Quantum effect transistor is the world’s smallest, hopes to make a big impact
May 31, 2011 No Comment
What’s better than billions of transistors ? Billions of miniature two-nanometer ones, leaving room for billions more. A team of researchers accomplished just that, using the quantum effect to shrink these semiconductors — and set a new size record in the process — while also managing to keep them operating at room temperature. The team of South Korean, Japanese, and British researchers at Chungbuk National University expect them to “enhance the capabilities of mobile electronic devices” — a mighty vague claim if ever there was one. Not one for modesty, lead researcher Choi Jung-bum proclaims that it “effectively changes the paradigm of such devices.” With no word on mass production, though, we’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves how big of an impact these lilliputian circuits will have. [Thanks, Rohit] Quantum effect transistor is the world’s smallest, hopes to make a big impact originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
It’s been available on the iPad since that device launched, and now Apple has finally brought its iWork suite of productivity apps to the iPhone and iPod touch. That, of course, includes Keynote, Pages and Numbers, which are all now universal apps that run the same $9.99 apiece as their iPad-only predecessors — current users can simply upgrade for free, thankfully. Head on past the break for the complete press release. Continue reading Apple brings iWork to iPhone and iPod touch Apple brings iWork to iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Generally, shouting commands at the internet isn’t going to get you very far but, if you’re just yelling a few destinations and search terms, Chrome extension Chaufr can take you where you need to go. A previous add-on, Speechify, let you speak to fill input fields, but couldn’t help you actually navigate the web. Chaufr, on the other hand, lets you simply say the magic word — “Engadget” — and it drops you right at our online doorstep. You can also use it to perform searches by saying Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, or Yahoo followed by whatever it is you’re looking for. It worked well enough in our brief hands-on, but we do have one nit to pick — activating voice input requires you click on an icon in the tool bar then click on a microphone in the drop down menu. (Can’t a brother get a keyboard shortcut?) You can try it out for yourself by clicking on the source link. Chaufr lets you shout searches, yell URLs at Chrome originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite goes into service, provides broadband to 13 million homes across Europe
May 31, 2011 No Comment
Europe’s already extensive broadband coverage may be expanding even further, now that Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite has officially gone into service. The new craft, which launched from Kazakhstan in late December, uses spotbeam technology to generate areas of connectivity that are about 250 kilometers wide, with each beam carrying a total capacity of 900Mbps. Unlike the Hylas 1 , its reach will extend far across the continent, providing Tooway’s high-bandwidth services to 13 million households in remote locations. Subscribers will have download speeds of up to 10Mbps and upload rates of 4Mbps, though they’ll still have to put up with latency on the order of 250ms, making life even more difficult for Eastern European OnLive gamers . Of course, this access won’t come for free, but Ka-Sat’s 82-beam network structure significantly lowers its operating costs, allowing Eutelsat to offer prices that are on par with market rates. According to company CEO Michel de Rosen, customers should expect to pay around €30 for basic service, in addition to €250 they’d have to spend on a 77cm satellite dish. That’s not necessarily a small amount of cash for low-income families to fork over, but at least they’ll have an option that didn’t exist before. Head past the break for a video about Tooway’s Ka-Sat services, along with a full PR. Continue reading Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite goes into service, provides broadband to 13 million homes across Europe Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite goes into service, provides broadband to 13 million homes across Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4
May 31, 2011 No Comment
You know what happens when you tell the world that you’re abandoning Symbian for Windows Phone? Right, Symbian sales dry up. No matter how many times you boast about plans to sell an additional 150 million new Symbian devices , and no matter how long you commit to supporting Symbian devices, the OS is essentially dead to developers and consumers alike. So, we’re not surprised to hear that Nokia just lowered its devices and services outlook for Q2 of 2011. The updated guidance calls for devices and services net sales to be substantially below the EUR 6.1 billion to EUR 6.6 billion expected in Q2 due to lower than expected average selling prices on lower volumes. It also sees margins drifting below the expected range of 6 percent to 9 percent due to lower than expected net sales — Nokia expects its non-IFRS operating margin to be “around breakeven .” As as result, Nokia is also pulling back its annual targets for 2011 and will provide further updates as its situation becomes more clear. On the positive side, Nokia does say that it has “increased confidence” that it will ship its first Windows Phone product in Q4 2011. Let’s hope so. Continue reading Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4 Nokia lowers devices and services outlook for Q2, increasingly confident about first Windows Phone in Q4 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MTM Snap project lets you build your own CNC machine so you can build more stuff
