Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: handsets alter brain activity — scientists don’t know what that means
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Cellphones are bad, mmkay? Or at least that is what many want us to believe, what with all these warning labels and studies telling us that mobile users will end up with brain cancer and kidney damage . Not to mention the dangers of phone addiction — horror of horrors — for our youth. Now, the National Institutes of Health have shown that radiation from your phone’s antenna turns you into a supergenius increases brain activity. Using positron emmission tomogrophy (PET) scans on 47 individuals with a muted phone on each ear (to prevent aural brain stimulation), the study found a seven percent increase in brain activity in the area closest to the phones’ antennas when receiving a call. The catch — scientists don’t know “whether this is detrimental or if it could even be beneficial,” so don’t go trading your Cell-Mate in for a Bluetooth headset just yet. Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: handsets alter brain activity — scientists don’t know what that means originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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There’s not exactly any shortage of ways to mount your iPhone or iPod touch to your bike, but there’s decidedly fewer options that actually turn your iOS device into a full-fledged cycling computer that’s able to replace those from the likes of Garmin . This new iBike Dash device promises to do just that, though. It not only houses your device is a protective, waterproof shell, but it includes an ANT+ speed sensor and is compatible with other ANT+ devices so you can measure heart rate and cadence. It also has room for an extra rechargeable battery to extend your run time, and it naturally makes use of a free app that takes advantage of your iPhone’s GPS capabilities (no built-in GPS here to help out iPod touch users). Of course, all that means this one also costs considerably more than a simple bike mount — look for the basic model to set you back $199, while the deluxe package (including cadence and HR monitors along with an extra battery and charger) runs $329. Continue reading iBike Dash turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a cycling computer iBike Dash turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a cycling computer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Microsoft’s slowed the pace of Windows Phone 7 ads after saturating the airwaves at launch, but it looks like another campaign is about to begin — WinRumors has a leak of a new set of “Real Time Challenge” interactive web ads that challenge you to complete tasks using your phone against a WP7 device. Challenges include taking a photo and posting it to Facebook, checking Xbox achievements, getting directions, and telling meeting participants you’re running late. Not surprisingly, the WP7 device performs handily at everything — although we’re definitely wondering why you’d be checking Xbox achievements in a hurry while on the run. WinRumors also says that the “Your Phone” image is just a placeholder that will be filled in by other devices in the final ads, so we’ll see how MS decides to portray other platforms and their apps — there’s a lot of ways to do some of these things on Android and iOS devices. (And, sigh, we would note that “Update system software without fatal errors ” is not a listed activity.) In any event, it’s a clever ad idea — check the video below. [Thanks, Irv] Continue reading Leaked Windows Phone 7 ads challenge your phone head-to-head Leaked Windows Phone 7 ads challenge your phone head-to-head originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple tells shareholders North Carolina data center is for iTunes and MobileMe, set to open this spring
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Well, it looks like Apple’s just put an end to some of the speculation surrounding its massive data center in North Carolina. According to Apple Insider and Electronista , Apple told shareholders at its annual meeting today that the center is for iTunes and MobileMe (along with Apple’s “corporate systems”), and that it is set to open sometime this spring. As you might expect, it doesn’t seem like things got much more detailed than that, but the news does certainly lend some credence to earlier rumors of a cloud-based, Lala-infused iTunes service and a significantly expanded (and possibly free) MobileMe offering . Here’s hoping we’ll hear a bit more from Apple itself next week . Apple tells shareholders North Carolina data center is for iTunes and MobileMe, set to open this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Currently, sports is one of the main things that’s tough to stay connected to if you choose not to subscribe to traditional linear pay-TV service like cable or satellite, so it’s no surprise there was much ado over Gautam Anand, Google Director of Content Partnerships for Asia Pacific, saying the company is negotiating to broadcast NHL and NBA games on YouTube . However, the key words in Bloomberg’s report of the statement are “for Asia Pacific,” and while the NHL flat out denied any discussions, the NBA merely noted it was “pleased that YouTube recognizes the value of live sports.” YouTube