Introducing the Engadget x LEGO MINDSTORMS Manhattan robot contest
The Muppets did it; Godzilla did it; and now it’s your turn to take Manhattan. As part of Expand 2014, we’re teaming up with LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(R) to host a robot-building competition. Here’s the deal: The LEGO Group will provide LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 kits to 10 people, based on their killer robot concepts. The challenge has two themes: Build a robot that can “take” Manhattan (e.g., Godzilla-style creatures) or build a robot that can “take care” of Manhattan (e.g., autonomous trash collectors).
The winner in each category will receive a LEGO MINDSTORMS Trophy and a $500 LEGO(R) gift card. Robots will be judged by an Engadget editor, a LEGO MINDSTORMS expert, a representative from the LEGO Group and a tech “celebrity” judge. We will select five competitors from each category and send each a MINDSTORMS EV3 kit and a selection of LEGO(R) Technic elements in advance. If you’ve got a mind for MINDSTORMS, enter here.
LEGO MINDSTORMS has already hosted two building competitions in San Francisco and Seattle, where corporate groups from Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, Pandora, Nordstrom, HTC, zulily and many more competed for bragging rights. To see a video recap of the Seattle “Build 4 Good” event in May, click here.
The robots will be shown off at Engadget Expand NY 2014 in New York City at the Javits Center the afternoon of November 7th and 8th, and winners will receive their prizes on the main stage. Travel and accommodations are not included, and participants are responsible for all costs associated with getting to and from NYC. Please see the official rules here.
The submission period starts today, Monday, September 15 and ends at 11:59 AM EDT on Monday, September 22, so get your applications in now!
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Apple’s latest pre-order record shows people want bigger iPhones
Apple’s new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went up for pre-order just three days ago, and as expected, they’ve helped set a new sales record. The company announced today that combined sales of the new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones topped 4 million in the first 24 hours. While the company hasn’t broken down sales by individual models, giving us an early insight into which form factor consumers prefer, it says that initial supply of both units are scarce, which shows people really do want bigger iPhones. To put that into context, Apple saw more than 2 million orders for the iPhone 5 over the same period, but the company didn’t share first-day for the combined launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c, which went on to sell more than 9 million units in three days. Given that Apple is pretty much the only phone maker that indulges in obligatory back-patting during every launch window, we’re unable to draw much of a comparison against its rivals. However, if you were waiting to grab the new iPhone when it goes on general sale this Friday, expect to get in line super early.
Source: Apple
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Microsoft is buying ‘Minecraft’ and its development studio for $2.5 billion
Microsoft confirmed this morning that it’s buying massively popular game Minecraft and the studio behind it, Mojang. The purchase amount is $2.5 billion. Don’t panic: Microsoft says it “plans to continue to make Minecraft available across all the platforms on which it is available today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation.” Though Microsoft is purchasing the Minecraft intellectual property — game, licensing, and any other rights involved — it isn’t getting the game’s creator, Markus “Notch” Persson. A note from the Mojang team says, “Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving. We don’t know what they’re planning. It won’t be Minecraft-related but it will probably be cool” (Carl Manneh is Mojang’s CEO and Jakob Porser is a co-founder).
Haven’t heard of Minecraft? Frankly, we’re impressed. The game’s rise from indie darling developed by a single man — “Notch” — to multi-billion dollar powerhouse has been meteoric, and highly publicized. Not only did it pioneer a movement in the game industry toward releasing early, unfinished games, but Minecraft became a massive mainstream hit. The game’s iconic “Creeper” character is a staple among both gaming’s hardcore and casual mobile gamers.
Rumors of an acquisition by Microsoft began last week, with a rumored purchase price of $2 billion. According to those reports, Notch approached Microsoft about a buyout. Mojang’s statements today seem to confirm that report. “He’s decided that he doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance,” says Mojang’s statement on the news. “Over the past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle. The only option was to sell Mojang.”
As for Microsoft, Xbox lead Phil Spencer is very excited about the deal. “Minecraft inspires millions to create together, connects people across the globe, and is a community that is among the most active and passionate in the world,” he said.
The deal isn’t finalized just yet, as it has to go through regulatory approval and such. Microsoft’s expecting that to happen in “late 2014.”
Filed under: HD
Source: Mojang, Microsoft, Microsoft (2)
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Motorola announces pre-orders for AT&T Moto X, Moto X Pure Edition and more
Motorola on Sunday announced the upcoming pre-orders for a number of its 2014 product line. Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, September 16, customers can place pre-orders for the AT&T version of the Moto X and the Moto X Pure Edition. Pricing is $99 (with a two-year service plan) and $499 (off-contract), respectively. The Pure Edition, as we recently learned, is the unlocked bootloader and carrier-free take on the flagship model.
Also available for pre-order on September 16 are the Moto Hint and the Turbo Charger. The Hint is, wireless earbud that pairs wonderfully with the Moto X and allows for great handsfree interaction and notification, will retail for $149.99. The Turbo Charger ($35) provides a super-quick charge for the Moto X, giving it 50% battery life in a mere 15 minutes.
