Hasta La Gadget!

CES 2011 might be over but we’ve still got a few gee-bees of data to get through before calling it quits. One nugget of unpublished glory is this SmartStor Zero NAS from Promise Technology. Now hold on… just because it’s a DLNA 1.5 compliant Network Attached Storage device doesn’t mean that it’s complicated to use. Hell, even iOS users can join the DLNA streaming and media transfer party even though Apple is one of only a few major manufacturers missing from the alliance. Promise has purposely dumbed down this particular 1TB or 2TB NAS to make it suitable for use in any home where a “zero configuration” storage and media streamer is the priority. That’s most households, come to think of it. Promise’s Billy Harrison gave us a walkthrough of the highlights including a live demonstration of the free (for a limited time) SmartStor Fusion Stream app running on an iPad (and soon Android and Windows Phone 7 devices). Compared to many DLNA streamers that we’ve seen this one was dead simple to use and even allowed us to upload / download music, video, and photographs to / from the SmartStor Zero. Of course, other devices that support native DLNA upload and DLNA download (like the Droid X) will work right out of the box. Fusion Stream also supports media multitasking right inside the app. But hey, don’t take our word for it, watch Bill lay down the truth after the break.

Continue reading Promise’s SmartStor Zero NAS streamer dumbs down DLNA for the iPad (hands-on)

Promise’s SmartStor Zero NAS streamer dumbs down DLNA for the iPad (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re kind of getting used to Intel setting records with its earnings this year, and it capped off its 2010 with another killer quarter. With $11.5 billion in revenue, and a total of $43.6 billion for the year (up 24 percent from last year), Intel is naturally riding high. There’s danger lurking on the horizon, however, with Microsoft announcing at CES that the next version of Windows will also run on ARM chips, potentially ending a decades-long x86 dominance in the desktop OS space. Naturally, the topic came up in the earnings call, and here’s Intel CEO Paul Otellini’s level-headed statement on the topic:

The plus for Intel is that as they unify their operating systems we now have the ability for the first time, one, to have a designed-from-scratch, touch-enabled operating system for tablets that runs on Intel that we don’t have today; and, secondly, we have the ability to put our lowest-power Intel processors, running Windows 8 or the next generation of Windows, into phones, because it’s the same OS stack. And I look at that as an upside opportunity for us.

On the downside, there’s the potential, given that Office runs on these products, for some creep-up coming into the PC space. I am skeptical of that for two reasons: one, that space has a different set of power and performance requirements where Intel is exceptionally good; and secondly, users of those machines expect legacy support for software and peripherals that has to all be enabled from scratch for those devices.

After careful analysis of Paul’s voice, we couldn’t detect any hints of panic or fear in it, and we buy about 50+ percent of what he’s putting down — a lot better than we expected, to be honest. It’s very interesting that he sees the new version of Windows being a “designed-from-scratch, touch-enabled operating system for tablets,” and the idea of Windows Phone running on regular Windows is also news to us — though it certainly makes plenty of sense in the long run (and perhaps Ballmer has been hinting at it). Still, Intel has just as much of a disadvantage making a phone processor as ARM guys have a disadvantage at making high-powered PC processors, and when it comes to legacy support, they’ll at least be on pretty equal footing when it comes to a “designed-from-scratch” tablet OS. No matter what, Intel certainly has a great roadmap and a ton of cash right now, so we look forward to a fair CPU fight on all sides of the form factor coin.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini addresses Microsoft’s ARM move in the wake of record earnings announcement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As has been discussed before, Windows Phone 7 is set to release a major update later this year, but it appears that the boys in Redmond may finally be ready to send out an OS refresh that will substantially improve the existing WP7 user experience. First and foremost, copy and paste is included, which given how long we’ve been waiting for that functionality, would be more than enough to appease the majority. The update, however, also promises significantly lower load times for third-party apps due to improvements made in memory management. We don’t have details on the specific tweaks made, but generally, the changes allot more memory for pre-loading applications to hasten things significantly. Who knows when users will receive the upgrade, but here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later. Peep the video after the break to see just how much faster you’ll get to start honing your Fruit Ninja skills when the mood strikes.

Continue reading WP7 update with faster app load times, copy and paste is real; release date remains nebulous

WP7 update with faster app load times, copy and paste is real; release date remains nebulous originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got iTunes? Got a Windows Phone 7 device? Then you’ll probably want to check out the new Remote app in the Marketplace. It promises to make the two sing in perfect harmony by making them talk over a WiFi connection. There’s a basic set of iTunes controls at your WP7 phone’s disposal, including volume, starting /stopping music, and searching by album, artist, and song, and a corresponding piece of desktop software you need to install to make the magic happen. It’s compatible with both Windows (XP and above) and Mac OS (10.5.8 and above), so all you really need now are $1.99 for the mobile app and the overwhelming desire to control your playlists remotely.

Windows Phone 7 can now act as a WiFi remote control for iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tribune is hardly the first media monolith to try something like this, but the more the merrier, right? And for once, a company’s out to provide an elegant, useful news aggregator for a platform not named iOS. Mosaic is a fresh piece of software, designed to pull together news and information from all sorts of sources onto Windows 7-based tablets. At least, that’s what we’re guessing. According to the official press release, it’ll be available for use “with Microsoft’s Windows 7 Mobile-based tablets” starting on January 31st, and unless the folks in Redmond have yet another OS up their sleeve, we’re guessing they simply mean Win7 slates. Furthermore, a companion app for Windows Phone 7, iPad and Android will be following shortly, and it sure sounds as if both versions will be completely gratis.

Continue reading Tribune’s Mosaic app brings elegant media aggregation to Windows 7 tablets, soon to Windows Phone 7

Tribune’s Mosaic app brings elegant media aggregation to Windows 7 tablets, soon to Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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