Here’s a little secret that T-Mobile didn’t really intend for public consumption: if you give the company a ring you can nab an extra $100 off a G-Slate . The discount was emailed out to those who signed up for a special promotional offer T-Mo teased recently. Like most things, though, the internet got ahold of this juicy morsel and we’re happy to tell you it’s open to everyone. Just reference promo code GSLATE100 and you can pick up a shiny new Honeycomb tablet for $430 — provided you have an existing voice plan or sign up for one, are willing to commit to a two-year data contract on top of that , and don’t mind dealing with a mail-in rebate. If those caveats don’t scare you off, go ahead and call. Just act quick, the offer ends April 27th. Check out the larger image after the break for full instructions. Continue reading T-Mobile willing to knock $100 off G-Slate, if you ask nicely T-Mobile willing to knock $100 off G-Slate, if you ask nicely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break. Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break. Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break. Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AMD collects half a billion in Q1 profit, Fusion APUs now account for half of its laptop shipments
April 22, 2011 No Comment
AMD’s net income for the past quarter was $510 million, generated from $1.61 billion in total revenues. That should make happy reading for a company that’s been raising similar gross revenues previously but finding itself losing cash — though the more intriguing figures are a little deeper in its latest disclosure. CFO and interim CEO Thomas Seifert has noted that AMD “tripled” its Fusion APU shipments relative to last quarter — meaning that at least 3.9 million units have made their way out to OEM partners in Q1 — which now account for “roughly half” of the company’s notebook shipments. In less upbeat news, average selling prices in both the microprocessor and graphics divisions were down sequentially, with AMD having to react to pressure from its traditional foes Intel and NVIDIA. You might surmise that with the mainstream Llano APU out and shipping to computer makers, AMD might have a happier second quarter, but the company’s guidance is for revenues to be flat or slightly down. A final note of pride is reserved for the Radeon HD 6490M and HD 6750M GPUs, which figured prominently in Apple’s latest MacBook Pro refresh and mark a bit of a coup for AMD, who’s now responsible for all of Apple’s discrete graphics across the MacBook Pro and iMac computing lines. Click the links below for even more intel on Advanced Micro Devices. Continue reading AMD collects half a billion in Q1 profit, Fusion APUs now account for half of its laptop shipments AMD collects half a billion in Q1 profit, Fusion APUs now account for half of its laptop shipments originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Next generation Wii controller to feature 6.2-inch display, turn living room into giant DS?
April 22, 2011 No Comment
E3 is getting close, just two months away now. As such the next-gen Wii console rumors have heated to a boil. One of the most interesting bits of tattle originates from Kotaku . The gaming site’s sources claim (with impressive specificity) that the new 8-button controller features a screen pushing a whopping 6.2 inches, two analog sticks, and a camera. The new Wii console (sometimes called the Wii 2, Wii HD , or simply “Project Cafe”) is said to support the new controller in addition to Wii Remote-style controllers for backward compatibility with existing Wii games — at the moment, however, it’s not clear if that implies support for existing Wiimotes. But why the giant display? Here’s Kotaku ‘s take: The 6.2-inch screen will receive data wirelessly from the Nintendo console and presents an array of options, from putting the player’s inventory or map on the controller screen, to allowing players to combine it with the controller’s camera to snap photos that could be imported into a game or even turning it into some sort of glorified viewfinder (we’re unclear about whether the camera on the controller points at the player or can be outward-facing; we’ve heard both – maybe it swivels?). In other words, you can think of the new contoller-plus-console combination as a modern Dreamcast system or “glorified mega-DS,” as Kotaku puts it, where the TV is the top screen and the handheld controller is the lower touchscreen. If true then we’ll likely hear the official first word at E3 which kicks off on June 7th. Next generation Wii controller to feature 6.2-inch display, turn living room into giant DS? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google ordered to pay $5 million in Linux patent infringement suit (updated)
April 22, 2011 No Comment
An East Texas jury recently awarded a relatively small computer firm patent troll a pretty hefty settlement (in you and me dollars) in a patent infringement suit that named Google, Yahoo, Amazon, AOL, and Myspace as defendants. The jury awarded Bedrock Computer Technologies LLC $5 million for a patent concerning the Linux kernel found in the software behind Google’s servers. The patent in question is described as a “method and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with external chaining and on-the-fly removal of expired data.” It appears Google is the first of the defendants to face a judgement, but we have a feeling this decision might have set a precedent. Of course, no infringement suit would be complete without a healthy helping of appeals — and considering the decision came from a district court, we can almost guarantee this case is no exception. You didn’t expect the big guys to stay down for the count, did you? Update: As it turns out, the plaintiff in question here, Bedrock Computer Technologies, is actually owned by David Garrod, a lawyer and patent reform activist. Ars Technica profiled Garrod following the initial suit, pointing to the clear contradiction between his trolling and reform efforts. What’s more, Bedrock sued Google and the rest of the defendants in June 2009. Just six months later, Bedrock was back in the courtroom, but this time it was on the receiving end. Red Hat , the company supplying the OS behind Google’s search engine services, was suing Bedrock for patent invalidity. Google ordered to pay $5 million in Linux patent infringement suit (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …SA Photonics high-res digital night vision system makes you look like Hello Kitty’s cyborg cousin
April 22, 2011 No Comment
Given, it might make you look like the love child of Robocop and a cartoon kitten , but SA Photonics’ High Resolution Night Vision System (HRNVS) could mean smoother night flights for the US military. The light weight head mounted display couples high resolution imagery and an impressive 82.5 degree field of vision — previous devices offered a range of only 40 degrees. What’s more, it provides clearer peripheral vision, virtually non-existent halo effects, digital image enhancement, and night vision recording. The headset was designed in collaboration with the US Army and the Air Force Research Laboratory, which means these robo Sanrio helmets might actually get some play. Full PR after the break. Continue reading SA Photonics high-res digital night vision system makes you look like Hello Kitty’s cyborg cousin SA Photonics high-res digital night vision system makes you look like Hello Kitty’s cyborg cousin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Steve Jobs might not think much of Google’s old “don’t be evil” mantra, but it’s hard to fault a company for using its products’ popularity for the common good. In what seems to be a spiritual successor to last year’s Chrome for a Cause drive, Google is asking I/O 2011 attendees for their unwanted, unlocked Android smartphones in a campaign dubbed “Android for Good.” Donated devices collected at the event will be put to use at charities in developing nations — for instance, your old phone could save elephants from poachers, or help remote villages get healthcare. We aren’t saying hording your old G1 is evil per se, but what good is it doing in your junk drawer? Google I/O attendees asked to give their old Android phones to charity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T’s MiFi 2372 gets DLNA update, streams media even without 3G connectivity
April 22, 2011 No Comment
Novatel 2372 MiFi owners could always stream tunes from the web, but now they can do it from microSD — after downloading Maintenance Release 1.0, that is, which finally brings DLNA server functionality. DLNA support means your mobile hotspot can share music, video and other content to devices over the network from an inserted flash card, even when the router can’t serve up 3G — especially useful on AT&T devices, which, you know, tend to suffer from occasional network congestion and data caps . The update also includes a new Customer Care Widget and a more intuitive MiFi OS web interface, so even average consumers might be able to configure one of these without consulting tech support. Sounds like a win for everybody. AT&T’s MiFi 2372 gets DLNA update, streams media even without 3G connectivity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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