Hasta La Gadget!

Sony said it was coming, and come it has. Just in time for expatriated Americans basking in the glory of being paid in pounds to enjoy over “Thanksgiving,” Sony has flipped the switch on its Qriocity on-demand movie service. The UK launch marks the European debut of the service (we’re also hearing that it’s like ‘across Europe’), offering “hundreds” of pay-per-view streaming flicks to those with a network-enabled BRAVIA TV, Blu-ray player or Blu-ray home theater system. We’re told that the library consists of material from Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Starz Digital Media, The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal and Warner Bros., with both new releases and heralded classics up for grabs. Rental prices for SD content start from £2.49 for library content and £3.49 for new releases, while HD content start respectively from £3.49 and £4.49. Not exactly free, but it’s a small price to pay to keep that keister planted on Turkey Day.

Continue reading Sony’s Qriocity video-on-demand services goes live in Europe

Sony’s Qriocity video-on-demand services goes live in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a new study, an increase in biofuels could likely also lead to an increase in greehouse gas emissions. And as Europe continues its attempt to reduce those emissions by the year 2020, the use of biofuel may actually be a bad thing.

The reason is this: in order to produce the necessary amount of biofuels, farmers will need to cultivate more land, which means clearing out new areas. This, in turn, creates more carbon emissions. And since part of the 2020 plan is to replace 10 percent of all vehicle fuel with biofuel, this clearly creates a conflict. According to the study, somewhere between 4.1 and 6.9 million hectares will need to be used in order to meet Europe’s demand.

Via New Scientist

If you’re LG, you wait until Android becomes a tablet-worthy OS before bringing out your Tegra 2 slate. If you’re Toshiba, you’re too busy shipping your 10-inch Froyo tablet to care. The Folio 100, powered by NVIDIA’s latest and greatest ARM SOC, is making its promised Q4 2010 arrival today, as it begins shipping all across Europe. There are still no release plans for the US, but Euros can now enjoy a 1024 x 600 resolution, 16GB of internal storage, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, mini-HDMI, USB and SD card-reading ports, and up to seven hours of battery life. €399 ($560) is the last price we heard for this Android Market-deprived slate, though we’d recommend trying one in person before letting go of that cash — our own impressions of the Folio 100 weren’t overwhelmingly positive.

Update: Toshiba has furnished us with updated pricing. Germany will have to pony up €429 for the 3G-less Folio 100 or €529 for the 3G-equipped SKU (available Q1 2011), whereas Italy gets both of them cheaper at €399 and €499, respectively, and UK buyers will have to find £329 for the thriftier model. All prices include local sales tax.

Continue reading Toshiba Folio 100 now shipping its Tegra 2-powered Froyo wares around Europe

Toshiba Folio 100 now shipping its Tegra 2-powered Froyo wares around Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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26,000 people can’t be wrong, right? That’s the current tally of Leaf pre-orders that Nissan has collected from US and Japanese drivers excited by its all-electric hatchback. Yesterday, the car that’s built to plug into the same wall outlet as your toaster held its official pan-European launch party — with the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and Portugal getting the first deliveries in early 2011 — and we were on site to grab a few closeup pictures and some precious time in the driver’s seat. American drivers should look out for a new set of keys in their mailbox this December, so there’s probably no better time than now to give them a preview of what they’re getting themselves into. Jump past the break for more on the Nissan Leaf.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf launches in Europe, takes us for a drive

Nissan Leaf launches in Europe, takes us for a drive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as promised, Denmark-based Lumigon has finally lifted the curtains over its much hyped T1 Android handset. Specs include an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 chipset with an optional Qualcomm HSDPA modem, along with a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen LCD, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, A-GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. What the Scandinavian company’s really selling here, though, is the phone’s multimedia features: not only does it have a FM transmitter, a HDMI dock and Bang & Olufsen’s renowned ICEpower audio amplifiers, but it also doubles up as an “innovative” universal remote control for your various AV devices — pretty unique for an Android device, we’ll give you that. Interestingly, the press release omits any mention of Froyo, so here’s a glimmer of hope that Lumigon will manage to skin whatever the latest version of Android will be in time for the launch — a few lucky outlets will receive the phones “by the very end of this year,” just in time for your Christmas refunds.

Oh, and remember the sister handset S1? We’re now told that this T9 slider won’t be out until Q3 2011. Sometimes it’s better to take one step at a time, eh?

Continue reading Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive ‘by the very end of this year’

Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive ‘by the very end of this year’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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