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Samsung fixes Avatar Blu-ray problems with firmware updates

April 30, 2010 By

Being stuck with a Blu-ray player that couldn't handle what is (probably) the most popular movie on the format of all-time sounds like a bit of a problem, which Samsung has moved quickly to resolve with firmware updates for its BD-UP5000 (to version 1.5) and BD-P1400 (to version 2.13) Blu-ray players. Forum reports indicate all is well on Pandora once users have upgraded to the new versions with no lingering BD+ DRM issues getting in their way. Of course, the question of why legitimate buyers had to wait several days just to play a movie that was still ripped and redistributed without copy protection as soon as it launched remains unanswered. So is anyone else still having Avatar playback problems, or is all well in your high bitrate neck of the woods?

Samsung fixes Avatar Blu-ray problems with firmware updates originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo being replaced to soothe frustrated investors?

April 30, 2010 By

Well, here's a surprise: Reuters says Nokia might consider replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in order to please unhappy shareholders who don't see the cellphone giant effectively competing in the smartphone market. The report is mostly based on analyst chatter and doesn't provide any hard sources, but we've certainly seen analysts swarm around blood in the water like this in the past, so it's not totally out of the question -- especially given core concerns about Symbian^3 delays, stagnant profit growth, and (uh oh) competing against the iPhone. What's more, OPK pledged to build up Nokia's US presence when he took over, and he's obviously failed to deliver on that promise -- US marketshare has fallen from 20 percent to 7 percent, prompting one analyst quoted in the Reuters piece to wonder if "Nokia really has the desire to fix the problem." Ouch. That's a lot of big questions with no easy answers -- OPK is scheduled to speak to shareholders next week, we'll see what he has to say.

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo being replaced to soothe frustrated investors? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia sticks to its stylus roots, offers telescopic SU-36 for capacitive screens

April 30, 2010 By

You know what, we're not gonna make that joke. You can, but we'll just move right along to the meat of this story -- Nokia has listed a telescopic stylus for capacitive screens, the SU-36, which seems to have come out right alongside the N8 to serve as its Symbian^3 assistant. Compatible with the N8, X6, and any other phone with a proper touchscreen on it, this retractable accessory will substitute your fingers when they are either too cold or too imprecise to do the job themselves. It's not yet been priced or made available, but you'll be fine using that sausage stylus for another few weeks, won't ya?

[Thanks, Zabavan]

Nokia sticks to its stylus roots, offers telescopic SU-36 for capacitive screens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Aero confirmed to offer all that Google’s got to give

April 30, 2010 By

Dell Aero confirmed to offer all that Google's got

When we first got our paws on the Dell Aero it was missing Maps, and the Market, and all the other Google-branded apps that make Android as good as it is. Initial fears regarding their absence were assuaged by representatives indicating that all of Google's goodness would be available in the phone, and now it's confirmed: the Aero will include all of the Google Mobile Services, including the Market, Maps, Gmail, and search. That contrasts with the Backflip, which at this point is still bereft of Google Maps. So sad.

[Thanks, Alex D.]

Dell Aero confirmed to offer all that Google's got to give originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity

April 30, 2010 By

Has the Nokia N8 made a Symbian^3 believer out of you? If so, you'll be glad to know the beta tag has been peeled off the web application development tools for the platform, which -- according to Executive Director Lee Williams -- provide "an ideal entry point" for coders of all skill levels. This is because the primary languages spoken are HTML, CSS and JavaScript, familiar to almost anyone who's tried to create for the web, and with just a little extra JavaScript exercise, you're promised access to the phone's contacts, camera, accelerometer, and location. It sounds all kinds of refreshing, but the usefulness of this tool set and the entire environment will be determined by what people produce with it -- and to that end we've provided you with a link to the downloads page (Windows, Mac and Linux users are all being served) where you can get your Symbian dev career started in earnest.

