Mercedes will show its A-Class concept at the New York International Auto Show later this month. Images of the luxury compact car show a complete design overhaul compared with the existing A-Class vehicles tooling around Europe.
Originally posted at The Car Tech blog
The math is above my head, but the numbers check out: Smaug, from The Hobbit, would be worth $8.6 billion–if he were alive. Welcome to the Forbes Fictional 15, a list of the top fake billionaires.
Can RIM survive as Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone market? CNET takes a look at RIM’s fall, its bet on the PlayBook, and how it can get back on the mend.
Originally posted at Dialed In
Owners of the Wi-Fi + 3G versions of iPad 2 are complaining that they must reboot their devices if they want to connect to 3G after previously switching the feature off.
It may take a few hours on the phone with customer service to get it working, but the new TV-streaming app from Time Warner is surprisingly useful.
Good news for small cellular carriers, and bad news for big ones today — the Federal Communications Commission has decided to mandate data roaming by a 3-2 vote. Simply put, major carriers like AT&T and Verizon will be required to let you check your email and perform VoIP calls over their federally-licensed airwaves even if you’re actually paying a regional carrier for your cellular coverage instead — just as they’ve been required to do for voice and messaging since 2007. As you can imagine, Big Red and Ma Bell aren’t exactly jumping for joy at the news, with both threatening to slow expansion into niche markets if they’ll be forced to share their infrastructure. The victorious members of the FCC claim that this doesn’t constitute common carriage because the big boys still get to negotiate “commercially reasonable” rates. Considering that two dissenting commissioners say that it is, indeed, common carriage, though, and thus beyond the powers granted to the FCC, we imagine we haven’t heard the last of this debate. What happened to simply “incenting” the carriers to come to an agreement? Find statements from most every concerned party at the links below.
FCC mandates data roaming after 3-2 vote, AT&T and Verizon aren’t too happy about it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Talking is something most of us take for granted, but a new app called MyVoice — currently available for iOS and coming soon to Android — is attempting to give the ability back to those who aren’t as fortunate. Developed by a group of University of Toronto students after being approached by a man who had a stroke, the location-based app allows users to “speak” pre-programmed text macros using text-to-speech. You can’t add new phrases from within the app just yet, though for now there’s an online portal that also allows relatives to configure strings and organize them into “places” for the ultimate user. We checked out the app and it seems to work as advertised — there’s a pretty extensive word pack that comes with it. You can score the free download at the more coverage link below, and we’ve got a video demo after the break.
Continue reading MyVoice app for iOS and Android enables the mute to talk (video)
MyVoice app for iOS and Android enables the mute to talk (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Keyport Slide keychain alternative gathers all your keys together in a tiny metal box. It’s pricier, quieter, and a whole lot cooler than that big ring you’re carrying around now.
Today we answer an e-mail from a gamer who’d like to hook up more than one console to a wireless gaming headset.
If you live in Hawaii, California, British Columbia, Alaska or Baja California, here is some bad news: According to computer models made by scientists at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, all the debris washed out by the Japan tsunami is coming your way. More »
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