Activity tracker Shine is headed to Apple Stores this week, with the discrete wearable the latest option in health monitoring to follow in the footsteps of Nike’s Fuelband and Jawbone’s UP. Initially funded by an Indiegogo campaign late last year, Shine is arguably the most attractive of the health dongles we’ve seen so far, being […]
Developer Koushik Dutta is creating at least one app for Android devices aimed at allowing any and all video to be “cast” from a mobile device’s gallery to Chromecast. The Chromecast device is currently sold out in many areas of the internet and in stores across the country due to its relatively low cost and […]
FreedomPop’s namesake free data hasn’t been especially fast given its reliance on WiMAX and EV-DO, but the company is taking a big step forward with just-launched support for Sprint’s LTE network. Those who buy the $149 FreedomSpot 5580 LTE hotspot (pictured above) can get truly high speeds without having to pay a cent for regular service. Future devices and LTE-friendly smartphone service are also coming, although there is a big catch. That free tier is still capped at 500MB per month — take full advantage of LTE and you’re more likely to either pay overage fees or switch to one of FreedomPop’s paid plans. Even so, the upgraded service may be tempting for those who aren’t willing to sacrifice performance at any price.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Sprint
Source: FreedomPop
Generally Vertu phones are much flashier in real life than in basic diagrams, but we’ll take what we can get — especially when it comes to phones that haven’t actually been officially announced (or rumored) yet. The set of lines, boxes and numbers you see above is the Vertu Constellation V, a device we actually haven’t heard anything about. But here it is, receiving FCC approval; the phone sports AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA+ and GSM / EDGE, dual-band WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n), NFC and Bluetooth 4.0. We’d wager that this is the luxury phone company’s next Android handset (second after the Ti), and it’ll probably cost more than the monthly rent.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: FCC
iOS and Android users should be seeing an update to the official Twitter app on their devices today, and there are a few enhancements to the app’s login verification process as well as a few feature changes. First, the security-based improvements: you’re able to enroll in login verification and approve login requests directly from the app, with no SMS messages required. It all revolves around push notifications, so your phone number isn’t even necessary; you’ll also enjoy international support, details about location and browser, backup codes and more. Additionally, social context is now included with the search menu, which allows you to see how you’re connected to various users, and there’s also a new photo gallery in search that can be accessed by pressing “view more photos” in your search results. Lastly, the iOS app has a few tweaks of its own: you’ll be able to see the same photo gallery UI on user profiles so you can see all of a specific account’s images, and you can also manage lists within the app itself. Check out the official blog for more details.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Official Twitter blog
Welcome to the wild world of security and surveillance. From CCTV to massive government spying initiatives, there’s no escaping it. Recent high-profile leaks have served as a sobering reminder of just how present it is in all of our lives, so we figured what better time to take a deep dive? We kick things off with one of the strangest (and raciest) segments in Engadget Show history: a visit to the set of John McAfee’s latest web video. The one-time security software guru and fugitive discusses the state of antivirus, bath salts and offers some unsolicited advice to Edward Snowden, one exile to another. Trevor Timm of the Electronic Frontier Foundation sits down for an animated discussion of recent NSA surveillance revelations, including a breakdown of which major tech companies are doing right by their user base.
Boing Boing editor, sci-fi author and privacy activist Cory Doctorow climbs a tree in San Diego to discuss Wikileaks, the NSA, the “surveillance state” and more. “Edward Snowden is a hero,” he begins, not speaking on behalf of the EFF, mind you — and things get really good from there. Cryptographer and computer security specialist Bruce Schneier also chimes in on wiretapping, whistleblowing and “security theater.”
Next up, we pay a visit to The New Yorker‘s midtown office to talk Strong Box, the magazine’s secure deposit box for anonymous whistleblowers. The team behind Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs joins us to discuss partnering with computer security company Kaspersky to bring a realistic portrait of the world of hacking to its much anticipated title. And one-time hacker turned head of security community outreach at Microsoft, Katie Moussouris, discusses Redmond’s Bluehat bounty program and working with the hacking community to build safer software.
All that, plus the usual prognosticating from resident philosopher John Roderick in this month’s Engadget Show, just after the break.
Filed under: Cameras, Gaming, Wireless, Internet, Software, Microsoft
Earlier today, Philips announced two new add-ons for its app-controlled Hue system: LivingColors Bloom, a standalone portable fixture, and LightStrips, a 6.6-foot LED tape that you can affix to any surface using the included adhesive back. Both products are fully compatible with the existing Hue system, including the base station and three-bulb kit that launched at Apple Stores last year. Knowing that part of the solution’s appeal is its quick and easy setup, we decided to build out a five-light rig at home using three standard bulbs, one Bloom and one LightStrips set. It took less than an hour to get up and running, including swapping out bulbs, running power to LightStrips and setting up the base station and app.
In order to take full advantage of available “scenes” (lighting color macros based on uploaded images), you’ll want to install all of your bulbs in one room or open space. You can very easily control the color and brightness of each unit using the Android or iOS app, however, so if you prefer to go that route, there’s no reason you can’t install Hue all over your house, as long as you don’t go beyond the 50 maximum units each base station can support. For now, most of the available scenes support one through three fixtures, not the five you’ll end up with if you have one complete kit, a Bloom and LightStrips in your home, so we avoided using scenes for the time being. If you’re using app version 1.1 on iOS, you can take advantage of IFTTT integration, too, letting you set up a virtually endless number of macros.
Even with five Hue fixtures in a small space, the room was a bit too dark — this solution works best for accent lighting, so unless you’re prepared to use 20 bulbs in a room, you’ll probably want to mix in traditional fixtures, too. Still, Hue serves its purpose well, and we definitely see the appeal despite the $200 you’ll spend on the base kit, $80 for the bloom and $90 for the LightStrips. See our installation in action in the hands-on video after the break.
While DAB radio is common in the UK, its broadcasting equipment is usually too expensive for community broadcasters. However, Ofcom’s Rashid Mustapha has shown that the technology is now within reach of amateurs. Taking advantage of DAB’s newly patent-free status, Mustapha tested a low-power digital transmitter based on an open source software radio and a Linux PC; he only had to stream that radio to an aerial through long-range WiFi. His solution would cost just £1,400 ($2,153) per year to run, letting many community radio operators make the leap to digital. The study doesn’t represent an automatic green light for low-power DAB — more work is needed, Mustapha says — but it’s clear that small-scale stations won’t be stuck in the analog world forever.
Filed under: Wireless
Via: The Register
Source: Ofcom (PDF)
Remember when HTC decided to add its own contributions to the One Mini rumor mill by using its own infographic? It seems the Taiwan-based company is following the same trend with the HTC One Max, a device that we’ve heard about for what seems like months. On its official Twitter account, it posted a teaser in the form of a six-second Vine, three simple words and a hashtag: “big things ahead. #HTChange.” Take from that what you will, but it seems to us that this particular tease means we’ll be seeing the larger variant of the One sooner rather than later.
Update: There’s now a YouTube clip showing a similar teaser, but it’s not clear whether the phone featured in it is actually the One Max. See for yourself after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC
Source: Twitter
One year ago, Motorola, fat and fed by its Google acquisition, inched quietly into a silicon-spun cocoon to gestate. The subsequent passage of time allowed it to transmogrify and re-emerge a thing of red, yellow, blue and sometimes green beauty; a Google thing made by a Google company. The Moto X, its newborn monarch, arrives in an array of different colors, made possible by the NikeID-like Moto Maker site. It also comes with a homespun narrative: it’s assembled here in the USA. Time to empty your wallets, patriots. This is America’s smartphone and it costs $199 on a two-year contract.
If I’m right in reading between the lines of Google’s marketing speak, the Moto X was made in the image of the everyman. It’s the product of a democratic process — you can take that future design poll on Facebook as proof of this point. The 4.7-inch screen size, the curvature of its back, the composite materials, its weight and front-face look were focus-tested for maximum inoffensiveness. The Moto X exudes no tech halo like the Galaxy S 4 or the HTC One because it is the sum of averages. Here’s how I see it: You know those people who own iPhones, but don’t know which model number they own and also refer to all Android phones as Droids? This phone is for them.
Gallery: Moto X review
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Google
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.
