Heads-up, Kindle owners — digging into your next audiobook just got a lot less troublesome. Audible has just announced that over 50,000 of its audiobooks are now available to download directly onto Kindles everywhere through WiFi. Granted, that’s still one step away (3G) from being as good as it could possibly get, but it’s still a tremendous improvement over the tried-and-true USB sideloading method. For those looking to get started for the first time, the outfit’s offering a 30-day free trial of AudibleListener Gold, detailed in the source link below. Happy listening, bookworms. Audible audiobooks now flying onto Kindles via WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Whatever Google (and Yahoo !) can do, Bing can do better? It doesn’t exactly have that so-called ring to it, but Bing has proven to be a legitimate contender in the search wars — particularly on the mobile side. This week, Microsoft launched a number of updates to the Bing for Mobile browse portal, giving users access to better and faster image search, real-time transit and directions, app search for the iPhone, and more. The new version relies on HTML5, and the company assures us that Windows Phone 7 support for the updates (and HTML5 ) will be available later in the year. On-the-go users will also see transit directions (real-time in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles), a reorganized shopping experience, automated weather suggestions and app / movie searches. Head on down to the source link (on your phone, of course) to see if any of the new features have you sold. Bing for Mobile portal gets updated, brings HTML5-based fanciness originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Researchers enable tactile feedback for eReaders using real paper, just like the olden days
March 24, 2011 No Comment
Brainiacs from Osaka University have created what they’ve called the Paranga — a device that fulfills the lack of tactile feedback of page turns when using an eReader . It’s got built in sensor that detects when the book is being bent and will rotate a roll of strips of paper against your thumb. Depending on how much force is exerted against the device will control the speed of the paper roll. Although it’s not accurate enough to turn one page at a time, the researches believe that if foil is used instead of paper, the voltage will be discharged as soon as a page is turned, ensuring single-page accuracy. If you want to see a video of the Paranga imitate page-turning, press play on the embed below the break. Continue reading Researchers enable tactile feedback for eReaders using real paper, just like the olden days Researchers enable tactile feedback for eReaders using real paper, just like the olden days originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hello , Big Brother! According to the New York Times , Copenhagen International Airport is currently testing a new program that monitors passengers based on WiFi data emitted from devices like laptops and smartphones. Airport officials observe travelers from a remote computer, and can tell, within 10 feet of accuracy, where they spend their time — those arriving and departing are represented by different colored dots. The program, created by Geneva-based SITA, also gives visitors the option to download an iPhone app that provides location-based information , like promotions from nearby restaurants. SITA’s VP said the software isn’t intrusive, as it follows devices, not individuals, but we’re not sure we want anyone to know how long our Anrdoid spends in the bathroom — and you thought those naughty-bit scanners were creepy. Copenhagen airport tracks your every move using WiFi signals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Vibrant passes FCC again with AT&T 3G bands: a pre-acquisition tester?
March 24, 2011 No Comment
This is out of left field, but bear with us — it all makes sense, in a creepy, business-y sort of way. First, the facts: a Samsung SGH-T959P just got FCC approval with 3G support on the 850 and 1900MHz bands (it might also support 2100MHz, but we can’t tell from the documents we’ve skimmed in the filing — and since it’s not a US band, the FCC doesn’t really care anyway). T-Mobile’s original Samsung Vibrant was the SGH-T959, and the Galaxy S 4G was the SGH-T959V — so you can imagine that this is another device in the same vein. Samsung SGH product codes that start with “T” and end with “9″ are T-Mobile devices… but if this is for T-Mobile, where’s the AWS 3G support? So here’s our crazy theory: T-Mobile and AT&T may have fast-tracked a T-Mobile-branded device — in this case, an offshoot of the Galaxy S 4G — with HSPA+ for AT&T’s bands. AT&T has mentioned this week that one of the first fruits of its planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA will be a roaming agreement that allows T-Mobile customers to use AT&T’s network, and naturally, that would require devices that support AT&T’s spectrum; interestingly, this roaming agreement is going into effect whether the acquisition completes or not, so these guys have to deal with it. We’d doubt that either of these carriers would be keen on releasing yet another variant of the original Galaxy S as we move toward mid-2011 here, but it’s entirely possible that T-Mobile and AT&T employees could be getting these to test the network integration over the course of the year. Crazy, yes… but just crazy enough to be plausible. Samsung Vibrant passes FCC again with AT&T 3G bands: a pre-acquisition tester? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Remember that Google Voice integration for Sprint we mentioned recently ? Today at CTIA we got to see it in action, and it promises to take us one step closer to our robot overlords — well, those of us who are Sprint customers, anyway. The most exciting feature is that the integration works with almost any Sprint number and device, and is not limited to just smartphones or the newly minted Nexus S 4G . Basically, you can pick your Sprint number or your Google Voice number to be your mobile number, and switch between them if necessary. Either way, this is the number that appears on other people’s phones when you call them, and you still benefit from all the Google Voice perks. See it for yourself in our video after the break. Continue reading Google Voice for Sprint hands-on Google Voice for Sprint hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google keeping Honeycomb source code on ice, says it’s not ready for other devices
March 24, 2011 No Comment
Itching to put some sweet, crunchy AOSP Honeycomb on your hardware of choice? You might have quite a wait, as BusinessWeek reports that Google will not release the Android 3.0 source code in the near future, and we just received confirmation of the same. Google forwarded us the following statement, which pretty much says it all: Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We’re committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it’s ready. It’s fairly clear that the company’s motivation here is the same as it’s been all along — Google wants to restrict Android to the devices it was designed for. Though the company long insisted that earlier versions of Android were not for tablets , manufacturers quickly adapted the source code to slates anyhow, and we can imagine the company wasn’t thrilled some of the middling results. At that time, Google’s only weapon was to deny access to Gmail, Maps and Android Market, which it did liberally (with a few exceptions to the rule) but this time it sounds like it’s simply withholding the ” entirely for tablet ” source code instead of sending cease-and-desist letters out. Another explanation, however, could just be that Honeycomb’s not ready for primetime without some OEM help — last we checked, smartphone support was a far cry from final, and even the finished Motorola Xoom still has a few software kinks to work out. Here’s hoping a nice cold bowl of Ice Cream will smooth things over with the open source community before too long. Google keeping Honeycomb source code on ice, says it’s not ready for other devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google keeping Honeycomb source code on ice, says it’s not ready for other devices
March 24, 2011 No CommentItching to put some sweet, crunchy AOSP Honeycomb on your hardware of choice? You might have quite a wait, as BusinessWeek reports that Google will not release the Android 3.0 source code in the near future, and we just received confirmation of the same. Google forwarded us the following statement, which pretty much says it all: Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We’re committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it’s ready. It’s fairly clear that the company’s motivation here is the same as it’s been all along — Google wants to restrict Android to the devices it was designed for. Though the company long insisted that earlier versions of Android were not for tablets , manufacturers quickly adapted the source code to slates anyhow, and we can imagine the company wasn’t thrilled some of the middling results. At that time, Google’s only weapon was to deny access to Gmail, Maps and Android Market, which it did liberally (with a few exceptions to the rule) but this time it sounds like it’s simply withholding the ” entirely for tablet ” source code instead of sending cease-and-desist letters out. Another explanation, however, could just be that Honeycomb’s not ready for primetime without some OEM help — last we checked, smartphone support was a far cry from final, and even the finished Motorola Xoom still has a few software kinks to work out. Here’s hoping a nice cold bowl of Ice Cream will smooth things over with the open source community before too long. Google keeping Honeycomb source code on ice, says it’s not ready for other devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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No, that’s not the Apollo command module you’re looking at up there. What’s old is new again in space design, and what’s floating weightless above this text is a photo of humanity’s next great chariot into space. It’s the Orion spacecraft from Lockheed Martin, commissioned for NASA and designed to carry a crew of four not just for trips into orbit but well out into the solar system. Lockheed Martin has just taken the wraps off the thing for the first time, also showing off its new Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC), located neither in Houston nor Cape Canaveral. It is instead dug into built atop the bedrock in Colorado, theoretically isolating it from seismic and other disturbances so that the testing crew can do their thing without any outside interference. In that bunker the ship is currently testing ahead of a planned first launch in 2013, taking a crew into orbit as soon as 2016. Mars? That might be another few years. Update : John wrote in to point out that the facility is actually built on some bedrock, not within the bedrock. So, it’s not an underground lair after all — but it’s still a lair by golly. Lockheed Martin shows off Orion spacecraft, new secret lair originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …OMG, FYI, and LOL enter Oxford English Dictionary, foreshadow the apocalypse
March 24, 2011 No Comment
In an acknowledgement of the internet’s overwhelming influence on the triviality we sometimes refer to as “real life,” the Oxford English Dictionary doyens have decided to add a few of the web’s favorite pronouncements to their lexicon. Among them are the standouts OMG, LOL and FYI, joining their compatriots IMHO and BFF among the proud number of officially sanctioned initialisms (abbreviations contracted to the initials of their words) used in the English language. Shockingly enough, the expression OMG has had its history tracked all the way back to 1917, while LOL used to mean “little old lady” back in the ’60s, and FYI first showed up in corporate lingo in 1941. Not only that, but the heart symbol — not the
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