Look what the FCC dragged in: it’s a brand new, unannounced all-on-one speaker for inclusion in your Sonos wireless audio system. A mini S5 , if you will, that goes by the name “Play:3″ according to the black and white FCC labels — a hint at black and white offerings just like the S5. Curiously, the FCC docs also refer to the Play:3 as the “S3″ in keeping with Sonos’ S5 nomenclature. Our friend Dave Zatz speculates that the diminutive size and name is a good indicator that the S3 / Play:3 will feature a trio of drivers and dedicated digital amplifiers, akin to the S5′s five (two tweeters, two mids, and a subwoofer). And you know what? We’d have to agree. Now, given the S3′s size and Sonos’ proven ability to use software to perfectly synchronize audio across dozens of Sonos boxes, you’ll have to forgive us for wondering if Sonos has a wireless 5.1 home theater solution up its sleeve. Well Sonos, do ya? Evidence of the Play:3 vs S3 naming conventions can be found after the break. Continue reading Sonos S3 / Play:3 wireless all-in-one speaker system leaked by the feds Sonos S3 / Play:3 wireless all-in-one speaker system leaked by the feds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video)
June 3, 2011 No Comment
The Adobe-Apple Flash war used to be one of the juiciest catfights around, but, much like two aging boxers, both sides now appear willing to act like adults put it all behind them . Speaking at yesterday’s D9 conference in Palos Verdes, California, Adobe head Shantanu Narayen confirmed that he and Steve Jobs have reached an unofficial armistice, bringing an end to their prolonged war of words. According to the CEO, Apple’s Flash issues stemmed from the company’s “business model,” rather than any legitimate concerns over quality. “It’s control over the app store that’s at issue here,” Narayen said, implying that Flash’s wide-ranging platform compatibility may not have jibed with the Cupertino ethos. He went on to remind moderator Walt Mossberg that developers can still use Adobe’s AIR software to get their products to the App Store, adding that his company is looking forward to the rise of HTML5 and “actively contributing” to its development. Mossberg, meanwhile, seemed to blindside Narayen when he brought up Flash’s poor performance on Android devices. “I have yet to test a single one where Flash tests really well,” the columnist claimed. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.” Narayen sputtered a bit, before pointing to the BlackBerry PlayBook as an example of the progress that Flash has made. When Mossberg reminded him that the PlayBook doesn’t run on Android, the CEO not-so-subtly sidestepped the question by emptily declaring that Adobe’s mission is simply to provide people with the best tools to create content. Apparently satisfied with this non-answer, Mossberg changed the subject back to Apple, allowing Narayen to wax poetic about their new Pax Romana — and, perhaps, to breathe a sigh of relief. See the full interview after the break. Continue reading Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video) Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Fatty internal optical drives have so far been content to sit back and watch their external cousins do all the figure-slimming push-ups. But this low-profile 5.25-inch slot-loader clearly got bored of being XXL. It was spotted eating carrot sticks and taking up significantly less than its allotted bay space inside an Antec Solo II chasis at Computex . According to AnandTech , it represents a new industry standard that will start hitting the market by the end of the year — along with new cases designed to hold it. Slot-loaders may not appeal to everyone, but if you’re in the market to buy or build a small form factor PC then this baby might just turn your head. Slimmer 5.25-inch internal optical drive gets wolf-whistled at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …QWERTY wallet shows off your keyboard appreciation, pays homage to The Shining
June 3, 2011 No Comment
Now die-hard QWERTY enthusiasts never have to be away from the keys. This black leather billfold pledges allegiance to the keys with an embossed replica of a QWERTY keyboard wrapping around its exterior, while its interior rocks the phrase made famous by Jack Nicholson in The Shining : “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It may be a touch less flamboyant than Samuel L. Jackson’s “Bad Mother *&%$#@” wallet, but it’s no less iconic. You can pick one up now at the source link for
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Think ASUS netbooks threw Linux out the window ? Think again: the Eee PC 1001PXD, 1011PX and 1015PX are about to get Ubuntu configurations. Harking back to when the famous netbook line launched running Xandros , these Ubuntu loaded machines could help Linux reach a larger audience. Canonical representatives are pitting the new netbooks against Windows-powered machines, telling The Inquirer that Ubuntu is competing with Microsoft, not other Linux distributions. That’s quite a goliath you picked there, Ubuntu. Are a trio of Atom notebooks enough to win the war on Windows? Considering Dell abandoned their love of Linux over a year ago, we’re guessing no. Ubuntu to hit Eee PCs, take on Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s looking like we’re about three weeks away from our first dose of glasses-free 3D on a smartphone, and Sprint is going to be the one getting you all cross-eyed. But, before you can hold a device like HTC’s EVO 3D to your head, the FCC has to make sure it won’t be doing anything too nasty to your gray matter. The phone and its myriad of antennas — covering CDMA, EVDO, WiMAX, Bluetooth, and WiFi — all ran the gauntlet successfully, and, in the process, exposed a long list of componentry. No, sadly, there’s no teardown involved with this one, but we now know the model numbers of just about every major piece of equipment wedged behind that parallax-barrier screen, from its Qualcomm processor to its Broadcom wireless chipset. Really, though, you only need to know one thing: June 24th . HTC EVO 3D walks its WiMAX by the FCC on its way to Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Micron RealSSD P320h can read 3GBps, write 2GBps, impress millions of geeks per second
