Samsung Galaxy S 4 now available online at Sprint, in stores today at AT&T
Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the
Galaxy S 4, is making a big move into the US today with an
online arrival at Sprint and
in-store availability
at AT&T. If you're a Now Network subscriber and happened to
miss out on the carrier's pre-order action, you might want to make some
quick moves onto Sprint's website in order to secure your new handset,
which goes up for sale at midnight Central Time. In a not-so-cool move,
however, only those porting their number to Sprint are eligible for the
carrier's $100 price break, which means all of you who've stuck through
the dark days of EV-DO will need to pony up $249.99 for the Galaxy S 4.
Meanwhile, if you're aching to lay your hands on Samsung's 1080p
handset, you can finally get some gratification, as AT&T is now
offering the smartphone for in-store purchase and play. Here, you'll pay
$199.99 for the handset, and while it's potentially more expensive, at
least AT&T's pricing scheme doesn't involve fine print
shenanigans.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Mobile,
Samsung,
Sprint,
AT&T
Comments
Source: AT&T (Twitter),
Sprint
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Developers gain root access on Google Glass, not yet sure what to do with it
Access to Google's Glass headsets is still limited to a
lucky few, but that's more than enough to include several curious coders. Some have had success identifying the
hardware contained within,
but others are focusing on the software. Cydia founder Jay Freeman
posted the above image on Twitter this afternoon to show that he had
gained root access on his unit, telling
Forbes he relied upon a
well-known Android 4.0.4 exploit to take control of its OS. The bad
news? He hasn't been able to use it much yet, since the Explorer edition
isn't quite
ready for prescription glasses wearers.
For now, the question of whether the same technique will work on
eventual retail versions remains unanswered, as well as what it's
actually going to be useful for. Steven Troughton-Smith suggests
developers can use it to try out more complicated apps than
Google currently allows,
including always-on heads-up displays or camera apps. Overcoming any
remote deactivation Google may try to enforce or loading your own
unauthorized apps are also definite possibilities, though we're sure
others will surface soon.
Filed under:
Wearables,
Google
Comments
Source: Jay Freeman (Twitter),
Forbes,
9to5Google
Read More ...
Oppo's 4.7-inch, 6.93mm-thick R809T pays homage to the Finder
No, this isn't the world's thinnest phone thanks to
Alcatel and
BBK,
but Oppo's recently announced R809T is still a seemingly attractive
device judging by the above official image. Measuring at 6.93mm thick
(instead of the
rumored 6.13mm), we're surprised that Oppo didn't set this to be the follow-up to the
Finder:
sure, it's 0.28mm thicker, but it also aces the latter with a 4.7-inch
720p in-cell display, a 1.2GHz quad-core chip with 1GB RAM (likely
MediaTek's Cortex-A7-based
MT6589 SoC), Android 4.2
and
a sorely missed 3.5mm headphone jack -- so no micro-USB adapter
required. Then there's also an 8-megapixel main camera plus an
increasingly common 2-megapixel, 88-degree wide front-facing imager,
which is obviously no match for the 5-megapixel counterpart on Oppo's
Ulike 2.
Pricing
and availability have yet to be announced, but given the "T" in the
model name, chances are it'll only work on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA
network, anyway; unless you
really don't mind using just GSM. Close-up shot after the break.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Mobile
Comments
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: Sina Weibo (login required)
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Clipr sends pasted text to your phone via SMS with a press of a button
If you've ever wanted to send some text from your computer to your phone, you usually have to go with a dedicated app like
Evernote,
with a mobile app required at the other end. With the new version of
Clipr for Mac, however, all you need to do is enter your phone number in
the settings and the info will magically appear on your mobile device
via SMS -- just press the command key when selecting a clip and away
it'll go. Right now all major US carriers are supported, with the promise of more to come. For
the uninitiated, Clipr is a clipboard manager that works with your
computer's existing copy and paste system without any special key
combos. Bear in mind that while the app itself is free, the
aforementioned SMS feature costs $0.99 extra. Still, at least this particular clip-inspired helper looks to be a lot better than, you know,
that other one.
