Wow. Those rockstars at the USB 3.0 promoter group haven’t taken the threat of Thunderbolt lying down. They’ve been working long into the night (we imagine) screaming “More Power!” and “Liiiiive, damn you, liiiive!”. In a press release, the group announces a new power delivery specification which will push USB 3.0′s limit from 4.5 watts all the way up to 100. You all of course remember that Thunderbolt’s maximum is a mere-by-comparison 10 watts . Brad Saunders, the promotion group’s chairman, believes that the new standard could enable USB 3.0 to supply a laptop with energy at the same time as it delivers data between your devices. (After all that time sponging off your laptop’s meager battery it’s about time your USB-powered foot warmer started returning the favor.) At the moment it’s only a specification and won’t be implemented until 2012 at the earliest, but this could just turn into an arms race of electrifying proportions. Revved up USB 3.0 carries 10 times the power of Thunderbolt originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yeah, the Samsung i927 definitely exists — and the FCC’s flaunting the docs to prove it. That doesn’t mean we’re allowed to know all its deep, dark secrets yet; sadly, the Galaxy S II -esque device doesn’t bare it all for us to see. Granted, we’ve already seen pics of the QWERTY landscape slider, and it seems like that it’ll make its way onto AT&T’s smartphone lineup, so we already know more about the device than most FCC filings could ever reveal. But is it the mystical Samsung Attain we’ve postulated about for months? It utilizes the usual 850 / 1900 bands for WCDMA and HSPA (though it leaves no mention of any global frequencies that may lie in the phone), and the dimensions show a striking resemblance to those on the unlocked GSII — it’s roughly one mm off in both directions — so we can’t let go of the possibility yet. Whatever it is, this thing can’t come soon enough. Samsung i927 clears the FCC hurdle, AT&T-bound at last? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC to buy a chunk of Beats Electronics, keep Dr. Dre in a lab with a pen and a pad
August 10, 2011 No Comment
HTC’s been making money hand over fist lately, and it looks like all that cash is burning a hole in its pocket. First, the Taiwanese company bought cloud services firm Dashwire and now it’s looking to buy the lion’s share of Beats Electronics . For a cool $300 million, HTC plans to up the ante in mobile audio with the expertise of Dr. Dre baked into its future handsets. The deal is set to become final later this year, and we’ll see phones packing the big red ‘b’ this autumn. Feel free to peep the PR while you wait for ‘em to drop. Continue reading HTC to buy a chunk of Beats Electronics, keep Dr. Dre in a lab with a pen and a pad HTC to buy a chunk of Beats Electronics, keep Dr. Dre in a lab with a pen and a pad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Nokia’s US prexy Chris Weber’s been making the media rounds lately, talking up the company’s Windows Phone near-future and offering a peek at the marketing blitz to come. In an interview with VentureBeat , Weber confirmed the death of Symbian and the N9′s North American release , but was much less straightforward when asked about the WP7 launch, saying only that a US focus is paramount to the OEM’s global success. The MS-blessed smartphones are set to debut “in volume” next year, at which point Nokia hopes to have ironed out its complex negotiations with carriers, bringing aggressively subsidized handsets to market. Nokia’s chief also engaged in a bit of mobile OS grandstanding, touting Microsoft’s live tile integrated approach as superior to the “outdated” app focus popularized by iOS and Android. And if you’re wondering just how the OEM plans to differentiate its hardware in this cluttered wireless market, expect to see phones with an emphasis on “state-of-the-art imaging technology and battery performance.” Here’s to hoping Weber’s words don’t come back to haunt him when his bet goes live next year. Nokia’s Chris Weber promises US-centric push for Windows Phone 7 devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house
August 10, 2011 No Comment
GameFly hasn’t wasted any time jumping into the digital download waters after acquiring IGN’s Direct2Drive platform a little over two months ago. Set to launch September 8th in beta form, its new “Unlimited PC Play” service will offer subscribers access to 100-plus downloadable PC and Mac titles, with hundreds more expected in time for the official end of year launch. Fans of the video game rental outfit’s snail mail subscription service don’t have to worry about a shift to digital only, as the company has no plans to abandon its “unique combination of console and digital PC game offerings.” Interested in getting an early peek at the new platform? If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can look forward to a planned beta launch party next month, where access codes for the new, invite-only service will be distributed. The rest of you PC gaming warriors will just have to settle for a sign-up page at the source. GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house
