RIM extending tools to other smartphone platforms, going cross-platform?
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Over the past year or so it’s become clear that there is a cure for the CrackBerry addict. For many it’s called the iPhone , for others it’s Android , while still others are getting their kicks from other platforms. IT departments worldwide are relaxing their rules and getting a little smartphone agnostic and now it sounds like RIM is thinking about finding a way to reel those newly straight-edged users back into their former habits. RIM Vice President Pete Devenyi had this to say on the subject: BlackBerry is and will continue to be dominant in most corporations, [but] it’s not going to be the only device given the fact that consumers have the choice to bring in their own devices and IT departments are often letting them in. So there’s a question there. Do those corporations have to manage those devices differently or is there the possibility that RIM might extend capabilities to make it easier for those corporations to manage those devices as well? … If the right thing to do is to extend a subset of those [BlackBerry] capabilities to be able to manage other devices, it’s worthy of a conversation Right now he’s just talking about device management, but if this goes forward it could be a sign of a willingness for RIM to move some of its proprietary services to other devices. BBM on Android and iPhone? We know a few people getting positively giddy at that (highly speculative) prospect. RIM extending tools to other smartphone platforms, going cross-platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Steve Jobs takes medical leave from Apple, Tim Cook taking over daily operations in his absence
January 17, 2011 No Comment
That’s all we know for now, folks. Apple’s CEO is taking a medical leave from work, his second in as many years , with Tim Cook filling his role during that time. In an email to the Apple team, Steve Jobs says he’ll be on leave to “focus on [his] health,” though he will retain the position of CEO and will remain involved in the major strategic decisions — Tim Cook will be picking up the slack on day-to-day operations. No further details have been provided, save for Steve expressing his love for Apple and wish to return to his duties as soon as he can. See his email missive in full after the break. Continue reading Steve Jobs takes medical leave from Apple, Tim Cook taking over daily operations in his absence Steve Jobs takes medical leave from Apple, Tim Cook taking over daily operations in his absence originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Volvo’s platooning SARTRE cars drive themselves, dabble in existentialism (video)
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Tailgating on the highway is a pretty dangerous thing and, in some cases, can be a ticketable offense. In the future, though, it could be a way to ease traffic congestion and to boost fuel mileage on highways. In this guise it’s called platooning, something that we saw GM’s crazy futuristic EN-V doing when we took it for a spin out in Vegas. Volvo is getting in on the game too, participating in the European Safe Road Trains for the Environment Project, or SARTRE. It’s a research program looking into a standard way to have “trains” of autonomous cars that can follow each other on the highway. A professional leads the way and other cars communicate with each other, enabling the drivers in those following cars to simply kick back and read the paper if they like. This is a project that could be seen on the road in as few as 10 years, but we’re thinking by then people might need to find something else to read. Gallery: Volvo platooning Continue reading Volvo’s platooning SARTRE cars drive themselves, dabble in existentialism (video) Volvo’s platooning SARTRE cars drive themselves, dabble in existentialism (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re still catching up on sleep after leaving CES , but ASUS is tireless, winding up for another product release, something new it calls the Eee PC Sirocco. We have nothing to go by at this point other than the teaser image above, which promises this new product is going to be “making waves” when it is released. This metaphorical euphemism could mean anything from a revolutionary new architecture that will sweep across the industry to another netbook with some funny textures on it. If forced to bet we’d put more money on the latter than the former but, as we mentioned, we simply aren’t in Vegas any more and so won’t be engaging in such shenanigans. Asus teases Eee PC Sirocco, promises to make more waves than a VW coupe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nokia shuts down Ovi Music Unlimited service in most markets, cites lack of traction
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Whether you knew it as Comes With Music or Ovi Music Unlimited , the sad fact is that pretty soon you won’t know it all — Nokia’s subscription music service is being shut down almost universally, with the exception of a few select markets like China , Brazil and South Africa. Reuters reports that the use of DRM to lock down content to less-than-cutting-edge devices was a major stumbling block in the rollout of what was originally supposed to be a major iTunes competitor. Those who are already signed up will continue to have access to their music libraries indefinitely, but won’t be able to access new tracks once their current subscription expires. From then on, you’ll only have the DRM-free Ovi Music store to keep you warm during those long Finnish nights. Nokia shuts down Ovi Music Unlimited service in most markets, cites lack of traction originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Japan loves its 3D: more than half of all Blu-ray recorders sold last month had 3D, 3DTVs popular too
