| Qualcomm confirms its role in LG superphone with quad-core Snapdragon S4 Aug 23rd 2012, 00:54  There's nothing like jumping the gun to announce your involvement with a phone that technically doesn't exist, but we've gotta say, we love Qualcomm for doing it. The company has just revealed to us its role in the production of a smartphone from LG that'll feature quad-core Snapdragon S4 internals, and if it performs anything like recent benchmarks suggest, you'd best hold onto your hats. For a little backstory, rumors are currently circulating that LG is producing a smartphone of epic proportions that's known as the Optimus G, which is said to wield a quad-core processor, a 4.7-inch IPS True HD display, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera. Whether it's related to this announcement is anyone's guess, but you'll be forgiven for salivating at the prospect. Fortunately, you won't have long to find out the true home of the quad-core Snapdragon S4, as Qualcomm has also revealed that LG plans to release its next superphone for commercial availability this September in South Korea, with other territories to follow. Filed under: Cellphones Qualcomm confirms its role in LG superphone with quad-core Snapdragon S4 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Everything Everywhere completes sale of spectrum to Three, waits for regulators approval Aug 23rd 2012, 00:41  Three and Everything Everywhere have completed the sale of two 15MHz blocks of the 1,800MHz spectrum, announced yesterday. It follows Ofcom's controversial decision to let the latter network queue-jump to offer LTE services in the UK before the official auction process begins. Three won't be able to use its new toy until its frenemy has vacated it, which could be as late as September next year, but could start preparing 4G internet shortly after. The sale was made due to merger requirements by the European Commission, but still needs approval from Ofcom, but given that it's already handed the company an unassailable head-start, we hardly think it'll be too concerned by the deal. Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless Everything Everywhere completes sale of spectrum to Three, waits for regulators approval originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  ZDNet | Email this | Comments | | Pentax intros X-5 superzoom camera with 26x lens, tiltable LCD Aug 23rd 2012, 00:22  We'd been worrying that Pentax would be left out of the flurry of new cameras in the run-up to Photokina. With the new X-5, there's reason to relax. The new shooter sits at the higher end of the by-the-numbers superzoom crowd, centering most of its energy on a 26x, 22-580mm equivalent lens as well as a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that should keep the resulting 16-megapixel photos and 1080p videos relatively clean. Most of the effort to stand out from the pack, however slightly, involves previewing pictures rather than capturing them -- an electronic viewfinder and a tilting, 3-inch LCD will help perfect those macros and overhead concert shots. The X-5 won't shake the foundations of personal photography, especially not when it's using AA batteries for power, but hitting all those right notes at a $280 price could persuade more than a few of us to take the plunge after the September launch. Continue reading Pentax intros X-5 superzoom camera with 26x lens, tiltable LCD Filed under: Digital Cameras Pentax intros X-5 superzoom camera with 26x lens, tiltable LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Pentax | Email this | Comments | | MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track Aug 22nd 2012, 23:58  Well, BitInstant is insistent that it will launch a BitCoin debit card, but MasterCard is claiming it will not be part of the plans. After a mock up of the plastic made the rounds featuring the company's logo, the financial powerhouse felt it necessary to reach out to us, clarifying its non-involvement. "MasterCard has no relationship with BitInstant. There are issuers who allow the conversion of Bitcoins to US dollars and other currencies, delivered on prepaid cards. However, we're not aware of this particular programme from BitInstant." Of course, if you read the transcript of Charlie Shrem's chat announcing the plans, he never actually names MasterCard. The logo was likely meant as a placeholder -- one that some outlets took a little too literally. Interestingly, this doesn't actually mean that MasterCard won't be involved... just that the company isn't at this point in the process. BitInstant released its own statement, just hours after the card house contacted us, saying that it has been working with MasterCard affiliates, but had yet to submit to the financial firm directly. "The card program is moving forward and the arrangement with MasterCard will be handled in due time at the proper stage of the process by the partners who work directly with that company." So, what have we learned today? Not a whole heck of a lot actually, other than the fact that putting out a debit card is a complicated business. You'll just have to stay tuned to see how this shakes out. Filed under: Internet MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | BitInstant | Email this | Comments | | RIM says BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 users will get legacy device support, IT admins (may) rest easy Aug 22nd 2012, 23:45  Corporate server managers everywhere were given a jolt this week when rumors emerged that RIM might implement a hard cutoff for BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10: any devices based on BlackBerry 7 and earlier might not connect at all, leaving IT leads with the uncomfortable choice of either running a BlackBerry server platform that's supposedly without a future (BES 5) or having to upgrade both the servers and phones all at once. RIM is putting minds at ease -- more or less. The company's Kim Geiger has confirmed in a statement to the media that BES 10 will support legacy devices when it ships in the first quarter of 2013, and that existing server customers will get an upgrade for smooth sailing around when BlackBerry 10 arrives. That's no doubt a comfort, but there are lingering doubts. Rumor source BGR maintains that companies will have to run both the old and new servers side-by-side to address everyone, which could make a truly harmonious environment complex, expensive or both. We've reached out to RIM for a more definitive explanation to hopefully settle the matter. In the meantime, we wouldn't panic; no one is being pushed to adopt BES 10 right away, and those that want to upgrade don't have to give up their legacy hardware. Filed under: Cellphones RIM says BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 users will get legacy device support, IT admins (may) rest easy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Phone Scoop, BGR | Email this | Comments | | YouTube heralds arrival of in-stream ads, built-in annoyance for mobile devices Aug 22nd 2012, 23:39  If you've made it a habit of viewing YouTube videos on your mobile device in an effort to flout the site's pre-roll ads, your days of bliss are quickly drawing to a close. Today, the site implemented TrueView in-stream ads for the mobile platform, and like you've become accustomed to on the desktop, you'll begin to notice these commercials on your smartphone and tablet. Now, we get the need for content producers to make some coin, but the move certainly represents the end of an era. Fortunately, just like on the desktop, you'll have the ability to skip these ads after five seconds. Maybe now, you can take pride in making an independent producer rich beyond imagination -- or, at least helping them buy some lunch. Filed under: Internet, Software YouTube heralds arrival of in-stream ads, built-in annoyance for mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | YouTube Creator Blog | Email this | Comments | | Virgin Mobile reveals Samsung Galaxy Reverb for $250, available for pre-order August 29th Aug 22nd 2012, 23:34  In addition to the new Samsung smartphones for Boost Mobile, Sprint's other subsidiary, Virgin Mobile has also made a reveal for this fall with the Galaxy Reverb. Like its cousins, the phone offers Android 4.0, which is complemented by a 1.4GHz CPU, a 5-megapixel camera and a 4-inch touchscreen. Virgin Mobile's latest is set to hit stores in September for $250, but you can claim your place in line through the pre-order process, which is set to kick off on August 29th. We've already managed to grab some hands-on pics of the Galaxy Reverb, so if you're curious to see what's in store, be sure to hit up the gallery below. Filed under: Cellphones Virgin Mobile reveals Samsung Galaxy Reverb for $250, available for pre-order August 29th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Phone Scoop | | Email this | Comments | | Astro Gaming's firmware update v1.1 for A50 wireless headset fixes 'audio bug,' enhances functionality Aug 22nd 2012, 23:26  We generally enjoyed the virtual surround sound prowess of Astro Gaming's A50 wireless headset when we reviewed it back in July, but you'll recall it had one especially glaring issue: the audio would frequently cut out. At the time, the company informed us that a fix was on the way via a firmware update, and now it's recently arrived with a few other goodies. To refresh your memory, the A50 headset relies on a MixAmp TXD wireless transmitter, so you'll actually be dealing with a duo of updates to get your system on the straight and narrow: A50 Headset Firmware v1.1 (Build 2856) and A50 MixAmp Tx Firmware v1.1 (Build 2855). On the headset side, notable changes include "various audio and volume leveling tweaks," a decrease in background noise and enhancements to the noise-gate for voice chat across platforms. Better yet, volume and game / voice chat balance levels will now stay as you left them upon powering it down. The Tx itself haa been deemed the culprit behind the audio problem, as Astro notes that it's "fixed [the] occasional optical audio drop" -- where "occasional" is putting it nicely. Beyond that, both units should now have better success pairing up, and further compatibility with KleerNet-enabled wireless devices. We tried out the firmware refreshes with a few sessions of MW3 and can happily report that the audio issues do seem to be resolved. Now, installing the update is simple, if a bit tedious. First we had to hook up the headset via USB into the TXD, which itself connects your computer via USB as well. From there, we downloaded and ran Astro's Device Manager for OS X and 32 bit Windows (available at the source below), prompting us to install the updates. Lastly, we re-paired the two and were back to our virtual fragging sans the audio hiccups -- hopefully you'll have the same results. Need all the details? Hit up the source link below. Filed under: Gaming, Wearables Astro Gaming's firmware update v1.1 for A50 wireless headset fixes 'audio bug,' enhances functionality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Astro Gaming | Email this | Comments | |
