Hasta La Gadget!

Audio company Harman Kardon has announced a new and affordable Bluetooth adapter designed to turn any audio system into a wireless music streaming system. The adapter is called the BTA 10 and is impressively small. The adapter is a small black square that should be easy to hide in a crowded stereo rack or entertainment center.

The adapter costs $59 and weighs only 1.1 ounces. The adapter measures 2″ x 2″ and supports streaming audio content over Bluetooth with Apple, Android, or Windows smartphones and tablets. The adapter ships with required connection cables for standard RCA left/right jacks on normal audio products and 3.5 mm input connection for portable and desktop products.

The Bluetooth adapter can stream music from any source that has an analog connection and can be paired with up to eight different Bluetooth devices. The device uses Harman TrueStream technology promising the highest-quality Bluetooth listening experience available. With this adapter plugged into your stereo system or home theater system, you can stream music and other audio content from your smart phone directly to your audio system.

The adapter supports Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP. It also has a 33-foot wireless range allowing you to use it from across the room. Harman Kardon also offers a one year warranty from the date of purchase. The BTA 10 Bluetooth Adapter is available online and in stores right now.

Harman Kardon unveils new BTA 10 Bluetooth audio adapter is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Everything is relative, so when a chip foundry like TSMC (which produces gear for the likes of NVIDIA) has a bad quarter, that means it only made a $1 billion in profit. Today’s numbers reveal that the company has managed to rescue its halting fortunes after turning over $4.8 billion and making a tidy $1.68 billion in profit. The cause of this upswing was that orders for its coveted 28-nanometer process doubled in the period — repaying some of the $8.5 billion spent developing it and keeping profits just a little over that of its close pal, Qualcomm.

Continue reading TSMC’s 28-nanometer process pays off as it rakes in $1.68 billion profit in Q3

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets

TSMC’s 28-nanometer process pays off as it rakes in $1.68 billion profit in Q3 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 05:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp may look like it’s in trouble, but that’s not stopping it bringing new displays to the market, including today’s announcement of the AQUOS Quattron 3D XL TV line. Behind the mouthful of acronyms, these LED-backlit LCD panels are the first to feature Sharp’s Moth-Eye technology, designed to reduce glare and pump out bright colors, as well as a deep black. The company’s ‘four primary color’ tech is partly responsible for the rich output, which squeezes a yellow sub-pixel in with the standard R, G and B. All the panels run at 1,920 x 1,080, as you’d expect, sport a 10 million to 1 contrast ratio and use five speakers to deliver audio. Prices aren’t fixed, but the 46-, 52- and 80-inch models will be released in Japan on December 15th, while the 60- and 70-inch variants will come slightly earlier, on November 30th. You’re going to have to be quick on launch day, though — only 10,000 units are expected to be available in the first month.

Filed under: Displays, HD

Sharp announces first TVs with Moth-Eye technology: the AQUOS XL series originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has reiterated the company’s new commitment to hardware, suggesting that it will “dive in” when “opportunities to set a new standard” arise. Speaking to the BBC, outspoken Ballmer confirmed what he had previously hinted at in a letter to shareholders earlier this month, a “fundamental shift” of Microsoft’s attention from primarily software to a combination of that and the hardware it’s used with. The first significant example of that is Surface, Microsoft’s Windows RT tablet, but it won’t be the last.

Microsoft’s decision to launch a Windows 8/RT tablet of its own led to some surprise among OEM partners, especially given the fact that extreme secrecy meant that the notice each was given amounted to a couple of days. Now that Surface is out of the bag, however – our full review of the Windows RT model is here – Ballmer seems less reluctant to talk device plans.

“Is it fair to say we’re going to do more hardware? Obviously we are” the CEO said. “Where we see important opportunities to set a new standard, yeah we’ll dive in.”

A shift in focus was presented as essential if Microsoft was to be nimble against rivals – and at the forefront of the minds of its OEMs – Ballmer told investors. “There will be times when we build specific devices for specific purposes, as we have chosen to do with Xbox and the recently announced Microsoft Surface” he wrote, with echoes of Google’s Nexus program to position Android phones and tablets that epitomize what the company believes is the best direction for the platform as a whole.

Exactly what will come next is unclear, however, though with the obvious effort and investment Microsoft put into developing Surface hardware – efforts highlighted by ex-CEO Bill Gates in a separate interview this month – it seems unlikely that the firm will be content to settle back to keyboards, mice, and webcams.

“We have committed ourselves on a path where we will do whatever is required from both a hardware and a software innovation perspective and the cloud innovation perspective,” Ballmer teased, “in order to propel the vision that we have.” The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, however, with Microsoft yet to reveal preorder figures for Surface.

Steve Ballmer: “Obviously” Microsoft will do more hardware is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Square, maker of the nifty little commerce gadgets that plug into a mobile device’s headphone port, has announced the availability of its Mobile Card Reader in Canada. The Mobile Card Reader allows businesses and individuals to accept credit card payments directly from their iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. The device is free.

Square charges a 2.75% fee per card swipe, and brings in over $8 billion in annualized payments. The accompanying app, Square Register, is also free, making the system accessible to anyone who wants to convert to a mobile-based payment system. According to the press release, Canada is Square’s first foray outside of the US.

Said the VP of International for Square Alyssa Cutright, “We are focused on making commerce easy for everyone. Square builds free tools for local businesses of all sizes and types to thrive. We’re thrilled to introduce Canadian businesses and their customers to the most seamless and enjoyable way to do business.”

Payments issued through Square’s Mobile Card Reader and accompanying app are available within 1 to 2 business days. There are no setup fees or long-term contracts according to the company’s website. For those who bring in substantial business, there’s an optional $275 flat monthly rate rather than the 2.75% per transaction fee.

Square mobile commerce device launched in Canada is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.