.::REALITYRECALL::.

Toshiba’s ET100/WT100 Honeycomb tablet clears the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Bold Touch makes brief appearance on RIM’s website originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That new processor smell has barely started to fade from Oak Trail and we’re already getting some tantalizing details about the next generation of Atom chips — Cedar Trail. As expected, Intel has moved to 32nm, which allows it to cram the GPU and the CPU onto the same sliver of silicon. The first two models, the D2500 and D2700, will be dual-core, sport 1MB of L2 cache, and have a miserly TDP of 10w — 3w lower than current dual-core Atoms. The former will be clocked at 1.86GHz with Hyper-Threading turned off, while the D2700 flips the switch on those two extra threads and kicks it up a notch to 2.13GHz. The new integrated graphics will boast better HD decoding and support for Blu-ray playback which, when combined with the taunts of fanless designs and WiDi, make Cedar Trail a natural fit for the living room.

Intel’s Cedar Trail gets some specs, combines CPU and GPU on a single chip originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SaskTel announced today that they have expanded their “4G” wireless network into 16 more locations… but more important news is that they’ll be bringing peak download speeds of 42 Mbps (megabits per second) this summer in Regina and Saskatoon. This means they’ll be launching a device than can handle the potential speeds… so be on […]

Related posts:

1. SaskTel continues to expand 3G+ coverage… now reaches 17 new locations
2. SaskTel 3G+ coverage expands to cover 26 new locations
3. SaskTel expands “4G” coverage to 12 new locations

A rubber boot full of water, some quick-thinking neighbours, and speedy work by a water rescue team came together to save a man’s life — just seconds before the surging Swift Current Creek washed away his vehicle.

Forget the United States’ low-collateral damage Small Diameter Bomb, France has begun using concrete filled training bombs to literally crush Gadhafi’s tanks without causing massive explosions that can harm nearby civilians.

Apparently, the 660-pound “training bombs” have not been pressed into combat due to a lack of explosive munitions, as was reported earlier this month.

From AFP:

Military spokesman Thierry Burkhard denied rumors the use of the 300-kilogram (660-pound) training devices was prompted by a shortage of real bombs. He said the first such strike crushed an armored vehicle April 26.

“The aim of this munition … is to use the effect of the impact while limiting the risk of collateral damage,” Burkhard said. “It is a very precise strike. There is no, or very little, shrapnel thrown out.”

Concrete bombs have been around for decades (the ones pictured above are from World War II) and are usually used for training. However, a 600-pound piece of concrete dropped from thousands of feet in the air can be pretty darn effective when it hits a relatively small, soft target.

Keep in mind that the bombs, while concrete, are still guided by modern technology like GPS or lasers onto their targets since a near miss with a concrete bomb won’t get you much.

This wouldn’t be the first time such weapons have been used in modern air warfare. The U.S. used laser-guided concrete bombs against Iraqi targets in the late 1990s for the same reason France says it’s using them.

If you’ve even briefly considered setting up your own domain with Google Apps, consider that after May 10, any new Apps “Standard Edition” sign-ups are limited to 10 users, requiring a Business Edition purchase to go beyond that limit. Need help getting started? We’ve previously covered how to host your domain with free apps (including Google Apps), and how to further trick out that domain. More »

Have you had a long week and need something to make those last few hours more bearable? Then settle back and get ready for a nice bit of fun! In this week’s game your mission is to help the aliens on Moana run the human settlers out and send them packing for home.

Note: Yes, this is an Angry Birds clone, but at least it is a nicely done one.

50+ Tools & Techniques to Remove Image Backgrounds in Photoshop, pt 1	Geek Rants: Why Do So Many Web Sites Fail to Use Print Stylesheets?	Max Out the Multi-Monitor Magic Under Windows 7

Remember Google Patent Search? Not many do, but that’s all about to change now that patents are searchable directly from the Google Search sidebar. More »

By now you’ve probably seen the latest spectacle to consume the white iPhone 4: it’s thicker than the black model. The image above illustrates the point using a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil. So what, you say, in righteous indignation to a device that shipped ten months late. Well, the size difference creates a potential consumer issue since cases (at least the good ones) are manufactured against the tight tolerances supplied by Apple. We’ve confirmed ourselves, that an Incase slider that fits a black iPhone 4 just fine has to be forced into place on the new white model. Unfortunately, Apple’s own spec page doesn’t highlight the change in thickness (measured at 9.5mm by TiPb). Instead it still shows a 9.3mm depth with a tiny disclaimer stating, “Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.” The result is confusion — will this case fit or won’t it? — which is never a good thing for consumers.