Filed under:
Software,
Mobile,
Apple
Comments
Source: Clipr (Mac App Store)
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Root exploit unearthed for Snapdragon-based Galaxy S 4
Inventory
delays may stifle prospective
Galaxy S 4 owners, but such pesky hurdles appear to have little effect on Android's development community. An
XDA-Developers member by the name of "djrbliss" has constructed a root exploit for Snapdragon-powered variants (see: all US carrier versions) of Samsung's newly christened flagship. While burrowing into your phone's software always carries some risk, the bold will find a complete how-to at the source link below.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Software,
Mobile,
Samsung
Comments
Via: Droid-Life
Source: XDA-Developers
Read More ...
Japan clears 787s for takeoff pending FAA-approved battery fix
Japan's
transport minster, Akihiro Ohta, announced today that the country's
airliners can resume flying grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners once a
newly approved battery system is installed. "We have reached a conclusion that there is no problem with the judgment by the FAA," Ohta told the
Associated Press.
Back in January
two separate fires caused by the 787's lithium ion batteries led to the
FAA temporarily grounding all Dreamliners. Japan's decision comes
shortly after Boeing's CEO, Jim McNerney,
stated
during the company's recent fiscal conference call that he expected all
50 aircraft to be fixed by the middle of May. Japanese airline
officials are forecasting a slightly longer timeline, with the country's
787s returning to the skies around June and test flights scheduled to
begin on April 28th.
Filed under:
Transportation
Comments
Via: The Verge
Source: Associated Press
Read More ...
Artificial sense of touch gets smarter, lets robots really feel
The
verdict's still out on whether or not androids dream of electric sheep.
But their ability to feel? Well, that's about to approach levels of
human sensitivity. We're of course talking about the sense of touch, not
emotions. And thanks to work out of Georgia Tech,
tactile sensitivity for robotics, more secure e-signatures and general
human-machine interaction
is about to get a great 'ol boost. Through the use of thousands of
piezotronic transistors (i.e., grouped vertical zinc oxide nanowires)
known as "taxels," a three-person team led by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang has
devised a way to translate motion into electronic signals. In other
words, you're looking at a future in which robotic hands interpret the
nuances of a surface or gripped object akin to a human fingertip and
artificial skin senses touch similar to the way tiny hairs on an arm do.
What's
more, the tech has use outside of robotics and can even be levereged
for more secure e-signature verification based on speed and pressure of a
user's handwriting. And the best part? These sensors can be
manufactured on transparent and flexible substrates like the one
pictured above, which allows for various real-world applications -- just
use your imagination. Pretty soon, even robots will have the pleasure
of enjoying
the touch... the feel of cotton and maybe even hum that jingle to themselves, too.
Filed under:
Science,
Alt
Comments
Via: MIT Technology Review
Source: Georgia Tech,
Science
Read More ...
Uber's back in Gotham: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission approves cab-hailing app
Car
service Uber and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC)
have had a rocky relationship, as the Commission banned Uber from
Gotham's taxicabs last year. Susequently, the TLC greenlit a trial to
test
cab hailing apps and after a
brief legal delay, the pilot program is back in action, and
Valleywag
reports that Uber is the first app approved to participate in it.
Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick is, quite naturally, excited to be
back in NYC taxis with the commission's
tacit
explicit approval, and stated that the app will be ready for use across
the city "monetarily." So, it's official, good people of Gotham, you
can now legally go forth and get your Uber on.
Filed under:
Transportation,
Software,
Mobile
Comments
Via: The Verge
Source: Valleywag
Read More ...
The Daily Roundup for 04.26.2013
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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This week on gdgt: Samsung plays it safe with the Galaxy S 4
Each week, our friends at
gdgt
go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which
ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you
should probably avoid. Want more? Visit
gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and
subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Comments
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AirDroid 2.0 update adds phone finder, camera access and cellular data use
If you're an Android user with a pressing need to
transfer files
from your phone to your computer (and vice versa), there's a good
chance you've heard of AirDroid. The remote access tool, which has been
widely available on the
Play Store
for ages, has finally received an update that makes it even more
useful. First, a primer: AirDroid gives you the ability to access all of
the files on your phone -- APKs, music, photos, videos and plenty more
-- directly in a web app on your browser, which offers an Android-like
user interface. You can view or download videos, pull up your contact
lists and even send and receive messages, just as if you were using the
phone itself.
