Tech. World

Verizon has a new 4G LTE home internet router that includes voice, and it's meant to replace your home phone line and cable internet subscriptions in one fell swoop. The "Verizon 4G LTE Broadband Router with Voice" (rolls right off the tongue!) packs in WiFi connectivity as well as three Ethernet ports and a phone line jack for your landline. Up to 10 devices can connect to it wirelessly, though we wouldn't suggest as much given the LTE connectivity. Should you choose to pick one up ($50 w/ two-year plan or $200 outright), there are a few options for subscription: data only, voice and data, or just voice. Initially, if you snag that voice-and-data plan, the router itself is actually free -- and it's available starting today. Of course, as CNET points out, Verizon's "Share Everything" data plans come with limitations (notably, data caps) and that means you'd better be a pretty light internet user (or employing the service for a bri

Ginger isn't available yet, but it is already generating buzz. Not for its marketing video, nor for its simple website, but for its potential tie to a massive company in the software world: Adobe. Ginger promises to enable users to "show your story to the world in minutes" via its upcoming mobile application -- you can create slides with audio and visual components and then push them to various social media. It sounds a lot like PowerPoint for mobile, albeit with fewer options (no mention of video, for instance) -- not exactly Adobe's first foray into mobile, but another interesting step for the company. The Adobe tie-in pops up when signing up for Ginger's "keep me in the loop" email newsletter. A confirmation email from gingerfeedback@adobe.com arrives as confirmation, which tells us that either Adobe's involved or the company's been kind enough to Ginger to offer up free email hosting space (an

The latest way Google is working social media into its search engine is with the use of familiar hashtags, but at least for now that doesn't include direct results from competitors like Facebook and Twitter. Available initially to users in the US and Canada, searches that include hashtags (like #ExpandNY, for example) will gain a right rail display relevant Google+ posts that were either shared publicly or to you. Even if you're not an avid user of the #, since Google+ autogenerates hashtags for many posts, it should be easy to find related info for pretty much any topic. According to Zaheed Sabur, there are also links to search said hashtag on other social sites, although which ones weren't specified. Even if you're in the right area you probably won't see the new feature just yet, as it's going live "within the next few hours." ENGADGET

We just saw Twitter broaden its use of push notifications for tweets it thinks you might find interesting, and the social network is now also expanding their use for a more serious matter. The company has just announced a new Twitter Alerts feature, which it says will deliver "accurate information from credible organizations" during an emergency or natural disaster. To ensure you don't miss them, those alerts will be delivered via SMS in addition to a push notification on Android or iOS, and you won't be getting notifications from just anyone who wants to send them. At launch, only a hundred odd NGOs and governmental agencies in the U.S., Japan and Korea are able to send the alerts, although Twitter says it will be expanding that to include organizations in other countries. You can sign up to receive the alerts by going to an organization's Alerts setup page; just add "/alerts" at the end of its Twitter U

When your name is on a Major League Baseball stadium, and you're a mobile operator, you carry the iPhone. Unless you're US Cellular, that is. For reasons that cannot be comprehended by mere mortals, one of the United States' largest regional carriers still isn't offering the iPhone in any variant, despite promising back in May to carry Apple products before the year's end. In fact, things have gotten so bad over at USCC that its Facebook page has gone dead silent since September 13th, with customers far and wide ranting in the comments section about the carrier's inability to get the one phone they all want . Making matters worse for USCC is the fact that Appalachian Wireless, C Spire, Bluegrass Cellular, Cellcom, GCI, MTA, Nex-Tech Wireless, Ntelos and Strata are all lined up to start selling both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s on October 1st. We suppose even more could be added as time rolls on and the supply / demand

Pebble, the ( massively ) Kickstarted e-ink watch that connects to your smartphone, is about to become available at AT&T stores. Both brick-and-mortar and the online store will sell the device for $150, with availability starting online this month and expanding to physical stores at some point in October. AT&T touts its exclusivity as "the exclusive carrier for the hot new Pebble smartwatch;" the watch has also been available via Best Buy for some time now. Regardless, smartwatch owners now have one more venue to scoop a Pebble at come September 27th. Head past the break and relive our review of the Pebble in video form. ENGADGET

