Samsung terminates support for Symbian

It was almost a year ago that a senior Samsung VP was quoted expressing plans to drop Symbian. Samsung quickly backtracked on those comments with a vague commitment to its multi-OS strategy. Well, the other shoe just dropped via an email sent to registered Symbian developers advising that Samsung would close its Symbian forum and remove all Symbian content by year’s end. Not that we can blame them — while Symbian is just starting to show signs of recovery the OS has been floundering over the last few years. And Samsung, Nokia’s biggest threat in its bid to democratize smartphone sales, is already plenty busy with Bada, Windows Phone 7, and Android. So while Samsung might still be a member of Symbian Foundation, it, like Sony Ericsson, is doing so in name only.

[Thanks, Rohit]

Samsung terminates support for Symbian originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peugeot shows off tablet-equipped HR1 concept vehicle

Yes, not even an auto show can escape a bit of tablet news these days. This one comes courtesy of Peugeot, which is showing off its new HR1 concept vehicle at the Paris Motor Show, and which, as you can see above, comes complete with what appears to be an Archos tablet of some sort. Details on it are otherwise a bit light, but the tablet does apparently dock with the car and connect to the in-dash system, which itself boasts a heads-up display and a movement recognition system that’ll let you scroll though options (and attract passers-by) with a wave of your hand. As for the vehicle itself, it’s a hybrid that promises 81 miles per gallon, and boasts a whole host of other impressive features, not the least of which are some electric scissor doors that will let you get into tight parking spots. Unfortunately, Peugeot also says it doesn’t currently have any plans to actually bring the vehicle to market. Hit up the links below for a closer look.

Peugeot shows off tablet-equipped HR1 concept vehicle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4: camera showdown

What’s the first thing you should do when you get the N8? Considering it packs the biggest image sensor embedded in a phone yet, Carl Zeiss optics, and an eight-digit pixel count, it seemed obvious to us that the answer was to take it on a picture- and video-taking stroll around London. On our way out we saw our iPhone 4 looking all sad and lonely, so we went ahead and brought it along as well. Below you shall find one gallery of pure, unadulterated N8 sample shots, another interspersed with the iPhone’s results for comparison’s sake, and a final one with side-by-side 100 percent crops from each image taker. Once you’ve digested all of those, we suggest hopping past the break and tucking into some tasty video comparisons for dessert.

Naturally, all the images are entirely unretouched (but for our masterly watermarking) and the iPhone 4’s HDR hocus pocus has been left off. We’ve also provided a zip file containing all the full-res imagery shot with the N8 in a link below.

A quick note is also merited about the N8’s resolution. The sensor’s display ratio is 4:3, which means that full 12 megapixel shots are only available in those dimensions. The camera software, however, defaults to shooting 9 megapixel snaps at the increasingly popular 16:9 ratio — this is done simply by cropping away the “excess” bars at the top and bottom of the image, meaning that the 9 megapixel images are giving us identical performance as the 12 megapixel ones, they’re just chopped down (from 4000 x 3000 to 4000 x 2248) for the sake of convenience. Now, on with the show!


Continue reading Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4: camera showdown

Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4: camera showdown originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest smartphone displays pitted in no-holds-barred deathmatch

If you’re a numbers geek, you’re trying to be scientific about your next smartphone purchase, or you just like pretty colors, you might appreciate DisplayMate’s latest report rounding up examples of all (well, most) of the latest and greatest display technologies out there: IPS LCD, Super AMOLED, AMOLED, and TFT, represented by the iPhone 4 and Droid, the Galaxy S, the Nexus One, and the iPhone 3GS, respectively. Noticeably missing is SLCD, the technology HTC has been using to make up for lost ground on its AMOLED shortage from component supplier Samsung, but we’ve got a hunch DisplayMate’s hard at work at adding that into the mix.

Anyhow, considering the sheer number of variables the firm takes into consideration — everything from color depth, to brightness, to reflectance, to color gamut — there’s no clear-cut winner, but the Droid and iPhone 4 are obviously a cut above the rest with generally higher scores and better performance across the board. The Galaxy S’ Super AMOLED turns in a decent performance, too, but takes a little hit for its 16-bit color depth and blown-out colors. Of course, if you consider any of these — even the crappy TFT on the 3GS — to a phone from five years ago, it still looks like science fiction… so you really can’t go wrong, can you?

Latest smartphone displays pitted in no-holds-barred deathmatch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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gMote: Mouse Gestures for Windows

This article was written on November 14, 2008 by CyberNet.

gmote mouse gestures.jpg
(Click to Enlarge)

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In the past we’ve talked about some mouse gesture applications for Windows including ones that targeted specific applications like Firefox. For some people these gestures can save significant amounts of time day in and day out. If you’re one of those people you should probably know that there’s a new mouse gesture program in town, and it’s called gMote.

There are some things that really make gMote unique. For starters it doesn’t have a predefined set of motions that are used to initiate an action. Instead you record all of your actions so that it knows exactly how you draw them. Your only limitation is what you can draw with your mouse.

The next awesome thing is all of the different actions you have at your disposal ready to be assigned to a gesture. The list includes launching a program, opening a folder, executing a keyboard combination/shortcut, and other common actions like going back/forward in your browser. You can even do things like control your media player.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? To get started all you’ll have to do is download gMote, extract the files, and run it. There’s nothing to install. And for the sake of wetting your appetite even more I’ll leave you with a video that demonstrates some of the things gMote is capable of:

Get gMote for Windows

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T-Mobile G2 gets an early unboxing

T-Mobile’s official street date for the G2 is Wednesday next week, but we knew some pre-orderers would be getting the phone early, and it looks like we’ve already got an unboxing to show for it. Rugged, free-spirited tipster Silverwolfe did the honors, and even managed to size the phone up against the original G2 while he was at it. Check out a few shots below, or hit up the source link for the full gallery.

T-Mobile G2 gets an early unboxing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: what’s the ultimate network media streamer?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Brett, who seems just marginally overwhelmed by the recent flood of network media streamers. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m looking for a network media player that can play a variety of videos from my NAS as well as connect to media services like Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, etc. I thought I found the perfect match with the new Sony SMP-N100, but the DLNA sharing system was awful compared to an old Apple TV with XBMC installed. Any suggestions on the ultimate Network Media Player? Bonus points for being able to remotely queue videos or control it from a smart phone.”

We’ve been to this rodeo before, but the situation (and consumer demands, too) has changed quite dramatically from just a year ago. Given that there are more players connecting to more portals than ever before, we’d curious to know what box you’d recommend for Brett. Don’t hold back, cool?

Ask Engadget: what’s the ultimate network media streamer? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samurai beer drinks from comic book history

We’ve been busy recently with a whole bunch of projects in multiple industries, hence the serious lack of blogging here.

However, during one trip to my favorite section of the supermarket I came across a drink combining the Japanese consumer (and manufacturer’s) love of limited edition goods and the current history boom.

We’ve written before about the “Ryoma industry” spawning tourist millions for the samurai’s home province of Tosa (Kochi, in Shikoku), and a whole host of merchandise, including even golf clubs. Ryoma Sakamoto is big business, even if some of the cash-in goods hardly smack of imagination.

ryoma-sakamoto-beer-sapporo-black-label

With the NHK drama that started it all finally nearing its inevitably assassination-filled finale, manufacturers are getting desperate to squeeze the last yen out of the trend. Sapporo previously released a Ryoma-inspired edition of its Black Label beer in south Japan last spring. Following its apparently massive popularity, now drinkers across Japan have been given the chance to get their hands on cans of (presumably slightly mediocre) beer, dressed up in autumnal colors and manga-esque motifs of the famous revolutionary.

nhk-ryomaden-sakamoto-ryoma

The “Oi! Ryoma!” beer uses images from a manga comic about Sakamoto and is only available while stocks last. Be sure to fight off the shogun’s forces to get yours before it’s too late!

New Tron Mouse Leaves a Trail across Your Mousepad

TRON MouseFans of the 1982 movie TRON and its upcoming sequel TRON: Legacy will love this: Razer’s new TRON-themed mouse will leave a light trail behind it as it moves across its accompanying TRON-themed mousepad. Razer announced the new line of TRON-themed and branded peripherals back in June, but the new mouse is the first product to make its way to the public, thanks to a post on Razer’s Facebook page. The mouse has blue lines across the top, giving it the ambient glow that matches the movie’s aesthetic, and features a 5600 dpi optical sensor on the underside for accuracy.

Razer didn’t mention when the new TRON-themed mouse would be available, but did say that it would be close to the movie’s release near the end of the year and would retail for $99.99.  That price, while steep, would include the light and pressure-sensitive mousepad that displays an ambient blue trail of light behind the mouse as you move it.

[via DVice]

Sirus XM Announces the XM Snap FM Transmitter

Sirus XM - XM SnapIf you’re really tired of what’s on the radio these days and you’re willing to put down a monthly subscription fee for satellite radio to get a wider variety of listening options, Sirius XM wants your business. If you’d rather do that without re-wiring your car or replacing your in-dash unit to accommodate a satellite radio receiver, the new XM Snap FM Transmitter from Sirius XM can help you listen to your favorite satellite stations in virtually any car with an FM radio.

The XM Snap plugs into your car’s power adapter (or cigarette lighter, if your car is old enough to have one) to charge, and when you tune the device to an open FM station that’s not occupied by an FM radio station in your area, you can then tune your car radio to the same frequency to hear your satellite radio selection.

The XM Snap doesn’t get around the problem with most FM transmitters: namely that the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired and areas with heavily congested airwaves make it difficult to find an open frequency.  Even so, if you’re in a rental and can’t live without Sirius XM or just don’t want to drop the cash on a new head-unit, the $59.99 XM Snap may be a worthwhile option when it comes out in October.