No more trilogies, folks. Ben wasn't positive at first, but Richard's convinced him it's about quadriliogies now -- at least in the world of Avatar. If only Time Warner Cable and CBS could compromise on the important issues as easily as our hosts do. Episode 361 of the Engadget HD Podcast is ready for your listening pleasure below.
Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh, Richard Lawler
Producer: Joe Pollicino
Hear the podcast
Remember that "watered-down ThinkPad Tablet 2" we were able to ogle back in June? Eh, don't bother lying -- the Miix 10 name is hitting you as the freshest of the fresh, and honestly, there's no shame in that. Lenovo's latest Windows 8 slate is now officially featured on the company's site, with orders being accepted now and early shipments expected to commence on August 16th. For those curious, $600 nets you a 10.1-inch tablet, replete with a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 CPU, integrated graphics, 2GB of LPDDR2 memory, a 1,366 x 768 native resolution, 64GB of eMMC flash, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 1MP front-facing camera and a two-cell Li-Polymer battery. Interested? You can part ways with your credit card number right here.
Heads up, BB10 users: your Facebook app is in need of an update. As in, there's one waiting for you. Facebook v10.2.1 for BlackBerry 10 adds Facebook Chat, enhanced message details, quicker scrolling while in Newsfeed and an "enhanced photo experience." Moreover, you'll find added Page Admin functions as well as a "refreshed look and feel to your Pages." Naturally, the update is being provided for free, and can be picked up in the Appworld right here. Of course, it's also sporting a sterling 2 out of 5 rating, so hopefully the new features will go a ways toward improving the aforesaid mark.
Wireless charging might seem perfectly suited for smartphones and tablets, but the city of Gumi, South Korea is putting the tech to use with something a little larger: buses. A pair of Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) motorcoaches, which recharge by driving over specially-equipped asphalt, are now running a public transportation route in the city, and it's said to be the first network of its kind open for regular use. Rather than stopping periodically to jack in, coils on the coaches' underside pick up power through an electromagnetic field created by road-embedded wires. Currently, the vehicles have a roundtrip journey of 24km (roughly 15 miles) when completing their stops.
Since the system operates so long as 5 to 15 percent of the path is electrified, there's no need to rely on a completely rigged-up highway. What's more, the solution is only triggered by passing OLEVs, which means that normal cars can share the same street. If this all sounds familiar, that's because the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has been hammering away at the technology for several years. Now that it's made it this far, the city has plans to add ten more buses to its fleet by 2015.
Fact: turbulence is no fun at all. Aside from the brief moments of bone-deep terror it can cause passengers, clear air turbulence (CAT) can also prove costly for airlines in terms of damages. To help pilots deal with difficult-to-spot areas where CAT is likely to occur, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is spearheading a new joint European project known as DELICAT. Essentially, the DELICAT program calls for planes to be equipped with a light detection and ranging instrument (LIDAR) that emits short-wave ultraviolet lasers. Radiation then bounces off oxygen and nitrogen particles in the air, indicating fluctuations in air density that signal the presence of CAT pockets. Until the end of August, the DLR will run test flights in a specially modified Cessna Citation plane to both show off LIDAR's capabilities and to give researchers invaluable data on CAT patterns. Though the system is still in its infancy, the folks at the DLR hope that the technology will one day become a standard part of commercial air travel.
Zoom's handheld recorders have long been a solid choice for capturing audio for video, live events and more. Today, the outfit is ready to ship its latest. The Zoom H6 offers six tracks of simultaneous recording and interchangeable mic capsules for varying the capture method. Those swappable units include stereo X/Y and MS (included right out of the box) with both shotgun and dual XLR / TRS combo capsule options coming soon. Of course, those add-ons work alongside four XLR / TRS inputs for external mics and the like. As we've already hinted, the Zoom H6 can be mounted atop a DSLR or camcorder for capturing live audio to accompany footage -- recording to SD, SDHC and SDXC cards up to 128GB. The unit even sports 24-bit / 96k chops for those who crave high-def tones. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, you can snag the H6 at the usual audio gear spots for $399.99 and take a closer look in the gallery that follows.
There's an abundance of iOS device docks, but many aren't well-suited to deskside use when they sit too low and limit use of the audio jack. Twelve South's new HiRise for iPhone bucks that trend. The stand raises smaller iOS devices closer to eye level, where they're well-positioned for video chats and listening to music with headphones. Owners have to bring their own Lightning cables for power, but they won't have to worry about case or device compatibility thanks to an adjustable rear support. That flexibility helps justify the HiRise's relatively high $35 price -- it won't be obsolete the moment that Apple and accessory makers change form factors.
Marissa Mayer may have left Google behind over a year ago, but the Mountain View influence is still trickling into Yahoo. Bernardo Hernandez, Google's Managing Director of Product Management for Zagat, will be joining the company to lead its Flickr efforts. There's no word on what title will grace his name tag, but he'll be taking the reins starting tomorrow.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
One of the key updates to XBMC promised back in March was to fix the open source software's Android capabilities. That's finally arrived in the June and July cycle of the Gotham build, where XBMC for Android now has Zeroconf support. That essentially lets any Android device act as an Airplay receiver without any third-party workarounds. Further, media launched from an Android browser can now be played by default on XBMC, where it couldn't before. Other new features from the release include the immediate addition of ripped CDs to the music library, ripping support for AAC and WMA, new settings descriptions, locked profiles and general performance tweaks. Head on over to the source link for more on what the latest XBMC offers, and feel free to download test versions of the software if you like to live on the bleeding edge.
When the HTC Butterfly (better known as the Droid DNA here in the US) launched in China several months ago, it was soon followed by a companion device called the HTC Mini. This accessory -- not to be confused with HTC's One mini -- is basically designed to be a Bluetooth handset and remote control for the larger smartphone. It features NFC for pairing, plus a numeric keypad and monochrome LCD. What's more intriguing, however, is that UK retailer Clove recently outed an update to the product -- the HTC Mini+ -- which gains an IR blaster and the ability to remote control a variety of TVs, along with HTC's Media Link HD. The companion device is expected to be available soon fort £54.16 (about $83) before taxes.
