Barclays releases PayTag: the NFC card you glue to your phone (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/barclays-paytag/

If you don't have a fancy NFC-enabled phone then it's hard to join the mobile wallet club. Fortunately, Barclays has introduced the PayTag that turns any phone into a contactless card. It's a square of plastic a quarter the size of a credit card that's sticky on one side -- yup, you just jam it on the back of your phone and hey presto, you can buy sandwiches, or any purchase up to £15 (£20 from June), without opening your wallet. The sticky squares will be rolling out exclusively to British Barclaycard customers over the next few months, although we're not sure what it'll do to the trade-in value of your handset.

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Barclays releases PayTag: the NFC card you glue to your phone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel's first smartphone coming soon: Xolo X900 gets April 24 release date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/19/intels-first-smartphone-release-date/

Intel's first Atom smartphone is now available, and it's Lava's Xolo X900. It has managed to outpace both Lenovo's K800 and Orange's Santa Clara and arrives on the Indian carrier next Monday. Packing a 1.6 GHz Atom Z2460 processor, we handled one in Barcelona a few months ago, and were pleasantly surprised with its responsiveness, if not its middling build quality. The four-inch 1024 x 600 display is accompanied by a one-megapixel camera on the front, plus a primary 8-megapixel shooter on the back capable of burst-shot photography. Despite its plastic build, Intel's new mobile offering won't all that cheap; the Xolo X900 by Lava is priced off-contract at around 22,000 INR ($420). At the moment, we're still waiting to hear how Orange and Lenovo will price up their own Medfield-powered offerings -- both are expected to emerge in the next few months.

Continue reading Intel's first smartphone coming soon: Xolo X900 gets April 24 release date

Intel's first smartphone coming soon: Xolo X900 gets April 24 release date originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel's Ultrabook Future Is a PC-Tablet Mashup for Under a Grand [Computers]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5902968/intels-ultrabook-future-is-a-pc+tablet-mashup-you-can-afford

While it may look like a tablet, this is in fact the first of a new series of prototype devices from Intel—hardware that it believes is the future of its self-styled ultrabook initiative.

Demoed in Beijing last week, this is Intel's Cove Point. It's reminiscent of two-in-one tablets like the Asus Transformer—with its hinged, folding design that switches from tablet to ultrabook-style laptop—but this thing is actually far, far beefier.

Beneath its surface, it's a fully-fledged PC. The device demoed in Bejing featured an early sample of Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge CPU, a 12.5-inch screen, two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port. It was also running a consumer preview version of Windows 8.

Speaking about the new design, Gary Richman, Director of Marketing for Intel's PC Client Solutions Division, told Wired:

"When we started talking about ultrabooks last year, we talked about different form factors, and touch and convertibles. This has been an evolution over time. Ultrabooks were never meant to be just clamshell designs... Where we see the future of computing going, with tablets and Windows 8, is the importance of the touch experience. [With Cove Point] we were looking to define the compelling form factors, usages and benefits of having a notebook design, while taking advantage of the touch experience in Windows 8."

There are currently no details as to whether any OEMs are planning to make an announcement about a device similar to Cove Point. When pressed, however, Richman did explain that he'd expect a similar device to retail for around $1,000. One thing's for certain: it's a hell of a lot more likely to come to market than some of the Intel concepts we've seen. [Wired and Pocket Lint]

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Around 140,000 Apple machines still infected with Flashback malware, says Symantec

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/apple-flashback-virus-infections-update/

By now, we're all quite familiar with the Java-driven trojan that's affected thousands of Apple's rigs, and while the numbers seem to have drastically dropped since the first Cupertino fix, there's still a plethora of machines carrying the bug. According to Symantec, the number of infected computers is now at around 140,000, seeing a decline of over 460,000 since April 9th. Still, the security outfit remains puzzled by the fact, as it expected the digits to be somewhere near the 99,000 mark by now. Perhaps this is due to some folks not even being aware of Flashback's existence, or maybe not checking for software updates as often as most of us. Either way, we hope you've already used one of the tools Apple handed you.

Around 140,000 Apple machines still infected with Flashback malware, says Symantec originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Beam crosses paths with FCC, sports 3G connectivity for AT&T

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/samsung-galaxy-beam-at-fcc/

The FCC comes across many smartphones in its daily routine, but it's hardly an everyday occurrence for one of those handsets to rock a miniature projector. That's the claim to fame of the Samsung Galaxy Beam, which just made its way through the regulatory body with full 3G support for AT&T's 1900MHz and 850MHz bands. We were first introduced to this updated version of the original Galaxy Beam at Mobile World Congress, and for a quick refresher, the Android 2.3 device packs a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 4-inch WVGA display and a projector that'll toss 50-inch imagery onto the wall. Naturally, whether AT&T chooses to sell the smartphone is another consideration entirely, but this certification will keep users in proper standing with the feds, and that's a good thing.

Samsung Galaxy Beam crosses paths with FCC, sports 3G connectivity for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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