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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

LG Optimus G hands-on redux (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/lg-optimus-g-hands-on-redux-video/

LG Optimus G hands-on redux

By now, you should be well acquainted with LG's glass-clad Optimus G -- the Android device so nice the company introduced it twice. And while today's stateside splash narrows the focus on its US availability and Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, there are still some software nuggets worth exploring. To help illustrate the powers of this quad-core Krait beast, we dug through the company's take on ICS with its colorful icons and heaping helpings of convenient shortcuts. Users can take advantage of a multi-tasking feature called QSlide which displays two full-sized apps on the same screen, enjoy up to five levels of zoom during streaming video playback or even wirelessly mirror their smartphone's content with Dual Screen Dual Play.

Like other members of the LG mobile family (such as the Vu and Intuition) you'll also be able to take advantage of QuickMemo, which places a shortcut in the notification shade for quickly capturing a screenshot and marking it up with various drawing tools. For the self portrait-obsessed there's also Cheese Shutter, which lets you trigger the image capture simply by saying "cheese" instead of fumbling blindly for the virtual shutter button on screen. While the UI can be a little bit busy, even by Android skin standards, everything hums a long pretty smoothly thanks to the almost excessive power of the quad-core 1.5GHz chip and 2GB of RAM. But don't just take our word for it. Skip on past the break for a surface-level peek of the G in action.

Continue reading LG Optimus G hands-on redux (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

LG Optimus G hands-on redux (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax's Q10 mirrorless shows its tiny sensor to the world, we give it the hands-on treatment (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/pentaxs-q10-mirrorless-shows-its-tiny-sensor-to-the-world-we-g/

It's tough to express just how much Pentax's new Q10 mirrorless looks like a toy camera until you see it in-person, so unless you're in Cologne this week, you're going to have to take our word for it. It's probably mostly its tiny size -- and the fire engine red probably doesn't help its case much in that respect, either. Still, in spite of its diminutive stature and weight, it does feel like a solid camera. All of these body image issues are thanks to its tiny 12.4 effective megapixel CMOS image sensor. Like its brethren, the Q, this interchangeable lens camera's got a retractable flash, which works whether it's extended or not.

On the front, next to the lens, you'll find a knob which lefts you dial through four different effects. The Q10 also does full HD recording, five-fps shooting and, like the K-5 II, boasts improved autofocus over its predecessor. On the back, is a surprisingly large three-inch LCD. When it launches here in Europe next month, it'll run you €499 for a single lens kit and around €300 for the body alone -- compare that to $600 for the kit here in the States.

Gallery: Pentax Q10 Mirrorless camera

Continue reading Pentax's Q10 mirrorless shows its tiny sensor to the world, we give it the hands-on treatment (video)

Filed under: Cameras

Pentax's Q10 mirrorless shows its tiny sensor to the world, we give it the hands-on treatment (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/vizio-co-star-review/

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And then there were two. We're talking about standalone Google TV boxes, folks, with the Vizio Co-Star recently joining Sony's NSZ-GS7. Both feature the same version of Google's software and come with a remote offering a full QWERTY keyboard and touchpad. But with Vizio's model selling for just $99, it's half the price of Sony's entry, so you might be wondering how extensive the differences are. Now that we've had a chance to test both, we're ready to weigh in. Read on to find out if that 50 percent price difference makes the Co-Star worth it.

Continue reading Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google T! V box? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square competitor Groupon Payments launches today, promises lowest cost for retailers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/groupon-payments-launch/

Popular deal website Groupon is venturing into the world of smart phone-based credit card payments today, launching the Groupon Payments initiative nationwide after a successful pilot program is the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this year. Groupon's boasting a guaranteed lowest cost pricing to merchants using Groupon Payments for credit card transactions -- MasterCard, Visa, and Discover will cost retailers 1.8 percent of credit card sales, plus a $0.15 per transaction fee, while American Express will cost three percent of credit card sales, plus a $0.15 per transaction fee. The biggest competition in the space comes from Square, headed by former Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, which charges a flat 2.75 percent rate on all transactions against all cards, though PayPal, Intuit, and Verifone all offer similar services.

Today's news matches up directly with leaks we saw back in May, adding on that merchants will see the day's credit card purchases credited to their bank accounts overnight, rather than waiting two to three business days (per standard practice). Beyond credit card services, Groupon's Merchants app also accepts Groupon daily deals, which helps elucidate why Groupon would be interested in entering the mobile credit card payments market in the first place (beyond it being a lucrative market unto itself, of course). Interested parties can sign up over on Gro! upon's w ebsite, and snag the free payments app right here. Finally -- finally -- you'll be able to sell all those $10 gift certificates to Chili's you've been hoarding. Perhaps charge $5 a pop for their $10 value and ... is this a paradox? This might be a paradox.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Wireless, Internet, Mobile

Square competitor Groupon Payments launches today, promises lowest cost for retailers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S family portraits

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/htc-windows-phone-8x-and-8s-family-portraits/

HTC introduced us to not one, but two Windows Phone 8 devices today. Sure, we've poked and prodded them but, before you get your chance to grope the 8S and 8X, we figured a proper introduction is order. So, meet the whole family in all their brightly colored glory!

Gallery: Windows Phone 8S family portrait