May 17

Use iPad MicroSIM and Data-Plan in Your iPhone

Posted in: att, Hacks, Mods and DIY, ipad, Today's Chili

microsim_step_004

Many iPhone owners are annoyed that they have to pony up another $30 a month for iPad data when they already pay AT&T for unlimited data on their cellphone plan. The answer is to a) suck it up or b) literally cut the iPhone SIM card down to size and use it in your iPad (losing the ability to use the iPhone in the meantime).

But what of those who want unlimited, contract-free data on their iPhones? What if you never, ever want to make an actual phone-call? Then we have good news: you can use your tiny new microSIM in the iPhone by fashioning an adapter from a credit card or an old, spare SIM.

The step by step instructions by Hijinks Inc. start with the fairly obvious physical hack (scissors, razor-blade, plastic card) but then move on to the meat: how to make your iPhone recognize and accept the iPad SIM. You’ll need to change the iPhone APN settings.

In something like the MiFi, you can easily configure these settings for use on any network. In the iPhone, it’s a bit more tricky. Hijinks Inc recommends an online tool to make this reversible change. I haven’t tested it, and recommend caution before allowing unknown services to make changes to your iPhone.

Once done, you can swap your little SIM between iPad and iPhone and enjoy unlimited, contract-free data. The caveat: you’ll need to buy an iPad to get and activate the microSIM, and this is a US-only hack.

Meanwhile, over in Spain, iPhone carrier Telefónica has had an uncharacteristic fit of generosity. If you are an iPhone subscriber, Telefónica will give you a microSIM for your iPad, completely free, and let you share your iPhone data plan. Pretty sweet, and no scissors required.

Using a Micro SIM in an iPhone 3G [Hijinks Inc via Mac Stories]

See Also:


No Comments | Tags: , ,
May 17

Samsung’s EX1 / TL500 flagship compact articulates ‘release’ in Korean

Posted in: camera, Today's Chili

It’s out, Samsung’s 10 megapixel EX1 (aka, TL500) with 3-inch articulating AMOLED display was just pushed out for retail in its Korean homeland. For 599,000KRW or about $400, you get a F1.8 24mm ultra-wide lens, 1/1.7-inch CCD, refined DRIMeIII imaging processor, dual image stabilization, and ISO 3200 max sensitivity (at full resolution) that should combine to deliver decent shots (for a compact) in low-light conditions without using a flash. As Samsung’s flagship compact it also supports RAW with shutter‑priority, aperture‑priority and full-manual shooting modes. Unfortunately, H.264 video is limited to 640×480 pixels at 30fps. Fortunately, an optional optical viewfinder can be fitted to the hot shoe in case the AMOLED display fails to hold up under direct sunlight — a very real possibility since there’s no mention of Samsung’s “Super AMOLED” anywhere in the press release. Can’t wait to see the reviews on this pup.

Samsung’s EX1 / TL500 flagship compact articulates ‘release’ in Korean originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
May 17

I-Fairy weds a couple of Japanese robot geeks (video)

Posted in: Japan, japanese, robot, Today's Chili, video

Don’t act surprised. Japan, the land that just can’t get enough of robots — whether it’s for cooking, entertainment or interstellar warfare — now also conducts its weddings with the help of a ceremonial drone. Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue, who met in the course of their work in robotics, decided that getting married with the help of the I-Fairy bot you see above was a “natural choice.” We’ll just assume that’s a translational quirk and not an ultra-ironic statement from the happy couple. The I-Fairy isn’t quite as realistic as some of Kokoro‘s other humanoids, but it does come with flashing, anime-sized eyes, which we’re gonna go ahead and assume are popular over in Nippon. Video after the break.

Continue reading I-Fairy weds a couple of Japanese robot geeks (video)

I-Fairy weds a couple of Japanese robot geeks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 05:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBBC  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
May 17

Stealthy ThinkTank Photo-Bags Expand to Fit Everything

Posted in: Today's Chili

feature-retrospective-20-pinestone-7

ThinkTank, the master of shifting photo-gear, is better known for its TARDIS-like airline carry-on cases than for smaller bags. The new Retrospective series may change that.

The Retrospective bags are stealth bags. The “pinestone” colored bags are especially normal-looking, fashioned from a mottled gray fabric that manages not to scream out its camera-holding nature, although the even the black ones are less conspicuous than ThinkTank’s own Urban Disguise series (which are in fact camera bags disguised as camera bags).

The soft-sided shoulder bags come in three sizes and will hold a big DSLR body and lens along with space for a few more lenses. Because they are soft, there is a lot more flexibility as to how you cram in your gear. The layout, though, makes quick lens-changes pretty easy: the lenses are kept upright for grabbing quickly.

The bit I like most, though, is the pair of expandable nylon pockets on each end. These are not padded, and they are big enough to slide in a strobe or compact camera where they can be secured by a Velcro flap. You also get either one or two DSLR body-sized pockets on the front, depending on the model you buy

The main section, too, is Velcro’d closed, but you can silence the ripping sound with some covering flaps. This is a fairly common feature these days, also found in Crumpler bags.

There are also a pair of lens-changer bags, so you can carry you SLR on a strap and just carry the spare lenses over your shoulder. These have a bunch of small accessory pockets, too.

These days I keep most of my kit in a Kata backpack or in separate pouches ready to be thrown into any old bag. The expandable nature of these bags, though, has got me considering yet another addition to my already embarrassingly large bag collection.

