Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia unfortunately did not mention how much their Lumia 920 will cost nor when will it be available – at least until today. The good news is that if the Lumia 920 is the phone you’ve been anticipating and you live in Russia, Germany or Italy, Nokia has announced the pricing and availability of the phone for those particular countries. Starting with Russia, the Lumia 920 is expected to be priced at 24,990 rubles (~$801), while the Lumia 820 will be priced at 19,990 (~$640).

As for Germany, Nokia has announced that the Lumia 920 will be priced at 649 euros (~$836), with the Lumia 820 going for 499 euros (~$643). Nokia Italy on the other hand has priced the Lumia 920 slightly cheaper at 599 euros (~$771). Both Germany and Italy can expect to receive their devices in November, although it was not stated as to when those living in Russia can expect their devices. No word on the availability and pricing in other markets yet, but if you live in Russia, Germany or Italy, you can head on over to Nokia Russia, Germany or Italy’s websites to place your pre-orders!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nokia special event wrap-up, German retailer taking Nokia Lumia 920 pre-orders, delivery pegged for 17th October,

Siri’s managed to make it into several Apple devices now, so it doesn’t shock us to spy the company’s attempt to patent the polite (somewhat frosty) tones of its voice navigation system. A pretty deep patent application filed today describes an “intelligent Automated Assistant,” with the claims describing an application that is guided through the user’s speech — and all wrapped in a “conversational interface.” So far, so Siri. The filing elaborates on Apple’s earlier filings, explaining how this digital assistant furthers the users’ demands with additional requests for speech-based information — hopefully resulting in that map location or a movie booking you were after.

This “user intent” is then put to use, launching an additional app or performing the specified function, while non-speech input (presumably like the ability to correct your requests in text form) get a brief mention. We do get plenty of description on commands though, with some pretty thorough response tables and examples of “anchor text” — something that the automated assistant tries to pluck from your ramblings in order to make sense of them. The full version resides at the source below, if you’re looking for 51 verbose pages explaining Siri’s inner workings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Apple files patent application for ‘intelligent automated assistant,’ sounds like Siri originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T is close to securing a major victory in its battle against the spectrum crunch. While it’s not quite a done deal, FCC chairman Genachowski has submitted a proposed order to FCC commissioners that would authorize AT&T’s deployment of its LTE service within a 20MHz portion of the 2.3GHz (WCS) band. The deal is unique in that the spectrum is currently reserved for satellite radio, and the reallocation would mark the first of its kind within the WCS band. As you may recall, AT&T previously conceded to a 5MHz dead zone on both ends of Sirius XM’s operating frequency in order to mitigate interference concerns, and it seems the move was sufficient to gain the chairman’s support.

Also looming on the FCC’s to-do list is the decision of whether to approve AT&T’s purchase NextWave and its unused WCS spectrum. If it’s any indication, however, Chairman Genachowski seems bullish on the reallocation and has suggested that the agency may authorize another 30MHz of the WCS band for mobile broadband use. AT&T has previously said that it could feasibly deploy LTE over the 2.3GHz spectrum within the next three years. One group fighting the deal is the Competitive Carrier Association, which posits that AT&T’s purchase of such a significant chunk of spectrum on the secondary market is anti-competitive in nature. It’ll no doubt be interesting to see if the argument gains any traction with the FCC. In the meantime, you can view remarks from the agency’s spokesperson after the break.

Continue reading FCC chairman green-lights AT&T’s use of WCS spectrum for LTE with proposed order

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

FCC chairman green-lights AT&T’s use of WCS spectrum for LTE with proposed order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A week ago we reported that according to the rumors, LG’s upcoming Optimus G Android phone could also be one of the several upcoming Google Nexus handsets. Well it seems that Spanish website, Movilzona has “confirmed” that possibility. This is according to their source who apparently is connected to Vodafone (or at least that’s what Google Translate has suggested), who has also offered up some additional details about LG’s rumored Nexus device.

The upcoming Nexus handset is said to feature a 4.7” display which will apparently be of the same quality and detail offered by Apple’s Retina Display. Given that the Optimus G has a 4.7” display and a resolution of 1280×768, we can’t help but wonder if the LG Nexus and the Optimus G could be the same device. This can hardly be called official information, but given that it’s around that time of the year when Google is expected to announce their next Nexus device, we expect Nexus-related rumors to start ramping up. Either way we’ll take this with a grain of salt for now, but what do you think? If this is indeed the case, Google’s next Nexus will probably the most powerful yet.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG Optimus G more details – preview with videos, LG Optimus G could also be the Optimus Nexus? [Rumor],

A company called Suitable Technologies is unveiling a new remote presence robots system. The robotic system is called the Beam Remote Presence System or Beam RPS. The robotic system is designed to allow people to travel instantly to remote locations using video conferencing on a mobile platform.

The Beam RPS system has three components, including the remote presence device, the client software, and the beam docking station for charging. The robot has a display that shows the operator along with the camera on top placed approximately at eye level to allow face-to-face interaction with workers remotely. The robot itself is 62-inches tall and weighs 95 pounds.

The display attached to the device is 17-inches allowing the operators face to be seen in life-size. The internal rechargeable battery for the Beam RPD is good for eight hours of use and the motors propel the robot at human walking speeds. The telepresence robot has a pair of HD cameras with a 170° field of view vertically and horizontally.

The device also features a six-microphone beam forming array to reproduce audio, reduce background noise, and canceling echoes the system. The bot also has an integrated speaker system with enough volume to allow the operator to be heard in noisy environments. It also features integrated LED lights for operation in dark environments. The client software is available for Windows 7 and Mac computers. Pricing for the system begins at $16,000 for the robot plus an additional $950 for the charging dock. Shipments will begin in November.

Beam RPD telepresence robot costs over $16,000 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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