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Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Asus reveals ET2700 all-in-one desktop, lets you get touchy-feely with all ten digits (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/asus-shows-off-et2700-all-in-one-touchscreen-desktop-lets-you-g/

After HP dropped its TouchSmart 2, myriad manufacturers jumped on the all-in-one touchscreen bandwagon -- and Asus has a new 27-inch beaut riding shotgun. Unveiled at CeBIT last week and dubbed the Asus All-in-One ET2700, this prototype machine comes with ten-finger multitouch, 178-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angles, SonicMaster audio, and some decidedly Apple-inspired aesthetics. Details on price and specs shan't be revealed for a few weeks, so the video below must suffice to sate your all-in-one appetites -- patience is a virtue, after all.

Continue reading Asus reveals ET2700 all-in-one desktop, lets you get touchy-feely with all ten digits (video)

Asus reveals ET2700 all-in-one desktop, lets you get touchy-feely with all ten digits (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teradek Cube Broadcasts Live Video From Your Camera Over Wi-Fi or Verizon 4G [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/#!5779644/teradek-cube-broadcasts-live-video-from-your-camera-over-wi+fi-or-verizon-4g

Running in the $2000 range, it might not be the most practical way to show far flung relatives your kid's birthday party, but for those in the business of live streaming, the Teradek Cube crams a lot of solution in a little package. The deck of cards-sized box is a miniature, battery-powered H264 encoder that sends video directly from your camera—be it a fancy schmancy RED or a standard Handicam—to Livestream.com over Wi-Fi or Verizon LTE.

Operation is simple: the Cube slides into your camera's hot shoe and, once configured via a web interface, goes live with a single button—it's purportedly unhampered by firewalls, blocked ports, and other network roadblocks. Easy. And early adopting streamers get a nice little bonus: a month of Livestream.com premium membership—about a $350 value—is now included with a Cube purchase. [Teradek Cube]

Cisco's Umi and TelePresence video calling systems: now with work at home and home at work

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/ciscos-umi-and-telepresence-video-calling-systems-now-with-wor/

It was only a matter of time before Cisco's Umi and TelePresence services got together for some HD video calling synergy, and the company has finally enabled "full interoperability" between the two. Not only that, but the networking giant is also rolling out a free HD calling client called Umi Connect for PC and Mac (think SkypeHD) and a new Umi 720 system that works with slower broadband connections. The 720 will cost $399 upon its market arrival this summer, while the already available Umi 1080 gets a much-needed-yet-still-underwhelming hundred dollar price drop to $499. Service fees have also fallen from $275 to $99 a year and from $24.95 to $9.95 monthly for those who are commitment-averse. Maybe now you can persuade the bossman (or bosslady, as it were) to finally let you work from home -- though pants-free employment will undoubtedly remain off, or maybe just under, the table. PR's after the break.

[Thanks, Adam]

Continue reading Cisco's Umi and TelePresence video calling systems: now with work at home and home at work

Cisco's Umi and TelePresence video calling systems: now with work at home and home at work originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Honeycomb's music app extracted, brings cloud sync and streaming to phones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/android-honeycombs-music-app-extracted-brings-cloud-sync-and-s/

Those who are familiar with Android Honeycomb might have already come across its music player's cloud syncing feature, though previous attempts to port said app to phones hadn't been successful. Whatever it was that kept crashing the app back then, it seems to have fixed itself -- after xda-developers member WhiteWidows slapped the leaked app onto his rooted EVO 4G, the phone started to automagically sync his tunes to his Google account. The modder then swapped in an empty SD card, but he was still able to stream music straight from the cloud after checking the "Stream music" option in the app. Pretty neat, eh? That said, we do wonder if Google will be able to handle the exabytes worth of high-quality Justin Bieber and Spice Girl tracks.

Android Honeycomb's music app extracted, brings cloud sync and streaming to phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/adobe-outs-experimental-flash-to-html5-conversion-tool-calls-it/

Ah, if only we could flip a big happy switch and convert all the web's Flash content into (functional) HTML5 code. It's a dream shared by many and, funnily enough, the company pushing to make it a reality is none other than Adobe itself, the owner and proprietor of Flash. Its Labs research team has just released an experimental new dev tool, dubbed Wallaby, that's targeted at taking Flash-encoded artwork and animations and turning them into a more compatible mix of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Of course, the intent here is not some magnanimous move to free us from the shackles of Flash -- Adobe openly admits that the initial goal for the new tool will be to help convert animated banner ads so that they work on the iOS platform -- but hey, even bad tools can be used for good sometimes, right?

