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Thursday, November 17, 2011

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IRL: Verizon SCH-LC11 LTE hotspot, Sennheiser CXC 700 headphones and the Xperia Arc

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

It's that time of the week, where we take a pause from blitzkrieg hands-on opps and pick apart the gadgets we've been using long-term. This time around, Joe tries Sennheiser's CXC 700 headphones, Mat defends the original Xperia Arc and Darren breaks down the pitfalls of trying to get work done with a temperamental VZW hotspot. Because when it comes to getting a consistent LTE signal across the US, what could possibly go wrong?

Nice speed, if you can get it

On good days, I heart my SCH-LC11 beyond belief. It's remarkable. Amazing. Beautiful. Invaluable. Other days, I ponder just how far I could throw it while still being close enough to relish in the explosion that'll come after it hits an undetermined brick wall. As one of Verizon Wireless' first CDMA / LTE multi-mode hotspots, I knew this thing was bound to have bugs, but it does something that almost no other mobile hotspot does: charges over USB, while still being active. Inexplicably, the Novatel MiFi units that I have used will not actually charge and transmit data if plugged into a computer's USB port -- which makes precisely no sense, given that said scenario is the best one for keeping a) a computer online and b) the MiFi charged. (I personally use a power-only USB cable that I scraped up on the streets of Hong Kong to solve that problem, but I digress.)

The SCH-LC11 doesn't have that problem, and in turn, it gets major props. But what it lacks is reliability. Forums are overrun with complaints of this thing turning itself off after five to ten minutes of use, and while I've survived days upon days in LTE land with no issue, I'll have weeks where this happens constantly. It's completely random, so far as I can tell, and the time it takes to power cycle and turn back on is exceptionally annoying. If you can test these out until you find one that doesn't have this issue, it's a beautiful product. The LTE performance is shocking, and the ability to charge it wherever, whenever is a huge asset. But if everything else in the world shut off after five --
-- Darren Murph

There's something about the Arc

Arguably Sony Ericsson's flagship handset, the skinny Arc follows me everywhere. This one's now approaching the six-month mark, always accompanying me alongside my wallet and whatever new phone I'm getting to grips with (fortunately, I haven't taken to the Engadget trend of rocking five phones on four operating systems just yet). This is the one I keep coming back to when all those review handsets have flown the nest back to their respective manufacturers. Fundamentally, it's a single-core Android phone, running Gingerbread. It's got a 4.2-inch LCD display and an eight megapixel camera that can record 720p HD video. But casting the middleweight specifications aside, when I'm away from my desk and using the phone, there's so much to love. The curved frame that slips into my pocket, the tactile buttons and the camera, which is superb.

Several times, I've had to use it in a pinch to capture shots of never-before seen phones and tablets, and though they may not pass muster when compared to a dedicated camera's output, they appeared more than respectable when dressed down for the web. The screen pushes the envelop of what I expected from non-AMOLED tech - it's sharp and the colors are rich. However, if I look to the phone from the side or try to show photos and video to friends, viewing angles are poor in comparison to other 4.2-inch options. The screen on my phone has also suffered a hefty chip, now knocking points off the screen's wow factor, and something that you'd have to try pretty hard to do on Gorilla Glass. Yes, the Arc's far from perfect.

The creaky piece of plastic enveloping the phone is suspect, and Android purists in particular will dislike Sony Ericsson's processor-taxing bloatware. Those physical buttons below the screen, though welcome, could have done with some light-up signifiers. And at its current pricing, there's not much of an excuse not to spend an extra fifty quid on a technically superior phone. But, like Nokia's N9 or Lumia 800, the phone exudes charm: that oddly convex shape, the surprisingly impressive level of detail on photos and the admirable screen performance. Sony Ericsson's Arc refresh gives the series a minor performance boost and a lick of white paint, but intrinsically they're the same device. So for now, between the more powerful, bigger-screened competitors that pass my desk, you'll find my main SIM living in the Xperia Arc.
-- Mat Smith
Can't cancel out that cable noise

Living near New York City, I'm accustomed to the ambient noise of the day-to-day hustle. It doesn't bother me, since as a kid I was never one to focus without the TV or radio blaring in the background. Plus, having recently developed tinnitus, extra noise helps to keep my mind off the constant ringing. Still though, there's one time when this noise and I are bitter enemies, and that's when I'm trying to listen to my music while traveling. Cue Sennheiser's CXC 700 noise-cancelling earphones, which the company loaned us to test.

You'll find these selling for around $200, so as you might imagine this is intended to be some serious kit. Opening the box, I was greeted by nice a batch of other goodies not limited to a semi-hardshell case, a cleaning tool and nicely enough, an off-brand AAA-battery. I was, however, surprised at how plasticky the earphones felt, worsened by slabs of fake chrome on its buds and unpleasantly heavy inline controller (the weight comes from the battery, which needs to be clipped to a belt-loop, making it a hassle to walk with.) That said, the cabling handles tugs without breaking, while its right-angle jack ensures the same on my PMP's end. Better yet, the CXCs are some of the most comfortable earphones I've used, with a lightweight fit that maintained an admirable seal. I have little complaint about the full-bodied (if a slightly bright) sound quality and appreciate that the 'phones could operate passively (sans noise-cancellation) if the battery died.

Keeping noise out, though, was interesting matter. In use the headphones were generally pleasing, offering three customizable settings, and even a TalkThrough mode to spy on the person a few seats over. It's a shame that cable noise was at an all-time high, though, consistently dragging any rubs against clothing right into the earbuds -- tainting its noise-cancelling benefits. Worse still, the initial unit I tried out had a tendency to amplify certain high frequencies of buses and subway cars into a brief squeal. The CXC 700s are a likeable set of 'buds which worked very well in many ways, but after using two pairs I can't fathom paying the asking price for a pair of headphones with these issues in tow.
-- Joe Pollicino

BlackBerry Playbook gets massive, temporary $300 price cut in Canada

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:47 AM PST

Playbook sale
So, PlayBooks haven't exactly been flying off the shelves... anywhere. Not even in RIM's native Canada. But that might actually change over the nex few days as BestBuy, Walmart, Staples and Future Shop have chopped $300 off the price of the QNX-based slate. The sale lasts from November 16th to the 22nd in Quebec, and the 18th to the 24th in the rest of Canada. Now, they're probably not going to eclipse the iPad in sales anytime soon, but a $200 16GB PlayBook is a much more compelling proposition than a $500 one. The WiFi only 32GB and 64GB models are also being discounted to $300 and $400 respectively which, in case you're not mathematically inclined, means the 64GB BlackBerry tablet will actually cost less than the 16GB version normally does. Obviously, though, you'll have to be quick -- we're sure this fire sale (tundra sale?) will have stocks running pretty low.

[Thanks, Shawn]

Honda Fit EV goes lease-only for 2012, should hit US next summer for $399 per month (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:32 AM PST

If you're looking to buy a car to keep around for the long-haul (200,000 miles, anyone?), then Honda should probably near the top of your list. That's why we're a bit surprised to see that next year's all-electric Fit won't have a purchase option -- not initially, at least. The car does carry an MSRP of $36,625, but at this point that figure will be used for little more than to calculate the approximately $399 per month lease fee. If your credit's up to snuff and you end up behind the wheel, expect the 20-kWh lithium-ion battery to provide an estimated city range of 123 miles, with a combined rating of 76 miles. The on-board 6.6-kW 32-amp charger juices up the battery in as little as three hours with level-two EVSE. You can expect the all-blue Fit to reach parts of California and Oregon next summer, with East Coast dealers stocking the EV by 2013. Only 1,100 cars are expected to reach U.S. shores, however, so you may want to add your local Honda dealer to the holiday card list -- it certainly can't hurt your chances of getting Fit next summer.

iBuyPower intros Chimera 4 line, looks to set WoW ablaze

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:18 AM PST

In need of a new liquid cooled gaming tower to help you incinerate those pesky adversaries? Perhaps you're just a fan of the fire motif? Either way, iBuyPower has introduced its new batch of fire starters: the Chimera 4 line. Take your pick of four fully loaded gaming machines, each built to suit your needs. The entire fleet sports a 120mm liquid cooling system, a Level 1 PowerDrive for overclocking and a 64GB ADATA SSD S596 Turbo. But if you're really serious about that Battlefield 3 habit, you'll splurge for the Chimera 4-V1 that houses a Intel Core i7, 8GB of RAM, an 800w power supply and an AMD Radeon 6950 2GB graphics card. The aforementioned beast will set you back $1659, while the more casual gamer can pick up less expensive models -- based on level of commitment, of course. For a closer look, take a peek at the gallery below before adding one to your Christmas list.
iBuyPower Chimera 4

Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ first impressions (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST

Wow... The Galaxy Nexus. It's finally here, in our eager little hands, and it's delicious -- just like Ice Cream Sandwich, in fact. Our review unit is the same unlocked HSPA+ version we briefly played with in Hong Kong and is running Android 4.0.1. We've only spent about a day with Google's newest superphone and we're already hard at work on a full review, but we wanted to share some raw, immediate, first impressions -- after the break.
Galaxy Nexus First Impressions

The first thing we noticed upon opening the generic white packaging is that this latest Nexus is a large phone, with a footprint similar to the HTC Titan. It's also pleasantly light and thin, and the bezel is small thanks to the lack of hardware buttons. Build quality is typical Samsung -- durable if not somewhat plasticky. The Nexus inherits design cues from its various Galaxy S II cousins, including the textured battery cover (which is a little difficult to snap back on), but sheds the usual black for a gunmetal shade of gray.


We're happy to confirm that the Galaxy Nexus is indeed the first Android device with a pentaband HSPA+ radio -- we've successfully tested both T-Mobile USA and AT&T SIMs with our handset. Hurray! Initial setup was quick and painless. We logged in with our Google ID and password, and to our surprise, the Nexus started downloading and installing all of our purchased apps (in addition to syncing our email, calendar and contacts). It also asked if we wanted to use Google+ on that account.

As expected, Samsung isn't taking any prisoners with its HD Super AMOLED display -- the 4.65-inch 1280x720 pixel screen is simply gorgeous despite using a PenTile matrix. Fonts are crisp, colors are vibrant, blacks are deep, and viewing angles are exceptional. However, we noticed an issue with the auto-brightness setting, which functions properly in daylight but is too dim in low-light environments.

It's still too early to comment on battery life, but so far we're not seeing any issues. While the Nexus feels quite snappy it isn't as mind bendingly fast as some Gingerbread devices (the Galaxy Note comes to mind). It will be interesting to see how the phone performs in our standard suite of benchmarks, assuming these run properly in Ice Cream Sandwich.

Speaking of which, the new OS version obviously brings some significant changes to the Android user experience. Gone are the hardware buttons, replaced instead with Honeycomb-like softkeys (back, home and app list). While the new UI design is now generally more attractive and coherent, it takes some getting used to. The physical menu key, for example, is superseded by a soft button featuring 3 vertically stacked dots. Unfortunately, this control's placement is not consistent amongst Android 4.0 apps (legacy apps gain a virtual menu button next to the other softkeys).

Then again, we're quite fond of the app list which now doubles as a task manager, and the ability to access the camera directly from the lock screen is a lovely touch (and a hat tip to HTC's Sense UI). Other tidbits include the search bar which is persistent across each of the five home screens, the clever app tray animations (pure eye candy), and the Easter egg in the "About" menu. There's one more thing we noticed immediately: multiple text sizes in the Gmail client -- at last.

We took a few pictures over the course of our first day with the Galaxy Nexus and the verdict is still out regarding the choice of a five megapixel camera vs. the excellent eight megapixel shooter that's standard fare on most of Samsung's flagship handsets. Our existing shots look decent, but the results sometimes required some tweaks to the exposure value, especially in low light. Using the camera exposed a major flaw in Ice Cream Sandwich, namely the lack of USB mass storage support (only media / picture transfer protocols are available). We can only hope this standard functionality will be restored in the very near future.
Galaxy Nexus Sample Shots

Like its predecessors, the Galaxy Nexus is shaping up to be an impressive flagship phone and Android 4.0 is a significant step forward for Google. Stay tuned for our detailed review, and until then check out our mouth-watering galleries and first impressions video above.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Huawei Honor shipping in December to select markets

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 08:48 AM PST

Next month may be a long December, but we've got reason to believe that this year will be better than the last -- if you've been digging the scoop on the Huawei Honor, anyways. The device, with its colorful assortment of six different hues, will be ready for an official release in the twelfth month to China, Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, with other markets following later (there's no word on when the Honor will arrive on Cricket as the Glory). We've known for quite some time that it was coming this quarter, and we already know the specs: Huawei's new darling will come running Android 2.3.5 underneath a proprietary skin, be powered by a 1.4GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM, and offers a 4-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) display, 8MP rear camera with a 2MP front-facing cam and a power-packed 1,900mAh battery. Happy holidays indeed. Read on below for the press release.
Show full PR text
Shenzhen, 17 November 2011: Huawei, a leading global information and communications
technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced that Huawei Honor will begin shipping in
December to selected markets with an enhanced Huawei-customized Android 2.3.5 user
interface (UI). The Huawei Android Platform 5.1 (HAP 5.1) is more intuitive, provides greater
personalization capabilities and includes pre-loaded applications that increase data and privacy
protection. Consumers can also look forward to pairing up with an Honor that matches their
lifestyle as the smartphone powerhouse now comes in Glossy Black, Textured Black, Elegant
White, Vibrant Yellow, Cherry Blossom Pink and Burgundy (specific color availability may differ
between markets). Honor will be available in Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia Japan
and China from December, with other markets to follow.

HAP 5.1 – Optimizing the user experience

Visually: Honor's enhanced UI features exclusive icons and widgets. Music lovers will now
see their favorite tracks accompanied by vivid 3D transitions.

Smartly: Huawei All-Backup allows users to backup and restore data including contacts,
messages, call logs and settings, as well as third-party applications to / from Honor's SD
card. Honor's Smart Data Traffic Manager enables better management and overview
of the phone's data usage.

Conveniently: The HAP 5.1 enables you to view the social media newsfeed of your contacts
in one consolidated view, instead of accessing each social media channel separately. The
enhanced UI also allows you to close all running applications in one touch and an
automatic dialing function. The HAP 5.1 also includes a File Manager that enables you to
manage and access your files easily.

Securely: Huawei Guard scans and eliminates viruses, blocks calls and messages when
needed and password-protects private content such as contacts, messages and call logs.

Kobo Vox unboxing and hands-on (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 08:29 AM PST


Kobo is something of a perpetual underdog. That may well change, after Rakuten acquisition of the company goes through, but for now, it's still a small organization battling giants like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and, to a lesser extent, Sony. With that in mind, the timing for the Vox's release certainly could have been better -- the tablet has to go head to head with the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, both on sale this week. Well, we just received ours, and with that in mind, we immediately did what any other geek would do -- we started playing with it alongside its bigger-named competitors. We'll be back with a full review soon enough, but for now, join us for an unboxing and some early impressions.
Kobo tablet unboxing
Kobo tablet review
Kobo tablet comparison shots



The slate comes in pink, green, blue and black -- we received the latter, which at first glance looks a lot like the Kindle Fire / BlackBerry PlayBook / just about every other seven-inch Android tablet. There are a few physical distinctions, however. First and foremost, the back of the device retains the company's signature latticed diamond pattern, with a white Kobo logo in the center. The pattern should look familiar to anyone who's used the Kobo eReader Touch or WiFi, adding a little bit of distinction and some traction to help ensure the device doesn't slip from your hand.

On the front, the bezel is a good deal larger than the Fire's, leaving enough room for a power / charging light up top and a trio of touch buttons on the bottom: back, menu and home. On the left side are two volume buttons and a microSD slot. At the top you'll find a small, silvery power button and speaker grill, which curves around a corner, placed in an out-of-the-way position where it's unlikely you'll block it with your hand, even when using it in landscape mode. On the bottom of the device is the micro-USB charging port and the headphone jack that we first noted when this thing hit the FCC.


The Vox is also slightly larger than the Fire in every respect (save the screen), measuring 7.57 x 5.06 x 0.53 inches. (That also makes this thicker and than the Nook Tablet.) Barnes & Noble's device is about half an inch taller than the Vox, however, which isn't particularly surprising, given the Nook's distinctive form factor. At 14.2 ounces, the relatively chunky Vox beats the Fire by a few fractions of an ounce and also weighs a negligible 0.10 ounces more than the Nook.

Fire the device up out of the box and it plays a nice little video introduction, complete with bouncy instrumental music. In the case of our player, however, starting up wasn't quite so simple -- the Vox soon prompted us to scan for a software upgrade, which it found and promptly began installing, adding another 20 minutes or so to the boot-up process. It was a bit of a nuisance, but we suppose there's something to be said see the company working to improve the device's software, even this early in the game.


Kobo's diamond pattern reappears on the Vox's lock screen, which also contains a rotating selection of quotes from authors -- an immediate reminder that, at its heart, the Vox is a reading device. As it happens, we were greeted with a quote from Thoreau, making us wonder what the naturalist might have thought about these newfangled reading devices edging out old-fashioned books.

The changes to the Gingerbread UI are more subtle than what you'll find on the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire. The home screen looks like standard Android, save for some tweaks, including large book icons and a bar at the bottom with links to the Kobo Shop, your current reading selection, the library, a full app list and the so-called Reading Life social feature.

As Kobo's CEO told us, it's with social features that the company expects to distinguish itself from the competition. Slide the home screen to the side, and you'll see a Facebook widget showing your news feed, with windows for Places, Notifications, People and birthdays.

Reading Life takes such functionality a step further. Open it up, and it will tell you how long you've been reading your current selection. Kobo also offers up reading "awards" based on your progress. You can even link the app to Facebook -- if you're the sort who enjoys bragging about your literary appetite.


Kobo really seems to be positioning the Vox as more of a souped-up reader than a full-fledged multimedia experience. For one thing, it doesn't ship with apps like Hulu or Netflix (though YouTube is on there, for what that's worth). What's more, those apps currently available in the Kobo app store, which -- by the way -- you can only access via the browser. As with other Gingerbread devices that use the stock Android browser, sites default to their mobile versions where available, unlike the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, which show the full versions by default.

Compared to those devices, the Vox isn't particularly impressive, and while $199 is still a pretty great price point, it's hard not to compare it to the Kindle Fire, which generally just feels more thought-out. Still, we'll be doing a deeper dive in our full review, so stay tuned.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: fun stuff!

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST

Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season.
For some, it's easy to forget about having fun -- fretting over buying the "right" tablet, e-reader or DSLR can strip the joy of unbridled silliness that Christmas allows you. This is your handy guide to stuff you can kick back and enjoy some crazy fun with. There's no ecosystem wars here, no desire to have the loudest or fastest plug-in gadget; just things you'd prefer to give and receive instead of a Sharper Image motorized tie rack... or back-hair shaver. So join us past the break, if you will, for a look at this year's collection of fun stuff!


On the cheap

Blade Runner Umbrella


The post-Christmas slump normally begins with jeans that no longer fit, and dreary, wet winters. But what if the latter wasn't such a bad thing? With this light-up umbrella right out of Blade Runner, you too can pretend you're living in Los Angeles circa 2019. Suddenly dealing with drizzle doesn't seem so bad as you wait to be hassled about the off-world colonies. The future-brolly comes in a choice of blue or white, powered with just three button batteries. Now only if we knew which direction the next Nexus VI attack was coming from.

Price: $25 at ThinkGeek


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Kymera Magic Wand

Halfway through a Harry Potter marathon and you need to pause the action. Whip out your Kymera, say "televisio siste!" and with a swish and flick of your wrist, make everyone think you've got powers. The secret's in the wand, a motion-sensing remote control that learns up to 13 gestures and plays nicely with nearly all home audio equipment. If you live in a Twilight-loving household, tell them it's a wooden stake with Laurent's name on it -- they won't know the difference.

Price: $65 at Amazon



Lego Architecture: The Farnsworth House

You can still be geeky without a smartphone in your hand -- while the rest of 'em settle down to watch A Christmas Story, you can get stuck in some Lego. The architecture series recreates landmarks in Denmark's famous brickwork. You can grab the White House, Space Needle or Sears Tower, but for our money, it has to be Mies van der Rohe's pioneering space-age Farnsworth House from 1951. If cynical relatives sneer at the thought of you playing with Lego, remember: it's educational.

Price: $60 at Amazon



Mid-range


Adafruit iCufflinks


Showing one's geek credentials in a lounge suit or stroller usually entails sporting a ridiculous necktie down to your chest: anathema to the Put This On enthusiasts that we are. That's why we're in love with this classy and tasteful pair of glowing IEC 5009 (okay, power button) logos that don't scream for attention as they hold your double-cuffs in line.

Price: $130 at Adafruit

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Nike+ SportWatch GPS

To some, exercise is fun -- it's the only rational explanation for joggers. Why not add a gadget to the most... natural of activities with a GPS watch? The wrist companion tracks your speed and route, letting you share it with like-minded workout buddies online. Oh, and if you're buying it for someone else, a tip: be very careful the recipient doesn't take it as an inference they're getting a bit hefty.

Price: $199.99 at Amazon




Saga build your own Banjo Kit

The festive jigsaw puzzle often makes you hanker for something that challenges your engineering and craftsmanship skill rather than being able to match bits of sky together. That's why this build-your-own Banjo Kit is the gift that keeps on giving. Once you've fiddled, pulled and tweaked the parts into place, the end-product is a fully working musical instrument you can annoy parents and children with all the way through to January 1st.

Price: $349 from Maker Shed



Money's no object


Grace One City e-motorbike


Imagine the look on your face if you unwrapped this on Christmas Day -- the fun you'd have speeding past sweaty, lycra-clad commuters as you enjoy your electrically assisted journey. Our biggest gripe with the Grace One is its high price, but we couldn't deny the bike's prowess as a luxury fun machine.

Price: $6,000 from Grace (import)


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Sony HMZ-T1

Most TV rooms can't hold a 150-inch screen, which is why it's amazing you can experience owning one by strapping one of these to your head. Two HD OLED displays project movies, television and games with simulated 5.1-surround while you rock that Geordie LaForge headgear.

Price: $800 from Sony



MakerBot Thing-O-Matic 3D Printer

What do you buy the nerd who has everything? The power to make anything. With the magic of open-source 3D printing, you can produce anything your imagination can conceive (so long as it'll fit on the plate). Soon after setup, you'll be producing jewelry, prototyping inventions or never buying birthday gifts ever again.

Price: $1,300 from MakerBot

Roku planning to bring set-top boxes to Canada, UK in early 2012

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 07:36 AM PST

It's been a big year for Roku. The streaming content box manufacturer launched its Roku 2 HD, XD and XS this summer, with a $50 LT model coming just last month. Now, the Netflix / HBO Go / Angry Birds player will cross the border into Canada and the U.K., with the expansion set to begin in early 2012. The company is looking to build its 350 channels with region-specific content, which can be provided free, supported by ads or with a subscription -- and if you choose to add your own content to the service, you'd certainly be in good company.
Show full PR text
Roku Announces International Expansion

Roku Streaming Platform Now Open to Content Providers and Developers in UK and Canada

SARATOGA, Calif., Nov 17, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Roku, the leading streaming platform in the U.S. today announced plans for international expansion. Roku expects that consumers in the United Kingdom and Canada will be able to purchase Roku streaming players beginning in early 2012. Roku is expanding its open platform to support region-specific channels. Publishers of video, music, games and other Internet-delivered content can now reach their customers' TVs directly through Roku. Content can be free, ad supported or paid. Those interested in developing for Roku should contact partners@roku.com.

Roku launched the first Netflix streaming player in 2008 and is now the leading streaming platform in the U.S. With more than 350 channels of content, Roku delivers the best collection of streaming entertainment available for the TV. Roku's open streaming platform brings new content providers to the TV screen and expands the offerings of existing platforms such as channels found on traditional cable and satellite networks.

"This year has been one of many accomplishments for Roku in the U.S. In July, we introduced Roku 2 which brings casual games to the TV and last month we unveiled the $49.99 Roku LT. We've added casual games including Angry Birds and PAC-MAN as well as premiere channels including HBO GO," said Roku Founder and CEO Anthony Wood. "And now we're looking forward to kicking off 2012 by expanding to Europe and Canada and providing consumers abroad with the best in streaming entertainment -- a natural evolution for Roku."

To make Roku players available in Canada, Roku is working with Synnex Canada Limited, a subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation SNX -0.47%.

Skype Beta for Mac and Windows adds Facebook-to-Facebook calling, monitor tans to get even darker

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 07:11 AM PST

Because your friends are your Facebook, Skype's deepening its integration with the social network and making video chats to your roster of pals possible from within its own app. The popular VoIP service began powering video calling on the site this past summer and is now extending that reach with two new iterations of its software. Both Skype 5.7 Beta for Windows and Skype 5.4 Beta for Mac will offer users the option to link accounts and keep their circle of online friends closer with in-app voice and video calling. Thought you were going to wean off that IV drip of Zuck's ubiquitous collage of human minutiae? Sorry, friends, we're all in this together. Every single day and every word you say -- we'll be watching you... cuz that's what friends are for, so thank you for being a friend or, well, you get the point.

How an AT&T smartphone comes to life: behind the scenes (part two)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:30 AM PST

By now, you're probably getting a pretty good idea at what goes into the development of a groundbreaking smartphone. In part one we followed the development of the Motorola Atrix 4G, discussing the process of how AT&T decided upon a design and collaborated with Moto to get the ball rolling. Now, we conclude the series by covering the intense testing process, getting the device prepared for launch and updating the phones after they're released.



Testing

Every facet of the phone's development is important, but making sure the device actually does what it's supposed to do is understandably mandatory. AT&T praises itself for having some of the highest standards in testing, though it's impossible for us to verify without being able to compare notes with the other US carriers (Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile, we await your valued input anytime you wish to divulge this information).

The lab cycle



After all of the collaboration back and forth between AT&T's and Motorola's product teams, doesn't it feel like the Evora should be a polished product by now? Nope, not even close. It was September 2010 when the phone reached the testing labs. Making it to this stage was no small feat in and of itself, but the device still had a long road ahead of it. Think about it this way: AT&T wanted to have the product ready to ship in time for the holidays, and Black Friday was a mere two months away. The LapDock hadn't even been sent to testing yet at this point, which goes to show how much was left on the team's plate before the phone would be ready to hit shelves. We know what it's like to have an impossible deadline, so we can relate.

The carrier wants its test devices to be completely defined, with all of the specs as close to final as possible -- and it requires that the OEM gets its handsets validated by a third party to ensure all of AT&T's quality metrics are met.


After reaching the labs, the Evora had to endure thousands upon thousands of test cases. AT&T has the ability to mimic and simulate virtually any type of network condition or environment that it can possibly think of, and runs the device through all of them to see if it can reproduce any issues. An average test lab contains 1,200 servers and about 100 cell sites, which enables them to simulate specific cities, frequencies and technologies. Need to see how the Evora operates on 1900MHz HSPA+ in Portland, OR? No problem. What about 850MHz UMTS service in Baltimore? Easy as pie. But why would the signal be any different in these cities? Because each individual market typically uses a specific infrastructure provider: AT&T contracts companies such as Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent to build out the carrier's network, but each one is chosen to do so for a given city or market. The variety of providers adds to the complexity of the network and its operation, and it's up to the testing lab to mimick every possible scenario a customer may face -- no matter how unlikely -- to make sure the phone isn't going to act wonky.

The test labs contain 1,200 servers and about 100 cell sites, which enables them to simulate specific cities, frequencies and technologies.

Every simulation's run in a copper cage -- no bigger than your run-of-the-mill walk-in closet -- that's capable of blocking out all outside signals so as to not interfere with the tests (or leave them out in the open to be discovered by curious folks, for that matter). These labs also run tests on firmware updates, radiation, audio quality and any accessory that gets sold in AT&T retail stores. They've set up a bug tracking system that both companies' teams have access to; bugs are assigned a severity level as a method of prioritizing phone issues that need to be resolved, and the process to close out each individual bug is incredibly detailed and closely tracked.

Severity level one is anything that negates service, and absolutely none are acceptable in a final product. These types of issues aren't simply referring to things like dropped calls or network frustrations, though that certainly comes into play in the labs. Anything that prevents service or possible use of the phone is slotted into the top echelon of priority. To give us an example of something that's considered service-negating, Dante showed us one of the Evora units used during testing and had us go into the web browser. Once there, he asked us to try pressing the home key -- and nothing happened. The inability to properly use all of the buttons should be a top-priority fix, naturally.


Severity level two issues are those that are seriously frustrating to the user, and affect their enjoyment of the device: copy and paste doesn't work properly, the phone won't let you switch calls or perhaps the speakerphone doesn't work quite as well as it should. Too many infractions on this level will pause the phone's progress and it can't continue until they're fixed, though one or two penalties might be pushed through if the OEM commits to fixing it as soon as possible. Good to hear that these types of issues are taken care of before reaching final approval; could you imagine owning a phone that wouldn't let you switch or merge calls?

