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PBS Launches First App for Android Platform

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:00:00 +0000

ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PBS today launches the SUPER WHY App for Android™, the first application for the Android platform from the nation’s number one educational...

Sony Ericsson ‘Shakira’ to be called the Xperia X8?

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:59:00 +0000

We hesitate to call these legit press shots -- as we've said before, Sony Ericsson fans are world-renowned for their capacity for high-quality fakery -- but German site mobiFlip.de has posted a bunch of renders of the so-called Shakira that look very possibly real to us. They're also saying that the phone will be dubbed the Xperia X8 at retail, a name that probably makes sense considering that the 3-inch Android phone is clearly designed to slot in below the high-end X10. Beyond that, we still don't have much to go on -- pricing, availability, target markets, and so on -- so we'll just hang out here on the edge of our seats for a while longer, or until we're distracted once again by the X10 mini pro's mind-numbing cuteness.

[Thanks, René]

Sony Ericsson 'Shakira' to be called the Xperia X8? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation emulator coming to Android, courtesy of yongzh and ZodTTD

Sean Hollister — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:51:00 +0000

If you don't know the names yongzh and ZodTTD, you can certainly be forgiven, but they're basically the cell phone emulation dream team -- where the former has been cranking out high-quality Nintendo and Sega emulators for Android, the latter is the one who brought PSX to iPhone, iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. Today, we hear they're collaborating on a PSX emulator for Android that's running faster than the 3GS version -- before Froyo's even factored into the equation -- and that when his domination over the PSX is complete, ZodTTD intends to begin work on an Nintendo 64 emulator for Android, and then VLC. Without letting our enthusiasm get the better of us, let's just say it's an exciting time to be an Android owner, to say the least.

PlayStation emulator coming to Android, courtesy of yongzh and ZodTTD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t forget about our HP Pavilion Laptop giveaway!

Matt Burns — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:50:03 +0000

You don't want to miss out on this one. Simply leave a comment about about why a high quality Dolby audio experience on a notebook is important to you, and you might win a brand spanking new HP laptop.

Samsung’s AMOLED division is now profitable, expects major smartphone growth in 2010

Vladislav Savov — Fri, 21 May 2010 01:03:00 +0000

If you want the dish on what's happening with mobile displays, Lee Woo-jong, VP for marketing at Samsung Mobile Display, is as good a person to ask as any. The chap has been telling the Reuters Global Technology Summit that his company has finally gone into the black with its AMOLED production line, and that its research projects a 50 percent jump in smartphone shipments in 2010 relative to 2009. This is expected to boost demand, which is already exceeding supply, for high-quality displays. Samsung says shortages might be experienced all the way until next year, but has reiterated its belief that AMOLED is the future with a $2.15 billion investment into expanding its production lines, while also predicting a 30-fold growth in shipments of such displays by 2015. Every handset out there looking like the Wave? We could learn to live with that.

Samsung's AMOLED division is now profitable, expects major smartphone growth in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 hands-on reports hit the web

Matt Burns — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:22:58 +0000

The Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 leaked-out late last night and surprised the Internet with their down-right sweet styling. Well, Sony has gone and made the pair official, announcing the NEX-5 will retail for $650 with the NEX-3 fetching $550. The cameras have been in the works for some time and just as the press release was crossing the wires, the big camera sites published their hands-on reports. These aren't full reviews, but they definitely have some insight that cannot be gathered from a press release.

Review Round-up: Custom in-ear headphones

John Biggs — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:00:23 +0000

There are a few ways to to get excellent audio out of a pair of headphones. You can have excellent components or a tight, close fit or special electronics. Or, better yet, you can have all three. I was lucky enough to be able to try three types of custom earphones/earbuds and am please to [...]

CrunchDeals: 50% off Wolf Designs watch winders, today only

John Biggs — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:37:57 +0000

Hodinkee posted a nice little discount on Wolf Designs watch winders. The winders are still crazy expensive but they're very high quality and they'll be nice to your nice watches, if you let them. Details and video review after the jump.

iPhone HD to Tout 5MP Camera?

