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Engadget News |
- Samsung countersues Apple in Australia, claims iPhone / iPad 2 violate its patents
- LG myTouch phones make brief YouTube appearance?
- AT&T flips 4G LTE live, nearly 97 percent of America wonders where the party is
- CyanogenMod 7 update brings WiFi, sound and accelerometer support to TouchPad (video)
- Opera Mobile on Android x86 at IDF 2011 (video)
- Refresh Roundup: week of September 12, 2011
- Honeywell and Opower team up for cloud-connected smart thermostat
- Canon's 8-inch CMOS sensor can record SPACE at 60fps
- Samsung Illusion gets pictured on Verizon, convincing us it's not a figment of our imagination
- Ask Engadget: best 'real' 11- to 13-inch laptop, with a focus on thin?
- Hands-on with Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid (video)
- Stepping into the Polaroid Matrix at Maker Faire (video)
- Did a white iPhone 4S just pop up in AT&T's system?
- Dean Kamen files patent application for an inflatable, illuminated wind turbine
- LG teases LU6200 with 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 720p HD display, Gingerbread and 75Mbps LTE
- Frankfurt Motor Show 2011 wrap-up
| Samsung countersues Apple in Australia, claims iPhone / iPad 2 violate its patents Posted: 18 Sep 2011 10:54 AM PDT  Man. Exciting stuff, here. Stuff like lawyers yelling at each other in varied continents because "your stuff looks too much like my theoretical stuff." The long, winding and increasingly mind-numbing battle between Samsung and Apple has taken yet another turn in Australia, with the former slapping the latter with a bold countersuit. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sammy feels that the iPhone and iPad 2 both "violate a number of wireless technology patents held by Samsung." Spokesman Nam Ki-yung stated the following: "To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple's violation of Samsung's wireless technology patents." The suit is being filed just days / weeks before a ruling will decide on whether the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be legally sold Down Under, and in related news, Samsung is also appealing a recent ruling back in Germany. If ever the world needed an out-of-court settlement... |
| LG myTouch phones make brief YouTube appearance? Posted: 18 Sep 2011 10:24 AM PDT  |
| AT&T flips 4G LTE live, nearly 97 percent of America wonders where the party is Posted: 18 Sep 2011 09:29 AM PDT  [Thanks, Marcus] |
| CyanogenMod 7 update brings WiFi, sound and accelerometer support to TouchPad (video) Posted: 18 Sep 2011 08:19 AM PDT Oh, sure -- HP's webOS may be one of the most sophisticated tablet operating systems in existence, but with a permanently stagnant market, The CM Team has decided that your fire sale TouchPad may be better off running Android. You know, from a long-term perspective. All jesting aside, the crew has been pounding the pavement on a new (and vastly improved) CyanogenMod 7 for Android, with this build providing functional WiFi, access to the Android Market, audio (albeit a bit fast) and an operational accelerometer. There's no code being released just yet -- the team's still working to cull the aforesaid Hamsterdance effect -- but you can catch a sneak peek of everything in action just above. |
| Opera Mobile on Android x86 at IDF 2011 (video) Posted: 18 Sep 2011 07:04 AM PDT  We discovered this little gem hidden deep within the recesses of the show floor at IDF 2011. It's none other than Opera Mobile running on a Honeycomb tablet -- not just any tablet, mind you, but Intel's Oak Trail-powered (Atom Z670) Green Ridge device. That's right, you're looking at Opera's web browser, compiled using the latest Android NDK and running natively on top of Android x86. First impressions? It's fast, even without hardware acceleration -- scrolling and zooming are smooth as butter, with no signs of checkerboarding anywhere. According to Phillip Grønvold of Opera software, this is just the beginning. Hardware acceleration is already in the works, along with Flash support. So go ahead if you dare -- browse our gallery below and watch our hands-on video after the break. Dante Cesa contributed to this report. |
| Refresh Roundup: week of September 12, 2011 Posted: 18 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT  Official Android updates
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| Honeywell and Opower team up for cloud-connected smart thermostat Posted: 18 Sep 2011 03:29 AM PDT  Honeywell and Opower Develop Next-Generation Tools to Reduce Energy Use and Costs in Homes Companies Combine Analytics and Automation to Make It Easy for Consumers to Implement Cost- and Energy-Saving Changes WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 13, 2011 – Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Opower today announced plans to jointly develop energy management tools to help consumers cut their energy use and expenses. The companies will combine Honeywell's expertise in residential automation and control systems with Opower's industry-leading energy data analytics and customer engagement techniques to create intuitive, reliable and cost-effective technology that will provide energy savings in the home and across the entire electrical grid. Honeywell and Opower will initially launch a platform that includes a Web-connected programmable thermostat to help utilities boost energy efficiency programs, driving deeper savings in the home and maximizing return on investment. The technology will measure, analyze and report homeowners' electricity use, including detailed information from the thermostat, which controls heating and cooling systems - equipment that accounts for almost 50 percent of all residential energy consumption. Utility customers will be able to access the data from a Web portal or mobile application to get a clear and comprehensive snapshot of their energy use and spending. The technology will also suggest and automatically implement cost-saving changes, and will present equivalent data from similar families in the same geography to provide a benchmark and additional context. "Empowering consumers to adjust how they use electricity starts with awareness," said Jeremy Eaton, vice president of energy solutions for Honeywell. "But it doesn't end there - they also need easy-to-use controls to implement changes and make them stick. We believe Honeywell and Opower will successfully combine information, motivation and control to help homeowners reduce energy consumption and costs." The companies plan to pilot the new product with select utility partners over the next few months. The platform may eventually support utilities' efficiency programs for light commercial customers, as well as demand response programs, which help temporarily reduce electricity consumption when energy use spikes and strains the grid. Honeywell also plans to sell similar products through residential contractors and retailers. "Honeywell is the clear leader in manufacturing reliable control technology and it's a brand trusted by millions all across the world" said Daniel Yates, CEO and co-founder of Opower. "We are very excited to work with Honeywell to help us extend our platform into the home, and deliver even more value to our utility partners and their customers." Opower is the nation's leading energy information platform, currently delivering data to nearly 10 million residential consumers. The platform combines cutting-edge behavioral science with patent-pending data analytics to cost-effectively deliver actionable energy insights to millions of homes. Opower's products have helped consumers save over $50 million dollars on their energy bills to date, and the company projects that number to be more over $100 million as it progresses towards its goal of one terawatt hour of savings by the end of 2012. Honeywell is a global leader in energy efficiency, with control technology in more than 150 million homes, 10 million buildings and thousands of industrial plants around the world. In addition to a full-line of home comfort products available through heating and air-conditioning professionals and retail outlets, the company has helped more than 5 million homeowners decrease their energy use through its work with utilities, which includes designing, marketing and implementing energy efficiency and demand response programs. About Opower Opower is a leader in energy information software, providing the utility industry's only cross-channel platform proven to drive energy efficiency gains on a large scale. Using cutting-edge behavioral science and patent-pending analytics, the Opower platform enables utilities to provide targeted energy data and advice to each customer. More than 50 utilities - including 8 of the 10 largest in the U.S. - partner with Opower to significantly improve the effectiveness of their energy-efficiency portfolios and motivate their customers to become more energy efficient, while dramatically increasing the level of customer engagement and overall customer satisfaction. For utilities with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), the Opower platform represents a cost-effective way to convert hourly data into measurable energy savings, delivering a clear return on investment directly to the customers. Founded in 2007 and privately held, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, as well as a second office in San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit www.opower.com. About Honeywell Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's assumptions and assessments in light of past experience and trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other relevant factors. They are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties, which can affect our performance in both the near- and long-term. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
| Canon's 8-inch CMOS sensor can record SPACE at 60fps Posted: 18 Sep 2011 12:17 AM PDT  For whatever reason, Canon seemed more concerned with showing off its engineering prowess than finding a use for the giant 8-inch CMOS sensor it created last year. Fortunately, the super-powerful snapper has found its way into the 105-centimeter Schmidt Telescope at the University of Tokyo's Kiso Observatory. The sensor's size makes it a perfect fit to record in low-light; capturing the wonders of the universe in 0.3 lux at 60 fps. The University will premiere footage from the experiment, possibly with nibbles, after September 19th -- presumably in a theater with a blanket ban on people muttering the introduction to Star Trek as it plays. Canon ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor makes possible wide field-of-view video recording of meteors with equivalent apparent magnitude of 10 TOKYO, September 15, 2011-Canon Inc. today announced that an ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor developed by the company has enabled the video recording across a wide 3.3° x 3.3° field of view of meteors with an equivalent apparent magnitude of 10.*1 The sensor, with a chip size measuring 202 x 205 mm, the world's largest*2 surface area for a CMOS sensor, was installed in the Schmidt telescope at the University of Tokyo's Kiso Observatory, Institute of Astronomy, School of Science (Kiso-gun, Nagano prefecture). With a chip size of 202 x 205 mm, the ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, developed by Canon last year, is among the largest that can be produced from an approximately 300-mm (12 inch) wafer.*2 The device is approximately 40 times the size of Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor*3 and makes possible video recording in dark conditions with as little as 0.3 lux*4 of illumination. In January this year, the CMOS sensor was installed on the focal plane of the Kiso Observatory's 105 cm Schmidt telescope and used to record video at approximately 60 frames per second, resulting in the successful video recording of faint meteors with an equivalent apparent magnitude of 10 across a wide 3.3° x 3.3° field of view. Detecting faint meteors with apparent magnitudes greater than 7 has proven difficult using conventional observation technologies, with sightings of meteors with an equivalent apparent magnitude of 10 limited to only 10 per year. However, video recorded using the ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, combined with the Schmidt telescope, which enables observation across a wide field of view, yielded a one-minute segment during which more meteors with an equivalent apparent magnitude of 10 could be detected than could previously be identified during the span of a year. Statistical analysis of the video data could lead to an increased understanding of the influence that meteors may have exerted on the development of life on Earth. Additionally, because the combination of the CMOS sensor and Schmidt telescope facilitates the highly efficient investigation of objects traveling at high speeds across the sky, it makes possible the detection of an increased number of celestial phenomena in addition to meteors, such as space debris*5 and heavenly bodies moving in the solar system. Accordingly, the technology is expected to contribute to improved measuring accuracy in determining the position and speed of these objects. Through the further development of distinctive CMOS image sensors, Canon will break new ground in the world of new image expression, in the areas of still images as well as video. The results of the abovementioned observations will be presented at the Astronomical Society of Japan's autumn 2011 meeting, which will be held from September 19 (Mon.) to 22 (Thu.) at Kagoshima University in Kyushu, Japan. *1 Apparent magnitude is a measure of a star's brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. The brighter the celestial body appears, the lower the value of its apparent magnitude. The darkest star visible to the naked eye has an apparent magnitude of approximately 6. *2 As of September 12, 2011. Based on a Canon study. *3 The approximately 21.1 megapixel 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor employed in the company's EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras. *4 The level of brightness during a full moon. *5 Refers to a variety of human-made debris in orbit around Earth, including artificial satellites and the rockets used to launch them into orbit. |
| Samsung Illusion gets pictured on Verizon, convincing us it's not a figment of our imagination Posted: 17 Sep 2011 09:23 PM PDT  We can't put all of our focus on Verizon's LTE lineup, lest we forget that there's plenty of 3G phones that need some attention too. The one shown above is a leaked image of the Samsung Illusion, also known to some as the Viper or the SCH-I110, a conceivably lower-end Android device with Gingerbread. It's difficult to pin down any more hard details on the device, as the components inside the phone seem to be even more of a hallucination than the phone itself; speculation, however, points to at least an 800MHz CPU, a 480 x 320 HVGA smaller-screen display and a few eco-friendly features (as indicated by its Sustainable Product Certification). Persuaded yet? Yeah, we didn't think so. |
