It’s common knowledge that the Droid Bionic is the ever-so-slightly-lower-end CDMA cousin to the mighty Atrix 4G , lacking a little RAM and compatibility with the interesting Laptop Dock. Otherwise, though, you’ve still got that lovely 1GHz Tegra 2 action and dual-band 802.11n, which is actually how we came to suspect that this device that just passed the FCC today is indeed the Bionic. Dual-band WiFi support is still exceptionally rare — the Atrix 4G has it, of course — so when you add that in with a CDMA cellular radio, that gives us plenty of evidence to work with. No word on a release date yet for this thing, but let’s hope it doesn’t trail the Atrix by long, right? Motorola Droid Bionic in FCC? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The evil geniuses at Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first flight of its X-47B unmanned stealth bomber a few days ago at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California. In the air for a full twenty-nine minutes, the tailless, fighter-sized UAV flew to 5,000 feet and completed several racetrack-type patterns, before landing safely at 2:38 pm PST. The aircraft will continue to undergo tests at Edwards AFB before heading to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, later this year. The ultimate goal is to get this bad boy taking off and landing on US Navy carriers. Carrier trials are currently slated for sometime in 2013. Video, PR after the break. Continue reading X-47B unmanned stealth bomber completes its first flight (video) X-47B unmanned stealth bomber completes its first flight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung announces PL20 and ES80, brings 2011 pocket camera lineup to 12 total
February 7, 2011 No Comment
Brace yourself, Samsung has new point-and-shoots to fill in what little pockets of consumerism weren’t intrigued by any of the company’s five CES shooters … or even the five more announced just weeks later. First up is the PL20 (pictured left). A 14 megapixel CCD sensor, 27mm wide angle lens, 5x zoom, digital image stabilization, 720p 24fps HD video with Smart Filters. That one comes out in March for a penny under $120, with a choice of silver, pink, black, and tomato red (Sammy’s description). For the ES80, subtract two megapixels from the sensor, nix the HD recording, keep the color options, bump the release date one month, and subtract $20. You get the idea. Full details and press release after the break. Gallery: Samsung PL20 and ES80 press images Continue reading Samsung announces PL20 and ES80, brings 2011 pocket camera lineup to 12 total Samsung announces PL20 and ES80, brings 2011 pocket camera lineup to 12 total originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The world cried out for a dual-core smartphone and LG and NVIDIA answered the call. Actually, the world only ever dreamt about multicore mobile architectures up until late last year, but sometimes that’s all it takes to get those zany engineers engineering. So here we are, in early February 2011, beholding the world’s first smartphone built around a dual-core processor, the Optimus 2X . This is a landmark handset in more ways than one, however, as its presence on the market signals LG’s first sincere foray into the Android high end. Although the company delivered two thoroughly competent devices for the platform with the Optimus S and T in 2010, they were the very definition of mid-range smartphones and the truth is that Samsung, HTC and Motorola were left to fight among themselves for the most demanding Android users’ hard-earned rubles. So now that LG’s joined their ranks, was the wait worth it? Gallery: LG Optimus 2X review Continue reading LG Optimus 2X review LG Optimus 2X review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …TI announces OMAP 5: two high-performance and two low-power cores, devices next year
February 7, 2011 No Comment
We’re still waiting for the first OMAP 4 devices to hit the market, but TI’s planning ahead — way ahead — with its announcement today of the OMAP 5 platform that really kicks things into high gear. The headline feature would be the inclusion of two Cortex-A15 cores, each running at up to 2GHz; Cortex-A15 is the fastest architecture ARM has announced to date, featuring performance roughly 50 percent better than Cortex-A9 at the same clock speed. What’s more, there are another two Cortex-M4 processors along for the ride, ready to take over less intensive tasks at much lower power consumption to improve device responsiveness. The platform can support up to four cameras operating at the same time, offer 3D playback, recording, and 2D upsampling to 3D at 1080p resolution, and control up to 8GB of RAM. The chips start sampling to device manufacturers in the second half of this year with retail devices expected in the second half of 2012. Follow the break for the full press release. Continue reading TI announces OMAP 5: two high-performance and two low-power cores, devices next year TI announces OMAP 5: two high-performance and two low-power cores, devices next year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Takara Tomy’s Ningen Gakki musical toy lets you smack your friends to the beat (video)
February 7, 2011 No Comment
If you want to get your conductive body orchestra going, you no longer need 15 bikini models and a bunch of conductive paint. You just need a Ningen Gakki, coming this summer from Takara Tomy . It has four conductive patches on the limbs of its vaguely anthropomorphized shape. If two people each touch one of the patches and then touch each other a circuit is created and a note is played. Up to four people can play songs or drums by clapping hands or, as you can see in the video below, generally slapping each other about. The notes don’t appear to get louder the harder the hit, but perhaps that’s for the best. Continue reading Takara Tomy’s Ningen Gakki musical toy lets you smack your friends to the beat (video) Takara Tomy’s Ningen Gakki musical toy lets you smack your friends to the beat (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you have an iPad and you’re looking for ways to incorporate it into your music-making setup, the kids at Create Digital Music have put together a handy guide to the wonderful world of iPad / MIDI integration . Featuring the Apple Camera Connection Kit (which plays well with MIDI USB, by the way), various apps, and quite a bit of video, there should be plenty to keep the music-lovin’ geek entertained. Our favorite video, which we attached after the break, features an unholy collaboration between the FunkBox iPad app and a x0xb0x sequencer / synth. But what are you waiting for? Hit the source link to get started. Continue reading iPad / MIDI hardware options detailed, awesome (video) iPad / MIDI hardware options detailed, awesome (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …O2 UK says it’s getting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: Vodafone, too)
February 7, 2011 No Comment
Now that the Xperia Play is finally official ahead of a full unveiling at MWC next week, carriers are ready to hop on the bandwagon — or at least one is: O2 in the UK. Other than a brief tweet, no other details are given at this point, though the quick support of a major European carrier has to be good news for Sony Ericsson considering that device subsidies are no longer a sure thing… and without question, the Play represents something of a Hail Mary for one of the most badly bruised and beaten titans of the wireless industry. Pricing on contract is, of course, a huge open question — as is North American support — but hopefully all will be revealed on the 13th. [Thanks, Ed] Update: Pocket-lint says it can “exclusively confirm” that Vodafone will be getting the phone as well, suggesting that Sony Ericsson may not be pursuing exclusivity periods here — at least, not in the UK. O2 UK says it’s getting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: Vodafone, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls
February 7, 2011 No Comment
If you got in quick and ordered your Verizon iPhone early you might just be getting a surprise in the mail this morning. We’ve heard from a number of people that their special somethings were out for delivery, but our man Chris was the first to provide conclusive proof, freshly in the door and photographed for your viewing pleasure. Still haven’t ordered yours and are on the fence? We can help . [Thanks, Chris ] Continue reading First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Plextor’s invasion of the SSD space continues unabated with the announcement today of the new M2S series drives. These 2.5-inch internal drives feature a SATA III 6Gb/s interface for read speeds up to 480MB/s, 128MB DDR3 cache, and are available in one of three denominations: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. And you know how you were just saying how much you love Acronis True Image software? Well, they come with it! Look for ‘em in Europe and the UK in March, with further availability and pricing to be announced. PR after the break. Continue reading Plextor announces the M2S line of SATA III-packing, 480MB/s SSDs Plextor announces the M2S line of SATA III-packing, 480MB/s SSDs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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