Tuesday, March 29, 2011

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 28/03/2011




Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A) laptop review
Back at CES, Samsung pulled out quite a few surprises, and no, we're not referring to its Zoll-infused press conference -- although, that performance still gives us the willies. Of all the Korean company's announcements at the show, which we'll remind you included an impressive new LTE phone and range of SmartTVs, it was its Series 9 laptop that left us the most stunned. And well, a glance at that picture above should explain why we found ourselves counting down the days until its March launch date. The 2.8-pound system is a complete and total 180 from Samsung's typical bulky mainstream systems, yet its 0.64-inch thick chassis still crams in quite a bit of horsepower with a Core i5-2537M processor, a 128GB SSD, and 4GB of RAM. It's also built from some of the toughest stuff on earth, has a backlit keyboard, and an incredibly high quality 400 nit LCD. You see, the $1,699 machine teeters on having the absolute perfect balance of beauty and brawn, and certainty has the core ingredients to compete with that other extremely popular and super thin ultraportable -- but when you get it home and out of its fancy box, does it truly have the chops? Or is this just yet another rail thin and expensive Windows laptop that falls short? The time has come to find out - hit the break for our full review.
Gallery: Samsung Series 9 review

Gallery: Series 9 unboxing / Air compared
Continue reading Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A) laptop review
Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A) laptop review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review
The PlayStation Phone. We've had quite the intimate history with this gamepad-equipped slider, learning of its secretive existence way back in August and then handling a prototype unit in January, so you'll forgive us for feeling sentimental and still entertaining our pet name for it. The Sony Ericsson marketing gurus renamed it the Xperia Play when it finally went official at MWC this year, but the PlayStation connection remains as strong as ever. Aside from the D-pad, iconic game keys, and two touchpads, this device comes with a little app named PlayStation Pocket, which will be serving up dollops of classic PlayStation One gaming to all those with a taste for it. Yes, the Sony influence is strong with this one, and the Android Market will be joining the fun with Xperia Play-optimized titles from third-party developers. So all we really need to know now is whether the Android smartphone underpinning this smash-bang fusion of old and new school entertainment happens to be any good. Shall we get Started?
Gallery: Xperia Play review
Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft's SpecNet promises to seek out unused wireless spectrum
Microsoft's been toying around with hardware for so-called white space spectrum for some time now, and it's now back with another fairly ambitious scheme. Dubbed "SpecNet," the hardware in this case in actually a network of spectrum analyzers that would seek out and map where spectrum is available and where it's not, and let unlicensed devices use it when it's available. Of course, that's still all a bit theoretical, and it does face a few significant hurdles. Those spectrum analyzers, for instance would cost between $10,000 and $40,000 apiece, and you'd obviously need a lot of them for a nationwide network, although Microsoft suggests that they could be set up on an ad hoc basis and assigned to different areas for a specific time period. Those interested in the finer technical details can dive into Microsoft's full paper on the subject at the source link below.
Microsoft's SpecNet promises to seek out unused wireless spectrum originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink PC World | sourceMicrosoft Research | Email this | Comments
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DARPA's Urban Photonic Sandtable Display enables 3D battlefield planning without goofy glasses
DARPA's Urban Photonic Sandtable Display enables 3D battlefield planning without goofy glasses
You probably point and laugh at your friends when they have big, bulky 3D glasses perched on their noses in theaters. That kind of tomfoolery just won't do amongst the military brass, who frown at the slightest hint of snickering in the operations room. This new 3D system, called the Urban Photonic Sandtable Display (UPSD), should help. It's a DARPA project, a fully holographic table (no glasses required) that can be scaled up to six feet diagonally and allows visual depth of up to 12-inches. The technology comes courtesy of Zebra Imaging, which earlier wowed us with some insane 3D printouts, and the data will come from LIDAR systems like this ROAMS bot. No word on when the system will be deployed to the field, but it should allow grizzled commanders and uppity businessmen to find unobtanium deposits, even if they happen to be located right under a big 'ol tree. Continue reading DARPA's Urban Photonic Sandtable Display enables 3D battlefield planning without goofy glasses
Permalink Information Week | sourceDARPA | Email this | Comments
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3DS owners reporting sporadic 'Black Screen of Death,' how is yours treating you?
3DS owners reporting sporadic 'Black Screen of Death,' how is yours treating you?
You've read our Nintendo 3DS review, where we found it to be a generally fun but still somewhat flawed handheld gaming experience. Now it's been released to the world, and to the willing hands of Triforce Johnson, and we're left wondering what all of you think. We're also hearing scattered word of a supposed "Black Screen of Death," where the system indicates "An error has occurred" while playing a variety of games and has to be rebooted. We saw no such glitches in our testing, but what about you?
View Poll
3DS owners reporting sporadic 'Black Screen of Death,' how is yours treating you? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink VG24/7 | sourceGo Nintendo | Email this | Comments
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Netflix nabs exclusive subscription pay TV rights to Paramount movies -- in Canada
