The Xoom’s big attraction may be the ethereal Honeycomb that oozes within it, but it’s still a gadget made of metal, silicon and plastic, so we’re as keen as anyone to see what its insides look like. iFixit has dutifully performed the task of tearing one down to its constituent components and found an Atmel touchscreen controller capable of picking up 15 inputs at a time, a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip capable of 14.4Mbps HSPA+ speeds, some Toshiba NAND flash memory, and of course, NVIDIA’s beloved Tegra 2 dual-core SOC. The conclusion reached was that the Xoom is relatively easy to repair, though you should be aware there are no less than 57 screws holding the thing together, so free up a nice long afternoon if you intend to disassemble one yourself. Aside from Moto’s flagship tablet, iFixit has also gotten to grips with Apple’s latest MacBook Pro, the one that can do Thunderbolt -fast transfers with as yet nonexistent peripherals, though discoveries there were predictably few and far between. The wireless card now has four antennas instead of three and there are some modifications made to the cooling systems, but the real reason you’ll want to see this is the quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU lurking within — it’s as big and imposing as the performance it promises to deliver. Motorola Xoom and Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pro get torn down originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony PSP dips down to $130, wants to be your cheap thrill until the NGP gets here
February 25, 2011 No Comment
Sony is treating its portable gaming fans well these days by giving them the one-two punch of having both a world-beating device to look forward to in the future and an affordable one to pass the time with until then. Starting this Sunday, the venerable PSP-3000 will be yours to own for just $130, taking it dangerously close to impulse buy territory, while Sony is also adding a few more titles to its $20 PSP Greatest Hits collection, including Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines , Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and LittleBigPlanet PSP . Skip past the break for the full press release and the new ad video to promote the cheaper portable. Continue reading Sony PSP dips down to $130, wants to be your cheap thrill until the NGP gets here Sony PSP dips down to $130, wants to be your cheap thrill until the NGP gets here originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Boy, we’ve had so many leaked materials relating to the HTC Merge that we kind of assumed the handset was official by now. Never mind, HTC is taking care of that little oversight now, admittedly much later than we expected the phone to show up, by announcing that the Merge will arrive on multiple US carriers in the spring. It brings Android 2.2, skinned with HTC’s Sense UI, a 3.8-in touchscreen plus that slide-out keyboard, and a 5 megaixel autofocus camera with 720p video recording. Not bad, now let’s see how those carriers decide to price this mid-range contender. Continue reading HTC Merge official, coming to ‘multiple’ US carriers this spring HTC Merge official, coming to ‘multiple’ US carriers this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon’s dropped 911 calls leave one woman trapped in burning house (video)
February 25, 2011 No Comment
We’re just hearing of a story that makes that 10,000 or so emergency calls that didn’t go through over Verizon’s network on January 26 look a little more serious. A house in Silver Spring, Maryland caught fire that evening during the snowstorm that knocked out power and landlines. A neighbor, noticing the house was ablaze, tried calling 911 on his cellphone but couldn’t get through. Thankfully he was able to save the 94 year old woman who was trapped inside, but it would be about 30 minutes of repeated dialing before finally being connected to emergency services. Thank goodness for heroes, but maybe Verizon Guy has some work to do himself. Continue reading Verizon’s dropped 911 calls leave one woman trapped in burning house (video) Verizon’s dropped 911 calls leave one woman trapped in burning house (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Scientists in California are trying to turn technology developed to test wine in a bottle into a system for detecting liquid explosives at airports. If it works, passengers may once again be able to take large bottles and cans through security. (Feb. 25)
Continue reading …Firefox 4 beta 5 for mobile released, available on Android, N900, your computer
February 25, 2011 No Comment
Tired of using the default browser on your smart phone to browse Engadget? Got a thing for Firefox ? Great, ’cause Mozilla just pushed out the fifth beta of Firefox 4 for mobile. You might be familiar with the on-the-go version of Mozilla’s creation , but if not, here’s your chance to grab the latest (and probably) the most stable build to date. In addition to the Android and Maemo version, the company has released a Fennec build for use on Windows, OS X and Linux. We tinkered with the OS X build of the browser on our Macbook Pro and although pages appear to render quickly, we can’t quite figure out how to navigate backwards. You can pinch-to-zoom with the trackpad and scroll with the d-pad, but once you’ve loaded a page, it seems you need to be on a mobile device do any further navigation. Of course, as you’ll see in the gallery below, the beta comes packed with the usual — preferences, downloads, add-ons, bookmarks and Firefox Sync. If you want to give the software a whirl, hit the source link to grab the build of your choice. Gallery: Firefox 4 beta 5 for mobile hands-on Firefox 4 beta 5 for mobile released, available on Android, N900, your computer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Barnes & Noble updates Nook Android app, promises a Honeycomb version this spring
February 25, 2011 No Comment
On the heels of the announcement that it’s grabbed 25 percent of the US e-reader market, Barnes & Noble has decided to give the world a heap of details on its Android developments. First up, we’ve got an updated Android app, and while it’s not exactly a drastic upgrade, version 2.5 has been refreshed with a new library grid view (apparently optimized for 7-inch tablets), a book download progress bar, and a wish list feature. Okay, so they’re rather minor updates, but our guess is that the Nook Honeycomb app that’s being promised for some time this spring will be far more exciting. Yep, it’s a lot of B&N Android, but while we’re on the topic, we’ve got to admit we’re wondering about the whereabouts of that Nook Color app store, which was announced back in November . Look not everyone has rooted there’s , okay? Alright, we’ve totally digressed — hit the gallery below for some screens of the new app or the source link to try it out on your own. Barnes & Noble updates Nook Android app, promises a Honeycomb version this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GM shows off Terrain SUV with noise cancellation, says silence equals fuel efficiency
February 25, 2011 No Comment
GM claims its new Terrain has other SUVs beat when it comes to fuel efficiency, and they’re citing active noise cancellation — a concept near and dear to audiophiles everywhere — as one of the driving factors that puts it 4MPG above the competition. Basically, the Terrain’s enlisted a new one-touch “Eco mode” that allows its four-cylinder engine to run at a lower torque, decreasing engine speeds, and thus saving gas. The thing is, this increased fuel efficiency comes with a “low-end frequency boom,” which is where the noise cancellation sets in: two microphones built in to the car’s headliner detect the boom, prompting a frequency generator to pump counteracting sound waves through Terrain’s speakers. Simply put, GM’s just getting rid of an unpleasant hum. So a quieter car isn’t necessarily a greener car, but we’ll take a more fuel efficient SUV any day. If you’re picking up what GM’s laying down, check out the full PR after the jump. Continue reading GM shows off Terrain SUV with noise cancellation, says silence equals fuel efficiency GM shows off Terrain SUV with noise cancellation, says silence equals fuel efficiency originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft Research teases Windows Phones controlling Surfaces and crazy desktop UIs
February 25, 2011 No Comment
Hey, look, at this point, we just want ourselves some good, old-fashioned copy and paste — but we’ll give Microsoft some credit for looking a year (or two, or ten) beyond that watermark at what could be coming down the pike for human-machine interaction — and specifically, how phones could play a role. In a presentation and promotional video pulled together this week, Microsoft Research boss Craig Mundie shows how you could tilt your smartphone to control a bubbly, colorful look into your personal life on your desktop machine and how you could snap a photo and then drop the handset onto a Surface for instant transfer (perhaps a bit like HP’s Touch to Share ), among other gems. Of course, this is all pure research at this point — it’s any guess whether these comments could make the jump to production, and if so, when — but it’s fun to watch. Follow the break for video. [Thanks, Jake] Continue reading Microsoft Research teases Windows Phones controlling Surfaces and crazy desktop UIs Microsoft Research teases Windows Phones controlling Surfaces and crazy desktop UIs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom rooted in two hours flat, sinister transforming exoskeleton jetpack returns in Verizon ad
February 25, 2011 No Comment
What’s the first thing you’re going to do with your Motorola Xoom ? If you’re Koush , the answer’s clear — install your very own ClockworkMod recovery image and ROM Manager, and grant the latter superuser permissions. That’s right, on the very day of release, the Motorola Xoom’s all but ready for custom builds of Android and all the joy they bring. Meanwhile, Verizon’s decided to bring us the latter half of the abruptly cut Xoom TV ad, which actually differs significantly depending on whether or not Spanish is your primary language. Either way, it’s a fairly sordid affair, with no Iron Man feats of stratospheric skill to be found, merely a quick demonstration of gaming with the accelerometer and a few quick swipes through Honeycomb. You’ll still watch it if we tell you it’s after the break though, won’t you? Continue reading Motorola Xoom rooted in two hours flat, sinister transforming exoskeleton jetpack returns in Verizon ad Motorola Xoom rooted in two hours flat, sinister transforming exoskeleton jetpack returns in Verizon ad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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