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And not just another platform for mining your personal data to better push ads at you (google, Facebook),

Don't be so quick with that.

All Tesla cars come with cellular connectivity and they definitely phone home. i think that it would be naive to believe that Tesla is not looking to monetize as much of your driving information they can their hands on. I'd love to see proof otherwise, but I doubt it is out there given the way of the world nowadays.

They'll get rid of those other apps at the same time as they let you use an unlocked CDMA + LTE phone on their network

So, you mean, now?

You seem to have forgotten that I devices were running around with 320x480 resolution despite ALL other equivalent devices having at least 800x600? For a good year?

You have to go a few generations back to find a lower resolution screen I see. Have other phones even reached the pixel density that the iPhone introduced three generations ago?

Sad, sad fanboy.

YES, the other phones reached and exceeded iPhone's 326ppi at least 18 months BEFORE the iPhone "introduced" it.

All aboard the hyperbole bus!

Still 87.5 million PCs ( desktops and laptops ) shipped worldwide in Q3 2012. Yes, MILLIONS.

Some vendors saw a decline of 10% year-on-year. Painful, but that's not a collapse.

In comparison in Q3 2012 Apple shipped 17 million iPads.

So can we please stop saying that tablets have destroyed the PC market?

And since we know that Android has like 43% of the tablet market, that is an additional 7 million tablets from that for a total of 24 million tablets. So, Tablets have around 20% of the market for PCs. Some other analysts have predicted that by 2016, there will be more Android devices than Windows. It is quite likely since smart phones are already outselling PCs and Android is dominating the cell phone market. The PC market hasn't been destroyed. It is still a work in progress. But, since not even Microsoft is planning on making a desktop operating system anymore, the writing is on the wall.

All aboard the hyperbole bus!

Still 87.5 million PCs ( desktops and laptops ) shipped worldwide in Q3 2012. Yes, MILLIONS.

Some vendors saw a decline of 10% year-on-year. Painful, but that's not a collapse.

In comparison in Q3 2012 Apple shipped 17 million iPads.

So can we please stop saying that tablets have destroyed the PC market?

Power consumption on Intel processors has been far behind ARM processors because the engineering tradeoffs made for x86 processors always assumed a desktop environment

While that was true, you might check out how the Razr i (which has an Intel chip) compares to the Razr m (snapdragon). They're nearly identical phones by the same manufacturer, and the Intel chip performs better than the snapdragon and has better battery life. Here's Engadget's review. Maybe someday the "x86 is horribly power inefficient because of a huge decoder" meme will finally die.

Hardware keyboards are getting more rare on phones.

My wife just picked herself up one of these though, and damn it is nice. Almost makes me want to replace my HTC G2.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/27/samsung-galaxy-s-relay-4g-review-t-mobile/

...explained that with the prototype chip someone could, for instance, be encrypting an email while also working on other power-intensive apps at the same time — without hiccups. Same for HD video.

It sounds to me like the LG Optimus G is already there with its quad-core Snapdragon.

I just played with one last week and I was quite amazed. The Optimus G really blew out of the water my Jellybeans Nexus 7 and my Jellybeans Galaxy Nexus with its super smooth UI and its HD video multi-tasking capabilities.

Galaxy Note 10.1 It has 1,024 degrees of pressure and palm/heel rejection.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/15/samsung-galaxy-note-10-1-review/

Huh. Latest comscore numbers:

May 2012: 31.9%
Aug 2012: 34.3%

And that BTW is during the low sales period before the 5 came out. How is that dropping share?
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/comscore-iphone-moved-up-to-34-percent-us-share-in-august/

>>> developed a tumor in the left side of his head after using his mobile phone for 5-6 hours a day for 12 years. He normally held the phone in his left hand ...
Maybe he was holding it wrong
Apple already foresaw this and avoided it altogether in their phones.
Too bad other companies cant use this solution since Apple obviously hold the patent.

Actually, we don't know the answer to that yet either way. In the end it will most likely be up to what a developer does and if MS links the stores together.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/windows-phone-8-and-windows-8-share-lots-of-code-nt-kernel/

The big problem with Surface Pro is the same as with Series 7 - it's just so damn heavy. The posted specs show a weight of 2 lbs - that's half a pound heavier than other 10" tablets. Heavy enough that it's uncomfortable to hold in one hand. But that's the price you pay for using powerful Core i5/i7 chips, and having to stuff the battery that can sustain them.

What I'd be looking at, rather, are the other companies that have announced Win8 tablets built on Clover Field. That should have power consumption / battery life, and, consequently, weight down to more or less the same level as ARM tablets today, but still give you the ability to run any random Win32 app on it, and don't restrict what you can do with the device. Sure, it's not as powerful, but what kind of apps would you want to run on it where it'd matter? Asus has such a thing - it's their middle model in the announced Win8 line-up, between the low-end ARM device and the high-end Core tablet. The only annoyance there is that it doesn't get Full HD, which I think is a mistake. But if they don't correct it, then someone else will.

Oh, and yes, Surface Pro does have a Full HD screen. It's in the published specs on the website. However, if you're seriously looking to replace your laptop, this may be more interesting.

And now Google has just announced an Android event on the exact same day as the Nokia Lumia/Windows Phone 8 release. Google knows who's *not* in charge.

Apple, care to give MS the finger too and move your iPad Mini release date up by a few days?

Google 'opens the playground' for an Android event October 29th
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/google-android-nexus-event-october-29th/

Why would you ever expect the surface to be $200?

It was the rumor a while back. Gruber made the point that $199 would be a very aggressive play against the iPad, but that if it wasn't true (and it wasn't) then it's the sort of thing Microsoft set themselves up for by announcing an iPad competitor without pricing in tow for several months (as opposed to Apple which announces products with prices)

"Erm, source? I find it really, really hard to believe LG (or Motorola, or Nokia) isn't making a fair amount of money selling cell phones."

Motorola

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-01/business/chi-motorola-mobilitys-loss-widens-in-q1-20120501_1_motorola-mobility-holdings-google-s-android-mobile-devices

Nokia:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444464304577536440351488600.html

LG:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/25/lg-q2-2012-earnings/

"""I am not sure what you think happened with maps."""

You are not serious, right? This was so big, Tim Cook even had to come out to apologize. And you are saying that users are better off when they have to buy something that they had yesterday? Superior? Show me one map alternative that tells me the hours of the local violin repair shop, how long it will take me to get there with current traffic conditions and also gives me user reviews?

"""Apple sold only 5 million phones instead of 10 in a saturated market. Dreadful,"""

I don't know if your numbers are correct, but 50% off target sounds like a pretty big deal to me. Just google AAPL.

"""but iPhone 5 traffic is reported to exceed the Samsung galaxy 3, which means guess who is actually using their pohone?"""

You lost me here. Not sure how data usage has anything to do with your argument. Or how you came up with this assessment. But just to play along, maybe iphone users are streaming their movies, while S3 users play them from their micro SD card.

Maybe you are just jealous, like me of the wife's new phone. But I got good news: just like my contract, yours will end, too, and we can both get a nicer toy. Then we won't be morose like these people.

Didn't Artie receive one of these on Glee two seasons ago?

Actually, the XBox after years of loss leading has turned into a huge profit engine.

If this trend continues, and there is no reason to think it will not, then I don't think the decision to invest in gaming/media the way they have done can be regarded as anything but a very good call.

How that pattern will play out for their current decision to get more deeply into device manufacture and sales is anybody's guess, but it is a certainty that MS has looked hard at the current nature of the market, made some tactical choices which they considered necessary for their continued survival and relevance as a company, and are acting on them with strength. Maybe they will work out.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Link

In case anyone here actually wants to read the article.

...and currently just links to the main Engadget page. Please fix by taking out that extra L at the end of the link:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/08/samsung-releases-galaxy-note-ii-source-code/

60GHz signals don't exactly work like that. At part 15 output limits, this stuff has a hard time penetrating anything, let alone neighboring homes. In practice, it acts much more like light than the more conventional RF spectrums that we're all familiar with.

I can confirm this with personal experience. I have a 60GHz wireless hdmi set-up in my insanely large living room (it would have cost more for a decent quality cable run). I can make the picture "de-rez" simply by standing in front of the transmitter. I doubt that any useful signal escapes the room.

popphoto doesn't know what it's talking about.

Ahem...
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-details-iphone-5s-new-camera-8mp-same-as-iphone-4s-but/ [engadget.com]
http://www.iphonehacks.com/2012/09/iphone-5-vs-iphone-4s-camera-image-quality-comparison.html [iphonehacks.com]
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/ [apple.com]

Every fucking link I find has Apple saying "Same camera sensor, just thinner."

Are you insinuating that Apple is lying about what is inside its phone?

Ahem...
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-details-iphone-5s-new-camera-8mp-same-as-iphone-4s-but/
http://www.iphonehacks.com/2012/09/iphone-5-vs-iphone-4s-camera-image-quality-comparison.html
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/

Every fucking link I find has Apple saying "Same camera sensor, just thinner."

Try again.

Why would HP need to buy Apple products? HP already makes their own MacBook Pro (which is appropriately named "Envy") as well as their own iMac. They don't need to visit the Apple Store when they can make their own.

Except that Samsung had internal documents that stated how they wanted to copy the iPhone. I think that's where they made the big mistake here.

Nope it does't so here we go again get to it sourceforge! Though this time I have the feeling that all the Windows 8 tablets that will suddenly appear like magic out of nowhere will start getting dirt cheap in about a years time. IF HP, Toshiba, Acer, Asus and all the other so called "hardware" partners start to crank out iPad like Windows tablet clones.

I think someone's head is in the clouds at the moment what with the recent buyout of sourceforge, slashdot et al. I'm with a big ol' (12 year) open source project on Sourceforge and it's going through the migration procedure currently to the new Sourceforge look and feel - lots of problems, lots of broken stuff, unhappy admins and developers and slow response to tickets.

There are plenty of alternatives out here now for the open source types to host their code. It might be time to start thinking about exit strategies..

The article (yeah, I read a bit), doesn't seem to give much info about the charger that is going to be in use: is it going to be DC Fast Charging with a Combined Charging System (what a name) , CHAdeMO or something new?

Drat! If only there was someone on the scene with a smartphone with a really good camera and fast data connection!

You mean like an Android Lenovo 750? Hopefully, that person had the presence of mind to steal someone else's phone before taking and posting pictures for everyone to see, because otherwise he certainly doesn't seem to be covering his tracks very well.

Ask Ben Heck to make you one :P

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/09/ben-heck-splits-and-condenses-a-pair-of-xbox-360-controllers-for/

Actually, they do.

Apple's "Patent" was actually a design patent, all about the whole look and feel. Apple only sued one company over it. And yet the Apple suit spawned countless discussions about the evils of software patents in general and Apple's use of them to destroy the whole market.

Do you have ANY clue of what you're spouting here? Hard to believe you're that ignorant, I am starting to think you're not an Apple fan but a troll at this point.

Pray, tell us which of these are design patents? And why are they suing HTC? Also, I am ignoring all the tens of court cases they have filed with things like multitouch, slide to unlock etc. etc. Not to mention they won on multitouch and the scrolling patent in the Samsung case, how are they design patents? What are you smoking?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/apple-vs-htc-a-patent-breakdown/

Patent #7,362,331: Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States

This is an interface patent granted in 2008 -- it's not specifically related to phones. According to the claims, it's a method of moving a GUI object along a path with a non-constant velocity for a period of time -- one of the claims specifically covers minimizing windows with a scaling effect like OS X, and two others describe a row of icons that rearranges itself when icons are added or removed, just like the iPhone's app dock.

Patent #7,479,949: Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics

We did this one at length after it was issued in January of last year -- check out our Palm discussion for more. The big one here is scroll behavior: starting a scroll in a single direction locks you in that direction, but starting it at an angle lets you pan around freely -- just like the Android browser.

Patent #7,657,849: Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image

This one's cute 'cause it's brand new -- seriously, it was just granted on February 2. It's almost exactly what it says on the tin: it covers unlocking a touchscreen device by moving an unlock image. It's broad enough for us to say that it covers virtually every unlock behavior we've seen on phones, not just the iPhone's slide-to-unlock implementation.

Patent #7,469,381: List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display

Yep, we covered this 2008 patent in our Palm piece too -- well remembered, friends. Jump back to that for the full details, but the executive summary is that it covers the iPhone's distinctive scroll-back-and-bounce behavior.

Patent #5,920,726: System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device

Granted in 1999, this patent is surprisingly broad -- it flatly covers managing power in a digital camera device to a power manager that sends state information to a processor controlling the camera.

Patent #7,633,076: Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices

This was issued in October of 2009, and it's really quite specific: it covers a phone with multitouch input, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor, which allows input when the sensors indicate one condition and doesn't allow input in others. In simple terms? It's how the iPhone shuts off the touchscreen when you hold it to your ear, a scenario that's specifically called out in the claims.

Patent #5,848,105: GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality

The year was 1998, and times were lean in Cupertino. Steve Jobs had just returned to Apple, and although the company's fortunes were turning with the introduction of the iMac, it was clear that a true breakout was needed. "We have the answer!" cried William A. Garnder and Stephan V. Schell, two of the company's employees. "We'll develop an an apparatus

I just think it's bullshit to complain about Apple's abuse of patents because they seek to ban SOME devices from ONE manufacturer, while Google seeks to prevent the sale of EVERY Apple computer and iOS device.

I was expecting more knowledge and intelligence from a prolific Apple fan follower and poster. Maybe I was wrong.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/apple-sues-htc-for-infringing-20-iphone-patents/

http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-sues-htc-again-iphone-maker-scared-android-smartphone-makers-210931

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20090552-17/apple-sues-motorola-over-xoom-design-report-says/

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/06/24/013245/apple-sues-htc-again-over-patents

Have you been sleeping under a rock or does facts not favorable to Apple just don't penetrate the thick RDF?

And will it still grill my food?

Here is a review of one of the phones based on the 1.6Ghz atoms, with some benchmarks and battery life testing. A bit of googling around for that model will yield more of the same.

I'm not really interested in getting into a flamewar about a device category I don't even own an example of; but all the benchmarks I've read indicate that the 1.6Ghz single-core atom is basically equivalent to a dual 1.5Ghz ARM. Not bleeding edge(their GPU, especially, is an older part); but neither substantially slower nor substantially hotter than the silicon in other phones in the price range.

Well the numbers on that second page seem better than I expected but it is still below the top of the line ARM offerings in term of useable hours you can get from the device. I have heard of smartphones with their chips. Namely the K800 lePhone by Lenovo but they aren't exactly something you can easily find.

>Since Intel cannot or do not want to manufacture CPUs cheaper than ARM licensees plus they still have lousy performance/watt their only remaining market is something which takes advantage of the vast catalog of pre-existing software for the x86 architecture namely Windows

Wrong.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/motorola-razr-m-europe-intel/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5770/lava-xolo-x900-review-the-first-intel-medfield-phone/6

Gave it up? http://m.engadget.com/2010/09/06/ibm-claims-worlds-fastest-processor-with-5-2ghz-z196/

That's a CISC chip, by the way. (Memory-to-register arithmetic instructions, for example, although some of the more exotic instructions are implemented in a fashion similar to DEC Alpha's PALcode, wherein the instructions trap into a special processor mode with special non-architected instructions available, so the decimal fixed-point stuff and MVC/MVCL/TR/TRT/etc. stuff is sort of done in software.)

But, no, IBM didn't give up the Power architecture (or whatever you want to call the collection of architectures descended from POWER) either: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2009/09/ibms-8-core-power7-twice-the-muscle-half-the-transistors/.

However, neither of those are aimed at desktop/laptop machines, so IBM arguably did give up on doing processors for those machines. (In fact, after selling off the PC division to Lenovo and killing off the workstation side of RS/6000 and its successors, they arguably gave up on doing those machines, period.)

Also, porting has much more to do with APIs than instruction set.

In the example given by the person to whom you're responding, you're 10000% correct - it's not as if Apple switching to x86 suddenly made it easy to translate Windows applications to OS X applications (well, other than making the apps run "the lazy way" by running them atop Wine).

Gave it up? http://m.engadget.com/2010/09/06/ibm-claims-worlds-fastest-processor-with-5-2ghz-z196/

Also, porting has much more to do with APIs than instruction set.

Seems like the case.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/16/valve-makes-steam-for-linux-official/

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/13/steam-linux-client-release-looks-imminent-games-and-beta-spotted/

http://tech2.in.com/news/pc/steam-greenlight-lists-games-for-linux/435732

MS stole Apple's source code? Or Doublespaces? Or DrDos or DOS? Or IE's? That never stopped the tens of thousands of +5 INSIGHTFUL slashdot posts saying MS was a backstabber.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/03/googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-from-apple-board-over-conflict-of/

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-20/tech/30301307_1_google-ceo-larry-page-android

Samsung can get HDMI video out that usb port ... Show me ANYONE that follows a standard.

Actually the Samsung Galaxy S II's HDMI out of a USB port is standard

The video is actually MHL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_High-Definition_Link#Products

It seems like MHL works by fucking around with the pullups, like USB OTG does.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-first-with-mhl-port-for-dual-purpose-usb-or/

Essentially, the micro-USB shaped MHL jack at the base of the Galaxy S II features internal circuitry that recognizes USB or MHL impedance and then automatically switches the phone into USB data / charging or MHL audio / video / charging modes. A special 5-wire micro-USB to HDMI cable lets you send video and audio to existing HDMI-equipped displays. Unfortunately, the TV won't charge the Galaxy S II during playback unless you insert a phone charger adapter between the GSII and TV or wait for MHL-enabled TVs to begin shipping later this year. Once connected, you can then use your TV's HDMI-CEC compatible remote to navigate and control the Galaxy S II's media interface. The GSII is just the first MHL device with a half-dozen phones, at least one tablet, and a few TVs coming this summer. More details are available in the video interview after the break.

