roots, the MIX runs on AC or gives 30 hours of play time on eight D-cell batteries, making it easy to play devices outdoors. When connected to an AC adaptor, the MIX also charges an iPhone or iPod, and intelligently switches off the charging ability when running on batteries.
Because sharing is half the fun, the MIX allows for up to two additional devices to be connected via the auxiliary input jacks as well as the option to play music from the integrated FM radio . The remote control's clip-on carabineer style ensures it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Between parties, a built-in cubby secures the remote so it can always be found.

Made for iPod and Apple-certified to "Work with iPhone," the MIX is engineered to be immune to GSM signals, preventing the speakers from picking up potential intermittent noises emitted by the iPhone or other mobile devices. The music pauses and resumes play before and after taking a voice call without ever switching the iPhone to airplane mode.

Add GPS to your Viewsonic G-Tablet and test your soldering skills

Posted: 25 May 2011 10:43 AM PDT

GPS module in Viewsonic G-Table
If you picked up one of those G-Tablets, but are now suffering from buyer's remorse after realizing how much you miss GPS, there's a solution -- provided you have a strong DIY streak. It turns out Viewsonic set space aside on the Froyo-powered slate's motherboard to place a GPS receiver. Of course, if you even have to ask what flux is or what SMD stands for this is not the hack for you. And while apps that rely on 3G, such as Google Maps, won't work properly, offline navigators like Navigon and CoPilot should be just fine. If you're comfortable tearing open your device and poking at it with a hot iron, hit up the source link for a complete list of parts and some very detailed instructions... or, you could just buy a tablet that already has GPS.

[Thanks, Andrew F.]

TweetDeck and Twitter, together at at last

Posted: 25 May 2011 10:10 AM PDT

We've been hearing rumors for a while that Twitter was looking to make TweetDeck a member of its flock, and now, the blue bird crew has made it official. All Things D reports that the deal was done for between $40 to 50 million, and that TweetDeck CEO Iain Dodsworth will stay on to run the platform. In its official announcement, Twitter said it will continue to "invest in the TweetDeck that users know and love" -- time will tell if the new boss birdie is a boon or bane for the popular tweet tracking app.

Climbing robot can scale walls on a supersonic stream of air, won't leave fingerprints behind

Posted: 25 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT

There are plenty of wall climbing robots roaming the Earth, but few can scale heights as gracefully as this little guy can. Developed by researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, this bot can wind its way across any glass, metal or cloth terrain, without even touching its pods to the surface. The secret lies in Bernoulli's Principle, which states that as the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases. This phenomenon also applies to streams of air, which, when moving at high speeds around of a circular gripper, can create a vacuum strong enough to hold things without actually touching them. In this case, air shoots out of the robot's feet at more than 2,000 miles per hour, creating enough pressure to lift the craft, while holding it close to the wall. The technology isn't new, but rarely can it support the weight of an entire device -- let alone the extra cargo that this climber's non-contact adhesive pads can hold. Researchers say the supersonic grippers will be available in "some months" and will probably cost "a few hundred dollars." As for the bot itself, Canterbury's engineers envision it being used for industrial inspections -- though the more we think about it, the more we realize just how dirty our windows are. Video after the break.

Droid Incredible 2 review

Posted: 25 May 2011 09:00 AM PDT

It wasn't that long ago that we were jonesing for a Nexus One on Verizon. What HTC gave us instead was the Droid Incredible, with the same 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED display -- not to mention a better camera (8 megapixel vs. five), 8GB of built-in flash storage, an optical trackpad, HTC's Sense UI on top of Eclair, and a dash of funky industrial design. The Incredible was an impressive phone with a lovely camera, marred only by questionable battery life and lack of supply, forcing HTC to build a Super LCD-equipped model to satisfy demand. Judging by the popularity of the Incredible, it came as no surprise that following HTC's announcement at MWC, the Incredible S eventually became Verizon's Droid Incredible 2. With a 4-inch Super LCD display, global CDMA / GSM radio, front-facing camera, updated internals (including 768 MB of RAM), trick capacitive buttons, and a Froyo-flavored serving of Sense, the Incredible 2 seems like a worthy successor to last year's Incredible. Does it live up to our expectations or is it just another fish in the crowded sea of Android? Does it significantly improve upon the original formula or is it merely a refresh? Hit the break for our review.
Droid Incredible 2 review



Hardware

There's no doubt that the Incredible 2 is an extremely handsome, if not sightly austere looking handset. It's much like the interior of a late 20th century BMW -- all class, all business, and all black. Compared to the original, it's slicker and softer, with rounder edges and much better build quality thanks mostly to the ultra-rigid machined and anodized black aluminum screen bezel. Gone are the old model's whimsical red accents, red innards, and red battery. Instead you'll find a translucent black chassis and a black battery under the hood. Even the bevel around the earpiece is finished in black. Yes, this is Darth Vader's phone, the Droid he's been looking for. The back cover features the same grippy soft-touch finish and unique layered motif as the Incredible, but instead of two "steps", there's only one this time around. Like the HTC ThunderBolt, the Incredible 2 includes contacts (missing from the Incredible S) for an optional inductive charging back, and integrates some of its antennae into the battery door. Pop the cover, and there's a Verizon / Vodafone SIM under the 1450mAh battery plus a 16GB microSD card pre-installed.

Despite the bigger screen, the new version is only marginally larger than the original, about the same weight, and actually a smidgen thinner. The layout is almost identical to its forebear -- the headphone jack and power button have swapped places, and the camera flash is now arranged horizontally instead of vertically. On the left side you'll find the volume rocker and micro-USB connector while the right side is devoid of any controls. The top edge hosts the power button, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, plus a secondary mic, while the bottom edge hides the primary mic, along with an indent to pry the battery cover off. A sheet of Gorilla Glass protects the 4-inch display, the 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera next to the Verizon logo on top, and the four capacitive buttons at the bottom. The earpiece and notification light live in the aforementioned aluminum screen bezel above the glass. In back there's an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash on top, a rather tinny sounding speaker, the embossed HTC logo, and the "with Google" stencil towards the bottom.

The 4-inch WVGA Super LCD display deserves a special mention. It's one of the best LCD-based panels we've come across -- bright without any leaks or spots, with naturally saturated colors, deep ink-like blacks, and superb viewing angles. Other than pixel density, it gives the iPhone 4's IPS screen a run for its money and even warrants a nod or two from the notoriously smug Super AMOLED crowd. We've mentioned the trick capacitive buttons before, which rotate when the handset switches between portrait and landscape for apps that support both display modes. It turns out the buttons are drawn by groups of tiny LEDs which are turned on and off based on orientation.

At first glance, the Incredible 2 specs look somewhat pedestrian in this day and age of dual-core processors, qHD displays, and LTE radios. But don't be fooled by the numbers. That 1GHz CPU is Qualcomm's latest generation MSM8655 Snapdragon SoC with Adreno 205 GPU -- it's fast, power efficient, and backed up by a generous 768 MB of RAM. Like with the Thunderbolt (which shares the same processor), we consistently recorded Quadrant scores ranging from 1500 to 1700 -- pretty remarkable for a single core device running Froyo. You'll find the usual collection of sensors on board (compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity, and ambient light) along with the standard assortment of radios (WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS / AGPS, and even FM) plus Qualcomm's popular MDM9600 Gobi module (also used in Verizon's iPhone 4), which supports CDMA together with quadband GSM and dual-band HSPA (2100 / 900MHz). In our tests, calls sounded great thanks to the dual noise-reducing microphone setup, and reception was problem free.

Battery life is excellent for an Android smartphone. Starting from a full charge, the Incredible 2 managed 36 hours and 40 minutes of up time before we decided to plug it back in with 7% battery life remaining. That was mostly light use -- reading email (3 accounts), checking Twitter, and occasionally replying or posting -- with all the radios (except Bluetooth) turned on. Still, this included 30 minutes spent with the handset strutting its stuff in front of the camera for our video review, 20 minutes being used as a hotspot, taking / uploading a few full-size pictures, and only 6 hours idling while we slept.

Camera

The camera on the original Incredible was no slouch. It could be coaxed into taking fantastic shots given enough care and attention. The Incredible 2 takes this formula to the next level, with a camera that's capable of producing amazingly realistic pictures without too much effort. It features HTC's next generation 8 megapixel sensor with autofocus optics (also found on the Thunderbolt) plus a dual-LED flash. Color balance and exposure are top notch. Low-light performance is impressive. Noise is kept under control without compromising detail. In fact, we're pretty sure we're dealing with a backside-illuminated sensor here. There's a certain clinical precision to the pictures captured with the Incredible 2 that we've really come to appreciate -- the camera simply gathers a tremendous amount of information, resulting in amazing shots.
Droid Incredible 2 sample shots

The Incredible 2 captures 720p (HD) video at 30fps with decent results. While it performs significantly better than its predecessor, video recording isn't as stellar as photography. The frame rate isn't quite as smooth as with some other devices (the iPhone 4 comes to mind), and sound quality leaves room for improvement. The camera interface offers a plethora of settings: there's touch-to-focus (for both stills and video), flash mode, Photo Booth-like effects, and additional options nestled within the menus (such as timer, exposure, while-balance, resolution, ISO, and face detection). The digital zoom is activated by pressing the volume rocker or by using an on-screen slider. Unfortunately, there's no dedicated 2-stage camera button, no panorama mode, and the 4-inch Super LCD display, while gorgeous, tends to wash out in direct sunlight, making it difficult to properly frame shots.