August 10, 2011 No CommentGameFly hasn’t wasted any time jumping into the digital download waters after acquiring IGN’s Direct2Drive platform a little over two months ago. Set to launch September 8th in beta form, its new “Unlimited PC Play” service will offer subscribers access to 100-plus downloadable PC and Mac titles, with hundreds more expected in time for the official end of year launch. Fans of the video game rental outfit’s snail mail subscription service don’t have to worry about a shift to digital only, as the company has no plans to abandon its “unique combination of console and digital PC game offerings.” Interested in getting an early peek at the new platform? If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can look forward to a planned beta launch party next month, where access codes for the new, invite-only service will be distributed. The rest of you PC gaming warriors will just have to settle for a sign-up page at the source. GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house
August 10, 2011 No CommentGameFly hasn’t wasted any time jumping into the digital download waters after acquiring IGN’s Direct2Drive platform a little over two months ago. Set to launch September 8th in beta form, its new “Unlimited PC Play” service will offer subscribers access to 100-plus downloadable PC and Mac titles, with hundreds more expected in time for the official end of year launch. Fans of the video game rental outfit’s snail mail subscription service don’t have to worry about a shift to digital only, as the company has no plans to abandon its “unique combination of console and digital PC game offerings.” Interested in getting an early peek at the new platform? If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can look forward to a planned beta launch party next month, where access codes for the new, invite-only service will be distributed. The rest of you PC gaming warriors will just have to settle for a sign-up page at the source. GameFly to launch ‘Unlimited PC Play’ download service, offer less incentive to leave the house originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony WhiteMagic LCD promises magic formula of better brightness, lower power
August 10, 2011 No Comment
How do you make a brighter LCD without murdering battery life? Simple. Add a white pixel to each RGB trio, creating an RGBW panel that pumps out more nits without recourse to the backlight. We’ve already seen this technology in action on a tablet-sized screen from Samsung and Nouvoyance, and now Sony’s come up with an OEM 3-inch panel that it hopes will prove popular in smartphones and cameras. The VGA screen is claimed to double brightness without increasing power consumption compared to conventional panels. Alternatively, it has an outdoor mode which sacrifices this power-saving in favor of doubling brightness — although, when it comes to the sunlight problem, we’re still hoping that PixelQi’s approach will eventually come of age. Sony WhiteMagic LCD promises magic formula of better brightness, lower power originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video)
August 10, 2011 No Comment
Think SIGGRAPH ‘s all about far-out design concepts? Think again. A crew from the Tokyo Metropolitan University IDEEA Lab was on hand here at the show’s experimental wing showcasing a new “musical interface,” one that’s highly tactile and darn near impossible to walk away from. Upon first glance, it reminded us most of Yamaha’s Tenori-On , but the “universal input / output box” is actually far deeper and somewhat more interactive in use. A grand total of 16 solenoids are loaded in, and every one of ‘em are loaded up with sensors. Users can tap any button to create a downbeat (behind the scenes, a sequencer flips to “on”), which will rise in unison with the music until you tap it once more to settle it (and in turn, eliminate said beat). You can grab hold of a peg in order to sustain a given note until you let it loose. There’s a few pitch / tone buttons that serve an extra purpose — one that we’re sure you can guess by their names. Those are capable of spinning left and right, with pitch shifting and speeds increasing / decreasing with your movements. The learning curve here is practically nonexistent, and while folks at the booth had no hard information regarding an on-sale date, they confirmed to us that hawking it is most certainly on the roadmap… somewhere. Head on past the break for your daily (video) dose of cacophony. Gallery: PocoPoco musical interface box at SIGGRAPH 2011 Continue reading PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video) PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, that was anticlimactic. Viacom quickly sued Cablevision after the Optimum for iPad (now on iPhone and iPod Touch ) app launched and allowed cable customers to stream the entire channel lineup on their tablets, but now they’ve resolved that and “an unrelated business matter”. Viacom’s case against Time Warner’s similar offering is on hold while they also try to work out a deal, but Cablevision’s stance from the start is that its approach fell within the existing agreements and they appear to have gotten their way. Just like most other channel carriage disputes, it was likely a deal on the supposedly unrelated issue that got things moving, but as long as we can keep watching Teen Mom in the kitchen, bathroom or out on the patio it doesn’t really matter. Check the official statement from both companies after the break. Continue reading Cablevision and Viacom settle lawsuit over live TV on iPad Cablevision and Viacom settle lawsuit over live TV on iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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