Hasta La Gadget!

Sharp has just taken the veils off its bold new e-reader devices, dubbing them both Galapagos in honor of the evolution the company believes they represent. The 5.5-inch Mobile version (pictured above) has a delightfully dense 1024 x 600 LCD screen, while its 10.8-inch Home sibling offers a very decent 1366 x 800. There’s 802.11b/g WiFi on both, while the littler slate is also enriched with a navigational trackball. Sharp’s emphasis here really seems to be on the cloud-based ecosystem it’s creating for these “terminal” devices — 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books have been lined up for its planned December launch and an “automatic scheduled delivery” facility will help you get at them as soon as the latest issue’s ready for consumption. Sadly, we should note that this is specifically tailored to suit the Japanese market, which makes an international release seem somewhat unlikely. For a size comparison between the two tablets and the full press release, jump past the break.

Continue reading Sharp announces Galapagos e-reading tablets: 5.5 and 10.8 inches, getting e-bookstore in December

Sharp announces Galapagos e-reading tablets: 5.5 and 10.8 inches, getting e-bookstore in December originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one’s been expected and rumored for a long time. Now it’s official: Blockbuster has initiated “pre-arranged” chapter 11 proceedings. Under the plan, Blockbuster’s debt would be reduced from $1 billion to about $100 million when implemented. The press release states that Blockbuster is currently evaluating its US store portfolio as part of the recapitalization process. For the time being, all 3,000 stores will remain open. However, we’ve been told by a trusted tipster that up to 1,000 could be shed before things are said and done. Now make no mistake, Blockbuster is still open and wants you to know that it’s business as usual during the restructuring — the details of which you can read in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Blockbuster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Blockbuster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sammy just hit us up with a brief statement that should make Captivate owners jump clean out of their seats and do a spit take if they’re enjoying a cup of joe:

“An update to improve the Samsung Captivate’s GPS performance is now available. Captivate customers will receive a notification on their device that an update is available and will simply need to download the file to update their phone. The updates will be pushed to customers’ devices over the next few weeks.

The update for the Captivate will also improve additional device functions, such as media scanning time, add the full version of Quickoffice and address Microsoft Exchange 2003 policy support.”

Awesome, right? Of course, the proof is in the pudding — we’ll need to wait and see how “fixed” the GPS really is after this gets installed, but it’s a start. Notably, this doesn’t seem to include Froyo, so we don’t know whether these guys are going to be going the British or Spanish routes in getting that deployed.

Update: We’ve independently confirmed with AT&T that this update does include GPS improvements.

Samsung Captivate gets GPS fix, other Galaxy S versions wait patiently originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS was quite serious when it said it wanted to have commercial LTE up and running in 2010 — and indeed, it has made good on its word today with an official launch in Vegas. Of course, you need hardware to go along with a new network, and that’s not much of a surprise either: the long-discussed Samsung Craft becomes not just MetroPCS’ first 4G handset, but the first LTE phone to launch commercially anywhere in the world. It’s not a smartphone, but it’s got a 3.3-inch AMOLED display, 3.2 megapixel camera, and a full QWERTY slide. Interestingly, MetroPCS is not offering tethering (or any modems) at this time, which means the only way you’re going to be able to enjoy those blazing speeds is on the handset itself. The carrier is offering basic unlimited service for $55 for a month, while another $5 will net you unlimited on-demand video streaming from 14 networks. The Craft, meanwhile, runs $299 contract-free — and since it’s dual-mode, it’ll work just fine on MetroPCS’ CDMA network once you leave the blackjack tables. Follow the break for Samsung’s press release.

Continue reading MetroPCS launches LTE network in Las Vegas, Samsung Craft along for the ride

MetroPCS launches LTE network in Las Vegas, Samsung Craft along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been just shy of a year since TerreStar’s Windows Mobile-based Genus was announced for AT&T, offering a unique combination of GSM / HSPA backed up with satellite capability for those times when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere; in fact, you may have assumed that it had already been released by now. After all, this isn’t the phone for 97 percent of the population — it runs Windows Mobile and still works in places where us soft city folk would never dream of going — so odds are good you never bothered to follow up on it. Fact is, though, it’s just now available for the first time today, so as long as you’ve got a line of sight to TerreStar’s bird and a willingness to tolerate WinMo 6.5.3, you’ll be able to make and receive calls throughout the US, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and in the surrounding waters — and it’s all on one telephone number. Of course, having a single number eliminates the cool factor of being able to say “if you can’t reach me, try my sat phone,” but let’s be honest: convenience wins here. Right now, the phone’s only available to business and government users… and with $799 upfront for the phone and satellite service running $25 a month plus per-minute, per-message, and per-megabyte charges of 65 cents, 40 cents, and 5 dollars, respectively, that’s probably for the best. Follow the break for AT&T’s full press release.

Continue reading TerreStar Genus hybrid satellite phone hits AT&T at long last for $799

TerreStar Genus hybrid satellite phone hits AT&T at long last for $799 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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