The Intel Upgrade Service: Once again charging you $50 to do stuff your CPU already does

Fans of creative nickel-and-dime schemes will love this: Buy an Intel i3-2312M, i3-2102 or Pentium G622 and it just isn’t powerful enough, you can grab a $50 upgrade card. Enter the card’s code online and hidden capacity in your chip will suddenly become available for use. Those with longer memories will find this offer familiar, because Intel did the same thing last year with the Pentium G6951. You may be peeved at the idea of buying the same thing twice, but remember that the company is only targeting the limited service at low-end consumers who want a little bit extra from their budget desktop. If you’re interested in how much performance can be wrung from these chips, check out the source link below.

The Intel Upgrade Service: Once again charging you $50 to do stuff your CPU already does originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AnandTech  |  sourceIntel Upgrade Service  | Email this | Comments

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility
Happy Monday to you, and happy Monday to Motorola Mobility, which Google has announced is about to become its next acquisition. This comes hot on the heels of a $56 million Q2 net loss for Moto — and CEO Sanjay Jha’s less than subtle hints about going fishing for Android-related patent royalties. Now, at a price of $40 per share for a total of about $12.5 billion, Big G will be making Moto a “dedicated Android partner” to “supercharge the Android ecosystem” and “enhance competition in mobile computing.”

Larry Page had this to say about the deal:

Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.
What happens next? While this will of course strengthen the ties between hardware and software, Google is pledging to continue offering Android as an open platform — Moto will license it and others will be able to as ever. Additionally, Google will continue to operate its new toy as a separate business and not morph it into an in-house hardware wing. But, one has to wonder what this means for companies like Samsung, which partnered closely with Google on the Nexus S, and of course HTC, which released the Nexus One and the iconic G1. And then there’s the big question: just where does Moto Blur fit into this equation?

Update: More quotes from Android partners after the break.

Continue reading Google acquiring Motorola Mobility

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Official Google Blog  | Email this | Comments

RIM’s BlackBerry gets stamped by Canada Post


Forget the recent William & Kate commemorative stamps. RIM’s BlackBerry smartphone has been immortalized on ink in the Canada Post “Made in Canada” inventor series. In total there are four inventions that were honoured: Electric Oven, Pacemaker, Electric Wheelchair and the BlackBerry.

Curious why the BlackBerry smartphone made the cut? In the description it was because in “1999, when Research in Motion (RIM) founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie introduced the now iconic BlackBerry. Their invention freed information workers from their desks and changed the way the world communicates. Subsequent versions and continuous innovation have kept RIM and its BlackBerry device a front runner in the massive smart phone market.”

Source: Canada Post
Via: CrackBerry

Related posts:

  1. Canada Post releases BlackBerry app… Android app coming within a couple months
  2. BlackBerry honoured by Canadian Journalism Foundation for shaping journalism
  3. Canada Post releases iPhone app

ASUS Eee Pad Slider shows off its specs, may launch in September

ASUS’ Eee Pad Slider is fast becoming just as mythical as the flying horse the company’s named after. We’ve had several encounters with potential release windows for the slate, only to see it continually creep back into fall. Well, judging by a recent report from Notebook Italia and the tab’s new product page, it looks like we may actually see a September launch for the 10.1-incher — in Italy. Contrary to prior rumors, the company will be offering the Slider in two storage configurations — 16GB and 32GB at potential €479 and €599 price points overseas, while $400 and $550 models should hit the US. We've also got a slew of official specs for the Honeycomb-based device, which should ship with Android 3.1 installed, with a promised 3.2 upgrade to follow. The QWERTYfied tablet packs a 1280 x 800 WXGA display, dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of memory, 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, USB 2.0, mini-HDMI, microSD card reader, WiFi and Bluetooth. The company's also thrown in one year of "unlimited ASUS Web Storage" for your cloud computing needs. Will the electronics maker finally commit to a concrete launch for the Slider? We'll find out in a month's time.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider shows off its specs, may launch in September originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNotebook Italia (Translated), ASUS  | Email this | Comments

The official word on the glossy Xbox 360

You may have heard last week that Microsoft is changing the outer finish of the Xbox 360 250GB consoles from a glossy black to a matte black finish, similar to the current Xbox 360 4GB model

Some of the news outlets that covered it mentioned having a choice between matte and glossy Xbox 360s this holiday.

I wanted to set the record straight and let everyone know that that is not the case. 

We are actively transitioning all our Xbox 360 S consoles to a matte finish.  The consoles will start to arrive in stores over the coming weeks, so if you really love the idea of a glossy console don’t wait much longer.

Of course, we still may offer a gloss finish on Limited Edition consoles like the upcoming Gears of War 3 Console, but if you have your eye on a glossy black console you don’t have much time left.

 

Never Type WWW or .COM Again in Chrome [Video]

When going to a .com domain in Google Chrome, you don’t have to type the www. or .com because this handy keyboard shortcut can do it for you. Just press Control+Enter on any platform (it’s even Control+Enter on a Mac) and Chrome will take care of the rest. You can do this in Firefox, too, but it’s not just limited to .com. Either way, this can save you milliseconds of typing several times per day. More »







Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Well what do we have here? It looks like Ice Cream Sandwich might have escaped from Google’s freezer a little early. Let’s be clear here — we’re not 100 percent sure this is the next major version of Android, but the evidence is somewhat convincing. Both Android Police and RootzWiki posted screenshots of a Nexus S running a blue-ish themed skin which appears similar to the Gingerbread UI, but with a revised dock containing four icons instead of the usual three. Most of the changes are mild, but introduce functionality that already exist in Honeycomb. The camera app is said to gain a panorama mode, and the Gmail app is supposed to match the design of the new OS. Follow the links below for more details, and jump past the break for an additional picture.

Continue reading Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Police, RootzWiki  | Email this | Comments

Strange alien planet is impossibly black [Astronomy]

TrES-2b is a Jupiter-sized planet located about 750 light-years from Earth. It reflects just 1% of the sunlight that reaches it, making it essentially one vast black sphere. In fact, it’s darker than just about any substance found on Earth. We’ve never observed anything remotely like this before. More »

Google brings games to Google+

It may not have been the best kept secret around, but Google’s now made what’s surely the biggest addition to Google+ in its short lifespan: games. Unlike a certain other social network, Google says games in Google+ are “there when you want them and gone when you don’t,” meaning that they won’t flood your main stream if you never play them — you have to click the games icon at the top of the page to play and see updates from your circles. According to Google, the service is rolling out “gradually” starting today, but should be available to all Google+ users “soon.”

Google brings games to Google+ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle  | Email this | Comments