MasterCard is widening the universe of phones that officially support PayPass in a big way, with a new MasterCard PayPass Ready program certifying that devices with NFC will play nicely with its mobile payment system. A total of 17 phones are part of the first wave getting the official A-OK. Some of these are known quantities already using PayPass, like the LG Viper 4G LTE and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus HSPA+, but others are new to the PayPass ways. Among the picks are the HTC One X, Intel's smartphone reference device and the Nokia Lumia 610 NFC. A raft of BlackBerrys and lower-end Samsung Galaxy phones are likewise in the fray. While only a handful of these might ever work with Google Wallet or other US-focused NFC payment methods, you can check out the full roster in the release after the break.

Continue reading MasterCard gives PayPass blessings to HTC One X, 16 other NFC phones

MasterCard gives PayPass blessings to HTC One X, 16 other NFC phones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From time to time, we see movie studio Warner Bros. bring forth ways to give its oldies-but-goodies a longer life span. On this occasion, Warner's launching a novel eBook series titled "Inside the Script." The new release will give movie buffs a deeper look into a handful of the studio's films, which will include tidbits such as complete shooting scripts, deets about the flick's development and other "rare" goods. At launch, Warner will offer classics like Casablanca, Ben-Hur, An American in Paris and North by Northwest -- all available now on iBooks, Kindle and B&N's NOOK for $10 each. Those eager to flip through the antique pages can head to the source below, where you'll be able to grab the version best suited for your device.

Continue reading Warner Bros. intros 'Inside the Script' eBook series, gives film buffs a deeper look

Warner Bros. intros 'Inside the Script' eBook series, gives film buffs a deeper look originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's no Apple-sized quarter, but you'd need to be on HGTV's Million Dollar Rooms a handful of times over to scoff at Amazon's Q1 2012 earnings. Or, you know, Wall Street. After reporting $177 million in net earnings last quarter (on $17.43 billion in revenue), the online sales behemoth has today registered $13.18 billion in net sales -- proudly reporting that said tally was up from the $9.86 billion in its Q1 a year ago. Excluding the $56 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales would have grown 34 percent compared with first quarter 2011. As for operating income? That checked in at $192 million (compared to $322 million Q1 2011), with the outfit noting that the "unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter on operating income was $4 million." Net income also sank 35 percent from $201 million a year ago, but it still left Amazon with $130 million more in the bank than it had just three months ago.

Developing...

Amazon's Q1 2012 earnings: net income down 35 percent to $130 million, net sales at $13.18 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype's fledgling Windows Phone app broke out of beta today, adding contact searching and landline calling to it's VOIP repertoire. The update comes just shy of two months of the Beta's introduction in February, and boasts a handful of minor improvements that should keep your calls connected. You'll still be making those calls yourself, however, as the full version doesn't yet have support for receiving calls in the background -- if the app isn't running, your phone isn't ringing. Hit the source link below to update.

Skype for Windows Phone sheds beta title, graduates to v1.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are all those ambassador games crowding your 3DS' home screen? Sit tight, Nintendo's got a fix. During the outfit's Nintendo Direct conference livestream, head honcho Satoru Iwata announced that folder organization is coming to the 3DS. Fastidiously organized gamers can expect the firmware update to land on April 25th, bringing with it the joy of creating directories, stuffing them with up to 60 items and ascribing them fitting names. Iwata also detailed a handful of upcoming titles, including New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori (or, "Leap out Animal Crossing") for the 3DS and a Kirby compilation for the Wii. Follow the source link below for a full playback of Iwata's spiel, or check out Joystiq's coverage of the event for more details.

3DS firmware update promises folders, less cluttered home screens on April 25th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first images of Verizon and HTC’s upcoming Incredible 4G were leaked on Wednesday. The images were published by Android Police, and they reveal a handful of previously unknown information. The Incredible 4G will reportedly feature a 4-inch qHD display, a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera with zero shutter lag, a microSD slot and run Sense 4.0 atop Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The handset is also reportedly equipped with an NFC chip, LTE connectivity and Beats Audio. HTC’s upcoming device is said to be “very light” and it seems to resemble a cross between the HTC Rezound and HTC’s One series of smartphones. The blog’s sources suggested a price tag between $99.99 and $149.99 with a two-year agreement, though details regarding a possible launch date were revealed. Read on for two additional images.

