Hasta La Gadget!

This just in: Microsoft is ready to take the plunge into mobile modernity… at its own pace. During a recent interview with All Things D, Windows Phone President Andy Lees revealed a few details about Redmond’s future crop of handsets, which will apparently include both LTE capabilities and dual-core processors. The exec confirmed that LTE-equipped devices are indeed in the pipeline, but declined to specify whether they’d hit the market this year or next. Turns out, Microsoft wants to wait until current LTE networks prove capable of supporting more power-efficient smartphones. “The first LTE phones were big and big [users] of the battery,” Lees said. “I think it’s possible to do it in a way that is far more efficient, and that’s what we will be doing.”

Lees was similarly opaque about Microsoft’s plans to incorporate dual-core CPUs into its mobile lineup, saying only that they’re on the way. According to him, however, even single-core Windows Phones can hold their own against the dual-core competition: “They’re all single core, but I suspect that they will be faster in usage than any dual-core phone that you put against it, and that’s the point.” Lees went on to wax Panglossian about Microsoft’s strategy, claiming that the absence of LTE and dual-core processing doesn’t necessarily mean that his company is behind the times. “I think that what our strategy is is to put things in place that allow us to leapfrog, and I think that’s how we’ve gone from worse [sic] browser to the best browser,” he explained, “and I think the same is true with hardware.” Check out the full interview for yourself, at the source link below.

Shocker! Microsoft to produce dual-core, LTE Windows Phones, other modern things originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last time we spoke with Stephen DeWitt, the head of HP’s webOS global business unit was on the defensive about the TouchPad. In spite of — or perhaps because of — the anticipation of the device, the first webOS tablet received a lukewarm reception at hands of reviewers. DeWitt vigorously defended the slate against the critics, suggesting that technology writers had been approaching the product the wrong way. A lot has happened since that conversation, of course, including reports of unmoved stock and, more significantly, yesterday’s news that HP would effectively be discontinuing production on its webOS devices, the TouchPad included.

There’s been a good deal of confusion around precisely what yesterday’s announcement means for both the company and the mobile operating system that it picked up with its purchase of Palm back in April of last year. In spite of his understandably packed schedule, DeWitt sat down with us to set the record straight and shed some light on the future of webOS — a future both he and the company remain rather optimistic about.

Read on for the full interview.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt discusses the state of webOS

The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt discusses the state of webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You probably don’t think “top-tier audio” when you ponder the wonders of Colorado Springs, but sure enough, one of music’s best kept secrets is headquartered there, camped out slyly in quite the nondescript building. A few months back, we were granted unprecedented access to Westone’s lair (just a year and change after visiting Klipsch’s HQ), and they even let a film crew in for good measure. The goal? To show you, the budding audiophile, exactly how a set of custom in-ear monitors are crafted, and what kind of work goes into creating one of the planet’s most diminutive speaker arrangements. We’ve whipped up the entire experience there in the video above, but if you’re looking for a more textual perspective, head on past the break.

Continue reading Westone lab tour: how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing (video)

Westone lab tour: how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t panic! That’s not a herd of horses about to parade through your living room, but it is the noise that only 10 Engadget Podcasters can make as they run through your WiFi and into your speakers for this, the first-ever Engadget Partycast! We’ll play Twister all over some new Sony tablets, pin the tail on the red envelope, and we might even fire up the hottest new music-streaming service on the HiFi to get you moving. The party is happening right now down below underneath that play button. We’re almost at capacity, but we’ll let you in if you hurry the dang heck up!

Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Guests: Richard Lawler, Dana Wollman, Darren Murph
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Young Folks

00:02:52 – Sony S1 and S2 hands-on
00:03:40 – Sony’s S2 tablet coming to AT&T, price and availability remain a mystery
00:09:53 – Sony’s VAIO Z finally arrives in the US, goes up for pre-order starting at $2,000
00:15:23 – Netflix officially separates DVD, streaming pricing; $15.98 and up for both
00:33:50 – Netflix streaming comes to the Nintendo 3DS tomorrow
00:38:26 – The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt
00:49:58 – Spotify launching in the US tomorrow
01:02:36 – Listener questions

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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 248 – 07.15.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo’s tablet-esque Wii U controller raised a few questions when it was announced at E3. Questions like, “What kind of crazy games are going to use that thing,” and “How much will a second controller cost me?” The latter, at least, has been answered. Nothing. You don’t need one. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata recently said in an interview that games enlisting more than one Wii U controller aren’t being considered just yet — although they are possible. Our very own Ittousai tells us that Iwata told Diamond Online that the Wii U can technically support multiple screen-controllers, but that additional slabs would be too expensive to sell on their own. Iwata went on to say that the console would ship with only one, and that game developers should design titles under the assumption that each console will use a single Wii U controller. Player two will have to settle for a good ‘ol Wiimote, and even Satoru himself admits that there are plenty of those around.

Nintendo says one Wii U controller per console, robs player two of extra screen originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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