Simon Chester — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:32:28 +0000

Despite the recent revelation and tear-down of the next-gen iPhone, there are still many questions surrounding the device (just less than there were before...). One of those questions concerns the camera in the upcoming device. We know that there is a flash on it, but what of the resolution? Well, according to The Chosun, LG Innotek have ramped up production of a high-quality 5MP sensor for the next iPhone.

Estimate: 800,000 U.S. Households Abandoned Their TVs For The Web

Erick Schonfeld — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:30:17 +0000

Are you a cord-cutter, or do you want to be? Have you had enough of paying your cable company through the nose for 800 channels, when all you really watch is maybe 20 or 30? With an increasing selection of high-quality TV fare coming online, more people are experimenting with ditching their TVs (or more accurately, their cable and satellite TV subscriptions) for online options such as Hulu, Netflix, broadcaster Websites, or Apple's iTunes. The numbers are still small, but last year an estimated 800,000 U.S. households cut the cable cord altogether, according to a new report by the Convergence Consulting Group. By the end of next year, that number is forecast to double to 1.6 million. Cord cutters don't yet represent a serious threat to the $84 billion cable/satellite/telco TV access industry, which counts an estimated 101 million subscribers. But they are a leading indicator of the shift to TV viewing on the Web. The cord-cutters make up less than 3 percent of all full-episode viewing on the Web. The rest comes from people who are only beginning to watch occasionally online. An estimated 17 percent of the total weekly viewing audience watch at least one or two episodes of a full-length TV show online. Last year, that percentage was 12 percent, and next year it is forecast to grow to 21 percent.

Stargate Universe Season 1.5 Blu-ray is announced

Matt Burns — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:00:43 +0000

The second half of SGU's first season starts this Friday. We already know it should be a good one thanks to the MGM teaser showing off that ugly baddie. But some crazy fans might hold off until June 13 when the Blu-ray is released sans all the commericals and probably with high-quality picture and sound. But that's not me.

The Top 15 Brands on the App Store Might Surprise You

Gagan Biyani — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:31:20 +0000

Brands are increasingly prominent on the App Store and Apple tends to love featuring folks like Britney Spears and Coca-Cola on the App Store’s front page. But who’s actually succeeding and which brands have managed to maintain high download numbers? PositionApp, the app that lets you track how iPhone apps are doing on the App Store [...]

Tron Legacy trailer hits the web in high quality

Serkan Toto — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:04:37 +0000

We've shown you the new Tron trailer 48 hours ago in bootleg quality, but you can forget that one now and rather watch this high-quality version. Judging from these 2.30 minutes, we're in for something cool.

Steam for Mac: 100 percent official. Try to act surprised. (But still, yay!)

Nicholas Deleon — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:00:45 +0000

Steam for Mac is 100 percent official. Valve just released a statement saying it plans to launch it this April. The first games available will be Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life (and expansions), Counter Strike, and Portal. Portal 2 will be the first game released for Mac and PC simultaneously. Pretty big news, yes.

Break free from the corporate Snuggie stranglehold by sewing your own

Doug Aamoth — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Are we still expected, in the year 2010, to pay $20 plus $8 shipping for a Snuggie? And another $8 shipping for a second bonus Snuggie? NO! Show the fat cats at the Snuggie conglomerate that you’re onto their little ruse. Take a big piece of fabric – any fabric you want! -- cut some arm holes, and sew some arms onto the arm holes.

Panasonic announces 48GB and 64GB SDXC cards

Serkan Toto — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:42:53 +0000

We saw Toshiba announcing the world’s first 64GB SDXC memory card as early as August last year, and today Panasonic followed up [JP] by unveiling a 48GB and 64GB SDXC card, together with a USB card reader [JP] supporting the SDXC format. Both cards are in the Class10 speed range and feature a transfer rate of 22MB/sec.

Razer reinvents the 360 Controller with the Onza

Dave Freeman — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:10:40 +0000

The boys at Razer are at it again, with the new Onza controller for the 360. They've manage to significantly improve on the standard 360 controller by improving the control buttons, adding a tension control, and making it easy to pwn your buddies with a programmable multi-function button.

Nexus One trounces 3D benchmark, gets caught in high-res photoshoot

Ross Miller — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Just when you thought you'd seen it all with Nexus One, along comes an old friend with some higher resolution shots of the handset (hooray!) and a pretty impressive 3D benchmark test using Qualcomm's Neocore. Video's after the break --that Snapdragon chip outputs a mean framerate, no?

Update: Also on hand after the break is a high-quality video of the UI -- ten minutes of it, to be exact. Just a warning, there's a brief NSFW clip from Californication at around the two minute mark. With that said, grab some popcorn and enjoy!

Continue reading Nexus One trounces 3D benchmark, gets caught in high-res photoshoot

Nexus One trounces 3D benchmark, gets caught in high-res photoshoot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone reception issues plague O2… too (updated with AT&T’s response)

Joshua Topolsky — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:53:00 +0000

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/iPhone_reception_issues_plague_O2_too'; It would appear that AT&T isn't the only carrier in the world suffering from a horrible and nagging case of the iPhones. In an interview with the Financial Times, O2 head Ronan Dunne apologized to customers for the poor performance the network has been experiencing since the introduction of the iPhone 3GS to its airwaves this summer. Just as US customers (particularly those in dense, urban areas) have learned to struggle through dropped calls, the inability to make or receive calls, or weak data connections, our brethren on the other side of the pond have felt a similar sting. Says Dunne, "Where we haven't met our own high standards then there's no question, we apologise to customers for that fact," adding that the carrier had fixes at the ready and that the issues would be "more than addressed" shortly. Unlike the widespread problems here, the O2 mess seems to be relegated largely to London, though it's curious to know that AT&T isn't alone in being hamstrung by a network clearly not prepared for the onslaught of data being pushed up and down its virtual pipes. Also unlike the AT&T situation is the fact that O2 has solutions in mind (including the installation of 200 additional mobile base stations in London), and they're clearly taking ownership of the situation. Ahem, Ralph.

Update: AT&T responded and let us know they had fixes underway too. Here's an outline of forthcoming changes the carrier says it's making.

We are nearly doubling the wireless spectrum serving 3G customers in hundreds of markets across the country, using high-quality 850 MHz spectrum. This additional spectrum expands overall network capacity and improves in-building reception.
We are adding about 2,000 new cell sites, expanding service to new cities and improving coverage in other areas.
We're adding about 100,000 new backhaul connections, which add critical capacity between cell sites and the global IP backbone network.
We're enabling widespread access to our Wi-Fi network - the largest in the country with more than 20,000 hotspots in all 50 states - allowing them to take advantage of the best available AT&T mobile broadband connection.
We're rolling out even faster 3G speeds with deployment of HSPA 7.2 technology, with initial availability in six markets planned by the end of the year.

iPhone reception issues plague O2... too (updated with AT&T's response) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HA-FX700: JVC’s wooden (and pricey) earphones

Serkan Toto — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:20:30 +0000

About a year ago, JVC started selling headphones with wooden housing in Japan, claiming the superior sound quality they bring justify the high price ($730). And today the company announced the HA-FX700 [JP], earphones partly made of wood. And we have the same things coming with it again: JVC promising high sound quality and a relatively high price.

O2, Huawei team up for UK’s first trial LTE network

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:58:00 +0000

It kinda pales next to TeliaSonera's commercial launch, but give O2 some credit here -- they've just become the first carrier in the UK to trial "live" LTE services. Powered by Huawei gear on the back end, O2's hot new network hit a peak of 150Mbps on the downlink -- a speed we can't imagine seeing in real-world scenarios when 4G goes live on a large scale, but gives us hope nonetheless -- and is being used to demonstrate the kinds of things us lay folk will want to accomplish with LTE like video streaming, high-quality video calling, gaming, and torrenting New Moon (no, not really) at a company showcase. End users aren't able to sign up for the action just yet, but if you want to feel the power of LTE wash over your body like a cool wave, we might recommend heading to Slough -- O2's British headquarters and the location of the trial network.

