Comcast smears the XFINITY brand across all its services

Apparently worried its On Demand Online project would suffer the shame of a silly name all by its lonely, Comcast has rebranded its cable TV, internet and phone services as Xfinity TV, Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Voice. Other than the name not much is changing (@ComcastCares will still be doing its thing on Twitter), although the rollout of the new branding (starting next week, the first 11 markets include Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Hartford, Augusta, Chattanooga, parts of the Bay Area and San Francisco) should sync up with 50mbps or high speeds becoming available. Of course, if those slick flame colored letter started showing up on TV repair guy trucks at the same time as a truly revolutionary new DVR software package instead of the slightly spruced up version we’ll be getting over the next few months, then they could call it anything they want to.

Comcast smears the XFINITY brand across all its services originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Comcast Voices  | Email this | Comments

Apple gets a patent on smart screen bezels

Apple might have finally released the iPad, but the rumor mill is already on to prognosticating about the next rev — and as usual, Apple’s patents and patent applications are everyone’s favorite place to start. (And for good reason, really — that very first design patent we inititally noticed way back in 2004 is exactly what the iPad looks like, down to the bezel and Dock connector.) The latest tidbit is a patent granted earlier this week on an intelligent touch-sensitive bezel, which would essentially extend the touchpanel beyoned the edges of the screen to create an entire border of context-specific soft buttons — the iPod app might have playback controls at the bottom, while Safari could put the navigation bar down there and Pages could do formatting stuff at the top. It’s sort of interesting — Palm similarly extends the touch area beyond the screen on the Pre and the Pixi, but not quite like this — but we can’t see how touching the bezel next to an on-screen label is much better than just pressing the screen. Of course, there’s no guaranteeing Apple’s actually going to use any of this in any future products whatsoever, but we’re sure that won’t stop some analyst from waving their magic analyst wand and saying their “supply checks” have indicated a major ODM is already producing these. It’s nice that the world is so predictable sometimes, isn’t it?

Apple gets a patent on smart screen bezels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Patently Apple  | Email this | Comments

Horizon debuts H-Cell 2.0 hydrogen fuel cell system for R/C cars

Continue reading Horizon debuts H-Cell 2.0 hydrogen fuel cell system for R/C cars

Horizon debuts H-Cell 2.0 hydrogen fuel cell system for R/C cars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink I4U News  |  Horizon  | Email this | Comments

Weather Channel distributes Android app via on-screen QR code

Google’s been doing some pretty slick stuff with QR codes lately, and now it looks like The Weather Channel’s getting in on the fun — it’s running a little on-screen graphic prompting Android owners to download their app by scanning their TV screens. Sure, it’s not the craziest thing in the world — it just takes you to a webpage — but it’s certainly fun, and one of the more mainstream uses of QR codes we’ve seen in a while. Check the video after the break.

Continue reading Weather Channel distributes Android app via on-screen QR code

Weather Channel distributes Android app via on-screen QR code originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Tapp  | Email this | Comments

Motorola Zeppelin spotted again, Android-ness confirmed

Yes, we’ve seen this puppy before — but last time, we’d merely heard it was running Android. This time around, we’ve got a little more confirmation that the so-called Zeppelin from Moto is sporting Google code (allegedly Cupcake, sadly) with a dash of Blur added in for good measure. Gizmodo Brazil — which scored some time with a prototype — suggests that this’ll see duty on the lower end of Motorola’s smartphone lineup, and we tend to agree considering the HVGA display that takes up far less space than it could if Moto had wanted to go for broke. A keyboardless companion to the CLIQ / DEXT, perhaps? Carriers are an open question here, but we’ve heard rumblings of interest on T-Mobile USA’s part; the site says it’ll hit streets in March, so we shouldn’t have long to wait to find out.

Motorola Zeppelin spotted again, Android-ness confirmed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  Gizmodo Brazil  | Email this | Comments

MSI Wind modded with sliding keyboard and touchscreen

The original MSI Wind is so two years ago, but an Insanely Wind forum member with the handle of ac0ff33 figured out a way to make it so two years from now. Taking a cue from slider phones, the modder has managed to flip the Wind’s 10.1-inch display around, fit it on top of the keyboard, and add a resistive touchscreen. He appears to still be working on getting it to slide up to reveal the keys, but from the comments in the forum he’s got a pretty solid plan to make it all happen. And if all that isn’t good enough, he’s also added a plastic power button next to the screen, along with a key for choosing either Win 7 or OSX when booting. We’re looking forward to seeing how this project comes along, but in the meantime check out the two videos below of the touchscreen performance in both Win 7 and OSX.

