Friday, March 30, 2012

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RIM sticking with consumer goods, just 'refocusing' on enterprise
Mar 30th 2012, 14:41

RIM
Some people got the wrong idea yesterday when RIM's new CEO Thorsten Heins said the company was refocusing on the enterprise market and would stop trying to be "all things to all people." Many took the post-earnings call comment to mean that RIM would be exiting the consumer market, an assumption that didn't seem like much of a stretch considering its failure to capture the imagination of users outside the office place. Things weren't made any better when Heins seemingly left the door open for the manufacturer to leave the hardware business entirely. However, in a statement, managing director of global sales and regional marketing Patrick Spence clarified that "the claim that RIM has said it will withdraw from the consumer market is wholly misleading." He continued to explain that, "whilst we announced plans to refocus our efforts on our core strengths, and on our enterprise customer base, we were very explicit that we will continue to build on our strengths to go after targeted consumer segments." In particular there still seems to be hope that BBM can become a staple in the lives of young trend setters, but it'll probably need some help from cross platform clients to do so.

RIM sticking with consumer goods, just 'refocusing' on enterprise originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Register, Pocket Lint  | Email this | Comments

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut
Mar 30th 2012, 14:13

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut
An unreleased gadget is pretty easy to conceal, but an upcoming automobile? Not so much. Thanks to some quick reflexes, you're looking at the first spy shots of Fisker's second and smaller plug-in hybrid sedan, heretofore known as Project Nina. Last we heard, the BMW-powered auto had been put on life-support, as the remainder of the company's DOE loan evaporated as it failed to meet timely deadlines in bringing its first EV, the Karma, to market. That could mean the above is a mere concept designed to woo potential investors -- but with less than a week before its supposed New York auto show debut, it won't be long until we know for sure. Until then, ogle at more eye candy of the beaut over at Autoblog in the source link below.

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAutoblog  | Email this | Comments

Engadget Podcast 287 - 03.29.2012
Mar 30th 2012, 14:01

You know those shows where we're all iPad this, iPhone that? This isn't one of them. Today we're doing it all, heading to the department store of consumer electronics news categoies and picking random stuff off the shelves of all ten floors to chat about until someone from the UK calls or tweets @us to distract us into talking about something else. And yes, we did stop by the Apple floor for a few minutes too. So sue us (lawsuit joke).

Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Guests: Dana Wollman, Dan Cooper, Richard Lai
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Orbital - Never

00:02:55 - The Engadget Show 31: Douglas Rushkoff, Sony, iRobot, MWC and air combat
00:04:58 - Sony pulls another game from PlayStation Store after new Vita exploit found
00:09:43 - Best Buy to close 50 big box US retail stores, open 100 Mobile stand-alone outlets in 2013
00:18:15 - Samsung ships five million Galaxy Notes in just five months
00:25:45 - RIM putting BlackBerry 10 test units in developers' hands in May
00:29:58 - Apple offers refund over Australian 4G iPad confusion
00:33:25 - Tim Cook pays a visit to a Foxconn factory, smiles for the camera
00:37:35 - Nokia unveils the Lumia 800 in China, calls it the 800C
00:42:39 - US Judge rejects Hasbro / ASUS sales ban, Transformer Prime prevails
01:03:46 - Boston Dynamics lies down with BigDog, gets giant fleas (video)


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Engadget Podcast 287 - 03.29.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Media files:
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Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare
Mar 30th 2012, 13:44

Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

No, we don't mean the modern interpretation and its moody sequels -- this is the 1989 original. Jordan Mechner created the first Prince of Persia game for the Apple II. However, the source code ended up lost in the sands of time -- until Mechner's dad discovered a box filled with 3.5-inch ProDOS disks. The creator's now attempting to transfer the code across to his MacBook Air and get it working on modern platforms. We just have to remember how to beat our evil reflection.

Continue reading Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Geek.com  |   | Email this | Comments

Distro Issue 34 takes a 'Shot in the Dark' with Canon's 5D Mark III
Mar 30th 2012, 13:30

Distro Issue 34 takes a 'Shot in the Dark' with Canon's 5D Mark III
If you were lucky enough to grab a 5D Mark III when they hit shelves last week, you know how well the slick shooter performs with the lights down low. If you're still pondering plunking down $3,500 for the DSLR, on the other hand, you can check out the camera's night moves in this issue of Distro. And if you're looking for even more of our expert opinions, we have reviews of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 for Verizon, a 14-inch Series 5 Ultrabook, a pre-production Galaxy Note 10.1 and SYNC by 50 Wireless Headphones. We'll also grill Mutemath's Darren King and give you an Angry Bird's-eye view of the smartphone market in this week's Switched On. So grab your device of choice and hit the appropriate download link below.