| Ask Engadget: best 'real' 11- to 13-inch laptop, with a focus on thin? Posted: 17 Sep 2011 07:24 PM PDT  Light. Light like that question. The world of ultrabooks is about to crack itself wide open, but if you're not looking to wait, what's the best non-netbook in the 11- to 13-inch category? Anyone have a particular rig that they've fallen for? Chime in below! |
| Hands-on with Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid (video) Posted: 17 Sep 2011 06:11 PM PDT  The plug-in hybrid is a basically a 2012 Prius with a larger capacity 4.4kWh lithium-ion battery instead of the standard NiMH pack, an integral battery charger and an industry-standard charging port. As such, this Prius can be charged and driven like a true electric car for up to 15 miles at speeds up to 62mph before the internal combustion engine kicks in. Spirited driving will also cause the engine to assist the electric motor, but in most cases EV mode is a petrol-free experience. It takes about three hours to fully charge the battery using a standard 120V household outlet, and 1.5 hours from a 240V supply. A charger cable is conveniently located within a cubbyhole in the trunk area. In addition to the unique charging port (with illumination), the Prius plug-in features a backup camera, LED daytime running lights and on the Advanced trim we drove, LED headlights (with washers) as well as a millimeter wave radar sensor for the dynamic cruise control and pre-collision systems. Once inside, you're treated to the usual full-on Star Trek experience -- the Prius plug-in improves upon its hybrid sibling with a higher resolution multi-information panel (which also shows EV specific data) paired with Toyota's Touch Tracer Display. The Advanced model adds a hard drive to the JBL-branded navigation system, OnStar-like functionailty and a heads-up display that shows speed and turn-by-turn directions. The star of the show is definitely Toyota's Entune infotainment system, which will eventually include additional apps unique to the Advanced trim (Charge Management, Remote Air Conditioning System, Charging Station Map, Vehicle Finder and Eco Dashboard). Sadly, these enhancements are still being finalized and weren't available on the car we test-drove. The voice-controlled navigation takes a bit of time to master, but the touchscreen interface is intuitive and easy to use. Once behind the wheel, the good news is that it drives like a Prius and the bad news is that it drives like a Prius. The plug-in version feels pretty much like the hybrid model -- it's not an engaging experience for the driver, but it provides a reliable, safe, and comfortable way to travel from point A to point B. Other than the torquey electric motor, there's just too little feedback from the vehicle to generate any kind of driving excitement. The suspension is reasonably well sorted, but the regenerative brakes still feel strange, and the steering is too slow/numb. It's a lot like driving a fancy, high-tech toaster -- a competent appliance that gets the job done without much fanfare, and without burning your Pop-Tarts. No matter -- there's plenty of gadgetry around to keep everyone entertained. Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid will be available in March 2012 with a starting price of $32,000. |
| Stepping into the Polaroid Matrix at Maker Faire (video) Posted: 17 Sep 2011 05:17 PM PDT  |
| Did a white iPhone 4S just pop up in AT&T's system? Posted: 17 Sep 2011 04:22 PM PDT  |
| Dean Kamen files patent application for an inflatable, illuminated wind turbine Posted: 17 Sep 2011 03:33 PM PDT  Inflatable wind turbines may not be an entirely new idea, but prolific inventor Dean Kamen has detailed one of a slightly different sort in a recently published patent application. In addition to generating energy for general use, the turbine would also be able to power a set of LEDs adorning the turbine itself, which could be used to display advertising or other information using a persistence of vision effect. The application even suggests that multiple turbines could be linked together and synchronized to form one large billboard. Of course, it is still just that, a patent application -- but it is assigned to Kamen's DEKA company, so it may not be quite as far off from reality as some other applications. |
| LG teases LU6200 with 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 720p HD display, Gingerbread and 75Mbps LTE Posted: 17 Sep 2011 01:59 PM PDT  [Thanks, Anonymous] |
| Frankfurt Motor Show 2011 wrap-up Posted: 17 Sep 2011 12:24 PM PDT  And, if you need even more coverage, head on over to our good friends at Autoblog. As usual they obsessively covered the show.
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