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Monday, January 23, 2012

drag2share: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/sony-layered-cmos/

Sony's done gone and developed a new back-illuminated CMOS designed to improve the state of your casual camerawork. Traditional units mount a merged pixel-sensor and circuit on a supporting substrate -- the innovation here is to produce the two separately and layer them without any additional material. This makes manufacturing easier and without a mount, you're able to lever-in bigger kit into the same space. It's also packing HDR Movie, which like the still-image version, will produce better moving pictures in tricky light. An eight-megapixel version will ship to cellphone producers in March, with a 13-megapixel edition following in June and if Sony's really successful, it might earn enough to buy a copy of Photoshop rather than producing release images in MS Paint.

Continue reading Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)

Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/sony-vaio-processor-spring-refresh-z-series-lte/

Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony's looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new ~~off-white~~ Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from $1,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, $800, 15-inch, $980)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.

Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Scientists produce stronger T-rays, bring Tricorders closer to reality

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/scientists-produce-stronger-t-rays-bring-tricorders-closer-to-r/

A group of scientists from Imperial College London and Singapore's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have developed a new technique that could have far reaching impacts for Star Trek fans everywhere. It all involves something known as Terahertz (THz), or T-rays: electromagnetic rays that have already been used in full-body airport scanners and have the potential to be used across a much broader range of medical and environmental applications. Because every molecule can be uniquely identified within the THz range, these T-rays can be used to pick up on cancerous cells and other biological matter, perhaps even within a Tricorder-like scanner. Now, Imperial College's Stefan Maier and his team of scientists say they've found a way to create a stronger beam of T-rays, using so-called "nano-antennas" to generate an amplified THz field. In fact, this field can produce about 100 times more power than most other THz sources, which could allow for sharper imaging devices. "T-rays promise to revolutionize medical scanning to make it faster and more convenient, potentially relieving patients from the inconvenience of complicated diagnostic procedures and the stress of waiting for accurate results," Maier explained. "Thanks to modern nanotechnology and nanofabrication, we have made a real breakthrough in the generation of T-rays that tak! es us a step closer to these new scanning devices." For more details, check out the links below.

Scientists produce stronger T-rays, bring Tricorders closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

drag2share: Kingston launches new family of high performance SSDs, doesn't care if you're a business or a consumer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/kingston-launches-new-family-of-high-performance-ssds-doesnt-c/

Kingston's turning its SSD solutions up to eleven on its new SSDNow family of products. The SSDNow V+200 is a solid state drive toting SATA 3.0 SandForce SF-2281, capable of up to 535 MB/s read speeds and 480 MB/s writing speeds. Regardless of whether it's for your office or home rig, Kingston reckons it's got your storage needs covered, offering up the V+200 in 60GB, 90GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB sizes. The 2.5-inch drives arrive with self-encryption as standard, alongside a three-year warranty with support -- something that's getting increasingly rare. The full press release is waiting below.

Update: Prices, alongside the upgrade kit, range from $156 to $985 -- depending on exactly how many photo albums you need on solid state storage.

Continue reading Kingston launches new family of high performance SSDs, doesn't care if you're a business or a consumer

Kingston launches new family of high performance SSDs, doesn't care if you're a business or a consumer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Association's eerily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/eye-fi-threatens-sd-association-wireless-lan-sd-standard-ip-violation/

Yuval Koren is not pleased. For those unaware, he's the CEO of Eye-Fi, the company that has practically written the rules on embedding WiFi into SD cards. If you blinked last week, you probably missed the SD Association's announcement that it had created a new Wireless LAN SD standard that would effectively give just about anyone the ability to add Eye-Fi abilities to their SD cards. As it turns out, Eye-Fi's none too pleased about it, and Koren has gone so far as to publicly admit that the standard is seriously infringing upon highly valuable Eye-Fi technology. To quote: "As [the SDA's standard is] currently written, essential Eye-Fi patented technology would be violated by anyone implementing this draft specification." Bold.

He goes on to explain that his company has invested "tens of millions of dollars and several years to create unique technology that lets people wirelessly transfer photos and videos directly from their camera and mobile devices," and calls the SDA protocol "flat out misrepresentation." He's effectively calling for the SD Association to either pony up and license Eye-Fi's tech, or scrap the "standard" and rewrite it using something else altogether. The full letter is posted up after the break, with absolutely no elation to be found.

