Archive | January, 2009
Jeffrey Stephenson, the sole proprietor of Slippery Skip, showed us his Ingraham Nano Case Mod -- a replica of the 1946 Stromberg Carlson radio, but with a few minor modifications to the front panel including the gas cap from a... Jeffrey Stephenson, the sole proprietor of Slippery Skip, showed us his Ingraham Nano Case Mod -- a replica of the 1946 Stromberg Carlson radio, but with a few minor modifications to the front panel including the gas cap from a vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle. It was a tricky project due to the exacting nature of some vintage radio buffs. "You have to be careful with vintage radio collectors," said Stephenson, "because they'll hunt you down if you don't get it right." To that end, he spent around 300 hours building every aspect of the Ingraham by hand, with no power tools. The $5,000 Ingraham is the first case mod to feature a 1.66 GHz VIA Nano processor, according to Stephenson, but that's not really the point. "I see it more as art than technology," he added, and he's right. The above photo just doesn't do justice to its sumptuous wood finish. Source[Wired Gadget Lab]
Filed under: Sprint"Lean and mean" is one thing -- but Sprint's really swinging the axe at full force today, announcing that it'll eliminate some 8,000 more jobs from its arsenal of 60,000 mostly by the end of the first quarter on March 31. The move is expected to save the States' number three carrier about $1.2 billion a year in labor costs, and furthermore, the company will be suspending its retirement plan match, tuition reimbursement, and extending its salary increase suspension for another year. With any luck, the Pre will help turn Sprint's fortunes around -- but on the flipside, don't you need a healthy company to launch such a revolutionary (and likely overwhelmingly popular) device?[Via mocoNews]Sprint trimming 14 percent of workforce pre-Pre originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: Industry, Other formats, Other hardware Rather than separating out all the international high-definition news throughout the past seven days, we figured it prudent to round up the best of the best each week and deliver it in one concise, easy to find location: right here! This week, we find that Sky has landed rights to ten Bond films in high-def, Virgin Media's V+ box will support MPEG-4, EchoStar Europe has debuted the snazzy DBS-7100HD high-def set-top-box and that Virgin's Setanta Replay TV service has taken off. Check the links below for all the details.Read - Sky lands ten James Bond films in HDRead - Virgin Media's V+ box does MPEG-4Read - EchoStar Europe launches DBS-7100HDRead - Virgin Media launches Setanta Replay TV serviceInternational HD news roundup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink
LAS VEGAS -- Some of the coolest gadgets showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show aren't real. Well, they're not real in the sense that they're concept products, which you can't buy in a store. Toshiba's concept of a spatial motion... LAS VEGAS -- Some of the coolest gadgets showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show aren't real. Well, they're not real in the sense that they're concept products, which you can't buy in a store. Toshiba's concept of a spatial motion interface -- which enables you to control computer applications with hand gestures -- is a good example. In this episode of Gadget Lab video, I throw my hands in the air and wave them around like I just don't care -- to demonstrate Toshiba's motion-controlled interface while explaining how it works. For more video from Wired.com, go to www.wired.com/video. For more up-to-the-minute news from the floor of CES 2009, visit www.wired.com/ces. Video: Producer - Annaliza Savage. Camera - John Ross. Editor - Michael Lennon / Wired.com Source[Wired Gadget Lab]
Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint, Windows Mobile, EV-DO, CDMA Thanks, Best Buy -- we owe you one another. Yet again, we're getting our first real live look at a recently unveiled Sprint handset courtesy of the big box retailer, and this time it's the CDMA version of Palm's Treo Pro. We're also being blessed with a look at the specs sheet, which shows Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 512MB of storage (300MB available to the user), a two megapixel camera (with a digital 8x zoom and video capture), removable 1,500mAh Li-ion battery good for five hours of talking, a microSDHC slot, microUSB 2.0 port, 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, WinMo 6.1 Professional, a 528MHz Qualcomm dual-core MSM7501A CPU, 320 x 320 touchscreen, EV-DO Rev. A support, 802.11b/g WiFi and built-in GPS (standalone and assisted). So, aside from the cell radio, it's pretty much the same Treo Pro we've grown to know and kinda-sorta love. No price was posted, but it's not like Sprint hasn't already told us -- have fun in the gallery below![Thanks, Roel]Gallery: Sprint Treo Pro spotted in the wildSprint Treo Pro spotted in the wild, specs and all originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: Fiber It's a lazy week in FiOS TV land, with just two relatively small snippets to discuss. Well, unless you live in Amherst, New York or Hanover, Massachusetts. The former city managed to land its very own FiOS store where prospective buyers can meander in, test drive the fiber-based TV service and get setup in one fell swoop. As for the latter, you've probably already guessed (correctly, might we add) that The Bay State has claimed yet another FiOS TV town, with thousands of residents in Hanover now able to order up the service. Seriously, the Verizon-Massachusetts love fest has to stop. It just has to.Read - Amherst storeRead - Hanover expansionVerizon's FiOS TV expansions: January 24, 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink
Filed under: Handsets, LG, ATT, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS Been itching for that CU515 replacement? Of course you have, and... well, here you go. The CF360 has now available for order by AT&T stores, which means we should all have retail access to it within a few days' time. It'll have a 1.3 megapixel cam, microSD slot, and AT&T Navigator support, so it's a solid low-ish midrange set that'll probably sell like hotcakes -- especially since it's coming in multiple colors. Thanks, LG, but we're holding out for the Secret, personally.[Thanks, Kal]LG CF360 for AT&T gets pictured, reminds us of Breakout for some reason originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink
Filed under: Handsets, Others Meizu's been on a tear since our last M8 update. Sitting atop a new 0.9.0.1 firmware release complete with working copy and paste, Outlook calendar synchronization, and a "full backup system," the M8 is now supported by a published SDK and licensed to ride the Chinese airwaves for what looks to be a March, mainland China release. With all the passion it could muster, Meizu posted the following announcement to its English website: Let's bear witness together, to the great moment of MEIZU formally entering the big stage of mobile phone industry!Currently, the M8 handset with its iPhone roots (but a WinCE core) is only available to an abiding Chinese press and die-hard Meizu fanatics -- a population said to rival the intensity of Apple's own sheeple elite. Having watched the M8 make the transition from art to part over the last few years, we're mighty stoked at the prospective launch to say the least. And while Meizu has clearly trumped Apple's spec sheet (not user experience) in terms of software (copy paste, background task management, video recording, and plenty more) and hardware (720 x 480 pixel display and beefier silicon), we'll bet there's still enough "inspiration" to get Tim Cook and Apple's legal counsel whipped up into a frenzy of Intellectual Property defense. Latest video after the break.Read -- Mobile license approval Read -- SDK release Read -- firmware 0.9 releaseContinue reading Video: Meizu M8 prepped for full-scale launch, IP battle with AppleVideo: Meizu M8 prepped for full-scale launch, IP battle with Apple originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink
Filed under: Misc It was inevitable, really. Whatever the evening news anchor does, so must everyone else, right? Regardless of the answer to that inquiry, a new report has found that cosmetics once reserved for making on-screen celebrities look their best in high-definition are now finding their way into caboodles of everyday Earthlings. Even generic makeup outlets such as Sephora are now offering up a variety of HD makeup to folks who will never, ever see their face on the tube. HD makeup, which stands out by including particles that reflect light rather than absorb it, seems to be the latest trend in the highly volatile makeup industry, though some experts are questioning the need for Sam and Sally to go to such extremes. Pish-posh, we say -- they're just preparing for their big break on Super Hi-Vision.HD cosmetics bleeding into civilian realm originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: Handsets, Software, Nokia, Symbian, Misc We already heard Nokia's head man in charge, Mr. Olli Pekka Kallasvuo, gloat about how awesome 5800 XpressMusic sales have been, but what hasn't been mentioned yet is his take on S60 deployment and its future definition of a smartphone. He commented during the outfit's Q4 earnings call that "smartphones are not only for the high end," and he elaborated by saying that "internet services" and the like would soon be delivered at "a number of attractive price points." Which makes sense given that Nokia's planning to "expand its Symbian S60 investment relative to S40," wouldn't you say? Potentially most interesting was this tidbit: "[Nokia is] expanding smartphones to categories and form factors that have not yet been covered." Not yet been covered? Seriously? Way to make our imaginations work overtime here, Olli.Nokia aims to expand S60 deployment, or so says the boss originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: Apple, OS X Ever walk through a crowd with your headphones on, only to find your music drowned out by the uproar? A recent Apple patent proposes dynamic volume adjustment based on your local surroundings. According to the filing, a sound sensor would be used to detect ambient noise and adapt accordingly. It says user volume controls are accounted for, so passing by a construction site likely won't cause your jams to be pumped up to an ear-shattering 11. Although it sounds more likely than some of the company's other patents, don't get your hopes up for seeing this any time soon. Hit up the read link for more details. [Via Electronista]Apple patents adaptive volume controls based on environment, not quality of your music originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Last month, an eBay auction appeared for a Helio phone that wasn’t supposed to exist. Now, we’d heard whispers of this phone before, but we only really knew two things: 1) It was a Helio-branded and modified version of the Samsung F400, and 2) It was cancelled. Being the fairly obsessed Helio geek that I [...] Last month, an eBay auction appeared for a Helio phone that wasn’t supposed to exist. Now, we’d heard whispers of this phone before, but we only really knew two things: 1) It was a Helio-branded and modified version of the Samsung F400, and 2) It was cancelled. Being the fairly obsessed Helio geek that I am, I just had to play with one - but somehow in the stir of craziness that is December, my intent to bid was forgotten, and the device (known only as the A533) slipped from my grasps. My disappointment was colossal - until I found out that the winner of the auction was a close friend of mine. It took a few weeks to work out, but the A533 has now spent a good amount of time in my hands - and in my lightbox. Want to know more about the Helio phone that almost was, but never will be? A533 Specs & Facts: 2.0 Megapixel Camera Dual portrait slide - slide the face up, and the number pad is revealed. Slide the face down, and a pair of speakers appear. 