Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung's Galaxy S4.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

The Galaxy S4 Mini won’t be quite as beefy as its bigger brother, at least according to alleged specs leaked online.

Benchmark results reportedly obtained by German blog site All About Samsung show the Mini powered by Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor. Outfitted with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the phone will offer a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. The Mini will also come with 1.5GB of memory, an 8-megapixel camera in the back, and a 2.1-megapixel camera in the front.

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In comparison, Samsung’s 5-inch Galaxy S4 is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, offers 2GB of memory, and includes a 13-megapixel rear camera.

Assuming the information is accurate, the do… [Read more]

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini to debut at June 20 event — WSJ

If you’re peddling wireless speaker systems that offer internet streaming support, it’s only natural to want to get cozy with Spotify. Sonos’ latest update for its iOS and Android Controller apps does just that, and you can now log-in to the streaming service using your Facebook account. What’s more, version 4.1 makes handling mixtapes easier, as you can access, edit or build new Spotify playlists from within the app. Revising your Sonos playlists, or creating new ones altogether, has also been tweaked so you no longer need to involve the ‘now playing’ queue. Lastly, the alarm function can now be set to wake you with the sounds of your preferred subscription service, taking you straight from dreaming to streaming.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Software, HD

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Source: iTunes store (iPhone / iPod), (iPad), Google Play, Sonos

Drivers of the 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray will get a little more grunt than they expected, with GM confirming that the car’s LT1 6.2-liter V8 is in fact good for up to 460HP and 465lb-ft of torque. Back when the striking two seater was first unveiled in January, GM estimated its power as coming in at around the 450HP mark; the new Stingray is good for a sub-4s 0-60mph time.

Although the LT1 might be good for 460HP, the Corvette Stingray itself will be SAE-certified at a little less: 455HP and 460lb-ft of torque, when outfitted with the standard exhaust system GM offers. Still, that’ll nonetheless be good for 26mpg in highway driving, though we’d expect that to take a significant hit if you drive it like it’s meant to be.

The 2014 car also sees some new engine features that are fresh to the Corvette range, many with efficiency in mind. Most obvious is Active Fuel Management, which can shut down half of the car’s eight cylinders during more casual driving, cutting gas consumption in the process. Get more energetic behind the wheel, and the rest of the LT1 instantly wakes up.

There’s also Direct Injection, which is said to improve combustion efficiency by ensuring the fuel-air mixture is correct. It works along with a new cylinder-head and new piston design, for higher compression.

Chevrolet’s ambitions for the Corvette C7 are believed to be considerably higher than 455HP, however. Previous leaks have suggested that GM is readying a revival of the ZT1 name, using a supercharged version of the LT1 engine for a newly-dubbed LT5 good for as much as 700HP.

That car, if real, isn’t expected to reach showrooms for some time, however – into 2014, the leaks suggested – while the existing C7 will show up on forecourts this fall. Its convertible sibling will arrive by the end of the year.

GM confirms Corvette C7 even more powerful than first promised is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been a long while since we first saw Honda’s exoskeleton-like Walking Assist Device – 2008, in fact – but the first 100 units are finally strolling into broader service in Japan. 100 of the 2.6kg gadgets, which strap onto the legs and hips so as to help the wearer walk more steadily and with a longer stride, have been deployed as part of a loan program across Japanese hospitals.

In total, fifty hospitals will get to try out the Walking Assist Device, with each location getting two units: one medium (for hip widths of up to 340mm) and one large (for hip widths of up to 380mm). Each unit can run for more than an hour on a single charge, Honda says, with the 22.2V Li-Ion battery fitting into the control pack that sits at the small of the back.

Honda suggests the gadget can be useful for both indoor or outdoor walking, though it cautions against using the walker in the rain and on non-flat surfaces. So far, it’s been trialled on a small scale in seven different hospitals, where physiotherapists and doctors have apparently given the system a tentative thumbs-up.

Although it lacks the immediate geek-appeal of Honda’s ASIMO robot, the Walking Assist Device shares a big part of the robot’s intelligence. Both are based on the company’s studies into walking styles; in the case of the exoskeleton, a bevy of sensors are used to track hip-angles, and thus make sure the motors kick in as appropriate to help guide each step.

It’s not Honda’s only unusual transportation system we’ve seen over the past few years. Although the company is best known for its cars, it also keeps plugging away at more personal methods of getting around, including oddball designs like the UNI-CUB unicycle and the moto compo folding scooter.

VIA Engadget Chinese

Honda Walking Assist Device goes into broad hospital trial is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sonos has updated its controller app for iOS and Android, boosting Spotify integration with new playlist editing tools. The updated v4.1 apps, which turn your iPhone, iPad, or Android device into a remote for the multiroom streaming system, can now add a Spotify account simply by punching in your Facebook credentials, with support for creating and editing Spotify playlists directly within the Sonos software.

Spotify integration has been a part of Sonos since late 2010, but the two services have never worked properly together in terms of playlists. Although the Sonos controller apps will pull playlists created in Spotify, you can’t edit them or create new lists, only add tracks to a Sonos-specific playlist.

Version 4.1 of the controller app, however, addresses all that, in addition to finessing how Sonos playlists are handled. Now, it’s possible to add tracks from any music source without first having to add them to the music queue, for instance; it’s also possible to access Spotify folders.

It’s not clear whether Sonos will continue the Spotify integration and add features like the new Discover tab, which the cloud music service launched earlier today. That attempts to cut through catalog intimidation by suggesting music it believes the listener will enjoy, based on the tracks they’ve played previously, artists they follow, and the music their friends are listening to.

The new Sonos controller apps are available for download in the App Store and Google Play store now. You’ll obviously need a Sonos system and a Spotify Premium account in order to actually take advantage of the new features; those with free Spotify accounts will have to upgrade. There’s also a companion firmware update for the Sonos PLAY speakers themselves, which will need to be installed before you can use the new apps.

Sonos tightens Spotify playlist support with new controller apps is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.