Hasta La Gadget!

Seagate’s FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player has quite a few competitors surrounding it, and for the most part, it didn’t really offer a huge competitive advantage when we peeked it back in September. ‘Course, that’s before support for Netflix‘s Watch Instantly came along, and today, the tables seem to have turned. The aforesaid storage outfit has announced that a gratis firmware update will enable this here player to stream Netflix as well as content from YouTube, vTuner and Mediafly. For those just now willing to give this unit a second look, it also doubles as a UPnP / DLNA streamer to play content stored on networked PCs and drives, and it can procured for right around $100 sans a FreeAgent HDD. So, Roku — you just going to sit there and take this, or what?

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player gains Netflix streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, was all that hubbub for nothing? British retailer mobiles.co.uk — a wholly-owned subsidiary of giant Carphone Warehouse, for what it’s worth — is claiming a “man on the inside” as saying that the X10 actually can do multitouch after all, despite word from a Sony Ericsson product manager to the contrary. In fact, not only can it do multitouch, but it will do multitouch through a software update in the second half of the year, the source goes on to say. This all ties in nicely with the dude’s claim that the X10 will see an official update to Android 2.1 in September, a window that dovetails rather nicely with Sony Ericsson’s official line of 2H 2010. Of course, by the time September rolls around, we can only assume that Froyo will be alive and well, so the ultimate question of relevancy for Sony Ericsson’s very first Android venture remains to be answered.

Sony Ericsson X10 can do multitouch after all, will get Android 2.1 in September? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the weeks since Microsoft’s MIX conference, the company has obviously done a little introspection and refined its message around Windows Phone 7 — there’s no greater example of that than the fact that they simplified the name at the public’s urging. Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel, who’s been leading up developer evangelism for the platform, has gone on record a few times recently with some interesting tidbits around their post-launch strategy, including the very good news that they want to “do the right thing” with copy / paste — not a meaty answer to the problem, obviously, but a heartening sign that they’ll end up adding a clipboard into the mix at one point or another. Managed multitasking — something similar to what Apple has announced in iPhone OS 4.0 — also appears to be on the docket, though it’s not something we can expect in the first volley later this year.

Speaking in more generic terms, Kindel says that the company is well aware that “some things are missing at the launch,” choosing to concentrate instead on getting a limited set of functionality perfectly polished for version 1.0 — a distinctly different philosophy than in versions past. Fortunately, both OTA and tethered updates will be possible, though it sounds like Microsoft will be using a mix of the two depending on the size and complexity of the update — you can’t pick your own poison, the way you can with BlackBerrys and Android devices today.

On a related note, we wanted to take this opportunity to spruce up our complete guide to Windows Phone 7, which you’ll be able to use over the course of the year to stay abreast of the latest and greatest information we have about the platform as we get close to launch. Check it out here!

Charlie Kindel on Windows Phone 7: some things will be missing at launch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kin notifications have up to fifteen minute delay originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Finally, the day has come. At some magical point in time during today, all you Xbox 360 owners will be prompted to update to the latest firmware for your beloved console. Once the tidy little exchange of data with Microsoft’s servers has been completed, you’ll at long last be able to plug USB memory sticks in and exploit a bit of functionality that frankly should’ve been there from the start. So that’s it, all your game saves, profiles and other 360-related trinkets can finally be taken on the move without resorting to lugging a HDD around. In the mean time, SanDisk’s previously rumored Xbox 360-branded $40 8GB flash drive is looking all the more real, with Amazon now offering pre-orders at a slightly less crazy $35 price point. You know, in case the millions of USB storage options out there aren’t doing it for you.

Xbox 360 update brings long-awaited USB storage support, SanDisk ready to cash in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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