Monday, July 22, 2013

Samsung's Beautiful Curved OLED TV Comes to the USA for a Mere $15,000

Source: http://gizmodo.com/samsungs-beautiful-curved-oled-tv-comes-to-the-usa-for-868113547

Samsung's Beautiful Curved OLED TV Comes to the USA for a Mere $15,000

Back at CES we were floored by Samsung's crazy/beautiful 55-inch curved OLED television. They were an eyegasm of light-emitting diodes with a subtle but enticing cinematic bend. Secretly, we never thought we'd ever see one in real life since they just reek of CES flashiness that never turns into real-life anything. We were so wrong.

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Ubuntu Edge smartphone announced with $32 million Indiegogo campaign, aims to hit market in May 2014

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/22/ubuntu-edge-smartphone/

Ubuntu Edge smartphone announced for Indiegogo, coming to market in May 2014

Ubuntu's plan to merge the desktop computer and mobile device is taking shape today in form of the Edge, which it's aiming to bring to market in May of next year for $830 outright. True to Canonical's community driven roots, the company is turning to crowd-funding to get the device on its feet. It's aiming to raise $32 million, and to that end, Canonical's launching a campaign on Indiegogo today, which provides early backers the opportunity to snag the phone for $600. According to company founder, Mark Shuttleworth, the Indiegogo route isn't meant to compete with its strategy of courting carriers for its mainstream smartphone project. Rather, it's meant to solve an "innovation gap" that's arisen during talks with manufacturers over its grander vision.

The Ubuntu Edge is a very ambitious smartphone that'll be capable of running a full-fledged Ubuntu desktop operating system alongside Android. While specs are currently tentative, the company is aiming to outfit the Edge with a quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Meanwhile, the phone itself will sport a 4.5-inch, 1,280 x 720 display that's constructed of sapphire crystal glass, an 8MP rear / 2MP front-facing camera and stereo speakers. As for connectivity, Canonical's eyeing LTE, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, along with MHL support.

If the converged device strategy strikes your fancy, you'll find good incentive to be among the early backers. According to Shuttleworth, the Edge will only come to market if backers make it happen, as "none of the phone manufacturers are yet ambitious enough to try to put both things in one package." Regardless of whether the Indiegogo campaigns succeeds -- it'd be a record, if so -- Canonical will continue pursuing its strategy to bring a more basic Ubuntu smartphone to market. Recently, the company announced the first of its partner carriers, which includes Verizon, Deutsche Telecom, EE, SK Telecom, China Unicom and others. We're still waiting to see what type of smartphone might be offered through the carriers, but it's now clear that if you believe in the open source / converged device philosophy, you'll need to vote with your wallet.

Gallery: Ubuntu Edge

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Source: Indiegogo

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Verizon FiOS rolls out 500/100 Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/22/verizon-fios-quantum-500-mbps/

DNP Verizon FiOS rolls out 500Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet

The broadband speed wars continue to rage, and today, Verizon announced that it's throwing down with its fastest tier yet. With a download speed of 500 megabits per second (and an upload speed of 100Mbps), the leap forward marks the latest evolution of the company's fiber-optic Quantum Internet Service, which rolled out last summer. To put those numbers into perspective, you'll be able to download a 5GB HD movie in 1.4 minutes or upload a 100MB file in eight seconds, assuming you're operating at full speed. Verizon is hoping to gradually introduce its newest speed tier to all FiOS markets by 2014, with limited availability starting today. To hear what Big Red has to say about it, check out the video after the break.

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LG's 55-inch curved OLED TV hits Best Buy for $14,999

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/22/lgs-curved-oled-tv/

LG's 55inch curved OLED TV hits Best Buy for $14,999

Remember that curved OLED HDTV that LG was teasing way back at CES? Well, it's just begun shipping here in the US. A Best Buy store in Richfield, Minnesota is the first retailer to stock the 55-inch set, which is available beginning today for just shy of 15 grand. It's due to hit Magnolia stores at select Best Buys in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and San Antonio over the next few weeks. The curved design is intended to provide a more immersive experience for viewers, though $14,999 is a bit too steep any way you look at it. Samsung, meanwhile, has a curved 55-incher of its own -- that OLED screen arrived in Korea late last month, and is rolling out to (very) select US retailers this week, too.

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Belkin ships WeMo Light Switch for $50, launches matching Android app

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/22/belkin-ships-wemo-connected-light-switch-for-50/

Belkin ships WeMo connected light switch for $50

Belkin promised a simple approach to connected lighting when it unveiled the WeMo Light Switch back at CES, and the company is making good on its word by releasing the switch today. The WiFi-based controller is now available both online and at retail shops for $50. It isn't arriving alone, either -- Belkin is simultaneously launching the finished version of its free WeMo app for Android to complement the existing iOS release. If you'd rather have smart switches than smart light bulbs, the new WeMo hardware awaits at the source link; the companion Android app should be available shortly.

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Source: Belkin

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