Continue reading Playstation 3D Display hits shelves November 13, Sony answers your burning questions

Playstation 3D Display hits shelves November 13, Sony answers your burning questions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kids lacking the imagination to bring their own toys to life now have the option of letting a games console do it for them. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure has teleported into stores, boxed with three toy figures and a ‘portal device‘ that brings them to life in-game. The bundle totals up at $70, and Activision is billing it as the “first true cross-platform game”, with the toys playing nice across Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, 3DS and iOS versions. The statuettes, which connect to the portal peripheral through embedded RFID tags, also store game data across platforms. The business plan presumably involves groups of kids investing in Spyro’s latest yarn and swapping characters amongst themselves, while holding onto their own precious in-game achievements. If your little brother has trouble trading with friends who couldn’t care less about the antics of lava-belching monsters, they can always can stump up an extra $8 for new figures. Click ‘Read more’ for some explanatory cartoon violence.

Continue reading Spyro figurines bridge the console divide, bring flame-grilled peace to the world

Spyro figurines bridge the console divide, bring flame-grilled peace to the world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The inability to win US government approval isn’t exactly an unfamiliar issue for Huawei, which by now must be conditioned not to expect a nod from major US telecom companies. But now, The Daily Beast reports that the U.S. Commerce Department has made it very clear that the Chinese company won’t have a role in building the country’s new dedicated first responder wireless network. A spokesman wasn’t shy about the reason, either, explaining that Huawei “will not be taking part in the building of America’s interoperable wireless emergency network for first responders due to U.S. government national security concerns.” And what about those national security concerns? Well, Huawei president Ren Zhengfei’s former role as a People’s Liberation Army technologist may have something to do with it, considering it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect that he still has some fairly close ties to Chinese government officials. We haven’t heard a peep from the feds regarding Huawei’s invitation for US officials to investigate the company earlier this year, but it’s safe to assume that the investigation either didn’t go very well, or more likely that it hasn’t happened at all. We imagine that whole corporate espionage debacle probably didn’t help the company, either.

Huawei blocked from first responder network contract, US cites ‘national security concerns’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading MadCatz now shipping Tritton Detonator headset, official Xbox 360 stereo sound for $80

MadCatz now shipping Tritton Detonator headset, official Xbox 360 stereo sound for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that there? That’s confirmation from T-Mobile USA that it’ll be stocking the Galaxy Tab 10.1 soon. Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the model it hawks will boast a WWAN module (or if it’s just a magenta-hued WiFi edition), but you can bet we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for news as it comes. For now, hit the source link to “Like” or “Pretend to Dislike.”

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 coming to T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hot on the heels of a UK release, Samsung has just announced that its long-awaited (and long-delayed) Galaxy Player 4.0 ($229) and 5.0 ($269) will be available for pre-order starting September 27th, with US availability pegged for October 16th. Oddly enough, Samsung gave no reason behind the once-spring, now-autumn pushback, but at least we can finally stop wondering and instead start enjoying the spoils of an (almost) Galaxy Note-sans-phone. (Not like we haven’t heard a similar tune before). All that aside, the Player 5.0 and 4.0 weigh in at 6.4 and 4.2 ounces, respectively, and both are powered by Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread); other specs include 802.11b/g/n, WVGA Super Clear LCDs (800 x 480), Bluetooth 3.0, 8GB of onboard storage, a microSD expansion slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, voice recorder, mini-USB connectivity, front and rear cameras and support for Sammy’s Media Hub content service. The big fellow gets a 2,500mAh battery, whereas its little(r) brother is equipped with a 1,200mAh cell. (Psst… you can catch our hands-on with these here and here.)

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is available for pre-sale right now, with shipments to hit retail on October 2nd. You’ll be laying down $469 for the 16GB model, while a doubling of capacity will run you $100 more. Need a refresher on this one, too? How’s about a WXGA (1,280 x 800) touchpanel, dual-core T250S processor, 6,100mAh battery, sub-one pound weight, DLNA compatibility, a 3 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, integrated Swype / Polaris Office and even a few amenities for those in the enterprise — things like full support for Exchange ActiveSync (v14), on-device encryption, Cisco VPN, Sybase MDM and WebEx support. Best of all, the inbuilt FindMyMobile service allows users to track their lost / stolen Tab 8.9 down on a map as it moves, remotely lock the device to prevent unauthorized access and delete personal information stored on the device. Head on past the break for the full release.

Continue reading Galaxy Tab 8.9 hits pre-order, ships October 2nd in US; Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 shipping October 16th

Galaxy Tab 8.9 hits pre-order, ships October 2nd in US; Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 shipping October 16th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those Smart Meters may not have went over so well in San Francisco, and Google may have shuttered PowerMeter just a few months ago… but that doesn’t mean that Ma Earth is doomed to live a life a few centigrade higher than she should, right? EnergyHub has just announced that its snazzily designed energy monitoring system is now on sale for eco-minded folk in the USA, with $399 netting you a home base, a socket, a strip and a wireless thermostat (simpler bundles start at $299). According to the company, this kit’s ready to take on shacks, apartments or even houseboats, though no seal of approval from the Old Spice guy has been garnered in the case of the latter. Previously, this here package was only available through utility-sponsored programs, but now the simpleton in your life can see live energy use information, automatically switch appliances off while one’s away and sleeping, and even control settings remotely via the web or an iPhone / Android app. Head on past the break for an introductory video, or visit the source links to get in on the buying frenzy.

Continue reading EnergyHub’s energy management system on sale now to American planetlovers

EnergyHub’s energy management system on sale now to American planetlovers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know that Symbian isn’t dying any time soon, but here in the US of A the little OS that couldn’t quite captivate our picky buyers will soon be mighty hard to find. Speaking with All Things D, Chris Weber, President of Nokia’s US operations, said “When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.” That means no more full-price or business-focused devices in the US, and no more Symbian love. This is at least in part thanks to the failure of the Astound to find a solid foothold, but Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone offerings (like the Sea Ray) will at least follow in its footsteps, being sold with proper carrier subsidies and riding the wave of a giant advertising blitz. Will it work? According to Weber, it has to: “The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do.”

Nokia to retire Symbian in North America, going all-in on Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Screen Grabs: BlackBerry PlayBook pops up on ‘White Collar’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After countless teases and broken dreams, Spotify finally seems about ready to launch here in the US. Earlier this week the streaming media service debuted a landing page for hopeful American customers and the company has agreements in place to allow streaming from Universal Music Group, Sony Music and EMI. According to insiders in touch with the Wall Street Journal, Europe’s favorite subscription music program will finally be opening its doors to those draped in the red, white, and blue next week. Of course, none of this is confirmed and, with plenty of others having a chance to enter the market, it’s unclear if Spotify’s thunder has been stolen before it could even lift the digital gates.

Spotify may launch next week in US, finally stop crushing hopes and dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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