Saturday, April 14, 2012

HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all

HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all
HTC's been far from quiet since unveiling its One series to the masses, and today the company's continuing the trend by launching three new devices in China. This trio makes up HTC's Dragon lineup, which our partners at Engadget China first met at MWC. Leading the way is the 4-inch HTC VT T328t for China Mobile, featuring Sense 4, an S-LCD, WVGA screen, a 1GHz CPU alongside 512MB of RAM, the famed Beats Audio and of course, it's running a flavor of Android ICS. As for the VC T328d (Telecom) and V T328w (Unicom), they're both rocking similar specs as the VT model, with the exception of dual-SIM card slots on each. All three Dragons are expected to be available by month's end, but save for the T328w costing 1999 yuan (about $120), pricing remains a mystery.
Continue reading HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all
HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Pebble smartwatch raises $100,000 in two hours, retires on a beach

Pebble smartwatch raises $100,000 in two hours, retires on a beach
It always pleases us when interesting Kickstarter projects do well. Especially ones that fly as well as this. Just two hours after launching, the Pebble watch from Allerta landed $100,000 in pledges. Two. Hours. When you consider the phone-friendly e-paper timepiece was being offered at $115 a pop, that's a lot of individual supporters, and therefore pre-orders to fulfill. Of course, we like to think we played a small part in this story, but the credit ultimately has to lie with the product developers themselves, who clearly captured people's imaginations. And then some. At time of writing, the tally's run to well over $1 million with 36 days still to go.
Pebble smartwatch raises $100,000 in two hours, retires on a beach originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Facebook revealing the personal data it collects, won't spare your drunk-poking blushes

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Facebook's massively expanding its Download Your Information service into an all-encompassing archive of the data Mr. Zuckerberg collects about your daily dose of people-stalking. DYL was introduced in 2010 and allowed you to pull down all the photos, posts, messages, friend lists and chat conversations in the archives -- but now will also offer stored IP addresses, previous names you've used, friend requests you've made, with further categories due in the future. It'll have to sate the concerns of privacy organizations worldwide, since it's rumored to collect 84 different categories of information about you (85 if you count all those Instagram photos it just bought). It'll be gradually rolled out to all 845 million users in the coming weeks and is available from your general account settings.

Canon unveils EOS-1D C and C500 4K Cinema cameras, two new lenses ahead of NAB (updated)

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In a departure from its last introduction as dramatic as the C300's Hollywood launch itself, Canon has quietly announced two additional cameras to sit alongside the company's former lone flagship. You may have caught a glimpse of the EOS-1D C at the C300 launch, but what six months ago was a mere mock-up has actually become a reality, likely to ship sometime this year. More out of left field, however, is the C500 -- a higher-end version of the C300 that adds several shooting modes, dual 3G-SDI ports and a larger, permanent grip. Both cameras can capture 4K video, but in substantially different ways.
The $15,000 1D C, which has the same chassis and still shooting features of its less-abled cousin, the EOS-1D X, pipes 4096 x 2160 8-bit 4:2:2 video to a CF card at 24 fps. Unlike the X, however, the C swaps a headphone jack for the X's PC socket, that's usually used for hooking up strobes. The higher-end C500 requires a dedicated external recorder, but offers two full-RAW output options: 4096 x 2960, that will be better suited for motion picture capture, and 3840 x 2160 for 4K TV. Both of these modes offer 10-bit 4:4:4 at 60 frames-per-second. There's also a half-RAW option, at 4096 x 1080 or 3840 x 1080 resolutions, also 10-bit 4:4:4, but at 120 fps. The C500 also includes dual CF slots, but that recording option is only available for 1080p (which can be captured to CF concurrently). Both cameras support Canon Log Gamma, empowering colorists to correct color in post production with more versatility by capturing additional information and a higher dynamic range.

Jump past the break to continue...
Continue reading Canon unveils EOS-1D C and C500 4K Cinema cameras, two new lenses ahead of NAB (updated)

Fusion-io announces ioFX, a super-SSD that's already garnered an Oscar

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You've heard of Fusion-io, right? It produces super-SSDs with the teeth-whitening ioMemory that's so fast it can manage a billion input and output operations every second. Now it's bundling that gear into a workstation PCIe card for FX professionals and speed-conscious multi millionaires. Capable of delivering 1.5GB/s (we checked, GB/s) of bandwidth, it's capable of previewing 3D movie effects on the fly. The gear's even managed to cover itself in Academy awards after it was used by studio Pixomondo on the special effects for Martin Scorsese's "Hugo." A 420GB model will arrive in late Spring, setting you (or more likely, your departmental budget) back $2,495 with an inclusive one-year support contract.
Continue reading Fusion-io announces ioFX, a super-SSD that's already garnered an Oscar
Fusion-io announces ioFX, a super-SSD that's already garnered an Oscar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 remote viewfinder hands-on (video)

