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DARPA's next Grand Challenge to focus on humanoid robots Apr 6th 2012, 12:34 DARPA's Grand Challenges have already helped put plenty of self-driving cars on (closed) roads, but it looks like the agency has something a bit different in mind for its next one. As first reported by Hizook, DARPA has apparently set its sights on humanoid robots as its next target -- specifically, robots that are human-like enough to navigate rough terrain, drive a vehicle and manipulate regular tools (the idea being to simulate assisting in an industrial disaster zone). What's more, participants will have to develop robots that can do all of that "semi-autonomously," with only "supervisory teleoperation" permitted. No word on a timeline for the challenge just yet, but DARPA will apparently have more to say when it makes things completely official within the next few weeks. [Thanks, Travis] DARPA's next Grand Challenge to focus on humanoid robots originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Hizook, Wired Danger Room  | Email this | Comments Intel 313 SSDs bring improved caching to ultrabooks, desktops, life in general Apr 6th 2012, 11:55 Just like Intel's older 311 batch of small cache SSDs, the new 313 series is designed to sit alongside a traditional spinning HDD in order provide a tasty blend of speed and capacity. These newer drives are still SATA II, so there's no 6Gbps action here, but they use superior 25nm SLC flash, offer faster speeds for the same price (starting at $120 for 20GB) and are explicitly approved for use in the coming wave of Ultrabooks -- so don't be surprised if that's where you meet 'em next. Intel 313 SSDs bring improved caching to ultrabooks, desktops, life in general originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PC World  |  Intel  | Email this | Comments London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D Apr 6th 2012, 11:30 Didn't score a ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London this summer? If you're in the UK at least you can still catch the games live and in 3D, since even though the BBC is tape delaying its 3D coverage, there will be live action available on the dedicated Sky 3D channel from Eurosport. There's no word on what other carriers or regions may have access, but those two are promising over 100 hours of 3D action over the course of the games, with eight hours of live coverage alongside four hours of highlights. That's enough to cover events including the opening and closing ceremonies, men's 100m dash final, gymnastics, swimming, basketball and more. Also, Sky plans to open up the channel to all of its current HD subscribers during the Games instead of just the current 250,000 subscribers, so all you'll need to bring is a 3D-ready HDTV and glasses (maybe). There's a press release after the break with all the details currently available, and also Stephen Fry's introduction to the channel for no reason other than that it's Stephen Fry. Continue reading London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Sky  | Email this | Comments

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Corsair debuting Vengeance gaming headset, PC case at PAX East Apr 6th 2012, 10:48 You don't need a webcam-charted mood-graph to tell you that gaming can be a frustrating, enraging experience. Unbridled rage only begets revenge -- lucky for you, then, that Corsair is beefing up its Vengeance gaming line-up. Its $149 Vengeance 2000 2.4GHz wireless 7.1 headset, for instance, hopes to help you suss out the location your foe with its optimized HRTF (head-related transfer function) positional audio chops. Failing that, you could always wrap your hardware in the outfit's new C70 PC gaming case, a rugged rack designed to look like an ammo-box. This $139 steeled exterior case has room for eight PCI-E slots, 10 fan mounts, dual USB 3.0 ports and six SSD-ready hard drive bays -- in arctic white, gunmetal black and the traditional military green. You can mosey on past the break for a peek at Corsair's official press release, but folks in Boston will be able to able to check out the new digs in person at PAX East this weekend. If, you know, Vengeance is your thing. [Thanks, Justin] Continue reading Corsair debuting Vengeance gaming headset, PC case at PAX East Corsair debuting Vengeance gaming headset, PC case at PAX East originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments Samsung expects to double Q1 profit versus last year, sends itself a love note Apr 6th 2012, 09:54 Sammy has issued guidance for its financial performance between January and March 2012, ahead of a fuller earnings report due later this month. In contrast to HTC's latest news, the Korean giant looks rosy enough -- it's predicting an operating profit of 5.8 trillion won ($5 billion), which