Sony Xperia ZL reaches Canada through Bell, Rogers and Videotron
While we're still waiting on an
American carrier to officially release Sony's
Xperia ZL, it turns out that Canadians don't have to be quite so patient. That promised
April launch in the northern country has come right at the start of the month, and locals can order the compact 5-inch flagship from Bell, Rogers or Videotron as of today. Pricing varies sharply between networks, however. Bell is offering the most aggressive discount, at $100 on a lengthy three-year contract, while Rogers and Videotron raise the prices to a respective $125 and $200 on similar terms. You can also buy the smartphone off-contract from the carriers for $600 (Bell and Videotron) or $625 (Rogers), in addition to the $675 unlocked model from Sony itself. We'd think carefully about a purchase when the Xperia ZL is about to get some
stiff competition in the next few weeks; those who want a better sense of (Omni)balance in their lives can hit the carrier links at the source.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Mobile,
Sony
Comments
Via: MobileSyrup,
Xperia Blog
Source: Bell,
Rogers,
Videotron
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Twitter Cards for apps, products and photo galleries unveiled
Twitter just wrapped up a developer shindig at its San Francisco HQ and trotted out three new content preview
cards. When a user links to a page with Twitter-specific markup, a tweet will feature an application's name, icon, description, rating and price within the freshly unveiled App Card and link to its Google Play or App Store page, to boot. Product Cards on the other hand, highlight merchandise with an image, price and even ratings. When tweets link to a photo gallery on the web, the social network will use a Gallery Card to display a collection of four photos, indicating that it points to an image set, and not just a lone picture. The firm rounded off the updates with "mobile app deep-linking," which means that tweets can sport a download link for the app which was used to publish them. Flickr, Foursquare, Path, Vine and others will make use of the new features when they launch, which should be tomorrow according to word from the coder get-together.
Filed under:
Internet,
Mobile
Comments
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Twitter Dev Blog
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Google+ now allows full-size photo uploads from desktop browsers
As glad as we are that Google gave mobile photographers the chance to
upload full-size photos to Google+ back in December, the absence of a desktop equivalent has been more than a little conspicuous. We're back to equilibrium now that Google has enabled full-size uploading from any old computer's browser. Enable the option and a collection can hit the servers just as you'd remembered it. Like with mobile uploads, though, this isn't intended as a large-scale backup service: any images more than 2,048 pixels across (or videos over 15 minutes) will still count towards whatever your Google Drive cap may be. Don't upload a
gigapixel-class photo of your vacation, then, but do know you'll have a safe place to store everyday photos in all their original glory.
Filed under:
Internet,
Google
Comments
Source: Jon Emerson (Google+)
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Nebula One turns servers into simple, private clouds with OpenStack (video)
Trying to create a large-scale, private cloud array can be a headache, since it often involves bringing disparate networking, server and storage systems together in one not-so-happy union. Wouldn't it be nice to have a box that could do most of the hard work? Nebula thinks its newly launched Nebula One controller will do the trick. The rackmount device's Cosmos OS quickly turns ordinary servers from the likes of Dell or HP into a unified cloud computer that centers on the more universal
OpenStack platform, and which can also talk to
Amazon Web Services. IT admins have a single interface to oversee the whole lot while skipping any outside help, and can scale up to a hefty 1,600 processor cores, 9.4TB of memory and 2.3PB of storage. You'll have to ask Nebula directly about pricing, although we suspect it's counting on the classic battle between time and money to clinch a deal -- the weeks saved in setup and maintenance could represent the real discount.
Filed under:
Desktops,
Misc
Comments
Via: SlashGear
Source: Nebula
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On your mark, get set, benchmark! 3DMark Android Edition now on Google Play
Android just gained another go-to for
benchmarking. After failing to hit the
2012 mark for its Android-specific performance software,
Futuremark's finally delivering on its promise and making 3DMark available today on Google Play. Typically used as a PC benchmarking tool, the free-to-download app now lets users catalog and compare performance across Windows and Android devices -- iOS and WinRT versions are still listed as "coming soon." There are a few caveats to use, though, as the application requires a smartphone or tablet running Android 3.1 or higher, with 300MB of storage space, a minimum of 1GB RAM and the ability to play nice with OpenGL ES 2.0 (which is about 90 percent of all Android devices, according to Google). Who knows? It could even find a permanent place in our own Android reviews soon. Only time and testing will tell -- check after the break for a video preview of what's in store.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Software,
Mobile,
Google
Comments
Via: Xperia blog
Source: Google Play,
Futuremark
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Google changes Android dashboard numbers to count active users, not just pings
The Android device dashboard has been providing a picture of OS version distribution since
before Froyo pushed aside Eclair, but now it's seeing some changes. A post on the Android Developers Google+ page indicates that starting this month, numbers are based on devices whose users actively checked Google Play during the reporting period. Previously, it counted all devices that pinged Google servers. The latest stats, updated today, show a jump in the amount of actives (previously devices, now users) on Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 or higher), up to 25 percent from
16.5 percent last month when it counted the old way. The number of devices recorded running Froyo and Gingerbread have taken the biggest hit, down 3.6 and 4 percentage points, respectively.
There are a few ways to react to this, particularly remembering that these numbers are meant to help developers figure out how many users are available to target on the various versions of Android and types of hardware. It may help give a clearer picture of what setups the active users that developers hope to reach are using, without being muddied by little-used zombie hardware. On the other hand, it could be seen as a way to juke stats which have been used against Google's mobile OS by its competitors
like Apple. Whichever side of the line one finds themselves on, more data is available by clicking on the source link below.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Tablets,
Software,
Mobile,
Google
Comments
Source: Android Developers (Google+),
Android Dashboard
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Outlook.com calendar gets redesign, offers improved nav and sharing options
Now that
Outlook.com seems to have its
email product sorted, the folks up in Redmond have turned their attention to that other popular cloud service: the online calendar. Indeed, Outlook.com has completely revamped its digital planner, resulting in a clean and fresh redesign that is reminiscent of the company's other
web products. Overall navigation is said to be more intuitive; for example, adding and editing events takes just one click, and a day view is presented just by selecting the date. Features include Exchange ActiveSync compatibility, integration with social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, calendar-sharing with friends and family, the ability to import .ics files and more. As you might expect, the design philosophy carries over to the smartphone and tablet side of things as well. While we're not sure if the redesign is enough to woo fans over from its
Mountain View counterpart, it's at least a lot easier on the eyes than it was previously. The new look is rolling out slowly starting today and will be available to all users this week.
Filed under:
Internet,
Microsoft
Comments
Source: Outlook Blog
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Notre Dame students highlight method for 3D printing skeletons of living animals
Can you really claim to love your pet if you haven't
printed out its skeletal structure for your mantle? Sure everyone expresses themselves in different ways, but the "3D Printing of Preclinical X-ray Computed Tomographic Data Sets" outlined by a team of
Notre Dame students and a rep from
MakerBot certainly beats getting your pet's face printed on a sweater. The researchers have outlined a method for CT scanning live mice, rats and rabbits and printing out their skeletal structures in plastic. There are some cool research applications for such functionality, but more importantly, who could ask for a creepier gift for the pet owner in your life?
Filed under:
Peripherals,
Science,
Alt
Comments
Via: Boing Boing,
Wired
Source: Jove (Subscription Required)
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The Daily Roundup for 04.02.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Comments
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Viber for Windows Phone 8 update adds free VoIP calling with HD audio
After several months as a watered down messaging app, Viber for Windows Phone 8 is finally catching up to its
Android and
iOS counterparts. Starting today, the redesigned VoIP application now supports free calls with HD audio, lock screen notifications and the ability to pin conversations to your Start screen. This
Metro modern UI version of Viber also includes photo sharing and group conversations with up to 40 participants. So, if your call plan is running low on minutes and the
latest version of Skype just isn't cutting the mustard, head on over to the source link to give this free VoIP software a whirl.
Filed under:
Software,
Mobile,
Microsoft
Comments
Via: Windows Phone Blog
Source: Windows Phone Store
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Tesla Model S now eligible for non-traditional lease with resale guarantee
Just as
Tesla isn't in the business of making average cars, it's just introduced a leasing program for the Model S sedan that's not entirely run-of-the-mill. Unique to the company's 66-month lease program, you'll find the option of selling the
Model S after 36 months at a price that's pegged to the residual value of the Mercedes S Class. While that may sound all fine and dandy, be warned, if you couldn't afford a Model S before, there's a good chance it's still be a wee bit out of your grasp. The Tesla Model S 85kWh edition runs $1,199 per month, which then becomes slightly more palatable once tax credits are factored in. On the average, individuals can expect to pay between $732 to $940 per month for the privilege of leasing a Model S. Meanwhile, business users stand to benefit even more, who can use tax credits to bring the overall cost down to $505 per month. Feel free to hit up the source links if you now think
Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year is an expense you can stomach, but for the rest of us, we'll just keep dreaming.
Filed under:
Transportation
Comments
Source: Tesla (1),
(2)
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Insert Coin: LineCam is a high-flying cable car system for your camera
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
Father and son team Nick and Larry Braun want to build a portable zip line system for cameras. Problem is, predictably, design and manufacturing cost a lot of money. So, the two have turned to
Kickstarter and are asking for a little help in getting their LineCam project off the ground. The duo are actually building two different models: the simple, gravity-powered Glide and the motorized Flow. Both are wheeled carts that attach to a cable and have mounts for various cameras, including standard tripod mounts for shuttling DSLRs through the air. The Glide is capable of using smaller gauge line and has a simpler rigging assembly, which helps keep cost and weight down. The remote controlled Flow, on the other hand, requires a much more robust setup.
The Flow is definitely the more interesting of the two products. Rather than simply riding the cable under the the influence of physics, it features an RF remote with speed control and the ability to run in reverse. And the 10,900mAh battery is charged in part by a regenerative breaking system packed into the shuttle. Having all this machined aluminum made here in the US isn't cheap however. The Glide platform alone (that includes none of the rigging or cabling) will require a pledge of $510. The Flow? A jaw dropping $4,535. And if you want all the necessary equipment to film your exploits from the air you'll have to offer support totally $5,600. Still, if you're serious about your photography and video, it might not seem like that absurd a price. Heck, the
GoPro guys seem to like it. Check out the video pitch for the LineCam after the break.
Filed under:
Peripherals
Comments
Via: GizMag
Source: Kickstarter
Read More ...
HTC First pictured ahead of Thursday's Facebook event (update: now with more colors)
The mysterious
Facebook event is quickly
approaching, and as luck would have it, @evleaks is hooking us up with an image of the device that we'll be introduced to on Thursday, known as the HTC first. If this is indeed accurate, the press render you see above is what was previously known as the HTC Myst (as well as the Opera and Buffy, if you go back in time far enough). We still don't have any confirmation on specs, but there are whispers that it will feature a program called
Facebook Home, which will serve as the phone's home screen and launcher. While we can't glean much from the image itself, it at least seems as though the first will offer the same three-button capacitive key layout as most Android devices -- this is important to note, as HTC's
last attempt at a Facebook-integrated smartphone featured a unique button specifically for the social media service.
In terms of actual specs,
Android Police leaked quite a few: it's a midrange phone with dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear camera, 1.6MP front-facing cam, Sense 4.5 on top of Android 4.1.2 and a 4.3-inch 720p display. We'll have a lot more info coming your way on Thursday morning, but this is a good taste to get you going in the meantime -- if you have a love for smartphones with deep Facebook integration, at least.
Update: If the black casing of the purported HTC First left you feeling a bit... uninspired, then fret not, because @evleaks has just released additional glimpses of the device in question -- this time in red, white and blue. Hop the break for a peek of the patriotic colors. [via
9to5Google]
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Wireless,
Mobile,
HTC,
Facebook
Comments
Source: @evleaks
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York announces pay-as-you-go EV charging network, beats London to the punch
The city of York just announced a plan to install a network of pay-as-you-go
charging stations for electric vehicles, the first such system to launch in the UK. York is already home to 12 free charging points, but these are located in lesser-known areas such as private parking lots. The new stations will be installed in public lots in the city center as well as near supermarkets and hotels.
According to the City of York Council, the charging technology can add a 30-mile range to a car's battery within a half hour of use. EV owners will be able to track energy usage and find nearby charging stations from their phones -- via an app, we can safely assume -- and by registering their credit cards, they'll be able to pay instantly by phone or text message. It remains to be seen whether other English cities will follow suit. The capital has
Source London, which requires an annual fee of €100 for use of 900-plus charging points in the city, but there will be even more drivers in need of power-ups when the
Tesla Model S hits Old Blighty's shores.
Filed under:
Transportation
Comments
Via: The Next Web
Source: City of York Council
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Kobo finally makes its e-readers available through its own site
Strange, but until now, if you were aching for a
Kobo reader, the company's site would redirect you to a third-party like Best Buy or select independent booksellers. The tablet / e-reader maker has finally opened up direct sales of devices like the
Kobo Glo,
Mini and
Arc through its site to interested parties in Canada and the US. Of course, if you're so inclined, you can still buy those products and a number of accessories through the aforementioned partner sites. There's a press release after the break to help you decide.
