Kamis, 03 Februari 2011

What's new on SlashGear.com

What's new on SlashGear.com

Dungeon Defenders Updates to 4.0

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 02:34 PM PST

Trendy Entertainment’s popular Dungeon Defenders is getting an update but their 3.0 version was rejected by Apple last week. And since their Android version update was hinging on the release of their iOS version update being approved, they’ve decided to push everything back for a feature packed 4.0 update likely to surface next week.

They've been mum on the exact details but have mentioned a few of the changes on their company website including that the game will have new levels, game modes, and a new shopkeeper. Dungeon Defender fans speculate that pets may be available for purchase from the new shopkeeper via mana.

Right now there is one known new game mode called "Competitive Mode", but nothing else beyond that.

[Via Android Community]

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NASA Discovers Earth-sized Planets in New Solar System

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 02:15 PM PST

NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed the discovery of six planets orbiting a sun-like star, Kepler-11. This is the largest group of planets outside our solar system found to be orbiting a single star. The Kepler mission is also NASA’s first finding of Earth-sized planets inside the “habitable zone”–an area where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.

"The historic milestones Kepler makes with each new discovery will determine the course of every exoplanet mission to follow, "said Doug Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA headquarters

Kepler has found 1,235 planet candidates thus far with the new data released on Tuesday. Candidates need follow-up observation and confirmation to ensure they are indeed planets and not large flying debris or asteroids. Out of the 1,235 candidates, 68 are Earth-size; 288 are super-Earth-size; 662 are Neptune-size; 165 are Jupiter-size; and 19 are larger than Jupiter. Of the 54 new planet candidates in the habitable zone, five are near Earth-size with the rest ranging from double the size of Earth to larger than Jupiter.

The Kepler-11 star is roughly 2,000 light years from Earth and is the most tightly packed system of planets discovered so far. All six of the planets have orbits shorter than that of Venus and five of the six have shorter orbits than that of Mercury. The report is based off the observations made from May 12th to September 17th, 2009. The observations covered more than 156,000 stars in Kepler's view, which amounts to only 1/400th of the sky.

"The fact that we've found so many planet candidates in such a tiny fraction of the sky suggests there are countless planets orbiting sun-like stars in our galaxy," said William Borucki, the mission's science principal investigator of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. "We went from zero to 68 Earth-sized planet candidates and zero to 54 candidates in the habitable zone, some of which could have moons with liquid water."

Kepler is a space telescope that looks for planets by measuring the brightness of stars and when it decreases it is caused by planets crossing in front of them. This is called transit and since the transits of planets orbiting a sun-like star take about a year to occur, it usually takes three years to locate and verify Earth-sized planets because it requires three transits for verification.

[Via NASA]

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Acer Group Will Fully Support Customers with Intel’s Sandy Bridge Problem

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 01:23 PM PST

Earlier this week, Intel announced a design flaw in its new chipsets, affecting its whole line of Sandy Bridge processors and setting off a slew of recalls and delays with Toshiba recalling select notebooks and HP and NEC both announcing delays in product launches and Samsung offering refunds on certain affected machines. Now Acer Group has joined the bunch with an official announcement that it will fully support its customers and end users in the aftermath of the Intel problem.

Press Release:

Acer Group to fully support customers and end-users on Intel's Sandy Bridge issues

Manno (Switzerland), 3rd February 2011 – Following the announcement by Intel of a design flaw in the Sandy Bridge mainboard chipset, Acer confirms that the company is fully aware of the issue and is taking all necessary steps to minimize any inconvenience customers might experience.
Acer has already stopped shipping the affected products and issued a recall of the machines that might be concerned from all distribution and retail channels. At the same time, Acer is working in close collaboration with Intel to coordinate the next steps.

On January 31st, Intel issued a recall on all P67 and H67 motherboards that are built on found in the Sandy Bridge micro architecture. The issue is hardware related and required a silicon fix. The outcome of this flaw is that, in some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipset may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD drives. The issue affects SATA 3 Gb/s ports, while not affecting the SATA 6 Gb/s ports.

The issue is related to connectivity, meaning that in a worst-case scenario the machine may not identify the hard disk or DVD, but it will not cause any damage to the data stored on the drives and is not potentially harmful in any other way. Since the effect of the flaw will materialize over a rather long period of time, users of affected PCs will not necessarily see an immediate effect and they can keep using their PC without any particular attention or concern about performance.

Acer is proud to offer products that are free from defects of materials or workmanship, under normal condition of use and wishes to minimize any impact of this issue on its customers. In order to do so, Acer is in the process of setting up a web site where customers will be able to find out whether their product could be affected by the problem.

In case a machine is impacted, Acer will offer the option to service the defective unit, thus minimizing any inconvenience associated with the need to backup and restore user data, as well as to re-install all applications. While the timing of the service depends on the supply of the fixed chipset from Intel, Acer is committed to complete the whole activity in the shortest possible time.

Alternatively, customers may request to swap their affected PC with another Acer product of comparable performance.
Both options will be free of charge.

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Vodafone Forced by Egypt to Spread Propaganda

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 12:55 PM PST


U.K. based Vodafone is saying it was forced by the Egyptian government to send government scripted pro-Murabak text messages to its Egypt customers. There have been many accounts on Twitter showing the texts as they were sent during the protests this past week in the shaken country.

"Vodafone Group protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable," said in a statement released by Vodafone. "We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator."

Vodafone says that it could do nothing to stop the government from sending out those texts, saying the Egyptian government has been using the country's emergency laws to write text messages and send them to Vodafone subscribers.

The company has been scrutinized for its part in the information shutdown in Egypt with the disabling of the Internet and cutting off cell phone service. Vodafone says it had to obey the orders of the Egyptian government because it was under legally permissible.

