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Looking for an excuse to buy a LTE-enabled superphone? Look no further. Online retail giant Amazon has priced Verizon’s iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at a paltry $99 for customers opening a new line of service. For those keeping score at home, that’s a full $200 less than the on-contract price ($299) currently being peddled by Big Red. Why are you still reading this? Hit the source link, hammer in your Amazon credentials and get yourself one of these lean, mean, Ice Cream Sandwich running machines.

Amazon prices Verizon Galaxy Nexus at $99, tests your self control originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All those long, long drives to Florida in the family station wagon seemed worth it at the time, but now that we’ve found out that those lucky South Koreans have another crazy theme-park, we might just change our minds. Located near Seoul, Live Park uses 3D video, holograms and augmented reality, interacting with RFID wrist bands and Kinect sensors to stitch together a continuous immersive story. You (and your avatar!) have 65 attractions, over seven themed zones, and the world’s biggest interactive 360 degree stereoscopic theater to wave, jump and shout your way through. Two years and $13 million in the making, Live Park’s creator d’strict is now looking to license the concept out internationally, with locations in China and Singapore already earmarked. We’re not sure we could handle that long of a family drive just yet, but with a Hollywood entertainment “powerhouse” reportedly nibbling, maybe we won’t have to.

Continue reading South Korea’s Live Park uses RFID and Kinect to bring your Holodeck fantasies one step nearer

South Korea’s Live Park uses RFID and Kinect to bring your Holodeck fantasies one step nearer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm’s whipped out some flipping great wadges of cash in order to snap up Pixtronix for its PerfectLight MEMS-based display tech. It reportedly cost between $175 - $200 million and is expected to be merged into the company’s super-low power Mirasol-based displays. Compared to the Kyobo eReader we played with at CES, PerfectLight has a wider viewing angle (170 degree), supports full speed video playback and much better RGB modulation. Depending on how successful the marriage is, it could spell the end of the final hurdles that have hampered the widespread adoption of the technology.

Qualcomm buys Pixtronix to make for better Mirasol displays? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It hit two million paying subscribers in September of last year and 2.5 million in November, and now Spotify has hit another big milestone. According to the Financial Times, it now has three million subscribers paying for one of its premium services, which reportedly represents more than 20 percent of its active user base. As the FT notes, that percentage is up from 15 percent in March of last year, and Spotify says that its “active” users don’t include folks who signed up for a a free trial of its premium service but didn’t continue to use the free service. Interestingly, the company also revealed that over half of its paying subscribers are under 30, which Spotify’s Ken Parks says is a “remarkable number of people who are generally hard to monetize.”

Spotify tops three million paying subscribers, 20 percent of its active user base originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BlackBerry Curve 8300 emerged as one of the best smartphone ideas of 2007. It pre-dated the first Android handset by a full year, and unlike the original iPhone, it was priced within reach of the average consumer. It introduced the masses to the possibilities of a connected and capable handset, and was the primary catalyst for the BlackBerry’s meteoric rise to household name. With each subsequent iteration, however, the Curve remained a handset geared toward first-time smartphone buyers, and that axiom feels particularly true today.

RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 9360 outed — is this Apollo?

RIM launches new BlackBerry Curve (video)

Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-on

We’re now presented with the Curve 9360 ($29.99, on contract), a device that’s ostensibly hobbled in order to differentiate itself from RIM’s higher-end offerings, most notably the Torch 9810 ($49), Torch 9860 ($99) and Bold 9900 ($199). Specifically, we refer to its lack of a touchscreen. The omission will certainly be a deal-breaker for some, but whether it causes the market to reject it as a whole remains unknown. For our part, we’re most interested in the impact on the handset’s usability and its relevance in an increasingly competitive environment. In other words, has RIM included enough improvements to keep its Curve franchise afloat, or will this iteration sink like a stone? Join us after the break, as we delve into the Curve 9360 and explore these finer details.

Continue reading BlackBerry Curve 9360 review

BlackBerry Curve 9360 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you ever thought remembering HTC’s titanic product line was like trying to recall the Greek alphabet, then it seems you’re not alone. Phil Roberson, head of the firm’s UK operations apparently thinks the display cabinet is getting a little crowded, too, telling Mobile Magazine “We have to get back to focusing on what made us great - amazing hardware.” No surprises that there’s been a tightening of focus after filing disappointing results just earlier this month. There’s already been the odd whisper of new directions for HTC, and this year’s phone roll-out is already under way, but with Roberson suggesting tablets aren’t high on its list of priorities this year, we’re banking on further details of 2012’s product plans at next month’s MWC.

HTC’s UK chief wants to ease off the new-product gas, focus on ‘amazing hardware’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading LikeBelt concept encourages a very physical kind of Facebook liking (video)

LikeBelt concept encourages a very physical kind of Facebook liking (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It might not be making as much money as the competition in Cupertino, but that doesn’t mean Samsung isn’t raking in cash at an astonishing clip. We reported earnings estimates a few weeks ago, but now it’s official that the firm posted a 5.3 trillion won ($4.7 billion) operating profit in Q4 2011. That represents over a 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) increase year over year. In all, it pulled in 47.3 trillion won ($42 billion) in sales, thanks in no small part to the over 300 million phones Sammy sold last year. While mobile accounted for roughly 40 percent of company sales and half of its operating profit (2.6 trillion won, or $2.3 billion), its semiconductor business did almost as well, raking in 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion) in profit over the same period. Samsung’s Display Panel business outperformed 2010 — buoyed by strong sales in LED televisions — as sales were up almost 20 percent, to 8.55 trillion won ($7.6 billion).

Well the call just finished up, and Sammy provided some prognosication for 2012. It anticipates the mobile business to continue to grow, with LTE and and new market segments (read: Galaxy Note) helping drive sales. TV sales are also expected to remain on the uptick, as Samsung anticipates demand to continue growing due in part to the London Olympics and roll-out of more Smart TVs. Feel free to check out all the numbers giving Samsung reason for its optimism at the source link below.

Samsung 2011 Q4 earnings official: $42 billion in sales, $4.7 billion operating profit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wouldn’t it be absolutely splendid if you could hand your phone over to a friend (or complete stranger) without fear of them mucking up your system or digging into your personal bits? Yes, we’d absolutely love to see guest accounts become standard issue on all handsets, but until that day arrives, a new application called SwitchMe will work in a pinch. Word of caution, this app requires root privileges, which may deter many folks.

Rather than allowing multiple sessions to run simultaneously, as you’d expect on a desktop computer, SwitchMe lets users easily jump between different installations of Android — they exist separately and don’t talk to each other. Naturally, this also allows hobbyists to easily jump between their favorite ROMs, and gives developers clean sandboxes for app testing. The first hit is free, but if you want to manage more than two installations, you’ll need to buy the unlock key for $1.98. Still, those who find the SwitchMe useful should consider tossing the developer a few bones.

Update: As a commenter pointed out, multiple ROMs are not supported at this time. The developer has verified this, stating that any content inside /system cannot be changed. Bummer.

[Thanks, Alan]

SwitchMe brings makeshift guest account to Android root users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No, it’s not another Fast & Furious sequel, it’s something much quicker — 800 billion times quicker, to be precise. Scientists at DESY (Germany’s largest particle physics center) are premiering the Guinness World Record-holding fastest “movie” to a select audience at its light sources users’ meeting. The film was shot using an X-ray Laser, and splitting the light in two. By firing one beam off on a minuscule detour (0.015 millimeters) and delaying its arrival by 50 femtoseconds, two separate images are captured. Okay, so two frames isn’t exactly Lord of the Rings, but it’s still the smallest interval ever recorded. This technique won’t be popping up in Hollywood any time soon — instead, it’s actually used for snapping subatomic glimpses of ultra-fast molecular processes and chemical reactions. Despite the brevity of this record-breaking flick, the plot is apparently still more complex than Tokyo Drift.

German scientists shoot world’s fastest movie: gone in 50 femtoseconds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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