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Monday, October 04, 2010

Electric Bike Runs on Water and Magic Powder [Bikes]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5654907/this-electric-bike-runs-on-water-and-magic-powder

The Signa bike runs on fuel cells. But instead of having to carry hydrogen next to your butt, it uses a new clever safe method: It runs on cells full of a sand-like powder. You just have to add water.

The powder is sodium silicide, an inert, safe substance that is not dangerous at all. When you add water to the cell, hydrogen gas is produced, which generates electricity. The cells are 1.5 pounds and they are hot-swappable, which means that you can plug another right in after you reach its maximum 30-mile run.

According to the company, they are working in making this cells more powerful, so they can be integrated in cars. [Wired]

Zoom Q3HD Handy Video Recorder Shoots 1080p and Has Stereo Mics to Match [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5654906/zoom-q3hd-handy-video-recorder-shoots-1080p-video-and-has-stereo-mics-to-match

Zoom Q3HD Handy Video Recorder Shoots 1080p and Has Stereo Mics to Match While pocket cams video quality has improved incrementally from "good enough" to really actually pretty damn good, audio quality has largely been ignored. The new Zoom Q3HD combines 1080p, 30fps video with stereo mics for the full pocket cam package.

Zoom is known for their audio recorders, and the Q3HD is a nicer-looking refresh of their Q3 pocket cam. It shoots 1080p video in 30fps or 720p in 30fps or 60fps, has an HDMI port, and runs on two AA batteries.

But what sets it apart are its built-in stereo condenser mics, capturing 24-bit/96kHz audio that can hold up even if you're at a concert hoisting the thing above a mosh pit. Audio meters let you check your levels while you're recording, and gain can be switched between high and low settings or left on auto. The Q3HD will be available this fall for $299. [Zoom]

Upcoming Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 card to support WHDI streaming courtesy of Amimon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/02/upcoming-galaxy-geforce-gtx-460-card-to-support-whdi-streaming-c/

Most of what we're seeing on the WHDI front has to do with getting basic HD video playback off of the laptop or out of the den and onto the TV, but video games are people too -- don't they deserve the same treatment? Galaxy seems to think so, and it's building Amimon's WHDI tech into its upcoming Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 WHDI Edition video card. A receiver adapter for plugging into your TV is of course included, and perhaps the mixed incentive of Blu-ray and DRM'd content streaming (WHDI is HDCP 2.0 compatible) and 1080p 60fps big screen shoot-em-ups will be exactly what PC gaming needs to sneak into the living room. We doubt it, but we appreciate the effort all the same. The card ships in October for an undisclosed, totally radical price.

Continue reading Upcoming Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 card to support WHDI streaming courtesy of Amimon

Upcoming Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 card to support WHDI streaming courtesy of Amimon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T and T-Mobile will have cell coverage in NYC subway stations

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/02/atandt-and-t-mobile-will-have-cell-coverage-in-nyc-subway-stations/

New York City promised subway cell phone coverage five years ago, and Transit Wireless took up the $46 million banner in 2007 -- now, three years and a friendly British jab later, at least two major carriers are convinced it's actually going to happen. Bloomberg reports that T-Mobile and AT&T have both signed ten-year agreements to let their customers access Transit's subterranean wireless network, which should cover 277 NYC stations in the years to come. Critically, we're still talking about coverage at just the stations, not actually on board -- there's till no word on when we can expect the tubes themselves to boost our sorry reception bars.

AT&T and T-Mobile will have cell coverage in NYC subway stations originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm's Mirasol displays pushed back to 2011, Pixel Qi breathes a sigh

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/02/qualcomms-mirasol-displays-pushed-back-to-2011-pixel-qi-breath/

We don't know a soul who doesn't want a low-power color display that looks great in bright sunlight, but nobody's really stepped up to the plate -- not Pixel Qi, whose awesome dual-mode display sold out in a single day, and not Qualcomm, whose Mirasol has similarly been the subject of delay after delay. We're sorry to say that the latter has been bumped back yet again, as GigaOM reports the panels won't arrive till early 2011, right alongside their rival technology. Sure, competition's always great for pricing, but still -- what a shame.

Qualcomm's Mirasol displays pushed back to 2011, Pixel Qi breathes a sigh originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hacker claims third-party iPhone apps can freely transmit UDID, pose serious threat to privacy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/03/hacker-claims-third-party-iphone-apps-can-transmit-udid-pose-se/

When Apple addressed a congressional inquiry on privacy in July, the company claimed that it couldn't actually track a particular iPhone in real time, as its transactions were anonymous and thoroughly randomized. Bucknell University network admin Eric Smith, however, theorizes that third-party application developers and advertisers may not have the same qualms, and could be linking your device to your name (and even your location) whenever they transmit data. Smith, a two-time DefCon wardriving champ, studied 57 top applications in the iTunes App Store to see what they sent out, and discovered that some fired off the iPhone's UDID and personal details in plaintext (where they can ostensibly be intercepted), including those for Amazon, Chase Bank, Target and Sam's Club, though a few were secured with SSL. Though UDIDs are routinely used by apps to store personal data and combat piracy, what Smith fears is that a database could be set up linking these UDIDs to GPS coordinates or GeoIP, giving nefarious individuals or organizations knowledge of where you are.

It's a scary idea, but before you direct hate Apple's way, it's important to note that Cupertino's not necessarily the one to blame. iOS is arguably the best at requiring users to opt-in to apps that perform GPS tracking; transmitting the UDID and account information together publicly is strictly against the rules; and we'd like to think that if users provide their personal information to an application developer in the first place, they'd understand what they're doing. Of course, not all users monitor those things closely, and plaintext transmission of personal details is obviously a big no-no.

Smith's piece opens and closes on the idea that Apple's UDID is like the unique identifier of Intel's Pentium III processor, which generated privacy concerns around the turn of the century, and we wonder if ths story might play out the same way -- following government inquiries, Intel offered a software utility that let individuals manually disable their chip's unique ID, and removed it from future CPUs.

Hacker claims third-party iPhone apps can freely transmit UDID, pose serious threat to privacy originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire One D255 with dual-core Atom hits at $330

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/acer-aspire-one-d255-with-dual-core-atom-hits-at-330/

It was only a matter of time before Acer let out the pricing / availability details on its dual-core Atom netbook, and as we could have predicted, the Taiwanese company's smacked an extremely enticing pricetag on this one. Ringing up at an aggressive $329.99, the 2.2-pound D255 looks almost identical to the D260 -- yes, even those with the worst of cataracts could tell it's an Aspire One from afar -- but in terms of specs it's got that notable difference of a brand new dual-core Atom N550 processor. But not to worry, even though it's now the cheapest dual-core netbook around, it's still got the netbook standards -- including 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive and six-cell battery. The single-core version will go for $269.99, but we do have to say that shelling out that additional $50 for that extra core does buy you slightly faster performance (see our HP Mini 5103 review for some Atom N550 performance results). Sounds mighty tempting to us, but it still doesn't make us forget about that Chrome OS netbook Acer's been promising.

Continue reading Acer Aspire One D255 with dual-core Atom hits at $330

Acer Aspire One D255 with dual-core Atom hits at $330 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon , 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile myTouch announced: Android 2.2, video calling, and HSPA+

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/t-mobile-mytouch-announced-android-2-2-video-calling-and-hspa/

Looking a bit like a myTouch 3G Slide sans slide, the newly-announced myTouch -- yes, just "myTouch" -- is the latest addition to the consumer-centric side of T-Mobile's Android lineup, featuring a 3.8-inch WVGA display, 5 megapixel primary camera with 720p capture, and a next-gen MSM8255 Snapdragon core running at 1GHz. Notice how we said "primary camera"? Yep, it's true: the myTouch features a second, front-facing cam as well, becoming just the second phone from T-Mobile (and one of the first in the States, of course) to offer video calling. Looks like it'll be supported over both WiFi and 3G using Qik and Yahoo Messenger, so you'll be able to see the beautiful faces of your EVO-sporting friends from afar. Like the G2, it's got full support for T-Mobile's up-and-coming HSPA+ network along with 802.11n and Android 2.2 out of the box. We don't have pricing or a launch date yet, but we're told it'll be available "in time for the holidays" in your choice of four scintillating colors: white, black, plum, and red. Follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading T-Mobile myTouch announced: Android 2.2, video calling, and HSPA+

T-Mobile myTouch announced: Android 2.2, video calling, and HSPA+ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung showing off 330Mbps WiMAX 2 mobile broadband over at CEATEC 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/samsung-showing-off-330mbps-wimax-2-mobile-broadband-over-at-cea/

WiMAX 2, the sequel to the movie most people haven't watched, is back to tease and tantalize us courtesy of Samsung's new CEATEC demo. Filling four separate HDTVs with streaming Full HD and 3D content, the Korean manufacturer of everything electronic is touting its latest advance in mobile broadband connectivity that takes the top speed up to 330Mbps. That may only be a third of the theoretical max capability of WiMAX 2, but you know, we'll take it for now. The good news is that Samsung's innovation brew extends only to the conduits between WiMAX devices, meaning that your current-gen transceiver will be able to join the accelerated party as and when Samsung's ready to dish out the goods. With the 802.16m standard expected to be ratified by next month, Samsung projects its first commercial solutions will be landing in late 2011. Consider our calendars marked.

Continue reading Samsung showing off 330Mbps WiMAX 2 mobile broadband over at CEATEC 2010

Samsung showing off 330Mbps WiMAX 2 mobile broadband over at CEATEC 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/toshiba-regza-gl1-wants-you-to-put-down-the-glasses-enjoy-the-3/

Toshiba might have abandoned OLED, but that doesn't mean the company is lacking ambition in the display-making field. Today it's using CEATEC 2010, Japan's biggest electronics expo, to make official that 21-inch glasses-free 3D prototype we've been hearing about. It's lost an inch in becoming a retail product, with the 20GL1 offering a 20-inch diagonal, but the important multi-parallax picture transmission (employing a lenticular lens setup as used in Philips' Dimenco) remains the same. The new set, accompanied by a smaller 12GL1 model, will be shipping in Japan this December, and if it really does what it promises, the rest of the world should not be far behind.

Update: Japan's Impress Watch has more details for us, listing a 720p resolution for the 20-incher and a funky 466 x 350 on the 12-inch GL1. Prices are estimated at ¥240,000 ($2,885) and ¥120,000 ($1,443), respectively.

Gallery: Toshiba Regza 20GL1 press images

Gallery: Toshiba Regza 12GL1 press images

Continue reading Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D

Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp's IS03 Android phone packs retina display, minus the branding pretense

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/sharps-is03-android-phone-packs-retina-display-minus-the-brand/

WVGA's so 2009, isn't it? Sharp has broken Android's usual 800 (or 854) x 480 mold this week with the introduction of the IS03 for Japan's KDDI au network, boasting a full 960 x 640 on its 3.5-inch screen -- matching the iPhone 4's so-called retina display -- along with Advanced Super View (ASV) technology, delivering the same kind of viewing angle benefits you find in IPS. If that alone doesn't make for enough of a monster spec sheet for you, consider that the IS03 also features a 9.6 megapixel autofocus camera with image stabilization, one-seg TV tuner, and Osaifu-Keitai, which allows the phone to be used for contactless payments in subways and the like. Though you won't find it sold outside Japan, you might eventually see one outside Japan thanks to support for Global Passport CDMA, meaning the IS03 can be used in countries that have operating CDMA networks -- the US, for example. Unfortunately, it's running Android 2.1, but let's be honest: the monster hardware might be enough to overcome that little oversight. Look for this puppy to launch in three colors next month.

Sharp's IS03 Android phone packs retina display, minus the branding pretense originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, October 01, 2010

Another scourge on consumers' time/attention: VivaKi's ASq Video Ads ("most effective" compared to other hated forms?) http://bit.ly/bEAwWF

Tall Walker

Sharp trots out AQUOS Quattron 3D HDTVs, complete with Blu-ray recorders

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/01/sharp-trots-out-aquos-quattron-3d-hdtvs-complete-with-blu-ray-r/

You should know by the inclusion of a Blu-ray recorder that these guys are reserved for the Japanese market, but what's stopping you and yours from drooling over 'em? The 52-inch LC-52LB3 and 46-inch LC-46LB3 are the latest members of the AQUOS Quattron 3D family, and aside from packing 1080p panels and integrated TV tuners, you'll also get a slot-loading Blu-ray drive that plays back BD films and can toast material on BDXL media. Not too shabby, eh? They'll be on sale halfway across the world this November, but pricing remains a mystery -- we're guessing it's one of those 'if you have to ask...' type scenarios.

Sharp trots out AQUOS Quattron 3D HDTVs, complete with Blu-ray recorders originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech to unveil its Google TV lineup October 6th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/01/logitech-to-unveil-its-google-tv-lineup-october-6th/

Sorry, Sony. Logitech's looking to beat you to the Google TV punch by hosting is own event on October 6th, just six days before yours. (Then again, Sony's contribution also made a cameo earlier this week at a Best Buy event, but we digress.) The event's invite is vague on the "line of products" (note: plural) it'll be showing, but we'd venture a guess that Revue has already RSVPd and been promised some stage time. With any luck, the Lonely TV will MC the proceedings -- hey, we can dream.

Logitech to unveil its Google TV lineup October 6th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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