[Via CBS News]

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British Man Faces Jail Term for Stealing 400 Billion Zynga Poker Chips

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 12:49 PM PST

Ashley Mitchell, a 29 year old IT business man plead guilty yesterday to stealing 400 billion Zynga poker chips. Though these were virtual chips, they are worth real money, about $12 million. Mitchell was able to sell about a third of them for £53,000 ($86,000). He hacked into the developer’s servers and stole the chips some time between June 30, 2009 and September 7, 2009.

“The defendant sold around one third of the 400 billion poker chips, and looking at the auction history where one can purchase such items, he was selling them for around £430 ($695) per billion,” said prosecutor Gareth Evans, according to a report from local newspaper Herald Express.

Mitchell was previously convicted in 2008 for hacking into his former employer’s website and changing his personal information to receive £3,498 ($5,600). At the time he was given a suspended sentence, but this time he will be spending some actual time behind bars.

[via Gamasutra]

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Heat Vision for Your Cell Phone Camera

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 12:30 PM PST

Do you ever look into your backyard at night wondering if there are hostiles hiding in the bushes readying for an ambush? Well, if Pentagon's research branch, Darpa, succeeds on implementing heat vision on cellphones, as is their plan, then you may soon have available to you a militarized iPhone to safeguard your house.

Darpa has solicited a project where they want thermal imaging capabilities small enough to fit into a rifle sight, on the dashboard of a vehicle, or in a cell phone. And they’re not satisfied with it only being able to determine a person’s approach, but also to be clear enough so that the viewer can "determine that personnel target(s) are present and that the target(s) are potentially an immediate threat (i.e., with RPG/Rifle) to the host vehicle/soldier/etc."

Darpa has named the project the "Low-Cost Thermal Imager Manufacturing" (LCTI-M) project. They want the technology to be wafer-thin and low cost because it stated that everything—the cameras, optics, manufacturing, and software—has to be under $500 per unit. They also want the "thermal core" to be less than 25 grams.

The Pentagon knows that commercial possibilities are there for this technology and explicitly states it in the solicitation: "If successful, the IR(Infrared) cellphone camera-like approach will lead to wide-spread proliferation in military and consumer products. Similar to visible cameras, the IR cellphone camera products will lead a continued quest for improved cost-efficiency in various manufacturing methodologies, making it more attractive in the commercial sectors."

Tablets and hand-held devices are quite popular in the military right now for their speed and mobility. Special Operations Command is making an app suite to work with Android phones and just last March the Army held an app building contest.

The project has given engineers a timetable of three years to complete the technology. No worries, you'll only be answering to the Pentagon.

[Via Wired]

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Zynga bringing Words With Friends to Android

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 12:13 PM PST

Popular mobile word game Words With Friends will be available for Android phones and tablets later this month, thanks to Zynga. The cool thing is, the game will work across platforms, so Android users can play it with friends using iOS devices.

Zynga plans to offer a premium (read ad-free) version of the game later on this year.  Hopefully we will see more of Zynga’s social games go mobile soon.

[via Android Community]

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Google Offering $20,000 Prize to Hack Chrome

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:59 AM PST

CanSecWest, the world's leading conference in applied digital security, will be hosting the Pwn2Own contest pitting security researchers and exploit writers against popular web browsers and mobile devices. As part of that, Google is offering a $20,000 cash prize to any hacker who can successfully compromise a Windows 7 machine via Google's Chrome web browser.

During last year's contest, Google Chrome was the only browser undefeated but with this additional cash prize and added publicity it is likely that more hackers will seriously take this to task. Details of the Google Chrome contest are as follows:

On day 1, Google will offer $20,000 USD and the CR-48 if a contestant can pop the browser and escape the sandbox using vulnerabilities purely present in Google-written code. If competitors are unsuccessful, on day 2 and 3 the ZDI will offer $10,000 USD for a sandbox escape in non-Google code and Google will offer $10,000 USD for the Chrome bug. Either way, plugins other than the built-in PDF support are out of scope.

Other web browser targets for this year include the latest release candidates of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. Each browser will be installed on a 64-bit system running the latest version of OSX or Windows 7.

[Via ZDNet]

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LCD BacPac HD HERO Video – mas awesome

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:40 AM PST

GoPro’s HD HERO is tiny, waterproof, and now it has a new accessory, an LCD screen. The original camera had no screen in order to keep it small and light, but there are times when an LCD would come in handy. Following up from our earlier post about the LCD BacPac, here is the official video. Continue after the break to get more details about the BacPac…

The LCD BacPac sells for  $79.99, and can attach to the waterproof housing of the camera as well as to the wrist housing.

Video text:  ”The LCD BacPac from GoPro makes it easy to shoot and watch your footage directly on your HD HERO camera, and it’s removable, making it easy to keep your GoPro as small and light as possible during your favorite activities. And of course, it makes using your GoPro as an everyday camera even more fun. The LCD BacPac makes the already awesome HD HERO camera “un poquito mas awesome” (screen reads “a little bit more awesome”)”

[via GoPro]

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iPad 2 Possibly Revealed Next Week?

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:29 AM PST

Sources have been quoted saying that Apple's iPad 2 could possibly make its appearance next week at a special event Apple is having for the iOS 4.3. There has been massive speculation about the original iPad's successor for quite some time and sources are predicting a target release date between April 2nd-9th.

Obviously, nothing is for sure right now but the iPad 2 is purportedly going to be based on the Apple A5 processor, replacing the current Apple 4 processor. The rumored speaker grill on the back will be there and a MiniDisplay port in lieu of a micro USB port. The overall look of the iPad 2 will lean more to its sibling the iPod Touch 4G.

The event is for iOS 4.3 developers and the upcoming iteration of the iOS platform. The iPad 2 is undoubtedly the leader in the tablet market right now and many have expected Apple's refresh of the device to be soon. After the original iPad was the "it" gift of the holiday season, Apple could be positioning itself to make the iPad 2 the hot item to have for the summer.

