How the Kindle Fire Could Make 7-Inch Tablets Huge

The Amazon Kindle Fire demos an electronic version of Wired Magazine. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Wired.com. Steve Jobs made it clear what he thought of 7-inch tablets in October 2010. They're “too small,” and as good as “dead on arrival.” But the announcement of and anticipation surrounding Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet may soon have Jobs eating his words.

If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard the news, Amazon debuted its $200 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire, this week. Make no mistake: It's no iPad.

Gadget Lab, How the Kindle Fire Could Make 7-Inch Tablets Huge

Scanners embedded in road to result in fines for those driving on worn tires?

Here's a new one. According to AutoExpress, police in the UK are looking into scanners embedded into roadways that can detect the depth of a vehicle's tire tread. If your rubber doesn't meet a set of pre-determined parameters, you could eventually expect to see a fine show up in the mail. Currently, law enforcement says that the technology will only be used in checkpoint scenarios to alert drivers of a potentially dangerous situation, but given that the system costs somewhere around €50,000, or $67,500 at current conversion rates, critics are concerned that the depth-measuring device will be used as a cudgel to drum up revenue.

Autoblog

See also:
itband, Scanners embedded in road to result in fines for those driving on worn tires?

New Datel Xbox 360 controller packs LCD screen, parties like it's 1998

Datel's latest controller for the Xbox 360 is inducing waves of nostalgia, with a curious LCD display channeling the ghost of the Sega Dreamcast's VMU. The Turbofire EVO also packs in button mapping and fine-tune rumble options alongside third-party controller staples like turbo button settings. These can all be tweaked through the 1.7-inch screen, with extra custom profiles available if you connect the proudly unofficial controller to a PC.

Engadget, New Datel Xbox 360 controller packs LCD screen, parties like it's 1998

Nokia's Windows Phone devices to feature 3D maps and voice-controlled navigation?

Are you curious as to what Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone handsets will be bringing to the table. Well according to Microsoft, Nokia apparently has special permissions to modify Windows Phone a little bit more than what other manufacturers like Samsung and HTC can do, and it looks like 3D maps and voice controlled navigation will be one of them. It's important for handset manufacturers to distinguish themselves and set themselves apart from the competition, for example Samsung is known for putting out handsets with AMOLED/Super AMOLED displays, while Huawei and ZTE are probably better known for making their devices affordable.

Ubergizmo, Nokia's Windows Phone devices to feature 3D maps and voice-controlled navigation?

Sync by 50 Cent Headphones Leaked

The wireless headphones with rapper 50 Cent's branding are near release and several tech blogs have received photos and specs about the upcoming high-end model. Sync by 50 features a unibody casing that is so now, but has full on-board playback controls that no other headphones have. Each can is housed with a 40-millimeter driver surrounded by a memory foam cushion. It has a 3.5-millimeter wireless adapter that supposedly can retrieve audio from up to 50 feet and even allow four simultaneous wireless connections.
The high-end headphones also features a professionally-tuned digital EQ with 16-bit lossless digital sound.

Gadget.com, Sync by 50 Cent Headphones Leaked

Samsung unveils Honeycomb-running Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Today Samsung introduced another member to its lineup of Android-powered tablets. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus runs on the Android 3.2 Honeycomb and packs the Exynos chipset with a 1.2 GHz CPU under the hood. The slate's 7" PLS LCD has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has two onboard cameras - a 3 MP main shooter at the back that also does 720p video and a 2 MP front-facing snapper for video-chatting.

The Android 3.2 Honeycomb platform has been spiced up with Samsung's home-backed TouchWiz UI on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.






GSM Arena, Samsung unveils Honeycomb-running Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Wireless network can be used to track your in-house movements

While testing some new equipment, Neal Patwari of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City discovered that breathing actually affects Wi-Fi signal strength. He came to this conclusion after noticing variations in wireless signal strength in certain parts of a room that were seemingly triggered by chest movements. To prove his theory, Patwari placed 20 in-expensive wireless units around an occupied bed which were arrayed so that they sent 2.4 GHz waves across the sheet, but with one-thousandth the power of a laptop's wireless card.

