T-Mobile kills off current Sidekicks, Kin says ‘welcome to the club’

It’s truly remarkable to see almost every trace of a successful, well-established Valley start-up’s work wiped out in the span of 24 hours, but here we are: T-Mobile’s discontinuing the Sidekick line as of tomorrow, July 2, which effectively means that the Sidekick LX 2009 will no longer be available. As a refresher, the latest Sidekick LX was the last product holistically engineered by Danger as it got shoehorned into Microsoft — square peg in a round hole, as it were — before repurposing the team to work on the just-killed Kin line. In a way, it’s a miracle that the LX ever went back on sale following the nightmarish data issues they’d gone through last year, so we suppose it’s a silver lining that they made it this far — but still, it’s sad to see Danger’s years of design effectively vaporized without a trace like this. For what it’s worth, T-Mobile says that it’s working “on the next chapter of [its] storied Sidekick franchise” and to “stay tuned” for a “fresh” experience, but since T-Mobile owns the Sidekick brand (not Danger / Microsoft), we’ve got every reason to believe these new products will be based on Android considering the carrier’s huge investment in its myTouch line. Adios, Sidekick — we’ll do one last screen flip in your honor.

T-Mobile kills off current Sidekicks, Kin says ‘welcome to the club’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keeping it real fake: Decca N88 borrows the timeless elegance of Sharp’s AQUOS line

We don’t see a ton of Sharp cellphones ’round these parts, and fewer KIRF Sharps still. But we did get a kick out of the Decca N88 that popped up on M8 Cool recently. Featuring a 3-inch, 260k color display, dual SIMs, and support for all the usual media formats, this is pretty standard shanzhai fare. The attraction for is definitely the vaguely Kickflip-ish form factor (complete with swinging hinge) and the AQUOS logo placed below the keypad for good measure. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Keeping it real fake: Decca N88 borrows the timeless elegance of Sharp’s AQUOS line

Keeping it real fake: Decca N88 borrows the timeless elegance of Sharp’s AQUOS line originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sears and Kmart launch streaming video service this Christmas

As physical media sales continue to drop it looks like the smart money is in streaming content. Now Sears (and Kmart, which it owns) is getting in the game with the Alphaline Entertainment service. Powered by Sonic’s RoxioNow (which is the same architecture that as Best Buy and Wal-Mart’s services), Alphaline will be available on TVs and Blu-ray players manufactured by Sharp, LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and RCA. Setup of your device is included in the sale price, which is pretty great on the off chance you are less able to setup consumer electronics than your typical Kmart employee. Keep an eye out for the service this holiday season. PR after the break.

Continue reading Sears and Kmart launch streaming video service this Christmas

Sears and Kmart launch streaming video service this Christmas originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp plunges headfirst into 3D market with LV-series Quattron TVs, Blu-ray DVRs

Looks like Sharp’s keeping its word — next month, the fourth-largest LCD TV maker will launch a slate of new 3D TVs in Japan, just as planned. Based on the same Sharp Quattron quad-pixel technology that made George Takei’s jaw drop, the new LV-series of AQUOS panels will come in 40-, 46-, 52- and 60-inch sizes when they debut July 30th, and feature 1080p resolution, UV²A panels and a high-speed signaling technology named FRED that Sharp says increases brightness and reduces crosstalk. More interesting are the AN-3DG10 glasses that come with them, which reportedly allow each individual viewer decide whether to view content in 2D or 3D — we’re guessing by tweaking the glasses to show either the left or right image to both eyes simultaneously, instead of flipping back and forth. Of course, you’ll also need something to watch, and thus Sharp will also release a pair of Blu-ray DVR units, the BD-HDW700 and BD-HDW70, which record two simultaneous Japanese television programs onto terabyte-sized hard drives when they’re not sending Blu-ray 3D content to the aforementioned displays.

While mum’s the word on pricing, Impress Watch believes the TVs will start around ¥280,000 (around $3,067) and top out at a cool ¥600,000 ($6,581) for that 60-incher, and says that US and European variants are expected later this year. While you wait, why not take a deep dive into the details — you’ll find an entire brochure’s worth at our source links.

Sharp plunges headfirst into 3D market with LV-series Quattron TVs, Blu-ray DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp Netwalker PC-T1 unboxed, now available

There can be only one. Wait, wrong franchise — this here is a Netwalker showdown. In the left corner, we have the Sharp Netwalker PC-Z1, a 5-inch Ubuntu smartbook powered by the 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 CPU, and at right, we have the Sharp Netwalker PC-T1, a 5-inch Ubuntu tablet with the exact same specs. Is the pen mightier than the keyboard? We won’t find out today — but Pocketables invite you to check out a bevy of fresh-squeezed T1 unboxing pics and comparison shots while they work on a review. See an EVO 4G make this tablet squirm at our source link, or check out our more coverage section if the juxtaposition of the words “Ubuntu” and “tablet” had you scrambling for your pocketbook three sentences ago.

