Estimated Dell Streak 7 price incorrect according to T-Mobile, honest to gosh MSRP coming soon
January 21, 2011 No Comment
We can do math, simple addition and multiplication anyway, but we have our doubts about T-Mobile . It seemed like a fairly straightforward thing to multiply $82.50 by four and take the result to determine the cost of the Dell Streak 7 , but good ‘ol T-Mo says that was the result of a “technical error” and actually has no relevance to the MSRP of this here tablet. What is the actual price? Sadly we’re still just as much in the dark as you. Update : This is of course a T-Mobile story, not Verizon, despite what the title original stated. Estimated Dell Streak 7 price incorrect according to T-Mobile, honest to gosh MSRP coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Oops: Android contains directly copied Java code, strengthening Oracle’s case
January 21, 2011 No Comment
Florian Mueller has been killing it these past few months with his analysis of various tech patent suits on his FOSSpatents blog, and today he’s unearthed a pretty major bombshell: at least 43 Android source files that appear to have been directly copied from Java. That’s a big deal, seeing as Oracle is currently suing Google for patent and copyright infringement in Android — which isn’t a hard case to prove when you’ve got 37 Android source files marked “PROPRIETARY / CONFIDENTIAL” and “DO NOT DISTRIBUTE” by Oracle / Sun and at least six more files in Froyo and Gingerbread that appear to have been decompiled from Java 2 Standard Edition and redistributed under the Apache open source license without permission. In simple terms? Google copied Oracle’s Java code, pasted in a new license, and shipped it. Now, we’ve long thought Google’s odd response to Oracle’s lawsuit seemingly acknowledged some infringement, so we doubt this is a surprise in Mountain View, but we’re guessing handset vendors aren’t going to be so thrilled — especially since using Android has already caused companies like HTC and Motorola to be hit with major patent lawsuits of their own. We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime you should definitely hit up Florian’s site for the full dirt — it’s some 47 pages worth of material, and it’s dense, but if you’re into this sort of thing it’s incredibly interesting. Oops: Android contains directly copied Java code, strengthening Oracle’s case originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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To us, MyFord Touch is a great way to manage your auto: four-way controllers on the steering wheel for navigating through simple, color-coded menus; a central touch panel; even voice recognition so that you can live out those Michael Knight fantasies. However, some folks, folks who apparently didn’t spend their childhoods mashing thumbs into D-pads, are finding it all a little confusing. Consumer Reports recently railed against the system and Ford is looking to make the transition from knobs to buttons a little easier. Many dealers now offering tutorial sessions that owners of Touch-equipped cars can attend, a 45 minute thrill ride that’ll let you and your salesman get just that much closer. Because, really, after we finally finish haggling and sign the paperwork there’s nothing we want to do more than spend another hour in the dealership. Dealers holding MyFord Touch classes for confused car owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Turntables? We’ve seen a few: big and small , professional and decidedly amateur , but nothing quite like the Turnstyle. The idea here is to be “as simple as it gets,” the bare minimum elements required to spin and read the record and play back the audio. This is what designer R.D. Silva came up with: motor in the middle, pivoting arm on the right, and controls and speaker on the bottom. We’re thinking it won’t be replacing your Goldmund for delivering the hi-fi tonality you crave, but it certainly is easy on the eyes. Minimalist Turnstyle spins your vinyl with zero excess originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Mitsu’s i MiEV may be getting off to a slow start , but it’s just the beginning. The company has announced a number of programs collectively titled “Environment Initiative Program 2015,” a sort of stepping stone toward a broader reaching “Environmental Vision 2020.” That Vision indicates a desire to have 20 percent of Mitsubishi sales be either pure electric vehicles or at least plug-in hybrids. The 2015 initiative sets a more modest goal of five percent, and to get there the company will launch a whopping eight electro-augmented vehicles between now and 2015. It starts with a commercialized MiEV this year, moving to two PHEVs next year, a new EV in 2013, and then another new EV in 2014 — hopefully with names that roll off the tongue a little better than “i MiEV.” Might we suggest the 2014 Mitsubishi Mitueevee? Mitsubishi launching eight electrified vehicles by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Scientists create 10 billion qubits in silicon, get us closer than ever to quantum computing
