Remember when it was revealed that Fox and Universal’s movie libraries wouldn’t be able to stream via iCloud to your Apple TV? The reason was that both studios were locked into an exclusive window with HBO. Fortunately, the cable channel is already entering into negotiations with the studios to relax that rule for people who have already bought their movies — having already done so for stablemate Warner Bros. A settlement is expected to be forthcoming in the next few weeks, at which point we can get back to the important things in life: the second series of Game of Thrones.

Continue reading HBO in talks to relax iCloud ban on Universal, Fox movies for Apple TV

HBO in talks to relax iCloud ban on Universal, Fox movies for Apple TV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/hbo-relax-icloud-window/

It’s been nearly four months since the Samsung Galaxy Nexus arrived, bearing the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, known to most of us as Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich. In this span of time, only a handful of smartphones and tablets have been blessed with an upgrade to this iteration. Why? One word: differentiation. The majority of mobile manufacturers are determined to come up with their own brands and tweak the open-source OS to their whimsy as a means of standing out from the rest of the crowd. But doing so involves several months of designing, programming and testing — for each individual device. Sadly, this means we’re left waiting impatiently for most outfits to come out with their own customized skin.

Sense 3.6 rolls out to Nordics Stock Android 4.0 review HTC Sensation XE reviewSince the latest iteration of Android meant a considerable adjustment to the OS’ design — as well as an endless list of new features, bug fixes and other improvements — the lengthy wait has left us only able to speculate and theorize what types of adjustments HTC will make to its own adaptation of Android’s user interface, nicknamed Sense. What’s more, it was recently revealed that there would actually be not one but two versions of the UI running on ICS: Sense 4.0, the skin of choice for the One lineup, and 3.6, the option for whichever legacy HTC devices are lucky enough to be on the upgrade list. Even though both run Android 4.0, the two builds look drastically different. We only had a very limited amount of time to spend with the former at MWC, but we were given the opportunity to experience the latter on a Sensation XE. Now we can finally have our questions answered at long last: how will HTC integrate ICS into its Sense UI? How different will it look and feel? What features will the company dish up or throw in the trash? Uncover the mysteries with us as we offer an extensive preview of Sense 3.6 after the break.

Gallery: Sense 3.6 screenshots

Continue reading HTC Sense 3.6 preview

HTC Sense 3.6 preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/htc-sense-3-6-preview/

Work it. Anywhere. Any time. Those were the fighting words behind the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard promo shots we showed you a few days back. Now, backing up what we’d heard, RIM’s officially (and very quietly) taken the wraps off its new PlayBook add-on, with a shipping date of March 23rd and a $120 price tag. The Canadian outfit is pushing this peripheral on the business-oriented consumer, but there’s nothing keeping the average Joe from dropping some hard-earned cash on it. Folks looking to pair up the physical keys and multitouch trackpad with BlackBerry’s revised OS can do so by heading over to its online shop. In the meantime, you can get acquainted by checking out the video tour after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry Mini Keyboard ships March 23rd for $120, a match made in Canada

BlackBerry Mini Keyboard ships March 23rd for $120, a match made in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/blackberry-mini-keyboard-available-now/

It’s March. Don’t bother looking at your calendar, we fact-checked it for you. It would make sense, then, that the seven-inch sequel to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, slated for a March UK release, should work its way through the proper FCC certifications before its inevitable launch. The docs don’t say much about the GT-P3100′s specs, aside from the fact that it sports ATT 3G radios. We still haven’t heard any official word on whether or not we can expect this to get any carrier interest, but given the popularity of the first model, we wouldn’t be surprised to find this gracing at least a few shelves before not too long. If you’re up for some digging of your own, head to the source.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) makes a pass through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-fcc/

London’s favorite only remaining evening free-sheet has snagged an interview with Apple design maven Sir Jonathan Ive. In the piece he talks about being thrilled and humbled by his recent Knighthood, the importance of his London upbringing and why Apple’s competitors can’t win. Pointing to a desire not to make “genuinely better” products, Cupertino’s unnamed rivals instead are “interested in doing something different, or want to appear new,” which he says is the wrong goal. The difference is that he and his team aren’t tied to a price, a schedule or a marketing scheme — which he believes “have scant regard for people who use the product.” There’s also a barbed reference to consumers being able to sense “great care in the design and when there is cynicism and greed” in products on the market. Head on down to the source link to read more, including his frustration with designers who “wag their tails in his face” — who knew designers had tails, eh?

