Toyota introduces Touch Life smartphone mirroring system, your Prius and iPhone can become one

If you’re looking to get your smartphone more in-sync with your car, you may want to consider a new Toyota with the Touch Life infotainment system. Given a compatible smartphone / app combo, it can mirror the phone’s display on its 7-inch touchscreen for access to navigation, music or social networking services. Nokia owners can connect their Symbian Belle devices by way of MirrorLink, developed by the Car Connectivity Consortium, in its first deployment by the automotive industry. Apple iPhone (and iPod) faithful will have to install Application Launcher in order to sync up with the infotainment system. If driving distractions are a concern, steering wheel controls play nice with the tech as well — it’s not quite SYNC Applink, but we’ll take it. Toyota promises features and smartphones will continue to be added, but for a current list of compatible cars, devices and apps, check the press release below.

Continue reading Toyota introduces Touch Life smartphone mirroring system, your Prius and iPhone can become one

Toyota introduces Touch Life smartphone mirroring system, your Prius and iPhone can become one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s LTE getting Advanced in 2013, WiMAX’s inferiority complex intensifies

Sprint just started building out its LTE network, but being the eager beavers that they are, the folks in Overland Park are already talking about taking the Now Network to the next level. Iyad Tarazi, Sprint’s VP of network development and engineering, said that Sprint will be rolling out an LTE-Advanced network in the first half of 2013. (As a brief refresher, LTE-Advanced is a true 4G technology that can make regular LTE speeds look positively pedestrian in comparison.) Tarazi added that we would see 12 LTE devices in 2012 and that over 250 million people will have access to Sprint-flavored LTE by the end of 2013 — with voice over LTE service coming in the first quarter of that year. For those (hundreds?) of you worried about the fate of of WiMAX, well, don’t. Apparently, the out-of-favor 4G network will continue to be supported for several more years due to Sprint’s agreement with Clearwire. So, it appears Sprint’s really making a run at Verizon’s LTE hegemony. Good luck Mr. Hesse, you’re probably going to need it.

Sprint’s LTE getting Advanced in 2013, WiMAX’s inferiority complex intensifies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint issues OTA fix for HTC Android handset vulnerability

Earlier this month, we found out that after a software update HTC’s Android handsets had a serious security flaw — any app could gain access to user data, including recent GPS locations, SMS data, phone numbers, and system logs. To its credit, HTC responded quickly to the security issue, and now an OTA update with the fix is going out to those on the Now Network. Sprint users with an EVO 4G, 3D, Shift 4G, Design 4G or View 4G can get the download, as can Wildfire S owners. The patch available now for a manual download, and more info on the fix can be found at the source below.

[Thanks, Korey]

Sprint issues OTA fix for HTC Android handset vulnerability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia to announce QWERTY Series 40 Touch and Type tomorrow?

See those boxes up there? They appear to contain a yet-to-be-announced QWERTY phone. We were able to get a quick glance at the phones from above as Nokia reps were discretely unpacking boxes for that little three-wheeled vehicular contraption parked behind the boxes. Another picture (after the break) reveals a red portrait QWERTY along with the tagline “You. Me. Everyone. Let’s QWERTY,” along with a model number covered up by a white piece of paper. It appears that this one may be the Nokia 303 leaked a couple weeks ago, which seems to be a low-end Series 40 6th Edition Touch-and-Type device. We know it includes WiFi and 3G connectivity, social functions and comes in colors (at least red and gray). We’re just hours away from keynote confirmation at this point, and something tells us that these guys will be making their way into some attendee swag bags come tomorrow. Jump past the break for a few more pics.

Brad Molen contributed to this post.

Continue reading Nokia to announce QWERTY Series 40 Touch and Type tomorrow?

Nokia to announce QWERTY Series 40 Touch and Type tomorrow? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 Windows Phones slip out ahead of tomorrow’s announcement

Nokia’s big announcement isn’t until tomorrow, but it looks like some of the surprise has now been spoiled by a leak out of Nokia World in London. As you can see in the image above obtained by WinRumors, Nokia is apparently set to announce the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710, both of which of course run Windows Phone, and each of which have turned up in some less-than-clear leaks before. In fact, we just got a hold of a shot of the 800 earlier today ourselves (looking a lot like the company’s Meego-based N9), while the Lumia 710 has previously surfaced under the Sabre codename. If the rumors are to be believed, you can apparently look for both to hit European markets in November with a US launch slated for sometime next year, although we’d certainly recommend waiting until tomorrow before you get too disappointed about that latter possibility. Two more close-up shots are after the break.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 Windows Phones slip out ahead of tomorrow’s announcement

Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 Windows Phones slip out ahead of tomorrow’s announcement originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia 800 gets pictured, ready for its close-up

Thus far, evidence of the Nokia 800 has been the stuff of slow but reasonably steady leaks in the form of ads, product shots and dev stats. This latest one doesn’t do much to change the state of things, but its real world setting should help hold some of the Mango faithful over until the handset formerly known as Sea Ray gets officially official, most likely in the very near future.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Nokia 800 gets pictured, ready for its close-up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mosoro Bluetooth LE iOS accessories improve your golf, if the weather’s right

So far the appcessories — yeah we said it, APPcessories — we’ve seen include some good ideas, and some less so. The Bluetooth LE 3D-Sport and Weather offerings from Mosoro fall into the former category (if they make their way into a shipping product that is). The 3D-Sport is a motion capture device you attach to sports equipment. The on-board accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer beam motion data to your iOS device, where it can be analyzed by Rocky-style Russian coaches to see where your throw or golf swing is going wrong. The latter is a mini weather station that reads temperature, humidity, elevation, and barometric pressure to tell you the conditions where you are right now. More usefully, it nabs your GPS location and uploads it all to Mosoro’s aptly named “Cloud” Server that presumably maps out some crazy real-time crowdsourced weather report. Both also use Bluetooth 4.0’s low energy technology so they won’t need to see a charger for a long time. Now we just need a company that likes collating personal data, perhaps with a weather service, to snap this one up… any takers?

Continue reading Mosoro Bluetooth LE iOS accessories improve your golf, if the weather’s right

Mosoro Bluetooth LE iOS accessories improve your golf, if the weather’s right originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Nokia World keynote is tomorrow — get your liveblog here at 4AM ET!

What will the future hold for a post-MeeGo Nokia? Sure, we have a fairly good idea, but you have mere hours to wait until the rumors are confirmed. We’ll be coming to you live from the company’s keynote at Nokia World in London, where we’re expecting not one, but multiple Windows Phones to make an on-stage debut. The show kicks off at 9AM local time, and we’ve included a handy list of round-the-world start times below. Bookmark this page right here and find out as it happens.

Psst… and toss your own time zone / day in comments below!

10:00PM – Hawaii (October 25th)
01:00AM – Pacific (October 26th)
02:00AM – Mountain (October 26th)
03:00AM – Central (October 26th)
04:00AM – Eastern (October 26th)
09:00AM – London (October 26th)
10:00AM – Paris (October 26th)
12:00PM – Moscow (October 26th)
05:00PM – Tokyo (October 26th)

The Nokia World keynote is tomorrow — get your liveblog here at 4AM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin launches Fit App, motivates you to lose that freshman fifteen

Garmin, the company responsible for helping you navigate to the mall food court, is now hoping to help you work off those cheese fries with the introduction of its $.99 Fit App for Android and iPhone. The mobile app — which works a lot like the Nike+ — measures distance, time, calories and speed walked, run, cycled or traveled to capture your calorie burning journey. Connected users can also set goals, track their workouts and share results with others addicted to the burn. In addition to the app, Garmin is rolling out a $49.99 ANT+ adapter for iPhone, which monitors heart rate and cadence when paired with another optional sensor like a footpod. If you can’t muster up the energy to try it out right now, we’re sure you can at least head on past the break to check out the PR.

Continue reading Garmin launches Fit App, motivates you to lose that freshman fifteen

Garmin launches Fit App, motivates you to lose that freshman fifteen originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alibaba unveils W800, second-gen Aliyun phone, and unnamed ‘cloud-powered’ tablet

W800 and Aliyun tablet

In July we got our first taste of Aliyun OS, running on the W700. Now, with the Gregorian calendar year coming to a close, Alibaba is prepping its second wave “cloud-powered” hardware. First up is the W800, the successor to the original Aliyun handset. As far as specs go, the two look more or less the same — with the latest version still rocking a 1GHz Tegra 2. The one obvious difference is the slightly larger 4.3-inch display gracing the front of the W800. Perhaps more interesting though, is the still unnamed tablet which also clearly bares NVIDIA branding. Speed and exact model of the CPU inside is anyone’s guess, but we’re assuming this isn’t a Kal-el device. Price and release date for both are a mystery, but the W800 is expected to land sometime before November is out. Of course, you probably shouldn’t expect these to show up in your local Best Buy, but you’ve got a friend in Hong Kong who can send you one, right?

Alibaba unveils W800, second-gen Aliyun phone, and unnamed ‘cloud-powered’ tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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