January 21, 2011 No Comment
We are totally ready for a quantum computer. Browse the dusty Engadget archives and you’ll find many posts about the things, each charting another step along the way to our supposed quantum future. Here’s another step, one that we think is a pretty big one. An international team of scientists has managed to generate 10 billion quantum entangled bits, the basic building block of a quantum computer, and embed them all in silicon which is, of course, the basic building block of a boring computer. It sounds like there’s still some work to be done to enable the team to actually modify and read the states of those qubits, and probably a decade’s worth of thumb-twiddling before they let any of us try to run Crysis on it, but yet another step has been made. [Image credit: Smite-Meister ] Scientists create 10 billion qubits in silicon, get us closer than ever to quantum computing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Tesla confirms plans to unveil electric Model X SUV this year, $30k car by 2015
January 21, 2011 No Comment
We’ve known for some time that Tesla hoped to use the underpinnings of the luscious Model S as a base platform upon which other cars would be built, even minivans . Elon Musk in the past has mentioned a Model X SUV due sometime in 2014 and he’s just re-confirmed that we’ll be getting our first glimpse of the thing sometime this year. Few further details are known but we wouldn’t be surprised if it shared some components with the Tesla-powered Toyota RAV4 EV . Musk also took the opportunity to re-confirm that a genuinely affordable electric Tesla is coming by 2015, something priced under $30,000 and, while probably not quite as bodacious as either the Roadster or the Model S, hopefully it’ll be a bit more invigorating than the Leaf . Tesla confirms plans to unveil electric Model X SUV this year, $30k car by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Record number of aircraft ‘laser events’ gives us one more reason to hate LA
January 21, 2011 No Comment
Are you that kid aiming his father’s laser pointer at people walking along city sidewalks? Yeah, well stop it — now. What you might consider a harmless prank can have serious repercussions when aimed at the cockpit of an approaching jetliner. What seems like good fun at the time can temporarily blind a pilot attempting to land nearly a million pounds of life, metal, and fuel. According to the numbers just released by the FAA, 2010 saw a record number of reports of lasers pointed at aircraft — “almost double” the number of reports from 2009. Of the 2,800 incidents reported nationwide, the Los Angeles area reported the most with 201 incidents, followed by Chicago (98), Pheonix (80, half of which were probably UFO related), and San Jose (80 — nerds!). Top 20 list after the break. Continue reading Record number of aircraft ‘laser events’ gives us one more reason to hate LA Record number of aircraft ‘laser events’ gives us one more reason to hate LA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Meguru is the world’s first EV rickshaw it didn’t know it needed (video)
January 21, 2011 No Comment
If you’ve never experience the thrill that is fearing for your life while some crazy rickshaw jockey takes you tearing through a busy street, two-stroke engine screaming even louder than you, you haven’t really lived. Soon there’ll be no 175cc engine to drown out your lamentations, with the Meguru offering all that thrill and style with an EV powertrain. It has a traditional Japanese design with motorcycle-derived innards but a cushy (and tackily upholstered) back seat for two — or maybe three depending on how friendly everyone is. The side curtains are made of bamboo and washi paper, giving it a look that says “I’m at least partially organic.” It’s available now for a mere
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When your core business is as wrapped up in emerging markets as Nokia’s is, then you’d better know a little something about KIRFs — those cheap handset clones that our Chinese friends can often stamp out faster than the time it takes for Nokia to ship a handset after its announcement. Nokia executive board member, Esko Aho, says that one out of every five cellphones now sold around the world (primarily in Asia, Latin America, and some parts of Europe) is an illegal or unlicensed clone. We’ve certainly seen more than our share when browsing the Shenzhen markets of China. Gartner claims the number to be even higher than 20 percent. While we poke fun at KIRFs around here for their shoddy software, comically similar branding ( Nokla !), and cheapo materials, they’ve clearly become a very serious issue for top-tier cellphone manufacturers. How serious we’ll see on January 27th when Nokia announces its fourth quarter results. One out of every five cellphones sold is a KIRF, says Nokia originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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