Dante Cesa

Contributing Editor

Introducing Dante to the command line at age four would prove to be a fatal mistake in the then serene and quiet lives of his parents. What would initially stem from subtle curiosity, not long would pass before his gadget lust would develop into full-blown obsession. But an extreme desire to tinker would, of course, be matched with consequences: countless hours of his childhood were spent with fdisk and restoring computers with tape backups, or a string of awkward calls to carrier's customer service attempting to explain astronomical charges from a very, very, long WAP data call. Returning to the US for college, Dante would eventually settle in San Francisco, writing for Engadget by day and being an Objective-C ninja by night.

Articles by Dante Cesa

Droid 4 gets first official update, better battery life and sluggishness fixes in tow
A promised upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich this is not, but who are we to scoff at fresh software that improves battery life? Per Droid-Life that's exactly what Motorola has in store for the Droid 4 with its first official update -- née 6.13.219. Hitting the airwaves in the coming week, there's more than just longevity tweaks, with a new MotoCast widget, improved WiFi connectivity and fixes pertaining to "sluggishness and blank screen lockups." Time will tell if that'll tide you over until Motorola unleashes Google's latest, but until then, placate yourself by reading more at the source link below.
Acer's A100 and A500 tablets getting Ice Cream Sandwich on April 27th
With April nearly over, it's high time Acer came clean on when exactly its promised Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade for the A100 and A500 would land. Today the company did just that, revealing that US owners of either tablet can opt-in for their frozen makeovers starting on the 27th. Bad news if you're rocking AT&T's variant of the latter though, as the listing on the company's support page for the A501 says "no update planned." Those not tied Ma Bell can expect Acer's skin -- including that ring launcher -- grafted onto Google's latest, much like the A200's ICS upgrade back in February. Already pumped? Go ahead and bookmark that source link. Do it, we won't judge.
BlackBerry PlayBook with '4G' out and about, wants to know where you put its SIM
Jim Balsillie might be on the outs, but it looks like his once boastful pet-project -- a BlackBerry PlayBook with integrated cellular wireless -- is finally coming to fruition. Per CrackBerry's forums comes the above snap of the Canadian slate donning a SIM card slot, nary a month after we first spotted the company's HSPA+ and LTE tablets pass through the FCC. That also lines up nicely with a previously leaked roadmap, promising a summer arrival. Will the mythical 4G-wielding PlayBook ever make it to market? Or like its WiMax brother, will it never be given the chance? While you ponder that, more pics await at the source.Update: A few more photos have surfaced on the CrackBerry forums, showing what appears to be native BBM on the device.
Samsung's ST200F goes on sale in Korea, wants you to know it exists
Having trouble remembering Samsung's ST200F? You're forgiven as it was announced during the feed-busting monster that is CES, and alongside three other (arguably more interesting) Sammy WiFi-enabled shooters. No matter, as today the company's jogged our memory by letting us know the 16 megapixel shooter will soon soon grace Korean shelves for ₩249,000 (or around $200). Those buying will also be granted to a 10x optical zoom, 802.11 antennae and 720p video recording. And best of all, a quick perusal of online retailers reveal it's already up for preorder and will likely ship stateside in mid-April. Considerably later than the previously promised "February" ship date, but beggars can't be choosers. Right?
Opel Ampera popular in ye old continent, likely to meet sales goals unlike Volt
To say that Chevy's Volt hasn't had the smoothest inaugural year would be an understatement, but over on the other side of the pond, things couldn't be going more swimmingly for its badge-engineered cousin, the Opel Ampera. Sales are reportedly brisk with over 7,000 Europeans preordering the electrified hatchback, prompting the company to push its 2012 sales target from 8,000 to 10,000 units -- matching the figure Chevy had initially set, and then missed for its variant here in the US of A. That got us thinking, are Europeans the electrified forward-thinking mavericks we think they are? Or have they simply fallen prey to the Ampera's far better looks? Decide in the comments below.
Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut
An unreleased gadget is pretty easy to conceal, but an upcoming automobile? Not so much. Thanks to some quick reflexes, you're looking at the first spy shots of Fisker's second and smaller plug-in hybrid sedan, heretofore known as Project Nina. Last we heard, the BMW-powered auto had been put on life-support, as the remainder of the company's DOE loan evaporated as it failed to meet timely deadlines in bringing its first EV, the Karma, to market. That could mean the above is a mere concept designed to woo potential investors -- but with less than a week before its supposed New York auto show debut, it won't be long until we know for sure. Until then, ogle at more eye candy of the beaut over at Autoblog in the source link below.
Nokia's Lumia 800 firmware update juices handsets, banishes battery issues
Still holding out on Nokia to squash any lingering battery bugs lurking inside your Lumia 800's beautiful shell? For some of you, today's your lucky day, as Espoo's just released a fresh batch of bits, which bring "significant improvements in battery performance and power management." We've seen version 1600.2487.8107 make the rounds once before, but previously when it was a Vodafone-branded variant -- which you may recall WPCentral discovered was responsible for an impressive 3x improvement (!) in battery life. Enhancements to audio are present in the build as well, with the company tweaking bass for "better voice quality" and your music enjoyment. Those ready to update should peep the Zune desktop software, although Nokia cautions not everyone will will get updated today, as coordinating across multiple carriers in different markets is like "herding sheep," resulting in a multi-stage rollout in the coming four weeks. More details, including a video on how to update, await at the source.
Sony's PlayMemories Studio now live on PSN, get your Playstation 3 photo-edit on
Yesterday's rumor about Sony launching PlayMemories Studio this week has just become fact. The $15 editing suite has just gone live on the PlayStation Store, enabling plebes to edit, organize and share photos (and video) right on their home console of choice, the PS3. Those with a spare Vita or PSP laying around can also put those to good use through Remote Play functionality. Unsure if Sony's couch-iPhoto experience is for you? Hit the source for more info on the whole shindig, in addition to details on how to get your creative side on with a gratis thirty day trial.
MLB.tv lands on Xbox 360, gets cozy alongside ESPN and UFC
You knew it was coming, and now Microsoft's ready to make MLB.tv on your Xbox 360 official. Just like previous sporting efforts on the console, Redmond's gone and built a custom layer atop a partner's content in hopes of creating a richer and more immersive experience. A premium MLB.tv subscription still applies here, which'll grant you access to HD streams of every out-of-market game -- all of which are watchable live, in recap or archived forms. We liked the "My Teams" functionality which enabled us to quickly earmark content from teams we cared about, which makes triaging through MLB's rather large catalog far more palatable. There's a spiffy mini guide too, which makes for swapping between games a painless affair, in addition to split screen view, where two games are splayed side-by-side -- each which can be paused, or rewound to your hearts content. And it wouldn't be a party if gesture and voice controls, courtesy of Kinect, didn't make an appearance here too. So go peep that dashboard for the update, or hop past the break for a demo video of the whole shindig.
Square's Card Case rechristened 'Pay with Square,' is first to bring geo-fenced hands-free payments to Android
You might know Square for accepting payments on your smartphone via a cute dongle, but you're probably less familiar with its second offshoot, Card Case -- a separate app that has enabled hands-free and NFC-free payments at over 70,000+ merchants for more than a year now. That effort is getting a complete overhaul today, cumulating in an entire rethink of the app and experience, in addition to its more-apt new title: Pay with Square. The redesigned UI loses its former card and leather-based garnish, opting instead for a simplified list of merchants sorted by distance and relevancy. Also making its debut is a search box, a spiffy map view and the ability to share merchants to friends through text, email or Twitter. We're most excited, though, for feature parity across iPhone and Android, which means formerly iOS-exclusive features like the auto-creation of tabs at pre-approved venues (thanks to iOS 5's geo-fencing APIs) are now present to green little robots everywhere. That's no small feat, as the company's had to roll their own geo-location API to pick up where Google's left off. Excited? Get your download on in the source links below.
Leica's M9-P to be offered in unicorn-guise, $31,770 and Japan-only
Currently drowning in more cash than sense? Do you also call the land of the rising sun home? Excellent, as we've found the perfect camera just for you: the elusive white variant of Leica's M9-P. Restricted to only 50 units, the unicorn shooter will go on sale come June for a cool 2,620,000 yen (or around $31,770) -- a hefty premium over the regular (read: black and chrome) permutations which cost $7,995. Granted those pedestrian versions don't come wielding an insane f/0.95 50mm lens out of the box. And if this ridiculous combo is priced out of your league, you could always go after its cheaper, yet also delectable white predecessor -- although we'll hazard you're going to need more than just luck finding it.
Kindle app for Android updated with Send-to-Kindle functionality, lets you sling documents to green little robots everywhere
Fan of reading, you maverick you? Well if you're rocking an Android device, head on over to the Market Google Play and hit update on that Kindle app, as the online retailer from the Northwest has some fresh bits waiting for you. New today is access to a bevy of illustrated content -- like children and comic books in addition to graphic novels -- coupled with the debut of Send-to-Kindle support on Android. We're most excited about the latter as it enables plebes to send documents to their "Send-to-Kindle" email address, only to find said files magically pushed to their device for later perusal. And as an added bonus, a copy's conveniently safeguarded for additional downloads at a later date within Amazon's cloud. Made it this far? Clearly you love reading, so go do some more by clicking in the source below.
Flurry: China's surpassed US in iOS and Android activations, but not smartphone install base (yet)
Color us unsurprised at the notion that the world's most populous country would one day be home to the greatest number of smartphones. That hasn't happened quite yet, but we're getting close per analytics firm, Flurry, who's measured China's surpassed the United States for the first time in combined iOS and Android activations in March. That's quite a difference from the beginning of 2011, when China held the 10th spot in the firm's rankings, before admittedly rising to an impressive second place by the end of that calendar year. And as you'd expect with growth trending in China's favor, it's now only a matter of when, not if, before it snatches the smartphone install-base crown from the current king, the US of A. But before jostling amongst yourselves on exactly when that'll happen, we'd recommend hitting that source link for a chart-filled run-down. Go on, it's fun for the whole family.
