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Roku and Element partner for their first outdoor TV
Roku has joined forces with Element to create a 55-inch outdoor TV going on sale at Walmart.com.
Google pulls Element's Android chat app over content it doesn't control (updated)
Google has pulled Element's federated chat app from the Play Store for allegedly propagating abuse that's outside of its control.
Astronomers just measured a whole lot more than gravitational waves
A couple of weeks ago, the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo teams announced the detection of another set of gravitational waves -- the fourth since LIGO's first detection in September of 2015. The observations of these ripples in spacetime are extraordinary in and of themselves, no matter how many times we record them. However, while the first three sets of gravitational waves recorded were by the two LIGO observatories, the fourth was also detected by a newly established third -- Virgo -- located in Italy. And having three detectors allows researchers to triangulate the source of those waves with extraordinary precision.
Television with built-in Fire TV makes better use of your voice
One of the Element Fire TV Edition set's main hooks is clearly its Alexa voice control, so it stands to reason that the entire television stands to benefit the more you can use it, doesn't it? Sure enough, Element is trotting out an update that makes better use of voice recognition. You can enter text into fields using your voice instead of the keyboard, which could take a lot of the pain out of filling out forms and certain search boxes. Also, you can rename inputs to more familiar terms and use Alexa to switch to them -- you can specify that you're jumping to your PS4 instead of "HDMI2."
The best gear for building a home theater in your dorm
To the extent that your shoebox of a dorm will be your home for the next nine months, you should do whatever you can to make it feel cozy and inviting. To that end, we've included some home-theater items in our back-to-school guide, and we've ensured everything is reasonably compact (you can hold off on your first 65-inch set until you have your very own pad). From media streamers to speakers to a handful of small- to medium-sized TVs, you have options if you want to upgrade from watching Netflix off your 13-inch laptop.
The first television with Amazon Fire TV built in is just fine
Sure, you can get a Fire TV stick with an Alexa remote and plug it into your existing television set to make it smart. But that setup can't pull in streams from all the devices you have connected, like your PlayStation, antenna and whatever else you have stuck in your HDMI ports. Nor can it integrate all those inputs seamlessly into the OS. But if a central hub for all of your streaming content is important to you, and if you have money just laying around, consider the new Element Fire TV Edition. It's the first television with Fire TV OS built in, thanks to a collaboration between Amazon and TV maker Element. Starting at $449 for a 43-inch version, the Edition adds a few conveniences to the existing interface that you won't get with only the stick.
Amazon Fire TV is now built into 4K sets
You won't have to buy a separate Fire TV device to use Amazon's full services on your TV. Seiki, Westinghouse and Element Electronics are launching a series of 4K sets with Fire TV technology built in. They all include Amazon's current interface, including a wide range of Alexa voice commands, thanks to a microphone-equipped remote. If you use an over-the-air TV antenna, you'll have access to both a channel guide and favorite individual channels on the home screen.
Scientists confirm the existence of the heaviest element ever seen
It's tricky to verify the existence of super heavy elements; you have to fuse very short-lived materials, hope you get some useful atoms, and wait for someone else to reproduce your achievement. However, scientists at a particle accelerator lab in Germany have managed that rare feat by creating and confirming Element 117, the heaviest substance observed so far. It was produced by smashing together thousands of calcium 48 and berkelium 249 atoms, and is about 40 percent heavier than lead.
Refresh Roundup: week of October 1st, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of April 9th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Pantech Element review
You've heard of singin' in the rain (and have likely seen the movie). You may have even attempted it once or twice, but tableting in the midst of a downpour? That doesn't exactly conjure the same whimsy and spontaneous dance numbers. Yet, Pantech's making such joyous, on-the-go content consumption possible with the aptly named Element. It's yet another addition to the growing stable of LTE devices propping up AT&T's newly expanded 4G fort. Rather than run the risk of this being seen as another garden-variety Honeycomb tablet, though, Pantech's imbued this guy with waterproofing.Of course, that's not all this skinned Android slate's bringing to the party. With a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 CPU complemented by 1GB RAM, a 1024 x 768 TFT XGA display and a healthy 6,400mAh battery, this impermeable tab stands on equal spec footing with its post-PC peers. At $299 on two-year contract, it's certainly priced to sell, but should you dish out the dollars for a middle-ground tablet from the likes of a lesser-known manufacturer? Does a limited and possibly frivolous imperviousness to water warrant your attention? Should you stash that plastic until Pantech confirms an ETA for that Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade? Find all this out and more after the break, as we force this 8-incher to brave the elements.
PSA: Pantech Element and Burst get bundled together at AT&T, $250 on contract
In case you forgot, both Pantech's new dual-core smartphone and waterproof tablet have arrived and Ma Bell's bundled the pair together to form some kind of middleweight Android tag-team. The price of a matching tablet and smartphone? Expect to pay $250 on contract, and you'll need plans for both the Element and Burst. Those feeling flush can grab the full details at the source.
CES 2012: tablet roundup
Couldn't keep up with the 600+ posts we wrote covering CES 2012 in Las Vegas? We're here to help sift the wheat from the chaff, and if you're hoping to see the best of what CES had to offer in the world of tablets, you've come to the right place. As you can imagine, finding the best slate is much easier said than done, since it seemed as though nearly every major company brought a tablet in some shape, form or color. Head past the break to see our personal favorites from the show.
AT&T Pantech Element hands-on at CES 2012 (video)
The Pantech Element has been hanging around the rumor mill for quite some time, so it wasn't much of a surprise when we saw it show up at the AT&T Developer Summit keynote earlier today. All of the specs were right on with what we'd heard before: 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 8-inch TFT XGA display, 5MP rear camera / 2MP front-facing, 6,400 mAh battery for over 12 hours of high-use battery life and of course, waterproof with IP57 certification. We got a little clarification on what Pantech means by this, and it turns out that the tablet can be submerged in up to one foot of water for thirty minutes without batting an eye. Playing around with the tablet, we were surprised by its light weight and classy look. It was incredibly glossy, however, which was painfully obvious by the number of times we felt compelled to wipe smudges off the front and back. The ports of entry were all covered appropriately by secured plastic flaps, but it's necessary in order to keep water or other liquid from getting inside. The tablet runs on Android 3.2, and in our limited time with the device felt smooth and without lag. Overall, it felt as though the tablet certainly fit the price range, which isn't something we were able to say about the $600 (on contract) HTC Jetstream. The Element will be available starting January 22nd for $300 with a two-year commitment, though AT&T is running a limited promotion in which you can get both the Element and the Pantech Burst together for $250. Take a look below to check out some up close and personal images and a snazzy video.
Pantech Element for AT&T specifications confirmed: 1.5GHz CPU, Android 3.2, 4G LTE radio
We've had bits and pieces of information trickling in about the unfazed-by-trickles Pantech Element, but the whole load of specifications just showed up on our doorstep. The waterproof 8-inch slate (16.6 ounces) will start slipping out to retail shops starting today, with a two-year contract price of $299.99 and an off-contract charge of $449.99. Those tallies will net you a 4G LTE / HSPA+ enabled device, powered by Android 3.2 and a 1.5GHz processor. There's also 16GB of inbuilt storage, a microSD expansion slot, haptic feedback, a handful of preloaded applications (AT&T Messages, Enzo Pinball, Sketchpad and Photo Frame) and compatibility with a couple of data plans; there's the $35 / month (3GB) option for those on a contract, or the $14.99 / month (250MB) and $25 / month (2GB) alternatives for those operating sans strings attached. For those waltzing into an AT&T shop to snag one, don't be shocked if you're pressured to pick up an $85 Body Glove case or a $20 screen protector -- because, you know, the waterproof shell just isn't quite good enough on its own.
Pantech Element goes up for pre-order, get those water buckets ready
Looks like there was some truth to those coming attractions, after all. Pantech's eight-inch waterproof tablet, which is set to get its close up next week at CES, is now available for pre-order, a fact we've confirmed with a few AT&T stores -- though the physical locations have yet to actually get some demo models for you to play around with. The tablet is set to start shipping on January 22nd. It'll run you $300 with a two-year contract and $450 with, so you'll have to stick to the cheap champagne for a while with those at home splash tests.
