Monday, September 23, 2013

T-Mobile Moto X gets updated with significant camera enhancements

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/moto-x-update-camera/

TMobile Moto X gets updated with significant camera enhancements

In our review of the Moto X, we determined that while its ClearPixel camera was decent, its performance was hit or miss. Fortunately, Motorola has taken a lot of feedback and has cranked out a software update with improvements to the camera's performance, specifically in the areas of exposure, color accuracy and focus speed. The refresh, which is so far getting pushed out to T-Mobile phones -- we expect it to roll out to other carriers as soon as each one is done testing the new firmware, though nothing is currently confirmed -- appears to make a rather substantial difference in several scenarios, such as reducing noise in low-light and eliminating haze in outdoor shots. Anandtech's Brian Klug had the opportunity to take the updated shooter for a test run and declared it to be "nothing short of the biggest [improvement] I've ever seen come across in an OTA update."

In addition to the camera improvements, Motorola also threw in a few other enhancements as well. Users who have downloaded the update should expect increased Touchless Control accuracy, a fix for the choppy audio issue some have experienced in voice calls and an improvement to Moto Assist as well.

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Source: Anandtech

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This Hanging Bed Is the Ultimate Tiny Apartment Hack

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-bed-in-this-awesome-apartment-hangs-from-a-giant-sk-1370885942

This Hanging Bed Is the Ultimate Tiny Apartment Hack

Creative ways to hide your sleeping space are as old at the first murphy bed, but this might be a first: The owners of this London apartment have found a way to maximize their living space without resorting to a bed that folds into a closet.

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Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch for Sprint: ships October 4th with 'unlimited data for life'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/galaxy-note-3-galaxy-gear-smartwatch-sprint-ship-date/

Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch for Sprint ships October 4th with 'unlimited data for life'

As has become the norm, Sprint's primary differentiator is its "unlimited data for life" policy affixed to new flagships. Granted, the carrier isn't promising that the amount it charges for said data will remain the same for life, but at least you'll have the option to pony up for it. Following the footsteps of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, Sprint has announced that its version of the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear watch will arrive on shelves October 4th. The former will cost $349.99 on a two-year contract (a full $50 more than most of its rivals), while the latter will go for $299.99 outright. Outside of being compatible with Sprint's LTE airwaves and including a bit of carrier-branded bloatware, the handset itself will be the same one that we've previewed extensively.

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Source: Sprint

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Oppo N1 puts a 13MP camera on a hinge, keeps selfie addicts happy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/oppo-n1-swivel-camera-phone/

Oppo N1 is China's answer to TKTK, packs TKTK and CyanogenMod

Oppo's been prepping its photography-centric N1 for quite some time, but at last, the teasing stops today as the company unveils its first N-Lens series device in Beijing. We're looking at a 1.7GHz quad-core APQ8064 phone with a 5.9-inch 1080p display, a backside touch panel (for scrolling and taking photos) and a generous 3,610mAh battery, but the focus is obviously on the camera. Not only do you get a 13-megapixel imager with an f/2.0, 6-element lens plus dual LED, but it's also rotatable over 206 degrees! While THL's W11 beat the N1 to being the first phone with both a front and back 13-megapixel cameras, it's not as versatile as the latter's implementation, and it's ultimately all about the image quality.

In case you're wondering, Oppo said the N1's swivel camera has passed a 100,000-time rotation test, which works out to be seven years of usage if you rotate it 40 times a day. This is quite reassuring, given that you can also activate the camera -- which takes just 0.6 seconds -- with a rotation of over 120 degrees. Oppo also boasted that its camera's been tested in over 100 scenarios, which is apparently the highest in the industry. Other features include long exposure of up to 8 seconds, an updated version of Oppo's beautification algorithm, and support for video beautification in China's popular IM app, QQ. %Gallery-slideshow89972%

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Source: Oppo (Chinese)

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Catch our Surface 2 liveblog tomorrow at 10:30 AM ET!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/22/catch-our-surface-2-liveblog-tomorrow/

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to meet the follow-up to Microsoft's Windows 8 tablet? There's most definitely new Surface (and likely Surface Pro) hardware in store at tomorrow's NYC event, so you'll want to tune in as Ballmer and co. unveil the goods. Keep your browsers locked here from 10:30 AM ET and on -- we'll be updating you live from the NYC launch!

