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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/hp-touchpad-veers-into-stores-early-flaunts-its-webos-moves-vi/

Dying to get your hands on HP's TouchPad before it's available on July 1st? According to Pre Central, a visit to either Best Buy or Walmart may afford you the opportunity. During the past few days, the stores have apparently begun quietly displaying demo-loaded versions of the slate. The device went up for pre-order about a week ago, but for webOS hopefuls still contemplating whether to take the Palm-rooted plunge, a pre-release impression may not be a bad grab between socks and motor oil. Don't feel like taking a trip to Wally World, you say? You'll find a video overview past the break; although the box to the left has us wondering if now's a good time for getting lucky...

Continue reading HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Palm Infocenter | source

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rbrown530 (YouTube), PreCentral (1), (2) | Email this | Comments

Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/sony-ultra-slim-13-inch-vaio-z-laptop-revealed-in-europe-packs/

Turns out those leaked shots we saw of Sony's new VAIO Z laptop were right on the money as the company showed it off officially today for the European press. The specs reveal a 13.1-inch "ultramobile" notebook that comes in at under 1.2kg with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 1600x900 screen and sheet battery borrowed from the earlier VAIO S for up to 7 hours of computing. Onboard it features only Intel's HD Graphics 3000 solution but the VAIO Z beats other ultralights with its Power Media Dock, which contributes the power of an AMD Radeon 6650M GPU with 1GB of dedicated memory connected via "the architecture codenamed Light Peak" -- Sony can't call it Thunderbolt -- when more polygons have to be pushed. The dock sports one USB 3.0 hookup plus additional USB, VGA and HDMI ports, and a slot for either a DVD or Blu-ray drive. ~~There's no word on a price yet~~, but it is promised to ship by the end of July in Europe so if the full specs (included after the break) are appealing then you don't have much time to save up.

Update: Head over to the Sony UK site to configure one yourself -- pricing starts at £1,434 ($2,294) with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and no PMD. The dock is a £400 ($640) option with no optical drive included, while upgrading to a 1080p 13.1-inch LCD is a mere £40 extra.

Gallery: Sony VAIO Z

Continue reading Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand

Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Akihabara News | source

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Sony Europe (PR), Sony UK store | Email this | Comments

What do you love, asks Google with a new portal to its many web services

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/28/what-do-you-love-asks-google-with-a-new-portal-to-its-many-web/

Say hello to your new online friend, wdyl.com. An eagle-eyed TechCrunch tipster spotted this freshly launched Google portal, whose purpose it seems to be to gather up all of the company's multifarious web services under one umbrella. A Google search for Google products, in other words. Punching in a topic brings up its popularity in Google Trends, lets you set up Google Alerts, plan related events in Google Calendar, email someone in Gmail, or hit up Picasa, YouTube or Google News with the same query. You get the picture. It hasn't yet been made official and hitting up the site without the "www." prefix throws up a bad URL error at the moment, but it's there and seemingly fully functional. Give it a try and let us know which search terms bring up the most humorous results.

What do you love, asks Google with a new portal to its many web services originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TechCrunch | source

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Apple's A6 processor may come courtesy of TSMC, Samsung left to wonder why

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/apples-a6-processor-may-come-courtesy-of-tsmc-samsung-left-to/

Apple's fondness for anorexic handhelds knows no bounds, and if this alleged deal with the Asian foundry holds water, expect to see its waistband tighten further. Rumoured back before the iPad 2 launch, the house-that-Steve-built's reportedly been eyeing Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp to produce an 'A6' for its upcoming iPhone refresh. While it's easy to dismiss this purported move as a direct diss to Samsung, what's more likely is that Cupertino's engaging in a competitive bit of size does matter -- specifically, the A5's 45nm process. A transition to newer, lower power 28nm ARM chips would give Jonathan Ives' employer a distinct market advantage, dwarfing even TSMC's current 40nm in the process. While it's all still just speculation for now, only time and an iPhone 5 tear-down will tell for sure.

Apple's A6 processor may come courtesy of TSMC, Samsung left to wonder why originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This Is My Next | source

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Ars Technica | Email this | Comments

NVIDIA teases a pair of mystery laptop GPUs running Crysis 2 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/nvidia-teases-a-pair-of-mystery-laptop-gpus-running-crysis-2-vi/

Did someone say controlled leak? NVIDIA's come clean about the fact that it has some news to share tomorrow, but until then, it's being oh-so demure about what it has up its sleeve. Behold, an unnamed GPU -- two of 'em, in fact! -- running Crysis 2 in SLI mode. What you see in the short clip below is the DirectX11 version of the game running at 1080p resolution with tesselation enabled and a high-resolution texture pack. All told, the game appears to play smoothly, even with the settings cranked to the max. So just what is this thing? Looks like we'll find out in the morn, folks.

Continue reading NVIDIA teases a pair of mystery laptop GPUs running Crysis 2 (video)

NVIDIA teases a pair of mystery laptop GPUs running Crysis 2 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer's AC700 Chromebook coming to the US this month for $350, 3G model arriving later this summer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/acers-ac700-chromebook-coming-to-the-us-this-month-for-350-to/

Samsung's beautiful-but-pricey Series 5 Chromebook too rich for your blood? Fear not, cloud-dwellers. Acer just announced that its Chromebook, dubbed the AC700, will go on sale in the states this month for $349.99, to be followed by a 3G-equipped version later this summer. If you're part of the niche market that would happily live in Chrome OS in exchange for instant-on access, be advised that it runs on an Atom N570 processor and 2GB of RAM, and has 16GB of flash storage, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. We'll be curious to see how the build quality compares to the Series 5's, though for some people, that $70 price gulf will render that a moot point. PR after the break.

Gallery: Acer AC700 Chromebook

Continue reading Acer's AC700 Chromebook coming to the US this month for $350, 3G model arriving later this summer

Acer's AC700 Chromebook coming to the US this month for $350, 3G model arriving later this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panopticlick Determines How Unique and Trackable Your Browser Is, Even with Cookies Turned Off [Privacy]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5815856/panopticlick-determines-how-unique-and-trackable-your-browser-is-even-with-cookies-turned-off

Webapp Panopticlick examines how unique and trackable your browser fingerprint is even if you've disabled cookies in your browser.

Developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the webapp uses information your browser shares with web sites by default—like installed plug-ins, system fonts, screen resolution, and so on—to create a fingerprint and test how difficult it is to track your browser across the internet. My browser's fingerprint, for example, was unique among the 1.6 million browsers already tested by the site.

For more information—including ways you can defend against this kind of fingerprinting—check out this PDF.

Panopticlick | EFF

Video Calling App Fring Now Offers Four Way Group Chat [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5815864/video-calling-app-fring-now-offers-four-way-group-chat

iOS/Android/Symbian: Fring, one of our favorite mobile apps for VoIP calls, just released a new iPad app that supports four-way video calling between the iPad and non-iOS users. They also updated their iPhone, Android, and Symbian versions to match.

Fring for iPad beats Facetime for multi-party video calling, and is the only iPad app that allows iPad users to talk to more than one other person without an Apple product. Fring allows you to drag names from your contacts list directly into the chat window to start a session with them. Drag in up to four friends and you'll be able to talk to them all at once, and they'll be able to chat with the group. Plus, since Fring supports iOS, Android, and Symbian devices, there are no limitations on who you can chat with.

Fring | iTunes App Store via Fring Blog

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter.

Will Samsung's "Nexus Prime" Be the Next Best Android Phone? [Unconfirmed]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5815813/will-samsungs-nexus-prime-be-the-first-android-ice-cream-sandwich

Following their previous report on a beastly Ice Cream Sandwich phone, BGR's extending extra details—and confirming that Samsung will make the thing, possibly named Nexus Prime. The monster will be purebred—-no 3rd party skins. Just Android 4.0.

BGR also claims the Nexus Prime will indeed hold a dual-core OMAP4460 processor. The pairing of beefy specs with creamy-clean software—the upcoming (and most sophisticated) Gingerbread/Honeycomb hybrid—means this could very well be the next best Android phone ever. [BGR]

The Average American Drinks 45 Gallons of Soda a Year [Factoid]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5815818/the-average-american-drinks-45-gallons-of-soda-a-year

We're doomed. Banished to obesity. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, the average American drinks 44.7 gallons of soda every year. That's about 487 cans or 286 bottles or 85 2-liters of that carbonated syrup every year. How are we alive?

The numbers, 2010 per capita beverage consumption in the US, are just insane. I know a lot of people who never touch the stuff and even more people who've cut back tremendously. Where is all this soda consumption coming from? Which mad man is making up for miss healthy vegan's zero soda drinking by double or even triple fisting at lunch time? Can people legitimately drink that much soda? Could you?

44.7 gallons would weigh about 375 pounds. People, you're pumping yourself with that stuff! I used to love soda as much as the next guy but those needless calories and extra sugar eventually catches up with you. On a good note, the number is falling. On a bad note, the number is still numero uno in the standings. What I also can't believe: how disappointing our national beer consumption is! 20.8 gallons is like three pints every week. Weak. Check out the full infographic over at AdAge. [AdAge]

Fring Brings Four-Way Video Chat Gangbang to iPad [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5815851/fring-brings-five+way-video-chat-gangbang-to-ipad

Popular vidchat client Fring isn't content with the usual one-on-one routine. If you've got three other friends, you can all talk to each other (or over each other) now, through an app orgy of chattering faces.

