| Motorola pits Voice Actions against Siri, claims to take the title belt (video) Feb 27th 2012, 17:11 Siri may be the media darling and, admittedly she's the one with the winning personality. But Motorola wants to remind you that Android has a voice control app of its own and argues it's better than its iPhone 4S exclusive competition. In a series of videos, which we've embedded after the break, Moto pits Voice Actions against Siri on a trio of handsets -- the Atrix 2, Photon 4G and Electrify. A faceless taskmaster tells the handset to send a text, pull up driving directions and load a website. In each of the tests, Voice Actions bests the polite lady inside the iPhone and gets crowned the champ. Though, we can't help but think things would have turned out differently if the competition involved finding the meaning of life. Continue reading Motorola pits Voice Actions against Siri, claims to take the title belt (video) Motorola pits Voice Actions against Siri, claims to take the title belt (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Motorola (YouTube) | Email this | Comments | | That 7.7-inch Toshiba tablet we saw at CES? It's called the AT270, and it runs Tegra 3 Feb 27th 2012, 16:41  To explore NVIDIA's booth here at Mobile World Congress is to play a game of duck-duck-goose. For the most part, you'll see the Transformer Prime (the first quad-core tablet, don'tcha know) outputting video and 3D games. But look closely and you'll find something a little less expected. Hidden among all those spun metal Primes is an unannounced Toshiba-made tablet, one with an odd, in-between screen size we haven't seen it use in its Thrive line. Specifically, it's that 7.7-inch prototype we saw at CES, only the fact that it's here at NVIDIA's booth makes us think it would be too late for Toshiba to change its mind and pull the plug on this. Certainly, it's far enough along that it now has confirmed specs. According to an NVIDIA rep, this has a 7.7-inch, 1280 x 800, Super AMOLED (!) panel, and runs NVIDIA's 1.5GHz Tegra 3 chip. And while NVIDIA isn't exactly broadcasting the name, a quick glance at the settings confirmed its current name is the AT270, which would certainly make for a logical followup to the AT200. (A quick glance at the settings also confirms it's running ICS -- a vanilla version, at that -- but any self-respecting tech writer would know that at a glance.) It would also seem that Toshiba is feeling pretty confident about the design we saw at CES, because barely anything has changed. For starters, it's thin -- thin on the level of the 10-inch AT200. Which is to say, it's skinny in the wide world of tables, but especially so next to one of those chubby Thrives. The build quality also seems to have improved. Gone is the ridged plastic backing that makes the Thrives so recognizable, and in its place there's... more plastic. Still, it manages to not feel chintzy or poorly made -- think of the kind of finely textured plastic you'll find on the back of any Samsung Galaxy handset. Also on board: dual cameras of unknown resolutions, as well as an exposed microSD slot, volume rocker, 3.5mm headphone jack and USB socket. So there you have it. We've got spy shots below, so you can refuse to be surprised when this thing finally makes it to market. That 7.7-inch Toshiba tablet we saw at CES? It's called the AT270, and it runs Tegra 3 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Lava brings Intel-based smartphones to India with the XOLO X900 Feb 27th 2012, 16:34 Intel has already announced a partnership with Orange to bring the first Intel-based smartphone to Europe, and it's now also announced a deal with Lava International to bring a similar phone to India. Like the Orange phone, this new XOLO X900 is based on Intel's reference design, and packs a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor, a high-res 4-inch display (presumably the same 600 x 1024), front and rear-facing cameras, support for HSPA+ networks, built-in NFC, and HDMI connectivity -- plus what appears to be stock Android 2.3 for an OS, with no mention of a possible ICS upgrade just yet. Still no firm word on launch details for the phone either, but Intel says it's expected to be available early in the second quarter of this year. Continue reading Lava brings Intel-based smartphones to India with the XOLO X900 Lava brings Intel-based smartphones to India with the XOLO X900 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Intel | Email this | Comments | | Intel details Medfield plans, announces a trio of phone-friendly Atoms Feb 27th 2012, 16:31 The age of Medfield is upon us. At Mobile World Congress Intel took the wraps off its smartphone platform, ditched the code name and gave us some details on three different Atom chips destined for handsets. The Z2460 is currently shipping and serves as the heart of the reference platform that devices from Lenovo, Orange, Lava and ZTE are based on. The processor can hit clock speeds of 2GHz and packs an Intel XMM 6260 HSPA+ radio. The next generation part, dubbed the Z2580 will supposedly double performance and gets upgraded to an XMM 7160, which adds LTE to its cellular arsenal. Down the road Chipzilla also plans to introduce a "value smartphone" processor, dubbed the Z2000. Clocked at only 1GHz and going with a 6265 HSPA+ radio, the goal is to power Android phones that can be sold for less than $150 -- unsubsidized. Sounds crazy, but it's true. To bring this vision to fruition Intel has added Orange, ZTE, Lava and Visa to its list of partners. Check out the PR after the break for more details. Continue reading Intel details Medfield plans, announces a trio of phone-friendly Atoms Intel details Medfield plans, announces a trio of phone-friendly Atoms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Visa certifies Intel's Smartphone Reference Device, payWave hits Medfield Feb 27th 2012, 16:26 Sure, if you're running a Google Wallet-having device you're already down with Visa's payWave wireless payment service, but we can now confidently say that Intel-based smartphones will also be similarly enabled, even if they haven't been blessed by the Big G. At its Mobile World Congress press conference, Intel just announced that its Medfield-based Smartphone Reference Device, the one we saw previously at CES, is now Visa-certified. Users will be able to tie their credit card to their handset and, once done, make secure payments to retail terminals over NFC. Your wallet of the future just got a little bit lighter. Continue reading Visa certifies Intel's Smartphone Reference Device, payWave hits Medfield Visa certifies Intel's Smartphone Reference Device, payWave hits Medfield originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Elpida files for bankruptcy protection as debts of $5.5 billion are revealed Feb 27th 2012, 16:02  DRAM Maker Elpida has petitioned for a corporate reorganization (the equivalent of Chapter 11 or Administration) as the company has revealed it is close to collapse. President Yukio Sakamoto is expected to resign as the scapegoat for the calamity as it files for protection at the Tokyo District Court. The company, founded in 1999 as NEC Hitachi Memory Inc. has produced DRAM Products since 2000. It founded three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Tera Probe, which conducted wafer probe testing, Akita Elpida Memory Inc. which handled the back-end processes of DRAM production and Rexchip Electronics Corp, which handled the front-end. After a blockbuster period of invention, a fall in prices and the global recession in 2006 forced the company to enter restructuring with a 30 billion Yen ($372.54 million) Government-backed loan. That swathe of cash was used to pump more money into investment and R&D, but the combination of strong Yen and the Thailand flooding has once again forced the company to come clean about its finances. It revealed today that it had debts of 448,033 million Yen, or $5.5 billion and without the protection of the court wouldn't last too much longer. Times of Japan points to the strength of Samsung's memory offerings as being a big contributor to Elpida's collapse, with president Sakamoto saying that DRAM is now as cheap as a "rice ball." Elpida files for bankruptcy protection as debts of $5.5 billion are revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  The Japan Times | Elpida (PDF) | Email this | Comments | | Invoxia AudiOffice hands-on (video) Feb 27th 2012, 15:30 It's not what it looks like. We know, we know: it would seem that Engadget traveled all the way to Mobile World Congress only to get hands-on with a desktop phone, but fortunately for our pride, this device is quite the opposite. Though that earpiece would suggest otherwise, Invoxia's AudiOffice is actually just a speaker dock for your iPhone or iPad, meant to boost the audio quality when you're making VoIP or even regular cell phone calls. (You can also connect a non-iOS device using the built-in Bluetooth radio.) In particular, the company hopes the dock will appeal to small businesses forgoing land lines, though we could also see someone plugging a laptop into the USB port or adding a Bluetooth keyboard -- essentially, making the iPad the centerpiece of a more stationary setup. But is all that worth $299? Check out our hands-on photos and brief demo video and you be the judge. Continue reading Invoxia AudiOffice hands-on (video) Invoxia AudiOffice hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