Version 2.0, which has been in the works for several
months, adds even more useful functionality. The update now gives you
the ability to access your phone with a cellular data connection,
whereas WiFi was the only option previously. It also throws in a "Find
my Phone" feature, a remote wipe and a camera option that will let you
see your phone's front or rear camera views -- as well as snap pictures
remotely and store them directly on your computer -- without activating
the display (a very useful feature in case your prized possession gets
stolen). It also supports incoming call notifications, as well as the
opportunity to initiate outgoing ones. Not bad for a free (ad-supported)
app, so head to the link below to check it out.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Software,
Mobile
Comments
Via: AndroidPolice,
MobileSyrup
Source: Play Store
Read More ...
Samsung reportedly launching new 8-inch tablet in June, Galaxy S 4 Active in July
Samsung Gulf president Young Soo Kim reportedly made casual mention of an upcoming rugged take on the
Galaxy S 4 at a press event earlier in the week, but left out any details. Sources for the
Wall Street Journal
claim to know more of the story, and it sounds like the toughened phone
won't be alone this summer. The Galaxy S 4 Active, as it's rumored to
be called, would arrive in July and carry the dust- and waterproofing of
spiritual predecessors like the
Galaxy Xcover 2 while maintaining the GS 4's design language. A smaller, 4.3-inch parallel to the GS 4 would appear at the same time --
Galaxy S 4 Mini, anyone? The same tipsters also expect the release of a new 8-inch "Galaxy-line tablet" in June, which suggests the
Galaxy Note 8.0
may get a regular Tab counterpart. We wouldn't base our buying
strategies around the rumors when Samsung hasn't said anything that's
truly on the record, but it might be wise to hold off if you're not in a
rush.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Tablets,
Mobile,
Samsung
Comments
Source: Wall Street Journal
Read More ...
EVE Online dev reveals Oculus Rift-based space dogfighting 'experience' (update: video!)
It's not clear if Icelandic game studio CCP is extending its crazy MMO,
EVE Online, into the world of virtual reality, but the company is working on some form of
EVE-based VR application using
the Oculus Rift. CCP teased the concept during the keynote event at its Fanfest event this afternoon, showing off what looked like a modern
Wing Commander-style space shooter set in the world of
EVE (similar to the first-person shooter extension on PlayStation 3,
Dust 514), built using the Unity game engine.
EVE fansite
The Mittani
notes from a hands-on demonstration at Fanfest that the game is
currently 3v3 dogfighting employing the VR headset and an unnamed
"console-style game controller." Sadly, it sounds like the project is
little more than an internal curiosity at this point, but color us
unsurprised
if this pops up in a more polished form down the line. We'll add a
video of CCP's presentation to this post as soon as it goes live -- we
were marveled by the gorgeous visuals and gameplay promise of a space
shooter which employs VR.
Several games are currently in development for the Oculus Rift, and Valve's
Team Fortress 2 already supports the device.
However, the headset that's currently available is a development kit,
and not meant as representative of the final retail product.
Update: We've added the video from Fanfest below the break!
Filed under:
Gaming,
Peripherals,
Software
Comments
Source: Twitch.tv
Read More ...
Editor's Letter: The new consoles are coming
In each issue of Distro, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens publishes a wrap-up of the week in news.
This
week I'm writing from a special place: from the perspective of a Google
Glass owner. Well, to be honest I'm not wearing them this
exact
moment -- I'm actually at 30,000 feet, making the most of a Gogo
connection, and when your phone is in airplane mode there's not much
point in wearing the headset. Unless, of course, you're looking for a
conversation starter. In that role, the headset performs impeccably even
when turned completely off.
It's been an interesting couple days
wearing the headset around, days I'll continue to chronicle on the site
because I know many of you are eager to know what Glass is like. I know
this because I've had dozens of strangers come up to me and ask, "What's
it like?" Suffice to say, Glass is very interesting and the potential
is compelling, but right now the thing is somewhat frustrating in its
limited functionality. That'll change real soon as more developers get
to grips with the Mirror API.
Filed under:
Apple,
Samsung,
Sony,
Google,
Sprint,
AT&T,
T-Mobile,
Nintendo
Comments
Read More ...
Google Glass' vision of the future runs on a 2011 smartphone chip
Google Glass
may represent the future of wearables, but its components are a vestige
of the past -- 2011, to be exact. That's according to developer Jay Lee
who dug up some interesting Glass tidbits using Android Debug Bridge.