is almost double the quarterly profit from last year. Overall revenues continued to grow steadily too, rising nearly 22 percent to 45 trillion won ($40 billion). We'll need to wait for more detail to see where the growth is coming from, but it'd be cheesily nice to think our affection for the Galaxy Note had something to do with it. Continue reading Samsung expects to double Q1 profit versus last year, sends itself a love note Samsung expects to double Q1 profit versus last year, sends itself a love note originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments Dropbox enables drag-and-drop uploads on web browsers Apr 6th 2012, 09:23 Finished convincing friends, family and perfect strangers alike to sign up to Dropbox -- and selfishly upping your own storage in the process. The cloud storage service has just made changes to its web-baser interface, adding drag-and-drop functionality from your folders and desktop. The feature works across Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers and once the site detects the movement, it'll start uploading to that ethereal data cloud in the sky. You can start dragging those files around at the source now. Dropbox enables drag-and-drop uploads on web browsers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Next Web  |  Dropbox blog, Dropbox  | Email this | Comments

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HTC's unaudited Q1 2012 financials: revenue down by 35 percent Apr 6th 2012, 08:31 HTC's unaudited financials have just hit the wires and it looks like the negative trends from last year are continuing. For the first quarter of 2012, revenues are down nearly 35 percent year-on-year, with revenues of 67,790 million Taiwanese dollars (around $2.3 billion) for the period. Operating income was 5,099 million Taiwanese dollars (roughly $173 million) and profits after tax 4,464 million Taiwanese dollars ($151 million). The company will hope that the rather middling news will be the last of the nasty hangovers from HTC's previous scatter-gun approach to phone production. Now that it's gone with the sleek and slender One series lineup, we'll see how well the company's about-turn does in the next two quarters. HTC's unaudited Q1 2012 financials: revenue down by 35 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments The Big Bang Theory S1 and S2 will finally hit Blu-ray July 10th Apr 6th 2012, 07:23 Considering the usual subject matter of The Big Bang Theory it's a bit bizarre that the first couple of seasons weren't already available in high definition, but Warner Home Video has now announced they will be released on Blu-ray July 10th. While later seasons have already seen Blu-ray releases, those looking to start back at the beginning for Leonard, Sheldon, Penny and the rest of the crew had been stuck with DVDs. Assuming you're a fan of CBS' comedy series, you can preorder each Blu-ray / DVD combo release now, priced at $23.99 for the first season and $54.97 for the longer second season. Of course, what we're really wondering is what this means for other orphaned releases that only have some or none of their seasons available on Blu-ray as studios have shifted strategies, we're still waiting for How I Met Your Mother season one. Drop a note about any other shows you're following that have holes in their HD releases in the comments below, or just check out a video clip of the show with the canned laughter cut out -- it's... different. Continue reading The Big Bang Theory S1 and S2 will finally hit Blu-ray July 10th The Big Bang Theory S1 and S2 will finally hit Blu-ray July 10th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Amazon (S1), Amazon (S2)  | Email this | Comments

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BlackBerry PlayBook with '4G' out and about, wants to know where you put its SIM Apr 6th 2012, 05:54 Jim Balsillie might be on the outs, but it looks like his once boastful pet-project -- a BlackBerry PlayBook with integrated cellular wireless -- is finally coming to fruition. Per CrackBerry's forums comes the above snap of the Canadian slate donning a SIM card slot, nary a month after we first spotted the company's HSPA+ and LTE tablets pass through the FCC. That also lines up nicely with a previously leaked roadmap, promising a summer arrival. Will the mythical 4G-wielding PlayBook ever make it to market? Or like it's WiMax brother, will it never be given the chance? While you ponder that, more pics await at the source. BlackBerry PlayBook with '4G' out and about, wants to know where you put its SIM originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink N4BB  |  CrackBerry forums  | Email this | Comments Google co-founder Sergey Brin spotted wearing Project Glass prototype IRL Apr 6th 2012, 05:02 Wondering what it might be like to sport Google's Project