[Via MacNotes]

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No more “big black blot” with a Transparent TV

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:17 AM PST

With a new design from Michael Friebe, TVs may start looking a lot cooler. The Loewe Invisio television is completely transparent, allowing it to blend in with the existing design in the home. As Yanko Design stated:  “This magnificent TV is not a big black blot in standby mode…It's a clear, frameless glass surface that keeps the room in its "visually unaltered" state.”

According to Friebe, "As the first of its kind, the Loewe Invisio introduces technical innovation, combining conventional LCD and the latest TOLED display technology. This allows to create non-transparent / solid moving pictures with rich color reproduction and full contrast range from solid black to pristine white."

The Leowe Invisio has been entered for a 2011 IF Concept Design award, an international competition for professionals in the areas of design, architecture, marketing and engineering.
No word yet on how much one of these will cost, but this may just be the future of TV.

[via Yanko Design]

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Motorola Atrix 4G Pre-Orders Begin Feb 13

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:11 AM PST

We now have word that pre-orders for the much anticipated Motorola Atrix 4G will start just 10 days from now. A press release was just issued that confirmed that the Atrix 4G will be available for preorders starting February 13 but that the phone wont actually be available at AT&T and "select retail channels" until March 6th —or possibly earlier.

The phone itself will cost $199.99 with a 2-year service agreement. You also have the option to purchase the Laptop Dock with the phone included at a total of $499 after $100 mail-in rebate with a 2-year service agreement. However, if you wish to purchase just the Laptop Dock itself you'll still have to plunk down $499.

Press Release:

AT&T Announces the World's Most Powerful Smartphone, the Motorola ATRIX 4G, Will Be Available for Preorder on Feb. 13
Unique line of Accessories, Including the Motorola Laptop Dock, Available with Bundled Pricing
DALLAS, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

Key Facts
AT&T* begins pre-sales for Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on Feb. 13
Motorola ATRIX 4G, powered by the Android 2.2 platform, available exclusively for AT&T customers for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement.
Motorola ATRIX 4G is expected to be available from AT&T and select retail channels for customers by March 6 or earlier.
AT&T will offer bundled pricing for the Motorola ATRIX 4G and the Motorola Laptop Dock.

4G Portfolio
AT&T is the leader in smartphones, and expects to widen that lead in 2011. In January, AT&T committed to an industry-leading Android portfolio in the U.S. in 2011 and said it plans to offer two 4G smartphones in the first quarter. An industry first, the Motorola ATRIX 4G is the leading edge of more than 20 advanced, 4G devices AT&T plans to deliver in 2011. AT&T has completed the deployment of HSPA+ to virtually 100 percent of its mobile broadband network, which enables 4G speeds when combined with enhanced backhaul.

Motorola ATRIX™ 4G

The Motorola ATRIX™ 4G Android 2.2 smartphone will be offered exclusively by AT&T and is the world's most powerful smartphone. Featuring a 2×1 GHz dual-core processor for a total of 2 GHz of processing power, a unique webtop application, the world's first qHD display, and Adobe flash player, the, ATRIX 4G delivers a remarkable combination of application processing power with 4G speed capability and a high-resolution qHD display, a first for the industry.
It will be complemented by breakthrough accessories that include a revolutionary, super-thin Motorola Laptop Dock — for which ATRIX 4G is the "engine" — and the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock that uses ATRIX 4G's HDMI video output capabilities and processing power to enable a revolutionary browsing, application and media experience.
AT&T will offer two special packages for customers who choose to purchase ATRIX 4G in addition to these unique accessories. The first combines ATRIX 4G and the Motorola Laptop Dock for a promotional price of $499.99 after a two-year service contract and $100 mail-in-rebate after subscription to Data Pro smartphone data plan and tethering add on. Customers who choose to purchase the Motorola Laptop Dock separately pay $499.99. AT&T is also offering an Entertainment Access Kit for ATRIX customers which includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock, a Bluetooth® keyboard and mouse, and a remote control for $189.99.

Motorola ATRIX 4G will also include AT&T Mobile Hotspot service built into the smartphone, allowing users to connect additional Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

AT&T U-verse® TV customers will be able to manage their DVR recordings – and U-verse customers with a qualifying TV plan can download and watch hit TV shows – right from their ATRIX 4G handset using the U-verse Mobile application. In addition, any ATRIX 4G user, whether or not they have U-verse TV at home, can still enjoy a variety of video options – including live TV – with the new U-verse Live TV application, preloaded and available for $9.99 a month.

Quotes
"Motorola ATRIX 4G stole the show at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and we're delivering ATRIX 4G and its truly innovative line of accessories for our customers very soon," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "Any smartphone customer looking for the most powerful and innovative solution on the market has to consider the ATRIX 4G."

"Today consumers use their smartphones to stay constantly connected to the information that matters to them most. The Motorola ATRIX 4G along with our webtop application and innovative docks enable a truly mobile computing experience never before possible on a smartphone," said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president, portfolio and product device management, Motorola Mobility.

1. Mobile broadband coverage is not available in all areas. 4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Will be available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. Learn more at att.com/network.
2. Motorola ATRIX 4G: Requires a minimum data service starting at $15/month. Two-year voice agreement required. Qualified customers only. Motorola ATRIX 4G is configured to work only with the wireless services provided by AT&T. Early termination fee of up to $325. Price of ATRIX 4G and Motorola Laptop Dock package is before $100 mail-in-rebate AT&T Promotion card & with 2-yr DataConnect agreement is $599.99. Allow 60 days for fulfillment. Card valid for 120 days wherever major credit cards accepted. May be used to pay wireless bill. Not redeemable for cash & cannot be used at ATMs or gas pumps. Card request must be postmarked by 4/20/11. Must be a customer for 30 consecutive days to receive Card. Some restrictions & other charges apply. See terms at store or att.com/wirelessrebate.
3. Laptop Dock – Firefox browser use with AT&T Mobile Broadband requires Tethering Plan.
4. Mobile Hotspots and Tethered devices require at a minimum a DataPro Tethering Plan. Devices connected to a Mobile Hotspot or tethered to the ATRIX 4G use data from your DataPro Tethering Plan. Tethering Plans are not unlimited and significant charges may be incurred if the included data allowance is exceeded. Performance may vary depending on the number of devices connected and other factors.
5. Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T U-verse services. Call or go to www.att.com/u-verse to see if you qualify. Download and watch capability available for select content and requires select devices, Wi-Fi connection, and qualifying U-verse TV plan or monthly subscription fee. Standard data charges may apply. AT&T U-verse Live TV requires compatible device, eligible data plan, and mobile broadband service. Service not available in all areas. Programming subject to blackout restrictions. Data rates apply.
6. Price established by AT&T for AT&T-owned retail outlets. Prices may vary at independent retailers.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

[Via Android Community]

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I Refuse to Buy A New TV Every Few Years

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:00 AM PST

Earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show, a slew of televisions were shown off by the top TV vendors in the business. Many of the sets featured 3D and came with the ability to run applications. They all featured nice designs and in most cases, had a price tag that most consumers could live with if they want to go out and get a new television.

But with each new television showed off at the show, I became more and more convinced that the industry wants nothing more than for us to buy new sets every few years. And companies use such advances as 3D to coax us into doing just that.

Now, companies trying to appeal to consumers with new features in products they probably don't need is nothing new. It happens across all industries, and as Apple proved with the iPod and iPhone, it can pay off in a big way if it's done properly.

But buying an iPhone every year isn't nearly as expensive as investing in an HDTV. Depending on the quality of the set consumers are after, they can spend anywhere between a few hundred dollars to thousands. And if they do it every few years like vendors seem to prefer, such buying decisions could be a cash cow for the industry and outlandishly expensive for the average person.

We should remember that it wasn't long ago that televisions were our trusted companions in the living room. They typically sat in the same spot for 10 to 20 years. And although some updates were made to those old tubes over the years, the differences weren't so great that we felt compelled to get new sets every few years.

Nowadays, it's different. The 1080p plasma I bought nearly five years ago is now obsolete. It doesn't have LED backlighting; it has only 2 HDMI ports; it lacks 3D; and it's bulky compared to the new sets on the market today.

The picture quality on my TV is still quite good, especially since I calibrated it, but sports games and movies look downright ugly, compared to the same programming on a top-of-the-line LED-backlit set.

Simply put, it's becoming clearer by the day that my HDTV is being left behind, and the industry is making me believe that I have no choice but to update it sooner than I would like.

But I've decided against that. I'm sticking with my HDTV. Sure, it might not deliver the same picture quality as the latest sets, but I'm unwilling to pay another $1,000 to $2,000 to find something better. And I'm especially against doing it every few years.

The television market is moving quickly. And there's no slowing it down. But that doesn't mean that we have to keep pace.

Now, who's with me?

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7-11 Japan Opening 100 Green Stores

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 10:49 AM PST

How can 7-11, with its glaring fluorescent lights, coolers, and Slurpee machines go green? Well, they have had success with a pilot program in Japan, and are now expanding it to 100 new stores, as well as renovating 100 existing stores to the new green model.

The new stores will use LED lighting, solar-power, and reflective flooring to reduce the need for overhead lights. The stores will have roof mounted solar panels that will produce approximately 30% of the electricity used.  The LED lights also use sensors to detect when less light is needed and automatically adjust.

There will also be charging stations for EVs at the stores.

In 2009, 7-11 opened its first US green store, but the cost of these stores (about 30% more than a standard 7-11) is prohibitive, especially for small franchise owners who would have to shoulder the cost. Government subsidies would only offset 10% of the cost of renovation at this time, and then energy savings, while substantial, is probably not enough to make up for the extra building cost.

Still, this is a step in the right direction. Even if stores started replacing the fluorescents with LEDs, it would be a huge energy savings.

[via GoodCleanTech]
from Inhabitant

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Mad Catz to Produce Wireless Headset for XBox 360

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 10:29 AM PST

Mad Catz, a gaming accessories developer, has entered into a licensing agreement with Microsoft to produce a range of co-branded, licensed headphones for the Xbox 360. These will include a wireless headset with Dolby 5.1 surround sound.  The headset will be produced under the company’s Tritton brand.

The company has not yet released specific details or images.

Mad Catz expects the headsets to be available for the 2011 holiday shopping season.

Press Release:

MAD CATZ AND MICROSOFT CORPORATION ENTER INTO EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT TO PRODUCE LICENSED, CO-BRANDED WIRELESS HEADPHONES FOR XBOX 360®

San Diego – February 2, 2011 – Mad Catz® Interactive, Inc. ("Mad Catz") (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft® Corporation ("Microsoft") to produce a range of licensed, co-branded audio headphones under Mad Catz's Tritton brand and Microsoft's Xbox 360 brand. Under the agreement, Mad Catz has the worldwide rights to manufacture, market and sell licensed, co-branded wired stereo headphones and exclusive rights to produce licensed, co-branded wireless stereo and Dolby 5.1 headphones for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system.

Through this agreement, Mad Catz and Microsoft will work closely together to jointly design and brand wired and wireless headphones, resulting in a range of headphones that will bear the Tritton and Xbox logos on both the packaging and the headphones. This will also mark the first time that wireless, licensed and co-branded headphones will be available for Xbox 360.

Commenting on the agreement, Darren Richardson, Mad Catz's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are delighted to be working so closely with Microsoft to design and brand a range of high performance headphones. The headphone category is the fastest growing category in the video game space – and this agreement assists Mad Catz's Tritton brand in furthering its leadership to provide high-quality, innovative headphones that allow gamers and audio enthusiasts alike to enjoy a superior gaming and listening experience."

