Hasta La Gadget!

So far at CES, Dell has announced that its XPS 13 Ultrabook will finally get a higher-res screen. Now it’s shifting its attention to the lower end: the company just refreshed its mainstream Inspiron R line with optional touchscreens and a slimmed-down form factor. All told, the line includes three screen sizes: 14, 15 and 17 inches. Now that they’ve all gotten a bit of a makeover, the smaller two measure about an inch thick and weigh in at less than five pounds. Still, they’re all just thick enough to accommodate a tray-loading optical drive, and the 15R and 17R also have enough room for a numpad on the keyboard.

Spec-wise, you can trick them out with Core i7 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, Intel Wireless Display and discrete graphics (either a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT640M or a 2GB AMD Radeon HD 8730M). Still, there’s a considerable gulf between the top-end options and the base specs. Though you can choose a Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU, for instance, they actually start with Celeron. Ditto for storage: you could get 1TB, but you’ll get just 320 gigs at the entry level. The 14R and 15R top out at 1,366 x 768, while the 17-incher comes standard with 1,600 x 900 resolution. 1080p displays are also available for the 15- and 17-inch models. Sounds reasonable to us: these systems are mid-range at best. Speaking of the sort, prices start at $430 for the Inspiron 15R and $500 for the 17R. However, if you want that touchscreen, the prices start at $650 for both the 14R and 15R.

Filed under: Laptops, Dell

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Multi-Window is a key feature for the Samsung Galaxy Note II because it adds split-screen functionality to the device’s 5.5-inch display — allowing you to run two apps at the same time — but unfortunately it has been noticeably absent on the phone’s US versions. Until today, the carriers have remained oddly silent about if or when their model would even receive it. Two weeks after its initial release, Sprint’s Note II will receive an update (L900VPALJC) that enables the missing feature, in addition to some minor enhancements to GPS, email and SMS. We’re expecting to see the rollout start today, but Sprint advises us that it may take up to five days before it hits your particular unit. It’s about time — and we can only hope that the other carriers will follow up with updates fairly quickly. Head to the source link to find out how to install the update, as well as full details on the other fixes in the new build.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint

Sprint updates Samsung Galaxy Note II with Multi-Window feature originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s NFC tagging app — known as TecTiles — made its official debut in June, but the company isn’t putting a halt to its progression anytime soon. This morning Sammy announced version 3.0 of the app, which includes various enhancements that allow for better customization. Among the new features, you can choose from a larger selection of settings that can be programmed into the tags, and you’ll also have the ability to send pre-written emails to a specified address, update your Google+ status, store a history of your profiles, customize preloaded profiles and create private tags that can only be read by your phone. The new refresh is ready to go in the Play Store, so head on over to download it for free — provided, of course, you’ve forked over $15 for a pack of five tags. The press release, along with a full list of supported devices, can be found past the break.

Continue reading Samsung TecTiles 3.0 update offers more options for NFC tagging, now available in Play Store

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Samsung

Samsung TecTiles 3.0 update offers more options for NFC tagging, now available in Play Store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The about screen on your US Samsung Galaxy S III may look a lot like the one above in the near future (albeit in English). Samsung has officially announced its intention to make an upgrade to Jelly Bean available to stateside versions of the company’s flagship, though it left out one very important detail: the actual date. Instead, all we know at this point is that an upgrade to Android 4.1 will be offered OTA and via Kies sometime in the coming months. Why so vague? It’s likely because Samsung is now at the mercy of each individual carrier to finish testing the new version of Android on the GS3 before unleashing it to the public. The refresh will deliver some TouchWiz-based enhancements like Blocking Mode, Easy Mode and a few new camera settings, as well as the usual suite of Jelly Bean improvements like Google Now and expandable notifications. Head below to check out the press release, which offers a more detailed list of what to expect.

Continue reading Samsung will update US Galaxy S III devices to Jelly Bean ‘in the coming months’

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Samsung will update US Galaxy S III devices to Jelly Bean ‘in the coming months’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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File this under things we could’ve sworn happened already: Dell is updating its nine-month-old XPS 13 Ultrabook with third-generation Core (read: Ivy Bridge) processors. While the rest of the company’s Win 8 lineup isn’t shipping until October 26th now, the refreshed XPS 13 should already be live on Dell’s site, with the same starting price of $1,000.

Update: A previous version of this article reported that the XPS 13 would be available with a touchscreen. In fact, it will still be offered with non-touch-enabled panels only.

Filed under: Laptops, Dell

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook gets updated with Ivy Bridge (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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