Verizon’s tiered data plans go live, including $30 for a smartphone buffet or $15 for 150MB
October 29, 2010 No Comment
It’s October 28th, and Verizon’s full suite of data plans have changed just as foretold — if you want to save a few bucks, you can revise your megabyte-munching lifestyle right now. There’s no need to fear for unlimited 3G smartphone data, as it’s still available for the usual $29.99, but that plan’s no longer required when buying a new Droid, as you can opt for a new $14.99 plan if you can bare to live with just 150 megabytes. We’ll spare you the full breakdown on mobile broadband plans — as you can find it at our original post right here — rght down to that promotional 3GB MiFi and Fivespot plan for $35 a month. [Thanks, Cody W.] Verizon’s tiered data plans go live, including $30 for a smartphone buffet or $15 for 150MB originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sunflex Snakebyte Premium Remote XL+ does integrated MotionPlus, third-party style
October 29, 2010 No CommentIt looks as if we’ve located the proverbial “ugly stick”: behold the Snakebyte Premium Remote XL+ Wii controller. It’s not the first third-party Wiimote to have built-in MotionPlus, in fact, Nyko beat Nintendo’s own upcoming Wii Remote Plus to market with the Wand+ . Still, the Sunflex’s Premium Remote XL+ has a certain lack of stylistic direction that may surpass even the drab gray Wand+ for the title of “ugliest Wiimote.” The Snakebyte, which includes USB-rechargeable batteries in addition to its traditional duties, is out now for $35, $5 under Nintendo’s pricetag. Sunflex Snakebyte Premium Remote XL+ does integrated MotionPlus, third-party style originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Dean Kamen unveils new bionic arm and water machine, LED light bulb powered by Cree
October 29, 2010 No Comment
Segway inventor Dean Kamen just stole the show at TEDMED 2010, with both a far-reaching lecture on how technology can save the developing world, and a peek at his latest projects. We’ll spare you the wave of guilt for now and get right to the cool stuff, like the latest rendition of his Luke prosthetic arm and Slingshot water machine . Dean admitted he’s having difficulty finding companies interested in manufacturing the former, but it’s looking snazzier than when it last grabbed Stephen Colbert , with components like this shoulder piece printed out of titanium in a custom 3D printer, and it’s slated to look like this . The Slingshot’s seeing even more action, as Dean and company have pulled it out of the ugly box into these svelte tubes , and finally has a distribution deal (with Coca-Cola, of all companies) to bring the clean-water-from-any-source machines to developing countries early next year. Last but not least, the man’s got a product you might be able to afford for your home. In the quest for an item for his FIRST young engineers to sell — a la Girl Scout cookies — he tapped LED manufacturer Cree to produce an 450 lumen light bulb that draws just 7 watts and will retail for about $25 door-to-door. In case you’re wondering, that’s cheaper and more efficient than most any lamp we’ve seen before . Dean says they’ve already produced several hundred thousand of the bulbs thanks to a surprise $3 million investment from Google, and plan to have them in the hands of every FIRST kid soon. Keep on fighting the good fight, Dean. Gallery: Dean Kamen at TEDMED 2010 Dean Kamen unveils new bionic arm and water machine, LED light bulb powered by Cree originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We already knew that it was ready for testing , and Lockheed Martin has now announced that it has finally begun laboratory tests of its HULC robotic exoskeleton . The testing follows a number of improvements made to the exoskeleton that increased its reliability and performance, including some new environmental sealing that provides additional protection from natural elements and battlefield hazards, and some refinements to the HULC’s form and fit that promise to let its wearer adapt to it in less time. While complete details on the testing itself is obviously a bit light, Lockheed Martin says that it will “validate the ruggedized system’s capabilities and reliability in a variety of simulated battlefield conditions” — think Laser Tag with robot legs (at least we will). Head past the break for the full press release, and look for the next milestone to happen sometime next year, when it’s expected to see some actual use in the field. Continue reading Lockheed Martin begins laboratory testing of HULC robotic exoskeleton Lockheed Martin begins laboratory testing of HULC robotic exoskeleton originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC HD7 is hitting T-Mobile November 8th for $200… but it’s hitting Amazon for $30 less
October 28, 2010 No Comment
Yes, true: T-Mobile announced last week by way of Twitter that it would be retailing the HD7 on November 8th — the same day as AT&T’s Samsung Focus and HTC Surround — for $199.99 on contract. Thing is, it turns out that AmazonWireless is going to be selling it for $169.99 on contract… which, by our calculations, is $30 less for the same product! Obviously, it’s the norm for retailers like Amazon and Wirefly to charge less for phones on new two-year deals than their first-party counterparts — but what’s notable here is that Amazon will be undercutting T-Mobile by a nice little margin on day one. Well, at least we think it’ll be day one; the site quotes “usually 1 to 3 weeks” for shipping, which should match up with the drop date, give or take. [Thanks, Collin W.] HTC HD7 is hitting T-Mobile November 8th for $200… but it’s hitting Amazon for $30 less originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Aperion’s Zona wireless bookshelf surround system frees up your sound studio
October 28, 2010 No Comment
Aperion Audio’s Home Audio Link is already enabling content speaker owners to enjoy the spoils of wireless, but if you’re in the market for a set of bookshelf speakers, the outfit’s Zona system might just fit the bill. Essentially, these monitors combine high-end audio fidelity with the aforementioned 2.4GHz wireless technology, allowing owners to plug a transceiver into a USB source up to 150 feet away and shoot all sorts of sine waves over to their two speakers. Of course, we wouldn’t recommend these to casual listeners given the $499 asking price, but at least that gets you a pair of 20-watt Class D amplifiers, 4.5-inch woven fiberglass woofers, 1-inch soft dome silk tweeters and a feeling of pride that simply cannot be described in mere words. Or so we’re told. Gallery: Zona Wireless Surround Speaker System Continue reading Aperion’s Zona wireless bookshelf surround system frees up your sound studio Aperion’s Zona wireless bookshelf surround system frees up your sound studio originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …With meetups and Engadget Shows and all the high fashion model parties we’ve been hanging out at lately, it’s been two whole weeks since we had a podcast. So, let’s make up for lost time, shall we? Hit up the chat and the stream after the break. P.S. And don’t forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you’re out and about and you can’t join in on the Flash-based fun below. Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 6:30PM EDT! The Engadget Podcast, live at 6:30PM EDT! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Attempts to play Kinect early can result in headaches, nausea, and an acute lack of Xbox Live
October 28, 2010 No Comment
Our friends at Joystiq are reporting that receiving an early Kinect unit or a Kinect title is cause for caution and adult supervision, not celebration. Turns out if you attempt to play the game, the Xbox will offer you an update, and if you accept, you’ll get pushed an early version of the new Dashboard that not only won’t work with Kinect, but also won’t let you sign into Xbox Live. Want to update again or revert? Sorry, smart guy, you’re stuck. Of course, Microsoft will no doubt be rescuing you on or before November 4th , when Kinect is officially released to the public and it has to push the new Dashboard to everyone, but until then you’ll probably be stuck trying to remember what game consoles did before they connected to the internet. We vaguely recall something about gathering stars… Attempts to play Kinect early can result in headaches, nausea, and an acute lack of Xbox Live originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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They may not be the highest-function watches in the world, but Phosphor’s line of timepieces can make a claim that virtually no other watches in the world can: they’ve got E Ink displays. Sure, Seiko’s been teasing us all with gorgeous pieces of E Ink wrist candy for half a decade , but the critical thing about Phosphor’s offerings is that they’re easy on the wallet (relatively speaking) and you won’t need to embark on a grueling multi-year journey through specialty jewelry shops in Asia to try to find one. The company just recently introduced its latest line of models featuring world time capability, and we’ve had a chance to check them out — all four of them, to be precise. Read on for our quick review! Gallery: Phosphor World Time E Ink watch review Continue reading Phosphor World Time E Ink watch review Phosphor World Time E Ink watch review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Droid Pro coming in a cameraless version for security-conscious businessfolk?
October 28, 2010 No Comment
Traditionally, cameraless versions of smartphones designed for high-security work environments have been the exclusive playground of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry — the enterprise mobile platforms companies have rallied around the most over the past decade — but Motorola’s Droid Pro seeks to give Android some serious enterprise street cred for the first time thanks to that glorious portrait QWERTY keyboard. To that end, it makes sense that they’d want to release a second version sans camera — and a new leak speaking of “the new Enterprise-focused DROID phone without a camera” suggests that’s exactly what’s happening. Our trusted source says they’re “99 percent positive” that’s what we’re looking at here; not a product for everyone, of course, but if you work in the government lab where they keep all the alien corpses, you’ll probably be thanking your lucky stars. Motorola Droid Pro coming in a cameraless version for security-conscious businessfolk? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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