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Engadget News |
- The Distro Interview: Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton
- HTC One X gets teardown, battery unsurprisingly dominates
- SkyDrive app for Windows Phone gets 2.0 update, reduces free storage capacity
- MBTA and Masabi team up for first smartphone rail ticketing system in the US, launching in Boston this fall
- Vodafone first carrier to jump on the new Samsung Galaxy phone bandwagon
- Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks 'like'
- NVIDIA: there's nothing 'Ultra' about Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks unless you add Kepler
- Intel puts Ivy Bridge on the map: first 22nm product, decent official benchmarks, desktop quad-cores from $174
- MSI GT70 gaming laptop review
- Acer dips its toes into Ivy Bridge, refreshes two of its desktops with new processors
- Amped Wireless releases two new USB adapters to cure internet blackspots (video)
- The NOFAN CR-95C: a fanless copper CPU cooler for your next-gen build
- HTC One V coming to Canada on Bell, will reunite with One S
- HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE pops up on Verizon for $300, links to Droid RAZR Maxx
- Nokia N900 rises from the grave, replaces robot's head
- AmazonSupply launches, offers up lab and janitorial supplies in same convenient location
- TiVo quietly rebrands Premiere XL, Elite DVRs as XL2 and XL4 under cover of darkness
- eMusic launches Android app
- Sony VAIO E Series 14P gets Ivy Bridge processor nudge, improved display
- Samsung Canada launches Cineplex Store app, offers paid movies on 'select' Smart devices
- Screen Grabs: Serena's packing steam, Gossip Girl turns gamer
- Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video)
- Skype app won't work on low-end Windows Phone devices
- PSA: Fitbit Aria WiFi scale available now for $130
- LG Optimus 3D Max launches in Europe, won't be coming to the UK
- Vodafone looking to buy Cable & Wireless, just can't resist that fibre-optic infrastructure
- Intel's Ivy Bridge will offer '20 percent more performance with 20 percent less average power'
- China Times: HTC wants to develop its own processors for low-end phones
- Sinclair ZX Spectrum turns 30, gets immortalized as a Google Doodle
- New research brings better wireless to remote locations, 80 percent faster GoT downloads
- Adobe unveils CS6 and subscription-based Creative Cloud service, up for pre-order now (video)
- Walmart to unleash its Vudu magic on South America, Europe, Asia
- How would you change the Jawbone Up?
- Refresh Roundup: week of April 16th, 2012
- Inhabitat's Week in Green: ten earth activities, transnatural stools and wood ash bike frames
- Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 2
- Skype for Windows Phone sheds beta title, graduates to v1.0
| The Distro Interview: Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton Posted: 23 Apr 2012 11:21 AM PDT
Bill Buxton has spent most of his career getting between humans and computers. While his initial focus was on music and digital instruments, that eventually led to an interest in human-computer interaction, and pioneering work with multitouch systems and other user interfaces. He worked with the famed hotbed of innovation Xerox PARC in the late 1980s and early 90s, and was later Chief Scientist for software firm Alias Wavefront before claiming the same title at SGI Inc. when that company acquired the former in 1995. After a time running his own Toronto-based design and consulting firm, he moved on to Microsoft Research in 2005, where he continues to serve as the organization's Principal Researcher. Your title at Microsoft is Principal Researcher. Can you explain a bit what that entails? What is your day-to-day like? What's your assessment of the state of design at Microsoft these days?
There have been pockets of design excellence within the company for years. The hardware group that designs our mouse and keyboard products is just one. However, since Microsoft has traditionally been perceived as a software company, their designs have been frequently overlooked when people think about design at Microsoft
On the other hand, I often interpret talk about the "post-PC era" as implying a world where the desktop PC, with its keyboard and mouse, has disappeared. That, I think, is a misguided notion. In my analysis, what is happening with the emergence of new and varied form factors and classes of device is an augmentation of the overall eco-system, not one class of device rendering another obsolete. Of course, there will be some of that. But in general, that is not how things work. Cinema did not replace live theatre, nor television cinema. Yes, each new technology may change the overall distribution of the market of "drama watchers," but in that case, for example, the overall market grew as well. Following my claim that everything is best for something and worst for something else, the desktop PC will continue to exist and develop for the many things for which it is well suited, and other devices will take over from it for the things for which it is less well suited. That is all good, and what we have predicted since the early days when we first articulated the concept of ubiquitous computing. I would say that we have just scratched the surface in this regard. We live in the physical world, and for a long time there was no digital world. Today we have some connections between the two worlds, but when we can truly blend them together, we get something completely new, something we are only now beginning to understand. This is why this is the most exciting time in my career since the first time I used a computer 41 years ago. Compared to what we have done in the past, what we can do today is fantastic. Compared to where we have the potential to be in 10-20 years, we still have a lot of work to do. We still work with computers. But reflecting what I said above, that is just a stepping stone to getting to the point where we are unaware that we are dealing with computers. As the saying goes, people don't want a hammer or nail, nor even a hole in the wall. They want their picture hanging on the wall at the spot where they want it. That is the high order task. Every time you encounter an issue dealing with some intermediate step or tool in doing some higher order activity, that may well be an opportunity for a more natural, or appropriate means of accomplishing it. You've built up an impressive collection of gadgets over the years. Can you talk about some of your favorites? What drives you to collect them? Yes, I have been collecting interactive gadgets, and therefore much of the history of my craft, over the past 35 years or so. I never intended it to be a collection, per se. I just kept things that captured my interest -- sometimes because they were so cool, and sometimes because they were so bad. What they all have in common is that they provide really valuable lessons about design. You can read about something, and understand the concept. But if you have a chance to actually experience it because you have the gadget, then your way of knowing is at a far deeper, visceral level.
Now here is the kicker: these watches were available commercially in 1984 - the year that the first Macintosh came out -- and they sold for under $100. Now think about it: this was over 19 Moore's Laws ago, a factor of over 262,144. What these devices teach me is humility. Rather than puffing out our collective chests as to how well we are doing, they really beg the question, "What have you, as an industry, been doing for the past 20 years? You can, and you should, do better!" My collection keeps me honest.
The challenge and the target trend is in the direction where every device and service you acquire not only delivers great value and experience on its own, but that value and quality of experience is enhanced by every other product and service that you already have, and each of them enhance that which you just acquired. And, in the process, by adding more of the right technology, we end up with an overall reduction in complexity for our users. This interview first appeared in Distro issue 37. Cover illustration by Sean McCabe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC One X gets teardown, battery unsurprisingly dominates Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:58 AM PDT
While some might deem the One X's combination of svelte unibody profile, quad-core power and 720p display to be downright witchcraft, we knew differently. Fortunately, there's now scientific proof to back us up, courtesy of PCOnline, which has performed a delicate autopsy on the Chinese variant of HTC's new flagship. To explore that polycarbonate shell, a narrow plastic tool to is eased in behind the screen and around the face of the device, with the majority of the phone's tightly packed innards -- including the Tegra 3 processor -- attached to the display half. Some contacts, however, were left on the inside of the unibody, including the NFC chip. Most of the quad-core thinking parts were clustered around the 8-megapixel sensor, while the battery dominated the center of HTC's big hitter. Anyone who gets their kicks from the gentle undoing of all that engineering hard work can watch it unravel in grisly detail at the source below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SkyDrive app for Windows Phone gets 2.0 update, reduces free storage capacity Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT
Microsoft has updated its SkyDrive cloud storage and sharing app for Windows Phone -- you know, the one that offers more free storage than a certain competitor. New features include a batch-select tool to make moving files around easier while on the go, the ability to directly manage folder permissions and the quick sharing of files with approved recipients in your People Hub. Version 2.0 is currently available for download in the Marketplace -- even for low-end Windows Phones. In other news, Microsoft has revealed pricing for its just-launched Skydrive app on Windows desktops, setting you back $10, $25, or $50 a year for an additional 20GB, 50GB or 100GB. Scrapped in the process is the 25 gigs of free storage that Microsoft once offered to new users, now dropping that pro-bono capacity to just 7GBs, save for the lucky few that opted in before the company announced its new pricing structure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:09 AM PDT
In Boston this fall, you won't need to keep up with your train ticket anymore -- as long as you don't leave your smartphone at home. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Masabi have joined forces to bring a rail ticketing to handheld devices via iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps. Headquartered in London, Masabi has launched similar tech for transit companies in the UK, eliminating ticket lines for many smartphone-wielding passengers. Software will allow riders to purchase tickets and passes that are validated with a barcode scan by conductors equipped with mobile devices of their own. MBTA is looking to cut costs and provide added convenience with the new system instead of adding more ticketing kiosks to its stations. The aforementioned apps will be developed alongside focus groups and a small pilot group this summer with a full rollout to all MBTA customers expected to happen this fall. Looking for a bit more info? Hit the coverage and source links below to read on. [Image credit: Masabi on Flickr] MBTA and Masabi to Launch First Smartphone Rail Ticketing System in the U.S. Apps will allow Commuter Rail customers to purchase and display tickets on iPhone, Android and Blackberry BOSTON, MA – 23rd April 2012 – Today, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Masabi US Ltd, the transit mobile ticketing pioneer, jointly announce that they will be bringing mobile ticketing to MBTA commuter rail riders this fall. With applications for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry, customers will be able to seamlessly purchase commuter rail tickets and passes. Once tickets are purchased, customers will be able to use and display directly via their phone screen. "MassDOT and the MBTA are striving to bring our customers convenience without added costs. We are delivering just that with this project and this technology," said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey. "With this new and innovative approach, we are putting a ticket machine right in the palms of our customers' hands," said Acting MBTA General Manager Jonathan Davis. Less than half of MBTA's 140 Commuter Rail stations have fare vending machines, forcing many customers to pay for tickets on board. But that will soon change as riders will be able to purchase tickets via credit or debit cards directly from their phones. Monthly pass holders will be able to seamlessly link a plastic CharlieCard to their pass allowing them "tap-in" instead of using magnetic tickets for the MBTA subway and bus systems. The new solution will help the MBTA reduce costs by eliminating the need for additional vending machines and lowering cash handling costs. To help combat fare evasion, all mobile tickets will have barcodes allowing for validation. Throughout the pilot program, smart phone-equipped train conductors will be checking tickets to ensure their validity. Masabi will provide a comprehensive mTicketing solution including; consumer-facing applications, backend servers, payment integration and scanning/validation software for train conductors. "By placing a personalized ticket machine in the pocket of commuters, they can now buy tickets wherever they are, faster than ever before," said Giacomo Biggiero, Director of Masabi US Ltd. "MBTA will also see significant benefits in terms of reducing costly cash handling charges and the cost of additional ticket machines. We are delighted to be working with them to launch our first mTicketing system in the U.S." In the coming months, the MBTA will be inviting customers to participate in designing the new applications via focus groups and a small group pilot which will roll out in late summer. The full deployment to all MBTA customers is expected this fall. All transactions are secured using the award-winning encryptME security system that has been validated to U.S. Government standards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vodafone first carrier to jump on the new Samsung Galaxy phone bandwagon Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:47 AM PDT
Rumors and leaks have been flying fast and furious about Samsung's next handset to be graced with the Galaxy moniker, and we've just gotten one more tidbit. Other than the event invite Sammy sent out last week and a recent video teaser, official info on the handset's been hard to come by. However, Vodafone's just put up a page indicating the carrier will, indeed, get the new superphone and is letting you register for updates on its status. So, we now know at least one carrier that'll have the handset, the question is who else is in line to get the Galaxy? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks 'like' Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:25 AM PDT
Microsoft has agreed to sell on around 650 patents to Facebook in a deal worth $550 million. The Haüs of Zuckerberg will stump up the cash in exchange for various social networking patents that were registered by AOL (disclaimer: Engadget's parent company) and sold to Redmond for $1 billion a fortnight ago. Microsoft will hold onto the remaining 275 in its portfolio and cross-license those that it's sold on, but not the 300 patents that AOL licensed but kept hold of. The social network will likely utilize the portfolio to better defend itself from litigation like the lawsuit brought by Yahoo back in March. If you're interested in reading the phrase "protect Facebook's interests over the long term," then head past the break for the official word from the men who invented poking. REDMOND, Wash. and MENLO PARK, Calif. - April 23, 2012 - Microsoft Corp. and Facebook announced today a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will assign to Facebook the right to purchase a portion of the patent portfolio it recently agreed to acquire from AOL Inc. Facebook has agreed to purchase this portion for $550 million in cash. In the initial AOL auction, Microsoft secured the ability to own or assign approximately 925 U.S. patents and patent applications plus a license to AOL's remaining patent portfolio, which contains approximately 300 additional patents that were not for sale.As a result of today's agreement, Facebook will obtain ownership of approximately 650 AOL patents and patent applications, plus a license to the AOL patents and applications that Microsoft will purchase and own. Upon closing of this transaction with Facebook, Microsoft will retain ownership of approximately 275 AOL patents and applications; a license to the approximately 650 AOL patents and applications that will now be owned by Facebook; and a license to approximately 300 patents that AOL did not sell in its auction. "Today's agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction," said Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel, Microsoft. "As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio." "Today's agreement with Microsoft represents an important acquisition for Facebook," said Ted Ullyot, general counsel, Facebook. "This is another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook's interests over the long term."The parties are evaluating the accounting treatment for these transactions. These transactions are also subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NVIDIA: there's nothing 'Ultra' about Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks unless you add Kepler Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:15 AM PDT
This is a vaguely awkward message for NVIDIA to be putting out. On one hand, the company is best buddies with Intel and is hoping to see its next-gen GPUs bundled with a large portion of the Ivy Bridge notebooks that will ship this year. But to reach that target, it must risk irking Chipzilla by emphasizing the limitations of Ivy Bridge's integrated graphics. That's exactly what happened at a recent presentation, when NVIDIA told us there'll be "nothing Ultra" about the performance of a regular Ivy Bridge Ultrabook because the integrated HD 4000 graphics will only handle around 43 percent of current games. By contrast, if you add in a GeForce GT 640M you'll find that 100 percent of current games are playable with frame rates over 30fps and high detail settings, including Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Crysis 2 and many others. If you leave the lightweight Ultrabook spec behind and combine Ivy Bridge with a GT 670M GPU then you can go even higher -- as we just discovered in our review of the MSI's GT70 gaming laptop. Fortunately, Intel was pretty magnanimous about HD 4000 when it briefed us, and readily accepted that enthusiasts will still want discrete graphics, so we don't imagine the slide above will cause too many hurt feelings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:01 AM PDT
We hear that pilgrims have already started flocking to the town of Ivybridge (population 12,056) in the forested depths of southwest England. Very soon though, you'll be able to pay homage to Moore's law without travelling further than your favorite online retailer, because the third generation of Intel Core processors has just launched and should be available to buy before the end of this month. These include eight different variants of Core i7 for desktops and notebooks (including Ultrabooks of course), plus five types of Core i5 destined for desktops only. Those watching out for cheaper dual-core i5, i3 and Pentium-branded options will have to wait a little longer, because today's launch is all about the high-end. And just how high is 'high'? Judging from the gossip we've heard, and from benchmarks of leaked desktop and notebook chips, we're looking a significant improvement over Sandy Bridge. But if you want the first official boasts, then read on.
Ivy Bridge is a loud 'tick' in Intel's product cycle, with a much smaller 22nm fabrication process instead of the 32nm silicon found in Sandy Bridge (a tock) and Westmere (the previous tick, back in 2010). Stare at your fingernail for 22 seconds and you'll see it grow by the size of one transistor -- a world first for a mass-produced chip, according to Intel. To pack more into the same space, the transistors benefit from a 3D or tri-gate design, which means they're arranged over fins that protrude from the surface of the silicon base rather than just lying flat. Having smaller, lumpier transistors doesn't necessarily translate into radically different performance, and indeed Intel is making quite modest claims in that department: e.g., up to eight percent improvement in the Core i7-3820QM compared to the i7-2860QM running the SYSmark benchmark, or up to 22 percent improvement when running a multi-threaded application like Cinebench. On the other hand, shrinking the silicon does make it more energy efficient, which bodes well for the battery life of Ultrabooks and Macbooks everywhere, and it also frees up space for Intel to pack more technology on each chip. The main beneficiary of that extra room is the integrated graphics. In those chips which have superior HD 4000 hardware, the GPU component will now occupy around a third of the chip's 160mm2 die size. Sandy Bridge's HD 3000 graphics were pretty good for many tasks, and could readily handle a bit of Medieval 2, but they weren't up to modern 3D gaming and they were outclassed by the Radeon HD visuals on AMD's Fusion chips. Intel claims the fattened-up HD 4000 will deliver a minimum 50 percent improvement in 3D performance and will play 100 percent of recent games out of the box -- though it didn't specify frame rates or graphical settings, so we're not exactly sure how to interpret that. Chips with HD 2500 graphics should be 10 to 20 percent superior to HD 2000, and all the new chips will support DX11, OpenCL v1.1 (which allows use of the GPU and the CPU for compute tasks) and OpenGL 3.1. That said, Intel was keen not to overplay gaming prowess in our briefing, acknowledging that "the majority of high-end gamers will still use discrete graphics." If you're more into multimedia than gaming as such, then there are couple of nuggets here for you too: Quick Sync accelerated video encoding will get a 50 to 80 percent bump, while support has also been added for Handbrake, the open source video transcoder. Once you get past the main CPU and GPU improvements, you're down to a long shopping list of much smaller upgrades such as onboard USB 3.0 support, PCIe 3.0, triple display support and improved overclocking, the usefulness of which will depend on your habits. Check out the Intel slide below for more detail. That's it! And the best thing is that Intel is giving you all of this stuff while asking nothing in return, except at least $174 for a Core i5 desktop chip and at least $278 for a desktop i7. We're missing complete pricing for the mobile chips, but the top-end notebook i7 processors will start at $378 (for the i7-3720QM) and rise to $1096 for the maximum spec i7-3920XM. If you're getting a desktop chip for your own build, you'll probably want to budget for a new Series 7 motherboard to go with it, although very recent Series 6 boards should also be able to host an Ivy Bridge chip if they have the right firmware -- the socket is still LGA 1155. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:01 AM PDT
 Now that Intel's let the cat out of the bag (and into the Ivy), it's high time we took a look at what manufacturers are going to do with those fancy new processors. Behold: The MSI GT70 gaming laptop, one of the first gaming beasts out of the door with Intel's next generation architecture. Living up to its next-gen CES promises, this 17.3-inch behemoth falls squarely in the desktop replacement category, at 8.6 pounds, and packs a new 2.3GHz Core i7-3610QM processor, NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 670M chip with 3GB of video memory, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and a fancy RAID 0 dual SSD setup -- all wrapped in one hefty, formidable package. So how powerful a combination do Ivy Bridge and NVIDIA make? Let's find out.
Look and feel
MSI's latest rig boldly models the gargantuan proportions we've come to expect from high-end desktop replacements, weighing in at 8.6 pounds spread over a 16.85 x 11.34 x 2.16-inch frame. The stalwart machine follows the standard "large laptop" shape -- that is, bulky in the back, tapering down to a (comparatively) thinner front edge. Crowning the notebook is a dark brushed aluminum lid, framed by a matte black band. Its hinge sits above a pair of stereo speakers and a fairly standard-looking control bar. Amid the display, power and WiFi toggles that normally crowd the keyboard deck, there's also a special turbo button that promises "one-touch overclocking," along with a "cooler boost" toggle that makes the unit's fan spin faster. A pair of standard USB ports share the machine's right edge with a buttonless, tray-loading optical drive. Eject button? Take a look at that control bar one more time -- you won't be opening this drive bay by mistake. The rig's left side mirrors the right with a large vent, a trio of USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader and a quartet of analog jacks: headphone, microphone line-in and line-out. Up front, the machine flaunts a single row of indicator lights: Bluetooth, WiFi, battery, sleep and disk activity. A duo of HDMI and VGA outputs can be found on the back edge, accompanied by an eSATA socket, Ethernet jack and the all-important AC port. For all its bells and whistles, however, the GT70 is a rather unassuming beast, with a simple black interior that matches the outside. Red accents underlining the trackpad and that touch-sensitive control bar are the only embellishments MSI dared to include. The dark, industrial edges are a nice departure from some of the flashier machines on the market, and lend the GT70 a little gravitas, to boot. Keyboard and trackpad
The machine's typewriter boasts a "keyboard by SteelSeries" badge, and it lives up to the brand name. Each press is met with a satisfying mechanical click. The simple black keys are accented by a programmable multicolored LED backlight, which bleeds out from behind each keycap, dimly illuminating the translucent lettering on each of the keys. The SteelSeries washboard may lack the firm clickity-clack of a full-on mechanical keyboard, but typing on it feels tactile, responsive and free of the cheap, gummy quality that plagues far too many laptops. MSI didn't fiddle much with the standard keyboard layout -- an atypical QWERTY lineup hogs the majority of the machine's face and is headlined by a row of F1-12 keys, a few function toggles and a starboard number pad. Its only oddity lies in the absence of a port-side windows key, a welcome omission for gamers who are all too familiar with the mid-game misclick quit. Like its companion keyboard, the touchpad avoids many of the pitfalls common to other portable rigs. For instance, its position, south of they center of the typewriter's home row, ensures the pad is out of the way of a typist's furious fingers, making accidental palm-activated cursor jumps unlikely. More importantly, it handles multitouch shortcuts like a pro, easily recognizing and executing gestures without fuss. Like the keyboard, the touch buttons are solid, and not at all mushy. All around, text input and cursor manipulation on the GT70 is refreshing, though the discerning gamer will still want a dedicated mouse for racking up headshots. Display and sound
The GT70's Dynaudio sound system is somewhat of a standard for MSI rigs, and for good reason. Loud and clear is the classic, apt description for the capable 2.1 speaker setup. The speakers have enough oomph to easily fill a room without distortion. Game audio and music flow richly from the stereo drivers and the orphaned subwoofer on the machine's underbelly, showcasing a clear left-right differential. Sure, good stereo still won't replace a proper surround sound pair of gaming cans, but it's a boon for lazy headset-free gaming. Of course, a good chunk of this listening experience is dependent on the onboard THX TruStudio PRO software, although it can be nixed for a solid tin can impression. We kept the software on and our ears happy. If any one piece of the GT70's build falls short of the rest, it would have to be the screen. Sure, its 17.3-inch (1920 x 1080) LED panel looks wonderful head-on, but its viewing angles are regretfully shallow. Sitting one chair off center of the screen betrays a sharp loss in color, and it doesn't take much horizontal adjustment to kill a viewer with contrast. For a standalone, stationary setup, a single user won't have an issue with this, but sharing the screen or using it in a multi-monitor situation (as anything but the primary monitor) could prove to be problematic. Performance and battery life If you can be bothered to lug the GT70's mighty mass down to your local coffee shop, make sure you have room for a few cups of joe -- you could be there awhile. The MSI rig didn't give up on Engadget's standard battery test for almost three hours, a respectable runtime for a 17.3-inch gaming powerhouse. Of course, if your mobile gaming itch calls for something a little more intense than Minesweeper, you'll want to keep the rig's power brick handy: NVIDIA's discrete graphics chip falls asleep without a nearby outlet. While the machine's integrated GPU can technically run modern games, getting them to run at a playable framerate requires major sacrifices in resolution and visual fidelity. When you do sit down with that AC adapter, however, you'll be playing with some serious power. Those fancy new processors Intel just unleashed? We've got one right here: the Intel Core i7-3610QM clocked at 2.3GHz (3.3GHz with Turbo Boost). NVIDIA takes up the brawn to the rig's brain with a GeForce GTX 670M and its 3GB of dedicated video memory. We couldn't help but try and push the rig to its limit. Games with "very high" settings simply weren't enough; we had to single out titles that went "ultra." Maxing out the video settings in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Battlefield 3 snagged us average frame rates of 38 and 25 at the screens native 1920 x 1080 resolution, respectively. The fields of Tamriel's frozen north were certainly playable, but we had to scale back a few settings to keep our modern soldier on the front lines. Similarly, Grand Theft Auto IV and Crysis (you just gotta test Crysis) lingered below 30 fps unless compromises were made. Source games like Portal 2 and Team Fortress 2, on the other hand, blazed at their maximum settings, pushing 90 fps in Aperture's testing labs and 60 while defending the stronghold -- both easily breaking the three digit barrier with minor tweaks.
Of course a gaming machine plays games, but how about the day to day stuff? Well, it certainly didn't seem to mind the unscientific absurdity of the Engadget workflow: two browsers, each with 15 to 20 open tabs running under Photoshop, word processors and multiple active chat clients. It didn't even seem to mind when we intentionally overloaded twenty of those tabs with streaming video. All fun aside, the GT70 did manage to bench a few notable numbers, and its dual 64GB SSDs in RAID 0 made sure general navigation was lightning-fast. Although the laptop's 27-second boot / 1.8-second wake times seemed speedy to us, a MSI representative told us our test unit was actually underperforming on the SSD front. Our machine clocked 656 MB/s read and 354 MB/s write speeds in the ATTO disk benchmark, but it's rated to top out at 900 MB/s when properly configured. So as happy as we were, we certainly wouldn't scoff at faster solid-state storage. Earlier we mentioned a "turbo" toggle on the laptop's touch sensitive control bar -- this activates the MSI Turbo Drive Engine, a one-touch VGA overclock tool that's supposed to sharpen the rig's already fine edge. While we couldn't get the TDE to bolster in-game performance by more than a one or two frames per second, it did kick the rig's benchmark scores up a notch. With the overclock engaged, PCMark rated the GT70 at 14,225; 3DMark06 pegged it at 19,213, jumping its scores by 200 on both accounts -- give or take 20 points. Software It's a fact of life: if you didn't build your own rig by hand, it's probably going to come with a few pre-installed "goodies" that nobody asked for. The GT70 may not be an exception to this rule, but at least it's not an egregious offender. Yes, it has a suite of multimedia management trialware (MAGIX Photo Manager 9, Music Maker 16 and Video Easy SE, to be exact) that might well go unused, but at least most of the laptop's pre-loaded software is complimentary. THX TruStudio Pro, for instance, lets users tweak their speaker output and boost subwoofer gain. Planning to make use of the rig's port side audio jacks? Realtek's HD Audio Manager is on board to help you configure your surround sound digs. There's a LED manager for the keyboard, of course, and a surprisingly robust network manager (Qualcomm Athertos Killer Network Manager) that allows you to prioritize bandwidth by application. The nearest the GT70 comes to so-called "bloatware" is MSI's signature S-Bar, a visual shortcut dock that hides behind a nondescript icon on the desktop's north end. The dock is fairly lightweight and inoffensive, but its functions mostly mirror actions that can be performed more efficiently with the keyboards Fn key. We'd say its mostly harmless or even useful, if you're not a fan of hotkeys. Either way, MSI doesn't leave pickier users much to uninstall. Configurations
A rig built to match our review unit will set prospective buyers back a cool $2,000, netting them an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM processor clocked at 2.3GHz; an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M with 3GB of GDDR5; dual 64GB SSDs configured in RAID 0 alongside a separate 750GB 7200RPM HDD; 16GB of DDR3 RAM; a Blu-ray rewritable optical drive; a 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 LED display; and, of course, a two-year warranty. Mouthful? You betcha. Of course, if you don't want (or can't afford) the GT70's flagship configuration, MSI is happy to trim a few specs to save you a buck. Dropping the rig's DDR3 ram down to 12GB and consolidating its dual SSD drives into a single 128GB unit brings the MSRP down to $1,850, while kicking another $150 off the sticker price will cost you 250GB of hard drive space and a step down to a DVD multi-drive. If you haggle yourself down to the GT70's lower-end configurations, you'll be left with an interesting choice: more storage space, or more real estate? Sure, bigger is better, but in what context? This choice constitutes a model change. The $1,550 variation of the GT70 is nearly identical to its $1,700 brother, albeit without the SSD drive and a slightly larger hard disk (750GB). The GT60, on the other hand, sheds two inches off of the GT70's screen size and nearly a pound of weight, along with one USB 2.0 socket and the gold plated connectors from its audio ports. The trade off? It has twin 500GB 7200RPM HDDs. As much as we like the GT70, a lighter-weight rig rocking the same specs is definitely worth considering. Hard drives and RAM can always be upgraded, after all. The competitionIf you're looking for a machine to go toe-to-toe with MSI's latest, you may have to wait awhile. Sure, last year's Qosmio X775 packed quite a punch, but its own next-generation successor isn't due for another couple of months. When the X875 does arrive, however, it'll cross the Ivy Bridge with the same GPU as the GT70, so we'd say it's a likely contender. That said, there are plenty of last-generation rigs that just might get price cuts as they make way for new models. The frugal gamer could definitely get by with any number of last year's gaming powerhouses, including MSI's own GT683DXR. Wrap-up While the GT70 wraps itself around the latest technologies, its build impressed us most. The keyboard, trackpad, chassis and speakers all bleed quality, sidestepping so many of the common sins that PC makers commit. This finely crafted icing make its screaming performance that much sweeter. Yes, we can fault it for its less-than-ideal screen and horrendously loud "cooler boost" fan overdrive, but the straw we're grasping is brittle, and it makes a poor bed. At $2,000, the MSI GT70 isn't going to fit in everybody's budget, but it offers few compromises in exchange. Our only caveat is that it's the first Ivy Bridge gaming laptop out of the gate, and with inevitable price drops and looming competition, it may be worth waiting for the slow and steady to catch up. Then again, if you need to have the latest and greatest now, it would be a gross understatement to say you could do worse. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acer dips its toes into Ivy Bridge, refreshes two of its desktops with new processors Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT
Now that the Ivy Bridge cat is out of the bag, you can expect to see a deluge of press releases from PC makers over the coming weeks, each of them saying that this computer or that is getting refreshed with Intel's latest processors. From Acer, at least, we expect multiple announcements: it's only ready to talk about a couple of desktops today, with news around laptops and Ultrabooks coming later. Right now, you can choose from several configurations of the Predator AG3620 gaming tower, with the top-shelf $1,200 model packing a 3.4 GHz Core i7 3770 CPU, NVIDIA GT630 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 2TB of storage space. On the budget end, the $799 Gateway D4860-UR14P will feature a 3.1 GHz Core i5 3450 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Both are available now -- you know, if you've been waiting for precisely this sort of thing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amped Wireless releases two new USB adapters to cure internet blackspots (video) Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT
Is your computer positioned just that little bit too far away from your home router to get consistent internet access? Amped Wireless is here for you with a pair of USB adapters that promise you'll never have to tilt your machine to maintain signal again. The UA1000 pushes out 500mW of power over the 2.4GHz band, will clip to your laptop screen and, if you connect it to two USB ports instead of one it'll be even more powerful. Meanwhile, the UA2000 can switch between its high-range 2.4GHz and low-interference 5.0GHz radios to ensure the best reception in the darkest corners of your home or office. The former will set you back $80 while its dual-band cousin retails at $100 and you can pre-order both from today. AMPED WIRELESS DELIVERS INDUSTRY'S MOST EXTREME WI-FI RANGE WITH TWO NEW HIGH POWER WIRELESS-N USB ADAPTERS New Long-Range, High Power Wireless-N Directional USB Adapters Provide Up to 3 Times the Range of Standard Wireless Adapters Chino Hills, CA – APRIL 23, 2012 – Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high-power, long range wireless communications products for the home and office, today introduced two new high-power Wi-Fi directional USB adapters, which delivers high speed Wi-Fi access and the industry's best wireless range - the UA1000 High Power Wireless-N 500mW Directional USB Adapter and the UA2000 High Power Wireless-N Directional Dual Band Adapter Through the use of advanced high gain directional antennas, high power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers and the latest Wi-Fi technology, these two new products provide Mac and PC, laptop or desktop users with high speed Wi-Fi access and superior range. These new platforms allow devices to connect to 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks from up to three times greater distance than standard wireless adapters. "At Amped Wireless, we believe that without range, Wi-Fi is of little use," stated Jason Owen, president and CEO at Amped Wireless. "So we went above and beyond by integrating our high power technology, such as the advanced antennas and amplifiers in these new adapters, with innovative, useful and original design. The result is a pair of wireless adapters that delivers superior wireless range and performance so you can enjoy dependable Wi-Fi connectivity anywhere at any time." The UA1000 – High Power Wireless-N 500mW Directional USB Adapter Two high power 500mW amplifiers to increase transmit range High power amplifiers and high gain, dual polarity, direction antennas allow PCs and Macs to easily connect to 2.4GHz 802.11n networks at great distances for high speed internet browsing, downloading and streaming HD content. The UA2000 – High Power Wireless-N Directional Dual Band USB Adapter Two high power 2.4 GHz 500mW amplifiers to increase transmit range Dual band technology avoids interference, ensuring top speeds at the greatest range, which allow PCs and Macs to connect to 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz Wireless-N networks for demanding applications, such as streaming HD video and multiplayer gaming. Both High Power USB Adapters feature an optional mounting clip for mounting the High Power USB Adapters onto the monitors of Mac or PC laptops for added mobility. All Amped Wireless products include industry leading, US based, in-house Elite Support, provided by Amped Concierges and the Wi-Fi Analytics Android App to assist users in optimizing Wi-Fi networks. In addition, the High Power Wi-Fi USB Adapters are eligible for Amped Wireless' Range Increase Guarantee Program. For more information, please visit www.ampedwireless.com Pricing and Availability | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The NOFAN CR-95C: a fanless copper CPU cooler for your next-gen build Posted: 23 Apr 2012 08:36 AM PDT
Interesting times to be shopping around for a processor, but what about a new cooler to go with it? This unassuming little work of art is the copper special edition of the NOFAN CR-95C, which is rated to cool CPUs of up to 100W TDP without the need for a fan. Judging from all the Intel and AMD leaks, that level efficiency ought to have you covered regardless of whether you opt for Ivy Bridge or Trinity -- so long as you don't mind hanging around until June, because FanlessTech reckons we won't see it go on sale any sooner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC One V coming to Canada on Bell, will reunite with One S Posted: 23 Apr 2012 08:13 AM PDT
Canadians looking to hunt down the smallest addition to HTC's One series are in luck. According to a Mobile Syrup tipster, it'll arrive on Bell next week, in all its aluminum unibody glory. While the One X looks to be confined to Rogers in the Land of the Maple Leaf, both the One S and One V are going to be offered by Bell Mobility. The mole also hinted at pricing below CND $300, matching those entry-level credentials we've explored just recently. Not a fan of Bell? Don't get disheartened -- the Android 4.0 minnow will also make an appearance on Telus, so 'chin' up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE pops up on Verizon for $300, links to Droid RAZR Maxx Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:48 AM PDT
We'll take a dedicated microsite over ole Mr. Blurrycam any day of the week. HTC's latest Verizon LTE handset is now an Incredible step closer to being official. The HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE has popped up on Big Red's Droid Does site, complete with specs and a $300 on-contract price tag. The ICS smartphone will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with a gig of RAM, and packs a 4-inch super LCD qHD display, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with a VGA shooter up front, an LTE hotspot mode with support for up to 10 devices and Beats Audio on board for "studio-quality sound." The Buy Now link brings you to the Droid RAZR Maxx's product page, so it's not quite clear when you'll be able to pick up an Incredible. You can take a closer look right now, however, at the elaborate dedicated Verizon page at our source link below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nokia N900 rises from the grave, replaces robot's head Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:17 AM PDT
Nokia's buried-but-beloved N900 smartphone has performed many parlor tricks in the past, but its latest role as a carbon-fiber swaddled cyborg cranium just might take the cake. Using the equally forsaken | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AmazonSupply launches, offers up lab and janitorial supplies in same convenient location Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:51 AM PDT
If you're like us, there's nothing you hate more than having to go to different sites to pick up your pneumatics and abrasives. Thankfully, Amazon, that aggregator of all things with a price tag, has launched AmazonSupply, a site serving a broad range of industrial and business categories, including such favorites as fasteners, power & hand tools, fleet & vehicle maintenance and cutting tools. The site also offers up such Amazonian favorites as free shipping for Prime customers. AmazonSupply features some 500,000 plus items at present and 365-day returns. More info can be found in the press release after the break.
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| TiVo quietly rebrands Premiere XL, Elite DVRs as XL2 and XL4 under cover of darkness Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:26 AM PDT
TiVo's rebranding its Premiere line of DVRs in order to eliminate customer confusion in the lineup. The range will now comprise of the Premiere, while the Premiere XL is unsurprisingly renamed Premiere XL2, while the quad-tuner Premiere Elite is now called the Premiere XL4. The first two are suitable for over-the-air programming, while the latter is limited to those of you with cable or FiOS subscriptions. New livery and branding should arrive in stores soon, although TiVo's website is yet to reflect the changes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT
It may not have all the glitz of a Spotify or an Rdio, but eMusic is the one of the OGs of the online music game, serving up MP3s to internet citizens since the late-90s. The site today is celebrating the launch of an Android app, which brings curated radio stations, music recommendations, playlist mixes and downloads (with a subscription) to the Googley mobile OS. The app, which was created in conjunction with the folks at music discovery app, We Are Hunted, is available for devices running Android 2.3.3 or higher. More information can be found in the press release after the break.
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| Sony VAIO E Series 14P gets Ivy Bridge processor nudge, improved display Posted: 23 Apr 2012 05:28 AM PDT
While they may not be the Sony ultrabooks we're still all itching to see, the company's E Series 14P laptops have reappeared with some Ivy Bridge bones. According to Sony Australia, the previously Intel Core i3 processor has been bulked up to a third-generation 2.1GHz Core i7-3612QM, capable of 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost. That's not the only difference, with the 14-inch display boosted to 1600 x 900 and a new choice between AMD'S Radeon HD 7670M or Intel's HD Graphics 4000 to provide the graphical horse power in the updated hardware. The aluminum-splashed laptops, priced at $1,500 AUD (around $1,608 USD), will still house Sony's Gesture Control functions. This should allow you to navigate around websites and media playback with some arm flailing -- provided you're using Microsoft perennials like Internet Explorer 9 and Windows Media Player. These updated specs are tinged with some (minor) bad news; it looks like the pink iteration won't be getting the same improvements seen on the black and white models. Regardless, monochrome fans can hit up the source for all the new details. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Canada launches Cineplex Store app, offers paid movies on 'select' Smart devices Posted: 23 Apr 2012 04:58 AM PDT
Folks in Canada using Samsung's Smart lineup of home theater equipment have a new app to be excited about, thanks in part to Cineplex Entertainment. The two companies have teamed up for a video-on-demand app, dubbed Cineplex Store, which will allow owners of "select models of Samsung's Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and home theater systems" to purchase or rent videos from the comfort of their couches. Pricing is set from about three to five bucks for 48-hour unlimited play rentals (from the time you hit play within a 30-day period), while buying titles outright will cost ya between $10 and $20 -- all without any pesky contracts. Notably, for those prices you'll also be able to store your content in a "digital locker" and rack up Scene points with Cineplex. While it appears that there's nary mention of which Smart devices are compatible, you can hit up the source link below and the press release after break for more details. Samsung Canada and Cineplex Entertainment Announce the Launch of the Cineplex Store Application on Samsung Devices App will allow consumers to rent or purchase movies on select Samsung TVs, Blu-ray Players and Home Theatre Systems MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Samsung Electronics Canada and Cineplex Entertainment ("Cineplex") announced today the launch of the Cineplex Store App on select models of Samsung SMART TVs, Blu-ray Players and Home Theatre Systems. Allowing Canadians to share their passion for movies at home, the Cineplex Store has thousands of movie titles available to rent or purchase. With no monthly subscription, Samsung owners pay only for the movies they watch, and they can conveniently store and manage all of their purchases with the Cineplex digital locker feature. What's more, SCENE™ members earn points with every purchase or rental. "The Cineplex Store App is all about adding value for our Samsung customers by giving them access to content that will improve their experience with the device," said Craig McLennan, Vice-President, Consumer Electronics at Samsung Canada. "It's just another way that we are helping Canadians to share their passions, in this case for great entertainment at home." "When Canadians think of movies, we want them to think of Cineplex. As the leader in Canadian theatrical exhibition, Cineplex can leverage the strong brand loyalty we have developed with our theatre guests into the home," said Pat Marshall, Vice President Communications and Investor Relations. "We are very pleased to work with another industry leader in Samsung to add our Cineplex Store App to their TVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems." Customers can stream their rentals and purchases. Cineplex Store rentals range from $2.99-$4.99, varying by new release versus catalogue title. Rentals provide customers with up to 30 days to view their movie. Once they start to playback their movie rental they have 48 hours to watch it and can do so as many times as they wish. Movies can also be purchased, with prices ranging from $9.99 - $19.99. In addition, Samsung and Cineplex are currently giving viewers a chance to win a Samsung SMART TV and free Cineplex Store downloads for a year! Go to Cineplex.com/Samsung to enter to win this Grand Prize, as well as other prizes that include Samsung Blu-ray players, digital cameras, free movies through the Cineplex Store App and more. For more information visit Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SamsungCanada, YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/SamsungCanadaFilms or check out the chatter at Twitter - http://twitter.com/samsungcanada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screen Grabs: Serena's packing steam, Gossip Girl turns gamer Posted: 23 Apr 2012 04:28 AM PDT Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. Didja hear the latest? Little Ms. Serena van der Woodsen is a closet gamer. Well, at least that's what her icon tray is saying. A screen grab from a fresh episode of Gossip Girl betrays the little busybody while she's negotiating the future of show's namesake hearsay blog over chat. No, not Steam chat -- she's obviously running games distribution service in offline mode. We'd like to think she's putting that HP Envy 14 Spectre to good use, but let's face the facts: she's probably just playing Bejeweled. [Thanks, Michael] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video) Posted: 23 Apr 2012 04:09 AM PDT
The countdown is over and Samsung's not offering much to whet our appetite. A medley of opaque angles of galactic travel are meant to represent next week's big news story, alongside some brief claims of technology that fits easily in your hand. It finishes all too soon on those glossy enamel puddles shown above. The second trailer reveals more of the same, with Samsung promising the device will become "a natural side of life", throwing in a quick jibe at those rival smartphone-carrying "sheep". While we reckon we broadly know what to expect when it comes to internal hardware, we're still itching see how Samsung's looking to reinvigorate its phone design following HTC's stylish smartphone salvo. Well, at least it's just over a week left to wait.
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| Skype app won't work on low-end Windows Phone devices Posted: 23 Apr 2012 04:01 AM PDT
Buried within Skype's announcement that its app has finally graduated from beta on Windows Phone, the mention of a 512MB minimum memory requirement reveals that the Internet phone service won't -- currently -- work with the likes of Nokia's Lumia 610 and the ZTE Tania. Skype has logged this under "current issues", which we hope means the company is working tirelessly to squeeze the app into cheaper Windows Phone hardware. Other features still being worked on include Bluetooth compatibility and Skype SMS messaging support. C'mon, they're part of the family now -- can't they all just get along? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PSA: Fitbit Aria WiFi scale available now for $130 Posted: 23 Apr 2012 03:24 AM PDT
It's been three months since Fitbit got into the WiFi scale game, but until now Withings has remained pretty much the only option for weight watchers who actually intend to buy one. Now, though, the Fitbit Aria is finally shipping and, just like Fitbit said it would, it costs $130. That's potentially not a bad deal, seeing as how it matches the $160 Withings scale in a few key areas: it tracks weight, BMI and body fat percentage, gives you the option of tweeting your poundage, and can recognize up to eight different users. Like Fitbit, too, it allows you to access your data through a website, or an iOS / Android app. Of course, the main thing the Aria has that Withings doesn't is a fitness monitor to go with it. The Aria is designed to work with the company's Fitbit trackers, which log physical activity, calories burned, stairs climbed and, if you're diligent about data entry, the various meals you've consumed. Since all that information lives online in an alphabet soup of healthiness, it might paint a more complete picture of how fit you are. Then again, you'd have to commit to wearing the Fitbit day in and day out. And, you know, pay $100 for it. Your call.
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| LG Optimus 3D Max launches in Europe, won't be coming to the UK Posted: 23 Apr 2012 03:05 AM PDT
For those that still keen to dabble with the world of 3D we've got some good and some bad news. While the Optimus 3D Max has made its first arrival in Europe, launching in Germany today, it looks like the phone won't be docking at British ports. A spokesperson at LG told us there were currently no plans to bring the device across to the UK, although its L-style series and the quad-core flagship, the Optimus 4X HD, look set to receive wider adoption. The Optimus 3D Max is the brutally carb-free version of LG's original 3D phone, now lighter and thinner but still gnawing on last year's Android Gingerbread. Pricing hasn't been announced for Germany, but LG tells us that it will be on the premium end of the smartphone scale, with pricing dependent on carriers. You get the full view of the hardware and its three-dimensional chops in the press release after the break. Active shutter glasses not required. LG LAUNCHES SECOND-GENERATION 3D SMARTPHONE IN EUROPE "We are deliberately pushing the limits of mobile entertainment innovation with the Op-timus 3D Max," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "This device has evolved significantly since we introduced the first Optimus 3D at Mobile World Congress in 2011. Our second generation glasses-free 3D smartphone is as thin and light as any other high-end smartphone while still de-livering a spectacular picture in either 2D or 3D." The Optimus 3D Max now includes a new 3D Converter which allows for a greater va-riety of 3D content as it converts 2D content from Google Earth, Google Maps and oth-er mapping apps into 3D. Visitors at MWC 2012 also raved about the device's unique 3D video editor which allows the editing of 3D video on the phone in real time. And the 3D Hot Key mounted on the side of the phone enables users to easily toggle between 2D and 3D. The Optimus 3D Max includes 3D-style cubicle icons in addition to its customizable icons which can be amended by applying the users' own photos through the Icon Customizer feature. Additional features, which will be available through an upcoming maintenance release (MR), include a HD Converter to offer high resolution content to be viewed on a TV connected through MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) and Range Finder, which cal-culates the distance between the camera and a subject as well as the dimensions of an object through triangulation. As for its new form-factor, the Optimus 3D Max is 2mm slimmer and 20g lighter than its predecessor, measuring only 9.6 mm thin and weighing 148g. The 5MP camera on the rear captures both photos and video in 3D using its dual lenses. The recorded material can be viewed directly on the smartphone in glasses-free 3D or on a 3D capable computer monitor or TV. Key Specifications: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vodafone looking to buy Cable & Wireless, just can't resist that fibre-optic infrastructure Posted: 23 Apr 2012 02:59 AM PDT
UK mobile giant Vodafone is planning to buy up commercial network provider Cable & Wireless for just over £1 billion ($1.7 billion). If successful, it'll gain a national fibre-optic broadband network (separate to BT and Virgin Media's), a large portfolio of business customers and a backbone venture that connects 150 countries with undersea cables. The latter will probably be sold off so that Vodafone can concentrate on winning more enterprise customers from its rivals while also easing the burden on its own network. It's also worth pointing out that C&W previously offered retail broadband and cable services, but any notion of Vodafone using this acquisition to offer the same would be pure guesswork. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intel's Ivy Bridge will offer '20 percent more performance with 20 percent less average power' Posted: 23 Apr 2012 02:43 AM PDT
So, there's still a little while to go before Intel gives Ivy Bridge a full unveiling, with official benchmarks, pricing and all those trimmings. But in the meantime, the BBC has detailed just how different this new architecture is compared to 32nm chips like Sandy Bridge and also AMD's coming Trinity processors. Most of this stuff we already knew -- like the fact that Intel has switched to a 3D or 'tri-gate' transistor design -- but what's new is a direct and official boast about performance. According to Kirk Skaugen, Chipzilla's PC chief, we can expect Ivy Bridge to deliver "20 percent more processor performance using 20 percent less average power." Now, judging from leaked desktop and laptop benchmarks, this broad-brush claim masks some very different realities depending on what type of CPU or GPU workloads you want throw at the chip, so stay tuned for more detail very soon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Times: HTC wants to develop its own processors for low-end phones Posted: 23 Apr 2012 02:03 AM PDT
Encroaching into the semiconductor business might not seem the most obvious move for a phone manufacturer that's trying to unify its efforts. Nevertheless, China Times reports that HTC has signed a "memorandum of cooperation" with ST-Ericsson to co-develop a new dedicated chip for low-end handsets coming out next year. Since ST-Ericsson is a fabless chip designer, HTC won't risk getting silicon between its fingernails. Instead, if this agreement is what it seems, the Taiwanese manufacturer may simply want more direct control over its supply chains and to reduce its current reliance on ready-made designs from Qualcomm or NVIDIA. After all, it can't be easy for HTC's new CFO, looking on while others gobble up those margins. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sinclair ZX Spectrum turns 30, gets immortalized as a Google Doodle Posted: 23 Apr 2012 01:32 AM PDT
Today's Google UK doodle celebrates both St. Georges Day and the little home computer that became a British phenomenon, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. To be competitive with the rival Commodore 64, the 16KB of RAM-packing machine retailed for just £130 ($210 in today's money), punched well above its own weight and was often the first computer bought by techno-phobic families. Designed to be as programmer-friendly as possible, the founders of Shiny, Rare and Blitz Games studios all cut their teeth on the computer that introduced the world to Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and Dizzy. It lasted a full decade in production, selling five million units before Amstrad purchased the money-losing unit and closed it down. Despite its demise, it's still got a loyal following from a generation of fans, something we doubt can be said about the Amstrad machines that replaced it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New research brings better wireless to remote locations, 80 percent faster GoT downloads Posted: 23 Apr 2012 12:34 AM PDT
Not getting the bandwidth you need, Heidi? Then maybe the folks at North Carolina State University can help. They've figured out a way to boost multi-hop networks, where data is forwarded across two or more nodes (hops) in order to reach far-flung users. Networks like this can often get bogged down by interference between neighboring nodes. But by using algorithms to automatically modulate the power of each link, the NC State scientists have managed to jump efficiency by up to 80 percent. This has the effect of not only increasing speed, but also saving juice if the systems are battery powered -- like those used by the US Army, which sponsored the research. After all, just because you're away from the throne doesn't mean you have to be out of the game. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adobe unveils CS6 and subscription-based Creative Cloud service, up for pre-order now (video) Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:16 PM PDT
Adobe's biggest day of 2012? Go ahead, don't be afraid to call it what it (probably) is. For starters, the outfit is introducing Creative Suite 6 to the world in formal fashion, with 14 applications either unveiled or refreshed. Photoshop CS6 is graduating from beta -- seeing an update that'll provide "near instant results" thanks to the Mercury Graphics Engine -- while Content-Aware Patch and Content-Aware Move are sure to please artists suffering from the "Surely you can fix this in post!" clientele backlash. Adobe Muse is happily entering the scene for the first time, described as a "radical tool that'll enables designers to create and publish HTML5 web sites without writing code." (We're still waiting for Flash to comment.) In related news, those who aren't up for paying $1,299 (and up) for one of the new suites can try something a bit different: monthly installments. That's coming courtesy of Creative Cloud, an quasi-new initiative designed to harness the power of cloud-based app distribution and streaming in a way that'll make CS6 more accessible than any of the packs that came before. You can tap into CS6's amenities over your broadband connection for $74.99 per month, while those who agree to an annual subscription can get in for $49.99 per month. To be clear, that provides unbridled access to any CS6 tool: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and AfterEffects, and the rest of the gang. If you're jonesing for Photoshop alone, that one will be available for $29.99 per month (no contract) or $19.99 per month (annual agreement). There's no set release date just yet, but we're told to expect the new goods "within 30 days," and pre-orders seem to be a go. Head on down to the source links for more details on each individual aspect, and catch a promo video for the cloud-based subscription offering just after the break. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walmart to unleash its Vudu magic on South America, Europe, Asia Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:13 PM PDT
Walmart's Vudu service will be dipping a toe in foreign waters for the first time, with a planned expansion that could see it landing in as many as 30 new countries. Mexico will be the first to get the service -- some time in June -- before it continues in a southerly direction toward other Latin American states. The rest of the expansion will cover Europe (including the UK and Ireland) and Asia, but won't happen until later on in the year. While Netflix has already beaten a path away from US shores, Walmart clearly hopes its strong retail presence (5000 stores in 26 countries) will help it earn more than just a tourist visa. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How would you change the Jawbone Up? Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:41 PM PDT