September 23, 2013 10:30:00 AM EDT

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LG Vu 3 official: 5.2-inch 4:3 display, Snapdragon 800, 13MP camera, LTE-A

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/lg-vu-3/

LG Vu 3 official 52inch 43 display, Snapdragon 800, 13MP camera, LTEA

Considering LG's G2 was leaked many times before it became official, we're a little surprised that the company managed to keep the Vu 3 under wraps before today (more or less, anyway). The Korean firm's latest Android smartphone drops the Optimus tag of its predecessor, but keeps the Vu series' signature 4:3 aspect ratio for its 5.2-inch IPS display (1,280 x 960 resolution). Specs include a Snapdragon 800 processor, 13-megapixel camera and LTE-A radio. Aside from the stylus, translucent QuickView cases and a couple of LG software titles we recognize (like guest mode and KnockON), there's not much else to glean from the Korean press release. If your linguistic skills (or Google Translate translation skills) are better than ours, however, the source awaits you.

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Via: FoneArena

Source: LG

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Firefox for Windows 8 enters Aurora channel with touch and gesture support

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/21/firefox-for-windows-8-enters-aurora-channel/

Firefox for Windows 8 enters Aurora channel with touch and gesture support

The path to bring Firefox to Windows 8 may be longer than Mozilla had originally anticipated, but the first important milestone to its January arrival is now at hand. Firefox for Windows 8 has graduated into the Aurora (pre-beta) channel, which provides experienced users and tire kickers a more reliable alternative to the previous nightly builds. In this release, the browser includes touch and gesture support, and it even offers up Firefox Sync and Windows Share integration. There's plenty to appreciate on the backend, too, such as WebGL, asm.js and hardware-accelerated HTML5 video. According to Mozilla, it'll focus on improving performance and responsiveness over the coming weeks, which is something to look forward to, if your trial run is less than ideal.

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Source: Mozilla (1), (2)

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drag2share: Apple iPhone 5s's A7 SoC built by Samsung, M7 processor comes from NXP

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/20/apple-iphone-5ss-a7-samsung-m7-nxp/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

Rumors swirled ahead of the iPhone 5s' launch that the silicon inside it would come from a source other than Samsung. Despite signing a deal with TSMC to manufacture future SoC's, Chipworks has confirmed that the A7 powering the new flagship iPhone comes from a familiar place: Samsung's fabrication facilities. Yet, while Apple couldn't cut the tie that binds it to its greatest rival for the main brain of the phone, it did manage to source the secondary M7 chip from NXP. Again, Chipworks discovered the M7's origin, and while we'd love to send you straight there for the nitty gritty now, it appears the site is currently down -- so, iFixit's secondary reporting of Chipworks' work will have to do... for n! ow.

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Friday, September 20, 2013

Article: Expanding camera lens combines insect, human vision

This hybrid approach could give smartphone cameras dynamic focus, and add depth to surgical imaging.

Insects' hemispheric eyes have a wide field of view and high resolution. What if they could be combined with the focusing abilities humans enjoy?

This lens from Ohio State University is a hybr...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57603728-1/expanding-camera-lens-combines-insect-human-vision/

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Article: Meet the newest cord cutters: college campuses

TV isn't coming back to school at Northwestern University this fall: The college decided earlier this year that it was going to turn off its campus-wide television service over the summer. "The decision to discontinue NUTV was the result of many factors including demonstrated non-use by our stude...

http://gigaom.com/2013/09/20/universities-tv-netflix-tivli/

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Hackers Mistake NASA For NSA, Take Down Wrong Home Page

Source: http://gizmodo.com/hackers-mistake-nasa-for-nsa-take-down-wrong-home-page-1350457603

Hackers Mistake NASA For NSA, Take Down Wrong Home Page

We're a little late to this party, but it's too fun not to share. Last week, a group of Brazilian hackers decided to get the NSA back for all its spying with a big huge cyberattack. And hack they did! The only problem is that they mixed up their acronyms, and hit NASA instead.

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

LG G2 Review: A Braindead Hercules

Source: http://gizmodo.com/lg-g2-review-a-braindead-hercules-1349343131

LG G2 Review: A Braindead Hercules

You could put a helicopter engine on a motorcycle and fill it with rocket fuel, but if you put a toddler behind the wheel, it's not going anywhere. The same is true with phones; you can turbo-charge the processors and hardware, but if the software is stupid and terrible, you've got a stupid and terrible phone on your hands. This is that phone.

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HP SlateBook x2 review: HP takes on ASUS with a dockable Android tablet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/19/hp-slatebook-x2-review/

HP SlateBook x2 review: HP takes on ASUS with a dockable Android tablet

Until now, ASUS hasn't had much competition in dockable Android tablets. Sure, we've seen the odd model from Lenovo and other companies, but for the most part, "Transformer" has become one of those words like "Kleenex" -- you know, the kind that refers just as much to a category as a specific brand. Nonetheless, HP is throwing its hat in the ring. The SlateBook x2, only the company's second Android tablet, is a 10-inch slate that competes on price as much as performance. For $480, the keyboard dock comes included, and the tablet itself boasts some top-notch specs, including a 1,920 x 1,080 screen and a Tegra 4 processor. And, of course, in addition to being a keyboard, that dock has a built-in battery of its own, promising to extend the total runtime to up to 12.5 hours. So is it good enough that you'll remember not to call it a Transformer?%Gallery-slideshow88713%

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Google makes its Quickoffice app free for both Android and iOS users

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/19/google-makes-its-quickoffice-app-free-for-both-android-and-ios/

Google makes its Quickoffice app free for both Android and iOS users

Less than two weeks after Apple decided to make iWork free for new iOS devices, Google went and did us one better: it's offering its Quickoffice suite for free, to both Android and iOS users. If you recall, the apps have actually already been free to Google Apps subscribers, specifically, but now the offer applies to anyone, regardless of when they activated their device or what OS version they're using. As an added incentive, if you sign in to your Google Account from the Quickoffice app by September 26, 2013, you get 10 gigs of extra storage space for two years. And that's all there is to it. Hit up the source link for more details, if you need them, or else find the app on Google Play or the App Store.

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Source: Google (Google+), Google Play, iTunes

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HP lays claim to the first fanless Haswell PC and the first Leap Motion laptop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/19/hp-envy-17-leap-motion-edition-spectre-13-x2/

HP lays claim to the first fanless Haswell PC and the first Leap Motion laptop

What do a fanless PC and a motion-controlled laptop have in common? Nothing, really; just that HP is going to be first to market with both of these things. After teasing a fanless tablet back in June, the company has formally announced the Spectre 13 x2, which isn't actually a tablet so much as a hybrid laptop. Additionally, HP unveiled a special edition version of its Envy 17 notebook with a Leap Motion controller built into the palm rest.

Starting with the Leap Motion machine, this is truly the same Envy 17 that's already on the market, complete with an aluminum chassis, backlit keyboard and generous Beats branding. Except, you know, it has a conspicuous motion sensor below the keyboard, allowing you to control games and other apps using hand gestures. Per Leap Motion's requirements, HP includes a shortcut to Leap Motion's Airspace Store, where there are currently 100-plus apps and counting. (If you read our review, you know the selection is hit or miss.) Once you calibrate the sensor, you can turn the controller off by pressing the spacebar plus the Fn key; a small LED indicator will light up to let you know when it's on. Surprisingly, too, that the sensor doesn't add to the thickness of the laptop, as the module only measures 3.5mm thick (granted, a 17-inch machine probably has plenty of leeway inside the chassis). Look for it October 16th, with a starting price of $1,049.99 and your choice of Intel processors and NVIDIA graphics.%Gallery-slideshow88784%

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