The folks at Swype sure know how to get our attention. The Android keyboard app has always inspired us to get a bit dramatic , but we had no idea that predictive text and moveable QWERTY pads were this intense. To celebrate the beta release of Swype 3.0 it appears the company hired Doug Liman (or at least some one who has studied the Bourne Identity very closely) to whip up a promo video. Enjoy the thrills of a resizable input area! Be wowed by the Honeycomb support! Get stunned by the auto-correct! Oh, and don’t forget to head after the break to watch the clip. Continue reading Swype 3.0 gets Honeycomb support, intense promo video (video) Swype 3.0 gets Honeycomb support, intense promo video (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s over. The patent battle between Nokia and Apple just ended not with an injunction, but with a press release citing a license agreement and payments from Apple to Espoo. The specifics of the agreement are confidential, but Nokia does say that Apple will make a one-time payment followed by on-going royalties. So, while Nokia may be having trouble selling its zombied handsets , at least its IP portfolio can help fill the coffers during the transition to Windows Phone. Read the full press release after the break. Continue reading Apple and Nokia patent litigation ends in Nokia’s favor Apple and Nokia patent litigation ends in Nokia’s favor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AMD’s Fusion A-Series chips official: 10.5-hour battery life, DirectX11 graphics, and USB 3.0 support (video)
June 13, 2011 No Comment
AMD’s Llano platform has been on our radar for more than two years , and finally, the company has come clean with its latest class of hybrid CPU / GPU chips, officially dubbed the Fusion A-Series. Unlike the low-power flavor of Fusion accerlated processing units already on the market , these 32-nanometer APUs were designed with desktops and mainstream laptops in mind, taking direct aim at Intel’s Core 2011 processors with the promise of superior processing and discrete-level graphics, and 10-plus hours of battery life. Aside from the assorted performance and battery life claims the company is making (much more on that in a moment), what this means is that as far as laptops go, AMD is completely stepping away from the standalone-CPU-plus-GPU paradigm. But , the company will still make dedicated Radeon cards, which can be coupled with an APU for a 75 percent boost in graphics performance — a setup AMD is calling “Dual Graphics.” All told, these chips measure just 228 square millimeters. To put this in context, check out the gallery of hands-on shots below, featuring the A-series next to a standalone CPU, discrete graphics card, and, for the sake of scale, the kind of low-power Fusion chip introduced back at CES. A-Series-equipped PCs are already shipping , and AMD says we can expect to see at least 150 of them this year. That sounds promising indeed, but we’ve still got lots of technical details to rehash. Head on past the break for the full spill on what these APUs pledge to do, along with a video of AMD senior product marketing manager Raymond Dumbeck showing off some A-series laptops in action. Gallery: AMD Fusion A Series hands-on Continue reading AMD’s Fusion A-Series chips official: 10.5-hour battery life, DirectX11 graphics, and USB 3.0 support (video) AMD’s Fusion A-Series chips official: 10.5-hour battery life, DirectX11 graphics, and USB 3.0 support (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Acer intros revamped desktops, 23-inch multitouch display for kids with ginormous dorm rooms
June 13, 2011 No Comment
Last week, Acer unveiled a handful of back-to-school laptops, and today, the outfit’s showing off gear for kids who’ve got a teensy bit more room in the dorms. The company just trotted out a pair of desktops, along with the beastly 23-inch T231H multitouch monitor. Both towers have a staid black chassis with Acer’s clear.fi media streaming software on board. Of the two, the M series (pictured) is clearly for power users, with Core i3 and quad-core AMD Athlon II x4 processor options, 6GB of RAM, 1TB of hard drive space, optional discrete graphics, and a storage tray on top housing four USB 2.0 sockets and headphone and mic ports. The X series, meanwhile, has a trimmer, more compact design, and a modest spec list featuring Intel Pentium dual-core and AMD Athlon II X4 processors, 4GB of RAM, and integrated graphics. As for that 1080p display, it has an 80,000:1 contrast ratio and tilts between a 5-degree and 60-degree angle — not unlike that swiveling HP all-in-one that came out earlier this year. They’re all up for grabs now, with the M and X series starting at $500 and $398, respectively, and the monitor fetching $330. Full PR after the break. Gallery: Acer M and X series desktops Gallery: Acer T231H multitouch monitor Continue reading Acer intros revamped desktops, 23-inch multitouch display for kids with ginormous dorm rooms Acer intros revamped desktops, 23-inch multitouch display for kids with ginormous dorm rooms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know some of you have been a little disappointed in Panasonic’s GF line of Micro Four Thirds cams as they’ve shed advanced features and become more “consumer friendly” — terrifying words for any serious user to hear. But, we’ve got some good news, at some point in the future the GF line will split with a more professionally-minded model sold alongside the more simplistic GF3. That’s straight from the mouth of Ichiro Kitao, the head of Panasonic’s camera division, who spoke to PhotoRadar about the company’s plans. When the GF1 will finally get a spiritual successor isn’t exactly clear, but we’re glad to hear the pocketable Micro Four Thirds series will finally get another serious shooter. Panasonic plans to expand GF line, return to serious shooter roots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nintendo finally sells millionth 3DS unit in Japan, lives in the shadow of older brother
June 13, 2011 No Comment
A million in (Japanese) sales is a far cry from failure, but even big daddy Satoru Iwata admits the 3DS isn’t quite living up to expectations. Nintendo’s tenderfoot handheld finally hit the mark after 13 weeks, a snail’s pace when compared to the original dual-screen wunderkind , which reportedly made the grade in a mere four. The 3DS’ predecessors will undoubtedly forgive it for being a late bloomer, it’s the competition it ought to worry about; the PSP sold its first million in about seven weeks. The 3DS could still plow its way to the top — but with the PlayStation Vita looming large on the horizon, and the fledgling handheld having already lost a round the PSV’s predecessor, Nintendo could be in for a rough ride. Nintendo finally sells millionth 3DS unit in Japan, lives in the shadow of older brother originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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In theory, metamaterials are all kinds of awesome — they can boost antenna strength , focus lasers , and create invisibility cloaks . But, they’ve been limited to day dreams lab experiments because producing the light-interfering materials in any practical quantity has been difficult and time consuming. John Rogers, a professor at the University of Illinois has figured out a way to print a layered, nano-scale mesh that bends near-infrared light in much larger amounts than previously possible. The new method, based around a plastic stamp, has been used to create sheets of metamaterial measuring a few square inches, but Rogers is confident he can scale it up to several feet. Who knows, by the time the second installment of The Deathly Hallows hits theaters in July you could get the best Harry Potter costume — one that lets you sneak in without shelling out $13. [Thanks, Plum G.] Metamaterial printing method inches us closer to invisibility cloaks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Pretty Impressive: Sarah Palin’s E-Mails Score at Eighth-Grade Reading Level
June 13, 2011 No Comment
When nearly 25,000 of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s e-mails were released last week, we all were given a (much anticipated) look not only at what she was writing, but how she was writing. AOL brought in two writing analysts to individually assess the level at which the e-mails were being composed. What they found
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Motorola’s latest wares are on display at the 2011 Cable Show (we suspect the sluggish cable boxes actually in service right now are rarely mentioned) including this “Live Streaming Device” aka Televation. Functioning as a cable company provided, in-home-only Slingbox, it transcodes the MPEG-2 TV broadcasts into MPEG-4 IP streams for viewing on other devices (Android or iOS tablets, IP-connected TVs, etc) that are on the same local network at whatever bitrate or resolution they can handle. Motorola figures this cuts out legal disputes like those encircling Time Warner’s TWCable TV iPad app since it uses existing TV broadcasts. Collaborating on the project were engineers from Comcast, which could make for an existing branch on its existing plans for new boxes, IPTV, and mobile apps . Sling / Echostar has been trying to crack the cable box market with its more flexible solution for years and is expected to announce the new Aria platform tomorrow, so may the best platform — and not just the one with the cheapest / sweetest deal for the cable company — win. Continue reading Motorola Televation turns cable TV into IPTV streams for the whole home Motorola Televation turns cable TV into IPTV streams for the whole home originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Galaxy Tab spreads wings, flies to premium seats on American Airlines
June 13, 2011 No Comment
Move on over, Delta. The 200 iPads at your JFK terminal may entertain some folks waiting to board, but before the years out, American Airlines will start switching out 6,000 in-flight entertainment systems with Samsung 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs. Sammy will be customizing the Honeycomb slates with flight related “features” including AA’s streaming service mentioned last month, and possibly even adding ” expanded memory ” for the devices — no word on how, though. Panasonic’s console has some competition it seems. It’s notable that these will only be available in “premium cabins” on a handful of long-distance routes, and unless you’re flying in a 767-200, WiFi access — a separate purchase, by the way — may not be available. We’ve embedded some PR with the details for all you jet-setting tablet enthusiasts after the break. Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab spreads wings, flies to premium seats on American Airlines Samsung Galaxy Tab spreads wings, flies to premium seats on American Airlines originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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