Remember that mysterious Windows Phone 7-powered ASUS from early August? Turns out it showed up at Gnomedex this year, and there’s video floating around to prove it. The phone stars in a nearly 12-minute epic detailing the various parts of the platform — all of which we’ve seen before — but obviously, our attention is focused squarely on this hardware that we haven’t really seen before (and looks very different from the ASUS device that Microsoft was using to demo WP7 in the early days). It’s hard to say if the talk of an AMOLED display is true — or whether this is a retail or near-retail piece of hardware — so we’d hold off on saving up for this one just yet. Since Garmin-Asus came into existence, ASUS’ phone efforts have been squarely focused on the joint venture — and seeing how this steady supply of prototype hardware proves that they’ll be making commercial WP7 devices, it’ll be interesting to see whether Garmin’s involved. Follow the break for the full video.

Continue reading ASUS Windows Phone 7 proto shows up on video

ASUS Windows Phone 7 proto shows up on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a rumor going around today that Verizon is stripping Google services out of its Android devices going forward in favor of their Bing equivalents (much the same way that AT&T has gone with Yahoo on some phones), but the company says this afternoon that it’s simply false:

“…that is not true. We have a relationship with Microsoft and Bing is the search engine on our multi-media phones but we have never said it would be exclusive on all of our devices.”

We think the wording here is pretty important: “on our multi-media phones.” We take this to mean that Verizon’s looking at using Bing on its high-end featurephones and its midrange smartphones, possibly keeping the end-to-end Google experience exclusive to its cream of the crop — which would also explain why the recently-launched Fascinate didn’t get the coveted Droid brand as a part of its name.

On a related note, we’re hearing from a tipster today that an upcoming low-end Android device for Verizon from LG is loaded with Bing services, which strengthens the case — it looks like Bing is the “cheap” experience for Big Red right now. We’ve gotta admit, we’re wondering how Microsoft feels about that positioning.

Update: Microsoft is basically corroborating Verizon’s statement, saying that “the deal for Verizon Android devices is not exclusive.”

Update 2: Verizon is additionally saying that Google’s revamped search box that includes its new voice action capabilities will be available for download once the Fascinate hits Android 2.2 — in other words, they’re not explicitly blocking Google services from being installed on the device. Of course, that doesn’t solve the root problem, which is that Bing is baked into the shipping ROM — but it’s something, we suppose.

Debunk: Bing not replacing Google on all Verizon Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With a gold master OS, plenty of devices raring to show themselves, and a more or less obvious October launch window, it’s clear that Windows Phone 7 is right around the corner. Pocket-lint is reporting today that its sources, “senior figures within the industry,” are pegging October 11 as the special day, with a New York launch event to make it all official. The handsets will then be available later that month, according to one of those sources. It sounds like everybody is ready for Microsoft to start fighting back in the world of phones, the question is: are you?

Microsoft launching Windows Phone 7 on October 11th? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft already informed its most moneyed partners that no more systems could leave their labs after October 22nd with Windows XP, but given that the proverbial boy has cried wolf before, we were inclined to think that we’d eventually face yet another push back. We guess there’s still a few ticks of the clock left between now and that fateful day, but there seems to be little hope for XP to live on in any significant form beyond the aforesaid date. Dell has just published a report noting that they will stop offering XP on new machines later this month in preparation for October’s cutoff, though they’re quick to point out that Microsoft will continue Windows XP driver support until December 2012. For the average consumer, that means you’ve got just over a month to get whatever XP-equipped systems you want from Dell; for select “qualified customers,” they will still be able to snag XP machines post-October 22nd through the company’s Custom Factory Integration service. Hit the source link for all the details, and feel free to pour one out for a waning OS. We can shed a few more tears next month.

Dell lays down the law: no more Windows XP shipments after October 22nd originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has chosen the small hours of the night to announce pricing of its second Kinect bundle, which is set for launch along with the standalone and 4GB options on November 4 in the USA and November 10 across Europe. The new package throws in the 250GB slim version of the Xbox 360 to accompany the newfangled motion tracker, a spare conventional controller, and a copy of the utterly unmissable Kinect Adventures! (it has its own punctuation, it must be good). Pricing is a bit on the painful side, with Kotaku reporting a $399 figure for the US and Microsoft confirming to us a

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Usually we’d advise you not to read too much into this — we’d point out that this was a themed ad served up before the showing of Lawrence of Arabia at London’s Secret Cinema event — but what the hell: Microsoft says the revolution’s coming. It’s on now!

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 ad promises ‘the revolution is coming’ (video)

Windows Phone 7 ad promises ‘the revolution is coming’ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the new fourth-generation iPod touch: it’s so much like an iPhone that it has a Phone app (wait, what?). Better yet, if you do a Spotlight search on it, it’ll return results from a messaging app it’s not supposed to have. How’s that for value? This would all be a great big enigmatic mystery if we weren’t ourselves familiar with the practice (and pitfalls) of splicing disparate images into unholy creations. Well, at least now Microsoft isn’t alone in making self-published Photoshop gaffes.

P.S. — There’s one more misplaced app on this magical device, but we’ll let you figure it out for yourself!

[Thanks, Michael]

Continue reading Apple sucks at Photoshop too

Apple sucks at Photoshop too originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Originally the fevered dream of Microsoft executives circa CES 2007, the Xbox 360 IPTV box is rapidly becoming a reality, first sneaking into Canadian carrier Telus’ Optik TV outlay and now reportedly in development at AT&T. Now, we wouldn’t have blamed you for doubting Microsoft when it briefly mentioned U-Verse subscribers would get Mediaroom functionality in your game console later this year, but it’s looking more likely now: a tipster just forwarded some legit-looking screenshots of Xbox prompts in AT&T U-Verse’s technical support database. Our source claims the Xbox is presently being tested internally with friends and family of AT&T employees, and that it’s likely only a couple of months away at this point. Not discussed: whether or not Xbox 360 will provide closed captioning for the “TV impaired.” See what IPTV on Xbox might look like in our January eyes-on.

AT&T technical support tool suggests Xbox 360 will bring IPTV to U-Verse households soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were a bit surprised to find LG’s prototype Windows Phone 7 device for developers, soon to be unveiled officially as the Optimus 7 when released in its production form, hanging out in the wilds of IFA. Nevertheless, there it was, streaming DLNA content to a WiFi enabled TV. LG worked with Microsoft to develop a custom DLNA media sharing capability for its GW910 handset. Just one of the ways hardware partners are able to differentiate themselves on the otherwise locked down Windows Phone 7 platform. It certainly makes sense that LG would play to its strengths in the television industry as it moves to market with the device as early as next month according to our sources. Watch the trick flip-to-TV photo sharing interface in action after the break.

Continue reading LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October

LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft worked with Vodafone late last year to deploy Surfaces to a few dozen stores in several European countries (much as AT&T has done in the US), and one of those units happens to be set up at the carrier’s IFA booth this week. The basic idea here is that each available model appears as a card that can be twirled, resized, and flung around the screen. When the software first starts, the cards start in a deck from which you can “deal” onto the table — but when we first approached it, the Surface had obviously already been played with because the cards were in complete disarray. Not too helpful when you’re a befuddled buyer trying to browse models and make a choice from a dizzying selection of handsets, but that doesn’t mean it’s not cool — if nothing else, parents, it’s something to babysit the kiddies for a few minutes while you go about your business in the store. Follow the break for video of the Surface in action.

Continue reading Vodafone’s Microsoft Surface: like Go Fish for phones

Vodafone’s Microsoft Surface: like Go Fish for phones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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