Samsung’s new dual-sided QWERTY remote for Smart TVs revealed by the FCC
January 28, 2011 No Comment
We didn’t spot this one at CES where the phone-like RMC30D and standard remotes were the only options, but it looks like Samsung has an alternative Bluetooth remote planned for its Smart TVs (but not any Google TV products judging by that Yahoo! button on the remote side) that features standard buttons on one side and a full QWERTY keyboard on the other, much like the Boxee Box’s remote . Judging by the ruler in the remarkably unflattering FCC photos, this one appears to be a bit larger and it’s not immediately clear what that display on the QWERTY side is for. Obviously, if there’s any chance users will be logging into their various Twitter or Comcast/Time Warner accounts on the TV they’ll need something better than T9 to do it, but we’ll have to wait to get our hands on this one to know if it’s an improvement. Check the gallery for a few more pictures, we’d expect some kind of announcement on the RMC-QTD1 before Samsung’s 2011 line of TVs hit stores. Gallery: Samsung dual-sided Bluetooth QWERTY Smart TV remote Samsung’s new dual-sided QWERTY remote for Smart TVs revealed by the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We had a strong (okay, really strong) hunch that the iPad was a contributing factor in Microsoft’s waning Windows revenue in Q2 , but there’s nothing like a little confirmation from Redmond. During the earnings call, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein was asked if tablets were cannibalizing PCs, to which he responded: I think that as Bill [Koefoed] talked a little bit in his comments about netbooks and how netbooks were, they hit their peak last year in Q2, and I think what we’ve seen is over the course of this year in the consumer space, some of that volume being replaced with newer devices like ultra-portables and tablets. And largely, these are second devices, not primary devices. And that’s caused a little bit of a drag on the consumer side. That seems like an admission that people aren’t buying Windows 7 tablets , but either way, it’s now crystal clear that Microsoft suffered during the back-to-school and holiday season because consumers who may have previously picked up a Windows 7 Starter netbook went for a glossy new iPad (or maybe a Galaxy Tab in the later part of the quarter) or a more powerful ULV ultraportable. Obviously, the shift to tablets is to be expected, but the latter bit about ultraportables is quite telling as well — it seems to further confirm that people are seeking more power than Intel’s Atom, although we don’t really see how increased ultraportable sales would be a “drag on the consumer side” of Microsoft’s business considering ultraportables run Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional. Sadly, Klein made no mention of Microsoft’s future tablet plans, but stated that netbooks were past their prime. We’re pretty sure that ” next version of Windows ” or whatever tablet OS Microsoft is planning couldn’t come soon enough for everyone. Or hey, could we suggest reviving the Courier ? Microsoft: tablets affected Q4 earnings, netbooks past their peak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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MSI’s first entry into the wild, wonderful, and oftentimes wishy-washy world of tablets is now on sale, but frankly, we aren’t too sure we’d be jumping to hand over our $710 — er, $709.95 — for the WindPad 100W . The retailer is Simply Electronics , which just so happens to rank a few rungs below Amazon in terms of heardability-ness. At any rate, those willing to take a flying leap of faith should expect a 10.1-inch device loaded up with Windows 7 Starter, Intel’s Atom Z530 1.6GHz single-core processor, 2GB of memory a 32GB SSD and a battery that’ll keep things humming for around six hours. Here’s hoping it’ll perform better than that first wave of Win7 tablets , and you know, that you actually receive one. MSI’s Windows 7-based WindPad 100W now on sale for $710 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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To hear most mobile companies tell it these days, you’d think that NFC (or near field communications) is only for mobile payments . That’s not the case at all, of course, and a group of researchers at Stanford’s MobiSocial lab have now thrown a few new ideas of their own onto the table after getting a pair of Nexus S phones to play with. After first making a few tweaks to overcome some of Gingerbread’s limitations — it only uses NFC for reading tags — they were able to develop a few social-minded applications that make use of the P2P functionality possible with NFC. That includes one example that lets you share photos simply by pressing two phones together, and a second that lets two phones share an application — collaborative whiteboard, in this case. Unfortunately, those aforementioned tweaks to Android mean you can try out the apps yourself just yet, but the researchers are hopeful that similar applications will eventually be supported by Android and other platforms. Head on past the break to check them out on video. Continue reading Stanford researchers demo social NFC applications on the Nexus S Stanford researchers demo social NFC applications on the Nexus S originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …OpenPandora begins ‘private’ sales, fast-track your open-source gaming handheld for an extra $150
January 28, 2011 No Comment
What with all the excitement about Sony’s quad-core handheld and Nintendo’s autostereoscopic screen , we have to say, we nearly forgot about the open-source Pandora handheld slowly but assuredly shipping from the UK . Well, we’ve got some bittersweet news to share, and here it goes: you can now purchase an Pandora for $500, and have it ship within a week. What’s bitter about that? Because normally you pay $350 and get put on the pre-order waiting list. That extra $150 sounds like quite the surcharge, but it’s an option if you simply can’t wait for your number to come up, and OpenPandora chief Craig Rothwell tweets that some portion of those monies will help support the project. Still, those extra units have to come from somewhere, and if you’ve been standing in line for months, we imagine you won’t happy to hear that some rich kid can just swoop in and buy your Pandora out from under you without a care in the world. OpenPandora begins ‘private’ sales, fast-track your open-source gaming handheld for an extra $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Atrix 4G goes up on AmazonWireless, $150 on February 11th — mistake? (update: Inspire 4G, too)
