Hasta La Gadget!

According to Reuters, Tim Cook and Larry Page have been having behind the scenes chats over the last week or so, most notably about the ongoing patent proxy war between the two companies. According to sources, the Apple and Google CEOs spoke last week over the phone and are planning a meeting where, hopefully, they can hash out some of their differences. Discussions are also apparently taking place at lower levels, which could indicate this is a concerted effort to put to rest the tiresome battles over intellectual property. Unfortunately, details about what exactly the two talked about, and how broad those conversations were are unknown. But, it’s definitely a good sign that the two sides are talking. Perhaps the relatively new corporate heads can avoid going completely “thermonuclear,” as Cook’s predecessor infamously threatened.

Update: All Things D has gotten confirmation from its own sources, and points out that Google is “wearing several hats here,” including one as the owner of Motorola Mobility, which is currently suing Apple. However, we’re still holding out hope that the licensing deal struck between those two companies is a sign of better days to come.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Tim Cook and Larry Page reportedly chat about patent war originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, you’ve been tempted to strap your iPhone to that ski helmet for a homemade action cam solution, but ultimately, you respect Apple’s warranty, as limited as it may be. Mophie’s new Outride ruggedized case equips your fragile smartphone with a ruggedized shell, protecting the device while also serving as a helmet / bicycle / flat-surface mount. The thick plastic case includes a raised lens module, and is available in both water-resistant and above ground flavors. That first version is still undergoing testing, according to Mophie reps, so we don’t know just how far it can dunk with letting down its guard to condensation, but we do know that it will retail for $149. A land-only version will also be available for $129, and unlike the sealed model, your iPhone’s display will still be exposed, giving you full access to the device. Both cases include a dedicated shutter release, which works in camera mode, letting you snap away under the sea. They also ship with a trio of mounts for your helmet, handle bars or a flat surface. Catch a closer look at Outride in the gallery below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Peripherals, Wearables

Mophie Outride ruggedized action case for iPhone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re a fan of Western Digital and their popular VelociRaptor line we might have something for you. All those folks with a spare Thunderbolt port on their Mac might just want to check out this new release from WD. It’s called the Western Digital MyBook VelociRaptor Duo and offers Thunderbolt speeds and 2TB of capacity. Oh and it’ll cost an arm and a leg.

This new MyBook from Western Digital uses two blazing fast 1TB 10,000 RPM VelociRaptor drives in a RAID configuration to bring you some top notch speeds, and tons of storage. I want one already! Toss in the new Thunderbolt standard to help you achieve top read/write and in/out speeds and you’ll be cruising along in no time.

The new WD storage device offers speeds topping 400MB/sec and both RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations. That is near SSD performance only you’re getting 2TB of space instead of say 512GB. What is the price your wondering? This impressive new MyBook isn’t cheap with those speeds and performance. It will run you a pretty penny of about $900. All that precious HD video now has a fast, safe, and easy to access storage option.

WD details that the new VelociRapter Duo comes with dual Thunderbolt ports so you can daisy chain should you have a spare $1800 to pick up two. Then as you see above the device is user-serviceable and accessible should the unlikely event of a drive failure. You can easily pop her open and replace a drive. You can even boot your Mac right from this external storage drive. If you’ve got the cash to spend or the need for speed head to WD.com to get started today.

[via ZDNet]

Western Digital Announces MyBook VelociRaptor Duo with Thunderbolt and 2TB is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today’s the second major day of news from IFA 2012, and while Samsung and Sony both got their time in the spotlight yesterday (Samsung in particular had a lot to talk about, but Sony had some big announcements as well), today it’s Dell’s turn. It seems that everyone is jumping on the Windows 8 and Windows RT train lately, and Dell is no exception. Today it revealed a handful of new devices that will be making friends with Windows 8 and Windows RT.

There are three new products from Dell for you to take a look at today. The first is the refresh of the Dell XPS One 27, an all-in-one PC that has been given a touchscreen and support for Windows 8. It also comes packing a sexy resolution, running at Quad HD 2560 x 1440 and being able to boast 3.7 million pixels. We were able to spend some time with that 27-inch screen, and you can see what we thought of it in our hands-on with the Dell XPS One 27.

Next up we have the Dell XPS Duo 12 ultrabook. This announcement is significant not only because it’s seemingly reviving the Inspiron Duo, but also because the XPS Duo 12 comes with a swiveling touchscreen, putting an interesting spin on the tablet/notebook hybrid. Dell kept the XPS Duo 12 behind glass after making its announcement, but we were still able to get some eyes-on time with the convertible ultrabook and have a look its full HD screen.

Finally, we come to the Dell XPS 10 tablet. The 10-inch slimline tablet is rocking Windows RT and comes with a removable keyboard dock. That’s all well and good, but what really surprised us were Dell’s claims about the battery. This bad boy can apparently run for 20 hours on a single charge, so if you need a tablet that has a long lasting battery, this sounds like the one for you. Just like the Duo 12, we have an eyes-on with the XPS 10, giving you an up-close look at the tablet. As an added bonus, we also found out that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 processor line will be powering this new tablet, so that’s something to get excited about.

That about does it for our Dell wrap-up, but keep it right here at SlashGear for more news straight from the floor of IFA 2012!

Dell IFA 2012 Wrap-Up is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Pantech has been steadily building its relationship with AT&T over the past few years by supplying the carrier with a healthy dose of budget-friendly handsets. Could it be that the OEM has finally earned the opportunity to add a higher-end device to the GSM giant’s lineup? It may very well be the case with the P9090, aka the Magnus. Our source has hooked us up with the first images of the smartphone, which confirms an 8MP camera with LED flash, front-facing cam and at least Ice Cream Sandwich (if not Jelly Bean). While the image doesn’t reveal any other specs, we’re expecting to see a 720p display, LTE connectivity and a Qualcomm MSM8960 dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. We’re still not sure what to think about the bumpy design on its back, though it does remind us a little bit of what Verizon has done on the HTC Incredible series. The specs may be quite similar to the Vega Racer 2, though the phone itself doesn’t look anywhere close to the manufacturer’s Korean flagship. AT&T still hasn’t announced the Magnus, but we’ll let you know pricing and availability as soon as we have it.

[Thanks, Anonymous!]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Pantech Magnus pictured en route to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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