Entelligence: A tale of two TVs
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
This week at what’s become Apple’s fall music event the company unveiled a revised Apple TV. The small $99 device delivers a new rental model and support for Netflix, but there are no apps, contrary to much of the speculation leading up the event. That’s in stark contrast to the Google TV project announced at I/O last spring. Unlike Apple, Google is looking to provide DVR functionality, search, and an app marketplace. Some say Apple isn’t being bold enough, but I think Apple might be right.
Google wants input one on your TV. Apple wants input two. The difference? Input one is where your cable box goes. Input two was where your VCR or DVD player used to live. It’s a port that’s up for grabs.
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Entelligence: A tale of two TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony shows off Google TV — or a video of it, anyway — at IFA 2010
It’s not the full-on demo you’re probably hoping for, but Sony devoted a section of its sprawling, city-within-a-city of a booth at IFA 2010 to diving into some of the capabilities its Google TV-enabled televisions will be offering when they launch in the US before the end of the year. The two-plus minute video loop runs through web search, Google Maps (which looks pretty awesome, we have to admit), YouTube and Picasa functionality, app favorites, and picture-in-picture, which means you don’t have to miss those first few precious minutes of Iron Chef America while you look up desserts that use eggplant. Interestingly, we stopped by Logitech’s booth today, who insisted there wasn’t a Revue anywhere near the show — despite the fact that beta units are in the field, the launch is coming up, and these guys are probably all looking to strike content deals with European providers right about now. In other words, we’ve got a sneaking suspicion there are Revues (and fully-functional Google TV sets from Sony) on the premises, they’re just locked away in meetings where our press badges are… shall we say, “frowned upon.” Follow the break for the full video.
Continue reading Sony shows off Google TV — or a video of it, anyway — at IFA 2010
Sony shows off Google TV — or a video of it, anyway — at IFA 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung Fascinate launching on September 8?
We’ve seen these kinds of Verizon launch decks before, so we tend to believe the September 8 date we’re seeing for the Fascinate here is legit — granted, Wednesday is an odd day to launch a phone, but not a lot weirder than the Thursday, September 9 date we’d had before. Either way, it’s looking like a sure thing that we’re going to see this on shelves come next week, completing Sammy’s impressive four-way coup to get its high-end Galaxy S line launched on all of the US nationals. Like the Droid 2 and Droid X, the Fascinate will feature Blockbuster Mobile to let you download full-length movies on the go — in other words, that’s a feature that won’t be a Droid brand exclusive — and Bing search will be installed out of the box, giving Microsoft a fun little foothold in Google’s kingdom. So, who’s buying? And while we’re on the subject, why isn’t this thing called the “Droid Fascinate?”
[Thanks, Bryan]
Samsung Fascinate launching on September 8? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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YouTube courting Hollywood for pay-per-view movie service by end of 2010, says Financial Times
For all the stupid pet tricks, first-person confessionals, and clips from Conan O’Brien’s formative years that form YouTube‘s content, the one territory it doesn’t really venture is pay-per-view à la Apple, Amazon, and others. Well, it’ll be a Brave New World for the service — and parent company Google — if this Financial Times report is worth its weight in 3mm. According to the publication, the G-Men have been in talks with “Hollywood’s leading movie studios” for several months, touting its reach as one of the main draws for the players involved, for the launch of a pay-per-view service by the end of this year. The video site has been doing rentals on a trial basis since early this year, with just a smattering of indie titles. The thought of paying to watch Blockbuster titles in the same window we watched three dozen (if not more) remixes of Keyboard Cat is still a bit of a new concept, but hey, that’s the future for you.
YouTube courting Hollywood for pay-per-view movie service by end of 2010, says Financial Times originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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T-Mobile G2 build flashes to other devices to great results, new widgets
Remember that T-Mobile G2 build that leaked out earlier this week? Even if you didn’t, the ROM still managed to find its way onto other Android devices by way of some clever (if not elementary, dear Watson) hacking, and from that very binary comes some vivid imagery. Nothing too surprising or earth-shattering, unless of course you find a Google Voice widget absolutely mind-blowing. And if you do, well, you’re welcome.
T-Mobile G2 build flashes to other devices to great results, new widgets originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Logitech’s ‘Lonely TV Part 3′ Google TV ad pulled, Part 4 steps up to the plate
After Part 3 of Logitech’s Lonely TV ad campaign (pictured above) didn’t get quite the reception the company probably intended, GTVHub points out the video has disappeared from YouTube and quickly been replaced by Part 4 in the series. Both are embedded after the break so you can judge for yourself, but Part 4 (along with Parts 1 & 2) seems to do a better job of representing an Aaahh!!! Real Monsters mischievous entity than the Grape You In The Mouth! feel of Part 3. Of course, we’d just like to get out of the ad critic business and get some more Revue with Google TV hands-on time — anyone who remembers Nilay’s tale of woe from podcast 197 knows that IR blasters are an even scarier prospect than anthropomorphized HDTVs suddenly appearing in our bed.
Continue reading Logitech’s ‘Lonely TV Part 3′ Google TV ad pulled, Part 4 steps up to the plate
Logitech’s ‘Lonely TV Part 3′ Google TV ad pulled, Part 4 steps up to the plate originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Entelligence: when less beats Moore
We are all familiar with Moore’s law. The observation made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that the density of semiconductors doubles roughly every eighteen months. The net result? It’s always going to be better faster and cheaper. Certainly that’s been true of the phone space, with large screens, fast processors and lots of storage.
In the last few weeks alone I’ve looked at new phones with 1Ghz processors, the latest and greatest software platforms from Google and RIM… but it’s been one little gadget that’s caught my attention and it totally bucks the trend. What device? It’s the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro — which is a lot of name for a small phone — and it shows some very different thinking about what a smartphone is. In theory, this isn’t a phone that I should like. Instead of a large 4.3-inch screen, it’s running a 2.55-inch screen at 240 x 320 resolution. Don’t look for a 1Ghz processor here. It’s got an ARMv6 revision 5 processor at 600Mhz. Finally, forget Froyo or even Eclair. This thing’s got Android 1.6 on it and may never get updated to the latest and greatest. Despite all that, I think Sony Ericsson has a potential hit on their hands if they decide to bring this to the US later this year as they said they plan to. Why am I so enamored?
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Entelligence: when less beats Moore originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video)
Thought the page-turning Macallan was nifty? You ain’t seen nothing yet — The Astonishing Tribe (the brains behind the look of Android) aims to give you billowing, rippling cloth-like curtains of clever interactive content with their concept Velvet UI. Pull out a widget or Google Maps query, and a sheet of your desired result waves with the virtual wind, before stretching out flat for you to more comfortably interact with. Running on MeeGo (and apparently possible on Android) it’s built with the company’s proprietary UI framework, so don’t expect it to hit tablets anytime soon unless someone throws them some bucks. Also see: TAT’s other impressive concepts. Video after the break.
Continue reading Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video)
Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google TV demo shows off Dish Network integration, universal search (video)
For those still wavering over the possibility of dropping a few Ben Franklins on something rocking the Google TV logo this fall, maybe the best idea is to get to know this new flavor of Android a bit better. StuffWeLike grabbed video of a Comic-Con 2010 demo that showed off its universal search in a level of detail we hadn’t previously seen. Our earlier hands-on with Google TV partner Logitech (also included after the break) focused mostly on its ability to control other devices, but this has a decided emphasis on the user interface and what Google brings to HDTVs, particularly when fully tied in to Dish Network’s DVR, and its ability to shift seamlessly from internet to live or recorded TV and back. The second half of the video shifts the focus to the Google Queue, a single menu for DVR recordings and podcasts (video or audio.) The camera’s a bit jerky, but there’s plenty of info in those menus flashing by including icons for previously announced apps from Netflix and Pandora and an inadvertent cameo from vlogger RayWJ about two and a half minutes in.
Continue reading Google TV demo shows off Dish Network integration, universal search (video)
Google TV demo shows off Dish Network integration, universal search (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Adobe AIR 2.5 coming to Android in Q4 2010, but only to capable phones
When will Strong Bad and company become native Android applications? Anytime after Q4 2010 — that’s when Adobe says it wants to have Adobe AIR for Android runtimes publicly available in the Android Market, along with an initial batch of apps, and fairly exciting potential for more. The Android release will be part of AIR 2.5 and grant would-be developers access to your smartphone’s camera, microphone, accelerometer and GPS as well as providing hardware GPU acceleration and multitouch input, which could make for some exciting PopCap games completely serious and not at all game related uitilies down the road. Don’t necessarily expect them to work on every Android phone, however, as there are some prerequisites for AIR, namely an ARMv7 processor with a vector co-processor, OpenGL ES 2.0 and Froyo, but Adobe says if your device handles Flash 10.1, it’ll probably run AIR.
On a related note, if you weren’t yet sold on Google TV, a breath of fresh AIR might help — Adobe told us it’s presently pondering the correct time to add the cross-platform runtimes on Google’s video streaming boxes as well.
Adobe AIR 2.5 coming to Android in Q4 2010, but only to capable phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Flash Player 10.1 goes final for Nexus One handsets, available to download now
Google just confirmed it at an Android / Flash event in San Francisco, and sure enough, our trusty Nexus One just found, downloaded and installed the final (read: non-beta) version of Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1. It weighs in at just under 5MB, and it’s looking as sweet as ever so far. Nexus One owners can hit up the Android Market to get their download on, and we’d highly encourage you to bookmark a few dozen Flash sites just to rub in the faces of your dearest iDevice-owning friends. Just sayin’.
Flash Player 10.1 goes final for Nexus One handsets, available to download now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Vlingo bows to Google Voice Actions, makes Android version free of charge
When Google Navigation hit the scene, it sounded the death knell for paid GPS on Android, so you can imagine the doom and gloom at Vlingo HQ last week when Google released the similar Voice Actions for free. As it turns out, however, Vlingo’s not going to give up that easily; Vlingo for Android, once a $10 download, is now free as well. In a surprisingly gracious blog post that genuinely congratulates Google on the accomplishment, CEO Dave Grannan explains that he wants Android users to be able to freely compare the services as Vlingo adds features further down the road, and makes one valid point in his firm’s favor — you can try Vlingo now if you’ve got Android 2.0 or above, but Google’s service only runs on Froyo. Interestingly enough, Vlingo on Android was the only version that actually charged; on Nokia, Blackberry and Windows Mobile, however, you could purchase a “Plus” license. Perhaps the company’s not quite as generous as we thought, but there’s still no arguing with a free voice command service that also reads your email aloud — go ahead and give it a try.
Vlingo bows to Google Voice Actions, makes Android version free of charge originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung commits to September updates for Galaxy S GPS woes
AGPS capability on various versions of the Galaxy S — including the Captivate and Vibrant released here in the US — has been deeply hosed since launch, the apparent result of a bunk positioning server being used to associate towers to geographical locations. In practical terms, that’s made apps like Google Maps nearly useless indoors and in urban canyons where line of sight to the birds up in orbit is dicey or impossible, and for European users where the phone’s been out even longer, the wait’s been an especially excruciating one. Fortunately, Samsung’s finally come out with some concrete details on Twitter today, saying that updates are expected next month with “details and download to follow.” No word for Euros specifically, but we imagine (er, make that “hope”) they’ll all be fixed around the same time.
Samsung commits to September updates for Galaxy S GPS woes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gartner and IDC agree: the Android invasion’s accelerating around the world
Last quarter we reported on some pretty stellar growth numbers for Android in the global smartphone marketplace. Back then, Google’s OS had a 9.6 percent slice of the pie, but today that’s ballooned to a robust 17.2 percent, meaning that in terms of end-user sales over the last three months, Android has nearly matched RIM’s BlackBerry sales. That’s quite the feat when you consider that a year ago the latter was shifting ten times more units than the former. This fast pace of growth has narrowed down Symbian’s lead at the top, in spite of Nokia’s favorite OS actually shipping on more phones this year, while the big loser of the quarter has to be Windows Mobile, which contracted both in terms of market share and actual shipments.
Overall, smartphone sales were up by 50 percent year-on-year, according to both Gartner and IDC, while Gartner adds that mobile devices as a whole grew at a tamer 13.3 percent rate. In terms of phone manufacturers’ global share, Nokia and Samsung have held on to their top positions, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola have experienced some uncomfortable shrinkage, and HTC, RIM and Apple have capitalized to expand their portions. Looking over to IDC’s smartphone share data shows, again, that all smartphone makers are growing remarkably well, but it does highlight HTC (129 percent) and Samsung (173 percent) as really improving their presence in the sector. The reason? Android, Android, Android.
Continue reading Gartner and IDC agree: the Android invasion’s accelerating around the world
Gartner and IDC agree: the Android invasion’s accelerating around the world originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Exclusive: Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone
There’s no question that gaming on the Android platform has heretofore been relatively underwhelming, but that looks like it’s all about to change. It seems that Sony Ericsson — a company that has yet to even introduce an Android 2.0 device — is at work on a project to redefine gaming on Google’s mobile platform. We now know (via a trusted source) that the company is actively and heavily developing a brand new gaming platform, ecosystem, and device (possibly alongside Google) which are already in the late stages of planning. And we’ve got the goods on it.
Exclusive: Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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QNAP’s QMobile app enables multimedia NAS streaming to Android and iOS
Got yourself a QNAP NAS, do you? If you’re also in legal possession of an Android or iOS-based device, you could soon be streaming your dusty Boyz II Men and / or Our Lady Peace jams straight from your network. Over the past month, the outfit has released QMobile apps for both Android and iOS, enabling everything from Google’s Nexus One to Apple’s iPod touch, iPad and iPhone to remotely stream images, tunes and videos so long as their NAS is online (and connected to a halfway decent broadband line). The app is said to work just fine over 3G or WiFi, and there’s even a My Jukebox feature that essentially acts as a shuffle system for those who aren’t too picky about what comes through. Both apps are available now in the Android Market and App Store for no charge, but you’ll probably want to tap those source links and update your NAS management software to v3.3.0 before trying any fancy business. Video promo is past the break, if you need some encouragement.
Continue reading QNAP’s QMobile app enables multimedia NAS streaming to Android and iOS
QNAP’s QMobile app enables multimedia NAS streaming to Android and iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Wave flatlines: no plans to further develop standalone product, future is in other Google services
Wave goodbye (sorry, we couldn’t resist) to Google’s “community collaboration” tool. In a post on Google’s official blog, Senior VP of Operations Urs Hölzle has announced there are “[no] plans to continue developing Wave as standalone product.” Blame it on a lower-than-desired user adoption rate, he says, all the while praising the learning experience and innovative tools it fostered. The site will reportedly be maintained “at least through the end of the year,” with no promises beyond that, and tools will be eventually released “so that users can easily ‘liberate’ their content from Wave.” We said early on that many of Wave’s best ideas seemed better fit integrated into existing Google products like Docs and Gmail, and the company seems to agree: it plans to “extend the technology for use in other Google projects.” We look forward to it, but in the meantime, a moment of silence for Google Maps co-founders Lars and Jens Rasmussen’s now-fallen experiment.
Google Wave flatlines: no plans to further develop standalone product, future is in other Google services originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth
We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters — Google has been none too shy in telling us as much — but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year’s sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn’t come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM’s 32 percent and Apple’s 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we’re not sure how much of the iPhone 4′s heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it’s worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they’re still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.
Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorola Sage: AT&T’s next Android phone?
We tend to go into full-on conjecture mode when we see an interesting FCC filing, but our instincts haven’t let us down in the past, so allow us to throw something out on the table. A new Motorola just hit the feds with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, quadband EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth, AGPS, and a digital compass. In other words, this is definitely an Android set, and it could definitely work on AT&T. The Backflip’s already looking plenty long in the tooth, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Moto fire its second Google-powered volley on AT&T before too long — it’s certainly been doing its duties on Verizon (and to a lesser extent, T-Mobile) after all. Any thoughts on what wild form factor this one might be?
Motorola Sage: AT&T’s next Android phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked
A conciliatory end? Looks like we spoke too soon. Yes, Google and China seem to be on a collision course yet again, with the company’s “Mainland China service availability page” showing that web search and ads have once again been fully blocked. Additionally, image and news search have been downgraded from “fully accessible” yesterday to “partially blocked” today. YouTube, Picasa, and other services already blocked remain as such. Looks like the saga continues.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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