Sure, you could try and measure the motion-to-photons latency present in various Oculus Rift virtual reality games using your naked eye, but the latency tester Oculus just put up for pre-order is much easier and far more accurate. As demonstrated by Oculus Rift inventor Palmer Luckey in the video after the break, simply pop off one of the Rift dev kit's two lens caps and pop on the latency tester. After plugging it in via mini-USB, the tester reads the latency per eye and outputs a number on the rear -- voila ici. Like with so many things Oculus, folks who put in their name early have first crack at the latency tester. The rest of us can put in our names now for pre-order and they'll start shipping out in early October -- Oculus tells us, "they're sitting in our warehouse now, waiting for new homes." If you're looking to get in on the action you probably shouldn't wait, as only a "limited quantity&quo

Instagram may have missed the initial iOS 7 update run last week, but the retooled iPhone app is good to go now. Version 4.2, available for download today, brings design tweaks that mesh better with the latest iOS, with a slightly simpler interface and rounded profile pictures in the feed. Additionally, photos and video are a bit larger, and the resolution has been increased as well, enabling a better viewing experience overall. Instagram for iOS 7 can be yours right now. You'll find the download at the source link below. ENGADGET

Not only is Alcatel One Touch on a roll in Europe and Asia, it's starting to make more strides in the US. Sure, this isn't the company's first rodeo in this neck of the woods -- the Shockwave came to US Cellular last fall, while the Idol has been available online as an unlocked handset for a few months -- but it's refreshing to see it get its foot in the door with one of the big four networks. This morning, Alcatel announced that it has two budget-friendly devices coming to T-Mobile next month: the Evolve (pictured above) and the Fierce (pictured below). The Fierce is the nicest of the pair, featuring a 4.5-inch qHD display with a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek processor, 1,800mAh battery, 5MP rear camera and Android 4.2. The Evolve, on the other hand, has a 4-inch WVGA screen, Android 4.1, 1GHz MT6575 SoC, 4GB total storage, microSD support up to 32GB, a 5MP rear camera and 1,400mAh battery. Certainly prime material for the

Not a major overhaul by any means, but good news for anyone who's been using Skype for Mac and has been frustrated by a few lingering limitations. The latest build, version 6.9, corrects an annoying bug that caused the name field to overlap with mood messages on certain profile pages. The Skype team also changed the way screen sharing works, so that you can share just a specific window if you want, and not the whole screen. Other changes: when you do a search from the toolbar, phone numbers for Mac contacts now appear in the results. If you hover your cursor over links, it'll now look like a hand. Finally, Skype added support for three more European languages: Swedish, Finnish and European Portuguese. And that's all she wrote! Hit up that second source link below to download the latest version. ENGADGET

Google began testing its new same-day delivery service, Shopping Express, with a limited trial for San Francisco customers back in March, and it's apparently proven successful enough for an expansion. Starting today, residents of the greater Bay Area -- from San Francisco to San Jose -- can streamline their to-do list by having local stores deliver straight to their doors. Included on the list of participating retailers are national giants like Target, Toys R Us, Walgreens, Staples and Whole Foods (just to name a few), though some smaller businesses will also take part. The service is also expanding to mobile phones, as Google is launching a new Shopping Express app for both Android and iOS devices; with it, you can search for items, browse different stores and place orders from your phone. For more information, check out the source link below. ENGADGET

Today's the day for updates to Google's Android apps. The latest to get a revision is the company's main Search app, which sees a slew of new features and minor tweaks. That includes the ability to display a related website based on your current location, as well as offer sports and flight updates in realtime instead of on a 15-minute delay. Beyond that, you'll now be able to set reminders based on things like album or book releases, view event tickets from select websites, and see additional Smart TV cards (which require an actual smart TV) for news and music that's currently on your TV. Another feature that's said to be "rolling out gradually" is the ability to automatically tell others when you've left work. You can find the full rundown of all the new features (and the app itself) in the Google Play store. Update : We'll have to cool our jets for now -- while there is a fresh APK for Google S

Graphics cards aren't normally our go-to choices for audio processing, but we may have to make exceptions for AMD's just-unveiled Radeon R9 and R7 lines. The R9 290X (shown above), R9 290 and R7 260X (after the break) will support TrueAudio, a new programmable pipeline that enables advanced audio effects without burdening a PC's main processor or a dedicated sound card. Not that the range will be lacking in visual prowess, of course. While the company isn't revealing full specifications, it claims that the R9 290X flagship will have five teraflops of total computing power versus the four teraflops of the previous generation. The boards will ship sometime in the "near future," with prices ranging from $89 for an entry R7 250 to $299 for the mid-tier R9 280X. AMD isn't divulging the R9 290X's price, but pre-orders for the card will start on October 3rd. The firm has also revealed a new programming interface, Mantle, that makes the most of th

Ahead of next week's GTA Online launch, developer Rockstar Games took to its blog to outline what to expect come October 1st. The post goes to great lengths to establish that the entire experience is free -- unless you want to buy in-game currency with real money -- and incredibly you-centric. Feedback you provide by emailing or posting on the official forums will help shape the game. Where you spend your time and what you end up doing (Sports! Heists! Chaos!) in San Andreas will affect the direction the developers take with future content and how they tune the overall experience. However, while the entry answers a few questions it also creates some new ones. Specifically, we're curious about the company's use of "roll out" to describe GTA:O 's release. An incremental approach is probably best considering the game's current server strains, but we're sure that's not what its some 16.5 million playe

Despite its internet connection, Nest's Learning Thermostat has been a closed device so far -- you've had to rely on Nest for new features and software. The company is opening up its platform with the announcement of a developer program. Programmers will soon get to build web apps that link the thermostat to other devices and services, such as home automation equipment. Nest won't start the program until early 2014, but it's already partnering with Control4; eventually, all of Control4's apps and remotes will commandeer Nest hardware. If you're interested in growing the ecosystem, you'll find more details at the source link. ENGADGET

What you see here, dear readers, is the image of a fiber-coupled monocentric lens camera that was recently developed by engineers from the University of California, San Diego. The researchers involved in the project say this particular miniature wide-angle lens is one-tenth of the size of more traditional options, such as the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L pictured above. Don't let the sheer magnitude (or lack thereof) of this glass fool you, however: UCSD gurus note that the newly developed optics can easily mimic the performance of regular-sized lenses when capturing high-resolution photos. "It can image anything between half a meter and 500 meters away (a 100x range of focus) and boasts the equivalent of 20/10 human vision (0.2-milliradian resolution)," according to engineers. As for us, well, we can't wait to see this technology become widely adopted -- don't you agree? Source.. Engadget

It appears the tests of an IPTV-ready TiVo on Sweden's Com Hem service went well, as the provider is officially launching service September 30th. It's also built a few new service packages around the three tuner, 1TB HDD-equipped DVR, with the TiVo Max option offering about 80 channels and TiVo Combo Max bundling internet and phone service. Another part of some of the TiVo packages is a TiVoToGo offering that let's users stream several live TV channels and video on-demand to other devices, along with DVR scheduling and remote control features from the iOS app. The other juicy detail is that, like Virgin Media in the UK and Google Fiber in the US, Com Hem will allow the Netflix app on its set-top boxes. The Netflix feature is expected to launch on its TiVos in December, and we figure there will be plenty of customers ready, with a claimed 45,000 already preregistered for the new boxes since May 15th. Source.. Engadget

It's called MobileBench: an industry consortium planning to offer "more effective" performance assessments on mobile devices -- most likely centered on, but not limited to, Android. Unsurprisingly after recent developments, Samsung joins as a founding member, alongside Broadcom, Huawei, Oppo, and Spreadtrum. While that's who's in , who isn't? Well, both NVIDIA (responsible for the Tegra series of mobile chips) and the increasingly ubiquitous Qualcomm, which makes the Snapdragon mobile processor range. Between them, they power the likes of Microsoft's Surface series, Amazon's new Kindle Fire range, not to mention numerous flagship devices from LG, Samsung, Sony and Motorola. The group gathered for the first time yesterday in Shenzhen, China and outlined how it aims to offer more useful tools for mobile platform designers and "more reliable indices" for assessing user experience. MobileBench plans to establish impartial guidelines and

Turns out Google Play Books' arrival in India was merely the beginning of its burgeoning love affair with Asia. From the land of the Taj Mahal, it has made its way to eight new locations in the region: folks living in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan and Hong Kong can now buy digital tomes from Mountain View. Play Books' latest journey doesn't stop there, though -- it has also donned its best hobbit garments to travel even more south and go on an adventure in New Zealand. It often takes a long time for services born in the US to land in other locations if they even do, so this counts as a huge victory for potential users living in those countries. Now, if only Google Music could follow suit... Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/26/google-play-books-asia-new-zealand/

There are only so many ways one can juice up boring Excel data, but Microsoft's new Power Map Preview for Office 365 looks like it's up to the challenge. The 3D map visualizer has just graduated from "project" status with a handful of features sure to please number crunchers and map lovers alike. Power Map can automatically recognize geographical data in your spreadsheets -- from latitude and longitude coordinates to city or country names -- and plot associated values to points on a Bing map. You can also color code locales to see regional trends, switch between globe and flat map views and create "interactive" video tours for traversing your 3D spreadsheets. Those determined to turn raw numbers into eye candy will find the add-in on Microsoft's Download Center, and for an idea of what it can do, a sample video tour Redmond made earlier is located after the jump. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/

Valve announced Steam Machines today, a living room game console that launches at some point in 2014. The company also announced a hardware beta for its own version of the console; the beta starts this year. Today's news is the second of three planned announcements this week meant to expand the company's digital game distribution service, Steam. The company's issuing just 300 hardware prototypes in 2013 -- "free of charge, for testing" -- and you can enter to become one of those lucky 300 through your existing Steam account (an "eligibility quest" was added to Steam's quest page that will guide you through the process). Valve says that a variety of "Steam Machines" -- the new name for the company's "Steambox," a living room gaming console for playing PC games -- will become available next year "made by different manufacturers," including Valve itself. The hardware bet

We're hearing from tipsters and a number of other sources, including Google's own Product Forums, that a bug is causing some Google Hangouts messages to be sent to the wrong recipients. A few awkward situations have already ensued, according to TechCrunch , such as internal company communications being sent to ex-employees. The privacy bug seems to crop up when users of the old Google Talk platform try to connect with users who have migrated to the newer Hangouts service, so it sounds like it could be a transitional thing -- it's also reminiscent of a similar bug that hit Skype last year. Meanwhile, some of us here at Engadget are currently experiencing the more fundamental (though thankfully less embarrassing) problem of not being able to log onto Hangouts in the first place. [Thanks, Boris] Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/26/google-hangouts-privacy-bug/

Just a week after it began the first phase of putting iPads in the hands of all 640,000 students in the state, the Los Angeles school district already has a fight on its hands. In a matter of days, 300 children at Theodore Roosevelt High School managed to work around protective measures placed on the Apple tablets, giving them complete access to features -- including Facebook, Twitter and other apps -- that should otherwise have been blocked. Students bypassed the security lock on the device by deleting a personal profile preloaded in the settings -- a simple trick that has the school district police chief recommending the board limit the $1 billion rollout before it turns into a "runaway train scenario." For now, officials have banned home use of the iPads while they assess ways to better restrict access -- they would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids. [Original image credit: flickingerbrad, Flickr] Original .. http://ww

