Sep 02

Android 2.3.6 begins rolling out to Samsung Nexus S, fixes voice search concerns (update: breaks tethering, too)

Posted in: Android, firmware, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, gingerbread, Google, mobilepostmini, NeXus, nexus s, NexusS, refresh, samsung, Software, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, update
If you’ve been one of the unlucky folks who’ve been experiencing issues with the voice search on your Samsung Nexus S, fortune may be coming your way this weekend in the form of an OTA update. Android 2.3.6, which aims to fix the voice search bug (other improvements haven’t been detailed yet, aside from “security patches”), has officially begun rolling out to the device. The new firmware hasn’t been pushed to our devices yet — attempting a manual check yielded no results either — but Google is stating that the refresh will likely take a few days to make the rounds. So unless you’ve been hit hard by the bugs, we doubt you should panic if it takes extra time to reach your phone.

Update: We’re getting updates from all over that indicate 2.3.6 is also breaking WiFi and USB tethering across all devices, so this “enhancement” may be something to hold off on for a while until everything gets sorted out — if it gets sorted out, that is.

[Thanks, Neil]

Android 2.3.6 begins rolling out to Samsung Nexus S, fixes voice search concerns (update: breaks tethering, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Creative Zen X-Fi3 hands-on (video)

Posted in: europe, galaxy, germany, Ifa2011, lte, samsung, samsung galaxy tab, SamsungGalaxyTab, t-mobile, Today's Chili, video
This tiny thing in our hands above is the latest PMP from Creative. Portability is clearly the thing here — the Zen X-Fi3 is extremely tiny and light. It has a little color screen on it, as well, but don’t get too excited on that front — unfortunately the player doesn’t sport a touchscreen, so you’ve got to use the controls on the bezel, which aren’t particularly responsive. The interface, fittingly, is also pretty barebones on that front, offering the basic sort of scroll-through menus that defined music players for years.

The highlight of the device — aside from its exceedingly small size — is its Bluetooth transfer capabilities. The X-Fi3 keeps with the company’s commitment to audio fidelity, thanks to the apt-X codec, which supposedly offers audio quality similar to a wired connection when streaming. On that front, the device also handles FLAC files.

The player will run €99 and €140 for the 8GB and 16GB versions, here in Germany. It should be going on sale in the middle of this month.

Gallery: Creative X-Fi3 hands-on

Creative X-Fi3 hands-on

Continue reading Creative Zen X-Fi3 hands-on (video)

Creative Zen X-Fi3 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 goes LTE for T-Mobile at IFA

Posted in: Android, GalaxyTab, hands-on, honeycomb, Ifa2011, lte, samsung, samsung galaxy tab, SamsungGalaxyTab, t-mobile, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

What secret could this Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hold? Check out the little LTE logo hiding out on the back of the device. Yep, T-Mobile’s aggressively magenta-ed out IFA booth was showcasing this beauty, as a way of showing off the European carrier’s blazing LTE speeds. Hardware, it seems, was incidental to the company’s demos — but boy howdy do we care.

The T-Mobile reps didn’t offer up much in the way of information on that front (in fact, they mostly tried to move us along to the next LTE-capable device for more speed demos), but the company’s paperwork highlights the device’s 32GB capacity, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Android 3.2 operating system. The hardware itself should prove quite familiar to anyone who’s ever spent time with a Galaxy Tab — same brilliant glossy screen, same smooth plastic back.

Not much is available, so far as pricing and availability, though the T-Mobile representative that we spoke with believes the thing will be hitting the network in Q4.

Update: AndroidOS.in is reporting that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE will hit German airwaves in December.

[Thanks, TMO_lover]

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy 8.9 goes LTE

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 goes LTE

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 goes LTE for T-Mobile at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Engadget Podcast 254 – 09.02.2011

Posted in: att, hdpostcross, HTC, lenovo, merger, mobilepostcross, podcast, podcasts, samsung, t-mobile, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, Toshiba

We like to call this edition of the Engadget Podcast The Engadget Podcast Without Borders because we just don’t care where the news comes from. If it smells like news, we’ll be there, no matter where there is, and we’ll come together every right here to boil it all down for you. It’s that simple. It’s the Engadget Podcast, now with more Richard.

Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Guests: Richard Lawler, Richard Lai
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Dancing With Myself

01:25 – Engadget NYC Reader Meetup recap
02:30 – We’re live from IFA 2011!
02:41 – Toshiba announces AT200 tablet, 10.1-inch display and only 7.7mm thick
03:25 – Toshiba AT200 hands-on (video)
06:10 – Lenovo announces IdeaPad A1, the $199 Android tablet, we go hands-on (video)
13:49 – Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 hands-on (video)
18:42 – Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom ‘S Pen’ apps
21:30 – Samsung Galaxy Note hands-on (video)
30:30 – Toshiba’s glasses free 3D TV launches in Europe as the ZL2 this December
32:50 – Sony HMZ-T1 headset hits IFA, we go hands-on (video)
34:53 – Lenovo announces U300s Ultrabook, U300 and U400 IdeaPads, we go hands-on (video)
38:30 – Toshiba’s Portege Z830 is an ultraslim, ultrasexy Ultrabook
41:00 – HTC’s 10-inch Puccini tablet gets official as Jetstream, brings LTE and laughable price to AT&T
42:00 – Exclusive: HTC Puccini in the wild, AT&T LTE support confirmed!
43:07 – Sony Tablet S preview
50:00 – Sony officially renames the S2 the Tablet P, opens up about the software (video)
54:22 – US government files to block proposed AT&T / T-Mobile merger (update: companies respond)
57:13 – Offline Google Mail hands-on
58:21 – Listener questions

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Engadget Podcast 254 – 09.02.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

FCC Fridays: September 2, 2011

Posted in: 4G, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, lte, mango, mobilepostmini, motorola, RIM, samsung, Sharp, Today's Chili, windows phone, WindowsPhone

We here at Engadget Mobile tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there, we’ve gathered up all the raw info you may want (but probably don’t need). Enjoy!

Phones

Read – Samsung I919
Read – Samsung I727
Read – Samsung GT-S5360
Read – LG AS680
Read – LG C800
Read – LG L55C
Read – LG VS920
Read – HTC PI39100
Read – HTC PI39110
Read – Mobo Murano
Read – ZTE N860
Read – Motorola P56MA2 (GSM / WCDMA)
Read – Motorola T56MP1 (Sprint CDMA)
Read – Sonim XP1301
Read – Sharp SH80F

Peripherals

Read – Huawei E560S-6
Read – Plantronics M155

FCC Fridays: September 2, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung CEO says ‘never’ to webOS

Posted in: hewlett-packard, HewlettPackard, HP, Ifa2011, mobilepostcross, samsung, Today's Chili, webos
Samsung CEO Choi Gee Sung

Honestly, it never made much sense to begin with. Between Android, Windows Phone 7 and Bada, what could Samsung possibly want with another mobile OS? Yet, the rumors persisted that Sammy was going to snatch up, or at least license, HP’s recently quasi-retired tablet and smartphone platform. Well, the speculation can officially be put to rest — Samsung CEO Choi Gee Sung told a group of reporters at IFA that the company would “never” pursue a webOS deal, and bemoaned the trend of “acquiring an operating system.” Of course, things could change, but we wouldn’t count on it — sounds like the company’s developers already have plenty on their plate.

Samsung CEO says ‘never’ to webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung outs new Blu-ray and media hub drives: dammit, the ODD still lives

Posted in: blu-ray, mobilepostcross, Movies, samsung, streaming, Today's Chili, wifi

You’ve seen our musings on the continued relevance of optical drives and it seems Samsung agrees entirely: it’s just announced two external spinners to keep pace with our “evolving mobile entertainment demands.” Er, great Sammy, but how? First off, there’s the USB-powered SE-506AB Blu-ray writer depicted above, which will give that awful Pacific boxset one last chance on your ODD-neutered Mac or netbook. But that’s not nearly as interesting as the SE-208BW CD/DVD writer, which doubles as a WiFi media hub to stream music and movies to your smartphone, tablet or PC. It works the other way round too: letting you backup content from your mobile device direct to a disc. It even supports Dynamic DNS and can cooperate with a flash drive or HDD to become a “personal cloud server.” Still not impressed? This wonder drive additionally functions as a WiFi extender, or it can create an access point from scratch when cabled up to your network. Man, that’s ODD OD. The media hub will arrive at the beginning of 2012, while the new Blu-ray drive should be out any time now. No word on pricing, but check out the PR double-shot after the break for the full specs.

Continue reading Samsung outs new Blu-ray and media hub drives: dammit, the ODD still lives

Samsung outs new Blu-ray and media hub drives: dammit, the ODD still lives originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung Galaxy R, Wave M, M Pro, W, Xcover, and Wave Y hands-on (video)

Posted in: Android, cellphone, galaxy, GalaxyS, gingerbread, Google, hands-on, Ifa2011, phone, samsung, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, video


Samsung’s Galaxy S II still reigns supreme in the eyes of many smartphone aficionados, but it’s now joined by a healthy collection of lesser Galaxy devices, including (in alphabetical order) the Wave M (Magical), M Pro, R (Royal), W (Wonder), Xcover, and Wave Y (Young) — all announced last month, but presented for the first time as a mismatched family here at IFA. There’s the wise, conservative elder (R), the speedy head of household (W), the rowdy, rugged, dirt-bike-sporting teenager (Xcover), the mid-twenties QWERTY typing champion (M Pro), and the slightly rebellious, underpowered preteen (Wave Y) following in its older sibling’s footsteps (M).

BlackBerry owners looking to make the switch to Gingerbread may find the M Pro most appealing, with its 2.7-inch HVGA touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, and QWERTY keyboard. The Royal steps things up with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4.2-inch “Super Clear” LCD, Gingerbread, HSPA+, and a 5 megapixel camera. The Wonder includes those last three features as well, but swaps in a 3.7-inch WVGA display and 1.4GHz processor. And the dustproof and water resistant Xcover sports a 3.65-inch HVGA LCD, 800MHz processor, and 3 megapixel camera.

With its small footprint, 3.2-inch HVGA LCD, 2 megapixel camera and relatively sluggish 832MHz processor, the Wave Young is probably enough to satisfy your pre-teen, but anyone on to their second or third smartphone will almost certainly be underwhelmed. It’s running Samsung’s new Bada 2.0 OS, like its Magical Pro sibling, which includes the same processor but jumps to a 3.65-inch HVGA display and 5 megapixel sensor. Both include Samsung’s new ChatON IM service as well. All in all, it’s not the speediest family in town — and there’s no US visa on order for a future trip to the states — but not everyone needs the top of the line, so skip on past the break and through the front door to meet the latest Sam fam.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy R, Wave M, M Pro, W, Xcover, and Wave Y hands-on

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy R, Wave M, M Pro, W, Xcover, and Wave Y hands-on (video)

Samsung Galaxy R, Wave M, M Pro, W, Xcover, and Wave Y hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung’s Book-A-Like Self-Portrait Camera

Posted in: samsung, Today's Chili

The Samsung MV800. You deserve it

If you take so many self portraits that you actually buy a camera designed for the purpose, then you might want to pay a visit to my psychiatrist, Dr. Narcissus. And if you have any cash left over after paying his frankly outrageous fees, take a look at Samsung’s new MV800.

It’s a camera which folds in half. Or rather, it unfolds, like a book with only two (very thick) pages. This not only lets you see the screen from the front of the camera, for easy self-portrait framing, but it lets you partially unfold the rear panel and prop the camera up at any angle. Of course, the first thing you’ll use this for is to take a snap of yourself and friends (but mainly yourself) from a distance greater than arm’s length, but it could also be used to turn any nearby surface into a tripod in low light. There’s also a second shutter release button on the back of the front panel.

The camera packs a 16.1MP sensor, the screen measurers three inches and is touch-controlled (with just 103,600 dots), the lens begins at 26mm (35mm equivalent) and has a 5x zoom, and ISO runs from 80-3200. Video capture is 720p.

The price for this vanity? $280

MV800 product page [Samsung]

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Sep 01

Bell prepping its LTE network, Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and Tab 8.9 to be offered at launch?

Posted in: 4G, canada, GalaxyTab, leak, leaks, lte, mobilepostmini, rumor, rumors, samsung, samsung galaxy tab, SamsungGalaxyTab, tab, Today's Chili

We’ve known that Bell’s intended to make the jump to LTE for nearly three years, but the Canadian carrier has kept incredibly silent about when or how it was going to leap. If we’re to believe an unnamed source, that silence may be soon coming to an end: supposedly the company will be launching its 4G network “soon” and is rumored to have a phone and a tablet prepped for launch right away. The suspected devices? None other than the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy Tab 8.9. If this happens sometime in the fall, such a move would put Bell in the running to become the second carrier in Canada to adopt the next-gen standard — Telus and Sasktel are expected to upgrade next year — which gives advocates of choice some wonderful things to look forward to over the next twelve months.

[Thanks, Doug]

Bell prepping its LTE network, Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and Tab 8.9 to be offered at launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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