Gear Live |  |
- Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US
- 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB
- T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 hands-on
- Watch a bright comet head for the sun
- TeleNav shows off HTML5-powered GPS app
- Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater video experiment is a huge hit
- Wi-Fi calling comes to T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G, Galaxy S II
- Google takes down Shoot View, the Street View shooting game
- FAA gives American AIrlines approval to use iPads in cockpit
| Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US Posted: 15 Dec 2011 04:45 PM PST When we first reviewed the Samsung Focus Flash, we felt its smaller form factor and significantly lower price made it a better deal than the Focus S at first glance ($199.99 - $19.99 on Amazon). Now that we've tested the Focus S, we're singing a different tune. True, you're only getting a bigger screen, an improved camera, and a thinner profile, but the Focus S brings Windows Phone 7.5 Mango closer than it has ever been to the high-end. That alone makes this smartphone worth a close look, especially given its slick OS. Click on through to see why in our full Samsung Focus S review. Continue reading Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US Tags: adslice, att, focus s, mango, review, reviews, samsung, samsung focus, samsung focus s, sidefeatured, smartphones, windows phone, windows phone 7, windows phone 7.5, windows phone mango, Samsung Focus S review: The best Windows Phone in the US originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 4:45:32
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| 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:24 PM PST The Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB is one of the cooler items we're featuing in our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. It basically turns your computer into a fully-functional live TV DVR. We know that features like Media Center exist on PCs, but the problem is that, until now, it's been hard to get a good signal into your computer. The InfiniTV 4 USB fixes that. It's a CableCARD adapter that plugs into your machine using USB. So all you need to do is insert a CableCARD from your cable provider, plug in your cable cord, and plug in to your computer. From there, you'll have access to all of the cable channels that you subscribe to, and you can record up to four different channels at once. See? We told you this was cool. Great for rooms where you only have a computer and no television, but also great if you want to incorporate a Mac or PC into your home theater setup, as it eliminates the need for a cable box, meaning you save on that montly rental fee. The Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB sells for $299, but you can get one on Amazon for $269, saving yourself 10%. Tags: 2011 holiday gift guide, accessories, cablecard, ceton, digital tuners, holiday gadget guide, holiday gift guide, home entertainment, home theater, infinitv, infinitv 4, infinitv 4 usb, mac, media center, pc, tv tuners, windows media center, 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB originally appeared on Gear Live Holiday Gift Guide on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 3:24:41
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| T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 hands-on Posted: 15 Dec 2011 09:20 AM PST And the Lumia 710 shall lead them. T-Mobile and Nokia today announced the first Nokia Windows Phone in the U.S.: not the flashy Lumia 800, but its lower-cost sibling, the Lumia 710. I got some time with it and spoke to Nokia and T-Mobile execs about the companies' strategy. First, the phone: the Lumia 710 is a medium-sized, slab-style cell phone with cropped corners and a curved back. It isn't really a rectangle, but it also isn't as radically shaped as the Lumia 800. Below the 3.7-inch, 800-by-480 LCD screen there's a large physical button, and there's a 5-megapixel camera that records 720p video on the soft-touch back. The phone comes in black and white. Nokia used pretty classy materials for a $49-with-contract phone, although the 710 doesn't measure up to the Lumia 800's polycarbonate body. The bright, sharp screen is Corning Gorilla Glass, and the phone feels solidly built. Turned off, the black model has the usual problem where it will blend in with a line of other black slab phones, though. The Lumia 710 runs Microsoft's Windows Phone Mango OS with a few exclusive additions. Nokia's Drive GPS software offers free driving directions, both on and offline, in 2D and 3D. App Highlights helps point out useful apps among the 40,000-plus in Microsoft's store, and T-Mobile TV offers several dozen streaming TV channels. Continue reading T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 hands-on Tags: hands-on, lumia, lumia 710, lumia 710 review, mango, nokia, smartphones, t-mobile, windows phone, windows phone 7, windows phone 7.5, windows phone mango, T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 hands-on originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 9:20:54
