Novothink rolls out Solar Surge iPhone / iPod touch charging case

It's not November '09 as originally promised, but Novothink has now announced that its Solar Surge charging cases for the iPhone and iPod touch are finally available. Those will run $79.95 for the iPhone 3G/3GS version and $69.95 for the iPod touch version (second gen only, it seems), which are each available only in black or white at the moment (additional colors are "coming soon), and should add between four and eight hours of talk time, or up to 20 hours of additional audio playback. That's, of course, when the charger is fully charged, but Novothink says you can still expect to get between 30 and 60 minutes of talk time after just 30 minutes of exposure to direct sunlight.

Novothink rolls out Solar Surge iPhone / iPod touch charging case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMax Borges Agency  | Email this | Comments

Barnes & Noble promises B&N eReader app for iPad near launch

Need a bit more evidence that the e-book download business is a whole lot different than the music download business? Then look no further than Barnes & Noble, which has just announced that it plans to make its B&N eReader app available for the Apple iPad "around the time" of the device's launch. Details are otherwise a bit light, but the app will be free, and is apparently "designed specifically" for the iPad, giving you access to all of the books, magazines and newspapers available in Barnes & Noble's eBookstore. Could a Kindle app be far behind?

Barnes & Noble promises B&N eReader app for iPad near launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceB&N Unbound  | Email this | Comments

Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers

Dolby's Axon surround sound technology isn't exactly new (it's already used on a number of PC titles), but to date, it has yet to make a stand in the online console and Mac gaming sectors. All that changes today at GDC, with the aural company introducing an Axon software development kit that will make it possible for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and OS X titles to integrate the technology. According to the company, this here solution provides improved audio chain processing (noise suppression and echo suppression), surround sound voice chat over stereo headsets, 5.1 playback and support for any stereo headset. We're told that the ports should be available for devs starting in April, though only time will tell how long it takes for your Xbox Live experience to go from haunting to all-encompassing.

Continue reading Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers

Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s ultra-compact concept camera gets slightly less mysterious

We didn't exactly get the best look at Sony's new ultra-compact concept camera at PMA last month, but the company is now thankfully starting to reveal a few more details about the "DSLR quality" camera. Still nothing in the way of specs or an actual working camera, of course, but Sony has provided a few screenshots of the camera's menu system that at least provide a few tidbits of information. Most notably, it seems that the camera will employ a touchscreen interface, with most of the main controls handled by a menu on the side of the screen, and it looks like the camera will have a RAW + JPEG shooting mode, which should no doubt please more serious photographers. Hit up the link below for a few more screenshots.

[Thanks, Julien]

Sony's ultra-compact concept camera gets slightly less mysterious originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGeeky Gadgets  | Email this | Comments
Posted on March 11, 2010 at 8:42 am by Donald Melanson · Permalink · Comments Closed
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OpenGL 4.0 arrives, brings more opportunities for general purpose GPU action

What's a Game Developers Conference without some sweet new tools for developers to sink their teeth into? Khronos Group, the association behind OpenGL, has today announced the fourth generation of its cross-platform API spec, which takes up the mantle of offering a viable competitor to Microsoft's DirectX 11. The latest release includes two new shader stages for offloading geometry tessellation from the CPU to the GPU, as well as tighter integration with OpenCL to allow the graphics card to take up yet more duties off the typically overworked processor -- both useful additions in light of NVIDIA's newfound love affair with tessellation and supposed leaning toward general purpose GPU design in the Fermi chips coming this month. Lest you don't care that much about desktop gaming, OpenGL ES (Embedded Systems, a mobile offshoot of OpenGL) is the graphics standard on "virtually every shipping smart phone," meaning that whatever ripples start on the desktop front will be landing as waves on your next superphone. If that holds true, we can look forward to more involvement from our graphics chips beyond their usual 3D duties and into spheres we tend to care about -- such as video acceleration. Now you care, don't ya?

OpenGL 4.0 arrives, brings more opportunities for general purpose GPU action originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tech Crunch  |  sourceVirtual Press Office  | Email this | Comments

Huawei announces SmaKit S7 Android tablet

When we first spied Huawei's SmaKit S7 Android tablet, we were at CeBit and it was... well, non-functioning. Well Huawei's officially announced the tablet now, and we have to say that it looks just like every other Android tablet being hoisted upon the world these days, but it's got some nice features that make it worth a second gander. The 7-incher boasts an 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 720p playback, 3G connectivity, plus a dock with HDMI out, two USB 2.0 ports, and two microSDHC slots. The tablet, which runs the 1.6 version of the OS, will supposedly be available this summer, though we don't yet have any information about where it will be available or how much it will cost. We'll let you know as soon as we do -- but in the meantime, there's a video demo after the break.

