Pandora provides simple controls to rate each song thumbs up or thumbs down.
(Credit: Pandora)
Pandora finally has released its first Google Android application after revealing several months ago that it was in the works. The popular streaming music service had received some criticism by choosing to target other mobile …
Originally posted at Android Atlas
Sure, sure, the kids are all excited about iTunes LP and their fancy “lyrics” and “album art.” You know what we’re psyched about? Finally being able to manage our iPhone apps directly from iTunes 9. It works pretty much exactly as you’d expect, although we were able to make it do some minorly wonky things — and we’re psyched about the AutoFill-esque music sync feature that fills any remaining space on your phone with music.
We’re also pumped about the new Home Sharing feature in iTunes 9, which lets you transfer content between five different machines directly without screwing around with network shares or USB drives. We’ve seriously been waiting for a feature like this since iTunes sharing was first launched — it also works exactly like you’d expect, and we think it’ll make managing media across multiple machines much, much easier. Videos after the break!
Continue reading Video: iTunes 9 Home Sharing and iPhone app management
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Software
Video: iTunes 9 Home Sharing and iPhone app management originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Engadget Show gets underway this coming Sunday, September 13th, in New York City, and we’re super excited to announce that the first person we’ll be sitting down with for a one-on-one conversation is Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein! Between the recent launch of the Pixi, the introduction Pre and webOS, and all the other hubbub surrounding the company, we think it will be quite an interesting chat.
The show — which will be a mix of one-on-one interviews, roundtable discussions, short video segments, and live music — will take place at the Tishman Auditorium at Parsons The New School for Design. The Show will be filmed live once a month — but if you can’t make it, don’t worry. We’ll be bringing the full video back home to Engadget (and as a free download in the iTunes Store, Zune Marketplace, etc.) for your viewing pleasure. The full show should be online just a few days after we tape!
The beautiful venue (which you can see in a photo after the break) is located at 66 W. 12th Street between 5th and 6th Aves. Seating is limited and tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis — which means if you want to join us in the audience for the show, you’ll have to arrive early and be prepared for a little wait.
Here are the facts you need to know about the show:
Here is what you need to know if you want to be part of the audience:
If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia@engadget.com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow@engadget.com.
Filed under: Announcements
The Engadget Show tapes Sunday, September 13th — our first guest is Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
(Credit: creativeloafing.com)As the relationship between the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes gets ever more complicated with apps, photo and video sharing, and iTunes 9 management options, one thing still remains clear: syncing with a computer, be it desktop or laptop, is still a pain in the butt. But sharing
…
Along with the rest of its CEDIA 2009 announcements, Sony will be showing off new projectors. Up first is the VPL-VW85 (pictured above) which one ups the exiting VPL-VW70 and VPL-VW80 models by combining the company’s 120Hz Motionflow frame insertion tech, 120,000:1 contrast ratio, 800 ANSI lumens, RS-232C and an anamorphic zoom lens in an $8,000 package. If that’s too rich for your blood, the VPL-HW15 (picture after the break) offers a spec bump over the VPL-HW10 with 60,000:1 contrast ratio and a lower initial MSRP at just $2,800 when both of these launch in October.
Continue reading Sony brings projectors for everyone with VPL-VW85 & VPL-HW15
Sony brings projectors for everyone with VPL-VW85 & VPL-HW15 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Proudly rocking the XBR10 nameplate, this is the latest Sony BRAVIA (peep the video from its Japanese launch), though the potential to be greatest is up for debate. These 52- and 42-inch models skip over the company’s well received (but expensive) Triluminos LED technology for cheaper edge lit LEDs like Samsung. Sony is taking advantage of the tech’s slim frames to include wireless HD streaming — you’ll be plugging set-top boxes, game consoles and other video sources into a separate media box, plugging in anything other than AC would ruin the style. Still, it’s hard to see many people deciding that wireless HD, Internet powered TV Guide, BRAVIA Engine 3 processing, Motionflow 240Hz, video streaming from Amazon, YouTube and Netflix and Sony’s version of Yahoo! Widgets is enough to overcome a serious case of sticker shock. The KDL-52XBR10 and KDL-46XBR10 arrive in October with $5,000 and $4,500 MSRPs, respectively; over a thousand bucks north of comparable, wireless-less Samsung models featuring the same backlighting tech. That Sony brand and experience worth the difference to you?
