April 2010
1 tag
iPad apps: creativity unleashed
We love to create things: drawings, movies, photos, songs, and, on occasion, stunning literary imagery with the help of text styling. While Apple didn’t necessarily blow us away with its offerings on this front for the iPad (no GarageBand, iPhoto, or iMovie, for instance), 3rd party developers are naturally happy to oblige. We were frankly surprised at some of the depth and functionality...
Verizon Wireless teases employees (and us)
One of our connects just dropped this in our inbox, and coincidentally, it looks like it went out internally to a lot of Verizon Wireless employees. What are we betting on? HTC Incredible? BlackBerry Bold 9650? Apple iPad 3GS?
Tags: 9650, Android, Apple, BlackBerry, bold, devices, exclusive, HTC, Incredible, iPad, iPhone, product launch, RIM, verizon...
1 tag
iSuppli pegs iPad component costs at as little as...
This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone: just because Apple’s touting the “magical” $499 pricepoint of the iPad doesn’t mean they’re selling it at a loss. After carefully poring over the iPad’s internals, iSuppli has added up a bill of materials as low as $259.60 for the 16GB iPad, including a $95 screen and $26.80 processor. The good news for us is...
1 tag
Intel’s Atom D525 to offer 1.8GHz with no bump in...
The solder has barely hardened attaching Intel’s Atom D510 to a suite of nettops and the like, but already we’re getting word of its successor, the supposed D525. Many have expressed disappointment that the D510 offers no better performance than its predecessor, but the new D525 should do better thanks to both a slight bump in speed (up to 1.8GHz) and compatibility with DDR3 memory....
Chinese based botnet discovered, larger than...
About a year ago, a group of security researchers in Toronto affiliated with the Munk Centre for International Studies uncovered the existence of an international botnet called Ghostnet, and discovered that it may be a Chinese espionage tool used against Tibetan citizens. It was one of the largest botnet networks at the…
Related posts: Spanish police smash huge botnet
Kneber Botnet...
1 tag
iPad apps: books and comics galore
Reading on the iPad is something that is part of the device’s DNA. Whether or not you think that LED-backlit display is a killer or a cure for the world’s third favorite bedtime activity, you can’t deny that Apple has pushed the idea of the iPad as e-reader pretty heavily. So, if you’ve got one you must be thinking about what kinds of reading choices you really have....
1 tag
Nintendo teams with Google for glorified ‘Google...
A ‘Google Fight,’ in case you’re unfamiliar, is pitting one keyword against another on Google and seeing which one gets more hits. It’s a favorite pastime around the Engadget HQ, where it’s often used to keep intern ego in check, when we point out their inferior PageRank. Apparently it’s a bit of trend at Nintendo as well (or maybe Nintendo just likes money),...
Daimler, Renault Team Up On Electric Car Tech
It’s official: the 800-pound green car gorilla has arrived. Executives from Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance this morning in Brussels announced a comprehensive partnership to share powertrains and architecture for compact cars and light commercial vehicles.
Related posts: Daimler-Renault Deal: Birth of an 800-Pound Green Car Gorilla?
Renault-Nissan Charges Ahead With Electric Cars in...
1 tag
Engadget rides the Honda U3-X Personal Mobility...
We just had a chance to go hands… er, rear-on with Honda’s latest R&D experiment, the U3-X Personal Mobility Device, and we’ve got the say — it was a moving experience. If you’ll recall, the tiny, uni-wheeled unit is built on the same balancing principles which the company’s ASIMO uses, and utilizes the world’s first omni-directional driving wheel...
In Depth: Top 20 best iPad apps
The iPad has arrived, in the US at least – and that means deciding which apps you should purchase and download right away. We tested the launch apps and we’ve ranked them based on how they test out, if they make use of the larger screen, and any added perks. 1. Kindle for iPad Why list a free e-book reader as the top pick when Apple’s own iBook is included? Ask anyone who owns a...
1 tag
Santander Visitors Center infested by swarms of...
Santander’s Group City in Madrid is a big place; nine buildings sheltering 5,500 employees of one of the largest banks in the world. Guiding visitors around such a massive complex is a challenge, and what’s the best way to solve any challenge? Robots, of course. Santander turned to YDreams, who we’ve seen before playing with augmented reality, but in this case produced...
Kids backed to kickstart rise of the touchscreen
Half of kids under the age of 15 will be bought touchscreen computers like the Apple iPad rather than using mouse and keyboard by 2015, according to the latest research by Gartner. Analysts Gartner believe that computers bought for kids and leisure will have a 50/50 shot at being a touchscreen PC, but that only 10 per cent of computers bought for business will be utilising the technology. The...
1 tag
Toe Mouse!
You know what, the more we look at this thing, the less crazy we think it is. While the concept of mousing around your desktop on foot may appear foreign at first, we imagine we can get used to it after a while. Not that it’s designed for lazybones like us anyway, as the wireless Toe Mouse concept is primarily intended to help out people with upper limb disabilities, who aren’t able...
New and updated BlackBerry development tools...
Yesterday, RIM released an update to its Java and web-based development tools for the BlackBerry platform, a move which RIM says will: “provide new capabilities that make it even easier to create feature-rich applications.” The new and updated SDKs include: BlackBerry Java Plug-In for Eclipse v1.1, BlackBerry Web Plug-in v2.0, BlackBerry Widget SDK v1.0, and BlackBerry Java SDK...
Apple admits to iPad Wi-Fi issues
Hundreds of new owners of Apple’s iPad have been reporting problems with the way it connects to Wi-Fi networks. Users are complaining of weak signal and the iPad not automatically connecting to routers when coming back into range. Apple’s support page acknowledges the problem, but places the blame at the feet of the router itself: “Under certain conditions, iPad may not...
1 tag
Toshiba Camileo S20, H30, and X100 HD camcorders...
Toshiba has long been out of the US market camcorder game, but now it’s jumping back in with… well, a trio of Camileo 1080p video recorders that have been sold across the sea for many months at this point — gotta start back somewhere, right? First up is the ultra-thin and pocketable S20 ($180) featuring a 3-inch swivel display, 4x digital zoom, and 4 megapixel stills. Up next...
Solar plane in first test flight
A prototype solar-powered plane has made its first full test flight - coming closer to the goal of using solar energy to fly around the world. The Solar Impulse, with a wingspan similar to that of a super-jumbo jet but weighing the same as a saloon car, took off from a Swiss airfield. The plane’s wings are covered by solar cells which power...
1 tag
OCZ’s Z-Drive gets swappable NAND sticks,...
While Fusion-io’s PCI-Express SSDs garner glowing reviews and deplete wallets accordingly, OCZ hasn’t been so lucky — even as its similar Z-Drive boasted seriously speedy sequential transfer speeds that made it desirable for video editing and the like, it was tested and found wanting in consumer applications. This time, OCZ is playing to its strengths and marketing its next...
1 tag
ATI FirePro V8800 takes Cypress core into...
ATI has just let loose the first professional tier card based on its Cypress XT core, which in itself is part of the company’s highly successful Evergreen series of 40nm chips. Boasting 2GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1.15GHz, 1,600 stream processors and an 825MHz core clock speed, the FirePro V8800 is very much an HD 5870 adapted to the demands of the digital creation world, and as such...
Sony Ericsson massively overhauls Xperia X2
You might vaguely remember the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2, before it was canned for a UK launch. Well, that hasn’t stopped SE bringing out a massive update for it. The new firmware brings all manner of changes to the Windows Mobile 6.5 handset, such as FM radio and video calling. The update also offers stability improvements and performance tweaks – things we’d reckon the UK public...
Gary Marshall: Just because the iPad’s simple,...
As you might have spotted, there’s been a lot of talk about Apple’s new iPad. Some people like it, some people don’t like it, some people are daft enough to spend $500 on something they’re pretty sure they’ll hate only to discover that they hate it and the usual PC versus Mac flame wars have kicked off. But there’s something different this time, something...
1 tag
Notion Ink Adam still alive, working on Flash...
It was three months ago, in the midst of the most tablet-centric CES in recent memory, that we first laid our hands on Notion Ink’s impressive Adam prototype. Since then, we’ve been on the lookout for signs that the small Indian startup will actually deliver on the tablet’s lofty promises, and while that still seems to be on track, the latest update from the company’s...
ICD Gemini Tablet turns heads
An Android tablet with the 1GHz Tegra 2 SOC from ICD has attracted early interest, as the world looks for the first rival to the Apple iPad. The ICD Gemini is an 11.2 inch tablet that offers higher specs than the Apple iPad, including 3G connection that allows mobile phone calls and, wait for it, a replaceable battery. According to Engadget, the ICD Gemini offers 1080p video playback, SD Card...
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 leaks out
The first service pack for Microsoft’s Windows 7 has leaked, with the first major update for the popular operating system still looking likely to arrive in the coming months. According to Neowin, a build from March 27 has been spotted on the internet, although major updates like USB 3.0 and enhanced Bluetooth support have not been confirmed. Build6.1.7601.16537.amd64fre.win7.100327-0053...
Rose replaces Adelson at Digg, kills Diggbar
Kevin Rose has replaced Jay Adelson as CEO of popular aggregator site Digg, and one of his first moves will be to kill the controversial Diggbar. Adelson stepped aside to “incubate some new business ideas over the next twelve months.” “As the economy exits a very deep recession, I believe that it is an excellent time for new companies to develop,” he said. War of the...
