LG G Flex receives KitKat update, but only in South Korea for now
When it rains, it pours. Shortly after the news that AT&T’s Galaxy Note 3 is finally getting a taste of Android 4.4, LG is doing the same with its G Flex back at home, in South Korea. Most notably, this update will bring the company’s Knock Code feature, which debuted on the G Pro 2, to the flexible smartphone — yes, it really does flex. But that’s not it: LG’s KitKat update also brings improved Bluetooth Car-Kit controls and a boost in overall performance, thanks to things like Google’s ART experiment. And don’t worry if you down own a South Korean model of the G Flex, you should take this as being a step closer to arriving on your device.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google, LG
Via: UberGizmo
Source: LG (translated)
EU court rules that internet providers may have to block pirate sites
Internet providers in Europe may soon have little choice but to filter out pirate sites. In resolving an Austrian case, the European Court of Justice has ruled that EU countries can ask carriers to block copyright infringers, whether or not the networks are involved. The EU’s laws don’t require that governments limit injunctions to just the parties directly linked to a case, according to the court. While the decision isn’t good news for online free speech advocates, there’s no guarantee of a chilling effect — individual nations still have to decide whether or not they’ll block sites in the first place. It’s the providers who are most likely to face any short-term consequences, since they may have to pay extra to obey local content restriction orders.
[Image credit: European Union Naval Force Somalia, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Wall Street Journal
Source: European Court of Justice
Philips Expanding ‘Hue’ LED Lighting Line with White Bulbs, Tap-Powered Switch [iOS Blog]
Back in October 2012, Philips launched its “hue” line of iOS-compatible LED light bulbs, giving users the ability to set and control light colors and intensities right from an iPhone app. With various “recipes”, users can select from preset and customized lighting scenes to fit a variety of situations, from reading to relaxing to concentrating and more.
Philips has expanded the Hue family several times since the initial launch, including a “Friends of hue” accessory line of light strips and table lamps, as well as new BR30 light bulbs for recessed lighting fixtures.
The Hue family is set to expand again, with Philips today announcing three new upcoming products. The first is known as “hue lux”, a light bulb similar to the existing hue bulb but which can only emit white light. While hue lux lacks the color options available with the original hue, users can remotely control the brightness of hue lux, set schedules, and more.
hue lux
Hue lux launches this summer with a starter kit consisting of two hue lux bulbs and a required bridge device to set up the hue network for $100. Additional hue lux bulbs will be available for $40 each, compared to the $60 price tag for the original hue with colors.
hue tap
The second product Philips is announcing today is “hue tap” a round mountable switch to make it easy to control hue lights without needing to access the hue iPhone app. The hue tap includes four buttons to store lighting recipes that are accessible with a simple tap. The hue tap requires no wiring or batteries and is powered simply by the kinetic energy from users tapping on the switch. The hue tap will be available in the second half of this year and will be priced at $60.
For the more adventurous, the final hue products being announced today are new 3D-printed luminaires. Available in both table and hanging pendant versions, the lights serve as art pieces that integrate with the hue system with palettes of over 16 million colors. Pre-orders for the luminaires begin on March 31, with the pendants priced at 2999 euros and table lamps priced at 2499 euros.
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Google now lets you arrange its web apps just the way you like them
Google’s web-based app launcher can be very handy… unless the app you want is at the bottom, that is. Thankfully, the search firm has just taken some of the frustration out of its interface by letting you drag and drop app icons to reorder them however you like. If you always check Google Finance at the start of the day, you just have to bring it to the top. It’s a simple change, but it could save you from creating bookmarks just to reach Google’s services a little faster.
Via: Google (Google+)
Source: Google Support
Philips Hue targets the ultra high end with $3,500 3D-printed luminaires
Philips’ Hue collection of app-controlled LED bulbs has never been the cheapest option for lighting a room, but the company’s existing products are at least priced to be accessible to many homeowners. That’s absolutely no concern when it comes to this latest lineup of lamps, however. The table and pendant luminaries (a fancy word for light fixture) were designed by WertelOberfell and Strand+Hvass. These works of art are still perfectly functional, though — each is capable of displaying any of 16 million colors, with full wireless control. These 3D-printed fixtures are hardly affordable, however. A selection of table lamps will be available for pre-order beginning March 31st for €2,500 (about $3,500) while the pendant versions will retail for a whopping €3,000 (about $4,150).
Filed under: Household
Philips adds web-connected tap switch, white-only lux bulb to Hue lighting lineup
Think you’re all done building out your Hue lighting collection? Think again. Philips’ latest product is one you’re likely going to want to own. The tap switch, available later this year for $60, lets you control connected lights wirelessly by tapping one of four buttons. More impressive, however, is the switch’s ability to turn lights off and on without requiring a power source of its own. The device is powered by kinetic energy, so a tap creates enough juice to complete each task. Philips is also announcing a new “lux” bulb, which looks and operates like traditional Hue units, albeit without the 16 million colors. This bulb emits only white light, but it’s reportedly very bright. Lux is set to retail for $40 per bulb (compared to $60 for the color version), or $100 in a set of two bundled with a Hue base as well. Like the switch, lux will ship in Europe and North America after the summer.
