Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

T-Mobile LTE speed tests on Note II, HTC One and iPhone 5

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/t-mobile-lte-speed-tests/

Wondering whether T-Mobile's LTE network has the chops to live up to the "smokin'" adjectives we had thrown our way throughout the event? We certainly were, so we headed right to the suite of devices and got our hands-on all the phones we could. Speeds are quite good in general -- but interestingly things did start slowing down as more and more folks fired up Ookla's SpeedTest app, doing all they could to test T-Mo's nascent network. Join us after the break for our findings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, T-Mobile

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Will Launch Around May 1 On T-Mobile (DT)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-launch-may-1-on-t-mobile-2013-3

samsung galaxy s4 lock screen

T-Mobile announced today that Samsung's Galaxy S4 will launch on its network around May 1.

The news comes from T-Mobile's chief marketing officer Michael Siever at today's press event announcing the carrier's new LTE network and data plans.

The company did not provide pricing or a specific launch date, but it's the most specific any carrier has been about when the Galaxy S4 will launch.

However, it's safe to assume the Galaxy S4 will cost around $99.99 plus monthly payments of about $20 for 24 months. That's the same pricing plan T-Mobile will use for the iPhone 5 when it goes on sale April 12.

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InFocus' BigTouch is a 55-inch all-in-one built for conference spaces, classrooms with large desks

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/infocus-bigtouch-55-inch-all-in-one/

Having not seen every single all-in-one PC that's ever been released, we'll stop short of saying the InFocus BigTouch is the largest AiO ever to grace the Earth. That said, it's pretty damn enormous. What we have here is a 55-inch Windows 8 machine -- far larger than you probably have room for on your desk -- and it's intended specifically for classrooms, conference spaces and office lobbies. Basically, any scenario where lots of people will need to see or use the computer at once. Given that, its connectivity options are perhaps more extensive than what you'll find on a regular consumer desktop: six USB ports, two HDMI sockets and two Ethernet jacks (highly unusual, that last bit).

Other than that, this isn't a machine for spec hunters: it will initially ship with a Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor (that's what was available when the product was being developed) and the screen resolution tops out at 1080p, which is fairly low considering those pixels will be distributed over a 55-inch panel. The 120GB SSD, at least, should do just fine for the above uses cases -- we don't imagine folks will need to store more than that. Additionally, the BigTouch is designed to be easily serviceable, and the processor is part of Intel's vPro family, so the system might meet IT requirements anyway. With a price of $4,999, though, we hope your company doesn't have too many conference rooms to furnish.

Gallery: InFocus BigTouch all-in-one PC

Filed under: Desktops

Havok announces Project Anarchy, a new development engine for mobile gaming

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/havok-project-anarchy-mobile-engine/

Havok's involved itself with mobile gaming for a few years and it's now taken to this year's GDC to announce Project Anarchy. This new cross-platform mobile dev engine will include access to its own physics, animation and AI tools -- the same as those apparently used in notable series like Skyrim, Assassin's Creed and, er, Skylanders. It will also integrate Havok's Vision engine, adding in "game samples" and tutorials to ease mobile devs into crafting plenty of beautiful mobile games that hopefully involve less bird physics and approach something resembling our (admittedly zealous) mock-up above. We're itching to see those beastly smartphone processors pushed to their limits.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Software, Mobile

Source: Project Anar! chy< !--//-->

Engadget Giveaway: win one of two Oppo Find 5 smartphones, courtesy of Oppo Style!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/engadget-giveaway-oppo-find/

It's not too often that a pair of Chinese smartphones shows up in our office, but we try to take advantage of the opportunity whenever it comes around. Thanks to Oppo Style, a trade company that sells Oppo devices directly, we have two 16GB Find 5 handsets ready for the taking! As a refresher, the phone offers a 5-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, 13MP rear camera, 2,500mAh battery, Android 4.1.2 and 2GB RAM, to name a few. The 16GB version normally retails for $499 in the US, while the 32GB goes for $569, so it's definitely worth taking a few seconds to enter. Good luck!

Note: Please enter using the widget below, as comments are no longer valid methods of entry. The widget only requires your name and email address so we know how to get in touch with you if you win (your information is not given out to third parties), but you will have an option to receive an additional entry by following us on Twitter if you so desire.

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

The 8 Best Smart TVs You Can Buy

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-smart-tvs-2013-3

panasonic smart tv interface

Smart TVs have become more prevalent as the technology becomes cheaper and more widely available.

These are web-connected TVs that come prepackaged with apps and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, meaning you don't need to buy a separate box like an Apple TV or Roku.

Just about every major manufacturers has its own take on a Smart TV.

We rounded up our favorites here.

The Samsung LED F8000 is one of the company's flagship models for 2013

Samsung recently announced its 2013 line up of Smart TVs.

