Rejoice, because there’s a new MPEG video standard coming. It’s called High Efficiency Video Coding and it will be twice as efficient as current standards. This means downloading movies twice as fast. Or doubling their quality. HEVC will arrive next year. More »
Gartner is reporting that worldwide mobile phone sales this quarter dropped 2.3 percent as buyers postponed upgrades and held out for the next big thing. Of the 419 million units sold in the last three months, Samsung, Nokia and Apple unsurprisingly took the lion’s share of the sales, while ZTE and LG rounded out the top five. Overall, Android’s the most popular phone operating system, running 64.1 percent of all new handsets, while iOS phones came in second with 18.8 percent. If you feel like you need some more spreadsheets in your life, then read on for the full breakdown.
Filed under: Cellphones
Gartner: worldwide mobile phone sales dipped 2.3 percent while users wait for next iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Talk about having a stinking problem – it seems that during an alleged drug deal, a man dialed 911 by accident using of all things, his butt. Yes sir, the part of your body which has one of the softest bits of flesh, and is used to cushion and support most of your body weight whenever you sit down, proved to be the undoing of this alleged drug deal. Justin Kryzanowski, a 24-year-old male from Pennsylvania, was responsible for this unwanted call to 911, where the police claimed to have listened in to the entire operation. The Scranton Times-Tribune also claimed that the police managed to trace the “offending” cell phone back to Kryzanowski’s home. Read more about this mis-adventure after the jump. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Xiaomi Phone 2 to come in 3 variants , Xiaomi Phone 2 could see August 16 debut with super strong packaging,
Look up. Now down. Back up here again? Imagine having to do that every time you wanted to unlock your phone, as this granted Google patent for “Unlocking a screen using eye tracking information” possibly suggests. Okay, it actually looks more like it’s intended for the firm’s super spectacles — which given their general hands-free nature — makes more sense. The claims are fairly straightforward, unlocking of a device would be granted based on “determining that a path associated with the eye movement substantially matches a path of the moving object”. As long as those moving objects aren’t moving too fast, we think we can work with that.
Filed under: Wearables
Google gets patent for eye tracking-based unlock system, shifty looks get you access originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
USPTO | Email this | Comments
We took a gander at the Xiaomi Phone 2 just a few days ago, and here is more information about it. The Xiaomi Phone 2 has been spotted in a particular filing from TENAA, where it is known by its codename “2012051″, and we do know that the Xiaomi Phone 2 will come with a built-in WCDMA radio. Some folks out there might figure out that this is rather familiar to the original Xiaomi handset, also known as the MI-One Plus for the uninitiated. Well, this particular time around, it appears to be on the receiving end of a front-facing camera and a slightly reduced sized speaker grill located at the back. Not only that, a couple more models in the China Compulsory Certificate database were spotted, where we have the “2012052″ with a WCDMA radio, and also the “2012053″ with a CDMA2000/WCDMA dual radio.
Having said that, we do wonder just where and when the three variants will be released to the mass market, and more will be known about this quad-core handset will be announced when next Thursday rolls around.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Xiaomi phone disassembled, Xiaomi Phone 2 could see August 16 debut with super strong packaging,
Having seen the next-gen Xiaomi Phone’s more colorful yet rejected designs, we’re rather baffled by these dull-looking certification images of the real deal. According to a filing from the good old TENAA, this new device from Xiaomi goes by the codename “2012051” and packs WCDMA radio, but that’s pretty much it in terms of specs. Eagle-eyed readers may have already spotted the striking resemblance to the original Xiaomi Phone (aka MI-One Plus), but it appears to be getting an extra front-facing camera and, for some reason, a smaller speaker grill on the back. But wait, there’s more! We dug up two additional models in the China Compulsory Certificate database: there’s the “2012052” also with WCDMA radio, plus the “2012053” with CDMA2000/WCDMA dual radio.
Bearing in mind that the current Xiaomi Phone has three variants, our guess is that its successor will follow a similar pattern: the WCDMA flavor may again have a 1.5GHz version followed by a slower and cheaper version (much like what the Youth Edition aka MI-One is to the MI-One Plus); and depending on Xiaomi’s arrangements with China Unicom and China Telecom, the CDMA flavor for the latter may or may not be launched alongside its WCDMA cousin. Let’s hope for the best when this alleged quad-core phone gets announced next Thursday.
Update: Another possibility is that the design pictured above only applies to the lower-end model, which may just pack a dual-core chip (hopefully a Snapdragon S4). We shall see.
Filed under: Cellphones
Next-gen Xiaomi Phone outed by certifications ahead of launch, will again come in three variants (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | TENAA | Email this | Comments
Samsung’s updated Galaxy Note is on the way, with Samsung confirming that its Galaxy Note 2 is scheduled to be the star of its showing at this year’s IFA trade show. More »
Just how tough do you think your smartphone is? Well, here could be a potential benchmark for you to look at – the Xiaomi Phone 2 which might debut this coming August 16th which is just a fortnight away, where it boasts of an extremely robust packaging that is touted to withstand weight of up to 180kg as you can see in the image on the right. Some of the rumors surrounding the handset that is nicknamed the “Xiaomi Phone 2″ include a more generous display size, not to mention Qualcomm’s quad-core chip that has been clocked at 1.5GHz.
Not only that, the minimalistic packaging of the Xiaomi Phone 2 is also said to be extremely robust, where it is capable of withstanding weight of up to 180kg directly on top of it. One thing’s for sure, you are more or less guaranteed that your Xiaomi Phone 2 will not arrive in packaging that looks as though it has gone through better days. No sir, do expect your Xiaomi Phone 2 to be in pristine condition despite making it thousands of miles all the way to your doorstep from China. Bane might break the Xiaomi Phone 2 if he stands on it though, as its punishment must be more severe. Sorry, I just could not resist that…
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Ofcom research: UK folks prefer to text than call, Cell phone nesting dolls that do not hail from Russia,
Amid rumors that Chinese startup Xiaomi will soon be bringing out its next-gen Android smartphone, various spy shots have been circulating around the web. However, a company representative has already shot them down by claiming they were all rejected designs, though the same person told CNMO that the so-called “Xiaomi Phone 2” will feature a larger display as well as Qualcomm’s quad-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. If true, this would make the new Xiaomi Phone officially the first smartphone to pack the beefy APQ8064 silicon, which should be no surprise given the tight partnership between Xiaomi and Qualcomm — not to mention that the latter is also a notable investor of the phone maker. As to when we’ll know the truth, Sina Tech is reporting that according to an insider, Xiaomi will be hosting the launch event on August 16th and will, oddly enough, offer tickets to non-media attendees for ¥199 (about $30) per head. On the contrary, fans were able to just walk into the unveiling of the original Xiaomi Phone — three million of which have been sold as of June.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun and his colleagues have been showing off the minimalistic, eco-friendly packaging of their upcoming second-gen smartphone — more pics after the break. And as before, the company pulled the standing-on-box stunt again, only this time they bumped the weight from 85kg to 180kg which obviously required an extra fellow, as you can see in the intimate photo above. Looks like the new MIUI flagship device is all set for a safe delivery — all we need now is a price.
Continue reading Xiaomi Phone 2 may debut on August 16th, packaging will withstand 180kg of weight
Filed under: Cellphones
Xiaomi Phone 2 may debut on August 16th, packaging will withstand 180kg of weight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
