Acer Iconia Tab A200 gets sentimental, strengthens families and makes video debut

Acer wants you to know that Apple doesn't have a monopoly on sappy tech commercials -- no Siri, Bob! The Taiwanese manufacturer wants to run with the big boys when it comes to overselling the emotional power of a gadget. Take, for instance, this promotional clip for the upcoming Iconia Tab A200. Yes, we understand that the 10-inch slate can play games and "share memories" but, what exactly Honeycomb has to do with creating family rituals or why you'd...

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Sonos software updates bring Android tablet support, Slacker and Spotify upgrades

Wireless music streaming kingpins Sonos rolled out a number of software updates tonight, including System Software 3.6, which brings added controls to Sonos Wireless HiFi, integration with Slacker and some improvements to the service's Spotify offerings. The newly revamped Sonos Controller for Android, meanwhile, offers up support for Android tablets running 2.2 or higher. More info after the jump.Continue reading Sonos software updates bring Android...

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Lenovo LePhone K2 to arrive with 4.3-inch IPS display, 1.5GHz dual-core chip

Frankly speaking, the phones that Lenovo have announced so far this week haven't been all that exciting (unless, of course, you're somehow aroused by its 5-inch tabletphone), but it turned out the folks had a little surprise for us: the LePhone K2. What we got here is a 4.3-inch IPS display (resolution of which not yet announced), a powerful dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 chip, 1GB RAM, 1GB ROM and an eight megapixel 1080p camera. Sadly, like...

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Sony updates PS3 to version 4.00 ahead of PS Vita launch

Sony is setting the table for the PlayStation Vita today, with the release of a new PS3 update. With version 4.00, rolling out now, PS3 users will be able to share content like music, video and images with the forthcoming Vita, scheduled to launch in Japan on December 17th. The refresh also allows gamers to save PS Vita games and data on their PS3 hard drives, while updating their handheld software using the PS3's network. There are some more PS3-specific...

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That rarest of creatures, the white Nokia N9, should appear before Christmas

A poet would say it's like a piece of ivory: both beautiful and sad. Meanwhile, Nokia's official blog says the white N9 is coming to the UK before the end of the year with a rarefied 64GB of on-board storage. We have no idea as to the price, but we suspect dedicated MeeGo memento hunters will hardly care.Update: Oh hell, sorry Britannia. We actually meant to say it's coming to all those (not very many) countries where the N9 is already available....

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Mobislyder offers low-level roll track for filming, gleams the cube

You tried to shoot a quick handheld movie with your smartphone the other night. And it wound up looking like you shot it in the middle of an earthquake. Before putting your video editing application's "Analyze for Stabilization" feature to the test, have a gander at Glidetrack's Mobislyder. Essentially a combination of a roll track and a skateboard, the Mobislyder ships with a variety of mounts to fit a selection of smartphones, camcorders and compact...

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Box.net befriends Android, will offer Sony Ericsson Xperia phones 50GB of free cloud storage (update: LG phones too)

How much cloud storage space do you need? 2GB? 5GB? Pah! Box.net scoffs at your puny storage needs, and plan to offer a substantial 50GB of free storage (again) for anyone packing a Sony Ericsson Android phone. While the plans have leaked ahead of schedule, the fine details haven't been hammered out just yet; the official blog tells us that the company's "working to provide this offer very soon to all Xperia customers." When the offer does go live,...

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Lenovo will launch a Windows Phone in the second half of 2012, says LePhone product manager

We've already been teased by a LePhone S2 moonlighting as a Windows Phone last month, but it was only yesterday that Lenovo confirmed an upcoming product featuring said OS. While boasting a mere total of 700,000 phone units sold since the original LePhone debuted in May last year (which is rather mundane compared to the Xiaomi Phone's 300,000 pre-orders in 34 hours), product manager Chen Yue told iMobile that Lenovo's now aiming to release a Windows...

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3D Mark is coming to Android phones near you in 2012

Futuremark, father of 3DMark and PCMark, has begun work on an Android edition of its benchmarking software. Wittily titled 3DMark for Android, it'll bring the industry-standard testing tools to all the phones in Google's yard. When finished, users will be able to measure performance by pushing the phone's CPU, rendering, openGL and physics engines to the limits. Results will be comparable against the company's newest software, including the forthcoming...

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Urban Ears Plattan headphones prove that quilted isn't just for toilet paper anymore

Talk about padding out a product line. Urban Ears announced a new, quilted addition to its Plattan line of over-the-ear headphones. The Quilted Plattan Edition feature an extra padded headband and ear cushion. They'll run you around $80 and an extra layer of sweat at the gym.Urban Ears Plattan headphones prove that quilted isn't just for toilet paper anymore originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for...

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Wind River and Clarion pair up to bring Android to your imported street racer

Wind River, Intel's embedded systems arm has been the subject of some misty-eyed advances from car stereo makers Clarion. Ol' Windy (as we're trying to get it called) will be providing a custom version of its Android implementation to power the forthcoming "Clarion Malaysia IVI" in-vehicle-info-tainment kit. The device will be powered by a Freescale i.MX processor (a heavy duty ARM implementation that can utilize multiple cores) and pack Clarion's...

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Samsung draws in developers with S-pen SDK for Galaxy Note

Ever since the mighty Galaxy Note first popped up at IFA we've been curious about that S-pen and how it'll make its way into our real-life workflow. Samsung promised there'd be an SDK back at its October London launch and it's finally here, letting developers get busy adding some S-pen magic to their apps. Version 1.0 lets you add a basic canvas, a pop-up for pen settings (opacity, line color and so on) as well as erase and un/redo. Sure, ICS might...

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Motorola MotoActv coming to the UK to motivate armchair marathon runners

We feel strongly about exercise -- the only time you ever need to run is to escape from violence or, you know, Black Friday mobs. Others think it's an acceptable recreational activity, and it's these people who will be excited that the Motorola Motoactv's arriving in the UK. It's packing the same features we showed you before, including GPS tracking, 4,000 song capacity and being able to connect calls on your compatible Moto phone. It's an exclusive...

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus torn down, Ice Cream Sandwich gets everywhere

What sorts of mysteries does the Samsung Galaxy Nexus hold? Only the folks at iFixit and their trusty screwdrivers know for sure. Thankfully, the site is willing to share. Check out a teardown of one of the year's most eagerly anticipated smartphones. Thrill to the 1.2GHz dual-core processor, marvel to the five megapixel rear-facing camera and be astonished by the NFC antenna in the source link below.Samsung Galaxy Nexus torn down, Ice Cream Sandwich...

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Motorola Xoom 2 unboxing and first impressions (video)

What's this oddly curved box we see before us? Ah, yes, it's Motorola's (joint) second attempt at the Android tablet game. The Xoom 2 is another 10.1-inch widescreen Honeycomb offering, looking to make up for the lost opportunities of its predecessor -- slimmer, faster and certainly packing more vertices. While we put it through its paces, we thought you'd appreciated some close-up shots with what appears to be the final retail model. First impressions?...

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Kindle Fire gets first taste of CM7, needs work on its hand-eye coordination

Well, with source code and root firmly in hand, it was only a matter of time before someone got a custom ROM up and running on the Fire. Of course, the first contestant for your hacked Kindle dollar is the reliable, and damn-near ubiquitous CM7. XDA Developers Forum member JackpotClavin posted a pair of images showing the Gingerbread-based ROM booted up on his 7-inch Amazon tablet. He isn't offering the code for download yet, primarily because there...

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Developer teases voice control of Zune, using PC and Windows Phone (video)

\The great thinkers of the world have long known a secret that we're now happy to disclose: it's not necessity that's the mother invention, but rather laziness. Fortunately, expending a great deal of effort on a project -- simply to perform a task effortlessly -- sometimes brings very cool results. A concept app known as ZuneVoice easily passes muster in this realm, which is used to control Zune software on the PC with only a standard microphone...

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Lenovo LePhone S760 shows up with Android 2.3.5 and 3.7-inch AMOLED display

Alongside the LePhone S2 and the two-and-a-half tablets from earlier today, Lenovo also showed off a 3.7-inch Android 2.3.5 phone dubbed the S760. Packed within is a 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, a vibrant AMOLED display, five megapixel camera and Lenovo's usual customised UI. Externally the phone looks very much like the S2, though the former's shiny plastic backside gives out more of a toy-like feel. No prices just yet but expect this to hit the Chinese...

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Sony's latest Xperia update brings WebGL support to 2011 smartphone lineup (video)

Why Sony chose to sit on this one, we have no idea, but the company just revealed that its software update for the 2011 lineup of Xperia phones -- which was released last month -- also adds browser support for WebGL. This means that if you're holding an Xperia Arc, Mini, Neo, Play, Ray... or any other of its most recent handsets, then there's a good chance you're wielding one of the first Android phones to support this modern graphics platform. Designed...

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Lenovo LePad S2005 vs. Dell Streak 5... cuddle!

It's inevitable that these two 5-inch tabletphones -- the Dell Streak 5 on the left and the Lenovo LePad S2005 on the right -- are to meet in the Chinese capital. With the exception of the slightly taller body on the S2005 everything else are suspiciously similar, especially the button and camera layout. Well, there's a good explanation for this: we've been informed that this new tabletphone hails from the same ODM, Qisda, as Dell's counterpart....

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Siri lends a hand via your Bluetooth-enabled car stereo, reminds you to buy milk (video)

Sure, we've seen Siri used to do a host of things, including controlling the temperature in a hacker's home. But the folks over at Autoblog were curious to know just how well the virtual assistant would work with Bluetooth-enabled car stereos. Once your iPhone 4S is properly tethered, holding down the handset's home button will activate Siri. Treating her as an incoming call, your Notorious B.I.G. playlist will pause before the ready-for-command...

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AT&T officially adds LG Nitro HD to its LTE fold on December 4th for $250

This may take a bit of steam out of LG's announcement this Thursday night, but AT&T has gone ahead and clicked "submit" on its press release for the LG Nitro HD, its version of the Optimus LTE. As we were expecting, the new arrival on AT&T's network offers a 4.5-inch HD (1,280 x 720) IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm APQ8060 CPU, LTE and an 8MP camera with a 1.3MP front-facing cam. The device, measuring 10.4mm thick, should be showing...

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Sharp AQUOS SH-01D appears on NTT DoCoMo, offers up glasses-free 3D

Not content with brandishing a medley of LTE-packed smartphones this season, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has confirmed a December release for Sharp's AQUOS SH-01D. While it lacks any 4G chops, the Android phone is cocooned in waterproof protection and packs a 12.1 megapixel camera on the back. An OMAP 4430 1GHz dual-core processor runs Gingerbread on the 3D-capable 1280 x 720 ASV display -- all crammed inside a waifish 9.7mm frame. Despite a recent...

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Samsung Wave 3 crashes onto French shores

Samsung's new Bada flagship has just docked into our illustrative French port. Announced back in the summer, the Wave 3 arrives on the refreshed Bada 2.0 OS, powered by a 1.4GHz processor and packing a four-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED display. Storage matches the watery iteration, with 3GB of memory baked-in, with expansion possible through microSD. Meanwhile, an auto-focus five megapixel shooter will do its best to fill all that space. Not content...

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UK boards the Acer Liquid Express, Tom Hanks not embedded with NFC

Because phones, like fashion, must always look to the future, Acer's hitching its ride to NFC. The oft-talked about, but still sparsely used tech gets top-billing here as the company refreshes its Liquid line for T-Mobile UK and Orange UK with the Express. It's a solidly mid-range Gingerbread affair, packing an 800MHz Qualcomm 7227 processor, Android 2.3 and 5 megapixel shooter into a 3.5-inch package. Okay, so it's not the best of what's around...

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Google Wallet unofficially finessed into Galaxy Nexus, complete with complimentary cash

Galaxy Nexus owners may start looking to their phone whenever that pesky bank account is dying for some hurt. Although Google's latest smartphone doesn't officially support its mobile payment scheme, a few clever developers have introduced a functional workaround. Early reports suggest that Citi MasterCards can't be added (yet), but thankfully, the gratis Hamilton courtesy of Mountain View comes without a hitch. To get started, you'll need to unlock...

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N900 takes a bite out of Ice Cream Sandwich, suffers Android brain freeze (video)

Espoo's freshly dug some graves for its operating systems past, but that doesn't mean the mobile underground's leaving its antiquated wares behind. A hacker going by the winsome moniker of Drunkdebugger has kept the NITDroid project chugging along on the N900 with a port of Android's latest 4.0 frosty delight. Fair warning -- this is an extremely early build and is even referenced as being "pre-pre-alpha," so don't expect the overhauled, pure Google...

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Lenovo launches LePad S2005, a 5-inch Gingerbread tabletphone for China

You may recall that last week we had a cheeky peek at Lenovo's upcoming tabletphone, and now our brethren at Engadget Chinese are actually touching one in Beijing! Dubbed the LePad S2005 in China (and to be branded under the IdeaTab series elsewhere), this Android 2.3.5 slate packs a 5-inch 800 x 480 LTPS display with 178-degree viewing angle (but same resolution as the Dell Streak 5's LCD, sadly), a Qualcomm dual-core 1.2GHz chip, 1GB RAM, a five...

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