Finally, a level three issue is basically an improvement ticket -- a small bug that AT&T would like fixed in a post-launch maintenance release, and is something to be addressed in future products to ensure it doesn't show up again.

Usability testing

The usability tests for the Evora began in October, which means they were run at the same time the device was still in the lab. Each product goes through a slough of usability tests to help the two companies learn more about how people interact with it. The teams watch multiple people as they use the device to see if they can use it easily and comfortably. Can testers navigate through a certain menu structure quickly enough? Are they tripping up somewhere on the phone? If anything is found that adversely affects the user experience, the teams try to incorporate new things into the phone to make sure it doesn't keep happening. "If we look at incorporating best practices and improving user experience and take out extra steps, the customer becomes satisfied and becomes recommenders," Chris told us. As mentioned earlier, we have a difficult time believing that testers were completely happy with MotoBlur, but at least the UI has improved since the Atrix was launched.


There are some areas of the user experience in which only a few people seem to trip up on. When these issues arise, the team begins to look at other avenues to take care of the concern. For instance, is it something that could be addressed by adding a small blurb into the Quickstart guide that comes with the phone? If not, that particular case -- and others like it -- is worked through in one of the Evora's post-launch maintenance releases and incorporated into any future Motorola phone with similar features.

Lapdock and Webtop

Motorola's unique Webtop environment and accompanying laptop dock were born alongside Evora and given the codename Virgil to differentiate its development. It was going to be a brand new product, a concept that nobody had really tackled head-on before. And not just that, it was the perfect fit for AT&T and Motorola's vision of a groundbreaking device that would completely change the industry. Because it was such an unknown, both companies were going to be taking a huge risk by bringing it to market, because the costs involved in developing the laptop dock and the full Webtop experience were astronomical. How would it be used? What direction should we take the vision? What value will this be to customers? Can you get this thing to do what you need it to without having a PhD?

AT&T invited CIOs from ten different companies to meet together under an NDA to provide feedback on the LapDock.

Since the LapDock was primarily geared toward the business professional, AT&T needed feedback from legit sources to get it right. On September 15th, the carrier invited CIOs from ten different companies to meet together under a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA). These executives had no idea what they were going to see; it could've been a data card, for all they knew. The unveiling consisted of a few carefully crafted demos, since the Lapdock was so early in its development that not everything was working properly. But the mission was a success: the idea of incorporating Citrix functionality was brought up at the meeting, not to mention a few other additions that were either included in the first-generation models or pushed to later versions (details on those other additions weren't given). Citrix made it into the final first-gen product, but barely made the cut.

The LapDock made its way into the labs near the end of September, not even two weeks after the CIO meeting. Again, the device met AT&T's rigid stability requirements, but it still had plenty of bugs to work out. The lab would find issues and send the trouble tickets over to Motorola, which would then be addressed by spinning new software updates to the labs and repeating the cycle over and over.


Virgil was ready for usability testing in October, but it was still such a secretive process to this point that none of the internal teams even knew about it -- it had only been on an exclusive "need to know" basis so far. So, NDAs were issued to the usability testers, which is a pretty burdensome deal. Why? Not just anyone can be given access to something with such a high level of confidentiality; Dante had to go through a vetting process to determine who would be offered the NDA, and the lucky contestants were required to read and acknowledge it before any more progress could be made on the project.

The testers were faced with a rather tough challenge when Virgil showed up. Here was a completely new product that they'd never seen before, which meant that a full set of test cases had to be thought up. With such a tight deadline to make this work, Dante admits that he wasn't the most popular guy in the world for a while. "But," he said, "we had to do what we had to do."

Prepping for launch

By the time October and November rolled around, the teams knew Evora and Virgil weren't going to be ready in time for the holiday season, but at least a CES deadline was somewhat feasible. Launching a game-changer at the largest consumer electronics show in the world would give the carrier a boatload of publicity, not to mention the momentum AT&T needed going into the device's release (after all, we did deem it to be the best smartphone of the show). It still wasn't going to be easy though: it was red alert from this time forward, and nobody got much sleep the rest of the way -- we can envision several of them asleep at their desks, empty coffee mugs in hand. There were some huge last-minute changes that needed to be made before making the final launch preparations.

Hardware changes and delays

There's a huge reason AT&T doesn't like to make last-minute hardware changes on any of its devices unless it's an absolute must: it involves a hard tradeoff. Even the slightest adjustment usually translates into six to eight weeks, since the OEM has to first manufacture the product and push it through the full test cycle another time. Any hardware or firmware change requires the complete litany of tests all over again, because even the smallest of adjustments can break something else on the device that'd previously worked perfectly fine. Ah, the fun life a software tester leads.


Delays like this become even more costly when you consider how compressed the lifespan of a phone has become. The Atrix is a great example of this, since its sequel launched not even nine months later. Taking six weeks out of a product's nine-month lifecycle to fix issues or make changes means there's that much less time to sell the device before the market changes and the phone becomes obsolete. Thus, lost revenue opportunity -- not hilarity -- ensues. With such a groundbreaking device on the line, further delays were simply unacceptable.

Two key factors can cause delays. First, there's a serious quality issue that prevents the phone from reaching Technical Acceptance (final software certification) and the problem isn't being solved by new builds. Second, the market changes and AT&T sees a need to incorporate a different feature into the phone to make it as successful as possible. "Sometimes we decide [together with our OEM partner] that it just has to be done in order to push the product forward," Dante said.

Of course, tiny wrinkles happen all the time in device launches, and teams are used to dealing with these types of unforeseen circumstances that these obstacles hardly ever affect the timing of the handset's release. Just because the screen protectors designed to fit the Atrix 4G don't function properly, doesn't mean the train stops moving. So many things move along in parallel, and if one item gets completed en route to launch, more resources are reallocated to strengthen the other parts of the phone's development.

But the Evora project had a couple hardware-related concerns that were more significant than mere wrinkles, neither of which we're able to speak on. However, Motorola and AT&T made excellent use of the opportunity to update other components in the phone as well; in such a dynamic market, prices can come down swiftly and market trends can move incredibly fast. One of the big changes AT&T wanted to make was the inclusion of HSPA+ -- the Evora was originally designed without the next-gen tech in the works.

Leaving an HSPA+ radio out of the Evora's original design seemed like a monstrous oversight.

Looking back to the first quarter of last year, Verizon was busy making preparations to launch its LTE network around the same time the Atrix was supposed to come out, and T-Mobile was already rolling out 21Mbps HSPA+ service. Leaving an HSPA+ radio out of the Evora's design seems like a monstrous oversight, right? We know that AT&T had originally planned to simply leapfrog the tech on its way to deploying LTE, but just a week before the Evora was greenlit, Ralph de la Vega declared that his company intended to build out 3.5G sometime in 2011. There was more than sufficient time to switch tracks at this stage in the development process... or so it seemed.

We have a theory on why HSPA+ was left out until the last minute. The phone was originally expected to launch during the 2010 holiday season, ahead of the time that the next-gen tech would blanket the great lands of this nation. However, once AT&T knew the Atrix would be delayed into 2011 and the timeframe for HSPA+ deployment became much more clear, it likely made more sense to add the radio. After all, Motorola was adding a few things to the spec list already, so why not make sure the upcoming flagship device had all of its other components completely up-to-date as well? It's a good thing, too: it's hard to imagine the Atrix, a smartphone marketed as the carrier's top-notch flagship, being released without at least 14.4Mbps connectivity, let alone anything faster -- not this year, certainly.

To the relief of both companies, Motorola was able to refresh the hardware rather fast, delivering the new build to the labs in the middle of November. And the testing cycle started from scratch. It was becoming clear that the device would, worst-case, be ready to announce at CES.

Naming the device

What's in a name? In this industry, everything. When titles like Inspire, Revolution and Transfix reign supreme, it's just way too easy to mock phone names on a regular basis, and we doubt we're going to stop anytime soon. We get it, though -- the value companies take in finding a marketable name that's easy to remember is obviously priceless. Evora is just a codename, of course, so how did it turn into Atrix and why?


In general, the carrier and OEM both have a hand in a phone's name, but AT&T prefers to be in the driver's seat. The team generates a list of possible names to take to their legal department, which performs a trademark search and whittles it down to roughly one-tenth of the size -- and usually it's the worst from the list (all the best ones, we presume, are already taken). If they can't decide on a name, the process repeats until they stumble upon something good.

The team generates a list of possible names to their legal department, which performs a trademark search and whittles the selection down.

The Evora was ready to obtain an official name in November, and it had a couple top contenders that had passed legal muster: Glory and Catapult. Dante's team felt that Glory just didn't mesh well with the features they were trying to perpetuate, and Catapult just sounded too... medieval. But everyone loved "Atrix." Since it's a bleeding-edge phone for the tech enthusiast, it should have a futuristic name. Not only that -- starting with the letter A is always good, there aren't too many syllables and the X at the end adds an element of coolness. Making up words can definitely be cool, but it's a gamble. Dante educated us on the danger of diving into the realm of made-up names too often:

One of the nice things about a made-up word is that your message is the assigned value to it... the problem is, if you do it too often, you start sounding like you're coming up with baby talk or gobbledy-gook and it no longer makes sense. There's a fine line there.


Pricing

We weren't able to glean a lot of information from Dante or Chris on how the pricing of phones is determined. The process is incredibly complex and depends on a number of factors, such as component pricing (which, due to the dynamic industry, is always changing), the carrier's target segment and, as you'd expect, some influence from the OEM. Sometimes pricing can even be affected by either partner's willingness to promote the device (more on that later).

The carrier's decision to begin selling the Atrix 4G at a $200 price point wasn't anything that warranted shock value. The cost of Motorola's LapDock accessory, however, was. We loved the idea of a laptop dock with Webtop built-in, but it certainly wasn't worth $500. AT&T was stuck between a rock and a hard place here: the carrier wasn't oblivious to the fact that the device was highly priced, but a much different business model applies to unsubsidized accessories. Says Dante:

"When you're working with an OEM who's used to carriers using one model and that's how they price, and then they price to us the same way to something we can't apply that model to, it doesn't work out very well."

In other words, without attaching a contract to accessories, AT&T was constrained to keep the LapDock at standard retail pricing, though it was willing to take a hit on profit by bundling the phone and device together in one purchase.

Motorola spared no expense in making the LapDock, which not only included a stellar battery for the form factor, a durable magnesium enclosure and individual metallic keys, but also incurred significant R&D costs associated with a first-gen device and a brand new ecosystem. We're witnessing some validation of that, as the next generation of the LapDock -- namely, the 100 and 500 -- is coming to market at a significantly lower cost.

Controlling leaks


Leaks. They're a fact of life for the tech media, the proliferation of which we participate in daily. Rumors of the latest and greatest (heck, even the blasé) handsets roam free across the internet like a pack of wild buffalo, whether they're true or not. As we learned in our meeting with Chris and Dante, leaks like these frustrate product managers to no end. It stings, but why? According to Chris:

We have an investment. If there's a leak, it can have a detrimental impact on the perception, or when there's a misquote and an assumption is made, then Dante has to work twice or three times as hard to try and convince people that's not what the product was, it never was that, but the decision has already been made, the court of opinion has already been flawed."

Dante went on to explain that each phone AT&T launches has a unique story to tell, since they're meant to reach different segments of the market and hit various groups of people based on what they care about. It's all about projecting the company's vision to the customer. Leaked phones tell no tales, because media organizations report on what components they feature and what they look like, rather than the "story" the carrier's hoping to portray. This especially speaks volumes to any device that isn't considered state of the art and may get negative points for not having the best specs on the market. "They can never set the right expectation," he said.

"We've never personally been involved with a purposeful leak. It's not in our best interest. One thing can go right while 99 things can go wrong."

Since product managers like Chris and Dante are forced to go into damage control mode as a result of harmful leaks, we asked if they ever seed a counter-leak on purpose to resolve the problem. They told us:

We've never personally been involved with a purposeful leak... it's not in our best interest. It's like one thing can go right while 99 things go wrong. We don't know how that makes sense.

The managers went on to say that no matter how something gets leaked, the information goes through the telephone game: no matter what you say, it'll be different once it gets to the other end, and the perception of the truth is altered. Granted, we didn't see a horrible alteration of the Atrix 4G when it was leaked as the Olympus, but that isn't the case with every phone. We'll give kudos to Dante and his team, however, for keeping the LapDock virtually leak-free.

Promoting and marketing the device

This part of the process is when the claims come out to play: "the world's most powerful phone," "the world's fastest phone" and other similar marketing terminology is pushed through AT&T's legal team to make sure the company remains free from the threat of any possible lawsuits.

It's also the time when the product managers determine if the Atrix 4G will be a hero device. Ultimately, a phone is a hero candidate when it either moves the ball forward from a feature standpoint or offers some type of value proposition -- the Impulse 4G is an excellent example of a hero that gets a lot of TV time for this very reason. The carrier will also negotiate with vendors to promote devices, which in turn can lower the price.


"Even though we do a lot of phones, it's not really a cookie cutter process," Dante explains. "New things become important... in general, we have the baseline for each launch. The idea is always to build on that. With each launch we're working with OEMs on new ways to promote it." Samsung and AT&T teamed up to sponsor the most recent Keith Urban US tour, which involves the superstar shooting video with an Infuse 4G. The opportunities to market phones are incredibly diverse, which forces the carrier to get creative.

First Article Inspection

Just as the Atrix spent time getting tested in the labs, pre-production units are seeded to a decent number of field testers to try out in real-life situations. But as these aren't the final units coming off the actual production lines, AT&T wanted to make sure that devices destined to wind up in customers' hands are as good -- if not better -- than what's been tested already. This is where Final Article inspection (FAI) comes in.

To obtain the coveted FAI status, Motorola sent AT&T a few hundred devices from the final Atrix production line to go through the entire suite of tests one last time. Sounds so sentimental, doesn't it? Once the phone passed, the vendor got the green light to begin flooding all of the available distribution channels -- a process that took around two weeks.

Know why AT&T will, more often than not, announce that a device is heading to stores "in the coming weeks?" FAI may occur two weeks before the phone actually gets shipped out; if something goes wrong and it doesn't receive that approval, everything the PR reps promised is no longer true and everyone has egg on their face.


The carrier may elect to announce a phone at CES or CTIA but prohibit the device from being turned on, handled or photographed -- much to our chagrin, of course. This happens because those handsets haven't yet reached FAI and officially aren't finalized. AT&T gets nervous when it comes to negative first impressions and hands-ons because the software may be pre-production quality. We'll offer an example: the Samsung Infuse 4G (shown above) was announced alongside the Atrix 4G at CES 2011, but media wasn't allowed to touch it or take pictures of its back. The phone wouldn't officially launch until May -- roughly four months later -- and was nowhere near achieving FAI. It was definitely not the carrier's style to announce new phones so early, but AT&T's reason for doing so was to further emphasize that it was making some huge leaps to embrace Android. Still, the event sent out mixed signals and the message wasn't clearly received, which ultimately caused much more damage than AT&T had intended.

