No, this isn't some horrific dream stuck on repeat. The legal quarrels between Nokia and Qualcomm are actually still ongoing, and while a US International Trade Commission judge has indeed issued an initial determination that favors Nokia, you can bet your bottom dollar that Qualcomm will be "petitioning the commission for a review." Nevertheless, judge Paul Luckern reportedly "found no infringement or violation by Nokia of the three asserted Qualcomm patents," which consequently led Nokia's CFO to proclaim that this was simply "another failed attempt by Qualcomm to mislead both Nokia and the telecommunications industry." Of course, we wouldn't recommend striking this battle off as complete -- after all, the determination now has to be forwarded on to the full commission for review, and it's not slated to dole out a final call until April.
[Via Yahoo / Reuters]
ITC dashes Qualcomm's hopes, rules in favor of Nokia
Nintendo offers official downgrade to Photo Channel 1.0, MP3 addicts rejoice
Generally speaking, the reaction to Photo Channel v1.1 wasn't exactly positive -- especially when the MP3 faithful banded together to protest against the update's newfound adoration for AAC. Thankfully, Nintendo has created an official process for downgrading back to v1.0, and yes, users who choose to take advantage will indeed have MP3 support once again. Interested? All you have to do is hit up the Data Management section on your console, select "Channels," choose the Photo Channel icon and confirm that you want it deleted. Subsequently, Photo Channel v1.0 will immediately be available again from the Wii Menu. Oh, and if you get downgrader's remorse, you can apparently switch back and forth at anytime.
[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Slew of retailers to carry TV converter boxes; coupon requests open in 2008
Yeah, we pretty much expected every big box retailer known to man to carry these things, but just in case you were worried about locating a TV converter box in preparation for the upcoming cutover, here's some comforting news. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Target, Sears and Sam's Club are all on the list to carry equipment necessary for analog TV owners to receive OTA programming after February 2009, and just in case one of the aforementioned giants aren't anywhere near you, around 100 more smaller retailers have been certified to stock 'em. Also of note, you can start the new year off right by reminding your great grandparents (or other family members, too) that they can go on and apply for up to two coupons -- which should arrive around six weeks later -- worth $40 apiece to purchase the required boxes. Or, of course, you could just pick them up a new television this holiday season and be done with it.
[Via BroadcastingCable]
[Via BroadcastingCable]
Palm laying off employees?
We haven't heard any confirmations of this just yet, but PalmInfocenter has it that a number of Palm employees have already been shown the door and asked not to come back. Citing "reliable sources," it goes on to mention that the layoffs could reach beyond North America and could affect "hundreds" of employees. 'Course, the past few months quarters haven't been the best Palm has ever seen or anything, but this would certainly make a bad year even worse if true.
Kindle DRM hacked to allow protected Mobipocket ebooks
We knew the Kindle's DRM would be cracked the minute we heard about it, and it looks like the first chink in the armor is here courtesy of Igor Skochinsky: he's discovered the algorithm the Kindle uses to turn regular Mobipocket books into Amazon's proprietary .azw format. The hack involves replacing a Mobipocket file's PID with one generated from your Kindle's serial number, and then setting a Kindle-specific flag that allows it to be opened. Igor's posted a couple little Python scripts to handle both of these tasks for you, and it looks like sites like Fictionwise already support the hack. That's all well and good, but we're still waiting patiently for the day when we can tether to that free EV-DO.
NAVTEQ shareholders give thumbs-up to Nokia acquisition
Maybe they were just full of holiday cheer, or maybe they just felt like the match really was made in heaven, but whatever the case, NAVTEQ shareholders "overwhelmingly" voted to approve the Nokia acquisition announced in October. The affirmation will reportedly pave the way for the $8.1 billion deal to go final shortly, as antitrust regulators already signed off on it last week. Yep, looks like NokTEQ will be coming your way soon.
Rhapsody users experiencing login issues?
Though not what we'd deem "common," outages extending beyond a few hours have been known to happen to the services we love so dearly, and it seems that some Rhapsody users have become the latest to fall victim to an inexplicable lapse in service. Over at the Real forums, a number of customers have been unable to sign into their accounts for up to two days, and no amount of chicanery has solved the quandary. To make matters even more frightening, many are getting a message that their account simply is nowhere to be found, and customer service doesn't seem to be getting anyone very far. Also curious is the fact that new accounts (as in, ones created while current customers are unable to login) seem to be working just fine, but we here haven't personally experienced any of the login difficulties. What gives? Any of you out there pulling your hair out over this? Got a secret for getting logged in that you'd like to share?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: This in from Real: "Our engineer and support staff became aware of a login issue affecting a small number of users yesterday. They're hard at work to fix the problem for the folks being affected." No ETA for the fix though, and it definitely sounds like more than just a few users, but your mileage may vary.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: This in from Real: "Our engineer and support staff became aware of a login issue affecting a small number of users yesterday. They're hard at work to fix the problem for the folks being affected." No ETA for the fix though, and it definitely sounds like more than just a few users, but your mileage may vary.
Xenics Music Cube speakers disassemble, can't conceal their ugliness
Portable speakers always bring with them a few compromises -- namely, they either aren't very portable or they don't sound very good. Korea's Xenics now looks to have come up with a solution to that first problem, however, with its new Music Cube speakers able to be disassembled in order to take up as little space as possible in your gadget bag. Unfortunately, it seems that you may want to keep 'em in there as often as possible, as the company's choice of designs leaves quite a bit to be desired. There's also the small matter of that other aforementioned problem, as these speakers pack a mere 1W apiece. On the upside, that means they don't need an external power adapter, and we assume they won't set you back too much, although there's still no official word on pricing or availability.
Greener Gadgets conference in New York, February 2008
Our gadgets may be getting slowly greener, but consumer technology is still one of the world's dirtier, more pollutant industries, and it's about time we all rounded up some electronics heavyweights and had a chit chat. Thankfully, Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat (disclaimer: as many of you know, Jill is wife to Engadget co-founder and editor-at-large Peter Rojas) and Marc Alt of Marc Alt and Partners have stepped up to the plate, and are launching the Greener Gadgets conference. We'll be there participating in the discussion, as well as execs and environmental technologists from OLPC, HP, Nokia, and Sony. It all goes down on February 1st in New York, hopefully we'll see you there!
iRobot adds swank mapping kit to PackBot
iRobot has unleashed yet another semi-autonomous robot ready to take on whatever the battlefield throws at it, but this one's got a much better feel of where it's headed. The PackBot with Mapping Kit ups the ante by "creating a real-time two-dimensional structural map for the soldier while on the move in theater," essentially enabling the operator (and his / her squad) to see what's just ahead without having to slip into potentially dangerous scenarios to find out. Apparently, the kit utilizes an array of sensors and artificial intelligence to relay the structural map while "simultaneously detecting and avoiding obstacles in its path." Heck, let's just strap a railgun on this thing and let the soldier kick back at the base.
[Thanks, Jonas]
Read - Press release
Read - PackBot with Mapping Kit homepage
[Thanks, Jonas]
Read - Press release
Read - PackBot with Mapping Kit homepage
Revo intros Blik RadioStation DAB / WiFi radio
It's just been a few short weeks since Revo trotted out its Blik WiFi internet radio, but it looks like the company has already outdone itself, with it now introducing the new and improved Blik RadioStation, which packs the same WiFi and FM radio as before, with some DAB functionality thrown in for good measure. That, according to the company, makes it the first such radio to offer all three options in one package, although that distinction also considerably limits its appeal to those not bathed in DAB signals. If that doesn't preclude you however, you should be able to pick up the radio in your choice of black or white on December 19th for about £150 (or just over $300).
[Via TechDigest]
[Via TechDigest]
iPhone a shoo-in for TIME's Person of the Year?
We tend not to make a lot of predictions around here, but we've totally got odds on TIME magazine's pick for 2007 Person of the Year (and not just because we're owned by the same parent-company). Since TIME already named the iPhone both Invention of the Year and, more recently, Gadget of the Year (along with devoting a fawning cover story to it), it seems to us that the obvious path of least resistance for jaded journalists eager to start their holiday vacations is to screw over Gore and go for another easy-bake geek pleaser. Plus, what better symbol to convey the restrictions on political freedoms still so prevalent in the 21st century than the current poster child for walled gardens? Granted, it hasn't been since 1982 that a piece of electronic equipment took home this prestigious honor (renamed Machine of the Year in deference to the PC), but after lowering its standards so drastically last year by choosing you of all people, well, TIME has shown that almost anything has a shot.
Fuji Finepix Z100fd gets reviewed: "surprisingly good"
We first saw Fuji's Finepix Z100fd back in July, but now that camera-buying season is in full force, PhotographyBlog has taken it out for a review and pronounced it a worthy candidate for your hard-earned cash. Of particular note was the 5X optical zoom, which is better than most other cams in this price range, and the image stabilization and face detection systems, which worked admirably. The camera also drew praise for its slick diagonally-opening lens cover and illuminated Z logo. On the downside, the Z100fd was fairly pokey to store shots and didn't offer the absolute highest image quality, but those apparently aren't dealbreakers -- the folks at PB say overall, the Z100fd is "a fashion camera that isn't simply a matter of style over substance."
Philippe Starck calls the Kindle "a little sad"
Quite a few people have weighed in on the Kindle's retro style, and we're sure the lot of them felt a little vindicated when superstar designer Philippe Starck straight-up called the device's design "almost modern" and "a little sad." Speaking at the LeWeb 3 conference in Paris, Starck said he'd have put the minimum amount of plastic around the screen, but that it looked like Amazon's designers weren't "courageous" enough to take that step. He also harshed on the ridiculously easy-to-press page buttons, saying that the physical interface just "wasn't well done." All excellent points, we have to say -- although you'd think that a guy rocking shoulder pads like that would be down with the Kindle's totally-80s effects.
Continue reading Philippe Starck calls the Kindle "a little sad"
UPS turns to software to cut down on left-hand turns
While it won't have quite the same effect that, say, converting its entire fleet to hybrids or all-electrics would have, UPS is apparently taking some steps to improve the efficiency of the 95,000 trucks it has on the road, including using software to cut down on the number of left-turns its drivers make. As The New York Times reports, in addition to improving the packing and sorting of its cargo, UPS's so-called "package flow" software program also maps out the best possible route for each of its drivers, which UPS says cuts down significantly on the time they would otherwise spend idling while waiting to make a left-hand turn. According to UPS, those improved maps helped it shave some 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes last year, which translates to a 31,000 metric ton cut in CO2 emissions, not to mention a savings of about three million gallons of gas.
[Via Slashdot]
[Via Slashdot]