Well, we just had our first encounter with Samsung's new Bada-sporting Wave handset. We'll say this to start... the screen is gorgeous, and the phone itself is super fast. No hesitation almost anywhere, but it's hard to make a judgment call at this point. A lot of the software seemed unfinished, and we saw a few crashes and weird behavior. Still, it's clearly a device capable of handling some pretty intense work, and a Samsung rep we spoke to wanted to emphasize its ability to multitask. We were also told that the phone has more than 512MB of RAM, which is notable for a device of this type. We're going to play with it a bit more and flesh out our impressions, but for now feast your eyes on the gallery... and we've got video uploading as we speak!
Samsung Wave first hands-on: Bada-packed and super fast originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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From a pure specification standpoint, it's hard to knock HTC's HD2. Scratch that -- it's impossible to knock the HD2. A 1GHz Snapdragon CPU is just the tip of the iceberg, with the icing on the cake being the 800 x 480 resolution display, 5 megapixel camera, GPS and a downright stunning overall design. Unfortunately, phones are made or broken by the software that's loaded on, and Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't exactly the most nimble mobile OS on the market right now. That said, we're confident that more than a few of you have unloaded your savings accounts in order to posses one of the sexiest cellular telephones this world has ever seen, and now that the deed is done, we're eager to hear your opinions on how the phone really stacks up. Are you happy with the performance? Did you expect it to be snappier given the monstrous CPU? Would you have held out for WinMo 7 if Sir Patience would've allowed you? No need to go easy on anything -- tell it like it is in comments below.
How would you change HTC's HD2? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Without a doubt, 3D was the keystone feature touted by every major TV and Blu-ray player manufacturer at CES 2010. But the 3D technology we'll see this year asks more of consumers than previous reinventions. As with HD, they will need new TVs, new video sources, and optimized content like Avatar to make the experience worthwhile.
But consumers will also likely need glasses -- and not particularly fashionable glasses -- to experience the 3D effect. It's a lot to ask customers, given just-completed 10-year transition to digital and high-definition television. Compare that to the roughly 30-year gap that separated the mainstream arrival of color and the first HDTV in the U.S.
It also remains to be seen how strong of a marketing push major electronics companies will put behind 3D. The shift to HD was aided by a government mandate that coincided with the shift from over-the-air analog broadcasts to digital broadcasts. And before there was much HD content on television, consumers embraced the dramatic form-factor shift from CRT to flat-panel televisions -- HD often just came along for the ride.
Continue reading Switched On: The two sides of 3DTV
Switched On: The two sides of 3DTV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just as CES is wrapping up, we managed to get some hands-on time with the AirStash wireless SD card reader, which is targeted at iPhone OS devices (but does work with other WiFi-enabled devices). Like many of the mysterious products from Vegas we have no price, release date or battery life, but what we do know now is that it's indeed very light (1.5 ounces), fits nicely in our hands and supports up to 32GB SDHC cards. As for wireless connection the AirStash acts as a WiFi 802.11b/g access point -- a cunning way to dodge the Apple dock connector license fees or the lack of Bluetooth profiles. Sadly, the prototype wasn't working properly due to "some RF interference," but as you can see above, the AirStash is accessed via a browser (UI design not final). Sure, this would mean you'd lose Internet connection via WiFi, but if the AirStash is cheap enough, then we'll live with it. Let's hope they hurry up with the release, though.
AirStash wireless SD card reader hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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