Continue reading Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity

Symbian^3 web app development tools come out of beta, aim for standardized simplicity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June — will Froyo follow suit?

April 30, 2010 By

Let's take a break from Apple and Adobe's back-and-forth, shall we? Instead, we'll let the latter company talk about its work with Google, specifically the Android platform. Flash-based CTO Kevin Lynch said today in a post, "We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June." Good news, indeed, but with all this talk of Froyo having native Flash support, and this month's conference serving as the largest gathering of Android developers, we can't imagine a better platform (pun intended) for Andy Rubin and company to unveil its fragmentation-curbing Froyo update. Might Flash 10.1's May preview / June release schedule line up with the OS, as well? Just some fat-free food for thought.

[Thanks, Steven]

Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June -- will Froyo follow suit? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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James Cameron convinces NASA to use 3D camera on next Mars mission

April 30, 2010 By

What do you do once you've broken your own record for the world's highest-grossing picture film? Well, you go offworld, of course. James Cameron, in his infinite benevolence and multidimensional wisdom, has convinced NASA bigwigs not to forgo the inclusion of a high-res 3D camera on the Curiosity (aka Mars Science Laboratory) rover, which is set to depart for the red planet in 2011. Budget overruns had led to the scrapping of the autostereoscopic idea, but the director-man -- who has been involved with this project for a good few years now -- felt the results of the mission would be far more engaging if people could see them in 3D. Hey, if he can make us watch the Blue Man Group reenactment of Fern Gully, don't bet on Cameron failing to make extraterrestrial rubble interesting with his 3D voodoo.

James Cameron convinces NASA to use 3D camera on next Mars mission originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cyanogen 5.0.7 experimentally brings Eclair to G1, myTouch 3G — caveats apply

April 30, 2010 By

After a brief delay, looks like CyanogenMod 5 is now out for the HTC Dream, Magic and Sapphire, also known as the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G. The release is labeled as experimental, so take care not to flash it onto your work phone, and G1 owners should back up their data as they'll need to install a little something called the DangerSPL (which has phone bricking potential) and perform a full wipe. If you're the kind of individual who doesn't shy away from software explicitly labeled "danger," get cracking on that rooted Eclair at the source link.

Update: Can't get through? That's because the sheer willpower of Android early adopters is crushing websites hosting the CM5 ROM like so many stale pretzels. Cyanogen is retweeting alternative options if you simply can't wait for things to quiet down.

Cyanogen 5.0.7 experimentally brings Eclair to G1, myTouch 3G -- caveats apply originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nielsen finds 53% of homes have HDTVs, but only 46% can receive an HD signal

April 30, 2010 By

So close, and yet so far away. The good news from Nielsen's latest Television Audience Report is that it reaffirms a CTAM survey indicating HDTV ownership has finally crossed into the majority (up from just a third a year ago) however there's still a significant number of people out there who can't actually watch HDTV on their new set. Even accounting for the cable cutters who simply choose not to watch pay-TV on their display, that's still a significant number of people not getting everything they can out out of their television set. We'd point out that these numbers should mean considerably more focus paid towards the high definition capable viewers but judging by recent events -- it would appear broadcasters and content producers have gotten the message. As the ruling majority, the only question left is what exactly should we do with this power?

Nielsen finds 53% of homes have HDTVs, but only 46% can receive an HD signal originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox 1.1 beta for Maemo goes live

April 30, 2010 By

The N900 already features one of the best pocket browsing experiences we've ever seen, but it looks to be getting a whole lot better today with the beta release of Firefox 1.1. Major new features include portrait browsing (awesome), form auto-complete, a context menu, volume key zoom, and -- this is pretty neat -- the capability to save pages straight to PDF, so it seems like the kind of thing you'll definitely want to download, even if it's not quite solid enough to earn gold build status. Oh, and if you don't have an N810 or N900 handy and you're amped to play around, you can download the little guy for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, too.

Firefox 1.1 beta for Maemo goes live originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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