Filed under:
Tablets
Comments
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South Korea defense ministry reportedly crafts cyber policy group to unify security
If you hadn't heard, South Korea's under a lot of pressure lately as a result of a spate of internet-based attacks against the country's banks and broadcasters on March 20th, which some worry (though can't confirm) was the result of a large-scale hacking campaign. The country won't simply stand idle and brace for another hit, according to the
Yonhap News Agency. An unnamed senior official says that South Korea's Ministry of Defense is complementing its Cyber Command division with a policy group, not unlike its
UK equivalent. The new group would coordinate online security across different military sections, refining a defensive
cyberwarfare strategy and recruiting more people to bulk up the digital front lines. Provided the claim is accurate, the policy unit would ready before the first half of the year is over -- and likely not a moment too soon.
[Image credit: John Pavelka,
Flickr]
Filed under:
Networking,
Internet
Comments
Via: The Next Web
Source: Yonhap News Agency
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Google Drive rolling out UI tweaks for shared folders
As much as we love
Google Drive, its neither the prettiest nor simplest cloud storage interface. New UI tweaks rolling out to users starting today aren't suddenly going to change that hierarchy too much, but they should add some much needed polish. When you view shared folders now, you'll get a much more visually appealing layout and access to the new
preview function that lets you quickly flip between files. And, perhaps the most welcome change, is the new "Add to Drive" button that will conspicuously live in the upper right-hand corner. Now adding shared material to your own Drive account is just a single click away. Normally, this is where we'd say hit up the source for more details, but that's really it. Enjoy!
Filed under:
Internet,
Google
Comments
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Drive (Google+)
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LG Lucid2 available at Verizon for free on April 4th, entry-level smartphone lovers rejoice
The original
LG Lucid came to Verizon just a little over a year ago as a midrange device, and today we got word that its sequel, the
Lucid2 (VS870), is now ready to show up in similar capacity. Said to be Big Red's version of the
LG Optimus F5, the device is aimed at the first-time smartphone buyer and is available online for free (with a two-year commitment) beginning April 4th, while retail availability will be in the coming weeks. Among its boasted features are a Starter Mode with a simplified UI -- much like what we've seen on Pantech phones recently -- as well as a 5MP rear camera, 4.3-inch qHD IPS display, 2,460mAh battery, Android 4.1.2, unspecified 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. Wireless charging will also be available if you purchase a separate battery cover for $40. Hit the press release below for more specs and details.
Note: The press release gives two online availability dates (today and April 4th) but LG has confirmed to us that the former is simply a typo.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Wireless,
Mobile,
Verizon,
LG
Comments
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Firefox 20 official with a seamless download manager, private windows (video)
Some
Firefox releases have more
noticeable changes than
others. We'd say that the newly finalized Firefox 20 is firmly in that first camp. The new release gives desktop users a Safari-like download manager that pops out from the toolbar, making it possible to check on a big download without anything so ungainly as a separate window. Also new are more refined approaches to private browsing that can open a new window (on the desktop) or tab (
on Android) for those extra-personal, secretive... gift-shopping sessions, according to Mozilla. Whether or not you believe that euphemism, there's no doubt that Android users receive their own specific treat through support for lower-end ARMv6 phones, including relative oldies like the
HTC Legend and Samsung
Galaxy Q. Hit the source links to stay current with Firefox, no matter how innocuous your intentions might be.
Filed under:
Internet,
Software
Comments
Via: Mozilla Blog
Source: Mozilla,
Google Play
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NZN Labs launches Lit, a social-enhanced fitness tracker for adventurous types
No, your existing
fitness tracker probably isn't good enough -- not if you frequently participate in "extreme sports" and wish to log every possible measurement as you cycle, snowboard, surf or just go about your day. At least, that's what the folks at NZN Labs hope you believe -- their new Lit wrist-mounted tracking device being the answer to all your prayers. You can slap Lit on your wrist, or mount it in other ways, and the battery is said to keep the logs churning for up to a week. Metrics vary depending on the activity -- surfers, for example, will track the number of paddles, waves attempted and ridden, max g-force and the longest wave.
Fortunately, it's waterproof to 30 feet, and all the gathered info gets booted to the cloud through your smartphone and Bluetooth 4.0. You earn "points" for certain athletic achievements, letting you pit yourself against friends and other folks, in the off chance that you feel the need to up the ante when it comes to competition. Lit hits
Indiegogo for $99 pre-orders beginning today, or you can wait for the device to ship to retailers, at which point you'll be able to pick one up for $149.
