Friday, January 13, 2012

drag2share: YouTube's Thumbnail Navigation Helps You Skip Past Lame Video Titles [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5875886/youtubes-thumbnail-navigation-helps-you-skip-past-lame-video-titles

The official site of cat videos, YouTube will be introducing thumbnail navigation to its videos. Soon you'll get to skip right to the guy getting hit square in the crotch with a mallet.

If you've moved the video playhead in Netflix or Hulu you've seen this type of navigation. Basically it shows a tiny picture of the video in relation to where the playhead is at in the timeline. As you drag the playhead, the video will generate a 10-by-10 "storyboard" of images in the viewer window.

YouTube's Thumbnail Navigation Helps You Skip Past Lame Video TitlesYou know what, just check out the video Labnol made. That'll show you everything you need to know about the new navigation. The storyboard features is rolling out now, so if you don't already have it, it's coming. [Labnol via VentureBeat]

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drag2share: ARM CEO: Intel Will Never Beat Us On Efficiency [Intel]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5875769/arm-ceo-intel-will-never-beat-us-on-efficiency

ARM CEO: Intel Will Never Beat Us On EfficiencyAt CES we saw Intel's first serious attempt at mobile processing, Medfield, being used in a handful of devices. Intel thinks it could give ARM a run for its money. ARM think differently.

Reuters report that ARM CEO Warren East isn't impressed by Medfield, saying:

"[Intel] have taken some designs that were never meant for mobile phones and they've literally wrenched those designs and put them into a power-performance space which is roughly good enough for mobile phones."

So, not a fan, Warren? Better than that, though, he went on to quite bluntly explain what the future held for Intel:

"Are [Intel] ever going to be the leaders in power efficiency? No, of course not."

Ouch. [Reuters]

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drag2share: Henge Docks for the MacBook Air hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/13/henge-docks-for-the-macbook-air-hands-on-video/

We were a little giddy when Henge Docks announced their desktop resting spot for the MacBook Pro, and perhaps even more so when they unveiled the MacBook Air model earlier this week. We paid the company a visit on the CES floor to catch a peek at products first-hand. Sure, the white, plastic exterior may a bit off-putting for some but we didn't mind it -- especially for a dock that you can snag for around $50. While the device is pretty straightforward, the rubber padding that hugs the docked laptop provided more security that we'd initially thought. One thing you'll want to keep in mind though: the peripheral does make the USB port on the machine's docked end usable on its backside, but the Thunderbolt socket is reduced to display-only functionality. The outfit assured us that it's working on a solution that maximizes that Intel potential and we're anxious to see that become a reality. An express tour awaits the curious, right after the break.

Continue reading Henge Docks for the MacBook Air hands-on (video)

Henge Docks for the MacBook Air hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: AMD strikes CES with brand new APUs and Lightning Bolt

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/13/amd-strikes-ces-with-brand-new-apus-and-lightning-bolt/

AMD Trinity APUs
AMD decided to steer clear of the show floor this year, instead choosing to stick to a briefing room upstairs, where they gave us a quick tour of their current offerings as well as a sneak peek at some upcoming projects. There were two big stars, though, the first of which is the upcoming Trinity APUs, based on its Piledriver core. There will be three different versions: desktop, laptop and "thin and light." The latter of which is clearly aimed at Ultrabook-like form factors and draws just 17W, while promising similar performance to current generation 35W chips. To show off just how powerful its next-gen architecture is AMD demoed a machine playing DiRT 3 (at low quality mind you) on one display, transcoding video on another and playing a clip of a kata on third. Oh, and that third display was attached to the laptop that was driving the whole thing without stuttering.

The other big news, though we sadly don't have accompanying visuals, was a backroom demo of Lightning Bolt -- AMD's answer to Thunderbolt. The protocol is capable of driving up to four displays and several USB 3.0 ports while providing power. It can only drive two at 1080p and it won't reach the full speed of USB 3.0, but AMD did say it will be faster than 2.0. Supposedly the tech will be incredibly cheap in integrate into a PC, and a single cord running from a DisplayPort to a hub was able to handle playing back a Blu-ray and transferring files from a thumb drive while pushing two 1366 x 768 monitors -- not bad for an early prototype. Check the gallery above for a few shots of the latest AMD APUs and, for more technical details, hit the more coverage links.

AMD strikes CES with brand new APUs and Lightning Bolt originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: LightPad G1 bluetooth dock comes with pico projector built in, we go hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/lightpad-g1-bluetooth-dock-comes-with-pico-projector-built-in-w/

You need a bluetooth keyboard, and you wish you had a tablet or at least a phone with a larger screen. Perhaps you need to give presentations or just want to watch movies. What's a person to do? LightPad has a very unique and clever idea: why not stick a pico projector and superthin 11-inch plastic rear projection screen onto a bluetooth keyboard case? By simply connecting your smartphone to the lightweight pad via MHL or HDMI-out, your phone gets transformed into a virtual laptop, albeit with a significantly lower-res display. It works just fine, however, if all you need is a larger screen that you can use for email or simple web browsing. But wait, there's more -- flip the projector around, point it at a wall, and now your screen blows up to a max of 60 inches. The dock, which is super light and can be easily folded into itself, should be available in Q2 for an undetermined price. Peruse the gallery and watch the video below to get a better idea of how it all works.

Continue reading LightPad G1 bluetooth dock comes with pico projector built in, we go hands-on (video)

LightPad G1 bluetooth dock comes with pico projector built in, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Texas Instruments demos first OMAP 5, Android 4.0-based reference design, promises it in laptops next year (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/ti-omap-5-exclusive-demo-laptops-ultrabooks-ces-2012-video/

Texas Instruments promised us a new helping of OMAP right around a year ago, and sure enough, OMAP 5 processors will be sampling to partners as early as next week. Texas Instruments' Remi El-Ouazzane (VP of OMAP) just debuted an OMAP 5-based reference design (or "development platform," if you will) on our CES stage, a solid four years after OMAP 3 debuted on a nondescript Archos tablet. OMAP 5 brings along a pair of cores and plenty of power savings, a dual-GPU architecture and more raw horsepower than the average simpleton is used to handling in a single palm. We saw quite a bit of swiping through Android 4.0.1, and as you'd expect, everything looked decidedly snappy. 720p video at 30 frames per second is no real chore, with the platform capable of pushing 1080p material at 64 frames per second (130 frames per second without screen refresh limitations). Of course, with everything being hardware accelerated, we can't feign surprise about its future on netbooks and laptops. To quote Remi:

"This is the greatest platform on Earth right now... way ahead of Apple, and it's the first Cortex-A15 (which runs 2x faster than the Cortex-A9) product on the market. When running two Cortex-A15 chips at 800MHz, it's more or less the same performance as running two Cortex-A9s at 1.5GHz. You'll see [commercially available products] ramping up with this stuff in late 2012 or early 2013. We are also running Windows 8 on the latest OMAP; it runs perfectly well, and we've been working very closely with Microsoft. We're working on multiple form factors -- tablets, thin-and-lights -- and we think ARM is going to bring tablets to the masses."

He also made clear that he's hoping to bring more and more Android into the enterprise, therefore accelerating the proliferation of the OS as a whole. Moreover, he told us to "expect" OMAP 5 in laptops and Ultrabooks running Windows 8, and alluded to the possibility of seeing the first ones by CES 2013. Have a peek at the first-ever reference demo in the gallery below, and have a look at the video just past the break.

Continue reading Texas Instruments demos first OMAP 5, Android 4.0-based reference design, promises it in laptops next year (video)

Texas Instruments demos first OMAP 5, Android 4.0-based reference design, promises it in laptops next year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

drag2share: How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5875365/how-to-start-making-your-own-electronics-with-arduino-and-other-peoples-code

How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodeThe annual Consumer Electronics Show is in session, which means thousands of people have descended on Las Vegas to stare at next year's dust-gathering trash. Maybe you can do better. Maybe it's time to check out Arduino.

The word Arduino may conjure up an image of a wide-mouthed geek huddled over a work table, but its simplicity makes it an entry-point into electronics for even the most electronically inept. We'll outline the basics of the Arduino itself, what the crazy jumble of wires means, and then step through how to use other people's code and schematics to build your first electronics project, no programming required.

