Hasta La Gadget!

Long before Google outed Samsung’s Series 5 and Acer’s Chromebook, we’d already heard that Verizon would provide unlimited 3G coverage to the Internet giant’s netbooks, but our friends across the Atlantic still didn’t have a data carrier until yesterday. We don’t have a lot in the way of details for now, but Three UK has stepped forward as the Chromebooks’ carrier of choice for 3G data in the United Kingdom. The company is decidedly tight-lipped otherwise, but says they’ll have more details in the “next few weeks.”

Update: Well, it looks like Three has already let the cat out of the bag on this one. According to the UK’s Chrome OS site, British Chromebook users will receive a free SIM card, offering 3GB of 3G coverage for three months — see what they did there? After that, users can choose to go contract-free with a number of different pay-as-you-go plans that range from a 500MB day pass for £3 to a 7GB one-month pass for £25. More details can be found at the Chrome link below.

[Thanks, Ross & Jamie W]

Chromebooks get 3G connectivity via Three UK (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s multiplayer gaming network will offer free ID theft monitoring for customers whose personal data was stolen. PC- and PS3-based online gamers will also get free in-game bonus items and currency.

Originally posted at Circuit Breaker

Continue reading FL Studio coming to iOS (unicorns, leprechauns, phat beats to follow)

FL Studio coming to iOS (unicorns, leprechauns, phat beats to follow) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a dim environment, the mirasol frontlit prototype (left) outshines a traditional mirasol e-paper display. Photo: Nate Hoffelder

If you want to catch up on the day’s reading before bed, in your darkened room, you’re a bit SOL with a traditional e-paper e-reader.

Sure you could use a tablet to read on instead, but that backlighting is harsh. You just need to see the words onscreen — you don’t need them burned into your retinas.

Qualcomm has come up with an innovative solution that’s currently in prototype form: an e-paper display with integrated LED front lighting. Unlike clip-on lighting options, the display is evenly lit. And unlike tablets, the illumination can be completely turned off in order to preserve power.

A model with an ambient light sensor, which would automatically shut off the LEDs in bright situations and switch them on in the dark, is in the works, and Qualcomm expects the first products to utilize this front lighting technology to be released in the fall.

But is there still a market for e-readers? Barnes and Noble is transforming its Nook e-reader into a full-on Android tablet, and the tablet arena has been absolutely booming with new products (2011 has been the year of the tablet after all). Many e-reader makers have been having difficulties, filing for bankruptcy or canceling plans, in the wake of the tablet revolution.

Would you be more likely to purchase an e-reader if you could use it in the dark, or would you rather stick with a multi-functional portable like a tablet? Sound off in the comments.

There’s good news and bad news about Mirasol [The Digital Reader via Slashgear]

It seems Fujitsu’s got a thing for morphing PCs. Way back in 2006, we saw this mysterious tri-fold concept, which was rumored to be making the rounds inside Fujitsu R&D, and now the outfit’s short-listed this déjà-vu-inducing transformer for its 2011 “Life with Future Computing Award.” The Flexbook, designed by Hao-Chun Huang, features a foldable 21:9 touchscreen and similarly flexible keyboard that allow its users to switch from laptop to tablet to book-like e-reader. It’s also been designed to sport a number of interchangeable sleeves in a Benetton-esque array of colors and patterns. It might have seemed impractical five years ago, but with convertibles coming of age, we’d say the Flexbook isn’t really all that far out.

Flexbook concept serves up candy-coated convertible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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