Samsung's Smart TV technology is some of the most advanced around. Users can interact with their television using voice, gestures, or the remote control.

But what really makes Samsung's 2013 models stand out is built-in software called S Recommendation that helps you find shows to watch and the integrated web cameras and sensors for motion and voice control.

Price: The LED F8000 comes in three sizes: 46 inches, 55 inches, and 65 inches, and are priced at, $2,199, $2,699, and $2,999, respectively.

Samsung's 2013 Plasma Smart TV is the company's other flagship.

Samsung's other 2013 flagship TV, is the the F8500 Plasma.

Samsung promises the F8500 will offer the ultimate picture quality with the deepest blacks and the brightest picture available.

"The F8500 delivers the same brightness levels and eight times the black expression of regular LED TVs, thanks to new luminance enhancements and Samsung’s proprietary Deep Black Algorithm and Real Black Pro II for improved black expression," according to Mark Hodgkinson.

But besides hardware features, the F8500 is also packed with all of Samsung's current SmartTV software. Users will have access to the SmartHub, five panels that show: what's on TV, Movies & TV Shows, Photos, Videos, and Music, Social, and Apps.

Besides these intuitive hubs, the television can give viewers recommendations tailored to what they like and you can speak with it telling it to change the channel to ESPN for example.

You'll be able to buy it at the end of March.

Price: The set comes in two sizes: 60 inches and 64 inches, and sells for $3,199 and $3,699, respectively.

LG's 60-inch 3D LED SmartTV is easy to set up and comes with a "Magic Remote"

LG's Smart TVs are some of the most advanced around. Each set has built-in WiFi and comes with LG's Magic Remote Control.

The Magic Remote Control allows you to simply wave and click while browsing the Internet or using the LG Dashboard t! hat mana ges apps and content.

Price: Currently on sale at Best Buy $1,299.99

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Article: Researchers create hollow fiber optic cable, almost reach the speed of light

Fiber optic cables are usually made of glass or plastic but those materials actually slow down the transmission of light ever so slightly. Researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK have created a hollow fiber optic cable filled with air that's 1000 times faster than current cables. S...

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/researchers-create-hollow-fiber-optic-cable-almost-reach-the-sp /

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Hon Hai shows record profits, keeps making money from making iPhones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/hon-hai-profits/

Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn Technology, has reported its earnings for the year and notched a net income of $3.2 billion according to the Financial Times. Most familiar as the manufacturing muscle behind Apple's iPhones, iPads and the like, the Taiwan-based manufacturer beat analyst predictions on high margins for those products. Its subsidiary, Foxconn International Holdings, is the world's largest cellphone maker and produces devices for companies including Nokia and Motorola, but suffered a net loss of $316.4 million. As a result, some are concerned about Foxconn's heavy reliance on Apple as a customer going forward.Still, the company is reportedly continuing a plan to increase vertical integration, by manufacturing the parts for devices and not just putting them together -- we'll see if anyone notices changes in the final product anytime soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

Source: FT, BBC, Bloomberg

T-Mobile's 4G LTE goes live in Phoenix, San Jose

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/t-mobiles-4g-lte-goes-live-in-phoenix-san-jose/

T-Mobile has started to roll out 4G services in the Phoenix and San Jose ahead of a press gathering today, according to our tipsters. Screen grabs show the service alive and kicking out speeds in the 20-30Mbps range, though we've yet to verify it for ourselves. The company already outed its "UnCarrier" plans on its site earlier featuring non-subsidized smartphones -- including LTE models -- along with unlimited voice, text and basic data plans. We should be able to color in the rest of the details later this morning.

[Thanks Nick, Dustin]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, T-Mobile

NVIDIA's GTX 650 Ti Boost lives up to its name for $149

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/nvidia-gtx-650-ti-boost/

By NVIDIA's own admission, the lower registers of its Kepler-based GeForce graphics cards "couldn't always tackle [their] originally stated goal" of powering 1080p games with the settings amped up to high. So, after the GeForce GTX 650 and 650 Ti, maybe the third time's a charm. The latest card goes by the name GTX 650 Ti Boost, reflecting the fact that it brings NVIDIA's GPU Boost technology into the mix, which can vary the chip's clock speed as need allows. Stacked against the 650 Ti, this unit's got 782 CUDA cores (up from 768), a base clock of 980MHz (up from 928MHz) and a TDP of 140W, (compared to 110W). Another big draw is two-way SLI, so you can pair up cards when your wallet regains its strength. On the benchmark front, NVIDIA promises you can run Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm at highest settings and get a frame rate of 62fps, an order of magnitude higher than the 39fps promised on the 650 Ti. Sitting above the 650 Ti and below the GeForce 660, the 1GB version will set you back $149 (£124), with the 2GB edition priced at $169 (£144). In behind-closed-doors tests, the company has found that it comes out on top against AMD's $249 Radeon 7850, but we'll be rounding up independent reviews shortly in o! rder to verify that claim -- as well as seeing if it can make the 7790 think twice about getting out of bed.

