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Overseas, it doubles as a phone. Here in the US, it's just a tablet with an S Pen onboard. For its stateside debut, Samsung's stripped the Galaxy Note 8.0 of the very HSPA+ radios that made it an 8-inch curiosity at this year's Mobile World Congress. Now, as it's primed to go on sale, the Note 8.0 has sobered up, combining a host of compelling TouchWiz software tricks lifted from its high-profile Galaxy mates into a more serious, along with a more pocketable size.

Its 8-inch form factor may be new, but the bits used within should be plenty familiar: Samsung's borrowed elements from previous products, including the Note 10.1's 1,280 x 800 TFT display (albeit with a higher pixel density of 189 ppi). Meanwhile, the Note 8.0 draws inspiration from some Samsung phones, too, with chrome accents, a bulging rear camera module and a build that manages to be reminiscent of both the Galaxy S III and Note II. What's more, it packs a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad inside -- yep, just like its predecessor. It'd be easy to pass the Note 8.0 off as a comfortable retread; a Best of edition for the Note line. In a way, it is. But, Samsung's not so daft -- there's a cushy market for tablets as a second screen and the company knows this all too well. So, can it best the iPad mini as the go-to, do-everything couch companion? Or is this $399 tablet more of a supernova for the Galaxy line? Follow along to find out.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 review

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

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If you want a (semi) pocketable S Pen experience, well, then the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II is the device for you. If you want something more akin to carrying around a digital legal pad, there's the well proportioned Note 10.1. But if one note is too small for you, and the other too big, then maybe the Note 8.0 is just right. The mid-sized tablet, announced at MWC, is finally hitting American shores on April 11th for $400. Under the hood are the same powerful internals we got a good look at in Barcelona, including the 2GB of RAM and 1.6GHz quad-core processor. But, sadly, Samsung removed the cellular radios for the US variant -- which means this slate won't double as a comically large phone. Well, at least the lack of HSPA+ should mean that the 4,600 mAh battery should last a little bit longer. You'll be able to pick up the Galaxy Note 8.0 in just a few days from all usual suspects (Best Buy, Amazon, Newegg, and so on). If you need a proper reminder of all its various specs and features, check out the preview and the PR after the break.

Gallery: Galaxy Note 8.0 for the US

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

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AU Optronics will soon join Samsung at an exclusive table for two making 5-inch, full-HD OLED smartphone displays. It'll show off the technology at the China Optoelectronics Display expo starting tomorrow, promising 443 ppi, lower power consumption, fast response times and wide viewing angles. While others build 1,080 x 1,920 LCD screens for models like HTC's One, currently Samsung has a monopoly on OLEDs of that size and resolution. However, it likely wants to set those aside for its soon-to-ship 5-inch, 1080p Galaxy S 4 -- so, AU's announcement could be good news for other handset makers seeking something punchier than LCD for that form factor.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Android Beat

BlackBerry fans waiting for an opportunity to blend the BlackBerry 10 OS with a more familiar QWERTY form factor may know exactly how long they have left, at least north of the border. Mobile Syrup received this pic tonight of what is purported to be an internal Rogers document, which lists the launch date for the BlackBerry Q10 as April 30th. A few other phones appear on the list as well, revealing the Canadian carrier will be offering the Nokia Lumia 520 and a couple of Doro's PhoneEasy models. If this date holds up it's a lot more specific than what we'd heard before -- hopefully we're not left waiting much longer for US release information.

Update: Rogers is going on the record for many more Q10 details... except the ship date. It tells us that the smartphone will cost $200 on a 3-year contract, and that Rogers will be the first (but not only) Canadian carrier with the white edition. The Q10 will also be one of the few Rogers smartphones to supplement the usual AWS-based LTE frequencies with the 2,600MHz band, the other notable example being the LG Optimus G. The more eager among us can reserve the Q10 today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: Mobile Syrup, Rogers

It looks like Intel's planning on bringing its Next Unit of Computing (NUC) mini-computer upmarket, if a leaked roadmap from ComputerBase.de is to be believed. The documents look highly tentative, but if they come to fruition then Intel will start offering new NUCs (code-named "Skull Canyon" and "Horse Canyon") with Intel Core i7-3537U and Core i5-3427U processors along with its current Core i3 model during the first half of the year. New motherboards would be used that alter the slot configurations substantially: the Thunderbolt connector would be dropped in favor of USB 3.0 -- three on the i7 model, one on the i5 -- with DisplayPort 1.1a added to each along with HDMI 1.4a connectors. There's no pricing yet, but we found that you'd need to nearly double the price of the original NUC to create a working computer, so bear that in mind when you're looking at the leaked slides after the break.

[Image credit: ComputerBase.de]

Filed under: Desktops, Intel

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Via: FanlessTech

Source: ComputerBase.de

Lusting after Apple's giant, yet shockingly thin 27-inch iMac? The object of your desire just got a little cheaper -- well, as long as you don't mind refurbished goods. The extra large all-in-one is the latest Apple product to hit the company's certified refurbished store, offering as much as $270 the product's regular price. The iMac's 2.9GHz Core i5 base model can be had for $1,529, replete with 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD and that luxuriously large 2560 x 1440 display. Apple is also offering refurbished versions of the 3.2Ghz model for $1,699 and 3.4GHz Core i7 rigs for $1,869 and $2,199, depending on the configuration. As always, Cupertino promises that the machines have gone through a rigorous restoration process, but offers a included one-year warranty to put the concerns of cautious buyers to rest. Mosey on over to the source link to consider your savings. Still too rich for your blood? Well, there is a 21-inch model, too.

Filed under: Desktops, Apple

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Via: MacRumors

Source: Apple

While EE scrambles to spread its LTE network far and wide before the other UK carriers get into the 4G business, it also wants to flex some spectrum muscle. The network's announced it's planning to double the LTE allocation on its 1800MHz band (from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 20MHz), which it claims will increase download speeds to an average of 20 Mbps, topping out at 80 Mbps. Ten of the 11 original 4G launch cities will be seeing this bandwidth boost first: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. EE doesn't want you to think it's done expanding, though, and says it'll continue to make use of its MHz and GHz by rolling out boring, normal LTE in new areas whilst doubling up in others. The first ten cities are due to receive "double-speed" 4G by summer, which we assume means around the time summer is supposed to happen.

Update: EE's Howard Jones has added on Twitter that the network will start trialing carrier aggregation, LTE-A (that's even better 4G) later in 2013. We've asked for more details and will fill you in when we hear more.

EE will be trialling carrier aggregation, LTE-A, for 4G within 2013. We'll be the first anywhere in the world to do so. #onestepahead

- Howard Jones (@howard_jones) April 9, 2013

[Image credit: Lazygamer, Flickr]

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile

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We're all about the future of the internet here at Engadget, so you can imagine our excitement when HP today announced that it's shooting for the moon with its latest server system, the HP Moonshot. Promising significantly reduced energy consumption and space requirements, the Moonshot is HP's "second generation" server tech, and it's intended for use with "social, cloud, mobile, and big data," according to the company. In so many words, this is HP's attempt to get out ahead of where it sees internet use going -- it was first unveiled in concept form last summer, but now it's apparently ready for primetime. A video of the new tech getting introduced is just beyond the break.

Said servers are rolling out in 2013's latter half, and can be tailored to a clients' needs with specs from a variety of internals providers (AMD, AppliedMicro, Calxeda, Intel, and Texas Instruments are all specifically named by HP). All of this amounts to one thing: the information superhighway of tomorrow is being paved today, and we can't wait to take a spin. Here's hoping there'll still be plenty of stupid gifs.

Filed under: Storage, Networking, Internet, HP

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Panasonic's micro four-thirds Lumix DMC-GF6 is finally official after a leaky start, and the news is good for social types with high photo standards. The mirrorless cam's standout feature is without a doubt its connectivity, letting you pair it to a smartphone or tablet via NFC, then transfer photos and video automatically over WiFi with an included app -- which can also remotely control the camera. The GF6 also sports an updated 1040k-dot screen that can tilt and flip 180 degrees for self-portraits, along with a new mode dial from it's GF5 predecessor, a welcome change for more serious shooters. Other highlights include 1080/60i full-HD AVCHD video, a 25,600 ISO range, JPEG and RAW shooting, built-in flash, a new Venus Engine image processor, 3.7 fps burst shooting, low-light autofocus and a 0.5-second start-up time. You'll be able to grab one in black, white, brown or red, and while Panasonic hasn't officially announced a price or arrival date, it's expected to hit shelves in the next month or so for around £449 with a 14-42mm kit lens ($680). Check the PR after the break for the full dope.