At Sony's IFA press event, reps handed out samples of the company's $250 lens cameras to everyone in the room. We really enjoyed our time with the Cyber-shot QX10, but that model's more powerful sibling, the QX100, promised even better performance, albeit in a substantially larger package. Unfortunately, it's been a bit difficult to come by, and our loaner missed the deadline for a review. We'll examine it here instead. At $500, the QX100 is an incredibly pricey smartphone accessory, but when you consider that the cam features the same optics as Sony's $750 RX100 Mark II, that ambitious sticker price is a bit easier to swallow. Still, for the QX's target demographic -- smartphone users looking to boost the quality of Twitpics and Instagram photos -- bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Both the QX10 and QX100 function in much the same way, but internally, they're entirely unique. The base model includes a 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 10x

Line is all about stickers. Or adorable mascots. Or stickers of said adorable mascots. But this time around, it's looking to tap into that rich Vine vein of short video-clip sharing. Initially on iOS (but Android will get the feature soon), you can now craft a 4-10 second short, with the ability to add your own choice of music in the background. The Snap Movie (that's what Line's calling it) will then play, on loop, forever , on your own timeline within the app. The update also expands users' photo and video-sharing capacity too and you can now make up to 100 albums (each housing 100 photos). If you're not exactly sure how those mini-videos are going to work, Line's been kind enough to offer up a free tutorial -- and check out a Line-sanctioned video example after the break. Original ..  http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/line-messaging-app-update-vine-snap-movie/

It's time to set the record straight: the original Xperia Z, launched back in February, was a decent phone. A solid phone. It was as if Sony had suddenly paused its chaotic schedule of handset releases in order to take stock of what Android users actually want: things like 1080p, microSD and a premium look and feel. And yet, the Xperia Z failed to be compelling. It wasn't just its subpar battery life that held it back. It was also the lack of a standout feature, which caused the phone to be buried amidst all the news of the GS4 and the HTC One -- and also by the announcement of the Lumia 1020 Windows Phone, whose camera suddenly made Sony's pokey, 13-megapixel module look like old technology. That's why today, just seven months later, we're looking at a new flagship: the Xperia Z1 (codenamed Honami, and not to be confused with the Xperia ZL), with a far more boast-worthy camera and some other subtle-but-important enhanc

If there's one thing to be learned from Apple's mobile services, it's that they'll almost certainly never be supported on rival platforms. However, that doesn't stop third-party developers from engineering their own techniques in order to break into Apple's walled garden. A case in point: Android developer Daniel Zweigart, who recently launched a Google Play app called iMessage Chat, providing users of Google's mobile OS with a way to communicate with iOS and Mac OS device owners via Apple's proprietary messaging protocol. Some have reported problems getting the app to run, while others claim it works as advertised -- and Zweigart has even gone to the trouble of emulating Apple's old iOS 6 user interface to make them feel right at home. You might think that it sounds too good to be true, and you could be right. In order to deliver the features it claims, iMessage Chat, of course, requires a working

When we ran into the WobbleWorks team on our recent Berlin trip, they were kindly enough to show off the shipping version of their crowdoverfunded 3D Doodler handheld 3D Printer. Though, when cofounder Max Bogue hinted that the company still had some surprises up its sleeve, he wasn't kidding. Perhaps most interesting is the inclusion of a mounting dock on the pen, which allows you to attach it a CNC machine, fulfilling the pen's 3D printing ambitions. Once attached, you can utilize another port to control the speed buttons remotely, so you can manipulate extrusion without actually touching the device. Also of note is the addition of a silicone tip cover, which serves to protect fingers from the heated metal extruder. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/3doodler/

