Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Dell XPS One 27: A Massive, All-In-One Slab of Ivy Bridge [Computers]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5913874/dell-xps-one-27-a-massive-all+in+one-slab-of-ivy-bridge

Dell XPS One 27: A Massive, All-In-One Slab of Ivy BridgeDell is reviving its XPS line of all-in-one computers with the XPS One 27, an 27-inch, Ivy Bridge-equipped number cruncher meant to go against the likes of the iMac and the HP Omni 27.

With features such as a 2560x1440 screen, Core i5 or i7 processor, 2 terabyte HDD, Infinity speakers, 4 gigabytes of RAM (expandable to 16) and the option for Blu-ray, NVIDIA GeForce 640M graphics, and additional 32 GB SSD, this is definitely a PC geared towards home entertainment consumption, but could probably also function just as well in a professional setting.

The XPS One's rounded edges, black facade, and silver base is nothing eye-popping, but the build quality is solid and doesn't need to be tucked out of sight. And of course it's still running Windows 7, so it remains to be seen just how nice it will play with Windows 8. But the XPS One 27 could fill a void for those who don't need a laptop at home anymore. Especially considering it starts at $1300. Dell says it will arrive in the US in the "coming weeks." [Dell]

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Samsung's 'human centric' Galaxy S III launches around the globe, says what delays?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/28/samsungs-human-centric-galaxy-s-iii-launches-around-the-globe/

Image

Despite carrier and retailer indications of delays for certain editions of Samsung's new Galaxy S III, the company triumphantly announced its launch right on schedule tonight. Of course, here in the US we're sadly on the outside looking in at the launch action going on in 28 countries as a new day dawns for the 29th, but at least there's rumblings that our localized editions aren't far off. In July, its world tour is expected to have swung through 145 countries and 296 carriers. As long as you're looking for a 16GB Marble White quad-core Exynos juggernaut, you should be able to find it right away -- if the machine translated Korean press release is too tough to bear, remember we've got all the launch details (and a review) right here.

Samsung's 'human centric' Galaxy S III launches around the globe, says what delays? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 May 2012 23:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung Tomorrow  | Email this | Comments

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Explay Crystal revives transparent display phones with dash of color, low price

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/29/explay-crystal-revives-transparent-display-phones/

Image

If you've been lamenting the passing of transparent display phones like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness as those vile, opaque smartphones took over, you'll be happy to know that Russia's Explay has taken up the mantle with the Crystal. The basic song remains the same, a numberpad-driven dumbphone with a display that will help you avoid the lamp post up ahead, but it's remixed through colors that render the experience a lot less monotone. We saw this in the Lenovo S800, but the dual SIM card slots and Bluetooth 3.0 at least see the Crystal keep pace with more recent phones in its category. By far the biggest advantage Explay has over its ancestors is pure cost: at 7,000 rubles ($218), it's less than half the $500 that Lenovo wanted and that much more palatable for a handset that isn't running a sophisticated OS like Android or Windows Phone. Russians have to wait until July 1st to pick up the Crystal, but wouldn't count on the see-through phone seeing its way to the US through official channels.

Explay Crystal revives transparent display phones with dash of color, low price originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nomobile.ru, The Verge  |  sourceExplay  | Email this | Comments

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Monday, May 28, 2012

MediaPlus Enables Total Control of Flash and HTML5 Video [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5913671/mediaplus-enables-total-control-of-flash-and-html5-video

MediaPlus Enables Total Control of Flash and HTML5 Video

Chrome/Firefox: There's no shortage of browser extensions that help you download Flash or HTML5 video, but few give you the myriad of options available from MediaPlus.

Once you enable the extension on a page containing a video element, rolling your mouse over the video will reveal a toolbar. From here, you can download the video, move it around the page, blow it up fullscreen, pop it out into its own window, and even dim the surrounding page elements for easier viewing. Most of these options are available on their own in separate extensions, but MediaPlus saves you time by combining them into one package.