Sharp Netwalker PC-T1 unboxed, now available originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kin Two gets torn apart, reveals Sony image sensor

Sure, we already know most of the Kin Two‘s main specs, but there’s nothing like a proper teardown to find out exactly what makes something tick, and the folks from Chipworks have now kindly ripped one apart so you don’t have to. Among the highlights are the expected NVIDIA Tegra APX2600 processor, a slew of chips and memory from the likes of Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Hynix, and Samsung and, perhaps most notably, an image sensor from none other than Sony. That sensor, the IMX046, is one of the smallest in its class with a pixel size of just 1.4 microns and, according to Chipworks, something of a surprise — they were expecting a sensor from OmniVision. Hit up the links below for the Chipworks’ complete blow-by-blow account, as well as some further analysis from the folks at iFixit — and, no, there isn’t a teardown of the Kin One just yet.

Microsoft Kin Two gets torn apart, reveals Sony image sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET News  |  sourceChipworks, iFixit  | Email this | Comments

Is this a prototype of the Nintendo 3DS?

Is this a prototype of the Nintendo 3DS?

It looks like Nintendo may have managed to run an early prototype of its upcoming 3D handheld, the 3DS, through the FCC without anyone noticing — well, for a few weeks, anyway. The filing was made available on April 30 and Wireless Goodness spotted it, posting the image above showing what looks more like an ATX motherboard than a handheld gaming platform. But, what wasn’t noticed at the time was the aspect ratio of the top screen (in the middle of the circuitry): it’s 16:9, while most every other Nintendo handheld to date has of course been 4:3. That aspect ratio matches the 3.4-inch parallax barrier display from Sharp, the one that just about everyone is expecting will be featured in the device. Connecting the dots, this could be a prototype 3DS in the flesh, dubbed the “CTR.” Given that Nintendo called the DSi the “TWL” the XL the “UTL,” even the naming scheme fits in. Sadly the FCC images have since been pulled, but we look forward to seeing a rather more petite version of the thing at E3 next month.

Is this a prototype of the Nintendo 3DS? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp Launches 3D Mobile Device Camera

Sharp_3D_Mobile.jpg
Sharp Corporation has unveiled a 3D camera module for mobile devices that could capture high-definition 720p 3D video images.
To do this, a 3D camera requires peripheral circuitry that applies image processing between two images, taken with two cameras that capture images simultaneously for the right and left eyes. This is bit of a trick to pull off for something that can squeeze into a four ounce cell phone, but that appears to be what Sharp has accomplished here.
The company said it will begin shipping samples in July, and will begin mass production later in 2010.
Last month, Sharp Corporation announced it was also working on 3D-capable cell phone displays that won’t require special 3D glasses in order to view properly. (via FierceMobileContent)

Sharp busts out world’s first 3D HD camera for mobile devices

Oh yeah, things just got real. Sharp has announced an industry first today, with its 720p-recordin’ 3D camera module. Intended for mobile devices like smartphones and point-and-shoot digicams, this miniature wonder will be sampling in July and hitting mass production before the end of the year. Not much else is known about it at this point — we can guess it’ll cost a pretty penny when it debuts — but Sharp has penned an effusive press release, which you may explore just past the break.

Continue reading Sharp busts out world’s first 3D HD camera for mobile devices

Sharp busts out world’s first 3D HD camera for mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 02:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo 3DS handheld to offer switchable 2D mode, thankfully

It was pretty much implied when “backward compatibility” was listed as a feature of Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld back in March. But it’s good to hear that 3D gameplay can be easily switched off, direct from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, when headaches or nausea set in during marathon sessions. This should also ease concerns from parents over any adverse effects that long term exposure to parallax barrier gameplay could have on their children’s developing eyes. Besides, a 2D mode is desirable in that we expect it to offer a brighter image (especially when viewing off-center), better text reading experience, and a wider angle of view for sharing the display.

Now, we know what you’re wondering: what about that new 3.4-inch glasses-less 3D touchscreen display from Sharp, is it 2D switchable? Yup, lending more credibility that we’ll see it on the 3DS when the handheld gaming console is fully revealed at E3 next month.

Nintendo 3DS handheld to offer switchable 2D mode, thankfully originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 06:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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