Nokia Drive 3 teased at MWC with commute alerts via live tiles (video)

Nokia Drive 3 teased at MWC with commute alerts via live tiles (video):

When the folks at Nokia took us aside and asked if we'd like a preview of the latest features slated for Nokia Drive, we knew something good was in store. Our intuition wasn't wrong. The next version of Nokia's navigation software will focus on commutes -- aiming to make the daily chore easier by learning driving habits, identifying regular trips and providing users with live tile updates that estimate journey times and traffic flow. Nokia Drive 3 will automatically query this data 30 minutes before an established commute is expected to begin, and will also provide drivers with suggested quicker routes to their destination. The traffic data is gathered both from traditional navigation sources and other Nokia Drive 3 users -- we're told this latter bit is completely optional and, while the privacy policy is quite explicit, the company insists it doesn't personally identify users.

Nokia tells us the software interface isn't finalized, so what you see in the Flash demonstration may change before Nokia Drive 3 arrives in the coming months. You'll find a demonstration of the new My Commute feature, from the creator himself, right after the break.

Continue reading Nokia Drive 3 teased at MWC with commute alerts via live tiles (video)

Nokia Drive 3 teased at MWC with commute alerts via live tiles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich

ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich:

When you're ready, here's yet another load of pre-MWC goodness. This year ViewSonic decided that merely slapping Ice Cream Sandwich on its new ViewPhones isn't good enough, so instead, the company's just-announced 4s, 4e and 5e also come with an extra SIM slot. Starting from the left we have the ViewPhone 4s featuring an impressive 3.5-inch 960 x 640 Super Clear IPS LCD (which, from the sounds of it, should be very similar to Apple's Retina Display from LG), along with a five-megapixel camera, a VGA front-facing imager and a 1GHz chip. Pictured in the middle is a similar-looking ViewPhone 4e but packing a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 LCD, a slower processor at 650MHz only, a three-megapixel camera and one extra touch button than its sibling; all of this made with budget in mind, obviously, though somehow ViewSonic's very proud of its 10.3mm thickness.

If 3.5-inch displays aren't your cup of tea then you'll have to jump straight to the 5-inch ViewPhone 5e, but so far all we've been told is its 800 × 480 screen resolution. Could there be more in this dual-SIM beast? Stay tuned to our MWC coverage and you'll know as soon as we do.

Gallery: ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich

ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic: Eluga means 'Elegant, user-orientated gateway,' not a cry of distress

Panasonic: Eluga means 'Elegant, user-orientated gateway,' not a cry of distress:

No, it's not the noise people make when they've eaten too much caviar. Panasonic's revealed the reasoning behind calling its long-heralded smartphone Eluga -- apparently it stands for "ELegant, User-orientated GatewAy." The company's also revealed a few more specs and tidbits following on from yesterday's rather sketchy announcement. You'll find an 8-megapixel camera sitting flush to that 7.8mm body, NFC and an "eco mode" that will shut down non-essential features when you're nursing your nearly-empty battery. That 1.0GHz TI OMAP processor we revealed to you yesterday will be joined by 8GB storage, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. You'll buy the phone with Gingerbread 2.3.5 installed, with ICS promised to arrive "from June," by which point you'll have probably learned how to pronounce the name without looking ill.

Continue reading Panasonic: Eluga means 'Elegant, user-orientated gateway,' not a cry of distress

Panasonic: Eluga means 'Elegant, user-orientated gateway,' not a cry of distress originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag

LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag:

The original Optimus LTE caught our eye with its 4.5-inch AH-IPS display, but now LG is throwing something different into the mix: a lower-specced version that does away with that lovely 326ppi display and then attempts to make up for it with the addition of NFC. This lets the handset communicate with "special stickers" that automatically switch its settings to suit a particular location. Put a sticker on your dash and you can set it to switch on the handset's Bluetooth and GPS, for example, as well as boost the volume. It's hardly a new concept, but LG's marketing mavens reckon it merits a full relaunch in Korea under the name "Optimus LTE Tag," and who are we to tell them otherwise? Read on the full specs in the PR.

Continue reading LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag

LG's Optimus LTE gets NFC variant, wants to be known as Optimus LTE Tag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands on

Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands on:

Barclays Bank has unleashed Pingit, an iOS, Android and BlackBerry app that lets you send up to £300 ($470) each day to family, friends or technically-aware muggers. UK mobile number and bank account holders can get started in minutes as long as you've got one of the Barclays-branded PINSentry tools. You'll be asked to come up with a five digit code that will lock the app to anyone but yourself (or, you know, that mugger) and then you can start spreading your cash around, baller-style. We set up our own account in the app and if you're curious about our impressions, you can find out what we thought after the break.

Gallery: Barclays Pingit iOS App

Continue reading Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands on

Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T's hungry eyes turning toward Leap, Dish or MetroPCS?

AT&T's hungry eyes turning toward Leap, Dish or MetroPCS?:

Publicly, at least, AT&T is bursting at the seams as it runs out of space to put all of its customers. The failed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile was all about trying to match (or better) Verizon's reserves of wireless spectrum. Given the FCC's block of LightSquared and stymieing future spectrum auctions for the time being, AT&T needs to make some more purchases (it bought Qualcomm's small slice of the airwaves for $1.9 billion). If the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, there's a whiteboard in Whitacre Tower with Dish, Leap and MetroPCS written all over it. Reportedly, a purchase of Leap is the nearest to fruition, with "under the table" talks already underway. However, the Cricket Wireless operator would only provide a short term solution to Ma Bell's very long term woes. The other big target is Dish Network's reserved spectrum, kept back for its own planned broadband network, but if it fails to get Government approval, it might look to offload it. Third on the roster and marked as "highly unlikely" is a purchase of MetroPCS. The carrier was bitterly opposed to the T-Mo merger and pouted at the idea of purchasing some of Big Blue's divested assets, so if those two met around a table, they'd have a lot of awkward apologizing to do.

Image courtesy of Fierce Mobile Content

AT&T's hungry eyes turning toward Leap, Dish or MetroPCS? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu roadmap hints at Windows 8 arrival in Q4, reveals Ultrabooks and slates too

Fujitsu roadmap hints at Windows 8 arrival in Q4, reveals Ultrabooks and slates too:

This slide was reportedly displayed at a press conference yesterday, but perhaps it gives away a little bit more than Fujitsu -- or at least Microsoft -- would have intended. The box on the far right appears to show a tablet with a Metro-style UI and it clearly says "Win8 Launch" and "Q4 2012," even though there is still no official launch schedule for the operating system. Of course, the slide might specifically be referring to the introduction of a Fujitsu tablet running Windows 8, in which case the OS itself may be planned to launch earlier -- and indeed previous leaks and rumors have suggested the new Windows will be a summertime baby.

In other news, the slide also notably shows two Ultrabooks planned for May, perhaps taking the little and large approach we've seen from Samsung, as well as a hybrid slate and possible Transformer Prime rival, due in September. Will it be enough to reverse the manufacturer's fortunes?

Fujitsu roadmap hints at Windows 8 arrival in Q4, reveals Ultrabooks and slates too originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mattel's hoverboard keeps McFly planted on terra firma, away from water

Mattel's hoverboard keeps McFly planted on terra firma, away from water:

There's no need to worry: your eyes aren't deceiving you, and the year most certainly isn't 2015. Still, that isn't stopping Mattel from teasing the iconic hoverboard at the New York Toy Fair. First made famous by Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II, the product became something of Hollywood lore when the movie's director, Robert Zemeckis, insisted the contraption was real. While the claim later proved to be a prank, the desire for a genuine hoverboard has lived on. Now, following in the footsteps of McFly's MAG shoes from Nike, Mattel suggests it'll begin accepting preorders for the hoverboard replica next month. While the toy doesn't actually fly (but rather glides), it's said to emit a whooshing sound so that riders can pretend they're surfing through the air. Should Mattel solicit enough interest, the product will ship by year's end -- otherwise the company will merely scrap the idea and return to churning out Barbies.

Mattel's hoverboard keeps McFly planted on terra firma, away from water originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco: mobile connections will hit 10 billion by 2016, helped by tablet boom

Cisco: mobile connections will hit 10 billion by 2016, helped by tablet boom:

That Cisco's always been prescient. Three years ago, the networking giant predicted a 66-fold increase in worldwide mobile data traffic -- a surge that was expected to dovetail with the spread of 4G networks. With us so far? Sounds pretty obvious sensible, right? Well, the company's got more wisdom to share from its crystal ball: the outfit's just released its annual mobile data traffic forecast, and the marquee stat is that there will be an estimated 10 billion mobile connections by 2016. And though Cisco expects the bulk of these (8 billion) to take the form of cell phones, it also foresees a rise in tablets: there will be 5 billion of them, the company says, and that's not even counting all those WiFi-only models floating around (Cisco tallies WiFi traffic in a different forecast, released later in the year). If the market does indeed swell to 5 billion cellular-connected tablets, that would represent a 25 percent jump over today's global figure. Moreover, Cisco estimates that by 2016 21 percent of those 5 billion tablet owners will be relying solely on mobile data to get their internet fix.

