Criterion Collection now streaming on Hulu Plus, maybe Sanjuro and Hanbei will settle differences
February 15, 2011 No Comment
Hulu Plus just got a whole lot more appealing for cinephiles. The streaming service just rolled out 150 properties from the Criterion Collection, perhaps the premiere pusher of amazing films, with that number expected to top 800 in “the coming months.” It’ll include the regulars, like plenty of offerings by Kurosawa, along with some films “so rare that they have never been seen in the U.S. in any medium.” Indeed this deal is available only in America, so we’ll send our apologies to our friendly neighbors to the north, but you’re certainly welcome to come on down on movie night. Just bring some popcorn. Naturally the quality here won’t match a Blu-ray and we’re guessing the usually epic Criterion special features won’t be streaming, but you can’t have everything for $7.99 a month. Update : We got a note from Hulu indicating that, yes indeed, special features will be here too. Director commentary, deleted scenes, and lots of other bonus goodies will be coming to the mix. Maybe there’ll be something in there explaining the deep, hidden meanings of Sans Soleil . Oh, and it’s an exclusive deal, which is a bummer for Netflixers . [Thanks, Dan] Criterion Collection now streaming on Hulu Plus, maybe Sanjuro and Hanbei will settle differences originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hot on the heels of the Daily , the oft-rumored Apple subscription service is finally spreading out to the rest of the app store. Love it or lump it, anything currently available in the company’s online marketplace, including magazines, newspapers, video, and music, can now be offered on the subscription model . “All we require,” said Steve Jobs in the press release, “is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app.” (This sounds familiar .) Publishers are also restricted from linking out of the app to locations that allow the user to circumvent the in-app purchase. The rationale here? Apple gets thirty percent off the top off in-app purchases — enough of a cut, we’re guessing, to prompt some bigger publishers from skipping the platform altogether. PR after the break. Continue reading iTunes shocker! Apple announces App Store subscriptions iTunes shocker! Apple announces App Store subscriptions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Olympus E-PL2 reviewed, deemed another solid but not groundbreaking Micro Four Thirds entry
February 15, 2011 No Comment
The best thing about the new E-PL2 from Olympus , the company’s latest Micro Four Thirds addition? The 14 – 42mm kit lens that comes with it, apparently. It’s 30 percent faster to focus and, on top of that, much quieter when getting its AF on. Moving beyond that, the new shooter offers a built-in flash, ISO support up to 6,400 when you need extra help in the dark, a much higher resolution screen on the back and, if you’re into pushing photos wirelessly, the Penpal Bluetooth dongle will do so. Digital Photography Review found it to be a good performer, on-par with the earlier E-PL1 but a bit clumsier to change exposure settings than on the E-P2 . So, not exactly a clear-cut recommendation for this $599 shooter, meaning you might want to read the full text if you’re still on the fence. Olympus E-PL2 reviewed, deemed another solid but not groundbreaking Micro Four Thirds entry originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nokia C5-04 with T-Mobile branding gets Bluetooth certified: is the Nuron 2 still on?
February 15, 2011 No Comment
Does that shot up there look just a little bit like T-Mobile’s allegedly shelved Nuron 2 ? Why yes, it does — so it would seem that the phone has a model code of C5-04, according to the Bluetooth SIG’s certification database. That would make a lot of sense since the rumored Nuron replacement was looking like a rebranded C5-03 already, and Nokia would need to bust out a new model code since T-Mobile’s version would require support for AWS 3G. Question is, does this mean that the phone is back on T-Mobile’s roadmap? It wouldn’t be out of the question for a canned device to continue its zombie-esque stroll through the world’s certification bodies — but this could also mean the carrier still wants to get this done; Nokia doesn’t have Windows Phone gear ready quite yet, after all. Nokia C5-04 with T-Mobile branding gets Bluetooth certified: is the Nuron 2 still on? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Okay, by now you’ve likely seen most if not all of HTC’s monstrous MWC 2011 launch (HTC Incredible S , Desire S , and Wildfire S ), but we’d be remiss in our duties if we didn’t complete the video tours. Sadly the HTC Salsa and ChaCha weren’t ready to play just yet — the software isn’t quite ready for primetime — so they had to remain behind a safe layer of glass. We did, however, get a quick overview of each of the S devices mentioned above and have some pretty galleries of them, too. So enjoy the show. Gallery: HTC Incredible S first hands-on Gallery: HTC Desire S first hands-on Gallery: HTC Wildfire S first hands-on Continue reading HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You didn’t think Samsung just brought its new high-end Galaxy S II to Barcelona , did you? Nope, it also packed a few of those new budget Android 2.2 smartphones — the Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Ace, and Galaxy mini — in its luggage. We’re aware that’s a lot of Galaxy, but there are, of course, a couple of key features that differentiate the low-end phones. Hit the break for our short impressions of the four and a brief video of our favorite. Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Gio and Ace hands-on Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Fit and mini hands-on Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Ace, Gio, Fit, and mini gather for a mega hands-on Samsung Galaxy Ace, Gio, Fit, and mini gather for a mega hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, well — what have we here? That up above is LG’s Revolution , a Snapdragon-powered Android superphone. What’s inside is no normal Snapdragon, though. It’s actually a newfangled chip that isn’t shipping to consumers just yet, which includes DRM libraries at a hardware level that serve to satisfy paranoid movie execs. The good news is that Qualcomm has actually whipped up a solution that’ll finally bring Watch Instantly to Android; the bad news is that existing smartphones — even existing Snapdragon devices — will not be able to utilize the app. Without new hardware, the Android version of the Netflix app simply won’t function, and no one at Qualcomm was willing to tell us when these Netflix-friendly Snapdragon chips would begin to ship out. Whenever that fateful day arrives, though, Snapdragon devices with HDMI sockets will be able to beam that content right to their HDTV — the company’s hardware is HDCP-approved, so there’s no sweat when it comes to watching content on the big screen. On-site representatives made clear that both the phone and the app were for demonstration purposes only, but we’d be shocked if LG’s handset shipped without this compatibility. The demo we saw was smooth as butter, and the app itself looked glorious on the Revolution’s 4.3-inch touchscreen. See for yourself in the video just past the break. Gallery: LG Revolution streams Netflix at MWC 2011 Continue reading Android-powered LG Revolution caught streaming Netflix at MWC (video) Android-powered LG Revolution caught streaming Netflix at MWC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: ‘it’ll make the ecosystem stronger’
February 15, 2011 No Comment
Here’s a nugget to chew on as you roll out of bed this morning. During “The Power of Applications” keynote today at Mobile World Congress , HTC CEO Peter Chou was just asked what his take was on the Microsoft / Nokia partnership . Of course, we’ve heard before that the company loves Android and WP7 equally, and it was certainly onboard from the get-to with the launch of the 7 Mozart , but it’s not often that one handset manufacturer comments on another. Contrary to popular belief, Peter seemed fairly positive on the deal, though he made sure to focus more on the software side rather than touching on Elop’s decision making skills. Here’s the quote in full: “They’re doing what they have to do. It won’t be easy, but they’re doing what they have to do. We are very committed to Windows Mobile, and we are one of their lead partners for Windows Phone 7. So we are positive, because this combination will surely make that ecosystem stronger. As a strong player [in this ecosystem], HTC will be a beneficiary from [their decision].” In other words, HTC’s pumped that WP7 now has more backing, which will in turn (hopefully) make its own Windows Phone 7 devices more marketable, attractive and desirable as the ecosystem grows stronger. Talk about looking on the bright side of things. HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: ‘it’ll make the ecosystem stronger’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Deutsche Telekom rolling out NFC payments with T-Mobile USA, other markets this year; NFC iPhone along for the ride?
February 15, 2011 No Comment
At its press conference at Mobile World Congress today, Deutsche Telekom — the German parent of T-Mobile subsidiaries around the world — mentioned that it’ll start launching NFC payment systems in handsets across multiple markets starting this year with full deployments in 2012. T-Mobile USA will be included in the action through the Isis initiative announced in late 2010 in partnership with AT&T and Verizon, but here’s where it gets particularly interesting: DT execs apparently name dropped Apple during the live event for a 2011 launch. Of course, there’s no shortage of rumors that the next-gen iPhone will include some manner of NFC capability, and it certainly seems like an Apple endorsement would work wonders in taking the technology to a new level of consumer acceptance. Follow the break for the full press release — it doesn’t mention Apple, interestingly, so it’s entirely possible that this was an executive slip-up. More on this as we have it. Continue reading Deutsche Telekom rolling out NFC payments with T-Mobile USA, other markets this year; NFC iPhone along for the ride? Deutsche Telekom rolling out NFC payments with T-Mobile USA, other markets this year; NFC iPhone along for the ride? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Unstoppable: the first Blu-ray film with Android-compatible Digital Copy
February 15, 2011 No Comment
It’s a little shocking that it’s taken this long to get a Digital Copy that’s compatible with Android, but clearly it’s the week of shackles being broken. Just yesterday, Qualcomm announced that all future Snapdragon devices would be cleared for Netflix streaming, and now Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is announcing that its impending Unstoppable launch will allow Android users to watch the flick on the go. By enabling the transfer through BD Live, it marks the first time that this has been possible with Google’s mobile OS, though it should be noted that consumers will need the disc itself, a WiFi-connected BD player, Android 1.6 or higher and the free PocketBLU app to make the magic happen. Both the movie and app can be downloaded starting today, but here’s the real question: are you willing to invest in a movie just to experience Digital Copy… on Android ? Continue reading Unstoppable: the first Blu-ray film with Android-compatible Digital Copy Unstoppable: the first Blu-ray film with Android-compatible Digital Copy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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