January 28, 2011 No Comment
We suspect the boys and girls over at AmazonWireless threw their Atrix 4G product page up early, because — among other red flags — the buy button doesn’t work, but one important detail we can glean from it is that they seem interested in selling it for $149.99 on a new contract or $599.99 off-contract. Now, there are a couple of possibilities here; first off, since the page likely isn’t supposed to be online, these prices might just be guesses or placeholders, but furthermore, keep in mind that AmazonWireless and other third-party wireless resellers typically charge less for devices on contract than carriers do, so we’d expect this to be at least $50 more directly from AT&T. Oh, and one other tidbit: searching for the phone on Amazon reveals a possible release date of February 11th, which would be even more aggressive than Moto’s end-of-February guidance . Again, possibly another guess or placeholder on Amazon’s part… but it’s a date to keep in the back of your head nonetheless. [Thanks, Roman] Update: Turns out the Inspire 4G is listed , too, for $99.99 on contract or $499.99 contract-free. Thanks, Justin S.! Motorola Atrix 4G goes up on AmazonWireless, $150 on February 11th — mistake? (update: Inspire 4G, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Diamond shaped supercapacitors could result in faster-charging, higher capacity batteries
January 28, 2011 No Comment
Superconductors pass electricity with zero resistance and make stuff float. Superfluids have zero viscosity and can climb vertical walls to escape containers. Supercapacitors ? Well, they don’t do anything quite so dramatic, but they could result in batteries that charge faster and hold more charge than ever. Capacitors in general have to run a balance between capacity and fast charging, but these fancy ones with diamond-shaped nanopores in zeolite-templated carbon, developed at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, are said to offer the best of both worlds. How good? Cellphones that charge in minutes, electric cars with longer lasting batteries, and free Superman Underoos for all. Naturally there’s no word on when these things might actually escape the lab and show up in real batteries, but you already knew that, didn’t you. Diamond shaped supercapacitors could result in faster-charging, higher capacity batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Hubble telescope sees furthest galaxy, 13.2 billion light years from Earth
January 27, 2011 No Comment
If you think Star Wars took place in a galaxy far, far away, you should probably prepare to have your perceptions of distance rocked. NASA astronomers believe they’ve laid their eyes what appears to be the most distant object ever spotted by humans… in the history of mankind, no less. The galaxy was first peeked back in 2009, but NASA has just confirmed (via that trusty Hubble contraption) that what it saw is actually the oldest known galaxy in existence. At a distance of 13.2 billion light years away, this galaxy is a staggering 150 million years older than the previous record-setting collection of stars. The cluster of blue stars is just a tiny galaxy, though — NASA says you’d need hundreds of these little groups to make up our Milky Way. Head past the break for a closer shot of the constellation, otherwise known as a nondescript red pixel. Continue reading Hubble telescope sees furthest galaxy, 13.2 billion light years from Earth Hubble telescope sees furthest galaxy, 13.2 billion light years from Earth originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Alphyn Industry jackets play iPad close to the chest, stick smartphones on your wrist
January 27, 2011 No Comment
When startup Alphyn Industries speaks of jacketing an Apple iPad, the company means it in a literal sense — this PADX-1 Ledge is a form-fitting polyester and silicone pullover with a zippered shelf to both protect your slate and offer easy access. Twin straps hold up the slate in a work-friendly position, connected to load-bearing straps built into the jacket that fully distribute the weight — a technique founder Ben Raviv learned as a ballistics specialist for defense equipment provider HighCom Security. At $285, it’s certainly an investment, but we found the garb both comfortable and quite warm when we donned it today at Macworld 2011, and though the close proximity of the screen to our chest didn’t make for easy typing, it’s more useful than other products we could name. Gallery: Alphyn Industries PADX-1 Ledge and SOMA-1 jackets Alphyn’s also got a second $285 jacket, the SOMA-1, which also quite literally sticks an iPhone or iPod touch up your sleeve. We weren’t able to wear this one, but we admired the design, with a zippered channel that runs all the way up one arm to connect and store earbuds and a thick transparent film for wrist-mounted use. You’ll find the PADX-1 available right now, and the SOMA-1 up for pre-order at Alphyn’s website. PR after the break. Continue reading Alphyn Industry jackets play iPad close to the chest, stick smartphones on your wrist Alphyn Industry jackets play iPad close to the chest, stick smartphones on your wrist originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The BlackBerry Curve has always been our favorite ‘berry because of its solid keyboard and lack of pretension to any functionality beyond great messaging, but it looks like things are about to change fast: you’re looking at a leaked image of what CrackBerry says is the Curve Touch, codenamed “Malibu,” and it’s all touchscreen — unlike the rumored Apollo , there’s no keyboard in sight. We’ve only got specs on the CDMA version, and they’re right in line with what you’d expect for a midrange device due out in late 2011 / early 2012: 800MHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor, 3.25-inch HVGA screen, 5 megapixel camera with HD video, 1GB storage with microSD expansion and 512MB of RAM, GPS, and NFC. Of course, CrackBerry says those are just “proposed specs,” so anything could change, but man — are we crazy for thinking an an all-touch Curve definitely seems to redefine everything about what a BlackBerry is and is not? BlackBerry Curve Touch leaks out originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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