It’s been a long and twisted road for Acer’s 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, but after all the starts and stops , we’ve finally got an ETA for the Iconia Tab A100. According to an email sent out to Acer retail partners today, the slab should land in stores sometime in early August with a suggested price tag of $300. The Tegra 2-powered device was originally slated for a mid-May launch , but was reportedly held up by Honeycomb compatibility issues. Also arriving early August, are a pair of new Aspire notebooks: the 15.6-inch 5750Z and the 17.3-inch 7739Z, ringing in at $475 a piece. Both laptops rock 4GB of DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 8GB), 500GB of storage, and Intel Pentium processors. Given the extra three months Acer’s had to get the Iconia Tab A100 to market, that Honeycomb better taste extra sweet went it finally makes its debut. [Thanks, Anon] Acer Iconia Tab A100 finally available in August for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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ASUS has gone and made its super svelte Eee PC X101 official with a dedicated product page live on its site. We’d already gotten our hands-on with the crimson-colored ultraportable, but now there’s a whole list of specs to flesh out this 920g wonder. The MeeGo-running netbook’s rocking a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display, 1.33 GHz Intel Atom N435 (or N455) processor, 8GB SSD, Bluetooth, WiFi, SDHC card support and USB 2.0. Oh, and did we mention this 17.6 millimeter thin beauty comes in three shades of awesome? That’s right, when this $199 netbook finally hits retailers’ shelves , you can also snag it in white and brown (a Zune homage, we presume). There’s still no word on just when this slight badboy’s going to be available, but at least you now have a place to go and drool in anticipation. ASUS Eee PC X101 product page goes live, still no release date originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Mobility reports $56 million net loss in Q2, $3.3 billion in revenue
July 28, 2011 No Comment
Back in the last quarter of 2010, Motorola Mobility predicted a rocky road for future business, and its Q2 earnings seem to be right on track. The company reported total net revenues of $3.3 billion in the second quarter, up 28 percent year-over-year, but saw a net loss of $56 million, compared to earnings of $80 million in the second quarter of 2010. Mobile Devices saw an operating loss of $85 million, compared to the previous year’s earnings of $87 million. Moto’s not all doom and gloom however, as it predicts profitability in mobile devices by Q4. In terms of sales, the company reportedly shipped 11 million mobile devices, including 4.4 million smartphones and 440,000 Xoom tablets . Here’s hoping Motorola’s powers of prediction remain strong.Full PR after the break. We’d heard that the Droid Bionic was “coming soon,” but up until today, we still didn’t have a firm date for the LTE Android phone. Well, the cat is sort of out of the bag, as Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has just announced that the long-awaited handset will hit stores in September. When in September is still anyone’s guess, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Continue reading Motorola Mobility reports $56 million net loss in Q2, $3.3 billion in revenue Motorola Mobility reports $56 million net loss in Q2, $3.3 billion in revenue originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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American Ryan Lochte edged Michael Phelps for gold in the 200-meter individual medley at the world championships Thursday, setting the first world record since high-tech bodysuits were banned at the start of last year. (July 28)
Continue reading …Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor
July 28, 2011 No Comment
These guys aren’t Purdue University professors, they’re DJs. That thing on the left? It isn’t a high-mobility gallium-arsenide molecular beam epitaxy system, it’s their decks. It creates an ultra-pure material so perfectly latticed that it traps electrons between its layers and stops them bouncing around like drunken fools at the high school prom. By squeezing them ever so tightly, it lulls the particles into an “exotic” slow dance, at which point they become “aware” of each other and start performing correlated motions that are essential for quantum computing . That’s a still a long way off, but if one day we find ourselves affixing gallium arsenide swabs to our quantum motherboards, we’ll raise our lighters in the air. Informative PR after the break. Continue reading Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Because dirigibles were such a great idea the first, completely non-disastrous time around, Lockheed Martin and the US Army have teamed up to bring the quaint technology back into our hyper-modern era. The lighter-than-air vehicle got a new lease on unmanned flight life when it launched yesterday from its base in Akron, Ohio. The High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D for short) reached 32,000 ft during its maiden voyage before technical difficulties cut the test short, forcing an emergency landing in the deep woods of southwestern Pennsylvania. Despite the flight-aborting hiccup, the global security company is all smiles, citing the successful demonstration of “communications links, [the] unique propulsion system, solar array electricity generation [and] remote piloting communications.” Future real-world versions of HALE-D could serve as a military “telecommunications relay system” over foreign terrain — like Afghanistan — where radio signals can’t penetrate. The Defense Department contractor is currently retrieving the airship from its foresty crash pad, but you can bet some locals already called this close encounter in to the local papers. Skip past the break for Archer’s take on our government’s latest airborne effort. Continue reading Lockheed Martin’s HALE-D airship learns to fly, makes a crash landing Lockheed Martin’s HALE-D airship learns to fly, makes a crash landing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Sadly, Twitter integration wasn’t part of the package when we checked out Windows Phone Mango at the end of last month . The feature has finally been rolled out in the latest developer build of the forthcoming mobile operating system, and WinRumors has taken it for a spin on video. Thrill at the simple setup process through Windows Live. Gasp at integration with the People and Me hubs. Stare in stunned silence at the threaded conversations. All that and more in the video after the break. Continue reading Windows Phone Mango Twitter integration shown off, hashtagged (video) Windows Phone Mango Twitter integration shown off, hashtagged (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Eager to get your hands on a big-screen OLED TV? Then it looks like you may still have to wait a few more years — at least according to Paul Peng, the executive vice president of display manufacturer AU Optronics (otherwise known as AUO ). While the technology has been getting cheaper and more efficient as of late, he says that the production costs are still too high and yield rates too low for large OLED TVs to be feasible for commercial use any time before 2014. Of course, we suppose that all depends on your definition of “feasible.” Last we heard, LG was still planning on releasing a 55-inch OLED TV by mid-2012 — for a yet-to-be-disclosed price. AUO VP says large OLED TVs won’t be feasible for commercial use until 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …CircuitBee lets you share schematics, like Scribd for soldering aficionados
July 28, 2011 No Comment
Instructables is great, don’t get us wrong, but if you’re just looking for a sweet new Arduino project or a super-charged Atari Punk Console, wading through the piles of Lego swords and wreath-making tips can be frustrating. Enter CircuitBee, a document sharing site dedicated to one thing, and one thing only — schematics. It’s kind of like Scribd but, instead of being loaded with court documents and shoddy how-to books, it features user-uploaded circuit diagrams to get you started on your next soldering and etching project. The selection at the site is rather sparse at the moment, but since it’s only in alpha we’ll cut it some slack. Check out the site at the source link, and don’t be surprised if a few submissions from your favorite Engadget writers start popping up. CircuitBee lets you share schematics, like Scribd for soldering aficionados originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The Engadget Show – 023: We tour a headphone factory, talk record labels, and look at They Might Be Giants’ favorite gadgets
July 28, 2011 No Comment
The Engadget Show is back, and this time we’re in full-on rock star mode. We kick things off with a trip to the Engadget Laboratories, where Brian and Terrence test out some sub-$100 headphones on a quartet of guinea pigs. Do you really get what you pay for when you buy a pair of earbuds from your local Big Box retailer? Things get a bit ritzier when Darren tours Westone’s laboratories in Colorado to find out how a pair of $950 in-ear headphones are made. Hint: it involves squirting silicone into our managing editor’s ears and a whole lot of sanding. Next up, we stop by the reviews table, where Tim and Brian take a look at this month’s most exciting gadgets, including the new MacBook Air , Sony Vaio Z , Toshiba Thrive , and Droid 3 . John Flansburgh and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants pay a visit to Engadget headquarters to show off some of their favorite lo-fi musical gadgets, including the Stylophone and a circuit-bent Speak and Spell. Also, if you’ve ever wondered what the long reigning kings of underground geek rock would sound like given the T-Pain treatment, this is a segment you’re not gonna want to miss. Universal Republic Records’ VP Digital Colleen Quill also stops by to discuss the role of the major label in the world of Twitter, iTunes, Spotify, and the like. And we wrap things up with a performance by New York City’s own Cookies . The video stream of the show is above, and you can also download us in HD below. Oh, and if you’re still waiting for some Spotify invites, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered . Gallery: The Engadget Show – July 2011 Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Special guests: Terrence O’Brien, They Might Be Giants , Colleen Quill Producer: Guy Streit Director : Michelle Stahl Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger and Michael Rubens Music by: Cookies Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 023 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 023 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 023 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [ RSS MP4 ] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [ HD RSS ] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [ iPad RSS ] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format. The Engadget Show – 023: We tour a headphone factory, talk record labels, and look at They Might Be Giants’ favorite gadgets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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