Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/motorola-xoom-wifi-to-get-android-3-1-update-within-the-next-se/

Google said yesterday that the new limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be getting updated to Android 3.1 in the next couple of weeks, and it looks like it will be a similar situation with the WiFi-only Xoom. Motorola has just announced that it will receive the update "within the next several weeks." It also reaffirmed that the Verizon 3G Xoom is rolling out over the air this week, so you should be receiving it soon if you haven't already. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks'

Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 10:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus Black review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/lg-optimus-black-review/

If you asked us to design our ideal Android phone, it might well end up looking like LG's Optimus Black. The handset that was once known under the codename "B" features a clean, elegant and exceedingly thin exterior, which is garnished with a 4-inch IPS display capable of generating 700 nits of brightness. There's the usual litany of added features, too, like a 5 megapixel shooter with the ability to record 720p video, a special G-Key for motion controls, and Wi-Fi Direct for peer-to-peer file transfers. Of course, looks and headline features are just the tip of the iceberg that is user experience, so if you want to know about the mountainous whole, join us after the break for a deep dive with LG's latest Android phone.

Continue reading LG Optimus Black review

LG Optimus Black review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google makes Chome Web Store available worldwide, adds in-app purchases and flat five percent fee

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/google-makes-chome-web-store-available-worldwide-adds-in-app-pu/

Google has just announced that it's making the Chrome Web Store available to the "entire userbase of Chrome," and in 41 different languages no less, although those outside the current markets will apparently only have access to free apps initially. What's more, it's also now added in-app purchases to the mix -- which it notes developers can add to their apps with "literally one line of code" -- and it's announced that it plans to "keep it simple" by simply charging developers a flat five percent fee instead of opting for some of the more complicated fee structures out there. As for how the Web Store has been doing so far, Google revealed that there has been 17 million app installs to date, although it provided few details beyond that.

Developing... see our liveblog of Google's I/O 2011 keynote for the latest.

Google makes Chome Web Store available worldwide, adds in-app purchases and flat five percent fee originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect Has Finally Found Its Way Into the Women's Change Room [Video]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5800705/kinect-has-finally-found-its-way-into-the-womens-change-room

European clothing giant TopShop ran a little test in a Moscow store recently: hook a Kinect camera up to a mirror and let the ladies try on clothes without having to actually try them on.

It sounds good in theory, and in some instances looks good in theory, but its practical use is limited somewhat by the fact they're at an actual store. With change rooms available, and the clothes actually in their hands. Why see a poorly-fitting virtual representation of an outfit when you can walk ten metres and see what it looks like in the flesh?

Still, it's a neat idea!

Link Chevron[via TDW]

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Google Music: An Island in the Cloud [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5800597/google-music-an-island-in-the-cloud

Google Music: An Island in the CloudThe promise of Google Music is that it lets you listen to music anywhere. Aces! Except, for all the unifying promises of its online locker, Google Music does kinda the same thing as your hard drive: It isolates your songs.

It's basically the Skull Island of music services.

You know how it works: You take the music you already own and upload it to the Web where you can get at it from your phone or browser. Essentially, you're taking the island of music on your computer and dropping it in the cloud.

But it's still an island. It's still a self-contained unit. You have to manage it yourself. It won't grow unless you manually add tracks to it. There's no serendipitous discovery. No social component. No Pandora or Last.fm-style suggestions that drop tracks you've never heard before, but already love. Google isn't offering you a vast, new catalog. It's just offering to hold your shit for you.

You know what would have been a really exciting announcement? If Google announced that it was finally commoditizing music. That—not some online tune ghetto—is the next step for music services. That's the leap we need to make.

Consider NavTeq. Garmin, Magellan , Yahoo Maps, Mapquest, Lowrence, and even XM Radio all rely on the same NavTeq data set. Garmin and Magellan can set themselves apart with pricing, features and form factors, even though both use the same basic commodity to deliver what users ultimately want.

At some point in the future music services—like Rdio and Spotify and likely iTunes and God help me even fucking Rhapsody—will likely be completely commoditized. They'll all have the same catalogue, but will differentiate themselves by their discovery, sharing, interface and delivery features.

I don't want another place to simply store songs. I don't want to be isolated. I want to connect with new albums and people and artists. I don't want to just move from one island to another. I'm ready to be rescued.

*Assuming your library fits in Google or Amazon's locker. If it's too big, you're still going to have to keep some of it on that island in your desktop.

Image: Shutterstock

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