Hasta La Gadget!

Some days our dream of being able to watch anything, anywhere, anytime, and on any screen seems like it’ll never happen, but other days are like today. Yes, today every major studio, except Disney, announced that it would start distributing movies that will work with any UltraViolet devices, software or services. We learned on the Engadget HD podcast that this means that if you buy a movie one way (DVD, VOD, hotel PPV, whatever) you can view it on just about any other without paying again. PC software and updates for existing devices are expected to start rolling out later this year — so much for launching in 2010 — but we’ll have to wait for CES next year to learn about all our gadgets that can’t, or won’t, be updated. Of course the dream will only come true if everyone and everything agrees to play, and while we’re a long way away from finding out if our media consumption fantasy will ever come true, the list of 60 companies that have already pledged their allegiance is a who’s who among media and electronics giants.

Continue reading Six major studios to distribute UltraViolet titles by mid year, hardware to come later

Six major studios to distribute UltraViolet titles by mid year, hardware to come later originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well we actually weren’t able to play with the latest consumer Panasonic 3D camcorders ourselves, but we were able to get close enough to snap some pics and live vicariously through a stage model who did actually get to hold it. There’s nothing small about the HDC-TM90, but it looks cool enough. The GF2 still camera is just as crazy looking and is sure to get you just as much attention if you walked about town with one.

Hands-on with the new Panasonic 3D camcorder and 3D still camera originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s ten-inch Tegra 2 tablet with Verizon LTE? You’re looking at it right now, courtesy of the NVIDIA booth at CES 2011’s Digital Experience show. It’s just the same engineering prototype with an early build of Android 2.2 we’ve seen before — it’ll run Honeycomb at launch — but this time, we got to touch. The hardware seriously feels final, with a solid metal case and a supremely responsive touchscreen that tracks a full ten points of contact. There’s an interesting array of ports, too, with a full-sized USB port (as well as micro-USB) on one side and a dedicated charging socket too, as well as a dock connector on the bottom. What’s missing are the standard Android Home, Menu and Back buttons, as instead of those, you simply swipe the lower right corner of the screen to bring up a tiny pane of virtual alternatives. No LTE connectivity to be found at Digital Experience, we’re afraid, so we’ll have to bring you speed tests another day — but we’ll have video up soon. For now, peep the gallery below.

Update: Video after the break!

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A500 first hands-on! (update: video)

Acer Iconia Tab A500 first hands-on! (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s not much to say here, since Sony wasn’t letting us do much with its prototype glasses-free 3D portable Blu-ray player except adjust the screen angle, but we will say that the 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 parallax 3D display looked quite nice and the 3D effect was solid once we got situated. Of course, it’s just a prototype, so there’s no word on price, availability, or even whether this thing will ever get made, but hey — there it is. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading Sony’s prototype glasses-free 3D portable Blu-ray player hands-on

Sony’s prototype glasses-free 3D portable Blu-ray player hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello there, Galaxy S without a SIM card slot, how are you today? Samsung’s showing off its Korea-bound Galaxy Player at CES today and we’ve got to say, it’s almost indistinguishable from the European Galaxy S handset. The small differences include the addition of a second speaker on the back of this device, offering a stereo sound experience when you’re away from your headphones and, of course, a retractable TV antenna (it’s for the Korean market, after all). Availability is set for this month in Samsung’s home nation, but our queries about US plans were unfortunately met with uncertainty. Samsung says nothing’s yet been announced for bringing this creation to retail shelves in North America, but the gallery is right here and right now.

Photography by Myriam Joire.

Samsung Galaxy Player hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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