Hasta La Gadget!

Well, we can’t say we saw this one coming, but Skype has just dropped a bombshell right in the middle of CES — it’s announced plans to acquire rival video calling company Qik. No terms of the deal have been disclosed, but Skype says that the transaction is expected to close this month. According to Skype, the two companies will “focus on providing a richer, more integrated experience that will allow people globally to share experiences in real-time video across different platforms,” and it notes that Qik’s “deep engineering capabilities and strong mobile relationships will be an impressive complementary fit with Skype.” Head on past the break for the official press release.

Continue reading Skype announces plans to acquire Qik

Skype announces plans to acquire Qik originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The characteristic most often associated with Pixel Qi screens — aside from their prized daylight-readable quality — up to this point has been scarcity. Hoping to correct that supply shortage, Mary Lou Jepsen’s team has today announced a partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer Chunghwa Picture Tubes to, well, produce some picture tubes. Apparently, “the teams have been working together quietly all fall” and now they’re ready to make things official, while also announcing that three new panels will be coming to market at various points during 2011. The first of those, a 7-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, is set to make its debut at CES in early January, with mass production coming in the second quarter of the year. Another note of interest is the tally of three million Pixel Qi displays shipped over the past three years — let’s hope we can double that number through 2011, eh?

[Thanks, LifeBringer]

Continue reading Pixel Qi partners with Chunghwa Picture Tubes to manufacture new transflective LCD models

Pixel Qi partners with Chunghwa Picture Tubes to manufacture new transflective LCD models originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buy this phone, won’t you please buy this phone? We’ve no idea why Telus has to try so hard to convince Canadian buyers to grab themselves a Windows Phone 7 handset, but the carrier’s expected to sweeten the deal dramatically over the next few days by bundling a freebie Xbox 360 with every WP7 device activation or renewal. The offer starts today, according to this leaked memo, and will last through to the end of the week, December 19th. Telus carries the HTC 7 Surround and LG Optimus 7, neither of which would seem to have caught fire quite the way Microsoft would have wanted. Ah well, if you’re going to sell your wireless soul for a whole three years, you might as well do it for a phone-plus-console combo.

[Thanks, Sean]

Telus to bundle free Xbox 360 with every WP7 activation or renewal for a limited time, says leak originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Been feeling blue this holiday season? Finding all the special offer WP7 phones a little too little? Fear not, T-Mobile and Microsoft are ready to give you a pair of HD7s for the price of one next time you drop into one of the Magenta stores asking about Windows Phone 7 devices. You’ll need to commit to the usual two-year contract and whatnot, but it’s a straight up BOGO on what’s probably the most desirable handset sporting Microsoft’s new OS on the American market. Then again, even with this discount, you still might be able to find the HD7 cheaper at online retailers, so as per usual on Black Fridays, we’d advise doing your due diligence before letting your dead presidents out for a walk. And please, try not to think of how sweet a day this could have been if Dell’s Venue Pro had actually been released on schedule.

[Thanks, David]

HTC HD7 greets Black Friday with a Buy One Get One Free offer from T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, retailers are always undercutting carrier pricing, sometimes pretty dramatically, but Amazon’s taking things to the limit this weekend. You can score any of Verizon’s major Droid phones for a penny, and Verizon is also fronting the $35 Verizon line activation fee. Of course, you’ll have to sign up for a two year contract, and you’d better not think about canceling out of it: Amazon has a $250 per device cancellation fee on top of Verizon’s own hefty charge. Ah, the price of free.

Verizon’s Droid lineup available at Amazon for a penny per handset with no activation fee originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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