Amazon Cloud Player goes live, streams music on your computer and Android

Amazon Cloud Player goes live, streams music on your computer and Android: "

Oh snap! Look who just ate Apple and Google's lunch here? Minutes ago, Amazon rolled out its very own music streaming service which is conveniently dubbed the Amazon Cloud Player. Existing Amazon customers in the US can now upload their MP3 purchases to their 5GB cloud space -- upgradable to a one-year 20GB plan for free upon purchasing an MP3 album, with additional plans starting at $20 a year -- and then start streaming on their computers or Android devices. Oh, and did we mention that this service is free of charge as well? Meanwhile, someone will have some catching up to do, but we have a feeling it won't take them too long.



[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]



Update: As some readers have confirmed, it appears that the Cloud Player will support music purchased from iTunes as well, presumably from the post-DRM era.



Update 2: Press release after the break.

Continue reading Amazon Cloud Player goes live, streams music on your computer and Android

Amazon Cloud Player goes live, streams music on your computer and Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson will let you unlock the bootloader on new Xperia Android phones -- subject to conditions

Sony Ericsson will let you unlock the bootloader on new Xperia Android phones -- subject to conditions: "

While one group of Android phone makers is swinging towards locking their hardware down, Sony Ericsson is resolutely headed in the other direction. The Swedo-Japanese consortium has just announced it will provide a secure and legal way for eager Android hackers to gain full control of the bootloader on some of its upcoming 2011 Xperia line of phones. All four models are covered, the Xperia Play, Neo, Pro, and Arc, however you have to make sure you buy a handset that isn't SIM-locked to a carrier and then there are territorial considerations to take into account. Warranties may still be voided by fooling around with your Xperia's software (again, depends on individual handsets and markets) and SE warns gravely of the potential for 'physical injuries or material damage' if you freak your Android into overheating or worse. So proceed with caution, but know that Sony Ericsson is by your side*.



* Subject to terms and conditions, repair charges may be incurred, Android upgrades are promised but never guaranteed.

Sony Ericsson will let you unlock the bootloader on new Xperia Android phones -- subject to conditions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Sony Ericsson Developer Blog | Email this | Comments"

Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199, still comes with 64GB SSD

Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199, still comes with 64GB SSD: "

An Italian demonstrator gave us hope, but now we're empty inside -- the exceptionally thin 11.6-inch version of Samsung's 9 Series laptop will indeed come with a puny 64GB solid state drive. Well, perhaps empty is a bit of an exaggeration, as the machine's gorgeous duralumin curves fill our hearts with joy, as does the comparatively inexpensive $1,199 price tag that Sammy just confirmed on its website. And hey, we know of an Engadget editor making do with just 60GB of storage in his notebook, so it's not an untenable thing -- but when Samsung's marketing materials proudly boast that 'You'll have room to bring it all with you with the 64GB drive,' it's hard to repress the tears. That said, if 'portable' is your middle name, you'll find all the pre-orders you need at our source link.



[Thanks, Brian]

Samsung's 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop official at $1,199, still comes with 64GB SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world

BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world: "

Well, it looks Eric Schmidt wasn't far off when he said recently that Microsoft is bigger competition than Facebook for Google -- at least when it comes to overall brand value, that is. According to BrandFinance's latest annual ranking, Google has just barely edged out Microsoft for the title of most valuable brand in the world, with the pair of them pushing Walmart out from the number one spot last year. As for Facebook, it just entered the top 500 for the first time at number 285, while Apple jumped twelve spots to make its first appearance in the top ten at number eight -- a shift that partly comes at the expense of usual suspect Coca Cola, which has dropped out of the top ten for the first time. The biggest loser? Nokia. It dropped all the way from number 21 last year to number 94 this year. Hit up the source link below for the complete list.

Continue reading BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world

BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TG Daily | BrandFinance | Email this | Comments"

Samsung's CTIA press conference posted online, skinny new Galaxy Tabs shown off (video)

Samsung's CTIA press conference posted online, skinny new Galaxy Tabs shown off (video): "

We were there, talking you through the entire thing in our liveblog, but if you want a more personal taste of what Samsung's CTIA Wireless 2011 keynote was like, the company's thoughtfully put it up on YouTube for general consumption. It features the introduction of the audacious new Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 models, both ever so slightly thinner than Apple's iPad 2, with the latter also claiming the title of being 'the thinnest and lightest large-screen tablet in the industry.' You can see it above, right alongside the Galaxy S II, which is in itself one of the skinniest smartphones you can hope to buy. Make your way past the break for the full presentation.

