Hasta La Gadget!

Embedding an antenna in the external body of a phone? Maybe not such a good idea. Hiding it behind the logo sounds a little more practical, and that’s the idea Apple wrote up in a patent application dated June 17th, 2009, back before we knew antennas and gates could be so wickedly conjoined. That was also before we knew about the iPad, which seems to have one of these so-called “logo antennas” within it, as found when iFixit did their dirty thing. The same can be said for iMacs, which also have antennas peering through an apple-shaped hole to avoid any reception issues caused by an aluminum chassis. It looks to be a good solution, but not exactly a novel one. In roaming around the USPTO archives we found a similar 2003 patent from Dell also called “Logo Antenna,” the big difference being that while Apple’s logo forms a window for the antenna the logo in Dell’s patent actually is the antenna.

Apple applies for ‘logo antenna’ patent, hides your resonator behind the brand indicator originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It wasn’t easy, but we finally managed to spot a few differences between the old Beo5 remote control and Bang & Olufsen’s new Beo6 that just appeared on B&O’s pages. To start with, the hyperbolic product page for the controller is a word-for-word copy of the old, only with each instance of a “5” replaced with a “6.” The user guide doesn’t provide much assistance either stating that the “Beo6 is fully compatible with Beo5” right down to using the exact same menus and controls. So what’s new? Well, the new “wireless setup” chapter seems to be a clue indicating that the Beo6 can connect to your WiFi network to enable 2-way control with other Bang & Olufsen products supporting 2-way communication — naturally, these aren’t listed and any configuration of the controller will have to be done by a B&O retailer. We did manage to dig up an old article from BeoWorld claiming that the Beo6 would feature a touch (not pressure like the Beo5) sensitive widescreen display to show information like cover art and tag data just as soon as B&O’s BeoSound 4 Encore and BeoSound 5 could support it. While this kind of product perplexity would be a knock against any other mainstream consumer electronic remote, B&O owners can rest easy knowing that their man servant will sort it all out.

Bang & Olufsen adds WiFi to Beo6 remote control, doesn’t think to mention it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on February 21, 2008 by CyberNet.

Google has always had lofty goals of providing wireless Internet to the masses, and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal shows they continue to have interest. This time around, it involves balloons. Yes, balloons.The talk is that they are going to either partner with or purchase a company called Space Data Corp.

Space Data Corp. is a company that currently uses balloons to provide “specialized telecom services to truckers and oil companies.” They launch about 10 balloons a day in areas in the Southern United States.  These balloons go up about 20 miles into the stratosphere and carry electronics which act like a mini cell phone tower and provide Internet to people below. They say that each balloon can cover “thousands of square miles below.” Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

There are a few problems with the balloons though, and the first is that each balloon is only good for about 24 hours.  Once it gets high up into the atmosphere, it ends up bursting. The contents of each balloon cost about $1500 and once the balloon pops the gear comes down to earth via parachute and then people are sent out to find them, using GPS devices (they get paid $100 for each transponder they collect). Simply finding enough people to launch all of the balloons (they currently pay farmers and crews at smaller airports $50 per balloon) could be tedious.

So why does Google have interest in the company? According to The Wall Street Journal, “Google believes balloons like these could radically change the economics of offering cell phone and Internet services in out-of-the-way areas.” Rural areas likely wouldn’t be where Google would stop.  According to the balloon company, they say with just 370 balloons, the whole country could have access to a WiMax broadband network. Using traditional towers, 22,000 of them would be needed. There’s quite the difference between 370 balloons versus 22,000 towers and while it sounds a little off-the-wall at this point, there could be some real potential here with balloons

Thanks for the tip Google!

Source: Gizmodo

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Planning to pay Verizon an extra $130 for an iPad + MiFi 2200 bundle? Hold on a sec, because Best Buy’s planning to give away hotspots free of charge when you purchase Apple’s tablet. This advertisement, obtained by 9to5 Mac, does mention that you’ll need to shackle yourself to a carrier for two years to qualify — unlike Verizon’s original arrangement — but in exchange you get a free Verizon FiveSpot, AT&T MiFi, or perhaps most excitingly, a WiMax-capable Sprint Overdrive. Fine print in the lower-right hand corner suggests that the promo will begin immediately and run through January 2nd. What better way to spend your leftover Hanukkah gelt than on gigabytes of wireless data?

Best Buy offering free mobile hotspots with iPad purchase originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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About time, eh? Wintel users have been enjoying the spoils of WiFi music sync on their BlackBerry handsets for the past few months now, but if you’re still stickin’ with RIM (through the thick and thin), and you just so happen to roll primarily on OS X, there’s a new piece of software that you should consider. BlackBerry Desktop Software 2.0 for Mac OS has just been let loose, and it’s a pretty substantial update. Aside from supporting WiFi music sync in official fashion, there’s also a new device switch wizard and the ability to import and sync photos and videos with iPhoto and iTunes. She’s waiting for you there in the source link — all 39.713 megabytes. You know what to do.

BlackBerry Desktop Software 2.0 for Mac OS brings WiFi music sync, broader iPhoto / iTunes support originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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