We’ve been hearing rumors about a mystical, magical A700 replacement since last year , and now Sony’s gone ahead and made things more official. The teaser image shows a transparent case, but the bigger news here is the transparent mirror, the same as found last year on the A55 and A33 . This allows for advanced, real-time autofocus while capturing stills or HD video. Behind that mirror will be an Exmor CMOS sensor and, while Sony isn’t saying how many pixels it’ll be packing, expectations are that it will fall in the 20 megapixel range. Sony has also announced a new battery grip and a new flash for the camera though details are slim on those as well. All are slated to ship “later this year,” giving you plenty of time to make room in your camera bag — and maybe your budget. Sony announces A700 replacement, the A77, will ship this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Item-level RFIDs get support from big retailers, track your every purchase
February 9, 2011 No Comment
Toilets , cows , and Germans have all been tagged by RFIDs , but according to a new study, it’s footwear and fashion that top the demand for radio-enabled tracking. In a report released yesterday, ABI Research said more than three-quarters of a billion RFID tags will be used in global apparel markets in 2011, with retailers like Walmart, Macy’s, and JC Penney leading the way. Item-level tracking isn’t new — in fact we saw something similar in 2006 — but with the likes of Walmart on board , the system is expected to grow as much as 60 percent in the next three years. The study suggests inventory and security as driving factors in the adoption of RFIDs, but we’ve got our suspicions. And anyway, we don’t want anyone to know how much we spent on that Material Girl leopard print shrug — not even a machine. Item-level RFIDs get support from big retailers, track your every purchase originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Acer’s already rolled out a few 3D-capable monitors (among other products ), but none quite like it’s new GN245HQ model, which the company notes is the “first 3D monitor in the world” to support NVIDIA’s HDMI 3D solution. That means you’ll be able to view 3D content from a connected set-top box or Blu-ray player in addition to a PC connected via DVI-DL, and do so with the included active shutter glasses that work in conjunction with the monitor’s built-in IR emitter. As for the monitor itself, you’ll get the usual 1920 x 1080 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, along with a 2ms response time, a pair of built-in 2W speakers, and LED backlighting that uses two lamps instead of four for a promised 68% savings in power consumption. No official word on a US release just yet, but you can look for this one to hit the UK in mid-March for
Continue reading …European Union’s ‘One charger for all’ starts sampling, coming this year
February 9, 2011 No Comment
It was way back in summer of 2009 that Nokia, Apple, RIM, and the rest of the mobile world agreed to make micro-USB the connector around which all future European chargers would be built. Since then, most of those companies have transitioned their hardware to micro-USB without further prompting, but the European Union is still pushing ahead with a universally compatible charger standard to make sure everything is nice and harmonized. The details of what’s expected of these chargers were published in December and now the first samples of the new hardware have been produced. The EU expects all manufacturers to have chargers adhering to the new guidelines by the end of 2011 — and if you’re wondering about how Apple, one of the signatories to this agreement, will handle it, there’s a note to say that adapters will be allowed on phones without a micro-USB port. Full press release after the break. Continue reading European Union’s ‘One charger for all’ starts sampling, coming this year European Union’s ‘One charger for all’ starts sampling, coming this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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As you may have gleaned from the small leak last night , Samsung’s MetroPCS LTE phone isn’t called the Forte as we may have previously thought, but the rest of the information we’ve been hearing about the phone for the last few weeks (thank you, FCC and Flickr !) was pretty dead on. Officially called the Galaxy Indulge, the 3.5-inch, Android 2.2 smartphone isn’t quite as well spec’d as the rest of the Galaxy S line up — most notably it doesn’t have that stunning 4-inch AMOLED screen (TFT LCD here, folks) — but it packs a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, 3 megapixel camera, 1500mAH battery, and some fast LTE speeds. As for the latter, the slider will naturally be backwards compatible with MetroPCS’ CDMA network and the carrier will be offering two monthly plans, both of which include unlimited talk and texting — the $50 plan buys you 1GB of data and the $60 version all the gigabytes you can eat. Combine one of those with the $399 sans-contract-price of the phone itself and it’s not a bad deal. That said, compared to the other LTE or just general 4G phones we’ve seen of late, the Indulge feels rather cheap. Don’t be fooled by its rather Epic 4G looks — it just feels overly plastic in hand (it makes those plastic squeaking noises) and the keyboard just can’t compare to Epic’s slightly raised keys. However, what it lacks in rigidity it makes up for in speed — we consistently got 3.1Mbps down and 3.3Mbps up around midtown Manhattan and saw it loading sites and apps faster than our Droid 2 Global. On the software end, there aren’t many surprises — it runs Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 and comes with a few of MetroPCS’ preloaded apps, including an Iron Man 2 app that actually includes the whole movie. We’re not sure you’d want to watch the entire thing on the HVGA screen, but it’s always an option if you decide to, you know, indulge. (Sorry, we had to!) The handset will be hitting shelves (or websites) later this week making it the first available LTE smartphone in the US — but in the meantime, hit the break for the full press release and a short hands-on video. Gallery: MetroPCS Samsung Galaxy Indulge hands-on Continue reading MetroPCS LTE Samsung