• Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus gets official: Android 4.0, 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display (video)
• Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus launches in November on NTT Docomo, Verizon, and more
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Droid RAZR by Motorola: the tale of the tape
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on (video)
• Google confirms Nexus S will get Ice Cream Sandwich — for real this time (Gingerbread devices, too)
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Galaxy S II, Nexus One and Nexus S (macro hands-on)
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus camera and 1080p video samples
• Samsung: the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus will be ‘a little’ thicker

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now official, includes revamped design, enhancements galore
• Roboto font and the new design philosophy of Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
• Android Ice Cream Sandwich adds Face Unlock feature
• Ice Cream Sandwich revamps Android camera and gallery features
• Google announces NFC-based Android Beam for sharing between phones (video)
• Google Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0): a hands-on screenshot gallery
• HTC: We’re reviewing Ice Cream Sandwich and determining our plans
• Ice Cream Sandwich face unlock demo (video)
• Android Beam takes us to the future of close-proximity data exchange (video)
• Google’s ‘very close’ to launching a digital download store with ‘a little twist’

Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich roundup: specs, details and insight, oh my! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Samsung was awarded a precious head start in its upgrade path to Android 4.0, but how will its competition respond? HTC may have one of the most difficult jobs ahead, since it has integrated its Sense UI so deeply into the core Android user experience, but that doesn’t mean the OEM isn’t determining the best road it should take to get to the land of Ice Cream Sandwiches. The company released an official statement following this evening’s announcement to confirm that it’s looking over the update’s new features and functionality, figuring out how to make it happen without forcing sacrifices to the usability and performance of each HTC product. We’ll be interested to see what it comes up with, as many of the UI elements popular in Sense appear to now be a part of the stock ICS functionality. The company was careful not to commit to the new Android, nor did it give any particular timeframe or roadmap in the process. Check out the full statement below:

We are excited about the latest update for Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, and are currently reviewing its features and functionality to determine our upgrade plans. Our goal for Android updates is to give every customer an improved user experience, which means balancing each phone’s unique hardware, HTC Sense experience and the Android kernel. While our goal is to upgrade as many of our recent devices as possible, we are committed to maintaining every phone’s performance and usability first. Please stay tuned for more updates on specific device upgrade plans.

HTC: We’re reviewing Ice Cream Sandwich and determining our plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

We’ve suspected for some time now that post AT&T-Mobile merger, Magenta’s FlexPay plan would be on its way out sooner rather than later. The payment plan was originally discontinued for new customers back in July, but now it appears the company will completely phase out FlexPay as early as December — forcing loyalists from the old regime to choose an alternate plan and clearing the way for postpaid and Monthly 4G alternatives. According to the leaked memo intercepted by TmoNews, customers who migrate to Postpaid plans will be able to keep the same rates, migrate without signing a contract or paying fees — making the switch a little less painful. RIP FlexPay, you’ll be missed.

T-Mobile’s FlexPay plan to be eliminated as soon as December? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Micron may think it’s simply “bolstering user security” but, if you ask us, it seems like the company is providing the machines with a tool to protect their plans for insurrection. The RealSSD C400 SED has a special, security-focused firmware and hardware-based AES-256-bit encryption that keeps all of its precious data safe from prying eyes. The hardware self-encryption solution also frees up a computer’s processor to focus on more important tasks (like planing the enslavement of mankind), rather than waste precious resources on protecting sensitive information. The C400 SED will ship sometime during Q4 in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB varieties. Price has yet to be announced, but we’re not sure that Skynet really cares what the cost is. After all, it can just tell Micron’s order-processing system to send a bunch out free of charge.

Continue reading Micron adds self-encryption to RealSSD C400, protects plans for world domination from prying eyes

Micron adds self-encryption to RealSSD C400, protects plans for world domination from prying eyes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

When it comes to music subscription services, Spotify isn’t the only game in town — but you knew that already. Here in the States we’ve got Rhapsody and Rdio to name but a couple, and in Europe, Deezer has been making a bit of a name for itself over the past few years. The French service will likely be expanding its reach in the UK, thanks to a deal struck with Orange. Deezer is now available as part of the carrier’s Panther plan — Orange customers on other plans will have to pay

Sure, your Arduino project can make a stuffed monkey dance, but is it really doing anything for the greater benefit of mankind? Okay, maybe — but not to the same degree as Grathio Labs’ Tacit glove, an Arduino powered sonar device that can help the vision impaired navigate foreign environments. This wrist-mounted gauntlet is comprised of an Arduino microcontroller, a few ultrasonic sensors, and a pair of servomotors to apply variable pressure to the user’s wrist to indicate their distance from an object or obstacle. Best of all, the gizmo’s circuit and software are registered under Creative Commons, which means you’re free to snag the plans from the source link below, and build your own. Go on, build one. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but would you rather rock a wrist-mounted sonar gun, or don an ear-tugging bicycle helmet? Your choice.

Tacit sonar gauntlet gives the blind ultrasonic eyes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

We’ve already caught a glimpse of Apple’s proposed science fiction museum new campus in Cupertino, but screen grabs just don’t do this behemoth justice. A recently released set of renderings of Apple Campus 2, as it’s known to the city of Cupertino, however, give it that proper otherworldly glow. According to the accompanying proposal, the building will take up a measly 2.8 million square feet, contain a 1,000-seat auditorium and research facilities totaling 300,000 square feet. Really? Is that all? If architectural renderings are your thing, hit the source link for some building-plan booty.

Visualized: the Apple mothership originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

It’s been a year. Particularly if you’re Sony. The same company that’s staring at a $171 million price tag due to an unforgettable PSN breach and a gamut of bad news detailed in its most recent earnings report is now facing the daunting task of reforming its flagging TV division. ‘Course, Sony’s still moving gobs of panels, but according to Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato, “markets are maturing and price competition is stiff” in advanced nations. Mr. Kato recently spoke candidly with The Nikkei (linked below; subscription required), noting that the company is aiming to turn its TV business “into one that can be profitable even if we do not pursue volume.” In order to do so, the entire platform is being looked at — “no stone will be left unturned” — and he even mentioned that partnerships with other companies will be considered. Oh, and if you thought you’d have to wait a quarter or two to see any changes, have a listen at this: “Even though we haven’t yet decided how to announce the plans, they’ll be implemented immediately.” Attaboy!

Sony’s TV reform to begin ‘immediately,’ could involve partnering with other firms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Thought Thunderbolt was the only superfast interconnect in town? Well, it is and will be for a little while yet, but the PCI Special Interest Group has just held its annual meeting and developer conference in California, where plans for a 32Gbps PCIe cable were revealed. Details are still fluid on precisely what such a connector would look like and do, but the expectation is that it’ll be built out of copper wire, will be flatter and thinner than Thunderbolt’s rotund construction, and will be able to channel power as well as data through to devices up to 10 feet (3m) away. Targeting consumer applications, and extra skinny tablets and laptops in particular, this cabled variety of PCI Express will start off based on the 3.0 spec in 2013, but will then move on from there to PCI Express 4.0 and, potentially, optical data conveyance. Oh yes, PCIe 4.0 also got announced by the PCI SIG, though that’s at least four years away at this point — no need to sweat about having it in your next motherboard, not yet anyway.

PCI Express cables could take us to 32Gbps speeds by 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Some might argue that ASUS already has an ARM-powered Android laptop in its inventory thanks to the Eee Pad Transformer, however the company’s now been identified as planning a more spacious 13-inch notebook device, whose power and pricing could well be even more attractive than the Transformer’s. We should naturally be wary of the source here, DigiTimes having a record that’s as patchy as the grass at Wimbledon after the first week’s play, but the Taiwanese rumormonger says ASUS has already made launch plans for this 13-incher and will be using “NVIDIA’s processor” inside. What’s intriguing here is that in the paragraph immediately preceding that revelation, DigiTimes mentions quad-core ARM SOCs — of which the one nearest to release is NVIDIA’s Kal-El. Given the non-specificity of which NVIDIA processor we can expect, Kal-El’s projected August release date, and the fact that the chip has already figured in an ultraslim Windows 8 prototype laptop, we’d say there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence to stimulate dreams of quad-core Android laptop action. Additionally, DigiTimes points out that multiple vendors are gunning to offer ARM-powered notebooks with sub-$299 price points, aiming to gobble up market share with rock bottom pricing. Bring ‘em on, we say.

ASUS rumored to have 13-inch Android laptop on its mind, NVIDIA expected to provide ARM CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink