Wednesday, June 17, 2009

AT&T's free hotspot access finally useful with auto-connection in iPhone OS 3.0

AT&T's free hotspot access finally useful with auto-connection in iPhone OS 3.0

Back in the stone age -- iPhone OS 2.x, that is -- men wrestled wild boar to the ground with their bare hands, wore Members Only jackets, and connected to AT&T hotspots using an archaic, ridiculous process involving text messages, websites, and prayer. One previously unpublicized feature of the just-released OS 3.0, though, changes all that: connecting to your rightful WiFi coverage is now a seamless, no-brainer experience, which magically and very suddenly makes AT&T's hotspots useful. If we had to guess, these guys are looking for every reasonable way to get iPhones from the 3G network over to WiFi as often as possible, and this should certainly help. Follow the break to see exactly what it means to have an iPhone in close proximity to a Starbucks, in case you're curious.

Continue reading AT&T's free hotspot access finally useful with auto-connection in iPhone OS 3.0

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

AT&T's free hotspot access finally useful with auto-connection in iPhone OS 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASRock's Ion 330-BD nettop gets reviewed

ASRock's Ion 330-BD nettop gets reviewed

AsRock's Ion 330-BD nettop got a little lost among the twenty other Ion-based products that debuted at Computex, but the folks at TweakTown recently got a chance to spend a bit of one-on-one time with it, and they've now turned out an expectedly thorough review. As you can tell from the model name, one of the big selling points of this with this particular model is the built-in Blu-ray drive (it's also available without one), which TweakTown says feels right at home in the nettop, delivering "silky and smooth" playback with nary a hiccup. The rest of the nettop also seems to be more than up to par, with it delivering on its promise of quiet, low-power operation, and providing the performance you'd expect from the Ion / Atom combination. Better still, TweakTown says that the system can be easily overclocked to 2.1GHz without any apparent hit to stability. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown, including plenty of benchmarks and a closer look at the system itself (inside and out).

Filed under: Desktops

ASRock's Ion 330-BD nettop gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Stop-Motion Tilt-Shift Tour of Tokyo Captures City of Miniatures [Video]

A Stop-Motion Tilt-Shift Tour of Tokyo Captures City of Miniatures [Video]

Exploring Tokyo by foot is a must-do trip, but it can't match the experience of viewing the city in stop-motion tilt-shift photography. The streets become one huge playset.

Really just advertisement for Uniqlo—sort of Japan's Gap—you'll quickly forget any corporate affiliation as the virtual calendar layers the hypnotic music of Fantastic Plastic Machine behind the even more entrancing Tokyo imagery. Of course, little do you know, Uniqlo is abusing your mind's temporary complacency, planting commands to learn Japanese, visit Tokyo, consume shabu-shabu and then, maybe, buy a new shirt or two.

Still, we could do worse. [Uniqlo Video via Pink Tentacle via Tokyo Mango]

Casio XJ-S43W Super Slim Line Projector Goes Widescreen, Gets Cheaper [Projectors]

Casio XJ-S43W Super Slim Line Projector Goes Widescreen, Gets Cheaper [Projectors]

Casio's Super SlimLine DLP projectors have always been trim, but now the XJ-S43W gets a bit more appealing with widescreen support and a lower price.

While Casio's projectors, just 4lbs and 1.7 inches thick at their widest point, actually have decent specs, they've traditionally started well over $1,000 and made their way into the 2s. Now the XJ-S43W is priced at $999, plus it adds WXGA (1280 × 800) widescreen—making the data projector ever so more entertainment friendly in your company's off hours.

Other specs include 2500 lumens, 1800:1 contrast, 2X zoom and HDMI in.

While pico projectors are on the rise (with subpar picture quality), Casio brags that their Super Slims are still the thinnest 2,0000-lumen projectors in the industry...which must be why the creepy hand wants to mate with one in our lead photo. [Casio Super Slim]

Video: SPRXmobile's Layar is world's first Augmented Reality browser for cellphones

Video: SPRXmobile's Layar is world's first Augmented Reality browser for cellphones

This one's been a long time coming but it looks like Dutch company SPRXmobile has launched the world's first Augmented Reality browser. Layar, as it's called, runs on Android and aggregates the data from the cellphone's compass and GPS coordinates to understand where you're standing and what you're looking at. A "radar view" then applies a visual information layer on top of the camera display as you pan around your environment. Content partnerships including a local bank, social networking site, and a realty company allows Layar to identify houses for sale, nearby ATMs, and local clubs and bars all laid out visually on your cellphone's display. Layar will be available this month in The Netherlands via the Android Market for phones such as the G1 and HTC Magic. It will launch in the US, Germany, and the UK sometime later this year with the iPhone 3G S listed as a primary target platform. Looks great with plenty of data populated in the video sample (posted after the break) but we have to wonder how well it works in day-to-day reality.

Continue reading Video: SPRXmobile's Layar is world's first Augmented Reality browser for cellphones

Video: SPRXmobile's Layar is world's first Augmented Reality browser for cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3G S review

iPhone 3G S review

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- right? We know countless reviews of the iPhone 3G S may begin with that cliché, but there's little chance you'd find a better way to describe the strategy that Apple has just put into play with its latest smartphone. In many ways, the 3G S is a mirror image of the iPhone 3G; externally there's no difference. It's inside where all the changes have happened, with Apple issuing a beefed-up CPU, new internal compass, larger capacities for storage, and improved optics for its camera. More to the point, the release of the 3G S coincides with the launch of iPhone OS 3.0, a major jump from previous versions of the system software featuring highly sought after features like cut, copy, and paste, stereo Bluetooth, MMS, tethering, video recording, landscape keyboard options for more applications, and an iPhone version of Spotlight. At a glance, what Apple seems to be doing is less a reinvention of the wheel and more like retreading the wheel it's already got (and what a wheel, right?). So, do the iPhone 3G S and OS 3.0 tweak the details in just the right places, or has Apple gone and gotten lazy on us? Read on to find out.

Gallery: iPhone 3G S unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading iPhone 3G S review

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3G S review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG 15-inch OLED TV on sale in December

LG 15-inch OLED TV on sale in December

We knew that LG's 15-inch OLED TV was entering into production this summer, now we've got a ship date: December. This according to an interview with Won Kim, LG's VP of OLED sales and marketing. While 15-inches is small, it easily trumps the world's first production OLED TV, Sony's $2,500 11-inch XEL-1, and is a reasonable size for the bedroom (if you must) or kitchen counter. No word on specs but we expect the production set to offer the same million:1 contrast, 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution, and 30,000-hour shelf life as the prototype unveiled in January. The TV will launch first in Korea for an undisclosed price that is bound to be punishingly expensive.

Filed under: Displays

LG 15-inch OLED TV on sale in December originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RT @bmorrissey - Digg advertising: users vote up and down ads (more dugg ads pay less per click) -- awesome - http://ping.fm/hKnz1

RT @bmorrissey - shortcuts into the stream - "30 phones will cost it under $10,000 with no media or creative costs" - twitter sweepstakes

Boku Lets You Purchase Virtual Goods via Cell Phone [Cell Phones]

Boku Lets You Purchase Virtual Goods via Cell Phone [Cell Phones]

We've previously covered services like TextPayMe (since bought by Amazon) and PayPalMobile that let you make purchases using your cell phone. Today we see another called Boku, a mobile payment service designed to make getting your virtual goods easy.

Admittedly, the market for virtual goods is larger abroad than here in the United States (though that may change in the future, see Mafia Wars), but the service—available in over 50 countries—is useful for those looking to buy virtual goods on Facebook, hi5, and other social sites.

To use it, click the "Pay by Mobile" button that's listed on the web site, punch in in your cell phone number, and reply "Y" to the text message confirmation. The purchase will then be added to your cell phone bill. No credit card information or registration is required, and the service works for both monthly cell phone and pre-paid subscribers.

The Boku site lists compatible carriers for each country (in the U.S, for example, the service works with Alltel
AT&T, Cellular One, Sprint/Nextel/Boost, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Virgin), though you should make sure to ask what, if any, additional charges your carrier may apply for using the service.

Check out the above demo for a rundown or browse the Boku site for more information.

Game Over for Sun's "Game Changing" 16-Core Rock CPU [Sun]

Game Over for Sun's "Game Changing" 16-Core Rock CPU [Sun]

In the wake of their buyout by Oracle, Sun Microsystems has canned their 16-core Rock chip project—once touted by the company as a "game changer," and their answer to IBM's latest Power CPUs—after five years of development. This represents the second major chip offering from Sun to be shelved in recent years. [NYT]

20,500-Gallon Firefighting Boeing 747 Supertanker In Action [Airplanes]

20,500-Gallon Firefighting Boeing 747 Supertanker In Action [Airplanes]

The fire season has started in half of the world and I wish there were more of these 747 Firefighting Supertankers. They can drop 20,500 gallons of water in one go, as you can see in the video.

Rob Cockerham at PopSci got to see it in action, and took a few photographs of this mighty—and extremely useful—sploshing megalomaniac dream machine. [Popsci]

TweetDeck Now Available On The iPhone [Apps]

TweetDeck Now Available On The iPhone [Apps]

Digg founder Kevin Rose got his hands on the beta for the iPhone version of TweetDeck, proclaiming that it will soon replace tweetie as his go-to app.

If it works anything like the desktop version, I will also be making the switch. Apparently, the app version features the same column-based friend group structure as the desktop version, the ability to synch with the desktop version, and Facebook-esque status updates. Unfortunately, the "when" and "how much" part of the question remains unanswered. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long.

UPDATE: The app has been released—and it's free. [iTunes and Kevin Rose via Digg]

You Too Can Wear the Head of Optimus Prime (in Augmented Reality, Of Course) [Transformers]

You Too Can Wear the Head of Optimus Prime (in Augmented Reality, Of Course) [Transformers]

If you forgot to live out all your Optimus Prime role-playing fantasies when the first Transformers movie came out, fear not. Thanks to the awesome Satan powers of augmented reality, you can wear the face of Optimus Prime anywhere.

So here's how this works: the Active X applet hijacks your webcam and uses face/eye detection to figure out where to plaster Prime's face. Once it figures that out, it renders a 3D head around your own mug, allowing you live vicariously through the leader of the autobots. But if you get too zealous in trying to save the world, the helmet will disappear—vigorous head movement angers the Autobot gods, and they will steal the head of Prime from you (along with the Matrix of Leadership).

The best part about this taking place in augmented reality is that you don't have to figure out a way to behead a 30-foot robot. Plus, you won't get motor oil (not to mention any other fluids and lubricants he has running through his system) all over your shit. [We Are Autobots]

Cortex A9: ARM's Multi-Core Mobile CPUs [CPUs]

Cortex A9: ARM's Multi-Core Mobile CPUs [CPUs]

Multicore processors in mobile devices are only a matter of time, and that time appears to be coming closer for ARM, as their Cortex A9 chips will ship in phones in 2010. Arm chips are found in various handsets, including all three generations of the iPhone. [CNET]

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