HTC gave us a quick session to play around with its latest handset, the Desire C. No, it’s not part of the consolidated One series, nor is the company revealing precisely what that “C” stands for — heaven forfend it’s “cheap.” While a humble 320 x 480 touchscreen and 600MHz processor might not set many smartphone obsessives’ hearts a’ racing, it still manages to eke out a HTC Sense-skinned Android 4.0 UI — no mere feat, in our opinion. A 5-megapixel camera and expandable microSD slot are some other welcome specifications and it’s all wrapped up in an attractive matte finish — you can take your pick form black and white in the UK. Catch our quick video run-through of the sub-$300 handset right after the break.

Continue reading HTC Desire C hands-on (video)

HTC Desire C hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Desire C has barely revealed itself as HTC’s latest pocket-friendly Android phone, but another device following the same naming convention might also be on the cards. According to BriefMobile, a lower-priced One S variant, currently under the Ville C moniker, will shed the dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 and use a (presumably cheaper) dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 (MSM8260). That’s the same processor found in last year’s Sensation, although we’re skeptical of that clock speed. Otherwise, the leaked specs match the One S on the important stuff, including a 4.3-inch AMOLED display (with the same qHD resolution), an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera alongside HTC’s ImageSense chip and 16GB of storage. Yep, like the One S, there’s no option to expand storage, but if the price is right (and it does exist), we might be more willing to forgive that particular shortcoming.

Is the HTC Ville C a cheaper One S? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After refreshing the uploading tool (and throwing in some better editing functions), Flickr’s decided to work on its looks. Its latest design update will now show a high-resolution version directly from a picture’s main page. The size will also adjust itself to the resolution and size of your screen — that’s the fluid part of it — avoid any nasty upscaling business. Hit up your own Flickr gallery to see the new design in action and expect more changes in the near future — the developers are promising more to come.

Flickr launches prettified ‘liquid’ layout, brings high-resolution eye candy to the forefront originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Be still your beating heart, Samsung has announced that several customers who have already fallen for its incoming flagship‘s charms will get their pre-orders honored a day early. Unfortunately, it will be limited to those that ordered through its own brand store in Westfield Stratford City in London, but those lucky few will get their very own Galaxy S III at 6pm on May 29th — half a day before the rest of the UK. We’re planning to get our hands on a review model before then, so expect to see our fully-fleshed musings before the end of May.

Continue reading Galaxy S III will launch a day early — for some UK pre-orders

Galaxy S III will launch a day early — for some UK pre-orders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 04:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Tizen’s open-source OS continues to make its first steps into the world, there’s some good news for anyone concerned with a weak app line-up. It looks like both Android versions and Samsung’s own Bada SDK will be supported through an application compatibility layer (ACL) which works along similar lines to the Android app player on BlackBerry’s Playbook. Open Mobile, which is responsible for the ACL, claim it’ll have 100 percent compatibility with Google’s back catalogue and be just as responsive — some pretty heady statements. The company wants its program be included on the OEM side of the equation — this isn’t aimed at humble end-user tinkerers. For now, you can check how its ACL fares in a quick video walkthrough after the break. (It’s worth noting that the demo tablet isn’t running on the Tizen UI — it looks like we’ll have to loiter around for some more hardware.)

Continue reading Tizen OS will run Android apps — with a little help from third-party software (video)

Tizen OS will run Android apps — with a little help from third-party software (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s that time of the season again, as Japan’s mobile carriers unveil more alternate-universe models that we’ll probably never see elsewhere. Leading the pack is the final version of Fujitsu’s long-time-coming quad-core Android phone, arriving as the Arrows Z ISW13F. With NVIDIA’s Tegra 3, WiMAX connectivity, 16GB of built-in storage and a 4.6-inch 1280 x 720 display, Fujitsu’s somehow jammed it all into less than 11mm of smartphone. The 13-megapixel camera includes an Exmor R sensor, while a microSD slot can add up to 32GB of space.

The AQUOS Serie is another belle of KDDI’s spring ball, with a 4.6-inch 1280 x 720 display, 1-seg TV tuner and a 12-megapixel camera on the back. It’s also the first phone to pack both NFC and Felica mobile payment hardware into the same device, mobile wallet fans. The collection is also joined by the HTC J and the final retail version of Kyocera and KDDI’s “Smart Sonic Receiver” in the Urbano Progresso — a phone that transmits sound through vibration. Any ex-pats in the mood for a new keitai can take a closer look at the rest of the new family at the source below.

Update: Kyocera has confirmed to us that the Smart Sonic Receiver used in the Urbano Progresso is indeed the same tissue conduction technology Kyocera demonstrated last week at CTIA Wireless.

KDDI reveals its Summer 2012 collection: Android smartphones are still hot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM’s latest on-screen keyboard effort may bear a passing resemblance to Swiftkey, but it also has us itching to see how the rest of the BlackBerry 10 UI will turn out. It looks like we’re not the only ones, as Octopus Keyboard aims to bring the same slick prediction interface to jailbreaking iOS users. Swiping up will access suggested words depending on which letters are pressed, while the keyboard will also memorize new vocab like the iOS original. You can see how it works in real life — and gauge whether it’s worth the jailbreaking rigmarole — in a quick walkthrough video after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry 10′s predictive keyboard gets transplanted with Octopus Keyboard for jailbroken iOS devices

BlackBerry 10′s predictive keyboard gets transplanted with Octopus Keyboard for jailbroken iOS devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone looking to capture their next deep-sea adventure in high-definition video is in luck, because GoPro’s new dive housing is now available to buy at its online store. We got a peek at this one during NAB 2012 a few weeks ago and were told its flat lens should cut down on vignetting and blurring. Compatible with all of its HD Hero family, the casing will set you back $50 and also up for grabs in the bricks-and-mortar likes of Best Buy, Sports Chalet and several specialist sports stores. All that remains is to recall where we left that robot submarine.

Continue reading Flat-front dive housing for GoPro cameras available now, ready for your Memorial Day diving trip

Flat-front dive housing for GoPro cameras available now, ready for your Memorial Day diving trip originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NTT DoCoMo’s high-speed over-the-phone translation service has hit its second wider trial, aiming to test its skills with 10 languages and 10,000 subscribers — up from 1,000 during its initial tests in 2011. DoCoMo has thrown in a few more details on how its real-time translator works. The feature is split into three steps: first, the carrier’s servers recognize what you’re saying, parses it into another language through its own cloud services and then converts the final translation into an audio message. The service currently functions with any Android device running version 2.2 or higher and a separate app will handle the interpretation for French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai. The Japanese carrier aims to launch a commercial version by March 2013 — just in time for that vacation to see those falling cherry blossoms.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo expands its instant translation trials to 10 languages and 10,000 users

NTT DoCoMo expands its instant translation trials to 10 languages and 10,000 users originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung wasn’t done with the accessories when it announced a whole stack of ‘em alongside the incoming Galaxy S III last week. A few more have now started to appear on pre-order, including, yes, another stylus. This is the C-Pen and it’s different from both the S-Pen and the stylus we used with Samsung’s sketch-friendly tablet. Aside from these press shots courtesy of Mobile Fun, specifics remain a little light — we’re not even sure what the C stands for, but we’d hazard a guess at “creative”, possibly “chrome”? It’s joined by a substantial £80 (or around $128) WiFi display hub, a battery-charging holster for the phone (£35, around £56) and the previously seen Galaxy S III flip cover (£30, around $48). The stylus is up for pre-order at £20 (about $32) for the British Isles, but a release date for the whole collection still eludes us.

Samsung Galaxy S III C-Pen stylus gets leaked with more accessory press shots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take an e-ink e-paper smartwatch that’s got plenty of willing customers, throw in a WiFi-connected sensor box and well, imagine the possibilities. The founders behind Pebble and Twine hope you are, because they have announced that the pair will be connectable through the latter’s web-based interface. This means you’ll be able to setup text notifications to your wrist when your laundry’s done, when someone’s at your door and plenty more mundane real-world tasks. A brief video explains how it should all go down, but try not to get too excited — pre-orders are sadly sold out.

Continue reading Pebble ties itself up in Twine: sounds so rustic, couldn’t be any less (video)

Pebble ties itself up in Twine: sounds so rustic, couldn’t be any less (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone that bought Nintendo’s 3D portable early on may have laid their hands on an endangered species. The original Aqua Blue model will cease production soon, according to Nintendo Japan’s official site. In a full list of the 3DS’s ever-increasing color options, the original has been tagged (above, top left), stating that it’ll no longer be made, although there’s no official date for the literal end of the line. Its turquoise coat didn’t cost all that much, right?

Nintendo prepares to kill off Aqua Blue 3DS, dump it in a watery grave originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nice processor, shame about the Pentile. It’s something that several people have been saying about Samsung’s new chest-beating flagship. So why didn’t it plump for the warmer Super AMOLED Plus found on both its predecessor and the bigger-boned Galaxy Note? According to Samsung’s spokesperson, it’s because those blue sub-pixels that are absent on Super AMOLED displays degrade faster than their red and green allies. With the aim of keeping its phones healthily glowing for at least 18 months, it made the decision to go with the Pentile formation. Compared to the Galaxy Nexus, which matches the resolution of the Galaxy S III, Samsung has also shrunk the gaps between pixels on its newest phone in an effort to reduce complaints leveled at its Super AMOLED technology — although we didn’t notice it all that much under our microscope.

Samsung Galaxy S III: Pentile Super AMOLED used ‘because it lasts longer’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not to be outdone by its Korean rival, LG’s reportedly preparing a potent new phone with some of Qualcomm’s latest SoC hardware. According to BriefMobile‘s leak, it’ll pack an LTE-friendly MDM9615 alongside the Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM — something LG has already announced for its Optimus LTE2. A 2,1000 mAh battery will apparently power the 4.67-inch 1280 x 768 LCD display, while a Sony-matching 13-megapixel camera will face out the back. The leak — which includes the decidedly abstract photo above — reckons the LTE slab will arrive on Sprint, which tallies with the LS970 model number. We’re cautiously holding out for something more official soon — perhaps once the Now Network’s flipped that 4G switch.

