Hasta La Gadget!

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a company that wants to start using (or keep using) a Google OS strikes a patent licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid the legal barrage that will invariably follow if it says no. It’s Honeywell singing the tune this time, and the company has reached an agreement that will let it use Android or Chrome OS on devices like a new edition of the Dolphin 7800 rugged handheld (shown here) without perpetually looking over its shoulder. Neither side is going into the specifics, although Microsoft has steered Honeywell into using its boilerplate copy about royalties trading hands. The truce won’t help the prices of Honeywell devices; even so, it’s good news for developers and customers who’ve been part of the company’s official Android feedback program. We’re still yearning for the day when we can get root access on a Honeywell thermostat.

Continue reading Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route

Filed under: Handhelds, Software

Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switzerland’s EPFL has managed to catch our attention with its various UAV-related activities, and it looks like it’s also been the radar of Parrot, maker of the AR.Drones. EPFL announced today that the French company is investing 7.4 million Swiss Francs (or about $7.5 million) in two companies that have been spun out of the institution: senseFly and Pix4D. As you may recall, those two have collaborated in the past, with senseFly providing the camera-equipped UAVs necessary for Pix4D’s 3D mapping software. Broken down, the investment works out to 2.4 million Francs put into Pix4D and five million invested in senseFly, the latter of which is enough for Parrot to claim a majority stake company. As for the future, senseFly’s CEO says that the deal will give Parrot “access to the expertise and the technology for specialized drones,” while Pix4D’s CEO says that the investment “reinforces our position as a leader in software for professional drones” and opens up new business opportunities. It also makes it clear, if it wasn’t already, that Parrot is getting pretty serious about drones. You can find the official announcement after the break, along with a video from EPFL explaining the deal.

Continue reading Drone-maker Parrot invests $7.5 million in two EPFL spin-offs, sets sights beyond toys

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Drone-maker Parrot invests $7.5 million in two EPFL spin-offs, sets sights beyond toys originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a week or so of increasingly contentious negotiations Viacom and DirecTV have come to some sort of agreement, returning the missing channels to satellite TV subscribers as of… now. Naturally, each side is sticking to its guns, and even with a long term deal inked they still disagree on the number of channels involved.

So who won? The exact financial numbers have not been revealed, but you can check out the dueling press releases after the break. The contested Epix package is an option (but not a requirement) for DirecTV, while the satellite broadcaster is happily adding access to Viacom content on mobiles, PCs and “other media devices” as a part of its DirecTV Everywhere service. Thanks to support from other pay TV providers, DirecTV is taking the more aggressive position, but we’ll wait for the inevitable “people in a position to know” to chime in with some dollars and cents figures before calling a victor.

Update: As expected, Bloomberg reports “people with direct knowledge” claim the new agreement is another seven year contract priced at more than $600 million per year, about 20 percent more than what Viacom was getting before. At least one analyst called it a win for both sides — we’ll see how subscribers fared if (when) there’s a rate hike any time soon.

Continue reading DirecTV and Viacom deal brings MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the rest back on the air

Filed under: Home Entertainment

DirecTV and Viacom deal brings MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the rest back on the air originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The good ship T-Mobile isn’t staying anchored in any one port for mobile payments: just hours after the ink started drying on a deal with MasterCard for NFC, the carrier’s parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Bloomberg that it’s been talking with Google as well. While Deutsche Telekom’s innovation lead Thomas Kiessling hasn’t said more about a pact beyond its being “theoretically possible,” it’s not hard to do the math and picture Google Wallet coming into the equation if discussions go smoothly. Google won’t go so far as to comment on its own — not that the silence is stopping the would-be German partner, which is also chatting up banks and individual credit card firms to make sure everything falls into place. If it pans out, a Google alliance would certainly help T-Mobile fend off competition from Orange in Europe and give Google Wallet some much-needed support.

T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s not a lot of specifics to be had on this one just yet, but BMW and Toyota have inked a new deal that will see them collaborate on far more than the batteries they’ve already agreed to work on together. According to the automakers, the new arrangement will see them focus on four key areas: a fuel cell system, powertrain electrification, lightweight technologies and, last but not least, joint development of the “architecture and components for a future sports vehicle.” Unfortunately, neither party is offering much indication about the types of vehicles we might see as a result. BMW’s Norbert Reithofer said only that the goal of the partnership is to “further strengthen our competitive position in sustainable future technologies,” while Toyota’s Akio Toyoda notes that “BMW and Toyota both want to make ever-better cars,” and that he’s “excited to think of the cars that will result from this relationship.”

Continue reading BMW and Toyota sign deal to collaborate on sports car and EV technology

BMW and Toyota sign deal to collaborate on sports car and EV technology originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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