Only a few days after Radio Shack unveiled the first iPhone sale in recorded history , Best Buy’s done one better — it’s offering up the 8GB iPhone 3GS “to qualified customers” without charging a cent for the handset. Yes, that’s a free iPhone, not counting the AT&T ball and chain, for the likely-far-less-than-one-day supplies will last, and so we imagine a fair number of you will start queuing up right now to get in on the action. Not a bad way to move surplus inventory and head off perennially rumored CDMA juggernauts at the pass — promise them the free iPhone, then lock them into those two-year contracts. It’s hard to resist! Best Buy makes iPhone 3GS free on contract tomorrow, December 10th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ask Engadget: best Micro Four Thirds / interchangeable lens camera on a budget?
December 10, 2010 No Comment
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Terrillo, who seems eager and excited to make the leap up from the point-and-shoot universe. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “I really want a new camera, but not a point and shoot — more like a DSLR or a Micro Four Thirds. My budget is $300 but I can go up to $400 if there’s sufficient reason. I really want to get a new camera before Christmas. Any suggestions?” Suggestions? Boy, are there. The interchangeable lens / Micro Four Thirds market has exploded this year, making up nearly all of the news that flowed from Photokina in September. Panasonic’s GF2 has seen glowing reviews, as has Sony’s NEX line. So, readers, what do you recommend? Speak out in comments below. Ask Engadget: best Micro Four Thirds / interchangeable lens camera on a budget? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Have you ever received a PDF in your email, only to find yourself weeping moments later after accidentally printing 349 copies and murdering six or seven endangered trees in the Panamanian rain forest? It’s more serious of a problem than you may realize. In order to solve spontaneous bouts of Accident Print Syndrome, the World Wide Fund For Nature has created the WWF file format. We’ll let the entity itself explain: The WWF format is a PDF that cannot be printed out. It’s a simple way to avoid unnecessary printing. So here’s your chance to save trees and help the environment. Decide for yourself which documents don’t need printing out – then simply save them as WWF. For now, it’s only readable on a Mac, which means that WWF files also cannot be printed from a PC. We’re envisioning a world of college professors using these to prevent printable study guides, but so as long as hackers also exist in that same universe, those who prefer their documents on paper — and HP’s ink department — will probably figure out their own road to nirvana. Must to the dismay of Ma Earth, of course. WWF file format: it’s like a PDF that’s impossible to print originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Mac App Store launching in January sans Game Center and in-app purchases?
December 10, 2010 No Comment
“Less” and “later” are some of our least favorite words, but they may apply to the Mac App Store, as one source claims it will miss Christmas, and another says the marketplace will have fewer features than its iOS counterpart. First off, The Loop ‘s Jim Dalrymple believes that December 13th isn’t the magic date , claiming that his inside sources say the store will actually arrive in January — which, we must admit, would still be within the window of Apple’s October promise to launch within 90 days. Second and perhaps more importantly, 9to5 Mac reports that App Store developers are being told that their Mac endeavors will have a number of substantial limitations, namely no Game Center support, no in-app purchases , and no ability to offer demos, trials or betas. Sounds like those high-denomination iTunes gift cards you’ve been stockpiling in your basement will finally come in handy. Mac App Store launching in January sans Game Center and in-app purchases? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We can’t begin explain our exasperation at running a Samsung Galaxy Tab on Sprint’s 3G , knowing full well the WiMAX airwaves floating just overhead could make our experience speedy. Thankfully, we won’t have to dwell on our frustration for long, because a Sprint executive told Forbes that a 4G tablet will arrive in 2011. Sprint’s Paget Alves, president of business markets, wouldn’t say where it would be made, but hinted that the company intends to sell tablets running different operating systems — so it’s probably not another Android device. What could it be, then? We can’t say, but paired with the knowledge that Verizon also plans to debut LTE tablets in 2011 — possibly including one Motorola Stingray — it seems like 2011 will be a fine year for goodies on CDMA. [Thanks, Stephen] Sprint: 4G tablet coming in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yep, that Flash error up there is one of many we got today on our Cr-48s . On top of that, as you may