Hasta La Gadget!

When it comes to the proliferation of fancy infotainment systems into cars there are two schools of thought. Some, like Ford, believe that these systems should start at the lower range cars and spread across the brand. Other marques, typically higher-end ones, go the other way ’round, and Audi is definitely guilty, launching its MMI on the higher-end sedans and SUVs, like the A8 and Q7. That’s changing with the next version of MMI Touch, starting on the (relatively) attainable A3.

NVIDIA was quite proud to show off the system, with Tegra providing the power behind the scenes as we saw last year. That means lovely rendering of Google Earth, in 3D no less, and of course responsive performance. According to Autoblog it looks like the system’s capacitive touchpad is being integrated into the scroll wheel, which should offer a solid usability improvement. No word on when we’ll get to experience it, though, but we wouldn’t be surprised to learn more next week in Detroit.

Audi’s next-generation, Tegra-Powered MMI Touch is coming to Audi A3 first originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the RVU Alliance from last year? The idea is to use standard tech like DLNA and UPnP to move live TV and DVR’d content around the home and straight to your screens, instead of having to plug a separate set-top box into every television. Well, Samsung is about to ship the first TVs in the world that support the RVU protocol, the Samsung LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED D6420. When networked with DirecTV’s RVU server (the first of its kind), the TVs will display the UI and features from the DirecTV box, with ability to pause live content, share DVR storage, and record up to five shows simultaneously. No word on cost for the sets, but can you really put a price on the future?

Continue reading Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March

Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HyperMac responds with vengeance, and non patent infringing adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s just announced a couple of new Android smartphones that are heading to the other side of the pond. Pictured on the left is the Froyo-powered Liquid Mini which — as the name says for itself — sports a humble 3.2-inch 480 x 320 capacitive LCD touchscreen, along with a 600MHz Qualcomm 7227 chip, 512MB of RAM and ROM each, and a 5 megapixel camera that records 480p video on the back. On top of DLNA connectivity for your home entertainment setup, the usual wireless goodness like WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM radio are also present. Potential British buyers will be able to pick from one of the five color options — blue, white, pink, yellow, and black — when the Liquid Mini ships in April, with pricing to be announced.

The beTouch E210 on the right comes with a portrait keyboard plus trackpad, but users will have to make do with a less thrilling set of specs: you get a 2.6-inch 320 x 240 resistive touchscreen (oh dear), an underwhelming 416MHz ST Ericsson PNX6715 processor, 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. But like the Liquid Mini, the Froyo-laden E210 also has WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM radio. Keep an eye out for it and its price come March in the UK..

Continue reading Acer announces Liquid Mini and beTouch E210 Android Froyo phones

Acer announces Liquid Mini and beTouch E210 Android Froyo phones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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