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Motorola’s UK store will now sell you the new Moto G and other devices
Although Motorola has offered phones in the UK for decades, the company has never let you buy direct. Even when it was owned by Google, it chose to point customers in the direction of retailers like Amazon. Now that Motorola is now part of Lenovo, however, the company has decided to take matters into its own hands by opening its first UK-focused store. From today, you’ll be able to order the second-generation Moto G in black or white for £149.99, although they both currently show pre-order availability. While it’ll cost you £5 more to buy it from Motorola over Amazon, the online retail giant does note it could take between 1-3 weeks to reach your doorstep. Sure, only the Moto G is available today, but Motorola’s UK launch does show that it’s ready to handle the upcoming release of the Moto X and Moto 360. For the first time, Brits will be able to customise their Moto X using the company’s Moto Maker tool, which is set to go live later this month.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Motorola Store, Amazon
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Images emerge showing Microsoft’s Windows-only mobile branding
The image above shows the backside of British manufacturer My Go’s upcoming handset, the GoFone — no, the company likely didn’t forget adding “Phone” at the bottom of the Windows logo. Thing is, according to an internal document leaked to the internet recently, Microsoft’s dropping the “Windows Phone” branding (and even the “Nokia” brand) in favor of just “Windows.” This image, taken from GoFone’s unlisted page (it even says “For internal use only”) spotted by Neowin, hints that the earlier reports were true. Unlike the HTC One (M8) for Windows, which just omits “Phone” from its full name but still displays the platform’s logo on the back panel, this one completely leaves out the branding. Microsoft’s reportedly looking to unify Windows and Windows Phone under one name, because it plans to merge Windows Phone and RT into one platform. Redmond hasn’t confirmed any of these yet, but we’ll let you know if and when the company officially speaks up.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
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Phones4u confirms all iPhone 6 pre-orders will be cancelled
Now that news of the Phones4u collapse has begun to settle, details are starting to emerge about how customers will be affected. The good news is that the company has said that it will honour existing contracts, but it has also confirmed that people who pre-ordered the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus last week will miss out on getting their new smartphones, at least from them. In a statement shared with the Huffington Post UK, Phones4u noted that “any orders that have not already been dispatched will be cancelled and any payments refunded to customers.” Phones4u has yet to ship any devices to customers and its online store has already been replaced with a sad-looking page full of support line phone numbers. Customers who ordered last Friday will now need to place their order again with a different retailer, but they’ll be placed at the back of the queue as Apple’s official delivery times begin to slip.
[Image credit: kake_pugh, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Huffington Post
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MEElectronics Air-Fi Metro2 AF72 In-Ear Bluetooth Wireless Headset Review: Light, powerful and portable
One thing that has always impressed me about MEElectronics is their will to perfect the products that they have produced, and the MEElectronics Air-Fi Metro2 AF72 In-Ear Bluetooth Wireless Headset is the latest example of that striving for perfection. Taking into account feedback from users, MEElectronics say the Metro2′s are even better than before, so let’s check them out and see what’s what.
What’s in the box
We’ve reviewed quite a few MEElectronics products here at AndroidSPIN before so we generally know what to expect when we open one of their boxes – as expected, they haven’t disappointed. Along with the Metro2 headset itself, we get the usual suspects of spare earbuds in different sizes and a pouch to carry all your gear in, as well as a charging cable, some stabilizing ear inserts to add to the earbuds if you prefer, and a few little clips that can be used to tidily store the headset when you’re done using them.
As the full name of the device suggests, the Metro2 is a Bluetooth headset and is comprised only of the earbuds, the cord between them and an in-line control module that is used for turning the headset on and off, changing volume and houses the built-in microphone. The first thing that struck me about the Metro2′s is exactly how small it seems. My only other experience with fully wireless earphones have been the Denon Exercise Freak earphones (see that review here), and I assumed they had to be that big due to the necessary electronics. As you can see though, the Metro2 has none of that bulk and keeps an extremely slim profile – still not as small as an unpowered pair of earphones, but still surprisingly small. In fact, MEElectronics claims the Metro2′s are the “world’s lightest stereo wireless headset at 0.4 ounces”, and I’m inclined to believe them as they really are extremely light.
How do they perform?
The audio quality of the Metro2′s is impressive – despite its diminutive size and weight, the Metro2′s still pack a punch in the sound department and manage to give extremely good performance on all fronts, highs, mids and bass. If anything, it tends towards the bassy side, but this can be reeled in with some EQ tweaking. Part of this sound quality is thanks to the noise cancelling of the earbuds themselves – the Metro2′s are advertised as noise cancelling and using the passive abilities of the well-fitting earbuds, the headset is able to create a very isolated space to fully enjoy the audio exploits of the earphones.
A side-effect of the well-fitting earbuds can, however, be discomfort. Many of you who have read my audio product reviews will know I generally shy away from earphones due to discomfort they can cause – unfortunately, the Metro2′s fall into this category. By virtue of needing to engage the passive noise cancelling, you do have to quite firmly insert the earbuds into your ears and after an hour or two, I found myself with very sore ears. I do have to mention that this is a very personal critique – I’m sure many of you reading this very much enjoy using earphones, so you can take my words with a grain of salt.