have read in our in-depth preview , we’ve been experiencing incredibly sluggish Flash performance, including choppy playback of YouTube and Hulu videos. It’s certainly not a good situation, but Adobe’s aware of it and promising that hope is on the way. Adobe’s Senior Director of Engineer Paul Betlem has put up a post regarding the matter on the company’s very own Flash Player blog, and says that ” In terms of Chrome notebooks specifically… video performance in particular is the primary area for improvement.” He also goes on to promise that the updates will be seamless as the Flash plug-ins are integrated directly into the self-updating operating system. That sure sounds good to us, but in the meantime, we’ll be waiting for these Flash errors and stuttering 480p videos to disappear — or, you know, for HTML 5 to take over. Flash working poorly on your Google Cr-48? Adobe’s working on it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Is Japanese band Sour’s “Mirror” music video the single best thing we’ve ever seen in a browser? It probably is. Load it up in Safari or Chrome and make sure you connect your Facebook, Twitter, and webcam — we tried it out and it’s totally fine. In fact, it’s more than fine. It’s stunning. Why can’t HTML5 and Flash always play this nicely together? Sour’s ‘Mirror’ browser-based music video is absolutely wild originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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FLO TV said that it would be refunding the eight folks who actually bought into its services once it made the tough decision to shut things down on March 27, 2011, and lo and behold, it’s a promise kept. What we weren’t expecting, however, was any sort of monetary compensation for hardware , but it looks as if FLO TV will be providing some sort of rebate amount to those who purchased a FLO TV Personal Television , Audiovox Portable DVD Player with FLO TV or FLO TV Auto Entertainment center . It’s unclear how much you’ll be getting back — you’ll need to go through the entire rebate process to find out — but you will be reimbursed for any prepaid FLO TV services that you’re no longer interested in using (or won’t be able to use due to the March 2011 cutoff). Hit the source link to file your claim, but be aware that your service will be cut within 72 hours of submitting it. Beyond the break, you’ll find the full email that FLO TV is sending to its customers. [Thanks, T.J.] Continue reading FLO TV rebates for devices and service are now live FLO TV rebates for devices and service are now live originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lenovo launches IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p laptops, IdeaCentre K330 desktop
December 9, 2010 No Comment
Lenovo ‘s just announced two new laptops and a desktop, the IdeaPad Y460p, Y560p, and the IdeaCentre K330. First up, the Idea Pad Y460p and Y560p are 14- and 15.6-inches with 16:9 widescreen displays, and come with a range of processors up to the Intel Core i7, an up to 750 GB hard drive, and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory. The laptops also feature JBL speakers and Dolby Home Theater. The IdeaCentre K330 also features up to a Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of DDR3 SDRAM, twin RAID0-configured hard disk drives, and up to 4TB of HDD storage, and DIrectX-11 graphics. It also has a host of optional add-ons, including an integrated DVD or Blu-ray player, TV tuner, and HD graphics support. The IdeaPads will be available on January 11, 2011 with an $849 starting price, while the IdeaCentre will start at $699 and should be available in early 2011. The full press release and another shot is after the break. Continue reading Lenovo launches IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p laptops, IdeaCentre K330 desktop Lenovo launches IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p laptops, IdeaCentre K330 desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Aww, would you look at that, the iPhone’s trying to play big boy games ! Following in the well received footsteps of Rage HD , today marks the debut of Infinity Blade , the second in what’s hopefully a wave of gorgeous-looking iOS games boasting advanced 3D graphics, if not 3D gameplay. Epic Games has put aside the chainsaw-equipped projectile weaponry of its wildly successful Gears of War console series to deliver the first mobile game built around its Unreal Engine 3 . You won’t be surprised to hear that it’s utterly delicious to look at, and the visuals certainly helped transport us to this alien realm of swords, axes, shields, and magical rings — where body armor is optional, but helmets apparently are not. Jump past the break to see this visual feast in motion and to soak up some more of our impressions. Gallery: Infinity Blade screenshots Continue reading App review: Infinity Blade (iPhone) App review: Infinity Blade (iPhone) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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