O2, Huawei team up for UK's first trial LTE network originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The WatchKomrade show takes on the Buran Stingray

John Biggs — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:46:15 +0000

I’ve been lax in my coverage of Russian watches lately. Most Russians do not have, how you say, very high quality but they have lots of features and plenty of style. This dude at Russia2All covers the Buran Stingray, a diver that looks like someone stole the depth gauge off of a Victorian-era submersible. This “style,” if [...]

yFrog Launches Twitter Clients For BlackBerry And Android

Leena Rao — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:05:23 +0000

yFrog, an image and video sharing site for Twitter, is furthering its mobile strategy by launching both BlackBerry and Android apps. Yfrog for Blackberry lets you Tweet text, images and video to Twitter, view tweets, search Yfrog, view followers and people you’re following, and view messages and mentions The Android app is more feature-rich, and lets you Tweet text, images and videos, view Tweets, mentions and followers, and search Twitter. You can also download multiple files at the same time, and upload videos up to 15 minutes long with high quality video encoding. And GPS location will be included with every upload.

Saturday giveaway: Kodak 5250 all-in-one printer, just for you

John Biggs — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:30:01 +0000

Good afternoon, readers! What does Santa have in his bag for you today? Interestingly enough, he was unable to bring his bag because this printer is far too big for it. We present, for your inspection, the Kodak 5250 all-in-one: a scanning, printing, faxing, photofinishing machine that can best the big boys in the printer [...]

High-quality Zune HD wallpaper source

Matt Burns — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:06 +0000

Own a Zune HD? Let me suggest you head over to the forums at AnythingButiPod and check out all the wallpapers. They are of course all formated for your device and most of them are killer.

Windows Marketplace now available for Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1

Greg Kumparak — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:54:30 +0000

Long before Windows Marketplace launched on Windows Mobile 6.5 as Microsoft's answer to the App-Store-Craze, we knew it would be extended down into Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 - the only question was "When?. The answer, it seems, is today. Microsoft has just announced that the Marketplace is available to 6.0 and 6.1 users beginning immediately.

Astak lauches the Mole social networking webcam

Dave Freeman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:30:15 +0000

Designed to work without a dedicated PC, the new Astak Mole was announced today. The Mole is a wireless webcam that can upload video directly to such sites as YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. It can also record directly to an SD card in the camera.

Hamburger keeps your mousing hand warm

Doug Aamoth — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:20:00 +0000

As far as combining your love for keeping your mousing hand warm with your love for hamburgers is concerned, it looks like there are really only two options right now. One: you could buy this “Hamburger Warming Mouse Pad” for $15. Two: you could cook up a gigantic hamburger and stick your hand inside it. Keep in mind that you'd also have to stick your mouse inside it, so make sure to check with your workplace regulations to make sure that's okay.

A new Nikon is coming but we don’t know what it is

Matt Burns — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:30:04 +0000

This Nikon rumor is about as vague as it gets. All it states is that within the next weeks, there will be a new Nikon camera announced and it's not the D700x/D700s. It also states that the model will be something entirely new for Nikon and not a replacement. Nikon Rumors is thinking that this camera *might* be something like the new Leica X1, which seems plausible.

Panasonic develops 50-inch full HD 3D plasma TV for Blu-ray movies

Serkan Toto — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:01:28 +0000

Panasonic has been toying with the idea of bringing 3D TVs to our homes for quite a while now, and today the company announced they will be showcasing a 50-inch full HD plasma TV [press release in English] that's capable of producing high-quality 3D pictures. End consumers will have the chance to test the TV out during next week's CEATEC 2009.