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Monday, April 20, 2009

Sony to finally unveil larger-screen OLED TVs at IFA?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/sony-to-finally-unveil-larger-screen-oled-tvs-at-ifa/

We've been waiting for what seems like ages for the next iteration of the XEL-1 to dash in and swoop us off of our feet, but frankly, we're growing anxious. As the world waits for a commercial-ready OLED TV that's larger than a standard sheet of paper, industry insiders down at the IFA briefings in Malta this past week believe that Sony could be gearing up to make all sorts of hopes and dreams come true this September. Jens Heithecker, executive director of Messe Berlin, which organizes the IFA trade fair, noted that "IFA is a trade show which is focused more on market-ready technologies," hinting that anything we see in just a few short months will be prepared for release into the wild. We're also told that more "ultra-widescreen" 21:9 sets -- like Philips' masterpiece -- could be on display, not to mention scores of internet-ready HDTVs and a Samsung set with refresh rates of 400Hz. Needless to say, IFA's shaping up to be quite a show for the television sector, so you may want to think twice (or thrice, if necessary) about snagging a new panel on August 31st.

[Via OLED-Info]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sony to finally unveil larger-screen OLED TVs at IFA? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer's AT&T 3G-infused Aspire One now at $79 -- price war imminent?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/acers-atandt-3g-infused-aspire-one-now-at-79-price-war-immine/

Yeah, we definitely dig where this is headed. With Verizon's subsidized HP Mini 1000 about to hit store shelves at any moment, the AT&T 3G-equipped Aspire One has taken a tumble from $99.99 to $79.99. Just so we're clear: you can actually buy a name brand netbook now for under 80 bones. 'Course, you'll be stuck in a two year data contract with AT&T, and you'll actually have to insert yourself into a pair of pants in order to get the machine from a Radio Shack store, but surely that's a compromise you're willing to make. Here's hoping this leads to free-on-contract netbooks (or close to it) in the very near future. Right, American carriers?

[Thanks, Sharukh]

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

Acer's AT&T 3G-infused Aspire One now at $79 -- price war imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's 10.1-inch N120 netbook now on sale

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/20/samsungs-10-1-inch-n120-netbook-now-on-sale/

Samsung's long-awaited (okay, so we made that part up) N120 netbook has finally transitioned from "might ship someday, maybe" to "oh, I'm definitely shipping." Consumers interested in the 10.1-inch, 2.8 pound netbook can surf over now to Amazon and order one up in black or white for the not-totally-tantalizing price of $465.99. If you've forgotten what all that buys you, here's a rundown, and feel free to say it with us in unison: 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP Home, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 6-cell battery, a 3-in-1 multicard reader, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and an Ethernet jack for good measure. Oh, and there's a "2.1-channel" sound system, for whatever that's worth.

[Thanks, Chuckles McGee]

Gallery: Samsung's 10.1-inch N120 netbook now on sale

Filed under: Laptops

Samsung's 10.1-inch N120 netbook now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG GC900 Viewty Smart, now more official than ever before

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/20/lg-gc900-viewty-smart-now-more-official-than-ever-before/

Okay, now it's official. After a misstep late last week, LG's ready to pull the trigger for reals on the Viewty Smart, the follow-on to one of its more successful high-end feature phones in recent memory. Pretty much every major feature has been improved or revamped over the original Viewty, including bumps to WVGA display resolution, an 8 megapixel camera with claimed ISO 1600 sensitivity (we'll see about that), DVD-quality video recording, LG's recently-introduced S-Class user interface concept, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, integrated WiFi, AGPS, and 1.5GB onboard with microSD expansion theoretically to 32GB. What's more, LG has somehow smushed this all into a package just 12.4mm thick, which makes this just about the most desirable non-smartphone on the planet -- on paper, anyhow. Look for it to start hitting European carriers next month, with availability elsewhere to be announced later on.

