Of all the phones we didn’t expect to have a successor, T-Mobile USA’s Nuron ranks high on that list — though it was a great deal seeing how it didn’t require a smartphone data plan, the device itself offered users a pretty miserable (and unnecessarily WiFi-less) experience. New rumors suggest that the carrier had fixed its sights on Nokia’s Symbian^1-powered C5-03 as the successor to the Nuron for launch early next month… but don’t get your hopes up, because in the same breath, PocketNow reports that the project has already been killed off. No word on the logic behind the move, but the killing echoes the recent news that the X7′s AT&T debut had been axed after the two companies failed to agree on marketing and pricing. Doesn’t seem like T-Mobile would be playing those same games, but you never know. T-Mobile’s Nokia Nuron 2 shelved? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nioncom announces Android-based, pico projector-equipped MemoryKick Vision
January 25, 2011 No Comment
MicroVision may not have any plans to turn the pico projector-equipped “mini-tablet” prototype it showed off at CES earlier this month into an actual product, but it looks like little-known Nioncom is now taking the idea and running with it. While it’s still a bit too render-y for our tastes, the company insists that its MemoryKick Vision device is real, and that it will hit the US market sometime in the second quarter of the year. It’s based around the same PicoP projector used in MicroVision’s prototype, but it beefs things up with a larger 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen and, perhaps most notably, a 2.5-inch hard drive that promises to allow for 500GB to 1TB of storage (it also pushes the device’s thickness to a full inch). Otherwise, you can expect to get Android 2.2 for an OS, a 5 megapixel camera, WiFi and Bluetooth, an accelerometer, HDMI in and out, a USB port, and an SD card slot for additional storage. Still no firm word on a price, but the company apparently expects it to be in the “mid-$500 range.” Gallery: Nioncom MemoryKick Vision Nioncom announces Android-based, pico projector-equipped MemoryKick Vision originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …RIM: PlayBook battery life will be ‘equal or greater than the iPad with smaller battery size’
January 24, 2011 No Comment
Hey, can everyone please stop talking about the iPad ? RIM’s been skirting around Apple’s tablet, saying only that its upcoming PlayBook slate would have ” comparable ” battery life, but now it’s dropped all pretense and called the iPad out by name. Specifically, the Canadian company’s senior business marketing VP Jeff McDowell has promised that the PlayBook will offer “equal or greater” battery endurance to Apple’s device, while using a smaller cell size. The latter part isn’t hard to achieve, considering Apple filled most of its slate’s innards with Li-Pol juice packs , but the promise of matching its autonomy from the wall socket is a big claim to make. Many people consider that to be among the iPad’s foremost strengths, so RIM is surely aiming high by pledging to not only match it, but potentially better it. The PlayBook we saw in person wasn’t quite up to that level yet, but there’s still time until that March launch for RIM to turn bold words into a beautiful reality. RIM: PlayBook battery life will be ‘equal or greater than the iPad with smaller battery size’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Notion Ink Adams arrive to eager unboxers, first OTA brings new meaning to DOA
January 24, 2011 No Comment
Well, would you look at that? Oh yes, that’s a real life Notion Ink Adam on some lucky guy’s table after being pulled from its fresh packaging. Sure, that’s to be expected considering the 10-inch, Android 2.2 tablets were boxed up and shipped out last week, but after the numerous delays , we’ve got to say it’s a true milestone for the India-based company. However, while the unboxing videos and pictures are flowing in — there are two right after the break for ya — there’s sadly some rain pouring down on the company’s parade today. According to the chaps at Android Police, a few people have encountered serious issues with an over-the-air update that was pushed to these new tablets. Apparently, hitting the update button and installing the software has caused the Tegra 2 Adam to stop booting (picture of that sad sight at the second source link). That’s surely a FOF situation (frown on face, for those that haven’t listened to the recent Engadget podcast ), but word is that Notion Ink has stopped pushing out those updates for the time being and emailed customers about the issue. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground on this one, but in the meantime we’ll be here waiting for our review unit to arrive so we can show those amateur, wobbly-cam unboxers how it’s really done. Continue reading Notion Ink Adams arrive to eager unboxers, first OTA brings new meaning to DOA Notion Ink Adams arrive to eager unboxers, first OTA brings new meaning to DOA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft’s answer to the iPad: attack its enterprise weaknesses… even if nobody cares about them
January 24, 2011 No Comment
If we were running Microsoft, we’d stop trying to pigeonhole the iPad and focus instead on reversing Apple’s domination of the burgeoning tablet market. Alas, for better or worse, we’re not the ones in charge, so all we can do is cringe at the news that Microsoft has put together a marketing campaign for its reseller partners that highlights the iPad’s enterprise shortcomings. Yes, the device that was patently designed for consumer-centric accessibility is being tarred with the damning brush of being unfriendly to business. The thing is, business customers are indeed deploying iPads in their workplaces , but we’re pretty sure none of them are throwing out the Think Pads in the process, which kinda makes Microsoft’s furrowed brows and highfalutin concerns — such as the lack of enterprise OS patch management tools — seem, well, disconnected from reality. Still, we know trash talk when we see it and there’s a whole ten slides of the stuff at the source link below. Microsoft’s answer to the iPad: attack its enterprise weaknesses… even if nobody cares about them originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BlackBerry Balance details emerge: available in two months’ time, coming to PlayBook too
