Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/alcatel-lucent-flies-parrot-ar-drone-2-over-3280-feet-on-lte/

The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but "long-ranged" isn't what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors.

[Thanks, Vincent]

Continue reading Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/uc-san-deigo-lithium-ion-batteries-charging-algorithms/

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have devised new algorithms that can cut lithium-ion battery charge times in half, help cells run more efficiently and potentially cut production costs by 25 percent. Rather than tracking battery behavior and health with the traditional technique of monitoring current and voltage, the team's mathematical models estimate where lithium ions are within cells for more precise data. With the added insight, the team can more accurately gauge battery longevity and control charging efficiency. The group was awarded $460,000 from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E research arm to further develop the algorithm and accompanying tech with automotive firm Bosch and battery manufacturer Cobasys, which both received the remainder of a $9.6 million grant. Wondering if the solution will ever find its way out of the lab? According to co-lead researcher Scott Moura, it'll see practical use: "This technology is going into products that people will actually use."

Continue reading Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster

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Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fraunhofer develops extra-small 1Gbps infrared transceiver, recalls our PDA glory days

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/05/fraunhofer-develops-extra-small-1gbps-infrared-transceiver/

Our 1997-era selves would die with envy right about now. Fraunhofer has developed a new generation of infrared transceiver that can transfer data at 1Gbps, or well above anything that our vintage PDAs could manage. While the speed is nothing new by itself -- we saw such rates in 2010 Penn State experiments -- it's the size that makes the difference. The laser diode and processing are efficient enough to fit into a small module whose transceiver is as large as a "child's fingernail." In theory, the advancement makes infrared once more viable for mobile device syncing, with room to grow: even the current technology can scale to 3Gbps, lead researcher Frank Deicke says, and it might jump to 10Gbps with enough work. Along with the usual refinements, most of the challenge in getting production hardware rests in persuading the Infrared Data Association to adopt Deicke's work as a standard. If that ever comes to pass, we may just break out our PalmPilot's infrared adapter to try it for old time's sake.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Mobile

Fraunhofer develops extra-small 1Gbps infrared transceiver,! recalls our PDA glory days originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on: Tegra 3, LTE and Jelly Bean together at last (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/htc-one-x-for-atandt-hands-on-tegra-3-lte-and-jelly-bean-togeth/

What do you do if you've been selling what's arguably the best superphone on the US market and the competition is heating up? Make it better, of course, and that's exactly what HTC's done with the One X+ for AT&T. This is the same improved handset we recently played with in the UK, but unlike AT&T's One X -- which dropped the global model's quad-core Tegra 3 with 32GB of storage in favor of a dual-core Snapdragon S4 with only 16GB of flash for the sake of LTE -- AT&T's One X+ gives you the best of both worlds: NVIDIA's 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 AP37 SoC combined with Qualcomm's MDM9215m GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+/LTE radio plus 32 or 64GB of built-in storage.

Gone are the white and grey hues -- you can have your One X+ any color you want as long as it's flat black. Whereas the UK version of HTC's new flagship incorporates red accents around the camera and in the Beats logo, the US model is completely black. The rest of the specs match the global version -- you'll find the same gorgeous 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2, same impressive eight megapixel f/2.0 autofocus BSI rear camera with flash, same 1GB of DDR2 RAM, along with the updated 2100mAh sealed battery and 1.6MP BSI front-facing shooter capable of 720p video. J! elly Bea n and Sense 4+ are on the menu as well, with snappier-than-ever performance.

Put AT&T's One X and One X+ side-by-side, and other than the color difference you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart. The carrier's logo is slightly different, but that's about it -- even the docking pins in the back line up perfectly. Other improvements common with the global model include Amplified Sound for clearer sound from the speaker, Sightseeing mode which lets the power button launch the camera and Auto Portrait mode which helps you take better self-portraits. There's still no word on pricing or availability but we invite you to feast your eyes on the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.

Gallery: HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on

Continue reading HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on: Tegra 3, LTE and Jelly Bean together at last (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, AT&T

HTC One X+ for AT&T hands-on: Tegra 3, LTE and Jelly Bean together at last (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-for-atandt-hands-on-an-s-pen-phablet-with/

AT&T's still keeping us in the dark about a hard date for the Galaxy Note II's release, but at least we know it's real and on the way. Confirmed to ship sometime this holiday season, this variant of Samsung's phablet refresh sports a 5.5-inch 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video capture, beefy 3,100mAh battery and, of course, a refined S-Pen. It's nigh unchanged from both the global and Sprint models we'd gotten hands-on with previously; a trend the OEM sparked off with the release of the GS III earlier this year. And in a move that augurs well for those of you averse to branding, there's no superfluous carrier logo blemishing its smooth white back.

If you thought the original Note was big and unwieldy, prepare to stretch your palm even further. Samsung added 0.2-inches to this update, while incorporating elements of its "famed" inspired by nature design that conspire to lend this handset a reassuring in-hand fit. On the lower right-hand side, you'll find a convenient slot for the S-Pen which, when removed, triggers an action menu that can be customized to launch selected apps. A large physical home! button rests just below the expansive 16:9 screen and is flanked by capacitive buttons for menu and back, while the front-facing camera resides up above and hardware keys for volume and power are placed on the left and right edges, respectively.

On the software front, you're still looking at a TouchWizzed version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, as well as some carrier-specific apps that come pre-loaded.

Developing...

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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