Hot on the heels of Sony’s CES announcement that the VAIO S is getting some new silicon , it turns out that more changes in its ultraportable PC are on the way. Per the company blog, you will now be able to customize your system instead of buying off the rack. Not all options are as plentiful as we’d like (color is limited to black or silver), but you can choose to add a Blu-ray writable drive, a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 310 graphics card (though choosing this option means you don’t get WiDi), up to a 256GB solid state drive, and up to 8GB of RAM. For going the tailored route, you can also get a free upgrade to a Core i5-480M processor if you opt for Windows 7 Professional. Prices for a made-to-order VAIO S start at $874.99 and escalate quickly once you start adding all the fixins. Sony delivers customizable VAIO S laptops, choices abound! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft files motion to dismiss Apple’s ‘App Store’ trademark claim, says term is generic
January 12, 2011 No Comment
That Apple had the original App Store isn’t under dispute, but should the company have the right to exclude others from using the same term to describe their program repositories ? Microsoft says no, and has this week filed a motion with the US Patent and Trademark Office asking for it to dismiss Apple’s trademark claim for “App Store.” The application seeks to secure for Apple the exclusive use of the term in the context of computer software broadly, not just on the mobile front, but Microsoft is arguing that its constituent words are generic (or simply descriptive) both individually and as a pair. In making its case, the Redmond company cites Steve Jobs himself, whose exposition on the topic of Android fragmentation included specific mention of multiple “app stores” for the Google OS. It would seem this has been brewing for a while, too, as the last update — dated 7th of July, 2010 — on Apple’s trademark application notes there’s a pending opposition to its claim. Now that Microsoft’s escalated its complaint to asking for a summary dismissal, it’ll be interesting to see on which side of the great divide the decision falls. Continue reading Microsoft files motion to dismiss Apple’s ‘App Store’ trademark claim, says term is generic Microsoft files motion to dismiss Apple’s ‘App Store’ trademark claim, says term is generic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Spotify comes to Logitech Squeezebox, makes non-Europeans mildly jealous
January 12, 2011 No Comment
Spotify still won’t say when its streaming music service will come to the US , but its 10 million songs will play on two more devices from here on out: starting today, the Logitech Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox Radio can get their 320kbps groove on. ( Sonos , eat your heart out.) A free beta version of the music app should appear on the MySqueezebox website at any moment — though it doesn’t seem to be there right now — followed by “a full rollout expected in the very near future,” a promise which we can’t quite translate, but might mean support for even more devices down the road. Of course, Spotify’s something of a given for Logitech’s next Squeezebox, if it happens to run Android . PR after the break. Continue reading Spotify comes to Logitech Squeezebox, makes non-Europeans mildly jealous Spotify comes to Logitech Squeezebox, makes non-Europeans mildly jealous originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Even though games like Infinity Blade can be great fun on the iPhone, there’s no getting around the fact that touchscreen-centric, buttonless devices don’t offer the best gaming ergonomics. A modding project gone horribly right, however, might just fix that right up for all of us. Shane Wighton set out to build a robot to try and beat his favorite iPhone game, replete with a webcam and an Arduino setup, but in the process of doing so he “just realized that [he'd] made a mechanism to play tilt based phone games with a joystick.” Yes indeedy, one of the most awesome DIY gaming accessories was built by fluke as much as design. See it revolutionizing mobile gaming just after the break. Continue reading iPhone meets Arduino, tilt joystick for mobile games results (video) iPhone meets Arduino, tilt joystick for mobile games results (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You had to expect that as the 3DS got closer to its global release , stray units would manage to break out of Nintendo’s manufacturing fortress and dash out into the wild. We already saw one such escapee earlier this month and, if we’re not terribly mistaken, that very same unit has now gone through the ritual of having its body disassembled for the sake of curious 3D gamers everywhere. There’s little to thrill the superficial viewer — we already knew about the 1300mAh battery, for example — but maybe you’ll care to scrutinize the silicon more closely. If so, the source link is your nearest and dearest friend. [Thanks, Adam] Alleged Nintendo 3DS roams the wild, gets thoroughly dismantled originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Study shows love for music relates to brain chemical, not to My Chemical Romance
January 12, 2011 No Comment
