You really don't know how many voice recorders there are out there until you actually look. Sony's UX line of dictation takers / mp3 players has just undergone a gentle revamp with a freshened up control scheme and a bump in integrated storage. The new base model, UX200, will come with 2GB of flash memory, while the 4GB UX300 and 300F (both capable of more than 1,000 hours of recording) are differentiated only by the FM radio availalble in the latter. All models record in stereo mp3 format with added noise cancellation built in, while playback can be done at 21 different speed steps, allowing you to keep track of all the Scatman John wannabes out there. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours for continuous recording, or north of 80 for continuous playback. Expect to see these showing up, in all their classy color options, in Europe early next month, and check past the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300

Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the official Spotify site says, "Symbian is the world's most popular smartphone platform," so it's only proper that it too gets to sip the elixir of on-demand music streaming and offline playlists. Nothing is particularly different from the iPhone or Android offering, you still require a Spotify Premium account in order to access the service on your mobile, but we're sure all those N- and E-series device owners didn't want better, they just wanted in. Lest we forget, the Samsung i8910 HD and Sony Ericsson Satio are also on that freshly minted Symbian support list. If you must know what the app looks like before pulling the trigger, slide past the break for a video demonstration.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Spotify gets Symbian app, Nokia owners rejoice

Spotify gets Symbian app, Nokia owners rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, South Korea, we know it's been about four decades since a handset without an integrated DMB tuner or two launched in your neck of the woods -- and no, there isn't an app for that -- but just how badly do you want in on this Apple mojo? Following government clearance a couple months back, South Korean operator KT says that it's now ready to offer the iPhone to customers next Saturday, November 28 for prices ranging from 396,000 won ($343) on a 45,000 won plan ($39) for a 32GB 3GS all the way down to absolutely free for an 8GB 3G on a 95,000 won plan ($82). Given that KT and its competitors typically rival Japanese carriers for sheer technological insanity, it'll be interesting to see how the average Korean consumer responds to the late launch.

iPhone slated for South Korean debut on November 28 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were promised a preview of Sony Ericsson's Symbian-sporting Satio sibling, and indeed here we are, looking at the machine-translated Kurara analysis courtesy of Eldar from Mobile Review. He pulls no punches in his introduction by noting that the new handset will offer little in terms of specs to trump the Samsung i8910 HD, and sketching out the tough market it'll have to compete in once the Nokia X6 comes out and starts grabbing market and mindshare alike. As to the phone itself, he describes the 8.1 megapixel camera as an "inexpensive" unit and lets the sample photos and 720p sample video shot with it speak for themselves. Battery life was found to be "lacking," though we congratulate SE on electing to use a 3.5mm headphone jack and MicroSD memory expansion over its own proprietary formats. Overall, the Kurara was "pleasant to use," but lacked the necessary wow factor and its fate, says Eldar, will depend on just how keenly Sony Ericsson wants to price it.

Sony Ericsson Kurara previewed way ahead of release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Powermat may have slung "inductive charging" into the mainstream (at least to some minor extent), but it's still far too niche to be taken seriously by any electronics aisle in Target. Take that same technology and shove it into wood, however, and you've got something that each and every table owner on the planet could appreciate. Jason V decided to retrofit a Powermat charging pad into a slab of wood, and while it wasn't the easiest of tasks, the fact that he managed to successfully integrate it opens up all sorts of possibilities for the woodworking crowd. If you're hungry for more details, hop on down to the how-to guide at Instructables; otherwise, the demonstration vid is just past the break.

Continue reading Powermat retrofitted into plank of wood, new world of opportunies discovered

Powermat retrofitted into plank of wood, new world of opportunies discovered originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although we like to think of the US and European markets as the center of the cellphone universe, there are big (Big!) sales to be had elsewhere behind the unstoppable force of globalization. And when it comes to absolute numbers, markets just don't get any bigger than China with its estimated 700 million subscribers. Rumors of BlackBerry and Palm twist-ups with Chinese carriers are nothing new. In fact, RIM has already been a player in the Chinese market for years. Today, however, we've got a rumored timeline for bringing their handsets to China Telecom: end of 2009 or early 2010, according to a Reuters source. The move would give Telecom its first trendy western mobiles in hopes of improving its third place position behind Unicom and market dominating China Mobile in a battle for the hearts and minds and treasure of China's burgeoning population. And while RIM would certainly be pleased by the additional revenue source, Palm, with its modest marketshare by comparison, would be downright ecstatic at the prospect of tapping into China with its new smartphones.

China Telecom to launch Palm and BlackBerry handsets this year? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Never mind that silly name: ProFORMA (which stands for 'Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition', if you must know) is some cool system that turns any ordinary webcam into a powerful 3D scanning tool. In fact, a camera is pretty much all you need for some "on-line" modeling action -- no laser or green screen necessary -- meaning the 3D models are constructed on the spot while you slowly rotate the objects, although ProFORMA can also track fast moving objects as shown in the demo video after the break. Fans of machinima should also look into this for their next Warhammer drama series, but don't say you heard it from us.

Continue reading Cambridge's ProFORMA does 3D scanning with any stationary webcam

Cambridge's ProFORMA does 3D scanning with any stationary webcam originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After so much speculation and rumor, it's hard to believe that Dell's first cellphone is ready to launch. And while we've already seen the official press release announcing the Mini 3 for Brazil and China, today we get a followup release with a bit more detail. As expected, the Chinese Mini 3i variant is quadband GSM/EDGE only (no 3G) and packs a 3.5-inch nHD, 640x360 touchscreen display just like that found on Nokia's N97. The 58.35 x 122 x 11.7-mm OPhone will ship in "Red Passion" and "Oiled Bronze" colors packing Bluetooth, a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash and video capture mode, microSD slot, and GPS with pre-loaded maps. And in case you're wondering why China first, that's easy: Dell's going after China Mobile's 500 million subscriber base when its first handset hits authorized stores later this week.

Dell Mini 3i OPhone detailed ahead of this week's China Mobile launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Go figure, right? You get a relatively hot phone out onto more carriers, and just like that, sales increase. It ain't rocket science, buster. As AT&T grins happily while enjoying a death grip on Apple's cash cow here in the States, things are a lot more wide open for consumers across the pond. In both France and the UK, the iPhone has been given the all-clear to be sold on multiple carriers, and according to research from Bernstein, the "widening of the distribution has boosted Apple's value market share to 32 percent in the latest quarter from 21 percent just three months earlier." The notes also mention that Apple's increase is coming at the expense of RIM, with over 600,000 iPhone handsets being sold during Q3 2009 in France alone. The point to all this madness? Oh, not much -- just to tell Sir Jobs that he can count on quite a bit more dough should he decide to sell this elusive "iPhone" device on Verizon in the US of A.

The end of exclusivity leading to big iPhone sales in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku owners already have access to Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.tv, but now the set-top box is about to get a lot more interesting. Starting tonight and running throughout the next fortnight, existing owners of the Roku SD, Roku HD and Roku HD-XR will receive an automatic (and free) update that delivers ten new content channels. Pandora, Facebook Photos, Revision3, Mediafly, TWiT, blip.tv, Flickr, FrameChannel, Motionbox and MobileTribe will be joining the fray, and while we wish the likes of Hulu and other television portals were included, we're holding out hope that such channels will be unveiled in due time. In fact, Roku admits that "many other developers are working on Roku Channels now, and Roku expects additional developers to adopt the Roku platform over time." So, have these guys convinced you that you need another box underneath your HDTV yet, or what?

Continue reading Roku Channel Store delivers ten new content portals for zero dollars

Roku Channel Store delivers ten new content portals for zero dollars originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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