Sure took a long while , but the Android 2.2 update is now available to all HTC Legends residing in Europe and… no, sorry, this isn’t the just-announced Gingerbread . It’s Froyo, the one before it — trust us, this isn’t a frozen dessert you won’t mind in the midst of winter. And don’t bother asking about 2.3 because HTC isn’t giving specifics yet. Wildfire? That’s “coming soon,” according to the person behind the HTC UK Facebook curtain. HTC Legend finally updates to Android 2.2 in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Patriot intros Supersonic USB 3.0 flash drive, milks 100MB / sec from a single chip
December 11, 2010 No Comment
At present, there seem to be three strategies to embracing the potential of USB 3.0 — go all out with an external SSD , introduce a hulking RAID-on-a-stick , or settle for a single-chip USB key with ho-hum maximum read/write speeds of roughly around 80MB / sec and 60MB / sec. There are a number of these barely-better-than-USB-2.0 flash drives floating about, but Patriot decided not to settle for that — its new Supersonic flash drive uses the mythical “quad channel” technology (and a native USB 3.0 controller) to eke out some extra speed. That allows Patriot to beat down the USB 2.0 straw man with 70MB / sec writes and 100MB / sec reads, and possibly justify a pricing premium if the company can’t manufacture them on the cheap . If the Supersonic sounds like the best of all worlds for your portable data, you’ll find it in 32GB and 64GB configurations starting Q1 2011. No word on price quite yet. Patriot intros Supersonic USB 3.0 flash drive, milks 100MB / sec from a single chip originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 03:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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XtremeMac has been crankin’ out iPod docks for years, and now former CEO Gary Bart has launched Stem Innovation, a company dedicated exclusively to iOS accessories. For its first trick, Bart and company have introduced TimeCommand which (as its name implies) goes beyond the whole dock thing and comes across as a control station for the bedroom. Among its many charms are iPhone / iPod / iPad compatibility, the ability to control your mood lighting (including a dimmer and a “wake by light” feature), battery backup (don’t miss work, even if the power goes out), an app with Internet Radio playback, and something called Stem:Sonic iQ digital signal processing. Available now at the Apple store for $100. TimeCommand dock turns your iPad into a very pricey dimmer switch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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No one said that hobbies were easy to throw away, and it’s pretty clear that the Apple TV still holds a dear piece of Cupertino’s heart. In fact, we’d argue that the box’s streaming abilities now tie into Apple’s overall mission more than ever before, and with iOS 4.2.1 for the iPad (and the accompanying introduction of AirPlay ), it’s feeling less like an afterthought and more like a focal point. That said, we’re curious to know if early adopters feel satisfied by their $99 box. Have you found it to function as-advertised? Still fuming over those output and / or color issues ? If you were given the keys to the design kingdom, how would you turn the Apple TV into your perfect media streamer? Ditch the iTunes integration? Offer access to more content portals? Paint it pink and line it with LEDs? It only costs $0.02 to play, and the deposit slot’s just below. How would you change the second-generation Apple TV? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you — not one little bit. You’re looking at a PC gamepad built into the bottom of a mouse, and not a drab one at that. It’s called the Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1, and if you just fell in love, we’re afraid there’s no suggested price, shipping date or a way to buy it yet. What we do know are the promised specs, which include a 5-stage adjustable 1600dpi optical sensor with 125Hz polling rate — which admittedly sounds last gen — that connects to your Windows PC over a USB dongle sporting 2.4GHz wireless. There’s 14 buttons on the bottom, 7 on the top, and the company’s support page suggests the device has force feedback as well. We’re not terribly bullish on the “sophisticed Norway Nordic Chip System” the controller apparently has, but considering there are three very legitimate looking pictures of the device in our gallery below, we’re not going to write it off quite yet. Gallery: Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1 mouse and gamepad combo Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1 mouse flaunts its hidden gamepad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It can be difficult to review a phone like Google’s Nexus S in a world already populated by so many outstanding Android devices. Not only does the manufacturer of this phone make a series of handsets that are all essentially the same (the Galaxy S line), but countless other OEMs are cranking away on hardware for