Hasta La Gadget!

T-Mobile subscribers at this point are preparing for what could be a new, blue overlord, and now you can count Audi among the ranks of those wondering what’s next. Yesterday the company with the rings signed on with the company with the magenta to power its Audi Connect system on US cars. It’ll launch first with the 2012 Audi A7, where it will provide the wireless data pipe through which the car’s MMI infotainment system will pull down Google Earth imagery, Local Search POIs, Sirius Traffic information, and even act like a Quattro hotspot for folks in the back seat. Audi’s not specified how much this service will cost, but “not free” sounds like a safe bet for now.

Continue reading Audi Connect signs contract with T-Mobile, surprised like the rest of us by the AT&T thing

Audi Connect signs contract with T-Mobile, surprised like the rest of us by the AT&T thing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether via public library or personal collection, e-books may be getting harder to borrow and loan out — HarperCollins put the squeeze on government-funded rentals last week, and today Amazon has allegedly disabled e-book sharing startup Lendle with one fell stroke. Lendle allows readers to trade e-book rentals, in a fashion, by tapping Amazon’s API to list books they agree to loan out, and in return, gain access to a Lendle database of books available to borrow from readers like themselves. The service allegedly fell under the auspices of Amazon’s existing 14-day, one-time-only loaning policy, but that didn’t stop Amazon from revoking Lendle’s access to the API, effectively shutting the service down. According to the no-reply email Lendle received, the reason is that the service doesn’t “serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.” Perhaps there’s some deeper reason behind the move, but that explanation certainly sounds pretty narrow-minded.

Update: Well that was quick — Lendle is now reporting that Amazon has reinstated its API access under the condition that Lendle disables its Book Sync tool, which is a non-essential feature anyway. Great, just in time for bedtime stories on the west coast as well.

Amazon blocks Lendle e-book sharing service (update: it’s back!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this month, we got word that Bing had surpassed Yahoo! as the world’s second most used search engine, and now Microsoft’s solidifying its place as runner-up, coming in behind YouTube as the internet’s number two provider of streaming video, with 48 million unique viewers in February. According to ComScore’s latest ranking of online video providers, the software giant went from number seven to number two in just one month, bumping Yahoo! down to third place. Of course, YouTube is still way out in front, with over 140 million visitors, but given the speed with which it leaped ahead, we’d say Bing is doing something right. Check out more online video results after the break.

Continue reading ComScore: Microsoft becomes second for online video in one month

ComScore: Microsoft becomes second for online video in one month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regional carrier Cricket surprised at CTIA today by showing off a couple new units that aren’t out yet — but they’re in the pipeline for the second quarter, which the company points out is coming “very soon.” First up is the Huawei Ascend 2, which — you guessed it — would be the follow-on to the original Ascend that the company launched last year. The display’s still HVGA; WVGA obviously would’ve been nice, but Cricket is promising to launch it at the same sub-$150 price point as the first model and it’s got a 5 megapixel camera around back (up from 3.2 before).

Next up, the Indulge is pretty much the same midrange QWERTY Android slider that already launched on MetroPCS, albeit with one big difference: this one has no LTE compatibility (Cricket has no live LTE network, after all). As with the Ascend 2, we would’ve preferred a WVGA display — this one’s just HVGA — and the four physical buttons up front seem a bit out of style, but Cricket’s still in a position where any new Android hardware is a very good thing. Look for it to launch for under $350 — off contract, of course.

Cricket teases CDMA-only Samsung Indulge, Huawei Ascend 2 at CTIA (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Few things do a better job at decimating desktop real estate than a bulky old flatbed scanner. Skinnier replacements are cheap these days, but what’s one to do with the old ones? An enterprising hacker who goes by the handle Sprite_tm, the same bloke who brought us a knock-operated door, has managed to create a multitouch panel out of his. He extracted the single-line CCD and mounted that below the display. He then attached five LEDs above it to shine light down. When his finger touches the screen it casts a shadow on the CCD and, with a little (probably a lot) of custom software he’s able to triangulate the position of the touch. The system even works with multiple fingers, though we’re guessing should they overlap vertically the system might get a little finicky. Check out a demo below and then click on through the source link for one heck of a detailed how-to.

Continue reading Flatbed scanner becomes multitouch panel in five-fingered DIY documentary (video)

Flatbed scanner becomes multitouch panel in five-fingered DIY documentary (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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