It’s a good time to be a stylus fan. Not only has Samsung debuted its handwriting-friendly Series 7 Slate and Galaxy Note tablets, but LG is also bringing the stylus into the living room with its new series of PenTouch plasma TVs. Available in both 50-inch and 60-inch varieties, each TV comes with a pair of Touch Pens that let you either control the TV and included software like a calendar and photo gallery, or simply draw on it to your heart’s content. As if that wasn’t enough, the top-end 60-inch model is also a 3D TV, and include one pair of active shutter glasses — it’ll run you $2,199, while the non-3D models come in at $1,699 and $1,099. Unfortunately, you’ll also have to supply your own Windows PC to take full advantage of that touch-functionality. Continue reading LG goes big with stylus-equipped PenTouch plasma TVs LG goes big with stylus-equipped PenTouch plasma TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …We’ve known that Bell’s intended to make the jump to LTE for nearly three years , but the Canadian carrier has kept incredibly silent about when or how it was going to leap. If we’re to believe an unnamed source, that silence may be soon coming to an end: supposedly the company will be launching its 4G network “soon” and is rumored to have a phone and a tablet prepped for launch right away. The suspected devices? None other than the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy Tab 8.9. If this happens sometime in the fall, such a move would put Bell in the running to become the second carrier in Canada to adopt the next-gen standard — Telus and Sasktel are expected to upgrade next year — which gives advocates of choice some wonderful things to look forward to over the next twelve months. [Thanks, Doug] Bell prepping its LTE network, Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and Tab 8.9 to be offered at launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Starz has apparently decided it can live without the hundreds of millions of dollars a renewal of its content licensing deal with Netflix was expected to bring and announced an end to negotiations today. According to the Company Town blog, talks broke down over Starz’s insistence that Netflix implement tiered pricing, and charge customers even more for access to its content. That means when the current deal expires on February 28, 2012, they will all go away, including a number of its newer release flicks from Sony (already pulled ) and Disney that Starz has exclusive licenses to and Starz content like Camelot and Spartacus . To make matters worse, all of this is going down the same day as a price hike makes it more expensive to keep both disc and streaming services. While Starz claims the move is a part of its strategy to “protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content” as well as “evaluate new opportunities”, Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey is quoted as saying it can redirect the Starz money to deals with other content providers to “maintain or even improve the Netflix experience.” Beyond Starz, in the US Netflix also has access to newer movies from its deals with Epix and a few smaller distributors like Relativity Media . Check Starz’s statement in full after the break, and let us know if this is changing your answer to yesterday’s poll question . Continue reading Starz ends renewal negotiations with Netflix, will pull movies from streaming in February Starz ends renewal negotiations with Netflix, will pull movies from streaming in February originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …If those clock radios up there look familiar, it’s because their maker, Tivoli Audio, has been spitting out pretty much the same thing for the past 11 years . Their innards, at least, have changed with the times, and here at IFA the company is showing two models — the portable PAL+ and the more stationary Model 10+ — both of which hinge on support for digital radio. They’re each compatible with DAB, DAB+ and DMB, in addition to good ‘ol FM, have dual alarms and support five station presets for each band. The main difference is that the PAL+ is weather-resistant and battery-powered, rated to last three and a half hours unplugged. At 1.85 pounds it’s still heavy enough that we’d never throw it in a carry-on, but in a world where it cost less or money were no object we might take it to the beach. You could, if you were so inclined, use the included remote to navigate the UI, though there’s also a scroll wheel up top — a neat idea, we thought, until you realize pushing that button in the center to cycle through each and every menu gets annoying fast. As for the audio quality, the speakers are powerful enough that their sound could rise above the din of the show floor, but we could still hear some tinniness coming through. The pair are available now, fetching $299 (
Continue reading …We normally wouldn’t leave our housework in the hands of an animal, but Dyson ‘s new DC41 Animal vacuum cleaner may force us to reconsider. The company’s latest Ball-based sweeper uses Dyson’s proprietary (and complicated-sounding) Radial Root Cyclone technology to maximize its 235 air watts of suction power — most of which is concentrated at the cleaner’s head. It also ships with a mini turbine head, which you can use to clean up the hair that real animals leave on your car seat. In true Dysonian fashion, however, this Ball-bearing beast won’t come for cheap. You can scoop one up at the source link below, for a cool $600. Dyson unleashes DC41 Animal vacuum cleaner for pigpen apartments originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The last time Google’s jet-setting smartphone took to space, it wasn’t exactly flying in style. Well, the Nexus S has ditched its styrofoam trappings for more respectable digs — specifically, NASA’s last manned space shuttle, Atlantis . Its mission: “explore how robots can help humans experiment and live in space more efficiently.” Affixed to a series of three robotic satellites, known as SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) the phones engaged in tasks usually done by their human travel companions, like recording sensor data and capturing video. A special sensor-logging app was customized by NASA to capture sensor data and is now available for download in the Android Market. To see the space traveling smartphone at work, hop on past the break, or hit up NASA’s project page at the coverage link below. Continue reading Nexus S takes to space aboard Atlantis, does astronauts’ dirty work Nexus S takes to space aboard Atlantis, does astronauts’ dirty work originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …It got a bit overshadowed by the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab 7.7 earlier today, but Samsung also quietly introduced a new basic handheld / PMP at IFA: the Galaxy S WiFi 3.6. As you can probably surmise, it’s a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 (also known as the Galaxy Player in the US), with it boasting a 3.6-inch HVGA display, Android 2.3, a 1GHz OMAP processor, 8GB or 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, GPS, a mic for VoIP calls, and dual cameras (2 megapixels ’round back and VGA on the front). Unfortunately for those elsewhere, this one is only confirmed for the UK so far, where it will sell for
Continue reading …Hey, remember that new product from Improv Electronics that we told you about yesterday? We managed to sneak in some time with the device today at IFA, and we have to say, we like what we see. The Rip (that’s “Record. Image. Preserve.”) is the latest addition to the Boogie eWriter line, devices that let you scribble notes and drawings and can be wiped away with the press of a button (think a more legible Etch A Sketch ). The Rip ups the ante with the addition of a microUSB port, which lets you transfer notes as PDFs to your computer. Improv was careful to point out that the device is currently in prototype mode, so we won’t hold too much again the company for the product’s plasticy feel — though, if its predecessor is any indication, the final version likely won’t be too far from this one, and the company confirmed that the final version will have the same charcoal color. And while the product is indeed plasticy, it certainly feels sturdy. More after the break. Gallery: Boogie Board Rip eWriting pad hands-on Continue reading Boogie Rip eWriting pad stylus-on (video) Boogie Rip eWriting pad stylus-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Like most other mobile companies out there, it appears Meizu is looking to branch out from cellphones to tablets. It’s a little too early to say for sure what the manufacturer’s plans are, but a recent patent filing by Jo Young Soo, Meizu’s lead designer, with China’s SIPO (State Intellectual Property Office) gives a hint that a slate may be in the works. The application isn’t for a tablet, per se, but for a protective case that holds a tablet and keyboard. Now, it’s quite a leap from case to tablet, but Meizu doesn’t seem like the type of company to suddenly jump into the third-party iPad accessory market. Obviously we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but don’t be shocked if the Chinese manufacturer hops into the Honeycomb fray soon. Meizu tablet case patent application hints at slate plans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Toshiba’s STOR.E line of hard drives just got a bit of a refresh, and a dash of color, at IFA. It’s CANVIO models come in sizes up to 1TB and sport one those spiffy USB 3.0 connectors, while weighing in at under half a pound in your choice of black, green or red. The BASICS line sports all the same features and options, except the pre-installed backup software, but only comes in black. The STOR.E PARTNER is another basic external drive with a USB 3.0 connection, but it’s designed to match Toshiba’s NB500 series of netbooks and has the color options to match (black, blue, lime green and orange). Much more interesting are the STOR.E TV 2 and STOR.E TV PRO — a pair of devices with HDMI ports and a GUI all their own that will blend in with most home theater setups. While the TV 2 sticks with a traditional hard drive in sizes up to 2TB, the PRO opts for 8GB of flash storage. Both sport SD card readers, USB 2.0 and support for a broad range of codecs, but the PRO adds a Bluetooth remote with a QWERTY keyboard and full fledged web browsing capabilities. The STOR.E TV 2 and TV PRO will land in Europe during Q4 alongside the PARTNER, BASICS, and CANVIO lines. Check out the pile of PR after the break. Continue reading Toshiba updates STOR.E external hard drives for PCs and TVs Toshiba updates STOR.E external hard drives for PCs and TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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