Back in June, we heard that Sprint would be going live with its XOHM WiMAX service in Baltimore, um, this month. As of today, it's pretty clear that the service won't be rolled out fully before October dawns, but at least some progress is being made. Based on a survey sent out to select (read: lucky) Baltimore-area residents, it seems that Intel and Sprint are willing to give away free laptops in order to trial the XOHM service in the city. Unfortunately, the lappies won't even be given out until late October, and the trial itself is set to last 30 days, so frankly, we'll be lucky to see XOHM hit the general populace before Santa takes to the friendly skies. Though, why are we not surprised?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Controlled LTE trials have been going pretty well of late, but the first test "under everyday conditions" has just gone down in Germany. We're pleased to say that everything went off without a hitch, as a connection using the next-generation (4G) mobile communications standard was maintained while inside a moving car traveling at around 42mph. Aside from the thrill of not dropping in and out of Pidgin at random, experimenters were able to pull downloads of up to 170Mbps and upload at up to 50Mbps. According to Hamid Akhavan, head of T-Mobile, it will still be 2010 (at the very earliest) before any of its markets go live with LTE, but at least we're moving in the right direction, eh?

[Image courtesy of ChrisHarrison]

Texas Memory has been around longer than most of you readers have been alive (or so we're told by our resident omniscient overlord), but it's been quite awhile since it was talked about freely in the same breath as WD, Fujitsu, Samsung, et al. Now, however, the company is making the rounds once more thanks to its "record setting" RamSan-440, which provides between 256GB and 512GB of RAM-based SSD storage, 600,000 IOPS, 4,500MB/sec random sustained external throughput and latency under 15-microseconds. The entire rig arrives in a 90-pound 4U rack-mount enclosure and claims to be "the first SSD to use RAIDed NAND flash memory modules for data backup." Chances are, you were already bracing to hear a pretty ludicrous figure when it comes to pricing, but $150,000 for the 256GB edition and $275,000 for the 512GB iteration? Please -- we'll take a Lightning GT, thanks.

[Via DailyTech]

Though we're hesitant to believe something this fantastic could actually be implemented in real life, word on the pavement has it that Audi is currently running a pilot program that informs motorists "how fast to drive to catch a green light." Over in Ingolstadt, Germany, 50 traffic lights have been equipped with sensors that beam information to specially equipped whips; the network of "smart" signals not only "adapts to traffic patterns to deliver optimum light switching," but gives drivers a heads-up in order to get 'em through lights and cut down on idling / pollution / road rage. We can just hear those red light camera appeals now: "But judge, my car told me to do it!"

[Image courtesy of NOLA]

Quite honestly, we can't imagine anyone finding this the least bit surprising -- after all, aren't CCTV cameras and the UK an inseparable pair by now? Nevertheless, the Examination Officers' Association across the pond is currently mulling the idea of installing surveillance equipment in exam halls in order to keep an eye on test-taking cheaters. Apparently students are turning to their mobiles more and more (no way!) to plug any holes in their memory, and while the project hasn't been set in stone just yet, it seems to be headed in that direction. Ah, whatever happened to those old fashioned cram sessions?

[Thanks, Tomek]

Just think -- this time next year, we'll all look back at this milestone and wonder how on Earth we thought it was impressive. For now, however, we wouldn't blame you for high-fiving everyone around, as NTT DoCoMo has stretched the boundaries again with a recent Super 3G field test. Reportedly, the outfit was able to record "a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system," and while it's not quite the 300Mbps we'd heard about before, you won't find us kvetching. If all goes to plan, the firm is hoping to "complete development of the technologies required for the eventual launch of a Super 3G network" by 2009, but who knows how long we Americans will have to wait to indulge after that.

Although "innovative" isn't exactly the word we chose to use when summing up Palm's Centro, apparently the public at large sees things a little differently -- or, so says this report, anyway. According to a buyer behavior writeup from Strategy Analytics, the Centro "attracted the most attention from nearly half of the tested US consumers who are intending to purchase a new mobile device" in Q4, and it even ranked ahead of the second-place Samsung i760 in the "appealing" department. Both of the aforementioned handsets were hailed as the top choices (saywha?) for folks "seeking a multifunction, fully integrated device," while the Nokia Prism and LG Rumor also got a few props along the way. Of course, it's always best to take these "studies" with a healthy serving of salt, but if you wanted something to debate about, you've found it.

[Via MobileWhack]

For all you Nokia fanatics waiting for the next-gen follow up to the beloved N800 internet tablet, your journey may be at its end. According to reports dot-dashed into the Engadget offices via a morse-code squawking carrier pigeon, the latest and greatest as-yet-unnamed (but for now called LJPRX-44) non-phone, non-computer device may be heading into your sweaty hands before long. There's not much to glean from the multifarious FCC filings, unless you're a glutton for punishment or an extremely determined wavelength-modulation-test-fan, save that the device will have both WiFi and Bluetooth, and should be the same general size and shape as the N800. Feast your eyes on the labeling above, and if you're really jonesing for some good-old FCC fun, hit the read link.

