Green lovers have been patiently waiting for the commercialized version of OLPC's pull-string laptop charger, but in the meantime Easy Energy's YoGen should tide yank-happy hands over. Pulling the charger's lawnmower-style ripcord generates enough power through its patented alternator technology to charge up phones, iPods and a slew of other handheld gadgets. According to YoGen charging time is similar to that of standard AC adapters and gadgets can be brought back to life with just a few pulls -- as can be seen in the incredibly realistic videos below where YoGens magically appear to save the day, jump start an iPhone and help a man lie to his wife. Formal launch is due at CES, but those that can't wait to strengthen their hand muscles can preorder one now on YoGen's website for 40 bucks.
Mark Anderson's stated recently, "Except for gaming, it is GAME OVER for Microsoft in the consumer market. It's time to declare Microsoft a loser in phones." His words seem to be accurate, because if Microsoft doesn't score something huge soon, they would lose the consumer market forever. His argument is that the smartphone world is where all the action is for consumers, and that will extend to everywhere else. The concept of task-oriented, touch-based applications—simple enough for anyone to understand, unlike traditional desktop apps—is taking the consumer market, showing a new way to computing that is truly transparent for all kinds of users.
Anderson also argues that Microsoft doesn't have consumer DNA but as shown by the Xbox and by the Zune HD, it looks like Microsoft can get consumers. Maybe not as well as they... [Read More]
WiGig, which its alliance members hope is the next major wireless spec, finally completed its unified specification. The tech gets speeds up to 7Gbps (10 times faster than Wi-Fi) and manages to stay backwards-compatible with existing 802.11 specs.
WiGig, just as a refresher, uses the currently empty 60GHz spectrum, and is capable of multi-gigabit communication. Rollout of WiGig-compatible products is still a long ways off—think mid-2011 at the earliest—but the alliance is slowly working towards that eventual release. Its lineup of supporting members is impressive, counting biggies like Microsoft, Samsung, Nokia, Intel, Dell, and now Nvidia among its board of directors, and a bunch more listed as contributors, so it's got some muscle behind it—but it remains to be seen if it'll really become the next Wi-Fi. The finished WiGig spec... [Read More]
It's getting harder and harder to pick a smartphone, with options like iPhone OS, WebOS, Android, and Windows Mobile making the choosing difficult. Life would be easier if you could pick two, and that's what virtualization giant VMware is working on, the ability to run dual OSes in one smartphone. The company already has Android/WinMo and other prototypes running, but phones featuring the tech now aren't expected to hit market until 2012 -- a big delay from the earlier indications of a release this year. Those prototypes rely on ugly boot menus, whereas the vision for this tech would see users switching between environments on the fly, taking and making calls in either whilst juggling chainsaws and dazzling their friends. The company pledges it'll be a seamless experience, but we're doubtful given how even stepping out of HTC's SenseUI into the OS... [Read More]
Yes. They do. Google now defines words with their very own Google Dictionary. Of course, their dictionary has been google-fied with a completely stripped layout that we love, the ability to star words, and a search feature for words in multiple languages.
Looks like Verizon has some explaining to do. If you don't already know this, Verizon has recently bumped their early termination fees to $350 on vaguely-defined "advanced devices" or the only phone you would ever want. The FCC's letter to Verizon's legal and external affairs department today is shown below.
It is basically asking them how customers are notified of the new ETF, how the prorating formula is calculated (hint: they don't like that you still pay $120 after 23 months of a 24-month contract), and how an "advanced device" comes to be, among other things. Riding on the letter are a few extra questions about inadvertent mobile web charges for customers that aren't signed up for a data plan, totaling nine paragraph-long queries that the feds want answered by December 17. Your move, Verizon.
Samsung's first TouchWiz 2.0 device is finally here! Here's Engadget's take on the the device unboxed and hands-on:
The 2.0 software brings with it a Widget Store, and as a general UI manages to skin over a majority of Windows Mobile 6.5, which is puttering along underneath. The handset is a tad on the bulky side, but makes up for it with a wonderful 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA screen and a very nice 5 megapixel camera. We'll have a review for you before long, but for now you can check out a quick video rundown (including some playtime with the Samsung-exclusive "Swype" keyboard) after the break. And if that video is enough to convince you, the phone is available now on Verizon Wireless for $200 after rebate.
