When we reviewed the HP TouchPad we found it to feel a little hollow, as if it were rather more cavernous inside than the immediate competition. Now we’re getting to peek beneath the screen and, look at that, it’s “built more like a PC than an iPad” according to the screwdriver-meisters at TechRepublic . This means you can easily take the thing apart with just a Phillips screwdriver (and a little prying) should you wish. Or, you know, you can just look at the pictures on the other end of the source link and keep yours in one piece. They tend to work better that way. HP TouchPad torn asunder, no palms found hiding within originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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A supercharged Chevrolet Corvette may have been all the hotness back in 1996, but times and tastes change and now people are all about the electric boogaloo . Today we get to witness one modern man’s transition into this brave new world, a Wayne Bickley from California, who has gutted his crow-black ’96 Corvette and replaced the messy internal combustion setup with a set of 18 XS Power XP1000 batteries, a DC electric motor, and his own clutchless six-speed transmission. The end result doesn’t really look much different, but its 20-mile “spirited driving” range and 85mph top speed will surely feel different and it does also sound very much like something from the the future. Check out this modernized Chevy on video after the break. Continue reading 1996 Corvette converted into a 2011 electric odyssey (video) 1996 Corvette converted into a 2011 electric odyssey (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MacBook in short supply, stirs rumors of imminent refresh, rebirth of white plastic?
June 30, 2011 No Comment
We’ve already seen the MacBook Pro sporting new specs, and heard rumblings of a MacBook Air refresh coming soon, and now reports of dwindling supplies of Apple’s great white hope have the internets abuzz over a possible MacBook upgrade. AppleInsider did a little digging earlier today, and found that major online retailers, including Amazon, and at least one brick and mortar store were either running low or completely out of the last of the MacBooks. A similar fate has befallen stock of the Mac mini, inviting speculation that both machines will likely pop up post-Lion. We suppose there’s also a possibility that Apple’s ready to send the old workhorse to the glue factory, but we’d prefer a happy ending. MacBook in short supply, stirs rumors of imminent refresh, rebirth of white plastic? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Skype 2.0 brings two-way video calling to Nexus S, Desire S, Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro
June 30, 2011 No Comment
The latest update to Skype’s Android application has just been rolled out and a big part of its goodie delivery is two-way video calling. Only a quartet of phones are supported right now: Google’s own Nexus S, HTC’s Desire S, and the Xperia Neo and Pro from Sony Ericsson, all handsets that shipped with Android 2.3 installed. We suspect the rest of the Android world won’t be far behind — Thunderbolt users will surely be wondering why they’re not included in this first batch — but for now it’s just that fearsome foursome. Also included in Skype v2.0.0.45 is a UI overhaul and support for SMS messaging, neither of which suffers from any handset restrictions. Hit up the Android Market on your phone (the web Market still lists version 1) to get at the latest software. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Skype 2.0 brings two-way video calling to Nexus S, Desire S, Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Wimbledon NetMix lets you turn down on-court grunts in favor of staid commentary
June 30, 2011 No Comment
Wimbledon, typically a quiet leafy suburb in the great urban sprawl of London, tends to get a little noisier around this time of the year as the world’s top tennis players descend upon it with a grunt and a huff of exertion. It’s precisely those un-British howls of effort that the BBC is offering to filter out for you with a new Wimbledon NetMix tool. It’s a simple audio mixing slider, available to BBC Radio 5 Live listeners, that adjusts the balance between ambient on-court sound and the soothing timbre of commentators’ voices. The technology’s enabled by the guys and gals at Fraunhofer , who were nice enough to do it for free, and is being introduced in response to a great many complaints received by broadcasters about the primal screaming that’s accompanied this year’s matches. If the reaction to the NetMix slider is positive, it could find further job opportunities on the Beeb’s iPlayer or in coverage of other sporting events. Wimbledon NetMix lets you turn down on-court grunts in favor of staid commentary originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Best Buy sucks at product recognition: Wireless Keyboard for TouchPad, iPad sold separately
June 30, 2011 No Comment
Oh, really Best Buy –you don’t say? Too bad… that $69.99 price tag would be so much easier to swallow if you threw in the whole kit and kaboodle. [Thanks, Kevin] Continue reading Best Buy sucks at product recognition: Wireless Keyboard for TouchPad, iPad sold separately Best Buy sucks at product recognition: Wireless Keyboard for TouchPad, iPad sold separately originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve seemingly unearthed a whole lot of alternatronica in the past few days (not that it’s a bad thing), so you’ll understand when we enter yet another combatant into this abstract ring. Looking more like a complex game of Simon and almost playing like it too, Yamaha’s TNR-i app apes the functionality of the Tenori-on for your iOS instrument of choice. Ringing in at a hefty
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Further proving that patent infringement claims are incentive enough to drum up licensing deals, yet another Android device maker has signed on the dotted line to pay up to Redmond. Following up on Monday’s licensing agreement with Itronix , Microsoft has just announced a deal with Velocity Micro, Inc., that will have the outfit feeding the software giant’s coffers. Of course, details are scarce here; in fact, all we really know is Velocity Micro will pay royalties in regards to its Android-based devices, including the Cruz Tablet . Looks like those talks are paying off. Full PR after the break. Continue reading Microsoft inks Android patent deal with Velocity Micro — sound familiar? Microsoft inks Android patent deal with Velocity Micro — sound familiar? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Haptic belts and other wearable devices that can guide you may not exactly be a new idea — we’ve even seen some DIY attempts — but the US Army testing them? Well, that’s something worth noting. As New Scientist reports, the Army Research Office in North Carolina is now working on just such a device (likely more advanced than the one pictured here), and hopes that the belts could eventually be used to remotely guide soldiers on the battlefield. That’s done with a combination of GPS, an accelerometer and a compass — and, of course, the haptic part of the equation, which vibrates or pulses to point the soldier in the right direction, or indicate when they’re nearing their target. The idea there being to reduce the need for any handheld devices (at least until thought helmets become a reality), which can both take the soldiers’ eyes off the battlefield and potentially reveal their position at night. There’s still no indication as to when the belts might actually see use in the field, but early tests show that they’re at least as accurate as a handheld GPS, and the soldiers say they actually prefer it. [Image credit: Sreekar Krishna ] US Army testing haptic belt that nudges soldiers in the right direction originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You’ve got to hand it to IBM’s engineers. They drag themselves into work after their company’s 100th birthday party , pop a few Alka-Seltzers and then promptly announce yet another seismic invention. This time it’s a new kind of phase change memory (PCM) that reads and writes 100 times faster than flash, stays reliable for millions of write-cycles (as opposed to just thousands with flash), and is cheap enough to be used in anything from enterprise-level servers all the way down to mobile phones. PCM is based on a special alloy that can be nudged into different physical states, or phases, by controlled bursts of electricity. In the past, the technology suffered from the tendency of one of the states to relax and increase its electrical resistance over time, leading to read errors. Another limitation was that each alloy cell could only store a single bit of data . But IBM employees burn through problems like these on their cigarette breaks: not only is their latest variant more reliable, it can also store four data bits per cell, which means we can expect a data storage “paradigm shift” within the next five years. Combine this with Intel’s promised 50Gbps interconnect , which has a similar ETA, and data will start flowing faster than booze from an open bar on the boss’s tab. There’s more detailed science in the PR after the break, if you have a clear head. Continue reading IBM develops ‘instantaneous’ memory, 100x faster than flash IBM develops ‘instantaneous’ memory, 100x faster than flash originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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