There’s something bittersweet about watching a Symbian phone march through the FCC knowing that Nokia is slowly thinning the herd. This particular model, the N5, made its requisite Mr. Blurrycam debut last month and now we’ve got some details about what the glossy white exterior is hiding. You’ll find Bluetooth and WiFi radios inside, which isn’t surprising, as well as NFC for all the contactless purchasing your Finland-loving heart can handle. On the mobile broadband side of things, there’s support for the 850MHz, 1700MHz, and 1900MHz bands, which means it’ll work with either T-Mobile or AT&T. Besides price and release date, the big question on our minds is whether or not anyone will buy a Symbian phone knowing the platform is destined for extinction? Nokia’s N5 makes Symbian-powered procession through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Is Nintendo Video launching in the US, or is it just coming soon ? Someone over at the house that Mario built needs to make up their mind — Reggie knuckle sandwich, anyone? The application was quietly announced this morning via Nintendo Download , then listed as a non-downloadable item on the eShop and featured on the company’s official site with a release dated today . So, where is it then? Your guess is as good as ours. When it finally hits your parallax display, expect this 3DS only app to update weekly with fresh content, promising limited-time only 2D and 3D comedy, action and adventure shorts. Head to the eShop right now, and you’ll be treated to a music-backed, text-only tease of the service and a College Humour video, apparently. If a curated experience from the makers of the Wii U fits your bill, then go right ahead and set that Spotpass to download. Nintendo Video’s 3DS app plays coy, is / is not launching in the US today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AMD earnings continue to drop despite record CPU sales, GPU business loses $7 million
July 21, 2011 No Comment
Poor AMD. While Chipzilla just keeps shattering its own earnings records , the little company that could from Sunnyvale is struggling to chug its way uphill. Its total revenue of $1.57 billion represents a two-percent drop from the last quarter and five percent from the same time last year. Total profits fell from half a billion in Q1 to just $61 million. News was particularly bad at the graphics division which saw revenues plummet 11 percent from Q1. In total, the former ATI brand lost $7 million. It’s not all bad news, though — the company did ship a record number of mobile CPUs, won some awards, and increased its presence on the top 500 super computer list by 15 percent. That’s gotta count for something right? [Thanks, Matt] AMD earnings continue to drop despite record CPU sales, GPU business loses $7 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The BlackBerry PlayBook may not have exactly won over consumers en masse, but it looks like RIM can now at least put a feather in its cap when it comes to one of its key customer bases: government agencies. The company announced today that the PlayBook is the first tablet to receive the so-called FIPS 140-2 certification which, according to RIM, means that the US federal government can “buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information.” Of course, those agencies will still need to make sure to supply a BlackBerry smartphone as well so folks can access some of that information — although this may be one instance where that’s considered to be more of a feature than an omission. BlackBerry PlayBook receives certification for US government use originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’ve seen this handsome screen on your Asus Transformer , it means you’ve finally managed to root it . Congratulations. And yet, it’s all so… anticlimactic. What was the point of it? In fact, what’s the point of anything ? Hey, don’t go down that road. Install Netflix instead, courtesy of a new patch from XDA Developers at the source link below. Then watch Kung Fu Panda one more time and the sense of order in your life will magically return. Like the wise Oogway said: “You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.” [Thanks everyone who sent this in] Netflix patch arrives for rooted Asus Transformers, it’s okay to be happy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …KDDI’s Mi-Look watches your elderly parents, treats them like prisoners (video)
July 21, 2011 No Comment
KDDI’s looking out for Japan’s elderly , or putting them under house arrest — it’s hard to tell which. Hitting stores this September in the land of human-assistive tech, the Kyocera designed Mi-Look is a simplified GPS-capable, mobile-monitoring system that puts you in control of your Luddite parents. The waterproof device packs a strap-activated “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” buzzer and comes in an appealing shade of hospital white, all while keeping track of your folk’s whereabouts. Seems innocent enough, right? Well, it’s not really up to Ma and Pa to opt-out of location tracking — the phone does it automatically, emailing a list of relatives with coordinates and distance traveled. And for that extra special Lindsay Lohan-lockdown touch, the charging port’s sensor will not only count the number of times your rents pass by, it’ll also answer calls automagically. Starting to feel a little bad about this? We don’t blame you, but keep in mind the compassionate tech’s being targeted to patients with memory loss issues. Still, we have a suspicion those with claims of a “stolen childhood” might be using this as revenge. Payback’s a cellphone, apparently. Video demonstration after the break. Continue reading KDDI’s Mi-Look watches your elderly parents, treats them like prisoners (video) KDDI’s Mi-Look watches your elderly parents, treats them like prisoners (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yes, that’s an R2-D2-themed Xbox 360 and accompanying gold C-3PO controller, which are both part of a new Star Wars Kinect bundle that Microsoft officially announced at Comic-Con today. Also included in the bundle is a matching white Kinect sensor, as well as a 320GB hard drive, and both the Star Wars Kinect and Kinect Adventures games — all for $449. Did we mention it also has some custom console sounds? Look for it to land in the fall, with pre-orders starting today. Microsoft reveals Droid-themed Xbox 360 bundle for Star Wars Kinect originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Apple confirmed Lion’s big day during the company’s Q3 earnings call this week, and Mac OS 10.7 hit the App Store right on schedule yesterday morning, allowing us to give Snow Leopard the boot and make room for the king of the jungle. We’ve already installed Lion on a half-dozen of our own systems, testing the new operating system with a variety of configurations for our review . But we want to know about your experience. Did you pull an all-nighter on Tuesday, backing up files, reformatting drives, and updating to 10.6.8? Are you still rockin’ dial-up and waiting for the $69 flash drive version to ship next month? Or perhaps you’re a PC user, holding out for Windows 8 ? Let us know in the poll below, and feel free to expand on your decision in the comments as well. View Poll Poll: Did you download Mac OS X Lion (10.7)? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The third installment of a trilogy is typically the most satisfying. The Empire Falls, Frodo destroys the ring, Cinderella goes back in time. (Okay, that’s a stretch.) Our protagonist in this tale is the Droid 3, which bears an uncanny resemblance to its dad and granddad — but Verizon’s added a few new components and made some minor design tweaks in attempt to improve the overall experience. Are these adjustments enough to save the series? The original Droid launched with much fanfare, a device that steered Motorola back onto the path of success from its post-RAZR Hades. It had a refreshing gold-laden design that oozed elegance, top-of-the-line specs for its time, and was the pioneer that helped usher Google’s mobile OS into a new era. Each new iteration has received less attention than the one before, however, and the Droid 3 experienced such a quiet launch that we blinked and almost missed it. No matter, though — as long as the phone can speak for itself, it doesn’t need the confetti to accompany it. But is the third time another charm for the Droid? Or will it be buried by other heavyweights like the Droid Bionic or Samsung Galaxy S II Function ? Join us after the break to find out. Gallery: Motorola Droid 3 review Continue reading Motorola Droid 3 review Motorola Droid 3 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T Nexus S coming to Best Buy July 24th, available for $100 with contract
July 21, 2011 No Comment
The Samsung Nexus S has been available with AT&T-compatible 3G bands for quite some time, but not everyone’s keen on shelling out $600 for getting some NFC goodness and Rethinking Possible at the same time. Thankfully, the device is now optimized on the network and will be sold exclusively at Best Buy this Sunday for $100 with two-year contract. If you just simply cannot wait, you’ll be able to pre-order it today online. It doesn’t appear to be on Best Buy’s site yet, but we’ll be on the lookout for it. Check out the PR after the break. Continue reading AT&T Nexus S coming to Best Buy July 24th, available for $100 with contract AT&T Nexus S coming to Best Buy July 24th, available for $100 with contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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