Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Netgear Roku XD Player gets official, coming to big box retail everywhere

Netgear Roku XD Player gets official, coming to big box retail everywhere

We knew something was up when we saw a Netgear-branded Roku XD hit the FCC and subsequently turn up at Fry's, and now it's official: Netgear will be selling the Roku XD as the -- wait for it -- Netgear Roku XD Player. Hardware and functionality-wise, it's the exact same Roku XD you've come to know and love -- 720p Netflix and Amazon streaming with support for 1080p on certain channels -- but Netgear's vast distribution network means that it'll be sold in Best Buy, Radio Shack, Fry's and anywhere else Netgear products routinely show up. It's a pretty aggressive move for Roku, which was previously online-only -- the company has been saying its goal is to put a box by every TV in your house, and the XD is certainly cheap and flexible enough to tempt quite a few big-box shoppers. Of course, you're be paying a little extra for that extra silkscreen and distro love: Netgear's MSRP is $89.99, $10 more than the straight Roku. (Fry's selling it for $79.99 after "instant savings," though.) That's not exactly impulse-buy pricing, but it's still $10 cheaper than the Apple TV, so it looks like the heat is on -- check out our Roku XDS review and just ignore the part about USB playback to get a feel for the XD.

Netgear Roku XD Player gets official, coming to big box retail everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, October 08, 2010

AT&T debuts slim, AMOLED-equipped Pantech Laser slider

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/atandt-debuts-slim-amoled-equipped-pantech-laser-slider/

Well, it looks like Pantech may not be dropping AMOLED screens just yet after all -- the company has just rolled out its new Laser slider on AT&T complete with, you guessed it, a 3.1-inch AMOLED display. Set to be available on October 17th, the phone is also the thinnest QWERTY slider available on AT&T at just 9.95 millimeters thick, but things unfortunately get decidedly less interesting from there. The Laser is simply a "quick messaging phone," for starters, and you'll only get AT&T's own apps for navigation, social networking, and other basic tasks -- though it does have a somewhat unique "Drawing Commander" feature that lets you draw shapes to make phone calls or launch apps. That doesn't mean the Laser comes with quick messaging phone price, however -- it'll set you back $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a two-year contract (placing it right in line with some of AT&T's newest mid-range Android phones). Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and head on past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading AT&T debuts slim, AMOLED-equipped Pantech Laser slider

AT&T debuts slim, AMOLED-equipped Pantech Laser slider originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You Can Create Holograms Right Now, Using This $1 iPad App and a DSLR [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658151/you-can-create-holograms-right-now-using-this-1-ipad-app-and-a-dslr

You Can Create Holograms Right Now, Using This src=Shooting long exposure photos of an iPad in motion magics up stunning "holograms"—and all for just $1. It's one of the most futuristic, wackiest apps I've seen yet, and will impress anyone you show it to.

Any word or phrase can be turned into a hologram (said in the loosest description of the word) using the app, with adjustables including the color, font, size, angle and so forth all available for tinkering. Once the chosen word has been created, the countdown begins, which is when you drag an iPad or iPhone in a straight line (watch the video below to see exactly what I mean) in front of the set-up DSLR, which is shooting long-exposure photos.

The shapes and patterns dancing across the iPad screen are actually single frames of a 3D animation, with the long exposures later turned into a stop-motion movie, where the frames are pieced together to create something like you see above.

At the moment the app is only capable of making words, but a later version will let you draw objects.

It costs $1, but be warned that this app is only for someone possessing a DSLR and an infinite amount of time up their sleeve. [iTunes via Core77]

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

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Now Available: Adobe AIR for Android [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658931/now-available-adobe-air-for-android

Now Available: Adobe AIR for Android Adobe AIR is now available for download in the Android Market for Android those with devices running Froyo. This means that Android users can look forward to new types of apps, including cross-platform ones. AIR apps will not install differently from other Android apps. [Android Central]

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Universal Display ships eight wrist-worn OLED displays to military, too late to help Noble Team

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/universal-display-ships-eight-wrist-worn-oled-displays-to-milita/

Universal Display ships eight wrist-worn OLED displays to military, a little too late to help Noble Team
We had a little fun with Universal Display Corporation's flexible OLED display at CES a few years back, ruggedized and militarized and destined for Army wrists of the future. Little did we know that future would be so close. The company has just confirmed that it has delivered eight of the 4.3-inch, 320 x 240 screens to the US Army for "military evaluation and testing" and, while it doesn't sound like there's a specific purpose in mind at the moment, we're pretty sure they'll come up with something to do with them. We know we sure would.

Universal Display ships eight wrist-worn OLED displays to military, too late to help Noble Team originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink OLED-Display.net  |  sourceUniversal Display Corporation  | Email this | Comments

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Firefox 4 for mobile goes beta on Android and Maemo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/firefox-4-for-mobile-goes-beta-on-android-and-maemo/

After a healthy alpha (and pre-alpha) period, Mozilla is taking the mobile version of Firefox 4 to beta on Android and Maemo this week, promising improvements in stability, performance, and functionality. Actually, this represents a shift in branding for Maemo, where Firefox 1.1 has already been gold for some time -- but odds are good you're going to want to upgrade in any event, since this new version nets you the so-called Layers framework that aims to improve scrolling and zooming responsiveness. As you might expect, you get built-in Firefox Sync -- basically making this a superset of Firefox Home -- and support for HTML5. Makes that ol' N900 look a little shinier, doesn't it? Follow the break for Mozilla's announcement video.

Continue reading Firefox 4 for mobile goes beta on Android and Maemo

Firefox 4 for mobile goes beta on Android and Maemo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Mozilla Blog  | Email this | Comments

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PCD's $99 wireless streaming adapter will beam iOS or older-gen iPod nano content onto your TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/pcds-99-wireless-streaming-adapter-will-beam-ios-or-older-gen/

In case you've got some fundamental issue with Apple's upcoming AirPlay, or just a fifth-gen iPod nano you're unwilling to part with, here's a handy little adapter for you. Produced by Cywee and likely to be sold for around $99 by PCD in the US, this RF streamer plugs straight into your iDevice's dock connector and then beams video, pictures, games and the like over to its nearby base station, which in turn hooks up to your television by a set of RGB cables. Any app that utilizes Apple's video output API is a candidate for having its visuals sent over, though resolution is unfortunately capped at 480p and you'll need line of sight at a distance of no more than 15 feet for everything to work correctly. Just to make sure we're all appropriately underwhelmed by its current product, Cywee promises an 802.11n WiFi variant that'll handle 1080p and output via HDMI for next year. Great, we'll just wait for that one, why don't we?

Continue reading PCD's $99 wireless streaming adapter will beam iOS or older-gen iPod nano content onto your TV

PCD's $99 wireless streaming adapter will beam iOS or older-gen iPod nano content onto your TV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/kddis-smart-television-viewing-concept-links-phones-to-consum/

Say you're watching a cooking show on television and you see some ketchup. Tasty, right? Salivating? Need some ketchup right this second? Look no further than KDDI's "smARt" television viewing concept, which uses your phone as a tool to get more information on stuff you're seeing on the boob tube in real time. Using an Android-powered Sharp IS01 to demonstrate, KDDI's crack team of presenters showed some delicious-looking food on screen then captured it with the phone's camera, which ultimately resulted in being redirected to a site where you could purchase a bottle of Hunt's for ¥650 (about $7.83). Of course, considering that TV itself can be interactive in a variety of ways, it seems a bit much to bother getting your phone involved while you're trying to zone out on the couch... but hey, whatever gets us to our Utopian dream of real-time ketchup purchases the fastest is where we want to be. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last

KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/gamma-dynamics-high-contrast-high-speed-electrofluidic-e-paper/

Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality
E Ink more or less has a lock on the e-reader market, as competitor after competitor sees delays or simply disappears altogether. Today we have an update from another would-be foe, and there's some real potential here. It's electrofluidic e-paper from Gamma Dynamics and the University of Cincinnati, which we first heard about last April. The tech is similar to that in E Ink but, instead of simple microcapsules having both black and white ink plus a clear oil, the Gamma Dynamics pixels have a colored fluid in a pixel that's split by a reflective sheet. Using voltage applied to these pixels the ink can be forced up above or pulled down below the reflective separator, forming an image in a video-capable 20ms and delivering a near paper-matching 70 percent reflectivity. There's a picture below showing how the tech works and, thanks to confirmation that it can be produced in an LCD manufacturing facility, it's looking closer to production than ever. How close is that? Oh, about three years, meaning E Ink still has that market cornered -- for now.

Continue reading Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality

Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink geek.com  |  sourceGamma Dynamics, University of Cincinnati  | Email this | Comments

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Thursday, October 07, 2010

A Revolution In Mobile Cup Holder Technology [Cupholders]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658018/revolutionary-mobile-cup-holder-technology

A Revolution In Mobile Cup Holder TechnologyVersion 1.0: Carrying a bunch of drinks around with your hands. Version 2.0: Those shallow egg carton trays that always make you think your drinks are about to tip over. Version 3.0: This magnificent beverage buggy.

Where can I sign up to be a beta tester? [Damn That's Whack via Daily What]

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Simple Hack Allows American Androids to Skype Over 3G [Android Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658175/simple-hack-allows-americans-to-skype-over-3g-on-androids

Simple Hack Allows American Androids to Skype Over 3GAndroid users (except for those on Verizon) were understandably excited to hear that the Skype app was now available—until they discovered that it can only be used over Wi-Fi in the US. Fear not, friends, there's a hack!

A Droid Forums poster released a new version of the app allowing for free Skype-to-Skype calls over 3G, like the rest of the world is allowed. The best news is that you don't even have to root your phone to download it—instead, you just download the Sideload program onto your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, and can load apps thattaway instead. [Droid Forums via Engadget]

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Displax Overlay Multitouch turns your LCD or plasma into a touchscreen, demands a pretty penny

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/displax-overlay-multitouch-turns-your-lcd-or-plasma-into-a-touch/

Remember when Displax teased us earlier in the year with a polymer film that could take any conventional LCD, plasma or RPTV and turn it into a touchscreen? Yeah, well now that very technology is shipping to Average Joes and Janes like yourself your good pal Jim. Starting nowish, the outfit's customizable Overlay Multitouch will be heading out to screens ranging from 32- to 103-inches in size in order to add multitouch capabilities to a screen that previously hated even the thought of being groped. Of course, with a starting tag of €1,300 ($1,805), we get the impression that most of the orders (at least initially) will be coming from corporations looking to jazz up their boardrooms. In related news, the company is also debuting a 42-inch Windows 7-based multitouch table that can detect up to four independent touches at once. The Oqtopus uses a specific kind of optical technology that allows bare fingers, styluses and even gloved hands to operate it, but with a starting price of €4,500 ($6,250), we're guessing your own personal Santa is already signaling "no."

Displax Overlay Multitouch turns your LCD or plasma into a touchscreen, demands a pretty penny originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Future-Predicting Search Engine Reveals Some of the Analytical Tricks Inside Its Crystal Ball

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/predictive-search-engine-reveals-some-analytical-tricks-behind-its-crystal-ball

Remember Recorded Future, the future-predicting information analysis company that made a splash earlier this year when it scored investments from both Google and the CIA? The company has recently revealed a bit more about how its technology works and just how well the firm has done recording events before they happen. And, presumably, how well it will continue to do in coming days.

