Xperia U, HTC One X and One S coming to Orange UK

Orange, the only cellular network that's also one of your five-a-day has announced that it'll be releasing Sony's Xperia U, HTC One X and One S to smartphone demanding Britons in the second quarter of the year. Depending on your point of view, it's either fantastic or terrible that the network bagged the white edition of Sony's handset as an exclusive, but it's going to tempt some of you to the citrus-side of the force. There's no word on pricing, but we'd expect them to cost something we've heard called "money." While you wait for them to arrive, why not decide on which handset you'd rather purchase by reading our splendid hands-ons with each of the handsets? Xperia U / One X / One S.

Xperia U, HTC One X and One S coming to Orange UK originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/xperia-u-htc-one-x-and-one-s-coming-to-orange-uk/

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ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April

Just like it said it would, ASUS has formally unveiled its versatile, form-changing Padfone at Mobile World Congress. There are two stories here, and they're both quite compelling, frankly. On the one hand, you've got yet another high-end device, with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, Snapdragon's new dual-core S4 chip, an Adreno 225 GPU, Ice Cream Sandwich and an 8-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash and f/2.2 autofocusing lens. (The front camera records at VGA resolution.) Other specs include 16 to 64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, GPS, A-GPS, a gyroscope, 1,520mAh battery and a compass. Connectivity options include WCDMA (900, 2100 MHz), EDGE / GPRS / GSM (850, 1800 and 1900 MHz) and HSPA+, with theoretical download speeds topping out at 42Mbps. Barring LTE, we wouldn't expect much less from a flagship launched at the world's premier wireless show.

But those are just specs. If you focus solely on its chip and 9.2mm-thick frame you'd be missing its most distinguishing attribute: it's ability to parade around in tablet's clothing (albeit, with the help of some optional, still-unpriced accessories.) Taking a cue from Motorola's Lapdock-friendly handsets, the Padfone can slide into an optional station that effectively allows you to use it as if it were a 10.1-inch tablet. Like the optional docks sold alongside ASUS' Transformer tablets, the station not only improves the ergonomics, but also extends the battery life -- in this case, by nine-fold. Speaking of keyboard docks, ASUS will be selling one for this product, too, so that you can tuck that 10-inch phone-tablet into something with a full physical keyboard. Finally, there's that guy you see up there, which looks like a stylus (and is!), but also doubles as a headset for receiving calls. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future.

And when can you make it yours? ASUS confirmed that the Padfone will ship in April. Unfortunately, the company stopped short of revealing any pricing, so you'll have to stay tuned for some country-specific details. For now, though, we're planning on getting hands-on with the device as soon as we can, giving you a much closer look than we were able to when we spied a prototype back at CES.

Continue reading ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April

ASUS Padfone formally unveiled: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon S4 CPU, ICS, HSPA+, coming in April originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/asus-padfone-formally-launched-4-3-inch-super-amoled-display-s/

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Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries

If there was a theme for today's Nokia keynote, and, by extension, Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone, it's that the OS is being targeted toward lower-spec phones worldwide. The SDK update that'll soon roll out to developers will include an emulator for developers to ensure their apps work on devices like the Lumia 610 that only has 256MB RAM. The company's promising that nearly all apps will work on the cheaper hardware, promising that fragmentation will be kept to a minimum. Any app that runs poorly on the slimmer hardware will be flagged as unsuitable in the Marketplace. Speaking of which, Microsoft has announced it'll be rolling it out to a further 23 countries shortly including China, the UAE and much of Eastern Europe -- increasing the total market reach by up to 60 percent.

Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/microsoft-lowers-hardware-requirements-opens-marketplace-to-23/

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Yemeni president to be sworn in

For the first time in 33 years, a new Yemeni president will be inaugurated Monday amid cautious optimism and ongoing threats of violence in the country.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/LlHHE78pw4o/index.html

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Samsung announces the Galaxy S (Player) WiFi 4.2 at MWC

In all the other MWC bombast, you might have missed that Samsung's added another member to its humble Galaxy S WiFi (Galaxy Player) PMP-lineup. This version packs a 4.2-inch WVGA (480 x 800) screen, runs Gingerbread 2.3 and has dual cameras (2-megapixels 'round back and VGA for video calls). Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 and WiFI 802.11 b/g/n round out your connectivity and you'll also find it toting a 1,500mAh battery. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is bundled bundled as standard, which is great for some illegal street-racing on the go. It'll come in 8 and 16GB variants, with the usual microSD card slot for that extra 32GB of space when required. No word on pricing or availability, but we'd imagine it won't head too far past the $250 mark.

Samsung announces the Galaxy S (Player) WiFi 4.2 at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/samsung-galaxy-s-player-wifi-4-2/

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Lumigon's T2 smartphone wants to control your TV, obey your commands

Ever notice how often you lose your TV remote, but how rarely lose track of that social lifeline you call a smartphone? So did the folks at Denmark-based Lumigon, that's why they've put their Scandinavian heads together to build the Lumigon T2, a Android 4.0 smartphone that's also a universal remote control. In addition to this handset's 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 8 megapixel rear facing camera and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower sound, this phone's northern lip can copy commands from remote controls and emulate them using on screen buttons or programmable gestures. Above the T2's 3.8-inch Gorilla glass screen is a dual-action "activity button" that can reportedly be programmed to perform any function the phone has to offer -- like activating an LED flashlight, initiating speed-dial or even turning on and off your TV. Sound pretty sweet? Sure it is -- just don't lose it in the couch. The T2 is scheduled to hit select markets in Europe in Asia later this year, hit the break for the official press release.

Continue reading Lumigon's T2 smartphone wants to control your TV, obey your commands

Lumigon's T2 smartphone wants to control your TV, obey your commands originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/26/lumigons-t2-smartphone-wants-to-control-your-tv-obey-your-comm/

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Fish are lazy, naive, easily led by robots (video)

What does a fish look for in a leader? No doubt a nice fishy smell is important, and maybe a sense of direction too, but the overriding factor happens to be something much simpler, and indeed simple enough for a robot to mimic. Our old friend Maurizio Porfiri and a colleague from New York's Polytechnic Institute have shown that a fish-bot will quickly attract live followers if it has a nice, fluid swimming motion. When the stroke is just right, real fish will pull up alongside and visibly relax their own motion to conserve energy, just like geese flying at the rear of a 'vee' formation. It's hoped that, in the future, robots might be used to guide endangered fish populations away from oil spills and other calamities, in much the same way as battery-powered leaders have guided humanity since the dawn of time (allegedly).

Continue reading Fish are lazy, naive, easily led by robots (video)

Fish are lazy, naive, easily led by robots (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/26/fish-are-lazy-naive-easily-led-by-robots/

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