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Acer Liquid mt review
Acer may not be a huge player in the North American smartphone market, but it has slowly been improving its game, and it's had some measure of success with its Liquid E -- which, for a little while at least, was one of the better budget-priced Android options around. That phone has now gotten a proper successor in the form of the Liquid mt (otherwise known as the Liquid Metal), which first rolled out in Europe last fall and recently made its North American debut on Rogers in Canada. We managed to get a brief look at the phone at Mobile World Congress last month, but we've now had some additional time to properly test the phone and see how it stacks up. Will it finally earn Acer a bit of respect? Read on for our full review. %Gallery-119778%
Apple awarded 563 patents in 2010, double that of 2009
Breaking onto the list of the top 50 companies with approved patents in a year for the first time ever, Apple was awarded 563 patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its inventions in 2010, double the 289 approvals from 2009. AppleInsider reports that IFI Claims Patent Services has listed Apple as No. 46 on the list for the year, with most of its approvals coming from patent applications which were filed five or six years ago. While 563 patents is nothing to sneeze at, Apple would still need another 5,334 patent awards to surpass the 2010 first place finisher, IBM. Microsoft, Apple's biggest competitor in the OS market, came in third place with 3,094 patent approvals. While the end of 2010 saw Apple awarded several patents for different multi-touch devices, just last week Apple was granted a storm of new patents with approvals for multi-touch gestures on electronic documents, an advanced set-top box, a design patent for the Cinema Display, two iChat patents, and for something called "solidifying amorphous alloy" -- i.e., liquid metal. If the current rate of approvals keeps up at that pace, Apple should have no problem ranking even higher on next year's IFI Claims Patent Services list. [via AppleInsider]
Apple patent frenzy: TV set-top box, Cinema Display, iChat, liquid metal
According to Patently Apple, this week Apple's been granted a storm of patents. The patents include: 1. An advanced set-top box that sounds like the superhero offspring of the current Apple TV and a TiVo set. What's new and exciting in this patent is a multiple search engine implementation that would allow programming data to come from multiple providers. The patent also describes a system of searching for "advanced metadata" for shows, which, if found, could include the types of special features that DVD aficionados have grown used to over the past decade. Being able to download, for instance, a director's commentary track for the movie you're watching on HBO would be pretty sweet. 2. A design patent for the Cinema Display. Other than the overall design of the display, there doesn't appear to be much else to this patent; this seems mostly aimed at ensuring that other companies don't copy Apple's design shamelessly. 3. An iChat patent related to audio processing in multi-participant video conferences. This covers the stereo effects seen in multi-participant video chat sessions, ensuring that audio signals are mixed according to the position of the participant's onscreen image. 4. Another iChat patent, this time covering the multi-participant video chat user interface itself. This patent appears to be very specific to iChat's UI rather than a generalized patent, so Skype likely has little to fear from this patent. 5. The final patent is the one I find most interesting, and the one which could have the most far-reaching implications. Apple and Liquidmetal Technologies entered into a Master Transaction Agreement in August of last year, and this patent relates to building a collector plate from a "solidifying amorphous alloy" -- i.e., liquid metal. Patently Apple notes this invention is related to fuel cells, which could mean Apple is looking at developing its own in-house method of deploying next-gen, miniaturized fuel cell technology in its portable products. Even if Apple is developing this technology, it'll likely be years before it deploys in shipping products... but once it does, MacBooks, iPhones, iPods and iPads will run for pretty much forever compared to the running time they get on current lithium ion batteries. The usual caveats apply: any patents granted for products Apple hasn't shipped yet may never actually find their way to the market (or your living room). In this case, though, let's all hope they do.
Acer Liquid Metal gets official in the UK with Android 2.2 and Breeze UI
After seeing quite a few leaks, Acer just made its Liquid Metal handset official. The 3.6-inch slate runs Android 2.2 Froyo atop an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor. Inside all that molten metal you'll find 802.11n WiFi, support for 14.4Mbps HSDPA, DLNA/UPnP streaming support, Dolby Surround technology, and an image stabilized 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash capable of recording video at 720p (30fps). Acer's new handset also features a new Breeze UI and SocialJogger app that aggregates Twitter and Facebook feeds. Look for it to land in brown in the UK starting mid November for £299. A silver version should arrive in early December. Still no word on that AT&T compatible jobbie that passed through the FCC. One more image and the full press release after the break.
Acer Liquid Metal S120 spotted running Android 2.2 on AT&T bands in FCC
Rumors of a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 Liquid Metal handset from Acer have been heating up in recent months. Now the aluminum handset said to be housing an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230-1 processor just cleared the FCC sporting GSM/EDGE 850/1900 and WCDMA Band II and V making it the perfect candidate for an AT&T launch. The listing also confirms Android 2.2 Froyo, GPS, Bluetooth, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi on the tested model S120 DVT2 (that's Design Verification Test 2) prototype. With an October launch set for the UK, well, it won't be long before we see this babe in North America. A bit of documentary evidence after the break.
Acer's Liquid Metal spotted in the wild, chilling with two mystery friends
The last we heard about Acer's Liquid Metal smartphone, an Android 2.2 unit with a 3.6-inch display and a lovely aluminum exterior, it was getting ready for a UK launch at the end of October. There's just a little over a week left to meet that date, and all we have to show are some decidedly unofficial photos from Droid Sans. The first pic, above, shows off a very smudged up looking Liquid Metal (or what is said to be a Liquid Metal at least), but after that are photos of two mystery devices. The first of those (pictured below) has the same... distinctively lengthy form factor of the GW990, while the other device is a tablet that we've not laid eyes on before. It looks to be running Android 2.2 (or later) and is said to be "big enough to shift the iPad." We're not sure exactly how to parse that bit of auto-translation, but maybe it's a coded reference to JT Wang's prediction of doom for the iPad's market share.
Acer Liquid Metal handset confirmed for end of October in UK, has Froyo filling inside
Acer's UK press team has been atypically loquacious today in disclosing the expected launch window and Android version for its upcoming Liquid Metal handset. We've confirmed ourselves that the end of October is the period now circled on Her Majesty's calendar, though we suspect the rest of Europe, if not the entire world, will be getting to grips with the Froyo-packing smartphone at about that time as well. The unconfirmed specs (gotta keep a little mystery, right?) include the same 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 as inside the T-Mobile G2, a 3.6-inch display with 800 x 480 resolution, Bluetooth 3.0 onboard, and the handsome backplate you see above, which seems to have been made out of brushed aluminum. So how do you feel, is there room for yet another contender on your smartphone wishlist?
Acer Liquid Metal wraps Android 2.2 in aluminum
Well, this one's come a bit out of left field (or Russia, actually), but it looks like Acer may be set to release yet another Android device. Apparently dubbed the Liquid Metal, this one is said to pack Android 2.2 beneath Acer's own skin, along with a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230-1 processor, Bluetooth 3.0, and a camera of unspecified megapixels with a flash -- all wrapped in what appears to be an aluminum casing. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it looks like the phone exists in both black and silver versions at the moment -- head on past the break for another shot.
MIT researchers develop liquid metal battery for the grid and the home
We've see plenty of green power research over the years, from solar plants to underwater turbines , but relying on the sun or the sea for electricity is not without its challenges: the sun doesn't always shine, for instance, and sometimes the water is calm. A group at MIT led by professor Donald Sadoway is developing grid-scale storage solutions for times when electricity isn't being generated. Since these batteries are intended for the power grid instead of cellphones and Roombas, the researchers can use materials not feasible in consumer electronics -- in this case, high temperature liquid metals. Besides being recently awarded a grant from ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency, Energy) to put these things in green power facilities, MIT has just embarked on a joint venture with the French oil company Total to develop a smaller-scale version of the technology for homes and office buildings.
Danamics liquid metal CPU cooler found to be impractical, ineffective, but still impressive
Looking for a completely impractical and ridiculously expensive cooling solution for your new i7? Danamics has your number with its LM10 CPU cooler, full of a sodium and potassium mixture (called NaK) that would explode if it came in contact with water (which, remember, is what you're mostly made of), but is perfectly inert inside its little pipes. We're more worried about the pump: a marvel of modern tech that uses a powerful electromagnet to create flow -- not exactly the sort of thing you want next to your RAID array. It all sounds menacing and lovely and would be a nifty conversation starter at your next LAN party, but sadly it simply doesn't perform according to NordicHardware -- it's beaten by $50 heat pipe cooler from Thermalright. At $350 the LM10 seems to be an impressive technological trophy-piece, but unless we can amp up that magnet and spray NaK all over our case during an RIAA raid, we think we'll pass.