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| Watch a bright comet head for the sun Posted: 15 Dec 2011 08:30 AM PST Soon after Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy discovered a comet in an automated search program using a telescope equipped with a CCD detector on Nov. 27, it became clear that he had found something special. Follow-up observations determined that the comet belonged to the Kreutz group of sungrazing comets, so called because members of this comet family—which all travel in similar orbits—pass extremely close to the Sun. The brightest Kreutz comets, such as the great comets of 1066, 1843, 1882, and 1965, have been among the most spectacular comets on record. The Kreutz group is believed to be the remnants of what was once a single, larger comet that has progressively fragmented over the past couple thousand years. Although Lovejoy's comet—now officially known as C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)—is not expected to rival the greatest Kreutz comets, it’s the first sungrazer to be found by a ground-based observer in over 40 years, and it should put on an impressive show online. It’s now visible in the images of several spaceborne observatories that monitor our star—the twin STEREO spacecraft and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)—and should brighten as it makes what’s likely a suicidal run at the Sun. Continue reading Watch a bright comet head for the sun Tags: astronomy, comets, lovejoy, lovejoy comet, science, Watch a bright comet head for the sun originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 8:30:22
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| TeleNav shows off HTML5-powered GPS app Posted: 15 Dec 2011 07:20 AM PST TeleNav, the GPS software company, has unveiled a browser-based HTML5 app that will deliver voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS navigation on almost any mobile device—and that other sites can call up with a single line of code. The concept behind the app is similar to that of Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader: You input the URL and then run TeleNav from within a browser, without installing a native app first. An added benefit: TeleNav can continuously update the service over time whenever it wants, without inconveniencing consumers with periodic software updates. In an e-mail to us, Mary Beth Lowell, TeleNav's associate director of public relations, confirmed that the HTML5-based app will tap into each device's GPS chip. The combination puts it several leagues ahead of Google Maps, which provides directions without voice prompts, meaning you can also use it in a car while behind the wheel, since you don't have to look at the screen for the next step. "For example, if I'm in a travel app and I'm looking at my hotel address, I could click on the address and get full voice-guided TBT [turn-by-turn] directions to the hotel," Lowell said. "I wouldn't need to be a TeleNav customer or even download an app." Continue reading TeleNav shows off HTML5-powered GPS app Tags: cloud, gps, html5, mapping, maps, telenav, TeleNav shows off HTML5-powered GPS app originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 7:20:58
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| Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater video experiment is a huge hit Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:12 AM PST
Days after comedian Louis C.K. launched his content and distribution experiment, the results are in, and it appears that he may have inadvertently kicked off a new era of celebrity-controlled Internet content. On Dec. 10, C.K. offered his one-hour "Live at the Beacon Theater" show for streaming or download for $5, free of any digital rights management (DRM). The move received a lot of attention via traditional and social media, but the main question on everyone's mind was: How will a show delivered directly from a niche comedian do when offered without the marketing muscle and distribution controls of a major company like HBO or Comedy Central? According to data posted on C.K.'s Web site, the experiment pulled in a $200,000 profit. "I directed this video myself and the production of the video cost around $170,000…The development of the website was around $32,000…The show went on sale at noon on Saturday, December 10th," he wrote. "12 hours later, we had over 50,000 purchases and had earned $250,000, breaking even on the cost of production and website. As of [December 13, 2011], we've sold over 110,000 copies for a total of over $500,000. Minus some money for PayPal charges etc, I have a profit around $200,000…" Continue reading Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater video experiment is a huge hit Tags: beacon theater, comedy, drm, drm-free, funny, live at the beacon theater, louis c.k., louis ck, video distribution, Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater video experiment is a huge hit originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 6:12:03
