Oct 01

Sony PS Vita caps 3G downloads at 20MB, encourages extensive mini play

Posted in: download, Games, gaming, minipost, portable, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, wifi

Just two months to go, and gamers of the Sony persuasion can get their thumbs-on the PS Vita. While we were getting comfy with the available list of this PSP successor’s dos and don’ts, out comes further info to rain on our anticipated PlayStation Suite parade. According to a report from ASCII, game downloads over 3G connections will be limited to a max of 20MB. What does that mean for you, prospective buyer? Well, kiss that 500 – 600 strong library of PSP titles goodbye, and say hello to a catalog of minis. Sure, you could always hook up to some decent WiFi to purchase and play those old favorites uninterrupted, but that kind of defeats this portable’s on-the-go design. Rest assured, this download cap could still change before the handheld launches in the US and UK. And anyway, you didn’t think you were going to get far on that three to five hour charge, now did you?

Sony PS Vita caps 3G downloads at 20MB, encourages extensive mini play originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, att, bluetooth, camera, feature, Google, honeycomb, hspa, review, reviewed, Reviews, Today's Chili, video, wifi, wwan

We waited nearly the entire summer for the Acer Iconia Tab A501 to break daylight. Now that it’s finally shone its uber-glossy face, we were anxious to see if the “4G” HSPA+ model is worth the extra coin (or two year ball-and-chain, should you go that route) over the standard A500. If you have little fear of commitment, signing the dotted line will get you one 16GB slate for $330 — plus the added cost of a capped data allowance or a pay-as-you go plan. Not down to hitch up to the contract wagon? Cool with us… but you’ll pay $150 more to get your hands on one of these. So is settling down for two of the Earth’s rotations with the same tablet a wise move? Are you better off sticking with the WiFi-only model? Read on to see what we discovered when we took the A501 for a spin.

Gallery: Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 29

ZTE Smart Tab 10 makes its way through FCC with Vodafone branding

Posted in: 10-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, tablet, Today's Chili, vodafone, wifi

Just three days ago, the ZTE Smart Tab 7 strolled through the FCC, flashing a Google-branded tramp stamp, and now its older sibling, the Smart Tab 10, is following suit. The probable 10-incher isn’t revealing a whole lot, but it does have the same Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G logos riding on its lower back. It’s also sporting what looks to be a back-facing camera in the upper-right corner, just like little sis. What’s more, this filing lists the tablet as the Vodafone Smart Tab 10, which further confirms our suspicions that this and the Smart Tab 7 are the same Honeycomb tablets announced by the carrier at IFA. Those slates are said to share a 1280 x 800 pixel screen, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor — and, of course, a thing for lower back tattoos.

ZTE Smart Tab 10 makes its way through FCC with Vodafone branding originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 29

LaCie’s LaPlug turns your USB HDD into a network storage device, for LaPrice of $75 (video)

Posted in: nas, network, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, smartphone, streaming, tablet, Today's Chili, usb drive, UsbDrive, video, wifi, Wireless
LaCie has always taken an understated approach to its lineup of boxy network storage devices, and the LaPlug is no different. With this little guy sitting in your living room, you can wirelessly share and access data across your home network, while streaming USB drive-stored multimedia content to any UPnP/DLNA-certified devices, including the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or any compatible smartphones and tablets. With a quartet of USB 2.0 ports, along with gigabit ethernet and WiFi b/g/n capabilities, the LaPlug also allows you to back up your files in a centralized and remotely accessible location. You can grab one now for $75 at the source link below, or breeze past the break for more details in the full PR and accompanying video.

Continue reading LaCie’s LaPlug turns your USB HDD into a network storage device, for LaPrice of $75 (video)

LaCie’s LaPlug turns your USB HDD into a network storage device, for LaPrice of $75 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Amazon Kindle Touch impressions (video)

Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, kindle, Today's Chili, touchscreen, video, wifi
One of the three major devices launched at today’s Amazon event, the Kindle Touch is aimed firmly at the latest touchscreen Nook and Kobo devices. Like those readers, the new Kindle is based around an infrared touchscreen in the place of a physical keyboard, making the device a good deal smaller than the Kindle 3. The touchscreen is fairly responsive, and the thing flips through pages quickly with a swipe or a tap, refreshing about once every six pages or so, a rate about on-par with that of its chief competition. A task like performing a search on the other hand, requires a much larger screen refresh — still, activities like these and typing are performed quite quickly for an E-Ink device. The search function itself is rather precise, letting the user locate instances of things like character names throughout a text. In all, it looks as though Amazon has produced a worthy competitor to the space-leading touch devices — and the $99 / $149 price tags for the WiFi and 3G versions certainly don’t hurt. Check out a video of the device after the break.

Gallery: Kindle Touch impressions

Kindle Touch impressions

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Amazon Kindle Touch impressions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 27

Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model

Posted in: hdpostmini, hdtv, LCD, LED, netflix, Sharp, Today's Chili, wifi

When is big not big enough? Apparently when it’s Sharp’s “spectacularge” 70-inch AQUOS LCD HDTVs that were introduced earlier this year, and have now been surpassed by a new 80-inch model the company showed off today. The LC-80LE632U isn’t an Elite branded model, but it brings all the features of its smaller brethren including full LED backlighting, 120Hz motion processing, built-in WiFi and access to services like Netflix and Vudu. All that is nice, but it’s standout feature is that extra viewing area, which can be yours for $5,499 (MSRP) when it starts shipping in early October. Preorders are already popping up for sub-$5k prices, if you need a big screen and can’t go the projection route (front or rear) this might be a good value — check out the details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model

Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 26

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 WiFi hits the FCC in tabtastic glory

Posted in: Android, Google, honeycomb, Ifa2011, samsung, tablet, Today's Chili, wifi
It may have gone MIA at IFA 2011 earlier this month due to an ongoing legal battle, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is certainly no figment of our imagination. Far from it: the device, dubbed the GT-P6810, just got put through its paces in the hallowed halls of the Federal Communications Commission, and came out unscathed and with some decent diagrams that actually show off the tablet in a somewhat flattering manner. The version seen going through the FCC is most likely a 16GB WiFi-only version, as no mention of wireless bands could be found. Whether or not it’ll hit US shores is an uncertainty, as passage through the government doesn’t guarantee it’ll actually be sold here, but the Galaxy Tab series has already had plenty of time to pick up a popularity point or two.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 WiFi hits the FCC in tabtastic glory

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 WiFi hits the FCC in tabtastic glory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Comcast close to releasing AnyPlay box for in-home live TV streaming to tablets

Posted in: Android, app, Apple, cable, hdpostcross, honeycomb, ipad, motorola, Today's Chili, wifi

Comcast has been talking about adding live TV streaming to its Xfinity TV tablet apps for a while, but now this screenshot of a product page from MacRumors indicates it could be launching very soon. It requires an AnyPlay box — a Comcast brand name for the Motorola Televation cable TV-to-IPTV box shown off in June and previously a portable DVR concept from Panasonic — that will allow viewing over the local network on compatible devices, including iPads, Android tablets and the like. There’s also been recent rumors of Microsoft seeking a tie-in to bring live streams from Comcast to its Xbox 360, which could be eventually be enabled by a device and service like this. According to the page, it includes access to “most” channels, and can register up to ten tablets, but only allows for viewing on one at a time. Time Warner and Cablevision have already rolled out live TV streaming on their tablet apps, we’ll see if this in-home Slingbox-approach can avoid their licensing issues.

Comcast close to releasing AnyPlay box for in-home live TV streaming to tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Kobo Vox eReader Tablet hits the FCC, shrouded in bookish mystery

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, Today's Chili, wifi
What’s this mystery e-reader? It’s the Kobo Vox, and it just made its debut on the FCC’s site. Is it a reworked version of the relatively recently released Touch Edition? Is it a brand new reader from the company? The device is listed as being an “eReader Tablet,” so perhaps it’s something more akin to Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color or the Kindle tablet reportedly in the works from Amazon. And will Kobo’s recent appearance at f8 play into the equation? It’s hard to say, but there are a few things worth noting here. First, if the above rough image is to be believed, the device is touchscreen, as with the company’s current product. The design, however, looks a lot more like the latest version of the Nook than the new Kobo. A side shot reveals what appears to be a microUSB slot (no shocker there) and a headphone jack, something missing on both the latest Kobo and Nook (though both the latest Kindle and the Nook Color rock one), while a “multimedia headset” was used in the testing. Also listed among the testing materials is a microSD card, so there seems a pretty good chance that this thing has expandable memory — again, not a surprise, nor is the fact that the reader is listed as being WiFi-enabled.

Continue reading Kobo Vox eReader Tablet hits the FCC, shrouded in bookish mystery

Kobo Vox eReader Tablet hits the FCC, shrouded in bookish mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Amtrak to finally launch free WiFi for regional trains on October 1st?

Posted in: Today's Chili, Transportation, wifi

Rumor ’round the Twitterverse has it that Amtrak may finally be implementing free WiFi on October 1st — finally seeing the bet laid down by various plane and bus companies over the past couple years. The casual conversation between conductor and passenger yielded the information that the system is finally ready to extend beyond Acela, apparently “ready to roll and it’s just a matter of ‘flipping the on switch.'” This comes as great news for commuters who spend their mornings and evenings stuck on slow, old, often curious smelling Regional trains. Unfortunately, other than the tweet, there’s no word (official or otherwise) whether net surfage will be possible beginning next month. Regardless, looks like the “I didn’t have internet access” excuse is still valid for a little while longer for all you nine to fivers.

Update: To be clear: Amtrak Acela trains by and large already have WiFi, as do some regional trains in the Northwest. This latest addition would be for Northeast Regional trains.

[Thanks, @melanierenzulli]

Amtrak to finally launch free WiFi for regional trains on October 1st? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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