Xperia Neo L will be Sony's first ICS phone, but only for China?
While your Xperia might not have gotten its planned Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade just yet, Sony's come clean on its first phone to wield Google's latest straight from the factory: the Xperia Neo L. Appearing on the company's Chinese website, we wouldn't expect a redux of the mostly 2011 hardware to go on a world tour anytime soon. Those buying will be treated to a 4-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) screen that's a smidge bigger than the original yet still carries a 1GHz worth of Snapdragon coupled to 512MB of RAM. Unlike the archetype, though, the camera gets downgraded to a 5 megapixels in the rear while retaining the same VGA shooter in the front. Naturally there's no word on price or availability, but at least for diehard fanboys can have their ice cream and eat it too.
Surprise! Study finds internet worth a lot of money, is responsible for 4.7 percent of US economy
Ever wondered how much the interwebs contribute to the Uncle Sam's bottom line? Thanks to the Boston Consulting Group, now you don't have to. It's estimated the net contributes a cool $684 billion to the US gross domestic product. That's roughly 4.7 percent of US GDP, the same tranche as its effect on Japan's economy, but less than the 5.5, 7.3 and 8.3 percent clocked in by China, South Korea and the United Kingdom, respectively. And per the report, the internet is just getting started, with future growth expected to hit eight percent on average by 2016 for developed countries, and well north of 20 percent in booming economies like those of Argentina and India. Hit the source for the full report.
AllThingsD: HP to fold Imaging and Printing division into Personal Systems Group
HP might have at one point considered ridding itself of its high revenue but low earnings computing division, but AllThingsD has it on good authority that its profitable printing group will now be folded into it. Under the guise of consolidation, the union of both should streamline operations, as both currently expend sizable efforts targeting the same business and home consumers alike. It'll also mean the current Imaging and Printing Group head-honcho, Vyomesh Joshi, is on the outs with the absorbed unit reporting to existing Personal Systems Group head, Todd Bradley. Enough about the kerfuffle, ultimately the shakeup means we're one step closer to owning the webOS printer of our dreams, right?
Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 hits Apple's Developer website, brings more roar to your Friday
Exactly one month ago, Apple pulled back the kimono revealing its next Mac OS release would be called Mountain Lion upon its debut this summer. It also let eager developers registered in the Mac Developer Program partake in the fun a little early. For the latter camp, Cupertino's back with a second helping today, aptly named Developer Preview 2. No word yet on what's changed in build 12A154q -- a scant twenty-six builds from the 12A128p original -- as the accompanying release notes have yet to be updated. But rest assured we'll circle back with anything of interest when they do.
1080p-capable Apple TV ships a day early, just in time to AirPlay with your new iPad
Did you hop on the pre-order train for the third generation Apple TV, right after the Cook-note? Might want to check that doorstep, as a metric ton of you -- including reader Joel above -- have written in to say your new hockey-puck streaming boxes have arrived. For those keeping score, that's a day ahead of the announced March 16th ship date, meaning lucky souls can get a little downtime with that revamped interface and 1080p streaming a little early. Let us know how your liking it in the comments, and for those of you still waiting, may we humbly recommend our hands-on or comparison posts?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
AllThingsD: Google diggs Kevin Rose (updated)
You might know Kevin Rose from his days at TechTV, as the cofounder of the social news website digg.com, or from his awesome drunken (and sometimes quotable) ramblings on his former video podcast diggnation. However, per AllThingsD, it appears that Rose, and perhaps a bunch of his cohorts at his latest gig, Milk, have been poached to work at the Google mothership. That comes merely a day after Milk shuttered its first product, Oink -- an app enabling users to rate experiences rather than venues, think Yelp but for things. As to what Rose and any coworkers that come with him will be doing once in Mountain View is currently unknown, but unfortunately it looks like Milk's headed to the deadpool, folks. Update: TechCrunch has it on good authority that Google is indeed picking up the entire Milk team. Also of note, was an alleged bidding war for the team with Facebook.
PSA: Apple offering up to $320 if you trade in your iPad 2 in reuse and recycling program
Eyeing the iPad 3, but have yet to take the pre-order plunge? Per The Next Web, your patience is about to be rewarded as Apple's updated its Reuse and Recycling program, which means owners of iPad 2s in "good condition" can sling them back to their maker in exchange for an Apple Store gift card. How much the mothership will subsequently send back naturally varies on what iPad 2 you've got -- ranging anywhere from $205 for the base 16GB WiFi model, all the way to $320 for the most capacious 64GB WiFi + 3G variant. Or you could try your luck with similar programs such as eBay's Instant Sale or the one from Cupertino's tablet rival to the north. And would you look at that, we've even gone ahead and put links to all three just below.

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