2DayBlog.com, Wireless network can be used to track your in-house movements

CSGO on PC to be 'different beast' than console versions

News of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's existence was met by an incredibly confusing mix of emotions from PC gamers. A new Counter-Strike. Yay. But wait, it's gracing the unwashed, teabag-happy console masses with its presence. Boo. Also, Global Offensive? Isn't that the one MMO with the jetpacks? No, wait. That's a different thing. Like I said: confusing.

Fortunately, Valve assures that it's not going to let console players rain grenades on your parade. The PC version, explained Valve's Chet Faliszek, isn't trying to be something it's not.

"Yeah, so in some ways the PC will be a different beast anyway," he told Strategy Informer.

2DayBlog.com, CSGO on PC to be 'different beast' than console versions

HTC Holiday takes a break at the FCC

So someone in Australia has already gotten hold of the HTC Holiday which is slated for a 2012 release in that part of the world, but what about us folks living Stateside. Perhaps in the same vein as that of the Kobo Vox's appearance on the FCC followed shortly by a potential release date, the HTC Holiday has arrived at the FCC and might soon hit AT&T's LTE network faster than expected. Also known as the PH39100, the FCC has given their collective nod of approval much to everyone's relief, and chances are pretty good that this superphone will support the 1700x2100x700 spectrums.

Ubergizmo, HTC Holiday takes a break at the FCC

Tiny 'jumping robots' have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5

Perhaps calling an immobile plastic bug with explosives strapped to its underside a "jumping robot" is a bit of a stretch, but who are we to argue with the Army Research Laboratory and the University of Maryland. The two groups have collaborated to create a pair of "robots" that measure just a few millimeters in size but can jump several centimeters in the air. One uses a spring like mechanism (which an operator must press down with a pair of tweezers) to propel it, while the other uses a small rocket, which can be triggered either by current applied over wires or a phototransistor (for untethered flight).

Engadget, Tiny 'jumping robots' have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5

New iPhones & iPod Touch Spotted In Apple's Internal Inventory System!

That piece of news is a little familiar, right. Of course, if you've been following our posts carefully. We've earlier reported that Apple may announce two iPhones - Apple iPhone 4S and Apple iPhone 5 at the upcoming event. Besides, a 3G-enabled iPod Touch was also expected to debut alongside.
The latest report, however, reveals that devices codenamed as N81A and N90A were spotted in Apple's internal inventory system. N81 was the codename for the fourth generation iPod Touch and N90 represented iPhone 4.


Technology Nerd, New iPhones & iPod Touch Spotted In Apple's Internal Inventory System!

2012 Mini Cooper Coupe JCW

Human beings can be a fickle bunch, especially Americans. Case in point: The five-door hatchback is unarguably one of the best arrangements for an automobile, providing ample room for adult-size occupants and their random detritus without being so large as to significantly impact fuel efficiency or make it difficult to fit into tight places. And yet we consistently flock to ever-larger vehicles with the biggest, most powerful engines available. We opt for SUVs and crossovers in lieu of wagons and hatches; we ogle over sloping rear greenhouses, high beltlines and severely raked windshields.










Autoblog, 2012 Mini Cooper Coupe JCW

Two New Smart Cover-Compatible iPad 2 Cases from Belkin

Belkin has introduced two new covers to protect the back of your iPad 2.  The first is the Snap Shield Secure (right, shown in smoke).  This translucent polycarbonate shield has a soft-touch finish, and it snaps over the back of the iPad 2.  The camera and all ports and controls are accessible, and the case works with the Smart Cover.  The Snap Shield Secure even has a stainless steel strip on the back that's designed to keep the Smart Cover securely open.  It's available in clear, smoke, and Apple pink for $39.99.  The second new offering from Belkin is the Emerge 024 for iPad 2.

The Gadgeteer, Two New Smart Cover-Compatible iPad 2 Cases from Belkin

Skype 2.5 for Android brings video calls to 14 new devices, including Honeycomb tablets

...And then there were 41. Oh, sorry, we're talking about Android devices here. Specifically ones that support video calling over Skype. With the update to version 2.5, the VoIP service has tacked on another 14 Goog-powered gadgets to its list of officially supported handsets and tablets. Yes, that's right, we said tablets. In addition to bringing support to phones like the Atrix, Bionic and Nexus One, Skype is inviting the Xoom, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Acer's Iconia to the party. We've even received reports that video calls are working on other Honeycomb slates like the ASUS Transformer.

