BGR: BlackBerry PlayBook to possibly use Android’s Dalvik virtual machine, might run Android apps
January 26, 2011 No Comment
RIM’s been hyping AIR apps and web apps for the PlayBook for a while now, but there’s a chance much bigger things are in the works: BGR says the company wants to add in Java compatibility for legacy BlackBerry apps, and that among other options it’s considering using the Dalvik virtual machine found in Android to get there. That makes a lot of sense — Dalvik is one of the most advanced Java(ish) virtual machines out there, and it’s open-source, so RIM could conceivably take it and tweak it to work with existing BlackBerry apps, which are built in Java. Clever, clever. But that’s not all: BGR goes on to speculate that using Dalvik will also allow the PlayBook and future QNX devices to straight-up run regular Android apps, which is obviously a much bigger deal than simply using the same virtual machine. Exactly how or why BGR’s making that leap is unclear, since running Android apps on the PlayBook would require porting much more than just Dalvik, but it’s out there. In fact, it’s been out there since December 7, when Fortune picked up a note from Gleacher & Company analyst Mark McKechnie suggesting that RIM was planning to offer Android compatibility, so we’re curious if this rumor’s just taking another trip through the internet meat grinder. Honestly, our bet is that RIM is far too proud to offer Android compatibility and that it’s just investigating Dalvik as a Java environment, but we’d love to be proven wrong — we’ll see what happens. BGR: BlackBerry PlayBook to possibly use Android’s Dalvik virtual machine, might run Android apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AppToyz iPhone-controlled RC car and copter are more reasons to have fun with your phone (video)
January 26, 2011 No Comment
We, like you, have looked longingly at the Parrot AR.Drone . We’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with its augmented reality gaming ways and spent a lot of time sighing at its $299 price. Thankfully there’s now a much cheaper option — much less sophisticated, but one that is nevertheless cheaper. It’s the AppToyz helicopter, coming to retail soon and costing a (relatively) affordable
Continue reading …Microsoft: ‘over 2 million’ Windows Phone 7 licenses sold to manufacturers so far
January 26, 2011 No Comment
Microsoft just dropped a few tidbits of knowledge on us regarding Windows Phone 7′s performance in the marketplace so far. Here’s what we’ve got: ‘Early research’ says 93 percent of WP7 customers are ‘satisfied’ and 90 percent would recommend the platform to others. We don’t know details about the research, though — number of customers polled, time frame, so on. Average of 100 new apps in the Marketplace per day, and over 6,500 total are available right now. Most importantly, “over 2 million” licenses have been sold to OEMs around the world. What does that tell us? Well, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: the iPhone 4 sold 3 million units in a little under a month after its launch, so Microsoft clearly has plenty of room to catch up — but that comes as no surprise to us, analysts, or Microsoft itself. Furthermore, selling a license to an OEM isn’t the same as selling a phone to a customer, since many of these manufactured devices are sitting on store shelves; it’s unclear exactly how many WP7 devices are actually in users’ pockets right now, but the number is certainly less than “over 2 million.” Microsoft’s earnings call is tomorrow where we expect to get more detail on the platform’s performance, but the company is saying today that it sees plenty of reasons to be “bullish about the foundation for long-term success” here — and considering that they simply can’t afford to fail in the mobile game, we hope they’re right. Microsoft: ‘over 2 million’ Windows Phone 7 licenses sold to manufacturers so far originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Korean researchers demonstrate LTE-Advanced in a custom RV, score 600Mbps downloads
January 26, 2011 No Comment
We’re just giddy like kids on the way to Disney World at the prospect of LTE and WiMAX sweeping like wildfire across the country, yet someone always has to come along and be a downer by showing off something even cooler. Those kids are the players at Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute , the same folks who brought us a Body Area Network back in 2006 and this creepy looking koala . Now they’re working on LTE-Advanced, the real true 4G that delivers 600Mbps downloads. That’s six times what you can ever hope to expect from LTE and 40 times faster than 3G — enough to download a 700MB file in 9.3 seconds or stream 3D HD footage on the go, a feat those crazy cats did in their rolling man cave shown above. Sadly we have no pictures of the thing on the outside, but we’re seeing antennas. Lots of antennas. [Thanks, Andy] Korean researchers demonstrate LTE-Advanced in a custom RV, score 600Mbps downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Oh yes. After all the unbearable teasing since we unveiled the first ever photos of the PlayStation Phone, we’ve finally managed to get hold of the real deal for an in-depth preview. Honestly, we couldn’t wait any longer with this thing floating around in China; we’d otherwise have to wait until MWC , where we expect the phone to be launched as the ” Xperia Play ” (and we shall refer to this name henceforth). Before you pop the cork for us, do bear in mind that what we’re seeing here is subject to changes, so don’t be alarmed by any missing features or exposed cables in our preview. When you’re ready, head right past the break to find out what Sony Ericsson’s cooking up. Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview Continue reading Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nokia chairman wanted Vanjoki for CEO, American investors forced him to pick Elop?
January 26, 2011 No Comment
We love us some corporate intrigue, and there’s some intrigue of the highest order coming out of Finland today: local rag Kauppalehti claims that Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila had wanted the outspoken Anssi Vanjoki to step up, but was instead forced to endorse Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s successor to lead the embattled company by a team of American investors who demanded a CEO from the left side of the Atlantic. How “forced,” exactly? Ollila was allegedly in line to be ousted if he didn’t throw his weight behind Elop, which — as IntoMobile points out — is a bit odd considering that Ollila himself is leaving next year. All told, something seems fishy here; it’s possible that Ollila is simply trying to save face with Finns (and / or Vanjoki himself) as he prepares to leave Nokia… or it’s possible that hordes of vicious Americans with skin in the game collectively tightened the vice grips. Either way, Elop seems to be cleaning house in light of the Symbian move , so it’ll be interesting to see whether he can steer the ship back on course here in 2011. Nokia chairman wanted Vanjoki for CEO, American investors forced him to pick Elop? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hey, kids! Kindle Singles — Amazon’s really, really short books for people with short attentions spans — have finally gone live. And you know what that means? You can finally get a copy of Mark Greif’s Octomom and the Politics of Babies delivered to your e-reader via Amazon Whispernet for the low, low price of $2. Even if you’re not keen on hearing some academic sound off on a certain Ms. Nadya Suleman (at least, that’s the impression we get from the description) it looks like they have quite a selection of essays, articles, and memoirs on the Singles site. Hit the source link to check ‘em out or, if you’re still not convinced, peep the PR after the break. Continue reading Kindle Singles available now on Amazon Kindle Singles available now on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This cute, bearmonkey-like creature with animatronic head and arms perched atop a rotating, but otherwise fixed torso is called Robii. He’s built by Compal Communications, the ODM more often associated with handsets, and will be sold under the new UrRobot brand in Taiwan. The 16,900 NTD (about $582) toy robot features an interactive projector tucked away inside of Robii’s circus tent. When extended, it projects interactive video for gaming and infotainment — very similar to the projected multitouch display we saw demonstrated by Light Blue Optics at CES 2010. Robii can track moving objects using its built-in cameras and comes equipped with an ambient light sensor, and voice and image recognition. It’s also capable of barking commands at children with the appropriate visage (from a catalog of 100 facial expressions) to ensure dutiful compliance. Quick demo after the break. Continue reading UrRobot’s Robii hides a multitouch projector in his circus tent (video) UrRobot’s Robii hides a multitouch projector in his circus tent (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ubiquisys unveils Attocell: personal femtocell designed to work internationally, make dreams come true
January 26, 2011 No Comment
It’s definitely one of the first things we thought of trying with AT&T’s 3G MicroCell back in 2009, but our dreams were quickly dashed after finding that said device was hard-wired to only operate when receiving a GPS lock within the United States of America. Thankfully, it looks as if at least a few engineers at Ubiquisys are riding our same train of thought, and come Mobile World Congress, it’ll be debuting the device of our dreams. The Attocell is described as a personal femtocell for use with 3G smartphones, and best of all, it’s designed for use internationally. In essence, this would allow a smartphone from one country to use their international web connection to tunnel a cell call through — presumably free of charge — and definitely bypassing those nasty roaming fees that are incurred when ringing through an overseas cellular network. The company admits that it has been tested with the iPhone, BlackBerry handsets, a few Nokia phones and a gaggle of Android handsets, and we’re guessing that Windows Phone 7 and webOS users won’t have any issues, either. The idea is fairly simple: connect the Attocell to your laptop via USB, which provides power and an internet connection. From there, it’ll analyze the IP address and radio environment to determine which country it is in, and sets its 3G radio power accordingly to below the licensed level. In some countries its range will be just five millimeters, in other countries, it could cover a whole room. For those in the former, you’ll need to place your phone atop the dongle and use a Bluetooth headset to make a call, but hey, it’s still better than paying AT&T two arms and the vast majority of a leg just to phone home from wherever you may be. Crazier still, Ubiquisys thinks that the device’s low power output — coupled with its ability to “continuously monitor its radio environment to ensure that there is zero impact on existing mobile networks” — will make the Attocell exempt from regulatory controls and the requirement for type approval. Here’s hoping it flies through just as the company hopes, and we’ll be hitting the floor in Barcelona to pry out a price point, release date any carrier deals they’ve managed to land. Ubiquisys unveils Attocell: personal femtocell designed to work internationally, make dreams come true originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Maybe there are greater aggravations in your life, but the symmetrical-on-the-outside, asymmetrical-on-the-inside USB connector has been a source of frustration since its introduction. To combat the problem of USB plug rejection, Ma Xi Xuan has developed the Double USB connector that works right side up or upside down thanks to twin spring-loaded plastic connectors on its interior. The design seems more robust than previous solutions we’ve seen, but sadly the switch-hitting plug is only a design exercise at this point. We can only hope that company will exercise some common sense and make these plugs a reality. Tomorrow works for us. Double USB concept ends your fear of USB plug rejection originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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