Tuesday, January 10, 2012

drag2share: ViaSat 12Mbps 'exede' broadband gets official date and data bundles, eyes up you rural types

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/10/viasat-12mbps-exede-broadband-gets-official-date-and-data-bund/

Still fancy some of that 12Mbps satellite broadband ViaSat announced last week? Well, the service finally got a name: Exede. Also, that suggested January 16th date for consumer roll-out has been confirmed. If you're still undecided whether you want some of that "feels like fiber" service, then maybe the freshly revealed package details might sway you? The $50 basic bundle will get you 7.5GB monthly quota which can be increased to 15GB ($80) or 25GB ($130) if that doesn't fill your data belly. Tap the PR if you want to read more.

Continue reading ViaSat 12Mbps 'exede' broadband gets official date and data bundles, eyes up you rural types

ViaSat 12Mbps 'exede' broadband gets official date and data bundles, eyes up you rural types originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Gemini drops two new FirstMix USB DJ controllers, helps you get your foot in the club

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/10/gemini-drops-two-new-firstmix-usb-dj-controllers-helps-you-get/

Gemini unveiled the original FirstMix last year and now it's just introduced two more models for the beginner DJ. The FirstMix I/O looks little more than a revision of the original, with some minor aesthetic tweaks, although we've not yet been given full specs for a proper comparison. The FirstMix Pro, however, definitely brings a little more to the DJ booth. We spy what appears to be three hot-cue buttons on each deck, expandable to six via a shift function, as well what looks like a three channel EQ. Loop-in and out buttons also make an appearance, along with -- most significantly -- a 3.5mm headphone jack, which suggests a built-in sound interface for pre-cueing. Gemini wants $129.95 for the FirstMix I/O and $199.95 for the FirstMix Pro and both come bundled with MixVibes LE. Fans of the original can now pick it up for a reduced $79.99. Check the PR after the break for the run-down.

Continue reading Gemini drops two new FirstMix USB DJ controllers, helps you get your foot in the club

Gemini drops two new FirstMix USB DJ controllers, helps you get your foot in the club originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Samsung Series 7 HDTV hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/10/samsung-series-7-hdtv-hands-on/

Of the two monitors Samsung announced last week, the Series 7 was decidedly the middle-of-the road number. But that's not saying much, seeing as how its big brother, the Series 9, is Sammy's first consumer display with a plane line switching panel, and has a 2560 x 1440 pixel count. The Series 7, available in 24- and 27-inch sizes (both 1080p), uses the same matte, 400-nit, SuperBright Plus panel you'll find on the newly announced Series 9 laptop, and as ever it looks bright and clear, even in the face of some oblique viewing angles. For the money ($600 and up), it also has built-in WiDi and MHL. So far as we can tell, after having seen it in person, the biggest thing you'll lose once you step down from the Series 9 (aside from the PLS bit) is design flair. Whereas the Series 9 has a slim aluminum build with glowing touch controls, the Series 7's glossy surfaces pick up fingerprints quite quickly. (Then again, this more or less rocks the same design as last year's Series 9 flagship, so how bad could it be?) Have a peek at our shots below, and stay tuned for a separate look at the Series 9 -- for whatever reason, the one on display at tonight's press event was powered off for the night, so we'll be back sometime soon when we can show you that high-quality PLS display in the buff.

Samsung Series 7 HDTV hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Here's A Different Way Of Looking At The Earnings Season Calendar

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/q4-earnings-calendar-chart-2012-1


This may or may not be of any use to you.

But if you're crazy about earnings season and you love charts, this may be interesting and useful for planning.

Bespoke Investment Group has created a bar graph showing the number of earnings announcements scheduled for each day during earnings season.  Combine that with our weekly guide to earnings, and you really have something.  Sort of.

chart

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drag2share: Google Engineer Urs Holzle: Speed Is King (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-engineer-urs-holzle-speed-is-king-2012-1


speedracer.png

Google's chief engineer Urs Holzle is a speed freak.

He's so obsessed with Google's speed, that one time he called an emergency companywide "Code Yellow" emergency, forcing all engineers to stop what they were working on to make the site faster.

Holzle tells this story in the latest edition of Google's quarterly newsletter, Think Quarterly, which came out today. (Steven Levy also wrote about that incident in his book about Google, "In The Plex.") 

But Holzle also gave some statistics to explain why speed is so important:

  • When Google search queries slow down a mere 400 milliseconds, traffic drops 0.44%.
  • 80% of people will click away from an Internet video if it stalls loading.
  • When car comparison pricing site Edmunds.com reduced loading time from 9 to 1.4 seconds, pageviews per session went up 17% and ad revenue went up 3%.
  • When Shopzilla dropped load times from 7 seconds to 2 seconds, pageviews went up 25% and revenue increased between 7% and 12%.

Holzle explains this is why Google is not only working on speed for its own sites, but also doing things like building Chrome to be super efficient at loading pages, and building a super-fast fiber optic network in Kansas City. Because the faster the Internet is, the more people will use it -- which means the more people are likely to use (and stick with using) Google services.

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Monday, January 09, 2012

drag2share: Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket HD: Massive Phone, Massive Name, Massive Specs [Smartphones]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5874416/samsung-galaxy-sii-skyrocket-hd-massive-phone-massive-name-massive-specs

Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket HD: Massive Phone, Massive Name, Massive SpecsSamsung's new Galaxy SII Skyrocket HD is basically a Galaxy Nexus, just with LTE on AT&T instead of Verizon—and with Samsung's bloatware software on it.

The Skyrocket HD has a 4.65-inch AMOLED screen and a 1.5GHz dual core processor. AT&T's official release doesn't have much more to say about it, but it'll be available "in the coming months." It sounds like an amazing, giant phone, but check in with our AT&T CES Liveblog for more details as they pop up. [AT&T CES Liveblog]

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drag2share: Motorola Razr Maxx: An Android Phone With a Battery That Might Actually Last You a Whole Day [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5874472/an-android-phone-with-a-battery-that-might-actually-last-you-a-whole-day

Motorola Razr Maxx: An Android Phone With a Battery That Might Actually Last You a Whole DayWe really liked Motorola's Droid RAZR. It was crazy-thin, water-tight, and had a form factor we'd never seen. Too bad its battery life was sub-awesome. The RAZR MAXX is a little thicker, but it should keep you untethered from outlets 'till bedtime.

21 hours on a single charge: That's the promise of the Droid Razr Maxx. 21 hours of what? We do not know, but if it's 21 hours of LTE video streaming I will wear a dress to my next CES press conference. Your milage may vary, basically. The original Droid RAZR is the world's thinnest smartphone at just 7.1mm. The MAXX is 9mm, so it loses that super-duper thinness, but it's certainly not chubby. It's got 32GB of storage, and it'll run you $299.99 with a new two-year contract.

Motorola Razr Maxx: An Android Phone With a Battery That Might Actually Last You a Whole DayOh, and you can also now get an original Droid RAZR in purple. Because, y'know... purple is the color of royalty. Or was. In ancient Phoenicia. That one has 16 GB on-board memory and it'll run you $200.

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drag2share: HTC Titan II Hands On: The Giantest Windows Phone Now Has a Titanic 16-Megapixel Camera and LTE [Windows Phone]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5874439/htc-titan-ii-your-favorite-gargantuan-windows-phone-but-with-a-titanic-16+megapixel-camera-and-lte

HTC Titan II Hands On: The Giantest Windows Phone Now Has a Titanic 16-Megapixel Camera and LTEThe Titan II is the good kind of sequel: It doesn't screw up anything that made the original a fan favorite—that 4.7-inch screen—but it adds everything they want. Like a crazy 16-megapixel camera, AT&T LTE and a massiver battery.

Full-sized samples right here.

It really is just like the original Titan, but with a slightly fresher industrial design—it's prettier!—and LTE and a big-baller camera packed in. So on the LTE front, despite a million people packed on AT&T's network, we're getting 10Mbps downstream pretty consistently here in Vegas, and even heavy web pages load with serious zip, thanks to the Titan II's 4G powers and 1.5GHz processor.

HTC Titan II Hands On: The Giantest Windows Phone Now Has a Titanic 16-Megapixel Camera and LTEBut what about the camera? It's genuinely damn good, considering how many pixels are crammed into the phone's tiny sensor. Autofocus and shooting is plenty quick, though sometimes I wish Windows Phone gave you slightly more control over the camera.

Full sized samples can be had right here.

All in all, there's not much more to say, though, than it seems like a pretty solid update to an already solid phone. Just wish we knew when it was coming out and how much it's gonna cost.

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drag2share: Putting My Hands On Vizio's New Machines Gave Me Computer Envy [Computers]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5874470/putting-my-hands-on-vizios-new-machines-gave-me-computer-envy

Putting My Hands On Vizio's New Machines Gave Me Computer Envy Vizio says it's trying to disrupt the computer market, and I think it just did. These are simply gorgeous machines, and are fast and powerful to boot.

We saw three lines today, the Thin + Light laptops, its Notebooks, and some really amazing all-in-one desktops. The entire line features great industrial design by Scott McManigal, and Vizio says it plans to build each machine with top of the line (and as-of-yet unannounced) components. I'm also hot on what it's doing with Windows 7. The machines come with clean builds—meaning they aren't bogged down with a bunch of crap programs and garbage you won't need. It's been working with Microsoft to make that happen, and says that when Windows 8 comes along it will go even deeper.

The Thin + Lights come in two configurations, 14-inch and 15.6-inch. Both have milled unibody aluminum design, and a really unique-looking keyboard that gives more real-estate to the buttons than you get in a typical chiclet keyboard configuration. The 14-inch has a 1600 x 900 display, while the 15.6-inch is 1920 x 1080. Vizio makes some pretty great displays and you can see that lineage. They're very pretty, and loaded up with USB 3 ports on either side.

Like its new tablet, the specs aren't final, so Vizio won't say just how thin, or how light they are. But the 14-inch felt comprable to my Macbook Air, and looked to be similar in terms of thickness. (See comparison shot.) Bottom line, this thing will be a breeze to shove in a bag and tote around all day.

There's a lot left to ponder on specs. Chipset? Vizio isn't saying. Graphics? Not saying (other than that it will be integrated). Ship date? Price? Not saying. What it will say is that the components will be the highest quality available in the world, and that it should be able to announce all this in a few weeks (hint, hint).

I was also pretty impressed by the All In Ones. These are basically desktop entertainment centers that double as powerful computers. They come in 24-inch and 27-inch configurations, and have a 1920 x 1080 resolution. The computer itself is in the base of the machine, and is so small you might not even notice it. (See the gallery photos to see how it compared to my pen.)

Both will come with options for discreet NVidia graphics (no specifics yet) and terabyte SSD. They have 2.1 sound, with a subwoofer that doubles as a power supply. Each also has two HDMI inputs, so you can hook up an XBox or DVR and use it as a TV with the computer powered down. It also ships with a very nice trackpad, keyboard and remote control. There are three USB 3 ports. It's a very sleek little setup.

Meanwhile the 15.6 Notebooks are also pretty great, if not quite as mind-blowingly beautiful. The 15.6-inch notebooks will have that same great 1920 x 1080 display, and discrete NVidia graphics. It's also going to sport a high end chipset, that's still unannounced. You can also spring for an external optical drive.

All in all, it's quite a lineup.

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drag2share: Will Samsung's Zoomy, Wi-Fi Cameras Beat Out Your Smartphone For Your Love? [Cameras]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5874082/will-samsungs-zoomy-wi+fi-cameras-beat-out-your-smartphone-for-your-love

Will Samsung's Zoomy, Wi-Fi Cameras Beat Out Your Smartphone For Your Love?It's not news that smartphone cameras have gotten so good that even tiny, excellent point-and-shoot cameras for all their benefits can seem, well, a little unnecessary. Samsung's WB850F hopes to change your mind with an incredibly zoomy lens and improved Wi-Fi integration.

Your smartphone doesn't and probably won't ever have optical zoom, and if that's something you're looking for, the WB850F gives you a 21x optical zoom. That's way more zoom zoom than its competitors.

