Archive for November 14th, 2009

Good news for folks who against all odds don’t have a home theater Netflix streaming option yet, and yet inexplicably own an internet-connected Sony BRAVIA TV: Netflix just went live. It just takes applying the latest software update and you’re in business. BRAVIA owners were promised the update back in July, and let us be the first to point and laugh insensitively at PS3 owners who have use a “DVD” to get Netflix working on their Cell-powered supermachines.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Netflix hitting internet-capable Sony BRAVIA sets today originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Black Friday deals bonanza round up originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen outfit after outfit trumpet their long-lasting optical storage wares before, but Cranberry seems different. Rather than promising that whatever miracle they’ve just unearthed will be available “in the very near future,” this company is selling its wonder product right now. The so-called DiamonDisc — which is reportedly constructed from “diamond-hard stone” — is designed to store precious memories for 1,000 years or more, and it’s even built to withstand “temperatures extending up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit as well as UV rays that would destroy conventional DVD discs.” Unfortunately, each disc holds just 4.7GB of information, and each one will run you $34.95 if purchased individually. Oh, and it’s only playable on “most” regular DVD drives, so across-the-board compatibility seems less than likely. The more we think about it, the more sense that whole “just carve it into stone for future generations to see” mantra makes. Kudos, cavemen.

[Via DailyTech]

Filed under: Storage

Cranberry DiamonDisc: the $35 DVD that’ll last longer than your ghost originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos has already made it abundantly clear that its Windows 7-based Archos 9 media player is US-bound, but just in case you were worried over legalities, this FCC filing should crank your stress level down a notch. Best of all, this particular entry includes external and internal photographs, meaning that the camera-toting employees within the deep, dark FCC labs are actually credited with handling the (admittedly messy) dissection. Shocking pixels await you in the read link, so make sure you go in fully prepared.

[Via jkkmobile]

Filed under: Handhelds

Archos 9 PMP sneaks into the FCC, gets dissected when caught originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

BBC redoubles its Wii efforts with dedicated iPlayer channel originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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#saleschart { border: 0px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #saleschart td { padding: 7px; border-bottom: 0px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 100%;} #saleschart th.bottomrow { border-right: 1px solid #333; } #saleschart tr.features1 { border-top: 1px solid #333; } #saleschart td.bottomrow2 { border-right: 1px solid #333;} #saleschart th { font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #f3f3f3; border-top: 1px solid #333; }

	Editorial: Hey, AT&T — drop lawsuits, not calls		Chumby One review
	YouTube begins streaming 1080p insecurities next week	Other news of import Google’s Chrome OS just a week away from launch? Dell Mini 3i officially set for imminent launch in Brazil and China
	Sony’s 2010/2011 OLED and flagship XBR series LCD roadmap leaked?		T-Mobile launching BlackBerry Bold 9700 on November 16 for $199.99
UK Channel 4 set to throw some 3D programming our way		Nokia rumored to be eyeing Palm buy yet again

The daily roundup: here’s what you might’ve missed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The nüvifone G60 took nearly two years to go from introduction to on sale at AT&T, and just weeks after its introduction, it has been nearly completely forgotten. Smartphones like Motorola’s Droid and HTC’s Droid Eris have already snagged the spotlight, and of course, that $300 (on contract) price tag that it debuted with didn’t help attract any eyes, either. That said, we’re sure at least a few (couple?) of you bit the bullet post-price drop, and now we’re overly anxious to hear how you feel about it. After two years, does this thing really live up to the expectations? Are you satisfied with the navigation capabilities? Is the lackluster battery life worrying you yet? Should Garmin-Asus even bother with a second-gen device? Sound off in comments below!

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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webOS 1.3.1 was always destined to come right around the launch of the Pixi, but it’s surprised us by showing its face early. No app catalog bombshells here, but there are a slew of more minor fixes and updates that should make users experience a great deal smoother. Is this the update that finally unlocks access to the GPU and provides the speed boost Pre owners are waiting for / advances the iTunes chess match another step? We’ll let you know once our unit reboots, for now here are a few highlights from Palm’s list of changes:

Update: Downloaded, applied and rebooted. iTunes still isn’t spotting our Pre as a device to sync with, and at least for the moment there’s no great speed increases to speak of, but we have noticed a few more key tweaks that owners are sure to like — setting a specific ringtone for text messages is exactly what we’ve been looking for.

• Yahoo! now appears as a Calendar/Contacts/instant messaging synchronization account.
• You can forward a text or multimedia message by tapping the message > Forward.
• A new option is available for restarting the phone: press and hold power > Power > Restart. The prior restart method (Device Info > Reset Options > Restart) is still available.
• Widescreen videos (including YouTube) now display in widescreen mode on the phone by default, instead of being cropped.
• If you tap to play a YouTube video embedded on a web page, the YouTube application launches and the video plays in the app.
• You can select a unique ringtone for new message alerts: Open Messaging > application menu > Preferences & Accounts > Sound > Ringtone.
• While listening to a song with album art displayed, you can tap the screen below the art to display a playback slider. Dragging the slider jumps forward or backward in the song.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The best of the rest from the physics arXiv this week

Acceleration of Dust Particles by Vortex Ring

Physics of Leap Second

Comparison of Chiral Metamaterial Designs for Repulsive Casimir Force

The Force, Power And Energy of the 100-Meter Sprint

Biological Damage due to Photospheric, Chromospheric and Flare Radiation in the Environments of Main-Sequence Stars

In just one week, ViewSonic has gone from a glint of a 3G phone maker to having two models prominently on display. We’ve already seen VPC08 Windows XP phone, and now up to bat is the V901, found in the pages of Microsoft China’s official site. The Windows Mobile 6.5, apparently TouchWiz-skinned device has a 3.6-inch, 480 x 800 touchscreen, a Marvell PXA310 processor, 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM storage with microSD expansion, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, all hailing to the wavelengths we call CDMA EV-DO Rev. A. Launch is Q4 2009, so sometime very soon — but we get the feeling this is China-only, at least for now.

[Via iTech News Net]

Filed under: Cellphones

ViewSonic heats up phone collection, V901 spotted on Microsoft China site originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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