Creative quietly intros MovieWorks HD iPod dock

Not that Creative hasn't dabbled in the HD iPod dock arena before, but it's been awhile since the company has introduced a new one. Quietly, secretly, the outfit has pushed a fresh one out in the Cambridge Soundworks line, and it's satisfactorily titled MovieWorks HD. The device does about what you'd expect by outputting iPod video and audio (via HDMI) onto one's TV and / or sound system, though Creative points out that this one is the only one with its own Xtreme Fidelity, X-Fi Crystallize and X-Fi CMSS-3D technology -- so yeah, take that for whatever it's worth. Those who detest cables can also snag the optional wireless receiver, but first you'll need to pony up $249.99 for the dock itself.

[Via eipZENter]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Creative quietly intros MovieWorks HD iPod dock originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Apple once again squeezing Samsung's flash memory supplies?

Apple and Samsung have a long history of locking up large-scale flash memory deals, and it looks like these two lovebirds are at it again -- word is that Cupertino's bought up all of Sammy's output until April of this year. That's an awful lot of memory -- Samsung manufactures some 40 percent of the world's flash -- so if we were the betting sort we'd say Apple's planning on making a bunch of new flash-based devices around that timeframe, potentially in preparation for a June launch. Hm, what could those possibly be?

[Via All Things Digital]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Storage

Apple once again squeezing Samsung's flash memory supplies? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Google's offline Gmail demo reveals seemingly US-bound HTC Magic -- is this the T-Mobile G2?

So is Vodafone's HTC Magic the same as T-Mobile's G2? Could very well be, considering Google's little slip-up during a demo of its offline Gmail support on mobile devices. What we have up there clearly ain't a Voda logo, and if our knowledge of T-Mobile logos around the world is accurate, this isn't a European T-Mobile logo, either -- it's straight-up Yankee. Would certainly make a ton of sense for this thing to shake out as the G2, and there's no shortage of folks holding out for a keyboardless Android device 'round there... so your move, T-Mob.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Google's offline Gmail demo reveals seemingly US-bound HTC Magic -- is this the T-Mobile G2? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Sonar hopes to power social featurephones, we get a demo

As with any trade show, flashy, high-end products have a tendency to steal the lion's share of the spotlight at MWC -- but the fact is, featurephones still outsell traditional smartphones by an order of magnitude. Companies like INQ are betting the farm on the belief that today's ultra-connected generation of Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook users are ultimately going to pick fashionable, cheap, easy-to-use handsets over the complexity of an iPhone, G1, or Omnia. There's something to be said for that -- most people don't know the model of their own phone, after all, and have no interest in learning how to download and install an app, let alone learn an entire mobile operating system. Plus, for the youngest members of this profitable group, there's a lot of price sensitivity -- smartphones are typically out of reach.

If startup Sonar has its way, that's where its new platform comes in. The idea was to fundamentally rethink the way average consumers -- you know, the ones who are plugged into three, four, or fourteen social networks and don't know a G1 from a P1i -- use a phone to communicate, and they're ready to show off their efforts for the first time here at MWC. We had an opportunity to sit down with Sonar's founders this week for a tour of the system, and we're pretty stoked about what we saw. Read on.

Continue reading Sonar hopes to power social featurephones, we get a demo

Filed under: Cellphones

Sonar hopes to power social featurephones, we get a demo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Google demos HTML5-based Maps on the Palm Pre

Looks like offline Gmail on the iPhone wasn't the only trick Google's Vic Gondotra has up his sleeve during his talk at MWC -- he also gave a quick demo of Google Maps running as a web app on the Palm Pre. Of course, what's interesting there is that the Pre's HTML-based SDK means that web apps can act like first class citizens on the device -- which is probably why Vic called the Pre "arguably one of my favorite devices." Hopefully that means we're going to see a lot more Pre devs really blur the line between local and cloud-based applications, but for now we'll just settle for the short demo video after the break.

Continue reading Google demos HTML5-based Maps on the Palm Pre

Filed under: Cellphones

Google demos HTML5-based Maps on the Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC

If you were thinking offline Gmail on your desktop was the greatest thing since sliced bread, prepare yourselves people. If an MWC keynote from Google's VP of engineering, Vic Gundotra, is any indication, the same functionality might be coming soon to an iPhone / Android phone near you. Amongst other things, the souped up web app boasts an overhauled interface, supports labels, and of course, offline access. Despite our own hunch that Google's just using black magic and voodoo to make this happen, Gundotra claims that it's all made possible through HTML5 standards -- AppCache being the biggie. This development certainly opens the doors to more offline-enabled web apps in the future -- Docs, anyone?. Of course, we know Apple has a thing about people messing with its own apps, so it's probably going to take some time / knee-breaking to get them to come around, but for some reason, we don't think it'll take as long with Android. There's a demo video available after the break, and please, try to contain yourselves.

