Netflix on the Boxee Box is a much better Valentine’s Day gift than what you had planned
February 14, 2011 No Comment
These days, a media streamer isn’t really in the game unless it has Netflix streaming and thankfully, the Boxee Box has finally corrected its most glaring content hole — sorry Hulu Plus . According to a blog post by CEO Avner Ronen, the oft-delayed addition has been the most common request by users so far but obviously they’ve cleared all remaining DRM hurdles , so once the latest software update is downloaded, either automatically or by manually checking, owners can enjoy everything the latest Netflix interface has to offer, whether they’re in the US or Canada. Of course, that’s not all there is to this update, with support for Dolby Digital TrueHD bitstreaming, high resolution SRT subtitles and updated support for IR remotes. All the details are in the changelog, although we figure most of you will just get straight to watching The Human Centipede or something similar. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Netflix on the Boxee Box is a much better Valentine’s Day gift than what you had planned originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple said to be in talks with Samsung to buy $7.8 billion worth of components
February 14, 2011 No Comment
It’s not clear if it’s related to that mysterious $3.9 billion ” strategic investment ” or not, but it looks like Apple could be about to throw some serious cash in Samsung’s direction. According to a report published in the Korea Economic Daily , Apple is expected to purchase some $7.8 billion worth of components from Samsung this year, including displays, applications processors, and NAND flash chips — all intended for use in iPhones and iPads. As the paper notes, Apple would become Samsung’s single biggest customer if the deal goes through, although the two obviously aren’t strangers to massive deals — Apple has already famously run Samsung’s flash memory supplies dry a few times . Apple said to be in talks with Samsung to buy $7.8 billion worth of components originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know you’ve been on pins and needles since we cleared up some of the confusion regarding the Clamcase, but a review unit finally landed on our doorstep to put through the paces. If you need a refresher, this was one of the earliest iPad keyboard cases to be introduced, but has only started shipping recently after some manufacturing woes. We’ve had sometime to put this baby through the paces so read past the break for the lowdown. Gallery: Clamcase iPad keyboard case review Continue reading Clamcase iPad keyboard case review Clamcase iPad keyboard case review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Filmmaker says Motorola’s Super Bowl ad bears some striking similarities to his short film
February 14, 2011 No Comment
He’s not going as far as to say that Motorola (or its ad agency) blatantly swiped his idea, but L.A.-based filmmaker Mike Sarrow thinks that the company’s recent Super Bowl ad bears a few too many similarities to one of his short films to simply let slip by without a comment. That film, “Do Not Disconnect,” was shot back in 2009 (and shopped around for a few years prior), and involves a world filled with “drones” wearing white earbuds who are oblivious to the real world around them and incapable of human interaction. Now, that in and of itself obviously isn’t the most original of ideas, but Sarrow notes that there a few “striking” similarities beyond the general concept between the ad and his short film, particularly when it comes to the ending (which we won’t spoil for you here). Adding a bit of meta-ness to the whole thing is the fact that Motorola’s ad is of course a reference to Apple’s famous “1984″ commercial, and we all know Apple is no stranger to accusations that it’s borrowed some ideas for its ads. Contrary to what you might think, however, Sparrow isn’t seeking any compensation from Motorola (or even an attribution), he just wants people to see his film and make up their own mind. Judge for yourself after the break. Continue reading Filmmaker says Motorola’s Super Bowl ad bears some striking similarities to his short film Filmmaker says Motorola’s Super Bowl ad bears some striking similarities to his short film originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, MWC is in full swing, where folks like LG, Samsung, Sony, and Nokia are pouring their souls out in front of us in device form. So, naturally, the rumors are swirling about… the iPhone nano. In a followup to the Wall Street Journal ‘s big story , Cult of Mac is claiming some additional inside info from a source with a “great track record.” The main idea is that the iPhone nano would rely on the cloud to such an extent that the device wouldn’t really have any local storage to speak of, outside of a streaming buffer. This would of course go hand in hand with a MobileMe / Lala-powered streaming music service, and result in significant component cost savings (flash memory is still pretty spendy). While this sounds like a beautiful dream, it doesn’t make much sense in 2011. Streaming all your music and other media over a capped 3G connection doesn’t sound very consumer-friendly, and there are still plenty of situations where having a nice offline stash of music is a lifesaver. But there’s a bigger problem: where do you put your apps without local storage? Android’s historic shortage of app storage really bit it in the ass, and we doubt Apple wants to go down that route. Sure, we can see a 4GB or so ultracheap device, with a heavy reliance on streaming media (many people get most of their music from Pandora these days, anyways), but a memory-free iPhone just doesn’t sound feasible at this point in time. The iPhone nano to forgo local storage? Common sense says ‘no’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Prices and release dates for the HTC Merge and Droid Bionic are still eluding us at the moment, but we have at least found a place where you can load up with add-ons. Best Buy ‘s mobile accessories site is listing both phones, complete with pictures, and while there’s no information provided about the handsets themselves, this certainly would seem to point to a release in the very near future. Oh, and if you had any doubts these handsets would be compatible with the many and myriad Bluetooth headsets on offer at BBY, you need worry no more. [Thanks, Matt] Continue reading Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NXTBee enables long-distance wireless for Mindstorms NXT, funny little RC cars (video)
