RIM gives lengthy PlayBook demo at Rogers conference, confirms 4G is on tap
December 6, 2010 No Comment
We’ve already gotten a glimpse of some of RIM’s PlayBook demo at the recent TabLife conference, but Rogers has now finally posted the complete video of what may well be the most comprehensive look at the device to date. That includes a peek at the most recent software build, a demonstration of 1080p video playback, and a look at the device’s “true multitasking” capabilities — which, incidentally, was all demonstrated using just one half of the device’s dual-core processor. What’s more, RIM’s David Neale also confirmed that the device will indeed support 4G at some point in the future, and he naturally addressed some of Apple’s recent criticisms of smaller tablets, saying that “there is room in the world for different shapes.” Head on past the break for the full 17-minute video. Continue reading RIM gives lengthy PlayBook demo at Rogers conference, confirms 4G is on tap RIM gives lengthy PlayBook demo at Rogers conference, confirms 4G is on tap originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You unfortunately still have a bit of a wait in store for your off-the-self Windows Phone 7 device, but those lucky enough to have a developer device are now starting to receive an update that includes the much anticipated copy and paste functionality, and we’re now seeing the first videos of it in action. That expectedly functions much as we’ve heard before , and it appears to work reasonably well in the (admittedly brief) video. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself. [Thanks, Austin] Continue reading Windows Phone 7 shown copying and pasting on video Windows Phone 7 shown copying and pasting on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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After a year of hearing about 3DTVs nonstop we finally got some of the main contenders in house to examine, although we’ll start by pointing out that this isn’t so much of a “3DTV” roundup, since a more apt description of these displays is 3D-capable HDTVs. That’s an important distinction to make, since nothing about the 2D performance of these TVs suffers because of their ability to do 3D, and in many cases they cost the exact same price as their comparable 2D-only models from last year. With that said Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi and LG’s finest have had their moment and on the next page we’ve done our best to compare them in a way that makes sense for the average HDTV buyer who might also want to take in a 3D event or movie from time to time. Right now, there’s barely enough 3D content to support more than a couple of hours viewing per week, much less support a full viewing conversion to all-glasses, all the time — but more about that later. Check out our full impressions after the break. Continue reading 3DTV roundup: LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung & Sony square off 3DTV roundup: LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung & Sony square off originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We had an opportunity earlier today to sit down with one of the powerhouses of the wireless industry in the US: Steve Largent, who heads up the CTIA . In that capacity, Largent oversees the industry group most directly responsible for lobbying carriers’ interests in Washington, which means he’s helping to steer the direction this business is going on a very broad, long-term, critical scale — and he also happens to run a trade show that we attend twice a year. We were joined by the CTIA’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, Christopher Guttman-McCabe, for a spirited conversation covering the gamut from net neutrality to spectrum allocation to the Droid R2-D2 Edition and pretty much everything in between. Check it out after the break, won’t you? Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA The Engadget Interview: Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It may still not amount to much of a dent in the company’s complete fleet of vehicles, but Hertz has just announced that it will start renting out the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive vehicle on December 15th, which follows recent announcements that it will soon be offering the all-electric Coda Sedan and Nissan Leaf in selected markets. As you might expect, however, the Smart ED will also be somewhat limited in availability, with San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C. being the only locations included in the initial rollout, and no word on any additional cities to follow. Head on past the break for the complete press release. Continue reading Hertz to start renting all-electric Smart Fortwo EDs next week Hertz to start renting all-electric Smart Fortwo EDs next week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Fring is working hard to seize on this (hopefully temporary) gap in the video chat firmament, where Google is lacking in a first party mobile video chat solution, Apple’s supposedly open FaceTime standard has yet to be opened, and Skype is dragging its feet on a mobile video call implementation. We’re not sure how long that will last, but until then we’re happy to have Fring sprucing up its own