HTC Desire 610 rumored to be headed to AT&T
HTC has always had a pretty solid grasp on the midrange market, particularly with their Desire line. With decent specifications, low price, and solid build quality, it’s sometimes extremely hard to not think about picking one up. HTC is set out to make that decision a little bit more difficult, now, with the rumor of the Desire 610 making its way to AT&T.
Earlier this morning, popular leaker, @evleaks, outed a picture of the Desire 610. We don’t have any details as to when it will officially launch, but rest assured, it should be here sometime in 2014. In case you forgot, the 610 offers up a 4.7-inch, 960×540 display, Snapdragon 400 processor, 8GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, and an 8MP rear-facing camera.
It’s great to see a phone that will do well in emerging markets make its way to a giant US carrier. What do you all think? Would you pick one of these up if the price is right?
Source: @evleaks
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Engadget took over Austin for a night and here’s what happened
Bombs were dropped on our Editor-in-Chief while he innocently drove away in a Jeep. Engadget readers enjoyed alcohol in both vaporized and brewed form. A totally retro retailer crashed the party with its unique helmets. Those are just some of our favorite things that happened last Friday when we took over Austin Music Hall to kick off our Engadget Live series!
Chaotic Moon Studios, who introduced us to “Shark Punch” at SXSW, showed off its two-player experience game, “Death From Above.” Our Editor-in-Chief strapped on an Oculus Rift to enter the virtual Jeep as player one, while player two (me!) grabbed an iPad and dropped bombs on him. Ironically, as the social media guy who diffuses bombs on a regular basis, it was I who emerged victorious in the end.
This right here is a Vapshot, a machine that instantly vaporizes alcohol and services it up as a shot or mixed drink. Though the Engadget team was too busy running around greeting fans to partake, the long line to try it out indicated the company earned a ton of new fans.
Re3d showed off its enormous Gigabot 3D printers at the event as well. It won’t fit on your desktop, but you’ll be able to build items up to 2 feet tall!
Atlas Wearables, Brewbot, Huawei, Optical Cables by Corning, Plum, Snakable, Techjango, TiVo, and Zero Motorcycles filled the Austin Music Hall as well, showing fans what they’ve been up to. Speaking of electric motorcycles, we’re hopeful we didn’t break any fire regulations by letting this happen.
If you missed out on Austin, we’re already itching to come back, so stay tuned. Next on the list is our Engadget Live event in Seattle on July 18th. After that, we’ll head to Boston and Los Angeles to wrap up the series before Engadget Expand takes over New York City!
Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Filed under: Announcements
What’s on tap for Google at I/O 2014
Don’t let its DevCon facade fool you: Google I/O has plenty of interesting stuff for everyone. Most of the company’s big announcements come during the day one keynote, which we’ll be liveblogging tomorrow morning. This year’s theme is “Design, Develop, Distribute,” a slogan that doesn’t reveal any major clues about what we can expect (aside from the fact that Google is focused on new design, which we’ll cover in more detail later). But that’s what we’re here for — to figure it out! We’ve compiled a handy guide that discusses what to expect — and not expect — to see at San Francisco’s Moscone Center this week.
Android Wear
We’re not exactly taking a shot in the dark by predicting that Google’s new wearables platform will get a lot of attention at the company’s developer conference. Ever since it was officially announced three months ago, Google has given devs access to the platform via emulators and fed them with videos on the subject. Two of its hardware partners, LG and Motorola, also showed off their first Wear-enabled smartwatches, and all three companies have hinted that we should expect more details near the end of June.
While we feel safe placing bets on the chance that Wear will get plenty of face time during Wednesday morning’s keynote, we’re less sure of which hardware we’ll see — aside from the LG G Watch and Moto 360, that is. A Samsung-built Wear device is a solid guess, but what about the handful of other companies committed to supporting Google’s new platform (Fossil, HTC and ASUS)? Those camps have been pretty quiet of late, so it’s unlikely we’ll see a smartwatch from those manufacturers this soon.
Android redesign
Quantum Paper. Sounds like something straight out of science fiction, but it’s actually the rumored code name for a new design framework Google’s been working on for some time. First detailed by Android Police, this project is intended to offer a consistent user experience on the company’s products over multiple platforms, such as Android, iOS and the web. (We wouldn’t be surprised if this extended to Chrome OS as well.) We expect to hear more of this project at I/O, and it would make sense to see the new design elements implemented in a fresh version of Android. It’s been 2.5 years since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich introduced a completely different user experience; even if we don’t see a full upgrade, we’ll at least come out of I/O with a much better idea of what the next version of Android should look like when it’s ready.
Google Fit
Health monitoring is trendy this year, it seems. In 2014, Apple and Samsung have already introduced platforms that give users the opportunity to gather data about their personal health and provides them with advice on how to improve it. Now it’s Google’s turn to crank out a similar platform, according to Forbes. Known as Google Fit, the service is expected to collect and aggregate health data from apps and fitness trackers. While it’s unclear if this will be baked into Android or just available as a standalone app of some sort, it makes sense for Google to offer a health-related platform for developers and wearables companies. In fact, Fit may encourage more manufacturers to give Android Wear a shot, if Google makes it easy to tie the two platforms together.
Android TV
Television is a tough nut for Google to crack, so the company’s next effort in the space is Android TV. It’s rumored to be a platform that offers a simple user interface (known internally as Pano) focused on helping you find new entertainment options through recommendations. It’ll be similar to the company’s failed Google TV in a few ways, but it’s supposed to feature online media services and games. Developers will be able to create TV apps that have access to voice input and notifications, and content suggestions will sit on the home screen. Netflix and Hulu Plus are expected to be included, as are several other unnamed services.
Google will face the challenge of courting hardware manufacturers to the platform, especially those who may have had lackluster experiences with Google TV or are currently committed to other platforms (such as LG, which uses webOS on its televisions). Still, any company eager to take on Amazon, Apple, Roku and other set-top boxes may adopt Google’s new platform in the hopes of grabbing market share.
ATAP
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects division is hard at work on two publicly known initiatives: Project Ara, which is focused on building a modular smartphone, and Project Tango, centered on 3D mapping and gaming using phones and tablets. At least one of the I/O sessions is dedicated to the group, so there’s a solid chance we’ll get some more details about one or both projects during the conference — and who knows, maybe the company will even reveal something completely new that we haven’t seen before, but we won’t hold our collective breath for that.
Wild cards
Now, we’ll go over a few of Google’s other projects that may show up at I/O. First up is the connected-car experience. Earlier this year at CES, Google announced the Open Automotive Alliance. The coalition, which consists of partners like Audi, Hyundai, GM and Honda, was formed to create an Apple CarPlay-esque platform that would let you use your car’s dashboard as a control center for your Android phone. It’s possible that we’ll hear some more details about the project, which is currently rumored to be known as Auto Link.
But what about Nexus? Over recent months, we’ve heard buzz about a new HTC-built tablet called the Nexus 9, but we’ve also heard the same thing about a Nexus 8 as well. Regardless, we don’t expect to hear much about either device this week, but we won’t rule it completely out of the picture either.
Speaking of which, there likely won’t be any details about the rumored Android Silver program. With Silver, Google reportedly wants to offer a premium Nexus-like experience with multiple manufacturers in which Google itself will volunteer to help with marketing and development costs; these phone and tablet makers would also get preferential treatment when it comes to getting updated with new versions of Android.
Nest’s recent acquisition of Dropcam is still too fresh for Google to discuss strategy or plans of any sort, but don’t count the thermostat maker completely out of the picture. The company announced yesterday that third-party devs can now build apps and devices capable of talking to the hardware, so there’s a very good possibility that we’ll hear more about this from Nest this week. We’d also love to hear more from Google’s home automation group known as Android@home. It was announced in 2011, but has gone largely untouched since it initially began. Could Nest help tie it in with some of Google’s other products? Perhaps.
Lastly, Google Glass has opened up to UK developers (as well as the public) recently, but it’s still technically not a consumer-facing product yet. Google’s mentioned that it’ll arrive for consumers sometime this year, so there’s a possibility that we’ll see the next version of the wearable and get more details on public availability and pricing.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Google
Europe’s next roaming charge cut comes into force on July 1st
From July, anyone travelling in any of the EU member countries with their smartphone will enjoy a few less numbers on their bill. As part of new roaming caps coming into effect next week, the European Commission has cut the price of data downloads by 55 percent. This means the most you’ll pay for a megabyte is 20 cents instead of 45. As promised by the Commission’s VP Neelie Kroes, the new price caps will also drop call charges by 21 percent to 19 cents per minute, while receiving calls will be reduced to 5 cents per minute. Text message costs are down 25 percent to 6 cents, but it’s the lower cost of data roaming that’s the banner announcement, meaning smartphone owners can safely sneak in a quick tweet or Instagram upload while they’re making their way across Europe. Some customers, like those on Three in the UK, can bypass charges completely by way of free roaming plans, but for those who find themselves in an unsupported country, the new rates could lighten possible bill shocks in the future.
Source: Europa
Prototype NASA rover can ride on the underside of frozen lakes
We’ve built rovers to deal with arid planets like Mars, but what about trips to Titan’s hydrocarbon puddles and Europa’s ice lakes? NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is working on a robot that’ll dive into the frozen water, riding along the underside of the surface of Jupiter’s moon. BRUIE (Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration) is currently being tested out in the Alaskan wilderness, not only to determine if such technology could work, but also to study the water itself, measuring its salt content and temperature. If all goes well, then the first tentative steps towards a launch could begin in a few decades, but until then, you can catch BRUIE in action in the video below.
Filed under: Robots
Via: Sploid
Source: National Geographic
ABC News Comes to Apple TV with Live and On-Demand Video, Local News, and Historical Footage [Updated]
ABC News is launching a new Apple TV channel today, bringing access to live and on-demand content to Apple’s set-top box. The channel offers a variety of news and entertainment offerings, including local news in select markets and access to five decades of historical footage from ABC’s archives. As with many of the recent channel additions to the Apple TV, ABC News is only available to users in the United States for the time being, although ABC says availability will expand worldwide “in the coming weeks”.
ABC News on Apple TV offers more choices for how, when and where to get the video content you want. Unlike other news offerings, ABC News provides a robust line-up of original and on-demand content and up to four live streaming events at once, allowing viewers to select and view the live news they care about most. From court trials and breaking news to the daily White House press briefing, live continuous coverage of the day’s top stories, videos and more are instantly accessible with ABC News on Apple TV.
Among the features on the new ABC News channel:
– 24/7 access to live and on-demand video with four separate live video streams to choose from.
– Video news updates on the hour and four to five live reports per day to cover breaking news.
– Local content from nine television stations around the United States: WABC (New York), KABC (Los Angeles), WLS (Chicago), WPVI (Philadelphia), KGO (San Francisco), KTRK (Houston), WTVD (Raleigh), KFSN (Fresno), and WISN (Milwaukee).
– Curated stories and videos highlighting the top news stories of the moment, updated throughout the day.
– 50 years of historical footage from ABC News’ archives, including “This Week in History” and “The Day in Pictures” features.
The Disney/ABC/ESPN media conglomerate has had a close relationship with Apple for a number of years, driven in large part by Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, which was owned by Steve Jobs. As a result of the transaction, Jobs became Disney’s largest individual shareholder and retained a seat on Disney’s board of directors.
The fruits of that relationship can be seen on Apple TV, which offers an existing Watch ABC channel, a trio of Disney television channels, a Watch ESPN channel, and three channels (A&E, Lifetime, History) from Disney/ABC’s joint venture with Hearst Corporation. Disney is also a part owner of the Hulu subscription service that is available on Apple TV.
Update 7:08 AM: In addition to ABC News, several other new channels have appeared on Apple TV today, including PBS Kids, AOL On, and Willow, a sports channel dedicated to international cricket.
iPhone 6 Interest Remains Strong as Consumers Look to Larger Displays
Demand for the next generation iPhone remains strong in the months before its expected fall debut, claims a report from RBC Capital Markets analysts. According to a 4,000 person survey conducted by RBC, half of consumers who plan to upgrade their phone in the next three months intend to buy an iPhone and a quarter of those would be willing to pay $100 more for their iPhone to have a 5.5-inch screen over the other rumored size of 4.7 inches.