February 14, 2011 No Comment
Lego Mindstorms NXT is robotic democratization, DIY designing for the everyman, but being stuck with only Bluetooth or IR wireless can put a bit of a damper on your egalitarian goals. No more. Dexter industries (who previously brought us solar-powered Mindstorms ) has created the NXTBee, which uses the an Xbee radio to send data much further: 300 feet for the base $55 NXTBee, up to a mile if you opt for the $78 NXTBee-PRO. You’ll probably need two of the things, though, so make sure you budget appropriately. There’s definitely some lag evident in the video of a long-range RC car below, but we’re not sure if that’s the wireless or the machine itself. Regardless, that’s surely a design challenge that won’t stop you from having fun with this one. Continue reading NXTBee enables long-distance wireless for Mindstorms NXT, funny little RC cars (video) NXTBee enables long-distance wireless for Mindstorms NXT, funny little RC cars (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Advent Vega tablet shipped late last year but quickly had its Flash Player pulled due to a little spat with Adobe about certifications. Now that’s been fixed and this 10.1-inch, Android 2.2 and Tegra 2-powered slab can finally take off its mask and show us what it can do. If you’re an owner, get yourself the 1.09 software update on the other end of the source link below. Advent Vega finally gets its Flash Player originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, would you look at what finally powered on ! Yep, Acer’s brought its 4.8-inch phone / tablet to MWC , and not only is it finally ready to show off that beautiful 1024 x 480-resolution display but it also gave it a real name — it’s now the Iconia Smart. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Acer’s “100 percent phone, 100 percent tablet” that was introduced back in November , it packs a Snapdragon processor, Android 2.3, and is said to be coming to a US carrier sometime in April . Now that we’re all up to speed on the details, we’re ready to tell you that the device is a pretty cool one. It’s obviously going to be for those with big pockets — it’s one long phone — but the high resolution 4.8-inch widescreen panel makes it incredibly unique and nice for viewing pictures and movies. The actual feel of the phone is quite good — it’s made primarily of plastic, but the border surrounding the display seemed to be made out of some sort of metal. As we note in the video, the four buttons look as if they are flush with the bezel, but they’re actually fairly stiff physical buttons. So, how’s the software? Naturally Acer’s taken to skinning Gingerbread a bit here — there’s an assortment of Acer widgets as well as that retooled homescreen you’re seeing in the picture above. That said, we actually like Acer’s neat webpage and media carousel widget. Hit the break for a short hands-on video. Gallery: Acer Iconia Smart hands-on Gallery: Acer Iconia Smart hands-on (part deux) Continue reading Acer Iconia Smart hands-on (video) Acer Iconia Smart hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, would you look at what we found chilling at Samsung’s booth here at MWC ? Yep, it’s that Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 we heard about just the other day, and it’s one interesting tablet / media player hybrid. We’d be inclined to call this thing a Streak 5 or Acer 4.8 Iconia competitor, but it doesn’t have a trace of cellular or 3G connectivity. We were, however, able to confirm what it does have — it packs a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a 800 x 480-resolution display, a 5 megapixel camera with a flash, and a 2500mAH battery. On the software front, it runs Android 2.2 (although it will be upgradable to Gingerbread) and TouchWiz. Oh, and it has the full suite of Google applications (YouTube, Gmail, Google Chat, etc.) and access to the Market. So, what’s it like? Well, it looks like an enlarged Galaxy Player (or what is now known as the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0), which really means it looks like Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab mashup. The white slippery back clearly looks like our Sprint Galaxy Tab , but the thinner design and rounded edges remind us of a Vibrant or Fascinate . It’s really a very “Samsung” device, and we don’t mean that in a bad way — the plastic build feels pretty solid and the screen seemed very high quality. As for performance, it seemed fairly quick and a preloaded video played rather smoothly. We wish we had more information on when this one was going to land stateside, but a rep on hand would only tell us that it will be hitting Korea this month and other countries soon. Check the break for a short hands-on look at this guy and the galleries below for some close up shots. Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 hands-on Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 hands-on Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview (video) Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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