Oct 11

Vertu Constellation Quest ‘coming soon,’ finally puts QWERTY in your Hermès handbag

Posted in: luxury, qwerty, teaser, Today's Chili

What’s been missing from Vertu’s lineup so far? Okay, yes, a touchscreen model — touché — but what we were really getting at was a version with a full QWERTY keyboard. The company has started sending out emails teasing a new Constellation Quest model, and while you can’t make much either from the included picture or from the Flash-based teaser site you’re directed to, it’s pretty obvious there’s QWERTY involved — perfect for texting in your bids to Christie’s, agreeing to a sale price for your summer home in the Hamptons over email, or letting Jeeves know to have the jet fueled and ready while you’re still in the back of the Roller some 45 minutes away. Needless to say, we’re confident it’ll carry on the Vertu tradition of being overpriced and under-capable, but let’s be honest: does a billionaire have the time to figure out how to use a smartphone anyhow?

[Thanks, Mudilamus]

Vertu Constellation Quest ‘coming soon,’ finally puts QWERTY in your Hermès handbag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 04

Google TV quick tour shows off the service’s inner workings, Kenny Powers’ dreams (update: Netflix support!)

Posted in: content, Google, GoogleTv, netflix, streaming, teaser, Television, Today's Chili, video, watch instantly, WatchInstantly

Considering the level of hype that has surrounded Google TV, freakishly little is actually known about how it’ll work. Of course, a lot of that is expected to be cleared up on Wednesday when Logitech unveils its Google TV lineup, but the Big G itself is giving us all a sneak peek beforehand. The company has just launched a new ‘quick tour’ portal that showcases the most prominent Google TV features, including Search, Web, Apps, Remote (complete with an Eastbound & Down plug), Personal, Dual View and DVR. Frankly, we’re pretty jazzed by the look of the user interface, and we can hardly wait to see what kind of punches Logitech and Sony throw in the coming weeks. Hit that source link to draw your own conclusion.

Update: Google has elaborated some on its plans, and it’s all shaping up quite nicely. We’re told that Turner Broadcasting has been working to optimize the websites of TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and more for viewing on Google TV, and NBC Universal has collaborated with Google TV to bring CNBC Real-Time, an application that allows you to track your favorite stocks and access news feeds while enjoying the best financial news from CNBC directly on the TV screen. HBO GO will also be supported and the NBA has built NBA Game Time, an application that lets you follow game scores in real-time and catch up on the latest highlights from your favorite team in HD. Need more? Amazon Video on Demand will be present, and it sounds like Goog has hordes of other companies just moments away from offering compatible content portals. Hop on past the break for a quick video overview of the Apps segment.

Update 2: Whoa, Netflix just confirmed that ‘Watch Instantly’ will be fully supported on Google TV devices launching later this month. Huzzah!

Continue reading Google TV quick tour shows off the service’s inner workings, Kenny Powers’ dreams (update: Netflix support!)

Google TV quick tour shows off the service’s inner workings, Kenny Powers’ dreams (update: Netflix support!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 01

Panasonic teases a 13.2MP ‘Lumix phone’ for October 5 unveiling

Posted in: ceatec, Japan, lumix, Panasonic, Pre-Release, teaser, Today's Chili

Looks like we’ll soon have another heavyweight to throw into the renewed cameraphone wars, as Panasonic has put up a teaser site for its first Lumix-branded phone. Lumix is of course Panasonic’s camera label, which counts among its luminary membership the likes of the GF1 and the newly refreshed LX5. The new phone shooter promises to beat both in terms of pure resolution with its 13.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, which is accompanied by a 3.3-inch LCD atop a 146-gram body. Much like Nokia’s N8 and its protruding sensor compartment, this Lumix handset will have to make room for its expanded imaging equipment, which is why it’ll offer a comparatively chubby 17.7mm thickness, to go along with a 116mm height and 52mm width. We’ll know more next week when CEATEC 2010 gets rolling over in Tokyo.

[Thanks, Anton]

P.S. — It’s also noteworthy that Panasonic’s press release indicates a folding mechanism for this handset, which, given current trends in Japan, makes it most likely to be a clamshell device. It’s also got some DLNA voodoo inside and is coming out by the end of this fiscal year (April 2011).

Panasonic teases a 13.2MP ‘Lumix phone’ for October 5 unveiling originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 22

Sony Ericsson’s CEO promises ‘big surprises in the next few months’ (video)

Posted in: interview, roadmap, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, teaser, Today's Chili, video

The grand opening of Sony Ericsson’s new Americas HQ in Atlanta isn’t the sort of thing we spend sleepless nights thinking about, but a PSP Phone is. It’s mighty encouraging, therefore, to hear the company’s CEO Bert Nordberg tease “big surprises” coming from his team over the next few months. That revelation was accompanied by plentiful references to SE as an entertainment phone maker, a sly grin, and the usual disclaimer that “we never announce them in advance” — though considering the gap between the Xperia X10 announcement and arrival to market, maybe Bert should reconsider that part. Either way, unless SE’s big surprise is the delivery of a smartphone with an up-to-date OS and cutting-edge components on time (which would, admittedly, be a surprise), we’re happy to take this as a sign that the Android 3.0-powered gaming platform-cum-smartphone is brewing nicely behind the scenes.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson’s CEO promises ‘big surprises in the next few months’ (video)

Sony Ericsson’s CEO promises ‘big surprises in the next few months’ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 10

Pentax K-5 DSLR leaks out, leaves us guessing at the specs

Posted in: dslr, leak, teaser, Today's Chili

Quite appropriately for a camera, all we have in this here leak is the one image above. It shows a purported K-5 DSLR from Pentax, whose body looks almost a carbon copy of the well loved, but now aging, K-7. The biggest (only?) difference we’ve been able to spot between the two is in the jog dial on its top left shoulder, which now looks quite a bit taller. Also making the transition from the K-7 is the 18-55mm Weather Resistant lens, which should make the K-5 another well fortified shooter from Pentax. Now if we could only know what’s inside the shell as well, we’d be as happy as our jaded souls can be.

Pentax K-5 DSLR leaks out, leaves us guessing at the specs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLensTip  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 01

Augen planning its next generation of tablets, not giving up without a fight

Posted in: Android, roadmap, schedule, slate, tablet, teaser, Today's Chili

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? In the world of cheapo tablets, sure! Or at least that’s our attitude when it comes to a company like Augen. Sure, it was just about a month ago that it released its $150 GenTouch78 at Kmart, but it’s planning some future tablet products and hoping to right all those previous wrongs. According to the statement put out by the company, this new set of “Espresso” tablets will be unveiled at CES 2011 and will span from 7 to 10 inches diagonally. They’ll still be aggressively priced and range from $200 to $400, but at least this time around it’s planning for some with capacitive touchscreens. Other specs are of the fairly cookie cutter mold: WiFi, an accelerometer and more storage space. No word on what version of Android they’ll run, but there’s mention of a new “human friendly input.” That all sounds much better than the previous GenTouch products we’ve seen, but by the time January rolls around there’s no telling what the tablet landscape could look like. We’ll be following this one to see if Augen can keep the caffeine in its system, but hit the break for the full statement and one more render.

Continue reading Augen planning its next generation of tablets, not giving up without a fight

Augen planning its next generation of tablets, not giving up without a fight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 29

HP’s Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter

Posted in: HP, prototype, tablet, teaser, Today's Chili, watch, webos
Well, this is certainly interesting — that’s HP CTO Phil McKinney pictured above in a pair of redacted shots that were posted to Twitter by HP’s Mark Budgell. Described only as “early protos” by McKinney himself, the pictures show what appears to be phone-sized device, a tablet-sized device and, perhaps most curiously, something on McKinney’s wrist (all mysteriously blacked out). Before you get your hopes up too much about a new wave of webOS devices, however, you might want to take a look at the second part of Budgell’s tweet, which encourages folks to vote for McKinney’s SXSW 2011 panel — a panel in which McKinney promises to make some “bold predictions for the future – backed up with a number of breakthrough prototypes,” and specifically talk about what the future will look like in “5 to 10 years.” Now, we can’t be certain of course, but that doesn’t exactly suggest these are right around the corner. Head on past the break for a slightly bigger image.

Continue reading HP’s Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter

HP’s Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  source@philmckinney, @MarkatHP (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 25

Internet Explorer 9 makes cameo appearance on Microsoft Russia site

Posted in: Internet Explorer, leak, Microsoft, Pre-Release, teaser, Today's Chili

Microsoft’s gotten a little carried away with its Internet Explorer 9 excitement and posted an early screenshot of the browser up on its Russian site. The post and the image have since been diligently pulled, but not before Mary-Jo Foley managed to snag the pictorial evidence. What’s new to see? A resoundingly minimal interface, that’s what. The Chrome comparisons should be raining down thick and heavy if this snapshot is anything to go by, as Microsoft has done a fine job of ridding its browser from pesky menus, consolidated its controls into a few icons in the top right, and combined the search and address bars into one. Of course, given the earlier leak of screenshots, those menus could still just be hiding somewhere nearby, ready to spring at us. Another similarity to Chrome (and Firefox and Safari) is the new ability to “tear off” tabs from one window and reposition them independently. We’ll see how closely the Beta aligns to what we see here when it debuts for real on September. 15.

Internet Explorer 9 makes cameo appearance on Microsoft Russia site originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 23

Nokia 5250 gets official: €115 for a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 16:9 display ratio (updated)

Posted in: nokia, smartphone, symbian, teaser, Today's Chili, touchscreen

Nokia is being coy this morning by revealing a trio of pictures of what it only describes as its “new device.” Of course, being a devoted Engadget reader, you’ll instantly recognize the visage above as that of the Nokia 5250 — the already leaked successor to the 5230 ( aka the Nuron). Specs are promised for later today, so contain your excitement until a more civilized hour. For now, you’ll find one more pic — of the bodacious, camera-adorned back — after the break.

[Thanks, Adam B.]

Update: That wasn’t a long wait. Nokia Conversations has the scoop on the 5250, including confirmation of the name. The real headline here is the eminently frugal price of €115 ($146) before taxes and subsidies. For that handful of change, you’ll get your old favorite S60 5th OS with a mobile version of Guitar Hero 5 pre-installed, along with an FM radio and a media player slap bang in the middle of your 2.8-inch homescreen, all to underline this new phone’s musical inclinations. The touchscreen panel fits 640 x 360 pixels (16:9 display ratio), and battery life is rated for 18 days of standby, seven hours of talktime, or 24 hours of music playback. Not bad at all. Shipping in Q4 [Thanks, Keith!].

Continue reading Nokia 5250 gets official: €115 for a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 16:9 display ratio (updated)

Nokia 5250 gets official: €115 for a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 16:9 display ratio (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 13

Sony circles August 24 for all-new Alpha DSLR launch event

Posted in: camera, digicam, digital camera, DigitalCamera, dslr, launch, schedule, sony, teaser, Today's Chili

News has been a bit barren on the DSLR front lately (not counting Pentax’s color explosion earlier on), but that’s not going to last for much longer. Sony is starting up the fall refresh cycle with “never-before-seen” Alpha models, which will be shown off at an event on August 24 alongside the NEX-VG10 and some 3D-capable Cyber-shots. We’ve no way of knowing what’s in store, but if you’re in a speculative kind of mood, Sony Alpha Rumors suggests the new shooters will include a semi-transparent mirror (most intriguing!) and a pleasingly fast 10fps burst shooting mode. That’s enough to whet our appetite, now bring on the full dish of details already.

[Thanks, Dario]

Sony circles August 24 for all-new Alpha DSLR launch event originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony Alpha Rumors  | Email this | Comments

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