Filed under: Household
New Kinect for Windows drops the Xbox One logo, adds a power cable
Last year, Microsoft said that the next-gen version of Kinect was coming to Windows, but has been relatively quiet since. That changes now, as Redmond has lifted the curtain on the new sensor and it looks… a lot like the Xbox One version. The unit is missing the Xbox logo power-indicator of its console-tethered counterpart, but as the Kinect for Windows Blog points out, that’s about all that’s different between the two. The software giant also says this reveal is a sign that we’re getting “closer and closer” to launch, but didn’t give any other release details. For the nitty gritty specs about power supplies and voltage ratings, check the source.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Kinect for Windows Blog
Daily Roundup: Facebook’s visual history, Office for iPad and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Facebook: A visual history
Mark Zuckerberg’s social network turned 10 this year, so we took a look back at its design changes over the course of the decade. From profile redesigns to quarterly News Feed tweaks and open betas, constantly adapting aesthetics to catering to user habits has been a driving force for Facebook for quite some time.
Companies would be in charge of phone records under Obama’s new data collection proposal
Earlier today, the White House delimited its new proposal that places control of bulk phone call data with the telecom companies, not the government. If approved, each carrier will continue holding on to records for 18 months, but could be “compelled” under court order to cough them up.
Turkish government bans YouTube following attempt to remove corruption videos
The Turkish government has struck again, this time banning YouTube in what appears to be an attempt to remove videos that contain evidence of political corruption. At this point, the restriction is active on several ISPs and continues to roll out.
Office for iPad review: three beautiful apps, each with strong competition
After quite a few leaks, Microsoft officially outed its Office for iPad offering. Those curious to try it out will need an Office 365 subscription in order to opt in and OneDrive for cloud accessibility, making it an optimal choice for those already invested in Redmond’s wares. Click through for all of the details in our full review.
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Filed under: Announcements
AT&T reveals Asus Padfone X specs, stays mum about pricing and release date
ASUS left us wanting for detailed specs when it showed off the Padfone X at this year’s CES — thankfully, AT&T (its carrier) has finally spilled the beans about the 2-in-1 device. The duo’s phone component has a 1,920 x 1,080 5-inch display, a 13-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras. Similar to other Padfones, this handset (when docked) transfers info over to its accompanying tablet, which in this case has a 9-inch display with 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and a 1-megapixel front camera. As we’ve previously mentioned, the device will be able to tap into AT&T’s fledgling LTE-Advanced network, but it can also connect to the internet via WiFi and transfer files via Bluetooth 4.0.
Under the hood, the Android KitKat twofer boasts a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, 16GB of internal memory (that’s expandable, thanks to a microSD slot) and 2GB of RAM. Even if the phone serves as the hybrid’s brains, though, they’re each powered by their own battery: the handset draws energy from a 2,300mAh battery, while the tablet runs on a 4,990mAh power source. That’s about the extent of what AT&T’s willing to share, so we’re still in the dark when it comes to the Padfone X’s price and release date in the US. But, considering Ma Bell’s LTE-A network is now live in some locations and ASUS CEO Jerry Shen promised a Q2 release, we’ll probably hear about those details soon enough.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS, AT&T
Via: Android Central
Source: AT&T
Sony’s 13-inch ‘Digital Paper’ is just like paper, except it costs $1,100
Despite years of development, E Ink’s displays haven’t yet replaced traditional paper everywhere. Sony’s trying to change that with this 13.3-inch Digital Paper device intended for legal, educational and business environments and after we got a brief demo last year it’s finally ready to go on sale in May. The only downside? Its pricetag, currently set at a cool $1,100. To answer the question of who could possibly afford or want such an expensive piece of paper that displays PDFs and accepts handwriting input, Sony is introducing Digital Paper at the American Bar Association Tech Show (which is apparently a thing) in Chicago.
The draw for Digital Paper is that it’s very light at 12.6 oz and has a high resolution (1,200 x 1,600) / 16-level grayscale display with touch controls, stylus input and no backlight. That helps out easy reading in the daytime and no need to scroll or zoom around documents like on smaller tablets. Sony also claims a three week battery life with recharging via AC or USB, while documents can be loaded over WiFi and stored on its 4GB of internal memory or an SD card. It’s still way out of our price range for note taking, but if Mark Zuckerberg comes knocking with a billion dollar deal in hand, it might be good to have around.
Filed under: Peripherals, Sony
Source: Sony, Digital Paper
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