Hasta La Gadget!

If you thought that playing Scrabble on your mobile device was considered high-tech, you might want to rethink that. In preparation for the Prague Mind Sports Festival, the organizers have spent a whopping £20,000 building a Scrabble board that comes with some serious hardware built into it. While we doubt you will be able to take one home for yourself, this Scrabble board comes with integrated RGB controlled LED lighting, nine embedded circuit boards and 225 RFID antennas – basically one per square, and specially created game pieces whereby each game piece will have an RFID tag built into them. So why the sudden need for such an advanced Scrabble board? The idea is to that using the RFID tags and antennas and custom software, this will allow the organizers of the event to broadcast the event as it is happening in real time as the system is capable of reading the board in just 974 milliseconds. Whatever happened to good old top-down camera angles anyway? In any case if you’d like to catch the event for yourself, the tournament will be taking place on the 1^st of December. More information on the Mind Sports Festival can be found on its website.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Official Scrabble game now on Android, Scruble Cube offers something different for brainiacs,

If you were one of the lucky customers who managed to order a Nexus 4 being the device went out of stock, you might be pleased to learn that when your device finally makes its way into your hands (if it hasn’t already), it seems that a root method for the Nexus 4 has already been discovered. Given that the Android community is pretty active, we guess we can’t say we’re surprised to learn that root for the Nexus 4 has been discovered this fast. This is thanks to XDA member HQRaja and it seems that the root method for the Nexus 4 is a pretty straightforward one. If you have rooted and flashed an Android device before, we suspect that you should have no problems with this, but if this is your first time, like we always do, we suggest you might want to do some homework before proceeding. No sense ruining that brand new device, right? In any case the instructions and the accompanying files can be found in the XDA forums, so head on over for the details!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 4 Has Internal LTE Modem, Google Nexus 4 Hits $1000 On eBay,

Sprint announced this morning that it is now offering the iPad mini and fourth generation iPad with LTE connectivity in “select Sprint retail locations.” Sprint is one of three official U.S. data providers for Apple’s tablet, offering LTE data plans for the iPads that don’t carry a contract and only require 30 day commitments at a time. AT&T is also said to likely be starting iPad mini sales today [update: it’s official, AT&T is also selling the iPad mini with LTE starting today], as well as Apple retail stores, as customers in the U.S. at least have begun receiving shipments of their devices, as expected.

Sprint is the first to officially announce that it will be offering the iPad mini in-store beginning today, and the carrier also sells the new Apple tablet via its online store. AT&T stores are likely receiving them today as well, according to earlier reports, and sources have also heard that Apple will be stocking limited quantities in-store in their physical retail locations, though apparently the decision to begin selling them still remains with corporate even though stores have stock.

The LTE version of Apple’s iPad mini comes in two flavors in the U.S., one which is compatible with AT&T’s network, and one that works with Sprint and Verizon’s 4G. The devices start at $459 in the U.S. for 16GB, going up to $559 for 32GB and $659 for 64GB. Estimated shipping times at the official Apple Store remain at two weeks, so if you’re looking to get one quick and you haven’t pre-ordered, heading out to a brick-and-mortar store today might be your best bet.

Update 2: Verizon now has also officially announced availability of the iPad mini with LTE in their stores.

The fruit of JBL‘s partnership with Espoo, the Power Up wireless speaker and induction charger, has just landed at AT&T and Verizon. Aside from receiving your beats over Bluetooth, the 2 x 10-watt speaker can also charge Qi-compatible devices like the Lumia 920 and the Nexus 4. It uses TI’s latest power chip for an enlarged charging area, and packs NFC for quick pairing. Unlike TDK’s more portable option, the Power Up retains its power cable, but it does come in cheaper than its rival at $250. (Or, for some reason, $300 if you buy it at AT&T.)

[Thanks, Brandon]

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

JBL Power Up speaker and wireless charger combo now shipping, whimsically priced around $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony makes a lot of really nice things, but it has never taken smartphones seriously. That’s to change if Sony Mobile’s sales chief, Dennis van Schie, is to be believed.

Speaking to the Financial Times Deutschland, he basically acknowledged that Sony’s current phone lineup does not have a direct competitor to the iPhone or Galaxy S III.

“We will create in the near future a flagship model that can compete with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S III,” he said. A spokeswomen also noted that the model will be available at CES and Mobile World Congress in the first part of 2013.

Sony, and previously, Sony Ericsson, has produced stunning-looking phones. You cannot argue that they lack a strong design or build quality. But Sony’s Android update history has been nearly non-existent. Sony essentially releases a phone and then moves on to the next one, letting it fend for itself as competitors get updates and enhancements.

The Sony Xperia TL is the current Sony Mobile flagship. It has the goods to stand tall against any other smartphone on the market: dual-core 1.5GHZ S4 Plus, NFC, 4.6-inch 720p display, 13MP camera and it only costs $99 at AT&T. The casing is wonderful and it feels great in the hand. But have you heard of it? Have you seen it in any ads or heard it mentioned in any Android flame wars? Yeah, that’s the problem.

Sony knows hardware and can build a fine device. No one disputes that. But it has lost the Midas touch. Making a “better” smartphone in terms of specs is not enough to sell to consumers anymore. People do not shop smartphones by specs. They shop by trends dictated by popularity and massive marketing campaigns. If Sony is to have a shot with its iPhone and GSIII competitor, the marketing message is nearly as important as the device itself.

Van Schie went on to tell Financial Times Deutschland that Sony is not currently planning any Windows Phones but adding, “We have a good relationship with Microsoft and are closely watching the development of Windows Phone.. If it succeeds, we will not be caught off guard.” A smart plan. With the explosive growth of Android, it’s probably best for an upstart like Sony Mobile to focus on the sure thing. There is plenty of lucrative goodness left in Android market share pie for Sony — as long as consumers know its upcoming flagship exists.