Here we go again with a good news / bad news announcement from Vudu , as it’s added a nice catalog of TV shows to its library for rent and/or purchase. The bad news however, is that despite having the 1080p / 5.1 audio HDX technology we’ve come to know and love, it’s currently only offering a small subset of them in anything other than standard definition. Like other online stores, there’s an odd situation where some things are a decent value (season one of The Walking Dead is $26.99 on Blu-ray at Amazon, $15.99 on iTunes in HD, and $16.99 on Vudu HDX) and others are not (season six of Weeds is $27.99 on Vudu HDX, $23.99 on Blu-ray at Amazon and $38.87 on iTunes) so shop carefully. Given time the library will probably even out more in quality and price and once Vudu is available on more devices (and hopefully in HD on the PC at some point ) there will be more reasons to consider it as a VOD option. Vudu adds TV shows to its rental catalog, but only some are in HD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Eee Pad Transformer may be wowing tablet lovers with its unbeatable price-to-features ratio today, but ASUS looks to have its sights set on even mightier devices for the future. DigTimes reports that the Taiwanese company is hard at work on a Tegra 3 tablet — built around the spectacular Kal-El quad-core SOC that we saw demonstrated at MWC 2011 — as well as another one running an Intel CPU. As far as the Intel slate is concerned, we’re probably looking at the tablet-centric 1.5GHz Atom Z670 , which promises 1080p playback and great battery life. You’ll forgive us if we reserve our excitement for the Tegra 3-powered tablet, however, which should be able to churn through quite a few more pixels than regular old 1080p. There’s no indication on when ASUS intends to deliver it, but NVIDIA’s roadmap for devices with the quad-core chip expects to start appearing in August. Video of that awe-inspiring MWC demo follows after the break. Continue reading ASUS planning quad-core Tegra 3 tablet, yet another Intel slate ASUS planning quad-core Tegra 3 tablet, yet another Intel slate originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 04:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This week at BlackBerry World 2011 , Jaguar is showcasing one of its lovely XJ sedans outfitted with a prototype of its upcoming Connect and View technology which the car manufacturer is developing together with RIM, Denso, and RealVNC . The system allows a client running on the vehicle’s head unit to connect to a server installed on a BlackBerry smartphone. Communication is handled by VNC — a platform-independent remote framebuffer protocol, which mirrors the handset’s display on the car’s infotainment screen and maps the device’s physical buttons to softkeys. This provides control of the phone directly from the center stack of the XJ sedan but lets the company block potentially distracting apps. Audio is piped via Bluetooth while VNC traffic is routed over USB, thus also keeping the BlackBerry conveniently charged. Jaguar hopes to have Connect and View in its vehicles by late 2012. Until then, check out our hands-on video (above) and the press release after the break. Continue reading Jaguar XJ with BlackBerry integration hands-on (video) Jaguar XJ with BlackBerry integration hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 02:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nintendo drops Wii price to $150 from May 15th, throws in a free Wii Wheel and copy of Mario Kart
May 4, 2011 No Comment
Turns out our snooping was spot on — Nintendo has just made official its intention to drop the suggested retail price of the Wii down to $149.99, and will additionally include a copy of Mario Kart and the Wii Wheel peripheral with all purchases of the console. They’ll replace the current bundle of Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort games. The steering wheel, along with the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers, will match the color of the console you buy, whether it be black or white, and will also be available to buy separately for a scant $9.99. See Nintendo’s full press release after the break. Continue reading Nintendo drops Wii price to $150 from May 15th, throws in a free Wii Wheel and copy of Mario Kart Nintendo drops Wii price to $150 from May 15th, throws in a free Wii Wheel and copy of Mario Kart originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 03:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re sure Microsoft is going to announce some more official details about Windows 8 one of these days, but until then we’ll just have to make do with the seemingly unending stream of tidbits being unearthed from the leaked version of the OS. Most notably, this latest batch includes the most conclusive evidence yet of a Windows 8 app store, including the logo pictured above, and a slew of other references at the code level — things like the ability to download a trial app and then unlock the full version (rather than re-download it), for instance, and the existence of things like screenshots and system requirements in the app store listings. Another recent leak has also revealed some new cloud-based settings options that could let you take your desktop profile and other personalizations from one computer to another, and even give you the ability to sync apps from that aforementioned Windows Store between PCs. All that, plus support for 3D displays and WiFi Direct . Hit up the links below for some additional details. Latest Windows 8 leaks reveal cloud-based settings, more app store evidence originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Spotify launches music download service with iPod sync, puts iTunes on notice
May 3, 2011 No Comment
Look out iTunes, Spotify has just launched its new music download service. What’s more, the company that had been synonymous with music streaming will let you sync your downloaded playlists to your USB-connected iPod classic, nano, or shuffle via a new “Devices” section of the Spotify app running on your computer or to Spotify Mobile iPhone and Android apps wirelessly. Prices break down as follows: 10 tracks for €9.99 or €1.00 per track 15 tracks for €12.99 or €0.87 per track 40 tracks for €30.00 or €0.75 per track 100 tracks for €60.00 or €0.60 per track All the new features will begin rolling out today as part of an automatic update. See the full press release after the break as well as a quick introduction video to get you started. Continue reading Spotify launches music download service with iPod sync, puts iTunes on notice Spotify launches music download service with iPod sync, puts iTunes on notice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Dell’s ultra-thin laptop will have a 15.6-inch screen, tread lightly on your wallet?
May 3, 2011 No Comment
This is Dell’s Vostro V13. It looks like a dream, and it’s cheap — but there’s not much raw muscle here, and no battery life to speak of. No, this descendent of Dell’s iconic Adamo didn’t prove a suitable MacBook Air rival, but we know one that might — Dell’s oft-teased , never-seen thin-and-light . Now, CNET ‘s anonymous sources have come forward with news that Dell will introduce the thinnest 15.6-inch laptop we’ve ever seen, and with Intel’s latest Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors inside. Those sources also report that the laptop will be made of special materials, and yet won’t be “a one-time product” like the Adamo — it will allegedly be a consumer product with a sub-$1,000 price. It’s a juicy rumor, but we’re inclined to believe it’s true. Why? Dell’s in-house blogger Lionel Menchaca confirms that Dell’s working on just such a 15.6-incher, and says there are “more models to come.” Dell’s ultra-thin laptop will have a 15.6-inch screen, tread lightly on your wallet? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 00:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Seagate copies Samsung’s notes, re-breaks areal-density barrier with 1TB HDD platters
May 3, 2011 No Comment
What better way for Seagate to celebrate its $1.375 billion dollar purchase of Samsung’s HDD division than to re-introduce the old firm’s breakthrough ? Seagate took the Samsung’s 1TB platter prototypes and packed them into a real hard drive, bringing the new technology to market for the first time. These new drives will boast an areal-density of 625 gigabits (78.13GB) per square inch, scoring 1TB platters for the outfit’s next generation of hard disks. Unfortunately, Seagate won’t be cramming four of those 1TB plates into a single hard drive as Samsung originally planned, instead opting to debut the technology in a 3TB external drive under their GoFlex brand. No official specs this time around, but when the turkey was on Samsung’s platter, it spun at 5,400 RPM with a 32MB cache and SATA 6Gbps compatibility. Seagate copies Samsung’s notes, re-breaks areal-density barrier with 1TB HDD platters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yes, this is Samsung’s latest 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab alright, not to be mistaken with its thicker 10.1v sibling that’s gradually rolling out across Europe and Australia. How can you tell? Well, the older Honeycomb tablet bears the GT-P7100 codename, whereas this FCC filing and a Wi-Fi Alliance certificate show off the GT-P7510 moniker for this WiFi-only 10.1. Oh, and the drawing of the backside — pictured after the break — is a dead giveaway, of course. What remains unknown is the mysterious 1GHz dual-core CPU inside this razor-thin slate, but given the release of this FCC application, it probably won’t be long before all is revealed. Continue reading Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits the FCC with GT-P7510 moniker Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits the FCC with GT-P7510 moniker originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 23:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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At only $195, it’s hard to deny that AMD’s new Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition desktop chip is a bargain. Its four cores hum along at 3.7GHz, the fastest base clock speed of any consumer CPU, and the unlocked multiplier should make it trivial for overclockers to push this beast to 4GHz and beyond . The 980 slides right into the same price point as the previous champ, the Phenom II X4 975 , and knocks a few bucks off the former clock-frequency king. All of this seems like great news for AMD fans. Of course, if you’re starting from scratch and not just looking to upgrade an aging AM3 rig, keep in mind that only $30 more scores you the mid-range Core i5-2500K that consistently outperforms the 980, consumes less power, and also has an unlocked multiplier. Guess there’s always the graphics market if you care to see AMD being competitive. For the nitty-gritty on how its latest central processing unit stacks up, see the source links. AMD’s Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition wears the gigahertz crown originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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