Texas researchers aim to solve wireless bandwidth bottleneck, hopefully before SXSW 2012
March 21, 2011 No Comment
As anyone attempting to stream high-quality video on any major metropolitan subway has likely found, doing so often requires the patience of Job and a willingness to spend more time ‘buffering’ and less time ‘enjoying.’ It’s a problem that’s particularly evident at crowded events like the never-ending South by Southwest, and it’s probably no coincidence that a team from The University of Texas at Austin are now spending their waking hours attempting to solve the looming wireless bandwidth crisis. Five faculty in the school’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department have been selected to receive a $900,000 gift from Intel and Cisco to “develop innovative and novel algorithms that could improve the wireless networks ability to store, stream and share mobile videos more efficiently.” Their work is part of a five university tie-up, seeking to solve quandaries such as tower interference, selective compression (read: pixelating the areas you don’t pay attention to in order to squeeze more out of the existing infrastructure), cell tower intelligence and data output redundancy. Hard to say if any of the major carriers will be implementing proposed solutions in the near future, but we can think of at least one company that’s crossing its fingers in hopes of that very outcome. Texas researchers aim to solve wireless bandwidth bottleneck, hopefully before SXSW 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Welcome to the CTIA 2011 show floor where the booths are guarded and all the products are kept under lock and key! Oh yes, it’s pretty impossible to see what’s going to be unveiled here tomorrow when the doors officially open, but we did spot this lovely digital sign at LG’s booth of the T-Mobile G2x. This one doesn’t come as a major surprise since we heard rumblings last month that Optimus 2X would be headed stateside under the G2x moniker, but it certainly looks like the launch is imminent now. We’ve got one more shot for you after the break, but stay tuned for plenty more tomorrow. Continue reading LG’s T-Mobile G2x spied at CTIA LG’s T-Mobile G2x spied at CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Leaf deliveries delayed by Japanese quake, but Nissan and Sony already reopening factories
March 21, 2011 No Comment
Not the jolliest of news if you were waiting on a fresh new Leaf EV to blow in any time soon, as Nissan has had to understandably delay shipments as a result of the natural disaster that has befallen Japan. Updates on when customers might expect their orders to be completed will be forthcoming as soon as available. There are happier developments on the isle of Japan itself, however, where Nissan is resuming limited operations at five plants today and expects to be producing vehicles again by Thursday, which will last as long as supplies do. Sony has also shaken off some of the effects of the recent earthquake and says it’ll restart production of lithium-ion batteries at its Tochigi prefecture plant tomorrow. So, encouraging signs ahead for Japan’s industry, let’s hope everyone else’s recovery proves to be as swift. Leaf deliveries delayed by Japanese quake, but Nissan and Sony already reopening factories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This radiation infographic is too small to read. There’s a reason for that. Technically, it’s because we constrain images to 600 pixels wide. Stylistically, it’s because we’d like to point out that all things are relative. Head on over to XKCD to see just how much ionizing radiation you’re likely to be exposed to performing radioactive activities (or just sitting still) and how that compares to the amount that researchers presently believe is capable of having an ill effect. Then, decide whether you should enlarge or reduce the size of your tinfoil hat accordingly. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Visualized: XKCD explains radiation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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There’s still not a ton of specifics on this one just yet, but Boxee’s VP of Marketing, Andrew Kippen, has confirmed on the TechWebcast podcast that the Boxee 1.5 update will be rolling out by the end of the March — which, last we checked, wasn’t that far away. The big news there is that it will boast a “huge browser update” that will not only speed up the browser considerably, but add compatibly with far more video-minded websites. Kippen also mentioned the iPad app we first saw back at CES, which will let you stream content from your iPad to your Boxee Box, and adds some social features like the ability to see what your friends are watching. Still no word on an exact release date for it, but it will apparently only be compatible with the iPad 2 for reasons unknown. Boxee 1.5 bringing ‘huge browser update’ by end of March originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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As American consumer electronics trade shows go, CTIA Wireless is definitely one of the elite — which is exactly why we’ve got a full contingent of Engadget staffers skulking around this year’s shindig all this week looking for phones, tablets, and miscellany that may be relevant to your interests. Obviously, AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA has dialed up the volume level a notch or three, but we’re expecting HTC’s first 3D smartphone , an all-new Galaxy Tab , and countless other goodies… so keep it locked! Tip: Tune into Engadget Mobile’s “ctiawireless2011″ tag for all the action! We’re live from CTIA Wireless 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …As American consumer electronics trade shows go, CTIA Wireless is definitely one of the elite — which is exactly why we’ve got a full contingent of Engadget staffers skulking around this year’s shindig all this week looking for phones, tablets, and miscellany that may be relevant to your interests. Obviously, AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA has dialed up the volume level a notch or three, but we’re expecting HTC’s first 3D smartphone , an all-new Galaxy Tab , and countless other goodies… so keep it locked! Tip: Tune into Engadget Mobile’s “ctiawireless2011″ tag for all the action! We’re live from CTIA Wireless 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The 3DS is not Nintendo’s first foray into the world of 3D gaming. In fact, it’s not even the company’s second. First up was a 3D headset for the good ‘ol Famicom ( NES in the US), but that never saw American shores and it wasn’t anything more fancy than a set of active shutter glasses anyway — the same sort HDTV manufacturers are trying to sell you today. However, the company’s second 3D offering did make it to the US, where it landed with a spectacular thud. It was the Virtual Boy , a 32-bit portable console powered by six whole AA batteries and remembered by many for its ability to inspire more headaches than excitement in the gamers who tried it. It was released in the US in August of 1995 for $180 and was discontinued less than a year later. With the 3DS sitting now in back rooms of videogame and electronics stores nation-wide, waiting to spring into availability on March 27th, we thought this would be a good time to look back and give the Virtual Boy the full review it has always deserved but has never received. Gallery: Nintendo Virtual Boy Continue reading Nintendo Virtual Boy review Nintendo Virtual Boy review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone
March 21, 2011 No Comment
Who says CTIA is going to be overshadowed by news that actually broke prior to the event starting? Okay, so it’s entirely possible that the AT&T / T-Mobile buzz will be impossible to ignore here in Orlando, but that’s not stopping Ma Bell from rolling out two new (er, rebadged ) handsets for those looking for iPhone alternatives. First up is the LG Thrill 4G, a 4.3-inch superphone that features a glasses-free 3D display, dual 5-megapixel stereoscopic camera, 16GB of preloaded memory (8GB onboard, 8GB microSD card), access to Google’s Android Market and a special 3D marketplace coined LG 3D Space. The camera’s capable to snagging video clips at 1080p when shooting 2D, or 720p when opting for 3D. You’ll also get a dual-core 1GHz processor, HDMI output, DLNA streaming support and pretty much anything else you’d expect to find in a run-of-the-mill Optimus 3D — you know, considering this is that very phone, albeit with an AT&T logo on it. Moving on, there’s the HTC HD7S, which is essentially an AT&Tified version of the HD7 that has been on T-Mobile USA for quite some time now. In other words, you’ll get a 4.3-inch WVGA Super LCD, 1GHz CPU, 5-megapixel camera, Windows Phone 7 (with copy and paste functionality baked right in) and a preloaded U-Verse Mobile application that enables “qualifying AT&T U-verse customers to download and watch TV shows” so long as they pony up an extra $9.99 per month. AT&T claims that its version of the HD7 will be the first in the US with an “improved Super LCD display,” but as with the Thrill 4G above, no specific pricing is mentioned. That said, it should be popping up online and in retail locations “within the coming weeks,” so you shouldn’t have to wait too terribly long for those details to emerge. AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Flipping through the slide deck accompanying a hastily-arranged press conference this morning to talk up AT&T’s planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA , it’s now clear that the company is interested in augmenting its 700MHz LTE spectrum with T-Mobile’s 1700MHz AWS airwaves — a move that it says would help it deploy LTE to 95 percent of the American population. AWS is currently used by T-Mobile for its 3G services, but running LTE there isn’t without precedent — that’s where MetroPCS is already set up, so there’s some potential for consumer hardware and infrastructure synergy there. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has said that the purchase would help the FCC achieve the National Broadband Plan’s goal of ubiquitous (read: rural) broadband availability — clearly a nudge at the feds to push approval in the right direction. General counsel Wayne Watts says they’ve “studied the law, studied the facts” and believe that the transaction can and should go through — but be that as it may, they’re still anticipating “focused divestitures,” probably not unlike the markets Verizon had to flip in order to win approval of its Alltel buy . Confirmed: AT&T wants to use T-Mobile’s AWS spectrum for LTE buildout originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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