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Acer launches 16GB Iconia B1 Android tablet for €139

By Sarah Silbert posted Feb 24th 2013 4:00AM 0

Acer's low-end Iconia B1-A71 Android tablet made its debut at CES 2013, packing a dual-core 1.2GHz Mediatek processor and 8GB of internal storage. A few months later here at MWC, the company is introducing a 16GB model of the 7-inch Jelly Bean slate, and it's on sale immediately for €139 (compared to €119 for the 8GB version). The higher storage capacity is the real story here; otherwise, you're looking at the same 1,024 x 600 display, 0.3-megapixel camera and lightweight plastic build. Like the version announced at CES, the B1 is available in Africa, Europe and the Middle East but not North America. Cruise past the break for the press release.

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Virgin Media adds a YouTube channel to TiVo's guide, ensures you can't escape kitty clips HD

By Daniel Cooper posted Feb 24th 2013 1:33AM 0

Annoyed that YouTube had reached Freesat boxes and not just TiVo? Worry not, for Sir Richard and his chums at Virgin Media are on their way with a basket of soothing balms. Your DVR's EPG will soon feature baked-in YouTube results along with regular TV listings, giving easier access to all of those shudder-inducing Harlem Shake videos without resorting to a smartphone. It's been positioned at Channel 198, and you can also access it via the Search and Browse menus on your box -- no matter the paint job.

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Ask Engadget: best / most 'open' e-book store?

By Daniel Cooper posted Feb 23rd 2013 10:48PM 0

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Arthur, who's considering giving this new-fangled electronic book thing a go. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"During a recent move, I dumped a dozen boxes of books at goodwill, and have decided to give e-books a try. But what's the most "open" way to buy them? Me and my wife want to share titles (reasonable enough, given that we wouldn't buy two copies from a bookstore). As such, we'd like to open an account somewhere that will let us read on our various computers, PlayBook, iPad and Nook. Is there a store that you can suggest?"

Given your humble narrator's long-held resistance to e-books (and devotion to building a library of their own), this is one we're going to pass straight over to the Engadget community. So, dear friends, what's your opinion?

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Mobile Miscellany: week of February 18th, 2013 Mobile

By Zachary Lutz posted Feb 23rd 2013 9:35PM 0

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought confirmation of Pantech's next phone for Verizon, legal battles over the airwaves in India and a new smartphone to Virgin Mobile. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 18th, 2013.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 preview: an 8-inch S Pen tablet that's also a phone Hands-on

By Joseph Volpe posted Feb 23rd 2013 9:00PM 0

An updated, larger Galaxy Note from Samsung was inevitable. Given the undeniable popularity of mid-size tablets (see: Apple iPad mini), it's no surprise the Korean electronics giant would want to strengthen its foothold in a category it helped create. It was just three short years ago that Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab and now, three Notes later, it's ready to perfect the one-handed experience. With this new Note, the company's culled the best of what's around its Galaxy into an 8-inch form factor, housing a 1,280 x 800 TFT display, Exynos 4 Quad with 2GB RAM (clocked at 1.6GHz), TouchWiz-skinned Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 OS, S Pen (and suite of associated apps), as well as radios for HSPA+ and WiFi into that familiar, lightweight plastic body.

But that extra inch alone isn't the Galaxy Note 8.0's main attraction. Samsung's wisely made use of the additional screen real estate to bundle two extra features. Building upon market research that indicates over 80-percent of tablet use takes place within the living room, the company's partnered with Peel for its Smart Remote app, a visual programming guide with remote control functions baked-in that comes pre-loaded on the tab. And, in keeping with its portrait oriented design, the Note 8.0 also incorporates what the company calls "reading mode," effectively optimizing the slate's display for comfortable e-book use.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 official: 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad, 1280 x 800 display, HSPA+ 21, Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2

By Joseph Volpe posted Feb 23rd 2013 9:00PM 0

We knew another Note was coming. After all, Samsung Mobile head JK Shin confirmed the news back in January. But here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the tablet's finally been made official. If you haven't already inferred from its name, Samsung's latest S Pen entry boasts an 8-inch 1,280 x 800 TFT display. That puts it on par with the Note 10.1's resolution, although here users will obviously benefit from a more eye-pleasing pixel density (189ppi) and smaller 210.8mm x 135.9mm x 7.95mm (8.3 x 5.4 x 0.31 inches) footprint. Beneath that love it or hate it sealed plastic chassis, lies the company's Exynos 4 Quad processor clocked at 1.6GHz and paired with 2GB RAM, radios for WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, GLONASS and HSPA+ 21 (850/900/1900/2100MHz), up to 32GB of internal storage (microSD expansion available), in addition to a 4,600mAh battery. And, as with most Android products rolling out as of late, the Note 8.0 will ship with version 4.1.2 of Jelly Bean onboard -- skinned with the requisite TouchWiz UX.

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Liveblogging MWC: here's when to catch the show's biggest launch events Mobile

By Zach Honig posted Feb 23rd 2013 5:47PM 0

Can't make it to Barcelona for this year's Mobile World Congress? Don't worry -- we've got you covered. We'll be typing and snapping away quite a bit over the next few days, beginning with Huawei's event tomorrow morning. Then, we'll be heading to Mozilla to learn more about Firefox OS, and on Monday, we'll hear from Nokia, ASUS, and ZTE, just to name a few. We'll be checking out plenty of other events, too, along with countless booths at MWC's brand new venue, Fira Gran Via, located just outside the Barcelona city limits. We don't want you to miss any of the action -- jump past the break for a liveblog breakdown, along with links to each event.

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Insert Coin semifinalist: Radiator Labs wants to help you control your heat

By Brian Heater posted Feb 23rd 2013 3:38PM 0

Just about any apartment-dwelling urbanite can tell you that radiators are a bit of a necessary evil in the world of city living. What if there was a way to control the heat to individual rental units, without relying entirely on a landlord's temperature-controlling omnipotence? The Radiator Labs team has developed a device to help realize this dream. It's essentially housing that sits on-top of an individual radiator unit, controlling heat transfer to a room. Turn it off, and the insulation hampers the heat from making a room too hot. Turn it on, and the ducted fan spreads the heat out to the room.

Radiator Labs has a bit more info on its page, which you can check out in the source link below. You can also view graphical breakdown of the technology after the break.

Check out the full list of Insert Coin: New Challengers semifinalists here -- and don't forget to pick a winner!

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We're celebrating Insert Coin semifinalists with a giveaway makers will love

By Barb Dybwad posted Feb 23rd 2013 1:00PM 0

We're celebrating Insert Coin semifinalists with a giveaway makers will love
On Wednesday, we opened voting so you can help us choose five finalists in our first Insert Coin: New Challengers competition. It was hard enough for Engadget editors to decide on 10 semifinalists out of the myriad awesome crowdfunded projects entered, including such futuristic fare as bipedal robots, high-tech puppetry and more. Now it's your turn to pick which final five entrants will also present on stage at Expand this March for the chance to win a total of $25,000: $5,000 for the Reader's Choice winner and a whopping $20,000 Grand Prize. Voting closes this coming Wednesday, February 27 at 12:30pm PST / 3:30pm EST, so get your vote in!

To celebrate the DIY ingenuity and high tech innovation demonstrated by our intrepid entrants, we're running an Insert Coin Twitter Giveaway that gives a little something back to all the makers out there. We're giving away the following three kit prizes: Grand Prize is the Egg-Bot, an art robot that draws intricate designs on eggs or other round objects including ornaments, golf balls, and light bulbs; 2nd Prize is an Apple 1 Replica Kit designed with permission from the Apple I's original creator, Steve Wozniak; 3rd Prize is the Adafruit FLORA GPS Starter Pack including a Flora motherboard, a GPS module that can also perform location datalogging, eight ultra-bright chainable RGB pixels and more.

To win, simply send a tweet naming which of the 10 semifinalists you want to win, in the following format: "I think [PROJECT NAME] should win $20,000 in the @EngadgetExpand Insert Coin Competition!" Of course while you're at it, don't forget to vote! To be eligible to enter, you must be 18 years of age and a U.S. resident (please peruse the full rules).

Name your inventor of choice by 5pm EST on Monday, February 25 (one entry per person, please!). We'll choose three winners at random to win each kit prize and will notify them via Twitter. Plus, make sure to follow @EngadgetExpand for more chances to win tickets, prizes and other goodies.

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We're live from MWC 2013 in Barcelona! Mobile

By Zach Honig posted Feb 23rd 2013 12:00PM 0

We're live from MWC 2013 in Barcelona!

We've arrived in Catalonia's capital city, where snow, apparently, has marked the start of this year's Mobile World Congress. That's right, the hills surrounding this typically warm Mediterranean metropolis have been blanketed in a thin layer of flurries, but we're nonetheless optimistic about this week's smartphone show in Barcelona. As MWC 2013's massive new venue begins to take shape, we're preparing to deliver the hottest hands-ons, directly from Fira Gran Via. Some manufacturers, such as HTC and LG, have already demoed their latest handsets, and other devices have made an early debut, but there's plenty of excitement still to come, as you'll discover in our show preview. We'll be sharing our liveblog lineup in a few hours -- for now, it's time to bookmark our event page, and check back often throughout the next week.

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