Surely it's no Apple or Samsung, 7 million phones in two quarters isn't great but nothing too shabby.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/nokia-7-million-lumias-sold-to-date-in-54-countries/

They were held back by the hardware, single cores and display resolution earlier with the WP7 phones, now the hardware is much more competitive, the camera tech is like no other around, and they're pretty much at or near the top in the specs war.

http://www.wpcentral.com/sites/wpcentral.com/files/postimages/4213/iPhone%20versus%20MONA4.png

Not to mention things like working with gloves on, which no capacitative touch screen around seems to be able to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0lAi1fVfXl8#t=227s

PS: I have nothing to do with first post troll/shill or whatever that is on Slashdot. I have been reading Slashdot since 10 years and posting since atleast 5. In many stories, it appears to be a troll and not shill making the comments(with nicknames like Waggenered Strom and Auntie Wag/Uncle Wag ) for they know 20 comments will follow discussing the troll itself.

Uh, what? The iPod Touch definitely uses iOS.

Admittedly, I was expecting a rundown of what device supports what version of iOS as well as the particular features of that version, but that was just me.

Don't you feel like a jerk right now, the US launch is confirmed to be BEFORE the Japanese launch:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/wii-u-price-date-us/

There is still no serious Android competitor to the new iPad, with its unparalleled 2048x1536 display.

Ye, there is. Because the Android OEM ecosystem is versatile, you can go with the low-res screens for $50-$150, the standard res screens ($150-$350), or fork out for the higher res screens ($350+) such as the Transformer Infinity (1920x1200, 224ppi) or the Iconia A700 (1920x1200, 224ppi). Yes, they are not 264ppi like the iPad 3, but with a blind A/B test, it's tough for people to distinguish that difference. And these screens can emit brighter than the iPad's (For the Prime, way brighter), and as Big Box stores have found, for many people an enhanced dynamic range with brightness is a often a bigger eye candy sales factor than resolution (cf, 720p plasma screens).

And I'm not even going near Android phone screens, where you run a continuum of ppi screens from crappy through the 200s into the 300s that sometimes are equivalent to exceed the iPhone's 326 ppi and, again, with OLED tech look way punchier.

There is still no serious Android competitor to the new iPad, with its unparalleled 2048x1536 display.

Ye, there is. Because the Android OEM ecosystem is versatile, you can go with the low-res screens for $40-$150, the standard res screens ($150-$350), or fork out for the higher res screens ($350+) such as the Transformer Infinity (1920x1200, 224ppi) or the Iconia A700 (1920x1200, 224ppi). Yes, they are not 264ppi like the iPad 3, but with a blind A/B test, it's tough for people to distinguish that difference. And these screens can emit brighter than the iPad's (For the Prime, way brighter), and as Big Box stores have found, for many people an enhanced dynamic range with brightness is a often a bigger eye candy sales factor than resolution (cf, 720p plasma screens).

And I'm not even going near Android phone screens, where you run a continuum of ppi screens from crappy through the 200s into the 300s that sometimes are equivalent to exceed the iPhone's 326 ppi and, again, with OLED tech look way punchier.

There is still no serious Android competitor to the new iPad, with its unparalleled 2048x1536 display.

Ye, there is. Because the Android OEM ecosystem is versatile, you can go with the low-res screens for $40-$150, the standard res screens ($150-$350), or fork out for the higher res screens ($350+) such as the Transformer Infinity (1920x1200, 224ppi) or the Iconia A700 (1920x1200, 224ppi). Yes, they are not 264ppi like the iPad 3, but with a blind A/B test, it's tough for people to distinguish that difference. And these screens can emit brighter than the iPad's (For the Prime, way brighter), and as Big Box stores have found, for many people an enhanced dynamic range with brightness is a often a bigger eye candy sales factor than resolution (cf, 720p plasma screens).

And I'm not even going near Android phone screens, where you run a continuum of ppi screens from crappy through the 200s into the 300s that sometimes are equivalent to exceed the iPhone's 326 ppi and, again, with OLED tech look way punchier.

Well, I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat with a bowl of popcorn, but I kept this page open in a tab during the presentation. I love how they've created and tailored a web interface that flips through the photos in synchronization with their commentary of what's being said.