Monday, February 06, 2012

Nokia reveals polarizing secrets of ClearBlack display

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/06/nokia-how-clearblack-display-works/

Nokia's revealing the secrets behind ClearBlack: its display technology that, even under the brightest sunlight, renders black as black as blackest night during a dark spell. Wedged above the E7, Lumia 800 and 900 displays are three thin layers, a linear polarizer, a quarter-wave retardation film and a reflecting surface. When light enters the first layer, it vertically aligns the "wave vibration" of the light so when it hits the retardation layer, it begins to rotate towards the right. Hitting the reflecting surface causes it to reverse, becoming left-circularly polarized before passing through the retardation later again, where it polarizes horizontally. This enables the polarizing filter up top to screen out horizontally polarized light, meaning it doesn't reflect back in your face. Why (we hear you ask) then doesn't it happen with the light from the display itself? Because it only passes through the second half of the process, it doesn't become horizontally aligned, leading to that beautifully dark display reaching your peepers. It's a clever and elegant solution that we can't help but be impressed at, even if we've used up the world's supply of the word 'polarize' in order to explain to you.

Nokia reveals polarizing secrets of ClearBlack display originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scammers Use Impostor Apps to Flood the Android Marketplace With Malware [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5882776/scammers-use-impostor-apps-to-flood-the-android-marketplace-with-malware

Scammers Use Impostor Apps to Flood the Android Marketplace With MalwareAndroid apps such as Jetpack Joyride, Madden NFL 12, Pinterest and Batman Arkham City Lockdown are rife with malware. But these aren't the official apps. No, they're merely impostor apps that have snuck past the security gates of the Android Market.

According to Android Police, a scam outfit calling itself Rovio Mobile Ltd. (yes, it's even ripping off the name of the Angry Birds developer) has committed the most blatant form of IP theft and are duping people into infecting their phone with apps intended to collect your info and spam your inbox. And MSNBC says that's not all:

Also found lurking the Android Market is a phony version of the Pinterest app, the popular new online pinboard. The bogus Pinterest app, from the ironically named developer "Official Android App," installs other apps without the user's permission.

A glance at the user reviews for "Jetpack Joyride" tells the true tale of the game's intentions.

"Will not let me enter my email address to download the full version! What a load of rubbish," wrote a user named Bethanie on Feb. 5.

Beware what developers you're downloading from. [Android Police via MSNBC]

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Google HUD Glasses Might Be a Real, Actual Thing [Google X]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5882798/google-hud-glasses-might-be-a-real-actual-thing

Google HUD Glasses Might Be a Real, Actual ThingIron Man's HUD display is one of the cooler effects in sci-fi movies, and Google X is apparently pretty darn close to cramming similar tech in a pair of glasses you can buy in the real world.

A 9to5google tipster got to see a prototype pair, and says that they look similar to Oakley Thumps glasses that have a front-facing camera, voice recognition, and navigation/input handled by tilting your head. The guts apparently resemble last generation's Android phones, while HUD itself is only in one eye (and off to the side) because it's not transparent like Tony Stark's tech. It had been previously reported that the device is not simply an "Android peripheral."

The glasses are still a long way from completion, but Google is reportedly looking into a pilot program like it did with Chromebooks. Anything that gets these things on my face faster is all right with me. [9to5google]

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Intel SSD 520 review roundup: Intel reliability, SandForce speeds starting at $149

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/06/intel-ssd-520-review-roundup-intel-reliability-sandforce-speed/

There's plenty of SSD options out there, but Intel's NAND drives are among the most well thought of, simply because they're so reliable. But, with the top speed of competing SSDs spiraling higher, Intel's rock-solid reputation may not be enough for some enthusiasts. Enter the SSD 520, with a performance SandForce SF-2281 controller and custom firmware (codenamed Cherryville) on board to ensure the 520 meets Chipzilla's demanding standards for stability. It's the result of a year and a half long collaboration between Intel and SandForce, and is available in both 7mm and 9.5mm thin form factors to fit any machine -- Ultrabook or otherwise. Aside from the SandForce chip, the 520 packs Intel's finest 25nm NAND Flash, a SATA 6GB/s connection and its 550MB/s reads and 520MB/s writes can be had for $149 in 60GB garb and prices escalate up to a grand for 480GB. Naturally, as this is Intel's effort to snatch back the performance market, a raft of reviews have been written about the SSD 520.

So, how does the 520 stack up? Well, Intel's so confident in the 520 that it's backed the SSD with a five-year warranty. Though its performance doesn't drastically outpace its competition, Storage Review found the drive to be on par with the current speed king, OCZ's Vertex 3 in its benchmarks -- and also found performance and stability to be quite good in both enterprise use and in RAID ar! rays. Me anwhile, AnandTech found that the 520's peak random write speeds quite similar to its sequential reads during testing, which shows how well the optimized firmware works with the NAND. Hot Hardware thought the 520 to be comparable to other SandForce-equipped SSDs, but in terms of power consumption, Tom's Hardware found Intel's latest to be a power hog. Generally, all the reviewers were in agreement: the 520 is a speedy SSD, but you pay a hefty premium for Intel's reputation for churning out reliable drives. Only time will tell if the 520 can deliver the reliability we want, but there's plenty of performance info to be had in the reviews listed below.

Intel SSD 520 review roundup: Intel reliability, SandForce speeds starting at $149 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA's 2012 Kepler lineup revealed (possibly)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/06/nvidia-kepler-roadmap-leak/

As usual, it seems like whenever a big chip company wants to keep those key details under wraps, someone leaves a spreadsheet lying in a bar. Of course, the following information could be the product of a vengeful former employee mashing at a keyboard, so let's agree that these are rumored details until further notice. NVIDIA's whole range of Kepler-powered graphics cards will be PCI-E 3.0 compliant, with the GTX960 topping the group at $999 when it arrives in Q3 of this year, while the modestly-priced GTX640 will retail for $139 when it arrives in May. If you'd like to drill down into the specifics of all eight cards purportedly on offer for 2012, we've got all the details in a handy chart nestled just after the interval.

Continue reading NVIDIA's 2012 Kepler lineup revealed (possibly)

NVIDIA's 2012 Kepler lineup revealed (possibly) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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