Tuesday, January 04, 2011

WHDI breaks out at CES 2011, brings 1080p streaming to TVs, PCs, tablets and a projector

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/whdi-breaks-out-at-ces-2011-brings-1080p-streaming-to-tvs-pcs/

We've felt the rush a-comin', and it looks as if 2011 may finally be the year that Amimon (along with its competitors) gets the break it has been yearning for in the consumer market. With wireless HD streaming options becoming more plentiful (and prices heading southward into a realm of feasibility), the WHDI standard is making a stand at this year's CES. Right around a dozen new products will be introduced this week with WHDI embedded, including HDTVs from Haier, PC-to-TV adapters from Asus and LG Innotek, tablets from First International Computer ('Jacob' prototype shown above), Malata and Gemtek / Ampak, a projector from Vivitek and a mobile-to-TV solution from 35.com. The goal here is pretty obvious -- Amimon would love for you to have a house full of WHDI-equipped gear, in turn creating an ecosystem where these devices could talk to one another and stream in a variety of directions. We'll be scouring the floor to see who's buying in, but it sounds as if that won't be too difficult a chore.

Gallery: WHDI-enabled product lineup at CES 2011

Continue reading WHDI breaks out at CES 2011, brings 1080p streaming to TVs, PCs, tablets and a projector

WHDI breaks out at CES 2011, brings 1080p streaming to TVs, PCs, tablets and a projector originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung develops DDR4 memory with up to 40 percent better energy efficiency than DDR3

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/samsung-develops-ddr4-memory-with-up-to-40-percent-better-energy/

Samsung's famed lead in component manufacturing is being extended today with the announcement of a DDR4 DRAM stick that can perform read and write operations using up to 40 percent less power than the old/current DDR3 stuff. Bandwidth maxes out at 2.13Gbps at 1.2V, while Pseudo Open Drain technology assists in minimizing the battery impact. Over time, Samsung projects the new DRAM modules will hit 4Gbps speeds. It's working away with server makers right now in order to achieve JEDEC certification, but the target market will clearly be laptops and other mobile devices, where energy-frugal memory like this would best be appreciated. Check out Samsung's PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung develops DDR4 memory with up to 40 percent better energy efficiency than DDR3

Samsung develops DDR4 memory with up to 40 percent better energy efficiency than DDR3 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin's nuvi 2400 pairs a 5-inch screen with voice control, isn't a phone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/garmins-nuvi-2400-pairs-a-5-inch-screen-with-voice-control-isn/

You don't need us to tell you that phones are posing a huge threat to the dedicated navigation device market, but Garmin isn't giving up without a fight (or without hedging its bets). It just announced its nüvi 2400 series of "large format" PNDs, with 5-inch screens and a wealth of features. Standouts include voice control and some serious routing capabilities based on "trafficTrends" and "myTrends," which are exactly what they sound like. Prices start at $250, with all the features available but for-pay traffic and map updates. At the $350 mark you can get lifetime map and traffic. The whole line should be out in Q1 of this year.

Continue reading Garmin's nuvi 2400 pairs a 5-inch screen with voice control, isn't a phone

Garmin's nuvi 2400 pairs a 5-inch screen with voice control, isn't a phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every Camera Should Be As Connected as Samsung's SH100 With Android Remote Powers [Digital Cameras]

Every Camera Should Be As Connected as Samsung's SH100 With Android Remote Powers [Digital Cameras]

Samsung's SH100 isn't the first point-and-shoot to have Wi-Fi, but it makes better use of it than most: You can use Samsung's Galaxy S Android phones as a wireless remote and geotagger for the camera.

The Galaxy phone works as a real-time viewfinder and remote—though it's not clear how much control you have from the phone beyond zoom and shutter—and the GPS inside can be used by the camera for geotagging. The Wi-Fi also shoots photos back to a PC or DLNA-compatible HDTV, along with instant uploads to Facebook, YouTube, Picasa and PhotoBucket (no Flickr??). All of that's awesome—and really should be standard in everyday point-and-shoots at this point.

The rest of the camera is middling, like the 1/2.33-inch sensor packed with 14.2 megapixels, and relatively sluggish f4.7 lens (hello, noise). But, given that you get all of these connected powers in a fairly $200 camera coming out in March, it makes us a little hopeful it'll be the norm sooner vs. later. [Samsung]

Lexar reveals Echo MX and ZX USB 'no-touch' backup drives

Lexar reveals Echo MX and ZX USB 'no-touch' backup drives

One-touch backup? Pssh. That's so 2010. Lexar is revealing its second CES introduction this morning with the uncovering of its Echo MX and ZX high-speed backup devices. Both units provide 'no-touch backup' along with 128-bit AES encryption, with the MX offering an always-on capacity meter, built-in Echo backup software and speeds of up to 28MB/s (read) and 10MB/s (write). It'll play nice with both Mac and PC platforms and will ship later this quarter in capacities of 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB (priced from $44.99 to $499.99). Taking things down a notch (from a volumetric perspective, anyway), the ZX USB nub is designed to remain plugged into your system at all times, continually backing things up in the event of an all-too-sudden disaster. This guy should ship prior to the summertime in capacities of 8GB, 16GB and 32GB, with prices ranging from $44.99 to $139.99. The full release is after the break.

Continue reading Lexar reveals Echo MX and ZX USB 'no-touch' backup drives

Lexar reveals Echo MX and ZX USB 'no-touch' backup drives originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warpia's wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound

Warpia's wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound

Let's try this again, shall we? We were none too impressed with the first iteration of the device you see above, mostly because it failed to support audio. A few generations later, and seems as if Warpia may finally have its ducks in a row. The StreamHD is a USB-to-HDMI adapter, presumably relying on Wisair technology to whisk 1080p content from one's USB-enabled laptop or desktop onto your HDMI-equipped television. It'll handle material with resolutions as high as 1920 x 1280, and we're told that both Hulu and Netflix content will be passed along sans issue. Hooking things up is a lesson in simplicity (in theory, at least) -- just plug the USB dongle into your Windows PC, and the transceiver dock into your HDTV. High-def content and 5.1 surround sound should be transmitted, and there's a reported range of 30 feet. It should be popping up any moment now on Amazon for $169.99, and yeah, that does include an HDMI cable and a S/PDIF cord. How thoughtful.

Continue reading Warpia's wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound

Warpia's wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi's 'big year' at CES includes 92-inch DLP, 155-inch OLED displays

Mitsubishi's 'big year' at CES includes 92-inch DLP, 155-inch OLED displays

As we mentioned in our 3D roundup, the advantage of Mitsubishi sticking to DLP technology for its HDTVs is easily seen in square inches per dollar spent, and they're going to push that even further by introducing a 92-inch HDTV in 2011. We should get our eyes on the monster and its new "Clear Contrast" screen at the CES Unveiled event tonight, but you'll excuse us if we're slightly distracted by the 155-inch OLED that will apparently be on hand from its business division. No word yet on price or release date for the 92-incher, check out another picture and all available details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Mitsubishi's 'big year' at CES includes 92-inch DLP, 155-inch OLED displays

Mitsubishi's 'big year' at CES includes 92-inch DLP, 155-inch OLED displays originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint trots out HTC EVO Shift 4G and new 3G / 4G MiFi from Novatel

Sprint trots out HTC EVO Shift 4G and new 3G / 4G MiFi from Novatel

It's been leaked all over the place, but Sprint has just confirmed its second EVO: the EVO Shift 4G. The big new addition is obviously the slide-out keyboard, but otherwise, while specs are solid, there's nothing as revolutionary as the original EVO. The Shift has a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 LCD, Android 2.2 (with HTC Sense), and the same great 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7630 processor that's in the G2 and myTouch 4G. Naturally there's WiMAX 4g, in addition to EVDO Rev A., and HTC hopes to keep those radios alive with a 1500mAh battery. There's a 5 megapixel camera around back, capable of 720p video, but oddly no front-facing camera -- something we assumed was part of the definition of EVO. The phone will be available on the 9th for $150.

Meanwhile, Novatel Wireless is cooking up its own WiMAX goodness, putting 3G and 4G in a brand new MiFi device, the MiFi 3G / 4G Mobile Hotspot. It includes a display for tracking status of the device, unlike Novatel's 3G MiFis, claims 4 hours of active use and 60 hours of standby, and can share storage from its microSD slot with connected devices. It should be out on February 27th for $50 with a two-year contract.

Gallery: Sprint trots out HTC EVO Shift 4G

Continue reading Sprint trots out HTC EVO Shift 4G and new 3G / 4G MiFi from Novatel

Sprint trots out HTC EVO Shift 4G and new 3G / 4G MiFi from Novatel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon teases 'suite of Android-based LTE consumer devices' this week

Verizon teases 'suite of Android-based LTE consumer devices' this week

Surprised? Nah, neither are we -- Verizon's LTE-based Android smartphones have been leaking like the sweet, Cortex-A8 sieves that they are for weeks now -- but Big Red's using stronger language than ever before to say that we can expect multiple Android devices running on Verizon's fresh LTE network here at CES this week. Specifically, the press release says that "the company will also offer a sneak peek at a suite of Android-based LTE consumer devices" at its January 6th event here at the show, echoing Twitter teasers last month -- but with the key addition of the word "suite," which hopefully means we'll have an LG, an HTC, a Motorola, and a Samsung (at the very least) to toy with by the time this week is out. Stay tuned, folks. Follow the break for the brief press release.

Continue reading Verizon teases 'suite of Android-based LTE consumer devices' this week

Verizon teases 'suite of Android-based LTE consumer devices' this week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for us! e of fee ds.

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Samsung, RealD announce RDZ tech that puts active shutter 3D into the TV instead of the glasses

Samsung, RealD announce RDZ tech that puts active shutter 3D into the TV instead of the glasses

Just when we were getting used to the introduction of passive glasses 3D into the formerly active shutter-only home arena Samsung LCD Business and RealD will show off another option at this year's CES that is apparently based on the ZScreen technology RealD licensed last year. According to the two, RDZ LCD HDTVs are compatible with the cheaper RealD glasses already in use in theaters, by making the panel itself an active switching LCD instead. Compared to the patterned retarder passive 3D we expect to see from Vizio and LG, this has the advantage of not cutting the resolution of whatever you're watching in half, although they would likely still claim advantages in brightness and lack of flicker. We'll have to let our eyes tell us which is the best approach but the fact this is coming from Samsung's business LCD division instead of its consumer arm suggests the price of any displays that are eventually released will be something beyond the 3D capable TVs we're used to so far.

Continue reading Samsung, RealD announce RDZ tech that puts active shutter 3D into the TV instead of the glasses

Samsung, RealD announce RDZ tech that puts active shutter 3D into the TV instead of the glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Somfy's slick Tahoma Z-Wave and RTS home automation gateway

Somfy's slick Tahoma Z-Wave and RTS home automation gateway

Apparently fed up with the fragmented state of home automation solution, Somfy, best known for its selection of automatic window coverings, just announced an automated home gateway of its own. TaHomA (get it? Total Home Automation) is very much a device like Mi Casa Verde's Vera, only with what looks to be a much slicker Home Motion UI and support for Somfy's proprietary wireless RTS communication protocol in addition to Z-Wave. Unlike MCV, however, Somfy is taking a more managed approach by offering an expert setup option performed by certified dealers. After which, you'll be able to manage all of your wireless appliance modules and automatic scenes from anywhere in the world -- via PC, iPad, or iPhone -- thanks to Somfy's remote support server. You can always make changes to Tahoma yourself or ask a dealer to do it on-site or remotely. Tahoma is set to launch in the US sometime in the first ~~quarter~~ half of 2011 for an undisclosed price. We'll see what we can do about getting some hands-on time with it right here at CES before then.

Gallery: Somfy's slick Tahmoa Z-Wave and RTS home automation gateway

Continue reading Somfy's slick Tahoma Z-Wave and RTS home automation gateway

Somfy's slick Tahoma Z-Wave and RTS home automation gateway originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla Model S to have 17-inch infotainment console, powered by Tegra; BMW using NVIDIA tech too

Tesla Model S to have 17-inch infotainment console, powered by Tegra; BMW using NVIDIA tech too

Tesla is touting the world's biggest center console for its upcoming Model S today: a titanic 17-inch touchscreen display powered by NVIDIA's Tegra chip. Infotainment, climate control and navigation will all be managed using the vast dashboard dominator, while NVIDIA's hardware will also take responsibility for keeping the 12.3-inch instrument cluster LCD updated. Considering the Model S, like the Roadster before it, is an all-electric vehicle, you'd expect energy efficiency to be a pretty important consideration in the choice of infotainment system and Tesla points that out as a key advantage of Tegra, describing it as "power-stingy." Another motor company hooking up with NVIDIA is BMW, who promises that all of its upcoming models for 2011 will benefit from Green Team GPUs powering their iDrive navigation and information systems. We don't know what exact GPUs will be used, but a "visually rich" next-gen UI is being promised, stretching out to a 1280 x 600 resolution. You'll find both press releases after the break.