Filed under: Cameras

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Via: Engadget Spanish (translated)

If you ask most people, they'd tell you there's nothing wrong with the standard classroom set-up of a blackboard and chalk, or a whiteboard and dry-erase markers. Nicholas DePorzio isn't most people, though. At Northeastern University's Husky Startup Challenge Demo Day, he took home first prize for KrystalBoard, a liquid crystal-based writing board. His early prototype takes a few cues from Boogie Board's line of scratch pads. Functionally, they're almost identical: use a stylus to scratch your message into the panel then, when you're done, simply press a button to erase it. What DePorzio believes sets his creation apart is the ability to scale to much larger sizes. His first prototype, tossed together in just six weeks, certainly has some rough edges (literally, the stand is made from roughly cut cardboard boxes). But, with a different selection of liquid crystal panels, the hope is that high-contrast classroom-sized KrystalBoards are well within his reach.

The first iteration uses a nine-volt battery to force the crystals to reorient themselves and wipe out any missives, but DePorzio is confident that a small solar panel (like the one on your 99-cent calculator) will have more than enough juice to "power" a much larger model. And "power" is a relative term, since technically there's no electricity coursing through the single-crystal panels. The goal is to save time and money by doing away with erasers, chalk, markers and other disposable supplies. The Northeastern student even believes he can get the cost of materials below that of a standard whiteboard or blackboard, but only time will tell on that one. Though, taking home a large novelty check should give the fledgling company a good head start.

Gallery: KrystalBoard hands-on

Filed under: Misc

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It's been relatively easy to get your hands on an expressive robot face... if you're rich or a scientist, that is. XYZbot would like to give the rest of us a shot by crowdfunding Fritz, an Arduino-powered robot head. The build-it-yourself (and eerily human-proportioned) construction can react to pre-programmed actions, text-to-speech conversion or live control, ranging from basics like the eyes and jaw to the eyelids, eyebrows, lips and neck of an Advanced Fritz. Windows users should have relatively simple control through an app if they just want to play, but where Fritz may shine is its open source nature: the code and hardware schematics will be available for extending support, changing the look or building a larger robot where Fritz is just one part. The $125 minimum pledge required to set aside a Fritz ($199 for an Advanced Fritz) isn't trivial, but it could be a relative bargain if XYZbot makes its $25,000 goal -- and one of the quickest routes to not-quite-lifelike robotics outside of a research grant.

Filed under: Peripherals, Robots

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Source: Kickstarter

When Michael Dell signaled intentions to take his company private for an overhaul, there were questions as to just what he wanted to do if and when shareholders weren't watching his every move: was he going to shift attention away from PCs toward the enterprise? There's no reason to worry, according to a staff memo that his company has published through the SEC. Dell tells his employees that the firm will "significantly increase investment" in PCs and tablets after going private. While he's cryptic about what that means, he does note that there would be a shift away from valuing gross margins -- in other words, the company may take a hit on profits to make its device sales sing. Other strategies are more what you'd expect from any good business: more research and development, a simpler experience and a stronger push into developing markets like Brazil and China. We can't say we're completely surprised when Microsoft made an investment in Dell's reorg precisely to safeguard PCs, but it's good to know that Dell's interest in PCs still extends well beyond the server room.s

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Dell

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Via: Fortune

Source: SEC

We've some really unfortunate news to share with Lumia 810 owners who'd purchased the handset on T-Mobile's word that a software update would enable LTE support. As it turns out, despite the Lumia 810's hardware readiness and regulatory approval to access Band 4 LTE, that's not going to happen -- T-Mobile isn't going to release the update. Sadly, this isn't an April Fools' prank. If you're scratching your head about the revelation, you're not alone. Representatives for the UnCarrier first revealed to us back in January that a software update would enable LTE functionality, which is a position that it's maintained up through last week. As it stands, this leaves T-Mobile without an LTE offering for Windows Phone users, as the smartphone field is now limited to the Apple iPhone 5, BlackBerry Z10, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S4. We've asked T-Mobile whether it might make concessions to those who purchased the Lumia 810 on good faith that an LTE software update would be released, but for the moment, you'll need to find solace in the carrier's speedy HSPA+ 42 network.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia, T-Mobile