January 24, 2011 No Comment
If you’re champing at the bit to separate your work life and personal life into two distinct, impenetrable entities, RIM’s got your back: it turns out that the Balance product announced a few days ago will be available in just a couple months’ time. In a recent chat with Retuers , the company’s senior VP of business and platform marketing revealed that Balance is already in testing with carriers ahead of a wide-scale launch — and furthermore, it’ll be available on the upcoming PlayBook as well. As a refresher, Balance seeks to let you do all your personal stuff on your BlackBerry while still giving the IT suits in your office unfettered access to the secure stuff — corporate email and the like — which means you can carry a single device (as long as you’re okay with that one device being a BlackBerry) where you might have previously carried two. Of course, if you’ve got a phone and a PlayBook, we suppose you’ll have two devices anyhow — but regardless, at least you’ll be able to Facebook your face off without corporate security getting in the way. BlackBerry Balance details emerge: available in two months’ time, coming to PlayBook too originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Wii Remote Plus joins Kinect and Vuzix shades for 2011′s weirdest VR shooter yet (video)
January 24, 2011 No Comment
The natural evolution to Nao_u’s impressive Kinect – and Vuzix -infused already impressive virtual reality simulator ? Guns, of course. A Wii Remote Plus has been added to his project, joining Microsoft’s sensor and VR920 LCD glasses for a VR shooting game that involves, well, lobbing paintballs out of a P90 rifle towards flying disembodied anime characters. Make no mistake, it’s a great technical demo chock full of aesthetic eccentricities. Full details via the developer’s diary, video after the break. Continue reading Wii Remote Plus joins Kinect and Vuzix shades for 2011′s weirdest VR shooter yet (video) Wii Remote Plus joins Kinect and Vuzix shades for 2011′s weirdest VR shooter yet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LMP Bluetooth Keypad now ready, willing to mate with your Apple Wireless Keyboard
January 24, 2011 No Comment
If you’ve been pining over this one since December — Wireless Keyboard cold, alone, lacking a dedicated numeric keypad — prepare to stick something in your shopping cart. LMP has announced that its Bluetooth Keypad is now available. For $39.99 you get a device that clips on to your Keyboard and connects via Bluetooth, adding typical numberpad stuff plus an additional five function keys, though it can certainly work standalone too. We’re told you don’t even need a separate dongle or driver. Beautiful. [Thanks, John P.] LMP Bluetooth Keypad now ready, willing to mate with your Apple Wireless Keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Exclusive: Barnes & Noble phasing out the Nook 3G, cites lack of bulk demand
January 24, 2011 No Comment
Barnes & Noble may be selling millions of Nook products , but it’s sounding like the 3G variant hasn’t really done its part to help those figures. We’ve received hard evidence from within B&N that the Nook is being discontinued, with sales to seemingly continue until stock is exhausted. The outfit is encouraging retail partners to not send out any “bulk requests” for the Nook 3G, as there simply “will not be sufficient quantities to fulfill those orders.” Of course, we’re told that the company never actually received a huge amount of Nook 3G bulk orders to begin with, so maybe WiFi really is everywhere these days. At any rate, grab yourself a Nook 3G post-haste if you’ve been thinking it over — once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. Or, you could wait for a next-gen version with a Pearl display . Just sayin’. Exclusive: Barnes & Noble phasing out the Nook 3G, cites lack of bulk demand originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …3M touts capacitive touchscreens with tiny bezels, 10x faster responsiveness
January 24, 2011 No Comment
Add another one to the ( short ) list of obscure things that slipped our net at CES. 3M, a company concerned with the materials and components that go into your delicious new gadgets, spent its time in Vegas this month discussing a new way for building capacitive touchscreen panels. By employing silver as its conducting material, 3M says it has made it possible to shrink the circuits at the edge of a touch panel by a whole order of magnitude, resulting in finger-friendly screens unhampered by bulky bezels. Additionally, due to silver’s high conductivity, response times have been shown to dip down as low as 6ms, which is ten times speedier than the currently used Indium Tin Oxide stuff. It’s arguable that neither advancement is revolutionary today , as bezels serve a purpose in providing a gripping surface for slate devices and touch responsiveness is currently constrained by software lag more than hardware capabilities, but 3M sure looks to have a nice building block for the future. The future being 2012, according to the company’s estimates. 3M touts capacitive touchscreens with tiny bezels, 10x faster responsiveness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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