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| Wi-Fi calling comes to T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G, Galaxy S II Posted: 15 Dec 2011 05:32 AM PST On Monday, T-Mobile quietly rolled out a software update for its HTC Amaze 4G that, most notably, introduced the ability to make Wi-Fi calls. An official update today also added that feature and more to the carrier's Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone. Wi-Fi calling sets T-Mobile apart from other carriers, but until now, it was only available on select phones. In fact, it was one of the five best features we discussed when an AT&T/T-Mobile merger seemed imminent. Given T-Mobile’s admittedly limited cellular network, the Wi-Fi calling option makes for a great fall back when signal is hard to come by. T-Mobile customers using phones like the myTouch 4G have already been enjoying this feature, and T-Mobile seems determined to bring it to as many phones as it can. The added capability comes in the form of a device upgrade to Android 2.3.5, which T-Mobile claims will also improve the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S II. The update addresses a number of issues, including a "Force close" problem that dropped calls when split in a conference call. Also rolled into the update are improvements to Caller ID and battery notifications. T-Mobile notes that customers must have a GBA SIM card to access the added Wi-Fi calling capability, but most phones should already be equipped with the right card. Continue reading Wi-Fi calling comes to T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G, Galaxy S II Tags: 4g, galaxy s ii, htc, htc amaze, htc amaze 4g, samsung, samsung galaxy s ii, t-mobile, wi-fi, wi-fi calling, Wi-Fi calling comes to T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G, Galaxy S II originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 5:32:47
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| Google takes down Shoot View, the Street View shooting game Posted: 15 Dec 2011 04:51 AM PST
Gamers are not averse to first-person shooters—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, for example, earned $1 billion in just over two weeks. But what about when the targets are real, unsuspecting people on the sidewalks rather than cartoon soldiers? That's the approach taken by Amsterdam-based ad agency Pool Worldwide, which used Google's Street View API to create "Google Shoot View," a game that lets players take aim at those who appear in the street-level, 360-degree images captured by Google's Street View cars. "Google Shoot View. Explore the world at street-level... and fire a M4A1 assault rifle," Pool Worldwide said in a Dec. 9 tweet announcing the game (preview below). Google was apparently not thrilled by the idea of having its technology used as the backdrop for a street-level killing spree. The search giant this week pulled Pool's access to its API—the code that allows developers to use the technology. "Unfortunately, Google has killed the API so at the mo we can't run shoot view," Pool tweeted yesterday. Continue reading Google takes down Shoot View, the Street View shooting game Tags: google, google maps, google shoot view, google street view, legal, m4a1, pool worldwide, shoot view, street view, videos, youtube, Google takes down Shoot View, the Street View shooting game originally appeared on Gear Live on Thu, December 15, 2011 - 4:51:57
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| FAA gives American AIrlines approval to use iPads in cockpit Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:41 PM PST The Federal Aviation Administration has granted American Airlines pilots approval to use iPads during flights, without having to power them off during takeoff and landing. "What we did was we gave them approval to use iPads as an 'electronic flight bag,'" FAA spokesman Les Dorr confirmed, noting that the official OK was given on Dec. 1. An electronic flight bag is the paperless version of the traditional flight bag, which weighs about 38 pounds and is comprised of operating manuals, navigational charts, handbooks, checklists, logbooks, weather information, and just about anything a pilot needs to fly a plane. By contrast, the iPad-based flight bag weighs under a pound and a half and has all the necessary materials loaded in app form. Apple iPads have been used in American's cockpits since June, but because they're considered a "Class 1" device, pilots have had to turn them off during takeoff and landing since then, absent FAA approval. Continue reading FAA gives American AIrlines approval to use iPads in cockpit Tags: american airlines, apple, cockpit, faa, federal aviation administration, ipad, les dorr, slates, tablets, travel, FAA gives American AIrlines approval to use iPads in cockpit originally appeared on Gear Live on Wed, December 14, 2011 - 9:41:10
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