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We haven't even had the chance to see the 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro available outside Korea, but LG is already claiming a sales record. The latest supersized phone notched 10,000 orders at launch, leading to half a million sold just 40 days after its launch and ahead of its coming April update. We found plenty to like about the Optimus G Pro when we reviewed it -- that it closely follows the Galaxy Note II's succesful formula while packing the brand-new Qualcomm 600 quad-core CPU doesn't hurt. LG's pushed the phone with several promotions, including letting potential customers try one for 30 days to see how they live with its size. An LG executive quoted in the PR sees this increased communication continuing to push sales at home and abroad, but there's still no word on exactly when that will be on this side of the Pacific.

Filed under: Mobile, LG

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Source: LG Korea

Alma Whitten, who was appointed Google's director of privacy for product and engineering in 2010 after the Street View WiFi brouhaha, will be leaving her post, Google has confirmed to The Verge. During Whitten's tenure, the search giant has unified its privacy policy and pushed its transparency reports, but it's had a few bumps in the road as well. According to Forbes, the ten-year Google veteran will be retiring, but is staying on for a few more months to ensure the leadership transition is smooth. In Whitten's stead, software engineering director Lawrence You will pick up the privacy mantle for the search giant.

[Image credit: ccsrwebmaster1, YouTube]

Filed under: Misc, Google

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Source: The Verge

ReDigi took a gamble that it could resell legally purchased song downloads, much as you would that one-hit wonder CD you bought in high school. Unfortunately for ReDigi, the odds weren't ultimately in its favor: a Southern District of New York court has shot down ReDigi's appeal against a Capitol Records lawsuit accusing it of copyright infringement. The court didn't accept ReDigi's view that first sale principles apply to strictly digital music, at least as its service implements the technology. While the startup tries to keep traders honest by making them delete originals after a resale, the process by its digital nature still involves making a copy of the track without Capitol's permission, according to the court. We'll have to wait to know what penalties ReDigi might pay, but there's enough legal precedent in the case that it's doubtful others will follow in the service's experimental footsteps.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: The Verge

Source: Santa Clara Law (PDF)

As part of its encouraging Imagine Cup, Microsoft is giving young ones that are aged between 9 and 18 the chance to enter a game design challenge dubbed Kodu. With a renowned Xbox controller being used as the main interface, Kodu will allow kids and teens to create games on a PC or Xbox "via a simple visual programming language" -- which allows them to virtually layout anything from sculpted landscapes and decorated trees, to creating their own scoring system, gameplay and, of course, characters. The Imagine Cup Kodu Challenge, as it's more formally known, is now open and will remain this way until May 17th, with the eventual finalists set to be awarded a trip to the event in St. Petersburg, Russia. The winners, meanwhile, could end up taking home a range of prizes, including grants, cash and other goodies -- but, perhaps most importantly, also the utmost respect of all other challengers present.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Microsoft

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Via: Forbes

Source: Microsoft

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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April Fools' Day is tough. Believe us. We know. It's 24 hours of fake news, bad jokes and Gangnam Style references. But not all of it is the internet equivalent to lining a toilet with plastic wrap. Sometimes, good stuff manages to slip through the proverbial cracks in the web. After the break, check out some of the holiday's highlights. If you dare.

Filed under: Sony, Google

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Baseball is officially back and March Madness is just about to wrap up as we officially move into the "spring" segment of programming, marked by the return of Mad Men on AMC. That's not all, with one half of Syfy's videogame / TV show combo making its debut and our favorite show, Justified, airing its finale. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Mad Men
AMC's main showpiece is ready to return. Now in its sixth season, you should be familiar with Don, Betty and the rest of the crew, but if not you can check out the trailer embedded after the break.
(April 7th, 9PM, AMC)

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled
Now set in a new case (shown above) the boxed set of the first round of Marvel / Disney films is finally ready for release. If you're a collector / fan that just has to have it, the price on Amazon has dipped even lower, and it packs an exclusive look at the next set of flicks.
($149 on Amazon)

Defiance
The game end of Syfy's ambitious MMO shooter / TV show combo launches this week on consoles and PCs. Taking place on Earth as aliens and humans both try to recover after years of war, it's certainly something new, but we can't tell yet how well the two halves will come together before the show starts airing in a couple of weeks.
($59 on Amazon)

Filed under: HD

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