Glass augmented reality HUD in your daily life? It would appear company co-founder Sergey Brin already knows, as he was spotted by tech pundits Robert Scoble and Thomas Hawk rocking a prototype at a Dining in the Dark charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Scoble has already posted a couple of pictures with Brin on Google+, mentioning more photos would be forthcoming from Hawk after the event concluded and that he'd heard other people, including Google exec Vic Gundotra, have the devices already. For now he mentions the glasses appeared to be "self contained" and that he could see a blueish light flashing on Brin's eyes. Hit the source link for more pics and details, we'll let you know if we find out more later -- details on where to snag a set may remain confidential until we've had a chance to try them on first, of course. Google co-founder Sergey Brin spotted wearing Project Glass prototype IRL originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Electronista  |  Robert Scoble (Google+), @Scobleizer (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Android 4.0 arriving for HTC Rezound today, Droid RAZR update delayed Apr 6th 2012, 04:46 April 4th has come and gone, and sadly, both the Droid RAZR and RAZR Maxx remain without their promised bites of Ice Cream Sandwich. The latest communique from Best Buy confirms the delay, and similarly, a tweet from Motorola Mobility adds that a new release date has yet to be established. As a touch of silver lining to the otherwise gloomy news, the Best Buy crew reiterates that the HTC Rezound is set to receive Android 4.0 today -- in all its Sense 3.6 mediocrity. Cross your fingers, Rezound owners: this looks to be the big day. [Thanks, VoxPCS] Android 4.0 arriving for HTC Rezound today, Droid RAZR update delayed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Droid Life  | Email this | Comments Larry Page looks back at a year of leading Google, promises velocity, execution and focus in the future Apr 6th 2012, 03:34 A year and a day after taking over the reins at Mountain View, Google co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Larry Page has plenty to say about where the company has been recently, and where it's going. While there aren't any Project Glass bombs dropped, in this open letter he's promising a Google that will achieve even more, and faster, as it goes forward. First, a spoiler alert: he really likes Google's products. From Google+, to tighter integration with results for things like weather and airfare to that little Android side project there's plenty of praise to go around. One of the longest segments is dedicated to the "love and trust" Google desires to deserve from its users, mentioning that creating "a much better, more intuitive experience across Google" is a focus for 2012. Hit the source link to have your own look at the Google boss' innermost thoughts -- do you think he's on the right track? Larry Page looks back at a year of leading Google, promises velocity, execution and focus in the future originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Google  | Email this | Comments

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Shocker: People who read e-books read more Apr 6th 2012, 02:27 Are you ready for a bombshell? Turns out people who read e-books read more books than those don't. That tidbit comes from the number crunchers at Pew. According to a new report titled "The Rise of E-Reading," the e-book readers read an average of 24 books in the past year, versus the 15 books read by those who didn't. Also, not particularly surprising is the fact that the percent of folks reading e-books is on the rise as well -- the number who claimed to have read an e-book in the year prior made a bit of a jump from 17-percent in December to 21-percent in February. Naturally, the whole printed thing is still a bit more widespread, with 72-percent claiming to have read a paper-type book in the year prior, when surveyed back in December. Shocker: People who read e-books read more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink CBC  |  Pew  | Email this | Comments ASUS placates Transformer Prime owners with free GPS Extension Kit add-on Apr 6th 2012, 01:16 ASUS took a few OTA stabs at fixing the Transformer Prime's satellite blindness, sure, but now the outfit is taking a more direct approach at fixing its GPS reception woes: hardware. New Prime owners registering their slab on ASUS' member site are now being greeted with an application for a GPS Extension Kit, a free dongle that "may help improve signal reception and optimize the user experience." According to a series of emails posted by an XDA forums user, the kit is due to ship in mid-April, and will "be a flush fit on the bottom of the unit if held in landscape, matching the color of your Prime Chassis." ASUS says the dongle will be available to all customers who picked up the tablet, and carefully notes that the accessory does not "replace, alter or amend any existing warranties." Fair enough. Now, what if we want to type while we find our way around the world? Gallery: Transformer Prime GPS Extension Kit Application ASUS placates Transformer Prime owners with free GPS Extension Kit add-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Land of Droid  |  XDA Forums  | Email this | Comments

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Intel and Nissan collaborate on Infiniti's 2013 infotainment system, Atom inside Apr 6th 2012, 00:28 Intel is notorious for marking its territory on a wide array of consumer gear, but one piece of kit that's unlikely to sport that famous sticker is the infotainment system of Nissan's 2013 Infiniti lineup. Unveiled today at the New York International Auto Show, the in-vehicle computer represents a collaboration between Intel and Nissan and was showcased within the Infiniti LE concept vehicle. On the inside lurks an Atom CPU, which bucks the general trend toward ARM architecture in these systems. Both companies put their collective heads together to create cloud-based services for smartphone users such as video surveillance, vehicle control and monitoring. As another nice refinement, users will also be able to use their phone's NFC capabilities for keyless entry to the carriage -- no word on whether it can similarly activate the ignition. You'll find the full PR after the break. Continue reading Intel and Nissan collaborate on Infiniti's 2013 infotainment system, Atom inside Intel and Nissan collaborate on Infiniti's 2013 infotainment system, Atom inside originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Electronista  |   | Email this | Comments Webcam programmed to capture your face while playing Xbox: gauges your excitement, graphs ennui Apr 5th 2012, 23:51 Sometimes, those Modern Warfare sessions really take their toll. Now, there is a way to measure the emotional rollercoaster you're subjecting yourself to when you login for those regular gaming stints. Dale Lane decided to hook up the webcam above his main TV to grab a shot of his face every 15 seconds. This then wings its way to the Face.com API, which calculates all sorts of information about the image and sends it back to Dale, who uses a Python script to cook it into these graphs. This one measures his early evening session playing Blur on Xbox Live. Yeah, red means angry. Webcam programmed to capture your face while playing Xbox: gauges your excitement, graphs ennui originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Hack A Day  |  Dale Lane  | Email this | Comments LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200 Apr 5th 2012, 23:17 Back at CES, we first got word of the LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series that would put two hard drives of the eSATA sort to good use. The company announced today that the storage peripheral is available now via its online store with a $199 price tag. If you recall, the device will allow you to daisy chain up to 12 drives (six hubs) to a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac while still showcasing 3 Gb/sec eSATA speeds. If you're wanting a closer look or you're ready to commit, visit the source link below. Continue reading LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200 LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  LaCie  | Email this | Comments

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Time Warner Cable app for Android tablets with live streaming is (still) right around the corner Apr 5th 2012, 22:39 To be fair, when we heard that Time Warner Cable's TWC TV app for Android tablets might add live TV streaming by the end of March it was described as a "very loose" projection, so it's not much of a surprise we're still waiting for it now, in April. It is still coming however, and a new post is up on the blog teasing the above image of the app in action and promising to make the feature available in the next few weeks, certainly by Memorial day. we should also note, it's for Ice Cream Sandwich loaded tablets only -- they have the required "security and stability" (read: DRM) necessary. Also noted is that developing a live video streaming app for iOS was easier simply because of the limited number of manufacturer, OS and hardware combinations, which mirrors what we heard previously from Netflix. Still, it's on the way, so if you're looking to use your slate as an extra TV screen in the home, you should look next to your manufacturer to make sure it's been updated with ICS. Time Warner Cable app for Android tablets with live streaming is (still) right around the corner originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  TWCable Untangled  | Email this | Comments Caption Contest: HTC's down-to-earth photo shoot Apr 5th 2012, 22:06 With the Android handset market as jam-packed as it is, it can be tough to distinguish your device from the maddening crowd. We've seen some bizarre and sublime attempts to do so over the years, but few have reached the terminal velocity of HTC's skydiving fashion photoshoot aimed at promoting its new One line of phones. Has the company hit the bullseye here, or is it and its accompanying light-headed skydivers destined to splatter all over the advertising landscape? It just might take a caption contest to find out for certain. Zach Honig: "If I make this reverse overhead shot do you promise to attach a parachute to my string?" Sean Buckley: "Drop test #3 will commence in 3.. 2.." Christopher Trout: "Who needs a facelift when you have wind effects like these?" Darren Murph: [Yelling, to combat the wind] "WHY DO WE HAVE FOUR PEOPLE TO PROMOTE THE ONE LINE?" Brian Heater: "Another dropped call from AT&T." Myriam: "Looks like we fixed that bug in the accelerometer! It's working just fine right now..." Tim: "Hang on, trying to decide which Instagram filter to apply... so many choices..." Michael: "Well, whaddya know, Face Unlock works while free-falling at 10,000 feet!" Zach Lutz: Despite the fabulous view, Guy couldn't resist his overwhelming urge to check for available software updates. Sharif Sakr: As if throwing Dr Dre and his Beats Audio out of a plane wasn't enough, they had to shoot him in the back with an arrow. Richard Lawler: What do you mean there aren't any FourSquare badges for this? Jose Andrade: "Don't move. I'm almost done with this DrawSomething drawing" Billy Steele: "You just hold the phone and I promise I'll pull the 'chute. Maybe." Caption Contest: HTC's down-to-earth photo shoot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments See a Qbo robot built from scratch in a minute-and-a-half (time-lapse video) Apr 5th 2012, 21:33 Ever wondered just how fast a Qbo robot can be built from scratch? Perhaps not, but TheCorpora is happy to show you anyway. The answer is just under three hours (by a skilled engineer, of course), but the company has managed to whittle that down to a minute-and-a-half thanks to the magic of time-lapse video. Head on past the break to see it for yourself -- and, if you haven't already, catch up with some of the tricks the bot is able to do once it's fully assembled. Continue reading See a Qbo robot built from scratch in a minute-and-a-half (time-lapse video) See a Qbo robot built from scratch in a minute-and-a-half (time-lapse video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink CNET  |  Qbo (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments Sprint announces ICS for the Nexus S 4G, official download now available Apr 5th 2012, 21:06 To all the broken-hearted owners of the Nexus S 4G waiting for their chance to play with an official build of Ice Cream Sandwich: wait no longer. Sprint announced in a forum post (and subsequently on Twitter) that it's finally ready to unleash Android 4.0.4 to the anxious masses -- not just the adventurous souls willing to try out the leaked version last weekend. If you own this phone, we're guessing you're no longer reading this post. But, if you are, go check to see if your update is available. Do it. [Thanks, Brent] Continue reading Sprint announces ICS for the Nexus S 4G, official download now available Sprint announces ICS for the Nexus S 4G, official download now available originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Sprint, Twitter  | Email this | Comments GSM Galaxy Nexus seeing signal issues after Android 4.0.4 update? Apr 5th 2012, 20:55 Sometimes, updates aren't as sweet as they initially sound. Such is the case with Android 4.0.4, which recently rolled out to owners of the GSM Galaxy Nexus. According to an increasingly vocal swath of members at xda-developers (and confirmed by a listing on Google's own Support page), there are mysterious signal issues now troubling the device. For many users, there's an inexplicable loss of signal -- a complete inability to make or receive calls and text messages -- after applying the v4.0.4 update, though it's beginning to look like Sleep is the issue. For some, preventing the phone from going to into a deep sleep mode has solved the dilemma, but it has also created a life where a nearby AC outlet is more of a necessity than usual. Hit up the source link to submit a bug report if you're experiencing precisely this, and let us know of any potential fixes down in comments below. GSM Galaxy Nexus seeing signal issues after Android 4.0.4 update? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink xda-developers, Android Community  |  Google  | Email this | Comments

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