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Engadget News |
- AmEx, Starbucks announce plans for Passbook integration: both live by end of the month
- Alibaba spins out Aliyun team with $200 million investment, pep talk
- Nikkei: Amazon to launch Kindle in Japan 'early October'
- W3C says HTML 5 will be finalized in 2014, HTML 5.1 to follow in 2016
- Huawei's Windows Phone 8 handset outed as Ascend W1, supposed launch window surfaces
- Dell releases new S Series monitors with edge-to-edge glass, IPS panels
- Microsoft resurrects Courier through Project Austin app for Windows 8, sparks nostalgia (video)
- Samsung Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon Wireless now available to order
- Apple seeks additional $707 million, permanent injunctions in patent case against Samsung
- Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not
- WiFi Alliance certificate teases Tizen flavored Samsung Galaxy S III
- SpaceX's 'Grasshopper' vertical takeoff / vertical landing rocket takes its first small leap (video)
- YouTube brings interactive quizzes to videos with Questions Editor beta
- Microsoft issues security patches for Flash vulnerabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer
- Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement... again
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now on sale in Canada for $499
- iPhone 5 jailbroken, but not yet ready for public consumption
- Lenovo ThinkPad 2 pegged for October 26th release, with a $799 price tag
- Facebook brings search history to Activity Log, keeps queries private
- iPhone 5 / iOS 6 app update roundup: new versions for a taller world
- AMD Piledriver CPU pre-order pricing leaks out
- Vizualized: Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour (update: video)
- Sony's Xperia acro S now on sale in unlocked form for $650
- Archos 101 XS available in Europe for £300 via the company's online store
- Vic Gundotra says Nik's 'high-end tools and plugins' will survive. Snapseed? Maybe not.
- Verizon iPhone 5 is unlocked, able to accept GSM SIMs right away
- LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist
- The Engadget Show 36: John Hodgman, iPhone 5, Improv Everywhere, Samsara and the New Museum
| AmEx, Starbucks announce plans for Passbook integration: both live by end of the month Posted: 22 Sep 2012 10:55 AM PDT When it launched with iOS 6 this Wednesday, Apple's Passbook mobile-ticketing feature boasted a handful of high-profile partners -- including Fandango, Live Nation, Lufthansa and Ticketmaster -- but that list still leaves plenty of room for fleshing out. According to Venture Beat, AmEx is launching integration with Passbook later today. The credit card company's Passbook functionality will include notifications for new account transactions, along with the ability to view your current balance and redeem membership rewards points. The service can also use smartphones' location to verify charges flagged as suspicious. Starbucks, which was featured in an early Passbook demo at WWDC, also announced the timeline for its integration with the service, tweeting today that an "update is coming at the end of the month" and offering no further details. Judging by Apple's earlier previews, Passbook will let customers pay with a Starbucks card. The coffee chain's Passbook functionality looks to be quite similar to its partnership with Square, which will be the go-to mobile payments option for non-iOS customers when it launches this fall. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alibaba spins out Aliyun team with $200 million investment, pep talk Posted: 22 Sep 2012 09:41 AM PDT You can imagine that the team building Alibaba's Aliyun mobile OS must have hurt feelings following Google's accusations that Aliyun is just a corruption of Android. Alibaba chief Jack Ma is keen to restore some of that wounded pride, at least on the surface. The CEO has used a since-confirmed staff memo to spin out Aliyun as a separate entity that will "safeguard the healthy growth" of the platform and Alibaba's mobile strategy. It's not solely an instance of tough love, either: Alibaba is putting $200 million into the new firm and will use executive Wang Jian as a link between the two sides, having him serve as the CTO for both companies. With that in mind, Ma's ultimate intentions aren't clear. While the separation may be a sign of a tighter focus on software, it also reduces the impact for Alibaba if anything drags Aliyun down -- and either motivation would be helpful for a company devoted to the web before anything else. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nikkei: Amazon to launch Kindle in Japan 'early October' Posted: 22 Sep 2012 08:36 AM PDT If it feels like we've heard about Amazon's intention to punch through the Japanese wall with Kindle before, it's because we have. However, if a new report on Reuters via The Nikkei is to be believed, it could finally be getting closer. It's said that the internet retailer had planned to launch its e-reader line in September, but supply chain problems put paid to that. Now we're told it'll land in "early October" with Amazon hurriedly securing Japanese content in time for the busy end of year sales period. The Kindle's still not out of the woods just yet though, as it's also been suggested that publishers are being asked to change data formats for their content, which is ripe for causing another bottleneck, should they not comply in time. Sadly, given the history of this tale, we're not expecting Japanese farm owners to be making any irrational bets just yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W3C says HTML 5 will be finalized in 2014, HTML 5.1 to follow in 2016 Posted: 22 Sep 2012 07:29 AM PDT HTML 5 has been a buzz word around the interwebs for so long you'd be forgiven if you thought it was a well-established standard looking for a successor. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which helps establish the primary standards used online, didn't actually intend to complete HTML 5 until 2022. Thankfully, the group has reconsidered that seemingly absurd timeline and now plans to have this whole mess wrapped up by the end of 2014. The revised plan calls for an HTML 5 Candidate Recommendation (sort of like a feature-frozen beta) to be submitted by the end of 2012, before being finalized in 2014. All existing bits of the standard that are unstable or that suffer interoperability problems will be pulled from that candidate and pushed to a draft version of HTML 5.1. While HTML 5 is being completed, its evolutionary successor will begin the process of marching towards standardization, with a target completion date of 2016. For a more detailed exploration of the future of HTML hit up the source link. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huawei's Windows Phone 8 handset outed as Ascend W1, supposed launch window surfaces Posted: 22 Sep 2012 06:33 AM PDT HTC, Nokia and Samsung have each showcased their initial volley of Windows Phone 8 handsets, but Huawei has yet to reveal the Ascend hardware it promised would run Microsoft's smartphone OS. The firm's Richard Yu took to the social network Sina Weibo and outed the device as the Ascend W1 earlier this week, but kept other specifics under wraps. Citing sources from within the company, Chinese language outlet Winp is now claiming that the W1 will ship between November and December, carry a price tag of 2,000 RMB ($317) and arrive in black, blue, pink and white hues. Though a September 25th unveiling is also rumored, Yu mentioned that Huawei will make it a habit of launching phones as they're unveiled, so it may be a while before the curtain is fully pulled back if the November / December window is correct. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dell releases new S Series monitors with edge-to-edge glass, IPS panels Posted: 22 Sep 2012 05:20 AM PDT Dell's built quite a reputation for delivering solid monitors at reasonable prices, and it's now expanded its offerings in a fairly big way with no less than five new S Series models, some of which boast edge-to-edge glass and/or IPS panels. On the top end is the 27-inch S2740L, which has the most connectivity options of the lot (DVI, VGA, HDMI and a pair of USB ports) and, of course, the highest price tag at $400. From there, things drop to $300 with the 24-inch S2440L (the only non-IPS model of the lot), and go all the way down to $200 for the 21.5-inch S2240M -- the three lower-end models ditch the edge-to-edge glass but still retain minimal bezels. Unlike some of the company's higher-end UltraSharp models, though, all five monitors have a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of 16:10, and you'll get a standard 1920 x 1080 resolution regardless of the size you choose. Complete specs for each can be found at the links below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft resurrects Courier through Project Austin app for Windows 8, sparks nostalgia (video) Posted: 22 Sep 2012 03:08 AM PDT Many who've been following Microsoft's tablet efforts for years will have a soft spot for the Courier, a creative-focused device axed because it didn't fit the Windows puzzle. However, it looks like you just can't keep a clever idea down. Developers at Microsoft have revived the dream through Project Austin, a Windows 8 app based around the visual concept of a notebook. Pen aficionados can choose different paper types and paste in photos, but they're deliberately kept away from typing, searching and other elements that would complicate the idea. It should sound familiar: it's a rough (if possibly unintentional) Windows doppelganger to FiftyThree's Paper for iPad, which itself was designed by some of the former Courier team. A company spokesperson won't say if or when Project Austin will be available in a complete form for the public, although there's not much point until Windows 8 arrives on October 26th. Thankfully, programmers keen to see what Courier might have been -- if just in bits and pieces -- can already download the source code for themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon Wireless now available to order Posted: 22 Sep 2012 01:27 AM PDT Ever since the bootloader of the Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless was cracked wide open, there's much less of a clamor for the Developer Edition of the handset from Samsung. That said, the unsubsidized smartphone is now available to purchase -- for backorder, anyway -- directly from the manufacturer, which gives all owners the ability to easily unlock the phone's bootloader and thus delight in the world of custom ROMs. As of now, only the Pebble Blue variant is available, but purchasers may choose from the 16GB ($600) or 32GB ($650) versions. We still maintain that Verizon Wireless gave its subscribers a pretty raw deal with the Galaxy S III, as all other carriers left it to the owner's discretion of whether to unlock their phone's bootloader. We wouldn't expect Big Red to change its tune any time soon, but you can take solace knowing that the hacking community and manufacturers have your back. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple seeks additional $707 million, permanent injunctions in patent case against Samsung Posted: 22 Sep 2012 12:01 AM PDT In a court filing late Friday night Apple has requested the court enhance the $1.05 billion in damages a jury awarded it from Samsung for their patent lawsuit in California. FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller has a breakdown of the figures, revealing that Apple has chosen to seek enhancement just on what the jury deemed "willful" patent infringement to the tune of $135 million (less than the 3x amount it could have pursued) plus an additional $400 million for infringement of trade dress. That adds up to $1,756,455,218 it's now seeking from Samsung, plus, as Reuters reporter Dan Levine notes, the expected request for permanent injunctions. That could cover more than the products mentioned in the lawsuit, as Mueller also points out Apple is asking for an injunction against other products with similar features, which could extend to devices like the Galaxy S III. As usual, it's all still far from over and the figures could change, but Samsung is probably just hoping Apple's lawyers use iOS 6 Maps for their next trip to the courtroom. Update: Per FOSS Patents, adding in interest and supplemental damages Apple's total request is now a tidy $707 million. What does Samsung want? According to Reuters, it's requesting an entirely new trial, because who doesn't want to do this whole thing over again? Stay tuned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:17 PM PDT The more cynical among us would argue that allowing cellphones in-flight is only a guarantee of an even more unpleasant trip, at least for anyone wanting a distraction-free cabin. There must still be a few optimists: Boeing is promising that future production runs of the 747-8 and 777 will have the necessary support for in-flight cellphone use, live TV and internet access that comes through either headrest screens or WiFi. Aircraft with the upgrade should roll off the production lines before the end of 2013, and they'll be following a slight change to the 787 later this year that makes the technology support a common option. Some of us may wind up reaching for the earplugs in countries where regulators approve in-air wireless, but there's definite upsides for all but the biggest curmudgeons -- Boeing's moves could lead to more ubiquitous in-flight WiFi next year, on top of ready-made wireless media streaming due in 2014. Boeing Advances In-Flight Connectivity Options for Passengers Commercial Airplanes to enhance communication access for travelers SEATTLE, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) continues to advance its suite of connectivity offerings on its family of commercial jetliners. Systems to be installed during production on the 747-8 and 777 by the end of 2013 have the capability to provide in-flight use for cell phones, wi-fi connectivity for passengers, internet access using in-flight entertainment (IFE), and live television broadcasts. Additional connectivity systems are being evaluated for the 737 that could be available in the near future. The 737 already includes wiring provisions for connectivity systems. The 787 offers a post-delivery retrofit of systems that provide in-flight use of personal cell phones and wi-fi connectivity for passengers and is working toward a full set of connectivity offerings as part of its standard catalog by the end of this year. "We're always working to ensure that our products offer the airlines of the world the most modern and robust technologies available to provide their passengers with an exceptional flying experience," said Mike Sinnett, senior chief engineer of Airplane Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Passengers want the option of staying connected to e-mail and the internet and other online offerings when flying. We've looked across the industry and are partnering with several connectivity system providers across our family of airplanes." The prime connectivity systems currently in development at Boeing are the Panasonic Global Communication Suite and Thales TopConnect system. Wireless media streaming is expected to be available on all new Boeing airplanes in 2014. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WiFi Alliance certificate teases Tizen flavored Samsung Galaxy S III Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:59 PM PDT Ever wondered what Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III phone might be like, if it ran another OS? Okay, arguably something along those lines is already under way, but if a curious WiFi Alliance certification entry is to be understood, Tizen might have made its way on to the phone already. The hook here is the product name. The GS III also goes by the less snappy moniker of GT-I9300, and it's the appearance of GT-I9300_TIZEN in the certification list that has got chins wagging. Of course, a stamp from the WiFI Alliance means little out here in the real world, where everything is still looking rather Android, but it doesn't hurt to imagine the Koreans experimenting with idea, and it wouldn't be the first time either. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SpaceX's 'Grasshopper' vertical takeoff / vertical landing rocket takes its first small leap (video) Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:16 PM PDT This test-firing may not match the flame of earlier demonstrations, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted out a brief eight-second video of another setup it's testing, the "Grasshopper" reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket. While the first hop would've been shamed in any interstellar dunk contest, future tests will range in height from a few hundred feet to two miles. The goal is to eventually create a reusable first stage for its Falcon 9 rocket, able to land safely instead of crashing into the sea and being damaged beyond repair. Hit the more coverage links for a few more details on the project as well as pictures of it at the Texas test site, or check after the break to see the video.
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| YouTube brings interactive quizzes to videos with Questions Editor beta Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:20 PM PDT Feel like something's missing from your YouTube viewing experience -- like some good 'ol multiple-choice questions? The chronic learners among us will be happy to hear that the site is testing an interactive -- and potentially educational -- feature that lets users add quizzes to their clips. A new page on the YouTube site describes a "Video Questions Editor Beta," which lets channel owners display multiple-choice questions on top of their videos as they play. The page is pretty blank at the moment, but the beta is up and running for those who opt in. Don't get too excited, though: YouTube's disclaimer states the feature "represents work in progress," and "there is no plan for long-term support of the feature." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft issues security patches for Flash vulnerabilities in Windows 8 and Internet Explorer Posted: 21 Sep 2012 07:53 PM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement... again Posted: 21 Sep 2012 07:05 PM PDT Last time Google found itself in court proceedings opposite Skyhook, it was facing anticompetitive and IP legal claims for forcing Android OEMs to use Google's location services. Yesterday, Skyhook filed a new complaint alleging that Google is infringing nine of its patents. FOSS Patents reports that the IP in question is, like last time, all about geolocation technology. The patents cover various aspects of a WLAN-based positioning system, and all but one of them were granted after the prior lawsuit, hence the new legal action. We've yet to hear Google's side of the story, but you can take a peek at Skyhook's airing of grievances at the source below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now on sale in Canada for $499 Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:41 PM PDT After landing on American store shelves just a few short weeks ago, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has officially gone on sale in the Great White North. Priced at $499, the Galaxy Note 10.1 features a 10.1-inch display, a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4 quad processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.9-megapixel front shooter for placing video calls. Sadly, the Galaxy Note 10.1 ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but Sammy has promised that it'll be blessed with Jelly Bean "very soon." In addition to its snazzy innards, the Galaxy Note 10.1 includes its signature S-Pen and offers 50GB of free storage from Dropbox for two years. If you think this sounds like all that and a Samsung Introduces a Whole New Level of Innovation to the Canadian Marketplace The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 Inspires a Culture of Active Content Creation, Productivity, and Learning MISSISSAUGA, ON, Sept. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Samsung Canada, today announced that the highly anticipated GALAXY Note 10.1 is now available in the Canadian marketplace. The device is available for purchase at authorized retail partners across Canada. The GALAXY Note 10.1 extends the GALAXY Note category, building on the success of last year's worldwide hit smartphone - and delivering the functionality and precision of a pen and paper by combining the S Pen with a 10.1-inch large display. Featuring an advanced S Pen with 1,024 levels of sensitivity, GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed for natural and intuitive content creation. "The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 enables users to create content anytime, anywhere with the value added S-Pen," said Paul Brannen, Vice President, Enterprise Business Solutions, Samsung Canada. "The S Pen offers active content creation and productivity, while the Note 10.1 is the ideal screen size to consume multimedia - whether watching videos or looking at files on-the-go. This truly provides Canadians with a unique and true multitasking experience." True Multitasking with Multiscreen Feature With GALAXY Note 10.1's Multiscreen feature, users can effortlessly utilize two different applications side-by-side simultaneously for true and easy multitasking. Users can view Web pages or videos, or launch other applications while writing or sketching ideas with the S Pen on the other half of the screen - no need to toggle back and forth between apps. The Galaxy Note 10.1 features applications to meet the increasing needs of a growing mobile workforce, from interfacing with customers to creative sharing. Featured applications include: S Note, Internet Browser, Video Player, Email, Gallery and Polaris Office. S Pen & S Note - Make it Personal The S Note application is a unique tool that gives users the ability to combine notes and sketches with other digital content in ready-to-use templates. Shape Match converts hand-drawn shapes such a square and lines into clean and perfect versions - perfect for creating charts and formula Match can actually solve formulas hand-written with the S Pen. The S Pen is embedded directly into a slot in the device and when removed, activates a taskbar with quick access to optimized S Pen apps such as S Note, Adobe® Photoshop® Touch and Polaris Office Alternatively, users can easily set their preferred application to be launched instantly. S Note is also integrated with knowledge search engines so that users can search for content, obtain information, and easily drag and drop content onto S Notes without having to switch between screens. Adobe Photoshop Touch - Edit Photos Like Never Before Adobe® Photoshop® Touch, is preloaded on the GALAXY Note 10.1 and is optimized for S Pen, enabling users to control brush size and opacity by just adjusting the pressure of the pen on the screen. Users can also use popular Photoshop features such as layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters to create mind-blowing images, or use the high quality GALAXY Note 10.1 camera to fill an area on a layer with the unique camera fill feature. With Photoshop Touch, it's also a snap to add or remove people or objects from a photo, or blend two photos together. Photoshop Touch is integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud providing users free access to powerful file syncing and sharing features and 2GB of storage space. Files can be synched to the Creative Cloud and opened in Photoshop on the desktop or laptop for further refinement. The Ultimate Experience Samsung is adding even more value to the Note 10.1 through a range of partners with featured applications on the device: To allow seamless collaboration with others, the GALAXY Note 10.1 offers a free two-year subscription to Dropbox, giving users 50 GB of storage space - a $100 value.** GALAXY Note 10.1 will be available for $499 MSRP at major Canadian retail partners beginning September 21st, 2012. For additional information, please visit www.samsung.com. Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 Product Specifications Processor: 1.4 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB RAM * *See www.dropbox.com/help/338 for terms and conditions of Dropbox offer. Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iPhone 5 jailbroken, but not yet ready for public consumption Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:52 PM PDT You knew that the hackers of the world would be anxious to jailbreak their fresh new iPhone 5's, and the feat's been accomplished just a day after older hardware running iOS 6 was similarly set free. Grant Paul posted the picture you see above on Twitter, confirming his new, elongated iPhone is, indeed, running Cydia. Unfortunately, the jailbreak isn't available to the rest of us just yet, but it shouldn't be long before the masses gain access, too. Viva la liberté! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lenovo ThinkPad 2 pegged for October 26th release, with a $799 price tag Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:11 PM PDT In the land of tweets and tell-alls, keeping privileged information on the down-low is next to impossible. Oddly enough, pricing and release details for the ThinkPad 2 didn't require much espionage. At last night's PepCom event, Lenovo reps told WP Central that the Windows 8-powered slab will be available on October 26th for $799. This price point might be a tad on the high side for some, but it does include the tablet's optional keyboard. As a refresher, the ThinkPad 2 sports a 10.1-inch IPS display, an Intel Atom processor and NFC, all powered by an alleged 10 hour battery. For the data gluttons out there, AT&T's LTE is on the menu stateside. Whether or not this pricing and release information holds true, we'll still have to see what else surfaces before making a final decision this holiday season. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook brings search history to Activity Log, keeps queries private Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:27 PM PDT Last week at TechCrunch Disrupt, Mark Zuckerberg let loose that Facebook would create a search engine "at some point," and today the firm snuck in a smidgen of emphasis on queries into the Activity Log. Over the coming weeks, your searches on the social network will appear alongside the links, comments and other actions that are normally aggregated in the feature. Worried that friends will learn of your quest to find My Little Pony pages? There's nothing to fear as the log is for your eyes only. However, if a particular search blemish needs to be scrubbed from the list, each entry can be individually nixed like posts on a Timeline. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iPhone 5 / iOS 6 app update roundup: new versions for a taller world Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT Call it a hunch, but we suspect that at least a few of you picked up an iPhone 5 today, or at least made the leap to iOS 6. If you're in either position, you may be wondering just what apps to feed Apple's flagship (or that fresh new firmware) once it's ready to go. We've got a quick-hit list of titles that have been updated to take advantage of the tall display and new OS that go beyond Apple's own work. The biggest upgrades of the lot come from keynote darling CNN as well as Flipboard: both have done more than add extra columns on the iPhone 5, offering an interface you won't see on any mere 3.5-inch iPhone. Some bread-and-butter apps have made the launch week cut as well, such as Facebook and Twitter. There's even more if you're willing to dig deep. Third-party Twitter client Tweetbot beat the official app to the punch by days, and we've likewise spotted updates to Evernote, its rival Remember the Milk and Yelp. We know some apps aren't fully iPhone 5- or iOS 6-native -- Instagram, for example, and most anything from Google -- but it's apparent that the holdouts are increasingly the exception, rather than the rule. Did you catch any other noteworthy apps that received a boost in recent hours? Let fellow owners know in the comments. CNN - App Store | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMD Piledriver CPU pre-order pricing leaks out Posted: 21 Sep 2012 03:41 PM PDT It's always just been a matter of "when" and "how much," but it looks as if PC gamers looking to score a powerplant upgrade can start planning on specific amounts. AMD's impending FX Piledriver CPUs are now up for pre-order at ShopBLT, an outlet that has proven reliable in the past when it comes to nailing down processor pricing. For those in need of a refresher, these are built using the Vishera design, with the range including between four and eight CPU cores. We're expecting 'em to best the Bulldozer family, and if all goes well, they could be available to the earliest of adopters in October. Presently, the FX-4300 ($131.62), FX-6300 ($175.77), FX-8320 ($242.05) and FX-8350 ($253.06) are listed, but CPU World seems to think launch day quotes will actually be a bit lower. Only one way to find out, right? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vizualized: Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour (update: video) Posted: 21 Sep 2012 03:08 PM PDT NASA and the US government may have moved on from the shuttle program, but it's clear that the American people are still in love with our nation's cosmic cargo planes. An estimated 20,000 people showed up at the Ames Research Center/Moffet Air Force Base in Mountain View, California this morning to see Endeavour buzz the tower. With so many folks itchin' to see Endeavour's farewell tour firsthand, the line to get in was lengthy, but we braved the crowds to bring you some shots of the action. Enjoy. [Thanks to Chris Williams for helping with some of the crowd shots] Update: Canon/RED guru and LA-based DP Vincent Laforet caught the shuttle's final approach and landing at LAX. You'll find the slow-motion clip, shot at 5K resolution on a RED Epic at 96 frames-per-second with an 800mm Canon f/5.6 lens, just past the break.
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| Sony's Xperia acro S now on sale in unlocked form for $650 Posted: 21 Sep 2012 02:42 PM PDT Shortly after leaping through the requisite FCC hoops, Sony's 1.5GHz Xperia acro S is now on sale to able and willing Americans. For those who've forgotten, the 4.3-inch smartphone packs a 720p panel, IP55 and IP57 dust / water resistance, inbuilt NFC, Bluetooth, a 12.1-megapixel camera around back, a battery good for up to eight hours of yapping and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). In unlocked form, it'll set you back $649.99 -- or, for the Sony faithful, just 64,999 Rewards points. Sadly, you can't get one stamped with a Sony Ericsson logo for the sake of nostalgia at any price. Per usual, the source link is awaiting your order. [Thanks, Kevin] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archos 101 XS available in Europe for £300 via the company's online store Posted: 21 Sep 2012 02:13 PM PDT The Archos 101 XS, a 10-inch ICS tablet packing a magnetically attached keyboard dock, is now available for purchase via the company's European websites. The slate, with 16GB of internal storage, is going for £300 (about $487). No word yet on when this guy will make it to North America. Check out our review for the full lowdown on this unique, productivity-minded tablet, and non-stateside types can click through to the Archos site to nab one for themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vic Gundotra says Nik's 'high-end tools and plugins' will survive. Snapseed? Maybe not. Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:48 PM PDT After Google effectively killed Sparrow's apps when it purchased the company (they're still available and supported, but don't expect much future development) there was some worry about the future of Nik Software. Well, Vic Gundotra took to Google+ to salve some of those fears.
There is one bothersome caveat in that quote: "high-end." Gundotra may be promising a future for Capture NX and Efex Pro, but it's clear that the popular Snapseed doesn't fit that description. Now, he has not expressly announced the death of the Instagram competitor, but it seems to us that the writing is on the wall. The Android camera app may already have a set of friendly filters, but it lacks the simplified sharing and marketing buzz of Facebook's recent acquisition. Don't be surprised if the Snapseed team simply gets folded into Google+ or Android while its creation slowly withers and dies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verizon iPhone 5 is unlocked, able to accept GSM SIMs right away Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT Great news for those waiting anxiously at the door for their UPS / FedEx delivery... well, for those awaiting a Verizon iPhone 5, anyway. We've already broken down the differences between the trifecta of iPhone 5 models, and it seems that the one VZW is hawking is a real gem for travelers. Aside from handling Verizon's LTE waves just fine, the nano-SIM slot will also accept cards from any other GSM carrier worldwide. In other words, AT&T nano-SIMs will get you onto its HSPA+ network, and T-Mobile nano-SIMs will play nice as well. If you're heading overseas, you can pick up a local nano-SIM on arrival and plug it straight in -- no unlocking code necessary. To confirm, this even applies to Verizon iPhone 5 units that were purchased under contract. You can hit the video after the break for proof, but heed one word of advice: wait until you find a legitimate nano-SIM to throw in there. It looks as if the cut-and-stuff approach leaves a bit to be desired. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT It's not uncommon for US carriers to take an international smartphone under their wings, make a few adjustments to hardware and firmware, stamp their fat logos in multiple places and then sell it to the masses. Verizon is no exception: the LG Intuition is its interpretation of the Optimus Vu, a 5-inch phablet we reviewed over the summer. Perhaps calling it an "interpretation" is a bit of an overstatement: aside from a bump in firmware and Big Red's LTE, it is the Optimus Vu. In fact, going into this review, we had a difficult time believing our experience would be much different than our run-in with the Korean version. Hardware Huey Lewis famously sang that it's hip to be square, but what would he say about a smartphone that takes an oddly similar shape? Thanks to its 5-inch screen and 4:3 aspect ratio, we know the LG Intuition (once codenamed the "Batman," hilariously enough) is more of a fatty rectangle in reality, but we couldn't help but draw this comparison shortly after we first took the phone out of its packaging. You may argue that the 5-inch screen puts the Intuition in the same territory as the 5.3-inch OG Galaxy Note (and even the 5.5-inch Note II), but here's the kicker: the Notes achieve their larger screen size by adding vertical real estate and using small bezels, which actually helps them stay significantly narrower than Verizon's latest monstrosity. What does this mean? It means both generations of the Note are much easier to hold in one hand than the Intuition. Awkwardness abounds, even in the largest of hands. The one advantage here is the device's thickness: at 8.5mm deep, it's noticeably thinner than its competition. At 5.93 ounces (168g), it's a tad lighter, too. How is it possible that the Intuition is wider than the Notes, yet offers a smaller screen? Two factors are involved here: aspect ratio and bezel. The designers of the Optimus Vu wanted a 4:3 ratio instead of the traditional 16:9, which results in a trade-off of vertical pixels in favor of horizontal ones. On top of that, the bezel around all sides of the phone is seemingly much larger than it really needs to be. Maybe LG felt it was more important to have extra space for gripping when you're watching a video or looking at pictures. Perhaps the additional room was necessary to fit all of the necessary components. Regardless, we'd argue that the size of the device itself could easily be trimmed down without consequence. Despite an awkward one-handed experience, we found that it was a completely different story when we handled the phone and the included Rubberdium (no, not Rubbermaid) stylus with a pair of hands instead. Similar to the Galaxy Note, the Intuition feels more natural to use when you're jotting notes, playing games or performing any other two-handed activity. We appreciate the girth of the stylus in relation to the size of a standard pen or pencil (it's also thicker than the S Pen), but there's one point of extreme frustration: despite being a larger phone, there is no slot to stash that Rubberdium pen. You're limited to keeping it in your pocket (a dangerous practice, in our opinion -- we have a hard enough time holding onto our keys) or clipping it onto a shirt, purse or whatever else you use the entire day. Heck, we would've been at least slightly relieved to somehow attach the stylus to the phone via lanyard, but even that doesn't appear to be an option. In terms of connectivity, Verizon LTE (band 13, 700MHz) is naturally present here, as is CDMA (we're reaching out to Verizon to see if global roaming is officially supported, as the numerous spec sheets seem to conflict); its Korean counterpart boasts 800MHz LTE (used in South Korea), HSPA+ 2100MHz, CDMA and quadband GSM / EDGE. Using the latter model in the US would result in nothing but utter frustration, as you'd have no choice but to use 2G data speeds. The original also features a pullout T-DMB TV antenna -- a popular addition for South Koreans -- but the Intuition doesn't seem to make use of the space created by its absence. Aside from that, the external hardware is precisely the same as you compare the two side-by-side. Finally, we'll tackle the back, which sports a textured plastic build and has a slightly different pattern than the original Vu. The non-removable cover (which means the battery isn't user-accessible) appears to be raised above the rest of the chassis and stays flat until it reaches the left and right edges, where it then slopes down to meet the frame. The camera and LED flash are on the top left, while the mono speaker resides on the bottom left. The obligatory logos (LG's and Verizon's LTE symbol), as well as FCC information, are found on the back to take up much more space than they should. We'll hand it to LG: it made a pretty solid slab of hardware: this thing is well-built and feels quite sturdy. For a device this large, durability is of the essence -- throughout our time with the Intuition, we found ourselves trying pretty hard not to drop it. From what we can tell, LG is putting in a lot of effort to fine-tune its design, as we found the latest generation of products (Optimus Vu, Optimus 4X, the L-series and Optimus G) to be a refreshing departure from some of the company's earlier efforts. Display This particular display is one we don't see all too often in a smartphone: the Intuition, like the Optimus Vu, takes advantage of a 5-inch XGA (1,024 x 768) HD-IPS display. This resolution results in the 4:3 aspect ratio mentioned earlier and translates into a pixel density of 256ppi, a number that display aficionados may find disappointing. Indeed, it's taking a loss of 30ppi or so compared to the Notes, but it's pretty hard to tell: we couldn't see any jagged edges, and without squinting the display appeared to be as vibrant and colorful as we'd like it to be without going the Super AMOLED route of oversaturation. On high brightness we could easily view the screen in daylight, and viewing angles were acceptable, though not as good as we've witnessed from other high-end phones like the HTC One X. The 4:3 ratio is great in some ways, terrible in others. On the bright side, it offers more reading space, which is nice when reading an e-book, browsing a lengthy web article or writing / drawing memos with your stylus. On the other hand, apps designed for 16:9 viewing look odd when they're stretched out (we'll cover this in more detail shortly), and movies are significantly letterboxed. The last part is rather unfortunate: one of the benefits of a larger screen should be the ability to watch high-res videos and actually see a decent amount of detail, but you're not going to get that with the Intuition -- this puts it at a serious disadvantage over the Galaxy Note. The movies still look great on the IPS display, but it's basically the same experience you'd get on a smaller phone. Software Look, it may not run Jelly Bean, but the silver lining is that it's not Gingerbread, either. In other words, the Intuition runs on Android 4.0.4 (the cool kids call it Ice Cream Sandwich) -- a breath of fresh air considering LG's decision to place 2010 firmware on the original Optimus Vu. We haven't heard whether the Intuition will eventually see an upgrade to Jelly Bean, but if it does, it's probably not going to be in the immediate future -- after all, LG hasn't been the quickest to upgrade its Gingerbread phones to ICS, so we have a difficult time believing it would substantially improve its refresh speed. QuickMemo, on the other hand, has some solid potential. This is basically the Intuition's version of screenshot capture: press the circular button on the top edge of the phone (on the left side) and a screenshot pops up, waiting for you and your pen to start editing to your heart's desire. This is arguably the nicest Rubberdium-related feature on the phone. Curiously, we also discovered that LG makes it possible to actually change the icon of any app on the home panel. When you hold down an app for a second and then let go, a tiny pen symbol pops up on the top of the icon. Push it again and you'll be whisked into a magical world of icons, where you'll find a standard set of options varying from stock app icons to every single letter of the alphabet (in case you want to label your apps in order of importance, we suppose?). You can also create one of your very own by choosing a picture in your gallery or taking a new shot with your camera. As we saw on the Optimus Vu, the Intuition also offers full support for LG Tag+, and even includes a couple in the box to try out. This is the company's take on NFC tags used for automation: you can program these tags to trigger a variety of tasks on your phone just by briefly tapping the two together. One of the tags given to you when purchasing your device is pre-programmed to send it into car mode, while the other turns it into office mode. These can be overwritten to fit your whimsy, and additional tags can be purchased if you want to decorate your whole house with them. (Protip: any NFC tags should work on the Intuition, so don't fret if your search for LG's variety is fruitless. Also, don't decorate your whole house with NFC tags.) No software section would be complete without our two cents on bloatware. In the past few months, it seems as though the practice of pre-installing several unnecessary apps on carrier-branded devices had tapered off somewhat, but it's back in a bad way. Verizon's now adding a full suite of Amazon apps to all of its new Android phones (which includes Kindle, Audible, Amazon MP3 and IMDb); additionally you'll see Color, NFL Mobile, Viewdini, Verizon Apps, Guided Tour, Voicemail, My Verizon, VZ Navigator, Mobile Hotspot, Zappos and VCAST Tones. A couple games are also thrown in, such as Shark Dash and Real Racing 2. Only about half of these programs can be disabled or uninstalled -- as a possible way of making peace with users, however, you can put apps into folders directly in the app menu (a la TouchWiz 4). Camera The leaf (Intuition) didn't fall far from the tree (Optimus Vu) with its camera: both devices take advantage of 8-megapixel sensors in the rear and 1.3MP in the front, and the pair are both capable of capturing video up to 1080p resolution. They both offer the same array of settings: ISO, white balance, color effect, plenty of scene modes and brightness adjustments. Panorama is also available, but HDR capabilities are nowhere to be found. We were also saddened that we weren't able to hold down the shutter button to lock exposure and / or focus. If you're hoping for better performance out of the video capture, you'll be greatly disappointed. Again, the 1080p HD quality matches that of the Optimus Vu in that we have a hard time even calling it high-definition. While the Intuition did a decent job at capturing motion, it was incredibly grainy no matter what time of day the footage was taken at. We even noticed the camcorder lose focus on occasion. Audio was also below average, as some of our movies sounded a little muffled. Results at 720p were about the same, so it almost makes sense to simply opt for the lower-res setting just to conserve storage space. Performance and battery life We've noticed that one key category has been the subject of much mystery and confusion: the SoC. The original Optimus Vu features a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 MSM8660 processor paired with an Adreno 220 GPU, and there has been much speculation that the Intuition was upgraded to an S4. (None of the official spec sheets say for sure.) We wouldn't have been terribly surprised if this were the case -- even the Optimus Vu itself got a generous bump up to a quad-core Tegra 3 over the course of time. Certainly, this fact led us to initially assume that the performance of the two phones would be virtually identical to one another. The duo has more commonalities than differences, after all. Let's take a quick look at the benchmarks to see how they hold up. Just for the sake of comparison with similarly specced devices, we also threw in the AT&T Galaxy Note.