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Netflix reveals Android app tests that keep it running on 'around 1000' devices daily originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For whatever reason, QR codes still haven't died. Near Field Communication is far superior in every conceivable way, yet it's only in a small handful of phones. And apparently I'm not the only one angry about the nine lives of this insufferable technology, because some people have dedicated a Tumblr to its terribleness. More »

Samsung might not have a press conference scheduled for this year’s Mobile World Congress, but the South Korea-based technology giant still has a handful of new devices that are expected to be unveiled during the show. Among them is a new Samsung Galaxy Tab code-named GT-P5100, and German tech blog BestBoyz claims to have obtained several pictures of the unannounced tablet. Not much can be gleaned from the images, but BestBoyZ says the tablet features a 10-inch display and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We can also see from the image above that the tablet will sport Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface on top of Android 4.0, and the design of the GT-P5100 looks very similar to the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Could this be the high-definition slate we scooped back in December? Mobile World Congress kicks off in less than a day, so we’ll know soon enough. One more picture of the new tablet alongside two unannounced Samsung smartphones follows below.

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Continue reading Lumus' OE-31 optical engine turns motorcycle helmets, other eyewear into wearable displays

Lumus' OE-31 optical engine turns motorcycle helmets, other eyewear into wearable displays originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite the fact that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is only found on a handful of Android devices — Ice Cream Sandwich penetration currently sits at 1%, just as it did more than one month ago — a new report suggests Google is preparing to launch the next major build of its mobile platform as early as next quarter. Citing unnamed sources within Taiwan-based component suppliers, DigiTimes on Thursday reports that Google is likely to launch Android 5.0 (Jelly Bean) in the second quarter. While details are still limited, the report claims Android 5.0 will again focus on tablets and introduce an interesting new feature. Read on for more.

Seemingly wary about the potential threat from Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform, Google’s next-generation Android OS will feature a new dual-boot function according to DigiTimes. Jelly Bean will reportedly be optimized for tablets and it will “integrate [Google's] Chrome system functions to push dual-operating system designs.” Google is supposedly planning to encourage vendors to build dual-boot devices, which would be able to run both Android 5.0 and Windows 8.

The report also suggests Google may be eying the notebook and netbook markets with Android 5.0. Android 3.0 Honeycomb was a tablet-only OS, and Google then unified its mobile platform with Android 4.0, which is optimized for both smartphones and tablets. This new report seems to suggest Google is shifting the focus of Android 5.0 back to tablets and maybe even to notebooks in light of Chrome OS’s slow adoption.

Android 5.0 may already be facing challenges, however, as the report claims Google’s Android partners are “turning conservative about Android 5.0″ due to Android 4.0′s slow adoption thus far. A number of vendors are currently working on updating their recent devices to Android 4.0, and several Ice Cream Sandwich-powered smartphones and tablets will be unveiled later this month at Mobile World Congress.

If DigiTimes’s report turns out to be accurate, Google could be pushing Android fragmentation to new heights with Jelly Bean. Vendors like Motorola plan to roll out Android 4.0 updates for their devices over the course of the second and third quarters, and Ice Cream Sandwich may already be obsolete by the time it finally arrives on these smartphones and tablets.

Here's the perfect option if you're looking for living room furniture that matches your whole minimalism meets uncomfortable meets ludicrously expensive motif. Designer Baltasar Portillo's Lodge Chair made from powder coated wrought iron and a handful of welds. More »

The network we love to hate has made it a long way in the four years since we promised to never cover it again because of its ridiculous claims. Not only is it still on the air, but Herring Broadcasting has announced it will be adding a linear 3D channel to the existing handful of 3D channels that includes ESPN 3D, n3D and 3net. No word on any broadcaster carriage agreements, yet, but WealthTV 3D has spent two years producing original 3D content in anticipation of the launch and viewers can currently tune in online via Roku boxes. Some of the 3D content has been available via Verizon FiOS VOD since 2010 and while we have long since laughed off the CEO's reaction to our feelings about his channel, our opinion of WealthTV probably isn't going to be changed by adding another dimension.

Continue reading WealthTV 3D joining handful of 3D networks

WealthTV 3D joining handful of 3D networks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For a brief moment, I had hopes that RIM had made a move that would unseat it from the funk it's been sitting in for years. And then I watched the introductory video of newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins. Anyone who assumes that a simple CEO swap is the answer to all of RIM's issues is woefully misinformed, or worse, just blinded by false hope. Sure, removing Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis -- both of which have been rightly criticized for not responding to market pressures quickly enough -- is a start, but it's not like they're gone. In fact, the two are still situated at a pretty fancy table within Research in Motion's organizational chart.

RIM, we've been here before

RIM seems to be as lost as my BlackBerry

Dear RIM, I'm your customer and I don't wear a suit

Have a listen at this: Mike is hanging around as the Vice Chair of RIM's Board and Chair of the Board's new Innovation Committee. You heard right -- the guy who has outrightly failed to innovate at anything in the past handful of years is now championing an innovation committee. Sounds right up his alley, no? Jim's staying put as an outright director, and if you think anyone at RIM is going to brush aside the input of the founders, you're wrong. Jim and Mike may have new titles, but they're still here, and I have no reason to believe that they'll act radically different going forward than they have in the past. Oh, and about Thorsten Heins? Let's go there.

Continue reading Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed

Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a memo released on Friday, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee said the nine federal agencies that make up the body have concluded unanimously that none of LightSquared’s proposals would overcome the network’s interference with GPS technologies. The announcement comes as a crushing blow for the startup, which is looking to build an LTE network with the company’s 1600MHz frequency. Preliminary testing last year showed that LightSquared’s planned network interfered with GPS. After a handful of rebuttals, changes, and more testing, the government has decided to pull the plug and request no further testing. The Federal Aviation Administration also concluded the network would interfere with aircraft safety systems.”Based upon this testing and analysis, there appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS. As a result, no additional testing is warranted at this time,” the memo said. LightSquared slammed the decision, claiming the agency has a biased agenda that is in favor of the GPS industry. Late last year, LightSquared reiterated that the GPS industry is at fault and it demanded approval from the FCC to begin deploying its network.

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Well, it was only a matter of time. Hongpaiyihao (literally meaning "red group number one"), a Beijing-based pro-government new media company, has launched a 9.7-inch Tegra 2 tablet that's "tailor-made for government officials" and patriotic consumers. Well, we're not sure whether the government's even aware of this Android 3.2 device's existence, but it's certainly preloaded with a bunch of pro-China apps (including one for the state-approved microblogging service), electronic subscription to a handful of newspapers (state-controlled, of course) and "exclusive" access to daily updates on some government strategic decisions. The damage? 9,999 yuan ($1,590) per unit, or 7,100 yuan ($1,120) each if you buy in bulk. As pointed out by Penn Olson, this RedPad is about two to three times as expensive as the iPad in China.

To be honest, having dug around Hongpaiyihao's unbelievably shoddy product pages, this reeks of a desperate company trying to squeeze money out of overly patriotic folks in China. Even the screen resolution and battery capacity are inconsistent across the site: it's either 1,024 x 768 and 8,000mAh, or 1,280 x 800 and 7,600mAh, respectively. Judging by the render, the former combination is more likely the real deal; yet the screenshots in the owner manual suggest the latter. Oh, and just so you know, there's no sign of the above interface in the manual at all. If you still care, other features include a five megapixel main camera, a two megapixel front-facing camera, 3G connectivity, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. We'll stick to our diet of regular Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich, thank you very much -- they'll keep our wallets healthier.

RedPad brings Chinese patriotism to Android, costs each comrade just $1,590 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We see an enormous number of gadgets each year at CES, and while the veil comes off a handful of notebooks, cameras and smartphones during the show, the gear that really makes the week for Engadget is our own. In each editor's gear bag, you'd likely be able to find a notebook, camera with external microphone, an Android / iOS / Windows Phone device, an AT&T LTE USB modem and enough bottled beverages to make trips to the "posh restroom" as routine as checking email. Pizza, pasta, chips and beef jerky keep us going during 20-hour days in the trailer, where a stable (and pricey) Ethernet connection let us bring you dozens of posts each hour without interruption. Jump past the break for a look at our gear in a bit more detail.

Continue reading Engadget's gear of CES 2012

Engadget's gear of CES 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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