Friday, June 04, 2010

Qik details its premium service tier, free until July 15 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/qik-details-its-premium-service-tier-free-until-july-15/

Qik details its premium service tier, free until July 15
Remember how we said Qik was going to rock your world (and your credit card) with its premium-tier offerings for the Evo 4G? Well, as promised, June 4 is here and we now know exactly what you'll be getting for your extra $5 a month. The full table of goodies is after the break, but highlights include video conferencing at resolutions greater than 640 x 480, unlimited archiving of video, the ability to send video mail, and of course "priority support" should you have a problem handling the Qikening. The updated version of the app, demonstrated in a video below, is available today for the Evo 4G and users can get a taste of those sweet, exclusive features for free until July 15. After that, it's time to pay up or take the trip back to VGA Chatsville. Don't have an Evo? There's also a new version of Qik in the Market for lesser Android smartphones, but video chat is still not on offer.

Continue reading Qik details its premium service tier, free until July 15 (video)

Qik details its premium service tier, free until July 15 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba prototype display does 2D and 3D at the same time

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/toshiba-prototype-display-does-2d-and-3d-at-the-same-time/

One of Toshiba's favorite hobbies is to tease the general public with prototype autostereoscopic technology, and that's exactly what we have here today; demoed at SID 2010, this screen can display 2D and 3D images simultaneously on the same 12-inch screen, no glasses required. How it does that is rather complicated, especially when translated from the Japanese, but it sounds like Toshiba's sandwiched a special panel with gradient-index lenses between a high-speed polarizer and the typical color LCD. We'd wager good money it's not coming to a store near you, but we'll keep an eye out for future developments. These days, they have a tendency to pop right out of the screen.

Toshiba prototype display does 2D and 3D at the same time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD in no rush to build tablets, says netbooks are priority one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/amd-in-no-rush-to-build-tablets-says-netbooks-are-priority-one/

According to DigiTimes, processor vendor AMD isn't terribly concerned about powering the next iPad or even a would-be assassin; the company's still waiting to see if the tablet market even takes off. The silicon firm will still work on desktop PC products and graphics cards, but is currently focused on graphically potent ultraportables; according to the publication, they're also not terribly interested in following in competitor Intel's smartphone footsteps. Of course, that's the same basic thing AMD execs said in 2008, right before Intel ate their lunch. We reached out to a company spokesperson this afternoon, and received the following statement:
Our current generation of notebook platforms has not been designed for tablets. Our focus continues to be on ultrathin and mainstream notebooks which address the vast majority of the PC market opportunity.

AMD in no rush to build tablets, says netbooks are priority one originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CHART OF THE DAY: "The Most Bullish Signal About Investing In The Internet I Have Seen This Year"

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-media-share-of-us-advertising-1949-2009-2010-6

Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson calls this chart, from Google economist Hal Varian's presentation on newspaper economics, "the most bullish signal about investing in the Internet that I have seen this year."

Fred explained:

"This chart says is that over that past decade Internet has gone from nothing to 5% of all the ad spend in the US. If you include audio over the Internet (what radio becomes) and video over the Internet (what TV and cable become) in the Internet line, then I bet Internet will someday be over two-thirds of the ad spend."

CHART OF THE DAY: Media Share Of U.S. Advertising, 1949-2009

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chartoftheday

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A Match Made Over Dinner: Yelp and OpenTable [Food]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5555007/a-match-made-over-dinner-yelp-and-opentable

A Match Made Over Dinner: Yelp and OpenTableYelp has plenty of restaurant reviews and OpenTable lets you make reservations at many of those restaurants. Well, now you can make those OpenTable reservations directly from the Yelp website. A perfectly logical union. [NYT]

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Rumor: YouTube Close To Adding Live-Streaming Functionality? [YouTube]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5555227/rumor-youtube-close-to-adding-live+streaming-functionality

Rumor: YouTube Close To Adding Live-Streaming Functionality?After live-streaming U2 concerts, Indian cricket and even Tiger Woods' confession, it looks like YouTube might be close to opening up live-streaming for all. Screenshots of a new YouTube toolbar with 'Live Stream' added suggest so, anyway.

TechCrunch spotted the toolbar addition on a YouTube employee's help page, so it's possible this employee uses it when enabling streaming for CitizenTube events, such as Tiger Woods' apology to his fans earlier this year, for his extra-marital naughtiness.

While of course there'd be massive problems with copyright and bandwidth issues if YouTube ever opened up full live-streaming for everyone, it's been rumored for so long now that it'd be crazy if they withheld the functionality to actually push this through. [TechCrunch]

Rumor: YouTube Close To Adding Live-Streaming Functionality?