June 3, 2011 No Comment
Speed may be a relative thing, but whatever you choose to compare Micron’s new RealSSD P320h series to, you’ll probably find them pretty competitive. Coming in 350GB and 700GB capacities, these PCI Express solid state drives can process data at a rate of 3GB per second and write it at a no less impressive 2GBps. If you’re more interested in input / output operations per second, the P320h clocks in at 750,000 IOPS when running Linux or 650,000 with Windows Server as the OS. You don’t need us to tell you that both numbers represent screaming-fast performance. Such mighty feats are achieved with the use of 34nm SLC NAND flash memory and Micron’s own controller chip. Samples of the P320h are trickling out now and mass production is coming in the third quarter of 2011, and while no pricing info has been offered yet, it’s safe to say you’ll be needing your company CFO’s blessing before making any P320h purchases. Video and full PR after the break. Continue reading Micron RealSSD P320h can read 3GBps, write 2GBps, impress millions of geeks per second Micron RealSSD P320h can read 3GBps, write 2GBps, impress millions of geeks per second originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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While flying cars are still a pipe dream, other technologies are quickly transitioning from the stuff of sci-fi movies into the very tangible realm of reality . This was definitely the case at the Qualcomm Booth here at Computex where we got to experience two interesting new technologies — zero shutter lag and the ultrasonic pen. What if when you pressed the shutter button on your phone the camera captured 2 frames before, one frame during, and 2 frames after that instant? That’s the idea behind Scalado’s zero shutter lag , which speeds up the process of taking pictures on a phone by letting the camera continuously sample images and allowing the user to create a composite shot from the content available in up to 5 frames. Also on display was Qualcomm’s ultrasonic pen that we already played with at MWC. By using an ultrasonic transducer attached to a pen and a phone with 3 microphones (like the MSM8660 Mobile Development Platform), the ultrasonic signal can be triangulated to determine the location of the pen. Once calibrated, the phone is able to accurately capture handwriting either on the screen itself or on a standard sheet of paper up to 30cm away. We noticed that accuracy and distance appear to have improved since February — at this pace, perhaps we’ll all have flying cars soon after all? Check out the gallery and hit the break for our hands-on video. Gallery: Qualcomm zero shutter lag and ultrasonic pen hands on Continue reading Qualcomm takes sci-fi one step closer to reality at Computex 2011 (video) Qualcomm takes sci-fi one step closer to reality at Computex 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide gets pictured with Gingerbread, may debut next month
June 2, 2011 No Comment
We didn’t know it was possible, but Mr. Blurrycam just got out-Blurrycam’d. After getting some quality hands-on time with the FCC this week, the T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide had a brief photo shoot showing off a few of its assets. The images, provided by one of BGR’s sources, give us a brief look at the device’s keyboard and some of its software specs. The myTouch 4G Slide appears to be running Android 2.3.4 — the same version of Gingerbread found on the Nexus S — and the latest iteration of HTC Sense UI. This source also confirmed an 8 megapixel camera and teased that the phone runs “as smoothly as the HTC Sensation ” and the screen “isn’t much to write home about.” We hear that the myTouch 4G Slide is penciled in for the first half of July, and looks to be a mighty fine QWERTY-slide option within T-Mobile’s Android stable. Or, as good as one can look given the circumstances. T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide gets pictured with Gingerbread, may debut next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We got a chance to spend some time with the lovely folks from OCZ here at Computex for a tour of their latest and greatest SSD products, the RevoDrive 3 X2 and RevoDrive Hybrid . Both are PCIe x4 cards featuring up to 4 SandForce SF-2200 controllers and RAID 0 (striping) for blazing performance. The RevoDrive 3 X2 is available in capacities from 240GB ($699) to 960GB and improves upon the RevoDrive X2 with TRIM support and double the performance. We were treated to a demo that achieved truly ludicrous speeds — 1.5GBps reads and 1.2GBps writes — the kind of numbers that’ll perk up even the most jaded PC enthusiast. The RevoDrive Hybrid builds upon the same SSD technology as the RevoDrive 3 X2 to cache the contents of a 2.5-inch hard drive, with capacities starting at 500GB with a 60GB cache ($350). OCZ’s demo showed a 20 times performance improvement going from a regular hard drive to the RevoDrive Hybrid. Both products are expected to ship in July, but we suggest you ogle them right now in the gallery below and in our hands-on video after the break. Gallery: OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 and RevoDrive Hybrid hands-on Continue reading OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 and RevoDrive Hybrid hands-on (video) OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 and RevoDrive Hybrid hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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