3.5mm headphone jack 960mAh battery microSD support, located below battery Previously, the closest thing this handset had to a name was its Samsung designated A533 model. Lying deep, deep within the diagnostic info of the handset, however, was what we believe to have been it’s intended final name: the Helio Opus The original F400 utilized Bang and Olufsun speakers; no reference to B&O is found anywhere on the Opus. This device was at the very tail end of the prototype phase when it was canned. The one we played with felt almost ready to go, though a few software bugs still lingered. The count varies a bit, but it’s believed that fewer than 20 Opus prototypes still exist. The primary input key of every Helio phone released thus far has a Helio flame on it - the Opus would have been the first without it. The firmware on this prototype still has some kinks in it, although we believe it was the final build created before the project ended. As such, we’re not going to give it a full review - but we’ll touch on some highlights. Media playback, Slideout Speakers: The Media browser on the Opus is quite similar to that found on the Helio devices that preceeded it, albeit a bit more polished and seemingly snappier. The video player, which has always been a wee bit lacking on past Helio handsets, is surprisingly capable - our test video was encoded in H.264 at 24fps/512kbps, and it was smooth as butter. The slideout speakers are loud. Really loud. I’m a sucker for loud speakerphones on mobile devices, and these definitely meet the bill. SMS: Threaded SMS! This would have been the first Helio device with threaded SMS support. UI: Helio devices all share a common user interface, albeit with slight modifications depending on which OEM software they’re working with. On every device but the earliest, the theme has been a rainbowy smorgasbord of color which we’ve heard referred to more than once as the “Circus” theme by Helio expatriates. On the Opus, it appears they were toying with a much more modern look: glowing blue icons on an all black background. It’s very stealth, and it’s way easier on the eyes. Browser: The browser found on the Opus seems quite similar to that found on other Helio devices - except that it has tabbed browsing, which was sorely missed in all prior versions. While we may never find out why this project was canned, we’re quite disappointed for Helions everywhere that the Opus will never see the light of day. With a bit of polish on the overall firmware stability, this would have easily taken the throne as the best non-Ocean device Helio ever put in their lineup. Check out all seventeen Opus shots below. Powered by Picturesurf Gallery Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source[Mobilecrunch]
Filed under: Software, Android It's anybody's guess when we're going to get this stuff in the G1, so we may as well torture ourselves in the meanwhile with some visuals, right? IntoMobile has posted a handful of Cupcake screen grabs, showing scintillating features like a task manager (minus the "manager" part since you can only see what's running, not kill processes), a work-in-progress world clock, new controls for transition effects and visuals, and -- of course -- the all-important virtual keyboard. It's good stuff all around, and realistically, it's stuff that should've found its way into the shipping build.On a related note, we got an official statement from T-Mobile regarding Cupcake's release on the G1 today, and it's every bit as vague and unhelpful as we'd expect it to be: "According to the Android team, 'Cupcake,' which is the code name for an Android software build, is still a work in progress that is considered to be a development branch and not for general availability. We will update you as T-Mobile G1 software updates are made available to T-Mobile customers." In other words, this could be out tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, but considering the totally varied completeness of different Cupcake features, we wouldn't be surprised to see it doled out in bite-sized increments over multiple over-the-air updates.[Via Talk Android]Android Cupcake in all its keyboard-having glory, T-Mobile plays dumb originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Sprint, iDEN iDEN devices aren't typically the slimmest or the sexiest phones you can buy, but all things considered, the BlackBerry 8350i does a decent job of sucking in its gut and looking presentable. It's chubbier than its GSM and CDMA cousins -- and it trades the 3.5mm audio jack for a less-useful 2.5mm one -- but in exchange, phoneArena observes that you get the best keyboard and trackball ever found on a Curve. What's more, the load of BlackBerry OS 4.6 found here is said to be smooth as silk and crash-free -- a far cry from the experiences of some Bold and Storm owners dealing with builds of similar vintages. Ultimately, the review wraps up with a conclusion we'd expect: it's great for an iDEN phone and Nextel folks are guaranteed to be stoked, but should anyone without an incessant need for push-to-talk fly into a jealous rage? Probably not.Nextel's BlackBerry Curve 8350i gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read
Filed under: ABC, CBS, The CW, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, Fox, NBC, TNT-HD, ListingsWhat we're watching tonight: NBC (1080i) lines up Chuck at 8 p.m. followed by Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy Fox (720p) drops in Game 5 of the World Series at 8 p.m. ABC (720p) has Dancing With the Stars at 8 p.m. followed by Samantha Who? and Boston Legal CW (1080i) has Gossip Girl at 8 p.m. and One Tree Hill at 9 p.m. ESPN (720p) brings Monday Night Football with Titans/Colts at 8:30 p.m. TLC (1080i) packs in Little People, Big World at 8 & 8:30 p.m. followed by Jon & Kate Plus 8 and 17 Kids and Counting USA (1080i) has WWE: Raw at 9 p.m. TNT (1080i) has Raising the Bar at 10 p.m. Versus (1080i) has Blackhawks/Wild NHL action at 8 p.m. HDTV Listings for October 27, 2008 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
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