HTC just can't catch a break , it seems: Reuters claims that the company now faces a One mini shortage due to both "design difficulties" with the casing as well as other, unnamed factors. The site's sources didn't explain the shortfall in detail, although we likely can't chalk it up to popularity. Analysts weren't expecting HTC to ship more than 200,000 One minis per month, which suggests that any supply problems would hurt the firm's bottom line. We've reached out to HTC for comment, and we'll let you know if it can confirm or deny its manufacturing woes. In the meantime, we'd suggest buying the full-sized One if you can't find its tiny counterpart in stores. Original ..  http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/htc-reportedly-suffering-one-mini-shortage-due-to-casing/

Now that we've got those naming suits out of the way, it's time to get down to brass tacks. With "brass tacks" involving a new smartpen, in this particular instance. The Livescribe 3 has just made itself known in a public FCC filing today, showcasing a svelte writing utensil whose main purpose in life is to digitize your handwritten notes. It's equipped with Bluetooth in order to pair with your iOS device and the accompanying Livescribe+ app, and once you start doodling in your Livescribe notebook, those very scribbles will appear in the app. There's a micro-USB connector on top for recharging it, and a handy twistable handle that turns the unit on. (Oh, and if you're curious, we're told that "more supported devices" will be added soon.) For the power users, there are Pencasts -- said to be "interactive documents containing audio that is synchronized to your handwritten notes." As

Comments on the internet: often a haven for trolls and axe-grinders, but comment threads also give rise to some insightful and entertaining commentary. In an effort to encourage the latter and to provide users with an improved experience, YouTube's rolling out a new commenting system that integrates deeply with Google+. What does that mean, exactly? Much like that other social network's News Feed , comments in YouTube will be based on relevance, not how recently they were posted. So, comments from people you know, celebrities and video creators, plus positively rated comments will percolate to the top of comment threads according to Big G's ranking algorithms. Additionally, replies will be nested beneath original comments to better enable conversations. Like Facebook, should you find the idea of automated comment curation unsettling, you can always switch back to the old way of having the most recent comments show up first. The integration with Google+ also b

Despite a few legal entanglements along the way, Aereo continues to spread its cloud-based TV streaming service across the country. The lucky municipals this time around are Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, and San Antonio, Texas. As with Aereo's other launches, those interested can pre-register at the company's website to gain priority access when it goes live. The first month is free, but you'll be on the hook for subscription payments after that; membership starts at $8 a month for 20 hours of DVR storage and goes up to $12 for 60. Most importantly, there's no word yet on when, exactly, the service will launch in these locales. But judging by how fast it's spreading, Aereo just might meet its goal of adding 22 more cities by the end of the year. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/aereo-columbus-cincinnati-indianapolis-san-antonio/

Gigabit internet access is all the rage these days, and C Spire is entirely willing to give in to peer pressure. It just announced an upcoming C Spire Fiber to the Home service that will supply 1Gbps internet access and IPTV to Mississippi residents sometime in 2014. Exactly where it arrives will depend on feedback, however. Much like Google , C Spire wants both municipal governments and residents to plead their case; the more vocal regions will get service first. Only local leaders can solicit C Spire at this stage, but everyone else will get their chance starting on September 30th. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/c-spire-plans-gigabit-fiber-to-the-home/

Jawbone's original Jambox made Bluetooth portable speakers a mass-market hit. Since then, though, Jawbone has started to lag behind as other companies have come out with better units that cost either the same price or less. Now, the $180 Mini Jambox is here with an even more portable design to help Jawbone keep its edge . Now that we've gotten the chance to live with it for a few weeks, it's time to answer the big questions you might have before placing a pre-order. Does the Mini Jambox offer marked improvements over the original? Is it enough to compete with all the other options in this space? And, most importantly, is the price right? Read on for the Engadget take.  Original ..  http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/jawbone-mini-jambox-review/

Sixense has so far promised only PC compatibility for its Stem motion tracker , but the company just teased us with the prospect of a wider ecosystem. It now says that Stem's developer kit will support Android and iOS if the crowdfunded project reaches a new $700,000 stretch goal . Mobile devices linked to a Stem tracker could serve as motion controllers, virtual cameras and even head-mounted displays. As an incentive to make a pledge, Sixense is adding a pair of programmer-friendly pledge rewards: $149 gets a one-tracker bundle with no controllers, while an early five-tracker bundle has returned at a lower $299 price. Whether or not you chip in, you can watch a conceptual demo after the break. Original ..  http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/sixense-stem-android-and-ios-support/

We've seen 3D printers produce some pretty amazing things, but nothing quite like this. Tim Zaman, a Dutch researcher, has reportedly developed a 3D duplication technique capable of capturing incredible detail, such as brush strokes and other textures on a painting. With a captured image on hand, it's then possible to print a reproduction matching every detail, including raised brush strokes. Reproductions are created using an Oce printer that can reproduce large-format paintings at 600 ppi; the process resembles that of a dye-sub printer, with the printing head moving back and forth many times, adding a new textured layer with each pass. It's a very cool idea, but don't expect to fill your home with flawless duplicates -- you'll first need to get your hands on a priceless piece of art. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/3d-art-printer/

Oppo's already made quite an impression with its N1 earlier today , and now that we've gotten our hands dirty with said Android phone, we can confirm that it's just as dandy in real life. As per usual Oppo standard, the N1 comes with a solid plastic build around an aluminum alloy frame, and we dig the silky matte finish that keeps fingerprints off the body. The O-Touch panel on the back is indicated by some tiny glossy marks, without which it'd be totally invisible. It took some getting used to in order to avoid accidental camera shots, as a one-second press on the panel triggers the shutter; but otherwise, we found the design to be very handy (literally!) and natural for taking selfies. And of course, O-Touch is also great for scrolling Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/oppo-n1-hands-on-video/

Oppo's been prepping its photography-centric N1 for quite some time, but at last, the teasing stops today as the company unveils its first N-Lens series device in Beijing. We're looking at a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 phone with a 5.9-inch 1080p display, an "O-Touch" backside touch panel (for scrolling and taking photos) and a generous 3,610mAh battery, but the focus is obviously on the camera. Not only do you get a 13-megapixel imager with an f/2.0, 6-element lens plus dual LED, but it's also rotatable over 206 degrees! While THL's W11 beat the N1 to being the first phone with both a front and back 13-megapixel cameras, it's not as versatile as the latter's implementation, and it's ultimately all about the image quality. In case you're wondering, Oppo said the N1's swivel camera has passed a 100,000-time rotation test, which works out to be seven years of usage if you rotate it 40

Apple just set a new all-time record for iPhone launch sales: it reports selling nine million total iPhone 5s and 5c units this weekend, well over the 5 million of the iPhone 5 launch last year. While the company isn't breaking down sales by individual models, it notes that the initial iPhone 5s supply has already sold out. The company also mentioned that more than 200 million devices are already running iOS 7 . That's the fastest software upgrade in history, according to Apple. While it's difficult to put the sales and download figures into context without directly comparable numbers from rivals, it's clear that the new devices are off to a strong start. Check out Apple's self-congratulatory release after the break. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/apple-sells-9-million-new-iphones/

Microsoft just announced the Surface 2 , the successor to the original Surface RT tablet . So of course, we did exactly what any self-respecting Engadget editors would do: we muscled our way to the front of the demo area and made sure we were the first to get our hands on it. As you can see, we've got a gallery of hands-on shots below, as well as our first impressions. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/microsoft-surface-2-hands-on/

Here it is: Microsoft's powerhouse Surface Pro 2 . As we've seen and heard already, Microsoft's follow-up to the Surface Pro is thinner and considerably faster. We got our hands on a 256GB model to form some initial impressions and begin to determine whether this guy is worth the $899-and-up going rate, a $100 jump from the original Pro's pricing scheme. Head past the break to dive in. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/microsoft-surface-pro-2-hands-on/

Twitter is one of the best ways to keep abreast of breaking news , but getting caught up on anything meaningful that happened on a given day can take hours of scrolling. To combat this, the service is now rolling out a push notification-based recommendation system that builds on @MagicRecs , the account that sends tailored content-suggestions based on who you follow. A trip to the Android and iOS settings menu is all it takes to enable (or disable) a buzz when there are favorites and retweets the platform thinks you might dig. If you can't spend all day watching your timeline but still want to stay in the loop, this could be perfect middle ground. Now if you'll excuse us, we just got word that Emergency Puppy tweeted out a new picture. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/twitter-push-notification-recommendations/

Now that Nest has rolled out its second-gen smart thermostat, it looks like it's gearing up to reveal its next project: an intelligent smoke detector dubbed Protect. Jessica Lessin, formerly of the Wall Street Journal , first broke word of the device and now AllThingsD is chiming in to confirm its existence. Specifics are slim, but it's said Protect will connect to the outfit's existing A/C hardware (presumably over Bluetooth), lending it long battery life since it won't need a WiFi chip. Lessin notes that a subscription-based monitoring service and the ability to sense carbon monoxide have been considered, but ATD 's sources say the contraption won't be tied to a monthly fee. An official unveiling is expected to occur soon, and retail availability could come by year's end. Now that intelligent smoke detectors appear poised to head into homes soon, we can only hope they're as charming as Gilbert Gott

It's time to set the record straight: the original Xperia Z , launched back in February, was a decent phone. A solid phone. It was as if Sony had suddenly paused its chaotic schedule of handset releases in order to take stock of what Android users actually want: things like 1080p, microSD and a premium look and feel. And yet, the Xperia Z failed to be compelling. It wasn't just its subpar battery life that held it back. It was also the lack of a standout feature, which caused the phone to be buried amidst all the news of the GS4 and the HTC One -- and also by the announcement of the Lumia 1020 Windows Phone, whose camera suddenly made Sony's pokey, 13-megapixel module look like old technology. That's why today, just seven months later, we're looking at a new flagship: the Xperia Z1 (codenamed Honami , and not to be confused with the Xperia ZL ), with a far more boast-worthy camera and some other subtle-but-important

​ While you would be excused for thinking the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were Apple's latest offerings, you'd be wrong. Today, Cupertino has announced that the iMac range has been updated to include new silicon ( Haswell ) new GPUs and improved WiFi. The entry-level 21.5-inch iMac houses a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with iris Pro graphics, while the top spec version (both sizes) comes with 3.4GHz and NVIDIA GeForce 700 series graphics, plus the option to upgrade to core i7 at 3.5 GHz. That WiFi refresh brings "next gen" 802.11ac, and there's also support for PCIe-based flash storage meaning up to 3TB of Fusion drive, or 1TB SSD. The new models are available today, starting at $1,299 for the 21.5-inch, and $1,799 for the bigger display. Original .. http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/apple-updates-imac/

For the second time in as many trading days, shares of BlackBerry were halted in advance of some big news from the company. Today's news is no less big. BlackBerry has just announced that it's signed a letter of intent agreement for a sale of the company valued at $4.7 billion to a consortium led by Fairfax Financial (the company's largest shareholder). Pending due diligence that's expected to be completed by November 4th, the deal would see BlackBerry go private, with shareholders each receiving $9 per share in cash. In a statement, Fairfax Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said, "we believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees," adding, "we can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to Bl

PC game service operator and game development studio Valve announced SteamOS this afternoon, finally formalizing a PC gaming hardware project known as " Steambox " we've heard dribs and drabs about over the past few years. The OS will function on "any living room machine," and it also streams games from your Mac and PC, as well as offering media playback functionality. The OS seems to be multifunctional in this aspect, both acting as an operating system for living room-based machines directly connected to televisions, and offering streaming capability from computers outside the living room. "Just turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have - then your SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your TV," the announcement page says. The OS is free and built on Linux; it will be available "soon." Valve says it's "achieved significant