Mar 16
Samsung announces Series 2, 4, 6 business notebooks, including a few 12.5-inchers
Posted in: Today's ChiliSamsung’s new business laptops come with 12.5- to 15.6-inch screens and feature new Intel Sandy Bridge processors.
Mar 16
Is it Possible to Build a Disaster-Proof Nuclear Power Plant? [Video]
Posted in: Japan, Today's Chili, top
Nobody wants a radioactive plume dispersing killer particles across the globe. It happened once (Chernobyl) and people are freaked that it’s gonna happen again in Japan. Since the deadly Soviet bungle, reactors have gotten safer—but are they safe enough? More »
Mar 16
Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year
Posted in: cdma, Sprint, Today's Chili
Wait, didn’t they try this already? Looks like Sprint is gearing up to take another shot at its seemingly unsinkable (but aging) iDEN push-to-talk network that it inherited from its Nextel acquisition — which is a good thing seeing how it’s only signed up for another three years’ worth of maintenance. The new so-called Sprint Direct Connect service is slated to launch in the fourth quarter of this year using CDMA underpinnings, a throwback to the QChat-based push-to-talk network that Sprint launched back in 2008 but never gained traction. Presumably, Sprint thinks that it knows how to make the transition work this time around, promising wider coverage, better in-building signal strength, user availability notifications, support for up to 200 chat participants, and — of course — far faster data services than iDEN could ever deliver. Sprint says that it’ll offer “an ultra-rugged camera flip phone” along with a QWERTY Android device this year, with more devices in the pipe for 2012. Follow the break for the full press release.
Continue reading Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year
Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mar 16
Study: iPad 2 Screen Is as Good as iPhone’s, Despite Lower Specs
Posted in: Apple, Displays, ipad, ipad 2, Today's Chili
Apple's new iPad 2 is thinner, lighter and faster than its predecessor. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
The iPad 2 doesn’t pack a higher-resolution “retina” display yet, but the quality of the screen is just as good as the iPhone 4’s, according to a display expert.
DisplayMate analyst Raymond Soneira put the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 displays through a series of tests and found that they perform very similarly.
The “iPad 2 delivers almost identical performance to the impressive iPhone 4 Retina Display,” Soneira said in his report.
That’s interesting, because the iPad 2 display has a lower pixel density than the iPhone 4. A lower pixel density makes pixels more apparent.
The iPhone 4 has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, which Steve Jobs claimed exceeds the limits of the human retina. The iPad 2 has a pixel density of 132 ppi.
Soneira explained that higher ppi is indeed better, but anti-aliasing methods delivered through software updates can reduce noticeable pixelation at lower resolutions and ppi.
And despite the iPhone 4’s higher ppi, the iPad 2’s screen scored very similarly in Soneira’s tests. Both devices earned “Very Good for Mobile” ratings in tests on contrast ratio and black levels, and an “Excellent” rating for their maximum brightness.
“There is no question that a higher ppi is better, but the real question is whether the iPad 2 delivers good display performance when considering its price point and battery-power constraints,” Soneira said.
The overall screen resolution of the 9.7-inch (diagonal) iPad screen is 1,024 x 768 pixels, compared to the iPhone 4’s 3.5-inch display, which has a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels.
Some tech observers claim that Apple has held off on doubling the resolution of the iPad’s display to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels because of cost and manufacturing constraints.
See Also:
- Slim Fast: Apple’s iPad 2 Leads the Race
- Roundup: iPad 2 Reviews in 140 Characters or Fewer
- Hands-On With Apple’s Skinnier, Faster iPad 2
Mar 16
Users of the iPhone app in 48 countries can call friends and family in Japan for free through the end of March.
Mar 16
TomTom puts its HD Traffic service data in a browser, lets everyone use it for free
Posted in: europe, navigation, Today's Chili, tomtom
We’ve gotten lost and found our way home again courtesy of many a navigation system over the years, but if ever we’re battling not just confusing roadways but also unpredictable traffic patterns it’s TomTom we want on our side. The HD Traffic service the company offers is always spot-on, and now you can access that constantly-updated and really quite detailed data from your web browser. However, there’s a catch: right now it’s only available in Europe and South Africa. Also, the interface is a bit clunky. Oh, and the presentation isn’t nearly as nice as on the company’s mobile apps. But it is all free, and so you really can’t complain too much about any of that. Full details in the PR below.
Continue reading TomTom puts its HD Traffic service data in a browser, lets everyone use it for free
TomTom puts its HD Traffic service data in a browser, lets everyone use it for free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar 16
Apple iPad 2 and iPhone 4 Display Shoot-Out [Apple]
Posted in: Apple, Displays, ipad, ipad 2, iPhone, Today's Chili, top
Dr. Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies has made it his mission to suss out the best smartphone, tablet, HDTV, and multimedia displays from the worst with his Display Technology Shoot-Out series. Here, he tackles the differences between iPad 2 and iPhone 4 screens. More »
Mar 16
Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive in the US this spring
Posted in: galaxy, GalaxyS, launch, media player, MediaPlayer, official, release, samsung, tablet, Today's Chili
Remember the Galaxy Player (or Galaxy S WiFi) we saw back at MWC? Sure you do, it basically strips out the 3G and calling functionality of a Galaxy S phone and leaves you with a Android 2.2 media player or shrunken tablet. Well, it looks like both the 4-inch Galaxy Player 4 and the 5-inch Galaxy Player 5 will be headed to the US this spring. Samsung’s demoing the players here at its NYC Spring Product Showcase today, although it isn’t talking exact timing or pricing. Either way, it looks like this Android 2.2 player (it’s upgradable to 2.3, by the way) with full Market access will be headed stateside sometime soon. We’ve got the full specs after the break and we’ll be trying to dig up more details here — stay tuned.Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive in the US this spring
Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive in the US this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar 16
Remember the Galaxy Player (or Galaxy S WiFi) we saw back at MWC? Sure you do, it basically strips out the 3G and calling functionality of a Galaxy S phone and leaves you with a Android 2.2 media player or shrunken tablet. Well, it looks like both the 4-inch Galaxy Player 4 and the 5-inch Galaxy Player 5 will be headed to the US this spring. Samsung’s demoing the players here at its NYC Spring Product Showcase today, although it isn’t talking exact timing or pricing. Either way, it looks like this Android 2.2 player (it’s upgradable to 2.3, by the way) with full Market access will be headed stateside sometime soon. We’ve got the full specs after the break and we’ll be trying to dig up more details here — stay tuned.Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive this spring in the US
Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive this spring in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar 16
At the very least, this certainly causes one to rethink the whole concept of “fanboyism.” According to a survey of more than 5,000 people conducted by Star Trek blog, Subspace Communique, female fans of the sci-fi franchise outnumber their male counterparts–57 to 43 percent.
Sure it’s not exactly a scientific survey, but it’s certainly a good reason to rethink the age old perceptions of male-dominated fandom (though one has to wonder aloud what the gender breakdown would be, were a similar survey conducted amongst Star Wars fans).
Other revelations: 43 percent identify as “Trekkies,” 79 percent are into Star Trek for its philosophical leanings, and most of those who responded were single and over 40–oh well, I suppose we can only hope to shatter one stereotype at a time here.
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