Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and XpanD finally team up for an active 3D glasses standard
August 8, 2011 No Comment
The lack of a universal standard for active shutter 3D glasses became painfully clear during our 3D TV shootout last year, and gave plenty of reasons for buyers to skip the pricey specs altogether. Nine months later we see that LG has jumped onto passive 3D and CEA is playing catch up on the IR glasses problem , but many of the new HDTVs for 2011 are using Bluetooth technology to keep their glasses in sync — again without any promise of cross-manufacturer compatibility. A day late and a few dollars short, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and universal glasses maker XpanD are announcing the “Full HD Glasses Initiative” which should lay down a standard for consumer active shutter glasses to communicate over Bluetooth or IR. The new glasses should be backwards compatible with this year’s TVs, although early adopters from 2010 have no such guarantee. The press release (included after the break) indicates we can expect the new models to arrive in 2012, assuming they haven’t lost more ground to the FPR army and can still convince buyers to even look at 3D by then. Continue reading Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and XpanD finally team up for an active 3D glasses standard Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and XpanD finally team up for an active 3D glasses standard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Jailbroken Apple TV plays HTML5 Blackjack, iOS gambling rings can’t be far behind
August 8, 2011 No Comment
It was all the way back in October of 2010 that a few ingenious devs jailbroke the second gen Apple TV . Since then, we’ve seen a weather app , web browser , and finally a port of XBMC , but there hasn’t been much progress getting apps up and running. Well, today’s news doesn’t bring us any closer to playing Cut the Rope on Apple’s “hobby” but it does show that HTML5 is a viable option for getting games on the tiny media streamer. The fairly bare-bones Blackjack game isn’t going to wow anyone with its graphical prowess or stun with a deep level of interactivity, but it’s certainly a worthwhile proof of concept. While you wait for internet poker and online gambling to come to the little black box, check out the video after the break. Continue reading Jailbroken Apple TV plays HTML5 Blackjack, iOS gambling rings can’t be far behind Jailbroken Apple TV plays HTML5 Blackjack, iOS gambling rings can’t be far behind originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet visits the FCC, meeting described as business-like
August 8, 2011 No Comment
This isn’t a case where an FCC appearance offers our first hint of an imminent release, but those holding out for Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet instead of the company’s more consumer-minded IdeaPad K1 can at least rest assured that things are apparently still on track. The tablet’s now officially passed through the FCC, which should be the device’s last major stop before its August 23rd release date. Not much else in the way of surprises, as you might expect, but ThinkPad fans do now have some handsome line art to enjoy while they wait for the real thing. Hit the source link below for a bigger version, along with the few other parts of the filing that remain non-confidential. [Thanks, Liang] Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet visits the FCC, meeting described as business-like originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The trouble with pesky Photon, at least as far as ultra-fast optical computing is concerned, is that he keeps coming back. If a data-carrying beam of light collides with reflections bouncing around between the components of a chip, it can suffer enough interference to make people yearn for the good old days of electrons. What’s needed is the optical equivalent of a diode , which only allows light to pass one way, and that’s exactly what researchers at Caltech and the University of California claim to have developed. As you’ll see in the photo after the break, their metallic-silicon optical waveguide allows light to travel smoothly from left to right, but it breaks up and dissipates any photons traveling in the opposite direction. This is all good, because there’s no point having futuristic 50Gbps optical interconnects if our CPUs lag behind. Light up the source link for a fuller explanation. Continue reading Optical ‘diode’ lends hope to photonic computing, rayguns Optical ‘diode’ lends hope to photonic computing, rayguns originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The good folks over at Skype have been mighty busy recently. In the last month (give or take a day) the company has announced integration with Facebook , launched a new version of its Windows client to support the social network, released an iPad-optimized version , and expanded Android support to an additional 17 handsets. Now the video-chat stalwart has update its Mac app with support for Lion and HD video calls — something Microsoft fans have been enjoying since 2010. You can check out the full announcement and download Skype 5.3 for Max OS X at the source link. Skype for Mac updates to 5.3, adds Lion and HD video call support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Bowers & Wilkins has seriously been ramping up its consumer audio game in the past few years — notably, with products like its Zeppelin speaker systems for iDevices and its MM-1 desktop speakers. While speakers seem like an obvious choice for a company famous for HiFi systems, you probably wouldn’t have thought of B&W for your next set of iPhone-compatible headphones — that is, until its $300 P5 mobile HiFi supra-aural ‘phones released last year. This year, the company has taken a second step into the game with its C5 in-ear headset. Priced at $180, they’re a possible contender for those who’d prefer earbuds to on-ears, or maybe want some B&W headgear at a less expensive price point. We’ve grown fond of our leather-clad P5s for chit-chatting on the phone and rocking out during the commute, so we were curious to see, hear, and feel what the C5s could bring to the table. Luckily, B&W dropped off a pair of the in-ears on our doorstep, and we got to give them a healthy amount of use while commuting in and out of NYC to find out if they’d also win us over. It’s all detailed just past the break. Gallery: Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review Continue reading Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we have speaker docks in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here . Yeah, studying’s the hip thing to do, but waking up for class is arguably where success begins. Rather than relying on some ear-piercing tone emitted from one’s cellphone, we prefer something more… substantial. Here, we’ll be covering the best and brightest in speaker docks, also known as the alarm clock that your grandkids will eventually point at and laugh, mockingly. Jump past the break for our recommendations, and another opportunity to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win , and head over to our giveaway page for more details. Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: speaker docks Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: speaker docks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony intros 200-pound battery to power businesses, government agencies during a blackout
August 8, 2011 No Comment
In the five months since a tsunami and 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, we’ve seen various technology companies struggle to get their manufacturing operations back in order, but Sony appears to be the first to introduce a product seemingly inspired by the disaster itself. The outfit’s Japanese division just announced the ESSP-2000, a 90kg (198-pound)battery whose 2.4kWh of power should keep businesses and government agencies afloat for at least a few hours in the event of a blackout or natural disaster. All told, the battery can support a maximum load of 1000VA, and can recharge to 95 percent in about two hours — not bad, considering the capacity of this thing. Sony also went with olivine-type lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries, which it says will last ten years. With a price of
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With the upcoming introduction of its LTE network and vast fall smartphone lineup , US Cellular’s a regional carrier with a lot to look forward to. But its efforts over the second quarter, paired with the hopes of a bright future ahead, weren’t enough to keep a few thousand customers from parting ways. While most of the reported figures were quite pleasant year-over-year — service revenues bumped up three percent to $1 billion, percentage of smartphones sold skyrocketed to nearly 40 percent, ARPU increased to $51.84, and total operating income shot up a whole 61 percent — the company also experienced a loss of 58,000 customers over the course of three months. The carrier doesn’t seem too worried about this particular figure, however, as it stated its excitement about the launch of its 4G service later this year. Will the bleak and cold winter become warm and toasty because of a blazing-hot network? We’re eager to find out. Hit the source link for the full quarterly earnings. Continue reading US Cellular Q2 results bring higher revenue, despite small customer loss US Cellular Q2 results bring higher revenue, despite small customer loss originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Discount education-only iMac appears, makes you wish you’d opened that institute of higher learning
August 8, 2011 No Comment
A new $999 iMac popped up on Apple’s site this week — great news if you or someone you love owns an educational establishment. The cheap education-only all-in-one boasts a 21.5 inch display, a 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 processor, and 250GB of storage. As MacRumors points out, however, there’s no mention of a Thunderbolt port amongst the specs listed, so maybe this whole running a school thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Discount education-only iMac appears, makes you wish you’d opened that institute of higher learning originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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