Well, what do we have here? According to “trusted sources” over at This Is My Next it’s a Motorola Spyder, or a Droid RAZR, or maybe even the Droid HD we peeped back in August. Whatever the name, the phone is apparently packing a first-of-its-kind 4.3-inch, 960 x 540 qHD super AMOLED display. The rumored LTE handset also supposedly contains a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel, 1080p rear-facing camera and HD front-facing camera, and is apparently outfitted in Gorilla Glass and Kevlar. TIMN is also boasting exclusive new details for the recently outed Atrix 2. It seems the name is confirmed as well as a handful of previously identified specs. What’s more, the phone’s got a couple of accessories on board, including a laptop dock called the Lapdock 100, also rumored to play nice with the Spyder, or RAZR, or HD. More images of both devices await you at the source links below.

Motorola LTE handset emerges with qHD Super AMOLED display, questionable identity originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, what do we have here? According to “trusted sources” over at This Is My Next it’s a Motorola Spyder, or a Droid RAZR, or maybe even the Droid HD we peeped back in August. Whatever the name, the phone is apparently packing a first-of-its-kind 4.3-inch, 960 x 540 qHD super AMOLED display. The rumored LTE handset also supposedly contains a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel, 1080p rear-facing camera and HD front-facing camera, and is apparently outfitted in Gorilla Glass and Kevlar. TIMN is also boasting exclusive new details for the recently outed Atrix 2. It seems the name is confirmed as well as a handful of previously identified specs. What’s more, the phone’s got a couple of accessories on board, including a laptop dock called the Lapdock 100, also rumored to play nice with the Spyder, or RAZR, or HD. More images of both devices await you at the source links below.

Motorola LTE handset emerges with qHD Super AMOLED display, questionable identity originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is this a case of smartphone identity crisis, or just a repurposed chassis? Whatever the case may be, LG’s got a Marquee handset ready to shore up Sprint’s future line-up. The leaked shot comes courtesy of a now private video spotted by Android Central, and was taken at a Dallas-based Radio Shack Business Summit. It’s evident from the one Mr. Blurrycam screen cap on display that the phone’s currently running a vanilla build of Gingerbread, and sports a minimalistic design that’s reminiscent of the Optimus Black. We can’t be certain the two are indeed twins, however that leaked roadmap did indicate a stateside October bow for the Optimus Black — this could simply be a rebrand for the Now Network.

LG Marquee caught on candid camera, is this Sprint’s Optimus Black? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re certainly not alone if you think that the current airport security process is far from ideal. AOptix hopes to streamline and speed up security procedures by replacing manual boarding pass and ID checks with a biometric kiosk called e-Gate. The new system, which verifies passenger identities by matching an iris scan with a boarding pass, just received (IATA) approval, and is currently being tested in three airports around the world. It’s not as slick as a similar concept we saw earlier this summer, but e-Gate could be implemented with a trusted traveler program, creating special lanes for pre-approved frequent fliers — similar to the US Customs Global Entry system in place today. We don’t see it replacing X-ray machines and check-in interviews, but it could remove human error from the equation — at least when it comes to verifying your identity. Jump past the break for the full scoop from AOptix, or you can check out the system for yourself at the Future Travel Experience in Vancouver.

Continue reading AOptix e-Gate could improve global airport security, replace ID checks with iris scans

AOptix e-Gate could improve global airport security, replace ID checks with iris scans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the Amazon Kindle’s passage-sharing Twitter integration wasn’t social enough for you, the outfit just unleashed a new option: @author. The new feature uses Twitter as a springboard to connect writers to their fans, giving users a chance to nitpick their favorite authors line-by-line. If you’ve ever shared a quote using the Kindle, you know the drill: highlight some text and type out your tweet — just make sure you preface it with the @author marker. This limited beta is launching with only a handful of writers, but between Robert “Rich Dad” Kiyosaki and Brad “Identity Crisis” Meltzer, we’re sure you can find something to ask.

Amazon’s @author lets you tweet, pester your favorite writers via Kindle originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monza. It’s a beautiful part of Italy, a majestic park split by one of the most historic racetracks in the world, and it was also the codename for this rather more homely looking phone. This is a handset that would go on to be known by many names (Storm 3, Touch…) before receiving its final moniker: Torch 9850. Why all the pseudonyms, and why choose to confusingly overlap this with the somewhat similar but rather different Torch 9810 that’s also officially launching today?

Maybe RIM didn’t know what to make of this keyboard-free phone. Maybe the company wanted to distance itself from the Storm. Or, maybe what we have here is a smartphone that’s trying to find an identity by sadly ditching the feature that, for many, makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry: the physical keyboard. How does this smoothie compare to the others, and is it worth sacrificing all the QWERTY wonder found within the 9810? Read on to find out.

Continue reading BlackBerry Torch 9850 review

BlackBerry Torch 9850 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology

Tomorrow, we will find out whether TabCo is a FabCo, a DrabCo, or a skunkworks LabCo, ending the best guessing game to hit the tech industry since the identity of Fake Steve Jobs.

The significant spend on the PR campaign (to quote TabCo’s Web site, “That skywriting stuff isn’t cheap, you know. Neither are these videos.”) as well as a reference to “a large colony of nerds” have led many to believe that TabCo is a large corporation. (Its Web site says it is a global company and TabCo is planning to launch in the US in August and Europe in September.) But there are also signs to the contrary. Take, for example, TabCo’s founder and CEO — the Google-elusive Ian “IQ” Quincy (TabCo has used pseudonyms such as “Beige Foul” — a clear reference to Apple engineer Gray Powell), who has played a major part in the campaign. Let’s dive a little deeper.

Continue reading Switched On: TabCo’s tease

Switched On: TabCo’s tease originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many simpler forms of life on this planet, including some of our earliest ancestors, don’t have proper brains. Instead they have networks of neurons that fire in response to stimuli, triggering reactions. Scientists from Caltech have actually figured out how to create such a primitive pre-brain using strands of DNA. Researchers, led by Lulu Qian, strung together DNA molecules to create bio-mechanical circuits. By sequencing the four bases of our genetic code in a particular way, they were able to program it to respond differently to various inputs. To prove their success the team quizzed the organic circuit, essentially playing 20 questions, feeding it clues to the identity of a particular scientist using more DNA strands. The artificial neural network nailed answer every time. Check out the PR and pair of videos that dig a little deeper into the experiment after the break.

Continue reading DNA-based artificial neural network is a primitive brain in a test tube (video)

DNA-based artificial neural network is a primitive brain in a test tube (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some ideas are undeniably sensible, and zero-click WiFi roaming across carriers and countries is one of them. That’s why iPass has set itself the unenviable but likely profitable task of convincing global telecoms giants to overlook their differences and form an “Open Mobile Exchange” based on its cloud-based authentication technology. It won’t be the first to embark on such a voyage of persuasion: Skype is already on the case and Boingo is too (at least, sort of), but there are still plenty of fragmented hotspot services out there waiting to be crushed and blended by an effortless roaming technology. We just hope iPass has perfected its pleading email template: “Dearest Carrier, have you considered…?” Full PR after the break.

Continue reading iPass wants a world of interconnected WiFi, a roaming ‘renaissance’

iPass wants a world of interconnected WiFi, a roaming ‘renaissance’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s reportedly trying to put all of its product eggs into one self-branded basket. According to Mashable, two of its most popular services — Picasa and Blogger — may go under the branding knife and come out the other side looking like ‘Google Photos’ and ‘Google Blogs.’ With the exception of the latter’s planned UI overhaul, both services should function exactly the same. The move — alleged to take place within the next six weeks — would unify the search king’s user offerings ahead of the public launch of Google+. And if that social service’s rumored July 31st launch date pans out, we could be seeing this overhaul very soon. But don’t expect crown jewel YouTube to receive similar treatment, that site’s brand equity already sent its ugly step-sister — Google Video — to the grave.

Picasa, Blogger to get renamed: now with more Google? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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