HTC profits leaping and bounding up, Peter Chou promises tablet and production expansion
January 21, 2011 No Comment
HTC’s fourth quarter of 2010 has gone exactly the same way as the first three : the company reports a 160 percent rise in profits (to $500 million) year-on-year and a 31 percent increase relative to Q3 2010. Total revenue for the final three months of last year rounded the $3.5 billion mark, having been a trifling $1.4 billion the year before. Company CEO Peter Chou sees no end to this dramatic growth, forecasting it’ll remain in double digits through 2011, and he plans to match up to it by doubling monthly production capacity at HTC’s Shanghai plant to two million handsets. If necessary, he says he’ll even outsource manufacturing. Even more intriguing, however, is Chou’s admission that HTC is strategizing an entry into the tablet realm : “It’s a new market with many competitors, and we don’t want to rush into it.” Hardly a surprise, but good to have it from the horse’s mouth. HTC profits leaping and bounding up, Peter Chou promises tablet and production expansion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Evidence of Duke Nukem Forever’s existence continues to mount with new trailer, release date
January 21, 2011 No Comment
Gearbox Software promised last fall that they’d finally, really finish and release Duke Nukem Forever , and it’s starting to look like they’re actually going to come through. The studio has just released a full trailer for the game, and it’s announced something that many though they’d never see: a release date. Assuming nothing goes horribly awry in the next few months, you can expect the game to hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on May 3rd in North America, and May 6th worldwide. Still need a bit more convincing? Head on past the break for the trailer. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Continue reading Evidence of Duke Nukem Forever’s existence continues to mount with new trailer, release date Evidence of Duke Nukem Forever’s existence continues to mount with new trailer, release date originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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While brands like LG , Samsung , and Kenmore all showed off their own special brand of Jetsonian appliances at CES this year, Sub-Zero was close by touting a stable of 30 automation-ready products and a partnership with Control4 that could make them a contender for home automation domination. Sub-Zero’s ZigBee-based system uses preexisting serial ports (initially installed for diagnostic purposes) to connect users to appliances via touchscreens, smart phones, and other enabled devices. The system lacks full control of potentially dangerous appliances like the oven, instead acting as an alert system when, say, your turkey is done roasting, but it does grant complete access to things like your refrigerator or freezer. Other systems might sport increased functionality, like LG’s Thinq , which allows users to set oven temperatures remotely, and Samsung’s fridge , which lets you tweet from a built-in touchscreen, but Sub-Zero is hoping a second-quarter release will put them at the head of the pack. We’ll see if a head start makes a difference in the glacial appliance market, when Samsung rolls out its smart refrigerator this May and Kenmore’s system comes to fruition in 2012. Control4, Sub-Zero get in on the home automation game originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Remember that day when Emblaze wowed the world with its First Else “death of main menu” smartphone? What a shame , eh? While it’s unlikely that said Linux handset will ever be resurrected, there’s a small chance that bits of its legacy will be passed onto other products. For instance, a recent LinkedIn newsletter led us to one Itai Vonshak who was the lead designer behind the First Else’s brilliant, mesmerizing UI. Now, according to his profile, our man has recently moved into HP / Palm’s comfy little house to do UX strategy. Whether this means webOS will get a slice of that Minority Report action, we don’t know; but it’ll be interesting to see what Vonshak will surprise us with at the HP / Palm event next month. For now, there’s a hands-on video of the First Else after the break for old time’s sake. Continue reading Emblaze First Else UX engineer embraced by HP / Palm, magic ensues Emblaze First Else UX engineer embraced by HP / Palm, magic ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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“The iPad 2 has a camera.” We know, it feels all but certain at this point (even when it’s far from official), but perhaps we can expand on that quoted assertion further. Like everyone else who can laugh at Objective-C jokes, 9 to 5 Mac has been digging