Continue reading Huawei announces SmaKit S7 Android tablet

Huawei announces SmaKit S7 Android tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLet's Go Digital, Phandroid  | Email this | Comments
Posted on March 11, 2010 at 7:39 am by Laura June · Permalink · Comments Closed
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T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly

It looks like T-Mobile's webConnect Rocket USB modem will be released right on schedule, even if you currently have to be in Philadelphia to enjoy those HSPA+ speeds (then again, if you're in Philadelphia you probably deserve a break). Accordingly, folks jumping on that March 14 release date can expect to pay $99 with a two-year contract that entitles you to monthly charges of $50 for 5GB or $20 for 200MB -- with a $0.20 / megabyte overage charge. Fun! Additionally, the kids at Mobile Burn got their hands on a unit for a review and were generally quite impressed with consistent download speeds ranging from 1780Kbps to 2797Kbps "on a couple of [DSLreports.com] East Coast servers." Hell, after moving to a location with "prime, perfect signal (-51dbm)" things picked up considerably, with, on average, 6480Kbps downloads and 2160Kbps uploads. Not bad, eh? Hit the source link to get into the nitty gritty. PR after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly

T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMobile Burn  | Email this | Comments
Posted on March 11, 2010 at 7:14 am by Joseph L. Flatley · Permalink · Comments Closed
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$92 MD500 Android tablet from Hott actually looks pretty cool

Hott's $92 MD500 Android tablet actually looks pretty cool
At this point we really need another tablet like we need another hole in the head, but when this one could cost around $100 and still look quite good, well, it's worth talking about. It's the Hott MD500, an Android device with a 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 screen and plenty of OS customizations to make it rather more media-friendly, including the ability to "play every codec" according to the guy doing the demonstration. We'll believe that when we see it, but it is shown playing a 720p clip from the cinematic masterpiece Tokyo Drift without too much trouble. The somewhat iPhone-esque design looks very nice and is much smaller than a comparable Archos 5. The price is $92 to distributors without any flash memory and, since you can get a 4GB microSD card for a few bucks these days (even a legit one), we wouldn't be surprised if these sell for for $115 or $120. Whether they'll ever hit retail in the US is, of course, another question. Video demonstration is embedded below if you want to hear the hype, just try not to lose your breakfast every time this is enthusiastically called an iPad killer.

Continue reading $92 MD500 Android tablet from Hott actually looks pretty cool

$92 MD500 Android tablet from Hott actually looks pretty cool originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceARMdevices.net  | Email this | Comments
Posted on March 11, 2010 at 6:52 am by Tim Stevens · Permalink · Comments Closed
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Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review

Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review
Opera's Mini 5 beta finally hit Android in the wee hours of this morning and, while writing about what it looks like is nice, we thought a little walk-through to demonstrate the impressive speed of the thing was worthwhile. So we have a short video for you below, with a comparison against the stock Android browser, plus some impressions of just how it is to use. So, click on through, won't you?

Continue reading Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review

Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo returning to the UK thanks to partnership with Virgin Media

It looks like TiVo's freshly minted Premiere hardware will soon be setting sail eastwards as The Daily Telegraph is reporting Virgin Media's next generation set-top box will be built around it. Loyal readers of Engadget HD will already be aware that TiVo and Virgin hooked up last November and this latest news relates to the first hardware to be spawned from that relationship. According to TiVo CEO Tom Rogers, the Premiere will "heavily inspire the development work" going into Virgin's next TV appendage, which may or may not mean that the cable company will simply rebadge the well-received new boxes. What's assured though is much greater integration with online content, with search linking you out to Amazon, BBC's iPlayer, YouTube or good old standard broadcast channels. The whole thing's about unlimited choice, apparently, and should be showing up on the Queen's isles by the end of this year. We can wait, but we'd rather we didn't have to.

TiVo returning to the UK thanks to partnership with Virgin Media originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink T3  |  sourceThe Daily Telegraph  | Email this | Comments