The other key selling point on the Samsung WB850F is Samsung's sweet Wi-Fi features. Wi-Fi isn't new to Samsung cameras, but it's worth noting how well the SH100 played with your other toys. Samsung's Remote Viewfinder application, for example, allows you to use your Galaxy S or Galaxy Tab as a remote control the SH100 camera. Similarly the built-in Wi-Fi makes it easy to share your photos and videos on Facebook, Picasa, and YouTube directly from the camera.

Will Samsung's Zoomy, Wi-Fi Cameras Beat Out Your Smartphone For Your Love?Samsung's new "SMART Wi-Fi" technology builds on what the SH100 offered adding auto back-up and making it easier to ge your photos wherever and whenever you want them. Once you've synced your PC with your camera one time, your photos will automatically back-up every time your camera and your computer are connected to the same network. You can also set your photos to upload to Samsung's AllShare Play cloud locker service or Microsoft SkyDrive. Another cool incoming feature is Samsung Mobile Link, which makes it easy to port your photos over to your Samsung phone, tablet, or internet connected TV.

As for the key image quality and performance specs the WB850F has a 16.2 Megapixels CMOS—most likely a 1/2.33" sensor—1080/30p or 60i video, and a 3.0 VGA AMOLED display. The specs are nothing to go bananas over, but hey, it's a lot better than what's on your phone, and as for the lens, there's really no competition. There will also be two lower-end models with the same connectivity features. The WB150F has a 14.2 megapixel sensor and 18x optical zoom. The ST200F has a 14.2 megapixel sensor and 10x optical zoom. Both shoot 720/30p video. [Samsung]

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drag2share: Samsung's Best New TVs Beat Apple to the Voice (And Face!) Recognition Game [Televisions]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5873806/samsungs-best-new-tvs-beat-apple-to-the-voice-and-face-recognition-game

Samsung's Best New TVs Beat Apple to the Voice (And Face!) Recognition GameSamsung's long made some of (if not the) best HDTVs—and now that they're all decked out with 3D and apps, what's left? Beautiful, slim TVs that'll use your voice and face as controls. Apple just got jumped.

While it's not fair to directly compare the Samsung UNES8000 LED (left) and PNE8000 Plasma (right) TVs to a product that doesn't exist yet, it's pretty exciting to see the company deliver on concepts we've been dreaming about from Apple. Both highest of the high end models will sport built-in cameras through Kinect-style motion control, facial recognition, and (drumroll) voice commands, to control the TV's settings and internal apps (including Kinect-y fitness exercises). We'll have to wait until we're standing in front of these beauties before we can attest to how well this body control works, but the attempt itself is promising.

Beyond the arm-wavey action, the sets themselves are typically gorgeous: extremely thin silver bezels, a graceful swooping U-base on the LED set, and a classy x-foot on the plasma. Both are 3D (of course), and process your picture with a dual-core CPU. They look like alien princesses. And both will likely be as expensive as they look—we'll give you pricing and availability info as soon as we can.

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drag2share: Verizon Galaxy Tab 7.7 with LTE hands-on at CES 2012 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/verizon-galaxy-tab-7-7-with-lte-hands-on-at-ces-2012-video/

Well, what do we have here? Yes, it's the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 with LTE for Verizon and it's just officially landed in the US. We're not terribly surprised, but we're not complaining, either. This 7.9mm (0.31 inches) thin tablet packs a 7.7-inch 1280x800 Super AMOLED Plus (non-pentile) high-definition display, Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), an unnamed 1.4GHz dual core processor (likely the same Exynos CPU as its HSPA+ cousin), 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of built-in storage, up to 32GB of microSD-based storage, an infrared transmitter, a three megapixel AF camera with flash and a two-megapixel front-facing camera. Of course, you'll also find TouchWiz on board, along with Samsung's media and social hubs, plus Peel Smart Remote, Wi-Fi Direct and AllShare (DLNA) -- at 340g (12oz), it's pretty lightweight, too. Connectivity is provided via Verizon' LTE and CDMA networks as well as support for WiFi a/b/g/n. A few optional accessories will be offered for the device, including a keyboard dock, a multimedia dock, a USB/SD adapter connection kit, an HDTV adapter and a book cover case.

We did have the opportunity to play with Verizon's Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the most striking feature is definitely the screen -- it's simply phenomenal, with incredible viewing angles and amazing contrast. The brushed-metal back cover further contributes to the premium feel of the device. Oh, and did we mention it's super thin? It's interesting to note that like most of Verizon's recent LTE phones, this tablet uses a micro-SIM instead of a standard-sized card. As for performance, it's top-notch with a fluid experience all around. Sadly, pricing and availability remain a mystery for now. We'll keep you posted, but in the meantime take a look at the galleries below and be sure to peek after the break for our hands-on video and the press materials.


Richard Lai contributed to this post.

Continue reading Verizon Galaxy Tab 7.7 with LTE hands-on at CES 2012 (video)

Verizon Galaxy Tab 7.7 with LTE hands-on at CES 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Fujifilm confirms X-Pro1 at CES: 16MP APS-C sensor, interchangeable lenses, price TBA

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/fujifilm-confirms-x-pro1-at-ces/

Amazon all but confirmed the camera's existence when it leaked three lens pages yesterday, but Fujifilm just officially unveiled the X-Pro1 at CES, in all its rangefinder-esque goodness. The camera's centerpiece is an APS-C sensor, but unlike the X100 and X10, Fujifilm's new flagship includes an interchangeable lens mount. The camera can capture 16 megapixel stills, and will be compatible with three lenses at launch: an XF 18mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.0, 35mm (53mm equivalent) f/1.4 lens and a larger 60mm (91mm equivalent) f/2.4 macro lens, though the company says it plans to introduce nine more lenses within the next three years. Pricing hasn't been announced for the camera or lenses, though yesterday's Amazon link listed pricing at $500 for the first two lenses, and $600 for the 60mm macro. The camera itself will ship in late February, so you won't need to wait long to get your hands on the first Fujifilm X-series ILC. Jump past the break for the full PR, and keep an eye out for our hands-on later this week.

Continue reading Fujifilm confirms X-Pro1 at CES: 16MP APS-C sensor, interchangeable lenses, price TBA

Fujifilm confirms X-Pro1 at CES: 16MP APS-C sensor, interchangeable lenses, price TBA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Samsung outs four WiFi-enabled shooters, wants you to get 'Smart'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/samsung-unveils-four-wifi-enabled-shooters-smart/

Banking on consumers' unending need for instant gratification, Samsung's announced a line of four WiFi-enabled "Smart" cameras. Along with the previously announced DV300F DualView point-and-shoot and 21x zoom WB850F, the line-up (an apparent off-shoot of the SH100) allows for uploading to Facebook, Twitter and Picasa as well as e-mail and Auto PC Backup. The WB850F touts a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, 1080p video, GPS and simultaneous still and video capture. It will be available in April for $379. It's little and less expensive brother, the WB150F sports a 14 megapixel sensor, 18x optical zoom, 1080p video recording and is slated to hit shelves sometime this month for $229. Rounding out the family, is the ST200F -- available in three different colors with significantly scaled down specs (720p video, 16 megapixels and 10x optical zoom) -- coming February for $199. Hit the gallery below to lay your eyes on Sammy's Smarts and peep the PR below for more details.

Continue reading Samsung outs four WiFi-enabled shooters, wants you to get 'Smart'

Samsung outs four WiFi-enabled shooters, wants you to get 'Smart' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Sony set to launch gorgeous Xperia S at CES?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/sony-set-to-launch-gorgeous-xperia-s-at-ces/

Hot on the heels of the Xperia Ion launch chez AT&T this morning, it would seem Sony may have yet another trick up its sleeve in the form of the Xperia S. While nothing is official until Sony tells us so, the newest -- and if looks alone count -- and nicest Xperia packs a 1280 x 720 4.3-inch display, MSM8260 dual-core thrumming away at 1.5Gz, and a 12 megapixel shooter that'll capture at 1080p. Sadly the word is that it'll launch in the second quarter running Android 2.3 and not our beloved Ice Cream Sandwich. Design-wise, the Xperia S looks like others in its family with the gentle curve in the back but what immediately caught our eye is the small translucent lit -- notification with this would look brilliant -- bar toward the bottom. Here's hoping this is the real deal, and if so we'll be back in a few hours with a load of vids and pics of it in action.

Sony set to launch gorgeous Xperia S at CES? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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