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Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/huawei-s7-runs-1ghz-snapdragon-and-android-2-1-like-a-champ-at-c/

Another small mystery, solved. We caught a glimpse of Huawei's relatively undercover S7 tablet back in March, but little was known about what would actually power the device and what operating system would be pre-installed. Here at Computex, we learned the facts on both of those points. Sitting pretty at Qualcomm's booth, the S7 was shown boasting a 1GHz MSM8250 Snapdragon processor, and our hunting around in the settings confirmed that Android 2.1 was loaded onboard. The Qualcomm reps didn't have any other hard specifications available on the 7-incher (beyond those that we already knew), but we were able to spot a volume rocker, internal speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, USB connector and a fancy kickstand around back for sitting a spell and watching multimedia. During our time with the device, we instantly fell in love with the depressible side buttons, and the capacitive touchscreen was as responsive as they come. The whole thing felt speedy and light enough for our liking, and frankly, it was easily one of our favorite tablets at the entire show. We're still no closer to nailing down a price or release date, but at least you now know it's worth your while to keep an eye out for both. Vid's after the break.

Continue reading Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video)

Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, June 03, 2010

DownThemAll 2.0 Beta Adds Great New Features to the Killer Download Manager [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5554473/downthemall-20-beta-adds-lots-of-awesomeness-to-great-add+on

DownThemAll 2.0 Beta Adds Great New Features to the Killer Download ManagerFirefox: DownThemAll, the Firefox extension that lets you automate and supercharge your downloads, is getting a big upgrade with a 2.0 release. Download throttling, private browsing support, Flash and HTML5 video grabbing, and lots more power user additions are on the way.

DownThemAll, for the unfamiliar, is a Firefox add-on that's a serious time saver. Find a web page full of images, MP3s, program files, or other things you need to grab all at once, or just grab those items starting with "Fi," and you can pull it off. The developer suggests it's a preview release, and not to use it with work/production systems, but those with a tolerance of quirks can find the following new stuff inside:

  • Speed limits – Allow to define maximum download speeds:
    • Global preference
    • Per Server
    • Per Download
    • Per Server download limits
  • Mirror Management – Add/Remove/Edit download locations (mirrors)
  • Firefox Private Browsing Mode support
  • Parsing of text-only links
  • and integration
  • Media-Sniffing: When enabled flv and and other videos will be recognized (http/https only)
  • DownThemAll! Selector – Select links and images by clicking
  • Fine grained queue control: Remove/Remove complete by filters
  • Metalink 4 (IETF) support
  • Support for partial checksums and recovery from Metalinks
  • Manager toolbar now has two modes: Icons, Icons and text
  • Video DownloadHelper integration (in cooperation with mig, the VDH author)
  • Lots of small features

It is, in other words, a full upgrade of DownThemAll's already significant powers, and very helpful for those who would otherwise do a lot of right-click downloading. It's a free download, works wherever Firefox does.

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Best Web-Based Conferencing Tool? [Hive Five Call For Contenders]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5554250/best-web+based-conferencing-tool

Best Web-Based Conferencing Tool?Communication and collaboration are important facets of getting things done in the modern age. This week we want to hear about your favorite web-based conferencing tools.

Photo by clix.

When it comes time to connect with colleagues, friends, and family, what's your go-to tool when seeing and hearing a distant party is important?

Hive Five nominations take place in the comments, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of comments, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Web-Based Conferencing Tool. Please don't include your vote in a reply to another commenter. Instead, make your vote and reply separate comments. If you don't follow this format, we may not count your vote. To prevent tampering with the results, votes from first-time commenters may not be counted. After you've made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.

About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: "Which tool is the best?" Once a week we'll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we'll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week's Five Best Computer Diagnostic Tools.

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ASUS debuts WirelessHD-equipped G73JW and G53 laptops, we go eyes-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/asus-debuts-wirelesshd-equipped-g73jw-and-g53-laptops-we-go-eye/

We already took a closer look at ASUS' minty fresh ROG G53 gaming laptop earlier in the week, but it was the outfit's 17-inch version (the G73JW, predictably) used to showcase a new partnership with SiBEAM. The aforesaid rigs are the world's first laptops to integrate SiBEAM's 60GHz WirelessHD technology, essentially doing exactly what Intel's WiDi does. For those unfamiliar with either technology, it enables the laptop to beam 1080p content directly to a receiver box (that tube you see above, which will be attached via HDMI in theory) from up to 30 meters away. Both machines are slated to be slinging HD sans cabling this Fall, though pricing for the upgraded beasts wasn't available just yet. Still, we were treated to a demonstration over at the outfit's Computex booth, and while it was dangerously close to the receiver, HD content still was streaming without a hitch. Granted, we've seen nothing but great things from other WirelessHD applications in the past, but it's still lovely to see it humming along so nicely within a full-fledged computer. Have a look yourself just past the break.

