Samsung dissects Galaxy Note, confirms NFC support for LTE version

Teardown fans rejoice! Samsung's chosen to dissect the Galaxy Note for all to see -- and on its official blog, no less. Strangely, the pictures show the global Galaxy Note with its physical home button but the specs match those of the Galaxy Note LTE that we played with at CES and which is supposed to launch on AT&T and Telus real soon now. There are no major surprises here -- Samsung outlines some of the over 1000 components within, including the glorious 5.3-inch 1280x800-pixel HD Super AMOLED display, the unspecified 1.5GHz dual-core processor (likely a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3), the eight megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash plus other bits and pieces like sensors and radios. What's particularly interesting is that Samsung confirms NFC support (with the antenna inside the battery cover) and the use of a Wacom digitizer for the S Pen. Want more? Hit the source link below for the pr0n gory details. Samsung dissects Galaxy Note, confirms NFC support for LTE version originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Electronista  |  Samsung Tomorrow  | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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Pentax Optio VS20: hold it any way you want, as long as you love it

Standing on the Hoover Dam, you're trying to encapsulate the majesty of the engineering feat before you. Turning the camera on its side, you try and get a perfect portrait shot, but find the vagaries of evolution mean your fingers won't stretch to the buttons anymore. If you've ever experienced such horrors, Pentax has the solution with its new Optio VS20 digital compact camera. The 16-megapixel camera packs an accelerometer (like Samsung's QF20) which will flip your image to the correct orientation and a second shutter release and zoom lever on the topmost side of the body for easier snapping. The company also thoughtfully included a second tripod mount, so there's no futzing with your stand required. Less exceptional features include a 3-inch LCD, automatic picture modes including fish-eye that'll appeal to the young skaters and hipsters you see littering the streets. It'll capture 1280 x 720 movies with its independent video button (also recording in fish-eye) and variable aspect ratio. It's arriving next month for $250, so if you want to become a superstar of the board, you'd better get practicing your Ollies. Continue reading Pentax Optio VS20: hold it any way you want, as long as you love it Pentax Optio VS20: hold it any way you want, as long as you love it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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Microsoft paid Nokia $250 million to adopt Windows Phone, Q4 earnings report reveals

Microsoft and Nokia have historically been pretty tight-lipped about the value of their Windows Phone partnership, but the cat leapt out of the bag this morning, courtesy of Espoo's Q4 2011 earnings report. As SlashGear's Chris Davies noticed, Nokia received about $250 million from Redmond during the fourth quarter of 2011, as part of the companies' "broad strategic agreement." Under the agreement, the manufacturer receives so-called "platform support payments" from Microsoft -- which, in turn, receives software licensing payments from Nokia. The $250 million Microsoft doled out last quarter is the first of these transactions. All told, Nokia expects the payments both to and from Microsoft to total "in the billions of US Dollars." Microsoft paid Nokia $250 million to adopt Windows Phone, Q4 earnings report reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink SlashGear  |   | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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Nokia plans board of directors refresh, chairman to step down

Following on from today's mixed bag of Nokia financials, the Espoo-based company will see some changes on its directorial board, after its Annual General Meeting in a few months. As forecast last year, non-executive chairman Jorma Ollola joined Nokia in 1985 and has been on the board through Nokia's explosive growth into the world's biggest handset manufacturer -- and its more recent troubles. He will leave the board alongside more recent members Bengt Holmström and Per Karlsson, while existing board memeber Risto Siilasmaa is currently pegged to take the helm once the new board of directors is formed. New candidates earmarked for the board include Bruce Brown, of Procter and Gamble, Mårten Mickos, CEO of Eucalyptus Systems and independent corporate advisor Elizabeth Nelson. The whole Nokia nitty-gritty awaits at the source below. Continue reading Nokia plans board of directors refresh, chairman to step down Nokia plans board of directors refresh, chairman to step down originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Nokia  | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million

Nokia released its latest quarterly earnings report today, following up on a somewhat disappointing Q3 with a similarly bleak Q4. The Finnish manufacturer finished 2011 with a little more than €10 billion in net sales -- 11 percent higher than Q3, but 21 percent lower than 2010, when Nokia raked in about €12.7 billion. Operating profit, meanwhile, rose by 90 percent over Q3, but is still down on the year by a whopping 56 percent. To date, the company has sold more than one million Lumia handsets, but Espoo acknowledges that there's still a lot of work to do in 2012. In fact, Nokia expects to break even during the first quarter of this year, due in part to lower than expected seasonal sales and to what it calls "competitive industry dynamics." Find more numbers at the source link below. Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Nokia (PDF)  | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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Microsoft patents method for secure pairing of devices wirelessly and a 3D rangefinder camera

IBM may be the king of patents, and Apple's patent applications grace these pages rather frequently, but Microsoft's not one to rest on its IP laurels, either. A couple of newly published patents out of Redmond have made their way to the web: one for securely pairing wireless devices and one for 3D rangefinder camera technology. The pairing tech works via a direct connection between devices using Bluetooth or WiFi and an automated, two-step authentication process. First, a request is sent by an initiating handset and is authenticated by its target using an address book of recognized devices. Next, the two devices exchange encrypted security keys to cement their digital friendship, leaving you free to exchange your favorite episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 or latest LOLcat pictures with the greatest of ease. Microsoft's other patent of interest is for "a 3D camera for determining distances to regions in a scene." That's not a new concept by any means, but this new bit of IP integrates all the functions of such an imager on a single chip. Essentially, it claims an image sensor, a light source to illuminate the scene being shot and a controller to gate the pixels on the sensor on and off and correct for inaccuracies caused by other light sources. It works by projecting the light source and determining the distance to various points based upon the time it takes for the light to bounce off the target and reach the camera sensor. Want to know more? You can haz all the patent particulars at the source links below. Microsoft patents method for secure pairing of devices wirelessly and a 3D rangefinder camera originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink WMPoweruser, Microsoft News  |  USPTO (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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New York planetarium to host 200-player space game tonight (video)

Got plans for this evening? Cancel them now, and do everything you can to sneak into New York's Museum of Natural History. Because tonight, the museum's planetarium will play host to a 200-person space game, courtesy of Brooklyn's Babycastles arcade. It's all part of the museum's "Cosmic Cocktails and Space Arcade" evening -- an event that seems tailor made for anyone interested in cosmology, humans, and/or hallucinogens. The showcase of the soiree is the Space Cruiser game, which promises to turn the ceiling of the Rose Center for Earth and Space into a "living, breathing, space ship where participants navigate around a beautiful fictitious universe." With the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt assuming the tripartite role of ship captain-navigator-narrator, the game apparently begins with the birth of the universe, before transporting visitors across new galaxies and through time-bending wormholes. The ship launches at 6:30 PM tonight, but unfortunately, tickets are already sold out. Head past the break, though, for a rather "duuuude"-inducing video. Continue reading New York planetarium to host 200-player space game tonight (video) New York planetarium to host 200-player space game tonight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink CNET  |  American Museum of Natural History  | Email this | Comments from Engadget http://www.engadget.com

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