1 tag
Chad Barraford’s JARVIS life assistant is the envy...
Chad Barraford is living the dream. Inspired by Edwin Jarvis, the superhero’s man-servant turned computer in the film adaptation of Iron Man, the 27 year old Barraford pieced together a digital life assistant, dubbed JARVIS, to keep his household (and life) in order. JARVIS is built on a 4-year-old Mac mini linked to everything from his home lighting/security and RFID entry system...
Super-fast broadband tax scrapped
The broadband tax has been scrapped in the last-minute scramble to rush key legislation through before Parliament is dissolved next week. The tax was a key part of Labour’s strategy to ensure all parts of the country get super-fast broadband. The Conservatives have always opposed the tax, preferring to allow the market more time to roll out services before...
1 tag
Hitachi claims secret chemical formula will...
Before lithium-ion batteries, portable gadgets were a nightmare, forcing road warriors and Discman-toting teens to either swap disposable cells or deal with rechargables that (with few exceptions) were tricky to recharge. Of course, Li-ion batteries also have a downside: as laptop and cell phone users have no doubt found out, they too become disposable before long. One reason why is that acid in...
What the iPad Could Mean for Connected Cars &...
The iPad could change the way vehicle networks operate and how consumers interact with organizations that offer alternatives to personal vehicle ownership. But a few hurdles stand between the device and a meaningful impact on vehicles’ software, entertainment, information and IT systems.
Related posts: 5 Ideas for Greener Transit Gunning for MIT Prize
“Green” Not Enough to Win Most...
1 tag
SNES Mario Kart power slides onto (non-jailbroken)...
You’re looking at Super Mario Kart, running on the Apple iPad, courtesy of emulation guru ZodTTD. When do you get to play it, faithful reader? Hard to tell. If, say, the iPad had already been jailbroken, all you’d need to do is wait for a suitably safe jailbreak method, download RockApp or Cydia, grab the snes4iphone emulator you see running above, and fire up the ROM. However, the...
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13: Not your Father’s...
<!— —>
My first thought upon seeing Lenovo’s radically different ThinkPad Edge 13 at CES was, “Oh man, the ThinkPad forums are going to burn tonight.” Why? The ThinkPad Edge has a glossy lid, a glossy screen, rounded corners, AMD processors (Intel’s CULV platform is optional), and can be...
Early Windows 7 SP1 build leaks
An early build of Windows 7 SP1 has leaked to file sharing sites this week, indicating that Microsoft is on target to ship the update later this year.
The build, 6.1.7601.16537.amd64fre.win7.100327-0053, appears to be a recent compile from March 27. Early reports, from enthusiast site GeekSmack, indicate the build is quick to…
Related posts: Windows 7 post RTM build 7700 spotted
...
How to Turn Your Blog’s Readers Into Paying...
We already know that everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Don Draper, the slick ad man on “Mad Men,” could build a loyal following on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other social sites.
A new company called OpenSky, which opens to the public on Wednesday, lets them turn that into a business by selling things to their friends, fans and followers.
“If you look at the power of people brands —...
1 tag
Lenovo C200 brings NVIDIA Ion 2 stateside for $499
If you’ve been patiently waiting on a low-cost NVIDIA Ion 2 system it looks like today is your lucky day since it looks like Lenovo has scored an early lead in unleashing the wrath of the new Atom / GeForce combo. Available sometime this month, the 18.5-inch C200 all-in-one isn’t going to replace that Core i7 rig for ripping through Command & Conquer 4, but its Intel dual-core...
1 tag
Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3s slims down, retains its old...
What’s this? A Lenovo product that hasn’t been leaked before its official announcement? Truth is that’s the biggest surprise we’ve got for you here, considering the updates to this S10-3s are fairly minimal — but hey, if you’ve always thought previous Lenovo netbooks were too plus-size, we guess there’s reason to get excited. While the S10-3 that was...
1 tag
Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into...
All we have is this one image, care of a gracious anonymous tipster who said it was found at Best Buy. Our best guess? Well, it’s a Flip camcorder, and there’s a sliding element to it — amazing deduction skills, we know. Perhaps Cisco has something up its sleeve soon? Inquiring minds want to know.Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into camera’s view originally...
1 tag
Easy Piano for Nintendo DS shipping now for little...
Mention piano lessons to kids and watch them cringe. Mention playing really awesome games on the Nintendo DS and watch them get all excited. Now, mention piano lessons on the Nintendo DS and watch them squirm in confusion, a definite improved reaction that’s all thanks to Easy Piano, which is now shipping to retail. It’s a $40 game (of sorts) plus 13 key mini-piano that, if...
1 tag
Western Digital VelociRaptor VR200M review...
