Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird’s Eye imagery, proves it’s a small world after all

Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery, proves it's a small world after all

Did you think Microsoft was done with Bing Maps updates after it threw a whopping 165TB of satellite imagery at virtual explorers? You’ve got another thing coming. The mapping crew in Redmond has thrown another 215TB of data over the fence, this time targeting its Bird’s Eye views. Most of the attention is on Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Tokyo, although Microsoft has seen fit to sharpen up some of its US visuals in the process. All told, there’s over 88,800 square miles covered by the new and updated aerial shots — enough to make sure that we’ll never have trouble finding Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland.

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Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird’s Eye imagery, proves it’s a small world after all originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues

Seeing that DirecTV and Viacom can’t even agree on the number of channels that have gone off the air (one says 17, the other 26) as a result of their deal expiring last week, it’s no surprise that the two are continuing to challenge each other’s statements on every element of the negotiations. The latest tiff? DirecTV claims it has “accepted all material terms…including an increase that was more than fair” for the channels that were pulled, but accuses Viacom of trying to force an addition of the Epix channel package at a cost of around half a billion dollars. Viacom, for its part, calls the statement a “complete work of fiction” and accuses DirecTV of creating more obstacles in the way of a compromise. Both point of views are linked below, we figure DirecTV customers will have plenty of time to read them while they’re busy not watching the new episodes of Workaholics and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta until this is resolved.

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DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceViacom, DirecTV (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

AT&T now offering carrier billing services on Samsung’s Media Hub video purchases

AT&T now offering carrier billing services on Samsung's Media Hub video purchases

With other national (and international) carriers slowly enabling carrier billing on content purchases, it was only a matter of time before the second largest network in the States would start adapting said payment method. And while AT&T’s been offering the service for application buys through Google Play, up until now it’d been leaving out all media-related goods. Luckily for some, the Rethink Possible outfit has announced its plans to begin offering carrier billing options inside Sammy’s Media Hub, with the Captivate, Galaxy Exhilarate and that modish Galaxy S III to be among the first to help kick things off. Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite phablet (aka Galaxy Note) and the somewhat aged Galaxy S II will be able to join the others as soon as they swallow up an upcoming software update. More importantly, are you planning to add those movie purchases to your monthly AT&T tab? Say the word in the comments below.

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AT&T now offering carrier billing services on Samsung’s Media Hub video purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceAT&T  | Email this | Comments

Skyhook SDK for Android touts always-on location finding without the battery hit (video)

Enabling persistent location in a third-party mobile app isn’t always easy — it usually requires either cautious uses of updates, like iOS 5’s geofencing, or an acceptance that there will inevitably be a knock to the battery life while it’s running. Skyhook doesn’t want there to be any compromise, at least on Android: an update to its developer kit has rolled in an Always-On location option that theoretically represents the best of both worlds. Third-party app writers can opt for position refreshes as quick as 30 seconds apart, if that birthday gift reminder needs just that many updates, but will supposedly face “little to no noticeable impact” on how quickly users’ smartphones sip energy. We like the idea of guilt-free GPS, and there’s even an airplane tracking mode for when you just have to check into Foursquare from 30,000 feet in the air. Developers can start working on the option today; until implementations reach the wild, everyone else will have to make do with a clip of the airplane tracking feature after the break.

Continue reading Skyhook SDK for Android touts always-on location finding without the battery hit (video)

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Skyhook SDK for Android touts always-on location finding without the battery hit (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Fiber is coming on July 26, Kansas readies to open its pipes

Google fiber is coming on July 26th, Kansas readies to open the digital flood gates

We’re always being told we need more fiber in our lives. For most people, that might constitute a second bowl of cereal in the morning — for the lucky Google Fiber-receiving residents of Kansas City (or Kansas City) however, it means big spoonfuls of super fast internet. While the project has been in the virtual pipes for a while, finally it looks like we’re ready for the next step. July 26th, Google advises, is the date for diary. Better pencil that one in, and consider any last-minute hardware upgrades.

Continue reading Google Fiber is coming on July 26, Kansas readies to open its pipes

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Google Fiber is coming on July 26, Kansas readies to open its pipes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZTE Grand X coming to UK for £190 pay-as-you-go: 4.3-inch qHD, microSD, stock Android 4.0

ZTE Grand X coming to UK for 190 payasyougo 43inch qHD, microSD, stock Android 40

If this is the “advanced gaming smartphone” that ZTE teased a few days ago, then we can’t help but feel a little miffed. It’d be fairer to describe the Grand X as the most advanced phone in ZTE’s growing budget line-up, and if you look at it from that perspective then it’s rather more impressive. For £190 PAYG with Virgin Mobile in the UK, you’re getting a 4.3-inch qHD LCD touchscreen, dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor (no Nexus 7 guts here unfortunately), microSD expandable storage (plus 4GB built-in and 512MB RAM), 5-megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facer, sub-10mm thickness and — ta-da! — stock Ice Cream Sandwich, albeit accompanied by legacy Gingerbread navigation buttons. We’d have liked to see the proper, up-to-date Android 4.0 button layout, but in any case the absence of ZTE’s Kanzi skin or indeed any other customization is a welcome change, because Google juice tastes fine served neat.

Now, we already did an early hands-on with this phone in June (not to mention its previous incarnation, the Mimosa X) and noted its fluid operation, solid build quality and capable display, and all of those things remain true in the retail-ready handset we’ve seen in the UK. The budget scene has certainly come a long way since last year, but do we expect the Grand X to have an easy ride on the market? Probably not — at least not when a phone like the Orange San Diego are offering a more modern processor, more RAM and better pixel density for just £10 more. That said, if a pure and uncluttered version of the OS is a priority, and if you can get this phone on a great deal when it arrives at Phones4U and Virgin Media stores at the beginning of August, then the Grand X is certainly worth a look.

Continue reading ZTE Grand X coming to UK for £190 pay-as-you-go: 4.3-inch qHD, microSD, stock Android 4.0

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ZTE Grand X coming to UK for £190 pay-as-you-go: 4.3-inch qHD, microSD, stock Android 4.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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O2 apologizes for ‘unprecedented’ outage with 10 percent refunds

O2 is sorry for last week’s service issues. Really, really sorry. Like, giving you back 10-percent of your bill sorry, if you happened to be among the affected. The UK operator noted in a blog post today that it has identified all those users who were impacted by the “unprecedented” downtime and will be offering up 10-percent off of their July subscriptions, to be applied to their bills in September, the monetary equivalent of three lost days. Pay & Go members, meanwhile, will also be getting something back in September: a 10 percent bonus on their first top-up that month. The company’s also offering up customers a £10 O2 in-store voucher, available during the month of September. More info and apologies in the source link below.

Continue reading O2 apologizes for ‘unprecedented’ outage with 10 percent refunds

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O2 apologizes for ‘unprecedented’ outage with 10 percent refunds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ofcom: Texting is more popular than talking

Ofcom reveals texting is more popular than talking

Ofcom’s annual report into the communications habits of Britons has revealed that it’s not just geeks who stare in annoyance when the phone rings. The general consumer is now abandoning voice calls is favor of texting in a big way, making five percent fewer calls than they did the previous year. The numbers also showed that on average, people send 50 texts a week, smartphone ownership was up 12 percent and tablet purchasing shot from 2 to 11 percent in a single year. The trend isn’t slowing, either, given that a whopping 96 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds prefer SMS and Facebook to talking — giving us hope that we’ll soon be spared having to listen to that guy’s conversation during our morning commute.

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Ofcom: Texting is more popular than talking originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC slaps Apple with two more patents from acquired HP portfolio

While it’s not quite as protracted as the long, slow slug-out between Apple and Samsung, HTC’s patent contentions with Cupertino have just been augmented, with two more filings tossed into the pot. The IP in question originally belonged to HP, before being scooped up by the Taiwanese phone maker and pertains to Apple Remote Desktop and Apple Profile Manager along with other embedded network features in iOS and OS X. Apple’s run of luck in this area might not be the greatest just now, but then they do say things come in threes.

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HTC slaps Apple with two more patents from acquired HP portfolio originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SteelSeries announces Sensei RAW gaming mouse duo, glossy and rubber options for $59.99

SteelSeries announces Sensei RAW gaming mouse duo, glossy and rubber options for $5999

SteelSeries has unveiled a pair Sensei RAW mice for all of those intense Diablo III gaming sessions. The duo takes aim at those who seek a serviceable mouse without the customization that the original Sensei’s 32-bit ARM processor affords. Glossy and rubberized anti-sweat variants both feature a 6.5-foot braided cord, CPI toggle for on-the-fly tweaks, three zones of custom LEDs, a pro-grade laser senor and programmable controls / sensitivity. If you fancy simplicity in your gaming mouse, you can snag either of the RAW options now for $60 via the source link below.

Continue reading SteelSeries announces Sensei RAW gaming mouse duo, glossy and rubber options for $59.99

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SteelSeries announces Sensei RAW gaming mouse duo, glossy and rubber options for $59.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 04:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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