As you can see, the Intuition benefits from a slight uptick in most benchmark scores, and we imagine this largely has to do with the fact it's running newer firmware. Still, these results won't hold a candle to what we typically see on the more common S4 chips. In real-life use, however, we didn't have many complaints -- everything ran smoothly with only an occasional hiccup. We were able to multitask easily and gaming was a breeze. Essentially, our experience with the Intuition was quite similar to that of the Optimus Vu. The only area we noticed lag in was the browser. While it didn't take very long to load pages, we experienced slow scrolling and a bit of tiling as the phone attempted to render images and text -- especially after zooming in and out. Despite sporting a set of mono speakers on the back, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality found therein. We found them to be plenty loud for our needs, but it's quite obvious that users who prefer to hold phones in their right hand will be frustrated by the speakers' location when using the Intuition in portrait mode. Since the speaker grille is placed in the lower-left corner of the phone's backside, it rests smack-dab in the palm of your right hand. This is sure to cause a significant amount of muffling. Using the device in landscape mode for movies, however, you likely won't run into this concern (provided you hold it so that the volume buttons face up, anyway). As we mentioned earlier, the Intuition also comes with MHL compatibility. Plugging in the array of cables rewarded us with a "Media Home" screen, a simplified menu letting you choose between videos, pictures and music. There's also an exit button handy in case you're just in the mood for some casual HDMI mirroring. Everything looked and sounded great when we were hooked up. Wrap-up We'll admit that our gripes with the width of the Intuition is more of a matter of personal preference and the extra girth may suit folks just fine (provided you have gargantuan hands or simply enjoy the 4:3 aspect ratio too much) -- however, we'd be more willing to give it a pass if the device itself isn't a study in mediocrity. Unfortunately, our head-to-head showdown between it and the Galaxy Note II did nothing more than convince us that this isn't the phablet Verizon fans have been waiting for. Call it a glitch in the Matrix if you'd like, but we can't shake the feeling that we've seen this phone before. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Engadget Show 36: John Hodgman, iPhone 5, Improv Everywhere, Samsara and the New Museum Posted: 21 Sep 2012 12:20 PM PDT It can be tough to shake the notion that art and technology are conflicting forces -- that is, until you're confronted by a concept that lives at the crossroads of these seemingly dissonant concepts. For this latest episode of the Engadget Show, we set up shop right there, in order to explore what it means when technology itself is a work of art. We're starting things off at the New Museum on the Bowery in Manhattan, where Tim and Brian will be diving deep into the "Ghosts in the Machine" exhibition, to check out pieces like Stan VanDerBeek's Movie-Drome, a dome dreamed up in the mid-60s that foresaw a world in which the viewer is bombarded by visual stimuli. We'll also discuss how the museum is harnessing the power of the web to open its offerings up well beyond its gallery doors. We speak to the founder and principal players of comedy performance art group Improv Everywhere about the role technology has played in the rise of the group and some of its most famous (and infamous) pranks. As ever, we're breaking out the Gadget Table to discuss the month's latest and greatest (and not-so-greatest), including the iPhone 5, Amazon's Kindle Fire and Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1, before Brian heads out to the private (annex) library of comedian-turned-deranged-billionaire John Hodgman to discuss how technology is impacting the publishing industry and his upcoming books "That is All" and "The Complete World Knowledge Boxed Set". While we're at it, we'll be speaking with the producer and director of the classic film Baraka and its newly released spiritual sequel, Samsara and paying a visit to the gang at Breakfast New York, who have worked with the likes of Google and Conan O'Brien to turn advertising into art. All that and the introduction of our latest feature "Ask @hodgman." Welcome to the new Engadget Show. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 036 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 036 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 036 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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