Hasta La Gadget!

When we last caught up with PixelQi at CES, we were downright ecstatic about its dual-mode 3Qi LCDs with switchable backlights, though we had a few wants, including touchscreen support and better viewing angles. Well, the screen company took our criticism to heart, and brought along its new touch-capable and “wideview” panels to Computex. The new displays — which are readable indoors and out — are also 30 percent more power-efficent than the previous models, PixelQi founder Mary Lou Jepsen told us.

Much to our delight, we were able to handle a number of different tablets and netbooks infused with the new screens earlier today. The one pictured above is actually an Intel Atom Moorestown-powered 10-inch slate with a capactive touch 3Qi screen; there’s a button on the right edge that turns the backlight on and off. Another on display had a Wacom digitizer for taking notes in Windows 7 Home Premium. In the short time we spent with the tablets and mock-ups, we discovered pen and finger input to be very responsive in both LCD modes. We were similarly impressed with the wideview screen on the netbooks — a movie trailer was viewable when the screen was tilted off axis as well as from the sides. So, that’s the good news, but where the heck are the real devices? You know, the ones we can buy? We wanted to know the same thing, and CEO Mary Lou Jepsen assured us that they are currently working with major manufacturers. We hope so, Mary Lou. We hope so. Hit the gallery for tons of shots (the screen is a photographer’s dream!) and a video demo after the break.

Continue reading PixelQi introduces tablet-ready screens, we go hands-on (video)

PixelQi introduces tablet-ready screens, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Nippon-based handheld lovers: from June 19, Nintendo will be selling the DSi at a new reduced price of ¥15,000 ($165), accompanied by a more affordable DSi LL, which lands at ¥18,000 ($198). That will make the jumbo portable console cheaper than the regular-sized one costs today, while the whole effort seems clearly aimed at maintaining the market for Nintendo’s classical wares after it blows all our minds with its 3DS debut at E3 in a couple of weeks. We look forward to it, we just wish this price cut would go global — Europeans need love too, you know.

Update: We’ve also just learnt Nintendo is bringing out a trifecta of new color options for the Japanese LL: blue, yellow and green jumbo DSis will be available on June 19, right alongside the price trim. Come past the break to see the other two hues.

Continue reading Nintendo trims DSi and DSi LL prices in Japan, adds new color options for bigger console (updated)

Nintendo trims DSi and DSi LL prices in Japan, adds new color options for bigger console (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might think that AT&T would hold off for a national HSPA+ deployment or a full-on LTE launch before tweaking its data pricing strategy, but not so much — the carrier is coming out swinging today with some significant changes that should benefit the overwhelming majority of its smartphone users (and could stand to harm a select few). Let’s break down the major points:

DataPlus / DataPro

• The existing $30 fair-use “unlimited” smartphone data plan is being replaced by two new options: $15 per month for 200MB and $25 for 2GB (called “DataPlus” and “DataPro,” respectively). Customers currently on the $30 plan are welcome to stay on it, but they can switch at any time without extending their contract.
• AT&T’s new overage system is arguably the game changer: on the $15 plan, you’ll pay $15 for each additional 200MB, but on the $25 plan, you’ll pay $10 for each additional GB. It’s simple and straightforward — but most importantly, it won’t bankrupt you if you go over by a gig or three in a month. This compares to $50 per gigabyte of overage on AT&T’s 5GB DataConnect plan for laptops.
• The carrier’s going to be very flexible about changing between the DataPlus and DataPro plans — if you’re on DataPlus, for example, and you discover that you’re blowing past your allotment, you can choose either to start DataPro the following billing cycle, pro-rate it, or apply the higher plan retroactively to the beginning of your current billing cycle. That’s pretty wild.

Tethering

• Tethering will be offered as an add-on to the DataPro plan for an additional $20 per month, which means you’ll pay a total of $45 a month for 2GB of data shared between your phone and your tethered devices. If you’re light on the usage, it’s a sweet deal — but if you scale it up and you’re using the data almost exclusively on your laptop, it compares unfavorably to the traditional DataConnect plan: $60 versus $75 for 5GB (and in the unlikely even you’ve got a webOS device on Verizon, it compares even less favorably). If you’re striking a balance of data use between a smartphone and tethered gear, AT&T’s new setup is still pretty solid considering that you would’ve been paying $60 for the USB stick plus $30 for smartphone data before.
• Yes, it’s finally happening: AT&T’s iPhones will get access to the tethering option, too.

iPad

• iPad users are also affected by the change. The $30 iPad data plan — lauded for being labeled by AT&T as truly unlimited — goes away to be replaced by the same $25 / 2GB plan that smartphone users will see, though current subscribers to the $30 plan can continue unaffected.

Everything launches on June 7, except for iPhone tethering — it’ll launch when OS 4 does. In the meantime, we’re told users can sign up for the $30 plans both on their phones and iPads if they’d like to be grandfathered in. Follow the break for more details along with AT&T’s full press release.

Continue reading AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone tethering coming at OS 4 launch

AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone tethering coming at OS 4 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, you read our liveblog of Steve Jobs’ D8 conference — and believe us, it’s heavily quotable — but don’t you want to see and hear the Apple CEO claim HyperCard was huge in its day? Or perhaps you’re more interested in his thoughts on Flash, market cap, and the iPad origins — either way, videos are after the break, with presumably more to come from All Things D.

Update: Four new videos have been added!

Continue reading Steve Jobs’ D8 interview: the video highlights

Steve Jobs’ D8 interview: the video highlights originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Reuters, Foxconn will be raising worker wages an additional 10% from the original 20% raise announced last week. Foxconn spokesman, Arthur Huang, said that the 30% base wage increase takes effect immediately. Foxconn admits that it hopes to earn the respect of its workers and raise efficiency with the pay increase while offsetting rising costs on the Chinese mainland. The company’s shares fell by 2% following the announcement (in a market down just 0.4%, relatively), worried perhaps that the raise would erode operating profits. All this comes as more Foxconn deaths — now at 12 — are being reported. Family of Yan Li, a Foxconn engineer, claims that their son died of exhaustion after working non-stop for 34-hours, then returning for another 12-hours after a 10-hour break. Police have already ruled out suicide and homicide in the case. Nevertheless, Yan Li’s family is demanding 250,000 yuan (about 25 times the worker’s annual base salary) in compensation. Foxconn accepts no responsibility in the matter saying it would only pay out “humanitarian terms” to the family.

Foxconn increases wages by 30 percent as deaths continue to mount originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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