Engadget

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techage, Skype 2.5 for Android brings video calls to 14 new devices, including Honeycomb tablets

iPhone 4S “N94″ shows up in Apple's inventory

Just yesterday we reported that according to 9to5 Mac's tipster, Mr. X, refreshed iPods and iPhones appeared in Apple's inventory system, however what was missing at that time was a certain "N94" model, which based on the iOS SDK was meant to be Apple's next-generation iPhone – the iPhone 4S/iPhone 5. We mentioned that it could be missing due to the inventory not being complete yet, and as it turns out we were right. The "N94" model has just been spotted in Apple's inventory, thanks to Mr. X who tipped off 9to5 Mac.

Ubergizmo, iPhone 4S “N94″ shows up in Apple's inventory

HTC Hero S, HTC Wildfire S and HTC Flyer announced by US Cellular

US Cellular has introduced no less than three new Android devices made by HTC: HTC Hero S, HTC Wildfire S, and the HTC Flyer tablet. Expected to be released by Sprint as the HTC Evo Design 4G, the Hero S is, as previously reported, a Gingerbread handset with a 4 inch qHD (960 x 540) display, 1.2GHz single-core processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 5MP rear camera with F2.2 lens and 720p video recording, and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. Like the Motorola Electrify (another qHD Gingerbread smartphone launched by US Cellular recently), the HTC Hero S will cost $199.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate.


Unwired View

See also:
itcrowd, HTC Hero S, HTC Wildfire S and HTC Flyer announced by US Cellular

T-Mobile joins Verizon to support Samsung in Apple patent lawsuit

Verizon was the first carrier to come to Samsung's defense in the company's patent dispute with Apple, but it's not the last.

Engadget, T-Mobile joins Verizon to support Samsung in Apple patent lawsuit

France Telecom sceglie CustVox per Sviluppare Soluzioni di Customer Experience Management

France Telecom, operatore leader delle telecomunicazioni, incrementa la fidelizzazione dei propri clienti con l'aiuto di CustVox, pioniere europeo nel settore del CEM.(ZURIGO, SVIZZERA) - CustVox ha annunciato oggi di essere stata selezionata da France Telecom per sviluppare una piattaforma multilingue di Customer Experience Management (CEM) allo scopo di migliorare i processi di gestione dell'esperienza dei clienti per la sua affiliata svizzera, Orange.CustVox, azienda europea leader nell'ambito delle soluzioni software di Customer Experience Management, afferma che tale accordo comporterà un significativo miglioramento nel livello di

Press Release Distribution, France Telecom sceglie CustVox per Sviluppare Soluzioni di Customer Experience Management

LEGO Life of George – Virtual meets physical

LEGO Life of George takes iOS gaming into a new direction where game aren't 100% virtual anymore. This game comes with 144 bricks and a Playmat. The idea is that the iPhone / iPod Touch app shows you a model and it's your task to build it as quickly and as accurate as you can. Once you've completed your model, you place it on the Playmat, which acts as a green screen for the iPhone/Touch camera to capture the built model and determine whether it has been constructed correctly.


The Gadgeteer, LEGO Life of George â€" Virtual meets physical

Official Flickr App Now Available In The Android Market

Popular Yahoo photo service, Flickr, has finally released an Android app into the Market. Not exactly sure what took them so long but if you've been using their service since back in '00, I'm sure this will come as a welcomed release. The Flickr app is actually quite full featured with its own dedicated camera app allowing you to add custom filters and easily share your freshly snapped pics with your favorite social networks. If you never found yourself jumping on the Flickr bandwagon you always have the option of signing directly from the app.

Android Phone, Official Flickr App Now Available In The Android Market

MetroPCS Releases LG Esteem MS910 4G LTE Android Smartphone

MetroPCS has released another 4G LTE Android smartphone from LG on their network. Called the LG Esteem MS910, the handset packs a 4.3-inch WVGA Gorilla Glass touchscreen display, a 1GHz single-core processor, an 8GB of internal memory, a 1.3MP front-facing camera, a 5MP rear-facing camera with 720p HD video recording, GPS, WiFi, a micro HDMI port and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. The LG Esteem MS910 is available now for $249 plus tax, after a $100 mail-in rebate.

TechFresh, MetroPCS Releases LG Esteem MS910 4G LTE Android Smartphone

Motorola XOOM 4G LTE Upgrade Starts Tomorrow, Units Shipping October 13th with LTE Built-in

Verizon and Motorola have just announced that the 4G LTE upgrade promised to those who purchased the XOOM tablet via the wireless provider will begin tomorrow for all existing owners. The upgrade, which was initially offered to a small group of test users, requires owners to ship their tablets back to Motorola for the installation of an LTE radio and a software re-flash that will enable support for 4G. Instructions for completing the upgrade can be found over at Verizon’s site.

Android Phone, Motorola XOOM 4G LTE Upgrade Starts Tomorrow, Units Shipping October 13th with LTE Built-in

Amazon Kindle Fire Impressions and Hands-on Video Roundup

Now that we’ve gotten all the juicy details on the Kindle Fire (specs, announcement, Silk Browser, TV advertisement) it’s time to check out some opinions and impressions. We weren’t able to attend the event ourselves, unfortunately, so we’ve rounded up impressions from some of the outlets that were. BGR says it’s an incredibly compelling offer for $200, though a traditional Kindle + iPad or Honeycomb Tablet combination may be more appropriate.Engadget mentions it’s a nice little device at $200.SlashGear says the Kindle Fire hides its Android roots nicely.

Android Phone, Amazon Kindle Fire Impressions and Hands-on Video Roundup

Amazon Silk is a Revolutionary Cloud-Based Browser for the Kindle Fire [Video]

Alongside this morning's announcement of one of the Amazon tablets we've been waiting for – the Amazon Kindle Fire – the eCommerce giant has announced a new browser technology and the first implementation will be on the Kindle Fire itself. They're calling it Amazon Split and it's essentially a two-part browser – Amazon's EC2 super computer cluster loads and processes intense webpage images and code on Amazon servers, while the browser on the tablet is left to do much smaller tasks. Gizmodo provides us with this image from the event illustrating the load share between the two:.



Android Phone, Amazon Silk is a Revolutionary Cloud-Based Browser for the Kindle Fire [Video]

Report: Amazon tablet is a PlayBook in disguise?

On Wednesday, Amazon is expected to revealed its Kindle Fire Android-based tablet that will run a customized version of Google's OS. Previous hands-on reports have stated that it will feature a 7-inch screen and look similar to RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. But now news has surfaced that the Amazon gadget looks like RIM's tablet for a good reason: because it basically is the PlayBook, only without the BlackBerry OS. Industry insiders claim that Amazon used the BlackBerry PlayBook hardware template as a basis for its first-generation Kindle Fire tablet.

2DayBlog.com, Report: Amazon tablet is a PlayBook in disguise?

ASUS Ultrabooks to arrive in New York City on October 11

The Ultrabooks are coming, and it looks like ASUS' first foray into thin and light computing will officially arrive on October 11th in New York. According to a UX series landing page, we need only wait 15 more days before getting our hands the ASUS UX21 and its larger, but still svelte sibling, the UX31, once again. So, are you excited for the arrival of these ultrabooks.

2DayBlog.com, ASUS Ultrabooks to arrive in New York City on October 11

Feedly Version 6.0 Now Available In The Android Market – New UI and Tumblr/Facebook Integration

If you’re looking for a great RSS/news reader app, Feedly has just been updated in the Android Market and includes a handful of new goodies. Version 6.0 brings about a brand new, more minimal UI. Adding to the list of integrated services like Google Reader, Twitter, Read It Later, Instapaper are the new comers, Tumblr and Facebook. If you want to also use the Chrome or Firefox plug-ins, the app also allows for cross platform syncing, meaning you’ll never miss a beat.

