Transport for London and Virgin Media have announced the first 80 London Underground stations that'll receive free WiFi in time for the Olympics. By the end of July, users will be able to surf from the train platform, ticket offices and escalators -- ideal for a few extra rush-hour injuries. The partnership will offer the internet free during the games season before switching to a pay-as-you-go model, with plans to swell the network to 120 by the end of the year. If you'd like to know if your morning commute is about to get some extra connectivity then head past the break for the full list.

Continue reading Virgin Media names the first 80 tube stations to get WiFi hotspots

Virgin Media names the first 80 tube stations to get WiFi hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Between all of the delays, disappointment and a general lack of availability, many Brits can't seem to catch a break when it comes to getting fast internet -- but this time it could be their own fault. BT's fiber optic rollout plans came to a screeching halt in Kensington and Chelsea after a staggering 96 of 108 applications for big green street cabinets housing the fiber were flat-out rejected. The local council just isn't prepared to clutter its pristine streets with the "ugly" boxes. The telecoms provider now says it'll concentrate on nearby areas that "have shown a greater eagerness to enjoy the benefits of broadband." It's a good thing there are no plans to paint their famous telephone booths green, or those might be out of a job as well.

Upscale London borough says no no no to BT's broadband revolution, ugly green boxes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Samsung deflated a few enthusiast tires when its "one more thing" Galaxy S III reveal turned out to be a pop-up retail plan. No matter now, as those great mobile expectations have shifted to the device's imminent launch, a debut the company's only too happy to showcase. Starting May 29th, PIN glass housings, like the one you see above, will begin to populate commercial centers in and around London, letting eager consumers gets hands-on with the ICS handset's nature-made design. Westfield's Shepherd's Bush and Old Spitalfields Market will be the first two UK locations for this temporary retail presence, with larger 7-by 7-meter versions, as well as a smattering of overseas appearances to follow in the coming months. In the meantime, check out our full review to get yourself well-acquainted with this flagship follow-up.

Visualized: Samsung's PIN pop-up stores take London originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Research in Motion's head of global sales is leaving the company after serving the BlackBerry maker for 14 years. Patrick Spence joined the company before it had even produced its first smartphone before rising to his current position, based in London. Reuters hints that he was dissatisfied about being passed over for the vacant COO's position, due to be filled by former Sony Ericsson man Kristian Tear later this year. A spokesperson for the Canadian company said that Mr. Spence would be moving to a leadership role in another industry.

[Image Credit: Globe and Mail]

RIM's global sales head departs after 14-year stretch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Be still your beating heart, Samsung has announced that several customers who have already fallen for its incoming flagship's charms will get their pre-orders honored a day early. Unfortunately, it will be limited to those that ordered through its own brand store in Westfield Stratford City in London, but those lucky few will get their very own Galaxy S III at 6pm on May 29th -- half a day before the rest of the UK. We're planning to get our hands on a review model before then, so expect to see our fully-fleshed musings before the end of May.

Continue reading Galaxy S III will launch a day early -- for some UK pre-orders

Galaxy S III will launch a day early -- for some UK pre-orders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

London's red telephone boxes are iconic, sure, but just how relevant can they be in this century? Spectrum Interactive has a solution that both ensures their preservation and provides customers in search of internet a free ticket online. The company has converted some 1,800 pay phones throughout London into WiFi hotspots, offering passersby a free connection so long as they provide their mobile numbers and download an e-coupon for a nearby store. Spectrum initially began testing the program with the help of Nokia late last year, and while it's amassed an impressive number of WiFi access points, it's lost the support of its Finnish partner, and is still assessing how willing local businesses are to pay for getting coupons in the service. On top of that, there's the whole issue of how many people will think to scope out phone booths rather than, say, an internet cafe. Here's hoping Spectrum has some very flashy signs on the windows.

[Image credit: Elliott Brown, Flickr]

Spectrum Interactive brings WiFi hotspots to London's phone boxes originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Summer Olympics in London are quickly turning into mobile-themed games: along with Samsung's official role in handling mobile payments, HTC is now stepping up with its own, if modest, contribution to the athletic get-together. CEO Peter Chou will be one of the Olympic torchbearers and carry the flame on July 6th, three weeks before the opening ceremony in Stratford. Officials say the torch run is to honor Chou's contribution to the mobile industry and the benefit he represents to Taiwan, although we can imagine that Chou wouldn't mind crashing a Samsung party with a torch in one hand and a One X in the other. He may just want to steer clear of Samsung's Mobile Pin stores while he's at it.

HTC chief Peter Chou to run Olympic torch relay, invade hostile territory originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 22:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Well, it's been no secret that Samsung was hoping to cash in on this summer's Olympic fever. In fact, we all but knew its latest and greatest smartphone was going to be the handset-maker's Olympic Games Phone. Today, however, the union has been made official via an announcement with Visa. Trialists and Athletes sponsored by the brands will have access to a special edition "showcase device" with Visa's payWave payment application onboard. The collaboration is, of course, a drive to push the penetration of contactless payments in both the UK and the world stage. Payments under £20 won't need a passcode, and users will also be able to check their balance and purchase history from the app. It's estimated there'll be about 140,000 contactless terminals in the country by the time the Olympic tanks roll in, so plenty of places to pick up that official merch for the family back home.

Continue reading Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration

Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ready to cut through that packing tape and see which smartphone Samsung has in store for 2012? The next Galaxy will make its debut on this very page, so click on through to our liveblog for the play-by-play at Earls Court in London. The fun gets started at 2PM ET on Thursday, May 3rd, listed in your local time zone just below.

Samsung Mobile Unpacked liveblog! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is that Galaxy S II feeling a bit stale? It's just about time for Samsung to name a successor to the massively popular smartphone, live at the company's Mobile Unpacked event at the Earls Court Olympic venue. We'll surely see a brand new mainstream handset make its debut, but what's not quite as clear is what other gadgets Samsung plans to show off in London. With defined divisions, the Korean device maker's "Mobile Unpacked" event title implies that Android phones will steal the show, so it's unlikely that we'll see an updated Tab or two. We have 24 hours and change to find out for sure, however, so bookmark this page to stay abreast of the news as it happens in our liveblog. The show kicks off at 2PM ET tomorrow (7PM local time in London) -- you'll find your local time translation just below.

Continue reading Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here!

Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AMD kicked off 2012 by refreshing its desktop graphics, and now it's back, giving its mobile GPUs the same treatment. The company just announced its third generation of DirectX 11 mobile chips, the Radeon HD 7000 family. All told, the collection includes three 28nm GPUs: the high-end 7900M, the mainstream 7800M and, last but not least, the 7700M, a darling little chip intended for AMD's thin and light Ultrabook competitors. Across the board, the series ushers in a new feature AMD is calling Enduro, a graphics-switching technology that takes direct aim at NVIDIA Optimus. Building on older AMD technologies like PowerXpress, it doesn't require you to close apps, reboot your system or manually specify which apps will trigger the GPU. Additionally, it's designed to work with both Intel CPUs and AMD's own application processing units, so presumably you'll find this inside some Ivy Bridge machines too. With this generation, too, the two higher-end chips support the PCI Express 3.0 interface, and all three make use of AMD's existing ZeroCore Power and Power Gating battery-saving features. That's the abridged version, but we also have a full breakdown of the specs awaiting you past the break.

Continue reading AMD announces Radeon HD 7000M series with Enduro graphics-switching technology

AMD announces Radeon HD 7000M series with Enduro graphics-switching technology originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The countdown is over and Samsung's not offering much to whet our appetite. A medley of opaque angles of galactic travel are meant to represent next week's big news story, alongside some brief claims of technology that fits easily in your hand. It finishes all too soon on those glossy enamel puddles shown above. The second trailer reveals more of the same, with Samsung promising the device will become "a natural side of life", throwing in a quick jibe at those rival smartphone-carrying "sheep". While we reckon we broadly know what to expect when it comes to internal hardware, we're still itching see how Samsung's looking to reinvigorate its phone design following HTC's stylish smartphone salvo. Well, at least it's just over a week left to wait.

Gallery: Samsung's Next Galaxy Trailer: frame-by-frame

Continue reading Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video)

Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sammy's latest marketing ploy kicked off with a string of nonsense that could just as easily have come from the Sunday morning jumble: "Destination: tgeltaayehxnx," declared the Samsung Mobile Twitter account. Anagram wizards will read that as, "the next Galaxy," and wouldn't you know it, it's also the URL for an auspicious countdown clock. Sammy promises to let visitors take "the next step" in about 17 hours and counting. Bonafide internet sleuths can find an extra carrot strung up in the site's source, reading, "discover how Samsung is about to challenge the way you view the Galaxy once more." Is Samsung about to break its own May 3rd unveiling? We'll let you know in 16 hours and change.