Preparing all channels

Now that it has the official name and made its way through the proper legal channels, the Atrix is ready to get a final review on the packaging and materials. The box, accessories, Quickstart guide, and so on are all given the thumbs-up here. Which accessories are included in the box is typically related to keeping the device cost as reasonable as possible, while accentuating certain customer experiences at the same time -- such as HDMI cables or stereo headphones, in some cases.

The last few weeks before a device's launch are the most hectic. It typically involves achieving FAI for the final go-ahead, getting all of the marketing materials ready to go, training employees, communicating the proper information to PR reps so they can talk about the device intelligently to the press, distributing review units and shipping out the Atrix to retail, third party and eCom channels. So many elements work together simultaneously to make sure everything is aligned correctly and the launch will be a success.

Launch day and beyond

Team Dante's hard work didn't stop the moment the Atrix 4G was released; far from it, in fact. The device was solid and in great working condition, but there were wrinkles that still needed to be ironed out after its official outing. So now what?

Rapid response

The first day of sales, February 22nd, was all hands on deck and a war room was set up for rapid response (we can't help but picture a standard red rotary phone in the middle of a conference room), so any snafus that show up could be worked out: if the SKU didn't ring up in the register at the corporate stores, for instance, it needed to be resolved immediately.

From that point on -- day of launch and beyond -- Dante was constantly on the lookout for any feedback he could get. Media reviews, social networking (Twitter, for instance) and word of mouth are very important to determining what went wrong and how to correct it in this device and in future models. This is where maintenance releases and bug fix updates become crucial.

Firmware updates


People begin using the phone in ways the product managers never imagined. Feedback on bugs and other issues gets back to the team. The next version of the OS comes out. All of these scenarios occur with every device, which means Dante and Chris need to be on the ball in cranking out updates and maintenance releases. As often is the case, these refreshes take a while to push through. Five moons had passed before the phone was ready to get Gingerbread. The main reason for this is that placing new firmware on existing hardware involves much more than just the click of a button. Chris told us:

Just like in the labs [the first time around], when new software is introduced we have to go through the full gauntlet of tests from this end to that end all over again. New software can always introduce new bugs in areas that were fine before, and the last thing you want to do is take a person who's happy with their phone, and they update it and it doesn't work as well anymore. People think with upgrades that they're getting more. You don't want to break anything. That's why we go through the same rigorous testing in these updates, we don't want to have a negative impact on a customer experience.

"People think that they're getting more [with upgrades]. You don't want to break anything. That's why we go through the same rigorous testing in these updates."

There's a fine line between ensuring a good upgrade experience without actually making it worse for the user. But because of this, updates have a tendency to take longer to roll out. Android devices, for instance, appear to be the most difficult. Google announces Gingerbread, OEMs finally get their hands on the source, they push it through their own development cycle to build their own UI onto it (such as MotoBlur, in the case of the Atrix), and then it has to undergo QA (Quality Assurance) tests to ensure the firmware update is good enough to get into AT&T's labs -- and that's when carrier testing can finally begin.

Sometimes, as the managers claimed was the case with the Samsung Captivate, new versions of the OS can take longer to push out on older hardware. According to Chris:

Dealing with devices that are mature in their lifecycle, getting software with new features that are built for newer hardware, means even more grueling regression tests to make sure it doesn't break the phone or any other aspect of the product. Anything that doesn't meet the criteria has to go through the process all over again.


Where's the 4G uploading?

Prior to the Atrix's release, Dante's team already had items on the list for a post-launch maintenance fix. One of these, if you may recall, was the enabling of HSUPA speeds. Here was a device advertised as having 4G capabilities, but only HSDPA -- the download portion of the next-gen network -- actually came enabled on the Atrix when it launched (as well as the HTC Inspire 4G, launched in the same timeframe).

We were left utterly confused as to why this was the case -- was it the biggest oversight in the world, or was AT&T leaving it out on purpose? No matter the answer, the carrier either looks stupid or mean. We asked Dante, who insists it was the latter, but not because the carrier wanted to be a jerk. Instead, it was a result of AT&T's last-minute addition of HSPA+ back in November; additional time was apparently needed to push it out.

We thought, what can we make happen in time? That's how we ended up where we did. We got our MR out as fast as we possibly could to address it, but my rationale was -- as long as you can download your videos at a good clip, you don't sit there and wait while you're uploading something... we wanted it in there. But we had to get the product out there; we didn't want to delay any further.

It's understandable that software changes can take a fair amount of time to implement correctly. But if the uploading capability had been done in concert with HSDPA, how much longer would it have been delayed?


Wrap-up


Knowing the journey helps us come to a greater appreciation of the destination. It's not an easy job to come out with a smartphone lineup that pleases everyone, and we certainly got a sense of the pressure Dante's team felt in getting a landmark phone ready and in shipshape condition. The Motorola Atrix 4G wasn't a perfect handset, of course, but it reached its intended goal: it was supposed to be a game-changer, and it's hard to deny that it was. And don't get us wrong, we still -- and always will -- have our concerns about the extraordinary amount of influence carriers hold over phone manufacturers throughout this process, but we cannot refute the fact that Dante and Chris gave us a new perspective on what actually goes into creating a masterpiece.

Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface available for pre-order in 23 countries, expected to ship in 2012

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:18 AM PST

Microsoft's Surface hasn't exactly exploded on the sales figure front, but with next-gen model pricing estimated at $7,600 $8,400 and limited availability, we're not surprised that the table of the future hasn't begun popping up in hotels and retails stores the world over. That may slowly change, however, with one of the most recent models -- Samsung's SUR40 -- finally coming up for pre-order today. Enterprise customers (or deep-pocketed individuals) can reach out to dedicated sales reps in any of 23 countries to place an order, including the U.S. and Canada, parts of Asia, and most of Europe. An exact ship date has yet to be released, but don't expect the 40-inch 1080p multitouch table to start popping up until early next year. Want to start touching and tapping today? Check out our hands-on with an early SUR40 from CES.

Update: Microsoft wrote in to let us know that pricing has jumped a bit -- to $8,400 -- since this year's earlier estimate. International pricing will vary by country.
Show full PR text
New Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface Is Available to Pre-order Starting Today

A second, more retail-friendly version of Microsoft Surface is now available for pre-order in 23 countries. Earlier this week, Popular Science named the Samsung SUR40 a 2011 "Best of What's New" award recipient.

REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 17, 2011 – Retail outlets looking for new, innovative ways to get hands-on with their customers will soon have a new tool – the Samsung SUR40.

Companies are already using Microsoft Surface to give potential customers virtual tours of plane interiors, help them plan flights, provide them with the ability to create immersive photo books, and entice bank customers into brick and mortar branches. Those experiences only hint at how the new Surface device will be able to help businesses engage with customers, said Somanna Palacanda, director of Microsoft Surface.

"With what's happening in the world of touch and the fact that touch is becoming ubiquitous, people are looking for more immersive relationships with screens," he said. "The new Surface takes technology that's always existed in the backs of stores and brings it front and center. So now customers and retailers can interact together, a doctor and a patient can have a more immersive consulting experience, and a banker and a customer can sit together and work on a simulation where in past the banker would be the only one in control."

Samsung and Microsoft announced today that a new, more versatile Microsoft Surface device is now available for pre-order, the near final stop on its journey from lab to marketplace. Now, businesses in 23 countries can visit the Samsung website to find a local reseller and place an order for the Samsung SUR40. Shipments are expected to start early next year.

The Samsung SUR40 was just named a 2011 "Best of What's New" award winner by Popular Science magazine and is featured in a special awards issue currently on newsstands. Corinne Iozzio, senior associate editor at Popular Science, said the magazine's editors were impressed with the update to the original Surface, a 2008 "Best of What's New" winner.

"We very much liked the idea of the package of the Surface, which had packed so much computing intelligence and so much sensor technology into such a thin package," she said. "It's a tabletop that can be put anywhere without harming the functionality and in fact makes a system like the Surface much more accessible."

The Samsung SUR40 also earned strong praise by the likes of Forbes and Gizmodo when released at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year.

Palacanda said the new Surface device incorporates all the key features of the original – a massive multi-touch screen, the ability to recognize fingers, blobs, and objects – as well as PixelSense, a new technology that lets LCD panels "see" without the use of actual cameras. The technology has helped slim down the second version of the Surface device and enables a new form factor – one that can be turned on its side. With a screen that's only four inches thin, customers will have the option to use the Samsung SUR40 horizontally as a table, hang it on a wall, or embed it into furniture, Palacanda said.

"We listened to our partners and customers' requests for a lighter and thinner form factor that gives them flexibility because there's no one-size-fits-all in the retail space," he said.

Several existing Surface customers, including Dassault Aviation, Fujifilm Corp. and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), plan to use the Samsung SUR40 in locations around the globe early next year. RBC is already using the first version of Surface as a new medium to engage with its customers, Palacanda said.

He explained that RBC is redesigning their stores to offer customers a new retail experience, where Surface is playing an important part. For example, RBC launched a direct mail campaign to invite their customers into their stores through a sweepstakes. When customers visit, they drop their brochure onto the Surface machine to find out if they've won a prize. At the same time, RBC employees can use Surface to highlight the bank's products and services.

The results encouraged RBC, Palacanda said. A typical direct mail response rate is less than 1 percent; RBC is seeing a conversion of above 10 percent.

"We've always spoken about collaboration from a computing standpoint, but before Microsoft Surface we truly did not have a device where two or more people could actually engage together with the same piece of digital content," Palacanda said. "I think this announcement is the first step in delivering a next generation device that improves even further on the original Surface experience, which enables two or more people to collaborate in a very meaningful way."

The new device is also popular with developers, said Luis Cabrera-Cordón, senior program manager for Microsoft Surface. The Surface 2.0 software developer kit (SDK) was released at MIX11 in April, and already it's been downloaded more than 7,000 times.

The SDK features an input simulator that enables developers to write Surface applications on any Windows 7 PC, an approach Cabrera-Cordón called "Write once, touch anywhere."

"The SDK allows developers to write a single application that can adapt to all sorts of types of hardware," he said. "That makes for a great investment: they can target Microsoft Surface hardware as well as any Windows 7 touch-enabled PC. This is a flexible platform so developers can create the best user interface for the person actually using the computer."

Cabrera-Cordón encouraged developers to download the SDK and start building apps as the Samsung SUR40's release date draws near.

"Touch apps are an area that is new. There is a lot to discover and innovate on," Cabrera-Cordón said. "And I hope that by playing with the Surface 2.0 SDK, they'll discover they can innovate and create things that we don't have today."

Google confirms Verizon's LTE Galaxy Nexus dimensions and specifications

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:03 AM PST

Four zillion new Galaxy Nexus promo videos not enough to sate your appetite for superphones? We hear ya. Google's specifications portal just went live for Verizon's looming LTE version of the world's first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, and as expected, it's a wee bit bigger than the HSPA+ version. We heard back in Hong Kong that the LTE model would be slightly beefier -- presumably to house a larger battery to counter that energy-sucking LTE module -- and it seems that said scenario is indeed proving true. The HSPA+ build checks in at 135.5mm (h) x 67.94mm (w) x 8.94mm (d) thick, while the LTE model measures 135.5mm (h) x 67.94mm (w) x 9.47mm (d). That's right around half a millimeter thicker for those needing specifics, and it's likely due to the 1,850mAh battery within; if you'll recall, the HSPA+ variant has a 1,750mAh battery. Finally, the LTE model is gaining 15 grams of weight, tipping the scales at 150g (LTE model) instead of 135g (HSPA+ model). Everything else looks to be identical, but you can hit the source link to satisfy any lingering curiosity.

[Thanks, Matt]

Next Issue Media strikes deals with more Android tablet makers ahead of full launch

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:29 AM PST

After launching its digital newsstand for the Galaxy Tab earlier this year, Next Issue Media is now looking to expand to other Android tablets, as well. The company, which was founded by a quintet of publishers including Conde Nast, Hearst and Time Inc., has just signed partnerships with a slate of slate manufacturers, including Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, along with Verizon Wireless. Next Issue Media didn't specify which devices would support its app, but it did take the opportunity to announce new digital magazines, like Car and Drive, Coastal Living, ELLE, Golf and Real Simple. The goal is to have a full 40 titles by the end of the year, ahead of its full-fledged launch in 2012. Turn past the break for more details in the full PR.
Show full PR text
Next Issue Media Adds Titles and Distribution to its Preview Edition Release

Interactive magazine roster and OEM partners expand in advance of Q1 full-feature release

NEW YORK and SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Next Issue Media, the company formed by five leading U.S. publishers--Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc.--today announced the addition of new tablet optimized titles from Hearst and Time Inc. to its preview edition release. The company also announced partnerships with several major consumer electronics partners to augment its distribution footprint on Android tablets in advance of the holidays. Through these actions, Next Issue continues to build toward its full-feature product release currently planned for Q1 of next year.

Magazines added to the Next Issue newsstand include: Car and Driver, Coastal Living, ELLE, Golf and Real Simple. Each of these top titles, along with current offerings such as: Better Homes & Gardens, Esquire, People, The New Yorker, TIME and Sports Illustrated, delivers a rich, interactive reading experience optimized for high resolution Android tablets. Many more optimized titles from Next Issue publishers are expect to be added to the newsstand before the end of the year.

In addition, through distribution partnerships with manufacturers Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and service provider Verizon Wireless, the Next Issue app will be prominently showcased across multiple tablet offerings via placement on device home screens and featured app stores. The Next Issue app is also available through its website, www.nextissue.com .

"This announcement demonstrates our promise to deliver a content-rich, user-friendly digital reading experience for consumers across the Android platform. Given the ramp up of Android devices in Q4, Next Issue is perfectly positioned for easy discovery by new customers and to deliver the compelling, high-quality content they desire." said Morgan Guenther, CEO of Next Issue Media. "More titles, more devices, more choice and lots more to come from Next Issue in Q1, so keep watching."

"Consumers have a variety of choices when purchasing digital content, and Next Issue cuts through the confusion to prominently showcase our digital magazine offerings," said Steve Sachs, Time Inc. Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "Next Issue is a valuable partner as we introduce more digital titles through the end of this year."

