Hasta La Gadget!

As expected, Netflix has kicked off its first offering outside the United States by opening up a Watch Instantly portal for Canadians this morning at Netflix.ca. With no discs available at all, the only option is a $7.99 Canadian ($7.80 US) plan for streaming that works on PCs, PS3, Wii, iOS family and many other devices — interestingly the Xbox 360, Samsung TVs, and Blu-ray players from VIZIO or Insignia are off the compatible list until later this fall. Content availability also seems to be different for our neighbors to the north (English only for now, French is on the way Quebec), with the Netflix blog specifically calling out Superbad and Mad Men as up for streaming, which aren’t currently available on Watch Instantly in the US. Unlike our recent Caribana experience we weren’t able to cross the border and check it out for ourselves, but owners of Maple Leaf-certified IPs are invited to check out the selection (one month free trials are available) and let us know exactly what we’re missing — more details including Canadian distributors and device availability are in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Netflix launches in Canada today: streaming only service for C$7.99 per month

Netflix launches in Canada today: streaming only service for C$7.99 per month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android phones and their eternal struggle to get the latest version update, it’s a book that needs to be written. It was only last night that we were hearing that the Froyo upgrade for Spanish Galaxy S users would be pushed back till late October, yet today our emotions are swung back the other way by news of T-Mobile UK promising the exact same update by the end of this month. If our solar calendars are accurate, that means there’ll be no more than a 10-day wait left for T-Mo customers using this 4-incher. We’ll bug the other UK networks as well to see whether their 2.2 updates are in the mail or still lost somewhere in the frozen isle.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S meets Froyo by month’s end for T-Mobile UK customers

Samsung Galaxy S meets Froyo by month’s end for T-Mobile UK customers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you really, really have to have a physical, clickety-clackety keyboard to get your words onto a screen, the Jorno might be just the thing. The Bluetooth keyboard gives you the full QWERTY experience but folds up into a pocketable package. The keys themselves are just 15% smaller than full-size, big enough for touch-typists with accurate and not-too-fat fingers.

After key-feel, which you’ll have to try for yourself, the next most important specification is size. Folded out the Jorno is 8.5 x 3.5 x 0.3-inches. Concertinaed closed it measures just 3.5 x 3.5 x 0.9-inches, and all the time it weighs the same 8.8-ounces, including the li-ion battery which lasts a month.

A keyboard like this is clearly best suited to the iPhone, as fast typing is pretty easy on the iPad’s larger screen. With this in mind, the Jorno ships with a separate stand for phones. It will of course work with anything that uses the Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR standard, and Jorno has a photo of an iPad balancing precariously on the small bracket.

Small, add-on Bluetooth keyboards seem to be getting more popular, or at least more numerous, since Apple opened up its iDevices to allow them. I have a feeling that the multi-year delay in allowing these accessories wasn’t for technical reasons but for training purposes, to get us used to the soft touchscreen keyboards. It worked, too. You almost never hear griping about the iPhone keyboard anymore.

The Jorno can be pre-ordered now, for $100 (with $20 off until the end of October 2010).

Jorno keyboard product page [Jorno via Cult of Brownlee]

See Also:

• Hack Lets You Use a Bluetooth Keyboard With Your iPhone
• IPad Keyboard Dock Works with iOS4
• ClamCase Turns iPad into Laptop
• IPhone Case Adds Vestigial QWERTY-Slider Keyboard

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

By Mark Brown

Bicycle designers from Hungary have revealed the Stringbike in Padova, Italy, a bike design that drops the common chain in favour of a wire and pulley system.

While it might seem like a complicated answer to a non-existent problem, the Hungarian creators assure that their symmetric system lends itself to an extra level of comfort and efficiency.

Typical bikes, of course, have a chain and gears on just one side of the bike. The Stringbike creators, at bike manufacturing company Schwinn Csepel Zrt, write that “asymmetry has been the source of lots of problems”. However, other than slipping chains and oily jeans, they’re mostly “unnoticeable” problems, until you’ve tried a symmetrical system first hand.

The new design’s mechanics are considerably more complicated than the traditional chain, and is possibly best left to the video (embedded below) to explain. In the most basic terms, the movement of the pedal forces a swinging arm to move about its shaft, pulling a taught cable around a pulley system. With each push, the task is swapped from the left side to the right.

The Stringbike offers up a few extra advantages over its chain-driven predecessor. The pedal system can be replaced with different discs for separate purposes, for example. Racing and touring could use different shaped and sized parts, to alter performance and function. Plus, the rear wheel can be removed in seconds, for portability.

You’ll also have no grease or oil to deal with, but it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to fix this quite as easily as replacing a knackered chain. The official website mentions that while you will be able to take it an appropriate service location, you can repair a Stringbike at home. Although, that would presumably be the least of your worries if a fast-moving, taught, metal wire lashed off its piston next to your leg. Ouch.

Congratulations are in order for Joby – there’s a new addition to its Gorillapod family, the Gorillapod Video.

The bandy-legged tripod has the same jointed, prehensile appendages found on its bigger and smaller brothers, only it now has a different head. Designed for small pocket video-cameras like the Flip and the Kodak Zi8, The new ‘pod has a quick-release plate that attaches to a smooth-moving ball-head, giving 360º of pan and 135º of tilt.

Along with its grip-anything legs, the Gorillapod Video also has neodymium magnets in its feet for sticking to metal surfaces. Once you have stopped zooming during shots, the next best thing you can do to make your home-movies look more professional is to use a tripod to get rid of nauseating shake. Now you can do that for just $30, and remember, all the Gorillapods make great iPad stands.

Gorillapod Video [Joby]

See Also:

• Gorillapod-Inspired Tripod Looks Like Robot Skeleton
• Joby Gorillapod, Now for iPod Touch
• Gorillapod Go-Go: Miniature, Flexible Tripod
• Joby Announces 'New' Gorillamobile Cellphone Tripod

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.