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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Samsung mass-produces 4-gigabit LPDDR2 memory, aims to make 2GB a common sight in smartphones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/17/samsung-mass-produces-4-gigabit-lpddr2-memory/

Samsung started making 2GB low-power mobile memory last year, but as the 1GB-equipped phone you likely have in your hand shows, the chips weren't built on a wide-enough scale to get much use. The Korean company is hoping to fix that now that it's mass-producing 20-nanometer, 4-gigabit LPDDR2 RAM. Going to a smaller process than the 30-nanometer chips of old will not just slim the memory down by a fifth, helping your smartphone stay skinny: it should help 2GB of RAM become the "mainstream product" by the end of 2013, if Samsung gets its way. New chips should run at 1,066Mbps without chewing up any more power than the earlier parts, too, so there's no penalty for using the denser parts. It's hard to say whether or not the 20nm design is what's leading to the 2GB of RAM in the Japanese Galaxy S III; we just know that the upgraded NTT DoCoMo phone is now just the start of a rapidly approaching trend for smartphones and tablets.

Continue reading Samsung mass-produces 4-gigabit LPDDR2 memory, aims to make 2GB a common sight in smartphones

Samsung mass-produces 4-gigabit LPDDR2 memory, aims to make 2GB a common sight in smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CHART OF THE DAY: Here's Who Is Getting Rich From Facebook's IPO

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-facebook-insiders-stocks-selling-2012-5

Here's a look at who will be selling Facebook stock and for how much, via Fortune's Dan Primack.

chart of the day, facebook insiders selling stock and value remaining, may 2012

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Google's latest Gmail tweaks bring contact info to search results, enhanced Circle integration

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/google-gmail-update-contact-details-circle-integration/

By any means, this is certainly far from being one of the biggest changes Gmail's ever seen -- still, it's one that's likely to make a few tasks a wee bit easier for you. Inside the recent tweaks, Google added a new quick access trait that makes contact details -- such as phone numbers -- show up automatically in search results within your cherished G inbox. Additionally, the Android-maker has improved the Google+ integration (again), now allowing folks to narrow down conversations from specific Circles in the search box (you know, something like Circle: Awesome Engadget editors). Google says the changes will be rolling out over the course of the day, but in the meantime, you could always check out what exactly happens behind Gmail's closed doors.

Google's latest Gmail tweaks bring contact info to search results, enhanced Circle integration originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 18:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The mysteries of the CCD revealed (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/the-mysteries-of-the-ccd-revealed-video/

Sure, we've explained to you why sensor size matters in a digital camera, but maybe you need to take it back a bit. Maybe, you're not entirely sure how those sensors work in the first place. Well, Bill Hammack, better known as The Engineer Guy, is here to help. After breaking down LCDs and hard drives for your amusement and education, Bill has turned his attention to the CCD. The charge-coupled device is the heart and soul of many a digital camera, turning incoming photons into a charge that the impressively complex processor inside can convert into an image. What makes the CCD so impressive is it's rather ingenious solutions to problems such as interference (no wires, just a shift register) and color reproduction (pixel-sized filters and a hue-flattening algorithm). For more, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading The mysteries of the CCD revealed (video)

The mysteries of the CCD revealed (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our ter ms for use of feeds.

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Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/netflix-web-player-updated/

With the exception of tweaks for new features like HD video and closed captioning Netflix's Silverlight-based web player has been largely unchanged for years, but today everything is being reworked. As detailed in a post on the company's blog, PC and Mac users (no word on ChromeOS) the size of the player controls now scale to the window they're in and replace words with icons. Other new features users will notice is the ability to preview additional episodes of TV series without stopping the stream, title information that pops up when the stream is paused and that full screen viewing now has the same options as the windows player. The finale tweak is that the back to browsing button that brings viewers back to their queue has shifted from the bottom right to the top left. Hit the blog for the full breakdown, or just expect a surprise tomorrow when you're watching Downton Abbey at work Drive in the comfort of your own home during leisure time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews originally appeared on Engadge t on Wed, 16 May 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google bots learning to read webpages like humans, one step closer to knowing everything

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/17/google-bots-read-webpages-like-humans/

Google just launched its Knowledge Graph, a tool intended to deliver more accurate information by analyzing the way users search. Of course, with a desire to provide better search results comes a need for improved site-reading capabilties. JavaScript and AJAX have traditionally put a wrench in Google bots' journey through a webpage, but it looks like the search engine has developed some smarter specimens. While digging through Apache logs, a developer spotted evidence that bots now execute the JavaScript they encounter -- and rather than just mining for URLS, the crawlers seem to be mimicking how users click on objects to activate them. That means bots can dig deeper into the web, accessing databases and other content that wasn't previously indexable. Looks like Google is one step closer to success on its quest to know everything.