Update: It seems like that ticker just might be counting down to some sort of anagram guessing game, according to an Engadget tipster who partook in some directory diving. Among a series of assets of different colored lettered tiles he found images with instructions warnings, reading "Click on the letters in the correct order to reveal your real destination," and "Following technology blindly often gets you nowhere." Ominous.

Update 2: And there it is. Samsung's revealed two (well, one and a half) teaser videos -- but they don't reveal much.

[Thanks, Naor]

Samsung countdown teases next Galaxy phone with anagram originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the many advantages of digital broadcast television, the transition is separating Europeans from a reliable source of information known as teletext. Citizens of London are the latest to experience the loss, as analog signals in the region were switched off just yesterday. Ceefax, a service of the BBC, has provided millions of Britons with news, sports, weather, television listings, subtitles and games for the past 38 years, and is now accessible only in Kent, Sussex, north-east England and Northern Ireland. Soon, it may cease to exist altogether.

Seen as a precursor to the internet, teletext is a free service that's heavily rooted in analog PAL signals, where small packets of data are sent in the vertical blanking interval, which is otherwise unnoticed by viewers. Because the information is broadcast, users were never subject to network congestion, and only needed to wait a brief moment for their desired page to be transmitted -- more advanced televisions even cached this information locally. As part of the airwaves, the service is naturally free, and in that sense, it lacks a suitable replacement. As with all progress, however, there are casualties, and teletext was an unfortunate bystander. Those who cherished the service can take a moment to relive the memories in the links below.

Londoners mourn as teletext goes dark, a victim of the DTV transition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Samsung launches store inside Oxford Street Phones 4u

Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What do Samsung and Phones 4u have to show the UK on March 30th? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Visualized: giant 'metal moles' ready to chew through London's underground originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Virgin Media wins London Underground WiFi contract, provides conduit for tube station tweets

Virgin Media wins London Underground WiFi contract, provides conduit for tube station tweets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

London's Eco-Routemaster launches today, magical mystery tour ends in Clapton originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Samsung partners with FeliCa for Japanese NFC solutions, unveils 2012 Olympics' mobile payment app with Visa

Samsung partners with FeliCa for Japanese NFC solutions, unveils 2012 Olympics' mobile payment app with Visa originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BlackBerry London resurfaces in leak, sports matte black exterior, nonexistent OS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading O2 begins rolling out 'Europe's largest free WiFi network' in London this month

O2 begins rolling out 'Europe's largest free WiFi network' in London this month originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

RIM reportedly scraps the Colt and Milan, leaving London as sole BlackBerry 10 device? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Meet London's new Eco-Routemaster, same as the old Routemaster (video)

Meet London's new Eco-Routemaster, same as the old Routemaster (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

QNX-based BlackBerry 'London' purportedly shown off, dummy unit-style originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: flexible OLEDs, wind-energy skyscrapers and 3D-printing spider robots originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BBC celebrates 75 years of 'high definition' TV this weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google Street View walks through parks, so you don't have to

Google Street View walks through parks, so you don't have to originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Nokia World 2011 wrap-up gallery

Continue reading Nokia World 2011 wrap-up

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia World 2011 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Nokia World 2011 keynote liveblog!

The Nokia World 2011 keynote liveblog! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're live from Nokia World 2011! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Nokia World keynote is tomorrow -- get your liveblog here at 4AM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HTC announces its next party, Beats Audio and 'surprise headliner' in attendance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading London Philharmonic Orchestra goes cover band with tribute to video game themes

London Philharmonic Orchestra goes cover band with tribute to video game themes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading iPad dock shopping cart keeps footie fans and their other halves happy

iPad dock shopping cart keeps footie fans and their other halves happy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Richard Lai

Growing Up Geek: Richard Lai originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HTC announces September meetup event on Facebook, new phones on the way? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nokia gifts Museum of London with NFC tags, makes you tap for more info (video)

Nokia gifts Museum of London with NFC tags, makes you tap for more info (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

UK teen arrested for illegal BBM, social media crackdown gains steam originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 01:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.