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Engadget News |
- Motorola RAZR HD running ICS spotted in the wild, 720p display in tow
- PSA: If you purchased extra Gmail storage, your Google Drive just got bigger
- Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight shipping this week, B&N warns of limited supply
- Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight review
- Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared
- ITC judge finds Apple in violation of Motorola WiFi patent
- Firefox 12 now available for download, Windows users get silent updates
- Google raises Gmail to 10GB free, 10-fold increase since launching in 2004
- New Sony iOS docks promise clearer sound thanks to magnetic fluid
- MIT gets musical with Arduino-powered DrumTop, uses household objects as a source of sound
- NVIDIA says 'it's coming,' won't say what 'it' is
- iCade Core coming to a tiny arcade near you in June
- SpaceX redefines 'fashionably late' as Dragon trip to the ISS is delayed again
- Google Drive official: 5GB of free storage, business-focused approach (video)
- Google back in the smartphone sales game: unlocked Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ (GSM) available for $399
- NewsFlash uses high-frequency light to transmit data from iPad to smartphone, we go hands-on (video)
- Firefox deems favicons risky, banishes them from address bar
- Facebook for Windows Phone getting a major refresh
- VIM Adventures teaches you keyboard shortcuts, :%s/n00b/pro/gc in no time
- Onavo Extend stretches your data plan, now with CDMA/LTE support
- Nyko's PlayStation Vita speaker stand goes on sale for $30, Power Grip still MIA
- Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)
- Samsung details Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades for American carriers
- AT&T reports Q1 earnings: $31.8 billion in revenue, 5.5 million smartphones sold
- Buckeyes to fire 500 trillion watt laser May 15th in a short, cheap burst
- AMD announces Radeon HD 7000M series with Enduro graphics-switching technology
- Line2 for iOS now offers MMS support within its network, adds location sharing
- NimbleTV streams cable content to 'any' device, launching 'in the next few months'
- BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation
- Sony's 4K-upscaling BDP-S790 Blu-ray player available online, hits stores May 6th
- Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions
- HTC predicts 55 percent revenue jump, could hint at strong One sales
- Virgin Mobile Canada announces HTC One S giveaway, suggests $600 retail price
- ARM reports revenues up 13 percent, bicep-curling profits up 22 percent
- James Cameron-backed Planetary Resources to search the universe for Unobtainium
- Google Docs bumps up free storage to 5GB, primes servers for Drive?
- Transformer Prime gets power of reincarnation with Team Win Recovery Project 2.1.2
- Cargo-Bot is a deceptively simple iPad puzzle game, made on the iPad (video)
- Vintage Nikon fisheye lens aims to dwarf your DSLR, for sale at 100,000 quid
- Maingear teases incoming desktop line, promises smaller towers and Ivy Bridge CPUs
| Motorola RAZR HD running ICS spotted in the wild, 720p display in tow Posted: 24 Apr 2012 11:41 AM PDT
Last week, a Motorola engineer's Picasa album all but confirmed the existence of the Motorola Droid RAZR HD. And while we can't say his job has a future, it looks like this handset does. The latest leak includes some newly discovered blurry cam photos from China showing Motorola model MT887 running ICS. This matches the EXIF data posted by that errant engineer, which listed the RAZR HD's build as 4.0.3. According to the latest images, the RAZR HD sports a 4.3-inch display -- with an upgraded resolution of 720p -- though the other specs appear to match the current batch of RAZRs. As Android Community points out, that relatively bulky body could mean there's a 3,300mAH battery inside. That's all well and good -- unless Motorola also has a Droid HD RAZR Maxx set to launch a month after this guy. Then again, who would be so cruel as to pit your hopes for a higher-res RAZR against your dreams of an even longer-lasting smartphone? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PSA: If you purchased extra Gmail storage, your Google Drive just got bigger Posted: 24 Apr 2012 11:08 AM PDT
5GB, huh? Not quite enough for you? If you were wise enough to up the capacity of your Gmail inbox + Picasa allotment before today, your Google Drive experience just got a lot more awesome. A trio of editors here at Engadget HQ managed to upgrade their Gmail boxes a couple of years ago, and at the time (read: it's no longer an available option), Google was offering an extra 20GB for use across its properties for a mere $5 per year. Upon loading Google Drive today, we each found a healthy 25GB waiting to be filled, with no expectation of additional payments to Google. Be sure to let us know if you're seeing a similar boost in capaciousness down in comments below, particularly for those who splurged on one of the more current Gmail add-on plans. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight shipping this week, B&N warns of limited supply Posted: 24 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT
So much for waiting until May to get your hands on some glowing, Nooky goodness. Barnes & Noble let us know today that the admittedly somewhat clunkily named Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is slipping out ahead of schedule. The light up e-reader starts shipping this week for those who've already pre-ordered a unit and will continue to ship throughout the month. Apparently in-store units will be a bit fewer and further between, however -- the company announced that the device will be available in "limited quantities" when it hits stores early next month. So, if you don't want to make your mom cry this Mother's Day, the company's recommending that you jump on the pre-order bandwagon soonish. Of course, it couldn't hurt to give our review a peek first, just to make sure. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight review Posted: 24 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT
It's a plague against modern marriage, turning husband against wife, and tearing families apart. It's America's number one problem in the bedroom (according to handy stat sheets passed out by Barnes & Noble, at least): light. Spouses are leaving the light on, attempting to read past their designated bedtime, keeping their partners awake and putting a potentially insurmountable strain on their marital bonds. The solution: Divorce? Trial separations? Mariticide? A clunky, clip-on reading light? Until now these were the best -- nay, only -- solutions to the problem of reading after dark. All of that is about to change, thankfully, as Barnes & Noble readies the release of the new Nook Simple Touch, with the company's patent-pending GlowLight technology. The addition of after-dark reading capabilities is the most significant update to the company's e-reader, which otherwise remains largely unchanged from last year's model. Is it enough to keep the Nook on top of the e-reader heap for another year? Meet us past the break to find out -- that is, if you're not afraid of the dark. HardwareLet's start with the familiar. Which would be... pretty much everything. There, that was easy, wasn't it? Barnes & Noble struck e-reader gold last time out, with an iconic design (to the extent an e-reader's design can actually be classified as "iconic"), with a squat shape and rounded corners. It's a bit wider than the touchscreen Kindle, thanks in large part to its sizeable bezels, which are just expansive enough to keep the device from fitting into some pockets. At least those bezels are home to physical page turn buttons -- two small fins on either side of the screen that let you page forward or back with a press. Amazon dumped that feature with its fourth-generation Kindle devices, but anyone who's ever used one of these infrared touchscreen e-readers can tell you these displays have a vexing tendency to freeze and hiccup. It's nice having some physical buttons to fall back on, if only to avoid hurling the reader across the room in a fit of frustration. Between the extra screen real estate and the concave back cover, the Nook is also easy to hold, especially with one hand. Again, from the front, the device looks pretty much identical to its predecessor: with the Nook logo sitting above the screen and the "n" button below, the latter of which you can use to wake up your sleeping device and pull up the menu bar while you're reading. In fact, the only obvious aesthetic distinction here is a lighter border on the face of the device -- a nice contrast against the dark, matte gray. It's a subtle distinction you're not likely to notice until you place the two devices next to one another, but thankfully it's there so you'll never accidentally pick up a last-generation reader. Just imagine what the rest of your reading group would say if they caught you with one of those. It's almost enough to get you kicked out of book club. On the bottom, just below the border, you'll find the micro-USB port. On the right-hand side is a microSD slot. As ever, there's 2GB of built-in storage (1GB of which can be used for downloaded content), and you can add a microSD card as large as 32GB. Granted, we never actually filled up the memory on our Simple Touch, and therefore never had to resort to extra storage, but it's certainly a nice option for particularly voracious readers. The power button is a large, fingerprint-sized tab that sits on the Nook's back side, up toward the top. On our unit, at least, it feels noticeably looser, even, than the last-gen model does after months of use. You'll mainly use that power button to put the device to sleep and to restart it when it freezes -- an annoyance you'll have to resign yourself to with most any touchscreen e-ink reader. As with the OG Nook Simple Touch, that big, upside-down, horseshoe-shaped Nook logo is stamped smack dab in the middle of the back cover. Again, the Nook Simple Touch wasn't broken, so Barnes & Noble didn't need to do much to fix it. Still, we can think of at least one more difference of note: despite throwing in a smattering of new features, the company managed to trim a bit of weight -- five percent in all, making it the lightest Nook ever offered, at just under seven ounces. Again, you're not likely to notice unless you've got the old and new versions to compare side by side, but we certainly aren't going to argue with a lighter reader either. Things are pretty much the same on the inside, too. There's the same 'ole 800MHz TI OMAP 3 processor at the helm, meaning the pages turn at pretty much identical rates (assuming the older unit has undergone the requisite upgrade). The WiFi strength is also on par with last year's model (again post-upgrade), and as with that edition, Barnes & Noble still hasn't caved into the trappings of the 3G world. That lack of choice likely won't affect the lion's share of users, but frequent travelers might miss the ability to download books while on the road. As before, Barnes & Noble is utilizing its brick and mortar locations to offer up free WiFi on the device. You can also piggyback on some 24,000 AT&T hotspots across the country. Battery life has always been a bit of a dicey topic in the world of e-readers. For one thing, companies measure it differently, and also, two-months-plus runtime is one tough claim to test. Case in point: Barnes & Noble has actually altered the measurement for the battery life of the Nook Simple Touch between the release of devices, all while standing by the claim that the battery life has remained the same, in spite of the device's slightly lighter weight. The original rating was "up to two months, based on one hour of reading per day," a ceiling that has since shifted to "over two months, based on 30 minutes of reading per day" for both devices. Of course, turning on the GlowLight will cause the battery life to take a hit, cutting it in about half. Unless you're visiting Alaska in the off-season, though, odds are you're not going to be relying on the light that heavily. Display Here's where the new Nook shines -- literally. For those who wondered where devoted e-readers could possibly go after touch, Barnes & Noble offered a simple, but powerful solution: light. Let's look at the facts here: the earth's pesky rotational habit significantly eats into your reading time. If you're doing your reading on, say, an iPad, Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, that's not really an issue, thanks to LCD backlighting. Until now, reading at night hasn't really been an option on e-ink devices. The new Nook isn't the first with a built in light, sure, but past models haven't always done a great job distributing the illumination. With most mainstream models, meanwhile, you're stuck picking up a clunky external light or a pricey (but oh-so elegant) accessory like the Kindle Lighted Leather Cover.
The easiest way to access Barnes & Noble's patent pending GlowLight feature is by holding down the "n" button on the front for roughly two seconds. The light patently emerges from the top of the six-inch display. Tilting the reader with the bottom side up, you can actually catch a glimpse of the lights. Even without titling, it's easy to identify the top as the light source -- it's noticeably brighter up there. The light also appears a bit more intense around the border of the screen. On the whole, though, Barnes & Noble has done a good job of distributing the light across the display, and the slight gradient isn't really distracting once you start reading. This editor spent an hour before bed immersed in the new Johnny Ramone autobiography, and as advertised, the light isn't harsh on the eyes (the company claims that the strain should be "equal to or less than" what you'll experience with a backlit screen ). At least, that's the case after you adjust the screen. In pitch-black darkness, the default setting is pretty intense -- like, close-your-eyes-and-you'll-still-see-it intense. We dialed it down to about a fifth of its full setting. Thankfully, too, once you tweak the settings once, the Nook will automatically default to that brightness level the next time you turn the light on. Still, it's clear certain sacrifices were made to accommodate this new feature. A new anti-glare layer has been applied to the display, to maintain the device's readability in direct sunlight -- something Amazon and Barnes & Noble will happily remind you is quite difficult on tablets with garden-variety LCD screens. And indeed it does a good job of cutting the glare -- in fact, held up to the light, the new Nook is a bit less reflective than its predecessor. It's hard to say whether it's this added layer or some other bit of hardware, but when placed next to the original Nook with identical pages on the screen, there's significantly less contrast with the text here. The darkness of the e-ink on the new Nook is a bit uneven across the page as well. This is a pretty big bummer -- the crisp contrast of E Ink has long been a selling point of these devoted readers, promising replication closer to physical books than tablets can offer. On the new Nook, the page looks a bit unevenly printed. It's another one of those things you might miss at first glance, but that you can't really un-see once you've had a chance to see the two devices next to each other. The addition of that anti-glare layer also appears to have had the unintended consequence of giving the screen a bit more texture. The responsiveness, however, remains the same, thanks to the infrared technology being used here. Swiping, tapping, etc. are just as smooth as they are on the original Simple Touch. Unfortunately, Barnes & Noble still isn't matching the dual-touch offered up on Sony's reader, so you can't simply pinch to zoom when you feel like adjusting text size. Software Again, not much new to report. If you treated yourself to the Simple Touch upgrade, you pretty much know what's in store here. You've got the Home page at the center of the experience, showing you how far into your current book you are, along with a list of New Reads (your most recent downloads) and recommendations for what to read next at the bottom. Along the top tool bar is a link to your current book, a space for notifications (we have one at the moment, compelling us to invite people to be "Nook Friends"), WiFi signal strength, battery life and time. There's also an additional icon that lets you know whether or not you've left the light on. Clicking this will bring you to the GlowLight settings, which you can also access by clicking the "n" button. Book pages are quite simple -- as they should be. The majority of the page is devoted to text, with the title of the book up top and a page number at the bottom. Yep, the Nook defaults to page numbers, rather than the "Location" metaphor used on the Kindle. Honestly, we're a bit partial to Barnes & Noble's more traditional take on keeping track of your progress. A little arrow icon above the page number brings up a menu from which you can access the table of contents, perform searches, re-size the text or skip ahead in the book. There's also a little bookmark icon in the upper right hand corner for -- you guessed it -- marking pages. As ever, you can highlight text to add notes, share over social networks or look up definitions in the Merriam Webster dictionary. It's all still pretty no-frills, with an emphasis on what Nook does best: good old-fashioned reading. Wrap-up With good reason, when Barnes & Noble was ready to unveil the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight it skipped the pomp and circumstance it usually reserves for Nook product launches. There was no splashy press conference this time out; just one-on-one meeting with members of the press. The company says this was because the GlowLight technology doesn't translate as well in a press conference-type setting. Fair enough, but it's to imagine a relatively minor upgrade like this commanding that kind of all-star treatment. Still, that upgrade is a rather welcome one, as it addresses a key issue with e-reading technology and could even have a real effect on users' reading habits.
Indeed, the addition of GlowLight should add some extra utility for frequent travelers, insomniacs and the nocturnally inclined. And heck, if Barnes & Noble's numbers are to be believed, perhaps it will even save a marriage or two. The loss of contrast is certainly a bit of a compromise, though it's not likely to be a dealbreaker for most users. Pricing, on the other hand, might be. The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight costs $139, a $40 premium over the light-free Nook Simple Touch -- which is admittedly priced to move compared to the If you (or you marriage) can't wait that long, however, the $40 extra is justified. After all, no longer being at the mercy of the sun's whims means lot more reading, and that's sort of the whole point of picking up a reader in the first place, right? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared Posted: 24 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT
Sometimes a table says a thousand words. Now that Google has finally announced its cloud service, Google Drive, we're sure more than a few of you are crunching the numbers in your head in an attempt to figure which is the best deal. Far be it for us to tell you which service to use when we've barely had a chance to poke around Drive, but for now, better if we lay out those gigabytes and dollars in number form, rather than squeeze them into a crowded paragraph, don'tcha think? Follow past the break for a brief breakdown of what you'll get from Google, along with Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive and iCloud.
