Hasta La Gadget!

This man sure knows how to entertain photogs, but he’s much more than just a charming French poser. Meet Henri Seydoux, the founder, chairman and CEO of today’s multi-talented Parrot. While promoting the recently launched Zikmu Solo wireless speaker in Hong Kong, Seydoux sat down with us to share the amusing story behind himself and his company. Check out the video after the break to hear how Seydoux’s encounter with Roland Moreno, the inventor of the smart card, made him drop journalism in favor of software engineering, as well as his detailed explanation on why many Bluetooth audio products suck, and how Bluetooth will continue to rule the world “like Beyoncé.” Enjoy!

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Peripherals

The Engadget Interview: Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today was the official worldwide launch of Windows 8 and Steve Balmer, CEO, Microsoft, took the stage this morning at a press event in NYC to celebrate the “best release of Windows ever”. Nothing really new was unveiled, in fact, everything regarding Windows 8, the new PCs, the new tablets and Surface has been announced during the past few months. We were eager to get our hands on the Microsoft Surface tablet since we only saw a prototype at the Surface announcement event in L.A, back in August. We have purchased a unit for internal software development that we  will use for the upcoming complete Surface review, we know that our readers are impatient hear about our “unbiased” opinion (thanks for the comment Jimmy!).

During the Windows 8 event, several devices including Ultrabooks and tablets were briefly showcased and Steve Balmer closed the show by reminding the audience that there are 670 million Windows 7 installs out there, 16 Millions Windows 8 pre-release installs and that a total of 1.24 billion hours of public testing went into achieving the final version of Windows 8. Additionally, there are 420 million of compatible devices supported (including mice, keyboards and other accessories).

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Surface tablet having production problems?, Microsoft Surface Tablet First Impressions: Awesome,

The introduction of the new Droid RAZR HD and RAZR Maxx HD represent Motorola’s first entry in the high-end smartphone market since it was acquired by Google. With a new management in place and a clear strategy oriented around “speed, battery life and the best of Android”, Motorola wants to re-affirm that it too can make great Android phones.

In fact, it would be bizarre if a Google company wasn’t able to build great Android phones… In any case, those two smartphones are designed to represent the above commitment from Motorola, which has chosen a “racing” design in reference to the idea of high-performance.

The battery life is probably the most important point here. With a 3300mAh battery (2X the iPhone 5 capacity), the Motorola RAZR Maxx HD is the king of the hill when it comes to battery capacity. There are only two ways of improving battery life: use less and have more. Motorola has decided to go for both.

So, it looks great on paper, but how are those smartphones in the real world? We have used them for more than a week, so it’s time to find out.

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Motorola Droid RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD now available for purchase from Verizon, Verizon announces Motorola Droid RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD for the 18th of October,

Join GigaOM on Monday, November 5, 2012 in San Francisco for a series of interviews with the leading creators who are building cutting-edge technologies, platforms and visually stunning experiences for the connected consumer.

With the data explosion and always-on connectedness, the world has become so complex, and design and UI are the keys to simplifying and creating meaning from the connected landscape. How will the world change when everything has a ubiquitous connection?

Featuring a veritable who’s who in the “design” world, RoadMap will delve into the future of connected technology, consider the impact that always-on broadband has on our lives, and bring into focus the innovations that lie on the horizon whole working together to chart the way to advance and humanize connected technology.

Review the agenda and then reserve your place. Use code UBERGIZMO for $100 off or register here.

On stage, we’ll peer into the minds of these distinguished thought leaders and innovators:
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Mobile industry heavyweights meet in San Francisco for Open Mobile Summit; Discounts end Friday, 3 Lessons Learned From FailCon – Failcon San Francisco – Oct 22,

Well look at this! Our lucky buddies over at Engadget Chinese managed to get an early hands-on with the brand-spanking new PadFone 2 from ASUS. As we mentioned earlier, the bulkiness of the original model is totally gone and we’re still blown away by the combo’s new weight. But first, the phone: in our hands, it really just feels like an enlarged version of the original PadFone, especially with the ripple pattern on the back, as well as the plastic chin at the bottom along with the slightly tapered aluminum bezel. We do love the new and larger Super IPS+ screen, which is much sharper than the old PenTile Super AMOLED display, and it no doubt has better outdoor performance as well. Additionally, the Android soft keys are no longer virtual — you can access them below the screen at any time, and we dig that.

While docking the phone into or pulling it out of the PadFone Station is hardly a challenge, there’s some sort of magic that keeps the phone tucked into the bay no matter how hard our pals shook the tablet upside down (please don’t try this at home) — the geared rubber grip along the two sides of the bay are somehow responsible for this. The back of the PadFone Station has a rubbery texture that’s essentially identical to its predecessor’s, making it just as comfortable to hold, but only time will tell how durable the coating is. Software-wise it’s just as snappy on the tablet as it is on the phone, and we noticed the switch between phone mode and tablet mode is now a tad quicker as well. It’ll probably be easier to see once we have our English hands-on video, so stay tuned.

Update: We’ve finally managed to upload our hands-on video — it’s right after the break. Watch how we kept shaking the PadFone Station upside down and the phone still stayed inside its bay (again, don’t do this at home, kids!). Also, we have a demo of the phone’s Instant Dictionary feature. It’s very handy.

Update 2: We’ve just been informed that the magical grip mechanism in the docking bay took over two years to develop. Nice one, ASUS!

Continue reading ASUS PadFone 2 hands-on in Taipei (updated with video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS

ASUS PadFone 2 hands-on in Taipei (updated with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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