Continue reading Tesla Model S to have 17-inch infotainment console, powered by Tegra; BMW using NVIDIA tech too

Tesla Model S to have 17-inch infotainment console, powered by Tegra; BMW using NVIDIA tech too originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WAVI Xtion: It's Kinect for the PC (With an Awkward Name) [Gestures]

WAVI Xtion: It's Kinect for the PC (With an Awkward Name) [Gestures]

WAVI Xtion: It's Kinect for the PC (With an Awkward Name) PrimeSense, the guys who helped make Microsoft's Kinect, are now teaming with Asus to make the same thing basically...except it's for the PC. Unfortunately, they're calling it the WAVI Xtion.

Asus thinks this will help make PC use in the living room easier, utilizing gestures to control music, movies, games and other UI related matters. The device connects to your PC using a wireless transmitter, and rests above or under your television, much like the Kinect.

In addition to the hardware, Asus also plans to build an entire app ecosystem around the device, and hopes to release the WAVI Xtion in Q2 of this year. [Businesswire via Kotaku]

AMD Fusion: GPU and CPU Hook Up for Better Battery Life [Amd]

AMD Fusion: GPU and CPU Hook Up for Better Battery Life [Amd]

We've known AMD's Fusion GPU/CPU hybrid has been incoming, but now we know exactly what to expect from the tiny chips—clean(er) video, low energy, and the size of a fingernail.

The Fusion family of chips will (attempt to) do away with the messy guts spread across your motherboard, jamming a northbridge, multi-core CPU, and DirectX 11 GPU onto a single die—an APU, or Accelerated Processing Unit.

The Fusion line's split into three models—the C-Series, targeted at netbooks, ultraportables, and (gasp!) tablets; the E-Series, made with low-power notebooks and all-in-one desktops in mind, and the quad core CPU, performance-heavy A-Series, for beefier desktop and notebook use.

Video performance should be another top perk of the little APUs, with hardware acceleration onboard for cleaner and smoother HD video processing. AMD is clearly looking to the personal and web-based video world, and seeing a lot of messy pixels it thinks it can polish. The lower-powered E and C series look like they'll deliver, squeezing out 35 and 92 percent better HTML5 video performance, respectively, against comparable mobile offerings from Intel. Gaming performance should also see a significant boost from what AMD claims is discrete-caliber graphics packed in, though with only 3DMark '06 stats waved around so far, we'll have to wait for real world performance.

AMD's claiming a minimum 8 hour (idle) battery life across the line, with the C-Series advertised as high as 12. As usual, expect lower than these claims, but energy efficiency is definitely to be expected with the newly compacted architecture.

We're eager to see what OEMs do with the line—though companies like Lenovo and HP are already embracing Fusion among their netbooks. Small spaces usually mean awful, underpowered components that are a pain to use, but pressing good parts together (for a change) could make the devices they power impressively less miserable.

AMD's next-gen mobile graphics line, the Radeon 6000M Series, is also out of the bag. The DirectX 11 GPUs will span performance becoming of ultraportables (while still besting than crummy integrated graphics) all the way to battery-busting gaming notebooks. Like the Fusion line, the 6000Ms will be heavy on media performance, emphasizing HD processing, as well as support for GPU-accelerated software like Photoshop and IE9. And, of course, it wouldn't be 2011 without 3D fanfare, which AMD is pushing with included support for stereoscopic glasses.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Embargo until Jan. 4, 2011 - AMD today announced broad support for the AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) from the software and hardware ecosystem community. Working closely with software vendors, developers and motherboard suppliers, AMD has built a coalition of industry innovators committed to providing devices and applications that leverage the combined x86 computing power and discrete-level graphics performance of AMD Fusion APUs.