Software

While the Incredible 2's hardware is supremely refined, things are bittersweet on the software front. It's running Sense, which we've reviewed in detail alongside the Incredible S. We appreciate that it brings a polished, friendly, and consistent user experience across HTC's multitude of devices, and also provides the company with a strong brand identity, but we're just not fans. The problem is that with each revision of Sense we feel more alienated from what we came looking for in the first place, namely Android. Sense is starting to look and feel like its own OS -- Android in a parallel universe -- with almost every aspect of the user interface getting customized, and deviating significantly from the Android way. Certain changes are positive, like the cool time / weather widget, the fast boot feature, and the much improved music player. Others are frustrating, like the the convoluted dialer / call log and the poor keyboard layout (who decided to put the hide button just below the shift key?!) We realize that it's all a matter of taste, and that some people will choose to go down the rabbit hole into Sense wonderland, but we're purists. So HTC, give us a way to disable Sense, and all will be forgiven. Oh, and third-party launchers and keyboards don't count - like most people, we don't have the time or interest to customize our phones beyond installing a few apps.

Sadly, the Incredible 2 ships with Android 2.2.1 (Froyo) which, despite having stayed properly refrigerated for the past 9 months, is getting rather stale. The good news is that the Incredible S is in the process of receiving an Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update, so Verizon's version can't be far behind. Overall, we don't have much to complain about -- Froyo still provides solid performance, especially when paired with speedy internals. The phone feels snappy and light on its feet all around. It's clear that HTC's spent time fine tuning Sense to make it highly responsive. Still, there's room for improvement in some areas like the web browser which, while loading and rendering pages briskly, falls short of matching the rest of the user interface in terms of smoothness when scrolling and zooming around heavy sites like Engadget.

The most glaring issue we have with the Incredible 2 is the criminal amount of crapware that Verizon decided to pre-load on the handset -- apps that can't be removed and will forever litter the app tray. Some of them, like Adobe Reader, Kindle, Quickoffice (basic version), Skype, and Slacker are apps you'd likely want to install anyway. Others, such as Blockbuster (a shortcut to the Market), Let's Golf 2, NFL Mobile, and NSF Shift don't have the same widespread appeal, but are passable. But it's with apps like City ID, My Verizon Mobile, V CAST Apps, V CAST Media, V CAST Music, V CAST Tones, V CAST Videos, and VZ Navigator that things become downright ludicrous. Apparently Verizon wants to lump its sexy flagship 3G Android smartphone together with its generic dumbphones by contaminating it with utterly meaningless carrier-branded apps and services. We can only hope that a few heads will roll in Verizon's marketing department after we publish this review, and that common sense prevails with a Gingerbread update that allows us to uninstall the offending apps.

Wrap up

We'll come right out and say it: the Droid Incredible 2 is the best 3G Android smartphone on Verizon today. If you live in a 3G-only area or you can forgo LTE (and the Droid Charge), the choice basically comes down to the Incredible 2 and Verizon's iPhone 4. With this device, HTC is pushing the single core Snapdragon platform to the limit, then packaging it into an attractive and beautifully finished product. It improves upon the already excellent Droid Incredible with a nicer screen, an even better camera, global roaming capability, and most importantly, amazing battery life. It's an incredibly (ahem) well rounded handset -- the perfect storm of quality, refinement, power, and efficiency -- as long as you can live with Sense. And that's the crux of it -- while we think Sense will appeal to many people, we feel that HTC is doing its core audience of passionate, tech-savvy, pure Android aficionados a disservice by not providing a way to disable it (or at least making it easier to install custom ROMs via an unlocked bootloader). This, together with the insane amount of pre-loaded crapware, are the only major issues we have with respect to the software. Of course we'd have liked to see Gingerbread available out of the gate, but this looks like it will be remedied soon. In the end, the Incredible 2 isn't a fish in the sea of Android -- it's a shark seeing Verizon red and ready to devour the competition. Considering how much of a runaway hit the original Incredible was last summer, perhaps HTC should have called this new version the Jaws 2?

Gingerbread finally coming to Droid X Friday, Droid 2 and Pro to follow?

Posted: 25 May 2011 08:54 AM PDT

Droid X Gingerbread
After several leaks Verizon and Motorola have finally gotten their act together -- Droid X owners, get ready for a little love in the form of Blurified Gingerbread. Verizon just reached out to let us know that Android 2.3 will start hitting the big-screened phones on Friday. You can find a full list of new features that it and the latest version of Blur bring to the party, along with instructions for downloading and installing. A Motorola employee also let slip in the company's support forums that other devices may soon follow suit: "other [Gingerbread] updates are currently scheduled to be released before the end of the third quarter." While he wouldn't name specific handsets, it seems safe to assume that the Droid 2 (including the Global version) and possibly the Droid Pro will be included.

Acer Iconia Tab A100 delayed due to Honeycomb compatibility issues?

Posted: 25 May 2011 08:23 AM PDT

Acer was already kind enough to give us a heads up that it would not be launching the Iconia Tab A100 in May, as planned. But the company wasn't exactly champing at the bit to explain why its 7-inch, Tegra 2-powered tablet is taking such a tedious trip to market. According to a DigiTimes report, at least, the hangup comes down to compatibility issues with Honeycomb, an OS that so far hasn't been seen on many 7-inch slates. Specifically, the site's unnamed sources say Acer has encountered problems with certain applications and that Google, meanwhile, is "busy resolving other issues." All in all, precisely the kind of complication that Ice Cream Sandwich promises to circumvent. Oh, and speaking of delays, DigiTimes adds that the Iconia Smart might go on sale in July due to earthquake-related supply shortages. We asked Acer for clarification, but the company declined to comment, so it looks like we'll just have to wait and see what goodies late summer brings.

TomTom announces Go Live 800 series PNDs for lost Europeans

Posted: 25 May 2011 07:43 AM PDT

TomTom's Go Live family got a little larger today, with the unveiling of the company's new 800 series of PNDs. With the purchase of an 820 or 825 GPS, you'll get a year's worth of free access to HD Traffic, a speed camera alert system, local weather updates and all the rest of TomTom's Live services. The navigators also come with intelligent orientation sensors that allow for easy dashboard mounting, as well as Bluetooth capabilities that enable drivers to make hands-free calls while they cruise. The five-inch 825, much like the ARM11-powered Go Live 1000, generates routes using TomTom's IQ Routes technology, though it won't cost quite as much as its big brother. No word yet on the pricing of the 4.3-inch 820, which is due to hit Europe this September, but the 825 will retail for about £230 ($373) when it launches this month. Full presser after the break.
Show full PR text
TomTom Launches GO LIVE 800 Series

New connected device makes LIVE Services more accessible and helps
more drivers to break free from traffic jams

London, 24 May 2011 - Today, TomTom makes connected navigation even
more accessible with the launch of the TomTom GO LIVE 800 series. This
stylish new addition to the GO portfolio comes with a whole year of
LIVE Services- including TomTom's market leading HD Traffic service.

The launch of the TomTom GO LIVE 800 series is part of a complete
refresh of the company's product lineup. This sees TomTom's portfolio
simplified and split into the non-connected Start range - designed for
those drivers seeking convenience and comfort - and the connected GO
LIVE range, for drivers who want to benefit from real-time traffic and
route information on their journey.

"The TomTom GO LIVE 800 series is designed to help everyone reap the
benefits of connected navigation," says Corinne Vigreux, Managing
Director, Consumer at TomTom. "Its smart design puts powerful TomTom
LIVE Services like HD Traffic into a great value package - helping
drivers everywhere to break free from jams."

All GO LIVE 800 devices bring one year of TomTom's market-leading LIVE
Services straight to their device. The flagship service is TomTom HD
Traffic, which delivers accurate traffic information every two minutes
- that's up to seven times more frequently than any other provider.
With coverage across more roads and more countries than any other
traffic service, HD Traffic gives drivers detailed incident reports,
length of and reason for delays, accurate travel and arrival times -
even alternative route proposals.

The LIVE Services bundle also includes the Speed Cameras service,
providing mobile and fixed speed camera alerts, while Local Search
helps to pinpoint shops and businesses in the area. QuickGPSfix,
meanwhile, helps drivers to start navigating in seconds. And they
don't need to worry that the weather will spoil their plans - the GO
LIVE 800 range also gives drivers local and five-day forecasts
courtesy of TomTom Weather.

Drivers can additionally use their voice to enter addresses, while
hands-free calling via Bluetooth® lets them make and answer phone
calls safely whilst on the move, so it's easier than ever to stay in
touch and in control.

All devices in the GO LIVE 800 series are based on TomTom's
award-winning IF product design, where stylish looks meet clever
functionality. The intelligent orientation sensor within GO LIVE 800
series devices, for example - coupled with the fully integrated flip
screen mount - lets drivers mount their device to their dashboard,
automatically rotating the screen 180 degrees. All drivers need to add
is a dashboard mounting disc.

Just like every other device in the TomTom lineup, TomTom GO LIVE 800
series devices come with a bigger screen, for an even clearer and more
comfortable view. Drivers simply have to choose whether they want the
GO LIVE 820 with its 4.3" touch screen, or the GO LIVE 825 with the
larger, 5" touch screen.

Vigreux concludes: "The new GO LIVE 800 will make TomTom HD Traffic
available to more people, providing them with the very best traffic
information available. This is something we committed to in our
Traffic Manifesto last year, giving drivers who use TomTom HD Traffic
more control by keeping them fully informed of the exact traffic
situation. These drivers will spend less time stuck in traffic,
arriving less stressed and on time, with quicker alternative routes
offered to them as soon as they are available."

The TomTom GO LIVE 825 Europe is priced £229.99 (RRP) and will be
available from May 2011 at Dixons and other leading electrical
retailers.

The TomTom GO LIVE 820 will be available from September 2011.

Xperia Play first in line for mobile Minecraft port (video)

Posted: 25 May 2011 07:25 AM PDT

Minecraft on the Xperia Play
If you want to be the first in your hood to take Minecraft with you wherever you go, you'll have to pick up an Xperia Play. The block-building game where cubed avatars hide from creepers and create virtual CPUs will land on the so-called PlayStation Phone before coming to other Android devices and iOS later this year. The Play version will have customized controls that take advantage of the gamepad and button layout found on the Sony Ericsson handheld, though when exactly it will launch or how much it will cost is still unknown. It's also unclear how long the title will be exclusive to the gamer-centric smartphone, but developer Mojang will be holding an event at E3 where, presumably, we'll be getting more details. Now is the time to wrap up any loose ends in your life before what little free time you have left gets buried beneath a pile of bricks and mobs -- even when your PC isn't handy.

Update: If that pic of Minecraft running on the Xperia Play wasn't doing for you, good news, we've got video of the title in action after the break.

[Thanks, stagueve]

LG Revolution coming to Verizon tomorrow for $250 on contract

Posted: 25 May 2011 06:09 AM PDT

That's right, kids, and we have the press release to prove it: the LG Revolution that we got our hands on at CES is coming to Verizon tomorrow for $250 (with a new, two year customer agreement). Sadly, this handset won't bring you any closer to overthrowing the established social order, as LG seems to think that "revolution" has more to do with such niceties as HDMI out, the Android 2.2 mobile OS, and a 16GB microSD card. But hey, that pre-installed Netflix app sure does seem nice. Interested? The Nationwide Talk plans begin at $40 a month, with unlimited data for $30. Mobile Hotspot is also included for free -- for a limited time. Check out all the important info after the break.
Show full PR text
Revolution by LG Arrives for Verizon Wireless

Dynamic Trio of 4G LTE, Entertainment and Power Combine to Make Revolution™ by LG

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and LG Mobile Phones today announced Revolution™ by LG will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on May 26.

An entertainment powerhouse, Revolution by LG is the first Android™ smartphone preloaded with the Neflix application, allowing Netflix subscribers access to movies and television shows. Revolution customers can capture and share HD images or videos on a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen. Built-in HDMI output and SmartShare capability allow customers to share multimedia content with HDMI capable displays, creating an exceptional entertainment experience.

Key features:

* 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas
* 1 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® processor
* Android™ 2.2 platform
* Access to more than 200,000 apps available to download from Android Market™
* Bing® Search and Maps
* Adobe® Flash® Player
* Rear-facing 5.0-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
* 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat
* 720p HD video recording and playback
* Wi-Fi connectivity 802.11 b/g/n
* Mobile Hotspot capability allows customers to share 4G LTE with up to 8 Wi-Fi-enabled devices or a 3G connection with up to 5 devices
* Bluetooth® Version 3.0 Support Profiles: headset, hands-free, object push, advanced audio distribution (stereo), audio/video remote control, file transfer, phone book access

Additional features:

* V CAST Apps
* Virtual QWERTY keyboard with SWYPE technology
* Equipped with Dolby® Mobile for a rich listening experience
* Extensive image editor includes: crop, rotate, resize, apply filters, image adjustments, draw, write, erase and add stamps
* 16 GB preinstalled microSD card™

Pricing and availability:

Revolution by LG will be available in Verizon Wireless Communication Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

Revolution customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access. An unlimited data package is available for $29.99 for monthly access. The Mobile Hotspot feature will be included for a limited time at no additional charge.

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network, launched in December 2010, is the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States, providing speeds up to 10 times faster than Verizon Wireless' 3G network. Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network currently reaches one-third of all Americans, with plans to expand the network to the company's entire 3G coverage area over the next three years.

For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Getaround car sharing service goes live, rent out your ride with an iPhone app and car kit

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:56 AM PDT

We expressed our excitement when we first heard about Getaround, the personal car rental service that enables users to rent out their autos by the hour or day, and at TechCrunch Disrupt the service has officially gone live for drivers outside the Bay Area. The company also announced an accompanying car kit that allows potential renters to unlock their temporary ride using just an iPhone app, at which point they can access a physical key inside. The company says it functions just like any other keyless entry device, and can be set up in as little as five minutes. Worrisome owners should also know that when you offer up your ride you get full insurance coverage from the Getaround folks, so all liabilities are transferred to the individual behind the wheel. Renters get rated by car owners so there's definitely an incentive to keep things neat and tidy, though we'd totally get downrated for neglecting to return the seat to its original position. Be sure to check out the demo video at the via link, you'll wish you thought of this yourself.

Cox ditches 3G network infrastructure, sticks with airwaves borrowed from Sprint

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:34 AM PDT

Cox Communications had some grand designs on the cellular market, but they're not panning out quite as the company planned -- FierceWireless reports that though Cox already poured cash into rolling out 3G equipment, it's going to scrap the whole thing, in favor of continuing to pay Sprint for borrowed airtime. Cellular service in the original three launch markets will reportedly continue, though a quick peek at Cox's website shows the current phone selection is getting a bit stagnant. While we've yet to hear any particular reasons why Cox would want to stick it out as an MVNO, we imagine that mandatory roaming agreements make it a tad easier to offer those "Unbelievably Fair" contracts. There's also the possibility that with all the 4G fervor, Cox has decided there's no point in moving forward with CDMA equipment when LTE is ripe for the picking -- and when Cox has $304 million worth of 700MHz spectrum waiting for such a network.

[Thanks, Phil]

Google backs Alta Wind Energy Center, boasts $400 million clean energy milestone

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:12 AM PDT

Google announced today that it's throwing $55 million dollars to the wind... energy, that is. A post to the official Google blog said the company has invested the aforementioned amount in the Alta Wind Energy Center, which is set to generate 1,550 megawatts of energy -- enough to reportedly power 450,000 homes -- from a batch of turbines in the Mojave Dessert. Developed by Terra-Gen Power, the operation will carry the resulting energy via transmission lines to "major population centers." The ever-humble internet giant pointed out that this particular injection of funds marks a total investment of $400 million in the clean energy sector. In fact, El Goog signed a deal last year to power several of its data centers with wind power, and most recently announced the opening of a seawater-cooled data center in Finland.

NASA abandons Mars rover Spirit, chooses to remember the good times

Posted: 25 May 2011 04:47 AM PDT

More than a year after it first lost contact with its Mars rover Spirit, NASA has finally decided to throw in the towel. Yesterday, the agency confirmed that it will end all planned communications with the robot on May 25th, effectively ending the craft's seven-year mission. NASA was hoping that the approaching Martian spring would allow the Spirit to recharge its solar panels and re-establish radio contact, but it now appears that the craft sustained irreparable damage last winter, when it was forced to endure brutally cold temperatures. NASA executive David Lavery, however, says the rover team will remember the Spirit more for its achievements than its slow demise:

"I think we'll all sit around and have a sip of Guinness and reminisce about when Spirit was a wee small little rover and look back at the accomplishments and successes rover had over its entire lifetime."

So the Spirit's spirit will live on, but what about NASA's mission to Mars? Well, the Opportunity is still in good health and, later this year, will be joined by the next-generation, nuclear-powered rover Curiosity, which will investigate whether or not Mars ever supported life forms. Meanwhile, NASA's network of orbiting spacecraft will continue to passively listen for signals from the Spirit, just in case it miraculously comes back to life. Full PR after the break.

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NASA Concludes Attempts To Contact Mars Rover Spirit


WASHINGTON -- NASA is ending attempts to regain contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated on March 22, 2010.

A transmission that will end on Wednesday, May 25, will be the last in a series of attempts. Extensive communications activities during the past 10 months also have explored the possibility that Spirit might reawaken as the solar energy available to it increased after a stressful Martian winter without much sunlight. With inadequate energy to run its survival heaters, the rover likely experienced colder internal temperatures last year than in any of its prior six years on Mars. Many critical components and connections would have been susceptible to damage from the cold.

Engineers' assessments in recent months have shown a very low probability for recovering communications with Spirit. Communications assets that have been used by the Spirit mission in the past, including NASA's Deep Space Network of antennas on Earth, plus two NASA Mars orbiters that can relay communications, now are needed to prepare for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. MSL is scheduled to launch later this year.

"We're now transitioning assets to support the November launch of our next generation Mars rover, Curiosity," said Dave Lavery, program executive for solar system exploration. "However, while we no longer believe there is a realistic probability of hearing from Spirit, the Deep Space Network may occasionally listen for any faint signals when the schedule permits."

Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 3, 2004, for a mission designed to last three months. After accomplishing its prime-mission goals, Spirit worked to accomplish additional objectives. Its twin, Opportunity, continues active exploration of Mars.

Samsung's AF315 All-in-One 3D PC targets the sophisticated woman and those who aspire to be one

Posted: 25 May 2011 04:13 AM PDT

Say what you will about Samsung's questionable chaebol business practices and KIRFy ways, at least the company's got the stones to openly target a specific demographic with its marketing pitches. This time Sammy's new AF315 All-in-One PC is targeting stylish and sophisticated women who've moved on from their pink peddle pusher ways. The most notable features are that big 23-inch LCD coupled with Samsung's switchable active shutter 2D / 3D technology and narrow 11-mm bezel. Otherwise, we're looking at a Core i5 CPU, 1TB 7200RPM hard disk, USB 3.0, TV receiver, Blu-ray player, remote control, 3D glasses, and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo in the box when this thing ships in South Korea starting tomorrow for 2.19 million won or just a tad less than $2,000.

