Thursday, February 25, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 25/02/2010



Nokia serves North American X6 up for pre-order: $455 unlocked
Nokia's downright seductive X6 just started shipping to those across the pond, and shortly after the company announced a Comes Without Music edition, along comes this: a NAM version for those who call North America home, sweet home. The pre-order page (which is live this very moment, by the way) makes no mention of a Comes With Music requirement, giving you complete freedom to shove whatever you darn well please onto what's left of that 16GB after the OS install and a hidden 'thank you' note from Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. So, is that $455 peeking out of your Fifth Pocket really that important to you?

Nokia serves North American X6 up for pre-order: $455 unlocked originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nokia Mobile | sourceNokia | Email this | Comments
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Live from the Bloom Box press event
We're here live at the Bloom Box press event, waiting for our power to be revolutionized.

Continue reading Live from the Bloom Box press event

Live from the Bloom Box press event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini Countryman to be first production car with internet streaming radio?
Mini Countryman to be first production car with internet streaming radio?
BMW's Mini brand is getting a little bigger soon, with the Countryman bringing a taller stance and some AWD to the party, but that won't be the only exciting addition to the mix. The Countryman will be the first Mini to offer Mini Connected, an infotainment system of the likes of Sync or MyFord. This one naturally features iPhone/iPod integration and all that jazz, but most interesting is the so-called "web radio function" that will allow internet radio streams to be beamed right into the car. Stations must be selected from an "extensive" database, so it remains to be seen whether your favorite speed metal stream will be included, but more importantly Mini isn't saying just how those bits and bytes will get to the car. Will a USB modem be required? Will Mini charge a monthly service fee? Maybe you'll just need a really long Ethernet cable? We'll find out when it gets a full unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

Mini Countryman to be first production car with internet streaming radio? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceAutoblog | Email this | Comments
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The surprisingly seedy side of microSD production
The surprisingly seedy side of microSD production
That little memory chip serving tunes to your smartphone, the one that's just a sneeze or twitch away from going where the socks go whenever you take it out, has a far more interesting history than you think. Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, co-creator of the Chumby, explored the surprisingly interesting underside of microSD production in China after being given a batch of questionable memory cards direct from Kingston itself. Huang's conclusion is that the chips were created during a "ghost shift," when a rogue employee runs the manufacturing lines after hours to produce authentic looking but decidedly sub-par memory chips using materials of inadequate quality. Huang bought numerous questionable examples on the gray market and watched as vendors took bogus cards and threw them into authentic retail packaging, complete with serial numbers and holograms. If you're as fascinated by the world of KIRF as we are, it's a very interesting read.

The surprisingly seedy side of microSD production originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Red Ferret Journal | sourceBunnie Studios | Email this | Comments
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Flash 10.1 beta 3 released, adds support for Intel GMA 500 and Broadcom Crystal HD chips
Rejoice, owners of netbooks with Intel GMA 500 graphics: Flash Player 10.1 Beta 3 is here, complete with hardware video acceleration for your machines. That should make Hulu and YouTube HD usable on machines like the Sony VAIO P and VAIO X, the Nokia Booklet 3G, and the previous-generation Dell Mini 10. The new build also bring support for the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator found in Pine Trail Atom machines like the newest Dell Mini 10 and HP Mini 210 -- support we found sorely lacking when we reviewed the Dell. We just tried it out on our review HP Mini 210 and it managed 720p YouTube just fine, although 1080p was a no-go -- we're waiting on some updated Broadcom drivers though, so don't take that as gospel quite yet. We'll have much more on that in our full Mini 210 review; for now you should all get downloading and let us know how it's going in comments.

Flash 10.1 beta 3 released, adds support for Intel GMA 500 and Broadcom Crystal HD chips originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooked | sourceAdobe | Email this | Comments
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Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera now shipping for $600
Next month? Psshh. For those hankering for a slice of that oh-so-tempting Micro Four Thirds pie, Olympus' new and improved PEN E-PL1 is now shipping (in blue and gold, anyway) from Amazon. If you'll recall, the company told us that it wouldn't be available until March when it launched three weeks ago, but hey, you won't find us kvetching about early availability. For those who've forgotten, this compact camera touts the same 12.3 megapixel image sensor as the E-30 and E-620, and the $599.99 asking price also nets you a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko zoom lens. Good luck resisting.

[Thanks, Ron]

Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera now shipping for $600 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceAmazon (blue), (gold) | Email this | Comments
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Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!
Hey guys, some fun news to share: Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 was just approved by Apple and is now available on the App Store! The big new feature is landscape mode in article, comment, and sharing views, but we've also bumped up font sizes, made some improvements to the commenting experience, and added the ability to edit tweets directly in the app. Oh, and you can also now email photos from galleries from within the app, and customize the toolbar. Of course, that's in addition to our regular features like offline viewing, built in streaming for The Engadget Show, and in-app tip submissions -- you know, for when you see the iPhone 3GT leak out.

