Proactiv Solution skin care vending machine in Yokohama

We spotted this cool Proactiv Solution vending machine in a busy concourse near Yokohama station.

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It’s quite large, with a touch-screen menu and another monitor displaying product information. Actually, it seems that Proactiv has produced the same kind of vendor overseas already but it was for the most part sadly neglected when we were passing through Yokohama. A few people stopped to stare, though no one was using it. Perhaps the folks of Kanagawa don’t have acne?!

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One reason might be that there was no e-money or mobile integration. In fact, the only payment method we could see was a credit card — hardly the best way to appeal to Japanese consumers, who of course generally prefer to make purchases by cash or RFID card.

Confirmed: T-Mobile G2 will have Android 2.2, Flash and 800MHz CPU

T-Mobile is calling it “the fastest smartphone experience in America,” but as it turns out, its Qualcomm Scorpion CPU is actually relatively slow — the cellular carrier’s insider newsletter T-Mobile Scoop says the phone’s MSM7x30 chip will be clocked at 800MHz, rather than the 1GHz we’d hoped for. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that T-Mobile lying about speed, as anyone who’s upgraded from Droid to Droid 2 very well knows — bloatware can easily clog the pipes even on phones running Froyo, and we’ve heard that this particular HTC device is running a pure vanilla Android build. Speaking of delectable operating system revisions, T-Mobile confirms you’ll indeed find Android 2.2 under the hood accompanied by Flash Player 10.1, as well as “one-touch quick keys” the carrier claims provide Speedy Gonzales-like access to apps and shortcuts. Still waiting to be confirmed: a $200 subsidized price, and the day we’ll see it in stores.

[Thanks, james_of_the_jungle]

Editor’s Note: It’s important to keep in mind that the G2 seems to feature Qualcomm’s next-gen MSM7x30 chipset, which can theoretically blaze. Of course, that all depends on firmware optimization, so let’s keep our fingers crossed — something tells us neither T-Mobile nor HTC have any interest in messing this one up.

Confirmed: T-Mobile G2 will have Android 2.2, Flash and 800MHz CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jobs suggests that competitors’ device activation tallies may be inflated, Google quickly responds

Not satisfied to simply trump Google’s daily device activation numbers, Steve Jobs added insult to injury at the Apple press conference this afternoon, claiming that unspecified “friends” have been counting handset upgrades in their statistical totals and not just newly activated phones. As you might imagine, Google was not terribly pleased at this turn of events, and issued the following retort: “The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services.” Now, we don’t honestly know who’s telling the truth here and we’d like to be able to take both companies at their word, but this isn’t the first time even during this particular Apple shindig that questionable claims were thrown out as fact.

[Thanks, Kamal]

Jobs suggests that competitors’ device activation tallies may be inflated, Google quickly responds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung launches new NF and SF Series laptops with ‘shark’-like designs

It’s that time of the year again! Yep, the time when most laptop makers start thinking about the holiday season and unleash a massive amount of systems. Samsung’s kicking off its announcements at IFA with the SF and NF Series, both of which have a brand new wave or fin-like designs — they were apparently codenamed “shark” within the company. Beginning with the netbooks, the NF series will hit in the coming weeks and will be available in two skus — the ivory, single-core Atom NF210 will be $379 and the silver NF310 will have a dual-core Atom processor for $399. We got a chance to check them out a few days ago and found the overall build quality to be really solid — we really loved the new chiclet keyboard as well as the swirly pattern on the metal touchpad. Sammy’s also claiming over 10 hours of battery life on them, but we’ll obviously want to test that for ourselves.

On the bigger and badder end is the SF Series. Similar to the netbooks, the mainstream laptops have glossy lids with the new wave like edges. According to Samsung’s global press release, they’ll be available with Core i3 / i5 processors and in three different sizes — there’s the 13.3-inch SF310, 14-inch SF410 and 15.6-inch SF510. The US team tells us the $749 Core i3-powered, 500GB hard drive-packing SF510 will hit the market soon and will be a Best Buy exclusive. We got a peek at that one as well, and similarly love the new chiclet keyboard, though we’re hesitant on this one’s single-button touchpad. Until we bring you some full reviews, there’s additional details in the press release below and some hands-on shots in the gallery.

Continue reading Samsung launches new NF and SF Series laptops with ‘shark’-like designs

Samsung launches new NF and SF Series laptops with ‘shark’-like designs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips GoGear Connect hands-on

We had a chance to check out Philips’ new GoGear Connect a few hours ago ahead of its IFA debut later this week, a brushed metal media player that pretty closely apes the Muse but adds a wee bit of girth, swaps in Android 2.1 for the proprietary OS, and adds a trackball down below. Interestingly, it’s got both a 3.2-megapixel camera and edge-mounted microphone on board, meaning that it’s basically just a GSM radio shy of being a full-on smartphone — but we digress: the point is that the Connect will be going head-to-head with the likes of the Galaxy S-inspired Samsung Yepp YP-MB2 and the new iPod touch for the hearts and minds of the dedicated PMP crowd this autumn. Read on for our impressions!

Continue reading Philips GoGear Connect hands-on

Philips GoGear Connect hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple iPod Touch, the best gets better

CNET Senior Editor Donald Bell weighs in with his first impressions of the fourth-generation Apple iPod Touch.

iTunes 10 (with Ping) mercifully becomes available for download (update: iOS 4 has Ping, too)

Sure, they said it would be available immediately, but they lied. Now, the lie has become the truth, and the truth is just a fleeting dream, caught in between worlds we can’t hope to understand, let alone grasp. Meaning: go download iTunes 10 with Ping.

Update: We’ve added direct download links below. Thanks commenters!

Update 2: A word of warning — if you activate Ping, it will potentially make all of the nasty reviews you’ve written available for the world to see. So now they’ll know who panned their recording debut and ruined their career.

Update 3: Got an iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 on board? Ping may have magically appeared in your iTunes app, ready to help you wax introspective on the go. [Thanks, Kruze]

iTunes 10 (with Ping) mercifully becomes available for download (update: iOS 4 has Ping, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG’s E900 and E720 handsets hit the FCC, one with AT&T-compatible frequencies

We knew LG’s C900 QWERTY-packing Windows Phone 7 handset was sliding towards an AT&T finish line, but it’s looking like the company’s E900 slate phone might play for Team Blue as well — here’s an FCC report (the third Federal scoop in an hour!) that shows the handset boasting GSM 850 and 1900 radio frequencies as well as compatible 3G data. You can also expect Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi alongside that 1GHz Snapdragon SoC when or if the handset hits US shores. We don’t know nearly as much about the Android-based LG E720 (which apparently just popped in for a quick Bluetooth test) but a filing suggests it might not be destined for the US — unlike with the E900, there’s no mention of WCDMA 850, 1900, or AWS for 3G data, only the comparatively slow EDGE.

LG’s E900 and E720 handsets hit the FCC, one with AT&T-compatible frequencies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple iPod Shuffle (4th-gen), a return to form

CNET Senior Editor Donald Bell weighs in with his first impressions of the 4th-generation Apple iPod Shuffle.

New Apple TV hits the FCC with Bluetooth, dual-band WiFi

It’s not just the new iPod touch that’s gotten the FCC treatment today — what we can only assume is the new Apple TV has also just turned up in some newly published documents from the agency. Unfortunately, there’s no pictures this time around (internal or otherwise), but there are a number of test reports that confirm that the device does indeed pack Bluetooth and dual-band WiFi (802.11 b/g/n at 2.4GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5GHz). And in case you’re wondering where the label goes — it goes there.

New Apple TV hits the FCC with Bluetooth, dual-band WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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