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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

drag2share: HTC Sensation XE gets official, packing 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and Beats Audio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/htc-sensation-xe-gets-official-packing-1-5ghz-dual-core-cpu-and/

The rumors can be laid to rest, because HTC has officially announced its Sensation XE handset, replete with some upgraded specs and Beats Audio. Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, this Android device features a 4.3-inch touchscreen with qHD (540 X 960) resolution and boasts a larger 1730mAh battery that promises prolonged run times. As the first smartphone produced under HTC's partnership with Beats Audio, this special edition Sensation also ships with a special pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, along with an 8GB or 16GB microSD card and remote control that allows users to flip through tracks of take calls without ever reaching inside their pockets. Once these headphones are plugged in, the phone will automatically activate a Beats-optimized sound profile that, according to HTC, will deliver fuller bass, sharper vocals and broader range. The Sensation XE is slated to launch in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East sometime this month, though price and a possible North America launch date remain unclear. Scurry past the break for more details in the full press release, along with an extra shot of Dre's in-ear headphones.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading HTC Sensation XE gets official, packing 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and Beats Audio

HTC Sensation XE gets official, packing 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and Beats Audio originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: ZiiLabs unleashes Jaguar3 super slim slate reference design

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/ziilabs-unleashes-jaguar3-super-slim-slate-reference-design/

ZiiLabs' first foray into the tablet market, the ZiiO series, didn't exactly get our gadget senses tingling, but that hasn't stopped the company from churning out reference designs for OEMs looking to cash in on the tablet craze. The latest in its line of Jaguar designs is the Jaguar3, a 10.1-inch tablet packing the company's 1.5GHz dual-core ZMS-20 or quad-core ZMS-40 SoC and both front (of unknown resolution) and rear facing cameras (up to 12 megapixels). Sporting a magnesium case with a svelte 8.1mm or 7.4mm-thin profile depending on your preference and pocketbook, it packs a 1200 x 800 capacitive multitouch display running Android 3.2. In addition to the menu of hardware options, ZiiLabs is offering audio upgrades courtesy of Creative's Sound Blaster technology, plus custom software for HDR support and panoramic picture-taking. That's quite an impressive menu of options for you OEMs to choose from, now let's get some of these things to market, shall we? PR's after the break.

Continue reading ZiiLabs unleashes Jaguar3 super slim slate reference design

ZiiLabs unleashes Jaguar3 super slim slate reference design originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Panasonic G-series lenses get firmware update, performance boosts aplenty

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/panasonic-g-series-lenses-get-firmware-update-performance-boost/

Jonesin' to shoot some radder-than-usual HD video with that Lumix G-series lens? You're in luck. Panasonic released a firmware update for the family of lenses that gives them a needed level-up -- bringing 'em to version 1.1 -- to shoot higher quality video. Added features include enhanced tracking focus for videos, silent auto focus, improved stability for the optical image stabilizer and exposure control. The update applies to seven slabs of metal and glass, and every single unit in the 2011 line is also covered. Hit the source if you're ready to update, but don't expect that 720p ceiling to magically raise to 1080p -- it's just a poor attempt at marketing genius.

Continue reading Panasonic G-series lenses get firmware update, performance boosts aplenty

Panasonic G-series lenses get firmware update, performance boosts aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Netgear unveils NeoTV Streaming Player, takes another shot at the smart TV market

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/netgear-unveils-neotv-streaming-player-takes-another-shot-at-th/

Netgear NeoTV Streaming Player

Looks like Netgear is taking what it learned from licensing Roku's tech last year and streamlining its connected TV offerings. With the NeoTV Streaming Player the company is striking out on its own once again and delivering the usual lineup of streaming media (Netflix, YouTube, Vudu, Revision3, Pandora, etc...). On the hardware side you're looking at a glossy black box with a 300Mbps WiFi radio, Ethernet, optical audio out and, of course, HDMI. The NeoTV is available for pre-order now and will start shipping towards the end of the month for $80. And once you get tired of rewatching every episode of Next Generation, you can play a few hands of Blackjack or check out this little thing you may have heard of called The Engadget Show. Full PR is after the break.