So far Canadian Netflix users have had to deal with a far more limited streaming library than their US cousins, exacerbated by the lack of a DVD / Blu-ray library to fall back on, but that's about to change. Netflix has struck a deal in Canada with Paramount for premium pay TV window access covering "exclusive subscription television rights to all first-run films." Currently in the US Netflix's deal with Epix gives it access to many of the same movies (Iron Man 2 -- already available since the 25th in Canada, while not currently ready for streaming in the US -- Titanic, Zoolander, The Last Airbender) eventually, but that's clearly not exclusive. While it's previously cut deals with smaller distributors like Relativity Media and Nu Image/Millennium Films for pay TV window access, the combo of exclusive and a major studio like Paramount makes Netflix a pay TV channel competitor in a whole new way. This backs up its earlier move in that direction by signing up for a new original show to debut on the service in 2012 and potentially adds a new edge to rumored negotiations for the Miramax back catalog, press release follows after the break. Continue reading Netflix nabs exclusive subscription pay TV rights to Paramount movies -- in Canada
Netflix nabs exclusive subscription pay TV rights to Paramount movies -- in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink The Netflix Blog | | Email this | Comments
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BrainGate hits 1,000 day mind-control milestone, nearly three years of pointing and clicking
Aspiring Svengalis rejoice! For BrainGate has reached a significant landmark in computational thought-control -- the 4 x 4-mm implantable chip has given a woman with tetraplegia the ability to point and click with her brain for 1,000 days. An article recently published in the Journal of Neural Engineering said the woman, known simply as S3, performed two easy tasks every 24 hours, using her mind to manipulate a cursor with 90 percent accuracy. Each day she was monitored, S3 would post up in front of a computer and continuously command the thing with her thoughts for 10 minutes. Functionality reportedly deteriorated over time, but the paper points to the chip's durability, not sensor-brain incompatibility, as the culprit. Research is currently underway to incorporate BrainGate into advanced prosthetics that could get tetraplegics like S3 up and moving again. Now, how's that for the power of positive thinking?
Permalink Slashdot | sourceBrown University | Email this | Comments
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Red One faces Arri Alexa in high-res, Choose Your Own Adventure-style face-off
RED1 MX faces Arri Alexa in choose your own adventure-style face-off
Most of the time when one product takes on another in a no-holds-barred face-off somebody walks away with a championship belt. Not this time. Here it's Gunleik Groven, Norwegian filmmaker and photographer, comparing the RED One Mysterium X and the Arri Alexa, two pro-quality shooters that come in at a price semi-pro producers can afford -- the RED clocking in at $42,485 the way Gunleik configured it, the Arri at $70,000. There are some obvious differences, like the RED shooting at 4K and the Arri at 1080p, but the vast majority of the comparisons here are far, far more subtle than that, meaning you're just going to have to pore over the comparison on the other end of the source link yourself and download the gigabytes of sample footage that's been thoughtfully provided. If you do need something of a conclusion, though, it's this: "These are both excellent cameras we could only dream of 5 years back... you cannot really complain on the equipment if you don't get your shot with either of these."
Red One faces Arri Alexa in high-res, Choose Your Own Adventure-style face-off originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | sourceGunleik Groven | Email this | Comments
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Dell freshens up Inspiron M5030 with Spanish-language keyboard, claims it's first of its kind in US
The Athlon-powered M5030 from Dell hardly looked like a machine that would be bearing an "industry first" label when it launched in September of last year, but now it's doing exactly that thanks to an intriguing new mod from its maker. The 15.6-incher is being released with its keyboard and Windows 7 installation customized in Spanish, neither of which would be unusual were it not for the fact that it's going to be on sale in the US. It's not exactly a vast overhaul, as only a couple of physical keys are swapped out and switching Win 7 into and out of Spanish mode can be done in the time it takes to click a mouse, but still, it's significant in that it services the speakers of the States' second most commonly used language. Pricing for the M5030 en español is set at $499 and includes a 320GB HDD and 4GB of RAM. For an entirely free video of an excitable Dell employee telling you about it, jump past the break. Continue reading Dell freshens up Inspiron M5030 with Spanish-language keyboard, claims it's first of its kind in US
Permalink PC Mag (Yahoo! News) | sourceDellVlog (YouTube) | Email this | Comments
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Apple's WWDC 2011 kicks off on June 6th
Apple's WWDC 2011 kicks off on June 6th
It's five days of developer love in sunny San Francisco, and this year it starts on June 6th. As ever, Moscone West will be hosting Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and this year we'll be seeing "the future of iOS and Mac OS" along with "more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers." Last time Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4 to a very willing world at large. Could its successor make an appearance this year? We'll be there live to tell you if and when it happens. Continue reading Apple's WWDC 2011 kicks off on June 6th
Apple's WWDC 2011 kicks off on June 6th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | sourceApple | Email this | Comments
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SWITL scoops oozy goop with amazing robotic precision (video)
Look, sometimes, not often, but sometimes we'll miss a truly spectacular and mind bending story that requires a double-back. The SWITL robotic hand is just such a case. The patent-pending technology looks to have been revealed on video back in late October showing the Furukawa Kikou robot deftly lifting a ketchup and mayonnaise mess from a table and then replacing it unchanged from its original shape. The tech was developed for bakeries with the intention of automating the handling of soft substances that were either too malleable or too icky for human hands. Unfortunately, Furukawa Kikou isn't providing any details about the science behind SWITL so we'll just assume that it's Satan's work until otherwise informed. See what we mean in the video after the break. Continue reading SWITL scoops oozy goop with amazing robotic precision (video)
SWITL scoops oozy goop with amazing robotic precision (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Pink Tentacle | sourceABCNIIGATA (YouTube) | Email this | Comments
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Twimal the Twitter reader reads your tweets, looks adorable while doing so (video)
If you fancy using Twitter as much as we do, you'll probably scream like a pre-teen when you lay your eyeballs on what toy maker Takara Tomy has conjured up in Japan. Dubbed Twimal, this loveable Pokemon-esque desk companion plugs into your Windows machine via USB and has one reason for its existence -- to read your tweets. Available in blue or white (male or female voice, respectively), these little bots are able to read all sorts of tweets (replies, lists, user-specific, etc.), in what appears to be Japanese only. If you're interested in getting your 140-character messages read in the cutest way possible, look for these toys on digital shelves in Japan on March 31 for ¥2,480 (around 30 bucks). And do yourself a favor; watch the video after the break. You'll thank us later. Continue reading Twimal the Twitter reader reads your tweets, looks adorable while doing so (video)
Twimal the Twitter reader reads your tweets, looks adorable while doing so (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink CrunchGear | sourceTakara Tomy (Japanese) | Email this | Comments
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Silicine might be the new graphene, now that it's been physically constructed
Surely you've heard of graphene, the one-atom-thick layer of pencil lead that has the potential to change the world of computers, batteries and screens? You might want to familiarize yourself with the term "silicine," too. It's basically a version of graphene constructed out of silicon, which doesn't naturally align itself into the same eminently useful honeycomb shape -- but, given a little prod here and a layer of silver or ceramic compound there, can do much the same thing, and with better computing compatibility. First proposed around 2007, it's reportedly been produced twice now by two different teams, which gives physicists hope that it could actually be useful some day. For now, researchers need to figure out a way to easily produce it so detailed experiments can be performed -- from what we understand, the good ol' scotch tape method just won't do the job.
Silicine might be the new graphene, now that it's been physically constructed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Graphene-Info | sourceScience News | Email this | Comments
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Atrix 4G's 4.1.57 update spruces up a few things, patches known root methods
The HSUPA-enabling update? No, not yet. The voice call quality fix? In the pipeline. The mission-critical Bluetooth multimedia experience improvements? Oh yes, we've got those right here! Motorola is preparing to deliver an imminent OTA update to its Atrix 4G super phone, which will fix up battery performance, overall software stability, and car dock, headphone jack, and fingerprint reader performance, but will regrettably leave the two major drawbacks to the AT&T-riding phone untouched. Alas, if you've rooted your Atrix, you'll have to pay a dear price to benefit from these upgrades as users over at xda-developers, who've obtained the pre-release build, report the new 4.1.57 update disables their previous superuser privileges. C'est la vie.
Atrix 4G's 4.1.57 update spruces up a few things, patches known root methods originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Phone Arena, Android Central | sourceMotorola | Email this | Comments
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Sony and LG price a swath of 3D HDTVs
We're still waiting on LG's ginormous 72-inch LZ7900 to make its debut on store shelves, but the rest of CES's primo 3DTV crop is rearing to ride out, with Sony's HX929, HX820 and HX720 series of LED-backlit LCD screens and LG's Infinia PZ750 plasmas now priced at Amazon. 3D-Display-info.com found Sony's locally-dimmed Bravia sets starting at $2,099 for a 46-inch HX720 with Gorilla Glass protection, all the way up to $3,799 for the premium 55-inch XBR-55HX929 with a full-array LED backlight. Meanwhile, the 50-inch LG PZ750 (with Smart TV, naturally) starts out at $1,599, while a 60-inch version of the same thing will run $2,199. Which one fits best in your den? That depends on a number of things, but we will add that the Sony sets are merely up for pre-order, while the LG units are listed as shipping within a matter of weeks.
Sony and LG price a swath of 3D HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 3D-Display-info (1), (2) | sourceAmazon (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) | Email this | Comments
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ThinkPad Edge E420s now shipping for $699, E220s coming in April
Don't tell us you've forgotten about Lenovo's pair of new Edge machines! Sure, they've taken a while to get to market, perhaps having been inconvenienced by a little hiccup with Intel's Core 2011 chipsets, but the first of them is now well and truly on sale and the other is looking eager and ready to go too. The 14-inch E420s is up on Lenovo's web store, starting at $699 with a 2.1GHz Core i3-2310M CPU, while its 12.5-inch sibling, the E220s, is expected on the 8th of April, judging by the roadmap doc we've uncovered below. The E420s touts what Lenovo calls an Infinity Glass display, meaning simply edge-to-edge glass, alongside a fingerprint reader, a fetching new matte black lid, a HD webcam, 4GB of RAM and 250GB of HDD storage at a minimum, and a 48.8Wh battery. A 1366 x 768 resolution is your only option, unfortunately, though you can spruce up performance by quite a bit if you opt for the i5-2410M, which does 2.3GHz at default speeds or 2.9GHz when only one of its two cores is pushed to the limit ... or should that be to the Edge?

[Thanks, Chris and Abdu] Continue reading ThinkPad Edge E420s now shipping for $699, E220s coming in April
ThinkPad Edge E420s now shipping for $699, E220s coming in April originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG's 3D-shooting Optimus Pad nabs March 31st retail date in Japan as T-Mobile fiddles
Japan's NTT DOCOMO just announced a March 31st retail offering of LG's Optimus Pad. The Honeycomb tablet listed as model L-06C is the same 8.9-inch 1280 x 768 pixel slab known as the G-Slate 'round T-Mobile subscribers. Besides its 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor and internationally compatible 3G data and GPS, the Optimus Pad's most noteworthy features are the stereoscopic rear-facing video cameras capable of 1080p 3D capture which can viewed directly on the L-06C with a pair of passive glasses. Unfortunately, NTT DOCOMO is mum on pricing. Remember, although T-Mobile originally hedged with a spring launch (recently rumored for April 20th), LG told us that it'd be arriving on US soil in March. So... T-Mobile, anything you'd like to add before Thursday?
Permalink | sourceNTT DOCOMO | Email this | Comments
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Ainol Honeycomb tablet surfaces with Cortex A9 processor, buttons aplenty
It's been quite a while since Ainol last popped up on our radar, but it looks like the company is now busy preparing a Honeycomb tablet that might actually stand out from the pack -- for better or worse. According to a couple of teasers that have cropped up in recent days, the tablet will apparently pack an ARM Cortex A9 processor, a 1,280 x 800 IPS display of unspecified size, WiFi and 3G connectivity, a microSD card slot, HDMI out and, most noticeably, a full suite of buttons that adorn what appears to be a somewhat chunky design. Still no indication of a price, but the tablet is apparently due out sometime next month.
Ainol Honeycomb tablet surfaces with Cortex A9 processor, buttons aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Android Community | sourceMP4 Nation | Email this | Comments
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Triforce Johnson gets his Nintendo 3DS first, the legend continues
There are fans, and then there are fans, if you know what we mean, and Isaiah Triforce Johnson has secured his spot in column number two with a Power Gloved fist -- here he is accepting the very first Nintendo 3DS on the east coast from Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. Johnson camped out all week in front of Best Buy's Union Square location to be first in line at the launch event, replicating his feat of five years prior when he was first to purchase the Wii. Of course, Japanese gamers have had the autostereocopic handheld for over a month now, but we have to give credit where it's due -- we're already imagining Greg Packer and Triforce Johnson duking it out in a little Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition duel. By the way, we snapped a few shots of the 3DS launch event this morning -- check them out below.
Gallery: Nintendo 3DS launch event
Triforce Johnson gets his Nintendo 3DS first, the legend continues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | sourceBusinessWire | Email this | Comments
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Warner Bros. expands movie rentals via Facebook with five more high profile titles
After dipping a toe in the waters with The Dark Knight, starting tonight Warner is offering five more movies for streaming on Facebook including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Inception, Life as We Know It and Yogi Bear. The deal remains the same, with United States viewers able to pay for a 48-hour viewing window instantly in Facebook credits then enjoy the flick with full functionality on the page, and pause/resume tied to their login on the site. Even with an increasing number of movie titles including recent ones like Yogi Bear that just debuted last week, it's hard to see any VOD service seriously challenging the current video rental incumbents like iTunes and Netflix, especially one that offers only SD rentals viewable on the PC. What it does offer however is a quick way for Warner to monetize the significant Facebook communities around popular movies, which may be enough to keep this program growing for the foreseeable future. Either way, the pages should be live starting at 1 a.m., check the press release after the break if you need more details. Continue reading Warner Bros. expands movie rentals via Facebook with five more high profile titles
Warner Bros. expands movie rentals via Facebook with five more high profile titles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | sourceInception (Facebook) | Email this | Comments
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Android adapter concepts promise to accessorize any headset
Well, here's a bit of a twist -- a concept device designed to actually a fund a Kickstarter-like service for concept devices. While that may not exactly inspire the most confidence, these concepts from the folks behind upstart Makible are certainly unique enough to get us interested. They included the standard headphone adapter pictured above, which promises to turn any set of headphones into a proper (and eye-catching) headset, as well as an iPhone headset adapter that will let you use any iPhone headset with your Android phone (check it out after the break). Both will apparently be limited to 10,000 units apiece assuming they get the necessary funding, with the headphone adapter setting you back $20, while the iPhone version runs just $10. Want to see them become a reality? Then you can hit up the link below to get your order in. Continue reading Android adapter concepts promise to accessorize any headset
Android adapter concepts promise to accessorize any headset originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | sourceMakible | Email this | Comments
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WSJ: Google teams with MasterCard and Citigroup for NFC payments, also files patent app
Ever since the Nexus S and its nifty little NFC chip hit the market, there's been speculation that El Goog was planning a foray into the mobile payment arena currently occupied by the likes of Charge Anywhere. Now, it looks like that plan may be in high gear, as the Wall Street Journal reports that Google's secretly partnered with MasterCard and Citigroup to test out just such a system. According to the publication, the early demo pairs "one current model and many coming models of Android phones" with existing Citigroup-sponsored credit and debit cards, and is using the phones' NFC chips with those VeriFone readers we recently heard about.