Taking to his Google+ page, Lee verified that Google's smart eyewear
currently runs on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich - a fact CEO Larry
Page has apparently fessed up to -- incorporates an
OMAP 4430
processor running at an unspecified frequency and is paired with about
682MB RAM (out of a likely 1GB), though it's not clear if this is a
dual-core setup. For non-mobile industry historians, this particular
Texas Instruments OMAP chipset hasn't been used since the
Droid Bionic and
Atrix 2
in 2011, making it relatively ancient by industry standards. So, what
other surprises lurk beneath the Glass? We'll leave those mysteries to
our EIC Tim Stevens to suss out in his
Glass diaries.
Filed under:
Wearables,
Google
Comments
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Jay Lee (Google+)
Read More ...
Engadget Podcast 341 - 04.26.13
Hold
on a second. Where are you going? We know it's Friday afternoon, but
what plans could be more important than your weekly slice of Engadget
Podcast? Exactly. Take off your jacket, sit back down and eat it all up.
You'll thank us later.
Hosts: Brian Heater, Peter Rojas, Dana Wollman
Producers: James Trew,
Joe Pollicino
Hear the podcast:
Filed under:
Podcasts
Comments
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Nokia Lumia 520 review: does Nokia need another budget Windows Phone?
Oh,
for an easy life. Sometimes it'd be nice to just read a phone's spec
sheet, compare prices and make a decision. In a number of ways, the
Nokia Lumia 520
looks like just the type of handset where this ought to be possible: it
has the same reliable internals and happy design language that have
already proven their worth in the
Lumia 620,
but it makes a couple of sacrifices for the sake of its £115
pay-as-you-go price tag in the UK -- which undercuts the higher model by
a good £30-£50 depending on where you shop. It's even cheaper in the
US, where a $150
Lumia 521 variant (not the one reviewed here) is scheduled for general availability on T-Mobile starting tomorrow.
These
sacrifices seem straightforward enough, and they include things that
many smartphone users may barely notice, such as the absence of a
front-facing camera, camera flash module and NFC. The problem is that
the specs are never the full story. Like any phone, the Lumia 520 comes
with a few surprises. Read on and we'll try to root them out.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Mobile,
Nokia
Comments
Read More ...
Wii U Virtual Console now live on the eShop
The first of Nintendo's planned
Wii U firmware updates went live just yesterday, bringing a much needed
speed boost to software load times. And in that short time since, Nintendo's also made its retro-gaming
Virtual Console
portal available to users, effectively bypassing the need to boot into
the Wii emulator for access. The downside to this new, belated
convenience is that users will have to re-download any previously
purchased Virtual Console titles, though that additional cost is
relatively low at $1.00- $1.50 for NES and SNES games, respectively.
Unfortunately, you'll still have to wait a bit longer for those beloved
Game Boy Advance and N64 classics to make their way to the VC, as
Nintendo plans to include those games sometime "in the future." Still,
with
band-aid number one out of the way for the
ailing console
and a host of tried-and-true classics now easily accessible, Wii U
owners have a little something to tide them over until that late summer
Pikmin 3 launch.
Filed under:
Gaming,
Nintendo
Comments
Source: Nintendo of America (Twitter)
Read More ...
Galaxy S4 teardown reveals the silicon beauty within the plastic beast
What's in a
Galaxy S4? A whole lot of easily repairable parts, it turns out. The fine folks at
iFixit
recently got their hands on Samsung's smartphone flagship and wasted no
time in tearing it asunder. Scoring an eight out of ten on the
repairability scale, the GS4 puts up little defense to tinkering hands
with only 11 screws standing between you and its innards. The front
panel serves up the single source of difficulty since the glass and LCD
are fused together and glued into the frame -- so, you'll have to scoop
out most of its components to get to it and the Synaptics S5000B chip
powering the tweaked capacitive display. Other than that, there aren't
really any component surprises. But don't let that stop you from taking a
full tour of the gore-y silicon glory at the source.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Wireless,
Samsung
Comments
Source: iFixit
Read More ...
LG Cloud rolling out in over 40 more countries by late May
Although LG jumped into the deep end of the online services pool when it launched
LG Cloud
last year, it didn't have much to brag about when access was limited to
South Korea, Russia and the US. The company is about to broaden its
horizons considerably -- it now plans to deploy LG Cloud to more than 40
additional countries before the end of May. While the electronics giant
hasn't outlined its plans on a nation-by-nation basis, it's planning a
truly worldwide expansion that should include Asia, Europe and Latin
America. If your
Optimus G Pro and
brand new TV aren't already syncing their media in perfect harmony, there's a good chance that they will within a month's time.
Filed under:
Cellphones,
Home Entertainment,
Internet,
HD,
LG
Comments
Source: LG
Read More ...
Engadget's laptop buyer's guide: spring 2013 edition
You asked; you got it. When we ran our
first-ever laptop buyer's guide
earlier this year, many of you wrote in, requesting that we include
more affordable picks (not just, you know, twelve-hundred-dollar
Ultrabooks). So with this latest seasonal guide, we've added budget and
mid-range options, some with touchscreens, some without. The only
unfortunate thing? We're expecting Intel to drop its new
Haswell
chips sometime this summer, so it should go without saying that it
might be worth waiting for the various PC giants to refresh their
lineups before committing to anything. If you absolutely can't wait,
though, we've picked our favorites, with a particular emphasis on models
we don't
think will be going anywhere anytime soon.
Filed under:
Laptops,
Samsung,
Sony,
ASUS,
HP,
Dell,
Acer,
Lenovo
Comments
Read More ...
Tesla announces new service details, unconditional warranty for Model S battery
Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked a bit about his goals for expanded service options in his
interview with us
earlier this month, and he's today detailed some of those options that
the company is ready to roll out. That includes one perk that's been
mentioned previously: the ability to get a
Model S
loaner to tide you over when you have to turn your car in for service.
What's more, that loaner will be a top-of-the-line Model S regardless of
the car you turn in (there's a fleet of 85 to start with, each with
valet service to your location), and customers in "most markets" can
also opt to get a
Tesla Roadster
as a loaner if they'd prefer to try out something sportier. Musk
further explains that customers can even choose to keep that loaner car
if they like it better, and simply pay the difference.
Beyond that, Tesla is now making annual
checkups entirely optional, meaning that your warranty will still be
valid for the full term even if you never take your car in. And rounding
things out is what Tesla describes as an "unconditional warranty" on
Model S batteries, which will let owners get a factory
reconditioned unit as a replacement even in the case of user error. You
can find the full details on the new options in Musk's blog post
announcing the news linked below.
Filed under:
Transportation
Comments
Source: Tesla
Read More ...
Oculus' Palmer Luckey on the Motorola StarTAC and living in the meatspace
Every week, a new and interesting human being tackles our decidedly geeky take on the Proustian Q&A. This is the Engadget Questionnaire.
Oculus VR founder and designer
Palmer Luckey
has a go at our weekly set of questions while chatting perception
modification and the importance of a meatspace presence. Join us beyond
the jump in order to peruse the full collection of responses.
Filed under:
Misc,
Gaming
Comments
Source: Engadget Distro
Read More ...
HP's Slate 7 tablet goes on sale, brings on the Beats for $170
After a
false alarm, HP is keeping to its
initial promise of delivering its
Slate 7
Android tablet this month -- and with a few days to spare, no less. The
seven-inch device, which first popped up at MWC back in February, is
now on sale in the US through the company's retail site, for the low,
low price of $170. Click on the source link below to get your hands on
the Beats-rocking
Nexus 7 competitor.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under:
Tablets,
HP
Comments
Source: HP
Read More ...
Living with Google Glass, Day Two: Around the House
"You
look ridiculous." This was not exactly the reaction I was hoping to
receive from my wife the first time she saw me wearing Glass. She was
long-since asleep when I
arrived late the night before,
and so had missed my triumphant, technologically augmented homecoming. I
confess Google Glass is a bit odd-looking, but my wife is even more of a
hardcore Trekker than I am and I thought somehow this headgear would
channel her deep-seated love for bizarre, high-tech facial appendages.
Nope.
She wasn't the least bit impressed. When she tried them later, she came
around a bit, but spent more time saying the silicone grippers pinched
her nose than reveling in the potential future applications of such
technology. You can't please everybody.
Filed under:
Wearables,
Google
Comments
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