Hasta La Gadget!

Esquire, Popular Mechanics, and O are not just for your local bookstore’s magazine rack any more — assuming you still have a local bookstore and that it is still large enough to own a rack. Hearst Corporation, the force behind those printed ‘zines, has become the first major publisher to terms with Apple, so those very publications will soon be on iTunes. Starting with their July editions you can subscribe for a seemingly quite reasonable $1.99 monthly, though the annual option of $19.99 seems like less of a bargain. (You can get a year of Popular Mechanics on pulp for $12.) This is just a small sampling from Heart’s back catalog, but the company is promising more are coming soon, leaving us wondering just how we’re supposed to fill out our Cosmo quizzes without a pen.

Hearst Corp. signs on to sell its magazines through iTunes, bringing more O to the iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re reading this, we’re going to go ahead and assume you’ve got a computer endowed with its own wireless radio, but that doesn’t mean it’s powerful enough to handle your non-stop streaming these days. For folks craving more oomph, TrendNet has just announced the first USB adapter that promises to boost your throughput to speeds as high as 450 Mbps (thanks to MIMO technology) — a mighty boost over the 54Mbps or 150Mbps rates you might be used to. As a dual-band adapter, it’ll connect to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz networks and — bonus — its design is relatively discreet, too. Feel the need for speed? It’s on sale now for $80.

Continue reading TrendNet outs first 450 Mbps dual-band WiFi adapter

TrendNet outs first 450 Mbps dual-band WiFi adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today is my birthday. Yeah! But unlike when I turned 18 (old enough to bet the ponies) or when I turned 21 (duh), I don’t really care. And like many of us on our *special days*, I’m getting a lot of love on facebook: from old friends, family members, professional contacts—that random guy whose friend request I accepted while drunk and who now invites me to “ragers” almost every weekend. It’s actually quite touching, and I totally appreciate it. But also: a puzzle. How do you properly acknowledge all of this good will? Unless you have like 4 friends, answering each post is a losing proposition. More »

In case you were left unsure what a “non-serviceable state” meant when Microsoft warned users to avoid the ChevronWP7 updater, we now have further details. The company is in the process of rolling out a Windows Phone update charmingly called 7392, a post-NoDo improvement that does nothing other than fix some bogus security certificates on handsets. With no user-facing changes it’s not really something users would probably be pining for — except that many are now being told they can’t get it, and of course we always want those things we can’t have.

Microsoft has confirmed that phones updated using “any unofficial mechanisms” to NoDo (which was 7390) will not be able to get 7392 via its very official mechanism: Zune. No big deal now, but it will be in six months when 7394 comes along and delivers the long-awaited addition of Microsoft Bob to the platform. No, Redmond’s brightest aren’t going to help you out of this mess you’ve created for yourself, but happily someone else is: the “clever bunch” who released the unofficial update in the first place. That bunch is said to be working on another unofficial tool that will help users get back onto the “officially supported path,” a route that is slow and meandering but is, at least, quite unlikely to hurt you along the way.

Microsoft confirms WP7 handsets updated using ‘unofficial mechanisms’ cannot get latest update originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We love our smartphones (in part) because they’re flexible, in the sense that they are mighty multitasking machines. Researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario Canada, however, want flexible phones in a literal sense — less five-tool player, and more master contortionist. Using a ductile e-ink display and elastic electronic underpinnings, they created a device called the PaperPhone that literally bends to its user’s will. Curling the corners of the device isn’t just for show, either, as folding the phone is how users navigate menus and make calls. We aren’t completely sold on the idea of a bend-based UI, but we’re definitely digging the lithe and lightweight phone form factor. Video of the new flexi-phone is after the break.

Update: A second video showing the same 3.7-inch display in a wearable computer project dubbed, “snaplet,” has been added after the break.

Continue reading Flexible PaperPhone wants to get bent out of shape (video)

Flexible PaperPhone wants to get bent out of shape (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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