Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video)
September 28, 2011 No Comment
It’s official, Star Trek: The Next Generation will follow the lead of the original series and be released in remastered HD form next year. The official site reveals 2012 will actually see two TNG releases on Blu-ray in honor of its 25th anniversary. A single disc preview package consisting of the pilot Encounter at Farpoint , and episodes Sins of the Father and The Inner Light called The Next Level arrives first in January with a $21.99 MSRP, followed by season one later in the year and subsequent seasons after that. All 178 episodes will get the treatment, converted to 1080p with 7.1 DTS Master Audio sound. This is being done by returning to the original film negatives and then recreating the special effects instead of converting them from videotape. Can’t wait until then? Check after the break for a (very) quick teaser trailer, or watch the eps in SD one more time on Amazon or Netflix . Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video) Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ice Cream Sandwich gets a two-minute tour, courtesy of a lucky eBay shopper (video)
September 28, 2011 No Comment
The one Android update to rule them all — better known as Ice Cream Sandwich — is penciled in for an official launch sometime in the next two months , so it’s only natural for some shots to leak out. We just weren’t expecting a two-minute video showing off a few of the new features. As the story goes, a lucky gent ordered a Samsung Nexus S on eBay and, upon its arrival, noticed that his new prized possession looked a little… different. Hopping over to the About screen, he was shocked to discover that the device was running ICS. The firmware appears to be operating on the same baseband as the screenshots leaked a few weeks ago , but it’s running on an updated build (IRK48) and kernel (3.0.1). We can see plenty of influence from both Gingerbread and Honeycomb here, as well as four shortcuts on the bottom (a definite bump from the two found on vanilla 2.3). There’s a new Google Apps icon which opens up a tray containing a number of featured services put out by the search giant, and long-pressing the home button brings up a vertical Honeycomb-style multitasking menu. The notification bar, camera UI and other menus also have a much different look. Granted, all of this could just be a custom ROM built to emulate the latest Google dessert, so we can’t be a full hundred percent certain that it’s authentic. If it’s not, at least we can give credit for it being incredibly elaborate. Enjoy the video and additional screenshot below. [Thanks, anonymous] Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich gets a two-minute tour, courtesy of a lucky eBay shopper (video) Ice Cream Sandwich gets a two-minute tour, courtesy of a lucky eBay shopper (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iFixit busts Apple’s Thunderbolt Display wide open, no creamy center inside
September 28, 2011 No Comment
It’s been more than two months since Apple unveiled its Thunderbolt Display , and the gadget sadists over at iFixit are just getting around to picking the thing apart — quite literally. So what has this dive into the 27-incher revealed? Well, for starters, the iFixit crew found that the LG-made LCD display in this Thunderbolt monitor appears to be the same one found in Dell’s UltraSharp U2711 , though favoring a cursed glossy finish. That’s also the same setup we saw in Cupertino’s 2009 iMac . This teardown also features a slew of chips from the likes of Texas Instruments and Broadcom and a miniature subwoofer. For more under-the-hood discoveries and a healthy helping of disassembled Thunderbolt Display components take a stroll on over to the source link below. iFixit busts Apple’s Thunderbolt Display wide open, no creamy center inside originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC Hero S coming to US Cellular next month alongside Wildfire S and Flyer
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Guess what’s officially on its way to US Cellular in October? The headline probably gave you a pretty good clue — it’s the HTC Hero S . And it’s not coming alone: apparently the new device is big enough to warrant its very own entourage. Its brethren, the Wildfire S and Flyer , will both waltz into stores at roughly the same time. The Gingerbread-running Hero S will offer a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU , 4-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, a 1,520mAh battery and a 5MP CMOS rear camera accompanied by a 1.3MP front-facing cam. Add it to the lineup next to the Motorola Electrify, and we’d say the carrier’s got some good options for the getting. The Hero S will be available sometime next month for $200 after $100 mail-in rebate, while the Wildfire S (which will come in grey and purple) will go for $80 after rebate and the Flyer can be yours for $200. Head below to find the full press release. Continue reading HTC Hero S coming to US Cellular next month alongside Wildfire S and Flyer HTC Hero S coming to US Cellular next month alongside Wildfire S and Flyer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Mitsubishi Electric to build world’s fastest elevator, usher in the death of small talk
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Cheer up, ladies, because Mitsubishi Electric is about to make your elevator ride substantially less awkward. Yesterday, the company unveiled plans to construct what it hopes will become the world’s fastest lifts, as part of a new project in China. The forthcoming set of elevators will be housed within the still-incomplete Shanghai Tower, where they’ll travel between the basement and 119th floor at a speed of 59 feet per second — a rate that would narrowly eclipse the current Guinness world record, which sits at about 55 feet per second. These elevators, of course, would be significantly slower if they were filled with vomit, which is why Mitsubishi will add active roller guides, vibration-dampening roof covers and pneumatic controls to make the ride a bit easier on the human body. Unfortunately, it’ll be a while before these flesh wagons enter the record books, as the Shanghai Tower likely won’t be completed until 2014. Willy Wonka, however, has already begun the appeals process. Elevate past the break for more information in the full press release. [Image courtesy of AMC ] Continue reading Mitsubishi Electric to build world’s fastest elevator, usher in the death of small talk Mitsubishi Electric to build world’s fastest elevator, usher in the death of small talk originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Skype update for iOS adds anti-shake, Bluetooth connectivity and ads for freeloaders
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Skype ‘s latest app upgrade brings a few substantial features, some good, one not so. Alongside a new anti-shake video call function (limited to the iPhone’s back-facing camera), you can now pair Bluetooth headsets with the VoIP calling service, something apparently “long requested” from Skype fans. However, users have to fork out for credit to avoid seeing advertising that’s also baked into the new version. The update’s now up for grabs on both the iPhone and iPad, though there are reports of a few teething troubles, including missing credit and account details. We’ve also been experiencing issues, with the app unwilling to play nice with our Bluetooth headsets, though oddly, we can still hear the Skype call ring through. Hopefully we’ll see another update that sorts this out soon — till then, tap the link below for more details, or ogle a bit of smoothed out anti-shake action after the break. Continue reading Skype update for iOS adds anti-shake, Bluetooth connectivity and ads for freeloaders Skype update for iOS adds anti-shake, Bluetooth connectivity and ads for freeloaders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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And golly, don’t they look proud. On the left, the new $99 Kindle Touch . On the right, the new $79 Kindle . And, in the middle, the $199 Kindle Fire tablet. So, which would you rather? If you need more help deciding, check out the gallery, which features the third-generation Kindle thrown into the mix. Gallery: Amazon Kindle family portrait Amazon Kindle family portrait originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ASUS TOUGH 7-inch Honeycomb tablet lands in Japan ready for some corporate abuse
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Not content with offering up merely modular Android tablets, ASUS has revealed a new seven-inch tablet that’s water and dust resistant — perfect for a spot of bath-time browsing or… desert rallying. The ASUS TOUGH-ETBW11AA has rubberized bezel and strips across the back, contributing to the substantial 22.2mm profile, but that hefty frame can survive drops from the heady height of 76cm. Aside from its tough-guy credentials, there’s a 1280 x 800 screen, five megapixel camera, Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz processor, WiMAX connection and the staple WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS medley. It comes with 16GB of well-protected storage, but there’s room for more via microSD. For those seeking a slate that’ll survive the bumps and scrapes of the business world — and not look ridiculous — it’ll be available to enterprise customers of Japanese carrier KDDI this November. No news yet on whether it’ll canoe its way across from the Land of the Rising Sun, but we can give you a few more photos of the rough and tumble tablet after the break. [Image credit: Keitai Watch] Continue reading ASUS TOUGH 7-inch Honeycomb tablet lands in Japan ready for some corporate abuse ASUS TOUGH 7-inch Honeycomb tablet lands in Japan ready for some corporate abuse originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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One of the three major devices launched at today’s Amazon event, the Kindle Touch is aimed firmly at the latest touchscreen Nook and Kobo devices. Like those readers, the new Kindle is based around an infrared touchscreen, in the place of a physical keyboard, making the device a good deal smaller than the Kindle 3 . The touchscreen is fairly responsive, and the thing flips through pages quickly with a swipe or a tap, refreshing about once every six pages or so, a rate about on-par with that of its chief competition. A task like performing a search on the other hand, requires a much larger screen refresh — still, activities like these and typing are performed quite quickly for an E-Ink device. The search function itself is rather precise, letting the user locate instances of things like character names throughout a text. In all, it looks as though Amazon has produced a worthy competitor to the space-leading touch devices — and the $99 / $149 price tags for the WiFi and 3G versions certainly don’t hurt. Check out a video of the device after the break. Gallery: Kindle Touch impressions Continue reading Amazon Kindle Touch impressions (video) Amazon Kindle Touch impressions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Amazon Silk mobile browser spins a faster mobile web, courtesy of cloud servers (video)
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Part of Amazon’s new tablet pitch is its promise of Amazon Silk — a “split browser” that gets the heavy lifting done on its EC2 cloud servers and promises faster access on your mobile device as a result. Check out our live blog of the event for more details, or just check out the video explanation after the break. …developing Continue reading Amazon Silk mobile browser spins a faster mobile web, courtesy of cloud servers (video) Amazon Silk mobile browser spins a faster mobile web, courtesy of cloud servers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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