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Friday, October 07, 2011

drag2share: Xoom 4G LTE upgrades boomerang back with Honeycomb update, microSD card support now a go

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/xoom-4g-lte-upgrades-boomerang-back-with-honeycomb-update-micro/

Xoom owners that hastily shipped off their slates for an LTE upgrade are in for a surprise. Turns out the newly equipped 4G tablets are not only being expediently returned, but also come with an upgrade to version 3.2.2 of Honeycomb. Details of just what's been included in the new firmware are scant, but the main takeaway from Verizon's overhaul is the now functional microSD slot. That's right, unless you were privy to that non-U.S. Android 3.1 update or installed the Tiamat kernel, you'll now finally be granted read/write access to your microSD card. It seems wishes do come true in Big Red land, you just have to practice extreme patience.

Xoom 4G LTE upgrades boomerang back with Honeycomb update, microSD card support now a go originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: ASUS Ultrabooks are actually Zenbooks?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/asus-ultrabooks-are-actually-zenbooks/

ASUS has a big event next week in the Big Apple, where the super slim UX21 and UX31 will be revealed. Granted, the company said it'll be showing off "the real Ultrabook," on October 11th, but the eagle-eyed folks at Notebook Italia spied some evidence that the laptops in question will be called Zenbooks instead. Proof of the new moniker was found in the title of the information request form on the ASUS UX countdown site, but it was gone when we looked for ourselves. Guess we'll just have to wait and see whether the newest thin and light laptops are, indeed, PCs possessing inner peace.

ASUS Ultrabooks are actually Zenbooks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Real Racing 2 shows off iPhone 4S' graphical chops, brings split screen gaming to iOS (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/real-racing-2-shows-off-iphone-4s-graphical-chops-brings-split/

Rearing to make the most of the iPhone 4S' new AirPlay compatibility? How about streaming not just one device to your big screen, but four? That's the setup Firemint is teasing for its next big update to Real Racing 2: four-player streaming over AirPlay. The apps' upcoming "Party Play" feature lets an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S play host to up to three additional iOS devices running the game, piping the stream for all four to your boob tube via Apple TV. The update also promises to make the most of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S' A5 processor, kicking the graphics up a notch. Now you can relive those lazy summer days playing Mario Kart in your friends garage, albeit with faster cars and minus those infuriating blue shells.

Real Racing 2 shows off iPhone 4S' graphical chops, brings split screen gaming to iOS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, October 06, 2011

drag2share: Galaxy Nexus: The First Ice Cream Sandwich Android Phone Has a Killer 720p Screen [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5847288/galaxy-nexus-the-first-ice-cream-sandwich-android-phone-has-a-killer-720p-screen

It's looking like the Nexus Prime we've been talking about is actually the Galaxy Nexus. This first Android 4.0 phone will be revealed next Tuesday and if these leaked specs are right, it's going to be one hell of a device.

With the iPhone 4S leaving us a bit underwhelmed, the door is open for Android to make a big move. BGR has received some intel from a trusted source, and the full specs are as follows:

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 9mm thin
• 4.65-inch 1280 x 720-pixel Super AMOLED HD with curved glass
• TI OMAP 4460 dual-core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2GHz
• 1GB of RAM
• 32GB of built-in storage
• 5-megapixel camera on the back, 1.3-megapixel in the front
• 1080p HD video capture support
• LTE/HSPA depending on carrier
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
• NFC
• 1,750 mAh battery

Those are some serious specs. It's not the five-core Kal-El processor we were hoping for, but oh man, that's screen. By my caculations it'll have a pixel density of 316ppi, which is just a smidge under the 326ppi of the iPhone 4 (and 4S). Doing it on a Super AMOLED screen, though, is going to be awesome. It's also a pure Google Experience device, which means there won't be any custom skins or bloatware weighing it down. It is rumored to be a Verizon exclusive, which makes me question the HSPA radio mentioned above, but perhaps it's to be a world phone? Who knows, this could all be bogus.

