Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier today, we talked about how RIM, the company behind Blackberry phones, once contemplated switching to android. Instead, the company has chosen to stick to its gun and move forward with its upcoming operating system: Blackberry 10 (BB10). Was this decision right, or was it a tragic mistake?

There are plenty of people who would immediately reply: “yes, it was a tragic mistake!”, but the answer isn’t as obvious as one may think. While using Android removes the “OS problem”, it may also mean jumping from the pan into the fire for RIM. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: RIM now accepting Android app submissions from aggregator developers, RIM announces BlackBerry Mobile Fusion,

You do know that Parrot makes more than just the AR.Drone, right? It was at CES earlier this year that we first caught a glimpse of — and subsequently began geeking out about — the Parrot Zik by Starck. For those unfamiliar, these headphones are jam-packed with enough technologies to make even the geekiest audio lovers smitten. Priced at about $400, they feature Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth connectivity, on-board capacitive touch-control, active noise cancellation, head detection, a jawbone sensor for speech and Parrot’s audio-enhancing DSP app for iOS and Android — not to mention a striking design by the renowned Philippe Starck.

This isn’t the first time Parrot and Mr. Starck have worked together, but this does mark their debut in the portable audio market (as opposed to home-based speaker systems). In the case of this review, not one, but two Engadget editors spent some time testing the product. So, do they impress? More importantly, are they worth the $400 asking price? You know the drill: meet us after the break where we’ll lay it all out.

Continue reading Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around?

Filed under: Wearables

Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re paying a visit to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada, be sure to load up your Android phone with Wifarer’s recently launched app. Available for free on the Google Play Store (iOS version coming soon), the app is designed to enhance the visitor experience and offers customized tours with real-time indoor navigation and automatic delivery of location-based multimedia content.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: TomTom to launch on Android devices “fairly soon”, Karelog Android app lets you keep tabs on your partner’s whereabouts,

As mentioned earlier, we’ve just gotten our hands on Qualcomm’s latest development platform to see how its first quad core chipset fares. And boy, that APQ8064 really doesn’t disappoint, but it should be no surprise — we’ve already seen how the top dual core S4 chipsets already beat their quad core competitors in certain aspects, so it’s only natural for the quad core S4 Pro to annihilate them. As you can see in our chart after the break, the APQ8064-based MDP easily beat the Tegra 3-based One X and Nexus 7, as well as the Exynos 4412-based Galaxy S III. And partly thanks to the Adreno 320 graphics core, the MDP even scored an astonishing 132fps in our GLBenchmark test, while the quad core Galaxy S III with Mali-400 graphics came second with 99fps, with the remaining devices lingering around 60fps only.

Obviously, the question remains how big of a trade-off there is on battery life in exchange for those two extra cores and the more powerful graphics chip. That said, we have a feeling that Snapdragon’s Krait architecture and asynchronously clocked cores will again prove that Tegra 3’s 4-PLUS-1 design isn’t the best solution for battery efficiency — as many of you might already know. We shall see when APQ8064-based products become available later this year. For now, take a gander at our numbers and photos.

Update: Hit the break for our hands-on video with the MDP. Also, we had a chance play with the 13-megapixel autofocus camera in the worst possible lighting conditions, and it acquitted itself rather well considering the circumstances. Check out the sample gallery below.

Myriam Joire contributed to this mind-blowing hands-on.

Continue reading Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) MDP benchmarks blow away the competition (update: video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) MDP benchmarks blow away the competition (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GigaOM’s Mobilize conference will explore the technical and business opportunities spurred by the proliferation of connected devices, apps and the way it shapes the way we work, play and live. At Mobilize you’ll learn how people and enterprises need to think as we enter a mobile first world.

Ubergizmo readers register now and save 15%.

Some of the key topics that Mobilize 2012 will explore include:
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Work is Where You Are – GigaOM Net:Work , MobileBeat 2012 – July 10-11 – San Francisco,