Continue reading ASUS debuts WirelessHD-equipped G73JW and G53 laptops, we go eyes-on

ASUS debuts WirelessHD-equipped G73JW and G53 laptops, we go eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inventec's Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/inventecs-dr-eye-puts-android-in-a-pocket-sized-laptop/

Inventec's Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop
It may sound like a mid-boss in some forgotten and poorly translated NES game, but Dr. Eye (aka the N18C) is actually a sort of keyboard-endowed MID from Inventec. This chubby clamshell sports a QWERTY keyboard, a 4.8-inch VGA touchscreen, 3G, WiFi, and a front-facing webcam. Power is said to come from a "Marvell 624," which we're guessing is a 624MHz PXA310 and, while it's currently running 1.6, word is that it'll be dipped in 2.1's creamy filling in the near future. When will delivery be? Inventec has been showing this guy off since last year, and while the person doing the demonstration indicates they'll be available "pretty soon" at a price point around $400, we found this guy for sale already at a price of 2688 yuan, or about $395. So, if you're eager to get computing and prefer donuts to eclairs, we wish you happy importing.

Continue reading Inventec's Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop

Inventec's Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheap, tiny camera for RC planes captures video proof when you buy the farm

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/cheap-tiny-camera-for-rc-planes-captures-video-proof-when-you-b/

Cheap, tiny camera for RC planes captures video proof when you buy the farm
Radio controlled airplanes aren't quite as exciting as their full-sized counterparts, but they're pretty darned fun just the same. What would be even more fun? Rigging up an RC craft so that you could see as if you were flying inside the thing, and that you can now do for less than you'd spend on a high-end servo. $47 gets you this aptly titled "RC Plane Camera," a VGA quality cam that won't deliver quality high enough to film an RC version of Les Chavaliers Du Ciel, but should be enough to see what your little plane sees. You can rotate the lens in any direction you like (while on the ground) and, since it weighs only 20 grams, it should work just fine even on a kite. What could you do with such a thing? Watch the video after the break and we think you'll get some ideas.

Continue reading Cheap, tiny camera for RC planes captures video proof when you buy the farm

Cheap, tiny camera for RC planes captures video proof when you buy the farm originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Oh Gizmo!  |  sourceChinavasion  | Email this | Comments

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Motorola Flipout preview

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/motorola-flipout-preview/

We know you're excited -- the Nokia Twist finally has a legitimate competitor in the square-shaped pseudo-smartphone space! Motorola snuck up on us with its Flipout unveiling yesterday, so today we diligently trudged along to its local offices to get properly acquainted with this new Android handset. Running version 2.1 (Eclair) on a 600MHz processor might seem like a recipe for trouble, but it's the same Cortex A8 (TI OMAP 3410) as used in the Droid, and our time with the little quadrangle revealed it could handle itself with aplomb. The Flipout also boasts a freshened up Motoblur implementation and 512MB of both RAM and ROM, but only 150MB for user storage -- time to bring on Froyo, eh? With interchangeable back covers (two will come in the retail box) and that handbag-friendly form factor, the Flipout is unashamedly flirting with being a phone for style-conscious lady-geeks, but let's see if it doesn't appeal to gruff old types like us as well. Join us after the break for our full hands-on impressions.

Continue reading Motorola Flipout preview

Motorola Flipout preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5554293/10-things-android-does-better-than-iphone-os

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OSSince its 2008 debut, Android has grown - not only meeting all of the functionalities of the iPhone, but besting it in nearly all aspects. Here is our list of the top 10 things Android does better than the iPhone.

1: Android can Run Multiple Apps at the Same Time

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

Starting with version 1.0, Android has been able to run multiple applications at the same time regardless of whether they are system apps or apps from the Android Marketplace. The current version of iPhone OS does offer limited multitasking, but only allows native applications such as Mail, iPod and Phone to run in the background. Android users benefit greatly from this discrepancy, as they can receive notifications, listen to music, or even record GPS data without keeping the application open. Apple will try to level the playing field with iPhone OS 4, granting developers access to a small and limiting list of APIs that can run certain services in the background, but it's a long way from the true multitasking that Android has.

2: Android Keeps Information Visible on Your Home Screen

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

One of the key features Android has is a customizable home screen keeps active widgets right at your fingertips, always accesible and always visible - without having to launch an application first. There are widgets for just about every app in the Android Marketplace from playing music to checking the weather and keeping up to date on Facebook. Meanwhile iPhone users are force to flip through their app list to locate and launch each app. If you wanted to check the forecast, for example, you would have to find the app, launch it, and then wait for it to load. With Android, all of that information can be displayed directly on your home screen, never more than a finger swipe away.