Ordinarily, we'd be dismissive if you answered that question with "Doy, make it work!" but in the special case of the Jawbone Up, it's entirely apt. The wristband promised plenty of technological advances that would track your sleep, calories burned and diarize your food intake, all within the confines of a slender cord wrapped around your wrist. The downside? A significant proportion of the units conked out days after being opened, forcing the company to offer no-questions-asked refunds and halt production. So, what we want to know is: do you have a working Up? Does it still work? Do you like it? If Hosain Rahman was reading the comments below, how would you suggest he goes about fixing things? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Refresh Roundup: week of April 16th, 2012 Posted: 22 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android updates
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
Other platforms BlackBerry PlayBook: RIM pushed out version 2.0.1 of the PlayBook OS, which comes with enhancements to the web browser, better support for Android apps and improvements to BlackBerry Bridge and video chat. [TechnoBuffalo] Refreshes we covered this week
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inhabitat's Week in Green: ten earth activities, transnatural stools and wood ash bike frames Posted: 22 Apr 2012 05:30 PM PDT Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Week, this week we took a moment to think about the origins of this now-global event, exploring why we need Earth Day and how our society can possibly tackle the 7 biggest threats to our environment. If haven't yet made plans for Earth day make sure to take a look at our list of 10 Earth Day activities. One of the major themes of Earth Week this year was lighting, as green lighting innovations ranging from the useful to the absurd made it onto Inhabitat's radar screen. On the more practical end of the spectrum, we reviewed the SUNNAN, Ikea's solar-powered desk lamp, and although we found it to be a bit dim, it actually outperformed its expected charge time. On the lighter side, Randy Sarafan, the same guy who designed a chair that tweets his own farts (seriously), unveiled a lamp that shuts off whenever you shut your eyes. The downside: In order for it to work you have to attach electrodes to your face, which are plugged directly into the wall. Thanks, but we'll pass. And for those who prefer regular, old-fashioned lights, Philips launched its much-anticipated L-Prize winning 10-watt LED bulb on Earth Day. At $60 a pop, you might have to take out a second mortgage to replace every bulb in your home, but you'll recoup that money back on your energy bill, and Philips also announced some rebates to ease the pain. Speaking of illuminating green designs, this week we brought you a first look at the best new products from Milan Design Week. The MOST exhibition was one highlight of the week, featuring Tom Dixon's flat-pack Stamp Lamps -- and he even invited visitors to design their own lamps using 3d modeling software. We also spotted several eye-catching furnishings made using surprising new materials and processes -- Jolan van der Wiels unveiled a series of 'Transnatural' stools shaped by magnetic fields, Mauricio Affonso blew minds with a transforming table that shifts from a circle to a rectangle in seconds, and Raul Lauri debuted his Decafé Lamp, which is made from recycled coffee grounds. Meanwhile, iBamboo launched an electricity-free iPhone speaker made from a single piece of bamboo. In green transportation news we've been tracking everything from wooden bikes to biomethane delivery trucks, to 4,000 mph vacuum transport tube transit systems. Last week, Ford announced that the 2012 Focus Electric would be the pace car at the Richmond 400, making it the first all-electric pace car to ever lead the field for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. For green-minded drivers everywhere, eBay launched its new eBay Green Driving site, which promises to help shoppers research and buy fuel-friendly vehicles. We also caught wind of Axalko's stunning bike frames that are made from ash wood. And with Olympic organizers seeking to put on the greenest games ever, UPS added 10 big biomethane diesel trucks to its dedicated 2012 London Olympics fleet. That's a good way to go from brown to green. In green building news, we shined the spotlight on NASAs new Sustainability Base (which is packed with technology developed for the International Space Station). We also spotted a wedge-shaped building at the Tokyo Institute of Technology that is completely covered in 4,500 solar panels, which enables it to use half of the energy of a similarly-sized building. We also heard about a nifty acoustic wind pavilion in London that makes music whenever the wind blows. And in one of the week's more unusual stories, we reported on a public housing extension in Italy that was made from plastic shopping bags and other bits of non-renewable packaging. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 2 Posted: 22 Apr 2012 02:30 PM PDT Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In case you missed it, Part I of this article can be found here Last week's Switched On discussed the Slacker Portable, Sony eMarker and TrafficGauge, three dedicated devices that didn't make it but saw their functionality ultimately realized via smartphones. But there have been other idea for which the idea ultimately proved popular as smartphone bits rather than separately packaged atoms. Kodak EasyShare Picture Viewer It's easy to see how these simple digital "brag books" might be favored by grandparents that don't otherwise see the need for a Droid, Lumia or Galaxy device, but clearly this niche category has been dwarfed by smartphones, many of which can show at least one photo of your precious without even unlocking the screen. Modo.netIn the days when the Vindigo city guide was a killer app for Palm PDAs, a startup with the strange name of Scout Electromedia sought to upstage it with an inexpensive hipster-targeted pocket device that provided up-to-the-minute updates on goings-on about town. The oddly shaped Modo came in a few color combinations and included a small monochrome LCD protected by a silicone cover that could be tucked behind the device when in use. Like the TrafficGauge discussed in last week's Switched On, data for the Modo arrived via the paging network. Unlike the TrafficGauge, the lifetime service was free (as was the monthly fee for the lifetime service). Alas, it wasn't much of a lifetime. Modo spent big on billboards in launch cities of New York and San Francisco, but you might have missed its window of availability if you blinked. The service shut down within a few months of launch, creating a smattering of colorful LCD-equipped paperweights. These days, any number of mobile apps and Web sites can provide updated info on events and hotspots. The Local Scout app on Windows Phones is among those that best carry on its spirit. Smart DisplayWhile the connectivity, ubiquity and carrier subsidization of smartphones make them a triple threat, tablets have also had an impact on several device types that attained a degree of traction, such as netbooks and e-readers. But, as with the smartphone, there's at least one failed product that has seen a kind of second life on tablets. Hailing it as as the future of the (small) monitor whereas Tablet PCs were the future of the notebook, Microsoft introduced Smart Display in 2002 and killed it less than a year after the first models shipped. The Smart Display was a tablet-like device complete with a (resistive) touchscreen) designed to enable wireless control of a Windows PC within the home. It did this functionally if not impressively quickly using Microsoft's Remote Display Protocol over the slower Wi-Fi networks available at the time. Portending a dilemma faced even on today's tablets, ViewSonic, an early supporter, offered a (wired) keyboard for its two models. Like any new technology, Smart Displays had their share of quirks, but what really made them dead on arrival were their $1,000+ price.
These days, a number of free tablet apps can essentially turn any iPad or Android tablet into a functional Smart Display for Windows PCs or Macs. However, these tablets, particularly when combined with cloud storage services such as Dropbox or a product such as PogoPlug, can themselves more conveniently handle many of the tasks that justified remotely connecting to a PC. The posthumous victory of the Smart Display concept, then, is only a partial one. Were the desktop monitor market not being assailed by all-in-ones, notebooks and tablets, it might be interesting to see something like an Android-powered monitor that could be used without necessarily turning on the PC. Had more of these devices survived long enough to see today's adoption of smartphones and tablets, the older products surely would have been vanquished by today's diversified devices that are faring so well against products that have been far more popular. Today, any company thinking of producing a new kind of digital device must seriously consider the risk that such a product's functionality can be matched by smartphone-resident apps and a potential accessory (a lesson more recently learned by mobile e-mail appliance maker Peek, which has refocused its business on software and cloud services for other handsets). It's a tall enough hurdle that we may not see many try. Indeed, these smartphone-competitive portable gadgets may have hit the pavement, but they may have been among the last to make it through the launch window before it closed forever. Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) is executive director and principal analyst of the NPD Connected Intelligence service at The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skype for Windows Phone sheds beta title, graduates to v1.0 Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:33 PM PDT
Skype's fledgling Windows Phone app broke out of beta today, adding contact searching and landline calling to it's VOIP repertoire. The update comes just shy of two months of the Beta's introduction in February, and boasts a handful of minor improvements that should keep your calls connected. You'll still be making those calls yourself, however, as the full version doesn't yet have support for receiving calls in the background -- if the app isn't running, your phone isn't ringing. Hit the source link below to update. |
You've 
Compared to some of the devices in this and the previous column, the idea of a portable digital picture viewer -- essentially a pocket-sized, battery-powered digital picture frame with a smartphone-sized display -- has been relatively successful. In addition to 
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