It would make sense that people listen to music for the sheer pleasure of it, right? That’s what we thought, but apparently there’s a scientific reason for this. Scientists have discovered that when Earthlings listen to pleasurable music, one particular chemical is loosed in the gord. The study, conducted by Robert Zatorre and Valorie Salimpoor of McGill University in Montreal, concluded that when the participants tuned into instrumental pieces they were familiar with, their brains released dopamine into the striatum — an area of the noggin linked with anticipation and predictions. According to PET scans, the members of the study unleashed the chemical 15 seconds before a climaxical moment in a song, signaling the possibility that humans may actually release it in anticipation and not as a reaction to a wailing solo. Bonus point? Chopped and screwed tracks unleashed forty times more dopamine. Just kidding, but it’s probably true. Study shows love for music relates to brain chemical, not to My Chemical Romance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s been less than a week since Intel announced their 2nd Generation Core processors , and the little guys are already hard at work. Deep in the heart of another convention — the National Retail Federation Convention, to be exact — Intel unveiled the Connected Store concept: a futuristic storefront for retailers looking to up their digital game. The store, powered in part by the “visibly smart” processors, is packed with interactive demos and proof-of-concepts that look like something out of the Jetsons. Among the systems sporting the new processor’s 3D graphics capabilities are a virtual search engine-equipped wall of Adidas sneakers — the thing packs up to 8,000 different styles — and the Intel Digital Signage Endcap, which does some creepy big brother stuff, using gestural sensors to target you specifically. Also on display are a number of beefed-up and interactive self check-out kiosks and point-of-sale systems. Intel’s already got the big guns interested, including Proctor and Gamble and Kraft Foods, but we just want to know who’s going to make this wall of shoes a reality. Video of the Connected Store after the jump. Continue reading Intel announces Connected Store concept, makes us hungry for shoes Intel announces Connected Store concept, makes us hungry for shoes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Satarii Star camera base follows your every move, might exist if the money’s raised
January 12, 2011 No Comment
Looking a bit like a universal Sony Party-shot , the Satarii Star is up on fundraising site IndieGoGo right now with a simple goal: finding enough people who are willing to pay for an action-tracking base for their camera to get the thing produced. The concept is simple enough — use the included iPhone and standard tripod mounts to insert the camera of your choice, grab the remote sensor and attach it to the object, animal, or human you want to track, and let ‘er rip — as long as you stay within 8 meters (roughly 26 feet), the base station with camera attached will rotate up to 180 degrees to keep the action in the frame. As of this writing they’re about halfway to their goal to $20 grand — and they’ve already slapped together a functional prototype, so you know you’re not funding pure vaporware. Follow the break for a demo, and while you’re at it, go ahead and tell off all your friends — you won’t need ‘em to hold your camera while you film magic tricks for YouTube anymore. Score! Continue reading Satarii Star camera base follows your every move, might exist if the money’s raised Satarii Star camera base follows your every move, might exist if the money’s raised originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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LTE’s great… but only if it’s got phones and modems that can take advantage of it. Though MetroPCS beat Verizon to become the first American carrier to launch the technology, it’s been scraping by so far with nothing other than the Samsung Craft , a middling dumbphone without the chops to attract the powerusers that would normally want to be involved with a 4G network anyway. Looks like that’s finally about to change, though, because BGR ‘s scored a shot of a so-called SCH-R510 — also from Samsung — that’s running Android 2.2. It’ll allegedly have backward compatibility with MetroPCS’ CDMA network (naturally) along with a 1GHz Hummingbird core and 5 megapixel camera — not a blockbuster by any stretch, but still on a whole new plane than the Craft. Rumor has it we’ll see this before the end of March for somewhere between $330 and $400 contract-free; question is, will it beat Big Red’s first LTE phones to market? MetroPCS finally prepping Android smartphone with LTE from Samsung? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We thought the story behind former AMD CEO Dirk Meyer’s resignation wouldn’t be as juicy as that of HP CEO Mark Hurd , but they’ve actually got something in common — neither had a visionary strategy for entering the smartphone and tablet markets. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Meyer’s hesitation , particularly towards tablets, may have cost him the job, and that the company pressured him into resignation after he showed disinterest in mobile devices at this year’s CES. Sounds familiar to us , but we still don’t expect any sex scandals or fraudulent reports out of this one. WSJ: AMD’s Meyer lacked vision, ousted accordingly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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