"AMD and its partners are leading the way to a new era of computing distinguished by immersive entertainment, outstanding Internet browsing and fast, efficient processing of digital workloads," said John Taylor, director, AMD Client and Software Product Marketing. "The creation of a robust x86- and GPU computing-based ecosystem to enable these next-generation experiences is the culmination of long-standing collaboration with developers, software and tools vendors, and component suppliers, as well as technology investments made possible by the AMD Fusion Fund."

Next-Generation Applications

To access the uniquely powerful and efficient capabilities of the APU architecture, AMD collaborates with a variety of middleware and tools providers to offer software development kits that facilitate the use of industry-standard application programming interfaces (APIs) such as OpenCL™, OpenGL™, Direct2D and DirectCompute. AMD further supports the optimization of software for AMD Fusion APUs with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology, which helps developers more easily tap into the combined power of the GPU and CPU to accelerate existing applications and create new possibilities in software.

Dozens of innovative companies will be demonstrating amazing computing experiences enabled by AMD technology including AMD Fusion APUs at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in the Wired showcase sponsored by AMD (Grand Lobby, GL8), as well as in the AMD Technology Showcase. A variety of applications that span multimedia, gaming, productivity, web browsing, facial recognition, video conferencing and more will be on display from leading software suppliers, including:

Adobe

ArcSoft

Codemasters

Corel

CyberLink

DivX

EA / BioWare

Firaxis

Gazillion

Microsoft

Nuvixa

Earthsim

Roxio

Sega

Turbine

Viewdle

Vivu

AMD motherboard partners are also innovating around the launch of the first AMD Fusion APUs, as leading original design manufacturers (ODMs), including ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Sapphire, have announced integrated APU/motherboard products for the first PC platforms featuring AMD Fusion APUs.

Sony's Cameras Leak Early With Promises of a 3D Bloggie Camcorder [Cameras]

Sony's Cameras Leak Early With Promises of a 3D Bloggie Camcorder [Cameras]

Sony's Cameras Leak Early With Promises of a 3D Bloggie Camcorder Someone's let the rice spill out of the futomaki, because Sony's CES cameras have leaked early. Looks like their cheap flip camcorder, the Bloggie, is getting a 3D upgrade, and the WX9 will be a 16MP 3D snapper.

The full list, published by PhotoRumors, is below. We'll definitely be seeing some of these cameras detailed this week, but it looks like there won't be any new NEX models announced. In the meantime feast on the details:

Cybershot DSC-W510: 12MP, 2.7 in. screen, sweep panorama function
Cybershot DSC-W530: upgrades to a 14MP sensor
Cybershot DSC-W560: adds SteadyShot and 720p HD video
Cybershot DSC-W570: adds 16MP, 5x zoom (25mm on the wide side)
Cybershot DSC-WX9: high end model, 16MP Exmor R CMOS, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video, 3D, 10fps, background defocus feature, HDMI
Cybershot DSC-WX10: top of the line, f/2.4 lens, manual WB, very high speed AF
Cybershot DSC-H70: 16MP CCD sensor, 3 in. LCD, 720p HD video, sweep panorama
Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R CMOS sensor, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video 3D, HDR, 10 fps
Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R sensor, 3 in LCD screen, 1080i video, sweep panorama, background defocus feature, 10 fps
Cybershot DSC-T110, DSC-TX10 – very small point and shoot camera, no other details available

Bloggie MHS-FS1: 5.1MP, 4x digital zoom, HD video up to 120min, 2.7 in. LCD screen, 4GB internal memory, AF
Bloggie Duo MHS-FS2: adds LED light and a front facing 2 in, LCD screen
Bloggie 3D MHS-FS3: adds 3D movie recording and stereo mic
There will be also several new camcorders announcements. One of them will have a built-in projector and the top model will be able to record full HD 3D with both lenses. No NEX or DSLR models are expected.

Are You a Netflix Customer? Wal-Mart Will Give You a Gift Card [NetFlix]

Are You a Netflix Customer? Wal-Mart Will Give You a Gift Card [NetFlix]

In 2005, Wal-Mart and Netflix teamed-up to ward-off Blockbuster: Wal-Mart ceased renting DVDs online, and Netflix promised never to sell physical DVDs. According to a court case, that agreement violated antitrust laws—which means Netflix customers are owed money.

Wal-Mart chose to settle the case, and will gift Netflix customers who become class members of the case a Walmart.com gift card, or maybe even a check. They're said to be spending between $29 million - $40 million making this issue disappear. Only those living in the US are eligible, but taking into account there's 16 million Netflix customers in the US and Canada, that's still a lot of people who could be in for a lump-sum. [PaidContent]

Opera for tablets teased on video, bringing first public preview to CES (video)

Opera for tablets teased on video, bringing first public preview to CES (video)

As if building a top notch browser wasn't hard enough when having to develop for both desktop and mobile, here comes Opera with a third category: tablet-specific browsers. Opera for tablets has just been teased on video, exploiting a Galaxy Tab to show off slippery smooth pinch-to-zoom functionality plus a finger-friendly landing page for all your favorite websites when opening a new window. It's really not much to go on, but the Norwegian company is trying to hold the details until its proper public preview, which will be happening right here at CES very soon.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Opera for tablets teased on video, bringing first public preview to CES (video)

Opera for tablets teased on video, bringing first public preview to CES (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG's 2011 Smart TVs focus on easy, instant access

LG's 2011 Smart TVs focus on easy, instant access

We already got a peek at LG's Smart TV Upgrader box, but now it's revealing a bit more info about why it thinks anyone will be opting for their app-laden displays this year. Deriding the QWERTY remotes offered by competitors, LG's big idea is a simple dashboard with four elements, controlled by its Magic Motion gesture control remote. We'll still need to wait for some hands on time with its DLNA sharing and web browser to see if the simple life is the way, but if you were freaked out by all the buttons on Sony's Google TV remote then your sometime is now.

Continue reading LG's 2011 Smart TVs focus on easy, instant access

LG's 2011 Smart TVs focus on easy, instant access originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spot Connect brings GPS tracking and communication to your Bluetooth phone

Spot Connect brings GPS tracking and communication to your Bluetooth phone

Like it or not, we're stuck in a world fascinated with convergence, and while Spot's Satellite GPS Messenger did its job well, it still required users to tote around a dedicated, non-integrated, standalone device. Unfortunately, we're still no closer to seeing a mainstream smartphone with a legitimate GPS module within, but Spot's edging ever closer with the Spot Connect. This GPS puck is equipped with a Bluetooth transceiver, enabling it to "sync with smartphone operating systems like Android" when you're too deep in the brush to nab a cellular signal. From there, it'll allow your smartphone to determine location via the Globalstar satellite network, and even transmit that information to personal contacts or an international emergency response center. Users can send location-based texts or emails via satellite, update social networks from remote locations, track progress on Google Maps / My Tracks and store up to ten predefined messages for quick referencing and sending. Just imagine the Foursquare check-ins you could manage with this bad boy! The puck itself is waterproof to an IPX7 standard and weighs just 3.7 ounces, and we're told that more mobile operating systems will be supported "later this year." The Connect will go on sale this month for $169.99, though the services described above will run argonauts $99.99 per year. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Spot Connect brings GPS tracking and communication to your Bluetooth phone

Spot Connect brings GPS tracking and communication to your Bluetooth phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics

AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics

Is this real? Is this happening? It's been over four years since AMD and ATI completed their $5.4 billion merger with the promise of Fusion hybrid CPU / GPU chips, and after what's seemed like nearly endless delays, the company's delivering here at CES 2011. And it's delivering in a big way -- the first Fusion chips are a direct assault on Intel's Atom and the netbook market, offering what AMD says is better CPU performance, vastly better GPU performance with DirectX11 support, dedicated 1080p HD video processing and HDMI out, and "all day" battery life that can hit 10 or more hours. There are four total chips in two families built around the new "Bobcat" CPU core to start: the "Zacate" E-Series for mainstream laptops, AIOs and small desktops will have an 18W TDP and come in the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350 and the 1.5GHz single-core E-240, while the "Ontario" C-Series for HD netbooks and "other emerging form factors" will clock in at 9W TDP and come in the dual-core 1.0GHz C-50 and the single core 1.2GHz C-30. The "Llano" A-Series designed for mainstream laptops will offer up to four cores and arrive later this year.

We're expecting to see a number of systems based around the E-Series -- the Lenovo X120e and HP Pavilion dm1 have already been announced -- and we're anticipating quite a flood in the days ahead, which we're more than eager to test out. AMD's making some serious claims -- it says "Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago" -- and if can deliver on its performance promises, it'll pretty much turn the entire netbook market upside down. What's more, the company says tablets and other embedded devices are coming in the first half of 2011, so things could get seriously interesting. PR after the break.

Continue reading AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics

AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo cranks out Y, V, and Z Series IdeaPads

Lenovo cranks out Y, V, and Z Series IdeaPads

Lenovo's flood of laptops continues with the Y, V, and Z Series IdeaPads with Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPUs. First on offer are the three Y Series laptops, the Y470, Y570 and Y570d. The Y470 is a 14-incher, while the Y570 and Y570d are nearly identically spec'd 15.6-inch (1366 x 768 resolution) LED paneled laptops. All three feature up to Intel Core i7 CPUs, a host of graphics options (including NVIDIA's GeForce 555M), up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, an up to 1TB HDDs. All three also boast Blu-ray drives, JBL-designed speakers, plus Mini-PCle, a six-in-one card reader, optional TV-out, HDMI, RJ45, three USB 2.0 ports, and a 2 megapixel webcam. A six-cell battery comes standard on all models. The Y570d -- you may have guessed -- packs 3D, and comes with a pair of 3D glasses. Computing never looked cooler! The Y Series laptops will be available in May (yes, May) for a base price of $899.99. Find out about the rest after the break!

Gallery: Lenovo Y, Z, and V Series IdeaPads

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Lenovo cranks out Y, V, and Z Series IdeaPads originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills

AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills

AMD might have let the Radeon HD 6500M and 6300M out a little early, but today marks the formal launch of its new, second-generation DirectX 11 mobile chips, the HD 6000M family. The new arrivals are the HD 6900M / 6800M in the gaming-centric high-end (offering up to 1.3 teraFLOPS of compute power), the HD 6700M / 6600M in the upper midrange, and the HD 6400M to provide mainstream users with all the discrete graphics loving that they desire. The 6000M range introduces AMD's new HD3D hocus pocus, which will allow apps, games and other media to present themselves in 3D to you -- provided devs care to make them so -- while EyeSpeed is a marketing name for a set of technologies designed to improve video streaming and gaming performance by taking on more tasks with the GPU. You'll care about that if you're a big online media consumer and you'll also want to know that AMD has an exclusive on hardware acceleration for DivX video. Full press release awaits after the break.

Continue reading AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills

AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps

LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps

LG just exhausted 1,000 words to announce its new range of smart appliances built around Thinq technology. Unfortunately, for all the hyperbole there's not much detail about the appliances themselves. We do know that Thinq features smart grid, access, diagnosis, adapt, and food management capabilities. At the center of Thinq is the concept of an intelligent WiFi grid built around a smart meter enabling home owners to schedule the oven cook time, washing machine cycle, and refrigerator defrost at the most cost-effective or convenient times. Smart Access allows homeowners to control and monitor appliances from outside of the home and, better yet, control LG's HOM-BOT robotic vacuum cleaner to clean or remotely view the house and even feed the dog. LG's smart refrigerators can count and display the number of times the door is opened and alert home owners when the door is ajar. Alerts can also be scheduled when the ice-maker is switched off or the washing machine is off balance or a load is finished. LCD displays on LG's Thinq appliances show daily, weekly, or monthly reports detailing each appliance's energy consumption. Naturally, you can access daily totals from your smartphone or tablet as well. New Smart Diagnosis features include downloadable diagnostic information and the ability to hit a few buttons on the appliance to emit a series of tones to assist LG technicians troubleshooting problems over the phone. The food management feature works by dragging and dropping food icons around the LCD display or by using built-in voice recognition. Unfortunately, the inventory must be managed manually making this feature pretty useless for all but the most obsessive of home owners. All the appliances are software upgradeable with the ability to download new features like pre-programmed recipes and advanced wash cycles. It all sounds very intriguing but we'll have to see it demonstrated live before we're convinced of its usefulness. Until then we've got a few pics of the user interface and one of washer and dryer! pair in the gallery below.

Gallery: LG Thinq links your home appliances with WiFi

Continue reading LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps

LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with W! iFi and smartphone apps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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