3: Android Has a Better App Market

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

It's true that Apple's App Store has over 180,000 applications, while the Android Marketplace has only just broken the 50,000 mark but Android's rapid growth and adoption give it the potential to catch up to the iPhone App Store. Android also has another advantage: a completely open market. Apple receives around 10,000 app submissions per week, yet many apps are overlooked because they appear too simple or denied because a similar app already exists. The Android Marketplace is driven entirely by its consumers, so the best app is the one that succeeds - not the first one to reach the market. In addition, the Android Marketplace doesn't censor its apps, so the possibilities are truly endless.

4: Android Gives You Better Notifications

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

The iPhone has some trouble with notifications. Because it's restricted to pop-up notifications, it can only handle one at a time and because it lacks multitasking, applications must be open in order for them to make notifications. Android, on the other hand, has a convenient notification bar which displays an icon for every notification you have waiting. The notification bar can also be pulled downward to reveal more detail about each notification. Android also allows app developers to make notification details viewable from the lock screen, something the iPhone can only do with native applications.

5: Android Lets You Choose Your Hardware

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

Apple users are encouraged to "Think Different" but when it comes to the actual hardware, they don't get much choice. You can pick the color, either black or white, and you get to choose between the 16GB or the pricier 32GB version. Other than that, you're stuck with the 3.5-inch, 320x480 pixel display, 256MB of RAM, and 600MHz processor. Because Android is an open platform, manufacturers have the freedom to pair it with any hardware they want, like the Nexus One (with 3.7-inch, 480x800 pixel display, 512MB of RAM, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor) or the Motorola Droid which has a physical keypad. Obviously, available selections will vary by carrier - speaking of which....

6: Android Lets You Choose Your Carrier

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

AT&T truly is the iPhone's weakest link. The iPhone's success turned the country's fastest 3G network into a staggering mess of dropped calls and dodgy data connections. If you lust after an iPhone and live in an area with poor AT&T coverage, you're stuck struggling with low signal quality, slow data speeds, and missed calls. Android devices are available on every major cellular carrier (although AT&T only offers a single, somewhat underpowered, Android phone). Verizon has the Motorola Droid, Droid Eris, and Droid Incredible to start. T-Mobile has the Nexus One, MyTouch 3G, Behold II, and will soon carry the MyTouch Slide. And Sprint has the Hero, Moment, and plans for the very promising Evo 4G. No matter where you live, Android lets you pick the carrier that's best for you.

7: Android Lets You Install Custom ROMs

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

The iPhone can be Jailbroken for some additional functionality, like installing apps that aren't available in the App Store, but the overall experience is the same. You're still stuck with the same exact interface. Similar to the Jailbreaking movement, Android has a small community dedicated to building custom ROMs for Android devices. Not only do Custom ROMs bring the same functionality Jailbreaking does, but they also bring an additional level of customization to your phone. There are ROMs that port custom UIs from one device to another. Other ROMs strip down bulky features and optimize for speed. With Android, nothing is out of reach.

8: Android Lets You Change Your Settings Faster

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

Smartphones have been gaining more and more functionality over the past few years: Wi-Fi, GPS, 4G, Bluetooth, etc. While these are all great and necessary additions, they have very adverse affects on battery life. In attempts to counter poor battery life, users have taken to toggling system settings like turning on Wi-Fi or 3G on only when they are needed. iPhone users are stuck digging around in the system settings every time they want to use the internet or a Bluetooth device. Android lets you use widgets to manage your settings directly from your home screen - and for those lesser-used settings that might not have dedicated widgets, you can also create shortcuts on your home screen to take you directly to the setting you want to change.

9: Android Does Google and Social Integration

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

With Smartphones giving us constant connectivity, it's not surprising that the majority of our computerized lives are moving online. We have email for our messages, Flickr for our photos, Google Docs for our documents, and Facebook and Twitter for our social lives. Android offers the ability to integrate all of this natively. Your Gmail account can be automatically synchronized with your phone. Photos taken with your phone can be automatically uploaded to Flickr. Your phone can even be linked to your Facebook account and can sync your phone contacts with your Facebook friends - complete with profile images, email addresses, and phone numbers. The iPhone can do this only through use of third party apps, and is nowhere near as seamless to use as the Android alternative.

10: Android Gives You More Options to Fit Your Budget

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

If you've ever thought about buying an iPhone, you have probably noticed the price tag. The older iPhone 3G costs $99 with a two-year commitment and performs sluggishly with the latest OS updates when compared to the 3GS (which will run you a whopping $199 with two-year agreement). Because Android is an open source platform, it is very cost effective to implement which means savings for the end user. Every major cellular carrier (except for AT&T) has at least one Android phone available free with two-year agreement. Of course these are lower end Android devices, but they are still comparable in performance to the iPhone 3GS. The most expensive Android phones (which significantly outperform the iPhone 3GS) are $199 with two-year contract.

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OSMaximum PC brings you the latest in PC news, reviews, and how-tos.

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What is the next industry to go the way of typewriter repair stores? Is your industry about to be obsoleted?

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