All told, whatever the mix of smartphones and tablets, we're going to be chugging down an insane amount of data: 10.8 exobytes per month, worldwide, or 130 exobytes annually -- a lofty figure that breaks down to 33 billion DVDs, among other cutesy equivalents. One last stat before we sent you off into a statistic-laced coma: 4G will account for only six percent of mobile connections by 2016, but is expected to generate 36 percent of mobile data traffic. We'll let you newly minted LTE adopters chew on your piggy data-hogging habits; the rest of you can find more numbers in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Cisco: mobile connections will hit 10 billion by 2016, helped by tablet boom

Cisco: mobile connections will hit 10 billion by 2016, helped by tablet boom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei R&D department gets new home, sets up shop in Silicon Valley

Huawei R&D department gets new home, sets up shop in Silicon Valley:

Chinese manufacturing giant Huawei has been calling Plano, Texas its North American home since 2010, but now it seems the company's ready to explore a different business territory. Huawei's just announced its Research and Development squad -- in which it invested about $3.6 million dollars last year -- is setting up shop in Silicon Valley in a move that could certainly be seen as an effort to rub elbows with the big players this side of the pond. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the company piled up $30 billion in sales last year, and while the new 600-plus human R&D operation will be calling California home, Huawei's Honorary headquarters won't be moving away from the state where "everything's bigger" anytime soon.

Huawei R&D department gets new home, sets up shop in Silicon Valley originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penguin halts over-the-air Kindle borrowing again, this time it's serious

Penguin halts over-the-air Kindle borrowing again, this time it's serious:

Penguin already signaled it'd stop providing newer titles to OverDrive's lending service, but apart from a temporary interruption last year, Kindle borrowing of older books has escaped largely unscathed. That's no longer the case: as of this month, Penguin says that "eBooks loaned for reading on Kindle devices will need to be downloaded to a computer then transferred to the device over USB." Why add the extra hassle, compared to direct wireless transfer via Amazon's servers? According to Infodocket, Penguin has simply indicated that this form of distribution breached the terms of its agreement with OverDrive. However, the American Library Association (ALA) has a more developed explanation of what's going on in this nascent industry. It says that publishers are worried about the lack of "friction" involved in eBook lending, compared to the effort required to visit a physical library. This, the ALA thinks, is leading to fears that readers will borrow more and buy less. So, perhaps the wireless delivery of borrowed titles to Kindles was just too easy for Penguin's liking?

Penguin halts over-the-air Kindle borrowing again, this time it's serious originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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aTV Flash update adds automatic backups, new playback options to jailbroken Apple TVs

aTV Flash update adds automatic backups, new playback options to jailbroken Apple TVs:

The FireCore team has been busy updating its pay-to-play ($30) aTV Flash software package for jailbroken Apple TVs and just rolled out the latest bundle of updates in version 1.3. Now it can automatically perform backups, speaks more languages, supports more remote commands, reads more subtitles and the list goes on. You can check after the break for the full changelog, or just hit the Maintenance section if you're already running it to download the update. Take a peek at what it can do and let us know if this is a worthwhile alternative to XBMC, or any of the other media streaming platforms out there.

aTV Flash update adds automatic backups, new playback options to jailbroken Apple TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Droid 4 advertises 16GB internal storage, only reports 8GB -- here's why

Motorola Droid 4 advertises 16GB internal storage, only reports 8GB -- here's why:

After the numerous leaks that preceded the Droid 4's launch, you'd think we'd have a handle on every detail (read the review here) but some day one buyers have one more question. While the spec sheets indicate 16GB of internal storage, a few readers noticed their units only report 8GB. So why the variance in what's being reported and what the phones actually show? While Android vets may be used to this, not all are aware of how some phones are partitioned, and Motorola has opted to go with an 8GB for the user / 3GB for apps / 5GB for OS and updates split (just like the Razr). So the phones do have the 16GB you were promised, it's just how it's being used that may not be immediately evident -- and now you know.

[Thanks, Chaz]

Motorola Droid 4 advertises 16GB internal storage, only reports 8GB -- here's why originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scosche bassDOCK blasts Weezer from any iPad, available now for $150

Scosche bassDOCK blasts Weezer from any iPad, available now for $150:

If you're having trouble wading through the pool of iPad dock prospects, we're about to add another to the mix. Scosche has announced that its bassDOCK for both iPad models is now shipping. The dock will blast "My Name is Jonas" from a pair of 1.6-inch stereo speakers and a 3-inch subwoofer. As you'd expect, the kit charges your Apple slate in a cradle that sports both landscape and portrait orientations alongside tilt positioning for the optimum viewing angle. If you find yourself needing to switch over to a smartphone to bump your tunes, the bassDOCK has a 3.5mm aux jack for just that purpose. The speaker dock is available now via the source link for $149.99 and a closer look awaits you in the gallery below.

Gallery: Scosche bassDOCK for iPad

Continue reading Scosche bassDOCK blasts Weezer from any iPad, available now for $150

Scosche bassDOCK blasts Weezer from any iPad, available now for $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N9 spotted running Ice Cream Sandwich, dual-boot in the works

Nokia N9 spotted running Ice Cream Sandwich, dual-boot in the works:

This above is the first glimpse of Android 4.0 running on the Nokia N9. Yes, it looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is in being ported to the company's iconic handset by no other than Alexey Roslyakov and team NITDroid -- the folks who previously put Android on the Nokia N900. The project, which is still in its early stages, made significant progress after recently overcoming a framebuffer driver/HAL hurdle, allowing ICS to be displayed on the phone. In addition, a dual-boot solution is in the works letting Meego and Android 4.0 coexist on the device. We certainly can't wait to experience using Ice Cream Sandwich on some of the hottest white hardware around. Can you?

Nokia N9 spotted running Ice Cream Sandwich, dual-boot in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Steve Troughton-Smith (Twitter), Netbooknews | Alexey Roslyakov (Twitter), talk.maemo.org | Email this | Comments

Maingear's Titan 17 has a change of heart, keyboard

Maingear's Titan 17 has a change of heart, keyboard:

Maingear has been tickling us with its gaming PCs for a while, and now it's adding some extra muscle to its catalog. The company's Titan 17 notebook is hitting the operating table for a processor transplant, the previous Intel i7-990X being swapped out for either the i7-3930K or i7-3960X. But what good is an internal update without some external flourish so folk know where you stand on the spec table? Maingear appreciates this, and that's why it's throwing a backlit keyboard into the mix. The souped-up Titan is up for pre-order now, with prices starting at $3,499. Tap the PR after the break for the full specs.

Continue reading Maingear's Titan 17 has a change of heart, keyboard

Maingear's Titan 17 has a change of heart, keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Belle update arrives for compatible Nokia Symbian phones (video)

Belle update arrives for compatible Nokia Symbian phones (video):

The latest reformation of Symbian has started to appear for compatible handsets -- and it's arrived a few days earlier than planned. MyNokiaBlog has already began the upgrade process on its N8, through the Nokia Suite software. (Update: Nokia's now officially announced the release.) Belle will furnish your smartphone with NFC sharing, more homescreens, adjustable widgets and, yes, a pull-down notification bar. Handsets fortunate enough to be blessed by the update include the N8, E6, E7, X7, C7, C6-01 and Oro, arriving on the Nokia 500 in the next few weeks. A cheerful upgrade tour awaits after the break.

Continue reading Belle update arrives for compatible Nokia Symbian phones (video)

Belle update arrives for compatible Nokia Symbian phones (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S Advance snapped in the wild, pricing in tow

Samsung Galaxy S Advance snapped in the wild, pricing in tow:

Sure, we've read the specs and we've seen the press shots, but we didn't expect to get up close and personal with Samsung's Galaxy S Advance (GT-I9070) until Mobile World Congress later this month. Fortunately, Filipino tech blog TechPinas was able to get a hands-on with the handset -- complete with photos and video. The Gingerbread-packing phone, which looks like a cross between a Galaxy S II (in front) and a Nexus S (complete with curved glass), features a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 768MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a five megapixel AF camera with flash, an HSDPA 14.4Mbps radio and a 1500mAh battery. It's expected to launch the week of February 27th, and according to UK retailer Clove, it's going to cost £295 ($467) plus tax. That's lovely and all, but without the Galaxy S III on the menu let's just hope Samsung's hiding something special up its sleeves for Barcelona. Until then, check out the pictures and video at the source link below.

Update: An additional set of photos of the Galaxy S Advance (in silver) just landed in our tip jar, direct from Vietnam.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance snapped in the wild, pricing in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic 2012 Q3: $9 billion loss, Sanyo writedowns, restructuring

Panasonic 2012 Q3: $9 billion loss, Sanyo writedowns, restructuring:

Panasonic's released its 2012 quarterly report (its financial year runs from summer to summer) and concedes it's been as bad for them as it was for Sony and Sharp. It's blaming the Japanese Earthquake for damaging its supply chain, a strong yen for keeping prices high, plus having to write-down the costs for its acquisition of Sanyo. The company's promising to restructure (in the face of stern competition from Samsung and LG) to become a "green innovation" business as well as to streamline its operating costs. It's predicting a quarterly loss of $9.2 billion as it takes the hit for this turmoil, and it doesn't look like things will improve with an anticipated further loss of another $2 billion at the end of the (financial) year.

Continue reading Panasonic 2012 Q3: $9 billion loss, Sanyo writedowns, restructuring

Panasonic 2012 Q3: $9 billion loss, Sanyo writedowns, restructuring originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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