Android lost a major ally at Samsung Mobile this week, with the departure of Omar Khan. The CTO is leaving the hardware manufacturer for the industry analyst side of things, joining Citigroup’s mobile solutions team. Khan has led the charge on a number of Android-based devices, including, recently, the S II and various other products in the Galaxy line — he also made a memorable appearance on The Engadget Show, back in August of last year. Samsung’s Nick Dicarlo and Gavin Kim will be stepping in to grab some of Khan’s PR responsibilities at the company. Android-friendly Samsung CTO abandons ship for Citigroup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’re one of the lucky ones who landed themselves a Google+ account, you might have felt a little less fortunate when your inbox was bombarded by repeated notifications. Vic Gundotra , the Goog’s social mastermind, took to the fledgling service to apologize and explain what happened. Turns out the servers in charge of tracking notifications ran out of disk space for about 80 minutes — causing them to repeatedly send and resend the same messages. In his Plus posting Gundotra admitted, “we didn’t expect to hit these high thresholds so quickly, but we should have.” Sure, it may have been annoying to get 17 alerts that your old college roommate added you to his circles, but we’ve got to give credit to Vic for owning this mini fail. The company better hope it can scale up capacity quick — Google+ invites are still a hot property and it’s got a lot of growing to do before it can truly compete with the likes of Facebook. Filed under: Internet Google+ runs out of disk space, floods inboxes with notification spam originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Your favorite no-touch backup company’s coming back around again, this time with yet another HDD to tempt your paranoia. Clickfree ‘s newest backup solution is the C6 Easy Imaging, capable of holding backups for as many PCs as necessary (provided there’s enough space). It’ll work seamlessly with Windows 7, Vista and XP, and it’ll get all the juice it needs from a spare USB port. As with the outfit’s prior products, this one’s also designed for those who aren’t exactly “hip” with technical lingo, which means that power users will likely be flustered with the inability to really control too much of what’s happening just as soon as this thing’s plugged in. That said, the drive does allow users to categorize which files they want backed up, and it’ll enable users to restore only personal files should the need arise. The full spiel is hosted up after the break, and you can catch the portable version right now in the US and Canada for $140 (500GB) / $180 (1TB), while the desktop model goes for $150 (1TB) / $180 (2TB). Continue reading Clickfree trots out C6 Easy Imaging backup hard drives, takes ‘em to 2TB Clickfree trots out C6 Easy Imaging backup hard drives, takes ‘em to 2TB originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Galaxy S II gets torn down, found to be just as beautiful on the inside
July 11, 2011 No Comment
Here’s a tidbit of interest: it took the moving of three million Galaxy S IIs before we saw a bona fide teardown. But hey — maybe this thing’s just too darn delightful to crack open for the sake of cracking it open. iFixit and ABI Research have both sliced into Sammy’s best smartphone yet, discovering an Exynos dual-core apps processor, newfangled CMOS-based antenna switch, a low-power XMM6260 cellular chipset from Infineon and a single-packaged multi-band, multi-mode PA from RFMD. ‘Course, knowing the surrounding technobabble is only half the fun; for the other half, dig into those source links below. Samsung Galaxy S II gets torn down, found to be just as beautiful on the inside originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Archos sends the A70S2 tablet through the FCC, tells us nothing in the process
July 11, 2011 No Comment
You’d think after unveiling a duo of Android 3.1 slates along with a bare-bones model Archos would have washed its hands of tablets for at least a couple months, right? Of course not — the French company that just won’t quit has sent yet another tab through the FCC, this one dubbed the A70S2. And that’s about all the outfit let slip on the subject — at least until August 19th when the confidentiality protection covering the tablet’s juiciest details expires. The company wouldn’t throw us a screen size, resolution, or even a confirmation that yes, this thing might well run Android like the bulk of Archos’ other tablets. So if this game of “what the heck is this?” doesn’t bear fruit, let’s take the opportunity to have a (one-sided) heart-to-heart with our favorite French tablet maker. Archos, isn’t it about time you added an easy-to-hold, 7-incher with Android 3.1, 250GB of storage, and HDMI-out to the mix? We think it’d fit in perfectly . Archos sends the A70S2 tablet through the FCC, tells us nothing in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Alienware adds jitter-killing Killer Wireless-N technology to M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x
July 11, 2011 No Comment
And this , friends, is how you make the leap into the mainstream. Bigfoot Networks has been toiling away in an effort to get its gaming-optimized networking guts into just about everything — there’s also a VisionTek GPU with Killer innards, and a trifecta of mainboard makers announced that they too would be joining the bustling integration party earlier in the year. Now, however, the outfit’s really got something to hang its hat on: a handshake with Dell’s Alienware unit. The Killer Wireless-N 1103 networking adapter will now be listed as an option for the Alienware M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x, promising data rates as high as 450Mbps as well as its Advanced Stream Detect to intelligently classify and prioritize network traffic. Mum’s the word on how much the upgrade will be, but based on prior reviews , we’d say the premium will be well worth it for the hardcore among us. Continue reading Alienware adds jitter-killing Killer Wireless-N technology to M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x Alienware adds jitter-killing Killer Wireless-N technology to M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Watson may have Jeopardy! and the medical realm under lock, but retail / service industries? Not yet, but soon. Very soon. According to a new piece in Hemispheres Magazine , IBM’s now looking to shop the supercomputer’s world-class vocal recognition technologies to outfits in retail and customer service, with those enterprises in particular drooling at the thought of having a sophisticated machine recognizing human speech. In theory, at least, basic questions could potentially be answered entirely by Watson, but that’s honestly not a future we’re too fond of. There’s also the possibility of using analytical data that Watson collects in order to better position deals, service and other tech support centers based on what kinds of requests come in the most. So, eager to speak with a kindhearted, potentially confused robot? Or will that flustered, potentially sympathetic Earthling still suffice? Calling for tech support? IBM’s Watson might be on the other end originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Steve Jobs impersonator officiates mock keynote, hawks Taiwanese tea (video)
July 11, 2011 No Comment
Well, there’s clearly no better way to legitimize any new product than to have a faux Steve Jobs hawking it on-stage, in front of dozens of applauding mock journalists, with a 20-foot iPad 2 projected behind. The Jobs / John Stamos hybrid dropped by to pitch a Taiwanese company’s vast selection of tea, of all things, for a TV advertisement that’s apparently currently airing in Taiwan. Decked out in light jeans, a black mock turtleneck and sneakers, the impersonator even matched Steve’s hair color, rimless glasses, and current weight. The only thing missing was an actual Apple product — and months of media speculation. The “keynote” even ended with “one more thing,” as they often do: Tea drinkers will have a shot at winning a bonafide iPad 2 with each purchase of oolong, milk, or Apple-infused Tong Yi Cha. Continue reading Steve Jobs impersonator officiates mock keynote, hawks Taiwanese tea (video) Steve Jobs impersonator officiates mock keynote, hawks Taiwanese tea (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NTT showcases next-gen 802.11ac wireless LAN solution, hopes for near-term commercialization
July 11, 2011 No Comment
NTT DoCoMo’s never been one to back down from the future , and some might say this carrier is actually already living in 2012. You know — Land of the Rising Sun and all. At any rate, its latest foray into what’s next came at the Wireless Technology Park in Yokohama, where it demonstrated a fully-functional 802.11ac prototype wireless system. For those unaware, that’s what is scheduled to make 802.11n look like the 101 at lunchtime, with an effective throughput of 1Gbps per system. If all goes well, NTT will be commercializing the system “within a few years,” and based on a demonstrated throughout of 120Mbps (as in, real-world results), we’re hoping “few” becomes “one.” NTT showcases next-gen 802.11ac wireless LAN solution, hopes for near-term commercialization originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Maybe you’re one of the lucky few who have plenty of space where 65-inch televisions are barely big enough to outfit your palatial estate. If so, we hate you (not really). Or perhaps you’re like us at Engadget HQ where our city apartments are barely big enough for our Nabaztags . If so, Nyko has a $29 device coming August 23 called the Zoom that’ll attach to your Kinect sensor to reduce the amount of flail-space required by about 40 percent. That translates to just four feet of distance from your Kinect. How does it do it? With lenses that refocus the sensors, so it has no power requirements. Call them glasses for your Kinect without the jabs from your classmates because they can’t see you playing Kinect Adventures anyway, trooper. Nyko Zoom gives space-limited Kinect users more room on August 23 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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