ThinkTank Retrospective 20 [ThinkTank. Thanks, Mr.Hobby!]

See Also:


No Comments | Tags:
May 17

NVIDIA puts its Tegra 2 eggs in Android’s basket, aims to topple Apple’s A4

Posted in: Android, AndroidOs, arm, earnings, financials, Google, NVIDIA, optimus, Smartphones, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two might not turn out to be the most auspicious devices for Tegra’s debut in the smartphone arena, but NVIDIA seems to be learning from its mistakes. Admitting that the company committed too strongly to Microsoft with the first-gen iteration, Jen-Hsun Huang has now said that the second generation of Tegra will look to Android devices first and foremost. This newfound focus will materialize with both smartphones and tablets in the third and fourth quarter of this year, and will, according to Jen-Hsun, offer device makers a viable competitor to Apple’s A4 SOC. In other news, NVIDIA has now shipped “a few hundred thousand” Fermi cards, and has also achieved 70 design wins with its Optimus graphics switching technology. Eleven of those are now out in the wild, but the vast majority are still to come, mostly as part of the seasonal “back to school” refresh at the end of the summer. These revelations came during the company’s earnings call for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, and you can find the full transcript at the source below.

[Thanks, TareG]

NVIDIA puts its Tegra 2 eggs in Android’s basket, aims to topple Apple’s A4 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hexus  |  sourceSeeking Alpha  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , ,
May 17

New 35mm ƒ1.4 Lens from Leica Costs More than Your Car

Posted in: lenses, Today's Chili

leica-summilux-25-141

Leica has added a 35mm ƒ1.5 rangefinder lens to its digital M-series lineup. Previously, the only electronic 35mm to be had was the rather slow ƒ2.5 model, hardly the kind of fast lens that we expect to use on these compact, go-anywhere bodies. On the other hand, that lens came from the “budget” Summarit-M range, all of which had the same maximum aperture of ƒ2.5 and lacked any aspherical lens elements.

That older 35mm lens can be had for $1,700 street. The new Leica Summilux-M 35 mm ƒ1.4 ASPH adds back in all these luxury elements and will cost $5,000. It also comes bundled with a metal lens hood which costs $150 when sold alone.

Leica lenses aren’t about the specs. You’ll find no image stabilization here, nor even a zoom (zooms wouldn’t even work well with a rangefinder. The closest you’ll get is a three-way, multi-telephoto setup). They’re about the engineering, the image quality and the hand-made-ness of each lens the company turns out.

The only concession to modernity is hidden inside. These lenses have a 6-bit encoding in them which tells the camera which model it is.

This lens will probably be as stunning as any from Leica, and well done to Leica for getting back to what it does best: making lenses. It’s M-series bodies are increasingly irrelevant, if well made, but the lenses, which will work on any Leica film camera (or Micro Four Thirds camera with an adapter) are possibly still the best lenses you can buy. Available July.

Summilux product page [Leica via Leica Rumors]


No Comments | Tags:
May 17

Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick

Posted in: diy, dslr, hack, mod, mods, Retro, Today's Chili, video

Just point and shoot.

Video after the break.

Continue reading Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick

Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 03:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceThiago Avancini  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
May 17

Inspiron M301z: Dell’s first laptop to take on AMD’s new dual-core Neo

Posted in: AMD, laptop, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili

If the words “Dell” and “AMD” excite you then lean in, we’ve got something for you. You won’t find it on Dell’s US site just yet, but Dell Singapore is showing off its first laptop to feature AMD’s new Nile-class of processors. The Inspiron M301z starts at $999 (that’s about $715 of the US green stuff) with a 1.3GHz dual-core Athlon II Neo K325 processor (optional 1.5GHz Neo K625), 2GB (up to 4GB supported) of 1,333MHz DDR3 memory and a 320GB hard disk spinning at 7,200RPM, ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics, a glossy 13.3-inch WLED display pushing 1,366×768 pixels, and a 6-cell 44WHr battery for up to 5-hours of promised life. It’s available for purchase now in Singapore and likely elsewhere just as soon as the sun begins to warm the western world.

[Thanks, Qayser]

Inspiron M301z: Dell’s first laptop to take on AMD’s new dual-core Neo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 01:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDell  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
May 17

Summer brings itchy groins, fun commercials

Posted in: MARKETING IDEAS, Today's Chili

Japanese commercials have a charming way of being able to be quite direct about things that are usually only alluded to in American commercials. Take for example Delicare M’s (delicate care for men), a topical cream for men with itchy groin areas.

In the summer your groin gets itchy.

In the summer your groin gets itchy.

The video says it all, with the first one beginning with three men exclaiming that “My…groin…itches!”.

I have a hard time imagining a similar commercial back in the States, unless it’s endorsed by Alec Baldwin.

No Comments
May 16

UFC pay-per-view comes to the Roku Player

Posted in: Today's Chili

The Roku Player’s beefed-up Netflix channel was certainly a nice addition, but the company’s latest partner is a little more fierce: pay-per-view UFC is coming to the little streaming media player, starting with Rampage vs. Evans on May 29th. Fight pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but users will also have access to archived fights, as well as live access to pre-fight events and post-fight press conferences. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading UFC pay-per-view comes to the Roku Player

UFC pay-per-view comes to the Roku Player originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments