Tech News Updates

You might remember that we broke news of an updated Apple TV headed to market just a few months ago. If your brain isn’t working right, let us jog it: a trusted Engadget source asserted that the gang in Cupertino would be releasing a $99 version of the set top box, similarly sized and packed with internals akin to that of the iPhone 4 (A4 CPU, 16GB of flash storage), and will introduce new iTunes streaming services the box could take advantage of. Well we’ve gotten a little more info on the project, and it’s not all good. Apparently the box won’t be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word — and cause for much internal debate, we’re told — is that this has something to do with the A4’s inability to crank on higher resolution content, but we don’t see how that’s possible considering the iPhone 3GS could play back full HD video . Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications. Oh, and there’s one more thing — Apple will be officially changing the name of the device to iTV, abandoning the current moniker in favor of something a little more in line with its current iOfferings. Interestingly, that was the name of the Apple TV when it was originally announced by the company , so it appears Steve and friends aren’t so much moving forward as going back to their innocent, untainted roots. Regardless of which direction the company is heading in name-wise, we can likely expect a full reveal sometime in the Fall… so hang tight. Exclusive: Upcoming Apple TV loses 1080p playback, gains apps… and will be renamed iTV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Earlier today, Samsung pulled the curtain off (quite literally, might we add) its newest 3DTVs and the world’s first portable 3D Blu-ray player at its New York City press conference. We were able to slap on a pair of the 3D specs and spend a bit of time staring at the (admittedly amazing) 65-inch LED 3DTV, the fairly mediocre sub-$1,000 720p 3DTV as well as form some early impressions of the Blu-ray player. We’ve got you covered with some pictures below, but mosey on past the break to check our two pennies on each of the new products. Gallery: Samsung BDC800 portable Blu-ray hands-on Gallery: Samsung UN65C8000 and PN50C490 hands-on Continue reading Samsung’s 3D gala: 65-inch UN65C8000, 50-inch PN50C490, and BD-C8000 eyes-on Samsung’s 3D gala: 65-inch UN65C8000, 50-inch PN50C490, and BD-C8000 eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

It looks like one of DirecTV’s astronauts had more trouble flipping switches than their DISH counterparts , after a software or guide data update last night knocked out HD DVRs all over — and not for the first time . Currently the only advice needed to get back in working order is to reset the box twice (there’s a red button on the front, underneath the flap) within a thirty minute period (the official website indicates you can wait as little as 15 seconds between resets) and all should be well, but good luck getting through to customer service to get that message right now. Countdown to an apology starts… now. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] DirecTV software update locks up HD DVRs nationwide — reset twice to fix originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

There hasn’t exactly been a ton of Windows Phone 7 news to come out of Microsoft’s TechEd conference this week, but the company did take the opportunity to release an updated build of the mobile operating system, which should be one of the last before the release to manufacturing. That expectedly brings only minor changes, including smaller text on the lock screen, but it is said to appear “more complete and responsive” in demonstrations than before, which is always a welcome development. Hit up the source link below for a few more pics. Microsoft releases updated Windows Phone 7 build, brings minor changes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. In the short course of about 18 months, Android has gone from an upstart operating system on a single handset to one of the fastest growing mobile operating systems around to one that’s increasingly being used beyond the handset on new devices like slates, smartbooks and now televisions. As fellow Engadget columnist Michael Gartenberg pointed out last week , the idea of putting the web on a TV has been with us for well over a decade with little acceptance. But the content and role of the web has changed dramatically since Sony and Philips launched their first devices based on WebTV’s platform. As I mentioned last week , the web has become home for a growing family of mainstream sites upon which we’ve grown increasingly dependent. It’s also become an outpost for both first-run and long-tail video. And the progress of standards such as CSS has improved the display of web sites across browsers and devices. HDTV has quadrupled the resolution of televisions and enabled flicker-free display of text. While few consumers directly connect their PCs to their TVs, several of the former sport HDMI connections, and many of the latter sport VGA connections. Continue reading Switched On: Android’s shot at TV stardom Switched On: Android’s shot at TV stardom originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Well isn’t that a breath of fresh air. With no apologies given to its long-standing policy, Apple CEO Steve Jobs provided a pretty honest and thorough assessment of what’s wrong with the TV set-top box market. “No one wants to buy a box — ask TiVo , ask Roku , ask us … ask Google in a few months” (in the spirit of competition , of course). In Jobs’ opinion, “the only way that’s going to change is if you tear up the [box], give it a new UI, and get it in front of consumers in a way they’re going to want it.” Frankly, we’re pretty happy how quick and succinct he was able to respond in a Q &A session, seems like he’s been mulling it over — and given what we heard about Apple TV’s future plans , we’re not surprised. All the pertinent quotes, care of our liveblog , after the break. Continue reading Steve Jobs on TV: ‘no one wants to buy a box’ Steve Jobs on TV: ‘no one wants to buy a box’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Well, Steve Jobs just dropped a little nugget of history on us during his chat with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the All Things D conference. When asked by Walt why they originally put their new OS on a phone and not a tablet, Steve said, “I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet.” After working on the tablet OS which had a glass display and multitouch, another idea occurred to Jobs. “My God, I said, this would make a great phone … so we shelved the tablet and built the iPhone .” And there you have it. Steve Jobs: iPhone OS ’started on a tablet’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

You’ve got to hand it to Litl — even after the Webbook failed to impress, the startup is still trudging though the gadget trenches. And there’s no doubt that the new settop box it’s tinkering with sounds interesting: like the Webbook, it will run Litl’s very own Linux OS , and will be based on a browser and web apps — in fact, the company is launching an SDK for the Flash-based HTPC tomorrow at the Flash and the City conference. The most interesting thing to us is the cute little touchscreen remote, which will apparently let you control the UI from the couch with multitouch gestures. Sounds pretty snazzy to us, but you’ll have to wait until early 2011 to get one of these in your living room. Litl’s CEO John Chuang wouldn’t share much on the hardware front, but we know it’s powered by some sort of x86 processor, and will have HDMI and composite-out to connect to your HDTV, as well as Ethernet / WiFi connection options. We’re hoping by then that there will be some Android-based settop boxes on the market, but that doesn’t worry Litl — Chuang claims it’ll be a dead-simple consumer product. No word on the name of this thing, but there’s obviously time to decide on that. Hit the break for the press release, and the gallery below for some early designs of the device. Gallery: Litl settop box press images Continue reading Litl working on a settop box with smartphone-like remote, not scared of Google Litl working on a settop box with smartphone-like remote, not scared of Google originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Need a new digital media player? Can’t say that you have any particular need for network connectivity? We’re guessing you’re in the minority, but hey, that’s what Avermedia ’s here for. The company has just introduced its newest media playing STB, the AVerLife Cinema. The relatively simplistic box supports a variety of multimedia files, and it plays back content on USB 2.0 drives or memory cards at up to 720p over HDMI; it should be noted that component and composite outputs are also included for those operating with a set from yesteryear. The dearth of an Ethernet port or WiFi module is a downer for sure, but the comparatively low $69.99 price point just about makes up for it. It should be available starting today for those interested. Continue reading Avermedia trots out AVerLife Cinema media playing set-top box Avermedia trots out AVerLife Cinema media playing set-top box originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

If you didn’t already have enough ways to get content onto your iPhone , Marusys is adding two more to the pile with its MS630S and MS850S set-top boxes. Said to be PVR-ready, these boxes are designed to serve up content in all sorts of ways, with composite, component, and HDMI video outputs on the back and, inside, the ability to run Linux-based media players like XBMC . Both rock a Magnum DX6225 media chip, enabling on-the-fly transcoding of content into a variety of formats, including the hallmark feature of these devices: streaming straight to the iPhone over WiFi. It’s not exactly clear how this will work as Marusys itself doesn’t explain this functionality on its site, but Magnum certainly talks it up in the press release after the break. No word on price and availability of either, or when we might get more info on how this whole thing fits together, but you can be sure you’ll know as soon as we do. Continue reading Marusys MS630S and MS850S set-top boxes stream straight to your iPhone Marusys MS630S and MS850S set-top boxes stream straight to your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink