Jul 12
Samson Audio announces the Zoom H2n handheld audio recorder, an affordable way to capture professional-quality sound with a unique five-microphone capsule design capable of surround-sound recordings.
Jul 12
HTC Status hands-on (video)
Posted in: gingerbread, Google, hands-on, HTC, htc sense, HtcSense, Today's Chili, video
As you can imagine, AT&T was eager to show off its newly minted HTC Status at its holiday preview event, right up there along with a blue Xperia Play and the HP Touchpad 4G. If you’ll recall, the Status is the HTC ChaCha that was announced a few months back, and what makes it stand apart from other Android handsets is a dedicated Facebook button for liking things on these very internets. In AT&T’s case, it’s also the carrier’s first phone running Android 2.3. We’re taking one home to review, but in the meantime we couldn’t resist giving it the full hands-on treatment. You know the drill: photos below, video and early thoughts past the break.
Gallery: HTC Status Hands-On (AT&T)
Continue reading HTC Status hands-on (video)
HTC Status hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 12
Above France for iPad: It’s Like the Tour de France Without Any of the Sweaty Cycling or Crashes
Posted in: apps, IphoneApps, photography, Today's Chili, top
Making fun of France is as American as apple pie but it doesn’t mean we don’t think it’s a beautiful country (what? there’s more than Paris?). Above France is an app from National Geographic Traveler and Fotopedia that shows off the beauty of the rest of the country. It’s a series of jaw dropping photographs that were taken on a helicopter tour around France. More »
Jul 12
ViviTouch haptic tech offers range of feedback, aims to reinvent the mobile gaming wheel
Posted in: game, Today's Chili
When a company touts a product as being as revolutionary as the leap from black & white TV to color, it’s either incredibly delusional or it has a damn good product on its hands. And judging by the buzz surrounding Artificial Muscle’s ViviTouch tactile feedback technology and our own hands-on at CES, we’re inclined to believe its braggart rights. Taking the “one-buzz-fits-all” approach and chucking it in the bin of ‘ye olde tech of yesteryear,’ the electroactive polymer tech creates a “spectrum of feeling” in the 50 – 300Hz range that registers with a user’s hand in five milliseconds. We know what you’re thinking — haptic minutiae is fine and all, but what about my battery life? Well, if the company’s CEO is to be believed, the vibrating touch interface drains 70 percent less juice than rival implementations — so it’s still hoggy, but not quite as hungry. If you’re looking to get a feel of your own for these sensational claims, you’ll have to wait for the Mophie Pulse to make its way to fourth generation iPod touch’s later this year. Buzzwordy presser after the break.
ViviTouch haptic tech offers range of feedback, aims to reinvent the mobile gaming wheel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 12
Bowers & Wilkins is debuting its new C5 earphones in August for $179.95. They feature a unique “Secure Loop” design.
Jul 12
Google Revamps Android Market for Phones
Posted in: Android, Google, mobile, Phones, Smartphones, Software and Operating Systems, Today's Chili
Android’s Market now has an entirely new user interface. Photo courtesy of Google
Look out, iTunes, the Android Market is getting a face-lift.
Google launched an entirely new user interface for its mobile platform Tuesday, completely changing the layout of the application portal.
“The new Market client is designed to better showcase top apps and games, engage users with an improved UI, and provide a quicker path to downloading or purchasing your products,” wrote Android developer Eric Chu in a blog post.
Navigating the differing app categories on the phone-based market requires a swipe left or right, which switches to new, tile-based menu screens. The name and price of a given app you’ve chosen moves to the top of the screen. In addition to apps and games, you’ll also be able to browse movies and books available for purchase from the Market.
Android has long faced platform criticism for its Market setup, as both users and developers alike have had difficulty finding the programs they want in the 200,000+ app-packed Android Market. Apple, by contrast, has long promoted featured and popular apps in its iTunes-based App Store, a one-stop shop for all things iOS. But Google is trying to counter the complaints: At its I/O developer conference in May, Google rolled out a streamlined, app-promoting look for the Market’s web store, with the inclusion of categories like “Top Grossing, Trending” and other ‘top’ apps.
Google claims its latest changes will appeal to developers’ bottom line. The new layout enables two-click purchases of apps, eliminating as much friction as possible so customers can purchase apps faster and easier.
