Sony touts high-speed 17.7 megapixel CMOS sensor for cellphones

It's been over a year since Sony introduced the world's first 16.41 megapixel CMOS sensor for cellphones (pictured at right), but the company's now finally back with another entrant in the megapxiel race: a 17.7 megapixel sensor. This one delivers more than just a higher resolution, though, as it's also Sony's first sensor with a bandwidth of 34.8Gbps (or about five times faster than previous CMOS sensors), which promises to allow for 120 fps video at full resolution -- assuming the phone's processor and storage are able to keep up, of course. What's more, the new sensor is also said to boast some improved consumption and, according to Nikkei, it seems that Sony is planning to use it in digital cameras in addition to cellphones, although there's no word as to when either of those will be available.

Sony touts high-speed 17.7 megapixel CMOS sensor for cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/28/sony-touts-high-speed-17-7-megapixel-cmos-sensor-for-cellphones/

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Google Chrome's backgrounding features make the browser even more like an OS

Your operating system can run processes in the background -- things like realtime antivirus protection and streaming movies and music around your home -- and so can Google Chrome. Background apps have existed in Chrome and Chromium for some time, but now that the Chrome Web Store is open and its apps are available for installation, Google has posted a blog about why backgrounding is cool.

It's really all about Chrome being your "OS" even if you're using a Windows or Mac computer. With the ability to run Web apps in the background and Native Client support headed to the beta and stable channels in relatively short order, Chrome Web Apps will soon be capable of doing many of the same things your traditional desktop apps can do.

Google's post talks about using backgrounding to issue notifications (as apps like TweetDeck and exfm do) or to prefetch data. There's really no end to the possibilities, and we're exited to see what the next generation of Chrome Web Apps can really do.

Google Chrome's backgrounding features make the browser even more like an OS originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/24/google-chrome-backgrounding-features-make-the-browser-the-os/

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Official DirecTV App for iPad now available, brings touch controls to your satellite box

Apparently that "coming soon" teaser page meant only a few days, as the aptly named DirecTV App for iPad popped up on the iTunes store this morning. The features were pretty well detailed on the website preview, just like other tablet remote control apps it can provide remote scheduling for most DVR boxes, you'll need one of the Plus HD DVR models (HR20, HR21, HR22, HR23, HR24 and H21, H23, H24) for remote control functions. Early reviews seem positive except for the lack of video streaming to the tablet itself, check out the screens and other info from iTunes below or just click on through and try it out.

Update: ZatzNotFunny points out a detailed walkthrough of the new app put together by forum posters at DBSTalk, check it out at the link or embedded after the break.

[Thanks, Ali]

Gallery: DirecTV App for iPad

Continue reading Official DirecTV App for iPad now available, brings touch controls to your satellite box

Official DirecTV App for iPad now available, brings touch controls to your satellite box originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/28/official-directv-app-for-ipad-now-available-brings-touch-contro/

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Sprint Android, BlackBerry Remote Wipe Solution Gets Mobile App

Sprint customers with Android and BlackBerry smartphones can remotely manage their devices with a complementary new app for Sprints Total Equipment Protection plan. - Sprint is offering subscribers with BlackBerry and
Android-running smartphones a new way to protect their data. The carrier's Total
Equipment Protection coverage now includes
an application that enables users to remotely lock their smartphones, erase
their contacts from a lost phone, and back up...

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavisenterprise.com/~r/RSS/eweekwireless/~3/dDI7GnjsGd8/

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Imperfect Balance is a classic physics time waster

Imperfect Balance is a very simple game: You have a bunch of blocks on a "stage" in the middle of the screen, and your goal is to make them all fall off.

You do this by using other blocks: There are several blocks you can use on each level; you pick a block and rotate it using A and D (or W and S for finer angles). Once you have it at the angle you want, simply click to drop it. It's not an easy game, despite being simple. You need to drop the right block at the right angle and at the right location -- sometimes that's trivial, but it can be quite daunting too.

The soundtrack is somewhat on the eerie side, but it's not too irritating. All in all, there are certainly worse ways to kill a few minutes.

