| Dolby Digital Plus coming soon to tablets and phones, we go ears-on (video) Aug 15th 2012, 21:28  Whenever we review tablets, the section on audio quality is usually short, and it usually goes something like this: "The quality is tinny and the volume is low, especially since the speakers are located on the back side." (Translation: "What did you expect, people?") That's a shame, given how tablets are supposedly ideal for content consumption. Fortunately, though, this is something Dolby's been working on. The company is bringing its Digital Plus technology to tablets, phones and laptops with the aim of enhancing sound quality, and also making movie dialog easier to make out. In the demo video embedded after the break, for instance, that Galaxy Tab is cranked to full volume, but it's still hard to follow along with The Incredibles. With Digital Plus turned on, the conversation is easier to hear, and you can also parse background noises, like a phone ringing in an office. Right now, the technology is compatible with Windows 7, Win 8 and Android. Dolby says the software is specially tuned for each device, and it's up to OEMs to license the technology, so don't hold your breath for an app you can download on your own. For now, we don't know of any devices with Digital Plus, but a Dolby rep told us the first should be announced within the coming months. So, what you'll see in the video after the break isn't some unannounced product but rather, an older Samsung tablet rigged to run the software as a demo. Oh, and the UI is apparently not final, so don't put too much stock in the way the app looks. Anyway, have a listen and let us know if you can hear the difference. Continue reading Dolby Digital Plus coming soon to tablets and phones, we go ears-on (video) Filed under: Tablet PCs Dolby Digital Plus coming soon to tablets and phones, we go ears-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Editorial: Carriers, let customers choose their own phones Aug 15th 2012, 21:00  Remember what the experience of shopping for a gadget was like at big-box stores years ago? Whatever your actual needs were, the store clerks would invariably steer you towards whatever they were getting a commission to sell, or whatever scratched their personal itch. Why would you even go to a store if you knew you would never get an honest answer? The problem was bad enough for Apple in the 1990s, when Macs were often relegated to a dark corner alongside the Ethernet cables, that the company started up its own retail chain. It didn't get better for most of us until outlets like Best Buy backed off and sometimes made it a point to advertise commission-free staff. Today, while it's tough to completely escape personal bias and the occasional exception to the rule, it's more likely than not that a modern general electronics store will give you a decent shot at buying what you really want. But just try buying a cellphone at a carrier store today. Continue reading Editorial: Carriers, let customers choose their own phones Filed under: Cellphones Editorial: Carriers, let customers choose their own phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Twitter founders create Branch and Medium to keep the conversations, collections flowing Aug 15th 2012, 20:48  If you've ever been so embroiled in a chat or sharing splurge that you've been told to "take it off of Twitter," you now can -- sort of. Twitter co-creators Biz Stone and Ev Williams have launched Branch and Medium, two companion services that (naturally) use a Twitter sign-in but narrow the focus to just a few subjects. As the name suggests, Branch lets especially vocal Twitter users invite others into conversations that don't clutter everyone's feeds or cut replies off at the 140-character limit. Medium? Think of it as Pinterest turned publishing platform: members can publish either a static collection of favorite articles and media, for reading and rating, or leave it open for more collaborative efforts. There's no rush to open the floodgates to the invitation-only portals, though. Stone and Williams see the quietness of their new services as an antidote to the madness of regular social streams, and we can't help but sympathize. Filed under: Internet Twitter founders create Branch and Medium to keep the conversations, collections flowing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  The Guardian |  Branch, Medium | Email this | Comments | | Verizon's LTE network hits 34 new markets tomorrow, set to cover over 75 percent of the US Aug 15th 2012, 20:38  Big Red's push to blanket the entire US with those lovable Long Term Evolution waves just got a heck of a lot closer, as the carrier's announced it's bringing true 4G to 34 new markets and expanding coverage in other parts of the country. For starters, folks around Hot Springs, Arkansas, Reading, Pennsylvania, Longview, Washington and Laredo, Texas will finally be able to get the most out that marvelous Galaxy S III -- or, perhaps, something like the newfangled Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Meanwhile, Verizon's also let it be known it's expanding LTE coverage in previously covered markets, including big-name cities such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New Orleans. There are more cities involved in the process, but for that our friends, you'll have to peek at the presser located right after the break. Continue reading Verizon's LTE network hits 34 new markets tomorrow, set to cover over 75 percent of the US Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless Verizon's LTE network hits 34 new markets tomorrow, set to cover over 75 percent of the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Droid Life | Verizon | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft bans use of Metro name in Windows Store apps Aug 15th 2012, 20:09  If Microsoft can't use the Metro name, no one else can. Not in its company-owned Windows Store, at least. An update to the Windows 8 app criteria guide explicitly tells developers that any submitted Windows Store app with Metro in the title will "fail certification" -- effectively, it's banned. There's a certain irony to the aggressive stance on naming when Microsoft itself still mentions Metro prominently across many of its pages, but the restriction isn't a laughing matter for developers already trying to support an OS that doesn't ship for another two months. One of the most popular apps in the pre-release Windows Store, MetroTwit, likely faces imminent exile without a name change; there's also worries that mass transit apps might get the boot for entirely innocuous uses of the word. We've reached out to Microsoft for comment on its legal rights in the area. In the meantime, it's safe to say that "metro" is only to be spoken in hushed tones anywhere near Microsoft's official content portals. Filed under: Software Microsoft bans use of Metro name in Windows Store apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink MarkedUp, Ars Technica | Windows Dev Center | Email this | Comments | |