Apple’s Sir Jonathan Ive: our competitors have ‘completely the wrong goals’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/apples-sir-jonathan-ive-our-competitors-have-completely-the-w/

Intel’s Dave Salvator has been talking about Thunderbolt’s future, promising that optical versions of the high-speed interconnect will arrive this year. The copper version currently available is cheaper and can carry 10 watts of power, but it can only be run a maximum distance of six meters. While the fiber version loses the ability to power devices, it’s reportedly far faster and capable of running to the “tens of meters.” Dave Mr. Salvator wouldn’t commit to a release date, or how much more we’ll be expected to pay for the cables, but given that we’re also expecting to see PCI-Express 3.0 bolted on to the standard soon, we’ll start saving today.

Intel: Optical Thunderbolt cables arriving this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/optical-thunderbolt-this-year/

Remember Consumer Reports’ bought a Fisker Karma that broke down while on the test track? Well after it had made the 200-mile round-trip to the dealership, it turned out the inverter cable and battery were both faulty and replaced them, before fully recharging the vehicle. The car has now been returned to the test track where a full review can begin — give it a week, and we’ll start taking bets on if it actually gets that “recommended” rating.

Consumer Reports’ Fisker Karma gets fixed, testing resumes, for now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/fisker-karma-part-two/

Previous endeavors in the stratospheric and ultra-high end phone market have resulted in fanciful hardware made out of exotic materials, often marred by perplexingly outdated innards. If you believe TAG Heuer’s latest marketing hyperbole, that’s set to change with its upcoming Racer smartphone. Just like its bespoke contemporaries, there’s a flashy (and arguably gaudy) carbon fibre and titanium exterior, but underneath that veil is a “high speed” processor and the “latest Android software.” So, quad-core silicon and Ice Cream Sandwich, right? Two and a half minutes of flamboyant renders await alongside some very brief PR after the break.

Continue reading TAG Heuer’s Racer smartphone wants to be as ostentatious and flashy as your supercar (video)

TAG Heuer’s Racer smartphone wants to be as ostentatious and flashy as your supercar (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/tag-heuers-racer-smartphone-teaser/

Well, it’s not quite the tablet-friendly app we’ve been waiting for, but, it’ll do. Google+ has gotten something of a mobile facelift, bringing the portable site’s design more in line with that of the Android and iOS mobile apps. The revamp isn’t just visual, it also hides some nice new features, like the ability to reshare posts with just the click of a virtual button. You can check it out now by visiting plus.google.com on your mobile device or by opening m.google.com/apps/plus in your desktop browser.

Google+ mobile site gets UI refresh, now more like its app siblings originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/google-mobile-site-gets-revamped/

In a press event panel that included almost every big studio executive — sans Disney — Walmart announced an exclusive in-store disc to digital conversion service. Starting April 16th, in more than 3,500 stores, you’ll be able to bring your DVD or Blu-ray discs in and have ‘em added to your Vudu movie collection. The privilege of watching movies you already bought on a disc online via Vudu will cost you $2, but if you own the DVD, it’ll cost you $5 to upgrade your digital copy to HD. In addition, you can now buy UltraViolet movies via Vudu and watch them via other UV supported sources — we assume this is a two-way street, but it isn’t spelled out that way in the press release (after the break). This is easily the biggest news for the, now beta badged, UltraViolet service but most of our complaints persist until there’s single-sign on and the standard downloadable CFF (common file format) is a reality.

Continue reading Walmart in-store disc to digital UltraViolet conversion gets official

Walmart in-store disc to digital UltraViolet conversion gets official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/walmart-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-conversion-gets-off/