While it’s only a matter of time before solid state storage becomes cheap and reliable enough to replace magnetic media for good, companies like Western Digital are still finding ways to keep those platters a’ spinning. Take this new WD VelociRaptor VR200M, for instance. Critics agree that while it doesn’t offer anywhere near SSD levels of performance, it’s certainly the...
Flowers bloom earlier as UK warms
British plants are flowering earlier now than at any time in the last 250 years, according to new analysis. Researchers stitched together nearly 400,000 first flowering records covering 405 species across the nation. Writing in the journal Proceedings B, they show that the average first flowering date has been earlier in the last 25 years...
1 tag
Sharp squeezes DivX HD playback into new Quattron...
Apparently there was still a HDTV or two without the DivX stamp, but that should be mostly resolved now after a new deal with Sharp. The new AQUOS LE820 LCDs — featuring the apparently astonishing Quattron quad-pixel technology — are able to play 1080p DivX HD files from a connected USB drive. Not quite the embedded content service we saw at CES, but as previous announcements have...
1 tag
Apple to announce iAd / AdKit mobile ad platform...
Here’s an interesting little rumor that seems all too plausible: Peter Kafka at All Things Digital says sources are telling him Apple will announce a new mobile ad network based on its Quattro Wireless acquisition on Thursday at its iPhone OS 4 event, a report that jibes completely with what we learned about the iAd / AdKit framework present in the iPhone OS just last week. Kafka also says...
1 tag
Behold, the Nexus One car dock… and no, you still...
Mind you, this isn’t the first time we’ve gotten a glimpse at Google’s first-party car dock for the Nexus One; it got teased briefly back in February in the course of the phone’s video docu-mercial series, yet we’re well into the Spring months here and you still won’t find any mounted on windshields. We’re honestly not so sure how it can take four solid...
Nokia said to be working on re-entering the tablet...
Although none of its previous attempts at cracking the tablet market have been met with success, Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar piped up today and claimed that Nokia is once again going to try to break into the now-burgeoning market. So far there’s nothing in the way of evidence to support his claims, but we don’t think we need to look much further than the fact Nokia and...
Bilton on ABC: Test-Driving the iPad
April 05
What We’re Reading: Tear Down, Return or Blend the iPad
The reading list includes iPads, of course, and also smartphones and Facebook.
Related posts: What We’re Reading: Teardown, Return or Blend the iPad
Will it blend? iPad edition (update: he cheated!)
Bilton on ABC: Dos and Don’ts of Digital Etiquette
http://bit.ly/bm16EU
1 tag
Mystery buyer orders $8.5 million in Microvision...
Remember Microvision’s little announcement last week that it would be selling its PicoP Laser Display Engine to OEMs, hoping they’d find ways to stuff the thing into little gadgets of all sorts? The company has apparently been doing just that with aplomb, already scoring an $8.5 million order from one top secret client that will “embed the PicoP engine inside a high-end mobile...
1 tag
Dost thine iPad trouble thee?
You know us, we like to keep an ear to the ground and, while our own iPads have been purring along with no more than the occasional crashed app, we’re hearing others have not been so fortunate. A number of persistent issues have been reported by anxious iPadites across the USA, including weak or intermittent WiFi signal, overheating, broken PDF exports from Pages, and the iPad completely...
EPA Smiles on Biofuels in Small Biz Innovation...
The EPA has awarded $2.38 million under the Small Business Innovative Research program, including four awards (under the biofuels and vehicle emissions category) for R&D firms working on tech related to biofuels.
Related posts: Aurora Biofuels Bags $15M Series C for Algae Tech
The 2009 Engadget Awards
Stimulus money funds energy innovation
http://bit.ly/c434J2
1 tag
PS3 firmware 3.21 locking out more than just other...
Sony already irked a few people by removing the “install other OS” with its PS3 firmware 3.21 update, and it looks like it may have also inadvertently drawn the ire of quite a few other users. Judging from reports on the official PlayStation forums, a sizable number of PS3 users have run into an array of different problems after installing the update, which range from folks not being...
Verizon CEO has told Apple he wants to offer the...
By Slash Lane
Published: 04:00 PM EST
The chief executive of Verizon said Tuesday he has told Apple his company would like to carry the iPhone, and he even cited a recent report that said Apple is working on a CDMA-capable iPhone.
But Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg did not say whether or not the iPhone is coming to Verizon, or even whether he knows the answer....
Wireless Net Neutrality: Dead?
The effort to let any Web service run over wireless networks may be dead.
On April 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Federal Communications Commission couldn’t tell the U.S.’s largest cable company, Comcast, not to interfere with certain types of traffic. This in effect reverses the FCC’s 2008 ruling, which allowed Web services like Web-calling provider Skype to...