Hasta La Gadget!

You’ve probably already read about the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that affected the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and now we’re hearing reports that the quake brought down some landline and cell phone service in New York, along with other cities on the East Coast. We’ve been unable to place calls in New York City using AT&T and Sprint smartphones, as well as office landlines. Are you experiencing issues as well? Let us know in the comments.

Update: Service seems to have been restored in New York City.

Update 2: Verizon Wireless has released the following statement on Twitter: “Seeing no reports of damage to our wireless network. There was some network congestion in the East after tremors. Continuing to monitor.”

Update 3: T-Mobile was feeling left out and sent us an email: “T-Mobile’s network is experiencing higher call volumes in all areas and counties affected by the earthquake. If customers are experiencing temporary difficultly placing calls due to network congestion, we advise them to use SMS or E-Mail until call volumes return to normal.”

East Coast earthquake brings down cell phone, landline service (update: restored) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last time we spoke with Stephen DeWitt, the head of HP’s webOS global business unit was on the defensive about the TouchPad. In spite of — or perhaps because of — the anticipation of the device, the first webOS tablet received a lukewarm reception at hands of reviewers. DeWitt vigorously defended the slate against the critics, suggesting that technology writers had been approaching the product the wrong way. A lot has happened since that conversation, of course, including reports of unmoved stock and, more significantly, yesterday’s news that HP would effectively be discontinuing production on its webOS devices, the TouchPad included.

There’s been a good deal of confusion around precisely what yesterday’s announcement means for both the company and the mobile operating system that it picked up with its purchase of Palm back in April of last year. In spite of his understandably packed schedule, DeWitt sat down with us to set the record straight and shed some light on the future of webOS — a future both he and the company remain rather optimistic about.

Read on for the full interview.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt discusses the state of webOS

The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt discusses the state of webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Word ’round the campfire is, HP may be prepping to spin off its PC business. Though Hewlett-Packard is the world’s largest computer company, desktops and laptops are a relatively low profit margin business. Obviously, there’s no confirmation yet that such a split will happen, but with the recent focus on tablets and smartphones, and CEO Leo Apotheker’s own admission that he’d like to expand into software and services, the move would make sense. According to Bloomberg the announcement could come as soon as today, during the company’s quarterly earnings call, where it’s also expected to reveal a $10 billion purchase of software company Autonomy Corp. We’ll be listening in live later, so check back this afternoon to see if HP sets its PC business free.

HP may spin off PC business, shift focus to software and services originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve just received a fascinating set of photos from a sharp-eyed tipster, who sent along images of what appear to be Motorola’s Droid Bionic and, most alluringly, that rumored handset known as the Droid HD (pictured above). This isn’t the first time we’ve seen leaked images of the Bionic in the wild, but these shots are certainly a lot clearer than any others we’ve come across. Still, there aren’t too many surprises here, with the global-capable handset boasting a TI OMAP 4430 1GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel rear camera, and microUSB / HDMI ports.

The real intrigue, however, lies with the Droid HD. Judging from the photos, this device seems to be running Gingerbread, and rocks a 4.5-inch display (presumably with qHD or even 1280×720 resolution, considering the device’s name), an 8 megapixel 1080p rear-facing camera, a front-facing shooter and the usual set of microUSB / HDMI ports. There’s also a pair of side loading SIM and microSD slots on the left side of the device, a volume rocker and what looks like a power button on the right, a slight bump for the camera pod around back (which sports an LED flash and speaker, as well), along with a large, thin battery that appears to be removable. Perhaps most notable about the HD is its seemingly super thin design — we’re estimating it’s between 8.5 and 9mm, which would put it in the same league as Samsung’s Galaxy S II, which measures 8.49mm. We’ll have to wait for more detailed information on this mystery phone, but you can get a closer look right now in the gallery, below.

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Motorola’s new Droid HD makes cameo alongside Droid Bionic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony just wrapped its Gamescom 2011 keynote with this juicy nugget: base PlayStation 3 models will run you just $250 in the US, €250 in Europe, and ¥24,980 in Japan. Announced at the same show two years ago with a $300 price tag, the base PS3 Slim model includes a 160GB hard drive. A lower price will provide a nice cushion for that $299 Call of Duty: Black Ops bundle, which just hit stores earlier this summer. Meanwhile, the 320GB model will see a $50 drop as well, with new pricing for both models kicking in immediately in the US and Europe, and August 18th in Japan. Sony also lifted the curtain on a €99 (about $140) budget PSP model, which adds a slick new design while dropping WiFi functionality. Because, really, who needs their handheld console to connect to the web? All that internet gaming stuff was so 2011.

Continue reading Sony drops PS3 price to $250 in US, €250 in Europe

Sony drops PS3 price to $250 in US, €250 in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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