the platform. Of course, the Nexus S is a decidedly different phone altogether. Picking up where the company’s Nexus One left off, the S continues Google’s legacy of creating standalone, “pure Android” phone experiences, seemingly aimed less at the mainstream and more towards developers. Unlike the failed experiment of the Nexus One, Google appears to be taking a more realistic approach to the S; the phone will be sold through Best Buy (and Carphone Warehouse across the pond), which suggests that the company has bigger plans for this device. And what a device it is — the Nexus S boasts a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 curved Super AMOLED display (dubbed the Contour Display), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera, and near field communication capabilities. But hardware is only half the story here — the big news is that the Nexus S showcases the next major evolution of the Android OS, namely, Gingerbread (or version 2.3). The update comes with a slew of new features alongside some UI improvements that show Google isn’t slowing down when it comes to pushing its mobile operating system forward. So is the Nexus S a real standout in the Android world, or is it more of the “me too” tech we’ve seen lately? Read on after the break for the full Engadget review to find out! Gallery: Nexus S review Continue reading Nexus S review Nexus S review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We do our best to keep you on your toes, but it appears as if you’re onto us: we’re doing a podcast today, at 7:30PM. It might be a little late as we wrap some of our end-of-week projects (we’re trying to build a really tall tower of paper cups in the Engadget HQ den, but Nilay keeps knocking it over), but we promise you it will happen. Today. Approximately. Check out the stream and chat after the break. P.S. And don’t forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you’re out and about and you can’t join in on the Flash-based fun below. Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 7:30PM EST! The Engadget Podcast, live at 7:30PM EST! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s all coming together, folks. It doesn’t take much of a gander at the Chrome Web Store to notice a trend: some of the flashiest, most mature “apps” are actually just in-browser versions of iPad apps. And you know what else? Most of these “apps” actually run fine in Safari on the iPad. We’re not sure how long Google gave developers to port their experiences over, but it seems like most of the best work had already been done in the form of HTML5 apps that were merely wrapped in app form for App Store delivery. Google’s just taking things to the next logical step. Continue after the break as we expand this thesis paragraph into a number of supporting blocks of text, a few jazzy pictorial examples, and a stunning closer. Continue reading Chrome Web Store, HTML5 and the iPad: symbiosis at its best Chrome Web Store, HTML5 and the iPad: symbiosis at its best originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Modder creates robotic Level 10 case, intimidates fellow gamers in the process
December 10, 2010 No Comment
Thermaltake’s Level 10 chassis is not only pretty bad-ass in its own right, it’s also inspired Stephen “LeatherFace” Popa to do a little case moddin’ . The outcome of all this, Rog-R, is described as a “remote operating gaming rig,” and it features a remote control, motorized base, and robotic arm: just the thing for playing really, really dirty at your next LAN party. Hit up the source link to get a closer look. Modder creates robotic Level 10 case, intimidates fellow gamers in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …FCC report finds 68 percent of US broadband connections aren’t really broadband
December 10, 2010 No Comment
As the FCC itself has made abundantly clear, the definition of “broadband” is an ever-changing one, and its latest report has now revealed just how hard it is for the US to keep up with those changes. According to the report, a full 68 percent of “broadband” connections in the US can’t really be considered broadband, as they fall below the agency’s most recent minimum requirement of 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Also notable, but somewhat buried in the report, are the FCC’s findings on mobile broadband use. The agency found that mobile wireless service subscribers with mobile devices and “data plans for full internet access” grew a hefty 48% to 52 million in the second half of 2009, and that when you consider all connections over 200 kbps, mobile wireless is actually the leading technology at 39.4 percent, ahead of cable modems and ADSL at 32.4 and 23.3 percent, respectively. When it comes to connections over 3 Mbps, however, cable modems account for a huge 70 percent share. Looking for even more numbers? Hit up the link below for the complete report. FCC report finds 68 percent of US broadband connections aren’t really broadband originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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