Google bots learning to read webpages like humans, one step closer to knowing everything originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 00:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hillcrest Labs open sources Kylo web browser for TVs, hopes the people want one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/17/hillcrest-labs-open-sources-kylo-web-browser-for-tvs-hopes-the/

We didn't hear much from Hillcrest Labs' Kylo web browser for TVs after it launched in 2010, but now the company is apparently turning its fate over to the community. A Mozilla-based browser, Kylo will work with any mouse but is designed specifically for its Freespace pointer controls. It's available under the Mozilla Public License which means others can use it for commercial products, but so far web connected products have been slow to take off and even Google TV has had trouble pushing a typical browser experience on HDTVs. Interested devs can snag the code at Kylo.tv or GitHub, we'll see if anyone builds anything with more market impact.

Continue reading Hillcrest Labs open sources Kylo web browser for TVs, hopes the people want one

Hillcrest Labs open sources Kylo web browser for TVs, hopes the people want one originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

90-9-1 or 1-9-90 Rule of Social Media Participation

90-9-1 or 1-9-90 Rule of Social Media Participation

Read more: 90-9-1 or 1-9-90 Rule of Social Media Participation » go-Digital Blog on Digital Marketing

Meet Electric Imp, The Brilliant Gadget From The iPhone's Former Hardware Boss

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-imp-2012-5

electric imp

We're going nuts over this one.

Hugo Fiennes, the hardware boss behind the first four iPhones, has a brilliant new startup called Electric Imp. (We first got word of the company from Gizmodo.)

Electric Imp is more of a system than a single gadget. You can install a tiny card (it looks like your phone's SIM card) to just about any device in your home and connect it to the web. Each card has a built-in Wi-Fi antenna and processor.

The system is fully programmable. For example, you can tell your dishwasher to send you a tweet or text when it's finished. Or you can turn off your home's lights from your iPhone. Or you can get a text message whenever your doorbell rings...

You get the idea.

Manufacturers can also add Imp card slots to their appliances. (If an appliance doesn't have the slot, you can buy one and install it.)

Each Imp card will cost $25, but no word yet on when you can buy it. Developers can get their hands on a development kit in late June to start writing apps.

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Scientists Make Wi-Fi Twenty Times Faster [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5910723/scientists-make-wi+fi-twenty-times-faster

Scientists Make Wi-Fi Twenty Times Faster If you're never content with Wi-Fi speeds, rest assured that scientists are trying to help. In fact, a team of Japanese researchers has just broken the record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz range—with a data rate 20 times higher than most current Wi-Fi connections.

The research focuses on what scientists call the "T-ray" band: the part of the electromagnetic spectrum between 300 GHz and 3 THz. Lying between microwave and far-infrared, it's currently an unregulated part of the spectrum, which could be fair game for use in Wi-Fi networks in the future.

The researchers, from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, have developed hardware capable of transmitting data at 3Gb/s—that's about 20 times faster than current Wi-Fi connections—at frequencies up to 542GHz. The results are published in Electronics Letters.

To do that, they used a 1 millimeter-square device known as a resonant tunneling diode, which produces smaller voltages with increasing current. By tuning the current, the team are able to make the tiny device resonate, and spit out signals in the terahertz band.

It is, of course, currently just a proof of concept, and terahertz Wi-Fi would probably only ever work over distances of the order of tens of yards. But given that researchers think it might be possible nudge 100Gb/s in the future, I think you could cope. You'll just have to be a little bit more careful with your data caps. [Electronics Letters via BBC]

Image by Markus Gann/Shutterstock

IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/ikea-uppleva-europe/

Details continue to emerge as we approach the IKEA Uppleva's June launch. GigaOM has discovered that the set will be available in sizes ranging from 24 to 46 inches and will be priced "around $960" -- with a scale relative to the display size, we presume. The TV will feature a built-in Blu-ray player and a wireless subwoofer, and is being assembled by TCL Multimedia a manufacturer in China. Uppleva is expected to roll out to France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden beginning next month, then to other European countries later in the year, followed by the US in 2013. There will also be a handful of applications that will vary based on region, including Dailymotion, Vimeo and YouTube, along with games, music playback and video-on-demand apps, and the Opera for TV web browser. There's a familiar sneak-peek vid awaiting you just past the break.

Update: Due to an error at the source article, we originally identified the manufacturer as TLC, rather than TCL Multimedia. The text above has been updated to reflect the correction.

Continue reading IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013

IKEA Uppleva HDTV to retail for $960 in Europe beginning next month, US launch in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget ! on Wed, 16 May 2012 00:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gartner: mobile phone sales fell two percent last quarter, Samsung confirmed as numero uno

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/gartner-global-mobile-phone-sales-samsung/

Gartner's latest dispatch reveals a wobbly global trade in mobile phones. Although our love of smartphones continued to blossom, with sales of that subcategory up nearly 45 percent, it wasn't enough to stave off a two percent overall decline compared to the same quarter in 2011. A total of 419.1 million handsets were sold, representing the first hiccup after nearly three years of growth and leading analysts to point fingers at a slow down in the Asia / Pacific region as well as a lack of product launches at the start of the year. Meanwhile, these figures also confirm what was already gleaned from IDC's shipments data: Samsung has knocked Nokia off its 14-year-old perch to become the padrone of the mobile phone market, with a cut of over 20 percent. It also replaced Apple as the number one smartphone vendor, claiming ownership of almost half of that segment. Damn, it feels good to be a pebble.

Gartner: mobile phone sales fell two percent last quarter, Samsung confirmed as numero uno originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/netgear-r6200-router-and-a6200-usb-adapter-announced/

In its ongoing battle against internet bottlenecks -- or let's face it -- techie bragging rights, Netgear has launched two more devices with that sweet, sweet 802.11ac data flow. Joining its recently announced R6300 router, is the R6200 model, which supports a combined WiFi speed of 1200 Mbps, has a USB port for networking devices, and of course also rides the a, b, g and n waves too -- if you don't have any 802.11ac kit just yet. Well, as it happens, Netgear thought of that, and has also announced the A6200 dual band USB WiFi adapter to, literally, bring your existing kit up to speed. If you want in on the action, you'll need to spend $179.99 and $69.99 respectively when they launch in Q3 this year. Full specs in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family

Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA outs a pair of Tesla GPUs to electrify your supercomputer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/nvidia-tesla-gpus/

NVIDIA's announced a pair of Tesla GPUs that'll give some extra pep to your supercomputing tasks. The K10 and K20 units harness the power of Kepler to add more muscle to the company's scientific and technical computing arm that supplies gear to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Tokyo's Tsubame 2.0. Internal tests reveal that the hardware is around three times faster than the company's Fermi GPUs -- with the latter card expected to arrive at the end of the year. The company didn't announce pricing, since its aiming them squarely at the big academic institutions, defense contractors and oil explorers -- but if your surname is Buffet or Abramovitch, then they might sell you one at trade.

Continue reading NVIDIA outs a pair of Tesla GPUs to electrify your supercomputer

NVIDIA outs a pair of Tesla GPUs to electrify your supercomputer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung exec admits 15-inch Series 9 could benefit from better viewing angles

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/16/samsung-15-inch-series-9-viewing-angles/

When we reviewed the 15-inch Samsung Series 9, we found very little to complain about, save for the narrow viewing angles and the fair-weather trackpad. Turns out, Samsung at least agrees with the first part. Raymond Wah, VP of PC product strategy, told a group of reporters, "We can make improvements in terms of the viewing angle." That's not surprising, given that Samsung's homegrown 15-inch display doesn't currently make use of the same IPS-like PLS technology as the panel used in the 13-inch Series 9. It would seem, then, that it's occurred to Samsung to develop one, though company reps declined to say when we might see a 15-inch Series 9 with such a display in tow.

For now, anyway, the outfit is giving itself some credit for the laptop's relatively dense 1600 x 900 pixel count (and rightfully so!). Interestingly, Wah's comments come at a time when MacBook Pro rumors are starting to flow fast and furious, and a Retina display is looking like a fair possibility. As to whether Samsung will ever produce a 4K laptop display of its own, Wah declined to comment, but he did note that right now there isn't enough content optimized for that higher resolution, and that such screens would be costlier to produce. Until all that changes, we have to admit we're pretty pleased with the Series 9's resolution too -- after all, anything's better than plain old HD.

Samsung exec admits 15-inch Series 9 could benefit from better vi! ewing an gles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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