Hasta La Gadget!

By now you’ve seen our photos of the PlayStation Phone, and likely you’ve also heard the scattered reports of debunkings and cries of “fake!” — it wouldn’t be a scoop without it. Only here’s the thing: the PlayStation Phone in the photos we ran last night, and the device reported on back in August is most definitely real. We’re not saying that because we want to believe or because we’re gingerly trying to nab pageviews: we’re saying it because we know it to be true. This is a device which has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources. And we’re not just talking good tipsters — some of our information comes from people much more closely connected to the project. Even since last night we’ve received more info about the phone — learning that its codename is “Zeus,” and it was last seen running Android 2.X (not 3.0, which we suspect will be the shipping version). It should be obvious by comparison of our original mockup to the real photos we’ve just uncovered that the handset we described in August is the same handset now fully revealed. Prior to last night, we had never seen an actual image of the phone. It should also be obvious that the device pictured in those photos is a prototype running early software (which would explain the A / B button mention in the photo above) with hardware that was likely hand-built, or at the very least created in a very small batch.

Based on what we’ve heard about the secrecy of this plan, it makes sense that even Sony’s own employees wouldn’t be privy to information on the phone, the marketplace, and the collaboration with Google. The alleged Sony response to the device makes that somewhat clear — reports state that an employee originally told a publication that the images were fake, only to backtrack and deliver the standard corporate line that the company “doesn’t respond to rumor and speculation.” It’s possible that whomever was originally questioned either didn’t know of the device’s existence, was lying about its existence, or simply had their response taken out of context. And that brings us to our point — while there will be plenty of speculation on whether or not what we’ve shown you is real, we would never run the images or the information without a healthy sense that we were bringing you fact, and not fiction. We don’t like to boast, but as the guys and girls who brought you the first pictures and review of the Nexus One, the first details and images of the Dell Venue Pro (aka Lightning), the first pictures of the new MacBook Air, the first photos of the iPad, and the first photos of the iPhone 4, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to deliver the goods. Of course, this story is just beginning — so hold on tight.

The PlayStation Phone is still real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew Samsung’s been in the Windows Phone 7 game pretty much since day one, but the Korean giant’s managed to keep its Europe-bound Omnia 7 under tight wraps until mid-summer this year. Two months onwards, we find ourselves cradling this macho-looking device, and giggly flicking through the various tiles in its newborn OS. Just to freshen up your memory, we’re looking at a 4-inch Super AMOLED-donning slate, garnished with a dash of Tyrian purple aluminum on the back, and capped with some dark gray polycarbonate at the top and bottom. Well, you know the drill — join us after the break to find out how the rest of this phone fares.

This review is primarily of the Samsung Omnia 7 hardware. Check out our full review of Windows Phone 7 for our thoughts on the OS.

Continue reading Samsung Omnia 7 review

Samsung Omnia 7 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all adopt technology at different rates. There’s nothing wrong with being a little slow on the uptake–heck, sometimes it can be to your advantage. It means missing out of a lot of failed technologies, for one thing.

When it comes to landlines, however, the era of the early adoption is over by roughly a century, so if your community hasn’t already gotten on the telephone bandwagon yet, now is probably a pretty safe time to do so.

That’s precisely what happened in Iowa Hill this week. The small California town got phone service–for the first time, ever. There has been cell phone service in the town, but it was spotty at best.

The service has finally hit the town thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Service was supposed to kick in over the weekend, but all of the necessary towers weren’t erected in time.

The French city of Toulouse is testing a system that displays available parking spots on drivers’ smartphones. The system can also tell when someone is illegally parked or hasn’t fed the parking meter.

“This technology comes from space travel,” says Patrick Givanovitch. “They were supposed to help find landing spots on Venus.” The French space agency CNES and Givanovitch’s Toulouse-based start-up company Lyberta helped develop the street-level sensors and refit both their hardware and software to map urban parking spaces. Over time, they plan to add data from global positioning systems as well.

“We know in real time where there is parking available in the city,” Givanovitch says. In addition to helping drivers find spaces and easing congestion, the hope is that city planners will be able to use the data to optimize traffic flows and parking arrangements throughout the city.

The sensors actually work by electromagnetism. They’re placed just below the street and connected in a network using ordinary coaxial cable. An occupied parking spot has a different magnetic profile than an empty one. If a garbage bin or service truck is parked in the space, they can sense that too.

Since they can detect the exact time a car parks and leaves in a space, the sensors can bust meter-cheaters as easily as overhead intersection cameras can detect cars running red lights. Just as the information that a spot is open can be relayed to a driver looking for a space, information that a car’s gone over its time limit can be relayed to the police.

Toulouse’s pilot program will eventually be expanded to cover the entire city; city planners in Paris and Los Angeles are also interested in implementing the technology.

Relief for Harried Drivers: The Parking Space that Finds You [Der Spiegel]

Image by Stefan Simons for Der Spiegel

See Also:

• Groups Build Parks From Parking Spaces
• May 13, 1935: Enter the Parking Meter
• San Francisco Parking Meters Adjust Prices Depending on Demand …
• Smart Parking Meters Hacked — Free Parking For All!
• Our Bike Racks, Ourselves: Crowdsourcing Two-Wheeled Parking …
• "Smart" Parking Meter Implementations, Globalism, and You
• Cell Phones, Internet Bring Parking Meters into the 21st Century …

Well, can’t say we didn’t see this coming; we’re just surprised that it’s taken this long for Meizu to take a hit over its notorious handset. In case you have no idea what we’re talking about, earlier this month said Chinese company’s been in heated talks with Apple due to the M8 smartphone bearing an “appearance roughly similar” to the iPhone. Seriously, that’s the only reason Apple provided for the accusation, if CEO Jack Wong is to be trusted (and hey, he did kinda ask for it). Anyhow, the latest development is that Meizu’s bowing to pressure from both the provincial intellectual property office and Cupertino, and announced that it’s shutting down production lines for its flagship M8 this month. This is no doubt a big blow to the company, but it might get even nastier — here’s what Jack said in one of his many frustrated forum postings:

Apple requested that we cease manufacturing the M8 this month, we agreed but then [Apple] came back and asked for a sales ban instead. I can cope with a production freeze, but not with having our shops closed and thus not being able to use up our inventory. If Apple and the provincial IPO take another insatiable step, I can only go head to head against them.

So, it looks like the M8’s all set for an early retirement, either way — it doesn’t look like Apple’s going to let this one go easily, and Jack’s also expressed concern over the fact that the IPO has the power to shut his factory down without going to court. That said, things are still looking positive for the elusive M9 — from the sounds of it, Meizu’s upcoming Android phone isn’t affected by this takedown (yet); but the question is whether Jack and co. can keep the shops running until a December launch for their next flagship device. Oh well, hang in there, Meizu!

Meizu M8 ceases production amid pressure from Apple and intellectual property office originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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