LG LS970 superphone rumored: Krait quad-core, 2GB RAM, LTE and 13MP camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More new Windows Phones, this time for the old continent. Instead of the Focus 2, Samsung announced that the Omnia M will take its place in Europe and it’s looking an awful lot like its predecessor — although we’re a bit concerned the build quality may not match its older brother. With a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, and 1GHz processor, the Omnia M should be more than up to the task of dealing with Windows Phone, alongside some Samsung-specific software additions, including AllShare and its own cross-platform ChatON messenger app. A front-facing VGA camera will also link up with Samsung’s own video-call features, while a 5-megapixel sensor is in charge of primary camera functions. The company says the phone will roll out to other regions following its European launch, although it’s keeping quiet on whether a visit to the US is on the cards.

Samsung Omnia M revealed for Europe: 4-inch Super AMOLED and some software extras originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 06:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s applied to patent a new display layer that aims to prevent all those smudges that inevitably accrue on our finger-friendly devices. A modern-day touchscreen problem for prim-and-proper types, the application solves it with several minute, raised layers across the surface of the device, with little reflective caveats to capture oils and other unwanted impurities, optically disguising them from your eyes. The layers wouldn’t degrade compared to chemical coatings that could also get scratched off. In typical patent application style, the wording’s pretty hazy — Motorola could either be describing an add-on layer applied to the phone afterward or something already fused to the display. In the application’s words:

“A viewable surface of a device, and more particularly a viewable surface of an electronic device, and even more particularly a viewable surface of a transparent cover for a display in an electronic device, includes transparent pedestals projecting from the surface of the viewable surface, the pedestals having reflective sides that conceal, or suppress the appearance of, smudges on the viewable surface.”

For some more specifics on Motorola’s smudge-disguising solution, you can peruse the official filing down at your local patents and trademark office — or just hit up the source below.

Motorola files patent application for anti-smear display tech originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting this week, you’ll find any newly-minted DVDs and Blu-ray discs will now include a similarly fresh anti-piracy message. Homeland Security’s special agent badge now partners up with the FBI’s own emblem on the new warning played before DVDs — and it looks like it’ll still be unskippable. If this dynamic duo isn’t enough to scare into legitimate media consumption, how about another warning screen to really bring it on home? This one features the National Intellectual Property Center, which follows the same “piracy is bad” message, offering a helpful link as to why — one we’re sure you’re going to investigate in the middle of movie night. Interestingly, these new screens themselves are still not in the public domain and only the major US movie studios are authorized to use them. No news yet on whether the authorities plan to include another screen explaining this, but you can check that second warning that you’ll soon be yelling at right after the break.

Continue reading New DVD anti-piracy warning now packs double the nag

New DVD anti-piracy warning now packs double the nag originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three-dimensional gaming not your thing? Then Nintendo’s latest price drop might just grab you. It’s cast an eye over the rest of its portable gaming family and decided to cut the cost on both the DSi (down to $100) and the hulking DSi XL (dropped to $130). These new prices will kick off on May 20th — exactly the same day as this purple mess.

Continue reading Nintendo DSi drops to $100, DSi XL drops to $130 on May 20th

Nintendo DSi drops to $100, DSi XL drops to $130 on May 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia isn’t just shaking up your browser on your humble Series 40 phone. This time, those cheap little bundles of communication goodness are preparing to get mail for Exchange, with the feature now undergoing testing in its Beta Labs. While Nokia might not be king of the phone hill anymore, there’s still plenty of its solid dumbphones itching to get a taste of corporate email. This holds especially true for developing countries where the phone series still sells well and where Nokia’s still pushing to increase its foothold. While you’ll only be able to feel up the beta at the source below, the full-fat version is shaping up for a June launch and will be initially compatible with both the Asha 302 and 303. You’ll need your phone’s latest software to test out the beta, but if you’re covered there, grab your goggles and visit Nokia’s labs at the source below. If not, you’ll have to make do with the intro video after the break.

Continue reading Nokia swings Mail for Exchange to Series 40 dumbphones: now in beta labs for testing (video)

Nokia swings Mail for Exchange to Series 40 dumbphones: now in beta labs for testing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New high-resolution Zenbooks are on their way, but ASUS has now revealed another addition that’s packing its own discrete graphics. Like its recently unveiled siblings, the Zenbook UX32VD still packs a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel and “the latest Intel Core processor” — likely something from the Ivy Bridge family, although ASUS is keeping schtum on the details for now. Graphical horsepower is delegated to NVIDIA’s GT620, while the UX32VD also had a hybrid HDD on show at the event, not the standard SSD — explaining why this new model is slightly thicker than the UX31A. Alongside a lack of processor specifics, there was no info on prices or release dates at the Taiwan press event but for now, Engadget Chinese have posted their full impressions at the source below. Ultrabook and graphics mavens can hit up the Google translation for a few more details.

ASUS Zenbook UX32VD unveiled, packs discrete graphics to flaunt that 1080p screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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