China :: Technology

Blockbuster may have had its share of trouble here in the States, but that doesn't mean its British brother isn't doing well enough to have (and leak) a big-shot release date or two. According to a flyer brandishing the Blockbuster logo and that good 'ol co.uk extension, the PlayStation Vita will land in the United Kingdom on October 28th. That's ominously close to Halloween -- not that we're suggesting anybody is having pre-holiday PSV boot-shakes, or anything -- and the flyer's fall release prediction squares up nicely with Sony's "end of 2011" launch window. As always, we suggest taking rumors and leaks such as this with a grain of salt -- but considering Sony's sinkable record regarding loose lips , we'd understand a low sodium approach. Hit the break to get a peek at the Blockbuster UK flyer -- ready and waiting for your judgement. Continue reading PlayStation Vita out in October, says Blockbuster UK flyer PlayStation Vita out i...

Right on schedule , Best Buy's announced it's good and ready to ship two Insignia-branded connected televisions with TiVo's UI -- minus the whole DVR thing, that is. The two 1080p sets, available in 32- and 42-inch flavors, are landing months after the retailer said it was buddying up with TiVo to borrow its user interface -- and only that, there's no indication these will play nicely with Premiere DVRs and their multiroom streaming at launch -- for searching content and also just getting up and running easily. As you'd expect, folks perusing these sets can watch movies from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube, as well as stream from Pandora and Napster. Rounding out the list of apps are Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, and Chumby , with more to come, Best Buy tells us. In addition to the easy access to content, the story here is that the UI plays nice with existing cable boxes, making the installation easy even if the person holding the remote doesn't happen to ha...

Um, okay? Hot on the heels of rumors that Kyocera's Echo would see its first major Android update on August 1st, in flies an updated page over at the company's own website detailing the impending changes. Unless someone at Kyocera's pulling a fast one, it looks as if the imminent Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) update will bring a downright staggering list of new features, making an already unique handset capable of even rarer feats. Interest piqued? We're told that the refresh will provide pinch-to-zoom support in the browser, gallery, Maps and Sprint Navigation, an improved downloads app and an upgrade to the Swype 3.0 virtual keypad, with Tap Correction and Horizontal Word Choice list. But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg -- the real kicker is the addition of "internet calling over WiFi" as well as "an NFC reader to interact with posters, advertisements, products, etc." You heard right, WiFi calling and a previously unmentioned NFC ...

RIM's 7-inch PlayBook may be lovely to hold, and that gesture area along the bezel is downright genius, but the QNX-powered slate hasn't had the easiest time taking on the likes of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Apple's iPad 2. Still, RIM's following is amongst the most loyal in the industry, and those who wouldn't leave the house sans a BlackBerry handset may have been inclined to give this guy a go. If that's you, we're overly interested in hearing how you'd do things differently. Would you have preferred a larger screen? Android app support right out of the box? A beefier software store? Go on and get creative in comments below -- something tells us RIM isn't exactly in a position to turn a deaf ear. How would you change RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | | Email this | Comments

These days, it's hard to shake the urge to pop a solid state drive into your next laptop, but even if you're down with dropping the requisite coin, the restrictive capacity choices may make it darn near impossible for pack rats to bite. For those fitting squarely into that category, there's Western Digital's newest laptop drive: the 9.5mm 1TB Scorpio Blue . It's one of the first in this form factor (read: the one that slips into most everything smaller than a Clevo) to hit the 1TB milestone, and at just $99, it's a veritable bargain. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware threw it through the usual gauntlet of tests, pitting it against a 500GB Scorpio Black and a 640GB Seagate Momentus. As you'd likely expect, the 1TB spinner bested the competition in SiSoftware, ATTO and CrystalDiskMark tests, though not by a tremendous margin. Still, taking performance up a notch while also boasting a full terabyte of space makes it somewhat of a no-brainer for capaci...

As a professional Microsoft watcher, I am tasked with the taxing job of keeping an eye on the PC market. I mean that in two senses, the first that I have to look at the strength of the PC market and track total sales, but also that I observe what sort of PCs are being built, and what consumer reaction they receive. Another symptom of my job is that I have the ability to request any laptop that I want to submit to a battery of tests, and more often than not, have it shipped to me for a weeks loan. My occupation is tough, I know. But there are certain computers in the market that even with my most concerted efforts, through any number of channels, I cant seem to get my hot little hands on. Todays post looks at three of the craziest computers in the world, each earning that distinction for differing reasons, only one of which I have managed to actually play with. There is something to be said for going over the top. Apples computers are brilliantly built machines, but they have an air of ...

