Hasta La Gadget!

What’s old is new again. Or, is it that content is still king? We could never keep those Web 2.0 arguments straight, but from the sound of this latest YouTube rumor, ol’ Mountain View might be moonwalking into an old media model. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google’s been hustling to get contracts for a lineup of regularly scheduled channels ironed out “within the next 60 days.” That sort of timeline would indicate a likely early 2012 bow for a refresh of the online video hub made famous by piano-playing cats, and a certain viral surprise in an SNL-made box. While on-demand digital video sites are nothing new in the crowded, streaming marketplace, a move like this could firmly position the search giant as the king of place-shifted, live viewing, and cause more potential headaches for its broadcast and cable competitors. With an in-house production studio already under its wing, courtesy of that Next New Networks acquisition, Google’s entrance into the big, bad world of entertainment could be on its interwebbed way.

YouTube to get regularly scheduled channels, try on traditional TV suit? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDrive, GDisk, Google Drive – whatever they’re calling it these days – is coming. At least according to our friends over at TechCrunch. The service has not just been a rumor, but an actual product since 2007. Sadly though, it never made it past the dogfooding stage. The internal cloud storage tool for Googlers has been highly anticipated, but in 2010 it seemed like the final nail was put in its coffin when Docs was turned into a makeshift replacement with the ability to store any file. Well, Google Drive still exists, and speculation is that Google Docs will eventually be rebranded as Drive and relaunched with non-Docs file storage moved to the forefront. What’s more, it’s rumored that there will be a desktop syncing component, similar to Dropbox. Of course, the image above (from a Google-sponsored presentation) and recently discovered mentions of Drive.Google.com in Chromium don’t necessarily mean anything. But, if Google actually plans on taking this Chrome OS thing seriously, Drive seems like a natural companion service. For now though, we’re just going to have wait patiently to see what, if anything, comes of these latest rumblings.

Google Drive could finally be ready for launch, may just be rebranded Docs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know the high-end HTC Vigor exists, but we’re still in the dark about its precise specs — not least because a previous ‘leak’ turned out to be double Dutch. Now an Italian dude by the name of Fabio Mele reckons he’s gotten hold of Verizon’s ROM for the Vigor and extracted a ton of information, including tutorial videos (which yielded the render above) and key hardware credentials. And they’re some credentials: a 4.3-inch screen with 720 lines of LG-rivalling HD craziness, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM and an 8MP rear camera. The reported ROM also contains HTC’s much-hyped Beats Audio software, which we’ve experimented with on the Un-American Sensation XE. We’re taking all this with a pinch of salt if you don’t mind, Signor Mele, but we want to believe you, we really do.

[Thanks, Giuseppe]

Update: That elusive Vigor tutorial vid has popped up online and shows the handset from all angles, including what lies beneath its battery cover (hint: it’s a SIM slot for what we presume to be LTE access). Check it out after the break.

Update 2: And now some real photos of the Vigor have shown up online, too. Check out a couple after the break, and get the full spread over at Android Central.

Continue reading Another alleged HTC Vigor leak: HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core, Beats Audio (update: more pics)

Filed under: Cellphones

Another alleged HTC Vigor leak: HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core, Beats Audio (update: more pics) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile customers would be able to keep rate plans on AT&T after contract expires originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung invited the world to adventure with its own smartphone OS, Bada, almost two years ago and so far most of us have turned down the offer. Of course, that trip could look more appealing if a Wall Street Journal rumor is true and the company is planning to open source it for use by developers and other manufacturers alike next year. Citing the usual “person familiar with the situation”, Samsung apparently isn’t interested in snagging any outside companies like, say, webOS, but wants to strengthen its independence from Android after Google announced it will purchase Motorola. Right now, it feels like we’ve already seen this story play out for the still-kicking Symbian. On the other hand, maybe Samsung, with its massive manufacturing capabilities and current hit-making prowess, can strike the right balance of hardware, software and apps to make it worthwhile. If it tries and fails, well, maybe the folks in Redmond will be looking for another close friend.

Samsung taking Bada open source in 2012? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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