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Cellphones

LG GC900 Viewty Smart, now more official than ever before originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Washington DC announced as first MPH mobile TV market

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/20/washington-dc-announced-as-first-mph-mobile-tv-market/

In the 22 city-strong foot race to get a live MPH-based mobile TV network up, running, and available to anyone who wants it, it looks like Washington DC's poised to come out on top. Raleigh has already deployed a handful of transmitters for the benefit of bus-goers, but the Open Mobile Video Coalition has announced that Washington DC's local CBS, PBS, NBC, and Ion affiliates plus a Fox-owned independent will all be ready to roll with MPH transmissions by late summer; of course, what remains to be seen is what sort of hardware will be ready to take advantage of the tech by then. We can likely count AT&T and Verizon out for offering MPH-enabled handsets seeing how they're still trying to figure out how to profit from their MediaFLO-based networks, so T-Mobile and Sprint's decisions to take a wait-and-see approach to the mobile TV phenomenon may really end up working in their favor here. Moving beyond the phones, it's said that Dell will be showing some sort of netbook this week with an integrated MPH tuner at the NAB show in Vegas this week, while Kenwood has in-car solutions in the works. As long as the broadcasts stay free -- which by all accounts they will -- the standard has a fighting chance at relevancy, assuming hardware comes to the table.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Washington DC announced as first MPH mobile TV market originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 200! 9 03:28: 00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RAmos RM990 iOne2 PMP looks surprisingly desirable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/20/ramos-rm990-ione2-pmp-looks-surprisingly-desirable/

RAmos definitely isn't the most respected name in PMPs here in the US, but as of late, it's done a commendable job of staying relevant... at least on the design front, anyway. The firm's latest concoction, which goes by RM990 iOne2, is a touchscreen-heavy media player that's clearly not anorexic. Specs wise, we're told that it features a 3-inch WQVGA touch panel, haptic feedback, a built-in accelerometer, 4GB of internal storage and support for a whole gaggle of file formats. Not bad for the low, low asking price of just 399 yuan (around $58), but it's hardly worth a trip to Shanghai.

[Via PMPToday]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

RAmos RM990 iOne2 PMP looks surprisingly desirable originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, April 19, 2009

We Are Hunted Digs up the Web's Most Popular Tracks [Music]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/fYzWLW90YEU/we-are-hunted-digs-up-the-webs-most-popular-tracks

Looking for some new tunes? We Are Hunted is a music aggregator that pays attention to what people are actually listening to, not what the radio plays.

We Are Hunted scours the internet, peeking into the playlists of Last.fm users, Twitter rolls, torrent search engines, music blogs, and dozens of other sources to get a feel for what people are actually listening to at any given moment. Every day a list of the top 100 songs is published; you can also dig down into the last week, month, and year. A quick spin through the daily and weekly archives of We Are Hunted yields a pile of new and talented artists, and it's an excellent departure from life on the commercialized Top 40 charts. If you've got a favorite way to find new music online (MixTape.me, perhaps) or just want to share a song you found via We Are Hunted, sound off in the comments below.

We Are Hunted [via TechCrunch]

Google Fx Adds Loads of Features to Google Search [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/HJ7TaoXFO14/google-fx-adds-loads-of-features-to-google-search

Firefox with Greasemonkey: User script Google Fx adds a ton of features to the Google search interface—from related searches and Wikipedia results to thumbnail previews and search suggestions.

Using the script is fairly obvious, just install it and search for any term in Google—you'll see all of the added functionality immediately. The added features include related searches, Wikipedia results, thumbnail previews, Google suggestions, image lightbox, auto-paging, additional search engines, and more, but it's the integrated settings dialog that really makes this extension interesting—you can use the user script commands menu under the Greasemonkey icon to pull up the Google Fx settings, and turn features on or off to suit your own preferences.

Google Fx is a free download, requires Firefox with the Greasemonkey extension. For more Google customizations, see how to add the Google Reader unread count to the FavIcon, or Internet Explorer users can check out Customize Google for IE.

Thanks, Rambo!

Google Fx [userscripts.org]

DoInk Makes Simple Animations a Snap [Animation]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/MqrOXDpSLA8/doink-makes-simple-animations-a-snap

We've shown you how to make your own comic strips, but what about animations? DoInk is a free and sophisticated web-based tool that brings your still images to life.

DoInk is both an application and an online community for animators; the actual animation application we're linking to is quite feature rich, especially for a free offering. You can use the drawing tools to create objects from scratch or pull them from the substantial database of user created submissions. Cloning individual frames is easy and the ability to fine tune changes from frame to frame makes smooth animation a snap. Your animations are easily shared via email, embedded links and through social networks. There is even direct-to-YouTube publication tool if you're dying to get your creation out to as big an audience as possible. Check out the tutorial video below to see it in action:

For samples of work created using DoInk, check out the featured animation section here. As always, if you create something cool, make sure to share it in the comments below.