How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodeWe've featured our share of clever Arduino hacks over the years. While the process for many of them might seem overwhelmingly complicated and abundantly geeky, it's surprisingly easy to get started. For this guide, we're going to walk step-by-step through how to use an Arduino to create an ambient light display (see image at right) that runs off data from your computer. This project takes the color information from your computer and lights up a strip of lights behind the display with a similar color. It can help reduce eye strain by increasing the light behind your computer, but it also makes a great visual addition to your movie-watching experience (which is why the feature is a selling point on some TVs). Before we dive into that project, let's quickly run through the basics behind the Arduino, and some of the various projects you can undertake using only other people's free, open-source Arduino code.

What the Heck Is an Arduino?

How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodeTo the uninitiated, an Arduino looks like a crazy little machine that connects to a small piece of plastic with tiny wires. Once you have a kit in your hands, it starts to make a little more sense.

At its core, the Arduino is a small, programmable microcontroller board that accepts and stores code from your computer capable of cool outcomes ranging from controlling lights to making music. The board, the programming language, and most projects you find online are open-source. This means you can edit and use them to suit your own needs. Because it's open-source, simple, and has a $25 price tag, Arduino has become a go-to tool for creating and sharing electronics-based DIY projects.

The Arduino itself is a physical board that connects to your computer through a USB cable and downloads code from an application on your PC. You can find installation walkthroughs for Windows, Mac, and Linux on the official Arduino site. The software, also called Arduino, is where you program your own code (or sketches, as the Arduino software refers to them). For Arduino beginners like us, this is where you paste the code from other people's projects. When you send the code to the Arduino from your computer, the code is stored on the Arduino itself. You can upload and delete code from your Arduino as much as you like.

To get started, I recommend purchasing one of the larger starter bundles so you have all the different pieces you need to run most projects. Adafruit's Experimentation Kit ($85.00) or SparkFun's Inventor's Kit ($94.95) both include a good assortment of parts and guides to using them. In addition to what you get in those, it's good to keep a multimeter ($15) around to test the electric components and a soldering iron ($9.95) to make wire connections with solder.

Cool Arduino Projects You Can Pull Off Using Other People's Code

While you could (eventually) learn to code Arduino projects yourself and make your Arduino do almost anything, you can also simply piggy back off open-source projects already available (that's what this budding Arduino user has done). Programming knowledge isn't required to get started with an Arduino. You just need a little patience. Project complexity varies, but most can be accomplished exclusively with an Arduino and a computer.

As a beginner myself, many of these projects seemed a bit overwhelming, but I tried my hand at both the Luminch One (interactive lamp), the amp mod, and the PC ambient light with success. Since I typically wake up before the sun is up, my next project is the sunrise alarm clock so I can smooth over the process of getting out of bed. Here's a small taste of some of the simple Arduino projects you can do yourself, no programming experience necessary.


  • How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code
  • Turn off an idle home theater amplifier: If you're anything like me, you consistently leave your amplifier on after listening to music or watching movies. This clever Arduino hack monitors the audio levels and turns off your amp when it's not in use.
  • How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code

  • Monitor your computer's heat: You can use programs to monitor your computer's heat, but if you're looking for a fun and flashy way to tell you what's going on, this project uses an Arduino to monitor the temperature inside your case. If it gets too hot, it lights up so you know what's going on.
  • How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code

  • Sunrise Alarm Clock: Waking up to an alarm sucks no matter how used to it you are. The sunrise alarm clock solves the problem by warming up the room with sunrise-like colors and lights before an alarm goes off. This one looks a bit complicated because of the number of cables, but as long as you can keep track of everything it's surprisingly easy.
  • How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code

  • Luminch One wave controlled light: The Luminch One is an interactive lamp you can control by waving your hand to control the brightness. This project appears fairly complicated on first glance, but the bulk of the difficulty is assembling the lampshade out of balsa wood.

    How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code

  • PC Ambient Lighting: Adding ambient lights to a PC can make your video watching experience exceptionally cool. Using an Arduino and a little code on your PC, it monitors your screen and creates lighting behind your monitor. We're going to walk you through this project by Rajarshi Roy's project in the next section.
  • Build PC Ambient Lighting for Your Own Computer

    How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodeWhile many people like to use Arduino to power their own ideas, an Arduino can also be used as a tool to accomplish projects where someone else has done all the hard work. Think of the Arduino here as an Allen wrench in an IKEA box. All you have to do is follow the directions and you get the correct results. Let's take a look at what parts you need for the PC Ambient Lighting project.

    The Parts You Need

    • Arduino
    • 13 Jumper Wires ($6 for a pack of 75): You already know what a wire is, but wires are the bread and butter of making Arduino projects work. You use wires to connect the Arduino to the breadboard and create the circuits that make everything communicate. This is why you see movies where they need to cut a wire to stop a bomb from exploding. If you sever a connection it can stop the entire system from working.
    • RGB LED Strip ($15.95): This is the core of our project. This strip of lights will light up with the same color as your computer screen and make it seem like the screen is bigger than it really is. Individual LED lights are common in Arduino projects because they offer proof a circuit works.
    • Soldering iron and solder ($9.95): A soldering iron is used to create new and permanent connections between parts using solder. Generally you don't have to do anything more complicated than connect one wire to another for Arduino projects. You can get away with electrical tape for this project if you need to, but soldering is always the better choice.
    • Breadboard ($5): The breadboard makes connections between different electronics without soldering them together. It's made up of a grid of tiny holes where you can connect different components. These holes are all linked like a small Lite-Brite. On the outside of the board, they're linked horizontally so that one end of the board is connected to the other. On the inside they're linked vertically. This makes it so one wire can send information to another component without having to physically connect them. The one in the picture to the right is a mini breadboard we experimented with, but this project is easier with a regular sized breadboard.
    • LED Circuit Driver (60¢): Circuit drivers are used in place of complicated electronics code. A number of different types of circuits exist, but for this project we're using the LED driver so it can control the lights without a lot of extra work.
    • 12V DC Power Supply ($5.95): This is your standard 12V power supply. You might even have one lying around the house you can use for this project. You can find the voltage on the back of a power supply brick or beneath the tongs under "output." We are using it to directly power the LEDs, which is why you won't be connecting it into the Arduino itself.
    • DC Barrel Jack Adaptor (95¢): This adaptor connects the power supply into the breadboard directly so you don't have to splice the power supply cable in half and do it yourself. It's optional, but simplifies the project a little.

    Step Zero: Install Arduino, Processing, and the Arduino Drivers on Your Computer

    Download and install the Processing and Arduino software if you haven't already. You also need to download the Arduino compatible USB drivers so your machine can properly interface with the Arduino. If you're having trouble getting the software to work, refer to Ladyada's excellent guide for the initial setup process for Arduino.

    Step One: Copy, Paste, and Run the Code in Processing

    Open up Processing on your computer. Copy and paste the Processing code (it's the orange text) from Rajarshi Roy's blog into Processing. Click Sketch > Run. This will open a small window on your computer screen displaying the most prominent color currently on the screen and will eventually export it out to the Arduino. If the window doesn't open up on your screen, the program isn't running. Repeat the steps and make sure it's properly building the script.

    Step Two: Copy, Paste, and Run the Code in Arduino

    How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodeOpen the Arduino software and paste the Arduino code (the text in the box near the bottom of the post) into a new sketch. Click Sketch > Verify / Compile to make sure the code is properly in there. Save the file and then attach the Arduino to your computer with the USB cable. Click File > Upload. Now everything is ready on the software side. For now, you can disconnect the Arduino from the computer because we're going to get the circuit put together.

    Step Three: Connect the Circuit Driver and LED Strip to the Breadboard

    How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's CodePutting together the circuit is the most intimidating part. Thankfully, Rajarshi provides us with a high resolution image to copy from. If the picture is still to confusing for you, we've simplified it more. You can click the image to the right to enlarge it for an easy to understand view of what to do.

    Start by connecting the circuit driver onto the center of your breadboard, this will be your point of reference for everything else. Next, we're going to prime the LED strip by doing some very lightweight soldering. With a soldering iron, four jumper cables, and the LED strip, follow this tutorial to solder and connect the jumper wires to the strip. If you're not comfortable with soldering, I had success with electrical tape to make the connections between the wires and LED strip, but this isn't a permanent solution.

