Hasta La Gadget!

An iPad for zilch on contract? Yessir… but only if you pack up and move to the Land of the Rising Sun. Softbank Mobile has just announced a new pricing plan that makes Apple’s 16GB iPad WiFi + 3G model totally free with a two-year data agreement in Japan, and for those who recall it being “free” before, this situation is a bit different. You see, there’s no built-in monthly surcharge for this one; rather than paying off your iPad over 24 months, you’re actually getting it for nothing as long as you’re kosher with forking out ¥4,725 ($56) per month for that 3G goodness. The deal starts on December 3rd, and we’ve got a strange, strange feeling that it’ll do quite well if marketed correctly. And by “correctly,” we mean “at all.”

[Thanks, Ken]

Softbank makes 16GB iPad WiFi + 3G free with two-year contract originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Because not every smartphone has a full 1080p resolution (yet), KDDI‘s R&D Labs have come up with a new method for massaging the most out of HD movie streams while on the move. You’ll still be able to pummel your poor mobile device and connection with the full-res stream, should you wish it, but KDDI’s innovation is in developing a system whereby you can zoom in on particular parts of the feed, have the stream cropped to your requirements on far-off servers somewhere, and then receive only the stuff you want to see onto your device. And because of your phone’s aforementioned pixel deficiency, the employment of this technique will most often result in negligible picture fidelity loss, if any. The biggest benefit, however, might be to carriers like KDDI who end up having to carry less data back and forth, even if it does come at a slight server-side cost. Video after the break.

Continue reading KDDI develops a zoom-enhance system for HD movie streaming on smartphones (video)

KDDI develops a zoom-enhance system for HD movie streaming on smartphones (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Given the dominance of Sony’s Walkman over in the Land of the Rising Sun, it’s a little surprising to think that Sony has been all but silent regarding the Japanese e-reader market. We heard back in May that the mega-corp was planning an e-reader launch in Japan by the year’s end, aiming to build out an elaborate e-book distribution platform with local telecom operator KDDI. Fast forward a few months, and it seems as if thing’s are finally falling into place. New reports are suggesting that the 5- and 6-inch Sony Reader devices will be on sale in Japan on December 10th, with pricing set for ¥20,000 ($237) / ¥25,000 ($297), respectively. Additionally, it’s planning to crack the seal on an online e-bookstore with around 20,000 titles, and that one should be ready to roll prior to the “year-end shopping rush.” Perhaps more stunning, however, is Sony’s intentions to “sell 300,000 Readers in the first year and win half the domestic market by 2012” — that’s according to Sony Marketing Japan president Nobuki Kurita. Bold words, Sony, but we love the ambition.

Sony aims for half of Japan’s e-reader market by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen slick hand-crafted ceramic speakers in the past, but this one millimeter-thick collaboration between potter Mitsuke Masagasu and design firm Nendo is in a different league. An entirely different league. The set is result of the so-called Revalue Nippon Project, created by Japanese footballer Nakata Hidetoshi to revive traditional Japanese art forms. Nakata selected five curators — in this case the director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazaw — who were then tasked with pairing a ceramicist and designer to collaborate on a one of a kind form. Not satisfied with simply being 31 times thinner than the emaciated Mythos XTR series as a sole basis for artistic impact, the speaker’s ravishing circuit design is also made without a human touch. Instead, a computer-controlled process cuts thin slices from a ceramic substrate slab, fixes them with mercury vapor, and then mounts them via a robotic arm. Amazingly, sound quality is still also touted as being top notch. There are no plans however for these speakers to ever be mass produced, so if you were hoping to snag one as the ultimate accessory for your über-modern flat… well, let yourself down easy, alright champ?

Nendo’s ceramic circuit board speaker gives the rest of the audio world body image issues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one benefit to living in the technological backwater that is Europe, it’s that “innovations” like iAds take a little longer to filter though — but filter through they eventually do, as evidenced by Apple’s announcement that its mobile advertising platform is hitting the Old World this December. French and British iOS users will get to enjoy being pestered by L’Oreal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, and Unilever next month, while their German counterparts will have their lives enriched in January. This follows on the heels of news that iAds is headed to Japan in early 2011 as well, covering the biggest developed markets with glorious promotional material. Advertisers don’t seem to be shying away from the platform, either, as Apple boasts it has signed up half of the top 25 US ad buyers (as judged by Ad Age). Full press release follows after the break.

Continue reading Apple bringing iAds to Europe in December, nobody rejoices

Apple bringing iAds to Europe in December, nobody rejoices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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