Hasta La Gadget!

When Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone Mango last month, the company spent a lot of time walking us through some of the 500-plus changes to the OS — most notably, conversation threads, people groups, enhanced search functionality, Twitter and LinkedIn integration, IE9, and the instantly responsive Bing Vision. It’s no wonder, then, that Redmond didn’t have much time to talk multimedia. Well, the company just spilled the beans in a blog post, laying out a raft of new features that run the gamut from podcasts to improved playback controls. We’ve got a lot to recap, so join us past the break, won’t you?

Continue reading Microsoft outlines new features for Windows Phone Mango’s Music and Video Hubs

Microsoft outlines new features for Windows Phone Mango’s Music and Video Hubs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d be lying if we said the Notion Ink Adam tablet wasn’t a major disappointment, but the tiny Indian company that brought us the slate hasn’t packed it in yet — this week, Rohan Shravan announced a new round of sales, and issued a massive software overhaul for all existing Adams to go along with it. We’ve been playing with the new software for over a day now, and we can attest that the Eden 1.5 UI is much improved — it’s less flashy, but far more responsive, less prone to crashes, and generally more useful.

We’d still call it a beta, mind you, as we still managed to find some nasty bugs and slowdown while browsing around, but we’re digging the new Chords music player, the new To-Do list, and the multitasking-friendly App Manager you see above. Notion Ink also claims we’ll see better battery life in this version, and we’re putting the Adam through a thorough drain test right now. We’re also hearing that Notion Ink is still working on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) builds. While you wait, why not click past the break for video of the new features in motion.

Update: We’re not sure about day-to-day use, but we’re not getting better results in our battery drain test — we’re still looking at under 6 hours of juice with the backlight at roughly 65 percent brightness.

Continue reading Notion Ink Adam update overhauls UI, provides a smidgen of extra stability (video)

Notion Ink Adam update overhauls UI, provides a smidgen of extra stability (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ official Android 3.1 update should be coming soon enough, but Eee Pad Transformer users that just can’t wait now have another option at their disposal. A seemingly final version of the update leaked out over the weekend and, by all accounts, it appears to work just fine. Of course, there aren’t a ton of surprises considering that it’s stock Android 3.1, but the early reports suggest that performance and general responsiveness have been improved (with the exception of JavaScript performance, which has actually taken a bit of a hit), and the 3.1 upgrade also enables a new firmware update for the Transformer dock, which brings with it some bug fixes and a new power saving mode. Hit up the source link below for all the information you need to install it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android 3.1 update for ASUS Eee Pad Transformer leaks out originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google recently rolled out the beta release of Chrome 12, and now Cr-48 owners are getting a matching version of Chrome OS. This latest version, 0.12.433.48, brings bug fixes, Flash 10.2.158.22, a file manager context menu, and some spiffy new icons and avatars to its browser-based UI. We grabbed the update on our own Google-fied laptops and got some pics of the beta’s new bits for your viewing pleasure. We’re still getting acquainted with all of the changes, so if you’ve also copped the new Chrome OS let us know how it’s treating you in the comments.

[Thanks, Alex]

Google releases OTA update for Chrome OS, Cr-48 owners can upgrade now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wondering why your barely-out-of-the-box Droid Charge is already getting a software update? Wonder no more, as it’s merely a tweak for Samsung’s Media Hub application that disables downloads over 3G. It’s kind of a shame, really, as that means if you don’t live in an LTE market you’ll need to be tied to a WiFi hotspot to get your multimedia there, but Verizon claims it’s a compromise to “ensure quality and speed.”

Meanwhile, Verizon’s other LTE handset is getting an additional boon — the carrier’s extending its free wireless hotspot offer through June 15th for the HTC Thunderbolt, after which you can expect to pay $20 a month for the WiFi tethering privilege. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.

Samsung Droid Charge gets minor update to Media Hub, Verizon extends free Thunderbolt hotspot offer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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