Tuesday, August 24, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 24/08/2010



Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tab gets spied in the wild (video)
Man, you just can't hide your gadgets from curious onlookers these days. Case in point: Samsung's Galaxy Tab was innocently doing some testing rounds through Sydney recently, only to be happened upon by the Electronista scribes, who diligently videotaped it -- seemingly without the knowledge of the tablet's possessor. The video confirms what we already know, it's a 7-inch tablet, it'll be driven by an Android, and it looks very much like a giant cellphone. The Samsung employee describes it as "awesome" and very different from the iPad's experience, while the UI apparently looked very responsive. Go after the break to see for yourself.Continue reading Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tab gets spied in the wild (video)
Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tab gets spied in the wild (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceElectronista  | Email this | Comments
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Stamp $50 Android tablet prototype raises eyebrows in India and beyond (video)
Stamp (no relation to Terence) is an Android-powered tablet that's making waves mostly for its price: $50. AllGo Embedded Systems has been leaking information out since April, and while there's nothing incredible revolutionary here (Android 2.1, MPEG-4 / H.264 Video playback, USB mass storage support, WiFi connectivity, FM radio, NAND or SD-card boot), in light of the much-ballyhooed $35 tablet it's good to see a comparatively priced platform that you won't need to be either a student in India (or purchase a million units) to get your hands on. Of course, a lot can happen between now and... whenever the thing is released, but don't let that get you down. It looks like the age of low-powered Android tablets is coming closer every day. And that can only be a good thing, right? Video after the break.
Continue reading Stamp $50 Android tablet prototype raises eyebrows in India and beyond (video)
Stamp $50 Android tablet prototype raises eyebrows in India and beyond (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Lilliputing  |  sourceAllGo Embedded Systems  | Email this | Comments
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Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one
Just under two months ago, Seagate pushed the capacity envelope once more by introducing a $250 3TB hard drive meant to be used by archivists the world over. It all sounds peachy on paper, but AnandTech managed to uncover a dirty little secret about the drive that serious power users should know about. For starters, the crew cracked open the case to find a 3.5-inch, five platter Barracuda XT -- that's a drive that Seagate doesn't intend to sell for internal use until the end of the year, but it's available now if you're willing to spring for its enclosure. Reviewers actually fell for the overall design, but they noticed right away just how little ventilation options there were. Needless to say, that point came back to bite the drive once data had been transferring over for a few hours, as temperatures soared beyond the 140 degree Fahrenheit mark and transfer rates plummeted. Seagate affirmed that those high temperatures were within spec, but critics felt that running it as such for extended periods may harm the longevity; it's obviously a gamble you'll be taking if you need this much space within a single drive, but we'd recommend hitting that source link before making a decision that could burn you down the road.
Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceAnandTech  | Email this | Comments
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Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)
In a world where smartphone unlock patterns and PINs can be easily gleaned from display muck, and computer passwords can be deciphered from the telltale audible clicks of the keyboard, it's any wonder that research is funded for alternative identity verification schemes. One promising technology is face verification -- technology we've already seen implemented in webcams, laptops, and more recently, Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360. Where we haven't seen it broadly deployed is in the easy-to-lose smartphone, at least not with the level of sophistication achieved by the University of Manchester (UK). Using an N900, the research team developed a prototype that quickly locks and tracks 22 facial features in real time (even when upside down) using the Nokia's front-facing camera. The Active Appearance modeling technique was developed for the EU-funded Mobile Biometrics (MoBio) project as a means of using face verification to authenticate smartphone access to social media sites. Unfortunately, there's no mention of how long Manchester's face-verified login actually takes. Nevertheless, the video, apparently shot in a steam room full of hot man smudge, is worth a peep after the break.Continue reading Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)
Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceUniversity of Manchester  | Email this | Comments
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LG E900 stars in Windows Phone 7-themed video homage to Mr. Blurrycam
Whatever wraps Windows Phone 7 handsets were being kept under seem to have all but vanished. Following in the glorious footsteps of the Samsung i917, the HTC Schubert, and its own brand-mate, the C900, here we have LG's E900 WP7 device. It does away with the physical keyboard of its brother, allowing for an aggressively thin design, and still features Microsoft's mandated three buttons across the bottom, though only the Start key is delineated in white. It would seem the Back and Search buttons either haven't yet received their lick of paint or are going to be kept monochromatic to stick with the minimalistic aesthetic. Slide past the break to see the E900 in richly blurred motion.Continue reading LG E900 stars in Windows Phone 7-themed video homage to Mr. Blurrycam
LG E900 stars in Windows Phone 7-themed video homage to Mr. Blurrycam originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink wmpoweruser  |  sourceabcod112 (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments
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Acer's JT Wang: iPad's market share will drop to about 20 percent, maybe less
You can read that as bitter hype; then again, we're looking at a company that's known to live up to its words. In a recent interview with UDN, Acer Inc. Chairman JT Wang echoed ASUS' recent forecast regarding the iPad's erosion of the netbook market in the US and UK, although he also pointed out that netbooks are still selling like hotcakes in developing countries. As for the tablet market itself, Wang believes that Apple's closed camp operation will ultimately bow to other joint forces once the market matures, thus lowering the iPad's current near-100 percent share to somewhere between 20 and 30 percent. Hell, the man even suggested this could be an over-estimation, and referred to the Mac's minuscule 5 percent global share over the last few years. And you know what? He might be right. That doesn't mean that the iPad's days are numbered though since Apple's never been interested in taking part in the "race to the bottom." Apple measures success by profits, not market share -- even a small percentage of high-margin laptop and smartphone sales has proven to be a very good thing for Apple's bottom line. Besides, if open is such a great thing, we'd like to question Wang on what caused the Windows-based tablets to flop in the first place? Regardless, this would certainly be another prediction to look out for in a few years' time.
Acer's JT Wang: iPad's market share will drop to about 20 percent, maybe less originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Demon aims to please British gamers with 'very low latency,' traffic-prioritizing broadband service
You could well be a pro at getting virtual headshots, but without a decent internet connection, your shooting is just as good as a baby weeing aimlessly at the ceiling. As such, Demon -- which may or may not be a hint about the operator -- reckons some obsessed gamers wouldn't mind switching over to its £21.99 ($34.19) per month Game Pro service, in return for a low latency ADSL2+ broadband connection of up to 20Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. Sure, this is hardly a bargain compared to other 20Mbps offerings, but with traffic prioritization, a static IP address, and 24-hour support all in the box, you might actually start winning for a change.Continue reading Demon aims to please British gamers with 'very low latency,' traffic-prioritizing broadband service
Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceDemon  | Email this | Comments
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Cowon X7 materializes from the ether into a real life FCC applicant
Alright, so this isn't quite like seeing Duke Nukem Forever popping up on Walmart shelves, but the Cowon X7 has been a long time in the making. Rumored since 2007, the Korean company's portable media player has now finally sauntered up to America's Communications Commission to dot some Is and cross some Ts. We're let into the knowledge that it'll come with a Bluetooth radio and a HDD of some kind, which GenerationMP3 speculates will be a 1.8-inch unit. Really now, a spinny thing in our PMP feels better suited to good old '07, but then if Cowon can combine some capacious storage with a large screen, it could still have a winner on its hands. Particularly if the rumblings of Android as the OS turn out to be true.
Cowon X7 materializes from the ether into a real life FCC applicant originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink anythingbutipod  |  sourceGenerationMP3  | Email this | Comments
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Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal
Technically speaking, we already know what Toshiba's Smart Pad will look like. It was waved around in Australia briefly, and these shots seem to match it perfectly, but corroboration for their validity is otherwise light on the ground. Should you opt to trust them, after the break you'll find visual confirmation for the HDMI and USB ports already promised by Toshiba, along with a memory card reader and a pleasingly slender profile. The four touch buttons on its right side just scream Android as the operating system, and the whole thing again reminds us of the Compal tablet we saw back at CES and subsequently accused of being a Toshiba-in-waiting. Notebook Italia expects this bad boy to step out of the shadows properly at IFA this year, and we already know Toshiba is cranking hard on bringing us a tablet of some description by the end of October. Fun times ahead, eh?Continue reading Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal
Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceNotebook Italia  | Email this | Comments
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Iron Man Xbox 360 escapes Stark Industries, heads right to eBay
Halo-inspired Xbox 360? Check. Xbox 360 laptop? Seen it. Xbox 360 fused with a PS3? Yep. A Tony Stark-approved Xbox 360? Thanks to one Zachariah Perry Cruse, we can now add this beaut to the list. This here design student managed to use his summer vacation for a little more than weekend jaunts to Gary, putting an awful lot of blood, sweat and fear into his very own Iron Man Xbox 360. Naturally, it's the older, less slimmer 360 console, complete with a 120GB hard drive and an HDMI socket. There's a video of the LEDs doing their thing after the break, and that eBay link will get you where you need to be if you're a prospective buyer. And let's be honest here -- you are a prospective buyer.Continue reading Iron Man Xbox 360 escapes Stark Industries, heads right to eBay
Iron Man Xbox 360 escapes Stark Industries, heads right to eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceZachariah Perry Cruse, eBay  | Email this | Comments
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Germany slapping RFID tags on its populace for the sake of brisker bureaucracy
ID cards and RFID tags are similar in one key respect: they get a lot of bad press -- one for constricting civil liberties, the other for being a lousy security risk -- and yet are widely used around the world. It's fitting, therefore, that Germany has decided to marry the two for the latest version of its own personalausweis. Dutch company NXP has begun production of the requisite RFID chips for these new slices of plastic, which will roll out from the beginning of November this year. The Deutsch state sees a vastly expanded role for the modernized cards, including validating your identity for online shopping and communicating with your local authority (e-government, they call it). And, of course, your biometric data is loaded onto the chip as well, just to make things nice and neat. You know, we remember the good old days when identity theft used to be hard.
Germany slapping RFID tags on its populace for the sake of brisker bureaucracy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceInternational Business Times  | Email this | Comments
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Dell ships 10.1-inch Inspiron Mini 1018 to Europe, heading elsewhere soon
Looking for yet another Mini 10 netbook? How's about one with a curvaceous chassis modeled after the Inspiron R series? Dell's just pushed out the Inspiron Mini 1018 across the pond, offering a £279 ($434) starting price along with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, a 10.1-inch WSVGA (1,024 x 600) resolution display, Windows 7 Starter, 1GB of DDR3 memory, 802.11n WiFi, a 250GB hard drive, inbuilt webcam and a fresh coat of Obsidian Black paint. It's available now for those in the correct region, but the outfit has already stated that it'll be shipping to other lands "soon." Stoked, aren't ya?

[Thanks, iamnotjamesh]
Dell ships 10.1-inch Inspiron Mini 1018 to Europe, heading elsewhere soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Liliputing  |  sourceDell  | Email this | Comments
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Two universities adopt Wii Fit to monitor football concussions
As it turns out, there are quite a few uses for a $100 off-the-shelf computerized scale, above and beyond getting fit -- Nintendo's Wii Balance Board is now providing a mechanism by which college football teams at Ohio State University and the University of Maryland can cheaply determine whether players are suffering from concussions. Taking the place of force plate machines that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the white plastic boards measure students' balance (using yoga poses) and coordination (in Table Tilt) before a game, to provide a frame of reference against which trainers can measure whether athletes are fit to keep playing. Though some scholars found Wii Fit didn't stack up favorably against the expensive force plates, the universities trialing the system called it "pretty decent," so the question is whether Nintendo's peripheral offers a reasonable enough benchmark for the price. We suppose the American Heart Association liked it well enough.
Two universities adopt Wii Fit to monitor football concussions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Switched  |  sourceWashington Post  | Email this | Comments
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Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced
Kodak just kicked out a pair of devices with its Playtouch pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 point and shoot. Kodak's $229.95 Playtouch is capable of shooting image stabilized 1080p video with stereo audio to SDHC cards. A 3-inch capacitive touchscreen gives you plenty of room to edit your pics (or extract a still) on camera before flipping out the USB arm for a quick PC transfer. Otherwise, an HDMI jack lets you pump that digital keepsake right to the living room television without the PC assist. Rounding things out are an external microphone jack and Share button that makes it easy to push those memories to YouTube or FaceBook, or send via email if that's your preference. Kodak's rather mundane $199.99 EasyShare M590 is being billed as the world's slimmest digital camera with 5x optical zoom. Otherwise, things simmer down with a 2.7-inch LCD, some kind of image stabilization, face recognition, unspecified HD video capture, and microSD card support. And as you'd expect, the M590 also features a Share button that makes tagging and uploading photos and video to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube a snap. Image and PR after the break. Expect both cameras to ship sometime in the fall.Continue reading Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced
Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Android developer anecdotally claims AdMob brings home the bacon
In February 2009, Arron La's $0.99 Advanced Task Manager was one of the first paid apps on Android, allowing T-Mobile G1 users to do what was then a novel thing -- close applications. (We immediately bought a copy.) Today, the app is all but obsolete, its functionality baked right into Android's core, but Arron's still making thousands of dollars a month. Why do we bring this up? Because nine months after Arron released the pay-first version, he unleashed an ad-supported variant as well... and since that day, each has contributed about the same amount ($30,000) of money. It's not exactly an object lesson in what's possible on the 70,000-application-strong Android Market, as this gentleman obviously had quite the head start, but it does show that when it comes time to monetize your best-thing-since-sliced-bread app, there's more than one option -- ads can be an equally good revenue source. Find rays of hope for indie development (and several stormy clouds for comparison) at the links below.

Update: Did we say 50,000 apps? We meant more like 70K and counting as of July. Thanks to the astute commenters who pointed this out.

[Thanks, Shannon G.]
Android developer anecdotally claims AdMob brings home the bacon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceArron La  | Email this | Comments
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Redspotgames has plans for further Dreamcast development
Whether you're still lugging around that old Dreamcast, or you have a new-fangled mod or an emulator of some sort handy, have heart: you're not the only one keeping the dream alive! If the kids at Redspotgames have their way, they'll keep publishing games for the venerable (and defunct) console -- that is, according to marketing and sales director Adrian Loudero, who spent some time chatting with Joystiq at Gamescon last week. "We have seen some stuff on the PC, and we [are] talking to to the companies to see if they will agree to release on the Dreamcast," he said. "We also have plans for 2011, maybe a new release, but this is really all I can say right now." Attention to the beloved platform is a labor of love, obviously -- the company sells "a few thousand copies" of titles it releases, and has recently started developing games for WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade to stay afloat. Whatever it takes, right?
Redspotgames has plans for further Dreamcast development originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Inhabitat's Week in Green: nanotech tea, pollution-sucking stones and the world's most efficient car
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
This week we saw the shattering of a new record as NYC's high-tech One Bryant Park skyscraper achieved LEED Platinum certification, making it the world's greenest office tower. We also turned over a new high-tech paving stone that can absorb airborne pollution and visited a hyper-efficient solar city in Germany that is able to produce four times the amount of energy that it consumes.

The world of efficient transportation is also heating up as four electric vehicles blazed a trail through Europe in a race to circle the globe in 80 days. We also watched a team of DeLaSalle students unveil the world's most efficient zero-emissions car and took a look at an incredible electrified Porsche. Finally, sun-powered transportation reached for the stars as NASA unveiled plans to launch its solar NanoSail into space this fall.

Nanotechnology is also changing lives here on earth as researchers revealed a nanotech tea bag that can purify a liter of drinking water for less than a penny. And speaking of liquid refreshment, this week we took a plunge in Manhattan's new recycled dumpster swimming pools -- and brought back tons of photos! But summer won't last forever, so if you're gearing up to head back to school next month be sure to check out our top picks for the best solar-powered book bags.
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Confirmed: Galaxy S unlock codes are stored in your phone, Vibrant capable of AT&T 3G
Sure, the Samsung Vibrant's a T-Mobile device and the Samsung Captivate belongs to AT&T, but there's no longer any reason you can't swap them around -- all you need is a simple script and a USB cable to completely unlock your phone. Dagentooboy of XDA-Developers discovered that Galaxy S unlock codes aren't kept in a secure remote server, but merely stored in a .BAK file on the device itself, which you find with a hex editor and key right in when inserting a new SIM card of your choice. We tested it out on both Vibrant and Captivate and were up and running in less than five minutes each time, and wonder of wonders, the Vibrant gave us a 3G data connection (with 2Mbps down) using an AT&T SIM. Sadly, we can't say the inverse for the Captivate, which pulled down standard EDGE speeds on T-Mobile, but this is already far more than the hacking community could have hoped for. The best part? None of this requires you to actually root the phone, and if you're worried about warranty you can re-lock the handset with the very same code.

[Thanks, Brad]

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Permalink   |  sourceXDA-Developers  | Email this | Comments
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Entelligence: One device to rule them all -- or not
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

The introduction of the third generation Kindle has reignites the debate over the role of dedicated vs. converged devices. Five years ago, device segmentation was easy: phones made calls, music players played music and cameras took pictures. Even two years ago, integrated devices remained differentiated from standalone devices that provided greater features and capabilities. But some now feel the market for dedicated e-book readers like the Kindle and Nook will soon disappear, subsumed by devices like tablets and smartphones capable of delivering e-books along with other content, applications and services.

It certainly feels to some degree that converged functionality is replacing the standalone and dedicated device. Look at the state-of-the-art iPod touch today and the state-of-the-art iPod of just three years ago. Compare the camera on your phone to the point and shoot digital of just four years ago. The argument seems strong for converged rather than dedicated and standalone devices.

I think the reality is a little more complicated.Continue reading Entelligence: One device to rule them all -- or not
Entelligence: One device to rule them all -- or not originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung Blu-ray players won't play Warner, Universal movies after firmware update, require a rollback
As annoying as continuous Blu-ray player updates are, usually having the latest one is the best way to play more movies. Unfortunately the opposite was the case for Samsung (again) with the v2.09 update posted recently for its 2009 BD-Px600 line of players. Forum posters on CNET and AVSForum report the upgrade blocked them from playing Universal and Warner Bros. movies, which conveniently lock up after displaying the title image. Samsung's rolled back to an older firmware version (v2.07) on its support site that should fix things for now, but with some users still having problems downgrading, all they can do is wait for the next update, whenever that arrives. Some help line reps have said the new version should arrive "in a couple of weeks," but it's not like you really wanted to watch Clash of the Titans or Book of Eli right now anyway, right?

[Thanks, CJ Robinson]
Permalink   |  sourceCNET Forums, AVSForum  | Email this | Comments
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Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video)
Thought the page-turning Macallan was nifty? You ain't seen nothing yet -- The Astonishing Tribe (the brains behind the look of Android) aims to give you billowing, rippling cloth-like curtains of clever interactive content with their concept Velvet UI. Pull out a widget or Google Maps query, and a sheet of your desired result waves with the virtual wind, before stretching out flat for you to more comfortably interact with. Running on MeeGo (and apparently possible on Android) it's built with the company's proprietary UI framework, so don't expect it to hit tablets anytime soon unless someone throws them some bucks. Also see: TAT's other impressive concepts. Video after the break.Continue reading Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video)
Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink MobileLivingRoom.de  |  sourceTAT Mobile User Interface Blog  | Email this | Comments
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Bell HTC Legend prematurely put out to pasture due to AMOLED supply constraints?
HTC Legend prematurely put out to pasture due to AMOLED supply constraints?
It's a sad day for fans of Android, brushed aluminum exteriors, and retina-searing AMOLED displays. Bell's HTC Legend seems to have come to the end of its days, the provider moving the phone to "end of life" status due to "ongoing supply constraints from the manufacturer." Phandroid speculates this is due to AMOLED shortages slowing down HTC manufacturing, and that certainly seems like a reasonable conclusion. We also checked out some other suppliers of the phone and they too are not listing it in stock, so this could be a rather abrupt end of the road for one of the best looking, though not necessarily best performing, Android handsets.

Update: David D. wrote in to point out this Forbes article pointing out that chip shortages could also be at least partly to blame here.

[Thanks, Tati]
Bell HTC Legend prematurely put out to pasture due to AMOLED supply constraints? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Phandroid  |  sourceMobileSyrup  | Email this | Comments
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Motorola clamps down on Droid X's leaked Android 2.2 upgrade with cease and desist scare
Hoping to spoon-feed your Droid X some Froyo before the official OTA rollout? You'd better do it now -- Motorola's sending out cease and desist emails in an attempt to shut the leaked ROM down. We can't say whether it's just red tape or to protect customers from a EVO 4G-like non-final build, but for whatever reason Motorola's director of information security is asking sites like MyDroidWorld to remove the files ASAP. Given the company's recent history with the mod community, however, we imagine there's some sort of walled-garden reason behind it.
[Thanks, Dustin D.]
Permalink DroidForums.net  |  sourceMy Droid World  | Email this | Comments
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Cleveland approves $2.5 million for RFID recycling bins (update)
When it comes to trash can technology, there's little doubt the United Kingdom is on top, what with the bomb-proof and RFID-laden bins denizens have been subjected to for years. Still, the US has trialed traceable cans for some time now, and the city of Cleveland, Ohio's just decided to make them stick, shelling out $2.5 million last week for 150,000 households worth of electronically-accountable recycling. Unlike prior garbage tracing schemes, however, citizens won't be charged according to the raw weight of undesirables in their can, but rather tested to make sure at least 10 percent of the recycling bin's contents are actually recyclable -- else face a $100 fine. That may sound a little pricey, but let's face facts: if 91 percent of what you toss in your recycling bin is garbage, you're not exactly helping the planet. they aren't throwing recycling in the trash bin instead. If over 10% of a resident's trash is actually recyclable, they're slapped with a $100 fine, a costly reminder to take better care of the planet next time.

Update: We read it wrong; it's actually your trash can that's measured for recyclables. That makes much more sense! [Thanks, Adam Z.]
Cleveland approves $2.5 million for RFID recycling bins (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink CNET  |  sourceCleveland.com  | Email this | Comments
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Best Buy 'making tablets a focus' this holiday season, might stock one from Rocketfish
If you waltz into your local Best Buy today, you'll find precisely one tablet for sale: Apple's iPad. By the time this holiday season rolls around, though, that'll all be different. We've heard from Steve Ballmer that Microsoft intends for Windows 7 to be powering quite a few tablet devices in the near future, but it's been somewhat difficult to nail down exact time frames for release outside of Samsung's Q3-bound Galaxy Tab (which won't even run Windows). According to Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile, the company will be making "tablets a focus... going into the holidays." He continued: "Like e-readers over the last couple years, we think customers will think of Best Buy for tablets and expect us to have the right ones." He wouldn't go so far as to confirm the models or brands of any headed Best Buy's way, but we're seeing even more hints that those Rocketfish images tweeted a few weeks ago may indeed foreshadow a holiday launch. We sure hope Santa's ready to deal with the onslaught.
Permalink   |  sourceForbes  | Email this | Comments
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Virgin Mobile USA fortells unlimited prepaid mobile broadband for $40 a month
Whereas AT&T's move to tiered smartphone data pricing signaled "the end of unlimited" to some, Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile USA has just defied that notion with an all-you-can-eat broadband buffet priced at $40 per month. First reported by IntoMobile and confirmed today on the carrier's Facebook page, the plan will replace existing $20, $40 and $60 monthly offerings that currently top out at just 5GB, so only those accustomed to paying $20 a month (for 300MB) won't get a totally sweet deal. As you can see above, the $10 for 100MB over 10 days plan will still stay pat, so you can still choose whether to sip or gulp down Sprint network packets when the plans purportedly go into effect on August 24th.
Virgin Mobile USA fortells unlimited prepaid mobile broadband for $40 a month originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceIntoMobile  | Email this | Comments
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Apple attempts to patent kill switch that roots out unauthorized users, detects jailbreaks
744diggsdigg Just about every mobile operating system manufacturer can remotely delete apps from the smartphones they help provide, but if a recent patent application is any indication, Apple's looking to lock down the whole enchilada on future devices. The basic concept is as simple as the diagram above -- certain activities trigger the phone to think it's in the wrong hands -- but the particular activities and particular remedies Apple suggests extend to audiovisual spying (to detect if a user has a different face or voice than the owner), and complete remote shutdown. While the patent mostly sounds targeted at opt-in security software and would simply send you an alert or perform a remote wipe if your phone were stolen or hacked, jailbreaking and unlocking are also explicitly mentioned as the marks of an unauthorized user, and one line mentions that cellular carriers could shut down or cripple a device when such a user is detected. Sounds great for securing phones at retail, sure, but personally we'd rather devices don't determine our authority by monitoring our heartbeat (seriously, that's an option) and we're plenty happy with the existing Find My iPhone app.
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Switched On: Gluts and glory
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Before the mass adoption of smartphones in the U.S., many fretted that the heavy subsidization model was feeding a free handset model that would keep Americans hopelessly addicted to basic voice plans and phones optimized for them. The price consumers paid in relation to the value of the handset, it was argued, was hopelessly out of whack. This year, a string of successful smartphones have shown that an increasing percentage of U.S. consumers are willing to pay $200 for a flagship device. On the other hand, there's still ample evidence that price and value can remain disconnected. And the carriers aren't making it much easier.

The smartphone surge has been driven in part by a desire to acquire the best and by a response to carrier advertising. However, a recent run-up in advanced smartphones have made it difficult to define a clear top of the line at many carriers, and carriers simply cannot promote them all with the same attention lavished on the iPhone or original Droid. Take the turn of events at Verizon, for example, which in the space of a few months has rolled out the Droid Incredible, Droid X and Droid 2, with the Samsung Fascinate in the wings. At least the first three have been all priced at $199, with strong precedent for the Fascinate coming in at that level. And while AT&T has been a bit more diverse in the operating systems of its recent spate of high-end contenders -- the iPhone 4, BlackBerry Torch and Samsung Captivate -- they too have all been priced at $199.Continue reading Switched On: Gluts and glory
Switched On: Gluts and glory originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Exclusive: Motorola MB520 'Kobe' boasts a Droid X-esque UI, AT&T affinity
11diggsdigg What is Motorola Kobe? The device, also known by its model number MB520, seems to be popping up on a couple of certification websites. UPnP Forum certified it on June 16, 2010 (listed as "Kobe ATT"), and additionally on July 8th the smartphone quietly got a thumbs up from the WiFi Alliance for single band (2.4GHz) 802.11b/g/n. Of course, an IEEE standard does not a phone make, and so we've been in touch with a trusted source who's provided us with specifications of the device, as well as screencaps of some benchmarks results and the all-important About Phone page.

The Kobe is a slate-style smartphone currently featuring Android 2.1 with a Motoblur skin reminiscent of Droid 2 / Droid X's UI. We're told it has a 3.5-inch LCD with 480 x 854 resolution, a 800MHz TI OMAP processor (either 3440 or an underclocked 3630), PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, 512MB RAM, 2GB internal storage and a bundled 2GB microSD card, and a 3 megapixel camera (without flash). It currently comes loaded with Swype, Vlingo, and DNLA support. We gotta say, camera notwithstanding, this sounds like a pretty appealing addition to AT&T's growing Android lineup. Hit up the gallery below for benchmark scores.
Gallery: Motorola MB520 'Kobe' benchmark scores
Exclusive: Motorola MB520 'Kobe' boasts a Droid X-esque UI, AT&T affinity originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)
Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)
We've been following the evolution of the Willow Garage PR2 robot for a little over a year now, watching as it learned to mooch electricity and hustle pool sharks. That, as it turns out, was only the beginning. The robots are now up for general pre-order should anyone want one (priced well into the "if you have to ask" range, surely), and to celebrate that Willow Garage founder Scott Hassan put up $10k to sponsor a video contest of the PR2 robot doing some impressive things. The winner is a video called "Sockification" from a crew at UC Berkeley in which the PR2 shows some... enthusiastic sock sorting skills. You can see that one embedded below, along with our personal favorite: an ode to StrongBad and his lightswitch rave.Continue reading Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video)
Willow Garage PR2 robot learns to sort socks for $10k prize (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aceeca's PalmOS-based PDA32 gets reviewed, albeit in prototype form
Ah, the dream does live on. If we're being straight with you, we didn't exactly have the highest hopes for Aceeca's PDA32 to ever make it out of the dreamworld in which it was created, but apparently it's well on its well to commercialization. For reasons unknown, of course. The good folks over at TamsBlog managed to get ahold of a prototype device, powered by one of yesteryear's greatest operating systems and encased in a comically large shell. It's important to note that this isn't a finalized retail unit, but it's still fairly fascinating that an object like the one you're looking at above is actually about to ship in the year 2010 A.D. The overview is about what you'd expect, noting that the screen is above average, the enclosure itself is downright "fat," and the whole thing seems far more sensible in the enterprise realm than the consumer one. Sadly, there's no real talk of software performance, but we suspect that'll come when the final product ships out. Hit the source link for a fascinating look at a device you'll never buy.
Aceeca's PalmOS-based PDA32 gets reviewed, albeit in prototype form originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pocketbook announces color touch screen Android powered e-reader and more
Manufacturing upstart PocketBook is clearly still gung ho about e-readers, judging by the five new models it has announced will be released at IFA in September, which include a pair of entry-level ProBook 602 and 902 units, as well as the ProBook 603 and 903 premium units. The 60x designated models sport 6-inch screens, while the 90x models have a bigger 9.7-inch. All models will feature 2GB of internal storage, a Linux-based OS, and include WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. However, the higher-end versions also gain 3G connectivity and a Wacom touchscreen. More interesting and genre-bending though is the so-called "entertainment model" PocketBook IQ that will be available in three case color options, feature a 7-inch TFT color touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth, and will run Android 2.0. Access to PocketBook's own Bookland.net e-book store unfortunately rounds out all the details we know so far, but we'll be sure to find out more once IFA gets going. Check out shots of the individual readers and get the full translated PR below.
Gallery: PocketBook Pro E-readers IFA 2010
PocketBook IQ 2PocketBook IQ 1PocketBook E-reader 1PocketBook E-reader 2PocketBook E-reader 3
Continue reading Pocketbook announces color touch screen Android powered e-reader and more
Pocketbook announces color touch screen Android powered e-reader and more originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Conceptual airport identifier skips your naughty bits, scans straight to the bone
Prototype airport identifier skips your naughty bits, scans straight to the bone
Not sure how you feel about those airport scanners that reveal your bits and pieces to under-paid guards? We think they make air travel rather titillating, but perhaps you'll be more comfortable with a conceptual scanner that skips your fleshy bits entirely and looks only at your bones. Being developed by a team of researchers at Wright State University, such a scanner could use existing technology to detect the skeletal structure of a person. The idea is that a person's bony bits are unique and, unlike one's face, impossible to disguise (short of some serious surgery). If a database of registered criminals and suspects could be created they could be identified with such a scanner, in theory even at a distance, far more reliably than via facial scan. Right now it's just a concept, but the idea is to have a working prototype by next year. After that, nobody's clavicles will be safe.
Conceptual airport identifier skips your naughty bits, scans straight to the bone originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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