Android Phone, Feedly Version 6.0 Now Available In The Android Market â€" New UI and Tumblr/Facebook Integration

Skoda unveils Volkswagen Up!-based Citigo

This is the all-new Skoda Citigo, and if you're thinking that it looks rather familiar, that's because its Volkswagen-badged kin recently debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. That's right, the long-rumored Skoda version of Volkswagen's new Up. city car has finally arrived. Buyers will have a choice of two 1.0-liter three-cylinder engines – one with 59 horsepower, the other with a 74 hp and a blistering 106 mph top speed – both mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

Autoblog, Skoda unveils Volkswagen Up!-based Citigo

Griffin TechSafe Case for iPad 2 now available

Paranoid about your iPad 2 being stolen when you're not looking or every time you walk out of the room. Well, Griffin Technology has got the case just for you. Called the TechSafe, this case for the iPad 2 ensures that you'll never have to worry about your tablet being stolen. In addition to protecting the iOS tablet from the usual bumps and scratches, the TechSafe also has a security cable with a 4-digit combination lock to make sure nobody can remove the tablet from whatever it's chained to without knowing the code.

Ubergizmo, Griffin TechSafe Case for iPad 2 now available

Apple issues invitations for 4th October iPhone media event

As it turns out, it looks like those rumors about a 4th of October announcement for the next iPhone may be true. Apple has issued invitations to the media for a special iPhone event, which confirms the previous reports that it would be held at Apple's Cupertino campus. Not much was revealed in the invite, although we guess that's to be expected since they probably are keeping the good stuff until the event itself.

Ubergizmo, Apple issues invitations for 4th October iPhone media event

Cyborg rats think with digital cerebellum

Each day we hear more and more news about how robots are able to help us as well as make the quality of our lives a whole lot better – and the latest piece of news to hit the headlines is this: rats are now on the receiving end of cybernetic enhancements, thanks to the implementation of an artificial cerebellum which successfully restored lost brain function in rats. I suppose with many millions of dollars more of research as well as time, cyborg-style brain implants might be a reality one day. Imagine using such implants to replace areas of brain tissue that were damaged by stroke as well as other debilitating diseases.

Ubergizmo

See also:
itnews, Cyborg rats think with digital cerebellum

Fire extinguished at Foxconn factory; production unaffected [video]

A Foxconn factory in Shadong, China caught fire on Tuesday but the blaze was quickly extinguished, Reuters reported. Foxconn said there will not be an impact on production and there were no worker casualties. An explosion caused damage at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China in May, and resulted in three Foxconn worker deaths, 15 injuries and a slowdown in Apple iPad production. That tragedy also caused a 2.14% monthly revenue dip, or about US$6.95 billion in lost revenue. A Foxconn spokesperson told Reuters that Tuesday's fire was caused by electrical cables on the factory roof and noted that the damages will be covered by insurance.



Boy Genius Report, Fire extinguished at Foxconn factory; production unaffected [video]

Amazon signs up magazine publishers and Fox

Amazon must be very, very serious about their upcoming tablet announcement which is said to happen at tomorrow's press conference, and here is yet another tell tale sign that would happen – the Internet giant has already arrived at points of agreement with a trio of large publishing houses in order to provide digital magazine content for their tablet – which we found out yesterday that it will be called the Amazon Kindle Fire. Apart from magazines and books, the Kindle Fire is also said to be able to support Fox movies and TV shows via its Amazon Prime streaming video service.

Ubergizmo, Amazon signs up magazine publishers and Fox

Microsoft patents modular smartphone with controller

Engadget reports that Microsoft has patented a modular Windows Phone that features a swappable gamepad with four buttons and an analog stick, an extra battery, a full-blown QWERTY keyboard and a secondary touchscreen for scrolling through assigned apps. These will supposedly snap into the phone's slide-out bay but may also work outside the chassis via a Bluetooth connection. Called Mobile Communication Device Having Multiple, Interchangeable Second Devices, the patent was filed on March 17, 2010 and is described as follows:. A mobile communication device comprises a first device with a first display and multiple second devices.

2DayBlog.com, Microsoft patents modular smartphone with controller