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3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger

Nintendo's latest oversized handheld not big enough for you? Maybe another Circle Pad Pro will help. According to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, the Big N is poised to give the freshly announced 3DS XL a second analog slider. Pricing wasn't covered in the magazine's Nintendo Q&A session, but gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun should have their thumbs on it later this year. Oh, and in case you didn't hear, the colossal clamshell is getting its very own charging cradle too, sold separately for 1,200 yen ($15). Mum's the word on stateside details for the secondary slide pad, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it show up on foreign shores.

T-Mobile brings out new mobile data plans mainly for the suits and ties, makes overage optional

T-Mobile just updated its prepaid data plans a month ago, and now it's the corporate crowd's turn for a shakeup. The new (and quite frankly daunting) array of primarily business-minded ...

Nexus 7 8GB coming to UK mid-July for £159, 16GB version arriving at retailers July 27th for £199

Nexus 7 8GB coming to UK midJuly for 159, 16GB version arriving at retailers July 27th for 199

We've just had word from ASUS that the 16GB variant of the Nexus 7 will arrive on UK shelves on July 27th -- slightly later than the 8GB model, which will be sold exclusively through Google Play from mid-July. Brits are looking at £159 for the 8GB tablet and £199 for 16GB. The latter is actually shipping to big stores like PC World, Comet, Tesco and eBuyer around July 20th, so those who pre-order may end up signing for that Special Delivery even earlier.

Update: the 16GB slate will also be sold through Carphone Warehouse, either for the same price as above or free on a tethered contract (but check those sums before signing up, obviously). PR added.

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BT kicks off 330Mbps 'FTTP on Demand' trials, reveals pilot locations

BT kicks off 330Mbps 'FTTP on Demand' trials, reveals pilot locations

Not everyone is apparently in love with British operator BT's green boxes. Still, that isn't stopping the company from serving up its high-fiber diet to those who want to have speedy Internet connections. For its latest project, BT's Openreach division has started offering an "FTTP on Demand" program that provides fiber-to-the-premises at 330Mbps speeds to folks or businesses who order the service. The project will be done in phases at eight locations, starting with High Wycombe, Bristol South and St Agnes, Cornwall in July. Next up is Edinburgh's Waverley exchange in September followed by Watford, Cardiff, Basingstoke and Manchester Central in 2013. Communications providers can decide to cover installations costs by absorbing a one-off charge, having higher monthly fees or passing the whole thing to the consumer. Want to gobble up more info about BT's latest fiber-filled broadband service? Then check out the good, old PR after the break.

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Netflix fires back in UK streaming war, says it has Fox TV shows too, plus Arrested Development

Just days after Lovefilm touted its TV and movie deal with 20th Century Fox, Netflix UK is promoting its own TV show additions from the studio, including an exclusive on The League. While ...

Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants

Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants

Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is no stranger to world firsts, and less than a year after performing a synthetic windpipe transplant, the Karolinska Institute Professor has coordinated no less than two successful transplants of synthetic sections of larynx. Amazingly, both patients were able to breathe and talk normally straight after surgery, the basic functions we take for granted that they either struggled with or were simply unable to do before. The implants consisted of personally designed synthetic scaffolds coated with the candidates' own stem cells, so there's neither the chance of rejection nor the burden of life-long immunosuppressant therapy. Despite the amazing feat, Dr. Macchiarini ain't done yet, claiming this is the first of many steps towards building a synthetic, complete larynx -- voice box and all. Jump past the break for the official PR issued by Harvard Bioscience, the company responsible for growing what's in that tub.

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Verizon FiOS TV finally set to enforce CableCARD restrictions

Verizon launched its fiber to the home service the same year CableCARD was released, but Verizon's implementation has always been a little different. For starters, Verizon got an extra ...

Insert Coin: LUMOback Smart Posture Sensor thrums when you slouch, charts your laziness (video)

insert-coin-lumoback-smart-posture-sensor

LUMOback wants to show all those DIY posture dilitantes what's what with its Smart Posture Sensor, an app and hardware combo that tracks your carriage and vibrates when you hunch. The thinnish 8.5mm sensor is worn like a belt, and on top of the tactile nagging, it provides detailed iPhone or iPad charting of the sitting, running and even sleeping you did, complete with an xkcd-like stickman video replaying all your crooked moves. So far the team is about a third of the way to its $100K mark, and a minimum $99 pledge will get you a jet-black model if it's built, with a $125 chip-in letting you vote on a a second shipping color, to boot. If some of your activities consist of, say, blogging in front of a computer screen all day, check the video after the break for relief.

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VESA's Mobility DisplayPort standard links smartphones to PC displays, jabs MHL

VESA's Mobility DisplayPort standard links smartphones to PC displays, jabs MHL

If you own a modern Android smartphone, there's a reasonable chance you're familiar with MHL for video out to a TV. The format saves the trouble of adding an extra port, but it's really only intended for HDMI-based destinations and occasionally runs into compatibility issues. VESA is hoping to settle all that with its newly available Mobility DisplayPort standard, or MyDP. Existing micro-USB ports will still serve as the output, but you'll have the option of plugging into DVI or VGA displays with the right adapter, in addition to HDMI and full-size DisplayPort. Picture connecting to an older projector and you'll see why that might make sense. The new spec will charge up your device like with MHL, but it also has about 1Mbps of bandwidth for input, such as keyboards and trackpads in some future lapdock. Video still tops out at 1080p and 60Hz, so there's no hooking into a 4K display here. The real advantage, for many, is simply in having a broadly-adopted standard in the first place: VESA backing sees 180 companies tacitly endorsing the idea, producing a big improvement over the patchwork results that we've seen from MHL's much smaller alliance. The chief obstacle is the wait for the first smartphones, Ultrabooks and tablets with MyDP, which could be months or more away.

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Ubiquitous nanotubes could reboot Edison-era nickel-iron battery technology

nanotubes-edison-nickel-iron-batteryBack in the 1920s, Thomas Edison's dream of an electric automobile was ultimately foiled by those meddling petroleum engines. But thanks to nanotube research from Stanford University, one legacy from that era may regain some glory: nickel-iron batteries. It turns out that carbon nanotubes doped with nickel and iron crystals can top up the normally slow-charging cells in a matter of minutes -- according to the scientists, that's almost 1,000 times faster than in the past. Although the batteries couldn't power your Volt or Prius due to a lack of energy density, they could give an extra jolt to their lithium-ion siblings for quicker starts and regenerative braking. The researchers are working on improving stability to allow more charging cycles, but it might be an extra in-your-face for Edison if it pans out.

AIR.U to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process

AIRU to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process

Looks like town and gown communities will be among the first to experience "super WiFi," the high-speed broadband made possible, in part, by TV. After getting the FCC nod back in the fall of 2010, the white spaces harboring these unused television frequencies were opened up, paving the way for a host of new wireless broadband services. Now, thanks to AIR.U -- a consortium of over 500 higher learning institutions and tech industry partners like Google and Microsoft -- underserved small college towns will soon see deployments of these high speed networks as early as Q1 2013. Not only will the group's efforts help usher in a low-cost wireless solution, but it'll also tackle a major geographic hurdle: building and terrain penetration. Seems these in-development networks run on a much lower frequency than traditional WiFi and, thus, have greater ease broaching thick walls and covering larger expanses. A pilot effort is underway, although exact details as to the where and when have yet to be revealed. Check out the official presser after the break for the full-on rundown.

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Google Drive SDK version 2 supports Android and iOS apps, common file tasks

Google Drive SDK version 2 supports Android and iOS apps, common file tasks

Virtually every corner of the Google universe is being touched at Google I/O, and that now includes Google Drive. A version 2 update to the Drive SDK gives Android and iOS developers the option of building the cloud storage into their mobile apps, whether it's downloads, uploads or on-the-spot edits. The programming interface has likewise been expanded as a whole to handle everyday file duties, such as conversions, copying and revision handling. Web-only users are taken care of with support for embedded shares and opening Google documents in any given software that will take the exportable formats. The updated Drive SDK is ready to go, with a flood of apps either coming or already here -- if you want to hop on the bandwagon, just take a peek at the source link.

LG Optimus Vu 'Value Pack' Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade on the way in Korea

LG's Optimus Vu still has yet to debut in the US, but Korean fans of the extra-wide 5-inch phablet can soon enjoy a new "Value Pack" upgrade. It brings the phone to yesterday's-news ...

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean preview download is live, probably won't work on your Galaxy Nexus -- yet (Update)

Android 41 Jelly Bean preview download is live, probably won't work on your Galaxy Nexus  yet

Google has opted to deliver Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as an OTA update to the ICS already on the Nexus phones and tablets it just handed everyone at I/O 2012, and there's a manual download link available too. As Android Police notes, only GSM phones running the IMM330D firmware will take the update (which you probably don't have, although a fresh phone from the initial Google Play run might work.) With this release already in the wild it's surely only a matter of time before various third parties open it up to a wider variety of hardware. As always with early and somewhat untested software YMMV, keep an eye on those XDA Developers threads for the latest updates.

Update: Just that quickly, an SDK port has already popped up for the HTC One X. Of course, it's described as unstable and the author has no plans to try to fix the numerous problems but if you're desperate to see Jelly Bean you can, you just probably shouldn't.

Update 2: And almost as quickly, a rooted version for ClockWorkMod Recovery and ROM Manager has appeared. Check the latest thread for all the details.

Japanese robot trolls humans at rock-paper-scissors, sadly wasn't named the UMADBRO 9000 (video)

Japanese robot trolls humans at rock-paper-scissors, sadly wasn't named the UMADBRO 9000 (video)

Japan got itself in the good graces of many a Futurama fan after creating Bender's ancestor. Then again, another Japanese robotic creation -- one that specializes in rock, paper, scissors -- may actually have more in common with the morally questionable, beer-guzzling bot. That's because this sneaky little future overlord wins 100 percent of its matches by using an oh-so human trait known as cheating. See, the researchers at the University of Tokyo's 4chan, er, Ishikawa Oku Laboratory programmed the "Janken" robot to recognize its human opponent's hand shape and counter it within a millisecond. Adding to the troll factor is the fact that it was unwittingly named the "Human-Machine Cooperation System" because, well, it needs the cooperation of some poor human sap to work its magic. The achievement joins other man-versus-machine milestones, including losses by humans in chess and shogi. Of course, the question now is, what happens if you pit two "Janken" machines against each other?

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Google I/O 2012's second keynote is tomorrow, get your liveblog right here!

It's hard to imagine Google managing to one-up its first keynote -- skydiving into the roof of Moscone from a blimp is pretty tough act to follow -- but that doesn't mean the company is out of surprises. The second keynote of the 2012 Google I/O developer conference is tomorrow morning and we're expecting a few updates on Chrome and then, well, even more updates on Chrome.

We'll be liveblogging the proceedings tomorrow at this page right here. Set your bookmarks now and get ready to rock tomorrow at 10:00 am PT. To figure out what time that is locally, just look right here:

June 28, 2012 1:00 PM EDT

Editorial: Engadget on Jelly Bean, Nexus Q, Nexus 7 and Project Glass

Editorial Engadget on Jelly Bean, Nexus Q, Nexus 7 and Project Glass

Phew! On the heels of big events from Apple and Microsoft, Sergey and co. got their time to shine at the Google I/O event this week in San Francisco. The show kicked off with a a keynote that featured insight into Android Jelly Bean, the unveiling of the Nexus 7 tablet and Nexus Q media streaming device, plus some seriously amazing demos of Project Glass, among others. Was the two-hour-and-change press conference enough to push Google out in front of the competition? Check out our thoughts after the break.

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Google includes Jelly Bean easter egg in Android 4.1: yes, it's cute (video)

In Gingerbread, those tapping repeatedly on the version number with Android's "Settings" menu were greeted with a picture of "zombie art" by Jack Larson. In Honeycomb, a bee found its ...

BlueStacks brings Android apps to OS X, wolves planning a rest with some lambs

BlueStacks brings Android apps to OS X, wolves planning a rest with some lambs

BlueStacks is releasing the first public alpha of its Android App Player capable of running on OS X. The virtualization company's software is powered by its Layercake technology and includes a bundle of apps from its various partners. CEO Rosen Sharma hopes the move will encourage developers to build "retina-friendly" apps for Google's mobile OS that can then be sold to those on the other side of the technology divide. There's a sign-up sheet for developers itchy to get their hands on the goods on the company's website, but don't expect a response right away -- there's still a few more days of Google I/O to go first.

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Nexus 7 guidebook appears on Google Play, teaches you how to blink, manage Google Now cards

Trapped in that post-Google I/O funk of hurry up, pre-order and wait? Maybe this can satiate your desires: a Nexus 7 guidebook detailing the basics of Mountain View's upcoming slate. The ...

Google teases Web Lab beta, an intersection of art, technology and the internet?

Google teases Web Lab beta, an intersection of art, technology and the internet

In case you didn't get enough Google I/O news today, the Chrome team has just let loose a video teasing the launch of Web Lab beta. We aren't exactly sure what the Mountain View crew is up to, but apparently, the Web Lab will be revealed through a series of experiments set to be launched later this summer. Apparently, the installations will make their debut at the London Science Museum, and from the video snippets we've seen, they'll leverage the web and some custom machinery to create works of art. You don't have to take our word for it, however, jus take a minute to see for yourself in the video after the break.

