Did Apple take Capcom to task over the in-app purchase fiasco in the company’s Smurfs’ Village game for iOS? That was the rumor going around earlier today, after Pocket Gamer reported that it had heard from a “well placed source” who said that Apple had some “strong words” for the game maker. Capcom has now come out and denied any such rift, however, saying in a statement that “we are in frequent communication with Apple, and at no point have they expressed any displeasure to any representatives of Capcom Mobile in regards to our handling of in-app purchases within Smurfs’ Village .” Interestingly, Pocket Gamer’s original report also claimed that Apple was considering a change to its current 15 minute password window to reduce inadvertent in-app purchases, and Capcom says that it would welcome such a move — although it’s not aware of any impending change. Capcom denies rift with Apple over Smurfs’ Village in-app purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Engadget’s next reader meetup happens February 25th in San Francisco — enter to win a trip for 2 to the event!
February 16, 2011 No Comment
That’s right human beings — it’s happening again! The Engadget crew is getting together their best party outfits and shipping out west for another installment of our fabulous reader meetups. Our last event in NYC drew loads of people and was an all around blast, and the San Francisco installment is sure to be just as explosive (or maybe more? c’mon… show us what you’ve got). This time around we’re partnering with Sprint , as well as Sony PlayStation , HP , Roku , Samsung , VUDU , RIM , Sling , Sonos , HTC , Corning , Sphero , and loads of other players in our industry (we’re still adding to the list!) to bring you a night of gadget geeking , giveaways , delicious foodstuffs , and some awesome music (provided by none other than our podcast producer, Trent Wolbe). Also, a whole mess of the Engadget editors will be on hand and entertain and inform, so if you have any pressing questions — jot them down! The all ages shindig will take place at City View at The Metreon , which is located conveniently in downtown SF. If you’re a nerd in the city, you most likely already know what we’re talking about. The doors will open at 6:30PM , and capacity is limited to 1200 people — so if you want to get inside, get there early! Hate standing in lines? Enter the Engadget Reader Meetup Sweepstakes for your chance to win an all expense paid trip for 2 to the meetup in San Francisco on February 25th! Click here to enter now! (rules apply, read them after the break) We’re going to be flooding the interwaves with more information soon, but for now, mark the date on your calendars, and get ready to party. Continue reading Engadget’s next reader meetup happens February 25th in San Francisco — enter to win a trip for 2 to the event! Engadget’s next reader meetup happens February 25th in San Francisco — enter to win a trip for 2 to the event! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Gemalto puts Facebook on a SIM chip, Zuckerberg’s plan for world domination coming along nicely
February 16, 2011 No Comment
Smart card guru Gemalto is going to help Mark Zuckerberg take over the world! Ok, not really, but the company has made it possible to put Facebook on just about every GSM phone on earth by running it on a SIM chip. This allows every poke, friend request, and wall post to be transmitted by SMS — meaning no data plan required — so that the non-smartphone crowd can access Facebook on the go too. Gemalto, using only the brightest and most creative marketing minds out there, has named the solution “Facebook for SIM.” Users get a free trial for an undisclosed period of time before a subscription for the service becomes necessary — carriers are positively salivating at the prospect of all that extra SMS traffic lining their already deep pockets, no doubt. We knew that Mark had big plans for putting Facebook on phones , but we didn’t figure that dumbphones would get to join in the social networking fun. Finally, a chicken in every pot and a Facebook phone (or three) in every home. Gemalto puts Facebook on a SIM chip, Zuckerberg’s plan for world domination coming along nicely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Recon 6.0 Programmable Rover hopes to make coding appeal to the younger set (hands-on)
February 16, 2011 No Comment
SmartLab’s Recon 6.0 Programmable Rover is an interesting little toy-gadget we found while perusing the floor at the International Toy Fair. Designed as a teaching tool for basic programming skills, this little bot comes with an owner’s manual that’ll teach your little tyke basic programming concepts in an easy-to-use package. All coding is done right on the front panel itself using easy-to-understand arrows and symbols, and you can make it do things like deliver sodas, guard a bedroom, or recite pre-recorded messages to unknowing family members or pets. We wish it had a video camera up top rather than just a microphone and speaker, but maybe letting Junior start out with just the basics isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s available now for around $60, so if you’ve had enough dominos maybe give this a once-over. Gallery: SmartLab ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover Recon 6.0 Programmable Rover hopes to make coding appeal to the younger set (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Although we’ve only gotten a glimpse of a TankBot as a render, we were more than interested to see this robot toy doing its thing in the real world. We spotted these tiny desk pals at the International Toy Fair and got to take a look at some working prototypes. As we reported earlier, the TankBots have three functioning modes — autonomous, maze solving and iOS controlled. The bots feature LED eyes and two infrared transmitters — that’s how it solves the mazes. Charging is done by plugging in the USB dongle found on the rear of the tank and you’ll get 15 minutes of battery life after a 30 minute charge. And if you’re wondering how your iOS device will play with the TankBots, a free app will be available to download and each toy will come bundled with an infrared dongle. You can grab TankBots from stores for 20 bucks come June. Head past the break to see some cute, yet impressive maze-solving in action. Gallery: Desk Pets TankBot hands-on Continue reading Desk Pets TankBot hands-on (video) Desk Pets TankBot hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Borders files for bankruptcy, plans to keep operating but close 30 percent of its stores
