| Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in smartphone's past Jun 26th 2012, 17:00  The Nokia 808 PureView has a 41-megapixel camera sensor. But you knew that. The crystallization of five years of imaging R&D has landed, and the timing couldn't have been better for Nokia. Alongside uncomfortable financial reading, its move to Windows Phone hasn't exactly set the smartphone world alight just yet. It's seemingly established itself as the go-to WinPho choice for American customers thanks to some aggressive pricing, but with news that the next iteration of Windows Phone won't come to the Lumia 900, many will hold out for Nokia's next handset. Whatever that device will be, it's likely to bring the same PureView technology we've got here on the Nokia 808 PureView -- a Symbian-based handset whose software has seen better days. However, OS be damned, it still blew away attendees at this year's Mobile World Congress. Impressive stuff, given that it's the same show where HTC's admirable One series debuted. That huge sensor is paired with a new five-element Carl Zeiss lens and a refreshed flash with double the strength of the one on the Nokia N8 -- the existing cameraphone champ. But behind the technical bullet points, it's how Nokia maximizes the 41-megapixel sensor, oversampling with those pixels to create improved 5-, 8- , 3- and 2-megapixel images, reducing noise and improving low-light performance. However, when it comes to software, Symbian Belle (with Feature Pack 1 in tow) lags behind the likes of Android, iOS and Windows Phone in user experience and app provision. Similarly, the chunky handset flies in the opposite direction of the trend for slim smartphones. Is that camera module really all Nokia thinks (and hopes) it is? What's more, is Symbian relevant enough for such future-facing goodness? Let's find out. Continue reading Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in smartphone's past Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in smartphone's past originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up Jun 26th 2012, 16:49  HTC is going on something of a certification tangent: it's following its PlayStation Suite approval with its own program, HTC Connect. Home AV equipment with the label promises to lift the standards for streaming media to or from one of HTC's devices. The rubber stamp will be limited at first to DLNA audio and video, but it should eventually include just about anything that doesn't involve a wire, such as Bluetooth, in-car media, NFC and wireless speakers. There isn't an immediate deluge of partners. HTC has scored a rather big ally, however: Pioneer's DLNA-ready receivers and wireless speakers this year, and beyond, will flaunt the HTC Connect badge. Don't brag about the media credentials of your One X just yet. Although the Connect seal of approval won't be needed for media streaming anytime soon, it will only be coming to the One series through an upgrade in the months ahead. Continue reading HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft patents recording device to curb shortened attention spans Jun 26th 2012, 16:24  Time was, secretaries executive assistants were tasked with the chore of summing up a meeting's minutes so the less focused suits could play catch-up afterwards. Not so with this vision of the automated boardroom as put forth by a newly awarded Microsoft patent. Filed back in February of 2006, the doc outlines a computer-based method for recording live audio and video (including presentation slides), a system of monitoring a user's computer activity and tracking moments of attention loss. Sounds like Redmond's crafting an enterprise version of "gotcha!," but it's not so sinister. The proposed recorder would actually make recommendations based on the moments your focus drifted off, replete with full A/V playback and even the ability to hone in and amplify an individual speaker's voice. It's easy to see how this theoretic tech could wind up worming its way out of concrete towers and integrating into classrooms of the future (and even homes). For now, content yourself with the full-on legalese available at the source link below. Microsoft patents recording device to curb shortened attention spans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  USPTO | Email this | Comments | | Qualcomm to deliver Snapdragon SDK to Android developers Jun 26th 2012, 15:29  At this year's Uplinq conference, Qualcomm hit Android developers with some exciting news. In the coming months, the chip maker will deliver a Snapdragon software development kit (SDK) that will provide devs with access to the "next-generation technology and features" embedded in its processors. Through APIs, the kit will allow application architects to leverage facial processing, burst camera capture, surround sound recording, echo cancellation, sensor gestures, low power geofencing and indoor location capabilities. Initially, the SDK will only be available for the S4 8960 wafer, but Qualcomm hopes to include more models over time. Head past the break to have a gander at the full press release. Continue reading Qualcomm to deliver Snapdragon SDK to Android developers Qualcomm to deliver Snapdragon SDK to Android developers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