Typically, developers have started creating apps in an iOS environment, perfecting the program their before eventually making it over to the Android ecosystem. But Android co-founder Rich Miner says that will be changing soon.
“It’s become clear that the market has definitely matured for Android,” said Miner at the MobileBeat technology conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. “Towards the end of last year I was recommending to companies that they focus on iOS mobile system — that has clearly flipped,” Miner said.
As a whole, the smartphone industry is growing at a rapid pace. 55 percent of U.S. mobile devices purchased over the last three months were smartphones, according to a Nielsen report published in late June. Android currently holds the title for the most used platform across U.S. smartphones with a marketshare of 38 percent according to ComScore. That’s a 15 percent bump up from February results. Apple edged out Research in Motion for second place, with shares of 26.6 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively.
But if Android wants to stay ahead of Apple and the rest of the pack, it needs to keep its app ecosystem attractive to both customers and developers alike. Beefing up the platform’s app catalog helps, but if customers can’t find the apps they want inside the huge pile, boasting big app numbers will be an exercise in futility.
The new landing page will roll out gradually to users running Android version 2.2 (Froyo) or higher over the next few weeks. If you aren’t keen on waiting, check out the video below for a peek at the Market’s new look.
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Jul 12
Ramona Fricosu case to determine if decrypted laptop files are safe under Fifth Amendment
Posted in: legal, security, Today's Chili
So far, we’ve pretty much decided that the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution covers those zany thoughts within your skull. But when it comes to more tangible things, it’s hardly as clear. In the past, convicted persons have been forced to cough up keys to what eventually becomes evidence, and in the case of one Ramona Fricosu, the US Department of Justice is assuming that a computer passphrase is no different. But that assumption is causing shock waves throughout the tech community, as the decrypting of one’s laptop files is arguably causing someone to become a “witness against himself.” Of note, no one’s asking that Ramona actually hand over the password per se, but even typing in the unlock code while not being watched results in effectively the same conclusion. The San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation is clearly taking a stance against the proposal, noting that this type of situation is exactly one that the Fifth was designed to protect. Only time will tell if Fricosu’s offered immunity as a token for complying, but the precedents that are set here are apt to be felt for decades to come. Tap that CNET link for an in-depth report.
Ramona Fricosu case to determine if decrypted laptop files are safe under Fifth Amendment originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 12
HP TouchPad 4G for AT&T hands-on (video)
Posted in: 4G, att, hands-on, HP, hspa, palm, Today's Chili, touchpad, video
Earlier today, AT&T announced that the HP TouchPad is coming to its 4G network, complete with a processor bump to 1.5GHz (up from 1.2GHz) and an HSPA+ radio. The carrier wasted no time getting its latest slate out in the public, showing it off at an event in NYC this afternoon. There aren’t any cosmetic changes to speak of, but that faster connectivity and notable processor boost are certainly nothing to shrug at. We had a chance to see the tablet in action, and it performed fairly well, especially considering the poor connectivity environment AT&T selected to host its event. Jump past the break to see it in action in our hands-on video, or check out our full review of HP’s slower, WiFi-only TouchPad.
Gallery: HP TouchPad 4G for AT&T hands-on
Continue reading HP TouchPad 4G for AT&T hands-on (video)
HP TouchPad 4G for AT&T hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 12
Jul 12
AT&T launches Sony Ericsson Xperia Play with Gingerbread, blue color option
Posted in: Android, att, gingerbread, Google, hspa, sony, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili
Well, looky here. AT&T has very quietly revealed it’s going to sell the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. No press release, no splashy press conference backed by a cheesy disco soundtrack. The thing just showed up at the carrier’s holiday preview event here in New York City. We’re told it runs Gingerbread, which would make it AT&T’s second Android 2.3 handset behind the newly launched HTC Status. Alas, AT&T won’t say just yet when the Play will be available or how much it will cost on contract, but we do know a couple things for sure. One, it’ll run on the carrier’s 21MBps-capable HSPA+ network. Two, it’ll be available in a “Stealth Blue” color option, in addition to the stock black model we’ve handled before. Other than that, the specs — namely, the 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chip and 4-inch (854 x 480 display) — remain the same. Hands-on shots with the sparkling navy number below.
AT&T launches Sony Ericsson Xperia Play with Gingerbread, blue color option originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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