Archive for June 21st, 2009

We’re unfortunately light on details here, but The Unwired is reporting that HTC’s Hero has been approved by the Global Certification Forum, listed here as “HERO100,” with support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 1800/2100 MHz. With the company’s touted London event just around the corner — this Wednesday, to be exact — we wouldn’t be surprised to see the phone and its oft-rumored “Rosie” Android UI take center stage, in possibly two variations. Other than frequency bands and the associative name, the GCF isn’t giving us anything else to work with, so for now just sit back and hope this uncertainty is cleared up sooner rather than later.

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Hero approved by Global Certification Forum, rocking GSM and HSPA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve received a few tips of people saying they’ve gotten an email from Apple offering them a $30 iTunes Store credit due to the problems activating the new iPhone 3G S. Apple claims it is still working with AT&T to resolve the issue that has caused some new iPhones to still not be activated 2 days after the launch of the device. And it warns that it may be another 48 hours before it’s resolved. For those affected, check your inbox Monday for the $30 credit.

To me, this is yet another indication of why Apple needs to move away from its AT&T exclusivity. While this year’s activation fiasco isn’t nearly as bad as last year’s nightmare, it’s still pretty bad considering that most of the iPhone 3G S orders were done via pre-order this time around. So AT&T knew what it was getting into ahead of time — and still couldn’t handle it. Then of course there’s the hilarious fact that MMS is not ready to go in the United States despite being launched on the device in 20+ other countries. And the same is true for tethering. Both are expected sometime later this summer.

Sammy’s done it again. The company, known to have a penchant for pink products, has unveiled two new eye-catching colors for its Mini S2 portable HDD series. Joining the already available Snow White are Ocean Blue and Sweet Pink, pictured — and yep, if you look closely enough, that’s a sea of hearts lining the case on the right. All other options appear to be the same as when Samsung first unveiled the 2.5-inch drive, with capacity options ranging from 160GB all the way up to 500GB, and it’s current status is “coming soon” in Korea, with options to import likely to follow shortly after. Catering / pandering to the female audience? You betcha, and if this pic’s not proof enough, hit up the break for an image that’s decidedly more in line with the device’s initial inspiration / concept art.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Samsung Mini S2 portable HDD graced with colors that perfectly match your tacky beach gear

Filed under: Storage

Samsung Mini S2 portable HDD graced with colors that perfectly match your tacky beach gear originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve tuned your TV to CNN at all over the past week, you’ve probably witnessed a sweeping love affair. I’m not even kidding when I say that I think CNN’s anchors have used the word “Twitter” more than they have uttered “CNN” during that time. And while some people hate that, I think it’s great, because the service is providing a very, very valuable service for spreading information about what is going on in Iran right now. But none of that matters if CNN cannot use its Twitter account correctly to disseminate that news.

Look at the CNN Breaking News Twitter account right now. 8 of its last 10 tweets contain a broken link. This is a Twitter account with nearly 2 million followers, that CNN is promoting like no other on its shows, and it’s 404-ing millions of people.

We’re always big fans of mixed-use gadgets — but these ones kind of mutilate the principle. On hand today we’ve got a two pack of bedazzled necklaces — one an MP3 player, the other a USB flash drive / watch combo. We’ve also unearthed a USB speaker that claims to be a whale, but more closely resembles a weird, in our opinion. Finally (and this one was worth the wait, trust us), we’ve got a tiny Moto Horn for your bike, which makes it “safer” to ride your bike by… making vroom vroom motorbike noises as you zoom along. Consider these our best suggestions for what to do with your disposable income, folks.

Read – USB Jewel Square Necklace MP3 Player
Read – USB Jewel Watch Necklace Flash Drive
Read – USB Cetacean Whale Speaker
Read – Moto Horn

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Crapgadget: Delicious salmagundi of decorative inanities edition originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Colabolo is an Adobe Air app that soft-launched a few days ago and wants to simplify the way tasks in a team are assigned, managed and resolved. Available in English and Japanese, the app (currently in beta) is offered by Tokyo-based ImaHima. By combining the ease of use of email with the structure of project management solutions, Colabolo intends to help handling tasks that require team work such as sales leads, approval requests, document reviews, support requests, etc.

After installing the client (system requirements), Colabolo starts with an almost spartan interface that indeed looks like that of an email client. User can create a new task (called “issue”) in just a few seconds: Click on the “New Issue” button, name and describe the task, classify it by type, assign who is responsible and you’re done. All tasks can then be tracked (and filtered) at a glance in an inbox-like grid at the top of the screen. This is also where all updates made by team members are automatically sent to.

But Colabolo isn’t only for the project leader. All issues can be scheduled, commented on and discussed in real-time by added team members. Files can be shared with drag-and drop. And Colabolo can also be integrated into existing email accounts, essentially turning it into a help desk system when dealing with external customers.

Sick of having to use your inconvenient mouse and keyboard to do “internet searches” for ROMs of your favorite retro games? Well a gentleman named Matthias might just have the answer to your prayers — a USB SNES cartridge adapter. The enterprising DIY’er has created a combo hardware and software solution that allows you to plug in your dusty carts directly to your rig, and see the ROMs appear as standalone files which you can then load into the emulator of your choice. Apparently there are still some kinks to work out (like getting data rates up for larger games), and Matthias already has plans underway for a multi-system solution. Still, this is impressive stuff, even if it means we’ll have to repurchase any titles we’re missing from reputable online auction houses. Hey, at least it’ll cut down our visits to “Russian porn sites.” Check out the video of the whole thing in action after the break.

Continue reading SNES USB cartridge adapter should set eBay aflame

Filed under: Gaming

SNES USB cartridge adapter should set eBay aflame originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile’s Sidekick LX 2009 represented a huge leap forward in the hiptop sector. Not only was the swiveling motion as smooth as ever here, but this was the first Sidekick that seemed to really take its user interface seriously. To that end, we’re interested in knowing how you — the opinionated consumer — feel about Danger’s latest effort. Are you impressed by the grown-up features? Does the form factor still have a place in your life? Is the UI snappy enough? Do you still get enough stares from potential mates when you whip it out on the subway? The floor’s yours, make it good.

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change T-Mobile’s Sidekick LX 2009? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Layar is one mobile application that has definitely managed to get quite some tongues rolling and keyboards rattling this past week, including at the Mobile 2.0 Europe conference in Spain where I just got back from (video demo below).

Layar is a so-called ‘augmented reality browser’, an application that turns you mobile phone’s camera viewer – only on Android-powered phones for the time being – into a full-fledged information portal and local business search engine. It essentially puts an information overlay on top of your camera view, bringing digital data of various sorts into play whenever you’re looking at or for something in the real world.

Yes, you could just run out and buy a vocoder, but they’re kinda pricey and this way is so much more fun! Using an IKEA clock, a fluorescent desk lamp, an HT8950 voice modulator, a condenser microphone and some miscellaneous stuff you’re crafty self is bound to have just laying around, you can make one of your own! Doesn’t look terribly complicated to us, but then, we love things that are terribly complicated. Get to it, sirs — hit the read link for full instructions. Dōmo arigatō.

[Via Make]

Filed under: Robots

DIY Robot Voice Modulator makes it that much easier for you to cover Styx originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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