Wireless customers now hold on to their mobile phones for 20.5 months on average, a notable increase over the 17.3 months they averaged in 1999. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20017412-17.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Digital Home/a/p
RIM, come on, guys, you’re killing us here! We don’t know exactly what the story is yet, but there’s a BlackBerry in the wild now with model number 9570 — and it looks exactly like the existing Storm2, which lines up nicely with BGR’s insistence earlier this week that the Storm3 is very much a warmed-over Storm2 with BlackBerry 6 and some minor spec bumps. In terms of strategy, we guess this would line up with the Bold 9780 we’ve been seeing around the block, which looks almost exactly like a Bold 9700 — but in terms of customers understanding that this is a new product, it looks like a recipe for disaster. Of course, this might not be known as the Storm3 when (and if) it’s released — they might stick with the Storm2 or call it something like Storm2 Plus or Storm2.5 — which might make more sense since we still don’t know what that other spy shot of a completely different device is. Sure, we have no doubt that a few people would be interested in a refreshed Storm2, but would it be enough to justify the R&D and marketing costs?
BlackBerry 9570 is definitely a refreshed Storm2, but is it called the Storm3? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Say hello to the latest additions to Sony’s lineup of SXRD projectors announced at CEDIA 2010, the VPL-VW90ES and the VPL-VWPRO1. Previously introduced at IFA, the VPL-VW90ES is not only Sony’s first projector to wear the Elevated Standard brand and include all the custom installer tidbits that go with that, but it’s also the first to do 3D. The MSRP for all that high end construction, 240Hz framerate and 1,000 ANSI lumens brightness is a buck under $10,000 when it ships in November. Just in case you don’t have that in your couch cushions, it’s also introduced a new 2D-only model at the lower end of the line, the VPL-VWPRO1 has a higher brightness rating than its more expensive cousin, but a lower contrast ratio and price of $3,400, available in October. Check the press release after the break for all the specs available or just peek in the gallery for our hands-on pics.
Gallery: Sony VPL-VM90ES
Continue reading Sony’s VPL-VW90ES 3D projector priced and dated for the US
Sony’s VPL-VW90ES 3D projector priced and dated for the US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Laptop and iPad case-maker Booq is introducing its Cobra line of bags, meant to offer a luxury feel and a fresh design. The lineup includes the Cobra Case L (a full size briefcase; shown here; $345), Cobra Brief L (a mid-sized briefcase; $255), Cobra Slim L (a slim briefcase; $155), and Cobra Courier XS (an iPad messenger bag; $145).
Each of the bags is made of 1680 denier ballistic nylon with water-repellent coating, then trimmed with Nappa leather inside and out. All buckles and loopholes are emphasized with durable gunmetal hardware, giving each Cobra bag a professional look. Additionally, each bag is equipped with an abrasion-resistant and water-resistant rubberized bottom that provides rugged protection.
All Cobra cases are tagged with a unique Terralinq serial number. Register your bag and you’ll have a better chance of being reunited if you ever lose it. The Cobra line is available now.
We didn’t get a chance to lay hands on any of the colored variants, but the solid black Optio RZ10 was easily one of the best feeling point-and-shoots we’ve touched in quite some time. Pentax doesn’t advertise the coating as being “soft touch,” but that’s exactly the vibe we get. It’s also shockingly small to have a full-on 10x optical zoomer, and while things will get pretty ugly at ISO 6400, it’s one of the few handhelds that even give you the option. The K-5 DSLR, on the other hand, simply didn’t feel like a $1,600 piece. And it should, given that’s what Pentax is charging for it. Sure, it’s solid enough and comfortable to grip, but it’s got a lot of proving to do in the reviews to come before we fully recognize the value proposition. Head on down below if you’re up for more eye candy.
Pentax K-5 DSLR and Optio RZ10 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, I guess if you’re going to get hit by a car, you might as well do it with a little bit of style, right? In the various instances that I’ve been hit, bumped, and lightly dinged by motor vehicles, I’ve never been particularly impressed with what the person was driving. Now a Bentley, with that little winged “B,” that’s something to brag about.
