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- Samsung, Philips, LG and others reportedly set to face EU regulatory fines for CRT price fixing
- Engadget's next reader meetup is in New York City this month! More tickets available!
- Windows 8 upgrade diary: gaming and performance
- Windows Phone 8X, Galaxy S III Mini and Xperia J available on Three UK today
- LG Optimus L9 review: an affordable entry-level Android handset for T-Mobile
- China Mobile's Lumia 920T packs a Snapdragon S4 Pro, better graphics performance
- HTC Windows Phone 8X for AT&T: what's different?
- ESA, NASA test interplanetary internet by remote controlling a Lego robot from the ISS
- Toshiba Satellite U925t review: with its first Windows 8 convertible, Toshiba bets big on the slider
- Engadget Podcast 316 - 11.09.2012
- Xbox 360 USB storage quietly doubled from 16GB to 32GB in latest dashboard update
- Notion Ink's Adam II greets Twitter with blurry eyes
- Distro Issue 65 arrives with the Jelly Bean-wielding Nexus 4 and Nexus 10
- GLBenchmark rats out possible Acer Iconia Tab A220 with Tegra 3, Jelly Bean
- Epson's video board pumps composite inputs to the Moverio BT-100 headset (video)
- AMD shutters key Linux support lab in Germany as part of company-wide layoffs
- Microsoft outlines Internet Explorer 10 differences between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
- Google kicks Xperia S Android Open Source Project out of its nest, Sony takes it under its wing (video)
- GameFly's digital distribution client officially exits beta, celebrates with free copies of Bioshock
- Opera Web Pass goes live in Malaysia, provides short-term mobile data access on demand
- A week with the iPhone 5 on EE, the UK's first 4G network
- Verizon says HTC 8X will ship 'by 11/13', red model due on the 21st (Update: Lumia 822 too)
- Pulse 3.0 update for iOS and Android brings new design, better search and more
- FedEx makes shipping packages to Facebook friends easier with new 'Ship to Friends' app
- VMultra bundles USB hub, DVD drive, SD slot and 500GB HDD to form ultimate laptop peripheral
- Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall
- Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome is coming home any way you want, YouTube's up first
- Urine-powered generator produces six hours of electricity per bathroom break
- Microsoft Canada claims HTC 8X, Nokia Lumia 920 ship in earnest to Rogers on November 12th
- Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing (video)
- Arduino Micro shrinks your favorite DIY platform down to ridiculous proportions
- NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $1.20 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs
- Intel launches 8-core Itanium 9500, teases Xeon E7-linked Kittson
- Tumblr for iOS goes native: now with redesigned Dashboard, improved notifications and more
- Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations
- Evernote 5 now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
- Google Play Movies, Music reach Australia, Canada and parts of Europe on November 13th (update: Google scales it back)
- The Engadget Podcast is live tonight at 5PM!
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has YouTube livestreaming built-in on 360, PS3 and PC, not on Wii U
- Skype announces new 'In the Workspace' platform for small businesses
| Samsung, Philips, LG and others reportedly set to face EU regulatory fines for CRT price fixing Posted: 09 Nov 2012 10:58 AM PST
Samsung SDI, Philips, LG, Technicolor, Panasonic and Toshiba are said to be facing heavy fines from the European Commission due to alleged involvement in a TV cathode-ray tube price fixing ring. According to Reuters, the fines will be announced on November 28th and can reach up to ten percent of the turnover during the period which the cartel was said to have ran. Based on 2011 revenues, LG could be fined up to $5 billion, while Dutch-based Philips would top out at around $2.9 billion. While the fines aren't expected to reach such heights, it will definitely take more than a few Black Friday blowout sales to recover this type of coin. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Engadget's next reader meetup is in New York City this month! More tickets available! Posted: 09 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST
Do you feel that? There's excitement in the air. The next Engadget reader meetup is approaching. We're still buzzing from our Seattle event and are excited to bring some of that gadgety magic to the New York area. We've also been given the go ahead to open up some more tickets for the event, which will be going down on November 29th at Roseland in Manhattan. Make sure you're on the list by entering all of the pertinent info here. Oh, and if you're interested in sponsoring the event, there's still time. Just drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows 8 upgrade diary: gaming and performance Posted: 09 Nov 2012 10:01 AM PST
It's been a brisk and mostly enjoyable two weeks since the launch of Windows 8 and the start of this diary. Whereas my last entry was all about productivity, there's now been ample opportunity to relax with the new OS, play a few titles in Steam, and run some general performance benchmarks. These not-so-onerous tasks were completed using an AMD FX-based triple-monitor gaming rig upgraded from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8 Pro, with all games running at 5,760 x 1,080 and max detail settings, and all the hardware was kept constant to allow a before-and-after comparison. You'll find the results after the break, along with a few broader impressions of what Windows 8 might mean for an early-adopting desktop gamer.
A glance at the table will corroborate what other benchmark comparisons (see More Coverage below) have already shown: Windows 8 doesn't currently do much for gaming other than preserving it. If we ignore PCMark 7 for now, which currently comes with a health warning, then gaming-relevant performance is broadly even. Personally, I just carried on running my existing Steam games as normal, and I was pleased that my hardware -- including an ASUS Xonar sound card and Xbox 360 wired controller -- was recognized without issue. But few people will spend money on an upgrade merely to experience what they already had with Windows 7. Of course, there was that whole Gabe Newell "catastrophe" saga recently, and it had little to do with hardware issues. The Steam founder was mainly worried about the new Windows Store potentially becoming the only way for Windows users to buy and install new games. Politics aside (at least for now), I did explore the Store and a couple of game demos, but I lost interest pretty quickly. For the time being, Microsoft is putting the emphasis on tablet games and cross-compatibility with ARM-based RT tablets, with the result that the selection of games for desktop users is limited and often inappropriate (Fruit Ninja, anyone?). When I'd finally confirmed that it's possible to have a launch-day roster of 40 Xbox Live games and yet not include classics like Fez, Braid or Super Meatboy on that list, I made a polite exit.
Anyway, returning to the table, the more general indicators of performance show some significant gains as a result of the upgrade -- gains which do seem to make the system snappier when it comes to racking up a game. The FastBoot feature we've seen on some recent Windows 8 laptops was never going to work with my particular motherboard and graphics card, but the wake-up and sleep times were both significantly reduced -- and since I hardly ever switch my PC off, those two measures are more useful to me. ATTO showed a 10 percent gain in storage read and write speeds, running on a 750GB Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive. Internet Explorer 10 also deserves a mention for being blisteringly fast compared to IE9 -- and there's no final version of IE10 for Windows 7 coming any time soon. In large part, this brings me back to the main conclusion of my last post: Windows 8 does some genuinely good things for all-round productivity. But for other, more leisurely pursuits, I don't yet see any compelling reason why the desktop user should upgrade. My rig, for the record: AMD FX-8350 CPU (tested at stock speeds to keep things simple), Gelid Tranquillo Rev. 2 CPU cooler, AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition graphics card (also at stock speed), ASUS CrossHair V Formula motherboard, ASUS Xonar Phoebus sound card, 8GB Corsair XMS3 RAM, 750GB Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive, NZXT Phantom 410 chassis, three ViewSonic VX2336S 1080p LED monitors. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows Phone 8X, Galaxy S III Mini and Xperia J available on Three UK today Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:41 AM PST
Three customers in the UK have three new options when deciding how to spend their smartphone dollar (or pound, as it were). Starting today the carrier will now be be home to HTC's Windows Phone 8X, the Galaxy S III Mini and the Xperia J. Prices for the devices are all over the map, with the 8X starting at £350 with a pay-as-you-go plan, while the GS III and Xperia J are £270 and £150 respectively with the same deal. If you're looking to save a bit up front, the 8X can be had for just £29, so long as you're willing to commit to a £30 a month plan. The Sony and Samsung handsets are both available without any upfront costs, with the Xperia starting at as little as £13 a month and the four-inch Galaxy offshoot weighing in at £28 per month. For more details, check out the PR after the break. Windows Phone 8X by HTC – available now on Three. The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is now available online at www.three.co.uk and in all Three stores. With an exclusive built-in amp and Beats Audio™ technology offering a truly authentic studio sound the 8X is sure to please even the most musical among us. The smartphone also comes with an amazing 8 megapixel camera so you'll be able to take incredibly vivid pictures and the front-facing camera with ultra-wide-angle lens captures twice the image area to fit more in every shot. Running on the very latest Windows Phone 8 software, the 8X by HTC allows true personalisation of the home screen with real time Live Tile updates on its large 4.3" screen and the powerful 1.5 GHz dual-core processor makes browsing and switching between apps a breeze. Sylvia Chind, Head of Devices at Three said, "The 8X by HTC is packed full of great features and is perfect for streaming HD and enjoying music while on the go. Coupled with The One Plan offering amazing value with All-you-can-eat data it's no surprise that Three carries over 40% of the UK's data traffic". The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is available for £30 a month with an upfront cost of £29 on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan with a guarantee of no surprise out-of-bundle data charges. The device is also available on Pay As You Go for £349.99 plus a top up. All in One 15 costs £15 and gives 30-day access to all-you-can-eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or All in One 25 costs £25 and offers 500 minutes, 3,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data for a 30-day period. Additionally from today get an extra special gift with Three. Purchase the 8X by HTC and get the latest Windows 8 Pro upgrade for your home PC. * Key features: * Sign up for 24 months to get this deal. Windows 8 Pro upgrade offer available to Three customers who (i) already own a PC with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7 and that meets the minimum system requirements of Windows 8 Pro, and (ii) who buy a HTC 8X between 09.11.12 – 21.12.12, while stocks of credit vouchers last. Eligible customers will be provided with a credit voucher which must be used to redeem the offer and download the software from the Microsoft website. Credit will expire on 31.01.13. Full terms available at Three.co.uk/terms Sony Xperia™ J - available now on Three. The Sony Xperia™ J is now available online at www.three.co.uk and in all Three stores. The large and bright 4" scratch-proof display on the Sony Xperia™ J makes watching films and viewing pictures a pleasure. This viewing experience is complimented with built-in Sony audio technologies, such as the xLoud sound enhancement, which provides crystal clear stereo and bass qualities. The smartphone is curved in design making it comfortable to hold and a smart illuminating light notifies users of incoming Facebook and Twitter messages. With 4GB of internal memory and a whopping 50GB of online storage, people can save apps, tracks and pics without having to worry about running out of space. Sylvia Chind, Head of Devices at Three said, "The Sony Xperia™ J is ideal for style conscious social media fans and its 5 megapixel camera is perfect for Instagramming and sharing pictures on the go. With the added benefit of straightforward plans with no surprise out of bundle data charges, you'll be able to enjoy the best experience on Three". The Sony Xperia™ J is available for £13 a month with no upfront cost on the Essential Internet 50 plan. Both the Essential Internet and Ultimate Internet plans offer a fear-free mobile internet experience with a guarantee of no surprise out-of-bundle data charges. The smartphone is also available on Pay As You Go for £149.99 plus a top up. All in One 15 costs £15 and gives 30-day access to All-You-Can-Eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or All in One 25 costs £25 and offers All-You-Can-Eat data, 500 minutes and 3,000 texts and for a 30-day period. Key features Large 4" scratch-proof display Samsung Galaxy S III Mini - available now on Three. The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is now available in all Three stores and, from 16th November, will be available online at www.three.co.uk. The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is the new compact version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Featuring a large 4.0" display, the S III Mini is great for viewing more content on one screen, reducing the need for scrolling and zooming out. Its HD Super AMOLED technology also means that videos and pictures come to life in amazingly clear, crisp colours. This elegant but minimal smartphone comes with a fast 1GHz dual core processor that allows apps and games to load quickly, enabling people to enjoy seamless browsing, gaming, viewing and downloading. Perfect for budding Instagrammers, the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini delivers great images using a 5 megapixel camera, which also has Best Shot mode that takes a burst of photos and then cleverly selects the best one. Sylvia Chind, Head of Devices at Three, said, "Not only is the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini a top performing phone but it's also full of innovative touches like the notification light, which can be customised to flash a different colour to alert users to new messages or calls." The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is available with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan for £28 a month, and on The One Plan, which offers a fear-free mobile internet experience with a guarantee of no surprise out-of-bundle data charges, for £32 a month. The smartphone is also available on Pay As You Go for £269.99 plus a top up. All in One 15 costs £15 and gives 30-day access to All-You-Can-Eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or All in One 25 costs £25 and offers All-You-Can-Eat data, 500 minutes and 3,000 texts and for a 30-day period. Key features | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LG Optimus L9 review: an affordable entry-level Android handset for T-Mobile Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST
Just when we thought LG was done with its Optimus L-series for the year, the Korean company surprised us with the LG Optimus L9, which replaces the Optimus L7 at the low-end range. The L-series devices are positioned as LG's stylish yet affordable line of entry- to mid-level phones, so they definitely don't compare to the company's quad-core offerings like the 4X HD or the Optimus G. Instead, the L9 runs Android 4.0 and boasts a 4.5-inch qHD display along with a dual-core 1 GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor and 5-megapixel camera. At $79.99 with a two-year contract on T-Mobile, it's designed to appeal to shoppers on a budget. But is it a good buy? Let's find out. HardwareWhen we first laid eyes on the Optimus L9, we experienced a bit of déjà vu. It's almost identical to the L7, with its chrome trim and piano-black, Gorilla Glass-coated face. It even has the same button layout, with a physical home button flanked by capacitive back and menu keys. The back cover is a different story, however. The L9 has a textured matte surface comprised of multiple tiny raised dots, a departure from the L7's striped backing. As such, it has a nice, grippy feel that reminds us of leather (or vinyl, maybe). Its sloped edges and slender 9.1mm profile makes for a surprisingly comfortable feel in the hand despite its wide 127.6mm x 66.9mm footprint. All told, the boxy shape struck us as boring at first, but we were ultimately won over by the phone's dapper design. Adding to the L9's good looks is that 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540) TFT LCD, a clear improvement over the L7's 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 panel. Though not quite as crisp as the TrueHD display we saw on the Optimus G, we found the L9's vibrant display perfectly adequate. The viewing angles are decent, text is sharp and colors are rich. However, we can't help but feel a little cheated -- the international version of the L9 boasts a better-specced 4.7-inch IPS display, and it appears we're unlikely to see that stateside. We've seen these sorts of carrier shenanigans before -- the AT&T version of the Optimus G totes an 8-megapixel camera instead of the 13-megapixel shooter found on other Optimus G handsets, for example -- but it doesn't mean we approve. Under bright sunlight the Optimus L9 is quite usable, but only if you ramp up the brightness to 100 percent. Otherwise, it looks like a slab of black glass. Sadly, we had to adjust the brightness manually every time lighting conditions shifted due to the lack of an auto-brightness setting. Indeed, the phone lacks an ambient light sensor, an omission we find terribly annoying. The rest of the usual sensors are on board, including ones for proximity, orientation, rotation vector, magnetic field and three-axis acceleration. Aside from the aforementioned buttons, the front of the L9 is home to a front-facing VGA camera on the upper right, directly above the T-Mobile branding. The volume and power buttons sit on the left and right edges, respectively, while a 3.5mm headphone jack resides on top. Nestled inside the textured back cover are a square 5-megapixel camera lens and an LED flash. There's also an external speaker opening on the lower left. If you wish to expose the phone's innards, you'll have to squeeze a fingernail into a tiny cutout at the bottom, near the micro-USB port. You can then pry the cover open to reveal the 2,150mAh lithium-ion battery, the SIM card and the microSD card slot. Those who yearn for a notification LED will be disappointed however, as there isn't one.
While the L9's performance can't match the quad-core Optimus G, its dual-core 1GHz ARMv7 CPU isn't too shabby. Indeed, we found it more than acceptable, as we'll explain in the performance section below. The L9 adds a PowerVR SGX 540 GPU to the mix, along with a 5-megapixel camera and support for T-Mobile's "faux-G" HSPA+ network that tops out at 21 Mbps. Those specs aren't too bad for an $80 mid-range handset. As you might expect, the Optimus L9 supports quad-band GSM / EDGE, along with quad-band 4G UMTS/HSPA+. You won't find an NFC radio here, though there is, of course, WiFi and Bluetooth. The L9 even boasts WiFi calling thanks to the partnership with T-Mobile. The GPS works remarkably well -- it marked most of our locations precisely as we ventured around San Francisco. Performance and battery life Benchmark scores are about what we expected -- the L9 compares well against TI OMAP handsets, but pales in comparison to similarly specced phones that use Qualcomm's latest. Its Quadrant scores are higher than the Galaxy Nexus', but the L9 doesn't perform as well in the other benchmarks. In general, the performance is befitting the L9's budget status.
The 2,150mAh battery inside the L9 offers fairly short battery life. In our standard rundown test, the L9 lasted a little longer than five hours, which is a poor showing compared to most phones we've tested recently (eight hours would be more acceptable). Still, with less taxing usage (i.e., taking photos, using Maps and browsing the web, with push notifications set up) the L9 still had around 50 percent capacity left after eight hours. At least in San Francisco, where we conducted our testing, we enjoyed a pretty solid signal. Call quality was good -- callers heard us loud and clear, and vice versa. However, we did encounter the occasional static buzz, and voice quality was more digitized than we would like. It's interesting to note that the L9 supports T-Mobile's WiFi calling capability. When we turned this on, call quality improved slightly -- there was, perhaps, a little less static -- but not enough that our callers noticed. Still, it's a nice option to have if you want to save those monthly minutes. The built-in speaker sounds rather tinny, but we could crank up the volume high enough. T-Mobile's HSPA+ network in San Francisco fluctuates wildly from neighborhood to neighborhood. In the southern and western parts of the city, we got around 1.5 Mbps down and 1.1 Mbps up. In downtown and more central parts of town however, we enjoyed download speeds that averaged around 14 Mbps while upload speeds hovered around 4 Mbps. Software Though we would've preferred Jelly Bean, we don't really mind Ice Cream Sandwich on a budget handset like this. As with most other LG phones, the L9 has a skin overlay known as UI 3.0, which is quite light as far as Android skins go. The lock screen, for example, lets you swipe in any direction to unlock the phone. It also incorporates quick access to four customizable apps -- we especially like the camera shortcut -- and different clock designs. We'll admit we think UI 3.0 is rather staid and boring, but it's not terribly offensive either. T-Mobile's influence on the L9 is immediately apparent as soon as you start up the phone -- you'll find a magenta-tinged wallpaper and widgets as you flip through the seven home screens. You do get ICS mainstays like that infamous Google search widget along with the ability to create folders. The dock holds five icons by default and is easily customizable. You can further tweak things by adjusting the screen swipe effect, the scrolling wallpaper, the animations and the theme. One welcome addition is a Quick Settings menu in the notification drawer. With a simple swipe of the finger, you can adjust the sound, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and get handy access to LG's QuickMemo app. You can also add a brightness toggle that lets you switch between low, medium and full, which is extremely useful considering the lack of auto-brightness mentioned earlier. We have to admit we're not big fans of the L9's default, LG-designed keyboard. It appears to be a modified version of Swype, where you form words by sliding your finger across the keys. It works well enough when you're using it that way, but when you're just entering text the old-fashioned way, it can be finicky and imprecise. There's no option to switch to the stock ICS keyboard, which is a big disappointment in our eyes. The app launcher is relatively similar to stock ICS, which you can navigate by side-swiping the screen. You get three different tabs at the top: Apps, Downloads and Widgets. The sections exist independently, so you won't be kicked over to the next tab once you reach the end; you would just scroll back to the beginning again. We should note that the Downloads area represents installed apps, not downloaded files -- those can be accessed via the Downloads app instead. You can choose to fit a 5 x 6 grid of icons and you can arrange them however you wish. (To do this, simply hit menu while in the launcher and select "Show small icons.") Those who want to sort through apps alphabetically are out of luck, however -- you'll have to do that manually. Perhaps our biggest complaint about the L9 is the amount of bloatware T-Mobile decided to toss in. You get 411 & More, Caller Tunes, Game Base, More for Me (a discounts/deals application), T-Mobile My Account, T-Mobile Name ID, T-Mobile TV and Visual Voicemail. Like most pre-installed apps, they can't be uninstalled and they take up precious storage space. Other pre-installed apps include the Amazon app store, Application Manager, FileShare, WildTangent Games, Polaris Office (which can be uninstalled), SmartShare for WiFi Direct connections and Slacker Radio. LG included its own QuickMemo on here as well, which lets you draw and annotate what's on the screen. The default browser includes an interesting toolbar at the bottom with the usual navigation keys like Back and Forward along with a Zoom key. If you want, you can hold your finger down on the Zoom key and tilt the phone forward to zoom in on a page. We think this is so you can handily navigate a large Web page single-handedly, but it's quite a limited use case. Camera The camera UI here should be familiar to anyone who's previously owned an LG smartphone. The controls line the left side of the viewfinder, and you can adjust the image size, scene modes, ISO settings, white balance presets, timer, geotagging settings, shutter sound and color effects. You can opt between autofocus and face-tracking, where the camera will try to focus in on what it thinks is a face. We especially enjoy panorama mode, and continuous shot is also nice if you're attempting to shoot a moving subject. The rear camera can record up to 1080p HD, though the front-facing webcam maxes out at VGA. We found the 1080p video quite sharp and satisfactory with its autofocus, though it doesn't handle low light and shadows too well. We'll be frank: if you want a phone with a top-notch camera, the L9 isn't for you. The 5-megapixel sensor works fine for simple snapshots, but users who want something that can replace their point-and-shoots would probably scoff at the amateurish image quality on display here. Most of our sample shots showed dull, washed-out colors and there's an unfortunate amount of noise even in pictures taken under adequate light. Low-light performance was alright -- sunsets looked decent, for example -- but grain and blur continue to be an issue there as well. Touch-to-focus works fine, but don't expect a shallow depth of field in your macro shots. As you might expect, the camera works best under bright sunlight, but even then, colors are rather lackluster. Wrap-up The Optimus L9 isn't totally without merit. We appreciate its boxy yet dapper design and its sharp, colorful display. And while the performance didn't blow us away, it's good enough for everyday tasks like browsing the web, updating Facebook and checking email. We also enjoyed the addition of T-Mobile's WiFi calling feature. Yet, its mediocre camera reminds us of its entry-level status, the carrier's bloatware is a disappointment and LG's UI 3.0 belongs in the past. Its short battery life is also a practical issue that buyers should be aware of before signing any contracts. Perhaps its biggest saving grace is this: it costs just $80 with a two-year T-Mobile agreement. Those new to Android might find that $80 buys a serviceable phone, but savvier users will likely be disappointed. If you're sticking to a tight budget, we'd suggest the HTC One S instead, which is available for free with a T-Mobile contract. An extra $20 could snag you the superior HTC One X if you're willing to go with AT&T instead. Or, you might want to consider saving up for a Nexus 4 instead, especially if two-year contracts are not your cup of tea. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| China Mobile's Lumia 920T packs a Snapdragon S4 Pro, better graphics performance Posted: 09 Nov 2012 08:37 AM PST