Pantech Element poster spied at AT&T store, launch coming next week for $300?
We've had a pretty good inkling that the Pantech Element LTE tablet would make an appearance at CES in the coming days, and our confidence level just rose another notch. It appears that one corporate-owned AT&T store got the official marketing material for the new tablet a few days prior to the device's launch and was a little too eager to put it on display ahead of time. The tipster also spilled the beans on a few specs, lending credence to earlier rumors: it's a waterproof 8-inch tablet with a 1.5GHz CPU, 16GB of internal storage and LTE, and will go for $300 on a two-year commitment ($450 without). As for availability, we were informed that we should expect it to be available on direct fulfillment (special order) the week of January 15th, with actual units hitting store shelves in the coming weeks. We'll hopefully get the full laundry list and hands-on time on Monday. Jetstream, anyone? [Thanks, Anonymous]
New periodic table elements finally get names, will probably want to trade them in
Flerovium and livermorium. Prime names for really ugly babies -- or, equivalently, new elements on the periodic table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry opted for the latter last week, baptizing elements 114 and 116 just about six months after they were first ratified. Back in June, as you may recall, Russia's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research proposed flerovium and muscovium as names for the two ultraheavy elements, while deferring to the IUPAC for final say on the matter. At the time, the organization said it would likely accept any name, as long as "it's not something too weird." Flerovium (Fl), named after Soviet nuclear physicist Georgiy Flerov, apparently passed that litmus test. Muscovium, sadly, did not. Instead, slot 116 will belong to livermorium (Lv), named after California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which collaborated on the discovery of the element, back in 2000. Bill Goldstein, associate director of Lawrence Livermore National Labs' Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, heralded the decision as a celebration of his institute's collaborative contribution to chemistry: "Proposing these names for the elements honors not only the individual contributions of scientists from these laboratories to the fields of nuclear science, heavy-element research, and super-heavy-element research, but also the phenomenal cooperation and collaboration that has occurred between scientists at these two locations." The nomenclature isn't entirely set in stone, however, as the two names must first endure a five-month public comment period before appearing in chemistry textbooks.
New periodic table element names confirmed, textbook makers sigh in relief
What's in a name? If you're the general assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, then quite a lot. It's that bunch who have finally rubber-stamped the names of elements Darmstadtium (110), Roentgenium (111) and Copernicum (112) on the Periodic table. The trio are so named in honor of Darmstadt (where it was first created), Wilhelm Röntgen (discoverer of X-Rays) and Nicolaus Copernicus (explaining the universe since 1533). All three elements are "super-heavy", lab-created substances that rapidly degrade down into less interesting materials -- Copernicium-285 has a relatively long half-life of 29 seconds. The ratification went without a hitch, causing a sigh of relief amongst the textbook makers who have included the elements in the table for quite some time. Although we were hoping that element 111 would have to change its name back to the original, nearly unpronounceable unununium. [Image courtesy of the BBC / Talkback Thames]
Periodic Table welcomes two new, ultraheavy elements, jury still out on the names
If you bump in to the Periodic Table of Elements today, be sure to give it a hearty Mazel Tov, because it's just welcomed two new members to the family. Yesterday, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) officially recognized elements 114 and 116, crediting the discovery to scientists from Russia's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California. Boasting atomic masses of 289 and 292, respectively, the new man-made additions are now the heaviest elements on record, seizing the belt from copernicium (285) and roentgenium (272). As with most heavyweights, however, both decay within less than a second, making it difficult for researchers to get a grasp of their chemical properties. Nevertheless, both apparently had enough credibility to survive IUPAC's three-year review process, paving the way for the real fun to begin. At the moment, 114 and 116 are known, rather coldly, as ununquadium and ununhexium, respectively, though their names will eventually be jazzed up -- sort of. The Russian team has already proposed flerovium for 114 (after Soviet nuclear physicist Georgy Flyorov), and, for 116, the Moscow-inspired moscovium, which sounds more like an after shave for particularly macho chemists. IUPAC will have the final say on the matter, though one committee member said any proposed names are likely to be approved, as long as "it's not something too weird." Head past the break for a full, and somewhat obtuse PR.