Of course, no one wants to get hit by anything, and sometimes you take a lot more with you than bragging rights.
British car manufacturer Bentley this week announced that it is recalling the hood ornament from 820 cars. A Bentley dealer reportedly discovered that the spring mechanism underneath the Winged B has a tendency to malfunction and may not retract during an accident.
A spokesman for the company called the recall “rather theoretical,” since the ornament has yet to injure anyone.
It ain’t the first point-and-shoot to emerge with a beamer within, but it’s the first from GE’s General Imaging branch. Boasting a 14 megapixel sensor, a vanilla enclosure and a DLP projector, the PJ1 was seen making its debut here at Photokina in Germany. The highlight of the device is obviously the 854 x 480 resolution projector that’s somehow stuffed within the casing, while the most impressive part to us was just how thin it remained with such a unit inside. In other words, the projector itself was certainly lacking, and with just 15 lumens, we felt that the darker-than-dark test room (shown in the video just past the break) still wasn’t dark enough. On the capture side, there’s a 7x optical zoom, SD / SDHC card slot and support for 720p movies; thankfully, GE’s not planning to include too hefty a premium for the projector, as we were told to expect it for “around €250 ($334)” when it lands in Europe next February.
Continue reading GE stuffs DLP projector into 14MP PJ1 point-and-shoot camera, we go hands-on
GE stuffs DLP projector into 14MP PJ1 point-and-shoot camera, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The technology behind Words is an intricate solution to a simple task. And that’s what makes it so captivating to watch. Various gears and robotic fizzimajigs work in unison to arrange a set of fluorescent lights to form a changing list of different four-letter words. The machine runs through a list of words based on an algorithm developed by the University of South Florida that takes into account meaning, rhyme, letter sequencing, and association.
Living up to its name, Four Letter Words often veers into negative or scatological territory, which the artist attributes to the influence of various language studies used in the development of the algorithm. Crap, rape, kill, spit, among other visceral words come up in the course of this sample video.
So, be on the look out for any sudden changes in the gadgets in your life. Now that machines have finally mastered profanity, can drinking and smoking and talking back to teachers be so far behind?
Image via BarnesAndNoble.com
Oh, you thought we were just all up in Amazon’s Kindle on the tweed beat here at Gadget Lab? NOT TRUE. The newest iteration of Barnes & Noble’s Nook offered Wi-Fi only before Kindle, dropped its prices before Kindle — and yes, it was jailbroken and rooted a long time ago.
Major advantage to rooting a Nook over jailbreaking a Kindle: because the Nook runs Android, you can use it to run Android apps. Popular Science’s gadget blog isn’t the first to describe how it’s done, but this guide is one of the most readable I’ve seen — just five steps.
It’s all software-based, requiring you to first connect your Nook to your computer via USB, downgrade your firmware to version 1.0, and then install the hacked/rooted version of 1.4, which includes an Android app installer. However, as Nook-rooting experts NookDevs.com note, “Barnes and Noble has likely introduced a new hardware revision which bricks your unit if you install their official 1.0.0 Firmware (A step needed to root). As of right now, Nooks with serial #s starting with 1003 (running firmware 1.4.1) cannot be rooted, and should NOT be attempted.” This warning is on top of the usual watch-yourself-you-might-break-something caution whenever you mess around with your devices. Be careful out there.
But let’s suppose you do root your Nook and want to install an Android app or two. Where do you start? Kindle for Android, of course — just updated with lots of new features.
How to Add Applications to Your Nook [Apartment Therapy Unpluggd]
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If there’s anything Microsoft’s Kinect has over the PlayStation Move — neither seem to have a killer app — it’s that peripheral manufacturers (hopefully) won’t be able to generate wave after wave of cheap plastic junk to wave in front of a camera. As you can imagine, PlayStation Move peripheral purveyors have no such problem, and Nyko, Mad Catz, Interworks, CTA Digital, PDP and more are pumping out plenty of plastic shells and chargers for those ball-tipped motion controllers. Hit the links below to just see how far we haven’t come.
Read – GamingBits
Read – IGN
Read – Amazon
PlayStation Move accessories charge controllers, keep your pesky imagination in check originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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