The FCC has begun the process of establishing databases that will tell white space devices where existing television signals exist. White space devices are expected to deliver broadband services in the interference buffer zones between TV signals. They also seem to play a major part in the FCC's solution to the wireless spectrum crisis. Early in October, the FCC announced that there is a 'looming spectrum crisis.' By operating in the buffers between frequencies used by television broadcasts, these white space devices will be able to exploit TV's airspace without interfering with the incumbent users' traffic. It has been more than a year since the FCC approved rules for the unlicensed use of the "white spaces" between digital television signals and now Claudville, Virginia has the very first such network. Initial results show that it... [Read More]
Induction chargers like Palm's Touchstone are great and all but they lack one significant feature long mastered by USB tethers: data transfer. That could soon change as Sony begins pushing out its first TransferJet LSI in hopes of obtaining broad industry adoption of this newest form of short-range wireless transmission technology. TransferJet, remember, allows for a theoretical 560Mbps (closer to 375Mbps in the real-world) wireless transfer at a distance of about 3 centimeters -- a standard backed by big-hitting camera companies like Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Casio, Kodak, and Olympus and Japanese cellphone interests like NTT DoCoMo, Softbank Mobile, Toshiba, and Sony Ericsson. Just imagine yourself waving a TransferJet-equipped Sony Ericsson phone in front of your new Bravia TV and having all your photos and videos appear on the big... [Read More]
Hey -- what's that? Oh right, it's the LG eXpo, the slider with a pico projector jammed inside. Among other things, the full QWERTY slider's packing a 1GHz CPU, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and of course that removable Texas Instruments projector. The just-announced handset bears quite a strong resemblance to the Monaco we heard about way back in May -- though from the looks of it, its lost all of the brassiness we were so fond of. The eXpo runs Windows Mobile 6.5, and it will hit AT&T on December 7th for $199 after a mail in rebate with a two year contract -- plus an additional $179 should you choose to opt in on that projector.
Today, the FCC approved AT&T's purchase of the US wireless carrier Centennial Wireless for $944 million. The acquisition boosts AT&T's presence in the midwest, southwest, and expands its wired network coverage to Puerto Rico. Stockholders receive $8.50/share and Centennial stores will have that AT&T logo by January of 2010.
“The addition of Centennial will enhance AT&T’s assets in wireless — a strategic priority and one of our biggest growth drivers — and service for customers of both companies,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We’re excited to give Centennial wireless subscribers access to the nation’s fastest 3G network plus our premier lineup of smartphones and unmatched portfolio of applications and services.
Word on the street says Big Red is gearing up to increase early termination fees for "advanced" devices to $350 and to think we thought that these fees were headed in the right direction with prorate contracts that lessened the charge once your contract was almost over. The new plan will go into effect on November 15th and decreases by $10 per month over the life of the contract.
I present to you this lovely looking creature, the Mantis Shrimp. It has the ability to see 100,000 colors, which is 10x more than our human eyes can. They’re also the only animals to see circular polarized light!
Wow so this thing can see a whole bunch of different colors, how can this help us? Well, if you’re not familiar with our looming frequency/spectrum crisis, were basically close to maxing out all the available space to transmit data. By expanding the wavelength band to (potentially to as much as this shrimp can) we can increase the bandwidth connection for future devices! Read more at the link.
The HTC Tilt2 is not officially available at AT&T. If you're looking for that device that gives you slightly more from your QWERTY-equipped WinMo 6.5 phone compared to the Pure, look no further! This device offers a full duplex speakerphone, 3.2 megapixel cam, WVGA tilt-up display, and five-row QWERTY keyboard. It runs for $349.99 on contract with AT&T.
Congratulations, you have won the lottery and have cashed your cheque in at the bank. But on the way to the ice-cream parlour to spend it all on chocolate sundies and banana splits the money bag falls out of the car window...NO!!! You have to drive back up the one way road to pick up all the money.