But why is the white iPhone 4 thicker? Phil Schiller mentioned that Apple needed to add extra UV protection among other tweaks, in an attempt to reduce the “unexpected interactions” between the white cover and the internal components. As such, Apple apparently needed to sacrifice some slimness for a better functioning white phone. In the end, we have what looks to be four different size / button configurations that must be considered when purchasing a shrink-wrapped case for your white iPhone 4, black iPhone 4, white Verizon iPhone 4, or black Verizon iPhone 4. Good luck with that.

Additional reporting by Sam Sheffer

[Thanks, Jon]

Filed under: Cellphones

White iPhone 4 thickness creates issue for case makers, owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An Iowa man completed his Lent-long beer fast on Sunday, marking the occasion with a bacon smoothie. During the 46-day feat, J. Wilson consumed only beer and water, emulating a centuries-old tradition once practiced by the Paulaner monks of Munich, Germany. How long could a man survive on beer and water?

[more …]

Back in the day, people often compared computer processors by comparing their clock speed. Now, though, that value means very little when comparing two processors of different families. Ars Technica explains why. More »

Sometimes, the expressions on a person’s face can mean much more than what they say. To help you stay in touch with your friends and family, we’re launching Google Talk with video and voice chat for Android phones.

You can now video or voice chat with your friends, family and colleagues right from your Android phone, whether they’re on their compatible Android tablet or phone, or using Gmail with Google Talk on their computer. You can make calls over a 3G or 4G data network (if your carrier supports it) or over Wi-Fi.

  

In your Google Talk friends list, a video or voice chat button will appear next to your contacts and you can simply touch the button to connect with them. Any text chats from the person you’re talking with will be overlaid on your phone’s screen so you can read them without having to leave the video. And, if you need to check something else, the video pauses automatically so you can go back to your phone’s home screen or another app. The audio will keep going even though the video has paused. Check out how this works:

Google Talk with video and voice chat will gradually roll out to Nexus S devices in the next few weeks as part of the Android 2.3.4 over-the-air update and will launch on other Android 2.3+ devices in the future. To learn more about using video and voice chat, check out our Help Center.

Post content Posted by Colin Gibbs, Product Manager and Wei Huang, Tech Lead

Continue reading Microsoft announces record Q3 earnings: $16.43 billion revenue, $5.23 billion net income

Microsoft announces record Q3 earnings: $16.43 billion revenue, $5.23 billion net income originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for some Android goodness? Regional carrier SaskTel will be releasing the HTC Wildfire S. According to the internal doc we received it shows this Android 2.3 powered device will be available sometime this June. No word yet on the price but it will certainly be affordable. Specs of this little beast have it loaded […]

Related posts:

1. SaskTel to release the HTC Incredible S
2. SaskTel to release the Incredible S “sometime in April”, along with the Samsung Galaxy 550
3. SaskTel investing $52 million this year to continue building out their “4G” network

Plowing through bug reports is a reliable way to dig up juicy morsels of info, and thanks to that timeless tactic we’ve got some specs on a pair of unannounced Chrome OS devices. First up is a netbook from Acer codenamed ZGB which, according to a recently filed report, will have a 1366 x 768 panel, presumably in the 10 to 12 inch range. We also know that you can hook up an external display to it via an HDMI port powered by an encoder chip from Chrontel. Since AMD’s Fusion netbook platform supports HDMI natively, we can also safely assume that the ZGB will be running the web-only OS on an Atom processor. That’s where the details end for now but, hey, it’s better than nothing.

The other device, Seaboard, has been floating around the Chrome OS flaw depot for some time, but reports are finally starting to reveal some tantalizing details. We now know that it is powered by a Tegra 2 and sports a touchscreen — the perfect place to test out those finger-friendly tweaks we’ve heard so much about. There are also mentions of a “lid switch” and a physical keyboard, indicating it may be a convertible or something in the vein of the Eee Pad Slider rather than a pure slate. The hybrid form factor would make perfect sense since it will house a pair of USB ports and an HDMI jack, which could make for a rather chunky tablet. Obviously, neither of these devices are confirmed yet (and Seaboard is most likely being used for internal testing only) but at least we’ve got a better idea of what to expect when the browser-based OS comes to consumers later this year.

Chrome OS machines leaked in bug reports: Acer netbook and touch-friendly Seaboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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