Recent Comments:
AT&T responds to Verizon's 3G ad campaign -- by bragging about EDGE {Engadget}
Nov 13th 2009 9:11AM I think AT&T is being inappropriately dinged as a corporation for its network quality when the real culprit may be the poor user scalability of GSM. Stories from every iPhone-selling country suggest that providers all took a big dive in perceived network quality the moment the iPhone started accumulating in large numbers there. CDMA has an easier time providing scalable coverage with fewer towers and with more graceful degradation when there are many users (each user adds to the perceived noise floor, but there isn't an issue of all the available channel/time-slot combinations being exhausted). Of course, CDMA has far poorer mobility given the ubiquity of GSM around the globe so, until every phone has either dual capabilities or moves to a merged 4G standard, we're stuck with this tradeoff.
If Verizon succeeds in drawing large numbers of smartphone power users, we'll get to see in practice how well their network scales.
Dell's Inspiron Zino HD on sale now in America: starts at $229, doubles as an HTPC {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 11:13AM "Actually Nissan and Infinity are the same company and the cars share quite a bit more than the Inspiron Zino HD and Mac Mini. But other than that I agree with you."
Hard to really say that. G35 is a RWD platform and the Altima is a FWD platform. The G35 has more in common with the Nissan Z series. So, there are a lot of differences compared to two PCs that both draw from the same few manufacturers for most components.
Google adds free turn-by-turn navigation, car dock UI to Android 2.0 (video) {Engadget}
Oct 28th 2009 10:58AM Does this app at least cache the maps along the calculated route (and a swathe around it)? If the maps are coming in continuously over 3G, there will be lapses and stutters depending on reception ... not something you want while driving. This is why many heavy GPS users look for apps that feature locally-loaded maps (despite the 1GB or so that a North American map consumes).
Canon's EOS 7D experiencing 'residual image' phenomenon, fix is on the way {Engadget}
Oct 27th 2009 7:19PM Most every DSLR has had bugs later fixed by firmware. For instance, the D80's "dead battery syndrome." It's a function of the increasingly complexity of the software combined with pressure to release new products often. On higher-end cameras, the users are more discriminating and less forgiving, which makes such models seem more problem prone.
Although many people accuse Canon of not listening to their users, my read is that Canon listens to *particular* users ... the ones representing the biggest chunk of income for them. In the case of the 7D, they seem to have aimed the camera at least in part at sports photographers. Since such photographers (A) tend to buy expensive telephoto L lenses and (B) often have their cameras provided by magazines that buy a lot of the cameras and have purchasing clout, Canon seems to address their problems ahead of others, hence this fix coming so quickly and being announced well before it's even ready.
Vuzix Wrap 310 video eyewear ships out to virtual big-screen lovers {Engadget}
Oct 25th 2009 10:36AM You don't focus directly on the little screens just a short distance from your eyes. Rather, the optics in the glasses create a virtual image of a large screen ~10ft away. The lens in your eyes accommodates just as it would for a real device at that distance.
TRENDnet 'world's smallest' Wireless N travel router now on sale {Engadget}
Oct 21st 2009 9:00AM "I am a bit confused - I am a Apple user but how the heck can you say the Airport is more compact?"
Are you perhaps confusing the Airport Express with the much larger Extreme, which is a full-size router with multiple ports?
So long, iTunes: DoubleTwist now syncs with iPhone and iPod Touch {Download Squad}
Oct 19th 2009 8:58PM Little chance Apple will try to break this sync. Their motives are obvious given their clearly-stated business model. Apple sells hardware, motivated by software that best enables the hardware and creating a system-level experience. The Pre syncing with iTunes threatens this model, since iTunes was created to sell iPods and iPhones. Apple invested in developing iTunes and its store in order to motivate sales of this hardware. If the Pre can take advantage of it, it gets the benefits of Apple's investment at the expense of an iPod or iPhone sale.
On the other hand, Apple could care less if you want to use your hardware with other software. They've already made the sale they want and if another software maker wants to help them sell their hardware, so much the better. So, I think DT will be quite safe.
Looking for cheap alternatives to SMS for the iPhone? There's an app for that. {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Oct 17th 2009 10:52AM I prefer TextPlus, as it lets you send actual SMS messages for free and includes group SMS capabilities as well. Replies to your SMS messages are automatically routed back to the app as well, even if they originate from an actual phone rather than another iPhone with the same app. However, to receive a free incoming SMS from any standard cell phone, it needs to be a reply to one of your texts rather than a fresh message (since the service assigns a new, temporary phone number to an ongoing SMS exchange, en force until you delete the conversation from the app). However, messages originating from other iPhones running TextPlus always route properly back to the app, whether a reply or fresh.
Star Walk still out of this world (and you might get it for free!) {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Oct 4th 2009 9:05AM I keep looking for the best program of this type. Perhaps one that is also compatible with stretching red film over the display to keep from killing ones night vision. Will this be the one?
Borders pulls a B&N, offers free WiFi to all patrons {Engadget}
Sep 30th 2009 7:56PM "note: you literally have to dance upon entering"
This misuses both the traditional meaning of the word "literally" as well as the increasingly accepted use of the word to mean its opposite, for emphasis (as in, "My head literally exploded when I ate that chili."). It's simply a completely made-up scenario, done for no good reason (since it's not even funny).
