Hasta La Gadget!

Wireless companies love suing one another — well, maybe they don’t “love” it, but in an age when it’s virtually impossible to assemble a cellular device without extensive licensing agreements in place, it’s basically an inevitability. Microsoft has hit up the ITC over a total of nine alleged patent infringements by Motorola in its Android devices, specifically relating to “synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.” This should be interesting — will it result in a quick cross-licensing agreement, or a protracted court battle spanning multiple years? Hard to say, but in the meantime, follow the break for Microsoft’s brief press release.

Continue reading Microsoft files ITC complaint against Motorola over alleged Android-related patent infringement

Microsoft files ITC complaint against Motorola over alleged Android-related patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP has just named its new CEO and President, former CEO of SAP, Léo Apotheker. Mr. Apotheker, who was with SAP for over 20 years, will also join HP’s Board of Directors. His elections are to take effect November 1st. The decision has been expected since Mark Hurd‘s dramatic exit in August, though Mr. Apotheker’s name was not one widely circulated as being in the running. The company has simultaneously named Ray Lane as the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Full press release is below.

Continue reading HP names Léo Apotheker as new CEO and President

HP names Léo Apotheker as new CEO and President originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enough with the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS already, let’s get official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It’ll then land in the US and Europe in March for an undisclosed amount. Launch colors are aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS’ front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii — you can edit it too using Mii Studio on the 3DS. You can even merge two photos into a single image if you choose. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless “tag mode” or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card.

Ninty also announced a special edition Super Mario DSi LL (no hardware changes) set to launch for ¥18,000 in Japan on October 28th. It also confirmed that a Wii Remote Plus is in development (it’ll be announced at a date some time in the future) and a partnership with Fuji TV that will trial 3D video streaming to Nintendo’s new handheld. Finally, a virtual console-style store was show serving up downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS.

Update: Nintendo just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan with a bit more product detail including new feature overview and software lineup videos found after the break. There you’ll see a built-in pedometer with activity graph and what looks like background multitasking (or at least a state save) letting you launch other apps and then return to a game at the exact same point you left it. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day (even when the 3DS is sleeping); Augmented Reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box; a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, WiFi toggle, and more; a Book app; and note writing / diary software.

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)

Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh boy, here we go: Hulu Plus is coming to Roku’s lineup of players, which now starts at $59 and goes up to $99 for the Roku XDS we just reviewed highly. That certainly makes the Roku / Apple TV comparison far more interesting — ten 99-cent Apple TV rentals or the $10 Hulu Plus monthly subscription fee? — and depending on what you watch, it could make cutting your cable subscription a no-brainer. We don’t know about resolution or bitrate yet, but we’re working to find out — and we’re definitely looking to get some hands-on time before the channel goes live this fall, so stay tuned. PR after the break.

Continue reading Roku adding Hulu Plus channel this fall

Roku adding Hulu Plus channel this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today at Research In Motion’s annual BlackBerry Developer Conference, CEO Mike Lazaridis announced the company’s new tablet — the PlayBook. The tablet will utilize an OS created by the recently acquired QNX (just as we’d heard previous to the announcement) called the BlackBerry Tablet OS which will offer full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5 (which is all tied into RIM’s new WebWorks SDK). Lazaridis was joined on stage by the company’s founder, Dan Dodge, who said that “QNX is going to enable things that you have never seen before,” and added that the PlayBook would be “an incredible gaming platform for publishers and the players.” RIM also touted the PlayBook’s ability to handle Flash content via Flash 10.1, as well as Adobe AIR apps. The new slate — which Lazaridis described as “the first professional tablet” — will sport a 7-inch, 1024 x 600, capacitive multitouch display, a Cortex A9-based, dual-core 1GHz CPU (the company calls it the “fastest tablet ever”), 1GB of RAM, and a 3 megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5 megapixel rear lens (and yes, there will be video conferencing). There was no mention of onboard storage capacity during the keynote, though the devices we just spied in our eyes-on post are labeled 16GB and 32GB on their back panels. The PlayBook will be capable of 1080p HD video, and comes equipped with an HDMI port as well as a microUSB jack, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The device clocks in at a svelte 5.1- by 7.6-inches, is only 0.4-inches thick, and weighs just 400g (or about 0.9 pounds).

In terms of interface, the OS looks like a mashup of webOS and the BlackBerry OS, even allowing for multitasking via what amounts to a “card” view. Interestingly, RIM and QNX boasted of the PlayBook’s multimedia and gaming functions, but Mike Lazaridis also described the tablet as “an amplified view of what’s already on your BlackBerry.” That’s due largely in part to a function of the tablet which allows you to siphon data off of your BlackBerry handset via Bluetooth tethering and display it on your PlayBook (a la the ill-fated Palm Foleo). While the PlayBook doesn’t seem to rely on phone content alone, the press release from the company says that users can “use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data.” RIM didn’t hand out any solid launch dates beyond “early 2011,” and of course, there was no mention of retail price. We’ve got a slew of content after the break, including the PlayBook spec rundown, the company’s press release, and a full video of the device (and UI) in action — so take a look!

Continue reading RIM introduces PlayBook — the BlackBerry tablet

RIM introduces PlayBook — the BlackBerry tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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