Distro Issue 34 PDF
Distro on the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Android Market
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 34 takes a 'Shot in the Dark' with Canon's 5D Mark III originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceiTunes, Play Store  | Email this | Comments

PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video)
Mar 30th 2012, 13:02

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Greek Artist Petros Vrellis is a big admirer of Vincent Van Gogh, which prompted him to produce an interactive version of Starry Night. It took him a patience-sapping six months to produce the original PC version, where finger swipes redirect the painter's famous daubs into a light and sound show. Of course, there was such a clamor from users all desperate to have a go, that he managed to produce an iPad app in a little under a month. Now you can pick it up from the App Store at the source link, or head on past the break to see this new version in action (you really do have to see it).

Continue reading PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video)

PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceiTunes  | Email this | Comments

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Google Drive leaks suggest 5GB free storage, in-app document editing
Mar 30th 2012, 12:43

Google Drive leaks suggest 5GB free storage, in-app document editing
Mountain View has been leaking Google Drive details like a glacial trickle, but we still have no firm notion of how much free cloud storage it'll bring or just how deeply it'll be integrated with other services. There have been rumors of a Dropbox-like 2GB limit, but now a screenshot purporting to show the beta version's main welcome page points to a healthy 5GB instead. Moreover, Google's Support portal mentions that the Drive app for Android will have document-editing capabilities, which brings us back to the question of whether this is a whole new service, or an add-on to Google Docs or indeed a complete re-branding of Google's documents platform. Regardless, calling it 'Drive' still makes it sound like sat nav.

Google Drive leaks suggest 5GB free storage, in-app document editing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTalk Android, TheNextWeb  | Email this | Comments

Liquor stores will laugh in the Face.com at your fake ID
Mar 30th 2012, 12:22

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Okay, it's only 3 months till your glorious 21st birthday, so near, yet technology has to come along and rain on your parade. You might think you look legal, but if claims by engineers at Face.com are to be believed, they're not having it. Using the firm's face recognition technology and a new API, they believe it can determine age based on a photo. The technology is open to all developers who might want to add age restriction into their apps, although it's unlikely that you would want to rely on this as your sole method of verification. The algorithm takes a number of factors into account, such as face shape, and skin smoothness, so at the very least you'll be able to find out if your t-zone routine is working. Hit up the more coverage, where there's a free iOS app to learn the harsh reality.

Liquor stores will laugh in the Face.com at your fake ID originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceVentureBeat, Face.com  | Email this | Comments

Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous
Mar 30th 2012, 12:01

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If you've enjoyed decrypting the often frustratingly skewed (and occasionally humorously juxtaposed) reCAPTCHAs, you might be a bit sad to learn that Google is mixing things up with some rather more boring numerals. The combinations of two words are typically used as part of a registration form to ensure the registrant is, indeed, human. Google is now replacing one of the words in some of its reCAPTCHA forms with photos gleaned from Street View service. Google says it uses these numbers internally to improve the accuracy of Street View and that pulling them into reCAPTCHAs is part of an "experiment" to "determine if using imagery might also be an effective way to further refine our tools for fighting machine and bot-related abuse online."

In other words, Google's bots are already capable of decoding these numbers, which makes this all sound like a bit of a challenge to the rest of the OCR-loving coders in the world. Any takers?

[Image Credit: dirtbag]

Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceBlackHat World Forums  | Email this | Comments

HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video)
Mar 30th 2012, 11:41

HTC One X and One S go on sale in Germany

Itching to get your hands on HTC's new breed of smartphones? Best get yourself over to Germany then, as a batch of the flagship One X and its (slightly) smaller brother, the One S, are up for sale -- early. Mediamarkt is where you'll need to go, with several stores also providing HTC One X models on the shop floor to play with. Better still, some excited Frenchmen have already performed the requisite packaging autopsy on the new plastic capsules, revealing (amongst other things) a new SIM pin that's -- logically -- shaped like a micro-SIM. You can marvel at all the rubber bands and plastic bags after the break.

Continue reading HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video)

HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceHTC Hub, The Unwired  | Email this | Comments

Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this!
Mar 30th 2012, 11:21

Samsung store inside Phones 4u
You know those heady dreams of a new Samsung product launch today? Well consider them punctured. There's no new gadget to announce, but instead a teaming-up with UK retailer Phones 4u, offering a dedicated space for Samsung to dip its toes into retail waters. Located on London's Oxford Street -- and just around the corner from an Apple Store -- the shop-within-a-shop displays all of the Korean makers' big hitters, with several tables housing Galaxy Tab 10.1s, Galaxy Notes and Galaxy S IIs. The rest of that expansive galactic family dot the periphery of the room, but then you'd probably come here primarily to test-drive the aforementioned flagships. The tables themselves are dressed down; no pricing or carrier information clogging up the surfaces, just the devices and some Galaxy branding. Samsung's claimed the whole top floor and the shop is already training up dedicated Samsung staff to answer pressing questions like what's the point of the Galaxy Ace Plus whether that phone has Gorilla glass and when we can expect to see a Galaxy S III in the flesh.

Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intuit shows off MicroMint concept app for the WIMM One smartwatch, we go hands-on
Mar 30th 2012, 11:01

Given the amount of time we spent with the WIMM One smartwatch, you'd think we would have had enough fodder for a full-blown review. Alas, though, one critical piece was missing: apps. Not test apps, like a balance ball game, but honest to goodness apps from major third-party developers. As it happens, the app store still isn't live yet, but we did get to check out a concept app from Intuit, the company behind Mint.com (no TurboTax for this 1.41-inch display, sorry).

What can we say? When a device has a screen this tiny, the elevator pitch is going to be mighty brief. Here's how MicroMint works: just swipe left to right to see your balances for different accounts. There's no limit to how many it can display, and when you reach the end of the list, the app will just start cycling through again. As you can see in the video demo below, the app's performance is limited by the watch's 667MHz ARM11 CPU and 256MB RAM, which is to say you'll notice some lag as you swipe from one bank balance to another. And that's it. This is all the app does; don't expect to take advantage of Mint's other features, like budget-planning and mapping out savings goals (not that you'd want any graphs or itemized lists crammed onto that 160x160 screen).

For now, of course, this concept app is just that, a prototype. Intuit won't commit to releasing it, much less share any sort of timeline. Interestingly, though, David Siegel on Intuit's development team suggested to us that the app might be of more use when WIMM releases its next-gen watch with NFC. With that radio on board, he says, the app could potentially allow not just for balance-checking, but credit card payments as well. Additionally, the outfit is mulling a similar app for the Sony SmartWatch, which also runs Android and supports Java-based apps. The only development hiccup, he says, would be adapting the app for Sony-specific APIs. That's a whole lot of ifs for one paragraph, though, so for now we'll leave you with a super quick hands-on video, just past the break.

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.

Continue reading Intuit shows off MicroMint concept app for the WIMM One smartwatch, we go hands-on

Intuit shows off MicroMint concept app for the WIMM One smartwatch, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DICE+ digital chance cubes rolling out at E3
Mar 30th 2012, 10:27

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As far as random number generators go, the traditional die is about as low tech as it gets. Or at least, it was. Gaming startup GIC has taken it upon itself to update the old chance cube by outfitting it with LED backlights, anti-cheat roll detection and Bluetooth connectivity. DICE+, as the shakers of tomorrow are called, will sell for between $30 and $40 when they launch later this year. Although the digital dice promise compatibility with iOS, Android, Symbian, Linux and Windows, GIC has yet to announce what platforms will be available at launch. We'll have to wait for E3 for the details, but the possibilities are intriguing -- hit the break to see the cubes in action. In the meantime, we'll be dreaming of Dungeons, Dragons, a digital D20 and Microsoft Surface.

Continue reading DICE+ digital chance cubes rolling out at E3

DICE+ digital chance cubes rolling out at E3 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDICE+ (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more
Mar 30th 2012, 09:59

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Using Plex as your media server software is great, with its ability to organize and transcode media for playback on a variety of devices, but what about platforms that still lack a compatible client? The freshest beta version of Plex Media Server fixes that by supporting DLNA, making it compatible right out of the box with many of the HDTVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other connected devices released recently. There are some limitations when it's being used this way in terms of metadata and subtitle support, but we're pretty sure being able to access Plex at all from devices like the PS3 (as shown above), Xbox 360 and WDTV Live (the profiles it's been tested with so far) is worth it. Also featured in the beta is support for Silverlight Smooth Streaming, which comes in handy for the new Windows Phone 7 client app. Check out the blog post for all the details or just head to the download page to try it out yourself if you're on a Windows PC or Mac -- Linux builds are still being tested.

Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePlex blog, Get Plex  | Email this | Comments

Sprint outlines LTE coverage plans at RCA Expo
Mar 30th 2012, 09:26

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Sprint customer? Still supping from the 3G cup? Well if you were wondering if you'll ever get to try the sweet taste of LTE, wonder no more. The Now Network revealed a coverage map at the RCA Expo, and the image above was kindly grabbed by PC Mag's Sascha Segan. Those green areas are the locales that'll be getting LTE, and as you can see it's a fairly comprehensive -- though not altogether surprising -- spread. The rollout is said to be planned for completion by 2014, so you've still got time for that handset upgrade. Those of you in Montana or one of the many other blue areas on the map aren't entirely forgotten, though, as these regions will have roaming agreements in place, so no need for an extra contract just yet.

Sprint outlines LTE coverage plans at RCA Expo originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technobuffalo  |  source@saschasegan (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work
Mar 30th 2012, 08:45

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While the promised Sony Xperia Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade rollout is quickly running out of March and into April for all models, the company has just unleashed a new beta version of the upgrade for Xperia Play owners. Following the alpha release in December and a beta update in February for the Arc S, Neo V and Ray, Sony has pushed this version for the Play to find out which games may need some work to be compatible with Android 4.0. The usual drawbacks remain however, so because this release requires unlocking your bootloader -- which will keep users from upgrading to the final ICS update when it comes out -- and it lacks such creature comforts as Google Mobile Services apps (Gmail, Google Maps, Face Unlock) it's intended for developers only. If your gamepad-equipped handset is staying official-upgrade only, you can safely check out a video of the beta ROM running on an Arc S embedded after the break and take this as a heads up that the final release is that much closer.

Continue reading Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work

Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony Developer World  | Email this | Comments

Nano-SIM standard vote postponed while RIM accuses Apple of cheating
Mar 30th 2012, 08:15

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French newspaper Les Échos is reporting that the key ETSI vote to determine whose nano-SIM patent should become the standard has been postponed. The participating companies have failed to reach agreement after Nokia refused to license key patents to Apple in exchange for free use of Apple's technology. As a consequence, the vote will be postponed for a minimum of thirty days.

Meanwhile, RIM has followed Émile Zola's example and screamed J'Accuse! at Apple, claiming that Cupertino is trying to rig ETSI's decision by registering its own personnel as representatives from Bell Mobility, SK Telekom and KT Corp. The BlackBerry maker has petitioned the standards agency to ensure that proxy voting is not allowed, in an effort to blunt Apple's alleged plan. You can read the full text of RIM's filing after the break.

Continue reading Nano-SIM standard vote postponed while RIM accuses Apple of cheating

Nano-SIM standard vote postponed while RIM accuses Apple of cheating originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET, FOSS Patents  |  sourceRIM (Scribd), Les Échos (Translated)  | Email this | Comments

ZTE announces 2011 financials: turnover up, profits down, political scandals tricky
Mar 30th 2012, 08:08

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ZTE's annual earnings report is out and it's a mixed bag for the Chinese company with aspirations to go west. Revenues grew 23 percent to 86.25 billion RMB ($13.7 billion) but net profit fell a hefty 36.6 percent to 2.06 billion RMB ($327 million). More than half of ZTE's operating revenue came from overseas as the company moves into the global space and, while some of that cash came from its smartphone business, much more poured in from the infrastructure arm that supplies LTE equipment to networks. At the same time, ZTE is having to deal with accusations that it sold $131 million worth of snooping gear to Iran to monitor its own citizens, forcing the company to limit its operations there -- although it insists this won't have any impact on its future income.

Continue reading ZTE announces 2011 financials: turnover up, profits down, political scandals tricky

ZTE announces 2011 financials: turnover up, profits down, political scandals tricky originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceZTE, Reuters  | Email this | Comments

Bump Pay lets you tap a friend for cash
Mar 30th 2012, 07:22

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Taking cues from an ING Direct app that used its API, Bump Technologies has developed its own version of the mobile payments software, enabling phone-to-phone "Bump" transactions using PayPal. Yes, PayPal. That minor processing detail aside, the service appears to offer a fun solution for simplifying the fairly painful process of paying the check at group meals, or splitting a tank of gas with a friend. Both you and your bud need to have the app installed before you can beam that green, and there's no option to send payments remotely, though you could always use plain ole vanilla PayPal for that. The app is free, and if you have a checking account linked you won't have to deal with any fees. Bump Pay is iOS only "at launch" (read: it could be making its way to Android as well), so for now you'll need to bump the App Store to get folks paid.

Bump Pay lets you tap a friend for cash originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceBump Pay  | Email this | Comments

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