While this all sounds great, the real star of the show will be Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which we still know next to nothing about, other than it's supposed to bridge the gap between Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) and Honeycomb (Android 3.x). If it's a major improvement then you can expect a gigantic winter for the little green robot. We'll be live-blogging the grand unveiling next week, so stay tuned. [BGR via DroidLife]

(Note: The image above is of the Nexus S, not the Galaxy Nexus. Don't freak out.)

Update #1:Yesterday we posted this teaser video from Samsung. At the end of it a light pans across the Galaxy Nexus, which reveals it, but we never see the whole thing all at once. Well, a very clever Reddit user used some photoshop wizardry to make a composite of the image all lit up. It gives us our clearest view of the phone yet. Thanks, Greyhaven7! Here's the video for reference. [Reddit]

You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter.

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drag2share: Picsicle Turns Mobile Photos Into Full-Size Postcards And Ships Them Anywhere In The World For $1.99

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/picsicle-turns-mobile-photos-into-full-size-postcards-and-ship-them-anywhere-in-the-world-for-199-2011-10

picsicle frank denbow

Last month, mobile photo editor Aviary held a Hack Day and it gave developer Frank Denbow an idea.

Using Aviary's API and Sincerely's Postagram API, he built a new app, Picsicle, which is launching today.

Picsicle is like Postagram in that it turns mobile photos into post cards on the fly for cheap. It's just a little more souped up.

Postagram's post cards are standard and black, with a 3x3 photo area. But Picsicle turns the entire image into the 4x6 card, with a blank space for text on the back side. In addition, Picsicle uses Aviary's API to offer instant touch ups to images. The Picsicle sender can reduce red eye, tweak colors, add speech bubbles, crop the image, and more.

Denbow isn't sure if he'll turn Picsicle into a full-fledged business, or if he'll keep creating apps. He currently owns Songsicle, an app that lets users send music to friends.

The below image shows how Picsicle works. You can send an image postcard to anyone in the world for a $1.99 flat fee.

picsicle

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drag2share: Rdio launches free, non-ad-supported streaming for US users, meter to keep you in check

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/rdio-launches-free-non-ad-supported-streaming-for-us-users-met/

Ad-free, on-demand streaming is coming your way, folks -- and it won't cost you a dime. Rdio has announced the launch of its free service that will give you access to a library of over 12 million songs without being interrupted by pesky Spotify-esque advertisements. The no cost subscription won't require you to give up your credit card info either, but, you will get a "customized meter" that will let you know how much music you can access monthly. No word yet on how much time you'll have, but any amount of time with the Radiohead discography is sure to be of use. You'll be able to listen via the web or desktop app without grabbing a paid membership, but if you want Rdio's tunes on your phone, it'll cost you $9.99 per month. Also, from what we've heard, this is only available in the US -- for now. If you're looking for the full rundown then hit the PR below for all the details.

Continue reading Rdio launches free, non-ad-supported streaming for US users, meter to keep you in check

Rdio launches free, non-ad-supported streaming for US users, meter to keep you in check originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Mergely Compares and Merges Text in Your Browser [Text Editor]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5846802/mergely-compares-and-merges-text-in-your-browser

Mergely is a simple text differentiation webapp that lets you compare and edit two pieces of text in your web browser.

When you get started, you'll be able to either paste two pieces of text into the boxes, or type up something new on the fly. If you paste in two, Mergely will highlight all the lines with differences so you can edit or change them if need be. It's an easy, quick way to compare files and edits online, with no need for a username or password. You can save the files and get a direct link to send to others for further comparison, or never save it and the contents are immediately removed.

Mergely | via Addictive Tips

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drag2share: Google Docs Updates to Bring an Enhanced Experience to Android Tablets [Updates]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5846939/google-docs-updates-to-bring-an-enhanced-experience-to-android-tablets

Google Docs on your Honeycomb-based Android tablet just got a little better. Google added a three-pane view (much like the Gmail app) for better browsing and autocomplete of names/email address when sharing documents with others. Although a fairly minor update, the changes should make using Google Docs on your tablet quite a bit easier as you'll have quicker access to pretty much everything. For all the details, hit up the full post on the Google Mobile Blog.

