Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

NYT: Google to sell Android-based heads-up display glasses this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/nyt-google-to-sell-android-based-heads-up-display-glasses-this/

It's not the first time that rumors have surfaced of Google working on some heads-up display glasses (9 to 5 Google first raised the possibility late last year), but The New York Times is now reporting that the company is not only working on them, but that it's set to release them by the end of this year. Citing "several Google employees familiar with the project," the paper's Nick Bilton reports that the glasses will be based on Android, pack 3G or 4G connectivity, plus GPS and a range of sensors, and cost "around the price of current smartphones," or somewhere between $250 and $600. They're also said to include a low-resolution camera that can monitor your surroundings in real time and overlay relevant information, although Google is said to be paying attention to potential privacy concerns, and "wants to ensure that people know if they are being recorded by someone wearing a pair of glasses with a built-in camera."

What's more, the Times says that none other than Sergey Brin is a "key leader" on the project, with another being Google engineer Steve Lee, the creator of Latitude. Notably, Bilton also says that Google sees the project as an "experiment that anyone will be able to join," and that the company is not currently thinking about potential business models for the glasses, which could suggest that they may be more of a small-scale hobby than part of a major push into consumer hardware.

NYT: Google to sell Android-based heads-up displa! y glasse s this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus 3D Max is a slimmer sequel, world's first phone with 3D video editing

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/lg-optimus-3d-cube/

We're not sure if the world was anxiously awaiting a follow-up to LG's Optimus 3D (the AT&T Thrill 4G here in the states), but here it is: the LG Optimus 3D Max -- or Optimus 3D Cube, depending on your country. The latter's been announced for Korean carrier SK Telecom, with the former rolling out to Europe later. The Optimus 3D Max is slightly thinner than its predecessor at 9.6mm vs. the Thrill 4G's 11.9mm, with a faster 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 16GB of storage built-in, confirming most of the rumors we'd heard previously. According to LG, it will also be the world's first that can handle 3D photo and video editing right on its glasses-free 4.3-inch screen, all shot by the dual 5MP cameras mounted on the back. It also has NFC baked in to support the new LG Tag+ stickers that change the phone's settings when swiped, just like the Optimus LTE Tag. It's scheduled for release in early March with Android 2.3, but we're promised an Ice Cream Sandwich makeover soon after launch, just like its cousin, the Optimus Vu. Check out the full list of specs after the break and expect to us to get a firsthand look when Mobile World Congress kicks off on the 27th.

Update: It looks like it'll also arrive in Europe with a new name; the Optimus 3D Max. Check the full English PR release below.

Gallery: LG Optimus 3D Cube

Continue reading LG Optimus 3D Max is a slimmer sequel, world's first phone with 3D video editing

LG Optimus 3D Max is a slimmer sequel, world's first phone with 3D video editing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Select' PS Vita apps hit the US PlayStation Store: Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr (Update: video hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/select-ps-vita-apps-hit-the-us-playstation-store-netflix-liv/

Did you just brave the lines of a midnight launch party and snag yourself a PS Vita in the US? Good news ye early adopters, Sony's PlayStation.Blog.US has just announced that select free apps will be available as part of today's PlayStation Store update. Currently, you'll find Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr, but there's still nary of trace of Facebook or Foursquare among the bunch (nor any official word on release dates for that matter). We gave each app a download and quick spin prior to them being officially listed without much in the way of hiccups -- however, Netflix does take its sweet time to start-up. Disappointingly, Vita's 20MB cap on 3G data is totally in effect on Netflix, as switching to our cellular connection denied us any access to the service. We're giving the apps some extended use to bring you our initial impressions shortly, but for now, you'll find more info at the source link below.

Update: We've added a brief video hands-on just past the break to let you grab a taste of each app before downloading them for yourself.

