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DNP NASA creates the first topographic map of Titan, Saturn's largest moon

Scientists observing Saturn's moon Titan with NASA's Cassini spacecraft have boldly gone where no man has gone before -- visually, anyway. Using radar imagery collected from nine years of Cassini flybys, researchers were able to patch together the first global topographic map of Titan, published in the July 2013 issue of Icarus. Ralph Lorenz, a member of the Cassini radar team at Johns Hopkins, said, "Titan has so much interesting activity -- like flowing liquids and moving sand dunes -- but to understand these processes it's useful to know how the terrain slopes." In particular, understanding the moon's terrain can reveal a lot about its dynamic climate system. Like Earth, Titan's atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, but the liquids and vapors on the moon's surface are made of methane and other organic chemicals integral to the creation of complex life. By studying the relationship between atmosphere and terrain, researchers hope to learn more about the evolution of life in its earliest stages, and inspire curious minds to turn their eyes toward Titan.

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Ask Engadget best candybar phone

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Icaro, who is off to Brazil and needs a phone while there. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"Seeing the Nokia 301 reminded me that I need to get a new phone when I go back to Brazil. Can you suggest a candybar phone that's reasonably priced and that won't break? Thanks!"

While most of you may be lusting after the latest and greatest, there are still plenty of people clamoring for a simple and functional candybar. The 301 is a perfectly decent handset, and for $85 you'll get a 3.2-megapixel camera, Xpress internet and mail for exchange. But let's see what all of you out there are keeping in your pocket, so if you can think of a better candybar, leave a comment below.

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Lenovo hopes to sell smartphones in the US within a year

While Lenovo is one of the fastest-rising smartphone makers today, many Americans wouldn't know it when the company has never officially sold handsets in the country. They might soon be well acquainted, according to CEO Yang Yuanqing: he wants Lenovo to be selling smartphones in the US within a year's time. Mobile is the firm's next growth machine, he tells the Wall Street Journal, and that entails having smartphones in big markets beyond China, India and Russia. Yang is under no illusions that Lenovo can simply waltz into the fiercely competitive US market, but he also doesn't see much choice -- when the PC market is slowing down, business as usual may not be enough.

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Mobile Miscellany week of May 20th, 2013

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought hints of a revitalized Galaxy Exhibit for T-Mobile, news of two additions to the lineup at Cricket and a peek at the next GoPhone for AT&T. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of May 20th, 2013.

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Connectify Switchboard ditches server plans, is available now for $90​

Remember that Connectify Switchboard Insert Coin we featured just over a week ago? Well, we'd like to say we're sorry to hear it's been canceled -- but we're not. Why? Because a high amount of interest from people preferring to use their own computers as servers, has resulted in a change of plan. The result is that the product is available right away, and will no longer use cloud servers. This change means the need for investment has gone, evaporating the need for Kickstarter, too. This also means you can use the service as a private VPN, and always appear as if you're surfing from your home PC -- along with that speed-boosting channel bonding tech, of course. To sweeten the deal even further, if you purchase access to the beta program now ($90), then you'll get lifetime updates and support. After the beta, the price rises to $100. Better fire up that those internet connections, stat.

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Functional Apple 1 auctioned off for $6714K, sets new Sotheby's record

With $671,400, you could buy roughly 2,040.7 base-model iPad minis before taxes. One unnamed buyer, however, just laid that amount out for a single Apple 1 from 1976. Auctioned through a Germany-based Sotheby's, The New York Times Bits blog notes the price beats out the firm's $640K record from another unit last November. Interestingly, the seller refurbished this latest Apple 1 to working condition, after paying only $40K for it privately. While it doesn't seem to have the original enclosure, we'd be remiss not to mention that the seller also had Steve Wozniak grace the motherboard with his signature. You'll find more info at the source, while we wrap our heads around how this makes last summer's auction price of $374.5K look like a relative steal.

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MercedesBenz wants QR codes on cars to speed up the rescue process

We joke that most people don't like QR codes, but those codes link to a lot of information through one snapshot -- and Mercedes-Benz may just use that efficiency to save lives. The automaker is putting the symbols on vehicles so that emergency crews just need a phone camera scan for easy access to rescue sheets, which are schematics that show where to cut into a wrecked car when recovering trapped passengers. With such immediate knowledge, rescuers don't have to wait for a model confirmation or else risk cutting wires and fuel lines. While we'll initially see the QR codes only in Mercedes-Benz cars made this year and beyond (placed inside the fuel door and on the opposite side B-pillar), the company isn't being selfish: it's refusing to patent its method in the hope that every vehicle manufacturer will quickly embrace the technology.

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Glass Nest apps lets us control our homes from our heads

Those who already own Google Glass are more likely than most to embrace new technologies like Nest's thermostat, so it only makes sense that an especially eager adopter would find a way to combine the two. That would be James Rundquist and his new Glass Nest app: Glass owners now just have to announce that they're coming home (or heading out) to make their Nest units change the climate. More exacting homeowners can fine-tune the temperature, too. While the utility is both unofficial and quite limited at this stage, Rundquist has posted source code that lets anyone expand on the project. If you're in the rare position of owning both gadgets, we'd suggest giving Glass Nest and its code at least a cursory look.

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iPhone biosensor cradle brings us one step closer to having tricorders video

It seems like every day we're getting a little bit closer to having tricorders, and today's no exception. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed hardware and software that turns the iPhone into a powerful biosensor that's useful for toxin and pathogen testing as well as medical diagnosis. The package consists of a cradle that contains an assortment of lenses and filters which line up with the handset's camera, along with an app that guides the user through the testing process. At the core of the device is a photonic crystal slide which basically turns the iPhone into a high-resolution spectrometer. While the cradle only contains about $200 worth of parts, it's just as accurate as laboratory equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars, with the added bonus of being hand-held. The team just received an NSF grant to explore other applications for the device and is working on a cradle for Android phones. Hit the break for a demo video and a peek into the future.

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