Imperfect Balance is a classic physics time waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/10/imperfect-balance-is-a-classic-physics-time-waster/

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Motorola Atrix 4G: ATandT's First Fine Android Smartphone

Motorola's Atrix 4G is a quality Android 2.2 smartphone on AT&T's network, providing a solid answer to Verizon Wireless' Droid lineup and the various Samsung Galaxy S handsets. - The Motorola Atrix 4G, which launched earlier this month
on AT amp;T for $199 with a two-year agreement, is a powerful smartphone that
is clearly the best Android handset to grace AT amp;T's lineup.
Finally! I've been testing Verizon Wireless' Droid phones
since November 2009, and while I've pla...

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavisenterprise.com/~r/RSS/eweekwireless/~3/axU5KKZe2Zk/

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Nintendo 3DS launches in Japan, populace tears through initial 400,000 unit shipment

You won't be able to snap one up at your local GameStop for a full month, but the Nintendo 3DS had a solid launch in Japan today, reportedly liquidating nearly its entire initial shipment of 400,000 spiffy stereoscopic gaming handhelds by the end of the day. Some of those sales were to customers waiting in a few lines up to 2,000 persons long, but those lines were exceptions to the norm -- several publications note that very few stores actually had any lines to speak of, as most Japanese electronics retailers sold out when the 3DS went on pre-order over a month ago. Get a refresher on what to expect from the system here (and here) or read all about the surprisingly orderly Japanese launch at our source links.

Update: Our friends at Engadget Japanese were on hand for the 3DS launch, and picked up a pair of systems themselves -- get a closer look at one of the first retail 3DS units in the gallery below!

Gallery: Nintendo 3DS -- Japanese retail version

Nintendo 3DS launches in Japan, populace tears through initial 400,000 unit shipment originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/26/nintendo-3ds-launches-in-japan-populace-tears-through-initial-4/

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Clash of the Titans sequel will be another 2D-to-3D conversion, and Inception too?

After a poor response to the first Clash of the Titans movie and its substandard 3D effects, courtesy of a rushed conversion process, you'd think they would never try that again, and you'd be wrong. Director Jonathan Liebesman, fresh off of Battle:LA is helming sequel Wrath of the Titans and says was talked into doing the conversion process again (but shooting with that in mind, Piranha 3D-style) on this flick by a series of demos including, Christopher Nolan's Inception. This is notable both because no 3D re-release has been announced for the visually engrossing flick, but also because Nolan himself has suggested 3D would be a bad choice due to the dimming effect of the glasses. Warner Bros. could only manage to tell Cinematical "At this time, the plans for Inception 3D cannot be confirmed," leaving the possibility of a return alongside Star Wars, Titanic and others to twist in the wind for now.

Clash of the Titans sequel will be another 2D-to-3D conversion, and Inception too? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/25/clash-of-the-titans-sequel-will-be-another-2d-to-3d-conversion/

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Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video)

Corel seems to be on a roll lately; after releasing WinZip System Utilities just last week, this morning the company announced VideoStudio Pro X4.

VideoStudio Pro is aimed at home users and small business professionals who want to create professional-looking videos, but without the hassle, steep learning curve and price of Adobe Premiere Pro and the likes.

This new version introduces several features:

• Stop motion animation: You can now capture still frames using a webcam, camcorder or DSLR and use them to produce an animation. Tools such as "onion skin view" let you compare the previous image in the sequence with the current one and make the animation as smooth as possible.
• Processor optimization: Corel says the app is optimized for Intel's new Sandy Bridge systems, and have shown us some graphs with very impressive numbers. We've been unable to test this particular point, but if you have a recent-generation Intel or AMD Fusion system, VideoStudio performance should be blazing. Even on our older test system performance was quite impressive.
• Customizable workspace: You can drag the video preview window to your secondary monitor (if you have one) and tweak just about any other element in the window layout. Once done, you can save your ideal workspace in one of three slots.
• Share-to-Web: VideoStudio Pro X4 hooks directly into YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Flickr, so you don't even have to launch a browser to upload your final product. Edit, produce and share from within the app itself.
• Smart Package: Video projects typically consist of many files; Smart Package lets you bundle all video assets for a given project into one ZIP file which you can password-protect and keep in a safe place once you're done editing.

I've had a chance to play around with a pre-release version for a few days, and have put it through its paces editing a short video for my day job. Overall, I've been impressed with how easy it was to create pro-looking results. If you do any sort of video editing but are leery of the investment other apps require (both in dollars and effort), VideoStudio Pro is well worth checking out. To see a bit of the interface itself and what the app can do, watch the video after the jump.

Note: We'll be running a give-away of ten VideoStudio Pro X4 licenses later today, each worth $100 USD. Keep your eyes peeled for the giveaway post!

Continue reading Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video)

Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/corel-releases-videostudio-pro-x4-we-go-hands-on/

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Lavasoft Rogue Gallery puts fake antivirus and rogue applications on display

It's hard for less-savvy computer users to stay out of trouble on the Internet, and part of the problem is that they just don't know how to identify potential threats. Fortunately, there are plenty of great online resources you can use, or point your friends and family to. We've already covered the excellent Facecrooks, which helps users avoid trouble on Facebook, and today we're taking a look at the Lavasoft Rogue Gallery.

Lavasoft is the company behind Ad-Aware, the granddaddy of adware removal apps. Though its malware cleanup crown has been snatched away by Malwarebytes in recent years, Ad-Aware remains enormously popular -- and Lavasoft provides a nice public service by displaying the fake antivirus (fakeAV) and rogue applications it discovers for all to see.

Rogue applications are those nasty programs which appear to be useful utilities like antivirus or Windows tune-up tools. In reality, of course, they're some of the nastiest threats around. They're easy enough to spot if you know what to look for, so spending a few minutes going through the Lavasoft Rogue Gallery is highly recommend to anyone who needs a bit of help avoiding Internet dangers.

Lavasoft Rogue Gallery puts fake antivirus and rogue applications on display originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/21/lavasoft-rogue-gallery-puts-fake-antivirus-and-rogue-application/

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Crocodoc launches plug-in free, embeddable document viewer

Looking for a slick way to share documents and allow collaborators to add annotations? Check out Crocodoc, which has launched a plug-in free document viewer powered by the standard Web code we both love and hate to refer to as HTML5.

Just like competitor Scribd, files you upload to Crocodoc can be easily embedded on any site (check out a demo after the break). Readers can also post comments and annotations and download documents as a PDF with or without markup applied.

Crocodoc offers a full API and the company's Ryan Damico says it is more focused on attracting developers, whereas Scribd is aimed at publishers. Even so, Crocodoc is an excellent option for users who want to share and embed documents on the Web.

Continue reading Crocodoc launches plug-in free, embeddable document viewer

Crocodoc launches plug-in free, embeddable document viewer originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/18/crocodoc-launches-plug-in-free-embeddable-document-viewer/

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Oscar.com offers 'all access' pass to the Academy Awards, for a cost

Sure, you could just watch the Oscars for free along with a bowl of popcorn and your favorite Twitter commentary, but the folks behind the Academy Awards are hoping you'll try something even more "interactive" this time around. Those that head to Oscar.com this evening will be treated to a few different live cameras that are freely available to everyone, but to really see to everything you'll have to fork over $4.99 for the "all access" pass. That will give you access to a number of "exclusive viewing opportunities," including multiple 360 degree cams that you can control, and numerous cameras along the red carpet, backstage, and at the Governors Ball afterwards. And if that's not enough, you can also download the Oscar Backstage Pass app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch -- it'll run you an additional $0.99.

Continue reading Oscar.com offers 'all access' pass to the Academy Awards, for a cost

Oscar.com offers 'all access' pass to the Academy Awards, for a cost originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/27/oscar-com-offers-all-access-pass-to-the-academy-awards-for-a/

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HTC Incredible S, Desire HD, Desire Z and original Desire will all be eating Gingerbread by the end of June

When it launched the Incredible S at MWC a couple of weeks ago, HTC promised the new 4-inch device would be quick to get a Gingerbread update and now it's giving us a definitive schedule for it by saying that Android 2.3 will be distributed to its new flagship phone by the end of Q2 2011. We're not sure four months of sitting by the window waiting for the OTA update to float in necessarily matches up to our definition of "quick," but there are much better news for owners of HTC's older devices. The Desire HD and Desire Z -- both released in September 2010 -- will also be leaping away from Froyo and up to Gingerbread and will be joined by the original Desire, which was announced way back at last year's MWC. That handset was essentially HTC's own-brand Nexus One, so we already knew it was capable of running Gingerbread, but it's still rare to see a device go through two significant Android updates (the Desire began life with Android 2.1). All these old Desires are placed on the same update schedule as the Incredible S, whereas the newly announced Desire S and Wildfire S will ship with Gingerbread preloaded.

[Thanks, Johannes]

HTC Incredible S, Desire HD, Desire Z and original Desire will all be eating Gingerbread by the end of June originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 08:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1PfI6OCr94k/

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