Filed under: NVIDIA

Monday, March 25, 2013

Unreal Engine 3 adding Oculus Rift support this April, Epic Citadel demo packed in

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/unreal-engine-3-oculus-rift/

The engine that powered the vast majority of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's hit games, Unreal Engine 3, is getting a development kit update to support the soon-to-be-released Oculus Rift VR headset. Of course, the model of the Rift that's soon-to-be-released is intended for developers, so the Unreal Engine 3 UDK update is right on time; it arrives at some point in "early April," soon after the headset itself arrives for Kickstarter backers. Beyond UDK integration, full UE3 licensees will also get an update for integrating the headset into their games.

That said, if you snagged yourself a Rift dev kit and have no intention of actually developing games with it, the upcoming UDK release also includes a "VR Mode" version of the software's sample Unreal Tournament game, as well as a summer version of the Epic Citadel demo we were shown at CES 2013. Paired with Valve's offering of Team Fortress 2 VR Mode, that brings the grand total of playable things with the Rift headset to ... five or six (depending on what you define as a "demo"). Upcoming PC mech shooter Hawken is also promising Rift support, though it won't launch until mid-December. The Oculus folks are saying that Rift dev kits will begin shipping to Kickstarter backers this month, with orders fulfilled by mid-April.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD

Jabra's Revo, Revo Wireless and Vox headphones get priced, now shipping

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/jabra-revo-wireless-vox-headphones-price-now-available/

Jabra's fresh batch of stereo headphones were first trotted out at CES, and now they've just been graced with price tags and are up for grabs. The Revo Wireless over-ear headphone rings up at $249, while the wired flavor will set folks back $199. Jabra's in-ear Vox hardware hits wallets with a little less force thanks to a $99 asking price. If you're in need a refresher, the gear was designed with durability in mind, sports Dolby Digital Plus tech and works with its manufacturer's Sound App for iOS and Android, which promises souped-up audio quality. Pining for a set of the cans? You'll have to head over to Amazon or Dell's online storefront to pick one up.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

Use Wolfram Alpha to Convert Obscure Technical Measurements Into Layman's Terms

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5992239/use-wolfram-alpha-to-convert-obscure-technical-measurements-into-laymans-terms

Use Wolfram Alpha to Convert Obscure Technical Measurements Into Layman's Terms If you've ever found yourself reading a science article and had no idea what the heck a measurement means than you know it takes away from your understanding of an article. Write Ben Young Landis suggests one way to deal with this is to use Wolfram Alpha to convert that measurement into something you can understand.

If you type a measurement into Wolfram Alpha, say, 50 microns, you'll get the usual unit conversions that you'd expect. However, you also get results like, ".04 x length of a dust mite," or ".46 x thickness of a US dollar bill." It's a lot more useful to most people to think of "about half the thickness of a dollar bill" than it is "50 microns." If you ever find yourself stuck on the measurements when reading an article, this quick search might be a helpful way to understand it a little more.

How to Describe Obscure Technical Measurements | Ben Young Landis

Google starts a TV white space trial in South Africa to wirelessly link schools

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/google-starts-a-tv-white-space-trial-in-south-africa/

Google has been a strong advocate of white space wireless as democratizing broadband access: its long-range nature can bring people online when the local internet framework isn't always reliable, if it exists at all. The company is about to illustrate that potential through a new trial in South Africa. A trio of base stations at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town will supply ten nearby primary and secondary schools with internet access to prove that white space access can work without affecting TV signals. To make sure it won't, Google is picking the safest frequencies from a database and is measuring the results for the sake of both nervous broadcasters and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. If all goes well, it should make a case for full approval of white space use across the country and deliver internet access to remote areas that risk being left by the technological wayside.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet, Google

Source: Google Africa Blog

Growler/Keg Combo Keeps Beer Cold and Carbonated, Thinks Of Everything

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5992185/growlerkeg-combo-keeps-beer-cold-and-carbonated-maximizes-awesome

Look, the majesty of nature is great and all, but camping would be a lot better if you had cold, carbonated beer at the end of a trek. And DrinkTanks has a growler on the way to help.

The double-walled stainless steel growler keeps 64 ounces of beer cold all day. It has two cap options, a normal wire bale cap and a keg tap cap that has a tap hose and lets you inject CO2 and release excess pressure. There's also a handle for easy carrying.

The DrinkTanks Growler has already collected more than three times its Kickstarter goal, with three weeks left, but we'll have to wait for hands on. The growler is $65 and up depending on things like color, and the keg tap cap is an extra $30, but with this setup you'll never be able to say keg tap cap correctly again, so it's probably worth it. [Kickstarter via Cool Material]

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