Hasta La Gadget!

In just one week Samsung gets up on stage in Berlin to announce the Galaxy Note 3, the event has been scheduled for September 4th. There have been a lot of rumors about Samsung’s upcoming phablet. We’ve heard about the specifications it is supposed to tout and the features it is supposed to have. There haven’t been many rumors or leaks about the phablet’s design though, which is why this particular one is interesting. A purported front panel of Galaxy Note 3 has been photographed alongside that of the Galaxy Note 2.

The image shows purported Galaxy Note 3 front panel on the right. We can see slimmer bezels, the front panel itself looks only slightly larger than its predecessor. Galaxy Note 3 is expected to have 5.68 inch display as opposed to the Note 2′s 5.5 inch display, so its easy to explain the slight difference in size. Apart from that, the Galaxy Note 3 is rumored to have a Snapdragon 800 processor, an Exynos 5 variant is expected as well, with 3GB of RAM, a 13 megapixel camera and Android 4.3. Rumor has it that the phablet will be released in the market soon after its official launch which has already been confirmed for next month. At this event Samsung is also expected to launch its new smartwatch. [Image via ETradeSupply]

Galaxy Note 3 Purported Front Panel Compared With Its Predecessor original content from Ubergizmo.

Sometime in the next few months, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will flip the switch on the largest solar plant of its kind in the world: A 377-megawatt, 3,500-acre solar thermal energy system. It’s located in California’s Mojave Desert near the Nevada border and it’s ridiculously big. I would suggest going to check it out in person during your next Vegas binge weekend, but from the 15 freeway it’s little more than a silvery blur—a rippling, mirage-like, silvery blur that feels like it might sear your retinas if you look at it too long. So it’s a good thing they’ve just posted this incredible virtual tour.

Read more…

Google Hangout video chats have been quietly upgrading to 720p HD, and the mothership says all users should have high definition soon. The quality boost is part of a long-term upgrade that has Hangout moving toward a system that won’t require installing any plugins, but that’s still down the road. [Gigaom]

Read more…

NASA yesterday switched its Mars rover Curiosity to its autonomous navigation system. For over a year now the agency’s engineers have been driving the rover on Mars, now the rover is capable of driving itself. Switching to the autonomous navigation system will allow the rover to cover more ground, it will map out the safest driving path to its destination on its own by analyzing images taken during its drive. The images were previously analyzed by NASA’s people on the ground before they approved a route for it.

The rover was successfully switched to autonav yesterday and it drove onto ground that wasn’t deemed to be safe before. A preparatory test was conducted last week in which Curiosity mapped out a drive for itself while remaining in an area that had been identified as safe. Using the self-drive system will enable Curiosity to travel an additional 10 meters a day, as it capitalizes on the time that was previously spent by NASA’s engineers to determine a safe path for it. The Mars Curiosity rover is now making its way towards Mount Sharp where it will collect soil samples. It will continue to beam back information about the Red Planet, like it has done in the past.

Curiosity Rover Now Driving Itself On Mars original content from Ubergizmo.

Want to watch a copter crash live and guilt-free? Of course you do. Well you’re in luck: NASA is serving one up right now.

Read more…