The latest masterpiece from those clever folks at Google may be their greatest creation yet. September 5 would have been the 65th birthday for the late frontman of iconic British band Queen, Freddie Mercury (in fact, go check out this awesome post to remember him by and then come back here). Unsurprisingly, Google has latched
Continue reading …Warfare’s constantly evolving. Daylight battles became late-night duels, and pre-noon skirmishes shifted to sundown slaughters — some might say we’re just getting lazy, but either way, thermal imaging now plays quite the vital role. Now BAE and the FMV — Sweden’s equivalent to DARPA — have a way to mask the heat signature of heavy machinery. Adaptiv is a wall of 14 centimeter panels that monitor the ambient heat and match it, so it can’t be picked out from the background radiation. The tech can also be used to replicate the profiles of other things — you know, like a spotted calf or a Fiat 500. BAE believes the tech is scaleable for buildings and warships, the only downside being that all future commanders will have to make sure their operations are finished before dawn. Wouldn’t want your soldiers to see that five o’clock (AM) shadow, now would we? [Thanks, Rob] BAE’s infrared invisibility cloak makes tanks cold as ice, warm as cows originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony’s Tablet S may not have been quite fit for consumers’ hands when we previewed it last week , but we can only presume that the company’s now finally gotten things sorted out, as the tablet is available for pre-order with a promised September 16th ship date. That now includes Amazon in addition to Sony’s own site, as well as Best Buy and Future Shop in Canada which are each listing a slightly later September 23rd availability date for the country (but the same $499 and $599 price tags). As expected, those interested in the smaller, dual-screened Tablet P instead still have a bit more waiting to do. [Thanks, Sam] Sony Tablet S now available for pre-order, shipping September 16th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …You probably thought Motorola had a lock on this whole docks for your phone thing, but Korean company KT quietly launched an assault on the Atrix manufacturer at IFA. Rather than a single (and underwhelming) ” Webtop ,” KT’s Spider Concept has three different accessories that expand the capabilities of the 4.5-inch gingerbread device. The laptop dock adds a QWERTY keyboard, an extended battery and a revamped UI while relying on the phone itself as the touchpad. If keyboards aren’t your thing, there’s the Spider PAD tablet shell which blows the interface up to 10.1-inches while adding a few slate-friendly tweaks. Last is the gaming dock, a simple cradle with a D-pad and buttons that connects to the Spider via Bluetooth. The phone itself is no slouch, packing 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor. Oh, and that 4.5-inch screen? A stunning 1280 x 800 resolution. It’s kind of hard to believe all that is jammed into a package just 9.34mm (0.37-inches) thin. The phone is expected to launch in Korea in either November or December, though price and international availability are still up in the air. Check out the pair of videos after the break. Continue reading KT’s Spider Concept phone is also a laptop, a tablet and a game console (video) KT’s Spider Concept phone is also a laptop, a tablet and a game console (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Medion enjoyed a pretty eventful weekend at this year’s IFA in Berlin, where the German PC maker unveiled a new Android tablet and a rather obtuse Gingerbread smartphone. Known as the Lifetab P9514, the company’s 32GB, 1.6-pound slate is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, runs Honeycomb 3.2 and features a capacitive multitouch display with 1280 x 800 resolution. The device also supports both quad-band 3G and WiFi connections, along with the usual smattering of HDMI, microUSB, and microSD ports. Medion’s new phone, meanwhile, remains decidedly more mysterious. At this point, we know that the 4.3-inch handset rocks a five megapixel shooter and comes pre-loaded with the manufacturer’s GoPal satnav app, but further details remain murky. Both devices are expected to ship within Europe during Q4 of this year at unconfirmed prices, though rumor has it that the LifeTab will run for €399 (about $564). No word yet on whether we can expect to see either product hit the US anytime soon, but you can catch a glimpse of the freshly unveiled smartphone, after the break. Continue reading Medion announces LifeTab P9514 tablet, mysterious Android smartphone at IFA Medion announces LifeTab P9514 tablet, mysterious Android smartphone at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Medion enjoyed a pretty eventful weekend at this year’s IFA in Berlin, where the German PC maker unveiled a new Android tablet and a rather obtuse Gingerbread smartphone. Known as the Lifetab P9514, the company’s 32GB, 1.6-pound slate is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, runs Honeycomb 3.2 and features a capacitive multitouch display with 1280 x 800 resolution. The device also supports both quad-band 3G and WiFi connections, along with the usual smattering of HDMI, microUSB, and microSD ports. Medion’s new phone, meanwhile, remains decidedly more mysterious. At this point, we know that the 4.3-inch handset rocks a five megapixel shooter and comes pre-loaded with the manufacturer’s GoPal satnav app, but further details remain murky. Both devices are expected to ship within Europe during Q4 of this year at unconfirmed prices, though rumor has it that the LifeTab will run for €399 (about $564). No word yet on whether we can expect to see either product hit the US anytime soon, but you can catch a glimpse of the freshly unveiled smartphone, after the break. Continue reading Medion announces LifeTab P9514 tablet, mysterious Android smartphone at IFA Medion announces LifeTab P9514 tablet, mysterious Android smartphone at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Netflix promised our friends in Central and South America would soon be able to enjoy the pleasures of Watch Instantly. Starting today with Brazil, and with 43 other Latin American countries to follow before September 12th, the pioneering streaming video service is making good on that promise. Customers in the land of Carnival can enjoy a free one-month trial, after which a subscription will run $14.99 a month in Brazilian dollars. The roll out will be staggered over the coming days, with most areas getting a price point equivalent to $7.99 in American currency and some having both English and Spanish language options. For more details check out the PR after the break and the chart above. [Thanks, Nicolas] Continue reading Netflix lands in Brazil, 43 other Latin American countries within the week Netflix lands in Brazil, 43 other Latin American countries within the week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …At present time, Baidu’s a desktop web browser / search engine based in China that’s meant to mimic Chrome (though it’s actually wrapped around IE code). The company, however, has its sights set on conquering the mobile front as well, introducing Baidu Yi OS at its annual get-together. The new platform is essentially a forked version of Android, which will provide a lot of the same functionality and services we’re used to seeing from Google; Baidu, though, is adding a dash of flavor by throwing in its own bundle of apps — such as native maps, reader, music, web apps, and even a program similar to Google Places — as well as strong cloud integration for backups, storage and sharing. The new OS will likely be up against intense competition from Nokia , Alibaba , Xiaomi and Windows Phone Tango (amongst others), so the Chinese mobile space may get rather interesting in the coming years. Baidu announces Android OS alternative, confirming its mobile aspirations originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Call of Duty certainly knows how to wear out its merchandising welcome. After announcing a line of eye strain-reducing glasses and a series of branded headsets , Activision’s juggernaut franchise is steamrolling its pre-release hype all over a custom Xbox 360 . The limited edition 320GB console comes bundled with two similarly bedecked wireless controllers, a requisite copy of Modern Warfare 3 and even includes franchise-specific boot sounds. You can snag this video gaming swag on November 8th for a cool $399, or grab the headset and controllers separately. It’s your call and your paycheck, after all. Official presser awaits you after the break. Continue reading Modern Warfare 3 limited edition Xbox 360 set ushers in last wave of marketing hype Modern Warfare 3 limited edition Xbox 360 set ushers in last wave of marketing hype originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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