What’s red or black, 4 x 4 inches and exposes itself shamelessly on the show floor at IDF 2012? If you answered Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC), you’d be right. The diminutive PC was on display at Intel’s Developer Forum along with its motherboard and cooling assembly. It comes in two flavors, a consumer-geared model with a single HDMI connector and Thunderbolt (in red) and a more business-centric version with two HDMI outputs and Ethernet (in black). Both mini-systems feature a third generation (Ivy Bridge) Core i3 CPU, QS77 chipset, two dual-channel DDR3 SoDIMM slots, mSATA and mini-PCIe interfaces (for SSD and WiFi cards), five USB 2.0 ports (two back, one front, two internal) and a socket for an external 19V DC power supply. The company hopes to get the attention of OEMs and DIY-ers alike when it makes this small, light and simple computer design available in October for about $400. Check out the gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.
Gallery: Intel Core i3 NUC hands-on
Continue reading Intel’s Core i3 NUC mini-system bares it all for IDF (hands-on video)
Intel’s Core i3 NUC mini-system bares it all for IDF (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If faster connections on your phone is more of a priority to you over hardware specs, then you might be interested to learn that Sprint has announced a new LTE handset that won’t break the bank and will be compatible with the carrier’s new LTE network. Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE, this is a mid-ranged handset that will set customers back $99 on a new two year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. So we’re sure that some of you are wondering what will you be getting for your $99? Well, would-be customers can expect to find a 4” display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor under the hood, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a 1.3MP front-facing camera, NFC, Google Wallet support, S Voice, S Beam, AllShare Play, 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD, 1GB of RAM and it will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Not the most amazing phone we’ve seen to date with phones like the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S3 out there, but for $99 it seems like it could be value for money, especially if 4G LTE connectivity was what you were after.
Good news Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners on Verizon’s network! If you were feeling a little left out given that the WiFi version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 received the Android 4.0 update a while back, well fret not as Verizon has officially announced the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices. Granted this isn’t Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but we guess an update is better than no update, right? For those wondering, this update will introduce a couple of new features to the tablet along with various improvements as well. No word on when the update will begin rolling out, but if Verizon has already announced it, we guess it shouldn’t take too long before the update starts making its way to the masses! If you have already received the notification informing you of the update (it will be about 248MB and will be offered OTA), or if you have already updated your tablet, let us know in the comments below, if not stay tuned for more news on its roll out!
While the focus might be on Android and iOS at the moment, let’s not forget that as far as smartphones are concerned, RIM’s Blackberry devices used to reign supreme. However lately the company has taken quite a bit of hits, although many are hoping that the upcoming Blackberry 10 OS and its accompanying devices will be amazing enough for RIM to regain some market share. Verizon appears to be rather supportive of RIM’s efforts, and when asked about the possibility of keeping their options open when it came to operating systems apart from iOS and Android given the whole Apple versus Samsung legal battle, Verizon’s CFO Francis J. Shammo was quoted as saying not to count RIM out yet as there was a chance that they could come into the marketplace with an innovative product. We guess this isn’t too surprising since Verizon did 
If you own a Blackberry, then hearing the word “BBM” probably conjures the thought of RIM’s Blackberry Messenger. However it seems that the term has become so synonymous with Blackberry Messenger that the Collins English Dictionary has been updated to include the term. According to T.A. McCann, the Vice President of BBM and Social Communities at RIM, “The inclusion of BBM in the Collins English dictionary recognizes its status as one of the world’s most popular mobile social networks. In recent years, the term ‘BBM’ has transcended its technological origins to become a brand that is part of the everyday language of millions of people all over the world. The service itself continues to evolve, with ‘BBMers’ able to share content, create groups and even post status updates to other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter directly from the BBM app. We’re honoured that a word used daily by millions of our customers has been officially welcomed into the English language.” Pretty cool, huh?