Continue reading Samsung's CTIA press conference posted online, skinny new Galaxy Tabs shown off (video)

Samsung's CTIA press conference posted online, skinny new Galaxy Tabs shown off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inkling signs with major publishers to bring 100 textbooks to iPad by 2012, no actual ink

Inkling signs with major publishers to bring 100 textbooks to iPad by 2012, no actual ink: "

Inkling is a pretty cute name for a product, you have to admit, but by the end of the year it could be pretty serious business. It's a company that specializes on publishing textbooks on the iPad, devices that are rapidly killing the poor paper industry. As of now the company's products are few, but two major publishers, Pearson and McGraw-Hill, have signed on to support the service, a deal that will see Inkling's product catalog swell by several orders of magnitude. Up to 100 books are expected to be there by the end of the year and, while that's nothing compared to the massive variety of volumes that swell students' backpacks and diminish their drinking funds at the beginning of every semester, it is a solid start. Best of all, Inkling's current texts cost 35 percent less than their printed doppelgangers, meaning there's hope for cheaper e-books after all.

Inkling signs with major publishers to bring 100 textbooks to iPad by 2012, no actual ink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | The New York Times | Email this | Comments"

Monirobo measures radiation following nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant

Monirobo measures radiation following nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant: "

According to a report by a Japanese news agency, a radiation monitoring robot, aptly named Monirobo, is the first non-human responder to go on-site following the partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The machine, which was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre to operate at lethal radiation levels, reportedly began work Friday, enlisting a 3D camera, radiation detector, and heat and humidity sensors to monitor the extent of the damage. A second Monirobo, used to collect samples and detect flammable gases, is expected to join its red counterpart soon -- both robots are operated by remote control from distances up to one kilometer away. They join the US Air Force's Global Hawk drone in unmanned surveillance of the crisis.

Monirobo measures radiation following nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing, NewScientist | getnews.jp | Email this | Comments"

Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs

Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs: "

If you're liking what Firefox 4 for mobile already offers in its previous beta builds, then you'll certainly want to check out its release candidate that went live on Monday -- just less than six months after the browser when beta. According to Mozilla, this new build provides a better overall user experience with faster scrolling and improved Firefox Sync, along with other goodies like Awesome Screen smart shortcuts, tabbed browsing, Firefox Add-ons, and Persona themes. Sounds a lot like its desktop sibling (which has a healthy 4.9 million downloads already), doesn't it? Head over to the source page for the Android and Maemo download links, or you can have a look at Mozilla's latest video after the break if you need some convincing.

Continue reading Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs

Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mashable | Mozilla | Email this | Comments"

Game developers want DirectX to 'go away,' says AMD man

Game developers want DirectX to 'go away,' says AMD man: "

Like a pesky video game villain that just won't go away, Microsoft's DirectX has been a mainstay of mainstream PC gaming pretty much since the inception. Its existence hasn't been without its tensions, however, with notable graphics guru John Carmack of id Software ignoring it in favor of OpenGL -- until last week when he finally acknowledged that Direct3D had outgrown its cross-platform alternative and was now the preferable API for PC game development. That's all well and good, but plenty of game devs, says Richard Huddy, head of AMD's developer relations team, don't want any API at all. Huddy points out the sadly obvious fact that modern graphics cards can pretty much stomp any console hardware into the dirt in a straight fight and yet fail to show the full extent of their superiority in actual game visuals. He'd prefer to see developers given direct low-level access to the hardware, so they can maximize their own talents and really push things forward. Of course, the beauty of DirectX is that it's a standard that every Windows game designer can code to, leading to predictable and more widely compatible (if not necessarily spectacular) results. For more on how the future's shaping up, hit the links below.

Game developers want DirectX to 'go away,' says AMD man originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Bit-tech | Email this | Comments"

Nanoparticle inks print 3D antennas 'orders of magnitude' better than your boring 2D antenna

Nanoparticle inks print 3D antennas 'orders of magnitude' better than your boring 2D antenna: "

If you want better cellphone reception it's time to go small or go home, with researchers at the University of Illinois coming up with a nanoscale printing technique that allows for the creation of so-called 3D antennas. Of course, unless you're hunting for signal in Flatland all antennas are to some degree three-dimensional, but these suckers are printed using nanoparticle silver ink onto a curved substrate, as shown up yonder. The resulting components 'exhibit performance metrics that are an order of magnitude better than those realized by monopole antenna designs.' In fact these creations are said to approach the Chu-Harrington Limit of theoretical performance in an antenna. Most important? They look pretty darned cool. Shame they'll likely find themselves tucked away inside of a device's chassis -- whenever they actually go into production.

Continue reading Nanoparticle inks print 3D antennas 'orders of magnitude' better than your boring 2D antenna

Nanoparticle inks print 3D antennas 'orders of magnitude' better than your boring 2D antenna originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Daily Tech | University of Illinois | Email this | Comments"

ICANN has .xxx domain names? Yes!

ICANN has .xxx domain names? Yes!: "

The controversial step to approve .xxx domain names has today been taken by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, paving the way for a whole slew of new addresses suffixed by the famous triplicate x. Funnily enough, before the decision was made today, opposition to it was proffered by both conservative groups opposed to pornography and adult entertainment companies fearing they'd be more easily compartmentalized and potentially blocked by overzealous governments. Moreover, every popular adult website at present will pretty much be forced to buy its .xxx version, which, for an industry famous for its frugality, will be an understandably tough pill to swallow. We are surprised not to see the people of Amsterdam consulted, however -- their city's emblem features three Xs too, shouldn't they have a say in this?



A further meeting is scheduled by ICANN for June 20th to discuss opening up all possible domain name suffixes to registration, pending the validation of a set of guidelines for approval. That's looking quite likely to be passed too, as the AFP sagely notes that there's a celebratory party scheduled for two days after the event. URLs are about to get a lot more varied, it seems; they're certainly going to feature a lot more of the (English) alphabet's 24th letter, whatever the case.

ICANN has .xxx domain names? Yes! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AFP (Yahoo! News) | ICANN.org | Email this | Comments"

OnStar's aftermarket mirror to be called OnStar FMV, gets a new microphone

OnStar's aftermarket mirror to be called OnStar FMV, gets a new microphone: "

When General Motors used CES to launch a mirror with a blue button that would work in any car it was called, quite simply, 'retail product.' Perhaps realizing that such a sweepingly vague name for the company's assault on every car every manufactured might lead to a bit of confusion, GM has now decided to call the mirror OnStar FMV. FMV, which stands for 'For My Vehicle' and not 'Full Motion Video,' will act like a hands-free device and allows you to get other blue button functionality, including turn-by-turn directions and emergency assistance. Since CES the mirror has been augmented with an external microphone, but the price stays the same: $299 when it launches this summer -- plus $100 for installation and $18.95 per month or $199 yearly to make use of OnStar services. Blue buttons don't come cheap, son.

Continue reading OnStar's aftermarket mirror to be called OnStar FMV, gets a new microphone

OnStar's aftermarket mirror to be called OnStar FMV, gets a new microphone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash 10.2 hits Android today, Adobe hopes for viewable 720p playback in a matter of weeks

Flash 10.2 hits Android today, Adobe hopes for viewable 720p playback in a matter of weeks: "

Today, Adobe Flash 10.2 will hit the Android Market for devices running Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb, and by now you're probably familiar with what it brings -- increased performance for dual-core smartphones running Android 2.2 and Android 2.3, and the promise of seriously sped-up Flash content and better battery life for Android 3.0 tablets (not to mention Flash, period). Well, we've already spent a full day with the latest build of Flash 10.2 for Android and quizzed the company thoroughly about the release, and there's actually a surprise to be had today, and more coming soon.



First off, you don't absolutely need a dual-core phone to take advantage of Flash 10.2 -- Adobe VP Danny Winokur told us, and we confirmed in testing, that there are slight performance improvements on earlier devices too. With our trusty Droid 2's 1Ghz OMAP3 chip, we saw a slight but noticeable boost in framerate when playing a YouTube trailer at 480p, which admittedly only took took that particular video from 'unwatchable' to merely 'fairly jerky.' With the Tegra 2-toting Motorola Xoom, however, 480p videos ran perfectly smooth, even as the tablet had trouble rendering 720p content as anything but a series of images. However, Adobe says even that will change soon, as this beta release doesn't take advantage of full hardware acceleration -- it's actually turned off right now. Though the Tegra 2 is natively decoding video, Adobe told us that hardware rendering and compositing will be added in a subsequent release, and when they are it 'will bring 720p playback to a really smooth, enjoyable level.' The other work-in-progress is Flash integration into Google's Honeycomb browser, which presently has trouble detecting finger taps when Flash isn't played full screen, but which will -- Adobe hopes -- play exactly the same inside and outside the browser when work on Flash 10.2 is complete. Sounds promising, no? Then why not download it yourself and give it a go?

Flash 10.2 hits Android today, Adobe hopes for viewable 720p playback in a matter of weeks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's QWERTY flip Smart TV remote is official along with new TV apps and Megamind Blu-ray 3D pack-in (updated: hands-on!)

Samsung's QWERTY flip Smart TV remote is official along with new TV apps and Megamind Blu-ray 3D pack-in (updated: hands-on!): "

Samsung's 2011 product showcase is underway in New York City and while most of these products we got a peek at during CES, it's only finally ready to show off the new QWERTY flip remote for its smart TVs. The QWERTY TV remote is looking a lot sleeker in its glamour shot than it did in the FCC tests weeks ago, and is available in the box with all D7000 and D8000 model HDTVs, or as an add-on compatible with the D6300 line and above (no mention of the Smart Touch remote or Google TV devices in the press release we received.) Samsung's also putting a lot of stock in its new lighter 3D glasses and officially announced the new 3D Starter Kit that includes two pairs along with a copy of Megamind and all the Shrek movies on Blu-ray 3D, along with prescription-ready models for kids and adults. Finally, an app market is nothing without apps, and there's two new ones to announce today with HBO GO making its debut on the TV and MTV Music Meter. Check the details (Update: now including MSRPs!) in the press release after the break and the gallery for a few pictures.



Updated: We got a few minutes to play around with the new QWERTY flip remote after Samsung's NYC press event today. It's not exactly the most glamorous handheld keyboard remote control out there with its monochrome screen, although we do like that the center of the D-pad can me morphed into a touch sensitive mouse-like control. Okay, so this thing isn't exactly ground breaking, but check out the shots below for a closer look.

Gallery: Samsung 2011 Home entertainment Showcase

Gallery: Samsung QWERTY flip remote hands-on

Continue reading Samsung's QWERTY flip Smart TV remote is official along with new TV apps and Megamind Blu-ray 3D pack-in (updated: hands-on!)

Samsung's QWERTY flip Smart TV remote is official along with new TV apps and Megamind Blu-ray 3D pack-in (updated: hands-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Thunderbolt now available to buy: $250 from Verizon, $180 at Amazon

HTC Thunderbolt now available to buy: $250 from Verizon, $180 at Amazon: "

Another saga put to rest. The question of just when Verizon will release its first 4G LTE handset was answered yesterday with the word 'tomorrow,' which makes today that day! Verizon Wireless is now taking online orders for HTC's 4.3-inch Thunderbolt, pricing the LTE lubber at $250 on a two-year contract. It comes with Android 2.2 as the OS underlying the HTC Sense 2.0 UI, an 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording, 768MB of RAM, and a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 chip that will have to do its best to keep up with those crazy 4G download speeds. If Verizon's own pricing feels a bit rich to you, shop around -- we've found the Thunderbolt as low as $180 at Amazon, although the online retailer has it on back order for the moment.



[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading HTC Thunderbolt now available to buy: $250 from Verizon, $180 at Amazon

HTC Thunderbolt now available to buy: $250 from Verizon, $180 at Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Verizon Wireless, Amazon | Email this | Comments"

Netflix for Android leaks out, doesn't seem to stream video right now

Netflix for Android leaks out, doesn't seem to stream video right now: "

This prototype LG Revolution may be the only Android phone actually capable of streaming Netflix at the moment, but there's nothing keeping you from giving it a go -- some enterprising hacker extracted a full system dump from the Revolution this week, tossed it to AndroidSPIN, and @al3xevolved subsequently pulled out the juicy Netflix innards. The app's APK is now freely available on the web, though we'll warn you that it isn't good for much -- you can browse and add items to your queue, but should you try to play a video the app will inform you that it 'could not reach the Netflix service.' The question is, will Netflix simply flip a switch to turn streaming on, or is it waiting for DRM authentication from a Qualcomm MSM8655 processor?



[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netflix for Android leaks out, doesn't seem to stream video right now originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Police | @al3xevolved (Twitter), (2), (3), (4) | Email this | Comments"

Samsung 'TangoView' vacuum surveillance camera will bring you to your knees

Samsung 'TangoView' vacuum surveillance camera will bring you to your knees: "

In a new milestone testing the limits of convergence, Samsung has just released a WiFi-connected robotic vacuum cleaner with an integrated 'TangoView' home monitoring system onto the unsuspecting families and pets of Korea. Like LG's Hom-Bot, first seen at CES in January, Samsung's latest Tango cleaner (model VC-RL87W) features an integrated video camera that lets PC, smartphone, and tablet owners treat the vacuum as a remote controlled surveillance camera when not sweeping the floors. The relatively quiet vac operates at 48dB and features a microphone and external lighting. Why? Why not, we say, assuming you can get past the KRW799,000 (about $711) price tag.

Gallery: Samsung 'TangoView' vacuum surveillance camera will bring you to your knees

Samsung 'TangoView' vacuum surveillance camera will bring you to your knees originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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