Hasta La Gadget!

HTC Rezound ad pays Verizon stores an early visit, soonish launch likely originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Kinect hack makes presentation slides work around you (video)

Kinect hack makes presentation slides work around you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well hello gorgeous — both of you! AT&T’s starting to catch the LTE fever, as the carrier’s announced that its first two devices with the true 4G will be ready to grab as of this upcoming Sunday. First we have the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket: the long-rumored device can be yours for $250 with a two-year commitment and will offer a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, Android 2.3.5, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 8MP rear camera with a 2MP front-facing cam and 16GB of internal storage space. Next up is the HTC Vivid (Holiday), which will be offered in both black and white for $200 and appears to match the specs leaked to us a couple months ago: it uses a 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, 1.2GHz CPU, 8MP rear camera with f/2.2 28mm wide angle lens and 1080p HD video recording. What about the “4G” branding? Contrary to the carrier’s HSPA+ devices, neither device will have LTE or 4G as part of their official name. Both phones will be reverse compatible with AT&T’s HSPA+ network, in case you’re not using the phone in an LTE-capable area; speaking of which, AT&T also announced that the November 6th launch will also bring four additional markets live, including Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore and Athens GA. Data plans for AT&T’s LTE smartphones will remain the same, with $15 getting you 200MB per month, 2GB going for $25 and 4GB with mobile hotspot connectivity for $45. Check below for a press gallery and the full press release.

Continue reading AT&T to expand 4G coverage and launch first LTE smartphones November 6th: HTC Vivid, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket

AT&T to expand 4G coverage and launch first LTE smartphones November 6th: HTC Vivid, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Overpriced and underpowered, Carousel v1 fails to compete with Photo Stream

Adobe has released Carousel, a suite of multi-platform apps that let you share and edit your photographs on any device you on, seamlessly. If it sounds familiar, that’s because its a lot like a pro version of Apple Photo Stream.

Carousel runs on iOS devices, as well as the Mac, with Android and Windows versions on the way. Any photo you add on any platform will be almost instantly mirrored. Edited photos are re-uploaded and then re-synced across devices.

Editing is simple and straightforward. Whilst it’s not the Lightroom Lite we were hoping for, you do get a small subset of Lightroom’s editing tools. And these are nicely organized. You can adjust a slider to change white balance, for example, but when you hit the little arrow next to the slider, you get the option to adjust temperature and tint separately.

It’s well put together for a 1.0, and does one thing that Apple’s Photo Stream can’t: delete photos.

However, it has a lot of barriers to use. First is that it costs $6 per month (there’s a free 30-day trial), compared to the free Photo Stream. Second, you have to manually add pictures to the Carousel library. Third, it’s currently JPG-only, so no PNG screenshots and no RAW files (Photo Stream does both).

Complete integration is perhaps Photo Stream’s biggest strength. Any app that can write to the camera roll automatically joins the game (even Carousel, ironically). Apple’s pro apps (I’m looking at you, Aperture) are crowded and nard to use, but when it comes to making the simple stuff easy, it’s hard for others to match the convenience.

Carousel is available now in the Mac and iTunes App Stores.

Adobe Carousel [iTunes]

Adobe Carousel [Mac App Store]

See Also:

• Holy Moly! Adobe 'Lightroom' for iOS
• Photo Stream

Double trouble: ZooGue’s Dual case holds two iPads side-by-side

Double the iPads, double the fun! Or at least, double the chance of using the iPad to get any work done. At least, that’s the promise of ZooGue’s Dual iPad 2 Case.

The Dual iPad case is pretty much just a longer version of the ZooGue’s Genius, a good but bulky leather foilio-style iPad case. The Dual Case holds two tablets side-by-side, has a fold-out, Velcro-secured kickstand, a band to mount it to car headrests and covers with magnets to sleep and wake the iPads within.

You might scoff, but when I need to get some work done on an iPad, the best companion is another iPad. You can use one as a source and one to do the writing on. If you’re an author, or editing photos or video or music, you probably need just one, but for blogging one screen leads to frustration.

Of course, an actual computer is even better, especially if you start connecting bluetooth keyboards to your iPads too.

But it really doesn’t matter, as the Dual Case is a more of a gimmick. Available only as a limited edition, the cases are being auctioned for charity, with proceeds going to the the Alabama Autism Assistance Program.

Also, check out the reviews on the product page. My favorite, from Lord Michaelton of Raspberry Falls, begins thusly:

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovingly designed product, but what the heck am I supposed to do with my third iPad?

Dual iPad 2 Case Limited Edition [ZooGue]

See Also:

• Hands-On with the ZooGue Genius iPad Case
• School-Friendly Case Puts iPad in a Bind(er)