Continue reading Sony goes in a cheaper direction with wireless XBR10 BRAVIA LCDs
Sony goes in a cheaper direction with wireless XBR10 BRAVIA LCDs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
What you’re looking at here is the latest addition to the Sony Blu-ray family. The BDP-N460 seemingly fits right in between the BDP-S360 and the BDP-S560 with an MSRP of $249. What sets it apart from its little brother is the fact that it can use its included network jack for more than just BD-Live and it features a USB port on the front, in addition to the one on the back for optional BD-Live storage. There’s no built in WiFi or MKV support like other brands though, but it is shipping with access to YouTube and to Bravia Internet Video, and in addition Sony promises Netflix Watch Instantly later this fall. No word on whether this means the end for the BDP-S360, but considering the price and improved features of the 460, that’s where we’d put our money.
Continue reading Sony’s new BDP-N460 Blu-ray player adds access to internet content
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Blu-ray, Sony
Sony’s new BDP-N460 Blu-ray player adds access to internet content originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple might’ve grabbed all the eyeballs today, but it’s Palm that actually got busy with a significant new hardware release: the Palm Pixi. Check out our in-depth coverage of the new Sprint-bound QWERTY candybar at the read link. Or don’t. We’re not the boss of you.
Filed under: Cellphones
In case you missed it: Palm introduces the Pixi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New iPod Nano in hand, we promptly tested the video camera and the crazy video-record filters. They’re fun, but the camera itself is positioned awkwardly.
We found out that the camera’s unfortunate placement (on the lower left of the back, if you’re holding it normally) is due to there not being enough space to cram it in under the screen. The accelerometer adjusts if you want to hold it some other way, but the natural position for taking video is made harder by the location of the lens.
Why can’t the Nano take still photography? Let’s hear it from Steve Jobs himself, via the New York Times:
The sensors for doing video are fairly thin. The sensors for doing a still camera, at much higher pixel resolution – and we’d really like to have autofocus – they are just way too thick to ever fit inside the Nano.
This is the “cyborg” filter. Very geeky and cool, and matches perfectly with the tunes we were blasting (it’s LP by Discovery, for the record). Notice that you can actually hear the click of the button right as the video stops.
The scratchy film-strip filter is great for arty shots of the back of Brian Lam’s head.
This one’s a security-cam type filter that makes these innocent passersby seem suspicious.
This is the normal setting (no filter) on a bright and sunny San Francisco day. You can see that the colors are a little washed out, there’s a bit of visual tearing as I pan and due to the awkward placement of the lens itself, my finger blocks part of the shot.
These next two are for comparison. This one is taken by the Nano, a simple rotating panoramic with differing light and a lot of color. The next is the exact same video, but taken with a Flip Mino.
This is the Flip. The color reproduction is definitely better on the Flip (most notably in those flowers outside the window), and the video is noticeably sharper as well. But all in all, it’s not a huge difference, which is very much to the Nano’s credit.
Low light, predictably, is not the Nano’s strong suit. It’s serviceable, and obviously pocket camcorders like the Flip and Vado aren’t all that much better, but you’re going to want to have some decent lighting when using the Nano’s camera.
Closeups are also a weak point for the Nano—its 640×480 resolution, with no macro mode, is just not detailed enough to pick up the nuances of this gold sparkly thing on Brian’s bookshelf. But like the low light shows, if you’re looking for the Nano to have amazing video capabilities, you probably haven’t noticed that it’s actually a super thin mp3 player and not an HD camcorder.
X-ray mode is actually cool and glosses over some of the Nano’s lack of detail, not that it’s particularly practical.
This is thermal mode, so you can tell that Brian and Lisa are red-hot. Literally.
Tunnel vision is another filter brought over from Photo Booth. It’s one of my favorites, so I’m glad to see it on the Nano.
Google and Apple have both managed to wrest a great deal of control over the mobile user experience from carriers over the past couple of years — cheers to that, by the way — and now Nokia’s decided it wants a piece of that action with the introduction of Maemo 5 and the N900, which it says will be free of the branding that Symbian products frequently get subjected to. It makes total sense that Nokia would be looking to come play in that rarified air that Android, iPhone OS, and webOS are all playing in — a place where ARPUs are high, UIs are slick and modern, and the apps (and data) flow like water — but since the majority of customers for these types of devices rely on subsidies to justify the purchase, they’ll still need carrier buy-in to pull this off effectively. At least Palm and the gang have all proven that there’s precedent for it, and it’s definitely a noble fight to wage — no one wants a bright magenta interface, right?
[Via Phone Scoop]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Nokia putting foot down on Maemo, won’t allow carrier customizations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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