Mobile

ZTE Open, the first Firefox OS phone for consumers, launches tomorrow for $90

As reported on Engadget. By Stefan Constantinescu When Mozilla said devices running Firefox OS would be cheap, we didn’t know they’d be this cheap. Telefónica has just tweeted that the ZTE Open will be launching in Spain tomorrow for €69, which translates to around $90 and is a good $30 less than the cheapest developer unit we’d seen until now. And here’s where it gets pretty wild: that price includes €30 ($39) of airtime for prepaid customers. When we played with the…

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Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active review: a top-tier phone in a water-resistant package

As reported on Engadget. By Sarah Silbert After Samsung’s latest product push in London, we have nothing short of a Galaxy S 4 franchise on our hands. While the company unveiled its expected Mini version along with a photography-focused variant, it also took a step in the rugged-device direction by announcing the Galaxy S4 Active. With IP67 water and dust protection, the phone promises to see you through 30 minutes of aquatic activity at a time. Ruggedness aside, though, this…

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Business Mobile

BB10 fails to turn a profit for BlackBerry in first full quarter of availability

As reported on The Verge. By Aaron Souppouris After two quarters of meager profits, BlackBerry has posted its Q1 2014 results (for the three-month period ending June 1st 2013), revealing an $84 million loss from $3.1 billion revenue. Compared to last quarter, when the Canadian manufacturer made $94 million from $2.7 billion, the revenue results are fairly positive, although Wall Street hoped to see $3.3 billion.   With smartphone shipments, BlackBerry’s position strengthened for the first time in a…

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Mobile

Android 4.3 spotted on Samsung Galaxy S 4, available to test now

As reported on Engadget. By Mat Smith A new version of Android (4.3, and still called Jelly Bean) is already doing the testing rounds on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 and thanks to some porting work from SAMMobile, it’s apparently working on both the Google Play and original iterations. We’ve caught a glance of Android 4.3 on LG’s Nexus 4 already, but we’re now getting a second look at a refreshed camera interface, some minor design tweaks (like more…

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Mobile

DuPont and PMA team up to embed Powermat wireless charging in Corian countertops

As reported on Engadget. By Zach Honig DuPont’s managed to work its way into just about every home and place of business here in the US of A, but despite this nationwide proliferation, we haven’t seen the Delaware-based chemicals giant making waves in the consumer electronics space. But with home wraps, plastics and body armor on lockdown, it’s as good a time as any to venture into CE. Through a partnership with the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), the company will soon…

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Application Mobile

Dropbox update for iOS adds swipe gestures, multi-file sharing

As reported on Engadget. By Mat Smith Dropbox‘s latest update for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch solves some of the minor niggles we’ve had with its iOS version. You can now share links to folders direct from the app, while the refresh also adds the ability select and share multiple files at once. Alongside the obligatory bug fixes and performance improvements, Dropbox version 2.3 also throws in a handful of new touchscreen-friendly gestures to the mix, allowing…

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Mobile

Sony’s SBH52 Smart Bluetooth clip acts as your secondary handset

As reported on Engadget. By Richard Lai HTC may have its Mini Bluetooth handset, but Sony thinks such implementation works best as a big clip without the numeric pad. Dubbed the SBH52, this splashproof device comes with FM radio, a headphone jack plus a small OLED display to show caller ID and text messages, so in a way it’s similar to its predecessors. What’s new is that you now get NFC as well as an earpiece — the…

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Mobile

Sony SmartWatch 2 unveiled: a water-resistant ‘second screen’ for Android devices

As reported on Engadget. By Joseph Volpe Sony’s taking a second stab at the fledgling wearable category it helped pioneer with today’s announcement of the SmartWatch 2. The Android-powered wristwatch retains the familiar remote functionality of its predecessor (i.e., allowing users to answer calls, read email and texts, snap photos, etc.), albeit now from a larger, 1.6-inch (220 x 176) touch display. Sony’s packed all of this “second screen” functionality into a handsome, aluminum body design that’s crafted to be dust- and…

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Mobile

Samsung user manual confirms Galaxy S 4 variant with Snapdragon 800 chip

As reported on Engadget. By Sharif Sakr Welcome to Samsung Day, 2013. While we wait on some big (and little) product launches this afternoon, here’s a quick bite to keep us going: an interesting processor spec mentioned in the user manual for the SHV-E330S, which we think will be the new LTE-Advanced variant of the Galaxy S 4 intended for South Korea. How the folks at RBmen spotted it we have no idea, but one of the pages (shown after the break) confirms the…

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Culture Environmental Mobile

New Yorkers Get Free Power In The Parks

As reported on TechCrunch. by ELIZA BROOKE Months after Hurricane Sandy left New York scrambling for power, the city is unveiling 25 solar powered charging stations in parks and public spaces throughout the five boroughs, starting today. The pilot project between AT&T and the city of New York is officially called AT&T Street Charge. (DUMBO firm Pensa handled design, and Goal Zero provided the solar technology, AT&T handled the cash.) The stations will move to new…

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