It’s the glitz and glamour that typically defines shows such as this week’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011, but Pantech chose to fly under the radar this time around. Sure, the company didn’t have its own multi-million dollar booth at the event, but it still at least had a significant product to show off. We were given the opportunity to spend some brief time playing with the Pantech Pocket, a follow-up to the crossover with better specs and another unique form factor. The pocket features a 4-inch SVGA (800 x 600) display, which means you can expect the device to be wider and shorter than your typical handset; in terms of width, we felt as though we were holding a 4.7-incher. We noticed, however, that its shorter length allowed for additional places to grip, which made it at least easier to hold in our hand as a result. Specwise, the Pocket is a Gingerbread phone running on Android 2.3.4, uses a similar UI to what’s found on the Crossover, has a 5MP rear cam with 720p video capture (and no LED flash or front-facing camera) and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 single-core CPU and 512MB of RAM. No pricing has been set on the Pocket, but it’s certain to be gracing the midrange section of your neighborhood AT&T store starting November 6th. Gallery and vid below.

Continue reading Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mango developers across the globe now have reason to hunker down and bring their apps up to snuff for Windows Phone 7.5. Microsoft has released version 7.1 of its SDK, which means no more coding with beta tools. In addition to the handful of bug fixes and a final spit-shine to the tooling experience, coders will discover the software has been localized to support nine languages, which includes English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Traditional Chinese. Redmond is also taking the opportunity to remind programmers that now is an excellent time to check into the App Hub and cross-submit applications into any additional markets where you wish to sell their wares. You’ve got the tools, folks, now it’s time to make it rain.

Windows Phone SDK 7.1 goes gold, seven new languages in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday we attended Toyota’s Green Drive Expo where we were given the opportunity to take the production version of the Prius plug-in hybrid (PEV) — and its smorgasbord of technology — for a spin. We spent a couple hours driving interfacing with the computers aboard the Advanced model, which besides being outlet-friendly, includes some unique features within the Prius lineup. Explore our gallery below, and hit the break for our impressions and hands-on videos with the latest incarnation of Toyota’s iconic vehicle.

Continue reading Hands-on with Toyota’s Prius plug-in hybrid (video)

Hands-on with Toyota’s Prius plug-in hybrid (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long since gone are the days of sitting at the breakfast table, drinking a cup of coffee and sharing the Sunday paper… or are they? The New York Time’s R&D Lab is developing a “kitchen table” based-on Microsoft Surface touchscreen technology, designed to take individuals that are normally face down in their iPads, back to the table for a more social way to consume and share content. The display gives multiple readers the opportunity to sit at the table and interact, with options to share across the surface by swiveling and enlarging images or articles. The Times envisions that it will also be a mode of discovery, where users could get more information on a certain product by placing it on the table to find prices and related NYT articles, which could also an interesting method for advertising — just be careful where you put that Starbucks cup.

Continue reading New York Times envisions Microsoft Surface kitchen table, just don’t spill your OJ (video)

New York Times envisions Microsoft Surface kitchen table, just don’t spill your OJ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phone, keys, wallet. Discovering that you’re missing any of these three items could easily trigger a panic attack, yet they’re all so easy to misplace. How many times have you spent twenty minutes looking for keys that were buried between the couch cushions? The Cobra Tag may help you win that losing battle. Acting as a Bluetooth device that attaches to your key ring and connects to your phone, it gives you the opportunity to find the missing item if it’s less than 30 feet away. It can also send notifications when the two devices are out of range from each other. The concept sounds convenient, but how does it work in practice? Let’s find out.

Continue reading Cobra Tag review

Cobra Tag review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another year, another Imagine Cup. The annual competition, sponsored by Microsoft, gives students the opportunity to apply technology to tackle hunger, poverty, and other global problems, thereby making the world a better place (for you and for me, and the entire human race). We’d say the finalists deserve a pretty cool reward for their efforts, right? According to a status update on the Cup’s Twitter account — an update that’s conspicuously been pulled — one of the prizes for finalists is a Windows Phone with Mango pre-loaded, a jackpot they’d receive by September. We’re not completely certain if this will be a pre-release version intended for developers or if it’s an indication that the final iteration will be ready for public use by this time; we’ve only heard that Mango’s slotted for a fall release, so both are definite possibilities. Since many of these students are developers, however, it’s entirely possible they’ll receive a prototype device with an early version of the firmware. No phone could replace the warm feelings in their heart for such a great accomplishment, but at least they can share their joy with built-in Twitter integration.

Microsoft promises Mango phones in September for Imagine Cup finalists originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With only the best interests of its younger customers at heart, Microsoft has a new back-to-school promotion: starting May 22, college students buying a new Windows 7 PC can also get a free Xbox 360 4GB console. That’s right, free — as long as your new computer cost at least $699 and came from Redmond or one of its partners, including HP and Dell. Online ordering will require a .edu email address, which even attendees of the School of Life know how to procure; if you’d rather shop at Best Buy or a Microsoft Store, you’ll need an actual student ID. This isn’t about convincing students they need more than a tablet computer, of course. It’s about about giving them the opportunity to be popular. “Get ready to be the coolest kid on your dorm floor with a killer new Windows 7 PC and an Xbox 360 — all you really need for college,” the company says. Yes, being the coolest kid on your dorm floor: pretty much the definition of Higher Education.

Microsoft offers free Xbox 360 with back-to-school PC, professors shake their gray, uncool heads originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The New York International Auto Show has just wrapped up and, for part of our most recent Engadget Show, we were given the opportunity to sit down with one of the biggest players in the automotive industry: Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. He got his start as a Boeing Engineer in 1969 and, among many other achivements, helped get that company into the 21st century with fully-digital cockpits. He moved over to Ford in 2006 and, since then, has completely turned the company around. His enthusiasm for everything he does is patently obvious, including his enthusiasm for what could be powering the next car that sits in your driveway. With Ford about to launch its first fully-electric car in about 100 years, the Focus Electric, the time seemed ripe to get the man’s perspective on what’s down the road for transportation — and just when we might actually get our flying car.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Ford’s Alan Mulally talks the future of transportation

The Engadget Interview: Ford’s Alan Mulally talks the future of transportation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jim O’Donnell, CEO and chairman of BMW North America, recently sat down with the Detroit News to discuss the ActiveE — an electric version of BMW’s 1 Series coupe, available for lease in the US this fall. Most CEOs would’ve probably used the opportunity to wax PR poetic about their company’s bold, forward-looking ethos, because that’s what CEOs do. O’Donnell, however, used the occasion to let us in on a dirty little secret: EVs don’t actually work. According to O’Donnell’s undoubtedly robust calculations, EVs won’t work for “at least 90-percent” of the human population, at current battery ranges. The situation is so dire, in fact, that the US government shouldn’t even bother wasting its $7,500 tax credits on frivolous things like innovation, national security and clean air.

“I believe in a free economy. I think we should abolish all tax credits. What they are doing is putting a bet on technology, which is not appropriate. As a taxpayer, I am not sure this is the right way to go.”

O’Donnell went on to say he’s “far more optimistic” about diesel’s chances of increasing BMW’s US market share — because, you know, it’s not like the oil industry gets any tax breaks, or anything. And it’s not like diverting some money away from oil subsidies and putting it toward EV technology would create the “level playing field” that O’Donnell and his company so desperately need. No siree, the US energy market is just as pure and fair as it’s always been — and it certainly doesn’t deserve to be corrupted by an EV tax credit pestilence. That said, O’Donnell would still really appreciate it if we buy the battery-powered i3 when it launches in 2013. Who knows? He may even throw in a free bridge, too.

CE-Oh no he didn’t!: BMW exec says electric vehicles ‘won’t work,’ but would love to sell you one anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t get us wrong, we think electric vehicles are totally rad and all, but there’s still the whole recharging thing that makes us a little wary. That’s why we’re stoked to hear that Better Place’s first battery swap station for EVs (and not just special Japanese cabbies) has officially opened its doors in Israel… for owners of the Renault Fluence Z.E. All it takes is an RFID card to enter the carwash-esque structure, and robots from below swap out your empty battery for a fully charged alternative while you occupy yourself for three minutes. No word on how much it’ll cost for the opportunity, but we’ve got an inkling it won’t be cheap. Fortunately, we’ve got apps and “get you home” guarantees for that additional peace of mind, but we do hope the concept eventually makes its way over to our shores. Of course, we’re also still waiting for eternal battery life in all of our electronics, but until that day comes invisible robots changing batteries for us will suffice.

Israel gets its first EV battery swap station, makes charging stations obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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