Continue reading Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC

Filed under: Cellphones

Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Meizu M8 defies the odds and officially goes on sale - again

Word on the street has it that the Meizu's M8 -- that vaporous iPhone killer from the east -- is now officially on sale, as of February 18. For real. Wait, you ask -- wasn't it available last week sometime? Well, yes and no. Apparently, the unit we've seen making the rounds was a beta version -- if you slapped down your $440-ish dollars on that one, you got something with "a fair amount of problems to be ironed out," according to DAP Review. The site, whose Chinese-to-English translator is apparently functioning better than ours, goes on to point out that while the test units had WiFi enabled, the final production version does not. A strange decision, sure, but this is a tale fraught with strange decisions. And danger. And excitement and glamor. By the way -- we just hit up the official Meizu site, and the 16GB version of this device is "out of stock" -- probably due to the rapturous reception the unit's received all over the world.

[Via DAP Review; Thanks, Michael]

Continue reading Meizu M8 defies the odds and officially goes on sale - again

Filed under: Cellphones

Meizu M8 defies the odds and officially goes on sale - again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Card counting iPhone app frowned upon in Vegas

Usually, it's Apple who has the problem with a potential app. Now, it's The Man taking issue with one that Cupertino deemed fit for distribution. Nevada gaming officials have been tipped off a card counting application that can be installed on the iPhone and iPod touch, which would obviously give Blackjack gamers an upper-hand over the system. According to control board member Randy Sayre, using a device to "aid in the counting of cards is considered a felony under Nevada laws governing cheating," and considering that the program can even be used in "stealth mode," it could be easy to miss unless you're really on the lookout. Of course, it's up to individual casinos to determine their policies on cellphones, but if you were planning to counter this recession by racking up on ten straight 21s this weekend, you might want to seriously consider the consequences first.

[Via TUAW]

Filed under: Cellphones

Card counting iPhone app frowned upon in Vegas originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Amosu hands-on: pink, pricey, and plenty of diamonds

While scavenging for pricey handsets to hang on the gilded walls at the Mansion, we luckily bumped into one Alexander Amosu, of Amosu fame. The Amosu brand is synonymous with gold, encrusted and dripping with gemstones, and most of all, pricey. In his bag of tricks we found three fully-kitted BlackBerry Bolds, a pink iPhone, and an iced Motorola Aura. If you lined them up on a table -- which, of course, we did -- you'd be looking at some 12 plus carats and a price tag somewhere up around 50k. Sure, we're normally harsh on these types of things, but seeing them up close, we could almost kinda get it. Huge sparkling gallery after the break, so if you have shades, now's the time to don them.

Filed under: Cellphones

Amosu hands-on: pink, pricey, and plenty of diamonds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Hyundai's phones are creatively ridiculous

We associate the Hyundai name more closely with cars and ten-year warranties than we do phones in these parts of the world, but Hyundai Mobile does a little business selling low-cost phones in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia (cars... phones... right, makes sense). We had a chance to check out some of the offerings today, and yeah, let's just put it this way: some of these devices are a bit off the beaten path. Pictured above from left to right are the MB-400 (bearing absolutely no resemblance to any existing device), the MB-910 touchscreen watch phone, and the lovely MB-105 "Chico" (which -- interesting fact -- features a whopping 50-message SMS storage capacity). The Chico wasn't functional for us, but follow the break for some hands-on time with the unfortunate iPod rip and one of the nicer watch phones we've seen come to market. Odd couple, isn't it?

Continue reading Hyundai's phones are creatively ridiculous

Filed under: Cellphones

Hyundai's phones are creatively ridiculous originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Toshiba TG01 hands-on and video walkthrough

While we weren't originally cheering fans of the Toshiba TG01's somewhat odd "stripey" interface, checking it out in person tells a different tale. It actually makes sense and works surprisingly well, and really, there is a reason why we've seen so many Windows Mobile skinning efforts, the shipped interface needs it. Most functions you need can be found in Toshiba's homescreen UI or can be added -- the video demos some of the options for making changes and panel color choices if the default isn't tickling your fancy. This handset is thin and light and makes the iPhone we used for some scale pics look positively chubby -- it's like having a PSP-sized display in your pocket. The 4.1-inch Regza-inspired screen is clear, the resistive touchscreen is typical hit and miss with fingertips, video and gaming are fast on the 1GHz Snapdragon processor and look gorgeous. You know, if Toshiba sees fit to add some 3G bands other than the 2100MHz included in the first effort, we could easily see this living -- almost unnoticed -- in our pockets. We're still pretty far out from the rumored summer launch of the TG01 so we're expecting to see some changes between now and then, and we also have some concerns about battery life while driving a screen like this, but for now, wow. Video walkthrough, some gaming action, and a big gallery are just past the break.

Continue reading Toshiba TG01 hands-on and video walkthrough

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Toshiba TG01 hands-on and video walkthrough originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Nokia N86 hands-on with video!

We just messed around with Nokia's new N86, and while the form factor and feel of the device seem a little last-gen, there's no denying the camera's quality. Some of the soft button the face of the phone are a little difficult for our large fingers to press, but the d-pad is pure quality, as is the generic-looking numeric keypad -- T9ers rejoice. In traditional N-series fashion, the slide mechanism is practically perfect, with a meaty, satisfying and easy motion to it, and the general feel of the device, including the seamless glossy front, screams quality. The camera we played with seemed a little glitchy in operation -- it's still pre-production -- but the images were excellent. The LED flash won't be able to handle a large dimly lit room, but can do close-quarters indoors shots just fine, and should match up well with other high resolution shooters in the outdoor arena. The OLED screen, but it might not have been set at full brightness -- it's crisp, but not necessarily vibrant. Overall it's a "nice" handset, but somehow 8 megapixels alone doesn't seem to justify another go at this fairly dated and chubby N-series form factor -- but maybe that's just us.

Update: We bumped up the brightness and stacked the phone up against the iPhone 3G and found the N86's screen to be considerably brighter -- another win for OLED! There's also now some video after the break!

Continue reading Nokia N86 hands-on with video!

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras, Handhelds

Nokia N86 hands-on with video! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

modu hands-on with the set, jackets, and some far out visions

True to our word, we popped in to visit modu day one to get some one on one time with some of the recently announced kit. So we checked out the jackets, the new reworked set, and like last year, we're happy with the whole ecosystem. Sure, you have to approach this with the understanding that for now, modu is aiming at the middle of the road -- and price point -- and not to take on the iPhone, Palm Pre, and others. But what they have done and done quite well is offer up a really small set, a pile of fun jackets that actually change the phone's functions and kick in a wee bit of color and style. The biggest standout in the collection was a bike snap on with a thumb controller that connects wirelessly -- or dangerously, your call -- to the handset for "while cycling" control of your calls. Lots new is going on with the Israeli startup, a pilot project with Telefonica in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, plus it has secured a $38 million first offer with Lynk Communication in the Philippines, here's hoping 3G is just around the bend. Take a peek at the gallery for more of the madness and nice video guided by Dov Moran himself.

Continue reading modu hands-on with the set, jackets, and some far out visions

Filed under: Cellphones

modu hands-on with the set, jackets, and some far out visions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Nokia also joins Adobe initiative, Flash 10 for (almost) all

We're not quite sure if you're seeing what's happening here, but Apple and RIM are working themselves right into the time-out corner. We already heard earlier today that Palm would be joining Adobe's Open Screen Project -- which, by the way, guarantees Flash 10 support on the Pre -- and now we're told that Nokia is following suit. What it all boils down to is this: Google, Microsoft, Palm, and Nokia are all expected to release platforms or handsets in the coming year or two which will support Flash 10, all while Apple's iPhone attempts to limp by with... YouTube support. Granted, we have heard that the suits at Cupertino are in talks to make it happen, but we've yet to hear as much at MWC. Also of note, it seems that a similar deal including RIM is also pretty far off, so BlackBerry users should probably order their daily dose of patience as well.

[Via Macworld]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia also joins Adobe initiative, Flash 10 for (almost) all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

ARM debuts Sparrow multicore netbook processor

We've had our eyes peeled for ARM Cortex-based netbook news, and now among the action this week at MWC '09 we're getting our first look at Sparrow, a Cortex A9 processor aimed squarely at netbook manufacturers. This is a multi-core update to the Cortex A8 (processor of choice for the Palm Pre and Pandora), and it's been speculated that this could be the processor for the next generation iPhone, with "at least triple the computing power of the ARM11 processors found in the [current] iPhone and T-Mobile G1." Toshiba, Pegatron and Wistron are all said to be showing demos of their ARM-powered netbooks at the conference this year, with a company spokesman saying that Ubuntu for ARM will go public in April, with Sparrow phones coming to market sometime in 2010. Additionally, companies like Adobe, On2, and Symbian are said to be "tuning their apps to run on the latest cores from ARM" as we speak.

[Via Gadget Mix, Mac Rumors]

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

ARM debuts Sparrow multicore netbook processor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Huawei's Android touchphone is a mystery wrapped in an enigma

We were really hoping MWC would be Android's coming out party, but while there's a hefty amount of name-dropping at the show, nobody much seems ready to put hardware on the line. And then there's Huawei. We were expecting a handset from them at the show, and they're halfway there, announcing an Android phone, but only bringing a non-working prototype to show for it. The touchphone hardware is decidedly iPhone-esque, and almost seems too button scarce to work with the traditional Android interface, but that's where the rest of the story comes in: Huawei is working with an "established design consultancy" to develop its own custom interface for the device. The as-yet unnamed phone will be coming to market in Q3 of this year, and Huawei is currently in talks with a carrier who will rebrand the device -- the lack of finality there left much of the rest of the info on this phone shrouded. We're looking forward to learning more about this device in the coming months, but for now you can check out the tease of a gallery below, and the even less informative press release at the read link below.

Gallery: Huawei's Android touchphone is a mystery wrapped in an enigma

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Huawei's Android touchphone is a mystery wrapped in an enigma originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Hands-in with the Dots iPhone gloves

These have actually been out for a tick, but we just got our special someone a pair of the Dots iPhone-compatible gloves and they're so simultaneously silly and brilliant we thought you'd get a kick out of 'em. Yep, they're just nice wool or knit gloves with metal dots in the fingers that work with capacitive touchscreens -- no crazy patented Apple "anti-sticky" layer or ridiculous overdesign involved. Of course, just because they're marketed towards iPhone users doesn't mean they won't work with the Storm or G1 as well -- honestly, we're sort of surprised these little nubs haven't popped up on gloves everywhere. Couple more pics and a quick video after the break.

Continue reading Hands-in with the Dots iPhone gloves

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

Hands-in with the Dots iPhone gloves originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Intel and LG partner up for some hot MID action

Intel's been talking up MIDs for a while now, and it looks like LG's ready to buy in -- the two companies just announced that they'll be cooperating on a series of devices running Intel's Moblin OS on the Moorestown platform. Interestingly, the release says the first product will deliver the "functionality of today's high-end smart phones," which seems to suggest that Intel's willing to shift some product definitions around. Still, we wouldn't expect a straight-up phone out of this one -- we're hoping for something more like Intel's crazy concept MID shown here. We'll see what these two come up with over the next year, it should definitely be interesting.

Filed under: Handhelds

Intel and LG partner up for some hot MID action originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Palm joins Adobe's Open Screen Project, Pre to support Flash

Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash -- it looks like the Pre's going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn't it? Yep, Palm's just joined Adobe's Open Screen Project, and there's no two bones about what that means: the press release flat out says "the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform." That's especially interesting since the webOS SDK is so heavily based on web technologies and native player support potentially opens the door for Flash-based apps, which would instantly bring a ton of new devs to the Pre. That's not a bad thing. We'll find out more at the end of the year, when the mobile Flash player is due to arrive.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm joins Adobe's Open Screen Project, Pre to support Flash originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 hands-on (Update: now with video!)

We got a bumpy car ride through Barcelona, and handled the newly spruced-up and official Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 along the way. The phone has come a very long way since we last saw it, with a snappy, smooth interface, and nary a glitch or crash. The touchscreen keyboard -- usable in portrait and landscape modes -- is no pretender to the iPhone's throne, but is one of the best we've seen on a resistive touch device. We also found the WebKit-based browser to be one of the smoother ones we've seen outside the T-Mobile G1 and the iPhone. The phone is pretty slow when reorienting itself or entering certain applications, and, as feared, there seems a general lack of depth to the functionality of the actual "smartphone" features like calendar or contacts, but the location-based services -- in the car and out -- really do bring a lot to the table.

Update: we added a video after the break, pardon the bumps!

Gallery: Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 hands-on

Continue reading Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 hands-on (Update: now with video!)

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds

Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 hands-on (Update: now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

New "Meet Pre" video demonstrates new functionality, incredible calming effect

As you're no doubt aware, we're real suckers for Palm's Pre on tape, and this "Meet Pre" specimen hasn't yet assuaged our thirst. We suppose it's the exact type of stuff demonstrated on the video that keeps us coming back: webOS presents some new paradigms for interaction and integration, and, like the iPhone before it, will take a considerable amount of digestion to really come to terms with. Plus it's pretty. This video demonstrates a few interesting tidbits, such as a list of folks invited to a meeting and which ones will be going -- a nice integration of calendar and contacts -- and the phone is shown "sending" a webpage to a friend, which involves forwarding a link and an attached .png screenshot, perfect for mobile-to-mobile communications. Here's hoping we hear more about the phone this week at MWC... and a 3G GSM edition certainly wouldn't be unwelcome. Video is after the break.

Continue reading New "Meet Pre" video demonstrates new functionality, incredible calming effect

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

New "Meet Pre" video demonstrates new functionality, incredible calming effect originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch