Reality Bites
… and thinks, “I should ask for another raise.”
Visualized: a Foxconn worker walks into an Apple store… originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, well, what have we here? A pair of 10-inch Dell tablets, one running Windows 7 on those fancy new Oak Trail chips from Intel and the other pushing Android 3.0 with a Tegra T25. We already saw these devices leaked in February, but now we have some specs and release dates. The Wintel powered Latitude ST boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, 2GB of RAM, up to a 128GB SSD, GPS, an accelerometer, both front- and rear-facing cameras, an 8-hour removable battery, and “1080p video output,” which we assume means HDMI-out. The Android-flavored Streak Pro opts for a 1200 x 800 panel, but keeps the pair of cameras (and two mics) for video chats, while adding an unspecified mobile broadband radio and slathering Dell’s Stage UI on top of Honeycomb (whether or not that’s a good thing is purely a matter of taste). Pricing is still up in the air, but the leaked roadmap indicates the Streak Pro will land in June, followed by the Latitude XT3 convertible tablet in July, and the Latitude ST in October.
Dell’s 10-inch Android and Windows tablets get names, specs, release dates originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th
HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Wow. Fringe‘s war between universes turned bloody last night. Both Walters decided to make some major sacrifices, and both Olivias faced some tough choices. Fringe is once again an epic drama. Spoilers ahead… More »
Lindsay Lohan was released from a Los Angeles County jail Friday night, just hours after she was sentenced to 120 days for violating her probation by taking a designer necklace.
Termites chow on Indian currency: A bank in India opened a vault to find termites had eaten through millions of rupees, Friday.
Already a record holder for mashing protons together at 7 TeV (trillion electron volts), the Large Hadron Collider can now add world’s brightest beam to its list of accomplishments. Beam intensity is a way of measuring the number of collisions in its 17-mile-long track, and a higher intensity means more impacts — which, in turn, means more data, increasing the likelihood that the elusive Higgs boson will rear its head (should such a thing exist). The LHC smashed the previous luminosity record set last year by the Tevatron collider. What’s next for the CERN team, with two world records under its belt? Largest beard of bees.
Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles
Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It is hard to believe but Windows 7 has been on the market for 18 months. During that time, the platform has experienced tremendous growth and adoption by users all over the world; including business environments.
Announced today on the Windowsteamblog is that Windows 7 has sold more than 350 million…
As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break.
Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video)
Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
ASUS’ shape-shifting Transformer might be ready to make its way across the pond, but don’t expect it to find its own way, because the US version won’t be packing GPS — at least not as we know it. The tablet’s official specs might lead you to believe otherwise, but according to a rather long and cryptic thread on Facebook, you’ll need a WiFi connection if you want the thing to take you places. After a review posted to AnandTech pointed out the slate’s apparent lack of GPS, ASUS revealed that there will be “No GPS in North America.” The company goes on to contradict itself, saying the US edition will include “location GPS” but not “Navigation GPS” — whatever that means — before settling on this:
“You need to be connected to wi-fi for the maps program to locate you at first, then it can guide the rest of the way. But if you powered off half-way you’d have to reestablish connection before making navigation changes.”
Now, you can call it A-GPS or location GPS — heck you can call it magic — but that doesn’t change the fact that ASUS’ US edition of the Eee Pad Transformer will not come equipped with GPS.
[Thanks, Richard]
Eee Pad Transformer US edition lacks GPS, but don’t tell ASUS that originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones’ resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy’s load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we’ve yet to hear more details about these claims. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show — popcorn, anyone?
[Thanks, Jake L.]
Update: Reuters has shed some light on the actual patents Samsung is alleging are being infringed. The news organization reports they relate to “power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology.”
Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When you’re aiming at a target two miles away, the slightest perturbation could end up causing a catastrophic miss – not good enough for today’s military. Until guns can aim themselves, snipers need the most accurate weapons possible. Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory came up with a laser-guided correction system that ensures a shooter’s crosshairs are always on the mark. More »
Jack Dorsey’s über-popular credit card readers got a big thumbs-up from Cupertino this week. Square‘s devices are hitting Apple’s 235 US retail locations and Apple.com for $9.95 a pop — plus the 2.75 percent that the startup takes off the backend each time you use the reader — or you can always just sign up for a free one over on Square’s site. The iPhone / iPad / iPod touch plug-in accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and yes, even American Express. The CEO of VeriFone will no doubt have plenty to say about the matter.
Update: It turns out you get a $10 redemption code in the box when you buy a Square reader at an Apple store, so it is still technically free (just not, you know, when you buy it).
[Thanks, Michael]
Apple Stores stocking Square credit card readers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Update: Peter Kafka, over at All Things Digital, backs up Reuters’ claim with some additional detail. Unlike Amazon’s approach with Cloud Player, Apple is actively seeking to license the music for its streaming service before launching. According to Kafka’s sources, Apple has already secured deals with two of the big four labels and plans to launch “pretty soon.” The deal would allow Apple to store a single master copy of a track on its servers and then share that track with multiple users. As Kafka describes the service, “The idea is that Apple will let users store songs they’ve purchased from its iTunes store, as well as others songs stored on their hard drives, and listen to them on multiple devices.”
Reuters: Apple set to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Baseball commissioner Bud Selig expects the playoffs to expand from eight teams to 10 for the 2012 season. Selig said scheduling is the major issue of discussion, including how many games the new wild-card round will be.
If you’ve done any Kindling on your Xoom or your G-Slate or your Transformer or whatever little slice of Honeycomb you’re calling home, chances are you’ve noticed the app isn’t exactly optimized for the relatively big screen of your slate. Well, now it has been. As promised, Amazon has just pushed an update to the Kindle app that makes it decidedly more 3.0-friendly. Gone is the ugly list of books, replaced by a lovely grid of titles including cover art. Just tap to start reading. Text itself within the books is higher-res and page turning seems snappier too. Worth the download? For sure — especially since it’s still free.
Continue reading Amazon updates Kindle app for Honeycomb, shows that tablets really do exist
Amazon updates Kindle app for Honeycomb, shows that tablets really do exist originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Continue reading Sharp announces WiFi-enabled Freestyle Aquos portable TV for Japan
Sharp announces WiFi-enabled Freestyle Aquos portable TV for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Queen celebrates her 85th birthday, eight days before the wedding of her grandson, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.