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| ITC judge finds Apple in violation of Motorola WiFi patent Posted: 24 Apr 2012 10:36 AM PDT
Motorola scored a win with the US International Trade Commission this week in its on-going patent battle with Apple. The commission's Judge Thomas Pender ruled that Cupertino is in violation of a Motorola WiFi patent -- one of four patents included in a complaint filed by the RAZR maker back in October 2010. Before the ITC actually goes so far as blocking the import of Apple products, however, the ruling is subject to review by the commission. The decision follows another patent win for Motorola, handed down by the ITC yesterday in a dispute with Microsoft. Update: Motorola sent along the following, not surprisingly chipper statement on the matter:
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| Firefox 12 now available for download, Windows users get silent updates Posted: 24 Apr 2012 10:18 AM PDT
It doesn't yet include the opt-in system for plug-ins that Mozilla is working on, but Firefox users can now download an update that adds a few other new features and new tools for developers. If you've lost track, that means were now at version 12.0, and the biggest addition this time around is reserved for Windows users -- they'll now get silent updates that bypass the User Account Control prompt. Apart from that, you'll now get line numbers when you view a page's source code, along with a number of other more minor fixes and performance improvements. You can find the full release notes at the source link below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google raises Gmail to 10GB free, 10-fold increase since launching in 2004 Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:59 AM PDT
Eight years ago one gigabyte of online storage was a remarkable thing. One gigabyte of email? Preposterous, but that's exactly what Google offered back in 2004 with the launch of Gmail, and now that factor is increasing. Current Gmail users were floating at around 7.5GB of storage but, as part of all the Google Drive hoopla, that storage is now officially up to 10GB. That's a lot of spam and, for those of us who are already paying extra for more storage, it's even more room to grow before we upgrade to the next tier. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Sony iOS docks promise clearer sound thanks to magnetic fluid Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:57 AM PDT
You can only skim through so many iPad/iPod/iPhone docks before things start to get predictable, and when a speaker dock stands out, it's usually for a retro design or a little mood lighting. Sony's two newest iOS docks, the CMT-V50iP and the CMT-V75BTiP, may look like your standard options, but they aim to break the mold by using magnetic fluid instead of speaker dampers to move sound. Sony says this technology provides clearer audio with less distortion, and no dampers means a slimmer design. If your music collection extends beyond your iDevice, you can take advantage of the CD player and built-in DAB and DAB+ radio, or -- if you've migrated to the digital age -- stream over Bluetooth on the CMT-V75BTiP or connect via USB on the CMT-V50iP. Sony just announced these yesterday, and pricing info remains MIA, though The Verge reports that both models will drop in the next few months. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MIT gets musical with Arduino-powered DrumTop, uses household objects as a source of sound Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:35 AM PDT
Everyone's favorite microcontroller has been a boon among hobbyists and advanced amateurs, but it's also found a home among the brilliant projects at MIT's Media Lab, including a groovy instrument called DrumTop. This modern take on the drum pad delivers Arduino-powered interactivity in its simplest form -- hands-on time with ordinary household objects. Simply place a cup, or a plastic ball, even a business card on the DrumTop to make your own original music. The prototype on display today includes eight pads, which are effectively repurposed speakers that tap objects placed on top, with an FSR sensor recognizing physical pressure and turning it into a synchronized beat. There's also a dial in the center that allows you to speed up or slow down the taps, presenting an adjustable tempo. DrumTop is more education tool than DJ beat machine, serving to teach youngsters about the physical properties of household objects, be it a coffee mug, a CD jewel case or a camera battery. But frankly, it's a lot of fun for folks of every age. There's no word on when you might be able to take one home, so for now you'll need to join us on our MIT visit for a closer look. We make music with all of these objects and more in the video after the break.
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| NVIDIA says 'it's coming,' won't say what 'it' is Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:14 AM PDT
Ooo! It's coming! What is? We don't know, but we're excited anyway. NVIDIA has a teaser up informing us that at 7:30 pm, Pacific time, on April 28th it will have something special to announce. The venue will be the GeForce LAN / NVIDIA Gaming Festival 2012 in Shanghai -- which leads us to believe there might be a GPU announcement in store for us. Though, we wouldn't write off a Tegra reveal entirely. So, which will it be? You'll just have to check back in Saturday to find out. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iCade Core coming to a tiny arcade near you in June Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:57 AM PDT
Bummed that you won't be making it out to E3 this year? Well, at least you'll be able to console yourself with your very own tiny iPad arcade. According to Ion, the iCade Core, the latest in the company's line of nostalgia-inducing Bluetooth tablet controllers, will be shipping to UK customers in mid-June for ￡49.99 ($81) a pop. The iCade Mobile will be hitting right around the same time for the same price. Now you'll finally be able to experience Pac-Man the way it was meant to played: on a tablet attached to an oversized joystick. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SpaceX redefines 'fashionably late' as Dragon trip to the ISS is delayed again Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:36 AM PDT
Just a week after NASA signed off on its launch, SpaceX has had to postpone the flight of the Dragon. It's yet another delay to NASA's efforts to supply the International Space Station using private spacecraft and reduce the US's dependence on Soyuz rockets. Taking to Twitter, founder Elon Musk said that the company needed to do more testing on the docking code for the capsule, while spokesperson Kirstin Brost Grantham told Space.com that the company needed more time to test and review the hardware. Pending NASA's approval, it'll begin its journey heavenward on the head of a Falcon 9 between May 3rd and May 7th. Given that the original mission was scheduled for November last year, they'll probably need to check the use-by dates on those space rations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Drive official: 5GB of free storage, business-focused approach (video) Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:23 AM PDT
If it happened any other way, it just wouldn't be as satisfying, now would it? After years of leaks, murmurs, hubbub and other familiar synonyms, Google's mythical cloud storage platform is now official... sort of. As Lady Fate would have it, the company apparently outed a memo of the features on its French blog earlier today, but before it could yank the 'pull' switch, an eagle-eyed reader managed to grab the text and run it through -- surprise, surprise -- Google Translate. What's left is an official-as-you'll-get-right-now transcript of Google Drive's features, but contrary to the hype, it all feels way more enterprise-centric than consumers may have wanted. For starters, there's no real mention of music (we guess Google Music is on its own, there), and there's just 5GB of free storage for "documents, videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs, etc." According to the brief, it's designed to let users "live, work and play in the cloud," with direct integration with Docs and Google+. We're also told that Drive can be installed on one's Mac, PC or Android phone / tablet, while an iOS version will be "available in the coming weeks." Of note, Google's making this accessible to visually impaired consumers with the use of a screen reader. As for features? Naturally, Google's flexing its search muscles in as many ways as possible; if you scan in a newspaper clipping, a simple Search All within Drive will allow results to appear directly from said clipping. If you upload a shot of the Eiffel Tower, it'll show up whenever you search for the aforesaid icon. Moreover, Drive will allow folks to open over 30 types of documents directly from a web browser, including HD video, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and more -- "even without the software installed on your computer." For those concerned about access, the new platform will have the same infrastructure as any other Google Apps services, giving admins a familiar set of management tools on that end. On the topic of storage, just 5GB are provided gratis, with 25GB costing $2.49 per month, 100GB running you $4.99 per month and 1TB demanding $49.99 per month, with a maximum of 16TB ($799.99 per month, if you're curious) per user; thankfully, Google Docs will not be included in your usage total. Finally, the note played up the ability to "attach documents directly into your Drive Gmail," and given that it's intended to be an open platform, Goog's promising to work with third party developers in order to enhance Drive's functionality even further. The source link below is still dead as of right now, but it simply can't be long before the lights are officially turned on. Oh, and if you're not enamored at the moment, the outfit's suggesting that "many more developments" will be arriving in the coming weeks. Update: It's live on the Google Play store, and a pair of explanatory videos are embedded after the break! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google back in the smartphone sales game: unlocked Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ (GSM) available for $399 Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:00 AM PDT
Hang on to your kneecaps, folks. Google's just announced that it's making the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ available in its Play web store for $399 contract-free. That's right: the unlocked, unbranded, pure Google, 16GB GSM version everyone's been importing from foreign lands far and near is now officially available in the US -- booyah! The handset ships with Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and comes with Google Wallet pre-installed (including a $10 credit to get you started with the company's mobile payment service). As a refresher, it's not Google's first time in the smartphone sales game. The company made the Nexus One available on its own website in 2010 before pulling the plug and then partnering with Best Buy to sell the Nexus S later that year. One of the problems with the Nexus One was support -- or lack thereof. Google's assured us things will be different this time and it will be offering proper support for its Nexus flagship. We sure hope so. The Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ is on sale now for $399 (plus taxes and two-day shipping) in the new Devices section of the Play web store. It's a phenomenal deal for one of the best Android phones on the market today -- especially when you consider it provides 21Mbps HSPA+ with great battery life (unlike the "fake" Nexus) and no commitment on your choice of AT&T or T-Mobile. So go ahead, stick it to the carriers and get a taste of dumb-pipe utopia -- delicious, isn't it? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NewsFlash uses high-frequency light to transmit data from iPad to smartphone, we go hands-on (video) Posted: 24 Apr 2012 07:41 AM PDT
MIT's Media Lab is chock-full of cutting-edge tech projects that researchers create, then often license to manufacturers and developers. One such project is called NewsFlash, and uses high-frequency red and green light to transmit data to the built-in camera on a receiving device -- in this case Samsung's Epic 4G. The concept is certainly familiar, and functions in much the same way as a QR code, generating flashing light that's invisible to the human eye instead of a cumbersome 2D square. In the Media Lab's implementation, an iPad is used to display a static news page with flashing colored bands at the top, representing just a few vertical pixels on the LCD. As the device presents the standard touch experience you're already familiar with, it also broadcasts data that can be read by any camera, but flashes too quickly to be distracting or even noticeable to the naked eye. A NewsFlash app then interprets those flashes and displays a webpage as instructed -- either a mobile version with the same content, or a translation of foreign websites. As with most MediaLab projects, NewsFlash is simply a concept at this point, but it could one day make its way to your devices. Jump past the break to see it in action.
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| Firefox deems favicons risky, banishes them from address bar Posted: 24 Apr 2012 07:19 AM PDT
Who'd have thought those tiny reminders of the site you're browsing could bite your backside? Apparently Mozilla did, and with its latest nightly Firefox build it has expunged favicons from their eternal perch just left of the URL. The problem is that instead something friendly -- like Google's famous "g" -- nefarious sites can use a padlock or similar image, making you think you're on a secure SSL page. So, starting from mid-July you'll see a generic globe for standard websites, green padlocks for SSL sites with validation, and gray padlocks for SSL sites without it. Take note that (so far) tabs will keep their favicons, so those of us with 43 sites open at the same time will still know where in the web we are. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook for Windows Phone getting a major refresh Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT
The Facebook app for Windows Phone is certainly serviceable, but it's never really been anything to get excited about. In fact, it wasn't really something you looked forward to using and it's been slow to add the features considered standard on competing mobile platforms. Well, with the soon to land version 2.5, that capability gap will get quite a bit smaller. It hasn't hit the Marketplace yet, but when it does it'll bring support for group chats, threaded messaging, tagging in posts and the ability to like or delete not only posts but comments as well. The photo pages have also gotten a visual refresh and you can now tap on links in posts to go straight to the relevant content. For a few more details hit up the source, and keep checking the Marketplace for updates -- Facebook promises it won't be long now. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VIM Adventures teaches you keyboard shortcuts, :%s/n00b/pro/gc in no time Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:33 AM PDT
If you've ever had the pleasure of using VIM, the popular Linux (and other platforms) text editor, you'll know that dark magic lies within its keyboard shortcuts. However, with so many to learn, where do you start? Well, some fine fellows thought the answer to that question was a neat little fantasy adventure game. VIM adventures coaxes you through the learning process via ingenious little tasks that teach you the shortcuts along the way, all washed down with a healthy glug of gaming nostalgia. Before long you'll have the keys to the castle and, of course, unabated word processing prowess. Tap j to hit the source link and get started. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Onavo Extend stretches your data plan, now with CDMA/LTE support Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT
What's Onavo Extend you ask? It's a free app that lets you save money on your data plan by compressing unencrypted data between your device and the web. The result is that you consume up to five times less data -- convenient when you're on a tiered / capped data plan, when you're roaming abroad or when you're on a slower 2G network. In addition, the app keeps track of how much data (and money) you save and which apps use that data. This works by setting up a local proxy server (and changing your APN), then connecting to the company's back end which accesses the internet on your behalf. Onavo Extend -- which was released for iOS last year and was launched on Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) at Mobile World Congress -- is gaining CDMA/LTE support today for the new iPad and the iPhone 4S on Verizon and Sprint. We first experienced the app at the Google booth in Barcelona and we've been using it on and off since. We've tested it on several devices, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ and an unlocked iPhone 4S on T-Mobile's network (EDGE only) and it works pretty much as advertised. Want to find out more? Hit the break for a demo video along with the obligatory PR.
ONAVO EXTEND DATA COMPRESSION APP FOR APPLE iOS RELEASED FOR TENS OF MILLIONS MORE MOBILE CONSUMERS Wildly Popular and Free Onavo Extend App Now Available on 4G LTE iPads and iPhone 4S on CDMA Networks Consumers Can Now Get Up to Five Times More from Data Plans and Fight LTE Extreme Data Usage San Francisco, Calif. – April 24, 2012 – Onavo Extend, the data compression application that enables mobile users to experience up to five times more from their wireless data plans, is now available on 4G LTE iPads and iPhone 4S on CDMA networks. For the first time, tens of millions of Sprint and Verizon customers and millions of iPad users can tap into the power of Onavo Extend data compression to extend their data plan and mobile experience without changing the way they use their Apple device. "In just six months, Onavo Extend has become a must-have app for millions of people around the world by alleviating costly data overages and roaming charges. Onavo Extend compresses data by up to 80 percent – meaning people can do five times more web browsing, emailing, photo sharing, Tweeting or updating Facebook without changing anything," said Onavo CEO Guy Rosen. "Today we are excited to make Onavo Extend available to tens of millions more people with the release for 4G LTE iPads on Verizon and AT&T, and iPhone 4S consumers on Verizon and Sprint who are more than ready for a better mobile experience." The rapid consumer adoption of 4G LTE iPads has been accompanied by growing irritation at how quickly the popular devices burn through data plans on basic activities like web browsing and usage of popular apps. Similarly, iPhone 4S users on Verizon and Sprint's CDMA networks are searching for remedies to their explosive data consumption problems, which are compounded by new data caps and limits on usage that carriers continue to roll out, often equating to higher charges and a poor user experience. "Onavo Extend is critical for every 4G LTE iPad owner; we have heard from many people who have burned through their monthly data plans in as little as a day but do not want to reduce usage of their favorite device," said Rosen. "It also provides a free insurance policy against overages and degraded network performance for iPhone 4S users on CDMA networks like Verizon, where the network has done away with unlimited data plans. Our availability on the latest and greatest Apple technology, empowering users to get way more out of their data plan, will change people's bills – and the amount left in their wallets." Onavo Extend is free for both iOS and Android, and uses Onavo's cloud-based, compression technology and analytics to allow users to get more from their data plan without changing the way they use their phone. Easy to install and simple to use, it runs in the background, silently compressing data so users can do more with their mobile device on even the tightest data plan. It also reduces roaming charges by providing a leaner version of the web on the road. Abroad or at home, Onavo Extend also gives monthly data usage reports to allow consumers to easily understand, plan and manage data consumption. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nyko's PlayStation Vita speaker stand goes on sale for $30, Power Grip still MIA Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT
The PlayStation Vita may not have the electric longevity to replace your portable music player, but Nyko figures there's no good reason it can't take up the role of rocking your bedroom. The accessory outfit's stereo speaker charging dock for the Sony's fledgling handheld hasn't changed much since we saw it at CES, save for the fact that it's available now. $30 turns your Vita into the most overpowered alarm clock (assuming you download the upcoming app from the PSN store) your nightstand has ever seen. What of the PS Vita Power Grip? A Nyko representative tell us it's on the way, but doesn't have anything to announce at this time. Read on for the charging dock's official press release. Stereo Charging Dock for Vita In GameStop Stores Now LOS ANGELES – April 24, 2012 – Nyko Technologies®, the leading videogame peripherals manufacturer, is now shipping the Speaker Stand for PS Vita, the latest in its line of accessories for the handheld console. The stand is The Speaker Stand for PS Vita is a powered speaker that doubles as a charging dock. The stereo sound makes it perfect for movies and music, while the line-in jack accommodates iPods and other devices. Its sleek aesthetic matches the Vita, which snaps securely onto the dock and stays charged through the Vita's own AC adaptor. "We're incredibly excited for the Vita, as it offers console-caliber gameplay on the go," said Chris Arbogast, director of marketing at Nyko Technologies. "We wanted to create a Vita accessory that adds ease of use while also augmenting its key features, which is what we have done with the Speaker Stand." Speaker Stand for PS Vita has an MSRP of $29.99 and may be purchased at GameStop locations across the United States. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video) Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:00 AM PDT
Skype continues to spread itself to anything with a data connection, and while while we don't expect this to be the last gaming device it'll appear on, it's the second. Yes, the Microsoft-owned Skype will be available to download for free on the Sony-made PlayStation Vita later today and it's capable of video calls from the get-go -- although we're yet to test whether that's possible on a 3G signal. Embarrassingly, the app looks far more capable than its recent gone-gold compadre on Microsoft's very own mobile platform. While the Windows Phone version is unable to tick along in the background, the Vita (with all that top-end processing power) can still keep your account online while you're running other apps, even take those video calls mid-game. Thankfully, Skype has drafted in professional gamer Fatal1ty to give us a quick tour of the UI and how it's all meant to click together -- it's included right after the break. Update: To allow the Skype app to connect in the background, games like Uncharted, which switch off wireless connections, are unfortunately not supported.
Skype Brings Video Calling to PlayStation®Vita Palo Alto, CA – April 24, 2012 –Skype announced today that Skype video calling is now available on PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita), expanding Skype video calling capabilities to a portable gaming device for the first time. PS Vita, which launched in early 2012 from Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA), will offer video calling capabilities and voice calling on both the Wi-Fi and 3G/Wi-Fi models. PS Vita users can download the application for free from PlayStation®Store later today*. "Our users appreciate being able to access Skype features wherever and whenever they choose," said Manrique Brenes, senior director, consumer electronics group at Skype. "With the launch of Skype for PS Vita, we are taking another step towards our ultimate goal of making Skype video calling available on every platform, all over the world, and meeting the demands of existing PlayStation users to offer video on a gaming console." Skype on PS Vita runs in "background mode" for users while gaming or using other applications** and users have the capability to "pause" a game, conduct a call and then return to their previous activity. Additionally, PS Vita features both front and rear facing cameras, which allows users to switch back and forth between the two during a Skype call. This is a great benefit of never missing a call even when playing a game or using another app. PS Vita is available for $249.99 (MSRP) for Wi-Fi and $299.99 (MSRP) for 3G/Wi-Fi models. The device is also equipped with a 5" OLED touch screen, dual analog sticks, front touchscreen and rear touch pad, two cameras and a built in microphone. Twelve time world champion Fatal1ty was one of the first users to test-drive the application. "As a gaming enthusiast, I am always in search for a next big thing," said Fatal1ty. "When I heard Skype was going to be featured on PS Vita, my first thought was this was going to be the device that sets the bar for all new gaming consoles-connecting with family and friends while playing your favorite game."
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| Samsung details Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades for American carriers Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:50 AM PDT
Samsung has published a list detailing which carrier variants of its phones and tablets will be blessed with Android Ice Cream Sandwich. While Sprint's Nexus S 4G is already enjoying the latest Android OS, the update will also arrive on the Now Network's Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. From Verizon, both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 7.7 will get the upgrade, accompanied by the WiFi variants of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and the Galaxy Tab 8.9. On AT&T, ICS is confirmed for its Galaxy S II, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy Note, Captivate Glide, Nexus S and Galaxy Tab 8.9. T-Mobile customers, however, lack a similarly breathless list of upgradable hardware, instead Samsung says it will aim to upgrade "eligible devices" in the coming months and will "provide updates as we have additional details to share." Which all sounds like those updates aren't coming to Big Magenta any time soon. Samsung vows to update the list with more details as they arrive, which is available at the source below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AT&T reports Q1 earnings: $31.8 billion in revenue, 5.5 million smartphones sold Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:35 AM PDT
Sure, there was no new iPhone to boost its smartphone sales this quarter, but the carrier still managed to push 5.5 million of the devices out the door, while activating 4.3 million Apple-branded handsets. The company beat analyst predictions by raking in $31.8 billion in revenue and pocketing $3.6 billion of that as income, up from $3.4 billion over the same time period last year. Things are looking good for the company as both U-Verse and its wireless business grew revenues dramatically -- by 38.2 percent and 19.9 percent, respectively. Growth on the cellular side is in large part thanks to the 726,000 net subscriber adds. Of particular interest is the growth in so-called "branded-computing" subscriptions, which includes tethering plans and tablets. There, AT&T has seen a growth of 70 percent over last year, reaching 5.8 million customers (including 460,000 added last quarter). For more financial fun check out the PR after the break. Solid Growth in Earnings, Revenues and Margins, and $4.7 Billion Returned to Shareholders Highlight AT&T's First-Quarter Results Wireless Margins Expand and Smartphone Sales Set First-Quarter Record; 30 Percent of Smartphone Customers are on 4G-Capable Devices ShareThis Consolidated Statements of Income AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today reported first-quarter results highlighted by strong 4G mobile data sales and wireless margins, and solid revenue and earnings growth. "We continue to capitalize on our terrific momentum in mobile Internet," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer. "Smartphone and branded computing device sales continue to set a record pace, mobile data revenues were up nearly 20 percent, and we achieved this growth with expanding margins. These results add confidence in our outlook for the year." First-Quarter Financial Results Compared with results for the first quarter of 2011, operating expenses were $25.7 billion versus $25.4 billion; operating income was $6.1 billion, up from $5.8 billion; and operating income margin was 19.2 percent, compared to 18.6 percent. First-quarter 2012 net income attributable to AT&T totaled $3.6 billion, or $0.60 per diluted share, up from $3.4 billion, or $0.57 per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter. First-quarter 2012 cash from operating activities totaled $7.8 billion, and capital expenditures totaled $4.3 billion. Free cash flow - cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures - totaled $3.5 billion. During the first quarter, AT&T began repurchasing shares under its outstanding 300 million share buyback authorization. The company repurchased 67.7 million of its shares for $2.1 billion in the quarter. WIRELESS OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS Wireless Data Revenues Increase $1 Billion. Total wireless revenues, which include equipment sales, were up 5.4 percent year over year to $16.1 billion. Wireless service revenues increased 4.3 percent, to $14.6 billion, in the first quarter. Wireless data revenues - driven by Internet access, access to applications, messaging and related services - increased by more than $1 billion, or 19.9 percent, from the year-earlier quarter to $6.1 billion. First-quarter wireless operating expenses totaled $11.7 billion, up 3.4 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, and wireless operating income was $4.4 billion, up 11.3 percent year over year. Wireless Margins Expand Even With Strong Smartphone Sales. First-quarter wireless margins grew significantly, driven by improved operating efficiencies and further revenue gains from the company's 41 million high-quality smartphone subscribers. AT&T's first-quarter wireless operating income margin was 27.2 percent versus 25.8 percent in the year-earlier quarter, and AT&T's wireless EBITDA service margin was 41.6 percent, compared with 39.0 percent in the first quarter of 2011. (EBITDA service margin is operating income before depreciation and amortization, divided by total service revenues.) Subscriber Gains in Every Category. AT&T posted a net increase in total wireless subscribers of 726,000 in the first quarter to reach 103.9 million in service. This included gains in every customer category. Subscriber additions for the quarter include postpaid net adds of 187,000. Prepaid net adds were 125,000, connected device net adds were 230,000 and reseller net adds were 184,000. First-quarter net adds reflect continued adoption of smartphones and sales of tablets. Smartphone Sales Exceed First-Quarter Record. AT&T sold 5.5 million smartphones, exceeding a first-quarter sales record set last year. Smartphones represented more than 78 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 59.3 percent, or 41.2 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 46.2 percent and 31.5 million a year earlier. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is 90 percent higher than for non-smartphone subscribers. About 88 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. About 30 percent of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers use a 4G-capable device. Both Android and iPhone device sales remain strong. iPhone sales were helped by AT&T's 4G network, which lets iPhone 4S download three-times faster than other U.S. carriers' networks. In the quarter, the company activated 4.3 million iPhones, with 21 percent new to AT&T. Strong Branded Computing Sales. AT&T had its best-ever first-quarter sales for branded computing subscribers, a new wireless data revenue growth area for the company that includes tablets, tethering plans, aircards, mobile Wi-Fi hot spots and other data-only devices. AT&T added 460,000 of these devices to reach 5.8 million, up almost 70 percent in total subscribers from a year ago. During the quarter, 240,000 tablets were added, about three-quarters of which were postpaid. 61 Percent of Smartphone Subscribers on Tiered Data Plans. The number of subscribers on tiered data plans also continues to increase. About 25 million, or 61 percent, of all smartphone subscribers are on tiered data plans compared to 38 percent a year ago, and more than 70 percent have chosen the higher-tiered plans. AT&T's postpaid wireless subscribers on data plans increased by 15.1 percent over the past year. Industry-Leading Postpaid ARPU Continues Growth. Postpaid subscriber ARPU increased 1.7 percent versus the year-earlier quarter to $64.46. AT&T continues to lead the industry with postpaid subscriber ARPU. This marked the 13th consecutive quarter AT&T has posted a year-over-year increase in postpaid ARPU. Postpaid data ARPU reached $26.92, up 15.3 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. Postpaid Churn Improves. Postpaid churn reached its lowest level in seven quarters. For the first quarter, postpaid churn was 1.10 percent, compared to 1.18 percent in the year-ago first quarter and 1.21 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Total churn was up, at 1.47 percent versus 1.36 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and 1.39 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, due to higher reseller and connected device churn. WIRELINE OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS Wireline Operating Income Improves. AT&T's wireline operating income totaled $1.8 billion, 2.4 percent higher than the first quarter of 2011 and down 1.2 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2011. First-quarter wireline operating income margin was 12.2 percent, compared to 11.8 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Total first-quarter wireline revenues were $14.9 billion, down 0.8 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and down slightly sequentially. First-quarter wireline operating expenses were $13.1 billion, down 1.2 percent versus the first quarter of 2011 and down slightly sequentially. Improved consumer and business strategic services revenue trends and execution of cost initiatives helped to partially offset declines in voice revenues. Business Revenues Continue Improving Trends. Business revenues had their best year-over-year comparison in the last three years. Total business revenues were $9.2 billion, down 0.8 percent versus the year-earlier quarter. Business service revenues declined 0.3 percent year over year, compared to a year-over-year decline of 4.4 percent in the year-ago quarter, and were essentially flat sequentially. Declines in legacy products were largely offset by continued strong growth in strategic business services. Business Data Revenue Growth Accelerates. Revenues from strategic business services, the new-generation capabilities that lead AT&T's most advanced business solutions - including Ethernet, VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services - grew 19.0 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, continuing strong trends in this area. This now represents a $6.2 billion annualized revenue stream. Total business data revenue growth accelerated to 4.2 percent year over year, the strongest showing in four years. U-verse Drives Consumer Revenue Growth. Continued strong growth in consumer IP data services in the first quarter offset lower revenues from voice and legacy products. Driven by strength in IP data services, revenues from residential customers totaled $5.4 billion, an increase of 1.0 percent versus the first quarter a year ago. The first quarter marked the seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in wireline consumer revenues. U-verse continues to drive a transformation in wireline consumer, reflected by the fact that consumer broadband, video and voice over IP revenues now represent 55 percent of wireline consumer revenues, up from 47 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Increased AT&T U-verse penetration and a significant number of subscribers on triple- or quad-play options drove 17.5 percent year-over-year growth in IP revenues from residential customers (broadband, U-verse TV and U-verse Voice) and 3.8 percent sequential quarterly growth. Consumer U-verse revenues grew 38.2 percent compared with the year-ago first quarter and were up 8.5 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2011. U-verse Tops 6 Million Subscriber Mark. Total AT&T U-verse subscribers (TV and High Speed Internet) reached 6.2 million in the first quarter. AT&T U-verse TV added 200,000 subscribers to reach 4.0 million in service. In the first quarter, the AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet attach rate was more than 90 percent and about half of new subscribers took AT&T U-verse Voice. About three-fourths of AT&T U-verse TV subscribers have a triple- or quad-play option from AT&T. ARPU for U-verse triple-play customers was $169, up slightly year over year. Penetration of eligible living units continues to grow and was at 16.8 percent in the first quarter, and 27.1 percent across areas marketed to for 42 months or more. AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet delivered a first-quarter net gain of 718,000 subscribers to reach a total of 5.9 million, more than offsetting losses from DSL. Overall, AT&T added 103,000 wireline broadband connections. About 45 percent of consumers have a broadband plan delivering speeds up to 6 Mbps or higher versus 35 percent in the year-ago quarter. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buckeyes to fire 500 trillion watt laser May 15th in a short, cheap burst Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:28 AM PDT
High-energy laser fusion experiments evoke extreme numbers -- not only in power but also in greenbacks. Sure, the current champ at the National Ignition facility in Livermore, CA can pump out a 411 trillion watt pulse, but at what price? A taxpayer-busting $200,000 per shot, with a $4 billion original construction cost. Compared to that, the new Ohio State University's 500 trillion watt model seems bargain-basement, built with a mere $6 million grant from the US Department of Energy. Admittedly, that paltry sum get you a much shorter burst, lasting 20 picoseconds compared to the NIF's several nanoseconds. But with the ability to fire 100 or more times per day, instead of just once like it's pricier kin, Ohio State will be able to assist the NIF with their fusion experiments, while also carrying on its own science, like simulating star formation. And money aside, the possibility of unlimited fusion-powered energy is always a noble goal, no? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMD announces Radeon HD 7000M series with Enduro graphics-switching technology Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:00 AM PDT
AMD kicked off 2012 by refreshing its desktop graphics, and now it's back, giving its mobile GPUs the same treatment. The company just announced its third generation of DirectX 11 mobile chips, the Radeon HD 7000 family. All told, the collection includes three 28nm GPUs: the high-end 7900M, the mainstream 7800M and, last but not least, the 7700M, a darling little chip intended for AMD's thin and light Ultrabook competitors. Across the board, the series ushers in a new feature AMD is calling Enduro, a graphics-switching technology that takes direct aim at NVIDIA Optimus. Building on older AMD technologies like PowerXpress, it doesn't require you to close apps, reboot your system or manually specify which apps will trigger the GPU. Additionally, it's designed to work with both Intel CPUs and AMD's own application processing units, so presumably you'll find this inside some Ivy Bridge machines too. With this generation, too, the two higher-end chips support the PCI Express 3.0 interface, and all three make use of AMD's existing ZeroCore Power and Power Gating battery-saving features. That's the abridged version, but we also have a full breakdown of the specs awaiting you past the break. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line2 for iOS now offers MMS support within its network, adds location sharing Posted: 24 Apr 2012 04:44 AM PDT
One of your favorite, dock-worthy iOS apps just got a tad bit better. We're talking 'bout Line2, who's just hit version 8.0.0 and is bringing with it a slew of long-awaited traits. Of these, the most notable is the inclusion of MMS, which now allows users to send out pics to other folks using Line2's service. That said, you can share media with people outside the Line2 network, but due to carrier restrictions, the MMS being sent will only show up as a link on the receiving end. To go alongside that Multimedia Messaging Service, the app's also adding a new location sharing feature (for those who don't mind the occasional stalking). As of now, the fresh goods are exclusive to the iOS crowd, while an update for the Android variant is said to be in the works. As usual, you can grab the app straight from the App Store on your device or via the iTunes link below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NimbleTV streams cable content to 'any' device, launching 'in the next few months' Posted: 24 Apr 2012 04:16 AM PDT
NEW YORK, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NimbleTV (nimbletv.com) today announces a game changing new subscription-based TV platform that for the first time enables customers to access all of their television from anywhere in the world, on any device. Customers access their subscription TV service using NimbleTV cloud-based software that lets them view their TV wherever they are – with nearly unlimited recording capability and social tools to help guide what to watch. The service is a global platform beginning with TV offerings from the U.S. and India, and will roll out to other countries. Individuals can sign-up for private beta starting today. Anand Subramanian, CEO of NimbleTV, made the announcement. "NimbleTV is based on the simplest idea: customers should be able to access the TV they pay for wherever they happen to be," said Subramanian. "Today, the groundbreaking technology behind our service makes 'TV everywhere' a reality – with more options, high-quality viewing on any device, watchable from anywhere. Our model is predicated on the belief that providers and content producers should be paid. NimbleTV is a solution that's both consumer friendly and industry friendly." NimbleTV sets customers up with their own subscription agreements with TV providers that NimbleTV supports. Customers make payments directly to their providers with NimbleTV acting as a payment service. In addition to local coverage, NimbleTV includes all cable channels, depending on which package a customer selects. The service has more than 10,000 hours of digital recording. There is no box to buy or equipment to set up. NimbleTV has built-in social features that enable customers to easily follow and record what their friends like to watch on TV. Beta users will have access to a TV subscription package with more than two dozen channels, with more added during the beta period. The NimbleTV price will include the provider subscription at cost, plus a small fee for services such as subscription set up and management, the advanced functionality of portability and industry leading DVR capabilities. The company will announce exact pricing when it launches the product to the public in the next few months. NimbleTV is at the forefront of new technology that helps consumers by merging the best of online and linear content, which mirrors how viewers increasingly experience TV today. For instance, people will be able to connect socially around their favorite shows and communities will help curate choices from among the vast number available. In addition, people today are demanding more simplicity, seeking to avoid unnecessary equipment and set-top boxes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation Posted: 24 Apr 2012 03:42 AM PDT
The New York Auto Show may be done and over with, but the 2012 Beijing International Auto Show is just hitting its stride. Predictably, BYD is in attendance, and it's got a couple of new gizmos out on the red carpet. For starters, there's the Qin (pronounced "Chin," not Kin), a dual-mode electric vehicle that includes seven percent better efficiency, power and energy-saving in pure EV mode compared to the first generation's F3DM system. All told, the vehicle can scoot some 31 miles on a single 10KWh charge, and in hybrid mode, it can use both its 110KW electric motor and its 1.5 Turbo engine to output some 223KW of power and 440Nm of torque. For the technophiles, the car is also equipped with an intelligent cloud system platform, which incorporates things like "telematics, cloud-computing and a full-range of services 24 hours a day (like roadside assistance, vehicle positioning, remote monitoring, music and video downloads etc.)." As if that weren't enough, the outfit's showcasing a new Remote Driving Controller for its F3 Plus, which enables owners to perform a variety of driving functions -- moving it forward / back, turning left / right and traveling at a "restricted speed" -- without having the owner inside of the vehicle. Naturally, we're anxiously awaiting a test unit of our own. Or, for a wave of lawsuits -- whichever comes first. BYD Technologies Dazzle at Beijing Auto Show First Production Car with Remote Driver Controls, EV Stranded Vehicle Assist (V2V) BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BYD unveiled two new exciting models – the "F3 Plus" and the Dual Mode "Qin" (pronounced "Chin") at 2012 Beijing International Auto Show. This year's Auto show theme was "Innovate and Excel" and BYD did both displaying 3 new break-through technologies in their new vehicles. The BYD Qin is an intelligent, next-generation, highly-efficient dual-mode electric vehicle that uses BYD's new, innovative Dual Mode II system with improvements over the first generation's F3DM system. These improvements include: 7% better efficiency, power and energy-saving and in pure EV mode, the Qin can travel 50 km (31 miles) on a single 10 KWh charge. In hybrid mode, the Qin can use both its 110 KW electric motor and its 1.5 Turbo (TID) engine to output 223 KW of power and a whopping 440 Nm of torque. With this amazing torque, the Qin can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in only 6.9 seconds and has a top speed of 185 km/h (115mph). In hybrid mode, the Qin requires just 16 RMB (~$2.50 USD) of energy per 100 Km (equating to a little less than 2 liters of fuel per 100 km or 118 mpg). The Qin is also equipped with the BYD "i" intelligent cloud system platform incorporating features like telematics, cloud-computing and a full-range of services 24 hours a day (like roadside assistance, vehicle positioning, remote monitoring, music and video downloads etc..). The new BYD F3 Plus best represents the Auto Show's concept of "Excel." The F3 Plus uses BYD's self-developed, 1.5 Turbo-charged, Direct-injection, Dual Clutch engine and incorporates, as a standard feature, the break-through "Remote Driving Controller" technology-a first for a mass production vehicle. The Remote Driving Control technology allows many driving functions to be performed remotely with a specially design remote "key." With the key in their hands, the driver can start the car, move it forward or back, turn left and right, and travel at a restricted speed all by itself, without the driver being inside the vehicle. It is a perfect solution when the parking space is not wide enough for the driver to exit the car once parked. In windy and rainy weather, drivers can remotely move their car for easy entrance. Finally, BYD displayed another first in EV technology features – standard Bi-directional Charging and Discharging technology able to allow vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) discharging for stranded vehicle assists, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) solutions. This technology transforms your EV into a mobile energy storage station. For more information, visit BYD at www.facebook.com/bydcompany and www.byd.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sony's 4K-upscaling BDP-S790 Blu-ray player available online, hits stores May 6th Posted: 24 Apr 2012 03:07 AM PDT
If you've been itching for Sony to take your money since it announced its flagship BDP-S790 Blu-ray player, then get ready to open up that wallet. The device is now available at Sony's online store for $249.99, with an estimated ship date of April 24th. The dual-core player (yes, there's a dual-core CPU in here!) will also be available in stores on May 6th for folks who prefer schlepping their electronics the old-fashioned way. Besides 4K upscaling and 3D playback, the BDP-S790 features DLNA, Netflix, VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, Slacker, Pandora, Twitter and Facebook capabilities. For more details, feel free to peruse the PR after the break. SONY ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL OF ITS 2012 FLAGSHIP BLU-RAY DISC PLAYER WITH DUAL-CORE PROCESSOR What: Sleek, fast and smart - the new Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Disc™ player is now available for consumer pre-order. In addition to Blu-ray Disc, DVD and CD playback, this WiFi® connected flag-ship model supports digital services from Sony Entertainment Network and a variety of other providers, including UltraViolet™ streaming services powered by VUDU. With its built-in 4K upscaling, the BDP-S790 player also delivers superior playback quality from a number of other HD and SD sources – even those in 3D! Key Features Sony Entertainment Network - Social media integration with Socialize, Twitter and Facebook When: Pre-order – April 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skype for Windows Phone working on Nokia Lumia 610, scoffs at memory restrictions Posted: 24 Apr 2012 02:42 AM PDT
Remember the unfortunate news that Skype's new Windows Phone app wasn't compatible with low-memory devices? Well, the app is now working fine with the incoming Nokia Lumia 610. After "some challenges early on", Nokia tells us that the app is primed for use when the entry-level Windows Phone eventually hits Asian store at the end of April. Now one problem remains; which color? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC predicts 55 percent revenue jump, could hint at strong One sales Posted: 24 Apr 2012 02:14 AM PDT
HTC's results for Q1 2012 were a long way short of spectacular, but they came too early to see any impact from sales of its latest wares -- particularly the flagship One X and the ambitious mid-range One S. According to Reuters, the Taiwanese manufacturer now predicts that its revenue will leap by 55 percent in Q2, compared to that bad last quarter. That kind of growth equates to around $3.56 billion, which isn't so impressive when you compare it to the same quarter last year, when turnover broke records and was around 20 percent higher, but it's still an encouraging sign that this company could reap what it sowed at MWC. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virgin Mobile Canada announces HTC One S giveaway, suggests $600 retail price Posted: 24 Apr 2012 02:13 AM PDT
Much like within the US, the HTC One S has yet to invade the Canadian shoreline. While the smartphone is expected to arrive at a number of carriers, Virgin Mobile has never been one to pass up a promotional opportunity. Accordingly, it's launched a teaser page for HTC's brawny middleweight, along with a giveaway that promises a free handset to two lucky individuals. Curiously, it seems the contest rules may have outed Virgin's off-contract price for the One S, and while the $600 figure is no shocker, it certainly gives purchasers an idea of what to expect. In related news, the Bell subsidiary is also currently offering the HTC One S to five beta testers -- so, if you're feeling like a good samaritan, feel free to make your case in the second source link below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ARM reports revenues up 13 percent, bicep-curling profits up 22 percent Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:30 AM PDT
UK-based chip designer ARM just announced another booming quarter, with revenue up by 13 percent to $209.4 million. Pre-tax profits were even stronger, growing 22 percent year-over-year to $100 million. Not a bad profit margin by anyone's standards, and due to entirely to the Cambridge outfit's business model, which has seen 22 new processor licenses signed this quarter. That includes everything from the smallest Cortex-M class chips for use in the "Internet of Things" right through to the mini-monster Cortex-A15. There were also two new signings for the Mali graphics core, which is still proving its worth in some of the latest Samsung Galaxy devices. Overall, the number of chips that went into mobile phones and mobile computers remained steady, but the shipment of chips for other types of consumer and embedded devices grew by 15 percent year-on-year, proving that ARM not only has muscle, but also fingers in pies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Cameron-backed Planetary Resources to search the universe for Unobtainium Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:25 AM PDT
Planetary Resources will reportedly announce later today that it's developing and selling low-cost spacecraft to mine asteroids close to the Earth. The space exploration and natural resources venture is led by X-Prize creator Peter Diamandis, Eric Anderson and NASA's former Mars chief, Chris Lewicki -- with cash backing from James Cameron, Eric Schmidt and Larry Page amongst others. Within a decade, the company hopes to kickstart a 21st century gold rush by selling orbiting observation platforms to prospectors with significant rewards -- a 30-meter long asteroid could hold as much as $50 billion worth of platinum at today's prices. The company's own teaser materials promised that the project would add "trillions of dollars" to the world's GDP, which sounds like a film we saw recently. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Docs bumps up free storage to 5GB, primes servers for Drive? Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:03 AM PDT
Is space at a premium in your Google Docs folder? Good news from Mountain View, then, as it's just stealth-increased the storage allowance for its cloud-based document editor. Unfortunately, anyone that's already plumped for a paid extension of their Google Docs storage won't see an extra 5GB on top. This new storage limit also tallies with what we're expecting to see from Google Drive -- presumably pretty soon. [Thanks Kenji] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transformer Prime gets power of reincarnation with Team Win Recovery Project 2.1.2 Posted: 24 Apr 2012 12:41 AM PDT
Known affectionately as Twrp, this handy utility allows you to backup and recover your Android world even as you flit effortlessly between different custom ROMs. Two-point-oh worked great on a limited selection of devices, like the Nexus S, Kindle Fire and TouchPad, but this latest update brings improved support for Honeycomb tablets and ICS handsets like the Galaxy Nexus, while also doing its thing on the Transformer Prime for the first time. Team Win has even introduced a OpenRecoveryScript function, which lets apps influence the recovery process in order to preserve even more consciousness across rebirths. Now, if only we could root karma. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cargo-Bot is a deceptively simple iPad puzzle game, made on the iPad (video) Posted: 24 Apr 2012 12:19 AM PDT
After flinging avian creatures no longer provides a suitable outlet for your mental acumen, you may wish to graduate to a more challenging level of iPad gameplay. Might we suggest moving crates? Seriously, though, while the premise behind Cargo-Bot may seem effortless, it's actually nothing of the sort. In the game, players must program a crane to properly situate boxes, but with the help of loops and conditional variables, it rewards players for discovering the most efficient method. We definitely dig the idea behind Cargo-Bot, but what makes it truly unique is the fact that it was programmed entirely on the iPad with Codea -- which also makes it a first of its kind. Go ahead and check out the free app for yourself in the source below, but if you need a bit more convincing, just hop the break for a quick premise of the game.
Cargo-Bot The First Game Programmed on iPad Adelaide, Australia - April 24, 2012 - Two Lives Left and Rui Viana have released Cargo-Bot, a puzzle game where the player commands a robot to sort crates. Cargo-Bot presents players with fiendishly clever puzzles and features stunning retina graphics. It is available for free on the App Store. Cargo-Bot was programmed entirely on iPad using Codea, a touch-based programming app for iPad created by Two Lives Left. It's the first game of its kind, prototyped, programmed and polished on iPad. Cargo-Bot was created by Rui Viana, a Codea user who developed his initial prototype and shared it with the Codea community. Two Lives Left reached out to Rui in order to turn his prototype into a published App Store game. They also enlisted the aid of Fred Bogg, a composer who developed a music library for Codea, to create the music for Cargo-Bot. Coinciding with the release of Cargo-Bot, Two Lives Left is releasing the Codea Runtime Library source code under the Apache License Version 2.0. Registered Apple iOS Developers will be able to export their Codea projects into the Codea Runtime Library in order to release them as standalone apps, just like Cargo-Bot. Cargo-Bot can be found on the App Store at http://itunes.com/apps/Cargo-Bot, videos and additional media can be found at http://twolivesleft.com/CargoBot. The Codea Runtime Library source code and documentation can be found at http://github.com/TwoLivesLeft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vintage Nikon fisheye lens aims to dwarf your DSLR, for sale at 100,000 quid Posted: 23 Apr 2012 11:26 PM PDT
A lens that can look behind itself -- the very idea of it nearly boggles the mind, but it's what the Fisheye-Nikkor 6mm f2.8s claims to be able to do, delivering a viewing angle of 220-degrees. This gargantuan fisheye lens was introduced in 1972, and was reportedly only available through special order. The price of getting your hands on one today? Oh, only about £100,000 ($161,210 American) for a lens in mint condition, and only from Grays of Westminster, a London Camera shop that deals exclusively in Nikon products. It isn't the first time this prodigious piece of glass has shown up, two years ago an identical lens hit eBay to the tune of $34,020 -- a veritable bargain, by comparison. Check out the source link below to peek at the sale. Wallet can't take the damage? Scope out "more coverage" for a bit of Nikon history. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maingear teases incoming desktop line, promises smaller towers and Ivy Bridge CPUs Posted: 23 Apr 2012 11:15 PM PDT
Maingear's Shift is a force to be feared, but it generally requires an entire wing of one's home to be assembled and configured. Hyperbole aside, there's no question that Maingear's aiming to branch out somewhat after the aforesaid rig's successful run, today teasing an "all new line of desktops." We're told to expect smaller designs with "clean" aesthetics, Vertical Exhaust cooling technology and third-generation Intel Core processors (with factory overclocked options, naturally). Prices are slated to start at $899, though there's no real clue as to when we'll see these things up for pre-order. Here's hoping you didn't plop down an order last week, huh? |
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