Continue reading Netgear unveils NeoTV Streaming Player, takes another shot at the smart TV market

Netgear unveils NeoTV Streaming Player, takes another shot at the smart TV market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Netgear's N900 dual-band router hits 900Mbps top speed, pats itself on the back

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/netgears-n900-dual-band-router-hits-900mbps-top-speed-pats-its/

Stopping just short of bundling its announcement with an "Eye of the Tiger" MP3, Netgear's rolling out the hyperbole carpet for its now available N900. Heralding it as "the most advanced wireless home router," the sleekly-designed $180 box packs six antennas for an extended WiFi range, and is capable of speeds up to 900Mbps -- that's with both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands delivering data at a full 450Mbps. Sure, TRENDnet's already called First! with its own 450Mbps concurrent dual-band device, but the real focus here is on the added extras. In addition to the two USB ports -- capable of 30% faster transfer rates -- Netgear's thrown in a suite of goodies, like its Genie network monitoring application, Live Parental Controls, printer sharing, video stream optimization, DLNA, gigabit wired ethernet, guest access, WPA and WPA2 security protocols, usage meter and, lastly, a shutoff timer. Clearly, this isn't your ordinary wireless router, and that's exactly the company's point. Click on past the break for the official presser.

Continue reading Netgear's N900 dual-band router hits 900Mbps top speed, pats itself on the back

Netgear's N900 dual-band router hits 900Mbps top speed, pats itself on the back originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/vmware-fusion-4-brings-full-lion-support-wants-to-make-windows/

Leave it to VMware to put the spotlight back on Lion when this is, without a doubt, Windows 8's week. The company just announced Fusion 4, the latest version of its virtualization software, and, as you'd expect, it pledges to play nice with Apple's newly minted OS. In addition to fully supporting Lion features like Spotlight, though, it makes Windows look more like, well, a Mac. The software includes improved support for Expose and Spaces on the Windows side, and adds the ability to use Mission Control and launch Windows apps from Launchpad. Additionally, you can run Lion as a virtual machine within Snow Leopard and VMware makes vague claims about improved performance, 3D graphics and resource-hogging. It'll cost $50 through the end of the year, with the price jumping up to $80 in January. Fittingly enough, VMware picked up on the fact that Apple's moving away from optical drives, and instead chose to ship the software with a USB drive (you can also download it and do the whole drag-and-drop installation thing). Oh, and if you bought the last-gen version of the software on July 20th or later, you'll get the new version gratis. Lots of screen shots below, and full PR after the break.

Gallery: VMWare Fusion 4

Continue reading VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows

VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: SanDisk outs Extreme Pro SDXC, Mobile Ultra microSDXC, new Cruzer USB sticks

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/sandisk-outs-extreme-pro-64gb-sdxc-mobile-ultra-microsdxc-new/

Okay, they're not depicted to scale -- but don't they look sweet? In addition to the Memory Vault, SanDisk also chose today to freshen up its SDXC and USB flash products, which should start appearing in candy stores from October. Top billing goes to the Extreme Pro SDXC with 95MB/s reads and purportedly world-beating 90MB/s writes, starting at $110 for 8GB and topping out at 64GB for untold dollars. The Mobile Ultra range for microSDXC-equipped phones and tablets also goes up to 64GB, with 30MB/s transfer rates and a starting price of $25 for 4GB. Then there's the tiny Cruzer Fit and pocket-friendly Cruzer Switch USB sticks starting at the $20 mark, plus a dime for good luck. Click the PR after the break for more sugary details.

Continue reading SanDisk outs Extreme Pro SDXC, Mobile Ultra microSDXC, new Cruzer USB sticks

SanDisk outs Extreme Pro SDXC, Mobile Ultra microSDXC, new Cruzer USB sticks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

drag2share: Google Flights Search Is a Powerful, Intuitive, Lightning-Fast Tool for Finding Cheap Tickets [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5839848/google-flights-search-is-a-powerful-lightning-fast-tool-for-finding-cheap-tickets

Google just launched Google Flights Search, an attractive, intuitive, lightning fast airline search tool; it may well be your new default destination when you're looking for a flight.

We're big fans of previously mentioned Hipmunk (and we'll always have a soft spot for Kayak,) but Google Flights has come out swinging. The search results are nearly instantaneous (most travel sites make you slog through the "searching airlines" intermediary screen); results display on a Google Map in a way that's actually useful; it's got an impressive, easy-to-use interface; and it also includes powerful filtering tools to help you find tickets matching preferences like non-stop, duration, price, and especially handy, a tool to help you find the cheapest flight by duration when you've got flexible travel dates. After a few initial comparisons, Google Flights Search also looks like it's returning the same "lowest fare" as sites like Hipmunk.

Update: Contrary to my experience, I've seen a lot of people saying Hipmunk is still returning lower fares. Several readers have also noted that Google Flights Search isn't showing a lot of cities (sometimes they're cities that I'm seeing, so it could possibly be launch hiccups). It seems likely that these issues will improve in time, but it certainly bodes will for Hipmunk.

The upshot: It's impressively intuitive, extremely fast, and though I hate to say it, I can see Google's new flight search becoming a lot of people's first destination for finding airline tickets online.

Google Flights | via Search Engine Land

You can contact Adam Pash, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

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drag2share: Daily App Deals: Customize Your Android Phone's Lock Screen for a Buck [Deals]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5839904/daily-app-deals-customize-your-android-phones-lock-screen-for-a-buck

The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.

The Best

Daily App Deals: Customize Your Android Phone's Lock Screen for a Buck WidgetLocker Lockscreen is an Android app that replaces the standard "slide to unlock" screen with a fully customizable alternative that lets you change how you unlock your phone. There are dozens of options for launching apps and setting up widgets right from your phone's lock screen, and even more options are available if you have rooted your phone. Previously $1.99, now $0.99 from the Amazon Appstore.

Free

iOS

Chronograph (iTunes) Previously $1.99. [Dealmac]
Nocs Text Editor (iTunes) Previously $1.99. [Dealmac]
goPark (iTunes) Previously $17.99. [148Apps]

Android

SwitfKey X (GetJar) Previously $4.06.
App Protector Pro (GetJar) Previously $1.99.
Imperio (GetJar) Previously $3.99.
Advanced Task Manager (GetJat) Previously $1.99.

The Rest

iOS

MeetOMeeter Pro (iTunes) Previously $2.99, now $1.99. [148Apps]
CamScanner Pro (iTunes) Previously $6.99, now $4.99. [iOSnoops]
NOAA Weather Radio (iOSnoops)
Download with Dropbox (iTunes) Previously $1.99, now $0.99. [iOSnoops]
EgxiteApp (iTunes) Previously $1.99, now $0.99. [LogicBuy]
SuperShare (iTunes) Previously $1.99, now $0.99. [LogicBuy]

Android

Root Explorer(Amazon Appstore) Previously $3.99, now $0.99.
Wave Launcher (Amazon Appstore) Previously $1.99, now $0.99.
SetCPU for Root Users (Amazon Appstore) Previously $2.00, now $0.99.
RepliGo Reader (Amazon Appstore) Previously $4.99, now $1.99.
BackupEverything (Amazon Appstore) Previously $1.99, now $0.99.
Easy Tether (Amazon Appstore) Previously $9.99, now $4.99.

PC

Microsoft AutoRoute 2010 (Amazon.com) Previously $39.95, now $9.99.

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drag2share: Trello Makes Project Collaboration Simple and Kind of Enjoyable [Collaboration]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5839942/trello-makes-project-collaboration-simple-and-kind-of-fun

Just-launched webapp Trello is a simple yet powerful project management tool. We know, "project management" sounds kind of boring, but if you've ever tried using project management apps, Trello stands out as a tool that augments your collaboration without overwhelming you.

As the developers behind Trello put it, it's simply "a web page where you make a bunch of lists." Making those lists is incredibly easy; you create a project (Trello calls them boards), add lists to it, and add list items (called cards) to those lists. If that's all you want from the site (and that aspect is solid enough that you might be satisfied with it for simple list making), you'll be happy. But Trello starts to shine when you dip your toe into collaboration.

To collaborate, you invite people to join your board. Once they join, members can add and edit items and lists, and you can drag people to items within your project to keep track of who's working on what (that's one of the main problems with collaboration Trello aims to solve). Click on any individual card and you can add comments, add a checklist for tracking progress on that task, attach files, and more.

The whole site's very user friendly, and that combined with the depth of functionality make it a strong solution for people looking for anything ranging from simple list-making to full-on team management and project collaboration.

You can contact Adam Pash, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

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drag2share: Intel Claims Next Chip Will Run Your Laptop For 24 Hours On One Battery Charge [PCs]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5839806/intels-next-chip-will-run-your-laptop-for-24-hours-on-one-battery-charge

I can't wait for 2013. That's the year where Intel's Haswell architecture arrives, bringing three very important things. One, the ability to run your laptop for 24 hours on one charge. Heaven. Two, 10 days on "connected standby."

And three: This 22-nanometer 3D-transistor architecture consumes so little power—20 times less than their current gear—that it can run on a solar cell. That's exactly what they demonstrated at the Intel's Developer Forum today: a Haswell-based Windows computer running entirely off a solar cell that was being exposed to a light bulb. Imagine that. Basically, your computer would be able to run indefinitely without ever having to power off, even if you run out of battery power to run the machine's display. I'm impressed.

That's why you can also have ten days of connected standby with your computer connected to a wireless network. That means putting the display to sleep but have the machine continuously connected to the Internet for ten days, grabbing email, tweets, or synchronizing files down from the cloud. I don't know about you, but this low power peace of mind is one of the things that I like most about these new chips.

Before 2013's Haswell comes Ivy Bridge in 2012, which will also reduce power and support DirectX 11.1 and OpenGL 3.2 directly on the chip, as well as 4K high definition video playback. [Anandtech, Marketwatch, Forbes, Ventura Beat, Cnet, Sweclockers]

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drag2share: Firefox for Android Tablets Is Open for Testing [Blip]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5839918/firefox-for-android-tablets-is-open-for-testing

Mozilla has made the latest nightly builds for Firefox for Honeycomb ready for download. It's already optimized for the tablet real estate and Android's quirks, and will let you use Firefox Sync to share data with your desktop. [Mobiputing]

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drag2share: Dolphin Browser HD for iPad: The Best iPad Browser Not Named Safari [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5839954/dolphin-browser-hd-for-ipad-the-best-ipad-browser-not-named-safari

Why do we like it?

Here's where I explain why I really like the sidebars that hide "beneath" the browser. I usually hold my iPad in portrait mode where I have my two hands on the two bottom corners. When I want to go to one of my favorite pages in Safari, I have to move my hand, run it all the way to the top of the iPad's 9.7 inch screen and hope my fat fingers can tap 'giz' to load Gizmodo. It usually doesn't and I try again. To put it bluntly, it's a freaking pain in the ass. It's not the magic the iPad promised! And though the Dolphin browser ain't Copperfield, it's close. I just side swipe to reveal the side bar favorites, tap the favorite site I want to go to and watch it load. No hand movement necessary. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Also, I like "privacy mode".

Dolphin Browser HD

Download this app for:

iPad, Free

The Best

Webzines!

The Worst

Gestures are sort of silly

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drag2share: Channel Master TV Will Let You Cut The Cord And Keep The Sports [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5839979/channel-master-tv-will-let-you-cut-the-cord-and-keep-the-sports

Channel Master's newest DVR is a cord cutters dream. It lets users record over-the-air programming so they can ditch cable and still follow their local news and sports. And there's no monthly fee, just the cost of the device.

Besides OTA television, the Channel Master TV also streams VUDU content. VUDU is a nice add-on, but it does have a limited video catalog. It's too bad the device doesn't include some of the larger services like Netflix or Amazon Video.

On the hardware side, the OTA DVR includes WiFi, a 320 GB hard drive to store 35 hours of HD video, and variety of audio and video outputs to connect to your TV. The Channel Master TV is on the pricey side. It'll cost you $400 when it ships this November. [Channel Master and Crave]

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drag2share: Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be 'optimized' for Atom

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/13/andy-rubin-shows-off-medfield-based-android-phone-at-idf-2011-r/

Google's Andy Rubin just came up on stage here at the IDF keynote, joining Intel CEO Paul Otellini who was holding a bona fide Medfield-powered smartphone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)! Hard to be sure, but the device looks eerily like the Aava Mobile handset we've seen before. The cameo was part of a much larger initiative, which will see Intel working concurrently with Google in order to optimize future processors for use with Android. We were actually tipped off on this a few days back, but at the time, it was difficult to tell how much of a consumer impact it'd have. Given Andy's showing, though, it's looking better and better in that regard. The most impressive tidbit, however, is the promise that all future Android builds will be "optimized" for Intel's low-power Atom clan. We've compiled a gallery for you below, and hopefully we'll have a hands-on later today.

Gallery: Intel's Medfield based Android smartphone

Dante Cesa contributed to this report.

Continue reading Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be 'optimized' for Atom

Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be 'optimized' for Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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