Screen Grabs: Dell Streak serves as seismograph on Fringe, Android nowhere to be found
February 21, 2011 No Comment
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com . It ain’t the first time Dell’s Streak has been featured on a major network drama, but it’s probably the last where it’s used as a makeshift seismograph. Olivia managed to discover some fairly otherworldly facts with the use of this here handheld on a recent episode of Fringe, but mum’s the word on whether she’ll survive this season. You know — the Friday slot . [Thanks, Michael] Screen Grabs: Dell Streak serves as seismograph on Fringe, Android nowhere to be found originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We won’t lie: we did feel a little put out when our pal Jon Rubinstein told us that webOS 2.0 wouldn’t be coming to the Palm Pre Plus — something about the older hardware not having the necessary “oomph” to handle the new OS. But perhaps all hope is not lost! According to a rep from O2 Germany (as espied on the company’s support forums) HP will make with the new operating system at some point in the near future — just not as an over-the-air update. When the time comes (indeed, if the time comes) you’ll need to download it from HP’s website not your computer and install it via USB. And maybe that will be the point when we discover the joys of running a new OS on an underpowered handset for ourselves! Palm Pre Plus to get webOS 2 after all? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Man will run Tokyo Marathon with dizzying array of gadgetry, amazing lack of shame (video)
February 21, 2011 No Comment
There are some activities that you’ll simply never be able to get your friends to come along for, and for most groups of social cohorts running 26 miles certainly falls into the “you have fun with that” category. Some try to regale their friends with tales of burning lungs and fiery quads, but Joseph Tame has another solution. He’s created the iRig, a curious contraption containing four iPhones , an Android device of unknown provenance, an iPad , three wireless routers, a weather station, a heart rate monitor, and a silly mock satellite dish up on his head. With all this he plans on livestreaming his entire race using Skype , FaceTime , Runkeeper, and a custom Android app that will send out atmospheric conditions — according to Joseph doing “all this while looking incredibly cool.” We can’t argue with that, but we also can’t help worrying about the chafing that contraption will induce. See for yourself in the video below. Continue reading Man will run Tokyo Marathon with dizzying array of gadgetry, amazing lack of shame (video) Man will run Tokyo Marathon with dizzying array of gadgetry, amazing lack of shame (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Exclusive: Sony ‘S2′ dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year
February 21, 2011 No Comment
So, by now you’ve seen the PlayStation Certified Qriocity tablet known within Sony as the “S1.” But that’s not the only tablet the vernerable Japanese company is preparing to launch in 2011. We’ve been told by a pair of highly trusted and proven sources that Sony is also working on two rather unconventional tablet form factors including a dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell and newfangled Windows 7 tablet slider. First, let’s look at the clamshell model sporting a pair of 5.5-inch displays — a device first hinted at in a 2010 Sony patent application titled ” Electronic Book with Enhanced Features .” However, unlike the patent’s blocky illustration, we’re told that Sony’s clamshell — known as the “S2″ internally — more closely resembles an oval cylinder when closed as depicted in the illustration above. Spec-wise, we’re told that it will be very similar in performance to the S1 with a Tegra 2 SoC and WiFi + 3G radio on the inside and front- and rear-facing cameras on the outside. And like the S1 tablet, the S2 will be focused on delivering Qriocity media to the consumer. Sorry, no word on whether the S2 is PlayStation Certified . Obviously, the S2 won’t be running stock Honeycomb — instead, Sony is currently optimizing the Android OS to make the most of those two displays. One source reports having seen Gmail running on a demonstration prototype where the list of messages is displayed on one screen with the body of the selected message displayed on the other. Maps, we’re told, will display the map graphic on one display with the detailed turn-by-turn instructions or Streetview displayed on the other. Likewise, the S2 will display a video and picture navigation menu on one half of the clamshell with the selected content blown-up to fill the screen of the other. We’re also told that these apps will work in a variety of orientations. Sounds interesting, to say the least. Regrettably, our sources are less than enthusiastic. Click through to find out why. Continue reading Exclusive: Sony ‘S2′ dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year Exclusive: Sony ‘S2′ dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BMW launches new ‘i’ brand focused on electrification, lower-case letters
February 21, 2011 No Comment
BMW has unveiled its new sub-brand, ditching the propeller-inspired logo and going for something a little fresher, a little more modern. It’s the new “i” brand, a sub-marque much like the company’s M cars but, rather than focusing on performance, highlighting new technology to create cars that are “good for us” while also being “good for our planet.” It’s what the company calls “premium mobility,” cars for daily commuting that will let you “enjoy the finer things in life” without killing the planet in the process. The first two cars are the i3 (formerly known as the Megacity ) and the i8 (the auto formerly known as Vision EfficientDynamics ). The company is pledging we’ll be seeing these cars in production by 2013 and coyly specifies that three is not the smallest number nor eight the larger, meaning we should expect other models to fill that gap — just like the company’s current alphanumeric lineup. We’ll surely be