Customers know about and are interested in the next iPhone, with 74 percent of survey respondents stating they are aware of Apple’s possible fall iPhone launch and fifty percent claiming they are interested in buying an iPhone for their next phone. Primarily, customers are looking for performance improvements and a large screen in their next iPhone handset.
While ~49% of smartphone purchasers are inclined to buy the next Apple product, we learned that the main driving factor for sales surround performance improvements (battery life 33%, processor 18%, camera 12%). In our view, these results are positive for AAPL, as we would not be surprised to see improvements to both battery life and processing speed with the iPhone 6. Finally, beyond performance improvements, we also learned that screen size could materially impact sales, as 23% of participants surveyed are inclined to purchase a larger screen iPhone.
These customers not only want a larger phone, they also are willing to pay for it, with more than one quarter of respondents willing to pay a $100 premium to buy a 5.5-inch iPhone for $299 instead of the current $199 for the 16GB iPhone 5s and presumably the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. This echoes an earlier report from Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt, who also says consumers are showing an increasing willingness to pay a $100 price premium for a larger device.
Analysts expect the next iPhone to cause iPhone sales to surge as consumers upgrade to the large-screened handset. This demand could translate into a 15 to 20 percent jump in unit sales, year over year, claims RBC. Besides the iPhone 6, Apple also is expected to unveil the iWatch and refresh its iPad lineup later this year in what Eddy Cue says is “the best product pipeline that I’ve seen in my 25 years at Apple.”
Deezer joins the small list of music streaming apps that support Chromecast
Google’s Chromecast dongle is, first and foremost, a cheap piece of hardware for flinging video from various devices to the biggest screen in your home. It makes sense, then, that you should also be able to stream music to your TV just as easily — not everyone has a dedicated audio setup or convenient ways to connect to one wirelessly, after all. There’s plenty of music on YouTube, of course, but Rdio, Pandora and Google’s own Play Music are the only high-profile music services to include Chromecast support so far. Streaming outfit Deezer (which still doesn’t operate in the US) is set to join those ranks tomorrow when it updates its Android and iOS apps. Multiple users will even be able to connect to the same dongle and fight over who has the worst taste. There is one catch to streaming through Chromecast, however: you’ll need a paid Premium+ account to do so, although you need one of those to use Deezer’s mobile apps, anyway. No free option is a bit of a downer, but at least Deezer’s made something of an effort, which is more than can be said for that other popular music streaming service.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Google
Via: The Next Web
Source: Deezer
Anti-poaching campaign needs $100,000 to turn old smartphones into mantraps
See the solar petal in the image above? That’s the housing for a recycled Android smartphone that raises the alarm if it detects heavy movement in the nearby area. It’s part of a network of old phones that Rainforest Connection uses to prevent illegal logging in western Sumatra. After successfully proving that the technology works, the organization is hoping to use the same technology not just to save huge swathes of rainforest, but also to stop poachers killing endangered animals in Africa.
That’s why Rainforest Connection is now taking to Kickstarter in order to raise $100,000 to fabricate the housing for the reconditioned smartphones. In addition, the charity will spend eight weeks in Cameroon training local rangers to use the technology to preserve both around 100 square kilometers of rainforest and the animals inside. If that target is surpassed, then the additional cash will go to funding projects in Brazil, Panama and Indonesia, but if that hasn’t convinced you, then maybe Neil Young, himself no stranger to crowdfunding, can change your mind.
Microsoft calls on Nokia X2 for emerging markets
As expected, Microsoft on Tuesday announced its latest Android smartphone in the form of an entry-level Nokia X2. Slated for release in July, the handset features a 4.3-inch ClearBlack display, 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM, and a 5-megapixel/1-megapixel camera duo.
The Nokia X2 will feature three home screen layouts, including one (Fastlane) that looks quite a bit like the Windows Phone experience. Users can pin select items to the home screen and quickly access apps, events, and other items. Although powered by Android, the handset comes with a number of Microsoft apps and services such as Skype, OneDrive, Outlook, Bing, and OneNote.
The Nokia X2 will be available initially as a dual-SIM device and retail for 99 euros. Color options are reported to include glossy orange, black and green; glossy yellow, white and matte dark grey will be offered later.
It’s not clear exactly where the X2 will be sold nor whether a single-SIM model is in the works.
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