Bluetooth pairing, as you might expect given the maturity of the technology, is extremely simple and will have you up and listening in no time. MEElectronics cleverly uses the power button as a multifunction button, used for powering on and off the headset as well as initiating pairing.
As a completely wireless set of earphones, you would expect the stability of the Metro2′s to be pretty good. With the addition of the stabilizing ear inserts we mentioned earlier and the earbuds firmly stuck into your ears, the Metro2′s may as well be glued in there. I found myself having to shake my head very violently to even get them to dislodge slightly, and even then, I think I did myself more of a disservice as I could still hear music coming from the headset. If you’re looking for a headset for fitness use, with the added bonus of its small footprint weight and size-wise, I would say the Metro2′s are a pretty good candidate.
Microphone performance is good on the Metro2′s, however due to the wraparound nature of how one wears the headset, it’s actually quite hard to get a good signal without grabbing the mic and pulling it into a more convenient position. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you wearing the Metro2′s dangling around the front of your face, but that would probably look a little unusual.
MEElectronics says that the music playback time of the Metro2′s is about 5 hours, and that’s just about exactly what my experiences have been. It is a bit short for my liking as it can’t really get me through a full work day (after which requires a two hour charge time), but it’s really not surprising given the lightweight design of the headset. For many people, particularly those who would use this as a fitness accessory for an hour or two, this is probably a decent trade-off.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I really like the MEElectronics Air-Fi Metro2 AF72 In-Ear Bluetooth Wireless Headset – they’re light, compact and manages to pack some serious punch. The audio quality is great and made better by the passive noise cancelling and its size and stability features make it ideal for people on the go or just want a headset that is distreet. At a MSRP of $99.99, that’s a decent price for the package they’re offering, and MEElectronics is making it that much cheaper by offering the Metro2′s for $79.99 as part of a sale.
If you’re interested in picking up a pair of Metro2 earphones, you can visit the product page here, or to check out MEElectronics’ other products, visit their homepage here.
Gallery of Photos
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Samsung’s new flagship NX1 shoots 28.2-megapixel stills and 4K video
This week marks the start of Photokina, the camera show where pretty much every brand will unveil their latest and greatest pieces of kit. We’ll hear from everybody in due time but right now, Samsung is in the hot seat. The tech giant just unveiled the NX1, the company’s first camera that records 4K video. In addition to doing UHD footage at 30 or 24 frames per second and Cinema 4K at 24fps, it shoots stills with a 28.2-megapixel backside-illuminated APS-C CMOS sensor. In burst-capture mode, you can snap up to 15 frames per second at full resolution. ISO sensitivity now ranges from 100 to 51,200. Similar to the NX30, a more mid-range camera in Samsung’s lineup, this has WiFi and NFC, along with a 3-inch Super AMOLED articulating display and a 1,366 x 768 electronic viewfinder. In this case, though, it’s 802.11ac WiFi, there’s Bluetooth too, and the EVF promises a shorter lag time of around 5ms.
Under the hood, the NX1 makes use of a new auto-focusing system with 205 Phase Detect points, which Samsung says cover 90 percent of the frame. It’s those focusing points pros will care about most, though Samsung also tweaked its algorithms to better predict where a subject is going to move. The AF assist light also has an improved reach — up to 15 meters. As for the body, it’s a magnesium-alloy affair — both dust- and water-resistant — with an LCD status display on top, next to the mode dial.
The NX1 arrives in mid-October, priced at $1,499 for the body only. In addition, Samsung will sell a new 50-150mm with f/2.8 aperture through the entire zoom range. In addition, it brings four-axis optical image stabilization and the ability to limit focus to a custom range. So far, Samsung has declined to say whether its other cameras will get a firmware update to support this new lens and its custom-focus feature, though the company does have a pretty good history of providing software updates to older models. That will arrive next month too, at a cost of $1,599. There will also be an optional battery grip, which packs a 1,900mAh cell (about the same size as on the main camera), and which should give you an extra 500 shots, give or take.
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BT and mobile operators warn of rising bills if Scotland goes independent
On September 18th, Scotland will vote on whether it will break away from the UK. As politicians ready their final campaign strategies ahead of the Referendum for Independence later this week, the UK’s biggest telecoms companies have now got involved, warning of the potential consequences of a ‘Yes” vote. BT, joined by TalkTalk, Telefonica UK (O2), Vodafone, EE and Three, issued a joint statement this weekend stating that while all parties would remain committed to “investing in high-quality, affordable services” for all of their UK customers, indecision over new regulations and spectrum allocations could force them to increase costs in an independent Scotland.
As it stands, all of the telecoms groups operate and license their networks on a UK-wide basis. If Scotland was to vote yes, it has the right to negotiate its own infrastructure deals, which the group believes would impact business costs. The country has a relatively low population density, which BT and co. say will ramp up the cost of upgrading smaller communities. The group hopes that an independent government would adhere to EU rules, allowing it to establish a level of continuity, no matter what Scotland decides.
[Image credit: camsinlux, Flickr]
Filed under: Mobile
Source: BT
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AIVAnet 