The new Fring doesn't just put a foursome on your screen, but is free, works over cell data as well as WiFi connections, and will let Fring users on other, non-iPad devices tune in. This sounds chaotic, and looks extremely fun. The possibilities here are myriad: group therapy, international shouting matches, letting your pals democratically choose your outfit. Or just staring at each other, creepily, silently, over the internet. [iTunes]

HTC EVO 3D landing in Europe next month, two-stage shutter button and all

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/htc-evo-3d-landing-in-europe-next-month-two-stage-shutt/

Up till now, the ranks of 3D-capable smartphones were neatly organized by territory: Japan had the Sharp Aquos SH-12C, the US had the HTC EVO 3D, and Europe had the LG Optimus 3D. Now it's all getting a tiny bit messier (and more competitive!) with HTC's announcement that the EVO 3D has boarded a transatlantic liner and is en route to the green shores of Europa. Available "broadly" across the old continent, this Android 2.3 handset touts a 4.3-inch display with qHD (540 x 960) resolution and an added parallax barrier layer that allows it to deliver a glasses-free 3D effect. We call it an effect because real 3D it ain't, but at least it'll allow you to review the three-dimensional pics you snap with the included pair of 5 megapixel autofocus cameras. There's also a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon purring within for the performance obsessives and a generous 1730mAh battery -- perhaps the biggest advantage that we can see for this phone over the similarly specced (but 3D-less) Sensation. Jump past the break for the full spec sheet and PR or hit up our review to learn just how awesome the EVO 3D's shutter button really is.

Continue reading HTC EVO 3D landing in Europe next month, two-stage shutter button and all

HTC EVO 3D landing in Europe next month, two-stage shutter button and all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 2! 7 Jun 20 11 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/super-talent-usb-3-0-express-rc8-looks-like-a-thumb-drive-acts/

It seems too much to hope for, but Super Talent insists it has the benchmarks to prove it: a USB 3.0 stick that achieves 270MB/s reads and 240MB/s writes under optimal conditions. Unlike your average joe flash drive, the RC8 boasts a fully-fledged (albeit previous-generation) SandForce SSD controller that permits the simultaneous use of eight channels of NAND memory. In other words, this zippy little thing actually is an SSD, enclosed in an aluminum case that measures 1-inch wide, 4-inches long and 0.3-inches thick. No definitive word on pricing yet, but it was reported at Computex that a 50GB variant would go for around $110, while 25GB and 100GB capacities will also be available. Now, could someone please hurry up and build a Thunderbolt version?

Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FarEastGizmos | source

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AnandTech, Super Talent | Email this | Comments

Slim ASUS Eee PC X101 to hit shelves next month

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/slim-asus-eee-pc-x101-to-hit-shelves-next-month/

ASUS Eee PC X101

That super thin Eee PC X101 that we manhandled back at Computex is just about ready to make its retail debut. Starting in July you'll be able to pick up one of these MeeGo-running crimson clamshells for $199 or, if you're a fan of desktop apps, Windows 7 versions (X101H) starting at $310. Inside the base model you'll find a 1.33GHz, single-core Atom N435, a six-cell battery, and a small SSD (probably of the 16GB variety). Unfortunately, the two most important details -- can it cut a cake and will it blend -- remain unanswered.

Slim ASUS Eee PC X101 to hit shelves next month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notebook Italia, DigiTimes | Email this | Comments

CSI Virtual MasterCard app bringing mobile payments to iOS, Android and BlackBerry

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/exclusive-csi-virtual-mastercard-app-bringing-more-mobile-payme/

Shortly after MasterCard announced plans to become entangled with Google Wallet (and a few months after those ambitious Isis plans were shelved), it looks as if the aforesaid company is diving into yet another mobile payment arena. And this time, it's personal. MasterCard and CSI Enterprises already offer a smattering of customized business cards for those with highly specific needs, and soon that partnership will extend to iOS, Android and BlackBerry OS. We've confirmed that the CSI Virtual MasterCard app is currently scheduled to launch in July, presumably enabling folks with a GlobalVCard to use their mobile device of choice to make payments. What's interesting here is the inclusion of RIM and iOS; there's no BlackBerry device (nor iOS device) on the market today with NFC, which leads us to believe one of two things: that's either changing by July, or this here service won't rely on NFC at all. Needless to say, we'll keep you posted -- nothing like another way to more easily indebt yourself.

CSI Virtual MasterCard app bringing mobile payments to iOS, Android and BlackBerry originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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