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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

drag2share: Sprint and Verizon confirm iPhone 4S Micro SIM unlock for international travel (update: Sprint remains locked?)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/sprint-and-verizon-confirm-iphone-4s-micro-sim-unlock-for-intern/

If you own an iPhone 4 on AT&T, using the device while traveling internationally means paying sky-high roaming fees, jailbreaking or limiting data use to when you're on a WiFi network, either with a public hotspot or through a service like Xcom Global. Verizon iPhone 4 owners, however, don't have the option of GSM roaming at all, and can only make calls and use cellular data in countries that support CDMA. All that changes with the iPhone 4S, however -- Macworld has confirmed that Sprint will sell its version of the device with the Micro SIM slot unlocked, with Verizon offering free unlocking to customers after the first 60 days of service. iPhone 4S owners will then be able to purchase a Micro SIM overseas, allowing them to access data and make calls at local rates, for a fraction of what it would cost to roam. AT&T iPhone 4S owners won't have this option, however, so if you make frequent trips overseas, this benefit alone may be enough to justify purchasing the phone through Sprint or Verizon, saving some users hundreds or thousands of dollars in international roaming fees.

Update: Our source article was incorrect, and Sprint has told us that its SIM will not be unlocked, adding that the card will not even be removable.

Our SIM does not come out of the device - I believe the same is true of Verizon's iPhone but you would need to confirm that with them. Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world. When traveling internationally, there is a setting that must be turned on within the device to connect to GSM. The phone will work with a SIM that is provided within the device out of the box. International voice and data charges are on a pay-as-you-go basis and vary based on the country where the customer is using their phone; a list of rates is available at www.sprint.com/international.

Update 2: We heard from Sprint a second time, which redacted part of its previous statement. The carrier further explained "the SIM is removable and is not affixed to the device," which as you may notice directly contradicts the statement made earlier today. We've reached out to Apple twice and are awaiting further clarification.

[Thanks, Julio]

Sprint and Verizon confirm iPhone 4S Micro SIM unlock for international travel (update: Sprint remains locked?) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: LG Doubleplay packs dual screens, likes being different

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/lg-doubleplay-packs-dual-screens-likes-being-different/

We double-took when we noticed this strange little handset on T-Mobile's leaked fall roadmap under a 'Flip II' codename, and now it's emerged in some press shots with a doubly playful new moniker and a touch more clarity. We can see a five megapixel rear camera with LED flash, a front-facer of unknown resolution, and what's reported to be a 320x480 HVGA main display. We know very little about the secondary display except that it seems to give you quick access to your apps -- although we're hoping there's more to it than that. The roadmap indicated an imminent November 2nd launch for $150 on contract and it surely won't be long before get some hands-on time. Til then, we'll just try to imagine the ergonomics.

LG Doubleplay packs dual screens, likes being different originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Archos 80 G9 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/archos-80-g9-review/

As far as tablets go, a couple of interesting things are going to happen between now and the holiday season. One, we're going to see a glut of smaller 7- and 8-inch tablets running Honeycomb (like this, this and this) hit the market. And if the Kindle Fire and Acer Iconia Tab A100 are any indication, they're going to be cheaper, making slates palatable to folks who previously couldn't bring themselves to spend $500 on a plaything. The Archos 80 G9, then, is the perfect specimen on both counts. Here you have an 8-inch tablet running Android 3.2 with a kickstand and full-sized USB port -- costing just $300 for the base model ($270, even, on sites like Amazon). So how does it stack up against other diminutive, aggressively priced tablets? Let's see.

Gallery: Archos 80 G9 review

Continue reading Archos 80 G9 review

Archos 80 G9 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Intel may be giving up on smart TVs, ceding market to ARM

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/intel-may-be-giving-up-on-smart-tvs-ceding-market-to-arm/

Intel Atom CE4100

Well, it looks like Intel is throwing in the smart TV towel. As originally reported by AnandTech, and now confirmed by the company itself, Chipzilla is closing down its Digital Home Group and folding the team and resources into its tablet division. Its CE processors, which are found in the Boxee Box and the Logitech Revue, will continue to be sold, but it sounds like the focus will shift away from consumer-facing products. Obviously, that leaves the door wide open for ARM to sweep in. We already know that Google TV will be making the move to ARM-based hardware soon and the Boxee Box started life on Tegra before making the move to an Atom CE4100 (not to mention the A4-sporting Apple TV), so this isn't entirely new ground for the big players. Still, we're a little shocked to see Intel abandon the market just as it seems to be picking up steam.

Intel may be giving up on smart TVs, ceding market to ARM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: iOS 5 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/ios-5-review/

Now well into its fifth year of life, iOS has always been known for its exceptional polish -- and also, its glaring feature holes. But, just like clockwork, each year since its 2007 debut, those shortcomings have been addressed one by one in a sweeping annual update. In 2008, the platform was opened up to developers giving us the App Store, 2009 saw the introduction of copy and paste -- which we'd argue is still the best implementation to date -- and last year "multitasking" finally made a presence. So what has Apple chosen to rectify in 2011? Well, for starters, notifications gets a complete overhaul with Notification Center, tethered syncing dies at the hands of iCloud and messaging gets a do-over with the birth of iMessage.

If you recall, we first got acquainted with iOS 5 in May after downloading the developer preview, but how does the final release stack up? And does it have the chops to compete with the latest from Mountain View and Redmond? After drudging through seven betas, we're ready to conquer all that the final release has to offer, so join us, if you would, past the break.

Continue reading iOS 5 review

iOS 5 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/pantech-pocket-for-atandt-hands-on-at-ctia-eanda-2011-video/

It's the glitz and glamour that typically defines shows such as this week's CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011, but Pantech chose to fly under the radar this time around. Sure, the company didn't have its own multi-million dollar booth at the event, but it still at least had a significant product to show off. We were given the opportunity to spend some brief time playing with the Pantech Pocket, a follow-up to the crossover with better specs and another unique form factor. The pocket features a 4-inch SVGA (800 x 600) display, which means you can expect the device to be wider and shorter than your typical handset; in terms of width, we felt as though we were holding a 4.7-incher. We noticed, however, that its shorter length allowed for additional places to grip, which made it at least easier to hold in our hand as a result. Specwise, the Pocket is a Gingerbread phone running on Android 2.3.4, uses a similar UI to what's found on the Crossover, has a 5MP rear cam with 720p video capture (and no LED flash or front-facing camera) and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 single-core CPU and 512MB of RAM. No pricing has been set on the Pocket, but it's certain to be gracing the midrange section of your neighborhood AT&T store starting November 6th. Gallery and vid below.

Continue reading Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: RIM clarifies global service outage, doesn't provide ETA for restore

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/12/rim-clarifies-global-service-outage-doesnt-provide-eta-for-res/

If you don't own a BlackBerry yourself, chances are you know somebody who does. And if that person lives in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America or South America, they're probably quite unhappy with RIM at the moment. This week's service outage began with a server failure in the UK, and spread like wildfire to Africa and the Middle East, before continuing on to parts of Asia, the US, Canada and a good portion of South America. This is only the latest BlackBerry service outage for RIM, bringing email, BBM and web browsing services to a halt. But with BlackBerry services playing a critical role in real-time business and government communications, any interruption is unacceptable, and costly for all.

RIM CTO David Yach responded to questions during a press conference this afternoon, explaining the original cause of the outage (that UK server failure, along with a series of failed redundancies), and how that grew into the global outage we're experiencing now:

"It's a backlog issue. Clearly we have a backlog in Europe, based on the initial outage and the time it's taken to stabilize that. At this point, we have not throttled the other regions, but as you can imagine, with the global reach of BlackBerry, people using it to contact others around the world, there's a lot of messages coming to Europe from Asia and the Americas, and those would be backed up on the other system. It's looking like over time that backlog built, and started impacting those other systems."

The obvious solution would be to clear the backlog and restore service, but in doing so, RIM would purge any undelivered messages. Yach said that all emails will eventually be delivered, however, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about there (there was no related comment regarding BBM messages). When asked what the company would be doing to "make right" by way of its customers, Yach emphasized that his focus was only on restoring service at this point, and made no promises of restitution.

Is the BlackBerry outage effecting you? Let us know by voting in our poll, or leaving a comment after the break.

RIM clarifies global service outage, doesn't provide ETA for restore originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, October 07, 2011

drag2share: YT Background Search for Chrome Explores YouTube Without Leaving the Current Video [Chrome Extensions]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5847592/yt-background-search-for-chrome-searches-youtube-without-leaving-the-current-video

Chrome: Watching YouTube videos almost always generates ideas for more videos to watch, but initiating a new search means closing the current video. With YT Background Search, you can look up what you'll queue next without closing the currently playing video.

The extension splits the YouTube page apart when you type in a search and shows you the results at the top of the page while your currently playing video continues. That's all this extension does, but since it runs unobtrusively in the background and works its magic automatically, you'll never notice it's there.

YT Background Search | Chrome Web Store via Addictive Tips

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drag2share: Mailnesia Is a Temporary Email Tool That Automatically Clicks Registration Links [Email]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5847625/mailnesia-is-a-temporary-email-tool-that-automatically-clicks-registration-links

There are quite a few temporary and anonymous email options out there to help you skip the spam and still register for sites, but Mailnesia differentiates itself by automatically clicking registration links for you and supporting HTML.

You don't have to register for it, just type whatever name you'd like followed by @mailnesia.com and you'll be on your way. Unlike many temporary email services, Mailnesia supports most common email types, including HTML and MIME, which is handy if you're getting download links. It also allows you to generate a RSS feed for the email box so you can keep tabs on it if you want. The automatic registration clicking works as advertised and on most sites you can simply reload the page after a couple seconds and find Mailnesia has already taken care of the confirmation. Of course, you don't want to use this for anything involving private information, but it's handy for trials and downloads.

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drag2share: 4 iPhones + 1 Apple TV = Awesome Split-Screen Multiplayer Gaming [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5847609/4-iphones-%252B-1-apple-tv--awesome-split+screen-multiplayer-gaming

Firemint, the developer behind Real Racing 2 on the iPhone/iPad, has a demo video to show off a neat multi-player trick using the Apple TV and the AirPlay mirroring feature for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2: 4-player split-screen.

It's called Party Play. Essentially, one player hosts a local multiplayer game, and pushes their screen to the Apple TV. Instead of just seeing their screen, everyone's screens pop up. Awesome. [Kotaku]

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drag2share: Producer Makes Insane Real-Time Beats With New iMaschine App [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5847598/producer-makes-insane-real+time-beats-with-new-imaschine-app

Jamie Lidell is a seriously talented and internationally known musician and producer, but the music he's able to make using only this iPhone app is crazy. This cannot possibly be real. The subway just got way more fun.

The new iMaschine app for iPhone and iPod Touch just dropped in the app store, and if this newly-released promo video is any indication it's one of the most functional production apps out there. The app is actually based on the Maschine sequencer hardware/software combination by Native Instruments. That might explain why Jamie Lidell looks like he's actually pounding away at the pads on a sequencer instead of playing with an app.

The iMaschine app is actually a combination sampler, sequencer, and audio processor. It carries all of the tools you need to improvise and record a bumping beat. Choose from the included package of drum kits, synths, bass, and other sounds, and then lay down a track on the pads. As Lidell shows off, the iPhone microphone can be used to grab samples or to record in real-time. Then you can use the built-in tools to edit the track and tweak the sound.

The music in the video is all recorded in real-time. Lidell makes the sampling, playing, recording, editing workflow look seamless and intuitive. Native Instruments didn't exactly hire an amateur to show off its app, and Lidell definitely had plenty of hands-on time before he shot the video. But at least we know what's possible. With a little creativity and practice—that could be you too. iMaschine costs $4.99 and is available now in the app store. [Native Instruments and Warp Records]

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drag2share: Zotac's ZBOX nano VD01 packs dual-core VIA CPU in a tiny, tiny box

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/zotacs-zbox-nano-vd01-packs-dual-core-via-cpu-in-a-tiny-tiny-b/

ZBOX nano VD01

Zotac isn't the biggest name in computers, but the company does do one thing particularly well -- cram capable HTPC components in itty-bitty boxes for a reasonable price. VD01 series ditches more well known solutions from Intel and AMD for chips from VIA, specifically the Nano X2 U4025 CPU with its Chrome9 media processor. Inside is room for a 2.5-inch HDD and a single DDR3 slot, but you can get those pre-populated with a 320GB disk and 2GB RAM by opting for the Plus model. Outside is your usual selection of USB 3.0, 2.0, eSATA, Ethernet and HDMI ports while inside are both Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11n radios. There's even an IR receiver and bundled remote to make this truly living room friendly. Check out the gallery below, as well as the PR after the break.

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX nano VD01

Continue reading Zotac's ZBOX nano VD01 packs dual-core VIA CPU in a tiny, tiny box

Zotac's ZBOX nano VD01 packs dual-core VIA CPU in a tiny, tiny box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Pandigital Supernova available mid-October for $230, is an eReader in Android tablet disguise

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/pandigital-supernova-available-mid-october-for-230-is-an-eread/

Pandigital hasn't made much of an effort to swathe its Supernova tab in mystery. When the 8-inch LCD slate swept through the FCC earlier this summer, we were privy not only to images of the device and its internals, but also to the apps that'd be pre-loaded on purchase -- GetJar and Barnes & Noble's Nook app amongst others. So, what can you expect for $230 when it lands this month? Well, the company's forsaken Honeycomb for the soon-to-be outclassed Gingerbread OS, tossed in a single-core 1GHz A8 processor, 4GB of storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD slot), WiFi and Bluetooth. It's a cheap, me too Android tablet entry, for sure. And with the recent outing of a certain budget-priced, ecosystem-friendly tab, we might suggest you hold off for the higher-specced goods. Official PR after the break.

Continue reading Pandigital Supernova available mid-October for $230, is an eReader in Android tablet disguise

Pandigital Supernova available mid-October for $230, is an eReader in Android tablet disguise originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Lenovo's IdeaPad A1 now on sale: a slice of Gingerbread for under $200

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/lenovos-ideapad-a1-now-on-sale-a-slice-of-gingerbread-for-unde/

Been anxiously awaiting Lenovo's 7-inch Gingerbread tablet ever since we first touched it back in September? Sure you have. Well, maybe you have. If so, grab that cash that's burning a hole in your pocket so you can have an IdeaPad A1 to call your very own. The 2GB model will cost you $199, and another Grant will get you the 16GB version; both are scheduled to ship before Halloween. Hit the source link to scare one up for yourself.

Lenovo's IdeaPad A1 now on sale: a slice of Gingerbread for under $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/efun-announces-300-nextbook-premium-8-android-tablet/

The Nextbooks 1 through 7 may not have caused much of a ripple in the Android tablet market, but eFun is keeping at it, and has now rolled out its new Nextbook Premium 8 model. There's still no Honeycomb to be found on this one (just Android 2.3), but you do get a slightly larger 8-inch capacitive screen, as well as a Rockchip RK2918 processor, 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera -- plus Kobo's eBook Store app preloaded (though there's no mention of Android Market). Unfortunately, in a season when you can get a Kindle Fire or Lenovo IdeaPad A1 for $200, this one will set you back a comparatively hefty $300 -- then again, it does have "Premium" in its name. Press release is after the break.

Continue reading eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet

eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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