Zulfi Alam Microsoft Senior Director, Xbox 360 Accessories, added, "We are pleased to be working in close collaboration with Mad Catz to design and brand products that we believe will deliver a high quality audio experience to Xbox 360 fans. Whether playing games or enjoying music, movies or sports available on the Xbox 360, we are confident that gamers everywhere will react enthusiastically to this new range of wired and wireless headphones."

Mad Catz expects that the range of licensed, co-branded headphones will be available for the 2011 holiday shopping season.

[via HotHardware]

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Verizon Will Limit Data Speeds of Its Heaviest Users

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 10:10 AM PST

Verizon wireless released a memo today stating that it will reduce the data-throughput speeds of the top 5% of data users on its network. The company says it is doing this in an effort to make sure the other users on its network don't suffer. The memo follows after the cut.

Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the vest experience when using out network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren't negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users.

So those of you using “an extraordinary amount of data" be ready to see some drop in speeds. This could be Verizon’s effort in anticipation for their upcoming iPhone 4 release. Their reduction plan begins today.

[Via BGR]

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Apple Files Patent for iPad Stylus

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 10:03 AM PST

Apple filed a patent today for a Stylus specifically designed for touchscreen use. Does this mean that Steve Jobs is backing down on his position that “If you see a stylus, they blew it.” ? Not necessarily. Jobs’ point was that he didn’t want users to need a stylus, as they did for PDAs. This stylus could have appeal for artists, gamers, and also those who are unable to hold a finger steady due to a medical condition. Obviously, this will not be your standard Palm Pilot stylus.

Apple’s stylus will have built in pressure detecting circuits which would communicate with the iPad through WiFi or Bluetooth. This is important because the iPad can't detect pressure, or how hard the stylus is being pressed down. There would also be an accelerometer built into the stylus, something that would be great for gaming. The stylus described in the patent would also have built-in squeeze buttons that could be programmed for shortcuts, like changing colors or brushes.

There are no plans to manufacture this device so far, but keep an eye out, it may be coming soon. We also wonder if Google may begin developing a stylus for Android tablets. If a tablet stylus were available, would you buy it?

[via Cult of Mac]
from Patently Apple

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Apple’s iPad to Grow a Kickstand?

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 09:56 AM PST

A new patent from Apple has been revealed today by the US Patent & Trademark Office, suggesting that the future iPad may be sprouting a kickstand. The document included several images detailing the built-in stand showing a pivoting feature that will allow the iPad to be perched up both in landscape and portrait orientations.

The drawings indicate that the new design will allow the iPad to be angled at various degrees suitable for viewing movies as well as for using its virtual keyboard. Certain tactile features will make it easy for the user to make these adjustments.

The material for the stand will likely be made of metal such as stainless steel although suitably durable plastic may be another option. The kickstand will also pivot back into place to form a flush surface with the body of the iPad.

With the iPad 2 already rumored to be making the rounds, it is unlikely the kickstand made it in this reincarnation. But don't be surprised if we do see it coming up next time around.

[Via Patently Apple]

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Verizon Employees Asked to “Focus on the Customer” – Wait for the iPhone

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 09:31 AM PST

If Verizon employees are excited about the opportunity to get an iPhone on Verizon’s network – they will have to wait. Verizon sent out an email to all employees yesterday asking them to refrain from purchasing an iPhone so that there will enough phones available for customers.  Continue past the break to see the letter…

Apparently, if employees purchase an iPhone on a company line, rather than a personal line, they will be asked to pay for the service. But there is nothing stopping Verizon employees from purchasing an iPhone for personal use, it is just “frowned upon”.

So what does this mean? Verizon iPhones may be tough to get for a while.  iPhones are available for existing Verizon customers starting today, and will be available online for new customers starting February 9th at 3:01am. They will be available in stores on February 10th at 7am.

[via TiPB]

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Aava Mobile Medfield MeeGo/Android phone confirmed

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 09:31 AM PST

Intel has been showing off Medfield-based MeeGo prototypes in the past weeks, and soon Aava Mobile will be getting into the act with its second-generation Aava Core design which the company has confirmed to SlashGear is ready to be rolled out at MWC 2011 this month. According to Aava, the 8.9mm-thick touchscreen smartphone in fact runs either Android or MeeGo.

While the company has working units, they won’t be selling the Aava Core direct to consumers. Instead, like the first model – which we played with all the way back at MWC 2010, when Aava had both Android and Moblin versions on show – it will be used as a developer device, as well as to promote the company’s integrated ACPU and modem platform to OEM/ODMs.

The Intel Atom Medfield based chipset they’ve put together is also suited to tablets, so Aava tells us we shouldn’t get too caught up in just the smartphone shell it’s currently inside. Full specs are yet to be confirmed.

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AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G due March 6: $200 alone or $500 with Laptop Dock

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 09:21 AM PST

AT&T plans to begin taking pre-orders for the Motorola ATRIX 4G from February 13, with deliveries and general sales of the sizeable Android smartphone expected on March 6. That’s according to the WSJ, which claims to have been told the dates from the carrier itself. As for pricing the ATRIX 4G will be $199.99 with a new two-year agreement; just make sure you have deep pockets if you also want the clever laptop dock.

That’s because, if you buy the two together, AT&T is asking a hefty $499.99. Still, it’s cheaper to buy first rather than think it over, since the laptop dock alone is $499.99 if bought separately. For your money you get an 11.6-inch screen and a full-sized keyboard, as we discovered in our hands-on at CES 2011.

The ATRIX 4G itself runs NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 superphone chipset and has a qHD 4-inch display. There’s also a full version of Firefox, which almost makes up for the fact that the smartphone runs Android 2.2 Froyo.

[via Android Community]

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LG Optimus Black coming soon says T-Mobile

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 08:57 AM PST

LG’s Optimus Black smartphone looks to be almost upon us, with UK carrier T-Mobile throwing up a pre-interest page for early registration. Announced back at CES 2011, the Optimus Black may not have the 3D of its Optimus 3D sibling, but it does have a 4-inch NOVA display that’s apparently 50-percent more frugal than the average LCD.

At announcement, all LG would say is that the Optimus Black was headed to market in the first half of 2011; it now looks like that estimate means sooner rather than later. Other specs include dual cameras – a healthy 2-megapixels up front, for higher resolution video calls once LG gets around to upgrading the handset to Gingerbread – and a chassis merely 9.2mm thick.

[via Android Community]

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Yahoo! IMAP issue affects iPhone too reveals email sniffing

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 08:48 AM PST

Yahoo! wasn’t happy with Microsoft blaming their email systems for the Windows Phone 7 “phantom data” bug; the company pulled out a long list of rival OSes and suggested since none of them issues it was actually Microsoft’s flaky IMAP support to blame. Unfortunately it seems they can’t shake responsibility quite that easily; Within Windows‘ Rafael – who actually figured out the original Yahoo! issue hours before Microsoft announced it – has discovered that a similar problem occurs on the iPhone, too.

He looked at how Yahoo! mail servers handled iOS requests, and discovered a whole lot of extraneous information being fired back without actually being asked for. One suggestion is that, since iOS only fetches info on 50 messages at a time – rather than 200 – the unnecessary data use isn’t so obvious, but it’s still there. Android seems to be immune to the problem, however.

Microsoft has its collective hands full with the whole Bing/Google argument which is still ongoing, so they might be too busy to take Yahoo! to task on their server behavior. Still, both companies say they’re working together to address the WP7 IMAP issue, so hopefully this extra wrinkle will get ironed out in the process.

[Thanks Sarkis!]

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Canon EOS 600D spotted: Rebel T2i replacement ahoy?

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 08:26 AM PST

Certification for the Canon EOS 600D has been spotted in Korea, tipping the presumably imminent arrival of the updated DSLR. The new camera was submitted to the Korean Radio Research Agency on January 25, though beyond the official name we don’t know what specs the shooter will offer.

Although not confirmed, the EOS 600D could well be the successor to the Canon EOS 550D, known as the Canon Rebel T2i in the US. That might make it the Rebel T3i; it’s been almost a year since that DSLR was officially launched.

[via CanonRumors]

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JVC GS-TD1 3D camcorder gets pre-release price slash

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 08:10 AM PST

Looks like JVC’s GS-TD1 Full HD 3D camcorder has had a price-cut, and that’s before it’s even on sale. Back when we played with the twin-lens shooter at CES 2011, JVC was predicting a cool $2,000 tag for the 64GB camcorder; now, it’s listed at $1,699.95 with a March 2011 launch.

That’s still not exactly cheap, but then there’s not much in the way of competition on the market at the moment. The GS-TD1 is the first consumer camcorder to record 3D in Full HD resolution, using a pair of 3.32-megapixel CMOS sensors, each capable of 1920 x 1080i, and the new Falconbird processor.

There’s also a glasses-free LCD preview display with a touchscreen for controlling the major features, and a 10x optical zoom. All impressive stuff, and we won’t argue a $300 cut ahead of its sales debut.

[Thanks Andy!]

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Verizon threatens bandwidth throttling for mobile data hogs

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 07:50 AM PST

Verizon’s plans to throttle the bandwidth of its heaviest data users have emerged, courtesy of a data memo [pdf link] spotted on the carrier’s site. According to the document, Verizon may slash data speeds of the top 5-percent of users, both for the remainder of their current billing cycle and the “immediately following” cycle so as to ensure a solid service for the rest of its subscribers.

“Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren't negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users” Verizon memo

The move looks to be in preparation for the new iPhone 4 customers expected to flock to Verizon’s network in search of solid data speeds and better voice call performance than on AT&T. We reviewed the Verizon iPhone 4 yesterday and found it to be far more consistent than the GSM version; that consistency may well encourage owners to hammer Verizon’s data network.

Meanwhile the same document also suggests Verizon plans to use different compression and caching systems for data in future. The carrier is expected to begin throttling users from today.

“We are implementing optimization and transcoding technologies in our network to transmit data files in a more efficient manner to allow available network capacity to benefit the greatest number of users. These techniques include caching less data, using less capacity, and sizing the video more appropriately for the device. The optimization process is agnostic to the content itself and to the website that provides it. While we invest much effort to avoid changing text, image, and video files in the compression process and while any change to the file is likely to be indiscernible, the optimization process may minimally impact the appearance of the file as displayed on your device. For a further, more detailed explanation of these techniques, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/vzwoptimization”

[via BGR]

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XPERIA Play advert leaks: Gaming so good you’ll graft on thumbs

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 07:26 AM PST

Sony has built something of a reputation for itself by putting together unusual, odd or vaguely unpleasant commercials in the past, but Sony Ericsson has outdone itself with its latest Android spot. Just in time for launch of the XPERIA Play at MWC 2011, everybody’s favorite Android mascot gets a set of human thumbs grafted on in a leaked spot caught by DROiDNYTT.

Video after the cut

“Android is ready to play” claims the tagline, and we’re about ready to throw up. Still, it also confirms the “XPERIA Play” name we’ve been assuming would be the launch name (rather than “PlayStation Phone”) so we have to be thankful somewhere.

No word whether this will ever actually be screened or is more of an online hype-generator. We should find out more when SlashGear goes to Mobile World Congress in a couple of weeks time.

[via Android Community]

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JVC GX-PX1 hybrid gets hands-on play: 60fps stills & 36Mbps 1080p

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 07:08 AM PST

JVC only had a concept of the GX-PX1 hybrid camera/camcorder back at CES 2011, so we spent more time with the 3D-capable GS-TD1 instead, but it seems the company’s engineers have been busy. Impress grabbed some hands-on time with the latest version, which looks a little like a blend of Sony’s NEX interchangeable lens cameras and JVC’s regular camcorders, and it’s shaping up to be an interesting model indeed.

The prominent barrel hides a 10x optical zoom and a back-illuminated sensor capable of up to 10-megapixel stills or 1080/60p HD video recording at up to 36Mbps. Notch down to 5.7-megapixels and you can shoot at a crazy 60fps, while ISO ranges from 100 to 6400.

On the back is a 3-inch, 230k dot touchscreen with a twisty-tilty mount for vanity filming, while storage is courtesy of an SD/SDHC/SDXC card to augment 32GB of internal capacity. Optical image stabilization and a battery good for up to 320 shots round out the key specs. If the image quality is as good as the appearance, this could be one mighty appealing camera when it arrives later in the month.

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iXtreamer Review

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 06:44 AM PST

It’s a tough world for iPhone docks; no longer is it enough to simply offer party-friendly playback, the near-saturated market demands slick styling and superlative features if you want to get attention. Xtreamer has certainly pushed the boat out with the iXtreamer, with space not only for your iPhone or iPod but an iPad too, along with an internal hard-drive bay, network streaming and more. Is the iXtreamer the last word in iDocks? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

Considering there are no internal speakers, the iXtreamer is a pretty imposing slab. Measuring 242.1 x 251.3 x 65.7 mm, it’s finished in silver and black plastic with chromed highlights. Physical controls are limited to a power/standby button on the front. On top is the docking connector, with a suitably broad cut-out so that an iPad can slot in; a piece of plastic roughly the size of a PCMCIA card pulls out the side of the iXtreamer and slots in behind the iPad, giving it a rubber-padded place to lean against. Alternatively, there’s an included dock adapter for your iPhone. A sliding panel can cover up the dock if you’re not using it.

On the right side is a door hiding the 3.5-inch SATA drive bay (and the only less-than-solid part of the unit’s construction); some iXtreamer SKUs include a preloaded drive, but the basic model comes empty for you to fit your own. A pair of drive rails and the necessary screws are supplied, and up to 3TB HDDs are supported (with the current latest firmware, v2.6.0). It’s worth noting that you don’t actually need an internal HDD in place in order to use the iXtreamer; you can also stream content across a network instead.

That’s courtesy of the 10/100 ethernet port, which shares a crowded rear panel with two USB 2.0 Host ports, a single USB 2.0 Device port (for hooking up the iXtreamer to a computer and accessing its internal drive), HDMI, composite and component audio/video, and optical/coaxial digital audio outputs. No integrated wireless, but Xtreamer does offer a USB WiFi b/g/n adapter separately.

On the bottom is a 50mm fan, which generally remained relatively quiet. Xtreamer offer an optional IceCube passive cooler kit in case the fan noise is still too frustrating, and which basically slots in instead. The IceCube was not supplied with our review unit.

As well as the iXtreamer, there’s an HDMI cable, composite video cable (though not component), the drive mounting kit, iPhone dock adapter, a USB cable for mounting the iXtreamer as an external drive, and the PSU (which came with a European power cord, despite this being a UK unit). There’s also a comprehensive remote (including batteries) which is a big improvement over the tiny credit-card sized zappers most iPod docks get. It’s not exactly handsome but it’s full-featured, and the buttons glow in the dark; you can even use it to turn off the LED indicator light on the iXtreamer itself.

Software

Unlike most iPod docks, the iXtreamer is really several products bundled into one. At its most basic, it’s offers access to audio, video and photos stored on the iOS device docked on top, but there’s also a separate streaming, internet video and multimedia jukebox component, Xtreamer, with its own firmware.

The basic functionality is straightforward: dock your iPod, iPhone or iPad and it starts charging; hit the iPod Mode button on the remote (or choose Dock from the main menu) and you can choose from audio, video or images. The former work as you’d expect, offering a regular list of what titles you have stored on the iOS device, and you can also load playlists (including Genius playlists).

Photos are less successful. For a start, you can’t simply browse the various albums on your device; instead, you have to choose a slideshow, get it playing, and then the images will display on your TV. Once it’s running, you can pause it or skip forward or back through the images, and background music can also be heard; however, if you want to change album, you need to go back to the iPad display and do it there. We’re also unimpressed with the resolution the iXtreamer shows images: while the system UI is smooth and jag-free in 1080p mode, the slideshow images look to be shown in the same resolution that the iPad displays rather than their full quality, meaning it’s jagged and uninspiring.

The Xtreamer software, meanwhile, is a whole lot more complex. Our review unit came running v2.5.0 but that had already seen at least two incremental updates at Xtreamer’s site. We had a few headaches dealing with the firmware update process; the automatic on-device updater wouldn’t recognize a network connection, so we turned to the manual download of v2.6.0 instead. Unfortunately, unzip the file on a Mac and splits it into multiple separate files, which the iXtreamer can’t handle. Instead, we had to use a PC to unzip as a single .IXTR file.

The basic homescreen has six options, Favorites, Media Library, Dock, Xtreamering, File Manager and Settings. Along the bottom of the display, the IP address (assuming you have a network connection) and status icons are shown, illuminating when there are USB drives attached, network shares, an internal HDD, network connectivity and other system elements. The settings page is comprehensive, though all we needed to tweak initially was the output resolution (which sensibly defaults to the 480p lowest common denominator) to suit our TV. However, there are options for subtitles (with user-assignable fonts), slideshow transitions, aspect ratio, brightness/contrast/hue/saturation, Dynamic Noise Reduction and more, including a choice of DTS/Dolby TrueHD/Dolby D+ audio, DTS/Dolby D 2.1CH audio, or AAC/FLAC/OGG 5.1CH audio. You can also toggle on or off the NAS, UPnP streaming, web server and FTP server functionality.

Favorites is populated by your own shortcuts to most-accessed sources, along with your recently viewed media. Media Library, meanwhile, offers the full range of sources, depending on what you have hooked up or shared to the iXtreamer. As well as USB and internal HDD access, there are network shares, internet content, UPnP streamed media, content on Xtreamer’s own eTRAYz NAS, iRadio and DVD playback, the latter assuming you have a USB DVD player plugged in.

We were successfully able to play content both from a plugged in USB drive, an internal drive in the iXtreamer’s HDD bay, and across a wired network connection (we didn’t have the official USB adapter). The company’s main selling point is the range of codecs and formats it supports, at up to 1080p Full HD resolution and with various audio codecs to match:

Video containers:

MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
VOB
AVI, ASF, WMV
Matroska (MKV) (H.264)
AVC HD
MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
FLV – Flash Video
VP6 Codec h.264 Streaming FLV
Video codecs:
Audio containers:
AAC, M4A
MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
WAV
WMA
FLAC
OGG
RMP4
FLC
PCM
PLSX

Audio codecs:

Audio Down Mix : DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR
Audio Passthrough 5.1 CH : DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR 5.1 CH -
Audio Passthrough 7.1CH – Dolby TrueHD , DTS HD-MA
Photo formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, HD JPEG
Other formats: ISO, IFO, FLV, RM, RA, RAM
Subtitle formats : SRT, SMI, SUB, SSA, IDX
Streaming formats : RTSP, FLV, FLV HD (VP6)

We had no issues with ISOs, HD MKV files, AVI and MP4 clips we’d downloaded or ripped, all playing back smoothly and offering full fast-forward/slow-motion control (down to half-speed or up to 32x in various increments). The quality was on a par with what we’ve seen from a regular DVD or Blu-ray player, or indeed an HTPC hooked up via HDMI. Best of all, even with HD footage the fan was relatively quiet and unobtrusive.

Xtreamering is actually made up of multiple apps, many of which are developed by the Xtreamer community. By default some come uninstalled, too, which led to a few hiccups from the off; each can be loaded individually, and while some downloaded with no problems, others were unable to find the required installation files and threw up network errors. A global install option failed, despite other apps finding the network connection with no problems. After each (successful) installation the box restarts.

Of those that worked, the experience was generally good. The News app has content from BBC, CNN and others, pulling in text-only stories (with a thumbnail image) which can be browsed first by headline and then the full story shown (albeit with an intervening “summary” stage which seems to serve no real purpose). The YouTube player, like we’ve seen from smartphone YouTube apps, allows for searches, browsing the recently added, most watched and most highly-rated clips.

YouTube isn’t the only streaming video, however. There’s also content from IPTV feeds like the TED talks and from MAKE, as well as a “Golden Oldies” channel that promises full length classic movies. The problem again is that this unofficial content has a habit of disappearing after it’s been uploaded; some movies worked, others didn’t, but none had thumbnails in the gallery, instead leaving you to navigate by the tiny text at the bottom of the screen. Without search functionality, you’re left paging through a few hundred screens, hitting play and hoping the stream will work. A Netflix option at the bottom of the page got us excited, but all it says is “Comming [sic] Soon.”

Wrap-Up

The iXtreamer is an interesting mixture of hardware and software, some elements more successful than others. Although it’s billed primarily as an iPhone/iPod/iPad dock, that functionality lacks the simplicity of more dedicated rivals; viewing photos from an iPad seemed particularly inelegant. Still, it works, and iPad-compatible docks are still relatively rare compared to their iPod/iPhone brethren. Xtreamer hope to add iOS app support, but all that depends on Apple and we can’t see that it’s especially likely at this stage.

The Xtreamering software also feels like a work in progress, perhaps because it actually is. As with any community-led media player environment, it can be broken and over-ambitious in places, together with functional and useful in others. The YouTube viewer is straightforward to use, while the news app is surprisingly good; frustrating installation processes threaten to sour the overall experience, however. If you view it as an added extra, on top of the solid media playback base, then it’s an interesting project worth keeping an eye on, but we wouldn’t buy the iXtreamer solely for the Xtreamering functionality.

That leads up nicely to the iXtreamer’s real strength: its abilities as an HTPC replacement. There’s no live TV, nor Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer or 4oD, but you do get a huge range of codec support that should handle just about any media file, disc or stream you can throw at it. The internal hard-drive bay – which handles up to 3TB with the latest firmware – is a great option, and given you can also stream content locally and as an FTP server from files hosted on the iXtreamer, it makes for an excellent media NAS too. A BitTorrent download client would be a nice touch.

Xtreamer has plenty of ideas for where the iXtreamer might develop – there’s apparently an Opera browser port in the works, complete with Flash support – and seem prompt in their release of new firmware versions, addressing bugs and adding features as they go. Even if you don’t need the iPad/iPhone functionality, you can get the same core hardware and software in other units, like a DVD player or a standalone streaming box. As with most HTPC-style media players, this isn’t for the faint of heart, and there are easier ways to view the most common files (on your computer, on your iPod or on an external drive) with your HDTV, but they generally lack the iXtreamer’s huge flexibility and upgrade potential. If you’ve the patience to work around the half-baked elements, and a demanding media library to play, at £159 ($258) the iXtreamer is a whole lot more affordable than a dedicated media PC.

Thanks to Advanced MP3 Players for the loan of the iXtreamer

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Samsung: Galaxy Tab return rate is under 2%

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 06:20 AM PST

The Galaxy Tab saga continues, with Samsung’s latest umbrage being over analyst reports that return rates for the 7-inch slate were as high as 16-percent in the US. Not true, Samsung reckons; in fact, the return rate on Galaxy Tab units is below 2-percent.

The clarification comes only days after Samsung was forced to rectify another rumor regarding the Galaxy Tab, after reports mistakenly claimed a company executive described sales as “quite small.” Instead, Samsung pointed out, the quote had been “quite smooth.”

A sub-2-percent return rate would actually put the Galaxy Tab on a par with Apple’s iPad, which the same researchers quoted around 2-percent returns for. Apple is yet to announce specific figures for iPad satisfaction, however.

[Thanks Kai!]

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