cross-platform solution. Fring just pushed out new Android and iPhone versions of its app that include “DVQ,” or “Dynamic Video Quality” for video calling. It’s pretty simple: the video quality automatically (and asynchronously) adjusts to use your available bandwidth, with an emphasis on keeping the audio stream pure and uninterrupted. It might sound like a no brainer, but it’s a nice touch — particularly for folks straying from WiFi and trying their luck with carrier data. Check out a video of DVQ in action after the break. Continue reading Fring adds Dynamic Video Quality to its video calling apps Fring adds Dynamic Video Quality to its video calling apps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, color us surprised. Just last Wednesday, Samsung announced that it had developed its very own NFC module in-house, but today we’re learning that it came just a few months too late for inclusion in the outfit’s forthcoming Nexus S . Right on cue, NXP Semiconductors has come forward today proclaiming its involvement in the first handset to ship with Android 2.3. The outfit’s PN544 NFC controller and accompanying open source software stack will be used in the Nexus S, and naturally they’ve both been “fully integrated and validated on Gingerbread.” Of course, only time will tell what sort of applications spring up to take advantage, but we’ve got a feeling that metro payments and the like could be first in line. Nice of America to finally catch up, right? Continue reading Samsung Nexus S utilizing NXP’s PN544 NFC chip Samsung Nexus S utilizing NXP’s PN544 NFC chip originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Software keyboard pops up in webOS 2.0, dreams of a Palm slate phone flourish
December 6, 2010 No Comment
A software keyboard may sound anathema to Palm, with its rich history of wonderful QWERTY keyboards, but you had to feel it was coming, what with the wild consumer adoption of slate devices and, you know, the economy these days. Well, after a short history of hints in webOS 2.0′s code and a longer history of hacks , a full-on Palm-developed software keyboard has been found in shipping webOS 2.0 devices. It takes a little bit of a hack and a restart, and apparently it’s buggy as well, oh and you have to use the physical keyboard to enter the Opt+Sym+K command that opens the virtual keys. Still, none of these shortcomings are going to stop us from sketching out slick, slim slate phones in our diaries, translating that understated elegance of the Pre 2 into a screen-dominated form factor with our unbridled imaginations, leaving the Pre’s cramped hardware keyboard in the past as we sprint into a glorious future of tangible webOS 2.0 market share and maybe a threaded email app or something. Sorry, we’re done. Check out a video of the keyboard in action while we wipe the drool off our chins. Continue reading Software keyboard pops up in webOS 2.0, dreams of a Palm slate phone flourish Software keyboard pops up in webOS 2.0, dreams of a Palm slate phone flourish originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide ! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season. You tech savvy lot may think PMPs are a dying breed, but funnily enough, the market’s still going strong with a handful of products. There are certainly some benefits from using a dedicated media device alongside your phone: more battery juice, greater range of supported file formats, better audio quality, more form factors to choose from, etc. Perhaps our list of gift recommendations will be more convincing — check it out after the break. Continue reading Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: PMPs Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: PMPs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sprint phasing out Nextel’s iDEN network, selects vendors for $5b network upgrade project
December 6, 2010 No Comment
Looks like the Motorola i1 Android set ( not pictured above) will stand as the highest-end Nextel phone ever — Sprint just announced that it’s phasing out the iDEN network sometime in 2013 as it begins a new four to five billion dollar network enhancement project called “Network Vision.” We’ve expected this for a while — the Sprint / Nextel merger has been beset by subscriber losses and rumors of a breakup for years now — but this is the first time we’ve gotten a date. Sprint’s rolling out push-to-talk on its own network to support its 10.6 million Nextel customers, but we don’t have a schedule for that yet. Sprint’s also announcing vendors for Network Vision: Alcatel-Lucent, Samsung, and Ericsson will each handle a region and be tasked with expanding and fortifying Sprint’s existing 1900MHz 3G network while buying 800MHz, 1900MHz, and 2.5GHz spectrum for future use. Interestingly, Sprint’s definitely hedging its WiMAX bets a little — it can upgrade its new gear to LTE with swapping in a baseband card and issuing a software patch, which certainly gives the company some 4G flexibility should Clearwire not pull things together . We’ll see what happens — the underdog’s making some moves. Sprint phasing out Nextel’s iDEN network, selects vendors for $5b network upgrade project originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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