May 31, 2011 No Comment
It may not be quite capable enough to let you build your own Weighted Companion Cube , but those looking to try their hand at a DIY CNC milling machine won’t likely find many more straightforward options than the MTM Snap. Built by Jonathan Ward of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, the machine itself is constructed from some high-density polyethylene parts milled on a ShopBot (which simply snap together as the name suggests), and it’s controlled by an Arduino board that lets you operate it from any Mac, Windows or Linux computer. Unfortunately, you can’t simply buy a kit and piece it all together, but Jonathan’s made all of the plans for building your own available, and says it shouldn’t cost you any more than $700 from start to finish. Head on past the break for a video of the finished product in action. Continue reading MTM Snap project lets you build your own CNC machine so you can build more stuff MTM Snap project lets you build your own CNC machine so you can build more stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Had some doubts that Apple was heading skyward? Those doubts can now be put to rest. Apple has confirmed that it will be announcing iCloud on June 6th, what it’s calling an “upcoming cloud services offering.” Developing… Apple to unveil iCloud Monday, June 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Sure, all your friends are rocking Android 2.3. But hey, quit complaining AT&T Xperia X10 owners, everyone knows that eclair is way better than vanilla froyo . Android 2.1 update now available for AT&T Xperia X10 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Pixel Qi takes aim at Android tablets with higher-res 10-inch and 7-inch reflective LCDs (hands-on)
May 31, 2011 No Comment
We’ve been holding out hope for Pixel Qi devices for years, ever since we first heard that the OLPC spin-off would begin manufacturing its displays for use by any OEM looking for a battery-sipping LCD. Unfortunately, Mary Lou’s LCDs, capable of switching between a sunlight-readable reflective mode and full-color transmissive state, have had limited uptake by some less than desirable partners . Still, the team has returned to Computex with the 7-inch (1024 x 600) panel that was teased in December last year and a new higher resolution 10-inch (1280 x 800) panels offering an 80 percent power savings over conventional LCDs, according to Pixel Qi. In fact, the 10-inch panel consumes just 2.7W in color mode or 0.4W in reflective “eReader” mode. We had the chance to see the new displays up close here at Computex and were immediately struck by the improvement in pixel density on the 10-inch panel. Making the leap to WVGA has been a major boon, as identical images looked sharper and better-defined than on the 1024 x 600 current-gen Pixel Qi display. The brightness on the new screen is lower than on its predecessor, but that’s because the company still hasn’t finalized things — we’re promised significantly better readability with the backlight off in the final product and brighter pictures when it’s on. The 7-incher, originally intended for mass production in the second quarter will now sample in Q3, to be followed by the more pixel-dense 10-inch model, which will hit production in Q4. Scope out the newness in the gallery below or jump past the break for video. Gallery: Pixel Qi 7-inch and 10-inch reflective LCDs at Computex 2011 Continue reading Pixel Qi takes aim at Android tablets with higher-res 10-inch and 7-inch reflective LCDs (hands-on) Pixel Qi takes aim at Android tablets with higher-res 10-inch and 7-inch reflective LCDs (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 06:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Intel shows off Oak Trail-based Android Honeycomb tablets, confirms Android Market support
May 31, 2011 No Comment
At a time when ARM and Android are dominating the mobile computing world, Intel’s only just starting to catch up with some green robot-friendly prototypes, like these Oak Trail-based 10-inch tablets at Computex 2011. Starting from the left we have the Intel Green Ridge, Foxconn F150, Quanta QXZI, an unnamed Compal device, Intel Marco Polo 2, and Intel Carrot. Sadly, Intel wouldn’t give the names of the ODMs behind its own reference tablets, so your guess is just as good as ours. With the exception of the Gingerbread-powered Foxconn slate, these were all running on Honeycomb 3.0.1 OS — well, we say running, but just barely. As you’ll see in our hands-on video after the break, most of the devices were struggling to keep up with the launcher animation, and needless to say, Intel wasn’t keen on letting us test video playback on them. We also noticed that Android Market was missing on the prototypes, but Intel assured us that it’ll be available on the final products, and that current Android apps are already supported by Oak Trail. In terms of build quality it left much to be desired, though this is forgivable at a trade show; it’s the software that we’re concerned with. From what we’ve seen here at Computex, Android on Oak Trail is far from ready, so it’ll be interesting to see if Acer can actually pull off a July launch for its rumored Oak Trail Honeycomb tablet. Gallery: Intel shows off Oak Trail-based Android Honeycomb tablets at Computex Continue reading Intel shows off Oak Trail-based Android Honeycomb tablets, confirms Android Market support Intel shows off Oak Trail-based Android Honeycomb tablets, confirms Android Market support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …