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Friday, April 13, 2012

LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/lg-renames-optimus-lte-to-optimus-true-hd-lte-disses-samsungs/

While the Optimus LTE's already made its way to South Korea, Japan and the US (in the guise of the Spectrum and the Nitro HD), LG's decided to give this dual-core handset a new name ahead of its Hong Kong launch at the end of this month. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Optimus True HD LTE. Alas, the "true HD" part here doesn't actually mean the phone's getting 1080p resolution on a 4.5-inch panel (which would be 490ppi; yet Toshiba's actually done it!); but we were told that 'tis really just a dig at Samsung's HD Super AMOLED technology -- you know, the magic behind that 4.65-inch screen on the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE.

Simply put, LG doesn't think that 1,280 x 720 on PenTile counts as HD due to the lower number of sub-pixels; and while it's at it, the company also criticized AMOLED's over-expressed colors and higher power consumption in "normal user environment" -- for the latter, LG showed that its AH-IPS has a more consistent power consumption across varying levels of overall whiteness. You can see the relevant slides after the break.

Of course, we've already expressed (twice) how much we like the HD Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Nexus. The clearness issue now is much less noticeable when compared to the original Super AMOLED; but as for color accuracy, many of us are indeed deceived by the vibrancy that we naturally enjoy -- except when you need to inspect photos, of course. Regardless, we're pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before Samsung strikes back with a, ahem, "true HD" Super AMOLED (Plus) panel -- hopefully in time for the upcoming Galaxy S III.

Gallery: LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

Continue reading LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/amazon-cloudsearch-brings-a9-to-devs-and-businesses/

Amazon certainly isn't the first to offer hosted search services for third parties, but its model might make it the simplest option. Businesses or devs looking to create custom search indexes need only to upload what they want to make searchable and Amazon takes care of the rest -- including deciding how much hardware to provision based on index size and traffic. Using the company's A9 search engine, CloudSearch can quickly whip up complex query tools, including support for Boolean functions. For more details check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses

Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint LG Viper 4G up for pre-order now, coming on April 22nd

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/sprint-lg-viper-4g-pre-order-pricing-details/

Just as promised when we first met the carrier's Viper 4G, Sprint's placing the device up for pre-order today. Notably, rumors of an eventual April 22nd release date can now rest comfortably, with The Now Network saying it'll do its best to get the Gingerbread handset on all early-adopting hands before Sunday. For being one of Sprint's initial LTE slabs, the Viper bears a flexible $99 price tag -- of course, that's with a two-year deal, a $50 mail-in rebate and an understanding that the carrier's LTE waves aren't even live yet. If you're not due an upgrade just yet, though, then you'll have to part ways with around $400. Sound good? Head over to the source below to give it a last gander before you decide to add it to your cart.

Sprint LG Viper 4G up for pre-order now, coming on April 22nd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unwired View | source

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Pebble smartwatch raises $100,000 in two hours, retires on a beach

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/pebble-smartwatch-raises-100-000-in-two-hours-retires-on-a-bea/

It always pleases us when interesting Kickstarter projects do well. Especially ones that fly as well as this. Just two hours after launching, the Pebble watch from Allerta landed $100,000 in pledges. Two. Hours. When you consider the phone-friendly e-paper timepiece was being offered at $115 a pop, that's a lot of individual supporters, and therefore pre-orders to fulfill. Of course, we like to think we played a small part in this story, but the credit ultimately has to lie with the product developers themselves, who clearly captured people's imaginations. And then some. At time of writing, the tally's run to well over $1 million with 36 days still to go.

Pebble smartwatch raises $100,000 in two hours, retires on a beach originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phone Arena | source

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Scientists create the first universal quantum network, are scared to restart the router

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/scientists-create-the-first-universal-quantum-network/

We all know that most networks are, well, just not "quantumy" enough. Good news, then, that German boffins at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have created the first "universal quantum network." We've been hearing about plain old quantum computing since the first qubit was sent, but now we have to get our tiny minds around the idea of a quantum internet too. Data was sent using single rubidium atoms in reflective optical cavities and single photons emitted over optical fiber. Given that data was only successfully transmitted 0.2% of the time, and the network spanned just 21 meters, a complex LAN with multiple nodes is a way off just yet, but the proof of concept is there. If that concept is the early '90s internet that is.

Scientists create the first universal quantum network, are scared to restart the router originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Extreme Tech &n! bsp;|&nb sp; source

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