Hasta La Gadget!

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of August 27th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

Refresh Roundup: week of August 27th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most VidaBox Media Extenders have borne a closer similarity to mini PCs than to the kind of equipment you’d stack on top of a home theater receiver. That’s already been changing, but the company’s new vPlayer and vStreamer are virtually invisible in the living room by comparison. Either has a newly streamlined, stackable design that feels entirely at home in the den and keeps the noisy buzzes and whines to a minimum through a new cooling system. Although VidaBox is wonderfully vague about specs — both hubs tout a “dual core processor,” for example — its units have been modernized enough to use a thrifty 35W of typical power. The boxes lack dedicated media storage space and curiously have to be factory upgraded to get HDMI 1.4 instead of 1.3, but they’ll output 7.1-channel audio and 1080p video while integrating with most common home automation systems over RS-232. We haven’t been quoted prices to simplify any buying decisions; we expect the gap to be small between the two offerings, since the vPlayer and vStreamer are identical on the inside except for the vPlayer’s Blu-ray drive. Dealers will have a better answer for you when VidaBox starts shipping the extender duo on September 4th.

Continue reading VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After making the rounds with Mr. Blurry Cam, Sprint’s rumored LG LS860 ‘Cayenne’ handset has taken a breather from its photo tour and made a stop at the FCC. The federal filing reveals that the smartphone uses LTE bands tailored for the Now Network (CDMA 850 / 1900; LTE Band 25) and totes NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, SVLTE (simultaneous voice and data) and the usual suspects of WiFi b/g/n and GPS. If other details previously gleaned from the grapevine hold true, the mobile will be powered by a flavor of Android 4.0, pack a 4-inch WVGA screen and a 1.2GHz dual-core S4 processor. There’s no word from LG or Big Yellow about the phone’s official debut, but its FCC appearance means that it could soon show up packaged and properly photographed in the US.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

LG’s LS860 ‘Cayenne’ visits the FCC, flaunts Sprint LTE bands originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If one Engadget Mobile Podcaster is talking about phones, but she’s at Burning Man, does she make a sound? Brad, Dana, and Jon explore these and other questions surrounding a technology conference in Berlin that’s all the rage this week. Don’t get left behind.

Hosts: Brad Molen
Guest: Dana Wollman, Joe Fingas
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho – Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

02:50 – Samsung Galaxy Note II unveiled: 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, Android Jelly Bean and more S Pen functionality
04:40 – Samsung Galaxy Note II: what’s changed?
09:36 – Samsung Galaxy Note II: hands-on with the new S Pen-toting phablet (video)
18:00 – HTC Desire X hands-on (video)
21:06 – Samsung announces ATIV S, a 4.8-inch Windows Phone 8 device
36:30 – HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year
45:22 – Samsung announces EK-GC100 Galaxy Camera with Android Jelly Bean, massive 4.8-inch display, 21x zoom, WiFi and 4G connectivity (hands-on)
54:10 – Exclusive: Motorola Droid RAZR M 4G LTE gets hands-on treatment (video)
01:02:20 – Is Motorola announcing an Intel Medfield-powered phone on September 18th?

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Filed under: Podcasts, Mobile

Engadget Mobile Podcast 151: IFA Edition – 09.01.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBC’s Olympics Live Extra may have lost its original raison d’être after the flame was extinguished in London, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to purge the app from your phone’s home screen. An update for Android and iOS users alike is giving the title new life as NBC Sports Live Extra, and the name makes it quite obvious that you’ll have a lot more to watch than just biathlons and fencing. NBC expects to offer live streaming for the European PGA, LPGA, MLS, NHL, Notre Dame, PGA, Ryder Cup and other events or leagues culled from the channel formerly known as Versus. Highlights, social sharing and other side features will carry over as well. You don’t have to do a thing beyond check for a new version to make the switch to the already updated apps, but you will have to subscribe to conventional TV to use them properly: NBC is requiring TV Everywhere authentication for access to most of what’s on offer from NBC Sports Network and the Golf Channel.

Continue reading NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD

NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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