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GeeksPhone One now available for pre-order, launching in Spain this December

by Ross Miller posted Oct 21st 2009 at 11:37PM

Apparently not pushed back until January, GeeksPhone's Android-imbued smartphone, the One, is launching in Spain this December, recently-added physical keyboard and all. So far, the limited edition run will not be crossing Spanish borders on its own, but we doubt that'll stop any interested parties on foreign land. Final price will be 285 euro (US $427), 22 of which is all you need to put down to reserve yours today.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Caption contest: Palm strikes a pose in Spain

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 17th 2009 at 4:38PM

There are three things in this crazy world that scare the living daylights out of us: poor battery life, scratched screens, and seven-foot tall she-bots wielding Pres like concealed weapons. This, it seems, was the nightmarish scenario facing Madrid as it launched Palm's first webOS-based phone this week.

Chris: "I'm being treated well, but please, it's imperative that you buy this phone as expediently as possible."
Richard Lai: "My other toy is the Pre."
Ross: "It says if we don't do exactly as it commands, the Spiders from Mars will return and destroy us all."
Darren: "Geordi La Forge and I are like this."
Josh T.: "So far they have treated me well, but I fear that could change at any moment. If you comply with their demand for 300 pairs of leather pants, they say I will be released unharmed."
Thomas: "Sir, I assure you, this is exactly how they do it in America."

Vodafone puts BlackBerry Storm2 up for 26 October preorder

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 15th 2009 at 4:34AM

And it's out. The BlackBerry Storm2 just made its first official carrier appearance with Vodafone. The promising followup to the much maligned BlackBerry Storm will be free on pay-monthly contracts from £35 on up. Specs include a 3.25-inch 360 x 480 pixel capacitive SurePress (new and improved) touchscreen display, 802.11b/g WiFi and 2100MHz UMTS/HSPA data, 256MB of flash memory (double that of the original Storm), 2GB of onboard memory with microSDHC expansion, 3.5-mm standard headset jack, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, and 1400mAh battery giving about 6 hours of 3G talk. BlackBerry OS 5 too, of course, when it lands on October 15th in the UK, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain -- France, Italy, and South Africa in time for Christmas.

Update: Now on official RIM page too with a detailed comparison against the original Storm.

Gallery: Vodafone and RIM introduce the BlackBerry Storm2 Smartphone

[Thanks, James]

Read -- Press Release
Read -- Pre-order

Sony's 250GB Uncharted 2 PlayStation 3 Slim bundle on sale in Spain

by Darren Murph posted Oct 14th 2009 at 8:44PM

See that there? That's a whole gaggle of 250GB Uncharted 2 PlayStation 3 Slim bundles ready and waiting for owners in a Spanish retailer. Of course, SCEA won't mention if this thing is ever coming to US soil, but hey, that's what importers are there for. Anyone managed to pick one up yet? Let us know in comments!

[Thanks, Alex]

Palm Pre coming to Spain on Telefonica on October 14

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 7th 2009 at 10:36AM

The European operators are really liking mid-October for their Pre launches, and that trend continues now that Spain's Telefonica has unveiled an October 14 availability date for Spain's very first webOS device. The phone's being offered on plans that will bring the cost of the handset itself down to anywhere between €0 and €219 (about $322) -- and if you're wondering exactly what you have to do to get it for absolutely free, well, you'll be shelling out €60 or more a month in voice plus €15 in data. You'll be able to pick it up both online and in your friendly local Telefonica shop, so it'll be interesting to see if any lines start forming -- just how many Palm fanatics are their in Spain, anyway?

GeeksPhone One in the wild, now packing a physical keyboard

by Ross Miller posted Oct 3rd 2009 at 10:01AM

Remember the Spanish-borne Android device GeeksPhone One? It was late June when we got our first (and so far only) look at the phone. Of course we've been wanting some more time, but apparently Xataka's beaten us to the punch, and lo and behold, she's gotten herself a shiny new physical keyboard. The site stresses that the user interface isn't done and the icons temporary, but does note that the keyboard is comfortable and the total weight and size is apparently comparable to the HTC Dream / Ion / MyTouch 3G. Additionally, our compadres at Engadget Spanish have read that One's release been pushed back from fall until sometime in January. We'll certainly be keeping an eye out, but given the bevy of Android options on the horizon, we can't promise we'll be waiting.

Read - One in the wild
Read - One delayed until January

250GB PS3 listed with FIFA 2010 bundle for October debut in Spain

by Paul Miller posted Sep 19th 2009 at 6:42PM

We're circling in on a 250GB PS3 Slim, and this time it's made an appearance at Spanish retailer GAME with an October 8th release date and a copy of Euro-centric FIFA 2010 along for the ride. No pricetag or box shot, but we like where this is headed all the same.

[Thanks, Alejandro]

Spotify for iPhone gets thumbs up from Apple, subscription music with offline playlists is a go

by Ross Miller posted Aug 27th 2009 at 5:31PM

Streaming and subscription music services are a dime a dozen on iPhone, and they seem to get past Apple's app store approval hurdles with relative ease. But Spotify was one whose fate wasn't so clear cut, given its offline playlist function -- which as the name suggests downloads songs ahead of time for you to listen to when there's no WiFi or phone service to stream from -- could very easily fall into the category of "duplication of core iPhone functionality" and get deep-sixed at the drop of a hat. Turns out that's not the case here, as an Apple spokesperson has told paidContent UK that the app's been given the metaphorical stamp of approval and would be hitting the store "very soon." A premium subscription will run about £9.99 ($16.20) per month, with an option to pay annually coming at a later date. Of course, there's a catch, as Spotify's service is only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain for now. The company expects to invade America sometime later this year, but that means another round of app store approvals -- and with Apple's track record on consistency, there's no telling how that'll turn out.

Sony announces PS3 firmware 3.0, European PlayStation Video Store, Digital Reader comics viewer

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 18th 2009 at 1:24PM

Sony just announced a bunch of tweaks and additions to the PS3, PSP, and PlayStation Network at GamesCom, chief among them the new PS3 firmware 3.0. The new code features animated themes with avatars, a new status indicator, a modified friends list, assorted interface changes, tweaks to trophies, and a What's New section that replaces the Information Board. Sony's also bringing the PlayStation Video store to the UK, France, Germany and Spain in November, with more planned expansion in 2010 -- customers will be able to rent and buy films in SD and HD, and while it'll open with just movies, other content will be added as time goes on. The PSP is also getting a Digital Reader comics viewer, with lots of heavy hitters like Marvel on board to provide content -- Marvel says the PSP could become their biggest distribution outlet. We'll see about that -- for now, check a video of firmware 3.0 after the break.

Update: Digital Reader press release after the break.

Continue reading Sony announces PS3 firmware 3.0, European PlayStation Video Store, Digital Reader comics viewer

Electromagnetic invisibility a precursor to the real thing?

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 20th 2009 at 11:50AM

This could either be that one giant leap, or just another in a long sequence of multidirectional small steps on the Quixotic quest for undetectability. So-called dc metamaterials are the chief culprit for inciting our interest anew, as researchers from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have found a way to use them to render metallic objects invisible to low frequency electromagnetic waves. Composed of irregular networks of superconductors, the metamaterials are capable of ~~granting superpowers~~ altering the magnetic field of materials, and in theory, this advance could aid magnetic imaging in medical settings and also help cloak military vessels from magnetic detection. Of course, there's still the whole "oh, now we need a working prototype" conundrum, but hey, at least we've got the gears turning in the right direction.

[Via PhysOrg]

Palm Pre official on O2 and Movistar in Europe, launch "in time for holidays"

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 7th 2009 at 4:01AM

It's official, Palm just kicked out a press release saying that the UK, Ireland, and Germany will have access to the Palm Pre exclusively on O2 while Spain's Pre will be offered exclusively on Movistar -- so it's all Telefonica, all the time. Unfortunately, launch timing was only narrowed down to "in time for the holidays" which is just another way of repeating Palm's European-launch mantra of before the end of the year. Palm also doesn't provide any prices and chose not to list the radio frequencies for the HSDPA/UMTS with EDGE/GSM version of the Pre. See the 1,260 word press release posted after the break that says almost nothing.

Update: Seems as if O2 Germany has word that it'll be launching the GSM Pre in October.

Update 2: Hmm, seems as if O2 Germany has swapped out banners to show "Fall" availability. Make up your mind, won't you?

Continue reading Palm Pre official on O2 and Movistar in Europe, launch "in time for holidays"

GSM Palm Pre makes exclusive first appearance on Movistar

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 7th 2009 at 3:25AM

There it is, the first official press shot (see that HSDPA icon?) of the GSM version of the Palm Pre. The "more information" link isn't working at the moment but it's clear that Movistar has exclusive rights to the Pre in Spain. Of course, Movistar, like O2 in the UK, is owned by Telefonica which so far seems to have clinched exclusivity throughout Europe. We're still waiting for all this to get officially official sometime this week, if not today.

[Thanks, Enzo]

Spanish firm GeeksPhone launches "One" Android set

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 27th 2009 at 8:39PM

It looks exactly like a Samsung Omnia, but don't be fooled -- what you're actually looking at here is Spain's first go at producing an Android handset (which is especially ironic considering we just reported on the andromnia project). Our colleagues from Engadget Spanish were live in Barcelona today for the grand unveiling of the GeeksPhone One, a Cupcake-powered phone featuring a 625MHz PXA310 core, quadband EDGE plus HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, AGPS, 3.2 megapixel primary camera plus a front-facing cam for video calling, and microSD expansion -- sounds great, but the package is marred a bit by the fact that it's rolling with a resistive 3.2-inch touchscreen. Hard to complain with the price, though -- GeeksPhone expects to sell the set for somewhere between €250 and €300 (about $352 to $422) unlocked when it launches this fall.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Hannspree 10-inch HANNSnote netbook announced for Spain

by Laura June posted May 6th 2009 at 3:41PM

Hannspree, best known for some pretty ridiculous products, has just announced its vanilla-as-it-gets HANNSnote netbook. The whole affair looks pretty middle of the road, with a 10-inch 1024 x 600 resolution LCD, Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, Intel GMA950 graphics card, and a 160GB hard drive. It boasts WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth, has three USB 2.0 ports, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. It will come in white and black when it is released in late May, in Spain, for a price somewhere between €299 and €399 ($400-$530). No word on availability outside of Spain as of yet -- there's one more shot after the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Hannspree 10-inch HANNSnote netbook announced for Spain

Vodafone Spain first to launch HTC Magic

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 27th 2009 at 7:47AM

In a surprise announcement, Vodafone Spain is set to launch Magic, HTC's 2nd Android handset, in just a few hours. The countdown timer appeared early this morning with local sales set to begin at 1700 hours. That gives Vodafone Spain subscribers an 8 day head start on the rest of the world -- an eternity for Android nerds. Unfortunately, while it's free with applicable contract on Vodafone UK, it's gonna cost you in Spain -- rates our Spanish friends describe as "outrageous." Let's see if our Canadian friends agree.

[Via Engadget Spanish]