Continue reading Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Associat! ion's ee rily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated

Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Association's eerily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Notion Ink's Adam II promises TI OMAP CPUs, Ice Cream Sandwich, broken dreams

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/notion-ink-adam-ii-omap-4/

Notion Ink's teaming up with TI in order to get at its OMAP4xx silicon for the forthcoming Adam II tablet. It'll also be jamming in the company's Wi-Link 7.0 and Phoenix Audio gear onto the Ice Cream Sandwich-running slate. The chip was apparently chosen thanks to its modular setup, HD visuals and powerful low-energy multitasking. Novice owners will also get their hands on a modular software architecture which will let casual users develop specific applications using a drag-and-drop interface. It's pitching that functionality at home-brewers, students and professionals who can tailor the software to meet a specific need, casually mentioning that it could be used for signal processing, 3D modeling or medical imaging. Do we hear expectations being raised to unrealistic levels again? Given our experiences with the original, we suspect the answer is: "Yes."

Continue reading Notion Ink's Adam II promises TI OMAP CPUs, Ice Cream Sandwich, broken dreams

Notion Ink's Adam II promises TI OMAP CPUs, Ice Cream Sandwich, broken dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: ASUS sneak attacks the business world with 12.5-inch B23E laptop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/asus-sneak-attacks-the-business-world-with-12-5-inch-b23e-laptop/

ASUSPro B23E

ASUS was plenty busy at CES last week, but it held back at least one product on us -- the B23E. This 12.5-inch business laptop packs a Core i5 or i7, up to 8GB of RAM and a maximum 750GB hard drive in a magnesium-aluminum alloy case. Other expected Pro-series niceties are also in tow, including a fingerprint reader, spill-proof keyboard and an anti-shock mounted hard disk. Looking at the spec sheet though, it's not all gravy for this 3.4-pound PC. For one ASUS doesn't state how long it will last on a charge, but we can't imagine the three-cell 4,400mAh battery is going to impress with its longevity. We're also sad to see resolution top out at a pedestrian 1366 x 768. For more details hit up the product page at the source link.

Gallery: ASUSPRO B23E laptop

ASUS sneak attacks the business world with 12.5-inch B23E laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Researchers turn your smartphone into a virtual projector

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/researchers-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-virtual-projector/

Pico projectors are an easy way to increase the screen real estate of your mobile phone, but what if you'd rather not carry one around in your pocket or bulk up your phone's slim profile with a slip on solution? Well, a team of intrepid researchers may have come up with an elegant solution to your problem that can work with any smartphone and external display: virtual projection. The system works by using a central server that constantly takes screenshots of the external display and compares them with the images from the phone's camera to track its location. It then replicates what's on the handset's screen, while allowing you to add multiple image windows and position and rotate them as you see fit. Additionally, multiple users can collaborate and virtually project pictures or videos onscreen at the same time. Intrigued? See it in action for yourself in the video after the break.

Continue reading Researchers turn your smartphone into a virtual projector

Researchers turn your smartphone into a virtual projector originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: CHART OF THE DAY: Apple Is Now Twice As Valuable As Google (GOOG, AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-apple-is-now-twice-as-valuable-as-google-2012-1

With Apple's stock surging, and Google's fading, Apple is now twice as valuable as Google, when measured by market cap.

In February 2009, Google was bigger than Apple, but since then, the two companies have diverged. No wonder Larry Page bought Motorola. He's drooling over Apple's business.

chart of the day, apple and google market cap, jan 20 2012

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drag2share: Here Are The 10 Best Free Apps For Your iPhone (AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-free-iphone-apps-2012-1

evernote app iphone

We've become pretty accustomed to shelling out a dollar or two for the best iPhone apps, but many of the best apps are free.

Here are our favorite iPhone apps that won't cost you a penny, and don't include any ads.

Evernote keeps track of notes, receipts, pictures, to-do's, and more.

Evernote, Inc's "Company Of The Year 2011", is an incredible app for staying organized and "never losing anything again" (the company's slogan).

We like to keep receipts, to-do lists, voice memos, notes, websites to visit, and more inside Evernote. You can even email things straight to your Evernote account.

Photosynth is our favorite panoramic photo app, and it's free!

Photosynth is a super smart panoramic photo app from Microsoft that lets you stitch together 360 degree photos of your surroundings.

The app is a no-brainer to use, and is dollars less than its competitors.

LinkedIn's CardMunch app is essential for businesspeople.

LinkedIn's CardMunch app employs an army of real people to decipher business cards you've collected and input them into your phone.

All you need to do is take pictures of cards you've picked up from people you've met, wait 5-10 minutes, and the app spits back a contact card for your iPhone.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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drag2share: Another one bites the dust as Google closes Picnik

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/google-closes-picnik/

Given the spate of closures, abandonments and wound-up projects, we can't help but suspect Google's mantra switching from "don't be evil" to "sic transit gloria mundi." Mountain View's winding up online-image editing site Picnik in preparation for integration with Google+, joining Wave, Knol, Friend Connect, Gears, Health, Powermeter and at least ten other services that have been shuttered as part of Larry Page's "spring clean." In a statement on the site, the guys are moving over to the Google+ team to "focus on even awesomer things," so expect to see live-editing of your photos appear there before the end of summer. In the meantime, you can enjoy Picnik's premium service until the doors close on April 19th and those who previously stumped up (with, you know, cash) for the added features will receive a full refund.

[Thanks, Henry]

Another one bites the dust as Google closes Picnik originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: OrcaM sphere constructs detailed, digital 3D models of wares while you wait (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/orcam-sphere-constructs-detailed-digital-3d-models-of-wares-whi/

Ever wanted a 3D digital copy of all those Little League trophies? Well, the NEK has whipped up something to lend a hand that's a bit larger than another recent scanner. Enter the OrcaM, an Orbital Camera System capable of producing an accurate, digital 3D model of objects up to 80cm (about 31.5 inches) wide and weighing up to 100kg (around 220lbs). Making use of seven shooters simultaneously, the system photographs the object while projecting various light and shadow combinations in order to determine the ware's geometry. The OrcaM is able to reproduce high-quality digital reproductions with a geometric accuracy less than millimeter (nearly .04 inches). As if that wasn't enough, it produces complete color, texture and reflectivity maps so that every minute detail is accounted for. Once your to-be-copied object has been loaded, the OrcaM takes over and is automatic, churning out the completed rendering shortly after the requisite photos are taken. Hit the video up top for a look at the beast in action.

OrcaM sphere constructs detailed, digital 3D models of wares while you wait (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, January 20, 2012

drag2share: T-Mobile's 'Nudge, nudge' bonuses revealed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/t-mobile-secret-data-bonus/

Walk into any T-Mobile store and dither a bit and you'll find a cavalcade of freebies thrown in. The operator's outlined an "under the counter" bonus to coax fence-dwelling customers to open their wallets. Upgrade to "Unlimited-Premium 5GB" or "Unlimited-Ultra 10GB," wink at the cashier and tap your nose three times (we made the last two up, we admit) and a $15 "Mobile Hotspot" and $5 "MobileLife Album Plus" could appear in your package. In the corporate missive TmoNews scooped above, the company wants to keep these as a secret sweetener, but will add both if you request them directly. We'd suggest you pull your finger out, because when everyone starts asking for them, we can't imagine it sticking around for long.

T-Mobile's 'Nudge, nudge' bonuses revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: 11 Facts About The World's Changing Appetite For Luxury Watches

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-watches-global-market-2012-1

iwc watch

Luxury watches are not just functional wristwear--they're works of art with hundreds of years of technology packed inside.

Consumers' tastes and shopping preferences for watches are evolving around the globe.

Market research company Digital Luxury Group has just released its annual report on the worldwide market for high-end watches, looking at 15 of the world's biggest haute timepiece brands ahead of Baselworld, the upcoming international watch and jewelry show in Switzerland.

The report is based on more than a billion consumer searches for luxury watches on search engines including Google, Bing and Baidu.

For the first time in 2011, demand for luxury watches was higher in the US than in China, based on internet search market share.

Within China, more than half of demand for luxury timepieces comes from first- and second-tier coastal cities with high-end shopping streets, like Beijing and Shanghai.

Heritage brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin are more popular with traditional clients from Beijing, while IWC attracts a younger, trendier, urban audience.

Source: Digital Luxury Group

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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