RIM just reported earnings that were even more miserable than expected. We’ve already said why the company is cooked. But is there any way it can be salvaged? Well, just maybe there is. More »
Oh, what’s this, Canon? You want your turn in the spotlight as well? Well, we suppose a hint of an announcement is better than a non-announcement, so bring it on! The imaging company just sent us word of a presumably star-studded SoCal event on November 3rd, giving its cameras a chance to walk the red carpet in a rather surprising Hollywood role reversal. We’re not sure exactly what Canon plans to unveil that night — a new mirrorless camera, or perhaps some fancy pants camcorder, destined for Hollywood’s elite? But assuming the company isn’t crying wolf, we’ll be there with a live report from the red carpet.
Canon plans Hollywood event, ready to roll out the red carpet on November 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft gave out Samsung Windows 8 tablets at its 2011 BUILD Conference. Image: VentureBeat
The future of Flash looks dimmer and dimmer as another major player in the mobile space shuns support of the platform.
Microsoft’s brand new Windows 8 Metro user interface will not support Adobe Flash or other plug-ins, instead embracing the HTML5 set of web standards, according to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team leader Dean Hachamovitch. For users who access legacy ActiveX controls, they’ll have to jump out of the Metro UI and switch to the classic-styled desktop browser.
Hachamovitch explains that running IE without Flash or other plug-ins “improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers.” These are pretty much the same reasons that Apple doesn’t support Flash on its devices.
“Providing compatibility with legacy plug-in technologies would detract from, rather than improve, the consumer experience of browsing in the Metro style UI,” Hachamovitch wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
Of course, Adobe immediately went on the defensive, shifting attention away from Microsoft’s mobile devices.
“We expect Windows desktop to continue to be extremely popular for years to come and that it will support Flash just fine, including rich web-based games and premium videos that require Flash,” Adobe told Wired.com in a statement.
Adobe’s Flash product has had a rough time as computing has shifted to a mobile environment. Apple has long banned Flash from its mobile devices, publicly announcing the reasons (which Adobe directly responded to). Recently, Apple stopped shipping Flash capability with products like the 2010 MacBook Air, which gave the 11-inch model a whopping two extra hours of battery life. Since Google released Android version 2.2 (Froyo), many Android-powered smartphones have supported Flash. But some say Android’s Flash-capabilities are wanting.
And Android isn’t the only OS running Flash poorly. The QNX-powered BlackBerry PlayBook operating system was hyped to boast the best Flash support before its release, but Wired.com found running Flash games and sites spotty at best on the PlayBook. Similarly, the Android-powered Motorola Xoom has struggled with Flash, debuting only with a beta version of Adobe’s product that was much maligned.
“I actually find Flash on Android to be quite cumbersome,” said Michael Novak, a developer for group messaging app GroupMe, in an interview. “I would like to see Android move away from Flash support and adopt more HTML5 video options. The large run-time required by Flash is disappointing.”
Novak feels it will be a hard battle to fight though, as much of the publishing interesting are very supportive of Adobe products.
HTML5 has come to be the de facto alternative for functions that previously required Adobe Flash. For instance with video, back-end system Brightcove now uses HTML5 to deliver streaming video to devices like the iPad. Many see the move of video services in particular toward HTML5 as the “kiss of death” for Flash. As of March, 63% of web video is now HTML 5 compatible, an indication of the growing shift away from Flash.
Although Flash is losing steam, Adobe is not, even with regards to its waning product. Adobe has outed its own Flash to HTML5 conversion tool, called Wallaby, which is a free AIR application1. Adobe’s AIR platform allows developers to use Flash and other tools to develop standalone web apps for mobile devices.
Note 1. The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Edge was Adobe’s Flash to HTML5 conversion tool. Edge is an HTML5 web motion and interaction design tool. Updated 9/16/2011 at 11:59 AM PST.
That Google+ would eventually score an API was a forgone conclusion. And, while things have been far from quiet, we haven’t heard much about Mountain View’s plans to open up its social network to third-party access. Well, the first API is finally here and, while it doesn’t offer much in the way of interactivity (simply read access to public data), this is only the beginning. Check out the source links for more details and some sample code.
Google+ finally gets an API, doesn’t do much yet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You’ve most likely heard plenty about NFC-capable smartphones, but little in the way of actual real-world uses for the chip. Well, MasterCard’s looking to change all of that, and throw in a few innovations of its own courtesy of its in-house R&D labs and Google. Shown off at an event today, the company demoed the Google Wallet application we first learned about back in May — which is gearing up for an official launch sometime “soon.” Running on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G — with a planned expansion to multiple devices — users can connect a Citi MasterCard account to the service, and tap-to-pay at any retail location outfitted with a PayPass station. The transactions take place as instantaneously as you’d expect, with spending alerts notated automatically in-app, as well as via text message. If you’re the paranoid type or just a spendthrift, the app offers plenty of options to set spending limits, approve / block purchases via category (i.e. dining, entertainment) and enable alerts for overseas activity. Currently, the Google Wallet service is Android-only, and that’s probably a direct result of the AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile backed mobile payment rival, ISIS.
But the company’s also got one eye fixed squarely on the future — scheming up alternate implementations for payment on-the-go through its MasterCard Labs division. Focusing on its QkR platform (an obvious play on QR codes), these concepts ranged from television audio signals encoded with purchase data, audible to a phone running the QkR app, or fast-food tabletops embedded with NFC and QR codes that’ll allow customers to scan for coupons, order remotely and apply the discount — all without leaving their seats. The most interesting use of the new platform, however, had nothing to do with mobile phone use and everything to do with an Xbox Kinect. Utilizing the gesture recognition tech, items could be selected on-screen by holding your hand over an item and navigating through the checkout process. We know, yet another great proof-of-concept, but tuck away that cynicism for a second — a company representative confided to us that soft-pilot testing of QkR is already underway, with an official announcement slated in the next two weeks. And don’t worry about it being a Google OS-only affair, QkR’s been tested across iOS, Windows Phone Mango and even BlackBerry. Whether or not the innovative payment system’ll launch with all of these mobile OS on-board wasn’t clear, but we were assured there’d be at least two partners on board. Jump past the break to get a close-up view of our hands-on with the future of payment.
Continue reading MasterCard demos Google Wallet, QkR platform for mobile payments
MasterCard demos Google Wallet, QkR platform for mobile payments originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Finally, a cold weather companion to Dyson Air Multiplier fans, the Dyson Hot. Image: Gizmodo
The Dyson Air Multiplier, the magical, ridiculously pricy, blade-less fan that’s wowed us for years has a wintertime version: the Dyson Hot.
Its blade-free oblong ring looks almost exactly like Dyson’s cool breeze-blowing Tower Fan model, yet it’s smaller and of course, hotter.
The Dyson Hot doesn’t have any exposed heating elements and has automatic shut-off when it tips over, which makes it a safe option for the home. Dyson claims its surface won’t reach dust-burning levels, so that means you’ll never get that funky scorched smell you normally get when you finally flip the space heater on after six months of storage.
According to the product description, it’s designed for “small to larger sized rooms”, whatever that means, so I’ll just buy six to make sure I’m covered.
It carries a whopping $400 price tag and is available in one of two stylish color combos: iron and blue, or white and silver.
via The Giz
Online gaming may be the preferred form of multiplayer showdowns these days, but the LAN party still exists. They’re grueling, caffeine-fueled affairs that can span multiple days, and intimidate the uninitiated. So here’s everything you need to fit in. More »
If you haven’t heard about the Samsung Galaxy S II by now, you’re definitely tardy to the party. But as the proverbial saying goes, it’s better late than never, right? The Galaxy S, its predecessor with myriad chassis selections and carrier variants, is still selling like hotcakes all over the world, and the sequel is no lightweight (figuratively) either — selling three million units in 55 days only seems to be rivaled by a company based out of Cupertino — and for good reason. We gave the unlocked version high marks for its excellent performance, gorgeous display and top-of-the-line camera, so it was only natural that we’d spend the next four months wondering when we’d see the powerhouse make it Stateside.
Don’t get us wrong — we’ve seen our fair share of unlocked Galaxy S II devices proudly shown off in the US (most of them from our own editors, admittedly) because it’s already available at full retail (roughly $650-700) from multiple vendors. However, the Samsung Epic 4G Touch is the first to be offered at a subsidized cost in return for a two-year commitment, and it won’t be the last as AT&T and T-Mobile pull up the rear with their own styles of the same handset. So how does the landmark phone stand up to not only the test of time but several carrier-specific design changes? Are Sprint customers getting a “tainted” version of Sammy’s flagship Android device? These questions have been pondered for months, and we finally have the answers if you keep on reading.
Gallery: Samsung Epic 4G Touch gallery
Continue reading Samsung Epic 4G Touch review
Samsung Epic 4G Touch review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As a response to Spotify’s successful US launch, MOG and Rdio have both offered freemium versions of their respective streaming music services. They’re scared of losing the war to the Scandinavian invaders. But is it a race to the bottom? More »
AT&T took to the stage to announce its LTE network will go live on Sunday, which means today’s the perfect day for its fiercest rival to one-up the news. Verizon’s director of network technology Praveen Atreya, dropped the rather unsurprising news that the next natural step in the company’s data evolution chain will be LTE-Advanced. Don’t get your hopes up so fast, though: Atreya says it’s still too early in the game to test the new tech or figure out its potential speeds (spoiler: they’ll be disgustingly fast), so we’re likely not going to see any widescale deployment for at least the next few years. Still, we’re always looking forward to the next best thing, so learning that Big Red is following Clearwire’s lead in adopting the technology is reassuring, to say the least.
Shocker: Verizon director admits to LTE-Advanced future originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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