Hasta La Gadget!

Long before Yelp, there was Zagat — a point-based restaurant rating guide, compiled from the best (or worst, depending) crowdsourced reviews. Today, Google has acquired the brand and plans to integrate Zagat’s now expanded shopping, eating, drinking and hotel tips into both search and maps. For gastronomes, travelers and locals, that means crowdsourced tips for superb noms and activity recommendations from around the world. Sounds great, guys, as long as your new found friendship helps us find the best bacon-flavored ice cream cone, we’re all for it.

Google acquires Zagat: good news for foodies, bad news for Yelp? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just last week Vestel was busy showing of its BitTorrent Certified Television, and now the company’s teaming up with Extent to deliver Android games to your boob tube — and it’s doing so by playing off your love of a bottomless buffet. Described as “the world’s first all-you-can-eat Android TV game subscription service,” GameTanium allows users of Vestel’s Smart Box set-top box to access a suite of TV-optimized games in the comfort of their living rooms, using their Android phones as controllers. What’s more, the service lets them switch between their PC, cellphone, tablet or TV without ever losing their place in a game. The service will be debuted at this week’s IBC, but if this announcement has left you hungry for more, there’s always the Golden Corral. Full PR awaits you and your belly after the break.

Continue reading Vestel, Extent bring Android games to TVs, with ‘all-you-can-eat’ subscription service

Vestel, Extent bring Android games to TVs, with ‘all-you-can-eat’ subscription service originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, we know — you’re anxiously awaiting the public launch of iTunes Match, but what if you’re one of those people? You know, the crowd that dips their toes into both Google and Apple offerings. It’s clearly not as blasphemous as you may have been led to believe, as the fine folks in Google’s mobile department have just produced an iOS-specific web app for Google Music Beta. For those who’ve forgotten, Music Beta was launched a few months back at Google I/O, giving audio archivists the chance to upload 20,000 of their favorite jams into the cloud; now, as you might imagine, it ain’t just Android users tapping into those libraries. Predictably, the Music Beta iOS web app enables iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users to login to their accounts and stream at will, and if you’re down to give it a go, the download link is just below — you’ll need to have been accepted previously into the beta, though.

We gave it a quick whirl on the iPad here at Engadget HQ, and it works beautifully. As you’d expect, the actual graphical elements are a bit lacking compared to the Android app, but all of the core functionality is there. Swiping left / right cruises through Artists, Albums, Songs, Playlists and Genres, and the track currently playing remains in a top bar regardless of what main window you’re in. The search function works as advertised, and on a basic cable connection our results populated within two seconds of getting the third letter down. All in all, it’s a fairly nice spread (see for yourself in the gallery below), but not quite as nice as we’re envisioning a dedicated app to be. Still holding out for one? Heh… we never said Google was that generous.

Google Music Beta crosses the aisle, launches for iOS via web app (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like HP will be getting some company in Google’s print cloud. Kodak today announced a new line of Cloud Print-friendly all-in-one devices, which let users print documents without all of those pesky cords. The imaging company is rolling the Hero 3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 and 9.1. The low-end 3.1 features a 2.4-inch display and does printing, scanning, and copying for $99, while the top of the line 9.1 adds faxing, a 4.3-inch display, a 30 page automatic document feeder, automatic two-sided printing and Smart Sensor technology to the mix at $249. The $199 6.1, meanwhile, is the most business-minded of the bunch, with its home office networking capabilities. All of the models will be available this month. Printable press info after the break.

Continue reading Kodak dons cape for a Google Cloud Print-compatible Hero all-in-one printers

Kodak dons cape for a Google Cloud Print-compatible Hero all-in-one printers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung certainly had its moment in the sun last week, but it appears that another alluring smartphone will soon emerge from South Korea — this time as the Optimus Note from LG — which presents itself in the wild and with a leaked press shot. It’s said to feature a 1.2GHz dual-core Tegra 2, along with a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display and Gingerbread. We can also expect a 5 megapixel primary shooter with an LED flash on the rear, a front-facing VGA cam up front, 8GB of internal storage and WiFi Direct capability. The device itself is 12.3mm thick, which accommodates a four-row sliding QWERTY keyboard. While this version seems destined for LG’s home territory, we can’t help but wonder if we’ll see similar specs in the Optimus Slider that’s bound Sprint. Also, since the phone has yet to become official, perhaps a last minute name change is in order? As you ponder this final point, hop the break and take a squint at Mr. Blurrycam’s finest.

[Thanks, Jungin]

Continue reading LG Optimus Note slider emerges from South Korea as dual-core Tegra 2 contender

LG Optimus Note slider emerges from South Korea as dual-core Tegra 2 contender originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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