Hasta La Gadget!

They’re not the most compelling of devices, but for smartphone first timers, they should do just fine. Officially announced today, Nokia’s updating the Asha Touch line with the 308 and 309 — two new members of the Series 40 family that’ve moved past the feature phone designation and into smartphone territory. Priced at an affordable $99 (off-contract), this dual- and single-SIM pair are near identical with 3-inch WQVGA displays, 2GB of microSD storage (expandable to 32GB) and a 1,110mAh battery. We just happened to be onsite at the company’s HQ in Espoo for the reveal of the diminutive devices, so follow on after the break for our first impressions.

Continue reading Hands-on with Nokia’s Asha 308 and 309 (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Hands-on with Nokia’s Asha 308 and 309 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The original Galaxy Note was very not good, but seven months and 10 millions sales later, it’s hard to deny that it’s found a niche. But will its even beefier successor live up to the hype? We just spent the morning fondling the upcoming Galaxy Note II, and you know what? We’re pleasantly surprised. More »

Geotagging your photos? Old hat — Neurowear wants to geotag your mood. The folks that brought animated cat ears to the human race is now using NeuroSky’s brainwave-reading headgear to suss out your emotional state and share it with your friends. We dropped in on the group at Tokyo Game Show to take a look at an early prototype. After strapping a familiar Mindwave mobile headset to this editor’s skull, a companion iPhone app sprung to life, reading off relaxation levels and assigning cartoon faces to the user’s mood. The reading could then be recorded on a map, tagging how the user felt at a given location and time and allowing them to share that information with their friends. Had a great time at a new coffee shop? Now you can prove it, and encourage your social contacts to join you. It’s an interesting idea, but its still a long way from hitting the app store — the demo we were given was only a concept app, and the geotagging portion of the demonstration was simulated. It may be awhile before you can tweet your feelings directly. Need another way to express yourself? Don’t worry — Nerosky is adding a brainwave controlled tail, dubbed Shippo, to its line of cranium controlled animal parts. Check it out (as well as our quick neurotagging demo) after the break.

Continue reading Neurowear wants to read your mind, geotag your feelings (video)

Filed under: Misc

Neurowear wants to read your mind, geotag your feelings (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the end of August, Razer outed a black and green-cloaked version of its BlackShark gaming headset. The original unit first broke from cover just ahead of E3, but on that particular show floor, the aviator-inspired set of cans was sporting the blue and orange hues consistent with its Battlefield 3 branding. Here at TGS, we were able to take a closer look at the version that lacks a game-specific allegiance. The hardware is identical with the lone exception being the new paint scheme. If you’re unfamiliar with the BlackShark, the headset does a stellar job of recalling classic pilot units complete with detachable boom mic for use with your PMP of choice. The $120 peripheral also features quite comfy heavily-padded, leather-esque earcups and the same material wraps the headband with a dash of bright green stitching — all held over from the BF3 model. We weren’t able to test the audio quality on the show floor, so until our review unit arrives, consult the gallery below and the video that just past the break for a closer look.

Continue reading Razer BlackShark gaming headset hands-on (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Portable Audio/Video

Razer BlackShark gaming headset hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With September’s spate of big smartphone reveals now safely out of the way, it’s time for the smaller carriers to trot out their new mobile wares. And here at Pepcom’s event in New York City, Cricket’s showing off two newly announced phones — both from OEMs that haven’t quite achieved household name recognition. The powerfully named devices — ZTE Engage and Alcatel Authority — are actually rather modest in the spec department. ZTE’s handset sport a 4-inch WVGA display, an 8-megapixel rear camera and runs a vanilla version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich atop a single-core CPU clocked at 1.4GHz. As you might imagine, there’s a definite lag when navigating through the homescreens and even when accessing the app drawer, but that’s simply par for the course with a phone of this low-end caliber. Alcatel’s 4.3-incher is actually the nicer looking of the duo, oufitted with the same 800 x 480 resolution and processor, but that’s where the similarities stop. Like that other ZTE phone we just spent time with, this handset ships with Gingerbread onboard, so it’s certainly no screamer. We’re still waiting on official pricing and release dates for both devices, but you can likely count on an October retail bow. In the meantime, check out the gallery below for some extra shots.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Hands-on with ZTE Engage and Alcatel Authority for Cricket originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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