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‘Gadget News’ Category

Space X’s Dragon launch… is go!

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We're crossing our fingers and toes so hard we can barely type and walk, since it looks like the oft-delayed Dragon launch will take place tomorrow. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed that the company had passed final launch review with NASA and that everything was set for the Falcon 9 to lift off at 4:15AM ET on May 19th. The lift-off will be broadcast live from the official website and is on course to be the first private spaceflight to dock and deliver essential supplies to the International Space Station. For our part? We wish the craft (and the ground crew) all the best and hope it's a perfect flight -- we wanna stay in a space hotel sooner rather than later.

Continue reading Space X's Dragon launch... is go!

Space X's Dragon launch... is go! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceElon Musk (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

HTC Desire C hands-on (video)

HTC Desire C hands-on

HTC gave us a quick session to play around with its latest handset, the Desire C. No, it's not part of the consolidated One series, nor is the company revealing precisely what that "C" stands for -- heaven forfend it's "cheap." While a humble 320 x 480 touchscreen and 600MHz processor might not set many smartphone obsessives' hearts a' racing, it still manages to eke out a HTC Sense-skinned Android 4.0 UI -- no mere feat, in our opinion. A 5-megapixel camera and expandable microSD slot are some other welcome specifications and it's all wrapped up in an attractive matte finish -- you can take your pick form black and white in the UK. Catch our quick video run-through of the sub-$300 handset right after the break.

Continue reading HTC Desire C hands-on (video)

HTC Desire C hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plex shows you how to make your TV shows look great with its new Local Media Agent

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Out friends at Plex have shuttled out a new Local Media Agent that'll enable you to make your TV shows look great. The updated software lets you add show and season posters, banners, background art, theme music and individual episode thumbnails to your recorded shows to make each one really, really good-looking. It'll happily handle PNG and FLAC files for those lossless enthusiasts and it'll even overlook a messy file structure to get everything looking great. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to catalog our Community episodes with thumbnails of Dean Pelton's outfits.

Plex shows you how to make your TV shows look great with its new Local Media Agent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePlex  | Email this | Comments

Distro Issue 41: a visit to the Lowcountry’s Twelve South, TiVo Premiere XL4 and HTC EVO 4G LTE

Distro Issue 41 features a visit to the Lowcountry home of Twelve South, TiVo Premiere XL4 and HTC EVO 4G LTE

It's the most wonderful time of the week once again, pals. Like most seven-day periods, this one comes to a close with the latest issue of our e-magazine for your gadget reading pleasure. Front and center this time around, our own Darren Murph pays a visit to the South Carolina HQ of accessory maker Twelve South to chat about making a big splash while staying small. On the review side of things, we take a gander at the TiVo Premiere XL4 and the HTC EVO 4G LTE to see how they stack up and we go hands-on with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and Sounder's iOS app. Reaction Time makes an appearance too -- taking a long look at Max Payne 3 while listing this week's must-have game releases. The usual suspects fall in line as well, as you might expect. Switched On discusses RIM and Nokia, IRL sneaks a look in at our gear collections, former Doctor Who script editor Christopher H. Bidmead pauses for the Q&A and Dustin Harbin has the Last Word on what killed dinosaurs. Go ahead. Grab the device of your choice and hit the appropriate download link to grab a copy of this week's e-publication.

Distro Issue 41 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (For sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 41: a visit to the Lowcountry's Twelve South, TiVo Premiere XL4 and HTC EVO 4G LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceiTunes, Google Play  | Email this | Comments

K-Touch joins China Mobile with Marvell-powered T660, waves a $160 price tag

K-Touch joins China Mobile with Marvell-powered T660, waves a $160 price tag

Last we heard, Chinese manufacturer K-Touch was quite busy showing off its Treasure V8 at this year's Mobile World Congress. Now, the company's taken the wraps off of its budget-friendly, TD-SCDMA T660 smartphone, marking its first intelligent handset on China Mobile. The device itself features a 4-inch, IPS display alongside a 5-megapixel rear shooter and a 1GHz, Marvell PXA920H CPU (the same one found on the ZTE U880E and Lenovo A668T). Specs aside, however, this is K-Touch's first crack at the TD-SCDMA market and it's doing so on the cheap, pricing the Gingerbread-loaded T660 at a mere 1,000 RMB (around $160) without any contracts attached. Not a bad way to kick things off, right?

Continue reading K-Touch joins China Mobile with Marvell-powered T660, waves a $160 price tag

K-Touch joins China Mobile with Marvell-powered T660, waves a $160 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMarvell  | Email this | Comments

Insert Coin: Chameleon adaptive home screen replacement for Android tablets

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Insert Coin: Chameleon adaptive home screen replacement for Android tablets

If you're an Android tablet owner, you're likely very familiar with the drill: after you unlock the device, you're presented with a static home screen full of apps and widgets, which may or may not be relevant to your current need. The creators of Chameleon, a home screen replacement for Android 3.2 / 4.0 tablets, would like to change all that with a dynamic environment that'll adapt to your current GPS location, WiFi network or the time of day. Users may design and customize their ideal layouts, which may include news and social feeds in the morning, a calendar and tasks for the work environment and an assortment of entertainment options for the evening at home. Switching between these layouts isn't a problem, either, as you'll be able to flick between home screens just as you would with the standard Android interface.

Like a good rug, the interface is attractive and really pulls everything together. Chameleon is currently a Kickstarter project, and its creators intend to unleash the creation into the Google Play Store this September. Those who donate $5 or more can expect early delivery of the app, which is currently slated for August. It never hurts to be early in line, and Chameleon might just rekindle your love for Android tablets. For a quick peek of what's in store, check the video after the break.

[Thanks, Greg]

Continue reading Insert Coin: Chameleon adaptive home screen replacement for Android tablets

Insert Coin: Chameleon adaptive home screen replacement for Android tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKickstarter  | Email this | Comments

Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video)

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Just because your home theater can handle lossless audio doesn't mean the sound is as good as it could be. Dolby is now giving Blu-ray producers using Dolby Media Producer Encoder v2 the choice of premastering TrueHD surround sound at an upsampled 96k. Along with just squeezing the most possible clarity and depth out of 48kHz audio, the encoding purportedly eliminates some of the harshness of digital sound through an apodizing (signal altering) filter. At least three projects have already been given the 96k treatment, and authoring firms like Technicolor have upgrades in place to give that noticeable boost to your next Blu-ray movie.

Continue reading Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video)

Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDolby white paper (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

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If virtual DJs aren't your thing, you might be pleased to hear that the iRig Mix mobile music mixer is now shipping. You can forgo hefty price tags and still mix your own tunes for $99.99 with up to two iDevices at a time, audio from guitars, MP3 players, CD players and the like. In addition to physical controls for volume, gain, treble and bass, the mixer is accompanied by a roster of free apps to help with production, performing and recording. For Android fans wondering where their own version of these apps are, IK Multimedia thinks the Android audio engine has too much latency (check the comments section) to handle its real-time processing, but consoles you with the fact that the hardware is compatible with most devices. Hit the jump for the press release. Wiki wiki, y'all.

Continue reading iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIK Multimedia  | Email this | Comments