May 25
Sprint and Motorola have sent out invites for a special event in New York on June 9. What will they unveil?
Originally posted at Dialed In
May 25
Climbing robot can scale walls on a supersonic stream of air, won’t leave fingerprints behind
Posted in: research, robot, stream, Today's Chili, video
There are plenty of wall climbing robots roaming the Earth, but few can scale heights as gracefully as this little guy can. Developed by researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, this bot can wind its way across any glass, metal or cloth terrain, without even touching its pods to the surface. The secret lies in Bernoulli’s Principle, which states that as the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases. This phenomenon also applies to streams of air, which, when moving at high speeds around of a circular gripper, can create a vacuum strong enough to hold things without actually touching them. In this case, air shoots out of the robot’s feet at more than 2,000 miles per hour, creating enough pressure to lift the craft, while holding it close to the wall. The technology isn’t new, but rarely can it support the weight of an entire device — let alone the extra cargo that this climber’s non-contact adhesive pads can hold. Researchers say the supersonic grippers will be available in “some months” and will probably cost “a few hundred dollars.” As for the bot itself, Canterbury’s engineers envision it being used for industrial inspections — though the more we think about it, the more we realize just how dirty our windows are. Video after the break.
Climbing robot can scale walls on a supersonic stream of air, won’t leave fingerprints behind originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 25
Reporting a slight decline in first-quarter PC shipments compared with last year, IHS iSuppli believes the iPad and other tablets have cut into PC sales, hitting Netbooks more than larger laptops.
May 25
GameFly announces acquisition of Direct2Drive PC game digital distribution service from IGN.
May 25
Droid Incredible 2 review
Posted in: 720p, Android, droid, froyo, Google, HTC, kindle, qualcomm, review, skype, snapdragon, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, video, vzw
It wasn’t that long ago that we were jonesing for a Nexus One on Verizon. What HTC gave us instead was the Droid Incredible, with the same 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED display — not to mention a better camera (8 megapixel vs. five), 8GB of built-in flash storage, an optical trackpad, HTC’s Sense UI on top of Eclair, and a dash of funky industrial design. The Incredible was an impressive phone with a lovely camera, marred only by questionable battery life and lack of supply, forcing HTC to build a Super LCD-equipped model to satisfy demand. Judging by the popularity of the Incredible, it came as no surprise that following HTC’s announcement at MWC, the Incredible S eventually became Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2. With a 4-inch Super LCD display, global CDMA / GSM radio, front-facing camera, updated internals (including 768 MB of RAM), trick capacitive buttons, and a Froyo-flavored serving of Sense, the Incredible 2 seems like a worthy successor to last year’s Incredible. Does it live up to our expectations or is it just another fish in the crowded sea of Android? Does it significantly improve upon the original formula or is it merely a refresh? Hit the break for our review.
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Droid Incredible 2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 25
You had a few too many while out one night, and you told all your friends they should totally come over for a Memorial Day pool party. Only problem is, you don’t have a pool. DON’T PANIC! This week’s Toolkit will give you everything you need to throw a pool-less pool party. More »
May 25
How bad is your HD?
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe picture quality of high-definition programming can vary greatly depending on the source. So how good, or bad, is your HD?
May 25
Gingerbread finally coming to Droid X Friday, Droid 2 and Pro to follow?
Posted in: Android, gingerbread, motorola, Today's Chili, update, upgrade, verizon
After several leaks Verizon and Motorola have finally gotten their act together — Droid X owners, get ready for a little love in the form of Blurified Gingerbread. Verizon just reached out to let us know that Android 2.3 will start hitting the big-screened phones on Friday. You can find a full list of new features that it and the latest version of Blur bring to the party, along with instructions for downloading and installing. A Motorola employee also let slip in the company’s support forums that other devices may soon follow suit: “other [Gingerbread] updates are currently scheduled to be released before the end of the third quarter.” While he wouldn’t name specific handsets, it seems safe to assume that the Droid 2 (including the Global version) and possibly the Droid Pro will be included.
Gingerbread finally coming to Droid X Friday, Droid 2 and Pro to follow? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 11:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 25
Acer Iconia Tab A100 delayed due to Honeycomb compatibility issues?
Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, delay, Google, honeycomb, tablet, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili
Acer was already kind enough to give us a heads up that it would not be launching the Iconia Tab A100 in May, as planned. But the company wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to explain why its 7-inch, Tegra 2-powered tablet is taking such a tedious trip to market. According to a DigiTimes report, at least, the hangup comes down to compatibility issues with Honeycomb, an OS that so far hasn’t been seen on many 7-inch slates. Specifically, the site’s unnamed sources say Acer has encountered problems with certain applications and that Google, meanwhile, is “busy resolving other issues.” All in all, precisely the kind of complication that Ice Cream Sandwich promises to circumvent. Oh, and speaking of delays, DigiTimes adds that the Iconia Smart might go on sale in July due to earthquake-related supply shortages. We asked Acer for clarification, but the company declined to comment, so it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see what goodies late summer brings.
Acer Iconia Tab A100 delayed due to Honeycomb compatibility issues? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 25
The Russian company says it has a way to decrypt iPhone file system dumps and thus let law enforcement agencies get forensic access to the smartphone.
Originally posted at The Digital Home
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