Verizon-branded, LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus confirmed in official Google video

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 04:58 AM PST

Say, what's this? A 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus with a Verizon Wireless logo on the back? Certainly is, and it's being discovered this morning in a series of overview / getting started videos hosted up on Google's own YouTube channel. There's still no word on when this guy's hitting store shelves, but at least the whole "maybe it's vaporware!" thing is now firmly in the past. As if it were ever in the present. Head on past the break to get yourself worked into an even zanier lather.

Update: In case these promo videos weren't enough, the official specifications list for the LTE Galaxy Nexus has been published!

[Thanks, Matt]













Google Checkout merges with Google Wallet, completing the inevitable

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 04:44 AM PST

In a move that has "common sense" written all over it, the folks over at Mountain View have decided to merge Google Checkout with Google Wallet. The marriage hardly comes as a surprise, considering the fact that both services serve essentially the same purpose -- namely, storing all your payment information in one neat little package. To make things even tidier, Big G has just folded Checkout into Wallet, which will soon be integrated within the Android Market, YouTube and Google+ Games, as well. As a result, the Checkout moniker will vanish from the Earth, but current users will be able to seamlessly switch over to Wallet the next time they log in to their accounts or make an online purchase. For more details, check out the source link below.

[Thanks, Samer]

Blackberry Bold 9790 cleared for landing in Canada, Roger(s)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 04:22 AM PST

RIM's reduced re-imagining of the Bold 9930 is barely out of the starting blocks, but Canadian carrier Rogers is promising to have the Bold 9790 ready for the native BB faithful before the end of the holiday season. It combines a 2.44-inch capacitive touchscreen with a fret style keyboard and a 1GHz processor. There's nothing more specific on release dates and prices just yet, but we're hoping the diminutive screen and slightly less premium build will translate to a reduced price tag. Doors to manual and cross-check.

Fanny Wang lets you make your headphones as ugly as you want

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 04:00 AM PST

Making it big in the headphone industry isn't always about sound quality, sometimes you just have to be loud. The folks at Fanny Wang have that covered, offering up some wildly colored cans to help them "break through the noise," as they put it, of the headphone market. Users can customize the outfit's 1001, 2001 and 3001 model headphones on the firm's new interactive website, picking and choosing colors for seven distinct parts, including the cord. Orders take about three weeks to assemble and ship, Fanny says, giving you just enough time to snag some colorful cans before the holidays. You know, in case someone on your list is looking for something sort of like those ColorWare tinted Beats, but with a bit of actual color. You can find Fanny's fancy press release after the break.
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AMPLIFY YOUR SOUND & STYLE WITH FANNY WANG CUSTOM COLORED HEADPHONES

Available For Any Model, New Customized Headphones Allows Music Lovers to Create a Pair that Will Look as Good as They Sound

Danville, CA – November 17, 2011 – Fanny Wang Headphone Co. breaks through the "noise" in the crowded headphone market, with today's announcement of a custom colorization option for their 1001 On Ear as well as 2001 and 3001 Over Ear models. Music fanatics and fashionistas alike will now have a full spectrum of colors to accompany any musical taste, enabling them to create one-of-a-kind headphones.

"At Fanny Wang, we understand that someone's distinct style is just as unique as what's found on their music players, and we want our headphones to be as customizable as possible," explains Fanny Wang Headphone Company CEO, Tim Hickman. "I think it is this mentality that helps set us apart from the other companies in the headphone space. We have created a high-quality product that sounds fantastic with any type of music, looks cool and is quintessentially YOU. These headphones are endorsed by our consumers, and now they can put their stamp – their name - on a special pair."

Via Fanny Wang's interactive website http://customs.fannywang.com/, music fans will be able to choose from an array of colors for seven different parts of the Fanny Wang headphone: outside band, inside band, center disc, sound chambers, accent strip, ear muffs and cord. With more than 1 million possible color combinations, it is easy to "amplify your sound" while rocking something that reflects your personal style.

As with all Fanny Wang products, consumers will be able to get "plugged in" to the latest technology. With the unique, integrated Duo Jack and compact design, you can share your favorite beats anywhere you go. All models deliver custom-paired titanium-plate drivers, tuned to deliver natural, thumping bass with crystal clear mids and highs that compliment anything from Hip Hop to Classic Rock to Classical. In addition, the 3001 Over Ear's four-way noise canceling technology eliminates up to 95% of ambient sound, so absolutely nothing gets in between you and your music.

Shipping just in time for the holidays, any model would be the perfect present for the hard-to-buy-for audiophile on your list. Once an order is customized at http://customs.fannywang.com/, it is then relayed to the factory to be individually assembled. The customized headphones are then shipped directly to the customer via FedEx. The entire process takes approximately three weeks.

First happy Galaxy Nexus customer isn't so happy, wants to exchange it (update: replacement works fine)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:35 AM PST

Well, this is awkward. Samsung's PR team tweeted the above picture of Alex Ioannou as he officially became the first person to pick up a Galaxy Nexus in the UK. But Alex just got in touch to tell us that he's less than satisfied. We only have his word to go on at this point (and for all we know he could be secretly working for LG), but he insists he's having trouble syncing with Gmail because the usual account setup options are missing. Instead, his phone was apparently preloaded with a bunch of weird dev stuff -- including the handy option to "Report a WTF condition." We're desperately hoping that he was given a developer model by mistake and this will all be resolved when he exchanges. He's back in the store right now and says that apologetic reps are feeding him with ice cream sandwiches while he waits. Check out the 'After' photo and screenshots just beyond the break.

Update: Alex has confirmed that he's taken ownership of a new Galaxy Nexus which works perfectly. All is well.

Mat Smith and Richard Lai contributed to this report





Orange hopes to drive smartphone sales with three Facebook phones, two seem kinda dumb

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:28 AM PST

Orange is unhappy. The company cites that of its new phone sales, nearly half are feature phones. While the statistic isn't exactly a shocker, the French telecom believes it can do better. In an effort to drive the adoption of smartphones, Orange has chosen to jump on the Facebook bandwagon with three new options that offer immediate access to the iconic social network. Perhaps the carrier's efforts are a bit misguided, however, because of this trio, only one handset is actually a smartphone. (As such, it's the only one we care about.) Known as the Alcatel One Touch 908F, it's a re-configured 908 with the same 2.8-inch display, 600MHz Qualcomm CPU and Froyo -- yeah, you read that correctly. Could it be that the two feature phones are so unpalatable that they'll also drive smartphone adoption? Whatever the case may be, each device is squarely aimed (and priced) at teens and emerging markets. For example, the 908F will debut south of €100 off-contract, accompanied by plans that start at €9 per month. Before year's end, Poland and Romania will be among the first victims to receive the bunch, followed by countries such as Armenia, Botswana, Cameroon and France. Speaking of misguided, perhaps Orange should have asked AT&T how the Status is selling.

Navigon 2.0 arrives for iPhone with new name, lets users download maps by state (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 03:00 AM PST

Navigation junkies have been pining for Navigon's latest MobileNavigator application ever since our sneak preview at CTIA, but that wait is now over -- at least for iPhone constituents. To mark its arrival, the app was re-branded as Navigon 2.0, and yes, it's a free upgrade for current users. Most notably, the software now enables individuals to selectively load maps into their iPhone on a state-by-state basis -- thereby creating extra headroom for more important uses. Additionally, Navigon fans will also discover a completely re-designed user interface along with an in-app purchase function that delivers quarterly map updates. Now through November 30th, new users may purchase Navigon 2.0 for $20 off the normal price of $49.99 for the United States or Canada, and $59.99 for all of North America. Curious to see it in action? We've included a demo video and the full PR just beyond the break.
Show full PR text
The Next Generation of Onboard Navigation Apps: NAVIGON 2.0 for iPhone Lets You Download Maps by State

Map Management Capabilities Prolong Internal Phone Storage, also Includes an Option for Quarterly Map Updates and a New User Interface

Hamburg, Germany, November 17, 2011-NAVIGON GmbH, a leading provider of mobile phone onboard navigation, today launched the second generation of its award-winning iPhone navigation app, NAVIGON 2.0 for iPhone. The new version completely redefines core elements of iPhone navigation, including a new and unique map management function and an in app purchase option for quarterly map updates, both not found in any other onboard navigation app. Also included is a very simple and intuitive user interface. Existing NAVIGON for iPhone users receive the update to the new version at no cost.

"Navigation systems have become more complex over the last years. We've added over 30 new features to our app since it first launched, ranging from traffic and parking information to advanced lane guidance, and our challenge with this new version was to not just add new functionalities but take the overall user experience to the next level," said Gerhard Mayr, NAVIGON vice-president of worldwide mobile phones and new markets. "We completely rethought the way the app interface is structured and as a result, NAVIGON 2.0 is more intuitive and easier to use than ever before. We're also the first ones to solve the problem of having to save large amounts of map data on the phone to be independent of a data connection. The new version allows users to pick exactly which maps they need on their iPhone, leaving more room for other apps or photos and videos, for example."

Map Management and Update Capabilities
NAVIGON 2.0 is the first iPhone onboard navigation app that separates the app from the maps, allowing users to choose which map regions to download to their device. Users who, for example, own the USA version can pick the states they want immediately and download additional regions at a later time[1]. This ability prolongs internal phone storage, since users save only the maps they need on their device. Separating the app and maps also simplifies future updates, as users can update the app (about 40MB) without reinstalling the maps multiple times.

NAVIGON 2.0 is also the first iPhone navigation app to offer quarterly map updates. The FreshMaps service uses trusted, field-verified, and quality-controlled map and points of interest updates from NAVTEQ® to ensure the most accurate data possible. Users can keep their maps accurate and reliable by receiving quarterly updates for a one-time fee. FreshMaps also upgrades the USA or regional versions to the full North America map. NAVIGON's new Latest Map Guarantee provides customers the latest NAVTEQ map available when purchasing NAVIGON 2.0 for iPhone.

New User Interface
The new user interface is much easier to use, allowing to easily switch between different pages with animated menus and new multi-touch user gestures. It is now possible to access the start screen during navigation to enter a new address without having to first stop the current route. In addition, NAVIGON separated the app options into two menus, differentiating between settings and actions. The new Settings menu allows users to easily customize functions and change preferences, for example when to receive speed warnings, while the new Actions menu lets you use functions that are needed while navigating such as points of interest search and social network postings.

NAVIGON 2.0 for iPhone also has a fresh new look that displays the map in the background even when accessing menu pages. Furthermore, it is very easy to rotate and zoom maps in any direction when in 3D mode and tap points of interest on the map to instantly add them to a route.

Pricing and Availability
The NAVIGON 2.0 upgrade is available at no cost for all existing customers. NAVIGON's North American apps and selected in app purchases are up to $25 off until November 30, 2011. The promotional offerings are below next to the regular prices.

Applications

NAVIGON for iPhone North America: $39.99 instead of $59.99

NAVIGON for iPhone USA: $29.99 instead of $49.99

NAVIGON for iPhone Canada: $29.99 instead of $49.99

NAVIGON for iPhone East, Central or West: $19.99 instead of $29.99

In App Purchases

NAVIGON FreshMaps:
North America: $14.99 instead of $19.99
USA (upgrades to maps of North America): $19.99 instead of $39.99
Canada (upgrades to maps of North America): $19.99 instead of $39.99
MyRegion (upgrades to maps of North America): $24.99 instead of $49.99

Safety Cameras: $4.99
Traffic Live: $19.99

ZAGAT Survey® Ratings and Reviews: $7.99

Panorama View 3D: $9.99

Accessories

NAVIGON Design Car Kit for iPhone: $49.95, available at BringMobi.com

NAVIGON for iPhone is compatible with iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, 3G iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The app also runs on first generation iPhone and iPod Touch, but third party accessories for GPS reception are required for these devices.

For more information, please visit: www.navigon.com.

ASUS' Origami-like Transformer Prime Smart Cover hits Amazon, sporting luxurious folds

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:55 AM PST

The Eee Pad Transformer Prime has yet to start shipping, but when it does, you'll be able to wrap it up in this specialized Smart Cover, from ASUS. Spotted on Amazon's German site, this Origami-like accessory will prop up your Prime in either a vertical or horizontal lying position, much like some of those other "intelligent" covers we've seen. The folds look decidedly ornate, but we'll have to wait a little longer before trying it out for ourselves. It's available now for €39 (about $53), though at the time of this writing, it's also out of stock.
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Smart Cover

T-Mobile increases 21Mbps and 42Mbps HSPA+ footprint, blankets the nation in faux-G

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:30 AM PST

Faux-G or 4G -- whatever you choose to call it, T-Mobile's sprinkling more of that mobile might to its subs across the nation. The carrier's just expanded the footprint of its 42Mbps flavor of HSPA+ to an additional 11 cities, letting proud owners of its newborn Amaze 4G and Galaxy S II variant enjoy battery-slurping high speeds in a total of 163 markets. Magenta's sprightly, albeit lesser 21Mbps network has also gotten a shot of Miracle-Gro, now branching out to nine more spots for a total of 208 locations. You can peep the full list of new markets after the break, as well as the requisite boastful PR.

HSPA+ 42
  • Bend, Medford and Corvallis, Oregon
  • Benton Harbor, Michigan
  • Bloomington, Champaign–Urbana and Springfield, Illinois
  • Columbus, Georgia
  • Hagerstown, Maryland
  • Montgomery, Alabama
  • Yuba City, California
HSPA+ 21
  • Corvallis, Oregon
  • Decatur and Peoria, Illinois
  • Evansville, Indiana
  • Holland and Kalamazoo, Michigan
  • Santa Barbara and Yuba City, California

Show full PR text
America's Largest 4G Network Expands to Cover More Locations

T-Mobile's 4G network is now twice as fast in 163 markets and
available in 208 markets nationwide

BELLEVUE, Wash. - Nov. 16, 2011 - T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the company has doubled the speed of its 4G network in 11 additional markets, offering faster 4G (HSPA+ 42) to nearly 180 million Americans in 163 markets. In addition, T-Mobile expanded the reach of its nationwide 4G (HSPA+ 21) network to 9 additional markets, now covering 208 markets across the country and reaching more than 200 million people.

T-Mobile continues to expand and enhance its 4G network, providing customers with a rich mobile data experience whether they're at home or on the go. Offering compelling 4G network speeds across a broad lineup of devices including smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots and more, America's Largest 4G Network makes it possible for customers to stay connected in new and exciting ways virtually anywhere their busy lives take them.

"Our customers are taking full advantage of these faster 4G connections through services such as streaming video and audio. In fact, these services now account for more than half of the 4G device usage on our network," said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile USA.
"T-Mobile is committed to delivering a fast, reliable network experience to our customers ― paired with compelling and affordable 4G devices, applications and services ― that can keep up with and enrich the busy lives of our customers."

T-Mobile's portfolio of more than 25 4G devices gives customers access to the content they need and desire almost instantly, whether downloading large files or streaming the latest episode of their favorite TV shows. In addition to a full portfolio of 4G devices, the company recently introduced its first smartphones capable of taking advantage of T-Mobile's faster 4G (HSPA+ 42) network ― the Samsung Galaxy STM II and HTC AmazeTM 4G. With the introduction of these two smartphones, customers can now access rich Web content on their smartphones at speeds faster than the average home Internet connection, with average download speeds approaching 8 Mbps and peak speeds around 20 Mbps on T-Mobile's 4G network. The company also recently introduced the T-Mobile Sonic™ 4G Mobile HotSpot, T-Mobile's fastest mobile hotspot, providing access to T-Mobile's 4G (HSPA+ 42) network for up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices including iPads*, tablets, music players, gaming consoles, laptops, cameras and e-readers, among other devices, all from virtually anywhere.

T-Mobile 4G markets where HPSA+ 42 service is launching today:
Bend, Medford and Corvallis, Ore.; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Bloomington, Champaign–Urbana and Springfield, Ill.; Columbus, Ga.; Hagerstown, Md.; Montgomery, Ala; Yuba City, Calif.

T-Mobile 4G markets where HSPA+ 21 service is launching today:
Corvallis, Ore.; Decatur and Peoria, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Holland and Kalamazoo, Mich.; Santa Barbara, Calif; State College, Pa.; Yuba City, Calif.

ASUS U32U with Fusion innards surfaces online, likely coming to the US for $449 and up

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:01 AM PST

No, it's not a Zenbook, but for those of you not in the mood to spend $1,000-plus on your next laptop, it looks like ASUS will soon be selling something at a more... palatable price point. The U32U's been popping up on the interwebs lately, and it would seem the outfit's been cooking up a 13.3-incher powered by AMD's E-4 Fusion APU. Other specs include ATI's Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, three USB ports (two of the 3.0 variety) and an 8-cell, 5,600mAh battery promising up to 12 hours of runtime. Unlike the ASUS U24e, the U32U seems likely to make it to the U.S. given the poster, which lists the price in US dollars: $509 for the Windows 7 Home Basic model, and $449 for the DOS version. More details at the source link, though we suspect you'll want to bide your time until next week's Black Friday scramble anyway.

Amazon releases Kindle Fire source code, devs figure out how to install Android Market

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:57 AM PST

The Kindle Fire's nascent hacking community is heating up, now that Amazon has released the source code for its new Android tablet. Homebrewers, of course, will first have to root the device before tweaking with the Fire's Gingerbread-based build, but fortunately for them, there's already a guide for that. Once that's taken care of, you can also load the Android Market and a slate of other Google apps, using a handy how-to guide published on xda Forums. It certainly doesn't seem like the simplest of processes, but several xda users have posted successful reports. Check out the links below for the full guide, along with the source code download.

Ice Cream Sandwich coming to Galaxy S II, Samsung UK confirms

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:09 AM PST

Here's some exciting, if somewhat unsurprising news for Galaxy S II devotees: Samsung's UK outpost has just confirmed that the handset will indeed receive an upgrade to Android 4.0, delectably known as Ice Cream Sandwich. As of this moment, details are relatively scarce, and Sammy has yet to make similar declarations for markets outside of the UK -- but at least it's coming. "The Galaxy S II will be receiving ICS, but there are no dates confirmed as yet," the company wrote in a tweet this morning. "We will keep you posted." As will we.

Warner Bros. signs distribution deal with Lovefilm, ahead of Netflix's UK arrival

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:01 AM PST

With Netflix creeping ever closer to its UK doorstep, Lovefilm is readying its defense -- beginning with Warner Bros. Today, the Amazon-owned streaming and rental service announced a new, multi-year partnership with the Brothers Warner, promising to deliver "wider choice and more access" to content across multiple platforms. Under the deal, users will be able to access a range of Warner Bros.' recent and forthcoming titles on their iPad, PlayStation 3, and, as of later this year, their Xbox 360, among other devices. The agreement will go into effect this December, with films like The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Gran Torino and Sex and the City 2 all available for exclusive viewing. Beginning in 2012, customers will be able to rent Warner Bros. titles 60 days after retail release, either via Lovefilm's DVD and Blu-Ray subscription service, or the studio's WarnerFilms channel. Intrigued cinephiles can whet their appetites with the full PR, after the break.
Show full PR text
Warner Bros. and Amazon's LOVEFiLM Seal Major Multi-Year, Multi-Layered UK Movie Partnership

SEATTLE, Nov 17, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Warner Bros. has signed a major film distribution agreement with LOVEFiLM it was announced today by Josh Berger, President & Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland & Spain, and Simon Calver, Chief Executive, LOVEFiLM.

The multi-year, multi-layered pact offers consumers wider choice and more access to Warner Bros. content across a range of options. The deal spans LOVEFiLM's digital subscription, download to own and pay per view services, as well as Warner Bros.' branded SVOD service WarnerFilms.

An exclusive second window subscription pay TV deal will see Warner Bros.' recent and forthcoming film releases added to LOVEFiLM's Watch Online service through the LOVEFiLM Player, either on the PC or accessible via Sony PlayStation(R)3, Apple iPad, a growing number of web-enabled TV sets and Blu-ray players, and later this year Microsoft Xbox 360.

Movies exclusively available at the start of the deal in December will include The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Gran Torino and Sex and the City 2. And, in the coming months and years, LOVEFiLM customers, who subscribe to streaming as part of their package, will be able to instantly watch a regular flow of Warner Bros.' recent movies.

Underscoring both companies' commitment to giving customers a broad-ranging set of options to watch Warner Bros.' content, the deal continues to make the studio's film releases available for purchase or rent digitally; via LOVEFiLM's market-leading DVD and Blu-ray subscription rental service, through which DVDs and Blu-rays will be available by post 60 days after retail release, from 2012; and via Warner Bros.' branded SVOD channel, WarnerFilms. Scheduled by Warner Bros. and offering a great selection of recent and classic movies from Warner Bros.' portfolio of titles, WarnerFilms provides 24 hours a day on-demand access to 28 movies at any one time with seven new titles added every week.

Commenting on the agreement, Josh Berger, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, said, "This significant deal with LOVEFiLM and its parent company Amazon takes a 360 degree approach to delivering Warner Bros.' world-class movies across multiple business lines. Now, LOVEFiLM customers will enjoy more ways of enjoying great film content, all with the ease that the service has become known for."

Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, added: "The establishment of a second pay window with LOVEFiLM is an important evolution in the way films are made available for viewing in the UK in ever-more convenient ways. Importantly, the structure of the deal ensures that our films continue to retain their value to linear and non linear operators following this window and for the long term."

Simon Calver, CEO of LOVEFiLM, added: "This major deal builds on our partnership with Warner Bros. and gives LOVEFiLM members exclusive access to world-class movies across multiple platforms. We are committed to delivering the best entertainment service possible - giving our members the content they want on the platforms of their choice."

Verizon begins collecting user data for targeted ads, is kind enough to offer 'opt-out' escape route

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:24 AM PST

Verizon still wants to collect your personal information, but it'll understand if you decide to opt out. Really, it's cool. No hard feelings. The provider said as much yesterday, in an e-mail titled "Important notice about how Verizon Wireless uses information." The missive, sent to all VZW customers, essentially lays out the company's revamped privacy policy, originally unveiled last month. Under the new framework, Verizon will be able to monitor your browsing history, location, app usage, and demographic data, all in the name of targeted advertising and vaguely-titled "business and marketing reports." The good news is that you can always opt out of the scheme, either by phone or online. The bad news is that you'll probably have to explain the whole thing to your grandma.

SIM-based NFC gains global support from 45 mobile carriers, all huddled around GSMA's standard

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 11:02 PM PST

You knew that NFC hardware can be embedded into SIM cards, right? Right? Regardless of whether you've been paying attention, the practice is about to become a whole lot more common, as 45 of the world's largest mobile operators have extended their support for the GSM Association's standard. Among the networks, you'll find heavy hitters such as China Mobile and China Unicom (which account for nearly 800 million subscribers between the two), along with familiar names such as America Movil, AT&T, Deutsche Telecom, KPN, Orange, Rogers, SFR, SK Telecom, Softbank, Telus, Verizon and Vodafone. Even Isis, the unholy mobile payment lovechild of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, has pledged its support... in hopes of taking your money, that is. The new standard is expected to drive the proliferation of NFC across the globe, with Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA commenting, "Mobile operators, working together, are ideally positioned to roll out services based on the requirements published by the GSMA, providing proven security and interoperability, global reach and customer care for consumers and businesses and a secure platform for service providers." Now, as you'd expect, we just wanna see it happen. For a complete list of the cooperating carriers, check out the PR after the break.

[SIM card photo via Shutterstock]
Show full PR text
Mobile NFC Gains Momentum as Operators Worldwide Pledge Support for SIM-Based Solution

China Mobile and China Unicom Join Leading Operators in Backing Mobile NFC; GSMA Publishes Mobile NFC Specifications to Drive Global Interoperability

HONG KONG, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Asia Congress -- The GSMA today announced that 45 of the world's leading mobile operators have committed to support and implement SIM-based Near Field Communications (NFC) solutions and services. These operators include China Mobile and China Unicom, which account for nearly 800 million connections throughout China. As an important catalyst in accelerating the adoption of NFC services, the GSMA has published a new set of industry specifications. These handset and SIM specifications will enable the development and global deployment of secure, interoperable and ubiquitous SIM-based mobile NFC services.

In addition to China Mobile and China Unicom, the operators who have committed to SIM-based NFC include: America Movil, AT&T, AVEA, Axiata, AXIS, Bharti Airtel, Bouygues Telecom, CSL, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa Corporation, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du), Etisalat, Everything Everywhere, Globe Telecom, KPN, KT Corporation, Maxis, Mobily, MTS, Orange, Proximus, Qtel Group, Rogers Communications, Saudi Telecom Company (STC), SFR, SK Telecom, Smart, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telecom New Zealand, Telecom Slovenije, Telefonica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Telus, TMN, Turkcell, Verizon, VimpelCom, VIVA Bahrain and Vodafone Group. Additionally, ISIS, the organisation formed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless to build a nationwide mobile commerce network in the United States, also supports SIM-based NFC.

"Clearly the momentum behind SIM-based NFC is growing rapidly, particularly with leading operators China Mobile and China Unicom supporting NFC services secured by the SIM card," said Franco Bernabe, Chairman of the GSMA, and CEO and Chairman of Telecom Italia Group. "NFC is an important innovation for consumers around the world, and while it is perhaps best known for enabling secure mobile payments, it will also enable a wide range of innovative and exciting new services and applications, such as mobile ticketing, entertainment services, secure access to hotels or cars, loyalty schemes and couponing, among others."

"China Mobile is able to offer SIM-based NFC on an extremely large scale and we have the experience, the technical infrastructure and trusted customer care network to support and effectively stimulate the market," said Sha Yuejia, Executive Director and Vice President of China Mobile.

"China Unicom is known for its innovation and we strongly support SIM-based NFC technology that can ensure contactless services are available to our consumers, and will be interoperable and roam effectively wherever the consumer chooses to go," said Lu Yimin, President and Vice Chairman of China Unicom.

The market potential for SIM-based NFC is significant, according to forecasts from industry research firm Strategy Analytics. Nearly 1.5 billion SIM-based handsets will have been sold worldwide between 2010 and 2016, supporting transactions of more than $50 billion globally over the same period. Further, ABI Research indicates that 85 per cent of all new point of sale terminals shipped in 2016 will be NFC-enabled.

Ensuring Interoperability to Drive Global Adoption

One of the primary factors that will accelerate the proliferation of mobile NFC is the standardisation of the technology, which allows seamless interoperability between NFC devices and enables users to benefit from services around the world, regardless of mobile operator, network or device type. To that end, the GSMA has published handset and SIM requirements which define common handset application programming interfaces (APIs) to support SIM-based NFC services. Standardised requirements will drive economies of scale in SIM, handsets and infrastructure by creating a common framework for implementation and product interoperability.

The handset and SIM requirement documents can be found at: http://www.gsmworld.com/our-work/mobile_lifestyle/mobile_money/news_and_resources.htm

"With the increasing deployment of commercial SIM-based NFC services in a range of markets worldwide, it is critical to embrace common standards that will promote the global interoperability of services and accelerate time-to-market," commented Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. "Mobile operators, working together, are ideally positioned to roll out services based on the requirements published by the GSMA, providing proven security and interoperability, global reach and customer care for consumers and businesses and a secure platform for service providers."

The GSMA has commissioned a report to take an in-depth view into the socio-economic benefits that the deployment of SIM-based NFC services will enable, and how collaboration between industries can help make this a reality. This report can be found at http://www.gsmworld.com/our-work/mobile_lifestyle/mobile_money/news_and_resources.htm.

GSMA NFC & Mobile Money Summit 2012

The GSMA also announced that it will host the GSMA NFC & Mobile Money Summit in Milan in October 2012. The NFC & Mobile Money Summit will bring together key players from every sector of the industry, providing an environment to forge relationships, expand ideas and foster the growth of NFC and mobile money. Further details will be forthcoming.

Sprint plans Emergency Alert messaging system in New York City, claims this is only a test

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 09:47 PM PST

Know those emergency alerts that always seem to crop up when your sports team of choice is about to score a crucial goal? Yeah, well they're headed to a Sprint phone near you, signature auditory tone and all. After successfully testing the service in San Diego last fall, the carrier's gearing up for round two of the FCC and Mayor Bloomberg-approved system in New York City later this year, issuing FEMA alerts from the President, National Weather Service and local emergency operators to over a dozen compliant Android phones. If you're sporting a compatible handset, you can opt-in for the service by either dialing ##CMAS## or selecting the appropriate settings prompt, after which you'll receive geographically-specific texts of up to 90 characters. And don't worry about dismissing these warning messages as any 'ol SMS or racking up additional fees, they'll arrive free-of-charge bearing a unique "vibration cadence" and inbox icon. Curious to see if your phone's made the cut? The skip on past the break for the official PR.
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November 15, 2011 10:30 AM Eastern Time
Sprint Becomes First U.S. Carrier to Launch Wireless Emergency Alerts on its Mobile Network

Carrier will join New York Office of Emergency Management and Department of Homeland Security in testing the service in New York's five boroughs

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Sprint (NYSE: S) marks another milestone in delivering critical and reliable communication services to consumers during crisis situations by becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer Wireless Emergency Alerts on its mobile network.

"Providing immediate, reliable wireless communications before, during and following an emergency situation is trademark of Sprint's service"

Wireless Emergency Alerts allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to accept and deliver warning messages to wireless networks from the president of the United States, the National Weather Service and state and local emergency operations centers. Sprint customers will be able to effectively and accurately receive warnings and safety information via text alerts to mobile phones that are equipped with the enabling software and based on their geographic location.

Later this year, Sprint will conduct the nation's first test of Wireless Emergency Alerts in New York City, along with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, and FEMA. The test will deliver a series of different geo-targeted wireless alerts to multiple Sprint mobile phones strategically located in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

Implementing wireless emergency alerts on the Sprint network

The availability of Wireless Emergency Alerts on Sprint's network is the result of the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) – a national program established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Warning, Alert and Response Act passed by Congress in 2006.

Earlier this year, Sprint joined the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and FEMA agency administrator W. Craig Fugate in committing to the deployment of a wireless emergency alert system.

In the fall of 2010, Sprint became the first national wireless carrier to successfully perform a trial of the wireless emergency alerts technology with the California Emergency Management Agency and the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services. The trial, which took place in October 2010 through late November 2010, tested the wireless emergency alert technology across urban, suburban and rural areas; included the involvement of law enforcement agencies, local jurisdictions and other regional partners; and assessed factors related to messaging delivery, length and recipient location.

During the next year, Sprint will continue working with FEMA, DHS, and numerous state and local emergency agencies to successfully make the alerts available nationwide.

Using wireless emergency alerts on the Sprint network

Sprint's customers can currently access wireless emergency alerts on the following devices: HTC EVO Design 4GTM, HTC EVO 3DTM, Kyocera BrioTM, Kyocera Duracore, Kyocera DuraMax, Kyocera MilanoTM, LG MarqueeTM, Samsung Galaxy STM II, EpicTM 4G Touch, Samsung TrenderTM, Samsung Transform UltraTM, Sanyo InnuendoTM by Kyocera and Sanyo VeroTM by Kyocera.

The 90-character alerts will be delivered at no charge to the customer and have a distinctive vibration cadence and audio tone similar to what is heard for emergency alerts on broadcast television and radio. Additionally, notification of a wireless emergency alert will be distinguished in the handset's messaging inbox with a distinctive icon.

On devices that are capable of receiving the alerts, Sprint customers can activate the service by dialing ##CMAS# or ##2627#, and choosing to "enable the CMAS client" when prompted.

The wireless emergency alerts will be available in three categories – Presidential Alerts, Imminent Threats to Life and Property, and AMBER Alerts – and provide mobile users an additional tool for learning of impending danger in relation to their current location. Wireless users can opt out of all message types with the exception of presidential alerts.

Some potential examples of these alerts include:

An emergency message could be targeted to cell phones at a stadium event, informing attendees of where to go or what direction to drive following a nearby highway accident or chemical spill.
Emergency information related to wildfires, mudslides, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes could be targeted to residents in specific neighborhoods or along routes where the danger is greatest.
Students and faculty across a campus could be quickly informed when lockdown conditions are necessary because of a threat.
If a suspicious package were reported in an airport, shopping mall or office complex, thousands could receive messages to move to a certain area until the threat was removed.
Potential witnesses can learn of recently missing or abducted children in their immediate area.

Visit Sprint's online community site or FEMA.gov to learn more about Wireless Emergency Alerts and the CMAS program.

Visa aims at developing countries with new international prepaid mobile payment service

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 08:54 PM PST

Shortly after announcing its new digital wallet service V.me for developed markets, Visa also made a presence at Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong to promote its new prepaid mobile money platform aimed at the under-banked and the unbanked consumers. By utilizing its recently-acquired Fundamo (which currently has more than 10 million mobile payment subscribers), Visa aims to leverage on the vast number of mobile phone users in developing countries -- many of whom are already using local but carrier-bound mobile payment systems -- in order to offer a globally interoperable mobile payment network.

This overlaying platform is said to be more secure, much cheaper and more convenient than the likes of Western Union, especially when you can simply make mobile-to-mobile payments when sending money across countries. Nigeria and Uganda will be the first nations to get a taste of this early next year courtesy of telecommunications provider MTN Group, and eventually more developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America will join the list. Full press release after the break.
Visa aims at developing countries with new international mobile-to-mobile payment service
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Visa Introduces New Mobile Prepaid Product for Developing Countries

First Visa product enabled by Fundamo, a leading mobile money platform recently acquired by Visa. Enables financial institutions, mobile network operators to offer Visa prepaid accounts on mobile phones to unbanked and under-banked consumers.

Hong Kong, November 16, 2011

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced a significant step to bringing access to secure financial services and electronic payments to consumers in developing countries by introducing a new product serving the needs of unbanked and under-banked consumers. The new product, a Visa prepaid account that can be accessed through a mobile phone, offers consumers in developing countries a secure, reliable, globally interoperable electronic payment account.

MTN Group, a leading telecommunications provider in Africa and the Middle East, plans to offer the new Visa product to MTN Mobile Money customers across its markets. As part of the launch, the new product will be available to customers in Nigeria and Uganda.

Today, more than one hundred(1) mobile money programs provide consumers in developing countries with basic financial services, with several more being planned by mobile network operators and financial institutions. Visa's new product will enhance the security, scale and interoperability of these mobile money programs, while extending their payment functionality by enabling account holders to send funds to each other, send and receive international remittances, make purchases at merchants or online where Visa is accepted or withdraw funds at a Visa ATM.

"Reaching consumers who have previously lacked access to formal financial services with secure and reliable electronic payments is finally a reality," said Jim McCarthy, head of product for Visa Inc. "Mobile technology has become the single most important driver of financial inclusion that is enabling financial institutions, mobile network operators and Visa to connect unbanked consumers to each other and the global economy."

MTN Mobile Money has been implemented in 12 countries. At 30 September 2011, there were 5.7 million registered mobile money customers.

"The launch of this product with Visa doesn't only enhance our current mobile money offering, but also represents yet another crucial milestone in our journey to bring value-adding services to the growing population of mobile phone users in our markets. And as the appetite for mobile technology grows, MTN is excited to be at the forefront of providing millions of our customers with such important product innovations," said Christian de Faria, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer.

How It Works
The mobile phone is changing how consumers around the world pay and get paid, and offers financial service providers in developing countries a new, efficient channel to serve the unbanked and under-banked. In the last ten years, 100 million(2) people have been newly 'banked' through mobile services that offer consumers basic financial services that are limited in geographic reach

Visa's recent acquisition of Fundamo, a leading mobile money platform in developing countries, and its integration into Visa, has created the first globally interoperable mobile payment platform that can connect existing mobile money services with Visa's global payment network, VisaNet.

The result is a new Visa product that allows financial service providers and mobile network operators to offer consumers a payment account that provides Visa's high standards of security, reliability and global interoperability, including:

Visa-quality Payment Security – The new product combines Visa's advanced risk processing technology with the security and authentication features of mobile devices, offering consumers in developing countries peace of mind when making purchases. Regardless of transaction size or where consumers make purchases, Visa and the account issuer will be able to authenticate the account holder at the point of transaction by requesting a PIN or password. In addition, Visa's fraud monitoring capabilities can help mitigate and prevent fraud.

Visa Payment Functionality – From international remittances to ecommerce transactions Visa's new product will offer consumers a new payment account that enhances the payment functionality of their existing mobile money service. In markets with Visa acceptance locations, consumers may also have the option to receive a Visa prepaid companion card that can be used at ATMs and merchants where Visa is accepted.

Transaction Authorization, Clearing and Settlement Services – For financial institutions and mobile network operators offering Visa's new mobile prepaid product, Visa will offer a full suite of payment processing and account management services supported by the world's largest payments network, VisaNet.

Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are among the first target markets for Visa's new mobile-based prepaid product.

Visa is working closely with financial institutions, mobile network operators, governments and non-governmental organisations in developing countries to extend access to financial services and electronic payments, helping drive economic growth and financial inclusion by migrating cash spend to electronic payments.

Sports Fans Coalition intends to lobby against NFL blackouts

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 07:57 PM PST

We know how it is, you have a big HDTV and inexpensive adult beverages at home and you just don't feel compelled to spend the bucks to go to the game in these tough economic times. We feel for you, but the NFL does not as your situation doesn't exactly pay all those player's salaries. Well, starting this Friday the Sports Fans Coalition, along with other organizations, plans to petition the FCC for change to the current blackout rule. The groups argue that since many of the stadiums are built with public funds, Joe Consumer has the right to watch those games at home. As is, we're mostly just glad the old NFL blackout policy, prior to 1973 that made all home games unavailable to the home market, isn't still in effect. Of course that doesn't mean that we believe the current blackout policy actually helps sell those $100+ tickets and believe the NFL might realize more profits if it sought out more modern supplemental revenue strategies.

Sony starts making NEX and SLT cameras again, following Thai floods

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 07:04 PM PST

DPReview reports that Sony has resumed production of its SLT and NEX cameras, which may include the NEX-7 and A65 cameras, after two of its three main manufacturing plants in Thailand were hit by extreme floods nearly a month ago. The impact was enough to make a sizable dent in the company's financial outlook and force it to establish a new plant further south in the country. There's apparently still no confirmation of when products will start shipping, but as long as the conveyor belts are rolling and people are back in employment, we're not complaining.

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook with Intel Core i7 can be yours now, SSD in tow

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 06:08 PM PST

If we got your Spidey senses tingling when we put the Core i5 powered Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook through the wringer, you can now snag an i7 model. Need a quick refresher? The 13.3-inch beaut tips the scales at just about 3 pounds, awakes from naps with haste (in about two seconds) and features a 240GB SSD. Should you splurge for this speedy Intel Core i7 model, prepare yourself to part with $1,299. If you're looking to spend a little less -- it is the holidays, after all -- you can opt for the version we reviewed for a mere $899. Head on over to your favorite retailer to grab yours now, but don't go far without your charger... that battery life is nothing to write home about.
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The recently announced Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook is now available with a solid state drive (SSD) and energy-efficient second-generation Intel Core i7 processor power. This new breed of ultra-light-weight PCs are just half-an-inch thin and weigh about 3 pounds. New technology lets them power on instantly and connect to the Web in seconds. Available this week at several retailers including Amazon, NewEgg, TigerDirect and BestBuy.com, the Core i7 version of the Aspire S3 Ultrabook retails for $1299 (Core i5 versions begin at $899).

A bit more about the Aspire S3 Ultrabook:

• The 13.3-inch HD widescreen LED-backlit display features a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1366 x 768 resolution, delivering sharp, rich visuals.
• Acer Green Instant On lets you resume your computing session in less than 2 seconds.
• Acer Instant Connect gets you on the Internet in just 2.5 seconds – four times faster than conventional connections.
• A mere .51 inches thin and weighing a scant 2.98 pounds, the Aspire S3's aluminum/ magnesium chassis delivers strength in a lightweight design.
• Acer Hybrid Standby Technology provides up to 50 days of standby power and up to 6 hours of continuous usage.
• An Intel® Core™ i7 Processor and roomy 240GB solid state drive deliver as much performance and storage capacity as much larger, full-size notebooks.
• Available now for $1299 at several retailers including Amazon, NewEgg, TigerDirect and BestBuy.com.

Hands-on with Google Music MP3 store for web and the new Music app

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 05:02 PM PST

By now, most of us are familiar with Google Music, but as Mountain View just outed its new tunes purchasing platform, we had to try it out for ourselves. It's a painless process, particularly for those who have used the Android Market and already have a credit card in Google's system. To grab songs or albums through the new service, you simply go to the Google Music page and click on the "Shop" link in the upper right hand corner. That'll bring you to the music section of the Android Market, where you're then able to purchase individual songs or entire albums to find your personal sonic bliss. Pricing's pretty much identical to what you've seen elsewhere: songs are either 99 cents or $1.29, and albums are around ten bucks. Once you've made a selection, you'll be prompted to log into the Market if you haven't already to complete your purchase. After doing so, it also asks if you'd like to share your new tunes on Google+, and lets you choose who gets to see (and listen to) the musical post on your profile. Easy peasy.

Shortly after buying the album, it showed up in the Google Music app on our Android device and we were listening to Jay-Z's lyrical stylings in no time. While doing so, we poked around the updated app and found a few new features in the update. The UI has been tweaked slightly, as you can now scroll horizontally through the categories up top, which makes sifting through your library by title, artist or genre easier than ever. Users can also create instant mixes from playing songs and the player itself has gotten some sprucing in the looks department. Unfortunately, the Market app doesn't enable music purchases on phones just yet, but Google said it's in the pipeline, and we'll be letting you know all about it when it arrives. Until then, let us know how Big G's new music store is treating you in the comments below.
Google Music hands-on

Toyota to unveil Prius C, hydrogen and electric hybrid concepts at 2012 Tokyo Motor Show

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 04:42 PM PST


If there's one absolute truth to cars, it's this: next year's models will generally make you regret the one you just bought. Over at the Tokyo Motor Show, this standard will probably hold true, with Toyota set to launch a smaller-than-current-Prius in the form of the Prius C, or "Aqua". The C, which takes some interesting technological steps forward, packs a hybrid drivetrain, coupling an as-yet undisclosed "high-output" electric motor with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. According to Toyota, this combination will yield over 50 miles per gallon in the city, the highest city fuel economy for any non-plug-in vehicle. Getting into more experimental territory, Toyota is also expected to unveil the FCV-R concept, this model previewing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle with room for four passengers and luggage space currently being targeted for a 2015 market launch. This, along with the FT-EV III (which will preview an upcoming electric version of the company's iQ model with a short-range battery-powered drivetrain) round out Toyota's morsels for the new model year. Stay tuned for additional pricing and release dates as they become available, and head down past the break to see what to expect from the new Prius.
Toyota Motor Show 2012 Preview Gallery


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Toyota Prius c Provides a Subcompact Entry Point to Prius Family of Hybrid Vehicles
Among the Most Advanced Vehicles in its Class Will Debut at 2012 NAIAS

TORRANCE (Nov. 15, 2011) –Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., will offer a fuel-efficient hybrid at a more accessible price when the Prius c joins the Prius Family of vehicles in the spring of 2012. The U.S. debut of the Prius c will be next January at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

This highly anticipated subcompact member of the Prius Family will bring Toyota's renowned Hybrid Synergy Drive® technology to a new segment of buyers when it joins the third-generation Prius Liftback hybrid vehicle, the versatile new Prius v midsize hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid model, which will also debut next spring. Positioned as an entry into the Prius Family appealing to youthful shoppers seeking fuel efficiency, technology, and spirited driving dynamics in the subcompact segment, the Prius c will offer:

-Expected class-leading fuel economy better than 50 mpg in the city, which is the highest city mpg of any non-plug-in vehicle.
-Proven hybrid technology, with 14 years of heritage, available at a more accessible price.
-A high degree of convenience features and premium in-car electronics, uncommon in a five-door configuration, creating a less compromised compact-car experience

As with other Prius models, Prius c combines its revolutionary Hybrid Synergy Drive® with excellent aerodynamics to achieve outstanding fuel efficiency. The new Prius c is unique in the Prius Family with a more youthful expression and a sportier dynamic character that offers a more fun-to-drive experience. The vehicle's five-door format and flexible packaging will adapt to a broad range of owners' needs.

The Prius c offers an unexpected level of convenience, capability and technology in a compact hybrid-electric at an attractive price. Bluetooth® hands-free phone connectivity, steering-wheel audio controls, and nine airbags will be among the standard features on the 2012 Prius c.

In addition,owners will enjoy a new dimension of connectivity courtesy of the available Toyota Entune™ multimedia system. Entune™ leverages the mobile smartphone to provide a richer in-vehicle infotainment experience with fully integrated access to navigation, entertainment, and information services. It allows users to connect with popular apps such as Bing™, OpenTable.com, and movietickets.com. Entune™ also provides access to real-time information services, such as live weather, traffic, fuel information (location and price), stocks, and sports. The Prius c also offers voice recognition, music streaming, and email/text to speech capabilities.

Toyota Entune™ brings one of the largest selections of music options available to a vehicle, including iheartradio's 750+ stations and Pandora® internet radio's personalized music. In addition, the driver's personal songs from portable media players and iPods (via USB or Bluetooth® audio streaming), and more than 170 stations from SiriusXM™ satellite radio are also available.

Making premium technology available to compact-car shoppers, the Prius c offers superior fuel economy in a stylish, user-friendly package.


TOYOTA: FIVE WORLD PREMIERES AT TOKYO

Toyota today announced five world premieres for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, including the prototype of its new compact sports car.

The unveiling of the stunning coupe will be joined by global debuts of the Prius C compact city car and three ground-breaking concepts - a next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, an ultra-compact electric car and a quirky vehicle known as the Fun-Vii.

The much-anticipated rear-wheel drive sports car is the culmination of the FT-86 series of concepts that have featured at motor shows around the world, including Australia.

A joint development with Fuji Heavy Industries, the car is destined to add appeal and excitement to the Toyota brand by reaffirming the joy of driving.

Toyota's return to the sports-car market is in response to an edict by global president Akio Toyota for the company to re-connect with younger buyers by producing fun-to-drive models.

The spiritual successor to Toyota's illustrious sports-car heritage that includes names such as Supra and MR2, the new coupe is due in Australian showrooms around the middle of next year.

Prius C (world premiere)

Ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota has released the first official details of the Prius C, a compact city car that will be launched in Australia next year.

Prius C combines the features of a Yaris-sized car with a hybrid vehicle to deliver a fun-to-drive compact vehicle with excellent fuel economy.

The Australian launch of Prius C in the first quarter of 2012 is destined to bring the benefits of hybrid ownership to a much wider audience.

The body, at less than four metres long, promises nimble handling while its stylish proportions and low height are designed to enhance aerodynamic performance.

Prius C features a compact and lightweight hybrid system - a 1.5-litre petrol engine with a high-output motor - that achieves 35-40 kilometres per litre on the official Japanese test cycles.

Engine and hybrid components are arranged to deliver a low centre of gravity that contributes to spirited driving while the interior offers high levels of comfort and ample luggage space.

Prius C is due to be launched late next month in Japan, where it will be called Aqua.

Key dimensions of Prius C are: length 3995mm, width 1695mm, height 1445mm, wheelbase 2550mm, seating 5.

FCV-R (world premiere)

This concept model is a highly practical fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) that is planned for launch in about 2015.

It is fuelled by hydrogen, a promising source of CO2 emission-free energy that can be produced from a variety of sources and is easy to store and transport.

With the fuel-cell unit located beneath the specially designed body, the vehicle can accommodate up to four passengers and boasts impressive luggage space.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) says the fuel cell stack, consisting of a 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, has been improved to provide a cruising distance of approximately 700km under test conditions.

Key dimensions of the FCV-R are: length 4745mm, width 1790mm, height 1510mm, wheelbase 2700mm, seating 4.

FT-EV III (world premiere)

The latest in a series of electric concept cars, the FT-EV III is an ultra-compact and lightweight package suitable for short-distance trips.

Equipped with a lithium-ion battery, the FT-EV III achieves an estimated cruising range of 105km on a fully charged battery.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is developing electric vehicles with the aim of launching a car next year that is suitable for short-distance travel.

Toyota says electric vehicles with zero CO2 emissions are important eco-cars of the future that have the potential to replace cars fuelled by petrol.

Key dimensions of the FT-EV III are: length 3110mm, width 1680mm, height 1500mm, wheelbase 2000mm, seating 4.

Toyota Fun-Vii (world premiere)

This quirky concept vehicle heralds a future where people, cars and society are linked.

It is a key exhibit for the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, which is being staged under the theme "Mobility can change the world".

Prius Plug-in Hybrid (Japan premiere)

The Prius Plug-in Hybrid, an environment-friendly vehicle that combines features from both pure-electric and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, is equipped with a new, high-capacity lithium-ion battery that can be charged from a household outlet.

Able to operate as an electric vehicle on short trips and as a petrol-electric hybrid vehicle on medium to long trips, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid can be used regardless of battery charge status or the availability of charging infrastructure.

With this vehicle, TMC aims to address environmental issues such as the reduction of fossil fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and atmospheric pollution.

A production model is planned for launch by TMC in early 2012 with an EV cruising range on fully charged battery of 23.4km, positioning the plug-in hybrid as a leading next-generation eco-car coming after petrol-electric hybrid vehicles.

The plug-in hybrid vehicle represents the technology TMC considers best suited for widespread use to meet CO2 emissions restrictions and the diversification of energy.

Other activities

Separately from the motor show, at nearby Mega Web, TMC will hold hands-on events that will allow visitors the opportunity to test-drive some of the display vehicles and experience future technologies.

TMC will also create a Tokyo Motor Show portal site (www.toyota.co.jp) to stream information from the show along with virtual events introduced on the GAZOO Metapolis site (http://metapolis.toyota.co.jp).

Samsung Omnia W slides through FCC with North American 3G support

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 04:14 PM PST

The Omnia W isn't exactly a stranger among Julius Genachowski's minions, who first laid eyes upon the device back in October, but apparently, that first round of scrutiny just wasn't enough. That's right. The Omnia W is back, with one fundamental change: unlike the first handset (GT-I8350), which maxes out at EDGE connectivity on our domestic 1900 / 850MHz bands, the latest model (GT-I8350T) has piled on support for WCDMA and HSPA over the 850MHz spectrum. Given the similarity of AT&T's Focus Flash to the Omnia W, it seems terribly unlikely that this one is bound for the States -- which also suggests that this mid-sized Mango may have Canada squarely within its sights. With the utter absence of Windows Phone at Bell and Rogers, and merely the Optimus 7 at Telus, the arrival of some tropical fruit up north seems long overdue, indeed.

TP-Link Portable 3G Wireless N Router fits in your pocket, draws power from USB

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 03:46 PM PST

Sure, we may be fast approaching the 12th year of the 21st century, but as you may have noticed, planet Earth has yet to be coated in a warm, fuzzy blanket of WiFi. And yes, we're just as befuddled as you. For now -- and for the foreseeable future as well -- we'll need to continue furnishing our own provisions for reliable wireless internet access, which is often no small feat. Fortunately, if you're able to find a USB 3G modem or Ethernet connection, TP-Link's new Portable 3G/3.75G Wireless N Router (TL-MR3020) can hook you up with WiFi for a mere $40.

The tiny device is small enough to fit in your pocket, and offers a variety of power options, including a built-in plug and mini USB connector -- enabling you to use the device with an external battery pack, for example. A second USB port lets you hook up a UMTS/HSPA/EVDO USB 3G modem, which you can then dish out to other wireless gadgets. This pocketable WiFi wonder will be available on December 14th at Fry's, Micro Center, B&H and Data Vision, along with e-tailers like Newegg and Amazon. If an Ethernet-only model will suit your needs, the TL-WR700N is another option, shipping on November 23rd for $30. Jump past the break for the full rundown from TP-Link.
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Create a Wi-Fi Hotspot Anywhere with TP-LINK's New 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router and Portable 3G/3.75G Wireless N Router

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today announces two new Portable Wireless N Routers, designed to provide high-speed Internet access anywhere you go. Both routers are ideal for connecting tablet computers, smart phones, portable gaming consoles, and other mobile electronic devices while on-the-go.

The new 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router (TL-WR700N) can be used to create an instant Wi-Fi hotspot by plugging in an Ethernet cable from your existing network or modem. It is a smart solution to efficiently expand your wireless network for the use of Wi-Fi enabled laptops, mobile phones, tablets, game consoles and more. The Mini Pocket Router operates as an Access Point to create a Wi-Fi hotspot from a wired source. It also functions as a Wireless Router, Range Extender or Wireless Bridge. The stylish cube design is small enough to fit into your pocket and plugs right into an electrical outlet without the hassle of using a power cord.

TP-LINK also introduces its new Portable 3G/3.75G Wireless N Router (TL-MR3020) which connects to the Internet via 3G cellular networks - the same network that your mobile phone uses - to keep you online and connected anywhere. Simply plug in the 3G USB modem to TL-MR3020 and establish a Wi-Fi hotspot instantly. With its travel-size design, TL-MR3020 is compact enough to take on the road and share its 3G Internet connection wherever coverage is available. The device comes with three adjustable modes: 3G Router Mode, WISP Client Router Mode, and Access Point Mode. Additionally it can be used as a Wireless Router, Range Extender or Wireless Bridge. The router can be powered through a USB connection or external power adapter, both included with the device.

150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router (TL-WR700N) – $29.99 – Available 11/23/11


Wireless N speeds of up to 150Mbps*

Compact, sleek design

Fully compliant with 2.4GHz-2.4835GHz Wireless Frequency

Supports AP, Bridge, Repeater (Range Extender), Wireless Router operation modes

Compatible with any Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as iPhoneTM, iPadTM, AndroidTM Phones, KindleTM, game consoles and other entertainment devices

Advanced security and encryptions

Portable 3G/3.75G Wireless N Router (TL-MR3020) – $39.99 – Available 12/14/11


Wireless N speeds of up to 150Mbps*

Compact design, ideal for travel

Compatible with UMTS/HSPA/EVDO USB 3G Modems

Fully compliant with 2.4GHz-2.4835GHz Wireless Frequency

Supports 3G Router, AP, Bridge, Repeater (Range Extender), Wireless Router, WISP Client operation modes

Powered by USB connection or external power adapter

Compatible with any Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as iPhoneTM, iPadTM, AndroidTM Phones, KindleTM, game consoles and other entertainment devices

Advanced security and encryptions

TP-LINK products are available at Fry's Electronics, Micro Center, B&H and Data Vision. You can also find them online at Newegg.com, Amazon.com, http://www.mwave.com/mwave/index.asp? Tigerdirect.com, Walmart.com and Buy.com.

*Actual data will vary because of the network conditions and environmental factors

SparkFun announces $80 Electric Sheep development board for Android accessories

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 03:18 PM PST

Looking for an alternative to the Google-approved Android Development Kit? Then you now have another fairly inexpensive option to consider courtesy of SparkFun. It's officially announced its new Electric Sheep development board, which costs just $80 and will let you build your own Android accessories using the Open Accessory protocol. That means it and any accessories built with it will work just fine with your Nexus One, although there's of course no guarantees it'll work with, say, a future Nexus-6 model -- we hear those might be a bit unpredictable. Press release is after the break, and you can find some additional specifics and an order button at the source link below.
Show full PR text
SPARKFUN ELECTRONICS ANNOUNCES NEW DEVELOPMENT HARDWARE FOR ANDROID

Electric Sheep Gives Customers USB Access to their Android-based Devices to Develop Their Own Accessories and Applications

BOULDER, Colo. Nov. 16, 2011 – SparkFun Electronics ( HYPERLINK "http://www.sparkfun.com/"www.sparkfun.com), a provider of parts knowledge and passion for electronics creation, today proudly announced a new product designed to help inventors create new custom Android accessories.

The new product, aptly named the Electric Sheep, is designed to take advantage of the Android system's open accessory protocol. By communicating via USB, Electric Sheep gives users complete dynamic access to the phone's systems and enables the easy creation of custom applications and accessories such as controls for an autonomous vehicle or coupling your phone with a microcontroller such as an Arduino. These boards are not restricted to only Android phones, but can be used on any platform with the Android operating system and a USB port.

"The Electric Sheep is a product we are really excited to announce," said SparkFun Director of Marketing AnnDrea Boe. "This product represents months of prototyping and design by the SparkFun engineers and will give its users free reign to create accessories for the Android system."

On the technical side, the Electric Sheep is based on the ATMega2560 microcontroller and bootloader and features a USB-host connector on-board for quick connection to Android devices. The board allows for the creation of accessories for Android using the Arduino IDEA and HandBag and is Arduino-shield compatible. Even if you don't have an Android device, the Electric Sheep can double as a development platform with all the functionality of the host microcontroller and a USB shield. The Electric Sheep is priced at $79.95 per unit and is now available on SparkFun's website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.sparkfun.com" www.sparkfun.com).

About SparkFun Electronics
Founded in 2003, SparkFun shares its passion for electronics by providing parts, knowledge, and innovation for those looking to explore the world of embedded electronics. It helps anyone discover their inner inventor and enables individuals to create their own electronics projects. SparkFun currently offers more than 1,800 products, ranging from simple components, like capacitors and resistors to GPS units and Bluetooth modules. The company employs 130 people and is based in Boulder, Colorado.

Microsoft Xbox 360 successor rumored to arrive in 2012, make an appearance at CES?

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 02:54 PM PST

Go get the salt... it's Xbox rumor time! Today, we're hearing that Microsoft's Xbox 360 successor may be hitting stores in late 2012, according to Edge, with an initial announcement possibly to come at CES. Next December would be a couple years shy of the 10-year time frame Microsoft reps have quoted for the 360's life cycle in the past, and we haven't heard much about this rumored CES announcement until now, so we're not inclined to take either of these reports too seriously. Ubisoft may have Microsoft-supplied dev kits, according to Edge, so perhaps there is some truth to the rumors. We don't have long to wait until that massive consumer electronics gathering in Vegas at this point, though, so it's only a matter of time before the rumor mills begin shifting their launch expectations to 2013.
at 11:41 AM

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