Sunday, July 15, 2012
Top Stories Samsung Series 7 Gamer review: the company's first gaming laptop makes its way to the US HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards First solar-geo plant blooms in Nevada's high desert Veho Muvi HD 'NPNG' Edition action camera impressions (video) Lenovo IdeaPad U310 review: a reasonably priced Ultrabook for the masses All News Reviews Reviews Lockheed Martin Stalker drone stays airborne 48 hours using laser power, all-seeing eye gets literal (video) By Jon Fingas posted Jul 16th 2012 at 2:02AM Lockheed Martin Stalker drone stays airborne 48plus hours through laser power, allseeing eye gets a bit more literal video Aerial drone designers have been pushing hard to get devices that can stay airborne for days. After all, what's the point of having an observer that routinely lets its guard down? Lockheed Martin must have this question forever etched in its collective mind, as it just completed tests of a modified Stalker drone that was continually charged by laser power beamed from a ground-based source. The LaserMotive-built test was admittedly conducted in a wind tunnel, not a wind-swept battlefield, but it kept the drone aloft for more than 48 hours and was so efficient that it might even have gone indefinitely, if it weren't for staff intentionally bringing the trial to a halt. The true test is coming next, when Lockheed Martin and LaserMotive fly the drone on laser power outdoors. Should the Stalker sail the friendly skies for long enough, it could help usher in an era of UAVs that can spot intruders at all hours -- a little too close to the aircraft's name for comfort, perhaps, but potentially vital for Special Operations troops that might not have to put themselves in danger. You can check the underpinnings of both the laser power system and the Stalker in videos after the break. READ MORE SUAS News, The Verge sourceLockheed Martin 4 Leave A Comment 110 Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon appears on Samsung's website By Myriam Joire posted Jul 16th 2012 at 1:15AM Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon appears on Samsung's website Fans of unlocked bootloaders rejoice! It looks like the landing page for the Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon is now live on Samsung's website. As you'll recall, Verizon is the only US carrier to sell the handset with a locked bootloader -- something that's not sitting well with us, developers, custom ROM aficionados and other tech enthusiasts (you know who you are). Thankfully, Samsung recently announced it would offer a special version of the handset with an unlocked bootloader on its website for $599. While there's still no info on availability, you'll at least be able to purchase the 32GB model in blue at some point soon. No word on the 16GB or white options, or whether the $599 pricetag applies to this blue 32GB version. We'll keep you posted when we find out more -- in the meantime, follow the source link below for the details. Droid Life sourceSamsung 31 Leave A Comment 200 Kontron preps first Tegra 3-based Mini-ITX board, homebrew gets an ARMful By Jon Fingas posted Jul 15th 2012 at 11:35PM Kontron preps first Tegra 3based MiniITX board, homebrew gets an ARMfull Believe it or not, there's a potentially cheaper (and more customizable) way to get NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 into your life than to spring for a Nexus 7. Kontron is readying a rare Mini-ITX motherboard, the KTT30, that combines the ARM-based chip with expandable RAM and a trio of mini PCI Express slots for expansion like a micro SATA drive or a 3G modem. The external ports are more the kind you'd find on a do-it-yourself x86 PC, too: full-size HDMI, USB and even Ethernet make a show at the back. The only hurdles are an unusually throttled back 900MHz processor speed and, quite simply, the lack of release details. Kontron hasn't promised more than a release "coming soon" -- with much more complete Tegra 3 devices now hitting the $199 mark, though, we can't see the KTT30 putting much strain on any budding hobbyist's wallet. FanlessTech, Blogeee (translated) sourceKontron 29 Leave A Comment 62 How would you change the Nokia Lumia 710? By Daniel Cooper posted Jul 15th 2012 at 10:47PM Feature How would you change While Nokia's Lumia 710 may have been imagined as the Jan Brady of the Lumia line, this supposedly awkward middle child does plenty of things right. In fact, for everyone outside of the smartphone hardcore, it'll serve you very well at a far lower price than the better-looking (yet similarly specced) 800. That said, does it really need to exist? Would you pick this over the cheaper 610, the better designed 800 or the LTE-packing 900? That's the question we're asking you today -- if you were bending Stephen Elop's ear off about his trials and triumphs, what would you say about the 710, and more importantly, what would you change? 246 Leave A Comment 14 Refresh Roundup: week of July 9th, 2012 By Zachary Lutz posted Jul 15th 2012 at 9:00PM Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in ... 7 Leave A Comment 01 Ceton Echo Extender for Media Center beta to start in September By Ben Drawbaugh posted Jul 15th 2012 at 8:16PM If you're one of the lucky few -- 1000 actually -- who received an email today from Ceton you will have the ability to join its paid Extender beta this September. For $179 Ceton will ship ... Read the full post on hd.engadget.com 11 Leave A Comment 40 Google gently tweaks offline experience for Docs, rolling out to Drive users now By Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2012 at 7:27PM Google gently tweaks offline experience for Docs, rolling out to Drive users now You asked for it (probably), and Google delivered (definitely). Once you've enabled Docs offline within Google Drive -- you have, right? -- you'll be able to both create and edit Google documents and view Google spreadsheets sans a live internet connection. But now, Google's massaging the interface in order to automatically filter only offline docs while you're disconnected. Furthermore, those who'd like to preview which files are available offline while still online, you can tap More -> Offline Docs in the left navigation pane. Google's saying that it'll roll out to "all Drive users over the next few days," so hopefully your data plan will get last you till then. sourceGoogle 33 Leave A Comment 117 Switched On: Android's TV Triple Threat By Ross Rubin posted Jul 15th 2012 at 5:30PM Columns Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. DNP Switched On Android's TV Triple Threat Just two years ago, Google TV paved a way for Android to enter the television via integrated sets, Blu-ray players, dedicated TV add-ons and pay TV set-top devices. For now, the product may almost be as much of a hobby for the purveyor of questionable eyewear as Apple TV is for Apple, Google's mobile OS competitor. But it's clear that the platform isn't all things to all couch potatoes; the last several weeks have seen the launch of two new, contrasting approaches to getting Android on the big screen in the home. READ MORE 149 Leave A Comment 1113 Richard Branson confirms Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight will launch next year with him on board By Donald Melanson posted Jul 15th 2012 at 4:10PM Richard Branson has long said that he'd be on board Virgin Galactic's first commercial space tourism flight, and he's now confirmed that will take place sometime next year with his two adult children along for the ride (a bit of a delay from the company's original 2011 target). That trip will of course be made with the company's SpaceShipTwo craft, which has already completed a number of test flights, and which is capable of flying 100 kilometers (or just over 60 miles) above the Earth for a planned two and a half hour flight with five minutes of weightlessness. As the AP notes, some 529 people have already signed up for the $200,000 per person rides into space, each of whom will have to take part in a week of training prior to their trip. Booking's can still be made on Virgin Galactic's website. The Verge sourceAP (Yahoo News), Virgin Galactic 160 Leave A Comment 15160 C-Spire debuts pre-paid tablet and hotspot plans By Terrence O'Brien posted Jul 15th 2012 at 2:42PM As far as regional carriers go, C-Spire is a pretty big deal. Which makes it all the more surprising that the company hasn't offered standalone pre-paid data plans until now. The southern ... Read the full post on mobile.engadget.com 20 Leave A Comment 58 France's ANDRA developing a million-year hard drive, we hope our badly-written blogs live in perpetuity By Jon Fingas posted Jul 15th 2012 at 1:55PM France's ANDRA developing a millionyear hard drive, we hope our blogs live in perpetuity Us humans have been quick to embrace digital technology for preserving our memories, but we've forgotten that most of our storage won't last for more than a few decades; when a hard drive loses its magnetism or an optical disc rots, it's useless. French nuclear waste manager ANDRA wants to make sure that at least some information can survive even if humanity itself is gone -- a million or more years, to be exact. By using two fused disk platters made from sapphire with data written in a microscope-readable platinum, the agency hopes to have drives that will keep humming along short of a catastrophe. The current technology wouldn't hold reams of data -- about 80,000 minuscule pages' worth on two platters -- but it could be vital for ANDRA, which wants to warn successive generations (and species) of radioactivity that might last for eons. Even if the institution mostly has that pragmatic purpose in mind, though, it's acutely aware of the archeological role these €25,000 ($30,598) drives could serve once leaders settle on the final languages and below-ground locations at an unspecified point in the considerably nearer future. We're just crossing our fingers that our archived internet rants can survive when the inevitable bloody war wipes out humanity and the apes take over. [Image credit: SKB] Slashdot sourceScience 95 Leave A Comment 3211 Fujifilm sues Motorola over broad camera and phone patents, claims RAZRs and Xyboards are at fault By Jon Fingas posted Jul 15th 2012 at 12:57PM Motorola RAZR MAXX review Motorola won't have had much of a break following the dismissal of a key Apple lawsuit, after all. In a low-profile move, Fujifilm has sued Motorola for allegedly violating four particularly broad patents on camera and phone technologies -- we're talking basics such as transmitting data outside of a cellular network. The camera designer has supposedly been pushing for a licensing deal since April of last year without much success, and it's asserting that "at least" a wide swath of Motorola devices released both before and after that time are the key offenders, including the RAZR MAXX and Xyboard lines. The complaint is scarcely into the docket and makes it difficult to gauge just what kind of chance Fujifilm has to win in court; we just know that Motorola's (and now Google's) patent lawsuit headache is developing into more of a migraine. FOSSpatents sourceComplaint (PDF) 78 Leave A Comment 79 Inhabitat's Week in Green: origami Yoda, high-speed rail line and a self powered building By Inhabitat posted Jul 15th 2012 at 12:25PM Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green origami Yoda, highspeed rail line and a self powered building It's been a great week for two of our favorite things over at Inhabitat: LEGOs and Star Wars. First, a group of LEGO builders from LEGOLAND Windsor built the tallest LEGO tower ever, snatching the title back from South Korea and returning it to the UK. Then, using 152,455 LEGO bricks, Rolls-Royce built a half-size replica of the jet engine that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In one of the most ingenious LEGO constructions ever built, LEGO pro Rene Hoffmeister built a barrel organ that plays the Star Wars theme song. And in other Star Wars news, we reported on the renovation of Luke Skywalker's boyhood home in Tatooine (actually it's in Tunisia). And finally, we shared a photo of this 7-centimeter-tall origami Yoda -- the most adorable bit of Star Wars memorabilia ever made. READ MORE 11 Leave A Comment 3818 PSA: Sprint LTE goes live today, honest and for true (update: includes Missouri) By Jon Fingas posted Jul 15th 2012 at 11:45AM HTC EVO 4G LTE review on table Sprint's decision to take its LTE live in Kansas City marked a short prelude to a full orchestral performance -- the carrier's upgraded 4G network is now official. Kansas City and St. Joseph in Kansas and Missouri, as well as 13 urban areas in Georgia and Texas, are taking the leap past WiMAX speeds as of today. Senior network VP Bob Azzi has warned the Kansas City Star that the current LTE access is still mostly for use outside until it expands to the 3G network's range, although he adds that there will be a coverage map available from July 16th onwards to let EVO 4G LTE, Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S III owners know when their phones reach full potential. Just remember that the real party starts in 2013, when Sprint hopes to both flick on voice over LTE and ramp up to extra-speedy LTE-Advanced. [Thanks, Alex] Update: As locals in the comments have helpfully reminded us, St. Joseph is in Missouri and just sits along the border with Kansas -- you know what they say about horseshoes, hand grenades and being close enough. sourceKansas City Star 262 Leave A Comment 612 web coverage Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Motorola Atrix HD now on sale at AT&T: $100 on contract for LTE, 720p and ICS By Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2012 at 11:31AM Motorola Atrix HD now on sale at AT&T $100 on contract for LTE, 720p and ICS Well, lookie here. It didn't take long for Motorola's latest Atrix variant to go from unveiled to launched, as the Atrix HD is now on sale at AT&T for a wallet-pleasing $99.99 on contract. Sign the dotted line for two years, and you'll be getting a 4.5-inch Android superphone, complete with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), a true 720p display, Kevlar-infused backing, a "splash resistant" casing and an LTE radio. Those who indulge quickly are set to grab a gratis Vehicle Dock for "a limited time," and you'll also enjoy the first Moto handset to bring the outfit's Circle Widget to the homescreen -- which is engineered to take owners directly to their AT&T account info, displaying data usage, battery status and more. The phone's listed right now in AT&T's smartphone section in Titanium and Modern White, but the link to buy it seems deactivated for the moment. Still, it's all square to go on sale today, so keep a close eye on the source link if you're dead-set on an upgrade. Psst... you can learn more about the Atrix lineage through our original Atrix 4G and Atrix 2 reviews. sourceAT&T 110 Leave A Comment 68 Nokia and AT&T cut Lumia 900 price to $50, sweeten the Windows Phone 7.8 pot By Jon Fingas posted Jul 15th 2012 at 11:19AM Early Lumia 900 adopters might feel spurned knowing that their devices won't get any near-future upgrades beyond Windows Phone 7.8, but AT&T and Nokia are hoping that some new ... Read the full post on mobile.engadget.com 426 Leave A Comment 614
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