Media Plus for Chrome | Chrome Web Store via Ghacks

Media Plus for Firefox | Firefox Add-Ons via Ghacks

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Silicon Image pushes new MHL 2.0 chips for phones and HDTVs with 1080p60 video, faster charging

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/27/silicon-image-mhl-2-0/

Silicon Image pushes new MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) 2.0 chips with 1080p60 video, faster charging

After taking a few years to get off of the ground, MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) technology is now found in many modern phones as well as HDTVs from LG, Toshiba and Samsung. Now, Silicon Image has announced its second generation of chips to go in those devices with enhanced features. MHL if you'll recall, lets mobile devices connect to HDTVs via HDMI, while passing power and control signals along with the video. According to Silicon Image its new chips, the SiI8240 MHL transmitter (for phones, tablets, cameras and laptops) and SiI9617 MHL Bridge (for HDTVs, monitors and projectors) and dual-mode IP core (like the one in Samsung's Galaxy S II) upgrade the previous generation's capabilities with the ability to pass 1080p video at 60Hz (up from 30Hz) and charge up to twice as fast. There's a few more details in the press releases after the break, if you're wondering whether or not your phone / HDTV is down with MHL then check the specs or hit the Wikipedia link below.

Continue reading Silicon Image pushes new MHL 2.0 chips for phones and HDTVs with 1080p60 video, faster charging

Silicon Image pushes new MHL 2.0 chips for phones and HDTVs with 1080p60 video, faster charging originally appeared on Engadget on S! un, 27 M ay 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/27/frontrow-has-arrived-to-let-you-take-and-share-photos-from-youtu/

Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams

YouTube's been beefing up the tools for its users lately, adding an audio editor, stabilization and color correction tools, and even ways for live-streaming productions to empty our wallets. Now, an outfit from the land of Oz has created an application that uses YouTube's live-streaming capabilities to allow those watching to grab pictures of live-stream and share them. Called Frontrow, it'll make its debut streaming the Vivid LIVE music festival currently going on at the Sydney Opera House. The app doesn't just let you take simple snapshots, either, users can zoom in and out and apply image filters to grab that perfect image of Florence + the Machine while watching them via WiFi a world away. Hit the more coverage link and check the video after the break for more.

Continue reading Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams

Frontrow has arrived to let you take and share photos from YouTube livestreams originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Official YouTube Blog  | Email this | Comments

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LG Display debuts five-inch Retina Display killer with 1080p HD resolution and 440ppi pixel density

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/27/lg-display-five-inch-1080p/

LG Display 1080p cellphone display

Smartphone displays are becoming larger in size, and along with that, we're seeing a nice trend that's bringing greater pixel density. While LG Display's newly-announced 1080p HD mobile display isn't the most pixel dense that we've seen -- a distinction that belongs to Toshiba -- the five-inch panel is more appropriate for consumer applications and boasts an impressive pixel density of 440ppi. Its 16:9 aspect ratio was designed with HD content in mind, and the LCD technology isn't anything to sneeze at, either: it's a variant of IPS known as Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS), which is said to boast wide viewing angles, fast response times and improved brightness efficiency. Best yet, it seems that consumers won't have long to wait before the panel works its way into consumer technology -- the five-inch HD display is set for availability during the second-half of this year. To learn more of the Retina Display-shattering deets, you'll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading LG Display debuts five-inch Retina Display killer with 1080p HD resolution and 440ppi pixel density

LG Display debuts five-inch Retina Display killer with 1080p HD resolution and 440ppi pixel density originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic Lumix FX90 gets remote app for iOS and Android

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/28/panasonic-lumix-fx90-gets-remote-app-for-ios-and-android/

Panasonic Lumix FX90 gets remote app for iOS and Android

Taking full advantage of the Lumix FX90's WiFi capability, Panasonic has unveiled its companion apps for both iOS and Android devices. Throwing in shutter functionality and zoom control alongside a larger viewfinder, it's pretty much a glossy dumb remote; there's no further features to make the most of your precious smartphone, although the camera itself is already capable of linking up your camera shots with your major social network of choice. The app requires a firmware update on the camera, but it should ensure all those self-portraits really pop in the future. Download links for the wannabe self-obsessed are waiting below.

Panasonic Lumix FX90 gets remote app for iOS and Android originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 May 2012 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceApp Store (iTunes), Google Play  | Email this | Comments

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Toshiba bows out of netbooks in the US, sees Ultrabooks as the wave of the future

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/toshiba-bows-out-of-netbooks-in-the-us/

Toshiba NB550D

The pace of netbook launches has visibly slowed between the dual-pronged pressures of tablets and ultrabooks, and at least for Americans, it's about to get a lot slower. A Toshiba executive has warned that there aren't any plans to bring more netbooks to the US; the NB510's presence at CES this year is now as close as Yankees will get to any more Atom-powered notebooks from the outfit. Instead, all of Toshiba's enthusiasm for ultraportables in the country will be spent on Ultrabooks like the Portege Z835. It's a sad day for those who like their computers tiny, especially as it hikes the minimum price for a super-light Toshiba laptop to $800, but it's hard to ignore a rapidly declining market. We also imagine that Toshiba will gladly steer you to one of its Excite tablets if you're looking for the basics in a small shape.

Toshiba bows out of netbooks in the US, sees Ultrabooks as the wave of the future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink! &nbs p;  |  sourceLiliputing  | Email this | Comments

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Samsung Galaxy S III review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-review/

It's a strange feeling, receiving such a keenly anticipated phone to review. The hubbub of launch events, hands-on previews and heated debates suddenly dies away, leaving you with one small and intensely silent cardboard box. In this instance, the packaging contained the "marble white" version of the Galaxy S III (not the more daring "pebble blue") alongside one burning question: apart from all the hype, do this handset's paper credentials translate into a product that is worthy of serious cash and a 24-month commitment?

Those credentials are certainly more subtle than those of other recent devices. There's no unusual camera, stand-out display or unibody build. Instead, we get an abstract design statement about the phone being "inspired by nature" alo! ngside a list of incremental hardware improvements such as a quad-core processor, as well as fresh additions to Samsung's customized Android 4.0 skin. As it turns out, these specs forgo immediate swagger in favor of creating a solid workhorse of a smartphone that is intent on attracting a long-term following. Read on and you'll discover just how it pulls that off.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III review

Samsung Galaxy S III review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's the Easiest Way to Take Better Pictures [Photography]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5913050/heres-the-easiest-way-to-take-better-pictures

Here's the Easiest Way to Take Better PicturesYou ever notice why some of your pictures look like they've been stained yellow or red while others look swamped with green or blue? It's because of your camera's white balance setting! The easiest way to take better pictures is to fix your white balance and this chart tells you how.

Different lights light up differently. As in, some are redder or yellower and you need to adjust your camera accordingly. The color temperature scale made by Digital Camera World shows where different light sources fall and what setting your camera's white balance needs to be. Simple! You'll get much more accurate pictures that actually look like real life as opposed to terrible and awkward shots that look like they've been peed on.

To be more specific on the color temperature, Wikipedia categorizes different light sources like this:

  • 1,700 K - Match flame
  • 1,850 K - Candle flame, sunset/sunrise
  • 2,700–3,300 K - Incandescent light bulb
  • 3,000 K - Soft White compact fluorescent light bulb
  • 3,200 K - Studio lamps, photofloods, etc.
  • 3,350 K - Studio "CP" light
  • 4,100–4,150 K - Moonlight,[2] xenon arc lamp
  • 5,000 K - Horizon daylight
  • 5,000 K - Fluorescent light tubes or Cool White/Daylight compact fluorescent light bulb
  • 5,500–6,000 K - Vertical daylight, electronic flash
  • 6,500 K - Daylight, overcast
  • 6,500–9,300 K - LCD or CRT screen

Here's the Easiest Way to Take Better PicturesLearn the numbers! [Digital Camera World via PetaPixel]

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What Is Nokia's PureView Technology? [Nokia]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5913264/what-is-nokias-pureview-technology

What Is Nokia's PureView Technology?You've seen the kinds of monster photos the Nokia 808 PureView can snap, and read how it's got a digital zoom that doesn't turn everything into a pixelated mess. But how does it actually perform these miracles, and what the hell is Nokia doing shoving a colossal 41-megapixel sensor in a phone anyway?

It's a new camera technology that has been under development for over 5 years…

Nokia's been working in conjunction with the lens masters at Carl Zeiss for ages, but it set about the PureView technology project five years ago. The duo set out to revolutionise the camera phone market with "the next benchmark in imaging". Nokia believes that rudimentary megapixel bumps aren't worth the silicon, and that you have to at least double the resolution of the photo to actually see any convincing difference. Not to mention that 5MP images are enough for any consumer; it's just the way you create them that needs revolutionising.

…that shoves 41 actual megapixels in a phone camera…

It took an incredible number of man-hours and research to overcome the various challenges related to upping the ante in the imaging stakes. Nokia discovered that customers wanted a 3x zoom, but the problem was that optical zooms on a camera phone are near impossible due to size, and they reduce the amount of light you can get onto the relatively small sensor anyway. So the answer was a zoom that you could do purely digitally, and that wasn't a piece of garbage.

What Is Nokia's PureView Technology?5MP is the ideal image size according to Nokia, so to zoom three-fold on a 5MP image you have to have a much higher resolution sensor. Doing the maths, it works out that you need a 41MP image sensor to get a 3x zoom without having to stretch and expand pixels, destroying the quality of the image in the process. What Nokia decided was the best approach was to use "oversampling".

…and uses "oversampling" to give you all the advantage of much larger pixels…

The PureView technology takes 41-megapixels' worth of information and condenses it down to 5MP. In essence, 7 individual pixels are collated together and combined into one "superpixel". This process means you benefit from the same amount of light that would hit the much larger pixels of a 5MP sensor, if it fitted into the same physical footprint. You benefit from solid low-light performance and at the same time you can remove noise and digital artefacts from individual pixels through the oversampling process. It's all done at the raw sensor information level too, but its lightning quick utilising a dedicated processor to get the job done. The result is a super crisp 5MP image that's much sharper, with greater detail than an ordinary 5MP sensor can achieve.

What Is Nokia's PureView Technology?Producing razor sharp images is all well and good, but having that massive sensor (as you can see above compared to regular camera phone sensors) allows lossless digital zoom too. It works by essentially zooming in on a 5MP patch on the image sensor. As you zoom the oversampling is decreased until you're seeing actual pixels - you never go beyond real pixel information. You gradually lose oversampling, but it's not the kind of interpolation that digital zoom is marred with. The result is quite impressive, and certainly adds to the utility of a phone camera without the extra bulk of a moving optical zoom lens assembly.

… but it's not all about massive amounts of megapixels…

Nokia and Carl Zeiss are quick to stress that massive megapixels aren't the be all and end all. Quality optics and intelligent image processing are just as important when you're trying to squeeze that kind of raw power into a phone. Carl Zeiss managed to make a relatively compact lens for the size of the sensor complete with a low f/2.4 aperture. While this is on par with the likes of the iPhone 4S, compact cameras normally fall in the 3 to 5 range so it has them soundly beaten. In general, the lower the f number the more light can hit the sensor resulting in better low-light performance. It also produces a faster potential shutter speed, so your pictures are sharper, even when you've got a bit of the shakes.

… and isn't limited to just bulging 41-megapixel beasts.

There's one big draw back to the current implementation of Nokia's PureView and that's size. The 808 PureView is a bit of a chubster, and Nokia's very aware that anorexic phones are the name of the game. To that end we're going to see the PureView technology in other guises. Nokia specifically said that it wouldn't just be restricted to 41MP sensors, and the bulk that comes with it.

What Is Nokia's PureView Technology?That doesn't mean Nokia will skimp on imaging prowess though - any PureView-packing phone will supposedly be the "best possible camera phone" in its class. That should give hope to anyone with skinny jeans looking for the next step in the camera phone revolution. Nokia's not done optimising the current 41MP form from the 808 either - the next implementation should be smaller, although Carl Zeiss admits that there are physical limits to how small you can make a lens to fit the size of sensor due to the pure physics of optics.

At any rate you should be excited to see what Nokia's PureView technology is going to bring to the Lumia range. If it's able to replicate the kind of impressive picture quality and detail the 808 PureView is capable of, in a smaller, slimmer package, the next Lumia might be something truly lust worthy. I can't wait to see what it's got up its sleeve. [Gizmodo UK]


What Is Nokia's PureView Technology?Our newest offspring Gizmodo UK is gobbling up the news in a different timezone, so check them out if you need another Giz fix.

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Visualized: ThreadWatch tracks daily workflow on a Mac, turns the data into eye candy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/24/visualized-threadwatch/

Visualized: ThreadWatch tracks daily workflow on a Mac, turns the data into eye candy

Sure, time tracking comes in handy when trying to make your workflow as efficient as possible. Perhaps you're looking for a more visual indication of how your time is spent on that MacBook Pro. That's where ThreadWatch comes in handy. Thanks to developer Alex Milde, you can visually analyze your daily task habits on a Mac. After a rather quick and painless app download, the tech monitors software being used on the desktop, taking notes on their individual memory and CPU consumption. The collected info is placed in a text file that you'll then upload to ThreadWatch to create the graphical splendor you see above. Each color indicates a different application and you won't have to worry about having your tracked data catalogued. To take the kit for a spin, hit the source link below to start monitoring your procrastination... er, work sessions.

Visualized: ThreadWatch tracks daily workflow on a Mac, turns the data into eye candy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Information Aesthetics  |  sourceThreadWatch  | Email this | Comments

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Intel posts x86-friendly Android 4.0 image, lets you feel the need for speed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/24/intel-posts-x86-friendly-android-4-0-image/

Image

Android developers are all too familiar with not-so-hot emulator performance, so it's a relief that there's now an system image in a native x86 for testing. While you'll still likely want to test on ARM, the x86 image will both help ferret out bugs specific to Intel's architecture as well as provide a much faster experience debugging apps now that the ARM-to-Intel translation isn't needed on top of running a whole second operating system. It's not perfectly up to date, running on Android 4.0.3, but it's close enough that the environment will mimic much of what users see -- and a big help if you're jumping into writing specifically for Intel devices. If speed is of the essence, or you're not keen on importing a Lava Xolo X900, you just need to update the SDK Manager to start testing with an Intel-flavored green robot.

Intel posts x86-friendly Android 4.0 image, lets you feel the need for speed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Central  |  sourceRomain Guy (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/24/asus-transformer-pad-tf300tl-hits-the-fcc/

ImageASUS isn't known for offering its tablets to North American carriers with 3G or 4G; an FCC filing for a cellular-capable Transformer Pad TF300 could be a clue at a break in the WiFi-only trend. Along with the usual wireless, a TF300TL variant of the Android 4.0 slate has stopped by the agency with the 850MHz and 1,900MHz frequencies needed for HSPA 3G as well as, best of all, 700MHz and 1,700MHz support for LTE-based 4G. All four are what we'd look for in an AT&T-oriented tablet, so don't be surprised if Ma Bell carries a 4G Transformer Pad before long. All but the 700MHz band would be handy for Canadian networks as well. There's no surefire evidence of when the tablet might make a more formal appearance, nor hints of whether or not it will keep the quad-core Tegra 3, although the slight spin on the regular TF300 formula could keep the wait short.

ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Liliputing  |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

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