Engadget

Nearly one year ago, dictator Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down after 18 consecutive days of protest by Egyptian citizens. Those demonstrations were organized largely through the use of social networking, cell phones and banned TV channels, a greater trend that permeated the revolutionary period now known as the Arab Spring. To mark the anniversary of Mubarak's ousting, Sharif Sakr traveled to Egypt to speak with five Egyptians about the role that technology plays in their lives today. This issue of Distro also features reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Motorola's Droid RAZR Maxx, Sony's Alpha NEX-7 and a Q&A with the founder of the Ubuntu Project, Mark Shuttleworth. If you've been looking for a good reason to download an issue of Distro, look no further.

Distro Issue 27 PDF
Distro on the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Android Market
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

It's never easy to leave Japan -- the friendly people, incredible food, cutting-edge tech, clean streets and efficient public transit network mean we never hesitate when given an opportunity to visit this incredible country. But sadly, our latest adventure has come to an end. This year's CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show brought thousands of photography fans to Yokohama, a metropolis just a short train ride away from Tokyo. And while CP+ is still primarily a Japanese trade show, it served as the global launching ground for dozens of top camera models, including the Nikon D800, Olympus E-M5 and Pentax K-01, just to name a few. Bag and tripod manufacturers could be found spattered amongst the Japanese camera giants, but overall this show was more about the latest cameras than gimmicky accessories. There was still plenty of entertainment to be found on the show floor, so scroll through our gallery below for an inside look at life at CP+, or jump past the break for a roundup of our hands-ons and related news stories. Sayonara!

You don't see many lenses pop up 'round these parts, but Sony's new 500mm f/4 G SSM optic is impressive enough to warrant some hands-on attention. We spotted the new A-mount telephoto mounted on an Alpha A77 at Sony's booth at CP+ 2012, and queued up for a chance to take some shots. The lens focused surprisingly quickly, especially given its massive 500mm fixed focal length. Moving from subject to subject at varying distances, we were typically able to achieve focus in a fraction of a second. Long lenses have traditionally been tricky on the focus front, but this guy handled it like a champ, with speeds that appeared to rival far shorter primes. The SAL500F40G, as it's to be known, will be hand built to order beginning in March, with a yet-to-be-confirmed (likely sky-high) price tag. Click on past the break to see just how quickly we can zero in on some wild CP+ show floor action.

Today's lucky beggar award goes to Graham Innes in Canada, who wrote in to tell us that he found a PlayStation Vita sitting on his doorstep. It wasn't a total surprise, since he'd ordered one from Amazon, but what's weird is just how soon it arrived -- the early-bird First Edition doesn't launch until February 15th and the general release is a whole week after that. We're not sure what Graham did to deserve this, but we do know from our Joystiq buddies that he's not the only one -- Amazon.ca has apparently sent out a few of these premature parcels. If the injustice burns, console yourself with the thought that Graham and his blessed compatriots probably can't access the store to download any games.

Update: Graham emailed again. He has store access. He has games. Joyousness.

Intel's three-year tussle with the state of New York finally came to an end yesterday, with a settlement of relatively harmless proportion. Under the arrangement, Intel will have to shell out a mere $6.5 million to resolve a 2009 antitrust lawsuit filed by then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who has since ascended to the seat of governor, had accused the chipmaker of intimidating PC manufacturers and handing out billion-dollar kickbacks, as part of what he called a "systematic worldwide campaign" to assert its market dominance. The case has since been helmed by Cuomo's successor, current attorney general Eric Schneiderman, but its sails lost a lot of wind when U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark barred the state from seeking triple damages, limiting its claims to a three-year period, rather than the four-to-six that the state had been pursuing. As a result, Intel suffered only the slightest of financial blows.

According to Reuters, the $6.5 million sum represents just five hours worth of profit for the company, which reported a net income of nearly $13 billion last year. Intel was pleased with the news, pointing out that the agreement doesn't require it to admit any wrongdoing. Schneiderman, on the other hand, seemed notably less enthusiastic, with office spokeswoman Jennifer Givner telling reporters that the state's lawyers still think they have a case against Intel, but "in light of the court's decision believe that no purpose is served by pursuing the matter further."

Wolfram Alpha has made some fairly big strides in its few short years of existence, but the so-called computational knowledge engine has now rolled out what founder Stephen Wolfram says is the "the single most important development for Wolfram Alpha since the original website launched in 2009." That development is Wolfram Alpha Pro, a new premium service that will run you $4.99 a month (or $2.99/month for students) and give you access to a wealth of new options for both input and output. On the input end, you can now upload images, audio and other files (over 60 types in all) for automatic analysis and a detailed report -- according to Stephen Wolfram, the ultimate goal being "to do what a top data scientist would do if given the user's data." As for output, you'll now be able to take advantage of a number of richer download options, including the ability to interact with and tailor the reports to your liking. As you might expect, however, that's just scratching the surface -- you can get a detailed look at the new service at the links below, or take it for a spin yourself with a free trial subscription.

Got a Rogers wireless account? Then you can now take advantage of a new service that, for a change, won't cost you anything extra. While it's not quite a full-on Google Voice alternative, the company's new Rogers One Number service will let you make phones calls, video calls, and send and receive text messages for free from your computer (Windows or Mac), as well as let you maintain a unified inbox and contact list across all of your devices (assuming you use Gmail or Yahoo Mail). You're also able to switch a call from your cellphone to your computer without hanging up, and then turn that voice call into a video call if you choose, but your options are otherwise a bit limited on the mobile end; you can manage your contacts and such, but not use one number for multiple devices, or take advantage of free calling or texting. Rogers' demo video can be found after the break, and you can get a more in-depth look courtesy of MobileSyrup's hands-on at the link below.

[Thanks, Adam]

We're here at the Tesla Design Studio in Los Angeles, where Elon Musk just unveiled his startup's third vehicle: an SUV it calls the Model X. It's party piece is a pair of double-hinged "Falcon Wing" rear doors which apparently make loading people and things easier, as you reach into the car not over it. According to Musk they'll open in tighter spots than a traditional door, and swivel high enough to fit a standing human. Powered by an AWD variant of the Model S' drivetrain, it'll do 0-60MPH in 4.4 seconds in its most performant guise, a figure that matches the most brawny variant of Tesla's sedan, despite being a much larger vehicle. And because it's devoid of a space-hogging ICE, that front portion is a trunk, Musk lovingly calls the "Frunk." Per GigaOm, the seven-seater will cost in the $50,000 to $70,000 range, with first deliveries of the "Signature Series" arriving in late 2013 before mass production starts in 2014. If that sounds like your kind of beat, those interested can begin reservations on Tesla's website tomorrow at noon.

Update: Want to see the unveiling for yourself? Check out the video posted by Tesla, embedded after the break.

The madness of CES 2012 is long over and now that we've seen all of the new HDTVs, it's time to find out when they're actually going on sale, and for how much. HDGuru has just dug up advertised pricing for some of the new models from Sony (BX, EX and HX lines) and Sharp (640, 745, 844, 847 and 945), while US pricing and ship dates for Panasonic's new plasmas have been revealed by Value Electronics. For Samsung, some of the new HDTVs have already showed up for preorders at retailers like Vanns, including the top of the line 75-inch ES8000 priced at $7,999, while a more reasonably sized 46-inch model is $2,699. Sony's prices range from $399 for the KDL-32BX320 to $2299 for the KDL-55HX750, while Sharp's range from LC-46-L540U for $1,099 to the LC-80LE844U for $6,499. Most of the ship dates are still TBA, although Panasonic is planning to unleash the ST50 later this month, followed by the UT50 and GT50, then the top of the line VT50 in May. While we wait for official announcements, you can hit the source links below for more details, and let us know if you've seen any other 2012 model information peeking out early.

Sure, your iPad 2 has a camera, but that doesn't mean you should be using it to take pictures. One of the biggest point-and-shoot trends to pick up speed in 2012 is built-in WiFi, letting you capture higher quality stills and videos with your dedicated imaging device and transfer them directly to the web, or to a smartphone or tablet on the same WiFi network. The PowerShot ELPH 530 HS is Canon's latest pocket shooter to employ this feature, and the company had a few samples on hand at CP+ 2012 in Yokohama, Japan to demonstrate how it works.

We took the 530 HS for a cordless spin, connecting the iPad to the camera's Ad-Hoc (point-to-point) network and launching the Canon CameraWindow app. After a few seconds (and quite a few taps on the 10-megapixel cam's 3.2-inch LCD), we had the two devices communicating, with a final click sending the image from the ELPH directly to the iPad's screen. That seconds-long connection delay may be inconsequential when transferring a day's worth of photos, but it's a slight inconvenience if you're only trying to transfer a single image. The camera also includes built-in Twitter and Facebook upload functionality, though, bypassing the Apple middleman entirely. The $349 ELPH 530 HS won't be shipping until April, at which point you may be refreshing your tablet as well. Jump past the break for a quick video demo.

Remember the Canon PowerShot D10? The company's first ruggedized underwater cam was a solid snapper, but its bulky submarine-like design made it impractical for most surface-based shoots. The PowerShot D20 offers a drastic improvement over its predecessor in the appearance department, more closely resembling a compact point-and-shoot than a subaqueous vessel. We can't speak to the cam's image quality just yet, but assuming its on-par with the D10, we'd say the latest D model is worth some serious consideration as an upgrade, even for a reduction in footprint alone. The D20 includes a 12.1-megapixel HS (high-sensitivity) CMOS sensor, a bright 3-inch LCD and a 5x 28mm optically stabilized zoom lens. It's waterproof to depths of 10 meters (33 feet), can survive drops from a height of 1.5 meters (5 feet) and can operate in temperatures ranging from 14 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. There's also a top sensitivity of ISO 3200, and a built-in GPS.

We spent a few minutes with the D20 at Canon's booth at CP+ 2012 in Yokohama, Japan, and were quite impressed with the improved design. Naturally, it's a solid-feeling point-and-shoot, with protected components and airtight port covers. Company reps didn't bat an eye when we unintentionally tested the camera's durability with a mild drop. There's a standard-issue PowerShot interface, with a fairly straightforward menu structure, and the camera felt plenty snappy, focusing and firing off an image almost instantaneously. It's noticeably larger than the company's more compact land-limited models, but there's no reason you wouldn't feel just as comfortable using this to shoot your child's first birthday party as you would their first scuba lesson. The $349 PowerShot D20 won't be hitting stores until May, but you can jump past the break for a quick look in the meantime.

Magnetic fields are pretty nifty for levitating stuff, carving sponge-like thingamajigs and, of course, data storage. But an international team led by the University of York in the UK has figured out a way to replace magnetic fields for the latter by using ultra-short heat pulses instead. Conventional thinking typically dictates that an external magnetic field is required to store data on a magnetic medium. By using heat, however, researchers were able to record terabytes of information per second in a way that is also more energy-efficient compared to current hard drive technology. As for the time it'll take for the tech to make it to market, well, we have a feeling it won't be as fast.

Scientists at Stanford are hard at work trying to improve the efficiency and durability of solar panels -- two key factors that have kept the Sun from becoming a more popular source of energy. Their latest effort involves nanocrystalline-silicon, a material that has proven resilient and highly conductive, but not very good at absorbing light. Their solution, nanoshells -- hollowed out spheres of silicon that trap and recirculate light much like a whispering gallery does sound. Balls of the crystalline material are dipped in silicon, then hydrofluoric acid is used to eat way the center of the sphere, leaving a path for light to enter. The shells trap the light, allowing more of it to be absorbed, and also reduces the effect of non-optimal angles on energy production. Hit up the source for a few more details.

Details are still fairly light at the moment, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Google could be about to make big push into the hardware business. Citing people briefed on the company's plans, the WSJ says that Google is now developing a home entertainment system that would stream music wirelessly throughout the home (including to web-connected devices and "Google-made speakers"), and be able to be controlled using a smartphone or tablet -- making it sound a whole lot like a Sonos competitor. What's more, unlike current Android and Google TV devices, this system will reportedly be marketed under Google's own brand. An attempt to really turn it up to eleven, perhaps?

We saw the original AeroSystem One saunter into our lives a couple of month's back, and now Jarre Technologies has collaborated with crystal house Lalique to give it a makeover. The partnership sees the original iPod dock covered in smooth glass and cut metal, which certainly sets it apart from pretty much any other dock we've ever seen. The dock connector sits at the top, and being inset, isn't suitable for iPads, but if you're getting one of these, we imagine you don't want to ruin the aesthetic by perching a slate on top anyway. There is, however, a USB connection meaning this isn't an iDevice only affair. If you've got the estimated £10,000 (or about $15,840) lying around, it'll have to keep burning that hole in your pocket until some time in March. We managed to get a quick hands -- and ears -- on with the only two units in the UK, but couldn't explore much beyond how it looked in-store, bar an awkward moment when we placed an iPhone on it, only to discover it set to full volume. Check the gallery below for a closer look, or hit the PR after the break for more info.
Mat Smith contributed to this post