Buying a shiny new flagship and finding out international variants are tricked out better than yours is never much fun. Well, China Mobile has Weiboed (is that right?) that its Lumia 920T variant will pack the Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC (MSM8960T), and not the S4 Plus in the regular 920. The Pro carries the same basic CPU, and while it's not known whether the 920T will use the full 1.7GHz available (the 920's runs at 1.5GHz), the major difference is a bump from the Adreno 225 GPU to the more powerful Adreno 320. It cleaned up in the GLBenchmark tests we ran on the LG Optimus G (albeit with a quad-core CPU), but is Windows Phone 8 ready to use all that hardware -- or, more politely, will it make any difference to the user? With graphic-intensive apps a rarity, we would speculatively say no, although it might make for a smoother view through Nokia's City Lens, which is fairly hungry. We won't know until some real-life comparisons between the two emerge, but we'd imagine the GPU boost won't make too much of a difference to the average user. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HTC Windows Phone 8X for AT&T: what's different? Posted: 09 Nov 2012 08:05 AM PST
We recently reviewed the global (HSPA+) version of HTC's Windows Phone 8X, the first handset to cross our desks running Microsoft's newly minted mobile OS. Starting today you'll be able to purchase HTC's 8X for AT&T, which features the same exquisite design but adds LTE and a dash of carrier flavor. Pricing with a two-year commitment is $100 for the 8GB model (available in California Blue and Limelight Yellow) and $200 for the 16GB version (blue only) -- in comparison, the global (HSPA+) phone sells for about $560 unsubsidized and unlocked. We spent a few days with the 8X for AT&T and while it's pretty much identical to its global sibling, there are a few differences worth mentioning. Hit the break to find out more. Cosmetically, the only changes between the two models are in the branding. There's no silver HTC logo below the earpiece on AT&T's phone anymore, but it gains the carrier's signature globe in the back where the Beats symbol used to be, the latter being repositioned right below the embossed HTC logo. Otherwise, you'll be enjoying the same solid construction and high-end specs in a relatively compact and delightfully colorful package. While the gorgeous 4.3-inch, 1,280 x 720 Super LCD 2 display, impressive 8-megapixel autofocus camera (with BSI senor, f/2.0 lens and LED flash) and snappy 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC (with 1GB of RAM) remain, a few things are different under the hood. The 8X for AT&T gains a quadband (700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900MHz) LTE radio and the existing UMTS / HSPA+ radio loses the 900 MHz band (now 850 / 1900 / 2100MHz). Performance is almost identical between both handsets as reflected in our benchmark table below. Battery life decreases slightly in WPBench's CPU-intensive battery rundown test -- presumably from having to power that additional LTE radio -- but this makes very little difference in normal day-to-day use. Networks speed tests yielded about 10 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up (on average) with three out of five bars of signal, which matches what we've observed with other AT&T LTE devices in San Francisco.
There's little room to customize Windows Phone 8 other than bundling some applications and settings. As such, the 8X for AT&T includes the same pre-installed (and removable) HTC apps as the global version (HTC, Flashlight, Photo Enhancer and Converter) plus the Beats Audio switch and the "attentive phone" toggles. The Connection Setup app is missing, since the device is pre-configured for AT&T's APNs. You'll also find a bunch of carrier apps on board: AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T Family Map, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio, AT&T U-verse Live TV, myAT&T and YPmobile -- all pre-loaded but easily uninstalled. So, if you reside in the US, should you purchase HTC's 8X AT&T with LTE and commit to a two-year agreement? Or should you buy the unsubsidized and unlocked global (HSPA+) model? Unless you can live with minimal storage, we don't recommend the 8GB version of HTC's 8X since there's no microSD expansion -- sadly, this means passing on AT&T's fabulous yellow hue for $100. The Graphite Black and Flame Red colors are exclusive to Verizon in the US, so for AT&T we recommend the carrier's blue handset with 16GB for $200 (or wait for off-contract pricing). If you absolutely despise blue, don't need LTE and can afford the extra cost, then by all means pick the global phone. Of course, at $100 on contract with 32GB of storage and a choice of hues, we think the Lumia 920 for AT&T offers better value. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ESA, NASA test interplanetary internet by remote controlling a Lego robot from the ISS Posted: 09 Nov 2012 07:40 AM PST
NASA (and the ESA) have long been working on a multi-planet internet that can link up spaceships, probes and rovers, but they've at last brought the experimentation from the broad scale to smaller dimensions. Lego bricks, to be exact. International Space Station expedition lead Sunita Williams recently steered a Lego Mindstorms robot at an ESA facility in Darmstadt while she orbited overhead, proving that future space explorers could directly control a vehicle on a planetary surface while staying out of harm's way. As in the past, the key to the latest dry run was a Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) system; the focus was more on reliably getting packets through to the brick-based vehicle than on pure speed. As tame as that Earth-bound test drive might sound relative to an in-the-field use on a less familiar world, it demonstrates that the DTN approach can work when it really counts. We just wouldn't hold our breath for any Martian RC car races. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toshiba Satellite U925t review: with its first Windows 8 convertible, Toshiba bets big on the slider Posted: 09 Nov 2012 07:11 AM PST
You can't see our New York City office right now, but it's something of a laptop menagerie. We just finished reviewing a laptop whose screen flips inside its hinge, and now we're testing an Ultrabook with a touchscreen, along with a notebook whose screen folds all the way back. The Toshiba Satellite U925t ($1,150) is yet another breed of Windows 8 hardware. It's a slider, to be exact, which is to say its 12.5-inch screen slides out and up to reveal a full-sized keyboard. It's nice, in theory, because you can use it as a tablet without having to worry about packing a separate keyboard. But unlike the Dell XPS 12 or Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, which can also be used in tablet mode, the screen here is always exposed. As you can imagine, too, that propped-up display has a very real effect on the typing experience. Given all that, is there any reason to consider this over other, similarly priced Windows 8 convertibles? Could there perhaps be any performance benefits, or advantages in screen quality? Meet us after the break where we'll hash it out. Look and feel It's as if Toshiba gave up midway through the design process. Back in June, if you recall, Toshiba announced an Ultrabook called the Satellite U845W. You might remember it as that funky-looking notebook with a 14.4-inch, 21:9 display, but we think of it a bit differently. To us, it's simply the prettiest, most understated PC Toshiba has put out in a long, long time. It was the mix of materials that sealed the deal: a machined aluminum lid, soft-touch accents, a backlit keyboard and even a metal FCC plate. It was tactile, inviting and, most importantly, subtle. The U925t isn't an exact copy (it doesn't even have a lid) but it does borrow some key design elements. This, too, has a textured, rubbery finish both on the underside and on the palm rest. As on the U845W, Toshiba went with an inoffensive shade of dark brown. These are also the same flat, chiclet-style keys, just shrunken down to fit a smaller deck. That said, this seems to be a clear step down in build quality. The whole thing is made of plastic, and while the soft-touch materials do a good job masking that, you can still feel it in the keyboard panel, which exhibits some noticeable flex. Also, Toshiba didn't give much thought to how the back of the device looks once you slide out the display and prop it up. That backside has a bare, almost unfinished look -- it's as if Toshiba gave up midway through the design process. On another machine it might pass for industrial; here, it just doesn't match the rest of the design. As for that display, it's coated in scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass, which is a fortunate thing since the screen is constantly exposed (unless you buy a sleeve for it, of course). We didn't really consider this when we first got hands-on: at the time, we were more concerned with how sturdy the sliding mechanism was (pretty sturdy) or how comfortable the typing experience would be (just okay). It's once you find yourself in possession of an $1,150 machine that you start to feel a bit nervous about sticking it in a bag with other items. As we've found on phones, tablets and other devices, though, the Gorilla Glass does a good job of keeping the screen pristine. So after spending a little time with it, we were able to relax and trust the panel wouldn't get ruined. One nice thing about this form factor is that you can set it in your lap with the display propped-up and not have to worry about the whole thing toppling backward. The hinge on the backside anchors the display in such a way that you needn't worry about the weight distribution, as you might with a dockable tablet. Of course, too, that slider form factor means you can use the U925t as a tablet when you want to. As we said with the XPS 12, though, you wouldn't want to use a 3.35-pound, 12-inch tablet for long periods of time. Your arms would get tired. If you're hanging out on the couch, however, and can rest the PC against your legs, it makes for a nice lean-back sort of device. At 3.35 pounds, the U925t is naturally a bit heavier than 12-inch machines that don't have a touchscreen, but it's the exact same weight as the XPS 12, which can also be used as a tablet. Size-wise, the chassis measures 0.78 inch thick, which is just wide enough to accommodate an HDMI socket and two USB 3.0 ports, one of which supports Toshiba's Sleep and Charge technology. Poke around further and you'll find a volume rocker, a key for enabling screen auto-rotation, the power button, a volume rocker and two vents around back. There's even an SD card reader, something you won't find on the Dell XPS 12 Windows 8 convertible. Finally, being a PC you can use as a tablet, this has not one, but two cameras: an HD webcam up front, and a 3-megapixel, autofocusing shooter on the back. Keyboard and trackpad We're grading on a curve here. When we first got hands-on with the U925t, we said it had a roomier keyboard than most sliders we've seen. And that's true; an inherent problem with this form factor is that when the display is propped up, the hinge 'round back eats into the usable deck space, leaving the keyboard area unusually cramped. We still say the U925t has a better keyboard than the new MSI Slider S20, but that isn't saying much. The layout here still feels crowded compared to the XPS 12, or any other ultraportable with a fully usable keyboard deck. All told, we were able to type the brunt of this review on it, but we did make plenty of typos along the way. It's a shame the propped-up display takes up so much space, because with a little more room this would have been a great typing experience. Though the keys are a bit shallow, they have a soft finish that feels nice under the fingertips, and we like how the keyboard makes relatively little sound, even when you're typing furiously. The gentle backlighting, too, is a nice touch. (You can turn it off at any time by pressing Fn-Z.) If you thought the keyboard was crowded, imagine how squat the touchpad is. To its credit, it's wide; it's just not very tall. That's mainly an issue when you're trying to click the built-in touch button (which you might resort to if you're in File Explorer or some other desktop app where precision is needed). In that scenario, it's tough to fit both your thumb and index finger on the trackpad at the same time; your index finger might well brush up against the top of the touchpad, and hit the spacebar. Fortunately, the touchpad is big enough so that you can comfortably do two-finger scrolling, which works smoothly on this device. You probably won't need the touchpad for pinch-to-zoom because, you know, you can just reach up and use the touchscreen for that. Display and sound In addition to Gorilla Glass protection, the 12.5-inch display offers some good viewing angles, thanks to in-plane switching (IPS) technology. Given that this isn't the sort of machine you're likely to crowd around with friends, you might appreciate the viewing angles most when using the PC in your lap. Using it that way, we had plenty of leeway when adjusting the screen. As for the 1,366 x 768 resolution, that's quite standard among Windows machines, especially models with small screens. It's perfectly adequate for watching movies and getting work done, but it's worth noting that there's a growing number of 1080p offerings out there, including the Dell XPS 12 and the Acer Aspire S7, a 13-inch Ultrabook with a touchscreen. Indeed, we happen to have both of these other machines lying around, and as you'd expect, their screens look crisper, and the difference is noticeable in both the desktop and in Microsoft's Modern UI. The U925t's two speakers are located on the bottom side of the device, just underneath the palm rest. As you might expect, given the size of the laptop and also the location of the speakers, the sound never gets very loud, even at max settings. Like so many other laptops, too, the sound is decidedly tinny, with clipped bass notes. Those low tones sound especially distorted at top volume, so you might want to keep the volume at a more moderate setting, even if it means making do with a more subdued audio experience. Performance and battery life
This might be the most straightforward performance comparisons we've ever published. Each of the Ultrabooks listed in that table up there runs Windows 8, and three of them have the same Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor. All have Intel's latest integrated graphics solution, the HD 4000 chipset. Appropriately, then, benchmark scores in PCMark 7, 3DMark06 and 3DMark11 are all on par with one another. The one exception is the Acer Aspire S7, which we tested with a Core i7 CPU and RAID 0 SSD setup. So, there aren't many indications that the U925t is either faster or slower than its competitors. Its max disk speeds, as measured by ATTO, were very close to what we got with the XPS 12. Its read speeds are considerably faster than the Yoga 13's (521 MB/s versus 278 MB/s), but that seems to say more about the Yoga, since the XPS 12 also notched read speeds in the 500 MB/s range. In real-world use, the U925t boots up quickly: eight seconds to the log-in screen, and then another two seconds to load the Start screen. That's even faster than the XPS 12, which took 12 seconds to boot. We did notice that certain Windows 8 apps such as the Windows Store were slow to load, but we didn't notice any lag as we toggled through open apps and browser tabs. If anything, the biggest red flag was fan noise: the machine gets awfully loud, particularly while running games. At one point, the sound coming from the fans was so loud that we worried we were annoying other people in the office. That's a subjective measure, of course. So here's a more practical question: will that fan noise annoy you while you're trying to concentrate?
When it comes to testing battery life on Windos 8 laptops, we're in the middle of a disappointing streak: the U925t lasted little more than five hours in our standard rundown test, which involves looping video with WiFi on and the brightness fixed at 65 percent. As taxing as that test is, we've seen some non-touch-enabled Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks last upwards of six hours, if not seven. And yet, the best showing we've seen so far from a touchscreen Windows 8 Ultrabook is the Lenovo Yoga Ideapad 13, which lasted five hours and 32 minutes in the same test. (Full review coming soon, promise!) Likewise, the Dell XPS 12 lasted five hours and 30 minutes. By those standards, the U925t's battery life isn't surprising, per se, but it still isn't great. Software and warranty Like most consumer laptops, the U925t comes with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty. The battery also has one year of coverage. Configuration options and the competition With so many other Windows 8 convertibles available or arriving soon, we suspect your money would be better spent elsewhere. The U925t is sold in one configuration on Toshiba's site: the same $1,150 model we tested with the Core i5-3317U processor, 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM. Those are fairly typical specs, as far as Ultrabooks go, though some power users might lament that they can't configure it with a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM or 256 gigs of storage. We've already mentioned the U925t's most similar competitors: the Dell XPS 12 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13. Why do we choose these? Well, we were looking for Ultrabooks that could be used as tablets -- specifically, Ultrabooks with 12- or 13-inch screens. Anything bigger would mean making some serious compromises in mobility. For the purposes of keeping things brief, we also won't dwell on regular old touchscreen notebooks, because you can't really use those as tablets, even if you are tapping the display with your finger. So, that leaves us with a fairly small group of machines, with the XPS 12 and Yoga 13 being the most prominent. If you can get past the XPS 12's odd form factor (that's the one whose screen flips inside the hinge) it's actually a solid little touchscreen Ultrabook. At $1,200 and up, it costs about the same as the U925t, and comes with nearly the same specs, including 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and that Core i5-3317U processor. The big difference is the display: the XPS 12 comes standard with a 1080p IPS panel and yes, it is as lovely as it sounds. The XPS 12 offers nearly identical battery life to the U925t and weighs the same. It can also be configured with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Its design and build quality are excellent too, but there is one catch: it's missing an SD reader. As for the Yoga 13, we need to tell you up front that we're still testing it, and aren't ready to weigh in decisively. That said, we're enjoying its comfortable keyboard and solid build quality. As you can see in the above performance tables, its battery life is slightly better than the U925t's, and on par with the XPS 12's. The performance across these three machines seems to be comparable. As for specs, it currently starts at $1,000 with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1,600 x 900 display. To get the same Core i5 CPU offered in the U925t and XPS 12 you'd have to pay $1,100, which is still slightly less expensive than the Toshiba model. Wrap-up More InfoIf Toshiba got one thing right with its first Windows 8 flagship, it's this: there is indeed a market for PCs that can be used as tablets. It's convenient to tuck your Ultrabook's keyboard away when the moment strikes, and turn it into a slate (a big, heavy slate, but a slate nonetheless). That's a nice option to have when you're hanging out on the couch, half-watching TV: you might want to glance at your email or stream Netflix, but you probably aren't going to make much use of the keyboard. Not when you're acting like a couch potato, anyway. The more we use the Satellite U925t, though, the more we're convinced Toshiba took a gamble on the wrong form factor. That propped-up display eats into the available deck space, making for a compromised typing experience. The trackpad, too, is unnecessarily small, which might bother folks who are trying to get work done on the desktop and can't really get by on finger input. Meanwhile, the Dell XPS 12 and Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 cost about the same and weigh about the same, except they approach that tablet transformation in such a way that you never lose out on keyboard space. There are other issues with the U925t, too. Battery life is shorter than on those two competing models we mentioned, and the build quality isn't as robust. What's more, the XPS 12 comes standard with a 1080p screen, while the Yoga 13 has a 1,600 x 900 panel. The display would have been one of the few saving graces for the U925t, but it has lower resolution (1,366 x 768). And while the viewing angles are good, they're no better than what other machines are offering. That's not to say the U925t has no redeeming qualities in its own right, but with so many other Windows 8 convertibles available or arriving soon, we suspect your money would be better spent elsewhere. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Engadget Podcast 316 - 11.09.2012 Posted: 09 Nov 2012 06:53 AM PST This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xbox 360 USB storage quietly doubled from 16GB to 32GB in latest dashboard update Posted: 09 Nov 2012 06:35 AM PST
It seems that Microsoft's latest dashboard update to the Xbox 360 was little more than a trojan horse for a super secret USB storage update from the original 16GB cap to 32GB -- you can't fool us, Microsoft! Er, at least you can't fool the vast swaths of people using their Xbox 360s, who tipped our superfriends at Joystiq on the update. Microsoft confirmed the storage limit change as intentional and explained its purpose in a statement: "The more our customers use their profile and download digital content, the larger the file size necessary to store that content and move it between consoles gets. Therefore we increased the size of the memory to enable our customers to take more of their Xbox profile with them on the go." So, there you have it! If you'll excuse us, we'll be over here loading our entire history of game saves to USB sticks for mobile gloating. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notion Ink's Adam II greets Twitter with blurry eyes Posted: 09 Nov 2012 05:53 AM PST
Notion Ink's first generation Adam tablet was an undoubtedly intriguing, but fairly flawed device. But while the company offered the promise of fixing up some of those concerns with gen two, we haven't heard all that much about the device since we saw a profile pic much earlier this year. Ever the tease, the company's site is offering up a little more of the device. All that you're getting this time out is a blurry corner and a chipper "Hello world" greeting. More soon. We hope. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distro Issue 65 arrives with the Jelly Bean-wielding Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 Posted: 09 Nov 2012 05:30 AM PST
Like its Golden State neighbors, Google also had a gadget arsenal to unveil this fall. The folks in Mountain View trotted out the latest duo, the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, without a huge press event a few days ago. In this week's issue of our tablet mag, we put these Android advocates through their paces to see if they live up to the Nexus moniker. We also offer in-depth musings on the WP8-packing Nokia 920 and visit Lockheed Martin to catch a glimpse of how that outfit is prepping for the future with the help of aging tech. Military-style rucksacks occupy Eyes-On, Visualized is all about cosmic self-portraits and M.C. Schmidt of Matmos handles the Q&A. Consult your link of choice to grab your copy and settle in for some end-of-the-week tech reading. Distro Issue 65 PDF This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GLBenchmark rats out possible Acer Iconia Tab A220 with Tegra 3, Jelly Bean Posted: 09 Nov 2012 05:03 AM PST
Device testing site GLBenchmark has a knack for sniffing out real products before manufacturers are ready to parade them, so our ears perked up when we saw a certain Acer Iconia Tab A220 pop up on its list. According to system and test specs, the alleged slate of unknown dimensions would flaunt Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, along with a 1280 x 752 screen resolution and quad-core, 1.3GHz Tegra CPU. If such a device proved to have a 7-inch screen or so, that would make it a possible Nexus 7 wannabe, giving a zippier, higher-res option to the A110. Of course, benchmarks are easy enough to fake, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for any clues of the more concrete variety. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Epson's video board pumps composite inputs to the Moverio BT-100 headset (video) Posted: 09 Nov 2012 04:27 AM PST
Bummed that your $700 Moverio BT-100 headset doesn't have video input? Well, Epson's here to tease you with a board that plugs into the trackpad and accepts any composite video source. Despite best attempts to hide the identity of hardware it's being tested with and give the lawyers a weekend off, it's shown to receive feeds from a PS3, an iPad and a 360 with Kinect. Check out the honk-filled video of all the fun you're not having, and contact Epson if you've got an interesting idea for using the board, because they might just give you one. How about -- "I want to play games on it?" That sounds like a pretty good reason to us. [Thanks, Joe] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMD shutters key Linux support lab in Germany as part of company-wide layoffs Posted: 09 Nov 2012 03:39 AM PST
The pain from recently announced job cuts by AMD could ripple out to the Linux community, as the chipmaker has shut down a small but important Linux OS research facility in Dresden, Germany. The center housed 25 employees who helped port AMD technology like PowerNow over to new Linux distros, and according to The H, many engineers who submitted major processor and chipset revisions for the OS would be pink slipped. The closure won't affect GPU and APU development, according to the source, but it's not yet known exactly who will pick up the slack from the former Dresden team -- though the research center in Austin Texas is reported to be a likely bet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft outlines Internet Explorer 10 differences between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:54 AM PST
Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together mark a rare confluence for Microsoft: they represent the first instance of the company's desktop and phone platforms sharing the same browser base, and that has wide-reaching implications for what developers can do. The Redmond team doesn't want anyone plunging headlong into web apps without knowing what to expect, however, and it just reminded us in a blog post that there are still a few off-limits areas for Internet Explorer 10 on the mobile side. Not surprisingly, elements that demand a truly big screen or a windowed interface won't fly -- there's nowhere to drag-and-drop from or open a new window to. A few other aspects are more likely to catch web developers off-guard, such as the lack of in-line video, a handful of touch inputs, ActiveX and the level of file access. The most important common ground stems from simply having a modern rendering engine whose HTML5 and CSS3 support will prevent any rude shocks. There's much more at the source link, although Microsoft and designers may just be happy that any Windows Phone web development is a question of finding those few things that won't work, rather than reinventing the wheel. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:01 AM PST
After just under three months of development, Google's wrapped up its experimental work on bringing the Sony Xperia S into the Android Open Source Project fold. According to Sony, AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru considers the effort a success, but the device is being taken off the project's roadmap so Mountain View can focus on its own hardware. Currently, an AOSP build boots on the Xperia S hardware with support for SD-Cards, Wi-Fi and its built-in sensors. Audio and the phone's modem are also operational, but they require proprietary binaries Hirai and Co. can't publish just yet. Work on polishing the handset's vanilla Android experience isn't over, however. Sony has moved the code to its GitHub account and is welcoming developers to pitch in and help with the open source effort. For more details and to see what code has already been laid down, tap the second source link or check out the video of the smartphone in action below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GameFly's digital distribution client officially exits beta, celebrates with free copies of Bioshock Posted: 09 Nov 2012 01:01 AM PST
After nearly a year of testing, GameFly is ready to pull the beta qualifier off of its PC game distribution client. The desktop software serves not only as a digital storefront for PC games, but also as a queue management program for subscribers to GameFly's game-by-mail service. Active members get free access to a few hundred "Unlimited PC Play" titles as well -- offering subscribers a wide range of games from Diner Dash to Assassin's Creed. The official release doesn't differ from the beta in any significant way, but GameFly and 2K games is celebrating its launch by doling out free copies of Bioshock to anyone willing to give the platform a test drive. Crash on down to the source link below for a free ticket to Rapture, or read on for GameFly's official press release. GameFly Officially Launches Digital PC Client - the One-Stop Shop for Gamers LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GameFly, Inc., the leading video game service, announced today that its PC client is officially launched and out of beta...just in time for the holiday games rush. The one-stop shop for gamers features over 1500 PC games to buy and play, Unlimited PC Play with hundreds of Windows games to play for free for GameFly members, and access to more than 8000 console and handheld titles for rent, purchase and pre-order. New to the client is a growing catalouge of Mac games available for download as well. The desktop client is a convenient resource for gamers with up-to-the-minute-news and asset feeds, a vast library of game information, videos and screenshots, and an active social community to discover what's hot or not. For GameFly subscribers, they can also manage their GameQ for all platforms on this easy to use client, the popular GameFly mobile App for iOS and Android, mobile web and at GameFly.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opera Web Pass goes live in Malaysia, provides short-term mobile data access on demand Posted: 09 Nov 2012 12:01 AM PST
Opera introduced a new approach to pay-as-you-go mobile data today, but unless you currently live in Malaysia, you'll only be able to read of the latest advancement. Known as the Opera Web Pass, the service is geared to those without data plans and allows users to purchase short term access from their local carrier. In its current form, mobile providers are given the flexibility to determine which subscriptions to offer, such as an hour or day of internet use, or even quick access to individual apps like Facebook or Google+. Naturally, the service could also be a great value for travelers. For its part, Opera insists that Web Pass should be extremely easy for carriers to implement with their servers. For the time being, however, Opera Web Pass is currently only available to subscribers of DiGi Telecommunications, which partnered with the Norwegian company to develop and test its service. If you're curious to learn a bit more, feel free to hit up the source links below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A week with the iPhone 5 on EE, the UK's first 4G network Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST
More InfoLast week, EE publicly flipped the switch on its 4G network. Launching LTE in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and (parts of) Southampton. EE also plans for an additional five cities before the new year. The new phone network, composed of equal parts T-Mobile and Orange, has other plans -- and they start from £21 SIM-only (starting November 9th) while phone packages begin at £36 per month. For that, the new network offers its customers 500MB of data, plus unlimited calls and texts. The data plans scale up from there, all the way up to 8GB of monthly data, alongside a system of on-off data bundles. So being an earlier adopter comes at a very specific cost -- are the wonders of a next-generation network worth it? We inserted a fresh EE 4G SIM into an iPhone 5 and now have been using it for over a week, get our full verdict after the break. First impressions Our first days landed us with a big problem -- after switching on the phone, we lacked any LTE coverage inside our home. Not a good start. This was despite being located close to central London, apparently in an "excellent coverage" area.
We got the briefest appearance of one bar of LTE reception, but were largely left with 3G reception only indoors, and patchy 4G signal outdoors. However, after getting in contact with EE, we noted a huge difference a few days later; consistently netting four bars of signal indoors for the rest of our time testing across London. When we informed EE of our early woes, it reinforced that it's continuing to expand DC-HSPA coverage alongside its 4G roll-out but it's certainly worth testing your post code on its site ahead of any investment -- you're paying a premium for that 4G signal, so you'd best ensure you're getting it. CoverageLaunching across those 11 cities mentioned earlier, EE plans to add an extra 2,000 square miles of 4G coverage every month, covering 98 percent of the UK before 2015. But, at the moment, you'll be constricted to getting the full power of the network in urban areas. We'll focus on our experiences in London and, aside from that early hiccup, we had a consistent LTE signal outdoors, across east and west of the capital, and both north and south of the river. We got our strongest download speeds within Zone 1 (reaching as high as 50 Mbps), despite the difficulty of penetrating all those high-rise buildings. Occasionally, however, a weak LTE signal saw our phone juggle between LTE and 3G, uncertain of which to plump for. Similarly, a low 4G signal saw our speed test results approaching typical EE HSPA+ results. However, what was immediately apparent outside of LTE coverage was how much 3G coverage had improved. We try to circulate our SIMs in our review models, and the recent improvements to Orange and T-Mobile's network are substantial. We found improved 3G reception in addition to superb HSPA / DC-HSPA speeds that sometimes reached around 10 Mbps -- much better than we've seen on shared network in the past.
How about indoors? EE has repurposed its 1800MHz spectrum to launch its next-generation network, but there are concerns about how its performance would fare when lower bands (set to be auctioned next year) offer better building penetration. Well, we didn't experience many issues, from the majority of shops, houses and other buildings we tested where we were able to hold onto an LTE signal -- although we did note a slight drop in signal quality and speeds. When it did fail, we either fell to a strong HSPA signal -- or were in an area where we got no reception across any of our devices across the UK networks. Conversely, the 1800MHz spectrum is well-placed to offer a balance of urban and suburban reception -- which will likely help those plans for country-wide expansion. Speeds Compared to those rocketing speeds when we tested EE's network at its unveiling, we noted more realistic speeds. We say realistic; over in the US, many early LTE adopters would nod in agreement that both download and upload speeds reduced as their network grew, taking on more users as they upgraded their phones to 4G. As it stands, however, we got results above what we noted for AT&T's first LTE device, the HTC Vivid. While our US colleagues saw download speeds between 20Mbps to 25Mbps down, in the last week we were pulling data down at speeds between 15 Mbps and 35, averaging around 26 Mbps in LTE-compatible areas. If we stack upload speeds against AT&T's LTE launch device, EE gave us an average upload speed of 15 Mbps versus between 10Mbps to 15Mbps on the US network, while latency was consistently around 50ms. As it stands, EE is performing better than the averages across all US networks -- for now. Now, these speeds could also decrease as more users hop onto the network, but you can expect these impressive numbers to hold for a while and as long as they do, there's no comparison for data speed.
EE's investment in its older network coverage (3G to DC-HSPA) has noticeably improved in recent months, averaging around 8 Mbps during our tests around London. We can legitimately tether from a 3G device and get our work done, even to upload video and photos. To compare the benefits of EE's 4G network against its existing 3G infrastructure, we grabbed two iPhone 5s -- one with a 3G-only EE SIM, another with the full 4G works on it. While your experience will vary, London's notoriously spotty network coverage, regardless of carrier, makes it an ideal place to test. We set both phones to download Rovio's latest bestseller Bad Piggies, with the 41MB app landing in 22 seconds on our 4G competitor. On 3G it took considerably longer, installing in just under two minutes. These weightier downloads offer the best demonstration of speed on the new network, as we found a relatively comparable experience on mobile sites. Larger, denser sites were often loading five times faster on the LTE iPhone The experience on the 4G iPhone 5 is like being connected to WiFi -- venturing into the center of London (the epicenter of EE's network rollout) and getting Apple's 3D maps to almost instantly generate, at high resolution, gave us goose bumps. Likewise, we were able to stream TV from BBC iPlayer without issue. (Although as it was a phone network, it wouldn't let us download episodes -- it demanded WiFi.) The toll for that stream was just under 10 percent of the battery charge, which burned through 111MB of data, a fifth of that minimum plan. Data useAh, that. EE received a hammering when it announced its data options, with the smallest 500MB option (with phone) shaking down your wallet for £36 per month. We've paid close attention to our use, ignoring our downloads for speed tests and the like and you're courting trouble if you decide to pick the 500MB package. Why, then, is this happening, given that EE reckons the majority of its users (based on past use averages from Orange customers) would barely touch this limit? It's simple; people will use their phones differently. Like the data-use jumps seen after the launch of internet-friendly Android and iOS devices, if the webpages you visit load faster, you're going to read more, look at more, use it more -- it's an inevitable change in use that EE either hasn't scheduled for, or hopes that its monopoly on 4G will cancel out.
Fortunately at least, UK's late arrival to the LTE party has meant you have the pick of some of the best phones out there. While we tested an iPhone 5 (which made it just in time for EE's launch, funny that), you can also pick from Samsung's Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy S III, HTC One XL, Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, not to mention Nokia's Lumia 920 and 820. In that regard, British phone shoppers have more choices than ever, with everyone (aside from the currently non-LTE BlackBerry) likely to find something among this crowd of flagships. Battery life We pitted the 4G iPhone 5 against a 3G-constrained model (and an iPhone 4S), and found that there was a noticeable difference to the battery life. We set up notifications for email, Twitter and Facebook, made a few calls, downloaded an app and browsed sites on both devices -- reaching two hours longer on 4G than on 3G. Given that both are running on the same hardware (Apple's latest phone is an 4G device that's sold on several 3G-only networks) it's not surprising to see the efficiency inherent in the newer network showing up during our battery tests -- but we were surprised that they were visible with only moderate data use. Wrap-up The future of mobile networks has finally arrived in the UK, but it lands at a heavy cost. What's more, several networks (including EE's "dad," T-Mobile) still offer unlimited data on HSPA and the speed and quality of coverage in the UK has recently started improving. Honestly, it was predictable that LTE would arrive at such a premium, 4G is a captive market for EE -- and it's going to stay that way for a fair bit longer -- but not two years (which is the basis for all EE's contracts). That 500MB minimum plan is a tough sell and buyers would do well to monitor how much data they're using at the moment... and pick a data option that's beyond that. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verizon says HTC 8X will ship 'by 11/13', red model due on the 21st (Update: Lumia 822 too) Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:19 PM PST
Waiting to get a taste of HTC's first Windows Phone 8 device on Verizon? Big Red's website says you won't have to wait beyond next week for your first shot, indicating HTC 8X pre-orders ($199 on 2-year contract, $549 retail) will ship by November 13th for the black or blue models, although the red version is held up until the 21st. That's the same day the two companies have an event scheduled in NYC -- now the only question is if the Droid DNA will make an appearance. That date is in line with what's been revealed of other carrier's plans for HTC's Windows Phone 8X, with T-Mobile on the 14th, Bell on the 15th and Rogers on the 12th. Update: It looks like the $99 Lumia 822 we've had some hands-on time with has also been listed by Verizon, and with the same release date. Decisions, decisions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pulse 3.0 update for iOS and Android brings new design, better search and more Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:15 PM PST
Pulse might have launched that browser-based app back in August, but most of its customers still use its mobile app. Lucky for them, both iOS and Android versions of the app have been updated to Pulse 3.0. The update promises a sleeker and more user-friendly interface, along with a new category sidebar, a search feature that lets you cull news from a wider variety of sources (from Tumblr, Youtube, Reddit, Facebook, Google, Flickr and Blekko just to name a few), infinite scrolling, and unlimited pages. The new iOS app is now universal and can be used across all iOS devices -- previous versions were divided into iPhone and iPad camps. On the Android side, users get a redesigned Pulse widget that displays top stories in a resizable view. Customizable notifications on both platforms will ensure you always stay on top of the news -- perhaps now you can finally score a win at your favorite pub's quiz night. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FedEx makes shipping packages to Facebook friends easier with new 'Ship to Friends' app Posted: 08 Nov 2012 09:30 PM PST
What's better than saving some precious and valuable time, right? Well, if you're a power Facebook resident and FedEx is your carrier of choice, then you'll be happy to hear all about Ship to Friends. With this new Facebook app, the company previously known as Federal Express will make it easier for you to send your friends packages without ever having to virtually step out of Zuck's social network. Essentially, this means you'll be able to simply select a user from your Friends list, add the necessary shipping info and, finally, choose the delivery speed (i.e. Premium Choice or Best Deal) and pay for the service -- naturally, however, you'll still have to get the package ready and drop it off at the nearest FedEx shop. Unfortunately, Ship to Friends is only available to Stateside folks for shipments within the US, and FedEx made no mention of when, or if, it plans to start offering its new handy service elsewhere. FedEx Keeps Friends Connected with the Launch of an Innovative, New Facebook Shipping App November 08 2012 - FedEx Ship to Friends is designed for the tech-savvy, social-media hungry generation that's never known a world without FedEx. The intuitive online shipping app can be found at https://apps.facebook.com/fedexshipping. To use, Facebook members: Select the app from the menu and click "Start Shipping" "From the introduction of tracking numbers to mobile shipping solutions, FedEx has a long legacy of industry-leading innovations that make the process of shipping and receiving simpler for our customers across the globe," said Charlie Ciaramitaro, director of Marketing for FedEx Services. "With FedEx Ship to Friends, we're connecting with customers in the networks and communities they enjoy, while positioning our company to maximize the transition to social commerce." Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. About FedEx Corp. FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $43 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMultra bundles USB hub, DVD drive, SD slot and 500GB HDD to form ultimate laptop peripheral Posted: 08 Nov 2012 08:46 PM PST
While Velocity Micro announced the VMultra earlier this year at CES, it's only now ready for primetime. The VMultra combines a USB hub, an SD card slot, a DVD±RW drive and 500GB of storage into a surprisingly slim package that connects to any computer via USB 3.0. If you like, you can even fit your own 2.5-inch hard drive in the SATA III bay. You'll have to take out the included 500GB HDD first of course. The company intends this to be a "perfect all-in-one peripheral," especially for notebook travelers looking to lighten their luggage; perhaps to make room for things like "clothes." Each VMultra will cost you $199.99 and will ship starting November 12th. For those who prefer desktops, Velocity Micro also announced a $599 holiday edition of its Vector PC that runs on a dual-core AMD A6-5400k processor and 8GB of DDR3 RAM in the same press release, which you can peek at after the break. Velocity Micro® Announces Two New Products – Vector™ Holiday Edition Desktop and VMultra™ Drive External Peripheral Priced at $599, the Holiday Edition is the first to bring boutique style, quality, and support to the mainstream; VMultra drive is a 4-in-1 external peripheral for $199 Richmond, VA - November 8, 2012 - Velocity Micro®, the premier builder of award winning enthusiast desktops, laptops, peripherals, and the remarkable line of Cruz™ tablets announces the immediate availability of the Vector Holiday Edition desktop and VMultra drive external peripheral, priced at $599 and $199.99 respectively. Both are available directly from VelocityMicro.com. "PC shoppers are tired of the bland, plastic designs of those behemoth manufactures that fill their systems with bloatware, mass produce product in China, and outsource support to India," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro. "We've created the Vector Holiday Edition to be a viable alternative to those brands, by offering our expert build quality and award-winning support at a mainstream price." Designed, built, and supported in the USA, the Vector Holiday Edition takes the boutique sensibilities that have made Velocity Micro a top choice amongst enthusiasts and makes them more affordable to mainstream users. The system is fully customizable with options that include quad core processors, up to 16GB 1600MHz RAM, solid state drives, and powerful discrete graphics. Specs of the $599 Vector Holiday Edition configuration include: Dual core AMD® A6-5400k Processor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 08 Nov 2012 08:02 PM PST
Although Hitachi was one of the first in line to promise support for Roku Streaming Sticks through MHL, it didn't have much more to say without the TVs to back up the claim. The second half of the puzzle is complete now that the company's fall TV revision is underway. Snag its new UltraVision UltraThin S606 TV in its one of its 42-, 46- or 55-inch sizes and you can discreetly (if optionally) hide the equivalent of a full Roku box in one of the HDMI inputs. The S606 sits strictly in the mid-range, however. Its 120Hz, edge-LED LCD design is superceded by the W806, which comes only in 48- and 55-inch sizes while carrying 3D, IPTV support and WiFi. Those who can get by on 60Hz refresh rates can opt for the Value line, where the H306 and S406 offer 720p in 29- and 32-inch dimensions; a third H316 line brings 1080p to those same sizes while adding a 39-inch panel. Hitachi hasn't said whether stores are stocking the TVs today, but it sees pricing ranging from $329 in the smaller Value sets to $1,399 for the largest W806 variant. The TV builder's audio mix isn't being ignored with the refresh. Launching in tandem with the TVs, the HSB32B26 and HSB40B16 sound bars are designed to respectively match up with 32- and 40-inch TVs while delivering 3D sound processing and Apt-X Bluetooth audio. At $149 and $199, the sound bars are close enough in cost that we may only need a measuring tape to settle any purchasing dilemmas once the hardware is in stores. Hitachi Debuts Fall 2012 Line of 3D Smart TVs and Next Generation HDTVs -- New Models Deliver Streaming Capabilities, Spectacular Colors and Crisp Pictures -- CHULA VISTA, California – November 8, 2012 – Hitachi America Ltd.'s Digital Media Division today announced its fall 2012 line of beautifully designed 3D Smart TVs, UltraVision® UltraThin LED TVs and LCD High Definition Televisions (HDTVs) that display spectacular colors and sharp pictures to brighten any home. With its next generation HDTVs, Hitachi accurately recreates even the minutest of details from any content. Offering Smart 3D TVs and ROKU®-ready streaming options, Hitachi televisions are designed to meet the next generation tech-savvy lifestyle and deliver the best home entertainment experience possible. ULTRAVISION® UltraThin LED Series Hitachi UltraVision UltraThin LED televisions render vivid, sparkling Full HD 1080p picture quality at 120Hz/60Hz refresh rates to deliver flawless performance and exceptional clarity. Value Series The Value Series offers three options – the S406, H306 and H316 – all with an ultra thin bezel, surround sound and Dolby Digital. The S406 comes in a platinum finish and 32-inch screen size with 60HZ 720p. Featuring a black bezel, the 29-inch H306 delivers 720p HD resolution and a 60HZ refresh rate. The H316 offers three sizes at 29-, 32- and 39-inches with 60HZ and Full HD 1080p. All three sizes come with Long Life LED Edgelight, PicturePerfect Video Processor, PC Input via RGB and a Sleep Timer for ultimate convenience. Accessories Hitachi has also released the perfect complement to the HDTV viewing experience, the 32- and 40-inch class Sound Bars with CONEQ™ 3D Sound technology, delivering a natural sound stage for smooth and clear sound reproduction. The Hitachi Sound Bars feature four high efficiency full range speakers and two high frequency tweeters with state-of-the-art Class D digital amplifiers. The Sound Bars can also be used to stream music files wirelessly from compatible mobile phone or other Bluetooth® devices. For more information on Hitachi visit www.hitachi-america.us/tv. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome is coming home any way you want, YouTube's up first Posted: 08 Nov 2012 07:10 PM PST
Arguably the best science fiction series in some time, Battlestar Galactica aired its last season almost three years ago with a few spinoffs since. The latest spinoff movie is the prequel Blood & Chrome which tell the story of young William Adama and his trials on the Galactica during the first Cylon war. The 97 minute feature film will be initially available online as 10 episodes via Machinima Prime between November 9th and February. Then it will premiere on the Syfy channel and finally become available on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and digital download on February 19th, 2013. We'll be interested to see how this unorthodox release window works out for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, in the meantime more details are available in the full release, along with a trailer after the break. UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- From Universal Cable Productions and the award-winning producing team of the critically acclaimed series "Battlestar Galactica" comes the all-new Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Unrated Edition. The new spin-off film is packed with spectacular visual effects and cutting edge CGI and stars Luke Pasqualino ("The Borgias") as a young Captain William Adama in the hard-hitting tale of the first Cylon war. Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download on February 19, 2013. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121108/LA09294) Fans will first be able to view Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome when it premieres exclusively on Machinima's premium channel, Machinima Prime (http://www.youtube.com/MachinimaPrime), beginning November 9, 2012. It will be presented as 10 episode chapters set to run through February 2013 and be followed by a two-hour movie premiere on Syfy. A special never-before-seen unrated version of this explosive broadcast event will then be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download. An all-new chapter in the "Battlestar Galactica" saga, Blood & Chrome takes place in the midst of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama, finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Though Adama quickly finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton, "Alcatraz"), the two men must set their differences aside when a routine escort mission with an enigmatic passenger (Lili Bordán, "Silent Witness") turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet. The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack allows consumers to watch Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Unrated Edition anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice. It includes a Blu-ray™ disc, a DVD, a Digital Copy, and UltraViolet™ for the ultimate, complete viewing experience. Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound. ADDITIONAL DELETED SCENES (SEVEN EXCLUSIVE) SIX DELETED SCENES TECHNICAL INFORMATION – DVD: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Urine-powered generator produces six hours of electricity per bathroom break Posted: 08 Nov 2012 06:24 PM PST
We've all heard the expression "haste makes waste," but how about waste making energy? At the fourth annual Maker Faire Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, a quartet of teenage girls ages 14 through 15 have created a urine-powered generator. This eco-friendly energy source cranks out six hours of electricity for every liter of human bodily fluid by separating the excretion's hydrogen with an electrolytic cell. While this method of human waste disposal seems promising, the device has the potential to be a pee-powered biobomb and will need more than its limited safety measures before you're able to pick one up at your local hardware store. However, if this can help us save a few bucks on our energy bill, then we need to introduce these girls to these guys posthaste. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft Canada claims HTC 8X, Nokia Lumia 920 ship in earnest to Rogers on November 12th Posted: 08 Nov 2012 05:39 PM PST
American carriers have almost been tripping over themselves to pin down release dates for their Windows Phone 8 devices, but we've heard precious little for those north of the border. Microsoft Canada has at last showed its hand: the company's Facebook page briefly showed that Rogers would offer both the HTC Windows Phone 8X and full-scale shipments of the Nokia Lumia 920 on November 12th. While Rogers will only confirm to us so far that the HTC 8X is arriving sometime "next week," the post suggests Canada might get HTC's leading device slightly ahead of the US, on top of just edging out Americans on the Nokia flagship. Any truth to the exact timing could satisfy those who think even the wait for Bell's rumored November 15th launch might be too long. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing (video) Posted: 08 Nov 2012 04:48 PM PST
The original Netduino Plus was a welcome alternative for Arduino developers that had its limits -- even networking was almost a step too far. Secret Labs doesn't want any of us to bump our heads on the ceiling with its just-launched Netduino Plus 2. The networkable, .NET-friendly developer board runs a four times faster 168MHz processor with double the RAM (over 100KB) and six times as much code space (384KB) as its two-year-old ancestor. Having so much headroom lets the team build common OneWire and Time Server code into the firmware; Secret Labs reckons that there's enough space that the Plus 2 can easily grow over time. The ports are just as ready for the future with four serial ports, software control of any add-on shields (including Rev C Arduino shields) and a new header that lets programmers debug both managed and truly native code at once. If the upgrade is sufficiently tempting, project builders just need to spend $60 today to enjoy some newfound freedom. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arduino Micro shrinks your favorite DIY platform down to ridiculous proportions Posted: 08 Nov 2012 04:08 PM PST
With the Arduino Leonardo, everyone's favorite hackable microcontroller turned a new page. Now it's time to bring that simplified design and slightly expanded feature set to the rest of the family, including the itty-bitty Arduino Micro. The tiny, embed-friendly board was designed with help from Adafruit Industries, one of the biggest players in the DIY market. At the heart of the Micro is the same 16MHz ATmega32u4 chip that powers the Leonardo, which means all the necessary USB controls are baked into the processor. Obviously, the layout here is different, so you wont be mounting the Micro to any shields, but with 20 digital I/O pins, 12 analog input channels and seven PWM channels, there's plenty of room for wiring up your own expansions. Amazingly it crams all that capability in a package just 48mm long and 18mm wide. The Arduino Micro will be available exclusively through Radio Shack and Adafruit first before becoming more widely available next month. The board is available with headers for €21 (roughly $27) and without headers for €18 (about $23). For more, check out the PR after the break. Arduino announces the release of the new Arduino Micro board Arduino announces the release of the new Arduino Micro board. Based on the technology behind the Leonardo board, its main feature is the very small size. The Arduino Micro packs all of the power of the Arduino Leonardo in a 48mm x 18mm module (1.9″ x 0.7″). It makes it easier for makers to embed the Arduino technology inside their projects by providing a small and convenient module that can be either used on a breadboard or soldered to a custom designed PCB. The Micro has been developed in collaboration with Adafruit Industries, one of the leaders of the Maker movement. Adafruit is already developing a series of accessories for the new board that will complement its power and simplicity. Throughout the month of November the product is available exclusively from Adafruit online and Radio Shack in retail stores. Starting next week the board can pre-ordered from all Arduino distributors while shipments will start from November 26. The Arduino Micro will be available in two versions: Main features of Arduino Micro: Technical specifications: About Arduino About Adafruit Industries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $1.20 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs Posted: 08 Nov 2012 03:17 PM PST
Just as it predicted, NVIDIA's earnings show revenue rose again in Q3, to a new record high of $1.20 billion, 15.3 percent higher than in Q2 up 12.9 percent from the same period last year. Its profits also grew accordingly, to $209.1 million, which should be no surprise thanks to its Tegra 3 chip's place at the heart of tablets including Google's Nexus 7 and Microsoft's Surface for Windows RT, with more arriving daily. The Consumer Products division that includes the Tegra family and other hardware had a 27.6 percent rise in revenue for the quarter. Despite predictions of a slumping PC market, its consumer GPU unit had revenue up 10 percent from last quarter as Kepler based products reached into lower price points and notebook revenue rose. Riding high, the company has decided to issue dividends to shareholders as well as extend its current stock repurchasing program. Hit the source links for the full breakdown, but so far NVIDIA's bets on the future of its chips in PCs and post-PC devices seem to be paying off. NVIDIA Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2013 Nov 08, 2012 (Marketwire via COMTEX) --NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Record revenue of $1.20 billion. NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported record revenue of $1.20 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 ended Oct. 28, 2012, up 15.3 percent from the previous quarter and up 12.9 percent from a year earlier. The company also announced that it is initiating the payment of a quarterly cash dividend, and extending its existing $2.7 billion share-repurchase program, initiated in August 2004, through December 2014. "Investments in our new growth strategies paid off this quarter in record revenues and margins," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "Kepler GPUs are winning across the special-purpose PC markets we serve, from gaming to design to supercomputing. And Tegra is powering some of the most innovative tablets, phones and cars in the market." He continued: "We are pleased to start paying our shareholders a quarterly cash dividend. We have confidence in our businesses and our continued ability to grow. Given our strong financial position and ongoing ability to generate cash, we are well positioned to continue investing in our future." *Non-GAAP earnings excluded stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, other acquisition-related costs, a contribution expense in the second quarter of fiscal 2013, and the tax impact associated with such items. Outlook Our outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 is as follows: Revenue is expected to be between $1.025 billion and $1.175 billion. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be flat relative to the prior quarter, 52.9 percent and 53.1 percent, respectively. GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $400 million; non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $359 million. GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates are expected to be approximately 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively, plus or minus one percentage point. This estimate excludes any discrete tax events that may occur during the quarter, which, if realized, may increase or decrease our actual fourth quarter GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates. If the U.S. research tax credit is reinstated into tax law, we estimate our annual effective tax rate for the fiscal year 2013 to be approximately 16 percent. Depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter is estimated to be approximately $58 million to $60 million. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $60 million to $70 million. Diluted shares for the fourth quarter are expected to be approximately 629 million. Dividend and Share-Repurchase Program The quarterly dividend of 7.5 cents per share, 30 cents on an annual basis, is equivalent to a yield of about 2.4 percent, based on the Nov. 7 closing price of $12.61. It will be payable on Dec. 14, 2012 to all shareholders of record on Nov. 23, 2012. Since NVIDIA initiated its repurchase program in August 2004, NVIDIA has spent $1.46 billion to repurchase 90.9 million shares of its common stock. NVIDIA is authorized, subject to certain specifications, to spend up to an additional $1.24 billion repurchasing shares of its common stock. Any future repurchases would be made in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or in structured share-repurchase programs, and may be made from time to time or in one or more larger repurchases. The program will be conducted in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 10b-18 and applicable legal requirements and shall be subject to market conditions and other factors. The repurchases would be funded from available working capital. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2013 were $3.43 billion. Third Quarter Fiscal 2013 and Recent Highlights: Microsoft launched its NVIDIA Tegra® 3-based Surface RT to critical acclaim. NVIDIA's new energy-efficient Kepler™ GPU architecture continued to make excellent headway: Kepler-based gaming was extended to new, lower price points with the launch of the GeForce® 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, GeForce GTX 650 Ti and GeForce GTX 650. CFO Commentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intel launches 8-core Itanium 9500, teases Xeon E7-linked Kittson Posted: 08 Nov 2012 02:41 PM PST
Intel's Itanium processor launches are few and far between given that only so many need its specialized grunt, but that just makes any refresh so much larger -- and its new Itanium 9500 certainly exemplifies that kind of jump. The chip centers around much more up-to-date, 32-nanometer Poulson architecture that doubles the cores to eight, hikes the interconnect speeds and supports as much as 2TB of RAM for very (very, very) large tasks. With the help of an error-resistant buffer, Intel sees the 9500 being as much as 2.4 times faster as the Tukwila-era design it's replacing. The new Itanium also ramps the clock speeds to a relatively brisk 1.73GHz to 2.53GHz, although there will be definite costs for server builders wanting to move up: the shipping roster starts at $1,350 per chip in bulk and climbs to an eye-watering $4,650 for the fastest example. Anyone worried that Poulson might be the end of the road for Intel's EPIC-based platform will also be glad to get a brief reminder that Itanium will soldier on. The next iteration, nicknamed Kittson, will be framed around a modular design that shares traces of silicon and the processor socket with the more familiar Xeon E7. Intel casts it as a pragmatic step that narrows its server-oriented processors down to a common motherboard and should be cheaper to make. It's likely that we'll have to be very patient for more details on Kittson knowing the long intervals between Itanium revamps, but fence-sitting IT pros may just be glad that they won't have to consider jumping ship for awhile yet. Based on New Microarchitecture, Intel® Itanium® Processor, Doubles Performance and Boosts Resiliency * The Intel® Itanium® processor 9500 delivers unprecedented availability, error resiliency and performance increase over the previous generation. Containing 3.1 billion transistors, the Intel Itanium processor 9500 series is Intel's most sophisticated general purpose processors to date. It supports up to twice as many cores (8 instead of 4) than the previous-generation processor, packs up to 54 MB of on-die memory, and enables up to 2 TB of low voltage DIMMs in a four-socket configuration. The speed of the processor increased 40 percent over the previous generation in lower power configurations. The new frequencies range from 1.73 GHz and a power level of 130 watts, to 2.53 GHz at a power level of 170 watts. In 2010, Intel introduced its common platform strategy that allows Intel Itanium and Intel® Xeon® processors to utilize common platform ingredients including chipsets, interconnects and memory. This strategy gives Intel the ability to cascade the strength of Intel Itanium RAS features to benefit the Intel Xeon processor E7 family, and allows Intel Itanium to further extract the efficiencies and value of higher volume economics. For the next-generation Intel Itanium product family, code-named "Kittson," Intel will employ an innovative model for Intel Itanium and Intel Xeon development called "Modular Development Model." The model will extend the common platform strategy by sharing silicon-level design elements and socket compatibility. The result for Intel is an even more sustainable path to bring future Itanium processors to market. In addition, OEMs will be able to develop one single motherboard platform for both architectures. Intel Itanium processors continue to maintain strong industry support among systems makers such as Bull*, Hitachi*, HP*, Inspur* and NEC*. Enterprise applications are widely available from multiple vendors, such as, Oracle*, SAP*, SAS*, Sybase* and Temenos*, among other vendors that underscore the ISV community's efforts to ensure the success of the Intel Itanium mission-critical ecosystem. The Intel Itanium processor 9500 series is available now and is priced from $1,350 to $4,650 in quantities of 1,000 units. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tumblr for iOS goes native: now with redesigned Dashboard, improved notifications and more Posted: 08 Nov 2012 02:07 PM PST
Just as Facebook did a while back, Tumblr, too, has decided to rebuild its iOS application from the ground up. Inside this new version (3.2), daily users of the blogging service will find a completely redesigned Dashboard, which displays larger pictures and offers faster overall speeds when loading posts. In addition, Tumblr's also added "spiffy" notification previews to its iOS application, allowing folks to see when other users reply, like or reblog their posts -- oh, and better yet, GIFs now automatically play on the all-new Dashboard. The new Tumblr app's now live on Cupertino's App Store -- all you have to do is either hit the source link below or snag it directly via your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:42 PM PST
Most of Verizon's strategy talk surrounding its long-term LTE plans has conservatively aimed at upgrading all existing coverage areas to 4G by the end of 2013. If we're to believe a CFO Fran Shammo presentation, the carrier may have underpromised and overdelivered: the executive now expects LTE to reach the whole network by the middle of next year, or as much as half a year sooner than first thought. What prompted the quicker rollout wasn't mentioned, although Shammo was eager to point out a surprisingly strong reception to Verizon's (frequently mandatory) shared plans as well as the ample number of airwaves that came from a spectrum transfer deal with cable providers. Having a lot of customers on premium plans with the capacity to support them tends to help with faster expansion, we'd say. No matter the exact reasoning, the shortened schedule could underscore the advantage of Verizon's early start on LTE versus those carriers taking a more relaxed pace. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Evernote 5 now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:16 PM PST
It was just a few days ago that Evernote proudly teased us by saying it's fifth major release on Cupertino's mobile platform would be "coming soon," but the good news is the revamped note-taking application didn't take too long to officially arrive on iOS. Starting today, Evernote 5 will be available for folks using an iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, bringing with it a completely redesigned experience, a more accessible home screen (with quick access to notes, notebooks and more), as well as new features tailored specifically for Apple's slate and Premium users. Evernote 5 is up for download now, so those of you looking to try the new app should give the App Store link below a quick tap or download it straight from your device. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:51 PM PST
Google's long-awaited offering of Google Play Movies and Music on Google TV may have answered a longstanding demand for streaming access from some viewers, but it still left many of those outside of the US turning to alternatives. The company is closing that open loop with plans to take the media strategy global. Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK will all get similar streaming video options on their Google TV hubs as of November 13th; while content will undoubtedly vary, the gesture once more puts the international stores on roughly the same level as their American counterpart. The only debate left likely centers on what movie to rent for celebrating the occasion. Update: Google has made a new post suggesting that its earlier outline was a mistake: Australia and Canada aren't part of the November 13th mix. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Engadget Podcast is live tonight at 5PM! Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST
Manhattan island's been battered by storm after storm, but we're ready to make our triumphant return to the sound studio for another extra-classic episode of the Engadget Podcast. No Tim this week, sadly, but there's thankfully plenty of tech news to talk about in his absence. It all starts after the break. *** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
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| Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has YouTube livestreaming built-in on 360, PS3 and PC, not on Wii U Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:03 PM PST
Competitive multiplayer games, such as industry standard Call of Duty, are what make the world of e-sports a reality. And livestreaming of those games is the lifeblood of that community, primarily done through PCs and various online services (YouTube, Twitch.tv, etc.). Activision clearly knows this, as the next entry in its annual franchise, Black Ops 2, is adding YouTube livestreaming to its Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions -- the game is also headed to Wii U, but won't have the functionality built-in. "Wii U will not have this feature at this time, but it is being evaluated for a future update," an Activision rep told us. The streaming service works in concert with Call of Duty Elite, allowing viewers and gamers alike to delve into all the thrilling numbers behind each online game. The game launches this coming Tuesday on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, with the Wii U version launching soon after alongside Nintendo's next console, sans streaming. CALL OF DUTY®: BLACK OPS II TEAMS WITH YOUTUBE Treyarch's Innovative New Live Streaming Functionality New Pillar for eSports Competition Elevates Gameplay to a Sporting Event Santa Monica, CA - November 8, 2012 - Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops II's new live streaming feature, available when the game launches on November 13th, will let players live stream gameplay on YouTube directly from the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 game consoles. The first of its kind innovation coming from Activision and the game's developer, award-winning studio Treyarch, will allow players to live stream Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer League Play games, as well as the player's webcam and audio commentary while playing. Call of Duty Elite takes the live streaming experience even further, letting viewers on Elite see the player card of the user that is streaming. With just a couple clicks, viewers can dig deeper to see such information as class loadouts, recent match data, as well as career stats across supported Call of Duty® games on Elite. Call of Duty: Black Ops II player live streams will be viewable on YouTube via web browsers, mobile and tablets through Call of Duty Elite as well as individual YouTube user channels. "From the beginning of development with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team has been pushing boundaries on every front to offer Call of Duty fans things that they haven't been able to do before," said Mark Lamia, studio head of Treyarch. "With our competitive play and eSports initiatives, we wanted to deliver live streaming capabilities built right into Call of Duty: Black Ops II, because Call of Duty is not only fun and exciting to play, but we believe it will be just as exciting to watch. By making the capability of live streaming as accessible as possible to our fans, straight from a player's console without the need for any additional hardware or sophisticated setups, we are empowering our fans to share their multiplayer experiences." "Our partners are using YouTube Live to bring entertainment, must-see moments and more to millions of people around the world. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, people can live stream their gameplay directly from the game or watch the best players live on YouTube, which is an awesome next step for the eSports community," said Sang Kim, Head of Game Partnerships. A verified YouTube account is required to live stream. A valid Call of Duty Elite registration is necessary to view the streams and related information inside Call of Duty Elite. Call of Duty: Black Ops II player live streams will be subject to limitations and restrictions. Additional Call of Duty: Black Ops II live stream destinations will be announced in the future. Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox® 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November 18, 2012, for the new Wii U™ game system from Nintendo. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated "M" (Mature - Blood and Gore, Intense Violence Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs - content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter. About Treyarch About Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of November 13, 2012, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. # # # ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. Microsoft, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skype announces new 'In the Workspace' platform for small businesses Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:36 AM PST
Skype has made itself present in many different areas around the globe, but the Microsoft-owned service is now looking to enter (and hopefully be a part of) a more business-oriented field. With the launch of its newfangled, adequately-named In the Workspace platform, Skype says it's hoping to keep small businesses connected and help them grow by giving them a free platform where they can easily communicate with potential customers, partners and even suppliers. According to Skype, this novel service has been tested in beta form for nearly six months now, and today it's officially opening its virtual doors to all business owners that are interested in giving it a go -- the link to sign up can be found down below. Skype™ Launches New Online Platform for Small Businesses LONDON and PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Skype today launched to the public Skype in the workspace (SITW), a new online platform for small businesses to instantly connect with potential customers, partners and suppliers across the globe. The free-to-use tool makes use of the huge network already offered by Skype, allowing millions of small businesses to promote their products and services to new networks and connections. Users can improve existing connections and establish new ones by instantly sending messages and talking to or meeting face-to-face with peers and business prospects over Skype. SITW will provide a central hub for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses to connect with experts, coaches and consultants who can help them develop their businesses. Users join the community using their existing Skype accounts, then through a series of promotional tools can create public "offers" or "opportunities" inviting community members to live sessions on Skype to demonstrate services or products to a wider audience. Users can also book appointments with potential customers or suppliers and keep track of them with a meeting notification service. When an opportunity is over, users can instantly give testimonials on the product or service offered. Alison Coward, an avid user of Skype and owner of the London creative collaboration agency Bracket, said, "Skype in the workspace is a real breakthrough. It's the perfect platform for me to promote my business and connect with the people who can help it to grow. My business is about getting in front of people and helping them to solve their problems. With Skype in the workspace, I am visible to quality leads without even leaving the office. With no travel time to contend with, it's also now far more feasible for me to grow my business outside the U.K. into Europe and the U.S." Jorge Parra, an avid user of Skype and owner of Florida-based Jorge Parra photography, said, "There's a big difference between a professional network and a social network, and Skype in the workspace seems to understand this distinction. It is the perfect companion to my existing online presence and generates connections that will actually bring me business." Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The degree to which you stream music and video (or use it as a hotspot) will be a deciding factor, while the often temperamental behavior of most carriers within London makes streaming a rare luxury. But elsewhere, it's already more than possible to hit a strong enough latency and download rate to stream the likes of Netflix on a 3G signal. If you're joining EE, the 2GB data limit is a more sensible place to start (with unlimited calls and texts); this is again relative to how you use your phone. But if you're not all that data hungry (keeping to calls, emails and media-free internet browsing), you're really only getting half the benefit of the premium you're paying for, and you'll be locked down for two years -- during which those rival networks will be readying their own LTE plans at competitive (read: cheaper) prices.
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