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Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab to launch in UK next month
Acer has been known to celebrate the Olympic Games with special-edition tech, so we weren't exactly surprised when the company launched a festive version of the Iconia Tab A510 this April in anticipation of the Summer Games in London. Now that the event is just two months away, the Tab is preparing to make its UK debut. According to the Inquirer, it will be available through Carphone Warehouse in June. To jog your memory, this version has the same specs as the original Iconia Tab A510, including a 10.1-inch IPS display, Android Ice Cream Sandwich and a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 CPU. There's also the same 5-megapixel camera and 32GB of onboard storage. The main difference, of course, is that this version sports an engraving of the five Olympic rings, and Acer also pre-loads a trial of Eurosport channels so users can get coverage during the Games. When the Iconia A510 Olympic Tab launches next month, it will reportedly go for £350 (about $552) without a SIM.
London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D
Didn't score a ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London this summer? If you're in the UK at least you can still catch the games live and in 3D, since even though the BBC is tape delaying its 3D coverage, there will be live action available on the dedicated Sky 3D channel from Eurosport. There's no word on what other carriers or regions may have access, but those two are promising over 100 hours of 3D action over the course of the games, with eight hours of live coverage alongside four hours of highlights. That's enough to cover events including the opening and closing ceremonies, men's 100m dash final, gymnastics, swimming, basketball and more. Also, Sky plans to open up the channel to all of its current HD subscribers during the Games instead of just the current 250,000 subscribers, so all you'll need to bring is a 3D-ready HDTV and glasses (maybe). There's a press release after the break with all the details currently available, and also Stephen Fry's introduction to the channel for no reason other than that it's Stephen Fry.
Virgin Media wins London Underground WiFi contract, provides conduit for tube station tweets
Remember the ten dozen WiFi hotspots London's underground said it was prepping ahead of the 2012 Olympic games? Virgin Media says they'll be free -- at least to start. By the time July rolls around, 80 stations will be rocking that sweet, sweet internet, and an additional 40 tube stops will go live by the end of the year. The service will be gratis during the summer, Virgin's press release explains, but will eventually join the outfit's broadband and mobile subscription network -- doling out only basic travel information and a pay-as-you-go option to the unsubscribed. Just make sure you finish Facebooking before your train arrives -- the tubes themselves are as dark as ever. Read on for Virgin Media's official press release.
2012 London Olympics Super Hi-Vision broadcast coming to select US, Japan, UK locations
While Super Hi-Vision isn't expected to bring its 7,680 x 4,320 resolution (16x more detail than your 1080p display, for those keeping count) home for several years, the NHK and BBC have confirmed it will be available for public screenings next year during the 2012 London Olympics. Screening dates have been arranged for three countries (Japan, UK, and US), and it appears domestic viewers will want to plan on visiting the Washington D.C. area next July / August to get a taste of the 33 megapixel video and 22.2 channel surround sound for themselves. Next year's Games have already put extensive 3D coverage on the schedule and NBC has promised every event will be available for viewing live as it happens for the first time, so there's plenty for everyone to look forward to. The only question now? Whether or not that silly false start rule can be changed so we don't face the prospect of a men's 100m dash final without Usain Bolt in it.
2012 London Olympics to feature 3D broadcasts from 10 venues?
There's no word from the official Olympics host broadcaster OBS, but equipment manufacturer EVS is already confirming the 2012 London Olympics will be covered in 3D. According to The Hollywood Reporter, at least 10 Olympic venues are on deck for 3D cameras with broadcasts for "a few of the main events" planned. In the UK the rights holder is the BBC who has already toyed with 3D broadcasts a bit, but it's hard to tell what that could mean here in the US. NBC has shown no inclination towards 3D itself, but it is owned by Comcast who has been more than willing to put special events produced by its (now part of NBC Sports) Versus channel in 3D from time to time. With the Olympic Games less than a year away we should hear more soon and, as the article remarks, have an idea how this might affect the sales of 3D-capable TVs around the world.
NBC Universal wins Olympic broadcasts through 2020, promises all events live starting in 2014
We've got some bad news if you're not a fan of how NBC covers the Olympics because the IOC just announced NBC Universal has won the rights to broadcast the Games through 2020 with a $4.38 billion bid, winning over rivals ABC/ESPN and Fox. ESPN and Disney had been very upfront about their desire to broadcast the games and mentioned more than once they would provide all the events live the way we prefer to see them. The good news is that according to NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus, every event will be aired live on TV or over the internet -- starting in 2014. While Comcast and NBC try to turn things around from the 2010 Games that it lost money broadcasting, we'll probably have to suffer through tape delay one more time for the London Games next summer.