February 16, 2011 No CommentWe heard the news was coming, and now it’s official — Borders , the second-biggest bookstore chain the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy. As expected, the company will continue to operate while it restructures, but it will hardly be the same company it once was. It’s being forced to close around 200 (or 30 percent) of its stores, and it may need to close another 75 if it’s not able to gain some concessions from landlords, according to Bloomberg . This is news on Engadget , of course, because Borders has also been trying to compete with Amazon and Barnes & Noble beyond its core brick-and-mortar bookselling business in recent years (and not exactly succeeding). While the company hasn’t produced its own e-book reader, it has partnered with Kobo to sell its device, and it has established its own e-book store that’s also used by its various e-reader apps for smartphones and tablets. There’s no indication as of yet that the bankruptcy will affect those endeavors. Borders files for bankruptcy, plans to keep operating but close 30 percent of its stores originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You know those sushi places that have the pre-packaged rolls hypnotically scrolling by your face endlessly on a little conveyor belt? Well, picture exactly that… but with virtually every major Android device ever made instead of sushi. That was just one of the many visual treats we experienced at Google’s Android booth at Mobile World Congress this year — along with a dozen or so brightly-painted giant Android statues and a fully-functional slide from the second floor down to the first. We’d estimate there were perhaps 200 phones and tablets on the belt, ranging all the way from the original T-Mobile G1 up to prototype versions of the HTC Desire S and Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo . We’ll admit, it was nigh impossible to resist grabbing at the clear acrylic capsules as they slid silently by, but fortunately, you won’t have that problem when you check it out on video — a safe distance from Barcelona — after the break. Gallery: Visualized: Googles perpetual conveyor belt of Android Continue reading Visualized: Google’s perpetual conveyor belt of Android Visualized: Google’s perpetual conveyor belt of Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. LG G-Slate — battle of the Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablets
February 16, 2011 No Comment
Hello, Moto — no wait, Samsung … or is it LG ? Three of the world’s biggest smartphone makers have leapt at the opportunity to serve up Google’s brand new Honeycomb build of Android, however their selection of menu items looks to be somewhat lacking in diversity. Motorola’s Xoom matches Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in both screen size and resolution (1280 x 800), while LG’s Optimus Pad / G-Slate offers only marginally smaller measurements with an 8.9-inch display spanning 1280 x 768. More than that, all three tablets run the bone-stock Honeycomb UI and are built around NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2 system-on-chip, leaving little room for differentiation on the basis of user experience or internal performance (LG would have you believe its 3D camcorder is a big advantage for its slate, but we’re not so sure). Most choices between the three, then, will come to things like brand loyalty, ergonomics and pure, basic aesthetic appeal. To help you judge the latter of those three points, we’ve prepared an exhaustive barrage of side-by-side photos below — we expect you to view every last one of ‘em… at least twice. Gallery: Xoom vs. Optimus Pad… fight! Gallery: Xoom vs. Galaxy Tab 10.1… fight! Gallery: Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. Optimus Pad… fight! Motorola Xoom vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. LG G-Slate — battle of the Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Over 1,000 disgruntled Nokistas walked off the job last week and, while presumably all of them showed up punctually on Monday morning, it remains to be seen how many will get proverbial pink slips as Elop starts making cuts . When that time comes Skype is happy to say that they’d like to hire as many as possible. CEO Tony Bates has no qualms about making the best of this situation, saying the following to Reuters: There is going to be tremendous talent out there… “Our primary engineering focus just so happens to be somewhere between Finland, Estonia and Stockholm, so you can imagine that’s a great opportunity and we’re hiring. Hear that, shunned Nokia elite? Now turn that frown upside down. Skype happy to offer jobs to any Finns who might be in need originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom price official: $799 unsubsidized on Verizon, $600 for WiFi-only
February 16, 2011 No Comment
There you have it, folks — the exhausting saga of the Xoom ‘s pricing has finally been laid to rest by Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha. Reuters reports a $799 levy for the 32GB Honeycomb tablet when bought with 3G (which will be upgraded to 4G) connectivity from Verizon sans subsidies, while Jha is also quoted as saying that a WiFi-only version will set buyers back only $600. The latter price matches the 32GB iPad directly, however the 3G Xoom is $70 more expensive than the Apple alternative. Sanjay failed to say when said pricing or models will become available, but there have been strong indications that pre-orders or reservations will begin tomorrow (at least at Best Buy ), with the tablet launching in full on Thursday next week. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Motorola Xoom price official: $799 unsubsidized on Verizon, $600 for WiFi-only originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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