DoInk [via Webware]

Five Best Screen Capture Tools [Hive Five]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/jHaj0RCuW1o/five-best-screen-capture-tools

Capturing your computer screen is a terribly handy trick in all sorts of situations, ranging from creating tutorials to capturing web moments for posterity. Take a peek at the five most popular screen capture applications.

Image created with Wordle.

Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite screen capture tools. You logged hundreds of votes, and now we're back with five great screen capture tools for your consideration as king of the screen capture kingdom.

Snipping Tool (Windows, Free)

Included in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and the Experience Pack for Windows XP Tablet Edition, Snipping Tool fits into a perfect niche for many users. For those of you who don't need high-powered screen capture tools, the basic functionality of Snipping Tool allows you to capture the whole screen, individual windows, or user-specified capture areas. Snipping Tool also has extremely basic editing functions, like the ability to highlight and write on your screen captures. It lacks the more advanced features included in other screen capture tools, but it does a great job filling the gap between the frustrating Print Screen and Paste style screen capture in earlier versions of Windows and more advanced applications. Snipping Tool is a solid choice if you've! already got it on your system and your screen capture needs are minimal and far between.

FastStone Capture (Windows, $20)

FastStone Capture lives up to the fast in its name; this application is lightweight and extremely responsive. It doesn't have a large interface, but within the tiny user interface is a screen capturing workhorse. FastStone Capture can capture multiple windows, regions, and multi-level menus. You can set it to automatically upload screenshots to an FTP server, send them by email, or embed them into a Word or Power Point presentation. In addition, this flexible tool includes a basic but very effective screencasting tool that supports audio input. FastStone Capture can be set to automatically prompt your for a caption with preset options, which makes bulk-producing screenshots a snap. Another small but handy feature is the built in color picker for easy color sampling.

Jing (Windows/Mac, Free)

Jing is the spartan baby brother of another screenshot tool, Snagit, both of which are products produced by software company TechSmith. Jing fills a niche in the screen capture crowd, allowing folks who want to share their screen captures to do so as quickly as possible. When you install Jing and set up an account at Screencast.com, you can also set Jing to upload to your Flickr account or YouTube account. Once you've set it up, going from capturing a screenshot or screencast to sharing the URL for your hosted file takes a matter of seconds. Jing has basic annotation tools, but the real draw is speedy sharing. Upgrading to Jing Pro for $15 a year removes ! the Jing branding from your images and video and adds in a few features, like the ability to record your screencasts in MPEG in addition to Flash.

Skitch (Mac, Free)

Skitch is a screen capture tool in the same vein as Jing. Skitch the application is closely tied to Skitch.com, the screen capture hosting site. Skitch captures your screen, annotates it, draws on it with swanky graphics, and when you're ready, sharing it online is as easy as saving it to your desktop. If you don't want to use Skitch.com to share your screenshots, you can just as easily use your own FTP, Flickr, or .Mac account. The interface of Skitch is particularly user friendly; nearly all the editing functions are laid out in a ring around your screen capture, making it easy to find the tool you're looking for.

Snagit (Windows, $50)

Snagit is as far removed from the classic Print Screen school of screen captures as possible. Snagit helps you capture both still images and grab frames from video. You can capture your entire screen or regions of it, and thanks to a robust profile system, you can create profiles for all manner of capture techniques. Whether you only want to generate a screen capture after a menu is activated or you want every screen capture to be automatically uploaded to a server, you can create a Snagit profile to fit your purpose. On top of the highly customizable feature set, Snagit offers a built in editor for annotating your screenshots and adding basic effects. Finally, the app's screenshot organizer keeps your grabs in order with date, name, and tag-based searching. Snagit also has t! he abili ty to easily capture images from objects that are larger than the screen.

Now that you've seen the contenders for king of the screen capture tools, it's time to log your vote for which nominee will take home the crown:

Which Screen Capture Tool is Best?
( online surveys)

If you have your own favorite screen capture tool that didn't make the list or a tip about screen captures, sound off in the comments below to share the wealth with your fellow readers.

Crank: High Voltage Directors Talk Cameras and Filming While Rollerblading [Filmmaking]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/OEwpu7dNa0g/crank-high-voltage-directors-talk-cameras-and-filming-while-rollerblading

As you can probably guess from their movies, Crank: High Voltage directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have sort of a different filmmaking philosophy that's as dangerous and awesome as what they produce.