    Step Four: Connect All Remaining Cables

    Connect all of the remaining cables exactly like you see in Rajarshi's picture. You only need to make nine connections, but if you're struggling to keep track, work from the left to the right. It's easiest if you have a similar breadboard as the picture, but it's not required. Just make sure your cables are lined up horizontally and vertically exactly like the picture.

    Step Five: Connect the Power Supply and DC Barrel Jack Adaptor

    The 12V power adaptor is plugged in on the upper left hand corner. Instead of splicing a cable like in the picture, we're going to plug in the DC Barrel Jack Adaptor so we don't have to worry about cutting apart a power supply. Snap the jack adaptor into the same spot as on our diagram. Then plug in the power supply.

    If you want to make your setup identical to Rajarshi's tutorial, you need to cut off the adaptor end of your power supply, strip the plastic back a little with a utility knife or wirecutters, and then connect it into a terminal like this. If you're having trouble with the cutting part, this video will walk you through the process.

    Step Six: Plug the Arduino Into the Computer, Run Processing and Test

    With your breadboard connected to the Arduino and the power supply plugged into an outlet, plug the Arduino back into the computer with the USB cable. Next, run the Processing code we compiled earlier. The LEDs on the Arduino should be lighting up to reflect your computer's colors. Turn off the lights, throw on a movie and enjoy your DIY ambient lighting.

    Troubleshooting

    If something isn't working right, the comments section on Rajarshi's blog has a wide variety of solutions from other hackers and Rajarshi himself. Rajarshi also adds a few notes for the common problems you might run into (links added):

    To check if the LED strip and power supply work, directly connect your power supply's +12V to the +12V pin of the strip and power supply's ground to each R,G,B pin one at a time to see if they light up.

    To check if your Arduino is retaining the flashed code in its memory, make sure the simple LED blink code works after disconnecting and reconnecting to power.

    The processing code works (with Arduino connected of course) if you see it run and color in box changes properly. If not, change the serial port number in the code. If it still doesn't work, check your Java installation.

    If all of the above work, it's got to be your connections.

    Further Reading and Sources

    Walking you through a simple project isn't enough to get a grasp on everything the Arduino can do. Here are some of our favorite tutorials, stores, and forums you can turn to for help.

    • Ladyada's Arduino Tutorial: For me, this was the best tutorial for getting started with my Arduino. It's a simple, linear tutorial that gets you familiar with the Arduino's basic functions. It guides you through the process to make lights glow, sounds buzz, and parts swing.
    • Official Arduino Example Tutorials: The Arduino computer software is loaded with tons of examples for you to use in your own code or to run through as a learning experience. The official site walks you through every single one of the examples included with your initial download of the software. This is great if you see an example with a catchy name like tonePitchFollower and want to test it for yourself.
    • Instructables' Arduino Section: Instructables' Arduino section is ripe with new ideas for projects. This is great if you want to see the types of projects other people use an Arduino for or to look for a new project.
    • Make Magazine's Arduino Section: Make Magazine's Arduino section is a huge resource for new projects, explanations, guides, and tutorials. This is the best one-stop location for Arduino beginners and experts.
    • Adafruit Industries: Adafruit Industries is the store started by Ladyada, whose tutorials are linked above. It's a great store for tracking down nearly any part you will ever need. It's also a good place to hit the forums to share or seek help on projects.
    • Sparkfun Electronics: I've had the best luck ordering from SparkFun Industries, but that might be partially because they're based in the same state as me. Regardless, they're quick, willing to help find specific parts, and have a number of parts that are hard to find in stock elsewhere.
    • Official Forums: When you're in doubt about a project or you need help to get something working, the official forum is the best place to turn. It's filled with helpful people that can critique your code and guide you through problems you might have with specific projects.

    When you first look at it, an Arduino project is complete chaos, but slowing moving through the steps will expose how simple it really is. By the time you've completed your first tutorial, you have a solid understanding of the basics, and eventually you can move on to more complicated projects. In my short experience with the Arduino I've found the learning curve isn't as steep as it initially looks. I've only taken five or six projects so far (and failed at completing twice as many), but I'm now comfortable with the basics. After every completed project I get closer to cutting the quit ratio down, and hopefully it will eventually disappear completely.

