Hasta La Gadget!

Android users across Europe are waking up to some bonnes nouvelles this morning, because Google has now expanded its Voice Actions service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Beginning today, loquacious smartphone and tablet users will be able to place calls, send texts and conduct Google searches by speaking into their devices. All you have to do is press the microphone button on your home screen’s Google search field and open the Voice Search app, or simply press the physical search button on your handset to bring up the “Speak Now” field. From there, you can begin chattering away in French, German, Italian, Spanish and real British English. Interested parties running Android 2.2 or above can get started by downloading the Voice Search app from the source link below, or by checking out Google’s demo video, after the break.

Continue reading Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video)

Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Google Mobile Blog, Android Market  | Email this | Comments

As with the end of any massive and absolutely chaotic consumer electronics trade show, it’s with mixed emotions that we pack up our gear and prepare to depart IFA. We hope you’ve enjoyed our countless news stories, hands-ons, and liveblogs — all neatly organized just after the break (so you can count, if you really want). But now it’s time to say goodbye to Berlin — until next year, at least. We’ve also organized a small sampling of photos that didn’t really have another home here, but should give you an idea of just how huge and diverse this show really is. Click on through to the gallery below, and jump past the break for a roundup of all our IFA 2011 coverage. Wiedersehen!

Continue reading IFA 2011 wrap-up

IFA 2011 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple wins German injunction against Samsung, Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg, FOSS Patents  | Email this | Comments

Doom may run on just about everything these days, but one place it hasn’t been very accessible during the past 17 years — regardless of the device — is in Germany. That finally changed this week, however, with both Doom and Doom 2 receiving a USK-16 rating that allows them to be made available wherever video games are sold. Both games had previously been “indexed” by the country’s Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, which has effectively confined them to the underground market since their debut. According to the BBC, the ban was lifted because the agency now considers Doom to be “mainly of historical interest,” although it notes that Germany is maintaining the ban on one particular version of Doom II that contains levels from Wolfenstein with Nazi imagery. As for Doom publisher Bethesda Softworks, it tells Joystiq that it’s “obviously very pleased” with the decision, and that it will let folks know when it plans to actually makes the game available in Germany.

Doom now approved for sale in Germany, 17 years later originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Joystiq  | Email this | Comments

If you’ve been waiting for someone to take the glasses part out of the current 3D TV viewing experience, Toshiba has finally put a launch date on its glasses-free 3D TV. The world’s first to be available to the public at the size, the ZL2 will take its place at the top of the company’s range of sets when it launches this December in Germany (no word yet on other European countries, or anywhere else for that matter) complete with an LED-backlit QuadHD resolution (3,840 x 2,160) LCD panel and Cell-processor based CEVO engine technology within. Check out the press release after the break for more of the specs, no word yet on how much it will cost but the glasses-based 3D ZL1 it’s replacing was rocking a £4,000 price tag.

Update: We have a price, as Toshiba’s German press site currently mentions the set will cost 7,999 euros when the 55-inch version launches. We’re figuring you can afford a couple of pairs of active shutter glasses instead at that price, but at least it’s still a 4K screen, right? [Thanks, Daniel]

Continue reading Toshiba’s glasses free 3D TV launches in Europe as the ZL2 this December

Toshiba’s glasses free 3D TV launches in Europe as the ZL2 this December originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments