Samsung reportedly launching new 8-inch tablet in June, Galaxy S 4 Active in July

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/samsung-reportedly-plans-new-8-inch-tablet-gs4-active/

Samsung Gulf president Young Soo Kim reportedly made casual mention of an upcoming rugged take on the Galaxy S 4 at a press event earlier in the week, but left out any details. Sources for the Wall Street Journal claim to know more of the story, and it sounds like the toughened phone won't be alone this summer. The Galaxy S 4 Active, as it's rumored to be called, would arrive in July and carry the dust- and waterproofing of spiritual predecessors like the Galaxy Xcover 2 while maintaining the GS 4's design language. A smaller, 4.3-inch parallel to the GS 4 would appear at the same time -- Galaxy S 4 Mini, anyone? The same tipsters also expect the release of a new 8-inch "Galaxy-line tablet" in June, which suggests the Galaxy Note 8.0 may get a regular Tab counterpart. We wouldn't base our buying strategies around the rumors when Samsung hasn't said anything that's truly on the record, but it might be wise to hold off if you're not in a rush.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Wall Street Journal

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Artificial sense of touch gets smarter, lets robots really feel

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/artificial-sense-of-touch-gets-smarter-lets-robots-really-feel/

The verdict's still out on whether or not androids dream of electric sheep. But their ability to feel? Well, that's about to approach levels of human sensitivity. We're of course talking about the sense of touch, not emotions. And thanks to work out of Georgia Tech, tactile sensitivity for robotics, more secure e-signatures and general human-machine interaction is about to get a great 'ol boost. Through the use of thousands of piezotronic transistors (i.e., grouped vertical zinc oxide nanowires) known as "taxels," a three-person team led by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang has devised a way to translate motion into electronic signals. In other words, you're looking at a future in which robotic hands interpret the nuances of a surface or gripped object akin to a human fingertip and artificial skin senses touch similar to the way tiny hairs on an arm do.

What's more, the tech has use outside of robotics and can even be levereged for more secure e-signature verification based on speed and pressure of a user's handwriting. And the best part? These sensors can be manufactured on transparent and flexible substrates like the one pictured above, which allows for various real-world applications -- just use your imagination. Pretty soon, even robots will have the pleasure of enjoying the touch... the feel of cotton and maybe! even hu m that jingle to themselves, too.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Georgia Tech, Science

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Oppo's 4.7-inch, 6.93mm-thick R809T pays homage to the Finder

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/oppo-r809t-china/

No, this isn't the world's thinnest phone thanks to Alcatel and BBK, but Oppo's recently announced R809T is still a seemingly attractive device judging by the above official image. Measuring at 6.93mm thick (instead of the rumored 6.13mm), we're surprised that Oppo didn't set this to be the follow-up to the Finder: sure, it's 0.28mm thicker, but it also aces the latter with a 4.7-inch 720p in-cell display, a 1.2GHz quad-core chip with 1GB RAM (likely MediaTek's Cortex-A7-based MT6589 SoC), Android 4.2 and a sorely missed 3.5mm headphone jack -- so no micro-USB adapter required. Then there's also an 8-megapixel main camera plus an increasingly common 2-megapixel, 88-degree wide front-facing imager, which is obviously no match for the 5-megapixel counterpart on Oppo's Ulike 2.

Pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but given the "T" in the model name, chances ! are it'l l only work on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network, anyway; unless you really don't mind using just GSM. Close-up shot after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Engadget Chinese

Source: Sina Weibo (login required)

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Google's Eric Schmidt admits talking to Glass is 'the weirdest thing'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/google-eric-schmidt-talking-to-glass-is-the-weirdest-thing/

We're still getting to grips with an Explorer edition of Google's Glass ourselves, but Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has noted that Glass may take some getting used to. Talking to an audience on Thursday at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, he said that alongside the unusual sensation of voice control, people would have to develop new etiquette to deal with the fact that incoming wearables like Google Glass would be able to capture images and access information at whim. "There are obviously places where Google Glasses are inappropriate," he said, while stifling a cheeky wink.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Source: Reuters

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Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S 4 launches in China with an Exynos 5 Octa inside

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/dual-sim-samsung-galaxy-s-4-launches-in-china/

Remember the leaked GT-i9502, that dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S 4 that ultimately confirmed many rumors? That smartphone is at last exists beyond a collection of photos, as Samsung just launched it for China Unicom customers. The support for an extra cellular line is naturally the highlight, although there's another perk for GS4 connoisseurs: the i9502 has the same 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor as the i9500, which might eke out more performance than the Snapdragon 600 models. There isn't any word on whether or not the i9502 edition will leave China, although we wouldn't count on European or North American editions when there isn't LTE inside to please 4G-obsessed carriers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: GSMArena

Source: Samsung (translated)

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