|  |  |  | | | | | Engadget | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Well, if it looks real, sounds real and is halfway logical, we probably should distrust it all the more. Yes, it's the time when all the rumors, photoshops and general hysteria around Apple's next slab reaches its apex. The photo above was grabbed by the steady hand of sas126, a blurrycam snapper in name only, and posted to Chinese site Weiphone, purporting to be the logic board for the iPad 3. The big news (if true) is the "A5X" silicon, suggesting we'll see an incremental enhancement rather than the wholesale revolutions evident in the A4 and A5 chips that accompanied its predecessors. The SoC (with the Apple logo, to the left of the two Hynix memory modules) carries a date-stamp of 1146, suggesting it was produced in the 46th week of last year. Of course, now that we're getting so close to the actual event, whatever Tim Cook whips out on stage will never match whatever we'd conjured up on our own hearts: so try to dampen down that rampant excitement because we've still got 17 days left to wait. iPad 3 logic board with 'A5X' chip purportedly snapped by Mr. Not-so-Blurrycam originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  MacRumors |  Weiphone (Translated) | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Looks like ZTE couldn't hold its horses until MWC. It's just unveiled product names and key specs (but alas no product photos) for two Android 4.0 thoroughbreds that'll be shown off in Barcelona. The first and more interesting is the PF200, which the press release suggests will house an unidentified "1.2GHz chipset," along with a 4.3-inch qHD display, eight-megapixel rear camera and 1080p (i.e. two-megapixel) front-facer. The handset will support LTE, UMTS and GSM and come with the usual range of sensors and connectivity, as well as DLNA, mobile high-definition link (MHL) and NFC. Meanwhile, the N910 is possibly targeted at certain Asian markets, with LTE FDD, CDMA and EVDO support, a 800 x 480 resolution, five-megapixel camera, 1080p front-facer and a 1.5GHz processor. There are no prices or release dates, but these phones are claimed to be mere "fore-runners of a wide range of LTE devices ZTE will bring to the market in the coming months." At least one of those as to be Tegra 3, right? Full PR after the break. Continue reading ZTE announces two LTE Android smartphones: high-spec PF200 and low-spec N910 ZTE announces two LTE Android smartphones: high-spec PF200 and low-spec N910 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
When the Korea Exchange asked Sammy about rumors of an impending spin-off of its LCD business, the firm said it was a move it was considering. Well, consider it done -- today Samsung announced it would be launching Samsung Display on April 1st, 2012 with $6.6 billion in its coffers. The move is still waiting for shareholder approval, but Donggun Park, executive vice president of Samsung's LCD business, seems optimistic. "The spin-off will allow us to make quicker business decisions and respond to our clients' needs more swiftly." This decision comes just months after Sammy agreed to take Sony's stake in S-LCD, turning the former display partnership into a fully owned subsidiary. Hit the break for the official (machine translated) press release. Continue reading Samsung spinning off LCD business Samsung spinning off LCD business originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
When the Korea Exchange asked Sammy about rumors of a impending spin-off of its LCD business, the firm said it was a move it was considering -- consider it done. Today Samsung announced it would be launching Samsung Display on April 1st, 2012 with $667 million in its coffers.
Developing...Samsung spinning off LCD business originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If you happen to be "special," then this $900 USB device is just about the worst thing ever. The aptly named MINion serves its masters by interrogating the cells of living organisms and rooting out their genetic secrets. We won't pretend to know exactly how it works, but it starts by pulling a strand of DNA through a razor-like nanotube that unzips the double helix. The nucleotide bases are then electrocuted one by one until they give up their code. The resulting sequence is stored like a ticker-tape readout, for the whole world to see. The MinION can complete its task in seconds and, unlike most other DNA sequencers, it's portable and simply plugs into a laptop. Luckily, it has so far only been shown to work on very short genomes, like those belonging viruses and bacteria, so for now you're probably safe. MinION USB stick decodes DNA in a matter of seconds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink New Scientist | NanoPore Technologies | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Let's say you bought Sony's VAIO F Series laptop at the end of last year. Would it be a stretch to say you liked how cheap it was and that games played well as long as you dialed down those display settings? Were you not too impressed by the battery life or that touch button on the trackpad? Well, at least you agree with our review of the "desktop replacement" device. But we'd like to know more, dear friends: what gremlins have you uncovered in the numerous hours logged using this unit? What are the nice surprises? If Kaz Hirai was reading this intently waiting for your opinion, what would you tell him you'd like to change? How would you change Sony's Vaio F? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Groundbreaking green architecture burst into life in Sweden this week as Inhabitat reported that Plantagon began construction on the world's first 'Plantscraper' vertical farm. We also marveled at artist Yayoi Kusama's dazzling Infinity Mirror Room, which shines with the reflections of thousands of LEDs, and we shared the bubbly modular AMPS living wall system. Meanwhile, the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program announced that HWKN's bright blue spiky sea-urchin shaped pavilion will be popping up this summer, PinkCloud.DK unveiled plans to transform oil refineries into giant energy positive communities and the UK granted planning commission for its first amphibious house.
We also showcased several amazing applications for LEGO bricks this week: a NYC apartment renovated with 20,000 plastic bricks, a gigantic LEGO-inspired church in the Netherlands and a remarkable fully articulated prosthetic LEGO arm. Speaking of next-gen prosthetics, this week Israeli scientists demoed a real-life "Star Trek" VISOR that enables the blind to see, and Nike took the wraps off a prosthetic running sole for amputee triathlete Sarah Reinertsen.
This also marked a heated week for energy news as solar power heavyweight Sunpower sued Solarcity over stolen data, and Aquamarine Power geared up to connect its new wave energy generator to the UK's national grid. We also got ready for rough days ahead with the waterproof, armageddon-ready, solar-charged, battery-powered iPhone case, and we got things cooking with Biolite's brilliant new camping stove, which converts waste heat into electricity for USB gadgets. Last but not least, we were wowed by several amazing new applications for discarded tech: Sean Avery's astounding animal sculptures made from shattered CDs and Paola Mirai's elegant jewelry fashioned out of discarded computer circuits. Filed under: Science Inhabitat's Week in Green: 'Plantscraper' vertical farm, new wave energy and a battery-powered iPhone case originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of February 13th, 2012 Refresh Roundup: week of February 13th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The release candidate version slipped out a few days ago, but those waiting for the final release will be glad to know that version 2.0 of the open source VLC media player is now officially available for download. It's being dubbed a "major" release of the software, and with good reason. In addition to some UI changes (a big change in the case of the Mac version), VLC 2.0 also brings with it faster decoding on multi-core processors, GPUs, and mobile hardware, and the ability to open yet more file formats, including a number HD formats used by professional users. Also making its debut is support for Blu-ray playback, although it's being dubbed an "experimental" feature at this time. It also promises to fix "several hundred" bugs. Naturally, it remains completely free as ever -- hit the source link below to download it for the platform of your choice. VLC 2.0 now available, offering faster decoding, a refreshed UI and experimental Blu-ray support originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | VideoLAN | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
The iPad, launched in 2010, kicked off the post-PC era. The combination of a multitouch display and keyboard-less design enabled mobile computing in a way not done before. On the other hand, maybe the IBM Simon, launched in 1982, kicked off the post-PC era. Widely considered to be the first smartphone, it enabled mobile computing in a way that was not done before. Then again, maybe the Osborne I, launched in 1981, marked the beginning of the post-PC era. After all, it was widely considered to be the first portable computer, enabling mobile computing in a way that was not done before. Continue reading Switched On: Think form factors, not PCs Switched On: Think form factors, not PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Arnova isn't exactly a newcomer when it comes to dealing with budget-friendly tabs, already having produced the 9 and 10 G2s. The outfit's newest addition to its tablet lineup is simply dubbed 8b G2, honoring its 8-inch, 800 x 600, TFT display. Coming in what some could consider "last year's specs," the slate's packing a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, a front-facing shooter, microSD slot for extra storage (4 or 8GB built-in) and a predictably outdated piece of Gingerbread. Presumably price will be its best asset -- Arnova hasn't given us a figure but, if it's predecessor is a telling sign, we can't imagine you'd part ways with more than 200 bucks. Arnova launches 8b G2 slate, hopes to keep it cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Liliputing | Arnova | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Last year CBS and Turner Sports brought every game of the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament home in HD on four cable channels, and streaming for free to PCs and iOS devices. While the broadcast plans remain the same this year, if you want to stream the 41 games broadcast on cable networks then you'll need to subscribe to an affiliated TV provider (all the major guys except Time Warner) and log into the TNT, TBS, or TruTV website on your Windows PC or Mac. For the other 41 games broadcast on CBS, CBSSports.com is your (free) online resource. Live streaming on mobiles (over WiFi or 3G) has been extended to the Android platform for the first time, however after being offered for free last year the rebranded March Madness Live app will cost $3.99 this time around, which is still less than the $10 it cost in 2010. Check out the press release after the break for all the details on what's viewable where -- cord cutting sports fans will want to make some alternate arrangements. Continue reading March Madness streams to more platforms in 2012, but not everything is free March Madness streams to more platforms in 2012, but not everything is free originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Turner Sports | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Google didn't exactly offer much fanfare for this new feature -- as far as we can tell, it still hasn't been officially announced. With the latest update to the Maps app, Mountain View delivered an extra level of functionality to the all but forgotten Latitude. Now check check-ins earn you points which are tallied and used to rank Google+ users on a global leaderboard, just like on Foursquare. Not everyone is seeing the feature just yet, and it only appears to reveal itself after you check-in somewhere. In fact, we still haven't found a way to pull up the leaderboard without first registering our location. You can see the rather sparse help page at the more coverage link and sound off in the comments if you're seeing your name ranked alongside your favorite Engadget editors and Leo Laporte. Google quietly launches Latitude Leaderboards, threatens Foursquare under its breath originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Android World (translated) | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The next time you get caught hijacking your friend's Facebook, remember it could be worse. On Friday, British Student Glenn Mangham was sentenced to eight months in not-so-social jail, for hacking deep into Facebook's servers. Apparently no user details were taken, with Mangham heading straight for "invaluable" intellectual property instead. Facebook alerted the authorities after it discovered the breach last May, the FBI then followed the digital thread back to the Briton's UK address. It's believed Mangham gained access to the inner sanctum after hacking into a Facebook employee's account, though it's not known if the comedy status update and embarrassing profile picture were also part of the attack. Student hacks into Facebook, gets eight months in prison, twelve likes originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Huffington Post | Press Association | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