learning more about these cars at Geneva in a few weeks, and if you think BMW is just being trendy using the lower-case i moniker, it did launch its iDrive controller back in September of 2001 — a month before the iPod was unveiled. BMW launches new ‘i’ brand focused on electrification, lower-case letters originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Shopped for a rugged laptop of late? If so, you’ve probably become overwhelmed with grief, likely due to the fact that 99.95 percent of them are both a) huge and b) unsightly . GammaTech’s got a better idea: craft a rugged, shock-proof lappie that actually looks like every other 15.6-inch laptop on the market. Fancy that! The outfit’s new Durabook S15C is its latest in a long line of field-tested machines, with this guy using a magnesium alloy case that’s 20 times stronger than ABS plastic. We’re told that it’s tested to Mil-Standard 810G for drop and shock resistance, and there’s a flexible HDD cable that’ll absorb shock from drops. Moreover, an anti-shock mounting technology around the LCD helps to protect the screen from accidental damage, and if you’re curious about the innards, here goes: there’s the option for Core i5 / i7, a pair of dual-channel DDR3 RAM slots, an internal optical drive, a 15.6-inch Full HD display, three USB sockets, a serial port, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and WiFi. Mum’s the word on pricing, but considering that you’ll need to dial ‘em up to place an order, we highly doubt all that ruggedness will come cheap. Continue reading GammaTech’s Durabook S15C is deceitfully rugged, unashamedly mobile GammaTech’s Durabook S15C is deceitfully rugged, unashamedly mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Volvo releases more details on 124MPG V60 plug-in, shows off iPhone app (video)
February 21, 2011 No Comment
Current gasoline-powered hybrids can barely manage to keep ahead of small diesels in the mpg wars that will shape our future transportation structure, but in theory a diesel hybrid would rule the roost — for the moment, at least. That’s what Volvo will be showing off in Geneva shortly, promising a whopping 124MPG from the V60 plug-in diesel hybrid it announced a few weeks back . The car uses an internal combustion engine driving the front wheels and an electric one to spin the rears, meaning 2WD efficiency but AWD grip — and a combined 285hp to handily blow the doors off any Prius that dares step up at a streetlight. Volvo is saying the car will take about five hours to charge on a standard household outlet and that you’ll be able to monitor that status from your iPhone . Check it out in the video below and turn up those speakers in preparation for one heck of an inspirational piano solo. Continue reading Volvo releases more details on 124MPG V60 plug-in, shows off iPhone app (video) Volvo releases more details on 124MPG V60 plug-in, shows off iPhone app (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Name recognition? Ah, who cares? Particularly when you’re hawking an Ion 2 -based media PC for €100. Xtreamer — the same folks responsible for the e-TRAYz NAS — is gearing up to unveil its latest concoction at CeBIT 2011, but it looks as if most of the beans have already been spilled. It’s billed as a portable HTPC, and it can be ordered with a dual-core Atom D525 / Ion 2, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, HDMI / DVI outputs, six USB ports, an eSATA socket, Bluetooth, WiFi, gigabit Ethernet and support for IR control. Predictably, that low (low!) price point doesn’t include an operating system, but at least that gives you the option to slap whatever you want on there. If you’re looking for a TV tuner or optical drive, you’ll need to turn to external options, but those looking for a barebones system to build on should be able to procure one in a matter of weeks. That is, if the Boxee Box doesn’t lure you in while you wait. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Xtreamer Ultra HTPC launching with Ion 2, €100 price point originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NEC’s MEDIAS N-04C is only 7.7mm thick, has Android 2.2, NFC, and no ambition to leave Japan
February 21, 2011 No Comment
It’s only been three months since the last avalanche of NTT DoCoMo phones, but that’s not stopping the Japanese carrier from scheming up another hardware refresh. Leaked out ahead of what’s expected to be a February 24th launch, we’ve now laid eyes on what’s likely to be the highlight device of this year’s spring batch : the 7.7mm-thick NEC MEDIAS N-04C. It follows last year’s N-04B in nomenclature only, what with the older model being a flip phone, and offers a spacious 4-inch touchscreen, a 1seg TV Tuner, NFC contactless payments using Sony’s FeliCa standard, and a skinned version of Android 2.2. Look out for it in Japan soon, but don’t hold your breath if you live outside the sunlit kingdom — history has shown devices like the N-04C tend to stick to their native market. NEC’s MEDIAS N-04C is only 7.7mm thick, has Android 2.2, NFC, and no ambition to leave Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom will ship without Flash support on February 24th, expects it in ‘Spring 2011′?
February 21, 2011 No Comment
Verizon’s webpage dedicated to the Xoom has just gone up and one of our eagle-eyed readers has already spotted a disquieting bit of small print: “Adobe Flash expected Spring 2011.” You don’t sit around expecting what you already have, so that leads us to conclude that the Xoom, the mighty iPad-slaying, Honeycomb-bringing, world-changing tablet… won’t have Flash at launch. The version of Adobe’s rich media player it’s waiting for is most probably 10.2 for mobile devices , scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, which should mean first-day buyers this Thursday will get a limited-time premium feature on their tablets: no Flash ads. [Thanks, Chris] Motorola Xoom will ship without Flash support on February 24th, expects it in ‘Spring 2011′? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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