[Via TabletBlog]

We've given you your chance to choose a champion amongst the iPhone, HTC Touch and LG Prada, and while the latter wasn't included at LG's request, the other two were recently pit against Nokia's N95 in a study of usability. The test was reportedly conducted by Perceptive Sciences, a Texas-based usability consulting firm, and relied on data from just ten individuals who had "never used any of the three devices." The group was asked to "perform a series of tasks on each handset with quantifiable results, such as the time needed to find and use the on / off switch," and when all was said and done, the iPhone managed to snag the gold. Of course, we wouldn't take these results to be the bonafide truth, but if you're interested in seeing what all the mobiles (and guinea pigs) went through before a winner was chosen, head on over to the read link.

[Via iLounge]

Hot on the heels of the recent single-key Optimus Maximus OLED key test comes the highly anticipated multiple-key test, a demo of the numeric keypad. Yes, it's a whole bank of the custom-built buttons, flashing in a veritable parade of holiday-season-worthy light. Sure, that exposed PCB and those little plastic keys don't look like they're worth $1536, but we're sure once it's all said and done you'll still feel like it's money well spent. Check the video after the break to witness the dancing lights for yourself.

We're fairly sure that none of you angels out there enrolled in distance education courses have ever considered sneaking a peek in the textbook or seeing what Google had to say about a perplexing mid-term question, but for Troy University students, a new device is being deployed to make absolutely certain. The webcam-based unit was crafted by Software Secure, and simultaneously freezes the test taker's computer so he / she can only access the test module and records both audio and video whilst flagging "questionable" movements that the instructor can review for unpropitious behavior. Thankfully for those of us not enrolled at Troy, it doesn't look like any other institutions have hopped on board just yet, but if you've grown reliant on computer assistance to get you those As Cs, we wouldn't put off graduating for much longer.

We've seen some mighty rugged flash drives put to the test in our day, but Corsair's Flash Survivor GT 8GB managed to withstand a well-planned and carefully executed attack on its life like none that have come before it. This soldier of a USB drive not only performed great when tested against more fragile alternatives, it somehow escaped sans injury after being submerged in a pool, cooked in boiling water for ten solid minutes, and being creamed with a hammer numerous times. The torturers expected the CNC-milled anodized aircraft-grade aluminum housing to hold up fairly well under duress, but even they were utterly amazed at how invincible this thing really seemed. The $130 drive earned a much deserved 10 out of 10 rating from the flabbergasted review crew, and while we're not quite sure if it could withstand a nuclear attack like one of its competitors, it can apparently live through just about anything that you yourself could.

[Thanks, Rodger]

If you'd been pinching your pennies waiting for Apple to unleash an update to the MacBook side of things, your wait was ended last week, but if you've been wondering just how much difference the increase from 2MB to 4MB of L2 cache (and the 0.17GHz bump, too) made, here's your sign. MacLife was able to get its hands around a $1,099 base unit, and rather than carefully coaxing into the world, it broke out the whipping stick and put this bad boy to work. The new machine was pit against the old base MacBook (at 1.83GHz) and the previous 2GHz BlackBook, and while increases in efficiency weren't exactly considerable, reviewers found them at least noticeable. The latest machine shaved seconds off here and there from iMovie exporting and Photoshopping, and while most tests showed just single digit improvements, the iPhoto test did display a 22-percent gain compared to the previous 1.83GHz MacBook. Of course, these preliminary tests aren't anything out of the ordinary, but keep an eye on the read link for more fleshed out testing (including the refreshed BlackBook) in the coming days.

[Via MacSlash]

Given the vast amount of digital goodies that can be utilized as tools to gain an unfair advantage in certain testing situations, it's about time we see the officials fight fire with fire. With some schools banning iPods while others tie them into the learning process, Edexcel is looking to nip any potential theft problems in the bud by tagging packs of GCSE and A-level papers with RFID. Reportedly, the level of security surrounding these papers is already quite strict, and while actual cases of theft have remained relatively small so far, the exam board's not willing to risk it. The papers are apparently quite tempting targets for larceny, as past episodes have landed the confidential information on underground markets and even the internet, and the new tagging system will keep track of "how many papers are in the bundle, where they came from, and where they are going." Interestingly, it was noted that the packs wouldn't actually be tracked remotely, but instead would "speed up checks carried out by compliance officers." Currently, a "major trial" is already underway to presumably judge the effectiveness of the new anti-cheating system, so we'd think twice before snagging that pack of papers laying on the teacher's deserted desk.

[Via The Register]

We were pretty stoked to hear Kodak was planning on running full tilt at the current status quo of "loss leader" printer tactics, that has unwitting consumers picking up inkjet printers for a dime, and spending a fortune on printing supplies. Unfortunately, it looks like Kodak hasn't come upon any magical printing techniques to pull this off yet, since its new printers didn't do so good up against the likes of Epson, HP and Canon. Kodak is marketing its printers as capable of producing 10 cent prints, which would indeed be a great deal. Tests show that an $18 pack of paper and ink results in about 165 borderless prints, about 11.5 cents per print. Unfortunately, the prints were basically "draft" quality, maybe fine for certain budget-minded consumers, but hardly comparable to "lab quality" photos. To boost the quality you'll need pricier Kodak paper, which ends up at about 35 cents per print, and renders the whole exercise pointless. The testers recommend the $150 Epson Stylus Photo RX580, for super good prints and great speed. Might want to leave that $200 Kodak EasyShare 5300 on the shelf for the time being.