Samsung’s RF4289 “smart fridge” has just been dated and priced. Remember, this is the WiFi connected refrigerator with LED lighting and 28 cubic feet of storage that we first peeped back at CES in January. And with an 8-inch LCD touchscreen, Samsung provides quick access to “kitchen relevant applications” like Google calendar, Weatherbug forecasts, Epicurious recipes, AP news, Pandora music, and Picasa photos. You can also leave notes for the family or tap out a quick tweet should the compulsion arise. The wireless touchscreen is available on both the RSG309 side-by-side and RF4289 four-door french door models, but only the latter has received an end of May US launch date. Just keep in mind that the suggested $3,499 retail price is exactly $500 more expensive than Samsung’s existing 28 cubic foot french door model, the touchscreen-less RF4287. Instead of shelling out a premium for what amounts to a novelty, maybe you should consider dedicating an entry-level BlackBerry PlayBook to the kitchen or pick up a fridge-friendly iPad 2 instead. Samsung’s RF4289 WiFi ‘smart fridge’ gets a dumb $3,499 price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nissan Leaf Nismo RC swaps basic comforts for a carbon fiber body and some racing good looks
April 18, 2011 No Comment
Electric vehicles may have that instant torque thing going for them, but they’re still a bit behind when it comes to giving heart palpitations to those diehard petrolheads. Hoping to change that perception, Nissan is setting up to unveil a brand new concept vehicle, dubbed the Leaf Nismo RC (that stands for Racing Competition, not “radio-controlled”), which strips the one-size-fits-all Leaf down to its constituent elements. The drivetrain is still 100 percent electric, however it’s now powering the rear wheels instead of the front, while things like the rear seats, trunk, audio system, carpeting, and navigation have been completely removed. A carbon fiber chassis helps the Nismo RC keep weight down to 2,068 pounds (938kg), equivalent to just 60 percent of the original Leaf’s heft. Yes, the Leaf is now lighter! In performance terms, you’re looking at a car that can hit 62mph within 6.85 seconds, max out the speedometer at 93mph, and last a terrifying 20 minutes under racing conditions. This prototype vehicle will debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show and will thereafter help Nissan research better aerodynamics and, presumably, slightly better energy efficiency. Continue reading Nissan Leaf Nismo RC swaps basic comforts for a carbon fiber body and some racing good looks Nissan Leaf Nismo RC swaps basic comforts for a carbon fiber body and some racing good looks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Just in time to duel with the Samsung Galaxy S II , Motorola’s Atrix is crossing the Atlantic for an early May release in Orange livery. UK carrier Orange has proudly announced it’ll be the “exclusive launch partner” for the Atrix in the UK, offering the dual-core handset for free on two-year contracts costing
Continue reading …The iPad is taking away American jobs, Jesse Jackson Junior’s sanity (video)
April 18, 2011 No Comment
You know how ebooks are gradually taking over paper books as the most popular format for the consumption of the written word? Well, that’s bad, mmkay? Publishers, librarians, and booksellers are losing their jobs and It’s all entirely the iPad’s fault. Forget the Kindle’s millions of sales, the iPad did it. In a technophobic rant to rival all technophobic rants that have come before it, Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. accuses the iPad’s popularity for the current level of unemployment in his nation, before proceeding to sculpt a rickety argument about how the First Amendment to the US Constitution is being exploited for the benefit of China. See his tirade on video after the break. Continue reading The iPad is taking away American jobs, Jesse Jackson Junior’s sanity (video) The iPad is taking away American jobs, Jesse Jackson Junior’s sanity (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong
April 18, 2011 No Comment
Let’s face it — smartphones (namely, iOS and Android devices) are slowly chipping away at the portable gaming market. If you recall, Apple took a nice slice of the market-share pie — and as you’ll notice in the picture above, we’re seeing the same trend this time around. According to data from Flurry and NPD Group, iOS and Android are earning a sizable chunk of the revenue in the portable gaming software sphere, with the Nintendo DS’s dominant market share dropping from 70 percent in 2009 to just 57 percent in 2010 to accommodate the newcomers. We may be seeing the decrease in relative revenue because the PSP and DS are on the way out to make room for the NGP and 3DS — however, this chart speaks only of the current-gen portables. But hey, it’s easy for almost anyone to spend a single buck on a full-fledged game, right? Head past the break for some more videogame revenue stats, if you please. In the chart below, you’ll notice that the combination of iOS and Android only puts the two at 8 percent of the total revenue of the whole videogame software market. Sure, the two OSes have taken a bite out of the portable space, but in comparison to total video game software revenue, they aren’t supplanting the consoles. We’re actually seeing a decrease in portable gaming revenue overall from 29 percent to 24 percent of the United States’ delicious gaming pie, while console games have jumped five percent in the meanwhile. Heads up though, these stats don’t track usage, just the dollars being spent — nothing says that guy who bought mounds of DS software didn’t spend all day on his NeoGeo Pocket Color instead. Continue reading iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong iOS and Android continue chipping away at mobile gaming market, consoles remain strong originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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When Apple released its redesigned MacBook Air in October 2010, much was made of the switch to flash storage using a custom-built Mini PCI Express form factor SSD drive. It took a few weeks but these SSDs would ultimately be released as the commercially available Toshiba Blade X-gale SSD module, model TS128C. Now we’re seeing user reports showing MacBook Airs equipped with a second, even faster SSD with a SM128C part number — the “SM” hinting at its presumed Samsung manufacturing origins. Samsung’s SSD manages up to 260MBps read and 210MBps write speeds compared to Toshiba’s 210MBps read and 185MBps write performance. Of course, it’s hardly unusual for Apple to multi-source components. And a recent decision to source parts from Korea’s Samsung would have been a smart move to keep just-in-time supply lines fully stocked following the spate of disasters in Toshiba’s home country of Japan. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any way of confirming which SSD you’re about to purchase without cracking open the retail box and running the OS X System Profiler. Good luck with that. Some MacBook Airs sporting faster Samsung blade SSDs? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 03:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NEC’s waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power
April 18, 2011 No Comment
The MEDIAS N-04C might well be the hotness in the world of super slim phones right now, but if you’re looking for something with a little more oomph and protection against water, then NEC’s also got you covered. According to a pamphlet obtained by datacider , the MEDIAS family will soon be welcoming a Gingerbread-powered N-06C, which closely resembles the N-04C except for the extra 0.2mm thickness plus 10g weight, as well as touch buttons instead of physical ones. But what we really care about here are the IPX5 and IPX7 waterproof ratings, meaning this 7.9mm-thick Android’s been tested against small water jets and one-meter immersion, respectively. On the inside, apart from the faster 1GHz chip and 14Mbps FOMA download speed, the rest are pretty much what we’ve seen before: 4-inch 480 x 854 LCD, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM, 802.11n WiFi, and 5 megapixel camera with 720p video. There’s no clear indication on a release date, but you’re welcome to kill some time by checking out the full spec sheet after the break. [Thanks, Pavlo L.] Continue reading NEC’s waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power NEC’s waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …UAE plans enterprise-class messaging ban for individuals and small companies?
April 17, 2011 No Comment
Seems the United Arab Emirates wasn’t satisfied with the spying agreements that RIM put in place — now, the government’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority will reportedly restrict BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) services to companies with more than twenty BlackBerry accounts each. Interestingly, the TRA itself denies that any services will be halted to individuals or small firms, even as RIM itself claims that such a ban will indeed take effect, though RIM also claims that it “would be an industrywide policy applying equally to all enterprise solution providers,” happily suggesting that competitors would also be affected . The ban is apparently scheduled for May 1st, so there won’t be long to wait — at the very least, we’ll see who’s telling the truth two weeks from today. UAE plans enterprise-class messaging ban for individuals and small companies? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Viewsonic G Tablet gets firmware update with Flash, USB peripheral support
April 17, 2011 No Comment
Viewsonic’s G Tablet may not have made much of splash when it debuted last fall , but it’s certainly been picking up a bit of steam as of late. A recent price drop brought its cost down to just $280, and hackers have even managed to overclock its processor to 1.4GHz and get it running CyanogenMod 7 to boot. Now Viewsonic itself has given the tablet a further boost, with a new firmware update bringing support for both Flash and USB peripherals, which can apparently also be used with a docking station. The update’s of the over-the-air variety, and should be waiting for you if you haven’t turned on your G Tablet in the past few days. Viewsonic G Tablet gets firmware update with Flash, USB peripheral support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Meizu MX to be Jack Wong’s next dream phone, coming with HDMI-out by year’s end
April 17, 2011 No Comment
It’s only been 109 days since Meizu’s remarkable launch of the M9 Android, but as we all know, there’s nothing stopping our man Jack Wong from teasing his next flagship phone on his forum. Previously known as the M9II , Wong has now renamed this 4-inch handset to MX — apparently short for “meng xiang” or “dream” in Mandarin Chinese, though X can also cunningly double up as the Roman numeral for 10 here. Also shared is the above real-life shot of an MX mock-up — not far off from the earlier render — which is appropriately seen chillaxing on the CEO’s bed. In a separate forum thread, we’re told that HDMI and coaxial digital audio outputs will be present on the MX, and a 16GB model will be released by the end of the year probably for
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