Its evil cousin the Bionic may be lurking just around the bend, with its too-long sideburns and its crazy eyes, but that doesn’t mean the Atrix 4G is ready to hang up its hat just yet. AT&T’s wunderphone with the woven back is just now receiving a 2.3.4 update, bringing it all the sensuous flavors of Gingerbread and finally, finally, the ability to sideload apps. First, though, you’ll need to the 161MB update, which is waiting for you at the other end of the source link below. No, really, it is — but it’s getting impatient. Go on, go say hello. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Atrix gets Gingerbread update, sideloading support, new outlook on life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Judging by the headlines today, Samsung’s 3D R&D department made a huge mistake, just check them out: “Who Could Have Guessed: 3D Hurts Your Eyes”, “Samsung-funded study finds 3D video causes extra eye strain, fatigue”, “Samsung study finds that 3D video causes eye strain, fatigue”. It seems obvious that Samsung’s research grant financing a UC Berkeley study published in the Journal of Vision was wasted, except for one minor issue — all of those headlines are wrong. “The zone of comfort: Predicting visual discomfort with stereo displays” is actually trying to find out why 3D-related eyestrain happens. That it can and does happen with poorly formatted video, whether 2D, 3D or otherwise, is already known. Scrolling down beyond the abstract reveals the prof’s data actually indicated a wider comfort zone than 3D video producers commonly assumed with their percentage rule of thumb. It’s a Friday night and you don’t have to pick thumbing through dry descriptions of experiments over whatever your plans are, but that’s why you have us. Shockingly, companies desperately hawking 3D tech are busy making it better instead of undermining their own products, but you’d have to actually read the study to find out for sure. Samsung studies 3D viewing discomfort, finds out bloggers don’t read originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple expands iOS and Mac App Store into 33 new territories, Tuvalu strangely absent
July 22, 2011 No Comment
Brought that shiny new unlocked iPhone 4 home to Tanzania, only have your first App Store experience end in tears? We certainly sympathize, and apparently Apple’s heard your plea. Interested developers can now head on over to the iTunes Connect portal, where they’ll tick some new checkboxes and soon be on their way, peddling their wares to an additional 33 locales — but not the home of .tv, unfortunately. Curious if your nation made the cut? Hop on past the break and see if Cupertino thinks you’re worthy. Continue reading Apple expands iOS and Mac App Store into 33 new territories, Tuvalu strangely absent Apple expands iOS and Mac App Store into 33 new territories, Tuvalu strangely absent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Here at Engadget, and here on the Engadget Podcast in particular, we’re all about customer service. OK, maybe not all about customer service, but on this episode we’ve dedicated twenty percent of our breath to answering your questions ! If you happen to enjoy a bunch of Apple news too — which we heard you do you — then we’re at about fifty percent on-track to serving you completely. If you like Apple news, having your questions answered, and a healthy dose of other up-to-the-minute information in the spacecraft, e-reader, and digital camera realms…well, let’s just say we got this. Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Guests: Dana Wollman Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Paradise City 02:44 – Apple Mac OS X Lion available now in the App Store 06:00 – Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards 08:35 – Apple OS X Lion (10.7) review 17:32 – The MacBook drops from Apple’s Store (update: confirmed) 22:37 – Apple updates Mac mini: Core i5 and i7, Thunderbolt, AMD Radeon HD, no SuperDrive 22:55 – Apple rolls out 27-inch Thunderbolt Display with FaceTime HD camera, built-in speakers 23:45 – Apple’s Q3 earnings exceed estimates: $28.57 billion revenue, $7.31 billion profit, 20 million iPhones sold 25:13 – Apple outpaces Nokia in global smartphone shipments 28:00 – Nokia Q2 2011: ‘clearly disappointing’ results as challenges prove ‘greater than expected’ 32:35 – Motorola Droid 3 review 37:35 – Sony Alpha NEX-C3 review 42:55 – iRiver Story HD review 49:51 – Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down in Florida, won’t be going back up again 50:44 – Google ‘winding down’ Labs, likely due to meddling older sister 51:40 – Listener questions Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast Send your questions to @tim_stevens . Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005) E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot com Twitter: @tim_stevens @bheater @danawollman Filed under: Podcasts Engadget Podcast 249 – 07.22.