Continue reading 'Select' PS Vita apps hit the US PlayStation Store: Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr (Update: video hands-on)

'Select' PS Vita apps hit the US PlayStation Store: Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr (Update: video hands-on) or! iginally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell XPS 13 manuals leak, spill the Ultrabook's guts all over the internet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/dell-xps-13-manuals-leak-spill-the-ultrabooks-guts-all-over-th/

Perhaps you've had your eye on Dell's XPS 13 since we showed you a pre-production model last month, but were looking to learn a bit more about it before buying one? Well, you're in luck, because a spate of manuals for the thing has shown up online, giving you plenty of info on the Ultrabook before its official debut. The owner's manual is of particular interest, as it shows you how to do your very own iFixit teardown -- with pictures and instructions on how to remove many of the Dell's parts, including the keyboard, battery, and even the I/O board, too. Naturally, there's also a quick start guide and a full spec sheet available for download as well, so what are you waiting for? Head on down to the source link for a heavy dose of all the newest, slimmest Dell has to offer.

Dell XPS 13 manuals leak, spill the Ultrabook's guts all over the internet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Bing's two new 'death to print, death to retail' features get detailed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/bing-vision-image-matching-newspapers/

Bing's two new 'death to print, death to retail' features get detailed

Ever felt like Bing wasn't for retail stores or print journalism? The two latest Windows Phone updates won't dispel that fantasy, sadly. Bing Vision been update so it can read Barcodes, CD, DVD and Book Covers so you can find out how much cheaper the item in your hand is if ordered online. Image Matching for Newspapers won't arrive until March, but you'll be able to snap a photo of an article you've seen in a local rag and, if its in Microsoft's database, you'll be linked directly to the original version of the article online. That's brick and mortar retail and newspapers taken care of, we'll be waiting around to see what's next on Bing's hit-list -- orphanages, probably.

Bing's two new 'death to print, death to retail' features get detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Origin PC launches new 3D gaming laptop: two graphics cards for three dimensions

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/origin-pc-launches-new-3d-gaming-laptop-two-graphics-cards-for/

Hot on the heels of its dimensionally-average predecessor, Origin's revealed a second, 3D-capable, desktop-replacing laptop; stereoscopic gamers, rejoice. This EON17-X3D utilizes a pair of overclocked GPUs, with 3D panoramas provided by a pair of NVIDIA's 3D Vision 2 wireless glasses -- although you'll have to buy them extra. Hardware-wise, it's a similar story to the EON17-X, with a back-lit keyboard and the same-size 17.3-inch display -- the 3D function is actually a customization choice for the original model. Build options for this chunky gaming beast also include up to 32GB of quad channel memory and two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M GPUs in SLI on the priciest custom build. The basic model will set you back around $3,030, but an eye-catching paint job? That's going to cost a little extra.

Continue reading Origin PC launches new 3D gaming laptop: two graphics cards for three dimensions

Origin PC launches new 3D gaming laptop: two graphics cards for three dimensions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moneto's $30 Android mobile payment kit goes on sale, brings contactless payments to six Samsungs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/monetos-30-android-mobile-payment-kit-goes-on-sale-brings-con/

Moneto's $30 Android mobile payment kit goes on sale, brings contactless payments to four Samsungs

Not everyone's smartphone has NFC, and of those that do, an even smaller subset have official Google Wallet support. It would seem Mountain View's complacency is Moneto's gain, as the outfit's recently put up for sale its $30 NFC-enabled microSD card -- enabling plebes everywhere sans contactless circuitry to sashay their way into mobile payment heaven. That card is also stuffed with 1GB of storage for your exploits and those plunking down three Hamiltons are also privy to a $10 credit thrown in. There's one caveat, however, as per its website the service currently only works on variants of the Galaxy S (including carrier permutations like the Vibrant, Fascinate and Galaxy S 4G). Support for an additional forty devices is inbound but before committing, we'd peep the latest compatibility info from the horse's mouth in the more coverage link we've included below.

Continue reading Moneto's $30 Android mobile payment kit goes on sale, brings contactless payments to six Samsungs

Moneto's $30 Android mobile payment kit goes on sale, brings contactless payments to six Samsungs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZTE Mimosa X official: ICS, Tegra 2, HSPA+ and 4.3-inch qHD display, arriving in Q2

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/zte-mimosa-x-announced/

And then there were three. Not 24 hours after announcing a pair of Android 4.0 handsets, ZTE is back with the Mimosa X, a 4.3-inch, HSPA+ device running Ice Cream Sandwich. Interestingly, this is the first time since NVIDIA acquired wireless chip maker Icera that we've seen a phone packing both Tegra 2 and an NVIDIA-made modem (in this case, the 21Mbps-capable Icera 450). In its press release, NVIDIA also goes so far as to say this is the first time "a premium mobile computing experience is coming to the mainstream smartphone market," as if Tegra 3 hadn't already pushed Tegra 2 down into mid-range territory. Anyhow, marketing spin aside, this is indeed a middle-of-the-road device, with a qHD (960 x 540) display, 5-megapixel camera and 4GB of internal storage. It also supports A2DP Bluetooth and DLNA, and makes room for dual mics and a gyroscope. No word yet on how much it'll cost or even what markets it'll hit, though we do know it will go on sale sometime in Q2. Until then, something tells us we might get our first look much sooner, sometime in Barcelona next week.

Continue reading ZTE Mimosa X official: ICS, Tegra 2, HSPA+ and 4.3-inch qHD display, arriving in Q2

ZTE Mimosa X official: ICS, Tegra 2, HSPA+ and 4.3-inch qHD display, arriving in Q2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:30! :00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/google-buys-cuils-search-related-patent-applications/

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications

Google's been buying a fair amount of IP over the past several months from IBM, and now the Big G has acquired seven new patent applications from the now-defunct search engine, Cuil. Back in 2008, Cuil aimed to take Google's crown as the king of search, but was shut down 2010 because it often failed to provide relevant results (despite its massive site index). Good thing the patent apps Google's gotten are for different methods of displaying search results, as opposed to, you know, finding them. The full list of assignments can be found at the source below, so head on down to get your fill of patent claims and black and white drawings.

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/qualcomm-krait-s4-soc-fully-benchmarked/

Qualcomm Krait S4 benchmarks

We've seen it, touched it and we fully expect it'll be turning heads in Barcelona next week, but until now Qualcomm's Krait chip has largely escaped the rigors of independent benchmarking. Fortunately, AnandTech has to come to our rescue once again with a characteristically thorough analysis at the source link. Those blue and green charts can speak for themselves, but if you're in a rush then here's the rub of it: the Krait truly is a next-gen SoC, with the dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960-powered reference handset delivering an "insane performance advantage" of between 20 percent and 240 percent on CPU benchmarks. As we glimpsed recently, graphics performance is somewhat less ground-breaking but still very healthy, with the 28nm process allowing the Adreno 225 GPU to run at up to 400MHz, versus 266MHz on its Adreno 220 predecessor. Oh yes, this is going to be one mother of an MWC.

Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Single atom transistors point to the future of quantum computers, death of Moore's law

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/single-atom-transistors-point-to-the-future-of-quantum-computers/

Single Atom Transistor

Transistors -- the basic building block of the complex electronic devices around you. Literally billions of them make up that Core i7 in your gaming rig and Moore's law says that number will double every 18 months as they get smaller and smaller. Researchers at the University of New South Wales may have found the limit of this basic computational rule however, by creating the world's first single atom transistor. A single phosphorus atom was placed into a silicon lattice and read with a pair of extremely tiny silicon leads that allowed them to observe both its transistor behavior and its quantum state. Presumably this spells the end of the road for Moore's Law, as it would seem all but impossible to shrink transistors any farther. But, it could also points to a future featuring miniaturized solid-state quantum computers.

Single atom transistors point to the future of quantum computers, death of Moore's law originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pantech Element review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/pantech-element-review/

You've heard of singin' in the rain (and have likely seen the movie). You may have even attempted it once or twice, but tableting in the midst of a downpour? That doesn't exactly conjure the same whimsy and spontaneous dance numbers. Yet, Pantech's making such joyous, on-the-go content consumption possible with the aptly named Element. It's yet another addition to the growing stable of LTE devices propping up AT&T's newly expanded 4G fort. Rather than run the risk of this being seen as another garden-variety Honeycomb tablet, though, Pantech's imbued this guy with waterproofing.

Of course, that's not all this skinned Android slate's bringing to the party. With a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 CPU complemented by 1GB RAM, a 1024 x 768 TFT XGA display and a healthy 6,400mAh battery, this impermeable tab stands on equal spec footing with its post-PC peers. At $299 on two-year contract, it's certainly priced to sell, but should you dish out the dollars for a middle-ground tablet from the likes of a lesser-known manufacturer? Does a limited and possibly frivolous imperviousness to water warrant your attention? Should you stash that plastic until Pantech confirms an ETA for that Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade? Find all this out and more after the break, as we force this 8-incher to brave the elements.

Gallery: Pante! ch Eleme nt review

Continue reading Pantech Element review

Pantech Element review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/huawei-alleged-10-inch-android-tablet-leaks/

Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Shortly after Huawei's Ascend D1 made a trip to the studio for some glamour shots, an incognito slate is following suit. A set of photos from Russian site hi-tech@mail reveals what could be in store from the Chinese outfit at MWC 2012 (you know we'll be there), though the lack of full-body pics makes us question whether it's in fact the 10-inch tab it claims to be. Aside from the questionable size, we do see a tour around its purported metal casing, which is very reminiscent of that T-Mobile-bound MediaPad we showed you last year. Allegedly, the tablet will come sporting an 8-megapixel rear shooter, Ice Cream Sandwich and will be priced at about 20,000 Russian Rubles (or around $670). Those of you feeling intrigued can hit up the source link below to catch the rest of the sneaky shots.

Continue reading Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu's full desktop OS coming to multi-core Android devices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/ubuntus-full-desktop-os-coming-to-multi-core-android-devices/

What the Atrix 4G first promised, it looks like the folks at Canonical may deliver. Think back to CES 2011, when Motorola showed us a future where our phone was the only computing device we would need -- only to leave us wanting when its webtop app didn't deliver the requisite functionality for such a future. Well, it turns out Ubuntu now runs on multi-core Android devices and your handset can grant a full desktop experience when docked with a display and a keyboard. It's a customized version of Ubuntu that plays nice with Android, the two OS's sharing data and services while running simultaneously. So, you can still access telephony and texts from the Ubuntu environment while enjoying all the computing capabilities it has to offer, including: Ubuntu TV, virtualization tools for running Windows applications, desktop web browsers, and Ubuntu apps built for ARM. It isn't clear exactly what hardware you'll need to run Ubuntu on a handset, but Canonical has said it works on multi-core devices with HDMI and USB connections. We'll get more info next week when it's shown off at MWC, but until then you'll have to settle for the source below and PR after the break.

Continue reading Ubuntu's full desktop OS coming to multi-core Android devices

Ubuntu's full desktop OS comi! ng to mu lti-core Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/pulse-surface-controller-system-bangs-the-drum-desk-window/

The Pulse Surface Controller is a vibration-based musical instrument that finally puts those years of air drumming to use. It's a small, piezo-based MIDI controller that lets you turn pretty much any surface into a musical instrument. The device has a built-in suction cup, comes with velcro straps and plugs into your computer's microphone port. The fun really starts with the dedicated controller software, that converts your percussive punches to your virtual instrument of choice. You're not limited to drums either, as you can map your taps to a velocity sensitive melodic generator to create musical tones and scales. Luckily you won't have to sit on your hands to get one of these either, as the Pulse Surface Controller System is available now for $59, or you can tap-tap-tap the video after the break for a demo.

Continue reading Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window

Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of! feeds.

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