Galaxy Indulge available this week, we go hands-on MetroPCS LTE Samsung Galaxy Indulge available this week, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve been hearing this one for awhile now, primarily around the Twitterverse thanks to Eldar Murtazin . Now Reuters has jumped in with a couple of sources close to the company claiming that Nokia has ended development of its first MeeGo handset, supposedly the device pictured above. It’s not all bad news though. Reuters tosses in a bullet claiming that the next MeeGo device could be unveiled this week, presumably at Nokia’s highly anticipated even on Friday or even at Mobile World Congress next week. Of course, Nokia has never gone official with any handset, only saying that the first MeeGo device will be a 2011 event (after missing the planned 2010 launch). So really, this is a lot like saying something that didn’t exist still doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, it jibes with what we’ve heard that the N9-00 QWERTY slider (aka, RM-680 codename “Dali”), leaked with gusto back in August, has been scrapped as a consumer device with all emphasis now on releasing the N9-01 touchscreen slate, dubbed “Lankku” internally. Just another reason for “Nokia CEO” to continue trending on Twitter. No, really. Nokia kills N9-00, it’s first MeeGo handset? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You had to know this day was coming. After aggressively discounting the Adamo 13 over the holidays and then again in the new year, Dell has finally given up on its eye-grabbing ultraportable and is instead focusing on getting you to buy its new gear . The Adamo’s biggest hurdle to overcome has always been its wonky price-to-performance ratio, but we admit we’re going to miss its ostentatiously thin design and high-minded aesthetics. You’ve got to hope Dell has something equally sharp-looking on its future roadmap, but don’t despair if all you’re after is an Adamo — you should still be able to grab one for a bargain price at Dell’s refurb outlet. [Thanks, Daniel] No more Adamo: Dell discontinues gorgeous but underpowered laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iTunes stays on top of growing internet movie business in 2010, but 2011 could be very different
February 9, 2011 No Comment
While much of the news lately has surrounded subscription internet movie and TV services the video on-demand market was up nearly 40% last year and is expected to keep growing. According to stats from IHS Screen Digest, video revenue for the Apple iTunes store grew 60 percent last year, but saw its overall market share shrink from from 74.4 to 64.5 percent. This is mostly explained as a side affect of the Kinect driving up Microsoft Xbox 360 sales at the end of last year and introducing its Zune store to a new market of families looking for digital entertainment. The up and comer to watch for 2011 appears to be the Wal-mart/Vudu combo, currently fourth in line behind Sony but poised to grow by showing up on more devices and increasing its promotional efforts . Of course, as NewTeeVee points out, the ultimate wild card in all of this is the launch of Ultraviolet buy-once/watch-anywhere DRM later this year (without support from Apple or Disney) and the effect it could have by causing consumers to see digital downloads as a viable option instead of the fragmented mess they are now — good luck with that. [Thanks, Aaron] iTunes stays on top of growing internet movie business in 2010, but 2011 could be very different originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Flash Player 10.2 sheds beta label, improves efficiency with Stage Video playback
February 9, 2011 No Comment
Should you be one of those (sensible) people who don’t use software until all the Greek letters are removed from its name, we’ve got some happy news for you. Adobe’s Flash Player 10.2 has just exited beta testing and is now available for download to Windows, Mac and Linux computers. Its biggest new feature is the Stage Video API, which promises to drastically reduce the processor load of playing back high-res video. It’ll need to be enabled by content-providing sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Brightcove — all of whom are already on the job — but once that’s done, Adobe says 1080p playback will cost you no more than 15 percent of your CPU cycles. Other new additions include a single-monitor full screen option for multi-display rigs, allowing you to max out a Flash video on one panel while keeping the others free, IE9 hardware acceleration support, and some nifty sub-pixel text rendering enhancements to make our web lives marginally nicer to look at. Hit the source to get your download on. Continue reading Flash Player 10.2 sheds beta label, improves efficiency with Stage Video playback Flash Player 10.2 sheds beta label, improves efficiency with Stage Video playback originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet with new Sense UI still rumored for March
February 9, 2011 No Comment
So far it seems like everyone but HTC has made an official tablet announcement in these early days of 2011. As such, we’re reliant upon the rumor mills for every scrap of information we can get. So lean in close because the Chinese language Economic Daily has something to share. In a piece largely written about Pegatron, Economic Daily claims that HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet will ship in late Q1 (read: March, as we’ve heard earlier ) with a new version of the HTC Sense UI. Our guess, is that HTC wants to get a tablet on the market now , rather than wait to customize Android 3.0 and have the Motorola Xoom and friends gobble up all the market share. The paper does mention two Android 3.0 tablets from HTC scheduled for 2011. Unfortunately, there’s no word of the rumored ” Flyer ” brand name or whether those Honeycomb tablets will get the Sense treatment or not (we’re guessing they will). Nevertheless, the Mobile World Congress event kicking off next week would be the perfect opportunity to make it all official, don’t you think? HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet with new Sense UI still rumored for March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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