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This isn’t the first time Toshiba has showed up fashionably to a party. Back in 2009, long after most every other consumer electronics maker big and small had jumped on the netbook bandwagon, the company belatedly released its first mini, the NB205 . And it was fantastic. So we were optimistic when the outfit finally got around to releasing the Thrive , its first Android tablet for the US market. Surely, we thought, it’s learned a thing or two from everybody else’s mistakes. And in that regard, at least, this 10-inch tablet doesn’t disappoint. It has full-sized USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a removable battery — all features you’d sooner find on a laptop. It comes with a raft of practical apps already installed, so that you don’t have to go hunting for them in Android Market. It’s one of the first out of the gate with Android 3.1, an undeniably improved version of Honeycomb. Oh, and it starts at $429, undercutting many of its competitors. Right there, in less than a paragraph, we’ve laid out why you might want this over any of the other umpteen tabs crowding the market. But should you get one? Well, folks, we’ll need more than a paragraph to tackle that. Join us after the break, won’t you? Gallery: Toshiba Thrive review Continue reading Toshiba Thrive review Toshiba Thrive review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …20th Century Fox to offer digital downloads for Android devices, Blu-ray purchase required
July 22, 2011 No Comment
20th Century Fox is dipping its downloading toes into the 21st century’s waters, releasing movies on Android in addition to good, old-fashioned Blu-ray. According to the Financial Times, retail discs of X-Men: First Class will direct owners to a website where they can sideload a digital version of the film onto their Android device of choice. Apparently some of the suits over at Fox caught wind of how popular Android tablets are getting, and now see them as complementary, not cannibalistic (remember that industry buzz kill?) Sure, right now you shouldn’t expect any Netflix-sized library of titles, but perhaps we can all agree this is a step in the right download-to-own direction. Residents of the US, UK, Germany, and France will get the first crack at downloading the films. The rest of you can just stream and wait. [Image credit via 20th Century Fox ] 20th Century Fox to offer digital downloads for Android devices, Blu-ray purchase required originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Under eight hours. That was the time it took to jailbreak beta 3 of iOS5 , which dropped back on July 11th and was unleashed later that day . Now beta 4 is out and, well, our stopwatches are ticking. A new beta of iTunes has also been included, and interestingly, this is the first version of iOS5 that can be applied OTA — though that particular option comes with the warning that all photos will be deleted should you give it a try. We’re guessing that “feature” will not be present in the final release candidate, but we could be wrong. Would make for a fun Easter egg… Developing… iOS 5 beta 4 released, we start the next jailbreak timer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Speed limits, highway patrol, other drivers , it can all be such a bummer — especially, if you’re sitting back in one of these . With a little crowdsourced aid, however, and a free Android app, you can still fulfill that need for excessive speed. Recently released on the Android market, Trapster’s v3.0 update refreshes the look of its checkpoint alerting mobile app and throws in some new features for good measure. In addition to the cleaner UI, there’s also a new homescreen widget that lets you vote on upcoming traps and terrain maps to complement the existing standard and satellite versions. But the real standout feature here is the inclusion of a real-time speedometer that should have the heavy-footed reaching for that brake more often . The new function alerts drivers with color-coded warnings should their speed demon ways get the best of the road’s limit. Alright, so the app may discourage your burnt rubber predilections, but that shouldn’t stop you from hitting the source link to download this ticket-avoiding application. Trapster 3.0 helps you avoid speed traps, encourages safety first originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It looks like Superman can do everything except pull in an audience. Experts have predicted a decline in interest for superhero movies, according to Deadline New York. Vasily Karayov, who analyzes the media industry for Susquehanna Financial Group, has said that we are approaching “the death of superheroes.” There has been an abundance of successful
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For many smartphone users, a quality keyboard is the only feature that truly matters. These passionate devotees will proudly live and die with their thumbs blazing, and for of all RIM’s recent troubles, it’s currently floating on a life preserver: a compelling handset with a portrait QWERTY keyboard doesn’t exist for Android. The HTC Status ($50 on contract) attempts to succeed where others have failed, and — if it’s any good — could entice many BlackBerry-toting teens that want a new handheld fixation. They rarely bother with email, as text messages and Facebook reign supreme for communication. To that end, the Status promotes itself as the perfect phone for Facebook users, but is the integration truly useful, or simply a chintzy add-on? More so, can HTC successfully marry Gingerbread with an upright keyboard? Join us after the break to learn whether we “Like” the HTC Status. Gallery: HTC Status review Continue reading HTC Status review HTC Status review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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