Continue reading Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby

Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung HDD manages 1TB per platter, areal-density enthusiasts rejoice

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/samsung-hdd-manages-1tb-per-platter-areal-density-enthusiasts-r/

Solid state drives are the geek storage of choice, what with their quiet nature, blazing fast speed, and stunning good looks. However, the limited capacity and sky-high price of SSDs keeps many of us buying traditional disk-based storage solutions -- which is just fine considering Samsung keeps finding ways to fit more bits and bytes on every drive. Last year, Sammy's EcoGreen F4EG squeezed 2TB onto a 3-platter drive (or 667GB per platter), and now the company's primed to release a new series of Spinpoint drives with even greater areal density at a time and price that remains TBD. Whenever they do get here, the new HDDs promise to deliver up to 1TB per platter spinning at 5,400RPM -- meaning 4TB desktop drives and a terabyte of storage (courtesy of two 500GB platters) in standard-sized laptop HDDs. The 3.5-inch version packs a 32MB cache and SATA 6Gbps compatibility, while the 2.5-inch variety has an 8MB cache and a 3 Gb/s SATA interface. Knowing all that, only one question remains: could areal-density enthusiasts be the new pixel-density enthusiasts?

Samsung HDD manages 1TB per platter, areal-density enthusiasts rejoice originally appeared on Engad get on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips Fidelio SoundSphere WiFi speakers get AirPlayed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/philips-fidelio-soundsphere-wifi-speaker-get-airplayed/

Add one more to the list of manufacturers supporting Apple's AirPlay. Philips just announced its Fidelio SoundSphere speakers that support WiFi music streaming over Apple's new media sharing "standard" from your PC or Mac iTunes library or from any iOS device. Unfortunately, Philips isn't providing any useful detail about these speakers with free-floating tweeters and 360-degree sound. But hey, if you're the kind who buys speakers based on appearance alone, then the €799 (about $1,100 -- nearly twice as much as the Zeppelin Air) price tag for the speaker pair + dock should be no problem when they hit Europe sometime in May. Press release and bonus pic after the break.

Continue reading Philips Fidelio SoundSphere WiFi speakers get AirPlayed

Philips Fidelio SoundSphere WiFi speakers get AirPlayed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic objects using an iPad, raw brainpower (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/optical-tweezers-manipulate-microscopic-objects-using-an-ipad-r/

Okay, so maybe the whole brainpower thing is a distant second to the iPad itself, but still -- being a rocket scientist probably doesn't hurt when manipulating microscopic objects via a multitouch display. That's the kind of setup that students and boffins alike have going at England's University of Bristol, where iTweezers are being used to control a tiny rod about 300 nanometers wide, amongst other things. Essentially, the iPad is able to display what's under a microscope via a wireless display transfer, and then, touch points are converted into laser movements that are used to handle objects that are far smaller than those visible particles clogging up your left ear right now. All told, a user can select up to 11 different objects, and in theory, the iPad could enable scientists to do this remotely. Hey, we're all about new and improved ways to telework. Vid's below, kiddos.

Continue reading Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic objects using an iPad, raw brainpower (video)

Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic objects using an iPad, raw brainpower (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android's everywhere! Xtreamer PVR to serve up a heaping helping of Froyo in your home theater

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/androids-everywhere-xtreamer-pvr-to-serve-up-a-heaping-helping/

We got to check out Xtreamer's Prodigy media player and go hands-on with its Ultra HTPC at CeBIT last week, but it turns out that the company has another nifty device set to debut this year. After taking a peek at its 2011 product catalog, we discovered that the Xtreamer PVR is "comming soon" with a similarly sexy exterior and much of the same specs as the Prodigy, but packing a Sigma Designs SMP8656 chip for high-end 3D graphics, optional dual tuners, and Android 2.2. We sincerely hope that Xtreamer's prowess with Froyo far exceeds its aptitude for spelling -- we kid because we care.

Android's everywhere! Xtreamer PVR to serve up a heaping helping of Froyo in your home theater originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic's dual-booting Android / Windows 7 ViewPad 10 tablet now shipping

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/viewsonics-dual-booting-android-windows-7-viewpad-10-tablet-n/

It sure took 'em long enough, but ViewSonic's dual-booting ViewPad 10 has finally, really, actually made it to America. A few days after the iPad 2 most likely sucked any remaining wind out of its sails, mind you, but it's quite possible that the target market for an Android 1.6 + Windows 7 tablet couldn't care less about a similar one from Apple. If you'll recall, this one's rocking a 10.1-inch touchpanel (1024 x 600), 1.66GHz Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and a version of Android we forgot about in 1994. You'll also find a microSD slot and a copy of Windows Home 7 Premium (with a 16GB SSD) or Windows 7 Professional (with a 32GB SSD). Still interested? Just wait until we tell you all about the $599 and $679 price tags, respectively.

Continue reading ViewSonic's dual-booting Android / Windows 7 ViewPad 10 tablet now shipping

ViewSonic's dual-booting Android / Windows 7 ViewPad 10 tablet now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, March 07, 2011

Samsung prices 950 Series 3DTVs in Korea, rest of the world soon to follow

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/samsung-prices-950-series-3dtvs-in-korea-rest-of-the-world-soon/

We've been keenly tracking the progress of these 3D displays from Samsung, from their pre-CES tease -- where we were first told they were TVs, then monitors, then it turned out they were monitors with optional TV tuners -- through their official launch and now to their first pricing and availability. South Korea is the unsurprising debut market for the 950 and 750 Series, both 27-inchers, discernible by their design, which in the 950's case is asymmetric and in the 750's is all about the thin bezel. A 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time, 1080p resolution, and a litany of input ports await the buyer of either one, but he'd better bring a well-fed wallet to this party -- the 27TA950 reportedly costs 890,000 KRW (nearly $800) whereas the 27TA750 is an 840,000 KRW outlay (just over $750). Not exactly value models, but those prices will likely change when the pair go international at some point later this month.

