Windows 8 ain’t fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos)
September 16, 2011 No Comment
Downloaders of the Windows 8 Developer Preview have been proving their mettle the best way they know how: by getting it to run on systems it was never really intended for. Brent and the folks at Codesnack win the Real Utility trophy for their successful Boot Camp installs. Josh Blake gets the Damn I Look Good By Candlelight trophy for making the OS run on the MS Surface in his living room. Meanwhile, Marcin Grygiel has awarded himself the I’m HARDCORE!!! title for somehow getting it to run on a PC with just 128MB. Treat yourself to some intimate video evidence after the break. [Thanks, Prashanth] Continue reading Windows 8 ain’t fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos) Windows 8 ain’t fussy: runs on Macs, Surface, 128MB RAM, banana peel (videos) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Charts, diagrams, charts, measurements, and more charts. This summation of nearly every document that passes through the FCC sounds only slightly more fun than staring at the Matrix all day, yet we still find ourselves a bit giddy when seeing highly anticipated phones take their turn getting the Federal nod of approval. And so it is with the Samsung i937 , which is most likely the Focus S — one of three tantalizing Windows Phone choices aimed at reaching stores “this fall.” It’s about what we’d expect, really: aside from sporting the usual AT&T frequencies, there’s not much more that we can discern from the pages and pages of numbers and colorful pictures that depict phone radiation. Exciting stuff, we know, but Windows Phone 7.5 is at least one step closer to being in the clutches of our lonely mitts. Samsung Focus S wanders through FCC en route to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon starts ‘optimizing’ (read: throttling) network for the most data hungry users
September 16, 2011 No Comment
We can’t say we weren’t weren’t warned, since Verizon updated its data policy way back in February , but it’s still a punch in the gut to hear its “network optimization” plan went into effect yesterday. A new policy page pointed out by Droid-Life explains how the policy will affect only the “top 5 percent of data users with 3G devices on unlimited data plans” (LTE and tiered data users are in the clear) by managing their speeds when connected to towers it has deemed are congested. Those conditions, termed network intelligence by Big Red, are what it feels separates this scheme from mere data throttling since it will only affect a few users (those consuming 2GB or more of data per month) at certain times and places, but it’s hard to see it any other way. If you’re one of those affected, expect a message on your bill or My Verizon account, although you may go into and out of the affected group depending on your usage. Hit the source link below for all the details — anyone else think it’s not a coincidence this policy popped up just before the iPhone 4 came to Verizon and is being implement weeks before the next iThing is expected to arrive? Verizon starts ‘optimizing’ (read: throttling) network for the most data hungry users originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It looks like the Samsung Hercules name won’t live on in mobile infamy, after all. Canadian carrier Telus is now the second (and last) company to shed the Greek God title in favor of the more traditional Galaxy S II moniker — albeit with its own unique twist, of course. The company’s got an official page up for its forthcoming flagship, dubbed the “4G Samsung Galaxy S II X.” Talk about a mouthful, right? The device mirrors T-Mobile’s version rather closely, improving upon the original model with a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, HSPA+ download speeds of up to 42Mbps and — here’s where it gets interesting — a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU. We’re still unsure of the chipmaker responsible for supporting the AWS 4G radio, but our money’s on the Qualcomm APQ8060. The ever-frustrating “coming soon” is attached to the page, which seems to be fairly common practice with new phones lately; regardless, we imagine enough people will be willing to forgive and forget once their future toy decides to show up. 4G Samsung Galaxy S II X coming to Telus, still as Herculean as ever originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Splitfish FragFX Shark 360 starts shipping for your first-person shooting pleasure
September 16, 2011 No Comment
What better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Halo than the release of a new way to first-person shoot people on the Xbox 360? Splitfish today announced that its FragFX Shark mouse / analog stick hybrid controller device thingie is finally hitting the Microsoft console. The peripheral offers in-controller setup, customizable precision and should give you around 50 hours of play time on two AA batteries. The $80 device uses 2.4GHz wireless, but, as outlined before, requires a wired controller to get in on the action. More info in the press release after the break. Continue reading Splitfish FragFX Shark 360 starts shipping for your first-person shooting pleasure Splitfish FragFX Shark 360 starts shipping for your first-person shooting pleasure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We haven’t heard much from outspoken former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci since he left the company back in March of this year, but it looks like he’s now ready to get back into the PC business in a slightly different role. Lenovo confirmed today that Lanci is joining the company as a consultant to “help develop and accelerate Lenovo’s worldwide consumer business.” Initially, those efforts will be mostly focused on Lenovo’s integration of German PC manufacturer Medion, which it acquired in June for $907 million, but it sounds like this is more than just a short-term gig — he does get to stay in Italy, though. Head on past the break for Lenovo’s complete statement. Continue reading Ex-Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci joins Lenovo as a consultant Ex-Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci joins Lenovo as a consultant originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Manufacturers and service providers are really kicking it up a notch this week! AT&T will hit us with a big dose of speed on Sunday, Microsoft had a slew of mixed/delicious news for us at Build, and HTC’s got its hands in a liiiiiitttttle bit of everything, from releases to maybe OS acquisitions. We’ll lay it all out for you here, with an added touch of Volpe to round things out, on the Engadget Mobile Podcast. Host: Myriam Joire ( tnkgrl ), Brad Molen Guest: Joseph Volpe Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Daestro – Light Powered ( Ghostly International ) 00:01:19 – Samsung Epic 4G Touch review 00:22:48 – AT&T to officially deploy its LTE network September 18th 00:27:18 – AT&T announces Windows Phone Mango lineup coming this fall, existing devices to be updated 00:30:28 – RIM’s Q2 earnings report: $329 million in net income, not enough to fend off critics 00:40:17 – HTC Bliss to be called the Rhyme, launching September 20? 00:45:39 – HTC Runnymede and Bliss details sneak out from leak-town 00:57:58 – HTC chairwoman Cher Wang: we might buy a mobile OS, if it feels right 01:05:20 – Motorola Admiral outed as mystery Sprint Direct Connect device, strikes a pose for the camera 01:09:55 – Motorola Electrify coming to US Cellular this month as a rebranded Photon 4G 01:10:50 – LG Marquee for Sprint hands-on (video) 01:13:39 – Sprint axes Premier program, no more annual upgrades for Gold customers 01:20:50 – Ballmer: Windows Phones aren’t selling very well, but we’re not worried 01:29:00 – Listener questions Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Mobile 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) Contact the podcast podcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com. Follow us on Twitter @tnkgrl @phonewisdom @engadgetmobile @jrvolpe Engadget Mobile Podcast 104 – 09.16.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Less than 24 hours after it went live on Microsoft’s site, Steve Ballmer reported a whopping 500,000 downloads of Windows 8 Developer Preview. That’s half a million copies, if not eager Windows fans. Well, you can count us among them. Although we were treated to some private hands-on time with a tablet optimized for the OS, we hadn’t, until now, had a chance to use it on a laptop — i.e., the computing environment where we spend most of our time, and the one where we’re most used to seeing Windows, in particular. For the past three days, we’ve been doing just that: getting acquainted with Windows 8 using the good ‘ol mouse-and-keyboard combo. And while that might read like a redundant statement (what recent version of Windows hasn’t accommodated a cursor?), Win 8 is a peculiar breed — It’s the first version of the operating system where finger input wasn’t an afterthought, but a first-class citizen. It’s clear that this time around, Windows is optimized for touch, but we had to wonder if that Windows Phone-inspired UI would present a steep learning curve, if it would get in the way while we tried to go about business as usual. So how’s that working out for us? Suffice to say, we’re not in Kansas anymore, so find your most comfortable chair and meet us after the break — we’ve got oh-so many details to delve into. Gallery: Windows 8 Developer Preview (user interface and settings) Continue reading Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video) Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Anyone who commutes to a big city knows how loud and distracting things can get — whether it’s the whine of a bus engine, a subway car’s ca-clank or just that screaming baby seated behind you. Some folks may find cranking jams through their headphones helpful for blocking out the world, while others would prefer a bit more relative silence. Thankfully, in this modern age there exist headphones with noise-cancelling goodness to help you zone out. Sony hasn’t been a stranger to such cans, and recently introduced its $200 MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones ; a mid-range option for folks wanting similar benefits of its over-ear NC500D in an on-ear package. The claim is that these pups will reduce “98.2 percent of ambient noise” for up to 22 hours on a single AAA, so we sported the MDRs for the past few weeks as our primary set of headphones to hear for ourselves. You’ll find all of the rock blockin’ deets just after the break. Gallery: Sony MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones unboxing and hands-on Continue reading Sony MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones review Sony MDR-NC200D noise-cancelling headphones review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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