BlackBerry App World crosses the 10,000 app mark originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon is getting ready to launch the Coolpix S80 compact camera, where it will features a 14-megapixel CCD sensor with 5x zoom, Nikon’s Expeed C2 image processor, a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen, and red, black, blue, pink, gold, and silver/brown choice of colors. Set to available this fall for $329.95, the S80 also features Stereo microphone and support to capture 720p HD movie.

[ Via Nikon ]

All-optical quantum communication networks nearly realized, ‘Answers to Life’ airing at 9PM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon has announced the launch date of the Samsung Fascinate that is said to available online starting from September 8 and cost for $199.99 with two-years service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. To refresh your memory, the Samsung Fascinate will features a 4 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, Android 2.1, 5MP autofocus camera, and HD video recording, just like all Galaxy S smartphone. Oh and yes.. you can also get the Fascinate user manual in PDF format.

[ Via Unwiredview ]

Did you know that Ford’s first electric car, the Comuta, was released way back in 1967? It was a perfectly goofy looking thing, with a top speed of 37mph and a range of 40 miles — if you didn’t go near that top speed. More of a concept than anything, only a handful were made available for sale, and at this point it certainly looks like the company’s immediate plans for EVs are similarly conservative. DailyTech pulled together an analysis of Ford’s future offerings in the electric and plug-in hybrid space and it’s obvious the Blue Oval is taking its time making sure the EV water is warm before jumping in. First up is the Transit Connect, a 100 mile range electric van intended for fleet use and, with a price well north of $30,000, not expected to sell in droves. Next will be the Focus Electric, due next year and, while this one will be substantially cheaper and more consumer-friendly, Ford execs expect it too will have low demand.

The primary reason for this is that Ford still believes that pure EVs are not ready for mainstream adoption, with battery technology unable to provide reliable power at the range of temperatures people actually want to go somewhere. The Focus Electric mitigates this with both liquid heating and cooling, but for now the company thinks the best mix is a traditional, power-split hybrid, where the gas engine can drive the wheels if the batteries can’t cope. That’s unlike the Chevy Volt, which is only driven by batteries. To this end Ford has a new, mystery plug-in hybrid vehicle coming in 2012. What kind of car? All we know is it’s “not a Focus.” That can mean only one thing: F-350 Super Duty PHEV edition.

[Photo credit: Ford Motor Company]

Looking back at Ford’s EV past, forward to the 2012 Focus Electric and a 2013 plug-in hybrid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day, another Droid. This time round the GoGear Connect MP3 player from Philips that runs Android 2.1 OS. Aside sport the Google’s OS, the player also comes with a 3.2-inch resistive screen (not capacitive, sorry…), FM radio, 16GB of internal memory, allowing you to store up to 3600 tracks, and 4000 photos. Other features include microSD card slot, a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera, and the battery offers up to 25 hours of music playback and 5 hours of video playback complete the picture.

[ Via Pocket-lint ]

Remember when a 1.4GHz processor was deemed the world’s fastest? Man, that was ages ago. Recently, IBM has laid claim to that very record, with its 5.2GHz z196 processor being the focal point. Of course, we’ve seen a number of consumer chips hum along at speeds well beyond that (thanks to sophisticated cooling systems, of course), but this here enterprise chip does it without any liquid nitrogen-based assistance. It’s a four-core slab that was manufactured using the outfit’s 45 nanometer technology, boasting 1.4 billion transistors and the ability to handle more than 50 billion instructions per second. Interestingly, Fujitsu’s Venus CPU is said to handle a staggering 128 billion calculations per second, so we’re guessing that IBM won’t be snagging this crown without any debate from the competition. At any rate, there’s a very convincing video waiting for you after the break, and no, you won’t find this thing in your next Alienware anytime soon.

Continue reading IBM claims world’s fastest processor with 5.2GHz z196

IBM claims world’s fastest processor with 5.2GHz z196 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson’s booth at IFA this year includes an Xperia-themed chopper that you can sit on and have your picture taken — with a Sony Ericsson cameraphone, of course. As of press time, no word on when it’ll be updated to use unleaded gasoline.

Chris: “It’ll be available at local dealers mere moments after you finally stop wanting it.”
Nilay: “Unfortunately, it runs Android 1.6″
Darren: “A fine substitute for the PSP Phone you’ve been dreaming of.”
Laura: “Fail hog.”
Ross: “Still no pinch-to-zoom, but at least here, that kind of makes sense.”
Don: “Mr. Stringer, your chariot awaits.”
Vlad: “Sony just couldn’t help throwing in a bit of product placement in its Terminator 2 remake.”
Tim: “It’s bigger, heavier, slower, and way more expensive than other models — but hey, look at all that chrome! Oh, yeah, the bike isn’t bad either.”
Sean: “Active shutter glasses sold separately.”
Thomas: “**Model shown is coming soon. Actual product is a horse.”

Caption contest: nothing easy about this rider originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the Samsung Galaxy Player 50 Android-powered PMP and the name “Galaxy” including the design was inspirited by the famous Samsung Galaxy Smartphone. Specs include a 3.2-inch display, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a 2-megapixel camera, Android 2.1 OS, Android Market support, Google Maps Navigation and Gmail. No idea on pricing, but the Galaxy Player 50 will be available in 8GB or 16GB models.

[ Via Liliputing ]

Acer Chairman JT Wang is quick to say that he thinks that iPad sales are only going down from here, but maybe he should listen to that age-old idiom: people in fragile economies shouldn’t throw stones. According to iSuppli’s latest report on the global PC market, Acer slipped down to third place after losing 6.2 percent of its market share compared to last quarter. Dell, meanwhile, lost a relatively slim 1.2 percent of its share, bumping it back up to second place — a position it had previously given up to Acer. Meanwhile HP still sits on top, commanding 18.1 percent of the market share, though that too is down, 6.3 percent over last quarter. Still, all three are well up over last year, an encouraging sign in these supposedly troubling times.

Dell moves back up to #2 position in global PC sales, Acer slips to 3rd, HP still reigns supreme originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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