Continue reading Samsung prices 950 Series 3DTVs in Korea, rest of the world soon to follow

Samsung prices 950 Series 3DTVs in Korea, rest of the world soon to follow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung demos ambient light-powered transparent LCD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/samsung-demos-ambient-light-powered-transparent-lcd/

Wirelessly-powered TVs are nice, and transparent displays are cool and all, but what about an ambient light-powered transparent LCD? Well, that's nothing short of awesome. Samsung showed off just such a device at CeBIT 2011 last week -- a prototype 46-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and ten-finger touchscreen capability. We aren't sure what kind of black magic Sammy put in this thing, but it's an incredible feat of engineering to make such a large display -- and its accompanying solar cells -- efficient enough to run exclusively off the juice it pulls from surrounding light sources. No word on how the photon-powered LCD compares to existing HD monitors in terms of brightness, refresh rates, or color reproduction, but a muted picture is a small price to pay for cutting the electrical cord forever.

Samsung demos ambient light-powered transparent LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ExoPC set to release two all-in-ones in June, bringing its UI to MeeGo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/exopc-set-to-release-two-all-in-ones-in-june-bringing-its-ui-to/

Last we left off in the ExoPC story, the company had just brought its tablet to Microsoft retail stores, and while the startup's CEO Jean-Baptiste Martinoli says the sales have been strong (in the 10,000 range), it's getting ready to branch into new areas. The first keeps it in Microsoft's camp, as the company plans to release two Windows 7 all-in-ones with its Connect Four-like software later in June. Both will be made by Malata, however, the 18.5-inch version -- which is pictured above and is demoed in the video after the break -- will be powered by a dual-core Atom processor, while the 23-inch version will get some higher-end silicon. It also turns out that some other top tier manufacturers plan to bring Win 7 all-in-ones to market this year running ExoPC's software on top.

The second area of development? MeeGo. The company's been hard at work bringing its HTML-based layer over to Intel's MeeGo OS, and 70 percent of the software is already complete. Additionally, 98 percent of the Flash and HTML apps are compatible, however, it's working on syncing the Exostore with Intel's AppUp selection. As you can see in the screenshot after the break, it looks almost identical to the Windows 7 skin, but we're definitely feeling the UI over Intel's own MeeGo tablet interface. Hit the break for that AIO video and stay tuned for hands-on with the MeeGo tablet version.

Gallery: ExoPC all-in-one

Continue reading ExoPC set to release two all-in-ones in June, bringing its UI to MeeGo

ExoPC set to release two all-in-ones in June, bringing its UI to MeeGo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JVC's GS-TD1 3D camcorder now available for $1,700

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/jvcs-gs-td1-3d-camcorder-now-available-for-1-700/

JVC promised back at CES that its new consumer-grade GS-TD1 3D camcorder would be available in March and, well, it's now available. While that may not be a surprise, JVC has shaken things up a bit with the pricing since its official announcement -- instead of the full $2,000 that was originally expected, the camcorder will now set you back "just" $1,699.95. That will buy you a pair of 3.32 megapixel CMOS sensor that record 3D video at 1080i, a 5x optical zoom (or 10x in 2D mode), 64GB of built-in flash memory along with an SDXC card slot for expansion, and a 3.5-inch LCD that lets you view your videos 3DS-style without any glasses. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Continue reading JVC's GS-TD1 3D camcorder now available for $1,700

JVC's GS-TD1 3D camcorder now available for $1,700 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ODROID-A tablet fits 1366 x 768 res on a 10-inch screen, dual-core Exynos inside transparent shell

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/odroid-a-tablet-fits-1366-x-768-res-on-a-10-inch-screen-dual-co/

Samsung might not have quite enough Exynos 4210 processors to sell a tablet of its own based on that Cortex-A9 dual-core beastie, but it's found a few to hand over to Korean partner Hardkernel for this here ODROID-A reference platform. It's strictly a dev kit, and as such is unlikely to find its way to your local Best Buy any time soon, but we have to admire the specs on offer. First up is the delightfully dense 1366 x 768 resolution, a rare sight on a 10-inch display, followed by a transparent rear panel that bests anything out on the market right now in terms of sheer sex appeal, and then there are also two MicroSD slots, a HSPA+ modem, HDMI output, a USB 2.0 port, cameras on the front and rear, and a crazy 9000mAh battery. How all this is supposed to only cost $750, we don't know, but then we also don't know how to qualify to get one when it becomes available later this month. So many mysteries. Jump past the break for some hands-on and benchmarking video action.

Continue reading ODROID-A tablet fits 1366 x 768 res on a 10-inch screen, dual-core Exynos inside transparent shell

ODROID-A tablet fits 1366 x 768 res on a 10-inch screen, dual-core Exynos inside transparent shell originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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