Cray XK6 supercomputer smashes petaflop record, humbly calls itself a 'general-purpose' machine

Posted: 25 May 2011 03:42 AM PDT

Sure, IBM's ten petaflop supercomputer may sound impressive, but Cray can do you five better -- the outfit just announced the Cray XK6, an upgradable, hybrid supercomputing system capable of more than 50 petaflops of computational muscle. Powered by Cray's Gemini interconnect, AMD Opteron 6200 processors, and NVIDIA Tesla 20-Series GPUs, the XK6 system blends x86 and GPU environments with the firm's own flavor of Linux. The folks at Cray won't resort to bragging, however -- they're humbly declaring the machine to be the first "general-purpose supercomputer based on GPU technology," and not, as they put it, a stunt to place high on any Top 500 lists. Suggestive, aren't they? Check out the unassuming press release after the break.
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Cray Unveils the Cray XK6 Supercomputer

New System Leverages the Latest Technologies From Cray, AMD and NVIDIA

SEATTLE, WA and FAIRBANKS, AK, May 24, 2011 -- Global supercomputing leader Cray Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAY) today announced the launch of the Company's new production hybrid supercomputing system -- the Cray XK6 supercomputer -- at the 2011 Cray User Group (CUG) meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska. The highly anticipated new supercomputer will combine Cray's Gemini interconnect, AMD Opteron(TM) 6200 Series processors (code-named "Interlagos") and NVIDIA Tesla 20-Series GPUs to create a tightly-integrated supercomputing system upgradeable to more than 50 petaflops (quadrillions of operations/second) of compute power.

The Cray XK6 system introduces an innovative approach to increasing programmer productivity with a unified x86/GPU programming environment that includes tested and powerful tools, libraries, compilers and third-party software. When combined with the Cray Linux Environment, the result is a fully integrated Cray supercomputer that blends scalable hardware, software and a network. Cray XK6 customers will be able to utilize the capabilities of a multi-purpose supercomputer designed for the next-generation of many-core, high performance computing (HPC) applications.

The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Manno, Switzerland is Cray's first customer for the new Cray XK6 system. CSCS, which develops and promotes technical and scientific services for the Swiss research community in the field of HPC, signed a contract with Cray to upgrade its Cray XE6m system, nicknamed "Piz Palu," to a multi-cabinet Cray XK6 supercomputer. CSCS is a long-standing Cray customer and supports scientists working in diverse fields such as weather forecasting, climatology, chemistry, physics, material sciences, geology, biology, genetics, experimental medicine, astronomy, mathematics and computer sciences.

Professor Dr. Thomas Schulthess, Director of CSCS, said, "Given the remarkable interest in GPU technology from the Swiss computational science community, it is essential that CSCS adopt this technology into its high-end production systems soon. However, we are not looking for another GPU based stunt to place high on any Top500 lists. The Cray XK6 promises to be the first general-purpose supercomputer based on GPU technology, and we are very much looking forward to exploring its performance and productivity on real applications relevant to our scientists."

A powerful addition to Cray's line of highly-advanced supercomputers, the Cray XK6 system pairs industry-leading HPC technologies from AMD and NVIDIA to create a true hybrid supercomputer with intra-node flexibility. By combining AMD Opteron processors with NVIDIA GPUs, the compute node in the Cray XK6 system gives users the option to run applications with either scalar or accelerator components. The Cray XK6 compute blades can also be blended with Cray XE6 compute blades into a single, multi-purpose supercomputing system.

"Every aspect of the Cray XK6 has been engineered to meet the real-world performance demands of researchers and scientists tasked with solving the world's grand challenges," said Barry Bolding, vice president of Cray's product division. "Cray has a long history of working with accelerators in our vector technologies. We are leveraging this expertise to create a scalable hybrid supercomputer -- and the associated first-generation of a unified x86/GPU programming environment -- that will allow the system to more productively meet the scientific challenges of today and tomorrow. We built the world's first production petaflops system with the Cray XT5 supercomputer, reinvented high performance networking with the Gemini interconnect, and we are now redefining accelerator-based supercomputing with the unified GPU and scalar technologies built into the Cray XK6 system."

Upgradeable from Cray XT4, Cray XT5, Cray XT6 or Cray XE6 systems, the Cray XK6 system is expected to be available in the second half of 2011. It can be configured in a single cabinet with tens of compute nodes, to a multi-cabinet system with tens of thousands of compute nodes.

"GPUs are playing an increasingly important role in high performance computing as researchers and scientists look to augment the CPU performance on certain codes," said Earl Joseph, IDC program vice president for HPC. "Cray is a leader in the high-end of the supercomputing market and has designed, built and installed some of the world's most powerful systems. The company has decades of experience in successfully integrating hybrid processor types into large scale systems. This strategy of hybrid supercomputing is extremely valuable, and Cray is in a good position to take advantage of it."

ASUS preparing an ultraslim Eee PC 'with a twist' for Computex

Posted: 25 May 2011 03:09 AM PDT

ASUS' week of merciless teasers continues today with a silhouette of what the company calls a "super-slim sensation [with] a twist." It's an Eee PC and there are no doubts about it being a netbook, but something about this evolutionary product won't be quite the same as on its predecessors. Notebook Italia has dug up the above image, which looks like a match for ASUS' shadow-obscured teaser and shows what may very well be the thinnest Eee PC we've yet seen. Last time ASUS was touting anything laptop-shaped that was quite so slim, it was the Neo smartbook prototype that never made it out of the labs, but this here cheese slicer looks very likely to be hitting the market shortly after Computex. Naturally, we'll be in Taipei getting the lowdown for you, whatever happens.

Nokia Oro is covered with 18ct gold on the outside, tinged with Symbian regret inside

Posted: 25 May 2011 02:24 AM PDT

Nokia has just unveiled a strange new beast of a smartphone. Internally, it's your good old C7 -- 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, 720p video recording, 8 megapixel camera, a pentaband radio, and Symbian as your zombie OS -- but externally it's taken on a lick of gold paint and a rear cover made of real leather. The price for a phone built quite so luxuriously is said to be upwards of €800 ($1,126) before taxes and subsidies and launch is expected in Q3 in select countries across Europe and Asia. Russia in particular is called out as a successful market for such "premium" phones, with Nokia's Gabriel Speratti, General Manager for its operations in the country, explaining that:

"We have a large number of users who are looking for products with a build quality and superior materials that attest to their success and social standing. In some areas, possession of such premium products is the passport to being taken seriously."

We have to agree, owning a phone like this will certainly have an effect on your social life, we're just not so sure it'll be a positive one.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will ship with Android 3.1 on board, said to be 'a few days away'

Posted: 25 May 2011 01:33 AM PDT

Do you like Android 3.1? Do you like tablets slimmer than the iPad 2? You might want to talk to Samsung in that case, because the Galaxy creator has put those two features together on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 product page and has compounded the excitement with a tweet saying the tablet is mere days away. Now, there's a bit of conflicting information here, because Samsung's tweet actually promises Android 3.0, but the Tab 10.1 page clearly lists the harder, better, faster, stronger Android version as the one that comes with the slate. Additionally, our conversations with Samsung at Google I/O earlier this month indicated that the June 8th launch date that we've been taking as gospel until recently is a little shakier now, with a slight delay possibly being caused by the desire to install the latest Honeycomb on board. So maybe the tweet's accurate in saying the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is coming in just a few days, it just depends on your definition of "few."

Update: Another tweet from Samsung's US account has reaffirmed that Android 3.1 will be the OS.

BT and Everything Everywhere will start LTE trial in rural UK this September

Posted: 25 May 2011 12:47 AM PDT

Some of the UK's most remote parts still don't have access to broadband of any kind, but later this year, they might have the sort that makes us look on in envy. BT and Everything Everywhere are planning to start an LTE trial in Cornwall, England's most southerly county, which will last from the 1st of September through to the end of December. Connection speeds could scale as high as 40Mbps, though the typical rate is expected to be closer to 10Mbps. Volunteers are now being sought to participate in the trial, though they have to reside (or be willing to move, we presume) in the pretty tiny 4G coverage area near Newquay. BT and T-MOrange have been allowed a temporary slice of 800MHz spectrum to do their experimenting in, which will likely be up for grabs in the LTE spectrum auction that's set for next year. First we take Newquay, then we take the world.
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Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale to deliver the UK's first live customer trial of 4G high speed broadband technology

· Trial to showcase the benefits and potential of 4G LTE¹ mobile technology for customers

· The collaboration will see mobile and fixed broadband coming together for the first time in the UK

· The field trial will be launched in Cornwall, and will be the first of its kind in the UK to involve customers

May 25th, 2011 - United Kingdom. Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale have today announced a collaboration that will see the first live trial of next generation 4G LTE¹ high speed broadband to customers. The live proof of concept trial is the first of its kind in the UK and will see the two companies sharing their fixed telecommunications and mobile technology to provide high speed wireless broadband to customers in rural Cornwall.

An initial test at BT's laboratories at Adastral Park in Suffolk is already underway, with the field trial set to test realistic 4G broadband data speeds outside of laboratory conditions. The field trial will start this September and run to early next year, involving up to 100 mobile and 100 fixed line customers living around the St Newlyn East area of South Newquay, Cornwall. Both the laboratory and live field phases will test the application of 4G LTE as a shared fixed and mobile platform.

The field trial will utilise 2 x 10MHz of test 800MHz spectrum and will test its capability as a compelling and long term complementary solution to fixed broadband technology for customers who currently get low speeds or are unable to get broadband altogether. These customers are typically in rural areas of the country, which can be extremely difficult to reach with fixed broadband technology.

The trial will take place at test sites south of Newquay in Cornwall, providing a combined coverage area of 25 square kilometres, with approximately 700 premises which have no or limited access to broadband services today. Everything Everywhere will also look to test 4G enabled mobile handsets and broadband dongles as part of the trial.

Residents in the St Newlyn East and surrounding areas who wish to learn more or who may want to participate in the trial can register their interest at www.4Gwirelessbroadbandtrial.co.uk. The trial will be free of charge to all triallists, and is being implemented with support from technology partners Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei. The Cornwall Development Company is also supporting the trial.

Tom Alexander, CEO, Everything Everywhere, said: "Our ambition is to have the best 4G network and be pioneers in enabling Britain's superfast wireless future.

"We strongly believe that, by sharing our network and mobile assets in this way, we can make a valuable contribution to the economics of rural broadband services. Our work with BT is providing a test bed for new technologies such as 4G LTE which, with the correct allocation of sub 1GHz spectrum from the Government, has the potential to make a real impact on the way in which we communicate in the future. The Government has previously stated its desire for the UK to have the best in class superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015, and we hope to help this vision become a reality."

Sally Davis, CEO of BT Wholesale, said: "BT is committed to bringing the highest speed broadband to everyone in the UK, whether that's over fibre, copper or airwaves. This is a great mixed economy example of innovation and collaboration by two organisations pushing the boundaries of technology for the benefit of customers. The expectation of what we will learn is truly exciting, as much for the customers who are unable to get a broadband service in a number of rural communities across the country."

Sony Ericsson's Canadian online store hacked, more than 2,000 customers' data taken

Posted: 25 May 2011 12:14 AM PDT

The hackers just won't give poor Sony a break, will they? Following the infamous PSN breach last month and an attack on the company's Greek online music service earlier this week, Sony Ericsson has now seen another intrusion that extracted personal data of more than 2,000 Canadian Eshop customers. Fortunately, the company claims that passwords taken were encrypted and no credit card details were lost, but this is still worrisome nevertheless. Right now, the Eshop service has been taken off line -- for the sake of Sir Howard and his Japanese chums, let's just hope that this will be the last Sony breach we hear about.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

StreakDroid 2.0.0 gives the gift of Gingerbread to Streak hackers

Posted: 24 May 2011 10:49 PM PDT

If you've been following along, you know that a phone enthusiast named DJ_Steve has kept the Dell Streak fresh, thanks to a series of hacked ROMs, dubbed StreakDroid. The latest version, 2.0.0 (or GingerStreak, if you're feeling cute) brings Gingerbread to the 5-inch smartphone -- expanding on the last ROM, which gave hackers the option of selecting Gingerbread's app launcher. As always, though, dear Steve has noted a handful of bugs in the ROM's early stages, including issues with the Superuser app, less-than-stellar graphics performance, and the fact that both GPS and 720p video recording require an engineering baseband and DSP to be flashed. As of this writing, all of the comments are from Streak owners eager to download this for themselves. We assume you are, too, so let us know how the new ROM works out for ya.

EVO 3D shipping with locked down bootloader, but HTC may reconsider policy

Posted: 24 May 2011 09:40 PM PDT

We've got some good news and some bad news. Let's do the bad news first: much like the Sensation, Thunderbolt, and Incredible S, Android Police has confirmed that the upcoming HTC EVO 3D will also be sporting a locked down bootloader of similar fashion, meaning custom ROM modders will have a hard time glamming up said phone. Not that anyone should be surprised by this finding though, given the sad trend. That said, there is still hope: earlier today, HTC announced on Facebook that it's "reviewing the issue and our policy around bootloaders" -- looks like someone's pulled a page out of Sony Ericsson's good book. If all goes well, we'll just have to wait and see whether HTC will beat Motorola to making their fans smile again.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road

Posted: 24 May 2011 08:06 PM PDT

Chevy had the whole "Heartbeat of America" thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford's turn to get in on the action. The car maker's European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver's heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin. The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle's safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested. For more information on the system, check the video and press release after the break.


Ford Researchers Develop Car Seat That Monitors Drivers' Heart Activity

AACHEN, Germany, May 24, 2011 – Ford Motor Company's advanced research engineers have developed a prototype vehicle seat that can monitor a driver's heart activity and could one day reduce the number of accidents and fatalities that occur as a result of motorists having heart attacks behind the wheel.

Engineers from Ford's European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany, working closely with Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University, embarked on the project to address an often overlooked traffic safety issue – accidents triggered by drivers who experience heart problems.

The prototype Ford seat employs ECG (electrocardiograph) technology that monitors the heart's electrical impulses and detects signs of irregularity that can provide an early warning that a driver should seek medical advice, because he might be impacted by a heart attack or other cardiovascular issues. Whereas a normal ECG machine in a doctor's office requires metal electrodes to be attached to the skin at various points on the body, the Ford ECG seat has six built-in sensors that can detect heart activity through the driver's clothing.

"The system will be able to detect if someone is having a cardiovascular issue, for example a heart attack, and could also be used to detect the symptoms of other conditions such as high blood pressure or electrolyte imbalances," said Dr. Achim Lindner, Ford Research Centre medical officer. "This not only benefits the driver; but also could make the roads safer for all users."

Research by the Impaired Motorists, Methods of Roadside Testing and Assessment for Licensing project, a three-year European Union research programme, found that drivers suffering from cardiovascular disease were, on average, 23 per cent more likely to be involved in a road accident. For drivers who suffered from angina, this figure grew to 52 per cent.

With 23 per cent of Europe's population expected to be 65-years or older by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2050, the number of drivers at risk of heart attacks is likely to rise considerably in the coming decades.

Ford is also testing the prototype seat to understand how it could work with other advanced systems within Ford vehicles to warn a driver to pull over and seek medical attention, or possibly even send out an alert to emergency medical workers if necessary.

Lindner said the mobile phone could play a key role as the interface for any future application of the technology. Connected to a system such as Ford SYNC with MyFord Touch, due to arrive in Europe in 2012, the Ford heart rate monitoring seat potentially could use the driver's mobile phone to send a message to medical centres, alerting doctors to irregular heart activity. The seat also could be linked to SYNC's Emergency Assistance function to inform emergency response teams of the driver's heart condition before, during and after an accident.

Ford is exploring how advanced safety technologies such as Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keeping Aid, Active City Stop and Speed Limiter could work together with the heart rate monitoring seat to help protect drivers in cases where they experience heart problems.

Ford's engineers also are studying how the heart monitoring seat can be used to observe heart patients and allow doctors to maintain a record of heart activity that can be transmitted to medical professionals and reduce the need for visits to the hospital.

"Although currently still a research project, this technology could prove to be an important breakthrough," said Lindner. "As always in medicine, the earlier a condition is detected the easier it is to treat, and this technology even has the potential to be instrumental in diagnosing heart conditions early."

Ford researchers have been working since early 2009 to adapt the contactless ECG technology developed by Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University.

"The Ford seat is a natural progression from our work on contactless ECG monitoring equipment and provides an exciting potential real-world benefit," said Professor Steffen Leonhardt of Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University. "As the population in Europe and around the world ages, more older people will be behind the wheel and the safety risks increase. This technology holds the promise of saving lives and making the roads safer."

In early tests, the Ford heart monitoring seat has recorded accurate readings during 98 per cent of driving time for 95 per cent of drivers. Ford's research engineers are continuing to study how sensors can be made to record signals through a greater number of materials including those that interrupt readings with their own electrical activity.

Visualized: Androidify avatar dance party (video)

Posted: 24 May 2011 06:59 PM PDT


Have your YouTube dance videos been lacking something? Can't quite put your finger on it? How 'bout another, more Android-y you to add some diversity to your One, Two Step? The folks who brought you the Androidify app have apparently enlisted a friend, his Android avatar, and a Kinect to bring you the above video. Not too shabby, but we'd be even more intrigued if he was rocking a black leotard and busting out Mexican Breakfast, Beyonce-style. Check out the not-so-Fosse video after the break.

[Thanks, John]

Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount

Posted: 24 May 2011 05:51 PM PDT


It's been one heck of a week for e-readers, with a new $139 touchscreen Nook in town and a $129 finger-friendly Kobo as well. What's Amazon going to do about the newfound competition? Simply lower the price of its best-selling Kindle 3G to $164. Well, perhaps "lower" isn't quite the right word, because you'll simply be paying by different means: the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers will be the company's second e-reader to feature built-in advertising. If you're shy on cash, though, we suppose viewing a few ads is a small price to pay for cheaper Whispernet. PR after the break.
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Introducing the Lowest Price 3G E-Reader - Kindle 3G with Special Offers for Only $164
Same features as latest-generation Kindle 3G - free 3G wireless, Pearl E Ink display, up to two months of battery life and more - plus sponsored screensavers and money-saving special offers

SEATTLE, May 24, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

(NASDAQ:AMZN)--Last month, Amazon.com introduced Kindle with Special Offers, a new member of the Kindle family that gives customers access to money-saving special offers. Just five weeks later, Kindle with Special Offers became the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S. Today, Amazon announced that it is now making special offers available for Kindle 3G. Kindle 3G with Special Offers is available starting today for only $164 and ships immediately. At just $164, Kindle 3G with Special Offers is the lowest price of any 3G e-reader, and includes the latest Pearl electronic ink display. Learn more about the entire Kindle family, including the $114 Kindle with Special Offers and the new $164 Kindle 3G with Special Offers, at www.amazon.com/kindle3G.

"Kindle is the bestselling e-reader in the world. It's been just six weeks since we introduced the new $114 Kindle with Special Offers, and already customers have made it the bestselling member of the Kindle family," said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "In response to customer requests, we're now making these money-saving special offers available for Kindle 3G. You will get all the features readers love about Kindle 3G - free 3G wireless, global wireless access, Pearl electronic ink display that's easy to read even in bright sunlight, access to over 950,000 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere' Kindle books - all for just $164 - the lowest price for any 3G e-reader."

Special offers that will be available in the coming weeks include:

- $10 for a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card - customers loved this offer, so we're making it available again in time for Father's Day
- Save up to $500 off Amazon's already low prices on HDTVs with a unique 20% discount on 200 HDTVs from brands including Sony, Panasonic, LG, and VIZIO
- $1 for a Kindle book, choose from thousands of books including Water for Elephants and the Hunger Games trilogy
- Spend $10 on Kindle books and get a free $10 Amazon.com Gift Card

Kindle 3G with Special Offers includes all the same features that helped make the third-generation Kindle the #1 bestselling product in the history of Amazon.com:

- Free 3G wireless , no annual contracts, no monthly fees
- Global 3G coverage means books in under 60 seconds in over 100 countries and territories
- Paper-like Pearl electronic ink display, no glare even in bright sunlight
- Lightweight 8.7 ounce body for hours of comfortable reading with one hand
- Up to two months of battery life with wireless off eliminates battery anxiety
- Kindle Store with over 950,000 books - largest selection of the most popular books
- Seamless integration with free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and Windows Phone

Kindle 3G with Special Offers is available for immediate shipment to customers in the U.S. at www.amazon.com/kindle3G.

Learn more about the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers at www.amazon.com/aboutkindlespecialoffers. Advertisers and agencies interested in learning more about Kindle sponsorship opportunities can contact kindle-sponsorships@amazon.com.

NHK's flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video)

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:57 PM PDT

NHK's Flexible OLED
When it's not pushing Super Hi-Vision, the hopeful 7,680 x 4,320 successor to HD, NHK also dabbles in small, flexible OLED panels. The Japanese public broadcaster recently showed off a 5-inch prototype display that, while bearing a heavy green tint and very noticeable rows of dead pixels, was still a significant improvement over a similar screen it demoed in 2009. Sure, it's not quite as flexible or vibrant as Sony's rollable OLED from last year, but it does seem to suffer from fewer bad pixels -- an important step towards maturation. Don't miss the video after the break which offers some pretty nifty glimpses at a number of bendable OLEDs. It's clear the tech is still a little wet behind the ears, but we're definitely getting closer to a future populated with TVs that roll up for storage and e-readers that fold like a paperback.

Google opening seawater-cooled data center, finally glad it applied for that Wave trademark (video)

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:14 PM PDT


Google raised a few eyebrows when it purchased a Finnish paper mill back in 2009 -- what, the world, wondered, would the king of cloud services want with reams of tree guts? Space for a data center, of course -- and a seawater-cooled one at that. Google's Joe Kava told GigaOm that, when it launches in the fall, the center's temperature will be regulated by a quarter-mile of seawater tunnels inherited from the building's past tenants. One of the hardest parts of getting the system up and running has apparently been figuring out a way to clean corrosion from salt water without taking the system offline. Google's also working to limit the center's impact on the surrounding ecosystem, making sure that the water itself is cooled down before being pumped back out. Between this and those wind-powered data centers, it looks like Captain Planet's always got a cushy IT gig at Google to fall back on, should he ever fall on hard times.

Splitfish FragFX Shark to surface for Xbox 360, make friends with wired controller

Posted: 24 May 2011 03:41 PM PDT

Splitfish is finally bringing its flagship PC and PS3 mouse controller to the Xbox, albeit packing an odd wireless caveat. Although the FragFx Shark 360 is billed as an identical twin to its PS3 counterpart, this half-gamepad and rodent combo, much like a XIM adapter, needs a wired Xbox 360 gamepad to act as an intermediary between itself and the console. That wired controller plugs into the Shark's wireless USB dongle; the macro-equipped "fragchuck" and mouse themselves are completely untethered. It sounds a little janky, but if your faith in mouse superiority is strong, you may be forgiving it for its faults come late August. Hit the break for a full list of features and glittery PR wonder.
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Splitfish Unleashes the "Holy Grail of FPS" Controllers: The FRAGFX™ SHARK, on XBOX 360™

Playing games like Call of Duty® Modern Warfare®3 and Gears of War®3 on XBOX 360 will now be better than ever.

Zurich Switzerland - May 24, 2011 - Splitfish AG, the inventors of the world's leading high-end precision gaming mouse console controllers, today announced the long awaited FRAGFX™ SHARK 360, the world's first super precision mouse hybrid gaming controllers for XBOX 360™, built to make it possible to play FPS games such as the upcoming GEARS OF WAR® 3 and CALL OF DUTY®: MODERN WARFARE® 3 in the most intuitive and precise way possible on a game console,a PC, or a Mac. The FRAGFX SHARK 360 will be available at the end of August 2011.

Splitfish worked closely with some of the worlds most prolific designers and hard core game teams to perfect a robust and easy to adapt controller that brings the ultimate combination of mouse aiming and analog stick movement to the XBOX 360. The FRAGFX SHARK 360 has been the most requested and highly anticipated development from the Splitfish design team yet.

"The FRAGFX design for XBOX 360 has been the most requested gaming periphery device from FPS gamers by far. We literally have thousands of emails where gamers have inquired about when a FRAGFX SHARK for 360 would be here. Finally it is! Gamers will be blown away by the pinpoint tracking accuracy and special functions. We are proud to have been able to colaborate with high profile gamers such as zDD [game tag "EDIT" on xbox], the Teflon hearts team, and also really appreciate the input we have received from so many other passionate gamers. These opinions were invaluable in helping us bring the uber successful FRAGFX SHARK design to the XBOX 360." says Jason Johnson, Head of Creative Development for Splitfish.

Key Features:

· 2 AA batteries (not included)
· NEW 50h + play time
· NEW 500h + power save standby
· Play with the mouse on the XBOX 360 as you would do on a PC
· Full XBOX 360 PC and MAC support, either as a gamepad or mouse/keyboard control
· Fast access to special features (eg macro, rapid-fire, button swap, stick swap, etc.)
· Brand new wireless technology to 2.4 GHz
· Plug and Play
· On the fly dead zone adjustment wheel
· SixAxis support

The FRAGFX SHARK 360 is a significant step forward for the console gaming industry because it not only provides an almost perfect PC mouselike FPS experience for gamers on the XBOX 360, but also provides an easy to adopt, high end, fully programmable analog stick counterpart that make it possible for hardcore PC FPS fans to enjoy their favorite shooters on XBOX 360, MAC or PC.

The Splitfish FRAGFX SHARK 360 lets you play FPS games on a console the way the were originally meant to be played - PLUS MUCH MORE. With the FRAGFX SHARK 360 you can intuitively aim with a mouse and adjust sensitivity on the fly as well as use advance functions like button remapping, turbo, wrist flick melee and much more with ease. With Splitfish's trademark lag free and highly precise one-to-one tracking you get the maximum FPS experience and total immersion.

The FRAGFX SHARK 360 is optimized for FPS shooters, but also has all the functions of a regular XBOX 360 controller - so it can be used for all games. Gamers do not have to go through complex procedures for button mapping or sensitivity adjustments, The FRAGFX SHARK 360 is designed for simple and intuitive on the fly customization. Also, just like it's brother, the FRAGFX SHARK, the FRAGFX SHARK 360 has an uber long battery life of 50 hours of gameplay and 500 hours of standby on 2 AA batteries.

Digital Storm's ODE gaming PC brings the heat

Posted: 24 May 2011 03:06 PM PDT

It may look like a space heater (in the best way possible, of course), but what you're looking at is actually Digital Storm's very first pre-built gaming system, the ODE. Available in your choice of "Good," "Better," "Best," or "Ultimate" configurations, the rig packs a Core i7-2600K processor that can be overclocked to 5.0GHz, along with NVIDIA GTX 570 graphics (SLI in all but the lowest config), a standard 8GB of RAM, plus a regular 1TB hard drive that can be paired with an SSD up to 120GB -- not to mention that nice red glow, which shouldn't actually give off much heat thanks to some liquid cooling. Check out the gallery below for a closer look, and hit up the source link to place your order if you like what you see -- this one starts at $1,499.
Digital Storm ODE
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Digital Storm's ODE – Redefining the Perfect Gaming PC

Pre-built, fully loaded and totally optimized, the ODE's dominant gaming power demolishes any game it encounters

Fremont, Calif. – (May 24, 2011) – Digital Storm, the predominant name in computer system integration and engineering, proudly announces its first pre-built gaming system, ODE. The ODE is a dramatic departure from Digital Storm's legendary and individually customized gaming rigs. Now, PC gamers can easily acquire the best technology without having to select each individual component, as Digital Storm has pre-selected and fully optimized all of the hardware inside the ODE. The result is the perfect gaming PC that delivers unparalleled performance per dollar.

