A 10-inch followup to the BlackBerry PlayBook seemed inevitable and indeed, tidbits about a rumored larger-screen version are starting to flow fast and furious. N4BB , which recently managed to spy the 9900 before it was unveiled, is citing anonymous sources who claim it will have a thinner bezel, a SIM card slot, a white color option, and, like the soon-to-be upgraded 7-inch version, 4G / WiFi connectivity. What’s more, these sources assure us this new PlayBook will have native email and calendar apps and be able to connect to BlackBerry Enterprise Server without the help of BlackBerry Bridge — a confounding quirk on the current model. That’s all well and good (and fairly realistic), though we’ll just have to wait until that rumored holiday launch — or a more unequivocal leak — to see what RIM has up its sleeves. Next-gen PlayBook to have 10-inch screen, 4G radio, and white color option? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Android 2.3 hit the web for Droid X owners earlier this week , but that update previously required a tethered, manual install. As of today, the update is available over the air, so cable-free purists can finally start cooking with Gingerbread on their Droid X handsets. We first saw 2.3 popping up on the device in March , but if you opted out of rooting your handset for an early look at the new OS, you can now get your feet wet with speedy navigation, a customizable dock, and an overhauled camera app. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] OTA Gingerbread 2.3 update now available for Droid X originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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BlackBerry 7 OS is coming soon but, to take advantage of all those fancy features like NFC and the digital compass (ok, some of them aren’t that fancy), devs are going to need some new APIs — enter the BlackBerry 7 Java SDK. Creators of BlackBerry apps can go download the beta of the new software development kit at the source link and start whipping up augmented reality browsers and 3D games, thanks to support for OpenGL ES 2.0. There’s nothing mind-blowing about RIM’s latest update, but we’re glad to see the corporate stalwart start to catch up to other smartphone OSes, and it’s only a matter of time before Layar and Quake hit the BlackBerry Bold 9900 . BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Popping up in everything from tablets to servers, plain old solid-state drives are becoming as mundane as floppy disks were in the ’90s, so it’s about time someone got a little creative with the soldering iron. OCZ ‘s RevoDrive Hybrid takes a HDD and puts it where it doesn’t belong — on top of an SSD . But unlike that deep fried Oreo you really shouldn’t have “tasted” at the state fair, this pairing has potential to keep the juices flowing, caching reads and writes for both drives on a single PCIe card. Shipping in July, the $350 base Hybrid is expected to include a 500GB HDD and 60GB SSD, with a premium model doubling both capacities (and we assume price). With OCZ out of the memory game , we hope to see the now strictly SSD company bring innovative, affordable flash-based goodies to market, and it looks like we’re off to a decent start. RevoDrive Hybrid pairs HDD with SSD on PCIe originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Outside of a bit of bootloader talk , we haven’t heard much about Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Pro since it made its debut at Mobile World Congress in February. The company’s now gotten things rolling again, however, and has made the phone available for pre-order in the UK. As you can see above, it’ll set you back €349.99 SIM-free (or roughly $500), and it should be available sometime next month. Not pictured above is one of the phone’s main selling points: a sliding QWERTY keyboard — but don’t worry, you can get a good look at it in our hands-on . [Thanks, Amarjit] Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro now available for pre-order in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hot on the heels of a Wii price drop from about two weeks ago, Nintendo has announced that it’ll be lowering the DS Lite’s price to $100 (from about $130) starting on June 5th. The big N claims that its pushed over 48.9 million DS handhelds to consumers in the U.S., adding that many of the Mario DS titles have also sold well into the millions. To highlight the achievements, six of the best selling Mario themed games for DS will be getting a red makeover to their packaging — see above right — for easy pickin’s at your favorite retail shop (no discount apparently). It may not have 3D, but the drop in price, added with less eye strain , and a long lasting battery should be enough to make the 3DS a little jealous. Continue reading Nintendo drops DS Lite to $100, makes it easier to (Mario) party Nintendo drops DS Lite to $100, makes it easier to (Mario) party originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets
June 1, 2011 No Comment
So here’s the story: Pocketnow was able to snatch some screengrabs from a page that temporarily appeared on the Motorola Mobility website. The image above (and two more after the break) is what they saw. In addition to the Tracy XL homage to the Dick Tracy watchphone, we can also see the back of the Slimline handset and the front of the Zaha. The grabs also show a bit of the “Xoom 2″ tablet and Pearl handset along the bottom of the screen in addition to a fleeting glimpse of the previously rumored Verizon LTE handset known as Targa . And you know what makes this all truly compelling? The fact that Motorola made Pocketnow remove the images from its site. Continue reading Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets Motorola leaks Xoom 2 tablet, Tracy XL watchphone, and Slimline, Zaha, Targa, and Pearl handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video)
June 1, 2011 No Comment
First the ASUS Padfone , then the CMIT TransPhone , and now a third phone-docking tablet but with a little extra spice. Our latest contender comes from a Taiwan-based startup dubbed ICE Computer, who has just announced its partnership with ECS over its Trinity concept, a mobile display that lets you dock either a PC module or a smartphone (not necessarily an iPhone, let alone an iPhone 5 as reported by some sites; the dummy’s just for show and convenience). From our quick chat with ICE product manager Jaryson Wu, we learned that the company’s been working on this project for quite some time, though ike ASUS and CMIT, ICE also lacked a working prototype to show us. So the idea is simple: slide in a PC module or phone of your choice, and you have yourself a fully functioning touchscreen tablet that has an upgradable core — that’s one tick for environmental friendliness, and another tick for potentially more powerful upgrades. But that’s not it, as ICE may also throw in USB 3.0 ports, additional internal storage, and even a fan inside the Trinity tablet, but that will depend on the clients’ needs. Jaryson indicated that there are no plans to launch products under the startup’s own brand, nor is it going to develop its own phone to go with the add-on any time soon — we’ll just have to wait and see what it’ll deliver in the first quarter of 2012. Video interview after the break. [Thanks, @Stagueve ] Gallery: ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) Continue reading ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video)
June 1, 2011 No CommentFirst the ASUS Padfone , then the CMIT TransPhone , and now a third phone-docking tablet but with a little extra spice. Our latest contender comes from a Taiwan-based startup dubbed ICE Computer, who has just announced its partnership with ECS over its Trinity concept, a mobile display that lets you dock either a PC module or a smartphone (not necessarily an iPhone, let alone an iPhone 5 as reported by some sites; the dummy’s just for show and convenience). From our quick chat with ICE product manager Jaryson Wu, we learned that the company’s been working on this project for quite some time, though ike ASUS and CMIT, ICE also lacked a working prototype to show us. So the idea is simple: slide in a PC module or phone of your choice, and you have yourself a fully functioning touchscreen tablet that has an upgradable core — that’s one tick for environmental friendliness, and another tick for potentially more powerful upgrades. But that’s not it, as ICE may also throw in USB 3.0 ports, additional internal storage, and even a fan inside the Trinity tablet, but that will depend on the clients’ needs. Jaryson indicated that there are no plans to launch products under the startup’s own brand, nor is it going to develop its own phone to go with the add-on any time soon — we’ll just have to wait and see what it’ll deliver in the first quarter of 2012. Video interview after the break. [Thanks, @Stagueve ] Gallery: ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) Continue reading ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) ICE Computer shows off Trinity modular tablet concept, aims for Q1 2012 release (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Intel’s Atom processor and the rise of the netbook have gone hand in hand, which has to this date resulted in a tally of one hundred million CPUs shipped by Intel. And though netboks are not quite the new hotness they once were, Intel is today celebrating the third birthday of its low-power processor and promising to keep it going for many years yet. That’ll happen thanks to a category Intel is calling companion devices, which includes clamshells of the old netbook ilk and tablets of all sizes and varieties. As if to prove that point, the company showed off a tablet that could boot into MeeGo, Android and Windows — choice is what it’s all about, according to Intel. Intel ships 100 million Atoms, celebrates third birthday of netbook CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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