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Monday, August 06, 2012

Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/06/toshiba-satellite-u845w-review/

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Ultrabooks now come in countless shapes and sizes, and we've seen display quality vary just as much. Though 1,366 x 768 may still be the norm, 1,600 x 900 panels aren't unheard of in this ultraportable category. But what about a screen that bucks the 16:9 aspect ratio for an extra-wide 21:9? Toshiba is mixing things up with its new premium Satellite U845W Ultrabook ($1,000 and up), the first laptop to feature that odd aspect ratio.

Styled in the fashion of movie theater screens, the U845W's 14.4-inch, 1,792 x 768 panel adds more horizontal pixels -- ostensibly to enhance the movie-watching experience. In theory, too, that setup should allow for more room to multitask with windows side by side. So how good of an idea is a 21:9 screen in practice? Join us as we put it to the test.

Gallery: Toshiba Satellite U845W review

Continue reading Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored HTC Verizon phablet may land soon, with 1080p screen and 1.5GHz Snapdragon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/06/rumored-htc-verizon-phablet-may-land-soon/

Samsung and LG have already embraced the tiny-tablet form factor. It only makes sense that HTC would want to carve out a niche of this niche for themselves. Rumors of a five-inch HTC device have been circulating for some time, but now a report from DigiTimes is lending some credence to those murmurings, and a mysterious handset from the Taiwanese manufacturer has popped up over at GLBenchmark. According to unnamed sources the company has been working on a flagship level (One XXL?) device with a stunning 1794 x 1080, due to be released in either September or October. If you're taking that claim with a grain of salt, we don't blame you. But, an entry for the HTC 6435LVW that just popped up at GLBenchmark.com seems to fit the billy pretty nicely. It has the same listed resolution, which we assume is actually a 1920 x 1080 panel with room set aside for Android's soft keys. The device info has it running ICS, version 4.0.4 to be specific, on a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 -- which should make it quite the powerful piece of hardware. The software build also singles it out as a Verizon handset, which means it'll be packing an LTE radio as well. Whether the rumored stylus is included, a la the Flyer, remains to be seen, but, we shouldn't have to wait much longer to find out for sure.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Rumored HTC Verizon phablet may land soon, with 1080p screen and 1.5GHz Snapdragon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quad-core Galaxy Note 10.1 source code wastes no time, available now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/06/quad-core-galaxy-note-10-1-source-code-wastes-no-time-available/

Appearing almost simultaneously alongside the Galaxy Note 10.1's launch itinerary, Samsung has offered up source code for both Korean iterations of the stylus-friendly slab. Ensuring custom ROM devs have very early access to the source should mean we're likely to see other software iterations (minus TouchWiz, perhaps) sooner rather than later. Developers can delve into the coding goodness below.

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

Quad-core Galaxy Note 10.1 source code wastes no time, available now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SamsungUpdates (Twitter) | source

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Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/05/watch-nasas-curiosity-rover-touch-down-on-mars-live-at-1-30am/

You watched the launch, bit your nails over computer simulations and even played the game, and it all comes down to today: NASA's Curiosity rover is about to land on Mars. The $2.5 billion vehicle has been en route to the red planet for eight months, and in a few short hours will spend seven terrifying minutes blindly making its way to the Martian surface -- only to make NASA scientists wait another full seven before reporting on its success or failure. The rover is flying solo.

That doesn't mean we can't be there in spirit, however: NASA TV will be broadcasting the event on Ustream, offering commentary from the minds behind the rover, as well as audio from mission control. The Curiosity Cam, which runs from 11:30PM until 2:00AM EDT and 3:30AM to 4:30AM EDT, will offer commentary from the scientists and engineers behind Curiosity, while a second feed (at NASA JPL Live, which runs from 11:30PM onward) will play audio from mission control. If all goes to plan, NASA will be able to share an image from Curiosity's navigation cameras, confirming its safe arrival on the Martian surface. Sounds like a hell of a show to us.

Read on to view the Curiosity Ca! m right here or check out the source links below to prep your evening (or early morning) viewing for yourself. Let us know your own thoughts on Curiosity's landing in the comments.

Update: Touchdown confirmed! The entire sequence went perfectly to plan, and rover Curiosity is now on the surface of Mars and sending telemetry data.

Update: NASA's press conference is now happening live.

Continue reading Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT

Filed under: Transportation, Science

Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stone Spray research project wants to print bridges with sand, solar power

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/05/stone-spray-research-project-wants-to-print-bridges-with-sand/

Envious of your pet hermit crabs' 3D-printed domicile? Maybe you should cast your green eyes upon the Stone Spray project, an Eco-friendly robot printer that's exploring the viability of soil as a building material. Although making actual buildings is a bit out of the robot's reach, its team has managed to print a series of scaled sculptures (such as stools, pillars and load-bearing arc structures) out of sand, soil and a special solidification compound. The machine's jet-spray nozzle seems to have an easier time constructing objects over per-existing scaffolding, but the team is striving to design structures that don't require the extra support. "We want to push further the boundaries of digital manufacturing and explore the possibilities of an on-site fabrication machine," the team writes on the project's homepage, citing makeshift printed bridges or an on-beach canopy as possible applications of technology. If the Earth itself doesn't make a green enough building material, consider this: the Stone Spray robot can be powered by solar energy alone. Check it out in all of its sand-sculpting glory in the video below.

Continue reading Stone Spray research project wants to print bridges with sand, solar power

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Stone Spray research project wants to print bridges with sand, solar power originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 23:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Design Boom, DVICE | source

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