"If ever there was an indictment against PC gaming, it's that it can be an expensive passion, that's why most gamers build their own rigs. Digital Storm has never liked this status quo, so we set out to create a machine that would deliver the extreme performance PC gamers want without breaking the bank. That is how the ODE was born," said Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development.

The ODE demolishes any game it encounters thanks to its arsenal of bleeding edge hardware. Spearheaded by a liquid cooled 5.0GHz extreme overclocked Intel i7 2600K processor, dual SLI configuration of two NVIDIA GTX 570's, and a blazingly fast Intel solid state drive, the ODE delivers the type of fluid smooth graphics gamers drool over.

Each and every ODE is made with the same boutique level quality and care that every Digital Storm system is famous for. The ODE is pre-built and fully loaded with a perfectly balanced configuration that can ship in 72-hours. This means the ODE would get to gamers as quickly as possible so they can take this beast right out of its box, hook-up it up, and begin dominating the competition.

Digital Storm's ODE gaming rigs are available in four different pre-set configurations starting at $1,499 and are available for purchase at http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ode.asp

For images or additional information, please contact Digital Storm Media Representative Brian Metcalf at brianmetcalf@maxborgesagency.com or 305-576-1171 x11.

Digital Storm ODE Technical Specifications

About Digital Storm

Founded in 2002, Digital Storm has rapidly emerged as the predominant name in system integration. With expertise in gaming and workstation PCs, Digital Storm's mission is to deliver its customers bleeding edge technology and performance, coupled with rock solid stability and support. As a validation of Digital Storm's success, the company has maintained an "A+" rating with the Better Business Bureau and its systems have received the industry's most prestigious awards. www.DigitalStormOnline.com

Dell's XPS 15z goes on sale in the US, shiny aluminum is yours from $999

Posted: 24 May 2011 02:32 PM PDT

The Dell XPS 15z may not be the gamechanger we'd hoped for, but it's one heck of a Windows PC, and today the aluminum and magnesium alloy machine is on sale in the United States starting at $999. You'll find a total of five different configs available online, with the base model providing a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive and a slot-loading DVD burner, plus loads of connectivity inside and out -- including dual-band 802.11a/g/n and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. (Whew.) $1,500 ups the ante to a 2.7GHz Core i7 rig with 8GB of RAM, 2GB of VRAM and 750GB of rotating storage, not to mention a nice bright 1080p display. Strangely, there's no solid state option on tap, but you can nab that 300-nit, 1920 x 1080 LCD screen for an additional Benjamin no matter which config you choose. Find all your options at our source link, and while you're at it, why not read our full review?

Update: Aaron wrote in to let us know it's available in the UK too -- starting at £899.
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Dell Introduces the Ultra-Powerful XPS 15z – the Thinnest 15-inch PC on the Planet

  • Less Mass, More Appeal: the Ultimate Blend of Style and Performance
  • Uncompromising Performance with 2nd Generation Intel® CoreTM i5 & i7 Processors, Optional Full HD Screens and Up to Eight Hours of Battery Life[i]
  • First in a Series of New Thin, Ultra-powerful Laptops from Dell This Year
ROUND ROCK, Texas, May 24, 2011 – Dell today introduced the XPS 15z laptop, the thinnest 15-inch PC on the planet, and the first in a series of new thin and ultra-powerful products from Dell to come this year. With the XPS 15z, everyone from mobile warriors to students and small-business owners now have everything they need to work hard and play hard in one stunning package.

A leading-edge combination of uncompromising power and stunning design, the XPS 15z offers 2nd-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, optional 15.6-inch Full HD (1080p) display for superior entertainment and web-browsing experiences, a backlit keyboard with adjustable brightness and up to eight hours of battery life[ii] – all housed in a luxurious, eye-catching and elegantly crafted case that is less than an inch thick.

The XPS 15z is the first in a series of upcoming thin Inspiron- and XPS-branded products that deliver the ultimate blend of style and performance so you can pursue your personal passions.

"The XPS 15z delivers uncompromising performance in our most beautifully designed laptop yet," said Sam Burd, vice president of Dell's Consumer and Small/Medium Business product group. "It delivers all the must-have features -- from next-generation Intel Core i processors for incredible performance to optional full HD screens that are up to 50 percent brighter than standard displays – all in a stunning form factor that makes it the thinnest 15-inch PC on the planet."

"The XPS 15z provides a glimpse into a series of visually stunning and powerful systems coming soon to our consumer and small-to-medium-business product portfolio," said Steve Felice, president of Dell's Consumer and Small/Medium Business group. "We're committed to introducing next-generation products that help people pursue their personal and professional passions."

Less Mass, More Appeal

A technology package perfect for pumping out spectacular, media-rich office presentations or watching the latest award-winning movies, the XPS 15z includes 2nd generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, a brilliant 15.6-inch WLED display with a Full HD option that has almost two times the HD resolution of standard HD displays, NVIDIA graphics with 3DTV play capabilities[iii], built-in WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0 and a backlit keyboard.

Despite its incredibly slim exterior, the XPS 15z delivers uncompromising performance, including NVIDIA discrete graphics with Optimus technology that automatically switches to power-saving integrated graphics under reduced workloads, helping the battery last longer on coast-to-coast flights and for movie marathons. In addition, it offers ample hard drive storage and a slot-loading DVD +/- RW drive for watching the latest movies or burning music to a disc. And the optional Full HD (1080p) display brings HDTV-type quality to the laptop screen.

Advanced wireless features make XPS 15z your go-to device from the road or the living room. Built-in Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity ensure it's fast and easy to connect with e-mail, websites, Skype and Facebook from almost anywhere[iv]. For at-home entertainment, the optional Intel Wireless Display[v] feature enables videos and photos to be streamed wirelessly from your XPS 15z to an HDMI-equipped TV. And with the exclusive Dell Stage user interface, it's easy to access personal content such as music, photos and videos.

At first glance, the XPS 15z design, with its clean aluminum design, appears like it floats above the surface, and the polished, brushed finishes with sophisticated accents add to a luxurious appearance.

Priced from $999, the XPS 15z, like all XPS computers, is designed and built from the ground up to provide a premium computing experience with the best materials, technology, performance and reliability Dell offers.

Availability:

The XPS 15z is available today from Dell's global online stores, including www.dell.com in the United States, with retail availability to follow shortly.

Detailed Information:
  • Thin (0.97"/24.68mm) laptop PC with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium; aluminum and mag-alloy enclosure
  • 2nd-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Dual Core processor choices
  • Standard HD or optional Full HD (1920x1080) WLED display
  • Fast NVIDIA graphics options[vi]:
o NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M with 1GB graphics memory
o NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M with 2GB graphics memory
  • Includes NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology; NVIDIA 3DTV Play technology
  • 4GB up to 8GB DDR3[vii] 1333Mhz memory[viii] options
  • Fast 7200RPM hard disk storage, up to 750GB[ix]
  • Built-in Slot load DVD +/- RW (reads & writes to CD/DVD)
  • Backlit, Chiclet-style keyboard with adjustable brightness
  • Optimized touchpad
  • Built-in Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 802.11 A/G/N and Bluetooth 3.0 wireless connectivity[x]
  • Intel Wireless Display-ready[xi]
  • Up to 8 hours of battery life with 8-cell battery[xii]
  • USB 3.0 (2), USB/eSATA with PowerShare, HDMI 1.4, Mini Display-Port, Gigabit Ethernet and audio connectors
  • Built-in 9-in-1 media card reader
  • Built-in 1.3MP HD Webcam with dual array digital microphones and stereo speakers
  • Dell Stage software for fast access to content like music, videos and photos
  • Dimensions: Height: 0.97" (24.68mm) / Width: 15.15" (384.85mm) / Depth 10.25" (260.37mm); Weight: starting at 5.54lbs (2.51 kg)[xiii]

[i] Tested system equipped with 8-cell battery, 4GB memory, nVidia GeForce GT 525M graphics, Intel Core i5-2410M, and 500GB/7200RPM hard drive. Based on testing using the Mobile Mark 2007 battery life benchmark test. For more information about this benchmark test, visit "http://www.bapco.com". Test results should be used only to compare one product with another and are not a guarantee you will experience the same battery life. Battery life may be significantly less than the test results and varies depending on your product's configuration, software, usage, operating conditions, power management settings and other factors. Maximum battery life will decrease with time and use.

[ii] Tested system equipped with 8-cell battery, 4GB memory, nVidia GeForce GT 525M graphics, Intel Core i5-2410M, and 500GB/7200RPM hard drive. Based on testing using the Mobile Mark 2007 battery life benchmark test. For more information about this benchmark test, visit "http://www.bapco.com". Test results should be used only to compare one product with another and are not a guarantee you will experience the same battery life. Battery life may be significantly less than the test results and varies depending on your product's configuration, software, usage, operating conditions, power management settings and other factors. Maximum battery life will decrease with time and use.

[iii] 3DTV play capabilities: 3D glasses and NVIDIA compliant 3D TV required and sold separately. For a list of compatible 3D TVs,visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-tv-play.html.

[iv] Where wireless access is available. Additional access charges apply in some locations.

[v] Requires an Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 or Centrino® Advanced N 6200 wireless card, a Netgear PTV1000 Push2TV Media Adapter (sold separately), and an HDMI or composite AV-enabled display.

[vi] Graphics & System Memory: GB means 1 billion bytes and TB equals 1 trillion bytes; significant system memory may be used to support graphics, depending on system memory size and other factors.

[vii] Graphics & System Memory: GB means 1 billion bytes and TB equals 1 trillion bytes; significant system memory may be used to support graphics, depending on system memory size and other factors.

[viii] Graphics & System Memory: GB means 1 billion bytes and TB equals 1 trillion bytes; significant system memory may be used to support graphics, depending on system memory size and other factors.

[ix] GB means 1 billion bytes and TB equals 1 trillion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded material and operating environment and will be less.

[x] Where wireless access is available. Additional access charges apply in some locations.

[xi] Requires an Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 or Centrino® Advanced N 6200 wireless card, a Netgear PTV1000 Push2TV Media Adapter (sold separately), and an HDMI or composite AV-enabled display.

[xii] Tested system equipped with 8-cell battery, 4GB memory, nVidia GeForce GT 525M graphics, Intel Core i5-2410M, and 500GB/7200RPM hard drive. Based on testing using the Mobile Mark 2007 battery life benchmark test. For more information about this benchmark test, visit "http://www.bapco.com". Test results should be used only to compare one product with another and are not a guarantee you will experience the same battery life. Battery life may be significantly less than the test results and varies depending on your product's configuration, software, usage, operating conditions, power management settings and other factors. Maximum battery life will decrease with time and use.

[xiii] Weights vary depending on configuration and manufacturing variability.

T-Mobile's Bobsled voice service returns to Facebook, relationship status now less complicated

Posted: 24 May 2011 01:54 PM PDT

We're still waiting for some more news about its promised mobile apps, but T-Mobile's new Bobsled sub-brand has now cleared one big hurdle that was thrust in front of it. The company's initial offering, a VoIP service for Facebook, has returned to the social network a full month after it was "voluntarily and temporarily" pulled during its first week of operation. In case you missed it, the Facebook component is simply a basic VoIP service that lets you make free voice calls to any of your Facebook friends, and it now boasts a redesigned interface that promises to "more clearly differentiate it from a Facebook owned service."

Cydle i30 cradle delivers digital TV to your iPhone, finally lands at FCC

Posted: 24 May 2011 01:21 PM PDT

Back in 2010, when we caught a glimpse of Cydle's M7 Android tablet at CES 2010, the company was also touting the i30, an iPhone cradle capable of delivering real-time digital TV to the smartphone. That cradle caught a little bit of air time at CES the following year, but still wasn't ready for market. Well, it looks like that's about to change -- now, just a few months shy of two years since the Mobile DTV standard was minted, the i30 is finally rearing it's antenna-sporting head over at the FCC. According to the User Manual, outed in the filing, the iPhone case uses its antenna to catch local mobile channel signals and shoots them to the iPhone via WiFi. The case is also packing a rechargeable battery, and when connected to the supplied AC adapter, pumps juice to both the dock and your iPhone. Of course, you'll need the Cydle ATSC M/H Mobile TV app (we know, it's a mouthful) to get the whole thing going, but getting your digital TV on is apparently relatively simple from there. For more photos of the Cydle i30 cradle, including shots of its exposed guts, follow the source link below.

Gigabyte's ECO600 mouse passes through the FCC, boasts 12-month battery life

Posted: 24 May 2011 12:56 PM PDT

Gigabyte ECO600 Wireless Laser Mouse
Gigabyte's ECO600 wireless laser mouse -- which was introduced last month -- just landed at the FCC, which means it and its tiny 2.4GHz adapter should be in the hands of consumers very soon. As far as mice go, the ECO600 is actually pretty interesting -- two buttons on top allow you to quickly cycle between resolutions of 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI for either more accuracy or better battery life which, the company claims, is up to a year on a single pair of (generously included) AAs. That's not quite as long as Logitech's M515, which requires you swap the cells biennially, but it's still nothing to scoff at. If you're curious about what the guts of this long-lasting pointing device look like, check out the gallery below.
Gigabyte ECO600 wireless laser mouse at the FCC

Duke Nukem Forever goes gold, will meet promised June deadline (really!)

Posted: 24 May 2011 12:31 PM PDT

Back in January, Gearbox Software released a Duke Nukem Forever trailer, and our inner 13 year-old -- only a lascivious gleam in his father's eye when the game was first announced! -- thrilled to its potty humor, gratuitous violence, and mosaic-obscured lady parts. We were skeptical about the promised May release date, since DNF has long been gaming's answer to Chinese Democracy, and sure enough that got bumped to June 10 (international) and 14 (North America). But now the game has gone gold, meaning real-life physical copies, rather than just one of gaming's longest running vaporware jokes. No confirmation that the game will ship via unicorn, but for more details devour the press release after the break.
Show full PR text
Media Advisory


2K Games and Gearbox Software Announce Duke Nukem Forever® Has "Gone Gold"

Vaporware no more! Gaming's most legendary hero makes his triumphant return this June

New York, NY – May 24, 2011 – 2K Games and Gearbox Software are proud to announce that Duke Nukem Forever®, one of the most anticipated entertainment properties of all time, has "gone gold" and will be available at retailers on June 10, 2011 internationally and on June 14, 2011 in North America. The road to gold was paved over the course of 15 years and its legendary path climaxes on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Gamers who pre-order the title from select outlets will ensure that they are among the first to experience this legendary piece of gaming history when the demo* launches on June 3, 2011 for all platforms, exclusively for Duke Nukem First Access Club Members.

"Duke Nukem Forever is the game that was once thought to be unshipppable, and yet here we are, on the precipice of history," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Today marks an amazing day in the annals of gaming lore, the day where the legend of Duke Nukem Forever is finally complete and it takes that final step towards becoming a reality."

Created over the span of 15 years, Duke Nukem Forever was first developed with the intense passion and commitment from an inspired group of dedicated designers, artists and programmers at 3D Realms under the direction of game industry icon, George Broussard.

"Duke Nukem Forever and its journey to store shelves is legendary," said George Broussard, creative director at 3D Realms. "It's an epic tale of four game development studios that banded together and did the unthinkable and shipped the unshipppable. When you play this game you will be reminded of that epic journey at every turn and in every small detail of the game. The character, attitude, interactivity, gameplay and political incorrectness combine to make a Duke Nukem game a unique gaming experience. In the timeless words of Duke Nukem it's finally time to 'Come Get Some'. Come be a part of gaming history."


In 2009, after many believed that Duke Nukem Forever would never be completed, a small team of intrepid developers, known as Triptych Studios, resurrected the dream. Through their inspiring and steadfast commitment to the game and their exemplary talent and skill, they finally assembled the pieces to create an incredible, epic and cohesive gameplay experience. Under the production of Gearbox Software, Triptych Studios, Piranha Games and many other contributors joined together in a heroic effort to complete the long awaited game as a polished, full-featured triple-A title.

"Always bet on Duke, I did," said Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software. "I bet on all of the developers who have ever been a part of this legendary project and I bet that none of us want to live in a world without the Duke. I've played the final game and it is an incredible experience - a once-in-a-lifetime opus of interactive entertainment that reminds me once again why Duke Nukem is our King. The developers of Duke Nukem Forever at 3D Realms, Triptych, Piranha and finally at Gearbox deserve our thanks and respect for never giving up and have truly shown us that they have balls of steel!"

Strictly for the biggest Duke Nukem fans, the First Access Club grants members exclusive access to the pre-release demo on June 3, 2011 so that they are amongst the first to experience gaming history in the making. There are multiple ways fans can join the exclusive First Access Club, by pre-ordering the game from select retailers or by purchasing the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Windows PC.

True Duke Nukem die-hards will want to get their hands on the Duke Nukem Forever Balls of Steel Edition. This package is spilling over-the-brim with legendary content that is not to be missed by those who want the ultimate experience of this historic arrival. Premium items, such as a Duke Nukem Bust and an art book that chronicles the development of Duke Nukem Forever, flank a package that is overflowing with content. Check out www.dukenukemforever.com/preorder/ to see exactly how much stuff could be crammed into one box.

Apologizing to no one, Duke Nukem Forever is the high-octane video game equivalent of a Hollywood summer blockbuster. Starring the legendary lady killer and alien slayer, Duke Nukem Forever brings gamers back to a blastastic time when games were filled with head-popping, bone-rattling action, brazenly crude humor, impossibly statuesque women dying for affection, and catchy one-liners meant to make you laugh out loud.

Duke Nukem Forever is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on the game, including where to pre-order, please visit www.dukenukemforever.com.

*Xbox LIVE, PSN or Steam, Duke First Access Club token and Internet connection required to access demo.

2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

Google and Sprint team up to take your digital dollars with new NFC payment system? (updated)

Posted: 24 May 2011 12:06 PM PDT

There's been rumors of a Google-fied mobile payment system for some time, and now it looks like the Mountain View crew is teaming up with Sprint to finally make it happen. Last month, we heard that the Now Network would bring NFC payments to its customers this year, and Bloomberg reports that the partnership and payment system will make its debut on May 26th. Apparently, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. are the first cities getting the service, which is a much broader initial footprint than its Isis mobile payment competition. The anonymous sources also say that Verifone and Vivotech are providing the hardware and software that will let you replace your credit card with a Nexus S -- because you always wanted to replace your credit card with your Nexus S.

Update: According to All things D, the payment system will be put through its paces by none other than El Goog's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt at the D9: All Things Digital conference next week -- where we'll be on hand to peep the contactless payment presentation in person.
at 11:45 AM

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