So what are you waiting for? You can download the app right here, or just click the image above -- if you've already got it installed the update should be waiting for you right this second. Full changelog after the break.

Once again, a big thanks to the team at AOL that makes these apps happen: Sun Sachs, Andy Averbuch, Hareesh P, Anibal Rosado, Rajesh Kumar, Rich Foster, Claudeland Louis, Mike Wolstat, Eric Wedge, Vikas B R, Milissa Tarquini, Asha Indira and Bob Gurwin. High fives all around.

P.S.- Updates for the BlackBerry and webOS apps should hit in March, and that's also when we're scheduled to launch our Android app -- stay tuned!

Continue reading Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!

Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PTPT touchscreen interface sounds little, could be huge (video)
PTPT touchscreen interface sounds little, could be huge (video)
We've been working with mice and keyboards for so long, clicking on the same 'ol icons and typing in the same 'ol boxes, that it's nice to see something fresh come along -- even if it looks a little cumbersome to use. Such is PTPT, pronounced "petite petite," a concept touchscreen interface from ExB, a company that focuses on text input prediction. The input starts with three icons representing people, things, and places, and then the top bar represents time. You can, for example, long-touch on the people icon, select an individual person, and then drag them up to a specific time to get e-mails from that person. Or, you can drag that person icon down to things to see pictures of them. Or, drag the pictures "thing" up to a time to see pictures from that time, or.... well, you get the picture. There's an expository video below that will help you tie it all together, one that we'd advise watching -- if only because this probably won't be showing up on a tablet anytime soon.

Update: JimboJones commented to let us know that those with a proclivity for touching and dragging can sign up to be a beta tester here.

Continue reading PTPT touchscreen interface sounds little, could be huge (video)

PTPT touchscreen interface sounds little, could be huge (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink netbooknews.de | sourcePTPT | Email this | Comments
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Barnes and Noble CEO describes Nook as 'single best-selling product,' critical to success
In a conference call with investors yesterday, Steve Riggio described the Nook as a great success and the company's best selling product. The former is predictable, but the latter is kinda weird. You typically wait to have more than one own-brand product in order to describe anything as "best-selling," but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's comparing the Nook against books published under the B&N name. It's still disappointing that, much like Amazon, Barnes and Noble refuses to issue actual sales figures. The closest we get to that is Steve's boast that the Nook's release has fueled a 67 percent increase in online ebook sales -- an effect that would have been even greater if the company had more stock of the device to sell. In the long term, he sees the Nook as a stimulant of traffic and sales, both in its retail and online stores, and a central component of his company's strategy. As to the iPad? Steve skirted that question by noting that B&N ebooks are also available on PC, Mac, iPhone and BlackBerry devices. Which is good to know.

Barnes and Noble CEO describes Nook as 'single best-selling product,' critical to success originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceBarron's | Email this | Comments
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Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update now live, ready to be dodged
Remember that polarizing Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update we told you about? You know, the one that helps you to "verify that the copy of Windows 7 that is running on your computer is activated correctly and is genuine?" It's available for download now through Windows Update, and it's not particularly easy to spot. The main label simply says "Update for Windows 7," though we'd be sure to avoid KB971033 if you weren't up for having this thing looking into your business. Your call, though.

[Thanks, Elijah and bighap]

Windows 7 Activation Technologies Update now live, ready to be dodged originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceMicrosoft | Email this | Comments
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Neonode's zForce Pad multitouch display panel set to rock the world
Neonode's zForce Pad multitouch display panel set to rock the world
Neonode has been keeping busy over the past few years, getting into the GPS game, smartphones, and even an e-reader touchscreen. Today it's a touchscreen of a different type, or rather a range of them, multitouch LCDs spanning from 5- to 13-inches. The suite is being demonstrated in a concept reference design called the zForce Pad, highlighting its relative thinness compared to competing products. The company is also highlighting the screen's lack of a touch-sensitive layer, meaning there's less sitting between you and your pixels -- except glass, of course. Neonode is also happy to point out that this non-resistive, non-capacitive touchscreen is being adopted by "Asian companies" but won't tell us which or when they'll be releasing product based on it. Cheeky.

Neonode's zForce Pad multitouch display panel set to rock the world originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear | sourceNeonode | Email this | Comments
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ARM and Globalfoundries partner up for 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs, invite great expectations
This one slipped the net during the excitement that was MWC this year, but it's such a promising development that we have to give it its due attention. ARM and Globalfoundries have announced plans to start building new systems-on-chip using the latter's ultramodern 28nm high-k metal gate production process, with the resultant chips offering up to 40 percent greater computational power, 30 percent greater power efficiency, and a terrific 100 percent improvement in battery longevity relative to their current-gen siblings. Mass production of these Cortex-A9-based units is expected in the second half of 2010, which means they should be among the very first chips off Globalfoundries' 28nm assembly line. The good news, though, is that the technology is described as "ready for high-volume implementation," so there should be no shortages when things finally get rolling. Let the wild-eyed anticipation begin.

ARM and Globalfoundries partner up for 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs, invite great expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DigiTimes | sourceARM | Email this | Comments
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Spring Design's Alex pushed to first week of March
February 22nd came and went with nary a word from Spring Design about its Alex availability. Now, after a bit of prodding, we're being told to check back during the first week of March; that's when you'll be able to order your dual-screen, 3.5-inch Android and 6-inch EPD e-Reader. So, $359 for Alex or $499 for the iPad launching just a few weeks later... decisions, decisions.

Spring Design's Alex pushed to first week of March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceSpring Design | Email this | Comments
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Google executives found guilty of violating privacy of student bullied on video
Hold tight kids, internet privacy laws just got flipped upside down. An Italian judge found three Google executives guilty of violating the privacy of an Italian student who was bullied in a 2006 video posted on Google Video. The video resided on the site for two months before it was brought to Google's attention and pulled. None of the executives were involved in any way in the making of the abhorrent video. Nevertheless, Italian judge Oscar Magi sentenced the execs to a six-month prison sentence but cleared them of defamation charges. No jail time is expected, however, since any sentence of less than 3 years is typically commuted in Italy for those without a criminal record.

As you can imagine, Google has responded with vigor. In a post on Google's official blog ominously titled "Serious Threat to the Web in Italy," Google calls the decision "astonishing" citing the assistance it provided to local police in helping bring those who uploaded the video (and bullied the autistic child) to justice. More importantly, Google says that the decision "attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built." On the surface, we have to agree. Here's how Google describes the dystopian knock-on effect should this ruling take precedent:
"European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them - every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video - then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear."
Google will, of course, appeal.

Google executives found guilty of violating privacy of student bullied on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wall Street Journal | sourceGoogle | Email this | Comments
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iPhone 3GS mod ditches plastic cover in favor of titanium vestment
Engadget reader Martin Schrotz is a man after our own hearts. He's taken the editors' choice for best smartphone of 2009 and tricked it out with a handsome new back cover made out of titanium. Not sufficiently pleased with the plastic casing provided by Apple, Martin opened up his favorite CAD program and refashioned his phone into the much hardier and indubitably more awesome machine you see before you. The new backing is built out of a titanium alloy that allows RF waves through and therefore requires no plastic parts to let the wireless communications flow. Check out the gallery for more before hitting the link below to bug Martin to provide you with a video or a price estimate.

Gallery: Titanium iPhone 3GS mod

iPhone 3GS mod ditches plastic cover in favor of titanium vestment originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MagicJack sues Boing Boing, gets bounced out of court
The MagicJack is a VoIP dongle that hooks ye olde landline telephone up to the world of tomorrow via a humble computer. By all accounts, it seems to work pretty well and does the job it promises. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we can say the same about its management team. A post on Boing Boing in April 2008 addressed some pretty concerning aspects of the MagicJack EULA: it demands that you cede your right to sue the company and give it permission to "analyze" the numbers you call, but even more worrying was the fact that no links to said EULA were provided either on the website or at the point of sale. That is to say, every purchaser of the product was agreeing to something he or she hadn't (and couldn't have, without tracking the URL down via Google) read. Oh, and apparently the software comes without an uninstaller.

The whole thing could've been just a nice warning tale about not getting into contracts without reading the fine print, but MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow, hardly a man who shrinks from controversy, felt so offended by Boing Boing's, erm, statement of factual reality that he took them to court, citing that his company was exposed to "hate, ridicule and obloquy" (we had to look that last one up, it's just another word for ridicule, which makes the whole thing a tautology. Lawyers, eh?). Unsurprisingly, he lost the case, but he did manage to squeeze in one last act of shady behavior prior to his loss by offering to pay for Boing Boing's silence regarding the proceedings and costs. After he was turned down, MagicJack's coffers were still lightened by $54,000 to cover the defendants' legal fees, whereas its reputation can now be found somewhere in the Monster Cable vicinity of pond scum central. Great job, Boing Boing.

MagicJack sues Boing Boing, gets bounced out of court originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceBoing Boing | Email this | Comments
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NVIDIA GeForce GT 340 highlights introduction of 300-series cards, none are powerful enough to matter
Is there a tribunal where you can bring up marketing teams for crimes against common sense? NVIDIA's epic rebranding exercise knows no bounds, as the company has now snuck out its very first desktop 300-series cards, but instead of the world-altering performance parts we've always associated with the jump into the 300s, we're getting what are essentially GT 2xx cards in new garb. The GT 340 sports the same 96 CUDA cores, 550MHz graphics and 1,340MHz processor clock speeds as the GT 240 -- its spec sheet is literally identical to the 240 variant with 1,700MHz memory clocks. To be fair to the company, these DirectX 10.1 parts are exclusively for OEMs, so (hopefully) nobody there will be confused into thinking a GT 320 is better than a GTX 295, but we'd still prefer a more lucid nomenclature... and Fermi graphics cards, we'd totally like some of those too.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 340 highlights introduction of 300-series cards, none are powerful enough to matter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista, Fudzilla | sourceNVIDIA | Email this | Comments
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DARPA longs for magnetic body healers, crazy respawn camps
Even DARPA understands that its futuristic bubble shield can be penetrated given the right circumstances, and when it does, the soldier behind it is going to need some serious healing. In a hurry. In the entity's newest budget, there's $6.5 million tucked away "for the creation of a scaffold-free tissue engineering platform, which would allow the construction of large, complex tissues in vitro and in vivo." As you well know, this type of mad science has been around for quite some time, and now it looks as if DARPA is ready for the next best thing: "non-contact forces." Put simply, this alludes to replacing scaffolds with magnetic fields or dielectrophoresis, which could purportedly "control cell placement in a desired pattern for a sufficient period of time to allow the cells to synthesize their own scaffold." It's still too early to say how close we are to being able to instantaneously heal soldiers on the battlefield, but frankly, the public is apt to never know for sure.

DARPA longs for magnetic body healers, crazy respawn camps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceDARPA [PDF], Wired | Email this | Comments
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NVTouch Surface Computer gets you into the multitouch table game for a scant $70k
Want to get all multitouchy with a large-screened table without buying into the Microsoft Surface ecosystem? Are you independently wealthy and a bit of a bring-your-own-x nerd type? Oh, good. The folks at NVision Solutions and Intuilab have teamed up to build the "durable" rear projection NVTouch Surface Computer, which retails for around $70,000. The unit is built around off-the-shelf components like a projector, desktop PC and standard video card, and can be upgraded and customized by NVision or the buyer. Obviously this is centered around commercial applications where buyers are going to be building highly custom apps, but Intuilab has some pretty great concept apps already built for the table as a bit of a jumping off point.

NVTouch Surface Computer gets you into the multitouch table game for a scant $70k originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceNVision Solutions, Intuilab | Email this | Comments
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US Air Force chief: Boeing laser "not operationally viable" as far as you know
Seeing a Boeing 747 destroy a liquid-fueled ballistic missile with a megawatt-class laser is undoubtedly one of the tech highlights of the year so far. Unfortunately, as impressive as the demonstration was, it's unlikely to be militarized in its current state. While the Air Force's chief of staff, General Norton Schwartz, called the demonstration "a magnificent technical achievement," he has no intention of introducing the fat tub of chemical goo into the theater of war. Solid state lasers are the future "coin of the realm," according to Schwartz, not Boeing's chemical laser which he claims, "does not represent something that is operationally viable." Of course, the chemical core of the laser was just a single component of the ALTB that managed to track, target, and destroy a moving projectile from an airborne platform. And while the technology might not be viable for broad deployment, that doesn't mean that it won't be fitted into a special forces AC-130 Gunship for covert operations until solid state lasers (currently limited to about 100kW) achieve megawatt status. Just saying.

US Air Force chief: Boeing laser "not operationally viable" as far as you know originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Defense Tech | sourceDOD Buzz | Email this | Comments
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Thought-control research brings mental channel changing ever closer
Pinky and the Brain don't get nearly the respect they deserve, but then again, neither do the lab coat-wearing boffins who make great strides behind sterilized doors to bring us one step closer to mass laziness. The latest development in the everlasting brain control saga takes us to the University of Washington, where a team of researchers are carefully studying the differences between doing an action and simply imagining the action. So far, they've discovered that interacting with brain-computer interfaces enables patients to create "super-active populations of brain cells." Naturally, this finding holds promise for rehabilitating patients after stroke or other neurological damage, but it also suggests that "a human brain could quickly become adept at manipulating an external device such as a computer interface or a prosthetic limb." Or a remote control, or a Segway, or a railgun. We can't speak for you, but we certainly dig where this is headed. Video of the findings is after the break.

Continue reading Thought-control research brings mental channel changing ever closer

Thought-control research brings mental channel changing ever closer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ExtremeTech | sourceUniversity of Washington | Email this | Comments
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MIT jumps straight to wirelessly powering multiple devices
Ah, wireless power. One of those mythical mysteries that are far more likely to remain "something to strive for" rather than "the next big thing." Oh sure, we've got Palm's Touchstone and the Powermat, but until we can hang a 50-inch plasma from our bedroom ceiling and power it up without a single wire, we'll remain firmly unsatisfied. Thankfully for those of us in that camp, MIT exists, and a few of the school's best and brightest are toiling around the clock in order to develop a technology that would power not one, but multiple devices sans cabling. Thanks to the wonders of coupling resonance, we're told that the "overall power transfer efficiency of the wireless system could be increased by powering multiple devices simultaneously, rather than each device individually." In theory, the system could be implemented by "embedding a large copper coil in the wall or ceiling of a room," but there's obviously no set time frame for release. We'll be looking for you geeks at CES next year, okay?

MIT jumps straight to wirelessly powering multiple devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourcePhysorg | Email this | Comments
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HP MediaSmart EX470 and EX480 getting 3.0 software upgrade option this week
The wild world of rapid-fire phone software updates has spoiled us all, but HP's bringing just a smidgen of that to the world of home servers. This week owners of the last-gen EX470 and EX480 series MediaSmart Servers will be able to nab a DVD that updates their servers to the new 3.0 software currently available on the EX490 and EX495 models, including better Mac support and automatic media transcoding. Unfortunately, this update isn't free: you'll have to pay $25 for the privilege. EX470 / 475 owners are also encouraged to bump their unit up to 1GB of RAM if they haven't already. We aren't thrilled at the fee, but there is something a bit more reassuring in this process than Motorola's "hope and pray" OTA update model.

HP MediaSmart EX470 and EX480 getting 3.0 software upgrade option this week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceWe Got Served | Email this | Comments
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EU launches preliminary antitrust probe against Google
Now that Microsoft's browser selection story is all but settled, it looks like the European Union is gearing up for a new antitrust probe, with its crosshairs aimed generally in Google's direction. According to the search giant's Senior Competition Counsel Julia Holtz (via its European Public Policy Blog), complaints from three European internet companies -- legal search group EJustice.fr, price comparison site Foundem.co.uk, and German-based Microsoft subsidiary Ciao.de -- have prompted the European Commission to launch a preliminary, fact-finding probe. The charges? Anticompetitive practices stemming from unfair downranking of its competitors in search results. Google denies any wrongdoing, while adding ,"we are also the first to admit that our search is not perfect, but it's a very hard computer science problem to crack." The Microsoft connection seems particularly notable to Google; Holtz reiterates that the company had a good relationship with Ciao until the Redmond company picked it up in 2008 -- "we started receiving complaints about our standard terms and conditions." Like we said, at this point it's just a fact-finding probe that could end up going nowhere, but seriously, Google's lawyers cannot seem to get a break these days.

EU launches preliminary antitrust probe against Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WSJ | sourceGoogle | Email this | Comments
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Motorola shows off Kopin Golden-i wearable computer
Our dreams of an actually useful wearable computer have still yet to materialize, but the second-generation Kopin Golden-i concept -- now inconspicuously Motorola-branded -- is an interesting attempt. It's based around a head mounted, magnified SVGA LCD that is meant to be "glanceable" while the user remains aware of their surroundings. The Windows CE-chugging, OMAP3530-powered computer onboard is voice controlled and also motion sensing (for cursor control), and can hook up with other devices over Bluetooth, WiFi and USB. Of course, it remains to be seen if software can make something like this truly usable, but it certainly looks like the hardware is all there -- and the form factor isn't pure tragedy either. Check out the Charbax-infused video demo of the device after the break.

Continue reading Motorola shows off Kopin Golden-i wearable computer

Motorola shows off Kopin Golden-i wearable computer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceARMdevices.net | Email this | Comments
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Editorial: the American phone subsidy model is a RAZR way of thinking in an iPhone world
The concept is simple enough -- pay more, get more. So it has gone (historically, anyway) with phone subsidies in this part of the world, a system that has served us admirably for well over a decade. It made sense, and although it was never spelled out at the customer service counter quite as clearly as any of us would've liked, it was fairly straightforward to understand: you bought a phone on a multi-dimensional sliding scale of attractiveness, functionality, and novelty. By and large, there was a pricing scale that matched up with it one-to-one. You understood that if you wanted a color external display, a megapixel camera, or MP3 playback, you'd pay a few more dollars, and you also understood that you could knock a couple hundred dollars off of that number by signing up to a two-year contract. In exchange for a guaranteed revenue stream, your carrier's willing to throw you a few bucks off a handset -- a square deal, all things considered. So why's the FCC in a tizzy, and how can we make it better?

Continue reading Editorial: the American phone subsidy model is a RAZR way of thinking in an iPhone world

Editorial: the American phone subsidy model is a RAZR way of thinking in an iPhone world originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Google all respond to FCC's ETF inquiry
All of the players roped into the FCC's early termination fee inquiry -- T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and Google -- have met the Fed's February 23 deadline for responding, and needless to say, you could destroy a small forest with the amount of paperwork that's been sent back to Washington. The majority of the inquiry focused on carriers' ETF pricing structure and whether there are different ETFs involved based on the device a customer chooses, and the subtleties in the differences between answers from different carriers are pretty fascinating.

T-Mobile seems resolute that a single $200 ETF is the way to go and emphasizes that its customers can avoid the fee altogether by going with an Even More Plus plan, while Sprint says that it "continue[s] to evaluate the market" with regard to a multiple ETF setup. Google, meanwhile, is quick to note that it's just dropped its $350 Equipment Recovery Fee down to $150, though that amount still effectively represents the only device in T-Mobile's subsidized lineup that commands a grand total ETF greater than $200 upon cancellation -- but it gets even better later on when they get snippy for being lumped in with carriers on the inquiry and remind the FCC that the ERF reduction had been in the planning stages prior to the inquiry being issued. At any rate, they note that the ERF isn't intended as a revenue stream -- rather, it's a way to recoup the losses Google incurs when T-Mobile asks for its commission back if a customer cancels within 120 days (as you might imagine, T-Mobile conveniently fails to mention this point in its own reply).

Verizon -- which effectively triggered this whole mess by introducing its two-tier ETF -- basically echoes much of what it said in its last response, a surprising move considering the Commission's general displeasure with it, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction it garners this time around. AT&T takes perhaps the most pragmatic approach through most of its response, answering the FCC's questions very matter-of-factly, but goes into a great deal of depth rationalizing early termination fees at the tail end and takes the opportunity to remind everyone that they've offered both commitment-free month-to-month and prepaid service for many years.

Something tells us this isn't the last we've heard on the subject, but for the time being, check out everyone's responses in the galleries below (more after the break).

[Thanks, Dan P.]

Gallery: Google's response to FCC's ETF inquiries


Gallery: Verizon's response to FCC's ETF inquiries

Continue reading Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Google all respond to FCC's ETF inquiry

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Google all respond to FCC's ETF inquiry originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG debuts T280 ultralight, X140, X200 netbooks
Well, it looks like MSI isn't the only company churning out new systems in advance of CeBIT -- LG has now also let out word of three new laptops and netbooks ahead of the big show. Leading the pack is the stylish, CULV-based T280 ultralight pictured above, which packs an 11.6-inch display, a choice of a 1.3GHz Pentium dual-core or Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB or 500GB hard drive, and a price ranging from $990 to $1,094. Joining it are the X140 and X200 netbooks, the latter of which actually looks to be identical to the X20 model we spotted at in the FCC's hands earlier this month. Both of those will pack 1.66GHz Atom N450 processors, along with some other seemingly similar specs, but fairly different designs. Dive into the links below for a closer look.

LG debuts T280 ultralight, X140, X200 netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceElectronista, Wayerless | Email this | Comments
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Nikon CoolPix 'Style' and 'Life' series hands-on
What, it wouldn't be a camera convention without Nikon (and everyone else, for that matter) showing off a basket of new point-and-shoots. We knew what the company was bringing -- selections from its "Style" and "Life" series, as well as the P100 superzoom we covered earlier this week -- and now we've gotten our hands on the L22, S4000, L110, and S8000. There isn't much to say, frankly -- a collection of pocket shooters of various feature sets and various price ranges to cater to various demographics and psychographics. Still, we know you need to get that "fix" when it comes to pictures of gadgets, so let's get on with it, shall we?

Gallery: Nikon L22, S4000, L110, and S8000 hands-on

Nikon CoolPix 'Style' and 'Life' series hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Sony's forward Dash
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
In its introductory press release, here's what Sony has to say about the Dash, a "personal Internet viewer" that it announced at CES: "Featuring a vivid 7-inch color touch screen... Dash utilizes an existing home wireless connection to continuously deliver Internet content to its viewers." And according to its SonyStyle.com site, here's what that Dash has to say about itself: "I use over 1,500 free apps and your Wi-Fi connection to deliver the information and entertainment you crave... right to your bedroom, kitchen or office." But Dash also has something to say about Sony, and for the most part, it's an encouraging message.

Dash was one of the more distinct category-blurring products to emerge from Las Vegas in January. Its hardware is a hybrid between an alarm clock and digital picture frame and its content is a content mashup between Chumby widgets and Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link offering. Dash was introduced just a few months after HP introduced its DreamScreen, another product that provides "glanceable" information from the cloud.

Continue reading Switched On: Sony's forward Dash

Switched On: Sony's forward Dash originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad confirmed to use PowerVR SGX graphics, Apple job posting suggests A4 chip will hit other products
It may not be as big a surprise as the A4 itself was, but Apple has now confirmed via the latest iPad SDK Beta 3 documentation that the iPad does indeed use PowerVR SGX graphics hardware as part of its custom system-on-a-chip, which flatly contradicts previous reports of A4 using Mali, and lines up with what our pal Anand Shimpi has been telling us lately. What Apple doesn't confirm, unfortunately, is exactly which chip in the PowerVR SGX family the iPad uses, so it's still at least possible that it could pack a bigger punch than the iPhone or iPod touch.

In related news, a recent Apple job posting has now also offered up the first hard evidence that Apple might actually be putting its huge investment in A4 to use other platforms besides the iPad -- shocking, we know. That job is for an Engineering Manager, who would lead a team focused on the "bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms," and would otherwise be responsible for "low level platform architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware platforms" -- experience with ARM-based SoCs is also an "additional success factor." Sound like the job you've been waiting for? Then hit up the link below for the complete details.

iPad confirmed to use PowerVR SGX graphics, Apple job posting suggests A4 chip will hit other products originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW | sourceApple, Mac Rumors | Email this | Comments
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MSI announces GT660 gaming laptop ahead of CeBIT
We've already heard about some of the systems MSI has in store for CeBIT -- including a 3D-capable Wind Top -- but it looks like the company still has bit more lined up, including this new GT660 gaming laptop. In addition to the requisite red accents to make it go faster, this one packs a quad-core Core i7 processor, along with GeForce GTX 285M and, just as notably, some USB 3.0 ports to ensure your peripherals are just as speedy. Still no word on a price or other specifics, but MSI is promising to say more about this and the rest of its new systems at CeBIT next week.

MSI announces GT660 gaming laptop ahead of CeBIT originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PA school district issued order to refrain from webcam spying (video)
Why a school district would ever think it was acceptable to secretly snap pictures of its students -- in their own homes, no less -- is totally beyond us, but with any luck the Lower Merion School District webcam caper will soon have its day court. Yesterday, an attorney for plaintiff Blake Robbins' confirmed that an agreement was reportedly finalized to stop the school from spying on its students while preserving evidence for the lawsuit. "What gets me in this situation is that I can't imagine there's a parent anywhere who would support the school district's actions here," said ACLU of Pennsylvania Legal Director (and all around good guy) Vic Walczak. "[W]hat the school allegedly has done here is the equivalent of the principal breaking into the house, hiding in the child's closet, and then watching him or her from there." Yuck! For more info on the technical aspects of this case, peep the video after the break.

Update: Seems that someone dug up some of the school's policies surrounding the webcam surveillance, and suffice it to say, the bullet points listed here are downright crazy. How crazy? How's about "possession of a monitored MacBook was required for classes, and possession of an unmonitored personal computer was forbidden and would be confiscated." Oh, and "disabling the camera was impossible."

Continue reading PA school district issued order to refrain from webcam spying (video)

PA school district issued order to refrain from webcam spying (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceLaptop Magazine | Email this | Comments
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iPhone SDK 3.2 moves on to beta round 3 (update: it's been pulled)
As we march toward the inevitability of a post-iPad world, so marches the development of iPhone SDK 3.2 -- and this time, we're on to beta 3. There's no word yet on what's changed, but unless you're a registered (and paid) member of Apple's iPhone Developer Program, it doesn't much matter to you seeing how you can't get in on the download. Keep us abreast of the trials, tribulations, highs, and lows of your downloads and installs, won't you?

Update: TUAW now reports that beta 3's been pulled, but it's not yet clear why. We'll fill you in more as we find out.

Update 2: iPadInsider reports that a Photos app has been added to the emulator, and there's a Camera tab in it -- possibly corroborating evidence that there'll be a camera in some version of the iPad, but more likely a tool for the camera connection kit.

Update 3: MacRumors has a couple more interesting details. Looks like there's a couple of lines in the code that suggest a front-facing camera (as often rumored), zoom, and camera flash is in the cards. Additionally, there's iPad-sized "Accept" and "Decline" buttons with video camera-related iconography. We know what you're thinking, but we still wouldn't advise getting your hopes up anytime soon. It's not good for your heart, y'know.

iPhone SDK 3.2 moves on to beta round 3 (update: it's been pulled) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW | sourceApple | Email this | Comments
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Windows Phone 7 Series getting one chassis spec at launch, two more in the pipe?
If we had it boil it down, the singular image burned in our brains of Windows Phone 7 Series so far is that of a large, nondescript slate -- the so-called "dogfood" device being passed around internally for the platform's development -- and although Microsoft isn't talking specs at this point, it's widely believed that this phone roughly represents the Chassis 1 spec that Redmond is passing around to hardware partners. Is this the only way you'll be able to get your WinPho 7 served to you, though? We might yet be months away from an official answer, but a pair of Microsoft developer evangelists on an Australian podcast are saying that Chassis 1 (full touchscreen, gigahertz processor, and dedicated graphics acceleration) will be the sole option at launch, with Chassis 2 and 3 following on after that. 2 is said to be "more like a Palm Treo" with a dedicated QWERTY keyboard, while 3 remains a mystery, though there's some speculation on the podcast that it could be a candybar -- a form factor that's becoming something of a lost art these days, particularly among smartphones. The speakers note that there's a lot of value in offering some form factor variety -- not everyone wants a keyboardless slate, after all -- so the real question might be how quickly after initial launch we'll see some of these other chassis filter down to retail.

Windows Phone 7 Series getting one chassis spec at launch, two more in the pipe? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink the::unwired, All About Microsoft | sourceFranklySpeaking | Email this | Comments
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Microsoft's Project Natal lag calculated to be a tenth of a second
Eager for a bit more Project Natal news now that Jonathan Ross let slip what may or may not be a launch date? Then you're in luck, as MTV's Multiplayer blog has taken advantage of a recent Natal demo session to peg down exactly how much lag we can expect from the motion-sensing system (assuming it's not fine-tuned any further, that is). After timing some 40 movements with a stopwatch, the site found that "life-to-screen" transitions ranged from 0.08 seconds to 0.12 seconds, or about a tenth of a second on average. That's obviously a bit slower than the response of an old fashioned controller (or even a Wiimote, for that matter), and is just enough to be noticeable when you're playing. Of course, it's the games that will ultimately matter the most, and we still haven't seen much more news on that front.

Microsoft's Project Natal lag calculated to be a tenth of a second originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceMTV Multiplayer | Email this | Comments
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Acer tables e-reader plans, says market is 'not that big'
What's this we hear? Is it the distant thunder of sanity emanating from Acer's Taiwanese headquarters? The Taipei Times is reporting this morning Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang's announcement that his company will not be releasing an ebook reader "for now." It was only a month ago that Jeng-tang and his crew were telling the world about the aggressive inroads they were going to make into the Amazon-dominated e-reader market, but it appears some second-guessing has been taking place in those Taipei boardrooms, which has led to the scrapping of the earlier plans. Considering the absolute glut of interchangeable E Ink devices out there, we have to agree with Acer's perspective; you either have to come up with something unique -- like the Nook, the Edge, or the Adam -- or just focus your energies elsewhere. Good job on remembering that we're more interested in seeing that mysterious ultrathin laptop than just another run of the mill 6-inch e-reader.

Acer tables e-reader plans, says market is 'not that big' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink E-Reader-info | sourceTaipei Times | Email this | Comments
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Nokia VP: N97 taught company some tough lessons
It's unusual for a company to publicly admit its shortcomings -- particularly a company as big, proud, and resolute as Nokia generally seems to be -- but an All About Symbian / Mobile Industry Review joint interview with Anssi Vanjoki, vice president of markets, at MWC last week painted a very different picture with regard to Espoo's views on the maligned N97. Though he says that the phone absolutely met the company's goals for sales volume and revenue, it was a "tremendous disappointment in terms of the experience quality for the consumers and something [they] did not anticipate." This isn't a sob story, though: he uses the opportunity to note that they've completely closed the gap on software quality for the flagship device, launching new firmware first in Norway where the response has been positive. Considering that the N97 was announced way back in 2008, there's realistically nothing Nokia can do to give the phone a second wind atop the lineup, but Vanjoki seems genuinely convinced that they've learned some hard lessons and swallowed some tough pills throughout its life cycle -- and those lessons will bear fruit when Symbian^3-based products roll around. Here's hoping.

Nokia VP: N97 taught company some tough lessons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | sourceAll About Symbian | Email this | Comments
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MagiTact hands-free phone control makes multitouch seem absolutely passe
Are you sick of your needy cellphone, always asking that you pick it up in order to perform essential tasks? Well, the brain wizards at Deutsche Telekom (pictured above) have just the thing for you: MagiTact is an app that uses your phone's compass (provided your phone has a compass) to track changes in the magnetic field around the device. This creates the possibility of a whole host of gesture-based commands, such as silencing a ringing phone or terminating a call, without having physical contact with the device -- as long as you're wearing magnetic rings on your fingers. Another interesting possibility is a pinch-to-zoom function that takes place behind the phone, so your fingers don't obscure the map as you speed away from that ill-fated bank heist -- but seeing as how the technology still only works about ninety percent of the time, we wouldn't recommend using it to make your getaway. [Warning: source link requires subscription]

[Thanks, Ernesto]

MagiTact hands-free phone control makes multitouch seem absolutely passe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink New Scientist | sourceInternational Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces | Email this | Comments
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HTC Legend clears the FCC
We haven't heard much about much more than a rumored German price when it comes to HTC Legend availability, but the phone has now cleared the FCC, which could well indicate that it's headed over here sooner rather than later. No other details (or pictures), unfortunately, but you can dive into a few test reports at the link below if that's your thing. And if, for some reason, you've yet to be acquainted with the Legend (a.k.a. "the return of the chin"), you can check out our hands-on from Mobile World Congress right here.

HTC Legend clears the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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