A helpful tipster hit us up with this little photo today: a Windows Phone 7 mockup styled of Lego bricks. The fake phone is apparently being sent out in real invites to real executives for Microsoft’s upcoming sure-to-be-swanky Executive Event for Windows Phone 7 in November (not to be confused with the sure-to-be-pretty-great launch in October ). Our question: where’s the Duplo version for Windows Mobile 6.5? Alternate groan-worthy end zingers: “We suppose that puts a whole new spin on ‘bricked,’ huh?” “Where’s the Technic version for Windows Mobile 6.5?” “Micro$oft? More like Blacktron!” Continue reading Microsoft sends out Lego Windows Phone 7 mockup to executives Microsoft sends out Lego Windows Phone 7 mockup to executives originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Rogers is breaking LTE out of the confines of its labs for the first time with the announcement today that it’s flipping the switch on a trial network in Ottawa — a place where infrastructure partner Ericsson conveniently just happens to have some facilities. The 4G network won’t be open to customers yet, but it seems like that’ll be a relatively small step — in the Ottawa area, anyway — once all the technical issues have been ironed out. Step one will be a deployment in Rogers’ AWS spectrum portfolio, but they’ve already filed a request with the gub’mint to roll out on 700MHz as well — a critical step if these guys want any semblance of interoperability with the first LTE deployments in the US. So, Canadians, tell us: excited? Follow the break for the full press release. Continue reading Rogers, Ericsson turn Ottawa into an LTE trial playground Rogers, Ericsson turn Ottawa into an LTE trial playground originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Rat controls vehicle with its brain, Pinky and The Brain apply for ‘one last run’
October 7, 2010 No Comment
So, let’s paint the picture, shall we? There’s a rat, a bundle of electrodes, more wiring than an electrician would know what to do with and some sort of wheeled apparatus. In the background stands a team of crazed Japanese scientists, intent on never sleeping again until said rat controls said vehicle entirely with his mind. Nah, it’s not a re-run of a WB classic — it’s real life, and it’s happening now in a dark, shadowy corner at the University of Tokyo. The RatCar is a newly developed rat-vehicle experiment that researchers hope will open new doors for those with mobility issues; we’ve seen brain-machine interfaces change the lives of the disabled before, but giving them the ability to control their wheelchair with their mind (for instance) would be taking things to an entirely new level. As of now, the team still has to figure out how to accurately determine how much movement is coming from the rat’s feet and how much is coming from its mind, but there’s no question that the research shows promise — just don’t let the humanoids learn of our findings , okay folks? Rat controls vehicle with its brain, Pinky and The Brain apply for ‘one last run’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sirius XM Sound Dock unites a fractured past, accepts tuners from both Sirius and XM
October 7, 2010 No Comment
The North versus the South in America. East and West Germany. Quebec revolting against English-speaking Canada. Sirius and XM . History’s chock full of broken spirits, hurt feelings and splintered memories, but the latter of these mentioned touches our heart the most. We mean, just look at this new boombox — the Sirius XM Sound Dock has somehow managed to put differences and demographics aside in a mighty effort of reuniting two satellite radio companies that once wished death and destruction upon one another. Expected to ship later in 2010 for $129, it’s the first docking speaker station that’s compatible with both XM and Sirius ‘ Dock and Play ‘ tuners released over the past three years. If you’re nowhere near an AC outlet, it’ll also operate with an eight-pack of ‘C’ cell batteries, and there’s an auxiliary input and headphone output for added flexibility. Frankly, the release of this fellow reinstates our hope that world peace can indeed be achieved… so long as we take it one radio at a time. Sirius XM Sound Dock unites a fractured past, accepts tuners from both Sirius and XM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MacBook Air supply dwindling for online retailers, rumor mill raises an eyebrow
October 7, 2010 No Comment
In the market for a MacBook Air ? Well, now may not be the best time. Apple Insider is reporting indirect sales channels (read: non-Apple stores) are running out of the thin-and-light with no indication of a replenishment. Indeed, we just checked Amazon , Best Buy , and a few other online retailers and were consistently greeted by limited- and out-of-stock notices. So, you know what the means — new hardware rumors. Or rather, old ones resurfacing, such as the 11.6-inch display from late September. Compounding the community’s curiosity would be vague tweets from famed company insider John Gruber , who casually mentioned “the imminent” new MacBook Air as a possible reason for the recent Apple Store downtime. Of course, that didn’t turn out to be the case, and for all we know it could just mean some refreshed specs — if even that, really. AI reminds us that October has been historically the month of refreshed Mac hardware in the lead-up to holiday shopping… but that doesn’t mean it’s the case now. All we really know now is that third-party outlets aren’t currently stocking the Air and it’s unknown if they’re getting anymore shipments of this particular model — which, we know, isn’t nearly as exciting as the imagination. Sorry about that. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] MacBook Air supply dwindling for online retailers, rumor mill raises an eyebrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We were able to peek Samsung’s NF310 netbook at the front-end of last month, but now that a ship date is drawing near, the firm is dishing out a few more details in hopes of regaining your attention. As we’d heard, this 10.1-incher will boast a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, but we’ve now learned that it’ll also arrive with 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB hard drive, 1366 x 768 resolution display, an Earth-rattling three watt stereo speaker setup, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a battery that’ll purportedly last over nine hours. The whole thing weighs in at 2.87 pounds, but the inclusion of Windows 7 Starter bums us out a bit. At any rate, it’ll be out and about this fall for $399, trying its best to showcase a spill-resistant keyboard, larger-than-average touchpad and an array of Sleep & Charge USB ports . Continue reading Samsung details 10.1-inch NF310 netbook, plans to ship this autumn Samsung details 10.1-inch NF310 netbook, plans to ship this autumn originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft creating its own software layer for Windows 7 tablets? Boy, we hope so
October 6, 2010 No Comment
It’s no secret that Microsoft has a slight tablet, err Slate PC problem on its hands: Windows 7 certainly works on a “pad,” but the user interface isn’t meant for strictly finger input. The makeshift solution has been, of course, for its partners to create software skins of their own — see HP TouchSmart UI , the ExoPC “Connect Four” skin, etc. — but according to Microsoft know-it-all Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet , the guys in Redmond may just be working on a layer of their own. Now, Foley says these are just recurring rumors at this point, but they happen to line up with similar whispers we’ve heard that Microsoft might develop its own optional “shell.” Foley actually believes that it could be based on Windows Media Center, and points to an article by UK blogger Mark Wilson in which Ballmer is quoted saying, “what you’ll see over the course of the next year is us doing more and more work with our hardware partners creating hardware-software optimisations with Windows 7 and with Windows 7 Media Center .” We don’t need to tell you, Mr. Ballmer, that we think that sounds like a glorious idea, and it’ll certainly buy you time until Windows 8 is ready in 2012 . Speaking of which, he also confirmed that it won’t be releasing another version of Windows in the interim as some may have suspected. We’ve similarly heard that Microsoft is heavily optimizing the new OS for slates, and is already prepping its partners with information on that front. Obviously all of this should be taken with a grain of salt at this point, but we sure are happy to hear that Microsoft’s starting to understand how important those UI layers are to consumer adoption and that the wheels may be in motion on finger-friendly interface improvements. Of course, for now we’ll be sitting here twiddling our thumbs until next week’s October 11 event to see if any elusive Microsoft slate announcements do in fact decide to make an appearance. Microsoft creating its own software layer for Windows 7 tablets? Boy, we hope so originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The low-end Android game just got real, folks, with Sprint’s introduction of the LG Optimus S, a $50 (on-contract, post-rebate) Android slatephone running Froyo on a 3.2-inch HVGA screen, with mobile hotspot functionality for up to five devices, 802.11 b/g WiFi and a 600MHz processor to run the whole shebang. As you’d expect in a world of 1GHz smartphones at the $200 price point, it’s not quite up to spec, but that doesn’t keep it from having a super-solid build, durable and weighty, that belies its low price. It honestly feels much like a Nexus One in the hand, though with nice big physical buttons instead of of capacitive function keys, and of course a lower-quality LCD screen. There’s an auto-focusing 3.2 megapixel camera on the back and a fairly responsive capacitive touchscreen up front, and though browsing was a little painful on the low-res screen, the Android 2.2 device sped through the UI without skipping a beat. If this device impresses as much after we throw it through a barrage of tests, I’ll be hard to imagine ever spending on a regular ol’ featurephone again. Update: We’ve just been informed that the Optimus S has 256MB RAM and 512MB of ROM, an MSM7627 chipset and Bluetooth 2.1, but there’s more — it pulls a respectable 430 in the Quadrant benchmark with Qualcomm Adreno 200 graphics doing the heavy lifting. See some direct-from-device screenshots and a couple sample pics from the Optimus S’s camera in our second gallery below! Gallery: LG Optimus S (for Sprint), first hands-on Gallery: LG Optimus S benchmarks, screenshots and sample pics Myriam Joire contributed to this report. LG Optimus S for Sprint, first hands-on! (update: benchmarked!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s been a long road to the T-Mobile G2 (and this review). Just two years ago, Android made its entrance into the smartphone market with the G1 , a partnership with the fourth-place carrier, and a lot of promises about keeping things open. Since then we’ve seen the likes of the Droid family, Google’s Nexus One , and the powerhouses that are the Samsung Galaxy S line — to name a few. Yes, the Android landscape has become more than just a little crowded. But of those many, there are few who leap beyond what we’ve come to expect from the Google-backed enterprise into the realm of the top tier. For all the Android devices you can purchase, only a few rise above the noise. At a glance, the G2 looks like one of those handsets — designed and manufactured by HTC (and known as the Desire Z in Europe), outfitted with a (nearly) stock build of Android 2.2, and equipped with T-Mobile’s new HSPA+, which the carrier claims can offer network speeds nearly equivalent to 4G. So is the G2 the sum of its parts — The pure Android experience you’ve been waiting for — or does it fall short of the hype? Find out below in the full Engadget review! Gallery: T-Mobile G2 review Continue reading T-Mobile G2 review T-Mobile G2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verbatim’s USB 3.0 Store ‘n’ Go external drives play nice with magnets, your data
October 6, 2010 No Comment
We’re guessing from the photo up there that Verbatim is saying your data is safe even if you happen to drop a magnetic paperclip dispenser on it. That’s cool, because we happen to have one of those sitting right here on the desk, and for too long we’ve lived in fear of the thing toppling over and wiping the bits right off of our drives. But, the real talking point here is the interface: Verbatim ‘s first USB 3.0 external storage. It’ll be available in your choice of three sizes, with 500 and 750GB models shipping later this month and a 1TB monster coming in November. Naturally they’re also backwards compatible with last-gen USB but will surely cost well more than those drives who are exclusively down with 2.0. How much more? That we just don’t know right now. Continue reading Verbatim’s USB 3.0 Store ‘n’ Go external drives play nice with magnets, your data Verbatim’s USB 3.0 Store ‘n’ Go external drives play nice with magnets, your data originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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