Mark Anderson's stated recently, "Except for gaming, it is GAME OVER for Microsoft in the consumer market. It's time to declare Microsoft a loser in phones." His words seem to be accurate, because if Microsoft doesn't score something huge soon, they would lose the consumer market forever. His argument is that the smartphone world is where all the action is for consumers, and that will extend to everywhere else. The concept of task-oriented, touch-based applications—simple enough for anyone to understand, unlike traditional desktop apps—is taking the consumer market, showing a new way to computing that is truly transparent for all kinds of users. 
WiGig, which its alliance members hope is the next major wireless spec, finally completed its unified specification. The tech gets speeds up to 7Gbps (10 times faster than Wi-Fi) and manages to stay backwards-compatible with existing 802.11 specs.
It's getting harder and harder to pick a smartphone, with options like iPhone OS, WebOS, Android, and Windows Mobile making the choosing difficult. Life would be easier if you could pick two, and that's what virtualization giant VMware is working on, the ability to run dual OSes in one smartphone. The company already has Android/WinMo and other prototypes running, but phones featuring the tech now aren't expected to hit market until 2012 -- a big delay from the earlier indications of a release this year. Those prototypes rely on ugly boot menus, whereas the vision for this tech would see users switching between environments on the fly, taking and making calls in either whilst juggling chainsaws and dazzling their friends. The company pledges it'll be a seamless experience, but we're doubtful given how even stepping out of HTC's SenseUI into the OS... 
... 
Samsung's first TouchWiz 2.0 device is finally here! Here's Engadget's take on the the device unboxed and hands-on:
The FCC has begun the process of establishing databases that will tell white space devices where existing television signals exist. White space devices are expected to deliver broadband services in the interference buffer zones between TV signals. They also seem to play a major part in the FCC's solution to the wireless spectrum crisis. Early in October, the FCC announced that there is a 'looming spectrum crisis.' By operating in the buffers between frequencies used by television broadcasts, these white space devices will be able to exploit TV's airspace without interfering with the incumbent users' traffic. It has been more than a year since the FCC approved rules for the unlicensed use of the "white spaces" between digital television signals and now Claudville, Virginia has the very first such network. Initial results show that it... 
Induction chargers like Palm's Touchstone are great and all but they lack one significant feature long mastered by USB tethers: data transfer. That could soon change as Sony begins pushing out its first TransferJet LSI in hopes of obtaining broad industry adoption of this newest form of short-range wireless transmission technology. TransferJet, remember, allows for a theoretical 560Mbps (closer to 375Mbps in the real-world) wireless transfer at a distance of about 3 centimeters -- a standard backed by big-hitting camera companies like Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Casio, Kodak, and Olympus and Japanese cellphone interests like NTT DoCoMo, Softbank Mobile, Toshiba, and Sony Ericsson. Just imagine yourself waving a TransferJet-equipped Sony Ericsson phone in front of your new Bravia TV and having all your photos and videos appear on the big... 
Hey -- what's that? Oh right, it's the LG eXpo, the slider with a pico projector jammed inside. Among other things, the full QWERTY slider's packing a 1GHz CPU, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and of course that removable Texas Instruments projector. The just-announced handset bears quite a strong resemblance to the Monaco we heard about way back in May -- though from the looks of it, its lost all of the brassiness we were so fond of. The eXpo runs Windows Mobile 6.5, and it will hit AT&T on December 7th for $199 after a mail in rebate with a two year contract -- plus an additional $179 should you choose to opt in on that projector.
Today, the FCC approved AT&T's purchase of the US wireless carrier Centennial Wireless for $944 million. The acquisition boosts AT&T's presence in the midwest, southwest, and expands its wired network coverage to Puerto Rico. Stockholders receive $8.50/share and Centennial stores will have that AT&T logo by January of 2010. 
Individual Plan – No 2-year commitment
The HTC Tilt2 is not officially available at AT&T. If you're looking for that device that gives you slightly more from your QWERTY-equipped WinMo 6.5 phone compared to the Pure, look no further! This device offers a full duplex speakerphone, 3.2 megapixel cam, WVGA tilt-up display, and five-row QWERTY keyboard. It runs for $349.99 on contract with AT&T.