Filed under:
Wearables
Comments
Source: Lit (Indiegogo)
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Hacker turns Kindle Paperwhite into wireless Raspberry Pi terminal
The Raspberry Pi is all about low-cost computing, which makes this particular
hack quite fitting, as it allows you to make a terminal for your lil' Linux machine out of something you may already have at home: a
Kindle Paperwhite. Displeased with the glare from his laptop's screen on a sunny day, Max Ogden was inspired to find something better and ended up with this
Paperwhite hack. It builds on the original "Kindleberry Pi" method for the
Kindle Keyboard, although Ogden had to massage it for the newer model and added some extra hardware to make the setup as wireless as possible. You wouldn't call the end result a monitor, as such -- the Paperwhite logs into an SSH session running on the Pi, so it "pretty much only works for terminals." That's probably for the best, as Ogden guesses the lag between wireless keyboard and e-ink screen is around 200ms, but at least it has portability, battery life and sunlight readability in the 'pros' column. Details of the project can be found at the source below, meaning only time (and probably, a few peripherals) stands between you and the ultimate
hipster coffee shop machine.
Filed under:
Misc,
Software,
Amazon
Comments
Via: Raspberry Pi
Source: Max Ogden
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Pentax K-30 DSLR adds 15 new color options, gets both matte and gloss finishes
You might recall the weather-sealed delights of Pentax's
K-30, but if you don't, perhaps a new palette of colors will leave a more permanent impression. The 16.3-megapixel DSLR can now be picked up in 15 new finishes, split between gloss and matte, and includes Bordeaux (that'll be deep red), White, Orange, Yellow, Green, Silver and Blue colors. However, it's
still not the most customization options Pentax has offered. The K-30 has a long way to go if it wants to best the
100 variants of its mirrorless sibling, the Q10. Each one retails for $800, but to get the full catalog, you'll have to pass the digital doors of Pentax's online store.
Filed under:
Cameras
Comments
Source: Pentax Store
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Yahoo! Mail adds Dropbox integration for simple sharing, end to attachment limits
Google,
Amazon and
Microsoft are finally getting the syncing cloud storage thing right. But,
Dropbox is still the player to catch. While the rest are still working on actually getting the desktop client stuff ironed out, the iconic blue box is
spreading its
tentacles across the web. Today Yahoo! announced a partnership that puts the pioneering storage service right in your inbox. Yahoo! Mail is now tightly integrated with Dropbox, allowing you to share files straight from your folders online or save attachments to them. The tie-in comes courtesy of
Dropbox Chooser, which also means an end to size limits for email attachments. Anything over 25MB is shared through a Dropbox link, rather than directly attached to your message. If you're a Yahoo! user you should see the new options in your inbox today.
Filed under:
Internet
Comments
Source: Yahoo!,
Dropbox
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Ergo launches the GoNote Mini, a 7-inch Android tablet / netbook hybrid, we go hands-on
We first encountered
Ergo Electronics at last year's Gadget Show Live, and since then the Birmingham-based tablet maker has graduated from its humble back-of-the-hall origins to become a major player. Its product range has swelled beyond its original
budget ICS slates with a range of AIO PCs, thin-and-light laptops and even a Windows 8 tablet that has more than a few strong hints of a KIRF Surface about it. Now it's launched the GoNote Mini, a scaled down 7-inch version of the education-ready tablet / netbook hybrid that's been doing the rounds since
last summer. We got to spend a few minutes playing around with the first production prototype and if you'd like to know more, after the break is where you want to be.
Filed under:
Tablets
Comments
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Windows Blue to be called Windows 8.1?
It's a world of code names out there, and final products rarely ever inherit the name given to them during the development process. It appears that Microsoft doesn't plan to buck the trend with the client version of
Windows Blue, an OS refresh that Mary Jo Foley says is destined to become Windows 8.1. The screenshot you see above of Build 9375 was leaked on
WinForum.eu and Foley has confirmed it with her sources; apparently Blue is poised to be kept under the Windows 8 umbrella instead of Win9, so the 8.x naming scheme would fit. Additionally, her sources have indicated that the Blue update for RT will simply be known as Windows RT 8.1. While we wait for official word from Microsoft, check out our
screenshot tour of a recently leaked build of the update -- after all, its functionality is a bit more important than whatever it gets named.
Filed under:
Desktops,
Software,
Microsoft
Comments
Source: ZDNet
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