through the latest iOS SDK and found some data referring to K94, which it claims is the codename for the next-generation iPad. (For reference, the original iPad was K48 .) Anyway, within that code lies a string reference to “Back Facing 1MP Photo.” Going further, the front-facing camera is reportedly VGA — same as the iPhone, same as the iPod touch. It’s unclear if the also-found “K95″ files also included the the same data, or what exactly that codename might be, but if you’re the betting sort, feel free to say, “the iPad 2′s megapixel mullet is 0.3 up front, 1 in the back.” It’s still a gamble until Apple unveils it with a puff of virtual smoke on a presentation slide. iOS 4.3 beta suggests iPad 2 has one megapixel rear camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Vudu 2.0 interface moves beyond PS3 & Boxee Box, now available on most TVs, Blu-ray players
January 21, 2011 No Comment
Just shy of a month after it launched on the PlayStation 3 and days after debuting on Boxee’s Box , the new Vudu 2.0 interface is live on most TVs and Blu-ray players with access to the service. Check out our earlier gallery if you’re not familiar with the new look, it should be identical across the lineup (sans-Move support of course) with recommendations, enhanced sharing options and optimized for HD. For now it looks like the Yahoo! Widgets based Samsung and Vizio versions are the only ones still lagging but they’re on deck for an update “soon.” Gallery: VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December Vudu 2.0 interface moves beyond PS3 & Boxee Box, now available on most TVs, Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Sim racing keeps on moving toward higher-end accessories, while there have always been top-shelf components available to the hardcore, games like Gran Turismo 5 are encouraging more and more people to want a more and more realistic driving experience. Fanatec has been delivering that experience for years and its $250 Porsche 911 GT2 is the company’s latest and highest-end product, offering a luxurious Alcantara covering, the obligatory 900 degrees of rotation, and full compatibility with force feedback for the PC, Xbox 360 , and PlayStation 3 . Fanatec was also kind enough to send us a set of its $200 Clubsport pedals to hit the virtual road with. Click on through to see how we did. Gallery: Fanatech Porsche GT2 wheel and Clubsport pedals Continue reading Fanatec Porsche GT2 wheel and Clubsport pedals review Fanatec Porsche GT2 wheel and Clubsport pedals review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T offering free MicroCells to top 7.5 percent of customers ‘likely to experience poor in-building coverage’
January 21, 2011 No Comment
We’ve known that AT&T has been test-marketing free 3G MicroCells to subscribers with particularly awful reception in certain parts of the country since the product launched last year, but as of January 23rd, they’re codifying the offer and taking it nationwide. Bottom line: the “top 7.5 percent of 3G wireless customers identified as likely to experience poor in-building coverage at home or in small offices” will be receiving some snail mail with a discount code; bring it into an AT&T store and you’ll be offered a gratis MicroCell. There’s a catch, though — you need to agree to a one-year contract on the unit (separate from your normal account contract), so if you cancel service within that year, you need to either return the MicroCell or get charged $199.99 minus $16.67 per month that you’ve had it. Of course, that lines up with the newly-increased MicroCell price that the carrier is instituting starting this Sunday. Considering that AT&T needs to acknowledge that you’re in a terrible reception area to get it, we can’t say we’d hope to be one of the “lucky” 7.5 percent — but it’s a nice benefit nonetheless. AT&T offering free MicroCells to top 7.5 percent of customers ‘likely to experience poor in-building coverage’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s here, what looks to be the world’s first attempt at overclocking a Samsung Galaxy Tab . User Bauxite at the always happening xda-developers forums has posted the way to boosting Samsung’s hunk of burning Android up to 1.2GHz — along with some seriously stern warnings: THIS KERNEL MAY NOT WORK ON YOUR DEVICE, MIGHT DESTROY YOUR DEVICE, MIGHT PUNCH YOUR CHILDREN, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THIS KERNEL, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK Initial user reports are generally positive but, given the risk and the complexity here we think we’ll be staying at the stock 1GHz speed. For now, anyway. [Thanks, Alain] Galaxy Tab gets 1.2GHz overclock, very scary warning originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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