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Sharp Galapagos A01SH 7-inch tablet gets official, launches in late August

It’s been about a month now since we saw the Sharp Galapagos 7-inch tablet clear the FCC. There are probably some geeks out there wondering when the tablet will hit stores. Sharp has offered a launch date on the tablet for Japan and that date may be when we will see it in the US and other countries as well. The tablet will ship in late August according to the official PR.

The Galapagos A01SH 7-inch tablet has a slim LCD screen that measures 7-inches and has a resolution of 1024 x 600. The rear camera on the tablet is a 5MP unit and it has a 2MP front camera for video calling. It also has an internal modem supporting downloads at up to 42Mbps. The operating system for the tablet is Android 3.2 Honeycomb.

The little Android tablet has a very attractive design and looks really cool. The processor is a Tegra 2 dual-core from NVIDIA running at 1.2GHz. It also has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Sharp claims the battery inside the tablet is good for about 7.5 hours of use. Pricing is unknown but with a launch only weeks away that price should get official soon.

[via Android Community]

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Sharp Galapagos A01SH 7-inch tablet gets official, launches in late August is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Warner Bros outs Flixter Collections video service

Streaming video has a huge potential for the movie studios and TV studios that make the content that many of us like to watch. Some of the studios have big plans for streaming video services even and one of the larger studios, Warner Bros, has now unveiled a new streaming video platform that sounds interesting called Flixster Collections. The CEO of Time Warner Jeff Bewkes talked about the service this week during an earnings conference call.

The public beta for the new Flixter collections service started yesterday. Right now the beta is on PC and Mac computers only. The new service is trying to be social service more than something along the lines of Hulu or Netflix. Warner wants the service to be a hub that people go to when they are considering a movie to watch or buy. The service is free and it can tie into the users existing accounts on other streaming media services.

The tie ins include support for Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, and Netflix accounts. The Flixter service can also look at your local HDD to find out what you watch. Flixter will also give more details on films that are in the theater still with links to reviews and online ticket services. The catch with any social service is that it only really shines when a lot of people use it. Since it just launched and users are still scarce it’s hard to say how well Flixter Collections will do.

[via AllthingsD]

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Warner Bros outs Flixter Collections video service is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

.NET Gadgeteer looks to draw tinkering geeks away from Arduino

I have talked a bunch about some of the cool DIY stuff that I have seen around the web that geeks use Arduino to build. My favorite DIY stuff that people build using Arduino are robots like the Android mascot I mentioned a few weeks back. Microsoft Research has unveiled a new project that was created by the Sensors and Devices team called .NET Gadgeteer. The project was started after some of the folks inside the research area started looking for a faster way to come up with new products.

The research gang spent two man-years developing the SenseCam. After coming up with the .NET Gadgeteer they were able to develop a similar product in a matter of hours. The .NET Gadgeteer platform is a combination of flexible hardware and .NET-based software that allows users to create small gadgets in a few hours or less. The gang behind the project thinks it has great potential for fast device prototyping and it will be offered as a retail product.

The .NET Gadgeteer software is available as a download now and the retail hardware needed is up for pre-order at GHI Electronics. The system comes with a bunch of different modules that can be connected to give different functionalities. The modules allow the system to take photos, play sound, sense the environment, communicate with other devices, and interact wit the user. The kit also has USB ports for attaching to a computer. The pre-order kit sells for $249.95 and is called the FEZ Spider Starter Kit. Shipments are set to start on September 30.

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.NET Gadgeteer looks to draw tinkering geeks away from Arduino is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Twitter embeds Amazon and iTunes into tweets

Twitter has begun embedding Amazon and iTunes content links into tweets (for example), in an extension of its existing preview feature. Visible on the Twitter site, the retail links work in a similar fashion to previews of YouTube and certain image sharing services, offering review excepts of Amazon listings (along with a “Learn more or buy” button) and screenshots of iTunes items.

Twitter’s approach to monetization has long been a lingering question around the short-message social network, and it’s not clear if the site gains referral payments for each purchase made via a tweeted link. So far there’s no similar functionality in the official mobile clients, though we’re guessing that could well be on the cards.

The service announced at the top of this month that it had secured a new round of funding and was seeing 200m tweets sent each day. That money will be used for “international expansion,” though the exact nature of that expansion is yet to be revealed.

[via The Digital Reader]

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Twitter embeds Amazon and iTunes into tweets is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tesla puts three Model S cars on the test track at once

Tesla gained fame when the company launched the cool high-performance Tesla Roadster years ago. Tesla has stopped building the roadster for now to focus on its new and much cheaper model called the Tesla Model S. The Model S is a much larger car that can carry four adults and has a longer driving range than the Roadster could muster.

The Roadster promised about 200 miles per charge and the Model S claims 300 miles per charge. Tesla has started what it calls Alpha production on the Model S. The Alpha cars are for testing and showing media schleps that the cars are all about. Tesla too three of its alpha Model S cars to a test track and let them drive around.

The cars look really good and it never ceases to amaze me at the catch that with EVs you only hear the sound of the tires humming along. Tesla was nice enough to catch the test session on video for us to enjoy and you can check it out below.

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Tesla puts three Model S cars on the test track at once is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Skype app for Android updated for video calling on more smartphones

Skype has issued an update for its Android app that was updated with video calling capability on a few handsets back in June. The updated app landed today and there aren’t many changes to the app other than the official addition of more smartphones with video calling support. The new version of the app is 2.1.0.46.

When the Skype app launched for Android in June it supported the Samsung Google Nexus S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro, and HTC Desire S to start. The official supported handset list is much larger now and even includes a tablet. New official devices include all the original devices and the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Droid Charge – Verizon, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Desire (2.2), HTC Thunderbolt – Verizon, HTC Sensation, HTC Evo 4G, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire HD, HTC Flyer, LG Revolution – Verizon (2.2), Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro, and the Acer A5.

That is a bunch of newly supported handset and covers just about all the really popular devices out there. Skype notes if you are using an Android 2.2 or higher device not on the list you may be able to activate the video calling feature on your device in settings. However, the video quality might not be as good as an officially supported device according to Skype.

[via Android Community]

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Skype app for Android updated for video calling on more smartphones is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

PS Vita US and Europe launch in “early” 2012 says Sony

Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation Vita launch will miss the 2011 holiday season in the US and Europe, with the new handheld instead arriving “early next year.” According to Sony VP Kazuo Hirai, only Japan will see the Vita arrive in time for Christmas, with the rest of the “phased global rollout” taking place in early 2012. Rather than a delay, Hirai said the scheduling was intended to give Sony time to prepare “solid” game offerings.

Still, the news will come as a disappointment to many, who had hoped the Vita – which has an OLED touchscreen up front, and a clever touchpad controller surface on the rear – would manage to hit the US and Europe in time for holiday sales. Only yesterday, the Vita was spotted passing through the FCC, which led to suggestions that a fall US release could be on the cards.

As for Nintendo’s recent price cut for the 3DS, Hirai denied that the adjustment should have any impact on Sony’s previously announced pricing for the Vita. “We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable,” the exec suggested. “There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price.”

The PS Vita will cost $249 in the US for the WiFi-only model, and $299 for the 3G-equipped version. In Japan it will start from 24,980 yen. More details on the hardware and software of the Vita here.

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PS Vita US and Europe launch in “early” 2012 says Sony is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Gogo Vision video streaming takes off with American Airlines

If you recall way back in February I mentioned that Gogo was looking at getting into the in-flight movie streaming business as a way to keep you entertained on those long flights. It’s taken longer than I expected for the service to launch but it is finally here. Gogo has announced that the Gogo Vision video streaming service is launching on American Airlines now.

The new service will start aboard the American fleet of 767-200 aircraft. American is the first airline in North America to offer Gogo Vision to travelers. The movies and TV shows will stream to WiFi notebooks during the flight according to Gogo. The available movies and TV shows are from major networks and studios and users can watch trailers for the programming before they rent.

The rental periods is good during the flight and for 24 hours after on movies and 72 hours after on TV shows. This allows the viewer to finish their flick or show if they land early or just don’t get finished watching on their flight. The streaming service is primarily offered on transcontinental flights from New York JFK to LA and JFK to San Francisco. TV shows will rent for 99 cents per show and movies will be $3.99 each. The cool part is that the viewer doesn’t have to purchase in-flight WiFi to view the films or shows.

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Gogo Vision video streaming takes off with American Airlines is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.