What's more, a newly-published patent application from the crew in Mountain View may hint at the software behind such things. The application describes a service that sets up Google as a third-party broker who receives the shopping cart info of customers placing orders via a device (including those of the mobile variety), allows them to select shipping and other options, and provides the total order cost. It then collects payment, coordinates shipment, and forwards order information to the seller to complete the transaction. So companies can have Google handle all their payment-taking needs in return for getting a sneak peek at what folks are buying -- something that the WSJ's sources say might be a component of the setup Google's testing right now -- as opposed to other third-party services, like Paypal, that only obtain and exchange payment info with merchants. Looks like Alma Whitten (Google's Director of Privacy) has her work cut out assuaging the concerns such a system will inevitably create in an increasingly privacy-minded populace.

Sean Hollister contributed to this report.
Permalink BNET | sourceWall Street Journal, USPTO | Email this | Comments
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Hanwha unleashes HDMI / USB adapter for iPad, iPhone 4, and fourth-gen iPod touch
Feel the desire to watch your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch (fourth gen) videos on the big screen, but looking for something with a little more girth than Apple's HDMI solution? Hanwha's latest dongle might do the job. As you can see above, in place of the original adapter's dock connector port is a USB 2.0 socket -- compatible with cameras supporting mass storage connection -- alongside the 720p-friendly HDMI port, but you'll have to use the switch to toggle between the two modes. And that little mini-USB port on the far right? Well, it's there to provide some juice to "reduce battery drain," but probably not enough to charge up your iDevice. If you're still interested and have a friend in Japan, Hanwha's charging ¥5,980 (around $73), which is almost double that of Apple's $39 connector. Is USB support worth such a price jump? Your call.
Hanwha unleashes HDMI / USB adapter for iPad, iPhone 4, and fourth-gen iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Akihabara News | sourceUMA Zone | Email this | Comments
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Inhabitat's Week in Green: LAVA's geodesic home, solar skyscraper glass and fear of nuclear power
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 Inhabitat showcased several groundbreaking feats of high-tech architecture - starting with plans to transform the United States' tallest skyscraper into a soaring solar farm. We also saw a vision for a geodesic home of the future that is popping up in China this year, and we learned that scientists in Qatar are developing a series of solar-powered artificial clouds that will cool the country's stadiums during the 2022 World Cup.

It was a big week for energy news as well as Germany and Italy announced plans to abandon nuclear power in the wake of the crisis in Japan. Tata & MIT also announced a breakthrough technology for generating power from water, and we saw solar energy reach new heights as Suntech set off to install the world's tallest solar plant on the Tibetan Plateau. Speaking of soaring green designs, we watched a brand new electric vehicle take to the skies as the solar-powered Elektra One airplane successfully completed its maiden flight.

This week we also showcased several cutting-edge examples of wearable technology including an app that instantly transforms any drawing into a made-to-measure dress. We also learned that Virgin Atlantic now offers passengers bespoke shoes while they wait, and we took a look at a futuristic pregnancy belt that offers an inside look at the womb. Finally, we saw several amazing examples of recycled design - Chinese artist Wing Wah has created a set of scrap metal transformer robots that look just like the movies, and designer Mati Karmin has transformed defused land mines into an edgy set of interior furnishings.
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Switched On: The PlayBook polyglot
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
When Apple introduced the iPad, it had but a smattering of third-party applications, but the company stressed its own. As Apple iPhone software SVP Scott Forstall stated in the iPad introduction video, "We looked at the device and we decided: let's redesign it all. Let's redesign, reimagine and rebuild every single app from the ground up specifically for the iPad."

Compare this to the strategy employed by RIM, makers of the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. One year after the iPad's debut, Apple's head start in apps has proven a formidable advantage against the onslaught of slates announced by its competitors in the smartphone world. Some have chosen to latch onto Android and attain backwards compatibility with over 200,000 existing smartphone apps. HP, with its TouchPad as flagship, will circle its wagons of PCs, printers and phones around the webOS platform. However, the announcement this week that RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook will support Android apps says much about how the company sees its position in the tablet wars. Continue reading Switched On: The PlayBook polyglot
Switched On: The PlayBook polyglot originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 20:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HTC Flyer headed to T-Mobile, according to marketing scrapbook?
Sprint may not be the only US carrier spreading its wings with an HTC tablet this summer, oh no -- promotional materials obtained by PocketNow point to the HTC Flyer launching with T-Mobile as well. Though the marketing mockups don't prove that Madam Magenta will actually be offering the 7-inch Gingerbread tablet with Scribe stylus (or distinguish between T-Mobile USA and its European counterparts, for that matter), the carrier's clearly given it a lot of thought, and HTC's spec sheet for the Flyer has indeed listed the AWS bands necessary to carry T-Mobile USA's 3G data since day one. Sneak a peek at what T-Mobile's in-store tablet kiosks might look like at our source link below.
HTC Flyer headed to T-Mobile, according to marketing scrapbook? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink PhoneArena | sourcePocketnow | Email this | Comments
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Amazon.com lets you play with an Android virtual machine, try apps before you buy them
When Amazon's Appstore rolled out last week, we glossed over one detail that merely seemed neat. Today, we're inclined to say that Test Drive may be the most significant part of Amazon's announcement that day. Basically, Test Drive allows US customers to take apps for a spin at Amazon.com, with all the comfort that their tried-and-true desktop web browser brings -- but rather than sit you down with a Flash-based mockup of the app, Amazon is giving you a taste of bona fide cloud computing with an Android virtual machine.

In other words, what you're looking at in the screenshot above isn't just a single program, but an entire virtual Android smartphone with working mouse controls, where you can not only try out Paper Toss, but also delete it, browse through the device's photo gallery, listen to a few tunes, or even surf the web from the working Android browser -- as difficult as that may be without keyboard input. Amazon explains:
Clicking the "Test drive now" button launches a copy of this app on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), a web service that provides on-demand compute capacity in the cloud for developers. When you click on the simulated phone using your mouse, we send those inputs over the Internet to the app running on Amazon EC2 - just like your mobile device would send a finger tap to the app. Our servers then send the video and audio output from the app back to your computer. All this happens in real time, allowing you to explore the features of the app as if it were running on your mobile device.
Today, Amazon's Test Drive is basically just Gaikai for mobile phones -- its purpose is simply to sell apps, nothing more. But imagine this for a sec: what if you could access your own smartphone data, instead of the mostly blank slate that Amazon provides here?
Gallery: Amazon Appstore Test Drive hands-on

[Thanks, Ryan]
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Sonos Controller for Android delayed until April, heartbreak available now
Is it really the end of March? That's debatable, but if you've been wondering where Sonos' Controller for Android app is, well... wonder no more. Rather than cutting it loose within the next week (as promised earlier in the year), the outfit's vice president of quality has informed the world that it won't be available until next month. The exact quote?
"We know you're anxiously awaiting the Sonos Controller for Android. Unfortunately, testing the app is taking a bit longer than we anticipated. The latest addition to our free controller line-up won't arrive until April, but when it does, it is going to rock."
But will it rock as much as the image above? Time will tell, friends.
Sonos Controller for Android delayed until April, heartbreak available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Panasonic Lumix GH2 review roundup: impressive video recording, murky still images
In case you're still wondering if Panasonic's mirrorless Lumix GH2 is worth your $900, we've rounded up a handful of reviews to provide a pointer for your next big purchase. While most reviewers agree that this Micro Four Thirds camera appears to be very similar to its predecessor, they universally praise the subtly improved ergonomics, speedy liveview autofocusing, and refined image quality, especially with its 1080p AVCHD video recording (although Digital Camera Resource Page did notice some artifacting in its clips). Noise is also a non-issue up to about ISO 800 or 1600, though it's apparent that the 16 megapixel stills are comparatively dull and, like those from many other MFTs, aren't quite on par with DSLRs -- expect plenty of manual processing work here, as demoed by the good folks over at Digital Photography Review. All in all, the GH2 is a great kit for high quality video capturing, bundled with a pretty good still performance that requires some extra TLC afterwards -- kinda ironic in a way, but hey, this isn't a problem for lovers of video bokeh. Head over to the links below for some in-depth analysis and walk-through before you leave a small dent on your bank account.

Read - Digital Photography Review
Read - Photography Blog
Read - Camera Labs
Read - Digital Camera Resource Page
Read - Let's Go Digital
Panasonic Lumix GH2 review roundup: impressive video recording, murky still images originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nokia continues reinvention, details new fonts and branding
Nokia's current typeface -- Nokia Sans -- feels like one of the great constants in the consumer electronics industry, a design that instantly screams "Nokia" the moment you see it (for better or worse). That kind of strong, tight brand recognition from something as basic and simple as a character on a screen really isn't something that you can buy -- it needs to be built and cultivated over many, many years -- so we're sure that Espoo's decision to chuck it and start fresh wasn't taken lightly. In fact, we're sure it wasn't taken lightly because the company has published an 800-plus word explanation and defense of its decision to kill off Nokia Sans and replace it with Nokia Pure, a font it describes as the embodiment of "beauty in supreme usability."

Of course, it's no coincidence that the font change comes just as Nokia's trying to go back to the drawing board, both with its hiring of outsider Stephen Elop and its decision to phase out Symbian and add Windows Phone into the mix; sure enough, the company says that it plans to use Pure on its devices and that "it has been designed specially for mobile and digital environments." What do you think?

[Thanks, Esko]
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Nokia continues reinvention, details new fonts and branding originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Nokia Conversations | sourceNokia | Email this | Comments
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Verizon's Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot launches March 31st
Though it won't be the first Verizon LTE device to share its white-hot connection over WiFi (that honor goes to the recently-launched Thunderbolt), Samsung's SCH-LC11 -- announced back at CES -- is shaping up to be the network's first dedicated hotspot to hit retail. We've just been dropped the carrier's internal equipment guide showing a launch date in all channels (stores, telesales, and online) this coming Thursday, March 31st; pricing is an open question, but carriers tend to price these modems pretty aggressively on contract since they know they're going to eat you alive with the data plan for the next two years. Of course, in this case, we're more than willing to get eaten alive if it means we've got a 20Mbps WiFi connection in our pocket at all times.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Verizon's Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot launches March 31st originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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CTIA 2011 wrap-up: EVO 3D, G2x, skinny new Galaxy Tabs, and more
We just got home from this little massive US mobile industry event you may have heard about called CTIA Wireless. It took place in Orlando this year (instead of Las Vegas as usual) and we can definitely say that Sprint was the star of the show with its HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO View 4G, and Google Voice integration. Samsung also delivered some goodies with the Galaxy Tab 8.9, a redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Google Nexus S 4G for Sprint, and the Android-powered Sidekick 4G for T-Mobile. LG re-badged the Optimus 2x as the G2x on T-Mobile, and the Optimus 3D as the Thrill on AT&T. The HTC HD7 made a comeback as the Super LCD-equipped HD7S on AT&T, and Nokia gave us the Astound, nee C7, for T-Mobile. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg -- so if you missed the action this past week, we've got you covered with all the nitty gritty in the links below.

Major news / product releases:
Hands-on / previews:
Everything else:
And if that's still not enough, be sure to listen to our CTIA 2011 podcast and take a look at our CTIA 2011 page right here.
CTIA 2011 wrap-up: EVO 3D, G2x, skinny new Galaxy Tabs, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft asks state lawmakers to make domestic companies pay for foreign firms' software piracy
Microsoft's pirated software police have been going after companies abroad for years, but getting those far-away folks into US courtrooms isn't easy. What is easy, however, is suing the folks in your own back yard -- which is why Microsoft is lobbying to get laws passed in several states that'll put US businesses on the hook for the pirating ways of their foreign suppliers. For example, if a manufacturer uses pirated software in the "manufacture, distribution, marketing, or sales" of products sold in Washington, Microsoft could sue the vendor of those products and get an injunction to stop the goods from being sold. So Washington widget retailers would be liable for the piracy of their foreign widget manufacturers, even if the illicit act was merely creating the sales invoice on a counterfeit copy of Word.

The Washington state Senate and House have already approved different versions of the bill, and the legislature is in the process of merging the two together for final approval. Louisiana passed a similar law last year, and analogous bills have been proposed in Oregon and several other states as well. Numerous companies -- including Dell, IBM, Intel, and HP -- oppose the laws, as they see them giving Microsoft the power to not only drag them into court, but also futz with their supply chains. (There's bound to be some counterfeit software being used in Shenzhen, right?) As Microsoft's latest anti-piracy scheme unfolds, there should be plenty more legislative action to come. Evidently the crew in Redmond doesn't see piracy as a problem to be fixed by lowering prices.
Permalink TechDirt | sourceGroklaw, WA State Senate (PDF), OR House of Reps (PDF) | Email this | Comments
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Self-strengthening polymer nanocomposite works best under pressure
No one keeps carbon nanotubes down -- especially not these guys. The always popular allotropes have been enlisted by researchers at Rice University to create a composite material that gets stronger under pressure. When combined with polydimethylsiloxane, a rubbery polymer, the tubes form a nanocomposite that exhibits self-strengthening properties also exhibited in bones. During testing, the team found the material increased in stiffness by 12 percent after 3.5 million compressions. Apparently, the crew is stumped on why it reacts this way, but is no less eager to see it working in the real world -- discussion is already underway to use the stuff as artificial cartilage. And here we thought aerogel was cool. Full PR after the break. Continue reading Self-strengthening polymer nanocomposite works best under pressure
Self-strengthening polymer nanocomposite works best under pressure originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink CrunchGear | sourceRice University | Email this | Comments
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Qatar building fleet of remote control 'clouds' for World Cup 2022
When Qatar, an insanely wealthy Arab emirate roughly the size of Connecticut, won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, one of the stipulations was that its newly constructed open-air soccer stadiums would be air conditioned. Of course, this is Qatar we're talkin' about here, so the solution would have to be as extravagant as its insanely wealthy Arab emirate status implies. That's why it was no huge shock when The Peninsula reported plans to cool at least some of the nine stadiums by using a fleet of solar powered "clouds," designed and constructed by a certain Dr. Saud Abdul Ghani and his team. Dr. Ghani, the head of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Qatar University, said that the aircraft (more accurately described as really, really slow drones) will be operated by remote control, made of 100 percent light carbonic materials, and will initially cost half a million dollars each. But, really, what's a few million dollars when it's for a good cause?
Qatar building fleet of remote control 'clouds' for World Cup 2022 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 03:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink NBC | sourceThe Peninsula | Email this | Comments
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LanSchool iPad application shoots out, sends back test questions
LanSchool's iPad app has been out for a tick, but the latest update adds an extra that should please both teachers and pupils alike. It's a testing feature that enables professors to send tests of up to 100 questions to students who are running the LanSchool iPad Student application; from there, the test results can be shot back and displayed in real time on the teacher's console and come back graded with the ability to export or print the results. Those in charge can establish true / false, multiple choice or short answer questions, and graphics have a green light as well. Tests have to be built out using a Mac or PC, but after that, they can then be sent to iPads, computers or thin clients. You can hit the source link to download the program for free, but you'll need a current classroom license for LanSchool to get anything accomplished. Whatd'ya -- A for effort? Continue reading LanSchool iPad application shoots out, sends back test questions
LanSchool iPad application shoots out, sends back test questions originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iMobot creeps, crawls, cranes its way into our hearts (video)
It may not look like much, but this little modular robot's got the stuff to give Keepon a run for its money -- oh yeah, and according to its creators, iMobot's got big implications for the field of robotics too. Sporting four degrees of freedom, two rotating joints, and a pair of faceplates that act as wheels, the patent-pending device can crawl, drive, and potentially act as an autonomous camera platform. The surprisingly agile hunk of machinery was developed by two UC Davis professors who say their versatile invention could aid in search and rescue, as well as education and research. We think it's super cool that iMobot could be a hero, but really, we just want to see it bust a move. Check out a video of our new robo love after the break. Continue reading iMobot creeps, crawls, cranes its way into our hearts (video)
iMobot creeps, crawls, cranes its way into our hearts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink PhysOrg | sourceUC Davis (1), (2) | Email this | Comments
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Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199, still comes with 64GB SSD
An Italian demonstrator gave us hope, but now we're empty inside -- the exceptionally thin 11.6-inch version of Samsung's 9 Series laptop will indeed come with a puny 64GB solid state drive. Well, perhaps empty is a bit of an exaggeration, as the machine's gorgeous duralumin curves fill our hearts with joy, as does the comparatively inexpensive $1,199 price tag that Sammy just confirmed on its website. And hey, we know of an Engadget editor making do with just 60GB of storage in his notebook, so it's not an untenable thing -- but when Samsung's marketing materials proudly boast that "You'll have room to bring it all with you with the 64GB drive," it's hard to repress the tears. That said, if "portable" is your middle name, you'll find all the pre-orders you need at our source link.

[Thanks, Brian]
Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199, still comes with 64GB SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Scientists improve blue OLED efficiency, don't promise everlasting light
Although this is not the first time we've seen an efficiency increase in blue OLEDs, it's worth noting that their proposed cap of productivity up to this point was a lowly five percent. It's exciting to learn, therefore, about a breakthrough by professor John Kieffer and graduate student Changgua Zhen from the University of Michigan, which has resulted in them successfully increasing azure diode power efficiency by 100 percent. The duo, accompanied by some bright minds in Singapore, manipulated performance controllers by rearranging OLED molecules in a computer model, improving material characteristics. In simple terms though, we're still looking at a measly ten percent efficiency, so we'll see where they take it from here.
Scientists improve blue OLED efficiency, don't promise everlasting light originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Physorg | sourceUniversity of Michigan | Email this | Comments
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FCC proposing data roaming rules, not interested in commonizing carriers
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski briefly mentioned data roaming at CTIA last week, but now he's telling Congress that action is inbound, to ensure rural carriers don't get left behind the rest of the cellular industry. You see, in 2007 the Commission mandated cheap roaming agreements for voice and messaging services to let regional carriers compete, but cellular data is the bee's knees now (as those of you reading this on a smartphone can attest) and those agreements won't protect the Tiny Tims of telecom in a world of VoLTE anyhow. So, as he explains in a letter sent to members of the Senate and House, the chairman has come up with a set of rules, which will "incent potential roaming partners to come to the bargaining table to negotiate private commercial deals."

"The draft order under consideration eschews a common carriage approach and leaves mobile service providers free to negotiate and determine, on a customer-by-customer basis, the commercially reasonable terms of data roaming agreements," reads another letter. Needless to say, we're looking forward to hearing how the FCC will encourage competition while still letting the big boys negotiate from their multi-billion-dollar spectrum holding positions.
FCC proposing data roaming rules, not interested in commonizing carriers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Phone Scoop | sourceFCC | Email this | Comments
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