An enhanced Google Docs experience on Android tablets | Google Mobile Blog

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

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drag2share: Channel.me Is an Easy Way to Share Web Sites with Friends [Collaboration]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5847235/channelme-is-an-easy-way-to-share-web-sites-with-friends

If you're looking for a way to share a web site or collaborate over a web page with a friend but you don't want to install anything to do it, Channel.me can help. The service offers simultaneous browser sharing, real-time chat, and the ability to add notes and comments right on the page.

Channel.me works much like Google Docs: you can highlight text on a page, add comments and notes to different sections of a web page, and then chat with the other people in your shared browser session. You can both search the page in real-time, and when one of you clicks a link or navigates forward or back, the other people in the session are notified before the action goes through. There are even Chrome and Firefox extensions you can install to start a sharing session from any web site without visiting Channel.me first.

The service is ideal for people who need to look at a web site at the same time, but have never worked together or are on systems where they can't install new software. Channel.me only works for browser sessions, which makes it less feature-rich than previously mentioned QuickScreenShare, and much less effective than other, more robust remote support and control tools. However, it's completely free and doesn't require special software to work.

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+.

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drag2share: Image Sharing Service Minus Updates its Browser Extensions for Quick Uploading and Editing [Extensions]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5847239/image-sharing-service-minus-updates-its-browser-extensions-for-quick-uploading-and-editing

Chrome/Firefox: If you're a fan of previously mentioned photo and file upload service Minus, its new browser extensions just made uploading images, taking screenshots, and editing the images you upload much easier.

The new Minus extensions can take screenshots of your entire browser window and instantly upload it to your Minus account and set hotkeys to make it easy to do it quickly. Once installed, you can also right-click any image on the web and upload it, edit it in Aviary, see your previous uploads, and manage your account.

Minus is still free to all users, and new users get 10GB of space to store and share images and files. The new extensions are available now at Mozilla Add-Ons and in the Chrome Web Store.

Minus Firefox and Chrome Extension | Minus Blog

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+.

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drag2share: Back in Time for iPad: See the History of the Universe in 24 Hours [IPad Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5847074/back-in-time-for-ipad-see-the-history-of-the-universe-in-24-hours

I've said many time before that the best iPad apps are those that combine coffee-table styled books with the fluid nature of the iPad's interface. Back in Time is just that, it's the story of the entire history of our universe made interactive on the iPad.

What's it do?

The app takes you back in time, from the moment of the Big Bang to now, 13.7 billion years later. There's 300 stunning images, more than a 100 animations, videos and timelines and countless fun little facts that you probably didn't know about our universe. You basically twirl a clock's hands around to see the defining moments of our history, jumping million of years at a time to see what type of life, if any, existed back then. There's articles explaining more about the phenomenons that happened and it's all packaged in an uber-slick interface that kids and adults will enjoy using.

Why do we like it?

I'm not a big science person but I'm in awe of how tiny we are in the larger scope of space. Back in Time shows us just how small we are by showing you how long the history of the universe is. 13.7 billion years! It's a learning experience wrapped up in a very visual experience. I can't help but keep fast forwarding the pseudo-clock to find out more about different periods of time in our universe. The imagery is especially stunning too, my jaw drops at the detail of the videos. One thing that's both good and bad though: it's a 600MB+ app so it's freaking huge but it doesn't need the Internet to work so it's decently fast.

Back in Time

Download this app for:

iPad, $8

The Best

Stunning imagery

The Worst

HUGE app

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drag2share: Dell announces Inspiron One 2320 touchscreen all-in-one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/05/dell-announces-inspiron-one-2320-touchscreen-all-in-one/

Over the past few weeks, we've seen HP and Toshiba freshen up their all-in-ones, while Samsung made a belated jump into the market just last week. Today, it's Dell's turn -- the company just announced an addition to its all-in-one lineup, the 23-inch Inspiron One 2320. Funnily enough, the new design reminds us somewhat of the PCs HP trotted out last month in that it has an easel-like display with enough space underneath to stow the keyboard, although this one doesn't have a tilting screen. Spec-wise, it's well-matched against the competition, with a 1080p touchscreen, Intel Wireless Display capability, optional NVIDIA GeForce GT525M graphics, six USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-in, a Blu-ray option and up to 2TB in storage. (For whatever reason, USB 3.0 didn't make the cut.) That starting price of $950 will get you a Core i5-2400S CPU and 6GB of RAM, but if you have an extra $450 lying around you can step up to a Core i7-2600S processor with 8GB of memory. Wrapping it all up, the 2320 runs Dell's touch-friendly Stage UI, the latest version of which lets you sync photos and other media across different devices. We've rounded up a few glossy press shots below, but hit the source link if you're curious enough for the full spill.

Gallery: Dell Inspiron One 2320

Continue reading Dell announces Inspiron One 2320 touchscreen all-in-one

Dell announces Inspiron One 2320 touchscreen all-in-one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: India's $35 tablet is here, for real. Called Aakash, costs $60

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/05/indias-35-tablet-is-here-for-real-called-aakash-costs-60/

India's much-hyped $35 tablet for students is a reality. But, like every other super-cheap education project, the price has jumped -- though in this case only to Rs 2,999 ($60). It turns out that the Aakash is actually an Ubislate 7 from Datawind (makers of the Pocketsurfer). Beneath the 7-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen is a 366MHz Connexant CPU, 256MB of RAM and 2GB of storage (expandable via microSD) running Froyo and the Getjar market on top. The battery life is rated for a rather short three hours, and much less if you want to play HD video. In addition to the 802.11 a/b/g WiFi chip, you also get a GPRS modem to stay connected in rural areas. We wish India's HRD Minster Kapil Sibal's pet project all the best and if you want to see the device held snugly inside a Rs 300 ($7) keyboard folio, check out the picture after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading India's $35 tablet is here, for real. Called Aakash, costs $60

India's $35 tablet is here, for real. Called Aakash, costs $60 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: NEC LaVie Touch hands-on (updated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/05/nec-lavie-touch-hands-on/

Originally scheduled for a September launch under the VersaPro type VT moniker, NEC's LaVie Touch Windows 7 tablet is finally hitting the Japanese market next week. Alas, there are still no plans on an international release for this 10.1-inch Atom Z670-powered device, but at CEATEC we were lucky enough to stumble upon it along with its DVD dock and wireless input peripherals -- all included for ¥99,960 ($1,300), which is a huge drop from the original ¥144,000 ($1,873) customizable bundle.

Despite the slightly more sensible pricing, is the LaVie Touch still worth the money? Probably a stretch given the much cheaper offerings from the likes of Acer and Samsung, but regardless, kudos to NEC for keeping its tablet's weight just under 730g (1.6 pounds) while promising 10.6 hours of battery life. For comparison's sake, the Acer Iconia W500 weighs 970g (2.14 pounds) and only packs up to six hours worth of battery juice. The NEC tablet felt firm in our hands and its IPS LCD didn't disappoint, though Windows 7 on this particular unit was slightly laggy during our hands-on, so be sure to check it out in the stores first before you hand over your hard-earned yen.

Update: We just found out that Yodobashi Camera has just started selling the LaVie Touch, so we went along to Akihabara to check out the final product. Alas, Windows 7 was still sluggish, whereas the AMD C-50-powered Iconia W500 in the next aisle handled pinch-to-zoom rather well, despite the less impressive LCD.

NEC LaVie Touch hands-on (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Android on HP TouchPad: yes, there's an app for that (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/05/android-on-hp-touchpad-yes-theres-an-app-for-that-video/

TouchPad firesale hysteria may have finally died down, but those of you with newly acquired HP slates should pay attention. A poster by the name of Chomper has uploaded a walkthrough of Android running atop webOS. Yes, you may have seen that particular feat before, but this time 'round the appropriated Google OS gets the emulated treatment. The mobile platform, installed via an .ipk, is accessible as an app and appears to run somewhat smoothly, although certain tics become noticeable when switching between homescreens or attempting to playback YouTube video. Audio and multi-touch have both yet to be successfully implemented in this rogue use of Android, and there's also a pesky power off issue that requires a hard reset of the system. Still, it's good to see the dev community doing what it does best, and inching us ever closer to a Rubin afterlife on HP's deceased tab. Skip past the break for a silent video tour.

Continue reading Android on HP TouchPad: yes, there's an app for that (video)

Android on HP TouchPad: yes, there's an app for that (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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