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Officially speaking, the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus still have a weekend ahead of 'em before they can be sold, but if you know the right person in your local Best Buy, you could very well be playing with one hours before your contemporaries. An anonymous tipster beamed over the image you see above via our handy iPhone app, noting that both of Palm's first entries onto Verizon's network were in stock. Granted, neither are for sale per se, but what's stopping you from moseying on down and giving it a shot? Nothing, that's what.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Palm's Pre Plus and Pixi Plus slipping into Best Buy locales everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Without a doubt, 3D was the keystone feature touted by every major TV and Blu-ray player manufacturer at CES 2010. But the 3D technology we'll see this year asks more of consumers than previous reinventions. As with HD, they will need new TVs, new video sources, and optimized content like Avatar to make the experience worthwhile.

But consumers will also likely need glasses -- and not particularly fashionable glasses -- to experience the 3D effect. It's a lot to ask customers, given just-completed 10-year transition to digital and high-definition television. Compare that to the roughly 30-year gap that separated the mainstream arrival of color and the first HDTV in the U.S.

It also remains to be seen how strong of a marketing push major electronics companies will put behind 3D. The shift to HD was aided by a government mandate that coincided with the shift from over-the-air analog broadcasts to digital broadcasts. And before there was much HD content on television, consumers embraced the dramatic form-factor shift from CRT to flat-panel televisions -- HD often just came along for the ride.

Continue reading Switched On: The two sides of 3DTV

Switched On: The two sides of 3DTV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this was probably bound to happen someday, but we still can't not sniffle a bit... the Treo Pro seems to have disappeared from Palm.com. The site has of course been mainly trafficking Palm's webOS devices -- the Pre and Pixi -- as of late, but until very recently, it still listed its last non-webOS device, the Window Mobile Treo Pro, a much older phone first outed in August of 2008. If you're hell bent, of course, there are still plenty of places to get one of these bad boys, so we're not going to sound the death knell yet -- but it will be missed.

Filed under: Cellphones

Treo Pro up and vanishes from Palm website originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the nitty gritty of how Nanosys' proprietary LED backlighting technology works, check out our earlier coverage here -- what you really need to know is that the company promises a significantly wider color gamut from its displays, while reducing power consumption by up to 50 percent. Quantum dot LEDs have shown their faces before, but now there's the big hulking heft of LG Innotek -- LG's component manufacturing arm -- behind what Nanosys is offering, which indicates we might actually see the release of nanotech-infused displays within the first half of this year as promised. The early focus appears to be on mobile phones, which gives us yet another next-gen feature to add to our list of requirements for our next phone. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays

Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were wondering how Kindle's impending active content (read: apps) would be harnessing that free Whispernet bandwidth. As it turns out, there's just a smidgen allowed for gratis. According to the terms laid out by Amazon, there's a 70 / 30 revenue split, with that smaller percentage going to Bezos and co. "net of delivery fees of $0.15 / MB." The price tiers is a little simpler: apps can be free if their download over 3G is less than 1MB and they use less than 100KB per month, per user. Apps between 1MB and 10MB require a one-time purchase fee that offsets the bandwidth usage, and likewise a subscription fee is needed for those that plan on allowing over 100KB of a monthly data streaming. (To put that in perspective, this post -- just the copy -- is 4KB. That image above is 120KB.) Anything over 10MB requires a download over WiFi, and the maximum file size is 100MB... and if anyone manages to justify a 100MB app that runs on a greyscale E Ink display, color us impressed.

Kindle's active content given 100KB free monthly bandwidth allowance originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh sure, we've seen Sony's UMD-hatin' PSP Go splayed before, but never like this. Call us crazy, but we're calling stop motion video the future of unboxings and tear downs. Seriously -- this is one wild two minute ride that you simply have to take. Peek the video after the break, won't you?

Continue reading PSP Go disassembled in awesome stop motion video

PSP Go disassembled in awesome stop motion video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's sort of stunning how many stellar smartphone options Verizon Wireless customers suddenly have, but lest we forget that RIM's hotly-anticipated Storm2 was rockin' the suburbs late last year. For those who sprung, we're curious to know if you're happy with your decision. Do you think RIM adequately addressed the gripes from round one? Is the display responsive enough? Was the addition of WiFi what sealed the deal? Are you annoyed that you didn't hold out for the new Palm lineup? Feel free to get really real in comments below -- we get the impression that Waterloo needs all the feedback it can get when it comes to QWERTY-less mobiles.

How would you change RIM's BlackBerry Storm2? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, you thought Garmin and TomTom were in trouble when Google announced its free Navigation service... wait until investors hear Nokia's news. Reuters is reporting that Nokia will offer free navigation on its smartphones. However, instead of just the US (the current Google limitation sans hacking), Nokia will be demonstrating its reach by offering free turn-by-turn directions in 74 countries and 46 languages -- a move that should cover 20 million smartphones globally with Ovi Maps available in over 180 countries. Damn.

Update: The original San Francisco Chronicle report has been pulled but Google cache caught a bit more saying that Nokia's navigation service is "capable of operating completely offline" unlike Google Navigation which requires data connectivity.

Update 2: Nokia just made the download link live. Hey, where's the N97 and N900 love?

Update 3: And it's official. Starting today, Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation is free across the globe. Drivers receive turn-by-turn voice guidance including lane assistance, traffic information (in 10 countries including the US), and safety camera and speed warnings while pedestrians will be guided on shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones in over 100 cities across the globe. It all works offline too, which should extend battery life and keep that navigation humming even while puttering about in data dead zones without racking up international roaming charges (take that, Google). From March 2010, all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will come installed with the new Ovi Maps application and pre-loaded with local country map data and walk and drive navigation with access to location-aware Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides at no extra cost. Additional premium guides like a weather service and events / movies are also included. Just 10 devices from Nokia's massive catalog are available today -- a list that includes the N97 Mini, 5800 XpressMusic, 5800 navigation edition, E52, E55, E72, 5230, 6710 navigator, 6730 classic and X6.

So what's missing? The N97 and N900 of course. Find out why after the break.

[Thanks, Jussi]

Continue reading Nokia offering free turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones globally (updated)

Nokia offering free turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones globally (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what's better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at "just" 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We're told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we're not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape "draft?"

[Thanks, Mademoiselle Y]

Continue reading Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that we've heard the big news from Nokia's London press event, it's only natural to get our hands dirty with the upgraded Ovi Maps. The preloaded map does indeed load much quicker than its old network counterpart, and hey, did we mention it's free too? Enjoy the photos and video after the break with your breakfast.

Continue reading Nokia Ovi Maps with free turn-by-turn navigation hands-on

Nokia Ovi Maps with free turn-by-turn navigation hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The former Kurara caterpillar has now sprouted into a Vivaz butterfly, and what do you know, all its lustrous color options have already been handled and explored by Dutch site All About Phones. We're told that early leaks and spy shots did a disservice to the handsome styling of the handset, which borrows some design cues from the Xperia X10. It's smaller than you might think, apparently, and a delight to handle, though the back has an unfortunate taste for fingerprints. The Symbian S60 5th onboard is said to be "remarkably fast," and an improvement over the implementation on the Satio. We couldn't resist snatching one more photo with all four hues on display, which can be found after the break, but you'll have to read that source link for the full dish and photoshoot.

Update: Hey, SE has been kind enough to supply us with a developer preview video, which you'll find right after the break, thanks XRX.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Vivaz shows up in multicolored Dutch hands-on (Update: video!)

Sony Ericsson Vivaz shows up in multicolored Dutch hands-on (Update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've now pretty much reached saturation point with OnLive demos, so it's good to finally see an independent set of eyes poring over the service and giving us the lowdown on the actual user experience. Whether you call it on demand, streamed, or cloud gaming, the concept is remarkably simple -- OnLive pumps games via a web browser onto your machine and gives you the full gaming experience without the need for all that pretty, but expensive hardware. PC Perspective's Ryan Shrout "found" a login to the Beta program and has put together a very thorough comparison between OnLive and playing the games locally on the same computer. His conclusion is that latency issues at present make an FPS like Unreal Tournament unplayable, but slower input games like Burnout Paradise or Mass Effect give pleasingly close renditions of the real thing. We encourage you to hit the source link to see side-by-side video comparisons and more in-depth analysis.

OnLive Beta gets a preview, lukewarm approval originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Noiko H-988 PMP is light with details, detailed with lights originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The details are few at this time, but DigiTimes is reporting that Hewlett-Packard is working on busting out some pico projector support in its laptops and tablets in 2010. Currently the wee beamers haven't found much of a home in the pockets of consumers, but integrating them into these devices might just make sense. There they could serve as additional displays without adding the bulk of some of the other solutions we've seen in the past. HP's VP of Personal Computing Systems Monty Wong indicated that the projectors would be placed on top of the screens on notebooks, where a webcam would traditionally be found -- though presumably pointed the other way 'round. It remains to be seen what kind of bulk this would add to a traditional laptop lid and what kind of a cost premium, but we're at least vaguely intrigued by the idea.

HP launching tablets and notebooks with integrated pico projectors this year? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we can't say for sure that videogames, as your grandmother insists, do indeed rot your brain, thanks to research conducted at a variety of Universities around the States we know that better gamers tend to have more gray matter than others -- at least in certain areas. Kirk Erickson, Ann Graybiel, Arthur Kramer, and Walter Boot worked together to form a study in which 39 participants' brains were scanned before those subjects were asked to play a game called Space Fortress (which looks a little like an Atari-era Geometry Wars). Players with larger nucleus accumbens did better learning the game early on, while those with larger caudate nucleus and putamen did better at playing with distractions. There was no sign that playing games actually increased the size of those areas of the brains, meaning some people are just born with a Power Glove on -- and that it's only a matter of time before MRIs replace aptitude tests.

Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners too originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PC users have been making a 3D mess of their virtual Windows 7 desktops with BumpTop now for nearly a year, and have been doing it two-fingered since October saw the 1.2 multitouch release. Now you Apple fans can get a feel too, with BumpTop Mac newly available. There's a free version for you to try, or a $29 Pro edition that adds support for multitouch trackpads, enabling you to quickly form piles of docs and filter through them. Yes, piles of documents, much like that leaning tower of expense reports your co-workers have been giving a wide berth whenever they walk by. After the break you'll find a video of it all in action, and you can get your free trial at the read link -- assuming you're running OS 10.5 or higher.

Continue reading BumpTop hits the Mac, covers your OS X desktop with piles just like your real desktop (video)

BumpTop hits the Mac, covers your OS X desktop with piles just like your real desktop (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, this is going to be another flying car post in which we lament our current, terrestrial ways and our predominantly Earth-bound means of getting places. NASA has what it thinks is the solution, a personal flying machine called Puffin that is just large enough for a person to wedge themselves into before lurching off vertically, powered by a pair of electric motors. These motors are said to make the machine almost silent so an initial application could be covert battlefield insertions, meaning yet again those military brats get to have all the fun -- in theory. However, we're going to be downers and say we don't think they'll ever get to use this thing either, as we're not seeing any room for battery packs in that man-sized fuselage. But hey, there's some rendered conceptualization after the break if you're a dreamer.

Continue reading NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video)

NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a move that can only be described as caving in to peer pressure, Viewsonic has become the latest to prop up an Android-powered and keyboard-free device that probably won't revolutionize the way you idly surf the web from your couch. Called the VTablet 101 it rocks a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and NVIDIA Tegra graphics powering an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 800 touchscreen display. There's 4GB of storage, WiFi, and Bluetooth, all in a reasonably attractive 3,000 Yuan ($440) price. Availability? Whenever hazing is over -- assuming it survives.

Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you haven't noticed, things are getting out of hand in the world of Apple rumors. Frankly, it's all we can do to read another one and trudge onward, but hey -- we've no problem with folks putting their reputations on the line here. Let's dig in to the latest pair, shall we?

The rumor: Apple's acquisition of Lala will actually lead to customers having access to an "online locker" for multimedia. This could be a cloud storage location for one's iTunes library, enabling them to have access to their jams and vids even when away from their at-home storage. The trick is that the cloud would only hold the metadata, and streaming would originate from somewhere else on Apple's end.
Our take: Okay, so we want to believe. Just imagine if your next Apple tablet or iPhone knew exactly what songs you owned in iTunes, and at a moment's notice, you could tap into the iTunes store and stream full, unedited versions of those songs from anywhere. Amazing, no? Problem is, the bulk of iTunes libraries aren't made up of content that was purchased in iTunes (or purchased at all). It seems that the best Apple could do would be to negotiate streaming deals for content you've actually purchased within iTunes, which results in a half-baked user experience. Last we checked, Stevie J wasn't much on half-baked user experiences.

The rumor: Astoundingly, the mythical Apple tablet won't be the company's "one more thing" next week; instead, it'll be a refreshed iPhone... that works on Verizon Wireless. Oh, and iPhone OS 4.0. So says Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, anyway.
Our take: Ha! Apple has never been one to showcase too much at one time, and we're guessing that the outfit would be smart enough to withhold a new iPhone introduction for a separate press event. We don't doubt that a Verizon iPhone is in the works (though an LTE version will be at least a year or two out), but there's no way Jobs steals the tablet's thunder by giving every rabid iPhone user hot sweats when considering the switch to Big Red. Bottom line? Don't bank on it.

At this point, we reckon everyone would be best served by taking a huge step back, a deep breath and one of those so-called "chill pills." Next Wednesday ain't so far away, now is it?

Apple rumor roundup: pipe dreams, Lala's role and Verizon's iPhone 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These didn't quite make it off the boat before CES, but if it's a new Toshiba laptop you've been searching for, you can still get some satisfaction before the end of this month. The outfit has just announced that four of its machines are available in the US starting right this very moment, including the 15.6-inch Tecra A11 (starts at $879). This one packs an integrated numpad, NVIDIA GPU, an undisclosed new Intel CPU and a charcoal black chassis. Moving on, that Qosmio X500 workhorse that we first heard about late last year finally has its shipping papers (and a $1,549 starting point), bringing with it a Core i7-720QM processor, a GeForce GTS 360M GPU, 8GB of memory, an 18.4-inch display, 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive, a Blu-ray drive and a vivacious color scheme that's guaranteed to polarize. The Satellite Pro L450 and Satellite Pro L500 are also slipping out to the suits in attendance, but with price tags starting at $529, the spec hounds probably won't be drooling much here.

Toshiba ships Tecra A11, Core i7-packin' Qosmio X500 and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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