    Have you completed any Arduino projects of your own, simple or complex, using someone else's code or your own? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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drag2share: Verizon's Droid 4 priced up: $249 on a two-year contract (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/verizons-droid-4-priced-up-249-on-a-two-year-contract/

This slider was still lacking its most important spec when we went hands-on, but a carrier document outed over at Droid-life fills in the blank: it lists a "minimum advertised price" of $249 on 24-month bond to VZW. Of course, we're still waiting on the second most important spec -- the release date, which hopefully won't be as futuristic as the handset's appearance.

[Thanks, Uto]

Continue reading Verizon's Droid 4 priced up: $249 on a two-year contract (video)

Verizon's Droid 4 priced up: $249 on a two-year contract (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Samsung's Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/samsungs-smart-tv-and-blu-ray-players-will-be-first-to-get-fios/

Although not the first to announce, Samsung and Verizon have officially announced that Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray players "will be the first consumer electronics manufacturer" to get live HD and video on-demand including Flex View from Verizon FiOS TV. The embedded release after the break doesn't include a time frame, but the previously announced timeframe was the first half of 2012, so this would have to be released before that in order to, technically, be first -- and everything in a press release is always true. At this point we'd be shocked if the Verizon FiOS TV App wasn't on every app platform imaginable, other than TiVo and Google TV, by the end of 2012.

Continue reading Samsung's Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App

Samsung's Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Hands-on with Dyle Mobile TV, broadcasting live to a handset near you (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/hands-on-dyle-mobile-tv/

Dyle couldn't have found a better showcase than CES to exhibit its next gem. It's only been a few days since we first heard that the joint venture between MetroPCS and the Mobile Content Venture would bear fruit in 2012, and, well, we're in Las Vegas and we've seen it take its first steps. Although live TV broadcasting to mobile devices couldn't exactly be considered cutting-edge, judging by our time with the handset, this is one of the greater implementations of the concept. The company tells us that the app is set to hit its beta stage within the next few months at no cost, but that might change depending on partners and networks. Speaking of partners, Samsung alongside the Metro carrier will be the first to have the chipset-embedded smartphones on the market -- yes, that means you won't actually see the circa 1990's antenna. Dyle's also partnered up with Belkin to bring the service past phones and onto tablets, however, unlike the Sammy-branded phone that's expected to use the chip, the tablets will be able to pick up the airwaves by doubling the headphones as a receiver. Jump past the break to see the mobile telecast in action.

Continue reading Hands-on with Dyle Mobile TV, broadcasting live to a handset near you (video)

Hands-on with Dyle Mobile TV, broadcasting live to a handset near you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Atmel (update: video embedded)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/live-from-the-engadget-ces-stage-an-interview-with-atmel/

Smartphones, tablets and other touchscreen gadgets have been at the center of our tech lives, and things are just starting to get interesting. We welcome Atmel's product marketing manager Sherif Hanna to talk tablets and touchscreen tech. Join us at 1:30PM ET.

Update: Interview video is now embedded.

Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Atmel (update: video embedded)

Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Atmel (update: video embedded) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Acer Iconia Tab A510 hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/acer-iconia-tab-a510/

The follow-up to last year's Acer Iconia Tab A500 -- aptly named the A510 -- is hanging out in the NVIDIA booth at CES. The 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 display (the same one on the A500) comes with Android 4.0 on board, alongside a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front-facing cam. The tablet feels lighter than its predecessor (as it should, since it loses the USB 2.0 port), and we prefer the soft-touch plastic backing to aluminum finish on the last-gen model.

What's most interesting about the A510, though, is not the fact that it has Ice Cream Sandwich pre-loaded, but that it has a custom UI, similar to what you'll find on the Honeycomb-packing A200. Thankfully, Acer's choice of skinning is low-key, and makes for an enjoyable, unobtrusive experience. First off, the UI is very ring-centric: tapping a virtual button in the middle of the task bar launches a ring with four customizable shortcuts, as well as a carousel on the right. Additionally, the lock screen offers a similar circular batch of four direct-access points, rather than the stock two. We appreciate that Acer isn't looking to add a full fifteen pieces of flare to its proprietary user interface. To see some more of the Tab, we've got a gallery of photos below, along with a short walk-through video after the break.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A510 hands-on (video)

Acer Iconia Tab A510 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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