Koka Sexton is director of social strategy at InsideView and director of InsideViews Social Selling University . InsideView helps sales professionals know their leads and prospects inside and out by delivering real-time sales intelligence seamlessly to any CRM. By combining social media insights with traditional editorial sources, InsideView increases sales productivity and revenue. You can follow him on Twitter @KokaSexton . Everyone knows that LinkedIn profiles are great online resumes, but did you know they can also be terrific sales lead generation engines? Your sales team is already chock full of content sales p! resentat ions, data sheets, case studies and existing customer references. Theres no reason why LinkedIn cant be an online, findable and social extension of this. Indeed, LinkedIn is a portal to your companys goods or services, and each sales rep with a LinkedIn profile is an online ambassador to a closed deal. At the same time, buyers and the process of buying has ch...

Mo money, mo problems, right Hulu ? Seems it, considering the newly up-for-sale content hub has just been slapped with a patent infringement suit. This latest bit of intellectual property beef centers on the online content provider's alleged unlicensed use of Rovi's electronic program guide technology. According to Reuters, the company, which currently powers the streaming likes of Blockbuster On Demand and CinemaNow, is seeking financial compensation for potential " lost license revenue and treble damages," potentially tripling any future settlement award. While Hulu has yet to issue a statement on the matter, we'd be willing to bet those takeover talks are taking a backseat until this gets sorted. Rovi hits Hulu with patent infringement lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

We thought Mango's nectar was already pretty damn sweet, but a group of young developers recently took up the challenge to make the next generation Windows Phone 7 experience even more delicious. Following up on last year's 'Rockstar' competition, Microsoft asked students to submit Mango app prototypes via Twitter, with the promise of developers phones for the top entries. Among the top 20 #WPAppItUp submissions are a program that helps the colorblind figure out what shade of puce they're peeping, and a sadistic alarm clock that requires users to solve puzzles before hitting the snooze button. Apparently, Microsoft still has 30 Windows Phones to give away, and is looking for young devs to offer up America's next top Mango app. Submission guidelines can be found at the source link below. [Thanks, E-Dan] Microsoft crowns 20 winners in Mango app contest, losers go home fruitless originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:01:00 EST. Please see our t...

When Microsoft disolved the eHome team that developed Media Center and renamed the MVP program to Windows Entertainment and Connected Home, there was some serious questions about the future of the product. While that question won't really be answered until September, when Microsoft is expected to reveal the feature complete beta at the company's Build Conference, a few leaked screen shots at TheGreenButton.tv show the same old Windows 7 Media Center running on Windows 8 . We can't saw we're surprised, since all indications are that Windows 8 will be a dot-one release, in terms of compatibility with Vista and 7, so there's really no reason for Microsoft to pull it. We're not the only one who'd be surprised to see new features though, as everyone we know seems to agree it would be silly to think otherwise. The real scary\sad thing is that Windows 7 has been out for almost two years, and no other DVR has managed to match many of its features . Is Windows Media...

Cilantro might be the most polarizing thing on this planet. Some people can't eat a fish taco without it, others cry frothy tears of dishsoap at its mere mention. The same may well be true of the LG Optimus 3D (known as the Thrill 4G in the US). We already felt a little torn about the device when we first got our hands on it back in February. Sure, it packed some extra heft and, ahem, Android 2.2.2. But its stupor-inducing, 3D display (combined with some truly poignant marketing) was just enough to whet our appetites. Plus, after having already scarfed down a bowl of HTC's EVO 3D , we were more than a little keen on tasting LG's take on the glasses-free 3D recipe - a young and intriguing smartphone genre. Now that we finally have, we're ready to tackle a question for the ages: dishsoap or delicacy? Continue reading LG Optimus 3D review LG Optimus 3D review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Perm...

Nova Spivack has several ventures in production that focus on the real-time stream, including Bottlenose (for filtering the stream), StreamGlider (a new mobile stream delivery platform), Live Matrix (the schedule of the live web), and The Daily Dot (a new online daily newspaper about whats trending online). The social media landscape is changing quickly, but this change wont be immediate, or for that matter, efficient. And thats going to be a big problem for all of us. I believe that Twit ter , Facebook , Google+ and LinkedIn are fundamentally different, and thus, should not be in competition. However, Im not sure the companies themselves see it this way. Its likely they will continue dedicating resources to competition instead of differentiation. And while the social media gods fight it out in the clouds above us, what will happen down here on Earth? What about all of us, the little people the users? Were entering a new era of social network chaos, and this, in turn, is going t...