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 remote viewfinder hands-on (video)
At last night's launch of the US-bound Galaxy Player 4.2 -- also known elsewhere as the Galaxy S WiFi 4.2 -- we had the opportunity to try out Samsung's remote viewfinder with the WiFi-equipped WB150F digital camera we saw at CES. The free app -- which runs on Android and iOS devices -- provides select Samsung shooters with a wireless viewfinder and remote. We noticed a minor amount of lag with the live video stream but the controls (shutter, zoom, flash, timer, image size) were quite responsive. Pictures can even be geotagged and saved to both the camera and the remote device. Unlike its predecessor, the WB150F becomes a WiFi access point instead of relying on the app to create a hotspot -- something that's generally limited to phones that allow tethering. While Samsung was showcasing the app on the Galaxy Player 4.2, it works on most Galaxy devices and installs on other Android handsets too (like our HTC One X). Peek at our gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.
Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 remote viewfinder hands-on (video)
Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 remote viewfinder hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Biegert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W

Biergert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W
It's a common desire among everyday folk: we often say we'd like to read more, if only we had the time. While it's unlikely to fill your noggin with the prose of Hemingway or the poetry of Whitman, a new wristwatch from Biegert & Funk promises to quench your thirst for words and literally provide you with the time. Known as the QLOCKTWO W, the timepiece is a portable revision of the company's original wall clock, both of which display the current time in everyday language. Priced at €550, the watch is scheduled for arrival this autumn and will be available in black or stainless steel variations, with either rubber or leather bands. As another option, those who find English far too mundane may spring for the Deutsch version. Curious shoppers will find the full PR after the break.
Continue reading Biegert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W
Biegert & Funk bring the literal time to your wristwatch with QLOCKTWO W originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200

Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200
Sammy's gone ahead and priced the latest in its Galaxy Tab and Player series, affixing monetary stickers to not only the 7-inch slate we just took for a spin, but to its 10-inch brother and a pair of handheld cousins. $250 nabs you the aforementioned Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but an extra $150 will afford you the Tab 2 10.1's three-inch advantage. Of course, if you'd rather keep that 7-inch beauty and pocket a spare device, that same $150 will buy a Galaxy Player 3.6. If that's too small, Sammy will let you pick up a 4.2 variant for $200 square. Care to read that straight? Mosey on past the break for Samsung's official press release.
Continue reading Samsung prices Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $400, rings up a fresh pair of Galaxy Players for $150, $200

Huawei Ascend G 300 coming to Vodafone UK on April 13th

Huawei Ascend G 300 coming to Vodafone UK on April 13th
We've laid our eyes (and hands) on the Ascend G 300 a pair of times, first while it was sneaking past the FCC, then shortly after that when we took it for a quick spin at MWC in Barcelona. Now, Huawei's Gingerbread handset is prepping to land in the UK on Friday the 13th, being available exclusively at Vodafone. Just as we predicted, the device won't be much of a burden on anyone's wallet, with the carrier pricing it at £100 (around $160) on PAYG (£10 top-up minimum) or gratis on £15.50, two-year plans. Unfortunately, the G 300 won't have Ice Cream Sandwich on board at launch, but Vodafone says the 4.0 update will be coming later this summer. Good enough for you? The source link below lets you register to be one of the first to know when this 4-inch Ascend is up for grabs.
Continue reading Huawei Ascend G 300 coming to Vodafone UK on April 13th
Huawei Ascend G 300 coming to Vodafone UK on April 13th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note (video)

Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note (video)
It's been a long and winding road for the tongue-twisting Asus Eee Pad MeMo ME171, and though we did get a first-hand look back at CES it's finally available to call your own. The team over at Netbook News decided to take the 7", 1280 x 800 display totin', 1.2GHz Snapdragon powered slab and give a good benchmarking -- which always piques our interest. NenaMark and NenaMark 2 landed at 34.5- and 24-fps respectively. Quadrant, on the other hand, came in around the 1,800 mark, about the same as the Transformer TF101. If you're more into Antutu or Vellamo, then the numbers you are after are 4,377 and 975 (compared to the Transformer Prime's 953). Last in the list was SunSpider, which drops in at 2,546.5 -- a nose ahead of the Note's 2,902. Check the video after the break if you want the full unboxing.
Continue reading Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note (video)
Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.