The last time we heard anything about the launch schedule for Google's Chrome OS it was summer of last year. At that time we were told a rather vague "second half of 2010" and, now that we're entering the second quarter of the year, forgive us if we were starting to get a bit doubtful about that timeline. But, Google's Eric Schmidt is here to assuage our fears, speaking at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit and indicating the little OS is still on track for that same, rather vague release window. That we're still not getting a more specific date makes us think we're probably looking at a release toward the end of the second half of this year, but just the same it seems like you shouldn't wipe that Chrome-powered netbook off your wishlist for this upcoming holiday season just yet.

Eric Schmidt confirms Chrome OS is on schedule, on target originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And the intellectual property rollercoaster continues. The BBC is reporting that Microsoft's second appeal against a judgment granting $240 million in damages due to content in Word that infringed on patents held by i4i was today rejected, leaving the Redmond giant with a huge fine to pay atop its undoubtedly sky-high lawyer bills. In the latest ruling, the judges state their belief that Microsoft was explicitly aware of i4i's patents before implementing the relevant XML code into Word, which is about as damning as these things can get. Still, Microsoft might be able to appeal yet again, depending on a panel ruling on the matter, and if all else fails, this can be taken all the way to the Supreme Court. Crazy or what?

Microsoft loses second Word patent appeal, on the hook for $240 million in damages originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Mitchell, who couldn't care less if you have a problem with his question. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I just got a new laptop and am looking for a WiFi detector. The catch is that I want one that will tell me if the network it is detecting is open or not. I can't fathom the point of one that doesn't tell you that information. If posted, this will probably generate a lot of snark, but whatever, I just want to be able to find open networks!"

You know, we appreciate the honesty here. And we totally feel you. If anyone out there has found a fantastically useful WiFi detector, throw your recommendation(s) in comments below!

Ask Engadget: Best (useful) WiFi network detector? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile manufacturer and platform market share stats for the US are in for the month of January thanks to comScore, and as usual, they tell a fascinating (and somewhat unpredictable) story of what's actually going on at the cash registers. Motorola -- which has long since fallen off its high horse on the global stage -- still maintains a commanding presence in the American market by representing some 22.9 percent of all subscribers, though that's down 1.2 percent from October 2009; that's particularly interesting in light of the Droid's success, and a possible sign that smartphones still aren't on the cusp of dominating the phone market overall. Samsung recently touted the fact that it had held onto the States' overall market share crown, though Sammy was undoubtedly referring to sales, not subscribers -- in other words, there are still a ton of legacy RAZRs out there inflating Moto's stats.

Turning our attention to smartphone platforms, BlackBerry OS, iPhone, and Android all saw gains, while Windows Mobile and Palm both saw significant downturns. You might use Palm's loss of 2.1 percent of overall market share in a single quarter as a big nail in webOS' coffin, but we're inclined to believe this includes legacy devices -- and considering the huge installed base of Palm OS-based handsets (Centros, for instance) that are coming off contract these days, it's neither surprising nor alarming to see that kind of drop. Android's gain, meanwhile, likely comes in large part from WinMo's whopping four percent loss -- it's no secret that WinMo 6.x is well past its expiration date with customers leaving in droves (even before Windows Phone 7 Series announcement), and our informal observations lead us to believe that many of those folks are heading for Android. After all, it's kind of convenient that Android gained 4.3 percent and WinMo lost about the same, isn't it? BlackBerrys still dominate the American smartphone landscape, and the iPhone market looks like it might be mature for the time being -- Apple added just 0.3 percent to its market share in the quarter, possibly a sign that folks are holding out for whatever Cupertino brings us come Summer. Is this a sign that Palm needs to step up its game yet again? Undoubtedly -- but at the same time, we wouldn't call the loss of those Palm OS subscribers a death knell just yet.

Android's American market share soars, WinMo pays the price originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Talkin' Windows Phone 7 Series gaming with Microsoft at GDC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chris: "And see, just by turning this knob to the right, we can give Avatar a plot."
Richard Lawler: "If everyone starts wearing these, we're going to need new outfits."
Nilay: "Fascinating. You say this is called a 'lady lump?'"
Joe: "What? Bono beat us to it?"
Joanna: "That Neytiri, she's a handful..."
Paul: "I've gotta feeling that nothing of intellectual importance is happening here."

Continue reading Caption Contest: 3D is a mind blow, everyone can agree on that

Caption Contest: 3D is a mind blow, everyone can agree on that originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Forums is alight today with fresh HTC Incredible chatter -- a phone every Android fan on Verizon is desperately waiting for -- and we've managed to glean a few more pictures and possible specs out of the mess. It looks like we can expect a half gig of RAM with about 320MB available (roughly the same as what you find on the Nexus One) and an 8 megapixel cam, but interestingly, the phone's Snapdragon core is apparently underclocked to 768MHz, almost certainly a battery-saving measure on HTC's part; fortunately, the Sense-powered Android 2.1 firmware is still said to be "blazing fast." It measures 117.5 x 58.5 x 11.9mm -- just a hair narrower, shorter, and thicker than its Nexus One doppelganger, small enough of a difference so that we think it'll be virtually indistinguishable in person. As shots go, we're seeing now that HTC has moved from the brightly-colored glossy shell to a soft-touch black one while keeping the strange contours; we think there's at least a chance that this is final ID, too, since the Verizon logo is silkscreened at the bottom. Inside, the entire thing (including the battery itself) is a shockingly loud shade of red, mirroring an odd design trend first seen on the HD mini. We definitely dig it. If the stats over on the forum hold up, the Incredible's on track for a launch in April or May, so it's still a few weeks off -- in the meanwhile, we encourage you to check out more of the new shots after the break.

[Thanks, Matt and EBBY]

Continue reading HTC Incredible out in the wild once more, Verizon color scheme alive and well

HTC Incredible out in the wild once more, Verizon color scheme alive and well originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Novothink rolls out Solar Surge iPhone / iPod touch charging case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Words... what good are words when you're trying to describe the horrific visage of a growling, rugged, heavyweight camera coated in the frilly tutu of the color spectrum, magenta? We shan't try to describe the peculiar mix of revolt, disgust and subtle desire that this whole thing incites in us, and will just point you after the break for the video. There's plenty of good clean fun to be had while exploring the dismantled D90 (though there's one instance of foul language when the modder gets an electric shock, understandable) and if you're of a nervous disposition you can always skip the shockingly pink finale.

Continue reading Nikon D90 torn down, rebuilt in pink (video)

Nikon D90 torn down, rebuilt in pink (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seriously, who told manufacturers that we're in love with garish LED status lights?ASUS has strapped a glowing orb of unnecessariness around the volume knob of the Cine5 -- an otherwise perfectly acceptable and appreciably diminutive PC soundbar. With an array of speaker drivers integrated into that curvy body, ASUS claims the Cine5 produces realistic multidirectional surround sound, but does admit it's mostly intended for smaller spaces such as study rooms. The announcement also includes a nod to FPS gamers, with claims that the improved positional audio on offer will benefit both gameplay immersion and accuracy when identifying a sound source, though we reckon the biggest boon will still be the elimination of the extra cables and speakers one usually needs to get one's surround sound on. Price and availability have not yet been made public, but knowing ASUS both should be in the reasonable range of the market.

ASUS Cine5 is 'world's most compact' five-channel speaker, doesn't forget the blue LEDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's calling the PlayStation Move the "next generation" of motion gaming and planning to market it as heavily as an entirely new console, so it's sort of a big deal -- and that means our main dudes at Joystiq are all over it. We've already covered the main details, but hit the links below if you're looking for some seriously deep dives.

• SOCOM 4 to support PlayStation Move
• EyePet to support PlayStation Move, hits North America holiday 2010
• Move supported by 36 companies, 20 games this fiscal year
• The PlayStation Move games (we know of)
• Hands-on: SOCOM 4 (with PlayStation Move!)
• Hands-on: PlayStation Move's 'The Shoot'
• Hands-on: PlayStation Move's 'Move Party'
• Hands-on: PlayStation Move's Sports Champions
• We touched it: PlayStation Move from every angle
• 'Arc' lives on in PlayStation Move's logo

Want more on the PlayStation Move? Head over to Joystiq! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Six cores. Twelve threads. A new flagship processor in Intel's stable. Here at GDC in San Francisco, the world's most widely recognized chip maker is dishing out its latest desktop CPU, and to say it's a niche device would be greatly understating things. We spoke to a number of Intel bigwigs at tonight's media event, and everyone confessed that the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition was a low quantity, high performance device aimed specifically at gamers and content editors that simply refuse to live anywhere other than on the cutting edge. Intel's planning on selling these in retail, standalone form for $999 (MSRP), while they'll soon be available in a variety of gaming rigs from the likes of Dell, Alienware and whoever else wishes to keep with the times. As for Apple? The company stated that Steve and Company "sort of call their own shots," and that we'd have to dig at Apple if we really wanted to know what their refreshed Mac Pro would hold. We chuckled, nodded in understanding, and then learned that this here slab of silicon is a bit ahead of the software out there, with Intel noting that only games optimized for 12-thread use and benchmarking utilities that did likewise would really demonstrate the performance boost. 'Course, anyone who spends a great deal of time multitasking will appreciate the extra headroom, and power users can always find ways to make use of more horsepower. Oh, and for what it's worth, the company stated that this will be its lead desktop chip for some time to come, and if you're looking for a mobile version in the near future, you can keep dreaming.

As for the critics? Just about everyone with a benchmarking license managed to get one of these in-house, and everyone seems to feel (mostly) the same way. There's no denying that this is Intel's speediest consumer chip ever, but you won't find 50 percent boosts just anywhere. Yet. When the software catches up, though, there's no doubt that this chip will make even the other Core i7s look downright sluggish. 50 percent more cores and 50 percent more threads than the prior kings of the line leads to fantastic gains when serious number crunching is involved (audio and video editors, we're staring at you), with some tests showing upticks in the 30 to 50 percent range. As a bonus, the power consumption here is also extremely reasonable, with the shift to 32nm enabling it to even use less power in some circumstances when compared to the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. Dig into the glut of reviews below if you've got a cool grand with "chip upgrade" written on it -- you'll be glad you did.

Read - Hot Hardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Techgage
Read - Computer Shopper
Read - Bit-Tech
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Neoseeker
Read - Hardcoreware
Read - TweakTown
Read - PC World
Read - TechReport
Read - Benchmark Reviews
Read - Hardware Canucks
Read - Overclockers Club

Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition 'Gulftown' review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No surprise here: Sony just officially announced the PlayStation Move motion controller at GDC 2010, calling it the "next generation of motion gaming" because it's so precise -- latency is about the same as the DualShock 3. As expected, it uses the PlayStation Eye camera to track the controller, and Sony says it becomes an "extension of your body." The plan is not only to engage casual gamers, but to use the precision of the controller to create "new experiences for core gamers" -- many of the demo videos we saw involved using a controller video in each hand, and there were quote a few demos of action / RPG games. We also saw a demo of Move Party, which uses the camera to do augmented reality gaming and video chat. The demos are pretty impressive -- Sony's not kidding when it says the Move is incredibly precise. There's also going to be a secondary "subcontroller" with an an analog stick for shooters -- you can play all the way through SOCOM4 with just the Move and the sub-controller. (Yes, it's just like the Wii Nunchuk, only wireless.)

You'll be able to get Move in three ways: in a bundle with a PS3, standalone, and in a starter kit targeted at "under $100" with the PS Eye, a controller, and a game. That's all the pricing info we have right now, but it certainly sounds aggressive -- Sony says they're treating this like a major console launch, so expect to see this everywhere when it launches around the holidays.

PlayStation Move motion controller launched at GDC, starter kit to be under $100 with game originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just got underway at Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller event. Sure, they haven't called it "Move," just yet, but we just saw the "Move" moniker on a demo screen at the side of the stage, so we're feeling pretty confident at this point.

Continue reading Live from Sony's 'PlayStation Move' motion controller event

Live from Sony's 'PlayStation Move' motion controller event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's certainly made some enterprise inroads with Google Apps, and now it's open the road for other cloud-based service providers to build on that success: it's launching Google Apps Marketplace to sell third-party web apps that integrate with the Apps suite. The apps are sold as a subscription, with both monthly and annual pricing, and the billing is all handled by Google. Since it's all targeted at the enterprise, the apps themselves are pretty dry -- we're talking notables like Intuit Online Payroll, eFax, and TripIt -- but it's pretty easy to see how Google could build a similar consumer-level marketplace into Gmail and Google Calendar sometime in the future. And then? Skynet. Video after the break.

Continue reading Google Apps Marketplace opens for business, for business

Google Apps Marketplace opens for business, for business originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After four three flavors of the HTC Hero, the Taiwanese mobile giant has finally brought back the chin with an additional lick of aluminum and a similarly quirky name -- the Legend. If this alone isn't of much interest to you yet, just bear in mind that this is HTC's first Android 2.1 device with Sense UI. It didn't take much for us to fall in love with this Android phone at MWC -- HTC convinced us of its unibody toughness by banging it against the wall, and needless to say, the vibrant AMOLED screen caught our eyes, too. However, there are still some questions to be answered before we can decide whether the Legend lives up to its name, especially on battery life, wireless reception, camera quality and software performance. Unless there have been major tweaks, we'll try not to bore you with features already seen on the Hero -- so please, won't you join us?

Continue reading HTC Legend review

HTC Legend review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you know there was a Digital Inclusion Summit going on? We already know the FCC isn't best pleased about the fact 93 million Americans are making do without access to home broadband, and this latest event was an opportunity for it to dish some more info on its forthcoming National Broadband Plan. The major obstacles to broadband adoption identified by the FCC were noted as cost, computer illiteracy, and a sheer lack of awareness about the benefits the web offers (outside of cute kitties). The big Plan will be delivered to Congress a week from today, and its suggestions will include the creation of a Digital Literacy Corps, who'll be performing missionary duties among the unenlightened, and the big whopper: a proposal to "consider use of spectrum for a free or very low cost wireless broadband service." Yeah, if you can't jump over the cost hurdle you might as well eviscerate it from existence. Quite naturally, such radical plans have been met with much grumbling opposition, and Business Week reports that it may be years before the full reforms are implemented ... if at all.

FCC will consider 'free or very low cost wireless broadband' service originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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