Continue reading MSI Wind modded with sliding keyboard and touchscreen

Filed under: Laptops

MSI Wind modded with sliding keyboard and touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Insanely Wind  | Email this | Comments

Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video

Continue reading Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video

Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Hizook  | Email this | Comments

Cornell’s switchable adhesive device keeps candy from falling, could let you dance on the ceiling (video)

Climbing walls is one of those odd feats that scientific establishments seem compelled to master — despite there being few practical applications beyond the ultimate in Marvel-themed Halloween attire. The latest to tackle the challenge are Paul Steen and Michael Vogel from Cornell University, who have stolen the sticky-feet technique of a Floridian beetle that apparently failed to file a patent. The technique relies on the surface tension of water and capillary action of fluids forced through thousands of microscopic holes. When moisture is pushed through the holes it creates a suction on a smooth surface, enough at this point for the team’s prototype to hold a weight of 30 grams. When the water is retracted the suction disappears. If all goes well, future implementations of a similar size could hold 15 pounds, meaning with enough of them you could climb a wall — without leaving a sticky mess behind.

[Image and video courtesy of David A. Anderson]

Continue reading Cornell’s switchable adhesive device keeps candy from falling, could let you dance on the ceiling (video)

Cornell’s switchable adhesive device keeps candy from falling, could let you dance on the ceiling (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Cornell Chronicle Online  | Email this | Comments

Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month

And just like that, it’s official. Verizon Wireless has today announced that Motorola’s scrumptiously named Devour will be heading to its network next month, with it being the first VZW phone to feature Motoblur. Not that we’re seeing any surprises here, but a quick specification run down draws our attention to a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a touch-sensitive navigation pad, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card and Bluetooth support. Unfortunately, there’s no apparent mention of multitouch, but we’re crossing our fingers (and toes, for that matter) for Google to sling that delightful Nexus One update to the rest of its high-powered Android phones in the very near future. There’s nary a mention of an asking price, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out as launch day approaches.

Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Verizon Wireless  | Email this | Comments

Open-PC is the nettop for those who won’t be constrained by you and your corporate ways

Nettops come in all sorts of shapes, from Wii would-bes to keyboard come-alongs, but they’re all small, and most are running some variant of Windows. Not the Open-PC. It isn’t particularly svelte (345 x 425 x 100mm) and it is entirely free of commercial software, with a KDE core neatly wrapped in a collection of free software. It was designed by the community, specifications and even price determined by a set of surveys, and by the end of the month it will be available to those who said they wanted it — meaning it’s put up or shut up time, Linux fans. Price is €359 (including a $10 donation to the KDE project), a bit steep for a machine rocking an Atom N330 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive, but then again you can’t put a price on stickin’ it to the man.

Open-PC is the nettop for those who won’t be constrained by you and your corporate ways originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbook Italia  |  Open-PC  | Email this | Comments

Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free

People sure do like getting something for nothing. Since Nokia made the big move to stop charging for its walk and drive navigation last week, 1.4 million of us have downloaded the Ovi Maps software — on average, that’s a download a second since launch. The response has been so good that it’s exceeded Nokia’s expectations according to Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia Executive Vice President, with China, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain representing the top 5 downloaders. Hardly a surprise to see consumers responding so favorably to a free offering that makes a device you already have (your smartphone) that much smarter even if it does make your dedicated satnav somewhat mostly redundant. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free

Ovi Maps downloaded 1.4 million times in first week since going free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Nikon Coolpix P100 joins the superzoom party at 26x

Nikon just fired off its first pre-PMA camera announcement with the new Coolpix P100 superzoom, which packs a five-way stabilized 26x optical zoom lens in front of a 10.3 megapixel CMOS sensor with ISO 3200 sensitivity, Backside Illumination and Active D-Lighting. Yeah, it’s not quite the 30x zoom from the new Olympus SP-800UX, but the lens can also do macro shots at 0.4 inches, and there are in-camera HDR features, a 40-shot pre-shooting cache, and a 3-inch 460,000-dot tilting LCD. We’re also told the P100 shoots 1080p video, but we don’t know anything about frame rates or formats yet — we’re looking for more, we’ll let you know. Should be out in March for $400; peep the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Nikon Coolpix P100 joins the superzoom party at 26x

Nikon Coolpix P100 joins the superzoom party at 26x originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Zune HD drops $30-$40 at Amazon, Newegg

Zune HD drops $30-$40 at Amazon, Newegg originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Amazon, Newegg  | Email this | Comments

Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!)

The iPhone isn’t the only handset getting bumped today — Google’s just outed a very, very significant update to the Nexus One that includes Google Goggles on board and a re-upped version of Google Maps that includes suggestions and a dedicated night mode. Much more significantly, though, they’ve capitulated and enabled multitouch in Browser, Gallery, and Maps — great news and a big win for the Android community at large. Finally, there are some 3G improvements in there, but you might have to wait a bit — Google expects to have it rolled out to pretty much everyone toward the end of the week. Seriously though, now that we’ve gotten that whole multitouch spat cleared up, it’s time for Engadget to rally around something else: ridding the world of tiny ninjas, perhaps? Follow the break for a video of the new firmware — in all its multi-fingered glory — in action!

Continue reading Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!)

Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Google  | Email this | Comments

Southwest nails down in-flight WiFi partnership, whole fleet to be lit by 2012

It’s about time, ain’t it? Southwest — which is easily one of the most enjoyable airlines to fly on here in the States — has finally cemented its in-flight WiFi plans after more than two full years of hemming, hawing and testing. A fresh blog posting on the airline’s website clues us in on exactly how difficult to road to this day has been, but a finalized partnership with Row 44 will allow wireless equipment to be installed into 15 aircraft per month starting in Q2 of this year. In time, the company will ramp that up to 25 per month, which should mean that its entire fleet of 540 planes will be outfitted for mile-high web access by “early 2012.” We’re still being kept in the dark when it comes to pricing, but Southwest assures us that it’s still “testing a variety of price points on the four aircraft that currently have WiFi” and that a decision will be made in a few more months.

Update: Tipster MJK just hit us up with this tidbit, and if Southwest keeps this kind of pricing in tact, it could very well start a price war with the legacy carriers who charge upwards of $13 per flight for access.“I took a trip from Los Angeles to Albuqueruqe recently and they charged $4 for the entire trip. It’s just around two hours but it was indeed fast WiFi.”

Southwest nails down in-flight WiFi partnership, whole fleet to be lit by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |  Southwest  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft says it’s looking into laptop battery issues with Windows 7

We’ve already seen some evidence that suggests Windows 7 puts a particularly hard drain on at least some laptop and netbook batteries, and it looks like Microsoft has now heard enough complaints itself to open an investigation into the matter. Details are otherwise a bit light, but Microsoft is apparently looking into the issue in collaboration with its hardware partners, and says that the problem is likely related to the computers’ BIOS, which Windows 7 relies on to determine if the battery needs to be replaced. Needless to say, there isn’t much in the way of solutions in the meantime, and Microsoft isn’t offering any indication as to when one might be forthcoming.

Microsoft says it’s looking into laptop battery issues with Windows 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PhysOrg  | Email this | Comments

JVC trots out Everio GZ-HM340 HD camcorder with 16GB of internal storage

Too busy to deal with 8mm, DVDs or VHS tapes? Who isn’t, right? JVC is looking to erase the tragic memories of converting your home videos to a format that someone could use by introducing the newest member of the Everio camcorder family: the GZ-HM340. Stocked with 16GB of internal Flash memory, a 20x optical Konica Minolta zoom lens, 1.37 megapixel CMOS sensor, image stabilization, one-touch upload to YouTube, face detection and an SD / SDHC expansion slot, this bad boy is set to land later in the month for a nickle under $500. Here’s hoping it captures to something other than AVCHD, but our gut tells us this might be one dream that doesn’t come true.

Continue reading JVC trots out Everio GZ-HM340 HD camcorder with 16GB of internal storage

JVC trots out Everio GZ-HM340 HD camcorder with 16GB of internal storage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Displax film could turn nearly any surface into touchscreen, make your keyboard irate

Light Blue Optics already blew our minds up with its touchscreen-creating projector, but it looks like Displax will be the one to really turn the touchpanel into a modern day commodity. The Portugal-based company is trumpeting a new polymer film that can be stuck onto or just under glass, plastic or wood in order to transform a vanilla surface into one that responds to touch and airflow. Furthermore, the tech can be overlayed on curved panels, and it also plays nice with opaque and transparent surfaces. As the story goes, an array of nanowires embedded in the film recognizes your digits or pointed breath, and it then passes the information along to a microcontroller and software suite that transforms the inputs into reactions on your system. In its current form, the solution can detect up to 16 touch points on a 50-inch screen, and if all goes well, the first Displax-enabled wares will start shipping this July. Huzzah!

[Thanks, Ben]

Displax film could turn nearly any surface into touchscreen, make your keyboard irate originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Pocket-lint  | Email this | Comments

Intel said to be cooking up DDR3-lovin’ Atom N475 and Atom N455 CPUs

We’ve maintained that Intel’s range of Atom chips were simply too weak to really love and adore the way a slab of silicon should be, but that’s probably because of our infatuation with things like “overclocking” and “Core i7 Extremes.” Whatever the case, it’s beginning to look a wee bit better for the lineup, as Fudzilla has it that the company will be adding DDR3 memory support to the 1.83GHz N475 and 1.6GHz N455. Both of those chips are expected to maintain their current TDP ratings, and both are expected to launch in Q3 of this year. Nah, DDR3 compatibility won’t make your next netbook scream or anything, but when we’re talking Atoms, we’ll take all the baby steps we can get.

Intel said to be cooking up DDR3-lovin’ Atom N475 and Atom N455 CPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gadget Mix  |  Fudzilla  | Email this | Comments

Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud

Fujisoft’s recently taken the wraps off its latest companion bot, and they call this one PALRO. PALRO’s 39 centimeters tall (just over a foot), and boasts a 1.6GHz CPU Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of flash memory, a 3 MP camera, Wi-Fi, 802.11 b/g/n, and a lithium ion battery to top it all off. He’s also equipped with a 3 megapixel webcam, but don’t worry — his specs don’t make him unapproachable. As you’ll see in the video which is after the break, PALRO’s probably the kind of guy that you could spend a lot of time with… but see for yourself. Fujisoft plans to start shipping units in March for 300,000 yen (that’s about $3,300 ). Hit up the source link for a lot more video.

Continue reading Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud

Fujisoft’s PALRO humanoid robot in the running to be our new best bud originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Plastic Pals  | Email this | Comments

Next Page »