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Finally, we find a market that is truly enthusiastic about 3D . Tokyo-based researchers BCN, cited by CrunchGear , report that a cool 57 percent of all Blu-ray recorders sold in Japan last month had 3D playback functionality built in, while 23 percent of all 40-inch-plus TVs sold had the ability to relay stereoscopic imagery. Both those numbers are major leaps in popularity within the nation itself and also easily dwarf penetration rates for 3D hardware in other parts of the world. 3D has apparently grown a lot more affordable in Japan, but lest you think these data are just a symptom of people upgrading their equipment without regard to its third-dimension skills, word is that there’s still a chunky 30 percent premium associated with adding 3D to your BR recorder purchase. So, it would seem the trendsetting Japanese are leading from the front on this one — awkward, unstylish glasses be damned! Japan loves its 3D: more than half of all Blu-ray recorders sold last month had 3D, 3DTVs popular too originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Toyota developing new type of electric motor in an effort to escape dependency on rare earth metals
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Toyota’s not too pleased with the general scarcity of rare earth minerals and China’s near-monopolistic grip on the world’s supply, so it’s decided to act before it’s too late. A company spokesman has been cited as saying the Prius maker is hard at work on a new electric motor design that should dramatically reduce (though seemingly not eliminate) the need for rare earths in its production. Aside from being made of less price-volatile materials, the new electric ticker is expected to be generally cheaper to manufacture. Further details aren’t yet available, but we hope this turns into a classic case of necessity breeding innovation — that Prius C concept deserves a set of internals that can keep up with its bodacious exterior. Toyota developing new type of electric motor in an effort to escape dependency on rare earth metals originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Apple’s proprietary dock connector may keep would-be peripheral manufacturers at bay , but if you want to build your own iOS companion devices, there’s another way. You might have noticed that the Square credit card reader uses Apple’s 3.5mm headset jack to transmit power and data at once, and gadgeteers at the University of Michigan are busy open-sourcing the same technique for all the DIY contraptions you can dream of. Project HiJack has already figured out how to pull 7.4 milliwatts out of a 22kHz audio tone, and built a series of prototype boards (including working EKG, temperature, humidity and motion sensors) that transmit data to and from an iOS app at up to 8.82 kbaud — using just $2.34 worth of electronic components. See the basic principles at work in the video above, and — as soon as the team updates Google Code — find out how to build your own at the links below. iPhone headset socket hijacked to power DIY peripherals (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 02:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video)
January 17, 2011 No Comment
We inevitably miss things at tradeshows, and here’s one we regret — we didn’t catch this obscure Australian tablet in the flesh at CES 2011. Apparently, this Evolve III Maestro was casually chilling at Intel’s booth with Android, Windows 7 and a 1.83GHz Atom N475 CPU inside, but representatives were willing to reveal grander plans if you spent a little time with the device. You see, come Q2 2011, the slate will graduate to a dual-core Oak Trail CPU, and add MeeGo to the stack for a grand total of three operating systems. TabletPCBuzz says Windows 7 and Android are getting eight and sixteen hours of battery life on the Oak Trail chip respectively, and the tablet weighs less than two pounds. It’s hard to say what other features the Oak Trail version will have, but even the existing tablet isn’t a pushover, with a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 32GB of solid state storage, 3G and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and a pair of full-size USB ports on one edge. Sources suggest the original will find a $500 price point, with the Oak Trail commanding an additional $100. After the break, you’ll find a disappointingly static video, but follow the links below for a walkthrough of the MeeGo UI and all the specs you could want. [Thanks, Garf] Continue reading Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video) Evolve III Maestro slate triple-boots Android, MeeGo and Windows 7 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Italy’s Mediaset sends 3D content over terrestrial connection, isn’t actually broadcasting 3D TV
January 17, 2011 No Comment
While Mediaset appears to be ( one of ) the first to convey 3D content over a terrestrial connection, it isn’t actually serving up any 3D television — it is “datacasting” or ever-so-slowly downloading 3D movies to a set-top box, which you may later consume directly from the hard drive that received them. The innovation here is in the utilization of spare airwaves to basically trickle a movie into your Motive Bestv STB — we know, it’s an irrelevancy to most of you cable- and internet-connected media mavens, but it’s one way to deliver 3D content to less developed nations. Motive is already in talks with companies in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Turkey about doing the same, but Italy gets the honor of being first with a choice of 50 3D titles on Mediaset’s 3VOD service. Let’s see what the Azzurri think of it, eh? Italy’s Mediaset sends 3D content over terrestrial connection, isn’t actually broadcasting 3D TV originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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