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Android 4.1 SDK hands-on

Android 41 SDK in photo and video

Too lazy to download and install the brand new Android SDK yourself and don't feel like tweaking an AVD for optimal operation? Don't know what an AVD is? We don't blame you, and that's why we're here. We fired up Jelly Bean in the Android emulator and started poking around a bit. Sadly, most of the most exciting new features -- offline speech recognition, Google Now -- don't work. And we couldn't really delve deep into the new notifications system thanks to some limitations on the SDK. We could, however, play with the new version of Maps and demo the new widget placement tweaks. Most of the UI should look familiar. In fact, the only obvious changes we noticed were the new search widget and a few tweaked buttons, like notification clearing option. You'll also notice a new layout for the clock and date in the notification pull down. Mostly, from a aesthetic point of view, the refinements are minor, but welcome. Everything feels a little more spacious, less cramped, without becoming overly simple. Want to see it for yourself? Check out the gallery below and the video after the break.

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Epic Games: Infinity Blade on iOS more profitable by the pound than any other game we've made

Infinity Blade 1 on iPad

Traditional console makers have often sworn up and down that mobile doesn't make money for game development. That might still be true for some developers, but you'll get a very different answer if you ask Epic Games. Co-founders Tim Sweeney and Mark Rein have collectively described the currently iOS-only, Chair-developed Infinity Blade as the "most profitable game we've ever made" when considering the amount of money and time invested relative to the money coming back. Yes, that includes even the Gears of War series, which most consider Epic's primary cash cow. Sweeney, like his long-time competitor Johh Carmack at id Software, is also taken aback by the power stuffed inside the latest generation of mobile devices -- a 2012 iPad is nearer the performance of a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, he tells Gamasutra, and the pace is only picking up. Even more insights await in the interview with Sweeney; click below if you want a hint of what one of gaming's pioneers has to say about where your tablets, phones and (yes) PCs are going.

Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 get Windows Phone 7.5 update, finally get to Tango (updated)

Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 updated to Windows Phone 75, finally get to Tango

We'd heard that the Lumia 800 and 710 were to get Windows Phone 7.5 sometime soon, but the time has officially arrived for these two to Tango. Today Nokia announced that the fresh code has already started rolling out, bringing hotspot and flip-to-silence functionality to the handsets. Plus, once you've updated via your Zune desktop software, access to the nifty Camera Extras software -- already promised to Lumia 900 owners -- is but a download away. As a refresher, those Extras allow Lumias to take Scalado-powered Smart Group Shots, provide a better burst mode for action pics, plus add a self-timer and panorama mode as well. Want to see the new camera features in action before taking the plunge? Check out the video after the break.

Update: As our astute commenters have pointed out, the Lumias both have Mango onboard, so this bit of software is but an update to Windows Phone 7.5 that brings additional features.

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YouTube for Android 4.0 ends buffering on your favorite videos with precaching, adds remote

YouTube for Android 40 ends buffering on your favorite videos with precaching, adds remote

As Google I/O 2012 rolls along, the YouTube team is updating its Android app to v4.0 with a load of new features, but you'll need Android 4.0+ to take advantage of them (at least for now, see below). Available in 47 countries, the new app brings a brand new UI with support for channels that reflects the redesign rolled out on the website last year (not the circle-centric look that it is testing with a select few), and it can precache videos from your favorite channels for viewing later. All you have to do is select "preload" in the setting menu and it will pull down videos from your subscriptions and Watch Later queue when plugged in and on WiFi. To actually view them later you will still need to be online, but they'll load instantly from the device's storage instead of streaming.

Another new feature is integrated remote functionality to control playback on connected TVs and other devices. This apparently extends to more than just Google TV, as we're told to "expect more updates later" on how this feature will become broadly available. If you're not rocking the latest Android software don't freak out yet, as the team indicates these features will come to more devices later. Developers should be excited too as there's a slew of new YouTube APIs available, hit the source links below to check them out or download the app yourself.

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Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I prefer using a GPS unit, not my phone, when I'm driving around LA. The best traffic I've seen is via Google Maps, since it shows surface traffic for streets in Hollywood. Navteq HD Radio maps (which is what I use now) doesn't show this kind of information: it's only for highways. There aren't any highways between Hollywood and Beverly Hills, but there's a ton of traffic, which you're blind to when using a standalone GPS. Is there an easy way to get surface traffic data on a GPS unit rather than forking out for a phone / tablet and $30/month data plan? Thanks!"
Gingerbread
64.6%
ICS
7.1%

Breakdown of Android versions amongst users

According to the Android developer hub, Android 4.0 now accounts for 7.1 percent of all Android smartphone and tablet installations, which is a sharp and welcome increase over the 2.9 percent figure that we reported just two months ago.

The Lumia 710 is a $50 on contract proposition geared towards easing folks inept at the smarter aspects of wireless gadgetry into the 21st century.

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