You didn’t think Verizon would start selling its iPad / MiFi bundle without an ad blitz, did you? Big Red’s running a new commercial called “Breakaway” that features a dude using the combo to tear down the walls of his unfurnished home and wind up sitting alone on a bluff in a plastic chair. The magic of iPad, the power and reliability of Verizon. Video after the break. [Thanks, Nick] Continue reading Verizon iPad commercial hits the air Verizon iPad commercial hits the air originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft aims to improve maps with GPS data from 33,000 Beijing cab drivers
November 9, 2010 No Comment
Microsoft’s already added a Taxi Fare Calculator to Bing Maps to help keep your cabbie in check, and it’s now actually enlisted the help of some 33,000 Beijing cab drivers in an effort to further improve driving directions. More specifically, it’s relying on GPS data collected from the cab drivers’ cars over a period of three months, which has since been funneled into a system called T-Drive created by a team at Microsoft Research Asia. Just how big a difference can a bit of local know-how make? Apparently, about a 16 percent cut in time on average, or roughly a savings of five minutes for every 30 minutes of driving. Of course, it won’t do anyone outside of Beijing much good at the moment, but there’s plenty more GPS-equipped cabs out there if Microsoft ever decides to expand things. Microsoft aims to improve maps with GPS data from 33,000 Beijing cab drivers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hello, diversification. The same company responsible for the Vizit photo frame is branching out in a big way — Isabella Products has just introduced what it’s calling the planet’s first fully interactive, connected children’s tablet. Just like mum and pop’s Galaxy Tab, the Fable boasts a 7-inch touchpanel and inbuilt 3G, but details beyond that (hardware wise, anyway) are few and far betwixt. We are told that it’ll come preloaded with children’s titles from partner Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, including Curious George , Martha Speaks , and George and Martha . As you’d expect, it’ll boast a tyke-friendly user interface and will provide a secure, SFW connection to the company’s VizitMe.com content management system. There’s nary a mention of price (nor how much it’ll cost to maintain that 3G connection each month), but all should be crystal clear by the time it launches in mid-2011. Continue reading Isabella Products reveals 7-inch Fable connected children’s tablet Isabella Products reveals 7-inch Fable connected children’s tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Verizon’s been all kinds of leaky and loose with its Android lineup lately — the Samsung Continuum was anything but a surprise , the Droid 2 Global is now on sale before even being officially announced , and now the Droid Pro is also on sale well ahead of its scheduled November 18th launch date. Whoops! If you’ll recall, the Pro was only supposed to be up for pre-order now , but it’s actually listed as “add to cart” on Verizon’s site and tipsters have gotten overnight ship confirmations. Sure, we’ll take early delivery of what should be one of Big Red’s hottest phones — but we can’t help but wonder if Verizon’s being this sloppy with device launches right now because it’s focused on nailing the high-profile debut of something around January . [Thanks, Matt and anonymous] Droid Pro on sale a little early, shipping now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You saw the key specs slip out a little ahead of time, now it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the GeForce GTX 580 has been thoroughly benchmarked to see if its claim to being ” the world’s fastest DirectX 11 GPU ” stands up to scrutiny. In short, yes it does. The unanimous conclusion reached among the reviewers was that the 580 cranks up the performance markedly relative to the GTX 480 — with some citing gains between 10 and 20 percent and others finding up to 30 percent improvements — while power draw, heat emissions, and noise were lowered across the board. ATI’s AMD’s Radeon HD 5870 wasn’t completely crushed by the newcomer, but it was consistently behind NVIDIA’s latest pixel pusher. Priced at $499, the GTX 580 is actually praised for offering good value, though its TDP of 244W might still require you to upgrade a few parts inside your rig to accommodate it, while current online prices are closer to $550. Anyhow, the pretty comparative bar charts await at the links below. Read – HardOCP Read – Tech Report Read – Legit Reviews Read – Bit-tech Read – PC Perspective Read – Hot Hardware NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 reviewed: ‘what the GTX 480 should have been’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Duracell myGrid USB Charger gives your Kindle 100 extra hours of life for $35
November 9, 2010 No Comment
While Energizer’s moving forward with its newfound Qi partnership , its bunny-less arch rival seems content right where it’s at. Duracell’s WildCharge-based myGrid charging mat , which was actually introduced over a year ago, is finally gaining a second good reason to purchase one: the myGrid USB Charger. The nugget you see above is a rechargeable Li-ion battery with a USB output, and according to Duracell, there’s enough juice in there to extend the life of most smartphones by four hours and the life of most e-readers (Kindle included) by up to 100 hours. It’s available today at CVS, Walmart, Target and Amazon for $34.99, and that does indeed include both mini-USB and micro-USB adapters. The full release awaits your eyes after the break. Continue reading Duracell myGrid USB Charger gives your Kindle 100 extra hours of life for $35 Duracell myGrid USB Charger gives your Kindle 100 extra hours of life for $35 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BBC iPlayer going international next year, will be either fee- or ad-supported
November 9, 2010 No Comment
The BBC’s iPlayer video-on-demand service has been an unqualified success since its rollout back in 2007 and now it’s taking the next logical step in expanding its reach: it’s going global. Such is the word from John Smith, the generically named head of BBC Worldwide, who sees the international market for British shows as “under-exploited” and wants to see the iPlayer opened up beyond the Queen’s home isles. Of course, since continental Europeans and North Americans aren’t subject to the same backbreaking TV license fee, there’ll be a new commercial element to the service, though the Beeb’s bigwigs have yet to figure out if that means users will have to pay a levy or put up with some ads. Either way, we’ve got quite a few eager iPlayer viewers on our own staff, so we imagine whenever and however the switch does get flipped, it’ll be welcomed by all. BBC iPlayer going international next year, will be either fee- or ad-supported originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice
November 9, 2010 No Comment
Well, what have we here? In the sea of me-too ultraportables , it looks as if Lenovo is doing its darnedest to mix things up with a somewhat unorthodox screen size. The leaked IdeaPad U260 hasn’t been confirmed by the mother company, but word on the street has it rocking a 12.5-inch display, 0.71-inch thickness and a total weight of just 3.04 pounds. Naturally, it’s living life sans an optical drive, and we’re told that it’ll ship with an Ultra Low Voltage Core i3 or Core i5 CPU. There’s no ExpressCard slot, but you will spot a four-cell battery, Bluetooth 2.1, VGA / HDMI outputs, WiFi, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive and a couple of semi-vivacious color options (Mocha Brown and Clementine Orange). Mum’s the word on a price, but you can catch one more glimpse of the heretofore unannounced rig just after the break. Continue reading Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Truth be told, it’s exactly what the world needed. More 3D gimmickry … on the iPhone and iPod touch, no less. With over 125 million of those two devices in circulation, Hasbro’s betting that a new accessory will have a greater-than-average chance at taking off next Spring, with the My3D goggles set to put the View back in ViewMaster. Purportedly, the toy firm is expected to fully reveal the device to investors later today, with it being “aimed at both children and adults” and offering a 3D viewing experience on games, virtual travel, augmented reality apps and entertainment content. The device itself resembles a set of binoculars, and just as the aforementioned ViewMaster, there’s a slot where you place your iPod touch or iPhone. Users will have to browse the App Store for compatible My3D content, with some of it to be offered up gratis. We’re guessing more than a few curious consumers will bite at just $30, but how hard would it have been to get this thing onto store shelves next month? A holiday opportunity missed, Hasbro. [Thanks, Bill] Hasbro’s $30 My3D goggle accessory brings 3D to iPhone, iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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They’re still far from being in the bargain bin , but solid state drives are slowly but surely walking their way down from the pricing stratosphere. A week after revealing a 96GB V+ 100 model , Kingston has now uncovered a more capacious sibling that’ll definitely tempt existing HDD users who have been holding tight to their platters while scoffing at the tiny SSD sizes cluttering the market. The 256GB SSDNow V100 is a 2.5-incher with sequential read speeds as high as 250MB/sec and write rates as high as 230MB/sec, and as with other Kingston SSDs, this one too packs a three-year warranty and Windows 7 TRIM support. It should be popping up on NewEgg and Buy.com soon here in the US of A for $489.99, and for those in need of an upgrade kit, it’ll find its way into a pair of desktop / laptop bundles for $10 more. Continue reading Kingston introduces 256GB SSDNow V100 SSD for $490 Kingston introduces 256GB SSDNow V100 SSD for $490 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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