Remember the Linux-based EVO game console ? We can certainly forgive you if you don’t, but it did actually end up shipping, and “sold out” according to the company the behind it. Now that company, Envizions, is back for a second try with another big promise: an Android-based game console dubbed, naturally enough, the EVO 2. First announced earlier this year, the console is now supposedly set to hit the US sometime this fall and, to prove that it’s not completely vaporware, Envizions is making EVO 2 developer units available today — the unit itself is “free,” although developers will have to pay an annual $149 software support fee. As for the console itself, it will apparently pack an unspecified 1.2GHz Samsung processor, a “modified” Android 2.2 OS, and both a TV remote and game controller. Leaving no stone unturned, Envisions says it’s also planning to add a motion sensor by the end of the year, and it even has its own points system in mind that will let you buy Android games with “EVO tokens.” As you might suspect, however, there’s still no word on a price for consumers, but those willing to take a chance can reserve one now for $15 at the link below. Continue reading EVO 2 console promises to bring Android gaming to your TV this fall EVO 2 console promises to bring Android gaming to your TV this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order
May 25, 2011 No Comment
Having trouble keeping Sony’s slim VAIO S series laptops straight? It’s okay, we are, too, especially now that the company’s unveiled the SA series, a 13.3-inch ultraportable that’s poised to go toe to toe with the skinny Lenovo ThinkPad X1 . Although it’s got almost the same magnesium-and-alloy chassis as the VAIO SB series we saw at CES , the SA is a hair thinner, at 0.95 inches, and comes standard with AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics and 1GB of video memory, 1600 x 900 resolution, a 500GB hard drive, fingerprint reader, and a Blu-ray drive. You can also trick it out with a dual channel solid-state drive, which promises to help let you work up to 16 hours unplugged if you combine it with a $100 sheet battery. The catch: you’ll have to fork out a minimum of $3,105 just to snag one with an SSD. If the SA’s $1,375 starting price is more than you’re willing to spend, there’s still the SB series, though the $999 base model naturally has less impressive specs, including 512MB of video memory, 1366 x 768 resolution, a DVD player, and a Core i5 — not Core i7 — processor. For what its worth, its color options now include pink and navy, if that floats your boat more than the high-end SA’s black, silver, and brown palette. In other news, Sony’s also taking orders for the VAIO F Series , which comes in two flavors: one with a 16-inch 3D display with a 2D-to-3D conversion button, starting at $1,840, and a 16.4-inch 2D model with a more modest $799 base price. But if you want a 2D display with 1080p resolution and a Blu-ray drive, you can expect to pay at least $1,125. Both these and the SA series are up for pre-order today, with gussied-up photos below and full PR and past the break. Gallery: Sony VAIO SA series Gallery: Sony VAIO F series Continue reading Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Spotify may still be in tough negotiations with record labels to bring its streaming music service to the US, but the Swedish company has managed to score a powerful stateside ally, reportedly striking a partnership with Facebook. Neither party is dropping any cash on the deal — set to be called either “Facebook Music” or “Spotify on Facebook,” according to Forbes ‘s anonymous sources — which will let members of the social network stream songs at the same time as friends and share their listening habits with those in their social circle. The service is reportedly currently in testing and could be launched in a fortnight, but its arrival in the US still hinges on those ever important label deals. In the meantime, we’ll all have to share our listening habits the old fashioned way: by posting on our friends’ walls. Spotify and Facebook partner up, send Europe a friend request? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sprint teams up with Motorola for June 9 event, finally launching a Tegra 2 device?
May 25, 2011 No Comment
Sprint and Motorola have a little special something up their sleeves, and are holding a luncheon to show off their latest “collaborations” on June 9th. Since big bosses CEO Dan Hesse and Sanjay Jha will be in attendance, and the event will be held during Apple’s WWDC , we have a feeling this is going to be something big. Whatever this project is, it’s been kept under the radar very well — until now. We’re hearing buzz about a Tegra 2-powered device planned for a launch next month; different reports have come out over the last few days claiming Sprint will finally take a turn sporting a Tegra 2 Android — the yin to the EVO 3D’s yang, we suppose — sometime next month. The device may be called the Motorola Photon 4G, a name that first appeared in a WiFi certification form (seen after the break) a month ago. According to the rumors, Sprint was ready to launch its own version of the Atrix 4G back in March, but stalled the phone’s release in order to make a few design changes. Some of these changes supposedly include a 4.3-inch display, Gingerbread pre-installed, and a look that closely resembles the EVO 4G (it would even come with a kickstand). The Photon 4G is a probability for the event, but note that the invite mentions “collaborations,” implying there will be more than one product to showcase. This could mean a Xoom with WiMAX is just about ready for primetime — or perhaps it’s something else magical and unexpected. No matter what’s hiding in Hesse’s pocket on June 9th, we’ll be there to tell you all about it. Continue reading Sprint teams up with Motorola for June 9 event, finally launching a Tegra 2 device? Sprint teams up with Motorola for June 9 event, finally launching a Tegra 2 device? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Altec Lansing Mix iMT810 is big, loud, desperately seeking Ione Skye’s affection
May 25, 2011 No Comment
Altec Lansing popped by our offices earlier today to show off the successor to its oversized Mix iMT800 iPhone / iPod dock. There’s not a heck of a lot to talk about in terms of changes with the iM810 — the dock is now iPhone 4 certified, the gold trim has been changed to silver, and the amber LED has been swapped for blue. The company does get some bonus points for reenacting the one scene from Say Anything that anyone remembers with the winner of its in-office John Cusack look-alike contest, however. The new dock packs in a 5.25-inch subwoofer, a seven band graphic equalizer, and a slot for storing its little carabiner-equipped remote — the hulking accessory can also achieve relative portability with the help of eight D size batteries. It’s available now for $300, Peter Gabriel album not included. Press release after the break. Gallery: Altec Lansing MIX 810 Hands-On Continue reading Altec Lansing Mix iMT810 is big, loud, desperately seeking Ione Skye’s affection Altec Lansing Mix iMT810 is big, loud, desperately seeking Ione Skye’s affection originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve been hearing rumors for a while that Twitter was looking to make TweetDeck a member of its flock, and now, the blue bird crew has made it official. All Things D reports that the deal was done for between $40 to 50 million, and that TweetDeck CEO Iain Dodsworth will stay on to run the platform. In its official announcement, Twitter said it will continue to “invest in the TweetDeck that users know and love” — time will tell if the new boss birdie is a boon or bane for the popular tweet tracking app. TweetDeck and Twitter, together at at last originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It wasn’t that long ago that we were jonesing for a Nexus One on Verizon. What HTC gave us instead was the Droid Incredible , with the same 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED display — not to mention a better camera (8 megapixel vs. five), 8GB of built-in flash storage, an optical trackpad, HTC’s Sense UI on top of Eclair, and a dash of funky industrial design. The Incredible was an impressive phone with a lovely camera, marred only by questionable battery life and lack of supply, forcing HTC to build a Super LCD-equipped model to satisfy demand. Judging by the popularity of the Incredible, it came as no surprise that following HTC’s announcement at MWC , the Incredible S eventually became Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2 . With a 4-inch Super LCD display, global CDMA / GSM radio, front-facing camera, updated internals (including 768 MB of RAM), trick capacitive buttons, and a Froyo-flavored serving of Sense, the Incredible 2 seems like a worthy successor to last year’s Incredible. Does it live up to our expectations or is it just another fish in the crowded sea of Android? Does it significantly improve upon the original formula or is it merely a refresh? Hit the break for our review. Gallery: Droid Incredible 2 review Continue reading Droid Incredible 2 review Droid Incredible 2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Acer was already kind enough to give us a heads up that it would not be launching the Iconia Tab A100 in May, as planned. But the company wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to explain why its 7-inch, Tegra 2 -powered tablet is taking such a tedious trip to market. According to a DigiTimes report, at least, the hangup comes down to compatibility issues with Honeycomb, an OS that so far hasn’t been seen on many 7-inch slates. Specifically, the site’s unnamed sources say Acer has encountered problems with certain applications and that Google, meanwhile, is “busy resolving other issues.” All in all, precisely the kind of complication that Ice Cream Sandwich promises to circumvent. Oh, and speaking of delays, DigiTimes adds that the Iconia Smart might go on sale in July due to earthquake-related supply shortages . We asked Acer for clarification, but the company declined to comment, so it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see what goodies late summer brings. Acer Iconia Tab A100 delayed due to Honeycomb compatibility issues? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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AT&T announced last fall that it would begin its LTE rollout in mid-2011, and it’s now finally delivered a few more details. The carrier has just confirmed that five markets — Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio — will be getting LTE sometime “this summer,” with ten more as-yet-unnamed cities set to join them in the second half of the year. All told, AT&T says should cover about 70 million Americans by year’s end. Of course, an LTE network needs some devices, but AT&T unfortunately isn’t providing much in the way of details about those just yet — it’s only saying that it plans to add 20 4G devices to its portfolio this year, and that “some of those” will be LTE capable. Continue reading AT&T bringing LTE to five cities this summer AT&T bringing LTE to five cities this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google backs Alta Wind Energy Center, boasts $400 million clean energy milestone
May 25, 2011 No Comment
Google announced today that it’s throwing $55 million dollars to the wind… energy, that is. A post to the official Google blog said the company has invested the aforementioned amount in the Alta Wind Energy Center , which is set to generate 1,550 megawatts of energy — enough to reportedly power 450,000 homes — from a batch of turbines in the Mojave Dessert. Developed by Terra-Gen Power, the operation will carry the resulting energy via transmission lines to “major population centers.” The ever-humble internet giant pointed out that this particular injection of funds marks a total investment of $400 million in the clean energy sector. In fact, El Goog signed a deal last year to power several of its data centers with wind power, and most recently announced the opening of a seawater-cooled data center in Finland. Google backs Alta Wind Energy Center, boasts $400 million clean energy milestone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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