Hasta La Gadget!

We’re not quite sure what’s going on here: you see, Lenovo’s been cosying up to Android for its smartphones and tablets all this time, so we were a bit surprised when one of its product managers posted some photos of a Windows Phone-powered handset (even Engadget makes an appearance). More interestingly, this mysterious phone looks identical to the upcoming Lenovo LePhone S2, which features a heavily customized Android 2.3.4, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chip, 480 x 800 display, eight-megapixel camera (with 720p recording) and a smaller plus lighter body than its predecessor. PCPOP’s done a brief preview of the S2 Android if you’re curious.

But the bigger story here is that if Lenovo is indeed developing a Windows Phone Mango device for the Chinese market (and remember that Lenovo has yet to market its smartphones outside China), then this S2 variant could be the first of its kind that gets the blessing from the Chinese authorities. Right now Windows Phone has a tight Facebook and Twitter integration, both of which are unfortunately banned by the Great Firewall; and additionally, even the Windows Phone Marketplace had fallen victim to the system for unknown reasons back in August. Of course, Windows Phone’s China penetration could be just a matter of time anyway, but it’ll be interesting to see what compromises Microsoft will have made to keep the authorities happy — Nokia will surely need this to keep a good shape in China.

On the other hand, given the common hardware compatibility between the two mobile OSes, there’s also a good chance that this strange device is merely the work of some curious engineers at Lenovo — you know, much like the Android-powered Nokia prototype spotted in June. If this is indeed the truth then let our bubbles burst.

Lenovo’s upcoming LePhone S2 seen running Android as well as Windows Phone, looks confused originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 03:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink wpcentral  |  @Joker (Sina Weibo), TENAA  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Microsoft’s PocketTouch prototype is like x-ray vision for your fingers (video)

Microsoft’s PocketTouch prototype is like x-ray vision for your fingers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GeekWire  |  Microsoft Research  | Email this | Comments

First Seattle, then London, now the Big Apple — Amazon’s delivery lockers are starting to pop up all over. As we’ve explained before, the lockers are basically giant, automated PO boxes, designated exclusively for Amazon purchases. If you choose to add a locker location to your address book (go check your account settings to see if the option is available to you yet), your package will be crammed into one of these kiosks and you’ll be given a code to unlock a particular slot at the location of your choice. So far there are eight scattered around Manhattan in Rite Aides, D’Agostinos and Gristedes. We haven’t wandered out of our secret lair to get photographic evidence of the drop off locations yet (we prefer to have our Amazon purchases left at the gate under the watchful eye of a turret), but we think the screen shot we took is proof enough that we’re not pulling your leg. Still, if you’re afraid the UPS guy might swing by while you’re still in your jammies this seems like a pretty nice solution.

Amazon lockers come to NYC, no more getting caught by UPS in your PJs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista, GeekWire  |  Amazon.com  | Email this | Comments

With gaming on tablets, the visual experience is often top-notch, but the controls are unfamiliar at best — even inadequate at times. But adding a traditional joystick is impractical, especially when aesthetics is a key selling point for manufacturers. Chicago-based Knowles Electronics has a fairly practical solution, however, and hopes that some manufacturers will adopt its Mems Joystick. At just 1.6mm tall, the joystick is slim enough for a device to maintain a svelte profile, and the 40 microamps it consumes during normal operation is relatively negligible, according to company reps. Tablets are just the start — Knowles built a series of prototypes to demonstrate a variety of potential applications.

We took the joystick for a spin on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Atrix, Nintendo 3DS and a pair of laptops. All of the joystick prototypes connected using Bluetooth or USB, and were designed specifically for this CEATEC demonstration — sadly they won’t be available for purchase, though manufacturers could implement the controller into similar products. It took only a few seconds to get accustomed to the pair of joysticks mounted to the back of the Tab. Controlling gameplay felt natural, and we definitely preferred playing with a clear view of the display. We also navigated through Google Maps, and scrolled a web page — both experiences felt superior to moving around the touchscreen. The 3DS joystick functioned similarly to the native controller included with that device, though Knowles reps noted that it’s significantly smaller, and uses less power — and without compromise, it seems.

Jump past the break for a walkthrough of the devices we saw today, but try not to fall in love — you won’t be able to use the Joystick anytime soon, if manufacturers decide to implement them at all.

Continue reading Knowles Electronics Mems Joystick for Samsung Galaxy Tab, Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video)

Knowles Electronics Mems Joystick for Samsung Galaxy Tab, Nintendo 3DS hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Have you ever tried to read a Japanese menu? If there aren’t pictures to reference, you’ll likely have a difficult time figuring out what to order — unless you can read Japanese, of course. NTT DoCoMo hopes to improve the dining experience for those of us that can’t tell our ウニ (sea urchin) from our カニ (crab), building an app that can translate any of 9,000 possible menu entries from Japanese into English. It also supports English to Japanese translation, along with Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese) and Korean translations as well. The app worked fairly well, occasionally mistaking things like salmon caviar for “a rare part of the pork.” OK, so perhaps there’s a bit more work to be done. Either way, real-time visual language translation is definitely tricky stuff, and could be enormously helpful to travelers once devs figure out how to make it work — and work well. Jump past the break to see the app do its thing at CEATEC.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video)

NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments