Author: Donald Melanson

RIM patent application describes rotating keypad that can be used in more than one position

Image

We’ve seen smartphones with keypads that can spin away from the screen before (see the Motorola Flipout), but RIM seems to have something slightly different in mind with this patent application that was filed back in 2010 and just published today. It describes a device with a keypad that’s coupled at one corner, but which can remain operable in at least two positions, or potentially three. That could include a position, for instance, where the screen is partially covered by the keypad and a second where it’s below the screen, or one where the keypad can remain below the screen both in portrait and landscape modes — or even flipped behind the device with the keys still accessible. Of course, it is still just a patent application, so we wouldn’t recommend pinning your hopes on this as RIM’s next big thing.

RIM patent application describes rotating keypad that can be used in more than one position originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Image

We’ve seen smartphones with keypads that can spin away from the screen before (see the Motorola Flipout), but RIM seems to have something slightly different in mind with this patent application that was filed back in 2010 and just published today. It describes a device with a keypad that’s coupled at one corner, but which can remain operable in at least two positions, or potentially three. That could include a position, for instance, where the screen is partially covered by the keypad and a second where it’s below the screen, or one where the keypad can remain below the screen both in portrait and landscape modes — or even flipped behind the device with the keys still accessible. Of course, it is still just a patent application, so we wouldn’t recommend pinning your hopes on this as RIM’s next big thing.

RIM patent application describes rotating keypad that can be used in more than one position originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi announces high-res 4.5-inch IPS display for smartphones with improved glasses-free 3D

There’s still no word as to when it might actually land in some phones, but it looks like glasses-free 3D could soon see some improvements courtesy of Hitachi’s latest 4.5-inch IPS display. Not only does it boast a high 1280 x 720 resolution, but it uses a less common lenticular lens approach instead of the parallax barrier method used by the likes of the Nintendo 3DS and HTC EVO 3D. According to Hitachi, that allows for some much 3D brighter images than other displays (470 cd/m2, specifically), and images that are actually brighter in 3D mode than in 2D mode. Here’s hoping Hitachi shows off a bit more than the image above before too long.

Hitachi announces high-res 4.5-inch IPS display for smartphones with improved glasses-free 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s still no word as to when it might actually land in some phones, but it looks like glasses-free 3D could soon see some improvements courtesy of Hitachi’s latest 4.5-inch IPS display. Not only does it boast a high 1280 x 720 resolution, but it uses a less common lenticular lens approach instead of the parallax barrier method used by the likes of the Nintendo 3DS and HTC EVO 3D. According to Hitachi, that allows for some much 3D brighter images than other displays (470 cd/m2, specifically), and images that are actually brighter in 3D mode than in 2D mode. Here’s hoping Hitachi shows off a bit more than the image above before too long.

Hitachi announces high-res 4.5-inch IPS display for smartphones with improved glasses-free 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ to bring Office 365, Facebook Chat, more Xbox Live integration?

The Windows Phone Dev Podcast unearthed some seemingly legit Windows Phone 7 screenshots last week that revealed a few new features apparently headed to the mobile OS, and it’s now back with another batch that show yet more additions said to be included with the so-called “Mango” update. That includes support for Facebook Chat and Office 365 (plus SkyDrive and SharePoint), as well as a revamped Games hub that suggests even more Xbox Live integration (including a rather interesting new “Automatic Sync” option). What’s more, the lock screen will apparently now show the album art if there is a song currently playing, and it seems there will be some new group messaging options as well. Of course, all that’s still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but you can judge all the screenshots for yourself at the link below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ to bring Office 365, Facebook Chat, more Xbox Live integration? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Windows Phone Dev Podcast unearthed some seemingly legit Windows Phone 7 screenshots last week that revealed a few new features apparently headed to the mobile OS, and it’s now back with another batch that show yet more additions said to be included with the so-called “Mango” update. That includes support for Facebook Chat and Office 365 (plus SkyDrive and SharePoint), as well as a revamped Games hub that suggests even more Xbox Live integration (including a rather interesting new “Automatic Sync” option). What’s more, the lock screen will apparently now show the album art if there is a song currently playing, and it seems there will be some new group messaging options as well. Of course, all that’s still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but you can judge all the screenshots for yourself at the link below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ to bring Office 365, Facebook Chat, more Xbox Live integration? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pandora mobile app found to be sending birth date, gender and location information to ad servers

We still haven’t heard much more about that Federal Grand Jury investigation into Pandora and other mobile apps over privacy concerns, but an independent security firm has now gone ahead and taken matters into its own hands. According to an analysis done by the folks at Veracode, Pandora does indeed seem to be sharing more information about you then it lets on. More specifically, they found that the Android app (they haven’t yet gotten around to the iOS version) “appears” to be sending information about users’ birth date, gender, Android ID and GPS location to various advertising companies — bits of information that the firm notes could be combined to determine who someone is, what they do for a living, and even who they associate with. For its part, Pandora is simply declining to to comment at the moment, and we’re guessing that’s unlikely to change anytime soon given the aforementioned investigation. Hit up the source link below for Veracode’s complete findings.

Pandora mobile app found to be sending birth date, gender and location information to ad servers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We still haven’t heard much more about that Federal Grand Jury investigation into Pandora and other mobile apps over privacy concerns, but an independent security firm has now gone ahead and taken matters into its own hands. According to an analysis done by the folks at Veracode, Pandora does indeed seem to be sharing more information about you then it lets on. More specifically, they found that the Android app (they haven’t yet gotten around to the iOS version) “appears” to be sending information about users’ birth date, gender, Android ID and GPS location to various advertising companies — bits of information that the firm notes could be combined to determine who someone is, what they do for a living, and even who they associate with. For its part, Pandora is simply declining to to comment at the moment, and we’re guessing that’s unlikely to change anytime soon given the aforementioned investigation. Hit up the source link below for Veracode’s complete findings.

Pandora mobile app found to be sending birth date, gender and location information to ad servers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    AT&T says Atrix 4G, Inspire 4G will have HSUPA enabled in April originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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