already airs games from the Indian Cricket Premier League, and PaidContent’s Staci Kramer has learned talks centered around the possibility of airing NBA games — but only in Asia. It’s doubtful, if not ludicrous, to think TNT or ABC/ESPN would let hoop games escape from cable to the internet like free agents to South Beach and while leagues could see potential in new international broadcast models, don’t expect to see things changing in the US anytime soon. YouTube says it’s in talks to stream NHL, NBA games, NHL says it isn’t originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Dell already pushed out its Froyo update to users of unlocked Streaks way back in November , and it looks like those that bought their Streak 5 from AT&T or Rogers can now finally get in on the action as well. The company just began rolling the update for those users out over-the-air today, and it brings with it all of the features we’ve already seen on unlocked Streaks, including Flash support, Dell’s Stage UI and, of course, support for any apps that require Android 2.0 or later. Hit up the source link below for the complete details on the upgrade. Dell rolls out Froyo update for AT&T and Rogers Streak 5 users originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Though it really came to a head with the recently-launched Inspire 4G , users have noticed that there really aren’t many phones in AT&T’s stable that deliver stellar upload speeds — the Atrix 4G is suffering the same sub-megabit performance, as are older devices that should seemingly support HSUPA like the Samsung Captivate . We’ve chatted in the past few days with a source who offers an interesting explanation: AT&T currently requires that all handsets that it sells “handshake” with the network as 3GPP Release 5 devices, the last official set of 3G specifications that lacked support for HSUPA. That feature — also known as EDCH, or FDD Enhanced Uplink — was added in Release 6. Though AT&T is apparently working on permitting the bulk of its handsets to handshake Release 6, presently only the iPhone 4 (and presumably all of its recent data devices like USB modems, which may also use Release 7) are allowed. Neither we, nor our source, know why this is. Our source believes that the Release 6 certification may happen within a “month or two,” which would explain why some AT&T sales reps in live HSPA+ areas are telling customers that the “4G network” isn’t live yet. You can form your own conclusions as to why AT&T might be imposing this arbitrary limitation, but we do know that “enhanced” backhaul figures prominently into the company’s 4G story; there may be concerns that flipping on HSUPA for everyone right now would overwhelm its legacy infrastructure. At any rate, it sounds like this could all be solved soon through a combination of network changes and possibly firmware updates for individual devices, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] AT&T’s brewing HSUPA-gate: the inside story originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Want to write for us? Engadget is looking for a full-time, New York-based Editor
February 23, 2011 No Comment
Yes, it’s true, Engadget is hiring. In fact, we’re looking for a full-time editor. There are a few requirements which differ from our usual call for applications, so we wanted to state them up front: we’re hiring a full-time, New York-based editor, and we want that person to have previous experience writing about technology professionally. We’d love to hear from you, so read on below to find out how to apply. Continue reading Want to write for us? Engadget is looking for a full-time, New York-based Editor Want to write for us? Engadget is looking for a full-time, New York-based Editor originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Have you been considering ditching you Android phone for an iPhone ever since you heard that Minecraft would be heading to iOS later this year? Then you might want to reconsider, as Kotaku has confirmed that the game that’s already inspired a documentary will be headed to Android as well. Interestingly, the site says that the game’s creators initially held some talks with third-party developers about doing a mobile version, but ultimately decided to do both ports in-house. Details are otherwise still pretty light but, like the iOS version, this one is said to be coming “later this year.” [Image: bloomilkart / deviantART] Minecraft coming to Android, too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Latest Sprint teaser tweet all but confirms February 24th announcement is for Windows Phone 7
February 23, 2011 No Comment
How many mobile platforms can you think of that integrate “with your home game console, like Xbox?” Unless we’re completely spacing something out, the answer is one: Windows Phone 7 . We’d already figured the Thursday announcement that Sprint has been teasing this week on Twitter — and that little Arrive leak all but confirmed it anyhow — but if you needed any more evidence that the phone formerly known as the HTC 7 Pro would be formally announced in CDMA guise this week, here you have it. We’ll know more tomorrow, hopefully. Latest Sprint teaser tweet all but confirms February 24th announcement is for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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