Hasta La Gadget!

After much wrangling, the DTV Delay Act has worked its way through the House of Representatives and will certainly be signed by President Obama, changing the cutoff date for analog broadcasts from February 17 to June 12. Don’t expect this to bring a sudden end to digital TV confusion, since stations can switch prior to that date, and according to the FCC up to 61% will be able to. Since simply powering analog equipment costs thousands of dollars a month, OTA TV watchers will want to check their local broadcaster’s plans as more than a few will be going ahead with the original date for better or worse. Got an unused, expired coupon? No need to head to Retrevo just yet, since you’ll now be able to reapply to the again-funded coupon program. Of course, the FCC still has to figure out how to implement the new law, with only a few days to prepare, tomorrow’s open meeting on the subject should be very interesting.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

It’s official: DTV “hard date” moved to June 12 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that screenshot we saw of all those different Windows 7 versions (pictured above)? Well guess what? It’s worse than you could have possibly imagined. The following will be the actual new SKUs for the OS:

• Windows 7 Starter (limited to three apps concurrently)
• Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging markets)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (adds Aero, Touch, Media Center)
• Windows 7 Professional (Remote Desktop host, Mobility Center, Presentation mode)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (volume license only, boot from virtual drive, BitLocker)
• Windows 7 Ultimate (limited availability, includes everything)

This information has been confirmed by Microsoft… who never listens to us. At least most consumers will only see Home Premium and Professional options at retail, which is more akin to the XP options of yore, and means WMC will be “baseline” for most PCs.

Update: Just to be clear, we’ve checked specifically with Microsoft on all six versions, and the placement of Home Basic in emerging markets. There’s now a full breakdown after the break.

Continue reading Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Finally, an honest to goodness Qualcomm Snapdragon device is about to land in the form of the Toshiba TG01. The 9.9-mm thin handset will feature a 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) touchscreen display, HSDPA data, GPS, WiFi, a microSD slot, and custom Tosh 3D GUI to hide the Windows Mobile 6.1 uglies within. Most notable is that 1GHz Snapdragon chip that Toshiba claims makes the TG01 considerably faster than any device currently on the market with the promise to “revolutionize the mobile entertainment world.” Perhaps that’s where the DivX support comes in? We’ll see when the TG01 is unveiled at Mobile World Congress in less than two weeks followed by an expected summery launch. One more picture after the break.

Update: Oh man, the hands-on photo galleries from the London launch are coming up over at Pocket-Lint and Electricpig, the latter with head-to-head pics of the TG01 against the 12.3-mm iPhone 3G chubster and BlackBerry Bold. She’s definitely a slim-lined beauty but we have our doubts about that stripey UI. Hey Tosh, where’s the Android OS we saw running on Snapdragon at CES?

[Via Pocket-Lint and Stuff.TV]

Continue reading Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world’s first Snapdragon

Filed under: Cellphones

Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world’s first Snapdragon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If Apple’s sat back and let the iPhone hacking community do its thing in peace (well, relative peace) so far, this little gem just might be what the doctor ordered to stir up the crap. Crackulous — available now in beta form through Cydia — claims to be able to strip the protection off most apps downloaded from the App Store, meaning that just a single user needs to take the plunge and buy a target app once to get it busted and into free circulation. You need a jailbroken iPhone to get Crackulous loaded, naturally — you’ll see Apple make a Windows Mobile-powered device before you’ll see Crackulous in the App Store — but seeing how PwnageTool is dead simple to use, this puts most users just a couple graphical tools away from foolproof piracy and the golden opportunity to take a few hard-earned bucks out of a programmer’s pocket.

[Via Funky Space Monkey]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Crackulous released, promises to bust iPhone app protection scheme originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the world had better (finally) get ready for Virgin Mobile’s Helio Ocean 2 — not only have unboxing shots of the long-awaited set surfaced today, a Virgin press release hyping the company’s sponsorship of Britney Spears’ Circus tour casually mentions that it’ll be launched alongside Brit’s big comeback. “Select fans” will be given Ocean 2s to capture and share images and videos from each show using the phone’s blogging, email, and social networking features, so we’re guessing that means we’ll be seeing a launch before the tour kicks off in March — and with units out in the wild already, it could be as soon as a couple weeks on February 12. Check all the unboxing shots at the read link — it looks pretty slick, even if it is way late to the game.

[Via unwired view and Heliocity]

Read – Unboxing photos
Read – Virgin Circus press release

Filed under: Cellphones

Virgin Mobile Helio Ocean 2 unboxed, scheduled for launch with Britney Spears originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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