Speaking to Technology Review, company founder Christopher Ahlberg described how its software goes deeper than search engines like Google that simply rank the relevance of results by links. Rather, it analyzes the more nuanced, invisible connections between events and people that shape the future. Doing so, he says, lets Recorded Future look for patterns that suggest certain outcomes, like when a product might release or when a company might clear a patent hurdle or offer an IPO.

Recorded Future's software does this semantically, using linguistic tools that identify certain types of events and the sentiment conveyed in the wording. It aims for articles with some degree of established veracity, like government filings, news articles, and speeches by leaders or heads of industry, but the software also scans Twitter updates and other measures of general feeling or sentiment surrounding an event, person, company, or product.

In other words, it's less a matter of Recorded Future wagering an educated guess about a future event and more like an aggregation of predictions that have already been made. That aggregate collated prediction about the future is influenced by all the factors listed above and gives, say, a stock analyst a reasonable measure of when an event is likely to happen.

Right now Recorded Future has fewer than 100 clients paying to use its tools, but those that are using them aren't lightweights – Ahlberg tells TR a mix of government analysts and financial firms are taking advantage of the insight the company offers. Those are players whose decisions are tied to serious stakes in both security and finance, lending Recorded Future an air of serious credibility. Indeed, studies of its past performance have shown its models tended show increased strength of activity around an event or entity that correlated to real time market activity.

Which means Recorded Future, and analytic tools like it, might have a future after all.

[Technology Review]

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Who Is Really Winning the Smartphone Race? [Chart]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5657699/who-is-really-winning-the-smartphone-race

Who Is Really Winning the Smartphone Race?Apple fanboys vs HTC fandroids. Crackberry junkies vs Nokia cheerleaders. All of them have their arguments and neverending doses of absurdly blind faith in a corporation. But who is really winning this race? Who is really the dominant smartphone manufacturer?

It's hard to tell.

See, when you take into consideration more than one factor, you get a different picture of how things are. Here you can see that Samsung is gaining market share faster than all its competitors, but their profit share growth is going down. Then you can see that Apple is gaining market share at a good rate, but their profit share growth dwarfs everyone else. The iPhone is one popular smartphone, with a hefty profit.

Asymco, who produced these graphics, argues that you can pair manufacturers according to their current growth vectors (in the chart above, you can see those pairs by color). According to them, Apple is destroying Nokia, while RIM is crunching Sony Ericsson, and Samsung is doing the same with Motorola. HTC and LG are doing something down there too, but both are doing it slowly, so let's ignore them for a while.

The fight for true domination

When you look at their 2007 vs 2010 comparison, things get even better:

Who Is Really Winning the Smartphone Race?

Why better? Because despite its star status, Apple is still not the dominant player. Nobody is. Unlike with computers—where Microsoft still dominates—there is still no emperor in the smartphone empire. Apple is in a great position to claim that crown, but the game is still open.

One last thought: Looking at Nokia, I can't help to think that the CEO and his execs were complete imbeciles. If they had snatched Palm before Hewlett Packard—and scrap their stupid, outdated, horrible Symbian—they could have probably retained the dominant position they lost so quickly. Which is too bad, because they always made good hardware. [Asymco]

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Hitachi-LG unveils 2nd generation hybrid optical drive with flash-based storage to boot

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/hitachi-lg-unveils-2nd-generation-hybrid-optical-drive-with-flas/

The Hitachi-LG Data Storage joint venture has itself fostered yet another mixed product, combining both an optical disk drive and flash storage into a single form factor. The 2nd generation of its Hybrid Drive uses Micron's 25nm NAND flash memory in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB capacities (with those figures to rise in later iterations, naturally) and can be united with either DVD or Blu-ray players -- perfect for laptops and other portable devices with just one drive to spare. (The one stretched out on display, pictured above, was a 12.7mm slim DVD-RW tray type). Hitachi housed samples of the drive at its CEATEC booth and even showed off a few example products (first generation drive, too). Care to see what could be under the hood of a future purchase? Pictures below.

Hitachi-LG unveils 2nd generation hybrid optical drive with flash-based storage to boot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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