Hasta La Gadget!

Here comes a new Android 4.0 ICS tablet from Ainol, the Novo7 Aurora II. Powered by a 1.5GHz Amlogic8726-M6 dual-core Cortex-A9 processor, the device sports a 7.0-inch 1024 x 600 5-point capacitive IPS touchscreen display, a Mali-400 GPU, a 1GB DDR3 RAM, a 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot (up to 32GB), a 2MP front-facing camera, 1080p HD video playback support, 3G module support (WCDMA), OTG function, WiFi, a built-in 4000mAh battery and runs on Android 4.0.3 OS. The Novo7 Aurora II sells for $179.99. [Product Page]

QNAP hits back by showing off their newest 2-bay NAS server, the TS-269 PRO. Designed for SMB / SOHO users, this entry-level NAS server is equipped with an Intel Atom D2700 processor, a 1GB DDR3 RAM, two SATA HDD bays, 2x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x USB 3.0 ports, 3x USB 2.0 ports, 2x eSATA ports and supports for multiple RAID setups (0,1) as well as JBOD. The TS-269 PRO will start shipping from late June for unannounced price yet. [QNAP]

SK Hynix Korea has introduced a new line of 2.5-inch SSDs to its range. Coming in both 128GB and 256GB capacities, these SSDs are packed with ONFI synchronous NAND Flash memory chips, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a built-in 128-bit AES hardware encryption, TRIM support and capable of delivering read and write speeds of up to 510MB/s and 470MB/s, respectively. Pricing and release date are still unknown at the moment. [SK Hynix]

Edited and scored with the dramatic tension of a summer blockbuster trailer, NASA’s put together a gripping short clip that dresses down Curiosity’s mission to Mars for the layman. The “car-sized” rover, set to touchdown on August 5th of this year at 10:31PM PDT, is currently journeying towards the Red Planet on a suicide mission of sorts, with the success of its make it or break it EDL (enter, descent, landing) wracking the nerves of our Space Agency’s greatest minds in advance. Their cause for concern? A period of radio silence, dubbed the “seven minutes of terror” for the amount of time it takes a signal to reach Earth, during which the craft will have already either smashed disastrously into the Martian landscape or nestled perfectly down from the ascend phase on a 21ft long tether. The logistics involved are so numerous and prone to error — slowing the craft from 13,000 mph to 0 mph and then deploying, detaching and avoiding collision with the supersonic parachute for starters — that it’s a wonder the government ever signed off on the project. If it all does come off without a hitch, however, the ladies and gents down at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory certainly deserve several thousand bottles of the finest bubbly taxpayers’ money can buy. Click on past the break to gape at the sequence of engineering feats required to make this landing on terra incognita.

Continue reading NASA’s Seven Minutes of Terror: Curiosity’s precarious Mars landing explained (video)

NASA’s Seven Minutes of Terror: Curiosity’s precarious Mars landing explained (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon has started to update a small number of Motorola RAZR Maxx phones and this is one of them. If you’re not familiar with this handset, you can go read our full review of the Motorola RAZR Maxx, but for now, we’ll go over some of the best new features that Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich (or ICS) brings to this device, along with some improvements from Motorola itself.

1/ After powering up the phone, the most obvious sign of change is the new Unlock screen that now gives you direct access to the Phone, Camera or Text apps, in addition to the home page. Normally, you should be able to configure which apps show up there, but I haven’t tried yet. This is good, and every smartphone should a multi-access Unlock feature like this and there’s no reason to limit to 4 either. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Ice Cream Sandwich status explained by Motorola, More Ice Cream Sandwich devices from Motorola coming your way,