In a recent interview, the two directors discuss their need to use handheld, consumer cameras (from RED, Canon, and Sony), as well as their tendency to make the filming of their movies as badass as the movies themselves. Many of the scenes are filmed while rollerblading (sometimes while hanging onto cars), and they acknowledge that filming the Crank movies is a legitimately dangerous task.

More to our interests, Neveldine and Taylor seem to be total camera nerds, using dozens of different cameras to capture exactly the right feel for each scene. They're early adopters and even joke that "Pretty soon, I think we'll both walk to set with BlackBerrys that have HD capabalities, and then we'll just shoot the movie on our little phones."

Check out the interview, it's great to see exactly how these guys are making the sometimes-dreary action movie genre totally fun again. [Moveline]

Viliv S5 pre-order details firm up: $599 and it's yours May 8th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/viliv-s5-pre-order-details-firm-up-599-and-its-yours-may-8th/

It's been a long and winding road filled with unboxings, impressions, and comparisons, but it looks like the last few details surrounding the U.S. release of Viliv's Atom-powered S5 MID have now finally been firmed up. According to retailer Dynamism, the device will be available for pre-order on April 27th (at 1PM Eastern) for just $599, or $50 less than previously expected, with the first orders expected to ship on May 8th. Better still, those that pre-order the S5 will also get a free spare battery, a car kit, and a leather pouch, which Dynamism says is a $135 value. No word on the number of units available in that initial batch but, if the Hong Kong and Korean releases are any indication, they could sell out pretty quickly.

[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C.]

Filed under: Handhelds

Viliv S5 pre-order details firm up: $599 and it's yours May 8th originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Velocity Micro's Atom N270-packing NoteMagix M10 coming this month for $380

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/velocity-micros-atom-n270-packing-notemagix-m10-coming-this-mon/

Largely under the radar since its CES debut -- and even then there wasn't much to say, frankly -- Velocity Micro's 10.2-inch NoteMagix M10 is on sale with an April 30 estimated ship date. Base price is $380, and color notwithstanding (it comes in red, blue, and black), the only customization option really is a DVD writer for $70. What you do get, however, is the usual spec list that comes along with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, along with the pleasant surprise of a 6-cell battery. The big question now is if there's really enough here to divert attention from any of the other, more dominant brands in this hyper-saturated netbook market.

[Via PC Launches]

Filed under: Laptops

Velocity Micro's Atom N270-packing NoteMagix M10 coming this month for $380 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OCZ outs its first Mini-PCIe SSDs in 16GB / 32GB capacities

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/ocz-outs-its-first-mini-pcie-ssds-in-16gb-32gb-capacities/

Just as Buffalo did in December of last year, OCZ Technology is busting out a duo of netbook / notebook-ready SSDs in 16GB and 32GB capacities. Obviously aimed at the smaller, more low-cost machines, the company's first ever Mini-PCIe solid state drives are a so-called "affordable flash-based storage option to significantly increase the capacity for netbooks." The pair will be available in SATA and PATA interfaces, which will deliver read speeds of up to 110MB/sec and write speeds as high as 51MB/sec (or 45MB/sec [read] and 35MB/sec [write] for the PATA versions). Regrettably, there's no mention of price, but you can bet these will come packed in a specced-out version of the firm's Neutrino.

Filed under: Storage

OCZ outs its first Mini-PCIe SSDs in 16GB / 32GB capacities originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LitPhone projector phone, new pocket PJs surface in Hong Kong

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/19/litphone-projector-phone-new-pocket-pjs-surface-in-hong-kong/

Outside of Samsung's W7900 Show and a few nondescript prototypes, the projector phone sector has been largely stagnant. Thankfully, it seems at least one no-name company is looking to make a name for itself by developing yet another entrant. The LitPhone, designed and showcased by China's own SCT Optronics, is a GSM handset that sports CMMB TV tuning, a touchscreen and a built-in projector with an undisclosed native resolution. Furthermore, the company also demonstrated its USB-powered PCLit mobile projector at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, which debuted alongside Join Technology's JP77 and WE3 Technology's WE8626. Have a glance at the whole bundle down in the read link -- just don't get those hopes too high about a US release date anytime soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

LitPhone projector phone, new pocket PJs surface in Hong Kong originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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