Sure, Verizon’s holding a press conference tomorrow, but unless they’ve got a secret LTE smartphone or tablet (we can only hope) we’ve got a fairly good idea what the company will say. We’re hearing Verizon will flip the switch on its LTE network on December 5th, unveil a pair of hot new USB modems to take advantage of those supposedly stellar speeds, and launch the SIM cards required to make LTE function in the first place. The gadgets include the LG VL600 thumbstick we’ve seen before, but also this marvelous-looking Pantech UML290 key, which has not only a slick swiveling case but also a dual-jointed USB port beneath. We doubt we’re going to have any trouble getting this one plugged into even the slimmest of port-abhorring slimline computing machines. See where one of the SIM cards goes in the gallery below.

Update: The populace has spoken, and “sexy” is no more. Shall we call them “transforming” modems, then? They most certainly are.

[Thanks, Anonymous and JT]

Verizon launching LTE on December 5th, two transforming 4G USB modems hitch a wild ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

From the parallel universe known as “you’ve got to be kidding me” comes yet another trinket from New PC Gadgets that’ll undoubtedly sell well despite being about as mindless as a product comes. In a bid to solve a simple problem that every internet addict faces when dining out or simply joining other Earthlings around a dinner table, the aforesaid company has just issued the Smartphone Coaster. That’s a fanciful name for a bent piece of stainless steel. In practice, it holds just about any smartphone (or dumb / featurephone, for that matter) at a 75 degree angle, enabling you to keep a close eye on your display while stuffing your face. We’re surmising that these will be aimed as restaurants more than in-home dinner tables, but hey, if you’d rather enable your tweens to ignore vital family conversations while gathered for supper, more power to you. It’s available now for $3.95 (or less if buying in bulk), and no, we won’t tell anyone that you’re seriously considering a dozen.

Continue reading Smartphone Coaster keeps your eyes on the prize, even while you eat

Smartphone Coaster keeps your eyes on the prize, even while you eat originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

That’s the long and short of it, which is fantastic news for device makers and anyone who despises red tape, but Ars Technica has taken an in-depth look at why the Commission made such a call. Indeed, the FCC’s 2008 Order mandated that white space gadgets check in beforehand in order to “protect TV signals from interference.” Essentially, the call that nixed this addition was the fact that this security ring would inadvertently provide “many wireless microphones systems that go to unlicensed use” — things like wireless systems at churches, football games, concerts, etc. As with anything FCC-related, it’s a long and wordy explanation, but those interested in the finer details are just one click away from the nitty-gritty.

FCC: white space devices won’t require spectrum sensing modules originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Want to apply? Read on.

Continue reading Do you live in the San Francisco area? Do you want to write for Engadget?

Do you live in the San Francisco area? Do you want to write for Engadget? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

That picture above is about all you need to know, because if you go to this product’s website there’s virtually no text — just that self-explanatory image showing the thing and what it does. The thing is the iAngle and what it does is double as an earbud case and a mini stand, perfect for your coach class commutes. Massive advancement in the world of gadgets? Hardly, but it’s a neat little deal, and at $10 it won’t break the bank either. We’re thinking it might work with other gadgets too, at least those of roughly the iPhone‘s thickness, but you’re on your own for verifying that hypothesis.

iAngle holds your earbuds and your iPhone… at an angle originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Oh China, how we love the gadgets you produce. Particularly those of the homegrown variety. We can’t say we spotted this pig face mobile during our recent jaunt through the gadget sectors of Hong Kong, but boy, do we wish we had. In one of the most extreme cases of product confusion ever, it looks as if we’ve got a clamshell phone with the face of a pig, a 0.3 megapixel camera, light-up eyes, a smattering of misplaced Walt Disney logos, paw print send / end buttons and rear speakers, and a random Winnie the Pooh sticker on the rear — you know, to really cap things off. We’re guessing this is some failed attempt to generate yet another KIRF Disney phone, but seriously, a glowing pig? Hello Kitty is not pleased.

[Thanks, Chris]

Confused pig face mobile phone has paw print buttons, Winnie the Pooh sticker originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Bluetooth 4.0 devices to make the scene later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Let’s be honest, we’d scorch the Earth to eke just one more hour of power from our superphones. Fortunately, as residents of the western world we’ve got plenty of juice to power all of our gadgets. Still, we can definitely see the attraction of a solar-powered cellphone meant for the peoples of developing nations living off the grid. Throw in a flashlight and you’ve just changed somebody’s life. That’s what we’ve got in the ZTE S316, a dead simple candybar with color display and torch. Also announced is the S101 charger with its own built-in flashlight that can be used to charge select, non-solar devices and costs just $12 to $13, maybe less on volume. The third solar device comes from China’s OKWAP and is built by Inventec. The $40 GS109 (pictured above) feature phone is destined, believe it or not, to be an object of ultimate desire when slung from the neck on a lanyard as proof of ones prosperity. Spec-wise, this dual-SIM solar-powered phone packs a video camera, color display, microSD slot, MP3 player, and even Bluetooth 2.1 — a lot of features for a solar phone.

Linking the three devices is Intivations SunBoost solar conversion technology allowing the devices to charge in conditions less than ideal. The ZTE S316, for example, draws a max of about 113mA when on a call, while the solar cell pumps out about 50mA to 60mA of juice depending upon the natural lighting conditions (it even charges when cloudy). That’s about two minutes of natural light exposure required for every minute of talk time to keep the device going. The solar cell on the GS109, meanwhile, produces about 70mA in direct sunlight to keep the device humming. Remember, the idea isn’t to charge a phone from 0% to full but to keep a device continually charged at about 70% to 80%. Intivation is so confident in its tech that it claims to provide “a far better charging experience than anything else on the market today.” Both the S316 and S101 charger will be available in April while the relatively swank GS109 will hit next month. See them all in the gallery below.

ZTE and OKWAP team with Intivation to deliver next generation solar devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Cellphones, whether they be smart or dumb, are pretty amazing things — but they’re pretty lifeless things, too. Design researcher Fabian Hemmert thinks that our gadgets could move us a little more if only they could, well, move. As part of his TEDxBerlin talk late last year he shows off some prototype phones, including one that can get thicker on any of its four corners, and another that can shift its center of gravity similarly (shown above). The possibilities are intriguing, like a status bar that could get physically hefty as it gets weighed down with icons, but we’re not sucking down all of Hemmert’s Kool-Aid. His idea of devices giving off a heartbeat and changing shape like they’re breathing in your pocket is just a little creepy, and more practically we have a hard enough time holding onto our handsets as it is — imagine all the suddenly top-heavy cellphones leaping out of hands and to their doom.

Continue reading See Fabian Hemmert and his amazing, shape-shifting cellphone prototype (video)

See Fabian Hemmert and his amazing, shape-shifting cellphone prototype (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

• Mobile editor – Part or full-time (freelance), must be based in New York City (or nearby).
• HD editor – Part or full-time (freelance), must be based in New York City (or nearby).
• Weekend editor – Part or full-time (freelance), must be based in New York City or the San Francisco area.
• Cameras editor – Part or full-time (freelance), preferably based in New York City (or nearby).
• West coast editor – Part time (freelance), based in San Francisco (or nearby).

Want to apply? Read on.

Continue reading Want to write for Engadget?

Want to write for Engadget? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink