Author: Terren

Guess who’s sneakily beating the pack to the title of having the globe’s first 7-inch Honeycomb tablet… why, it’s none other than ViewSonic! The ViewPad 7x (1024 x 600 resolution) managed to leak out earlier this month, but now it’s fully official with Google’s Android 3.0.1 OS, HSPA+ connectivity, and a pair of cameras, one on the front and one on the back. A Tegra 2 dual-core processor plus an HDMI-out have also been included inside a featherweight 380g package. Ironically, ViewSonic’s neglected to provide a release date for this “world first” tablet, but we’ll be hitting up its booth here at Computex for some more hands-on time and making sure to collect that and every other salient detail about the ViewPad 7x.

Continue reading ViewPad 7x aims to become world’s first 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, adds HSPA+ for good measure

ViewPad 7x aims to become world’s first 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, adds HSPA+ for good measure originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 02:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Skype forums are a hive of panic and abuzz with accusations that either the company is bundling crapware with its VoIP app or has a serious security problem. Users are reporting that a strange, new, and difficult to uninstall program is finding its way on to their PCs called EasyBits GO. EasyBits is the company that has powered Skype’s games channel since 2006, but at least until now its wares have not been standalone software. One moderator has declared EasyBits Go is not part of Skype and suggested customers immediately run a malware scan, but mods are volunteers and not official representatives of the company, so we’re taking it with a grain of salt. Another (later) post from a forum admin simply states that Skype is looking into the issue and will release an official statement, though we have no idea when that might actually happen and we’re awaiting reply to our own request for comment.

It appears that a rep from EasyBits Media has taken to the forums to quell some of the outrage, but to no avail. Posts from the team are painfully vague, saying that it was part of an update to the gaming platform and apologizing for the misunderstanding, before linking directly to an .exe that it claims will remove the offending software. To say that forum users are wary of the executable would be an understatement (most responses have involved torrents of profanity). Reports are that the suspicious app is installing itself without any approval from users, but we can’t confirm this since any attempts to install in our lab of doom resulted only in errors while downloading. For now, we’ll just have to wait for word from Skype, and the company better move quick — the pain of the recent outage is still fresh in many customers’ minds.

Update: Skype has officially confirmed that EasyBits GO was erroneously added to its installer, and says that the buggy update has been disabled for now. Strangely, the official blog suggests that disabling the software is a temporary measure, and that it might reappear soon, as Skype will “work with them to correct the problems and user experience” that led to user qualms.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Skype taken to task by angry users over claimed crapware payload (update: disabled for now) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ official Android 3.1 update should be coming soon enough, but Eee Pad Transformer users that just can’t wait now have another option at their disposal. A seemingly final version of the update leaked out over the weekend and, by all accounts, it appears to work just fine. Of course, there aren’t a ton of surprises considering that it’s stock Android 3.1, but the early reports suggest that performance and general responsiveness have been improved (with the exception of JavaScript performance, which has actually taken a bit of a hit), and the 3.1 upgrade also enables a new firmware update for the Transformer dock, which brings with it some bug fixes and a new power saving mode. Hit up the source link below for all the information you need to install it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android 3.1 update for ASUS Eee Pad Transformer leaks out originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wow, so our theory and mockup turned out to be pretty much spot on: indeed, the oddly named ASUS PadFone does tuck itself into a shielded docking bay on the back of its companion tablet, and the latter’s hinged cover appears to pop up upon releasing the latch. You can also just about make out the two ports inside which are likely to be HDMI and micro-USB — one for driving the larger display, and the other for taking care of touch input while possibly sipping juice from an extra battery somewhere. Now, what we really like to know is which version of Android will be shipped (if ever) with this split-personality phone — our money’s on Ice Cream Sandwich, given that this flavor will happily cater both phone and tablet form factors later this year. That said, given the uniqueness of this product, ASUS could probably still get away with taking a step back and launch this as a Gingerbread tablet. Well, we shall dig up more answers for y’all tomorrow, and stay tuned for some sweet hands-on time.

Continue reading This is the ASUS PadFone

This is the ASUS PadFone originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The union representing Canada Post workers has told its members to prepare for a strike amid stalled negotiations with the Crown corporation.

We’ve already seen a glimpse of ASUS’ “pad or phone” duo — likely to be named Padfone — hanging out in their latest teaser pic, and now thanks to the folks over at Notebook Italia, we can finally gaze at their much brighter, non-silhouette form. Despite the awkward cropping, the leaked product shot above echoes the same shape and set of Android soft keys as seen previously. Upon closer inspection, though, we believe that the newly-shown silver bar is just the phone’s volume rocker, rather than a potential docking port. So how do the two physically bond together, if at all? Until tomorrow’s launch event, your guess is just as good as ours.

Update: So here’s our theory: the slide button ASUS teased in round one is probably for unlatching a cover on the back, which in turn houses the phone in a landscape docking bay underneath. We’re basing this on the oddly positioned dent that could very well be an opening for the phone’s camera, so the cover would either pop out on a hinge or be entirely removable. See our own rough mockup after the break.

Continue reading ASUS Padfone shown off in proper brightness ahead of launch? (Update: new mockup)

ASUS Padfone shown off in proper brightness ahead of launch? (Update: new mockup) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who found ten million dollars to drop on the first commercially available quantum computer? Lockheed Martin, it seems, as the aerospace defense contractor has just begun a “multi-year contract” with the quantum annealing experts at D-Wave to develop… nothing that they’re ready or willing to publicly discuss at this time. This “strategic relationship” marks the second major vote of confidence in D-Wave’s technology, after Google built image detection algorithms for the company’s processors a couple years back. Or, perhaps Lockheed Martin just wants a new shiny black toy for the Skunk Works labs. PR after the break.

Continue reading D-Wave sells first commercial quantum computer to Lockheed Martin

D-Wave sells first commercial quantum computer to Lockheed Martin originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I ran into a number of hiccups in my review of the Eee Pad Transformer last month. Some of the issues were of course due to the early nature of Honeycomb, while others were just problems with ASUS' implementation. Just yesterday ASUS gave me a drop of the OTA (over the air) update that's coming to all Eee Pad users on Monday. This update will give the Eee Pad Android 3.1, the long-awaited point release to Honeycomb that is supposed to fix bugs, improve performance and even enable some new functionality. Xoom owners got access to the update earlier this month thanks to it being Google's launch device for Honeycomb, but ASUS isn't far behind.

I haven't had a lot of time with the update but I wanted to go over some of the enhancements and give you Eee Pad users a preview of what's to come on Monday. Read on!

Iran’s telecommunications chief has stated that, in two years, the Iranian people will have use a state-controlled internet as a way to enforce Islamic values and combat Western influence. Right. Because turning off the internet worked in the region before. More »

According to the research of one Remco Suer, mosquitoes might somehow be attracted to the bacteria in your sweat-soaked feet. That means finding a way to isolate these odors could reduce their nuisance and even slow the spread of disease. More »

Windows: If you’ve ever watched a tutorial or walk-through that’s been sped up, or a minutes-long video that seems to span hours or days, you’ve seen a time lapse video. They look great, and while they’re usually created by stitching together hundreds or thousands of snapshots, Chronolapse is an app that makes it easy. More »

Gigabyte has decided to simplify matters for those who want the power of an SSD in their desktop, but don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying and connecting one. The company’s new Z68XP-UD3-iSSD (catchy, no?) motherboard comes with a 20GB Intel SSD 311 mounted right on it. It’s not clear if you can simply dump files on it like a normal drive — what it can do, however, is use Intel’s Smart Response tech to cache frequently accessed data, like your OS, to improve performance. Essentially, it turns any hard disk you connect to the system into a hybrid drive with a much larger reserve of flash storage, which should sound somewhat familiar. The board also features the ability to switch between discrete and built-in graphics thanks to Lucid Logix’s Virtu. The rest of the features are pretty standard fare: USB 3.0, a pair of 16x PCI-E slots, and 6GB SATA connections. The latest Z68 board from Gigabyte will go on sale early in June and, while we don’t have a price, we’ve done a little (PR) embedding of our own after the break.

Continue reading Gigabyte bolts an SSD to a motherboard (so you don’t have to)

Gigabyte bolts an SSD to a motherboard (so you don’t have to) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer might still be difficult to track down, but at least all systems are go for the company’s other Honeycomb tablet, the Eee Pad Slider. The company confirmed today that the 10.1-inch tablet, originally slated for May, is “coming soon” — no word, of course, on whether it will ditch Tegra 2 for an Atom Z670 CPU, as rumored. Next up, ASUS, give us a price, capiche? Last time we checked, the company was estimating it would cost between $500 and $800, so your guess is as good as ours as to how sweet a value this will be. Hopefully, we’ll get to see this elusive tab again at Computex next week, but in the meantime, hit the source links for some tightly cropped teaser shots of it running Honeycomb.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider going on sale ‘soon,’ price is still anyone’s guess originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 21:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Saskatchewan man who shot his daughter’s boyfriend to death should spend 11 years in prison for the crime, a prosecutor argues at Kim Walker’s sentencing hearing.