Hasta La Gadget!

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Parent with a smartphone? If your kids are old enough to fiddle with a touchscreen, you’ve probably had your handset nicked. It can be a problem — you need that phone, for calls, emails and Engadget, but your little scamp just can’t get enough of Angry Birds. What do you do? Trust, says PlayMG, but verify. The old phrase ties closely to the core philosophy of the MG — a device the firm is developing specifically for kids who want to play Android games, but are too young for a smartphone. We met with the company’s Taylor Cavanah to get a first hand look at the device and its parental control system.

Continue reading Insert Coin: hands-on with the MG, a portable Android gaming solution for kids

Filed under: Gaming

Insert Coin: hands-on with the MG, a portable Android gaming solution for kids originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Kickstarter  | Email this | Comments

Did you like the Xperiance Sony was selling at IFA 2012? If you answered yes, are in need of a new Android tablet and happen to live across the pond, the time has come to place your orders. Available now on the Japanese electronics giant’s UK site (sorry, statesiders), the newly outed Tablet S is ready to ship in three configurations: 16GB / 32GB WiFi-only models that’ll set you back £329 and £379 (about $523 and $602), respectively and a lone 16GB 3G variant that goes for £429 (about $682). For the money, you’re getting a quad-core Tegra 3 slate clocked at 1.3GHz, a 1280 x 800 WXGA display, Ice Cream Sandwich and the company’s signature hardware styling. Of course, if you’re outside of the Euro zone and can’t wait for pre-orders to be fulfilled, there’s no harm in making this your next import. Hit up the source below to check out the goods for yourself.

Filed under: Tablets

Xperia Tablet S now shipping on Sony’s UK site originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Inquirer  |  Sony UK  | Email this | Comments

As the saying goes, it’s all in the timing. But look at it this way: Kobo could have announced its new line of devices the day after Amazon’s big reveal. Instead, the outfit’s looking to take some wind out of Amazon’s sails a few hours before its big event. And while the chances are extremely slim that the company will manage to undercut the looming Kindle news, there’s no question that it’s coming out of the gate swinging, with the announcement of not one, but three new readers: one glowing, one mini and one slathered in Ice Cream Sandwich. The mini and glowing Glo Comfortlight will arrive in October, with the Android-based Arc arriving in November. All told, they’ll range in price from $80 for the Kobo Mini to $250 for the top-end tablet. That’s the short version, but if you follow past the break we’ve got a full rundown of the specs, along with additional photos.

Continue reading Kobo announces three new readers: one glows, one’s small, one runs Ice Cream Sandwich

Filed under: Tablets

Kobo announces three new readers: one glows, one’s small, one runs Ice Cream Sandwich originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

There have been surprisingly few if any concrete leaks of Amazon’s future Kindle Fire plans, even with the follow-up’s appearance likely just hours away. Thankfully, we may have been given a last-minute peek into the company’s strategy after an Engadget reader tipped us to some unusual activity in an app’s hardware usage logs. At least a pair of hits have come from a new device identifying itself as “AmazonKFTT” instead of the much plainer “AmazonKindleFire” language attached to the original model. There’s also signs that Amazon has upgraded the OS underneath to Android 4.0.3. We wouldn’t anticipate this particular slate carrying a quad-core chip to tackle the Nexus 7 head-on, though — unless the KFTT variant is just a firmware-updated Kindle Fire with a name change, the next generation should still have at least one dual-core tablet in the range. Here’s hoping there are a few more surprises in store by the time Amazon takes the stage on Thursday.

[Thanks, Jared]

Filed under: Tablets

Amazon Kindle Fire sequel may have surfaced in logs, points to Android 4.0 and return to dual-core originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Spotify didn’t want to leave all the spotlight time to phone manufacturers today. To start, it’s widening its toehold in the living room: three Denon AV receivers and four Marantz counterparts now have support for streaming Spotify Premium music through respective firmware updates, with control coming either through the on-device screen or through Denon’s mobile remote app. You’re not necessarily left out if you have no compatible home theater to call your own, however. As long as you have a device with at least Android 4.0, an update to the Spotify app will let you apply audio effects or share Premium music between NFC devices through a tap. All of the updates are free — just know that you’ll need Spotify’s full $10 per month subscription to grease the wheels. Check the source links for the supported receivers and app updates.

Filed under: Cellphones, HD, Mobile

Spotify comes to Denon and Marantz receivers, shares music over NFC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  Spotify (1), (2), Google Play  | Email this | Comments