Pentathlon switching to laser pistols for 2012 Olympics
It looks like your chances of hearing someone say "pew pew" at the 2012 Olympic games just got a whole lot better -- the world governing body for the Pentathlon announced this week that the sport will be switching from air pistols to laser pistols for the next summer games. That follows a successful trial at this month's inaugural Youth Olympics, which apparently went off without a hitch and without any impromptu games of laser tag. According to Klaus Schormann of the UIPM governing body, the switch will now also allow for competitions to be held in places like parks and shopping malls, and it will make it easier for athletes to travel with their guns on airplanes. Of course, the move could also open up a whole new can of worms: performance-enhancing hacking.
Digital 'Cloud' could form over London for the 2012 Olympics
No, we're not talking about "the cloud" where data goes to disappear and (hopefully) be retrieved again. We're talking about an actual (well, artificial) cloud that promises to be both a real structure and a massive digital display. That's the bright idea of a team of researchers from MIT, anyway, and it's now been shortlisted in a competition designed to find a new tourist attraction to be built in London for the 2012 Olympics. Dubbed simply "The Cloud," the structure would consist of two 400-foot tall mesh towers that are linked by a series of interconnected plastic bubbles, which would themselves house an observation deck inside and be used to display everything from Olympic scores and highlights to a "barometer of the city's interests and moods" outside (that latter bit comes courtesy of the group's partnership with Google). As if that wasn't enough, the whole thing also promises to be funded entirely by micro-payments from the public (which would also determine its final size), and be completely self-powered, with it relying on a combination of solar power and regenerative braking from the lifts in the towers. Video after the break.
Beijing Olympics, DTV transition to thank for skyrocketing STB adoption in China
While we doubted ABI Research's assertion set-top-box shipments would peak in just over three short years, new data from the house of CCID Consulting sure helps substantiate that very notion. The outfit has taken a cold, hard look at STB adoption in China, and what it found was that citizens were snapping 'em up this year like never before. The numbers show that sales were up 83.4% for the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same window a year ago, and a couple of main occurrences were to thank. First off, the drive towards ditching analog signals in favor of digital has increased adoption and awareness, and also, many locals picked up boxes in order to either catch the Beijing Olympics more clearly or in high-definition. The takeaway? If China's already buying in big to set-top-boxes, maybe that 2012 prediction isn't so off base after all.
SES ASTRA tardily trumpets 12 channels of HD Olympics across Europe
There's nothing here that wasn't apparent already, but SES ASTRA is just now getting around to boasting about a dozen HD channels that it's hosting to broadcast the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ready for an exhaustive list? The channels broadcasting the Olympics in HD include for the UK, BBC HD, for France, France 2 HD and CANAL+ HD, for Germany, ANIXE HD, for Poland, TVP HD, for the Slovak Republic, STV3, for the Netherlands, 1 HD, for Belgium een HD, for Spain, TELEDEPORTE HD, for Sweden, Viasat HD and SVT HD and for Austria, ORF HD. So yeah, if you somehow missed this for the first week of the Games, at least you're clued in now.[Image courtesy of Beijing 2008]
Poll: Due to HD, have you tuned into the Olympics more?
One masochist notwithstanding, we're pretty sure you haven't sat down for days straight to watch the Summer Games from Beijing, but we're wondering if the superabundance of high-def Olympics programming has changed your perspective on the entire spectacle. Here at Engadget HQ, we've found ourselves captivated by more Olympics footage in the first week than we can ever remember in Games' past, and there's no question that having the events in high-definition caused us to keep flipping back. Is the same phenomenon happening at your house? Are you inexplicably anxious to come home and check out some of the world's greatest athletes in beautiful high-def? Tell us how the HD onslaught has affected your Olympics viewing (if at all).[Image courtesy of Yahoo! Sports] %Poll-18174%
Masochist sits through 24 straight hours of Olympics, writes about it
Just because there are 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage being beamed out in one form or another this year doesn't mean you actually need to watch all 3,600 of them. For one particular pain lover, however, he consumed 24 straight, and thankfully, he had the decency to write about it. Starting at midnight ET on August 12th, he flipped on NBC just in time to catch Alexander Artemev save the bronze for the US in men's gymnastics. 24 hours later, he watched the women's team disappointingly snag a silver in the same sport. Nearly every minute in between is chronicled in the read link below -- seriously, this is a read you can't afford to miss.
Lenovo shows off stable of Olympics-themed USB flash drives
Lenovo already rolled out one Olympics-themed flash drive long before the Beijing Games kicked off, but now that the Opening Ceremonies have come and gone, the outfit is showing off a few more for good measure. The Mascot series contains a half dozen colorful 4GB units that'll go for around $30 apiece, while the so-called Medallions will only be available on the second-hand market thanks to the original batch selling out. Lastly, we've got five slightly different 1GB titanium drives that boast swiveling plugs and arrive in a swank mahogany box. Huzzah?[Via EverythingUSB]Read - Mascot drivesRead - Medallion drivesRead - Titanium drives
How to get the most out of the 2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Beijing Olympics -- the first covered entirely in high definition, with super slow-motion cameras and 3,600 hours of coverage, online and on TV -- approach. Think you're ready to get the most out of the Games, and maybe, just maybe catch the event you actually want to watch live as it happens? Head over to Engadget HD and get the full rundown on the different ways the Games are coming home and how to take advantage of them all.
aigo delivers USB TV tuners for Chinese, European markets
We heard that Legend Silicon and Intel were teaming up to push HDTV dongles in China, and push they have. aigo has just announced that it has used technology from the former to build USB TV tuners for catching OTA HD signals on laptops, PCs or any other manner of devices capable of watching video. In China, it's estimated that many of the devices will be used to watch the upcoming Olympics in Beijing in glorious high-definition, while DVB-T users in Europe will have yet another choice for snagging HD on-the-run. Reportedly, the tuners will demand around $100 a pop, but there's no word on where or when they'll show up.
Knuckles and Sonic get it on
If it weren't for all the other crazy news coming out of Japan right now, we would be tempted to call this Mario & Sonic week. Every time we turn around, it seems like we're seeing new bits from their upcoming joint Olympics title. Not that we're complaining, though -- not when it means we get to see Yoshi's stats and Knuckles and Sonic trying to poke each other with pointy objects. We can only guess it's Sonic's year to kick ass and take names. Check out the updated gallery below for the latest images from the game! %Gallery-4697%
Mario and Sonic joined by Mii at the Olympics
Hey, guess what? I'm going to be in Mario & Sonic at the Olympics! Yes, that's right, my very own Mii will be included in the cast of characters set to strut their stuff in a variety of different events when the game releases next month. In fact, you're just as lucky as me, as your Mii will be included in the game, as well. Don't you feel special? We certainly do.Sega announced that the upcoming game will include full support of Miis. So, if you want to know how you'd do in the 5K against Sonic, then feel free to give it a go.%Gallery-4697%
Luigi goes for the gold in Tails Stabbing
The latest screens from Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games show us some more of the game's twenty events. Like this one, in which Cream the Rabbit is forced to stand in the sidelines and watch as two idiots fence with no protective gear on-- in Tails' case, no gear at all. Fencing without a facemask or armor? That's just called stabbing. We also see Tails excelling in what we assume is the trampoline event, in which players push buttons in a prescribed sequence to make Tails flop around in the air in a controlled manner.
Mario and Sonic DS runs into a hurdle
We hear a lot about the Wii version of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games-- just today we saw a list of events, and we recently learned that, much like David Hasselhoff, the Germans love it. But what of the DS version? Mario and Sonic are indeed at these Olympic Games, as well. Well, we finally heard something about the DS version! And it's ... bad news, kind of! The game's been delayed until the first quarter of 2008. But, really, considering all the stuff that's coming out on DS this holiday season, we can only see that as a good thing. Better for a complete game to come out when it can shine than for a junk minigame collection to fall through the cracks.
Mario & Sonic get their Games on
Twenty (!) separate events are planned for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and it looks like we'll be partaking in a variety of traditional summer games with our favorite mascots. Events range from Archery to Rowing to Table Tennis, with a little something for everyone. Siliconera reports that this list is not complete -- that two events are still missing of the twenty -- but if the various race lengths in the Track events are counted separately, then this could be the full list. However, Mike Hayes of Sega Europe mentioned the inclusion of judo earlier this year, so there may well be two other unconfirmed events. Curious about the current list? Race past the jump and check it out.%Gallery-4697%
