04
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Considering that Hugo was a flick capable of earning 4 out of 4 stars from noted 3D hater Roger Ebert, it will be interesting to see how it’s received upon its home release February 28th. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and currently rocking a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the fantasy tale of a boy who crosses paths with legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès in 1930s Paris may be the best example yet of how an artist can make use of the effect. The two hour six minute flick will be available in Blu-ray 3D combo pack, and 2D Blu-ray editions, with a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack and special featurettes on the making of the film and the real magician/director who inspired the story.
The release date is two days after the Academy Awards, and if this flick can snag Best Picture or Best Director it could become a turning point for 3D. New 3D movies are already on deck from other high-profile directors like Ridley Scott (Alien prequel Prometheus) and Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby), while big budget conversions like Star Wars — coming to theaters next week — and already-sold-out-for-Valentines Day Titanic test the waters for older movies. Add in sports broadcasts planned including UFC 143 tonight and the London Olympics in the summer, and 2012 is shaping up to be an especially rough year for 3D haters — you have our deepest sympathies. Those on the other side of the fence can check after the break for a press release with more details and (2D) theatrical trailer.
Continue reading Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ Blu-ray 3D set for release February 28th — 3D haters beware
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ Blu-ray 3D set for release February 28th — 3D haters beware originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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The BlackBerry PlayBook blues got you down? Fujitsu thinks you should consider riding the Android train to work. The company today announced the awkwardly named Stylistic M350/CA2 Android tablet, a seven-inch enterprise-focused slate aimed at folks looking for a sales terminal, catalog displayer or e-reader. The Stylistic has a WSVGA display and a battery that should give you around six hours on a charge. You can pick one of these guys up in mid-February, if you’re in Japan. An equally exciting press release can be found after the jump.
Continue reading Fujitsu announces Stylistic Android tablet for taking care of business, working overtime
Fujitsu announces Stylistic Android tablet for taking care of business, working overtime originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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Apple added a new wrinkle to its hobby overnight, as AppleInsider reports the Genius recommendation feature added in iTunes 8 now offers up suggestions for movies and TV shows. The new Apple TV feature appears to have been switched on from the back end servers with no firmware update, displaying the new Genius option under Movies and TV Netflix-style as shown above. We’re not sure you really needed anyone else telling you it’s definitely time to check out The Wire or Breaking Bad, but with competitors like Google already taking aim at improving content discovery and recommendations it’s a logical next step for whatever Apple’s living room ambitions ultimately become.
Apple TV gets into video discovery, adds movie and TV show Genius Recommendations originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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Recent weeks have seen a swell of interest in corporate responsibility, particularly with regard to technology manufacturing and supply chains. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook affirmed his company’s commitment to ethically and
environmentally sound practices, evoking sentiments that were echoed today in a similar announcement from Nokia. Seizing the opportunity to establish some goodwill among socially conscious consumers, the Finnish manufacturer has just released a policy outlining its philosophy on
conflict minerals — metals like gold, tungsten and tin that have played a direct role in fueling civil violence and unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the document (linked below), Nokia acknowledged that it doesn’t play a direct role in obtaining these materials, but emphasized its strict traceability requirements. All suppliers, Nokia says, must provide detailed information on the sourcing of its metals, going back to the smelter phase, at a minimum, and even to the mine itself, if necessary. The company also highlighted its adherence to guidelines established by the EICC-GeSI Extractives Work Group, which both
Apple and Intel have already joined. Granted, it’s impossible for a single company to wipe out civil strife and human rights abuses in one fell swoop, but with this codified approach, Nokia hopes to at least “increase transparency, ensure responsible procurement by our suppliers and sub-suppliers, and drive positive change.”
Nokia establishes stance on conflict minerals in formal policy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink The Verge | Nokia (PDF) | Email this | Comments
04
Feb
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Uh-oh. Looks like T-Mobile’s Full Monty subscribers in the UK will be getting much less than they’d originally bargained for. T-Mo’s British support unit recently confirmed that the carrier has capped speeds on its “all-in” unlimited plan at a rather dismal 1Mb/s — in other words, this Full Monty act doesn’t really go all the way. Perhaps T-Mobile representatives were too caught up in the moment at the launch event and merely forgot to reveal this little tidbit? Our Magic 8-Ball says, “Don’t count on it.” You’ll find the confirmation tweet immortalized after the break.
Continue reading T-Mobile confirms Full Monty subscribers are capped at 1Mb/s, risqué plan becomes tame
T-Mobile confirms Full Monty subscribers are capped at 1Mb/s, risqué plan becomes tame originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Coolsmartphone | @TMobileUKhelp (Twitter) | Email this | Comments
04
Feb
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The Google TV update that rolled out to Sony units earlier this week (no word on the Revue, yet) brought tweaks to Chrome and support for Blu-ray 3D playback on the player, but that’s not all. The bump to Android 3.2 also improved hooks for developers to access channel listings in their apps, enabled hardware acceleration and last but not least, improved support for HTTP Live Streaming. That last detail is particularly important to those streaming video from their PCs using Plex, since additional HLS tweaks were necessary to allow viewing of files transcoded from otherwise-Google TV unfriendly formats. Also supported as in the Plex update is selection of alternate audio streams, subtitles, more channels and a few other fixes. Check out a Google+ post from Les Vogel of the Google TV team for all the Honeycomb 3.2 (API Level 13) details you can stomach, the Plex blog for more info on its software, or just make sure you’re running the latest updates and take look around yourself.
Google TV 3.2 update enhances HLS video streaming support, Plex update takes advantage originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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All of these
wrist-mounted fitness gizmos are
pretty nifty, but we always wonder how they get those rigid circuit boards into such an unsuitable form-factor. Well, thanks to those scalpel-happy boffins at the
FCC’s underground bunker, wonder no more.
Nike’s FuelBand was wheeled in on a trolley and torn (quite literally) to pieces, and we felt we just had to share the pictures with you. A long peruse of the user manual revealed that the two metal extender links (for bigger-wristed enthusiasts) have to be swapped out using a sizing tool — but the manual notes that if one isn’t to hand, a bent paperclip will suffice. The documents also revealed that it’s using a
TI CC2564 Bluetooth radio and a stack provided by Stonestreet One. The monopole antenna is etched directly into the substrate of the flexible circuit board — ensuring it’ll bend around your bones and still operate. We also learned that once connected to your cellphone, it’ll sit in a low-power “sniff mode,” for two minutes and if there’s no further activity it’ll shut down. Of course, what’s interesting to you (and us, honestly) is all the pictures in the second gallery, so get looking!
Nike+ FuelBand’s internals get splayed at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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Kicking up a fuss about Netflix hogging
all your bandwidth? Perhaps the company’s latest partnership could induce a rapid change of heart. The streaming service has paired up with eyeIO in hopes of keeping bandwidth usage during streams to a minimum, which they claim won’t affect the content’s overall quality. While the joint venture just became official, the startup’s “ultra-low-bandwidth” encoding technology — that allegedly
can reduce usage on a 720p HD stream by more than 50 percent — began its testing phase on the
streaming-giant’s offerings months ago. Although eyeIO’s service has already been implemented by Netflix, it’s worth mentioning this isn’t an exclusive deal, thus it’s possible for
its competition to jump on the bandwidth conservation bandwagon in the future. More importantly, we’re interested to find out if
you have noticed any difference in your streams lately, so drop us a line in the comments below.
Continue reading Netflix teams with eyeIO to lower bandwith use on movie night
Netflix teams with eyeIO to lower bandwith use on movie night originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Techland | eyeIO | Email this | Comments
04
Feb
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Usually, when passwords and personal information are exposed, it’s because someone hacked a company’s not-so-secure system. Motorola, however, managed to put people’s info at risk without such malfeasance when it failed to wipe the memory of a batch of refurbished Xooms. The tablets in question were sold by Woot.com between October and December of last year, and Moto is claiming that it made the mistake on only small number of slates. Of course, we don’t know exactly how many Xooms were shipped with previous owners’ data onboard, but we do know that the company is actively attempting to make amends. Moto’s offering two years of Experian identification protection services to those whose info was exposed and owners of affected Xooms are getting a little something too. Just send the device back to Motorola on the company’s dime — where it’ll be properly reset and sent back to you, along with a $100 American Express gift card for your efforts. Wondering if you’re among the unlucky? Hit the PR after the break for more info, and those with Wooted Xooms can plug in their slate’s serial number at the source link below to find out for sure.
[Thanks, Scott]
Continue reading Oops! Motorola sold refurbished Xooms without deleting previous owners’ data
Oops! Motorola sold refurbished Xooms without deleting previous owners’ data originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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04
Feb
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The latest report is in from ComScore, and as you might expect, the news is sunshine and roses for the crews at Google and Apple. Both companies platforms charted some worthwhile month-over-month gains, as Android is estimated to account for 47.3 percent of smartphones in the US, while iOS runs a strong second with 26.9 percent. Meanwhile, former BlackBerry fans continue to scatter, as the platform now accounts for 16 percent of smartphone users. Similarly, Windows Phone (and whatever’s left of Windows Mobile) have taken it on the chin, and have fallen to just 4.7 percent market share. Without ever gaining much traction in the US, Symbian now makes up 1.4 percent of the smartphone pie. You’ll find a quick look at the manufacturing side of the equation, along with the full ComScore press release, after the break.
Continue reading ComScore: Android and iOS gallop ahead, US smartphone usage approaches 100 million
ComScore: Android and iOS gallop ahead, US smartphone usage approaches 100 million originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink TechFlash | ComScore | Email this | Comments
