LG to demo bendable, unbreakable smartphone screen
Posted on | May 20, 2013 | Comments Off
A flexible OLED display inside protective covering.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)LG Display is preparing to demonstrate a new, flexible smartphone panel that promises to be unbreakable.
The new screen is set to pop up at the Society for Information Display's annual exhibition, Display Week 2013. The event, which showcases display products, is taking place this week in Vancouver, Canada.
The OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology used in the LG screen is apparently thinner, lighter, and more flexible than conventional LCD displays.
According to LG, the screen "comes at a crucial time when smart devices are being used more than ever and at increased risk for damage from drops, hits, and other accidents."
Yoon Bu-hyun, LG's vice president of mobile, revealed last month that the company plans to launch a smartphone with a flexible OLED screen in the fourth quarter.
But other companies are also eyeing the technology. At the Computer Electronics Show in January, Samsung ... [Read more]
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Jolla smartphone lets fly with Sailfish OS
Posted on | May 20, 2013 | Comments Off
The Jolla phone.
(Credit: Jolla)The first phone running Sailfish, the open-source operating system from the people who tried to get MeeGo going, is the Jolla, it'll cost you 399 euros ($512), and it's coming by the end of the year.
Jolla -- pronounced "yo-la," not "joller" or "holler" -- is the name of the phone and the Finnish company that makes it. It has a 4.5-inch screen, a dual-core chip, 16GB of storage expandable via microSD, 4G, an 8-megapixel camera and a battery you can replace yourself.
Sailfish is "Android app compliant," which hints you'll be able to install standard Android apps on it. Jolla hasn't explained what this means in practice, but it sounds like you'll be able to sideload apps from Google Play, and that it'll be very easy for Android developers to translate their wares to Sailfish.
If you plop down 100 euros ($128) for a pre-order, you'll help fund the mobile's production and bag an exclusive "other half." Jolla doesn't explain what that means, but from the phone's split design I'm guessing it's the removable backplate, like fashion-forward Nokias of old.
Here's Jolla's launch video [warning: LOUD]:
Read more of "... [Read more]
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A look back at NASA’s planet-pinpointing space ‘scope
Posted on | May 19, 2013 | Comments Off
NASA announced this week that a key piece of gear on its Kepler space telescope has run into trouble. And though the space agency hasn't given up on a jump-start, the mission may well be at risk.
It's already gone well beyond its planned duration, however, and presented us with many fascinating discoveries.
In this gallery, we take a look back at that mission -- at Kepler's intriguing quest to find Earth-like, life-friendly planets among the Milky Way's many stars.
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Category: UncategorizedVerizon Galaxy S4 may be shipping early
Posted on | May 19, 2013 | Comments Off
Forwarded from a reader who goes by "Delons."
(Credit: Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)Verizon looks to be pushing harder to get Samsung's new Galaxy S4 into the hands of customers.
Some Verizon customers have begun to report receiving notifications from the carrier that their new Android superphones have shipped earlier than expected.
While I've yet to see video footage, I can only assume that many happy dances have followed receipt of these emails.
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The Galaxy S4 on other carriers, including Sprint and AT&T, has been available for a few weeks now.
Originally, we were told to expect Verizon to get the Galaxy S4 into consumers' hands by the end of the month. That date was later bumped up to the 23rd, and it now looks like the phones will ar... [Read more]
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Category: UncategorizedTeen dies trying to hold onto iPad during theft, police say
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | Comments Off
(Credit: CNET)
It's a natural instinct to resist if someone tries to steal something out of your hand.
In Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon, that instinct might have cost a 15-year-old boy his life.
As the Las Vegas Sun reports, Marcos Vincente Arenas was walking down the street, holding an iPad.
Police say an SUV pulled up alongside him. A man allegedly got out of the passenger seat and tried to wrest the iPad from Arenas.
The teen wouldn't let go of the device, so, investigators say, he was dragged along by the alleged thief toward the vehicle.
He was still near the passenger door when the car took off. Arenas was run over and died in hospital of his injuries.
Police have issued descriptions of both the driver and the passenger of the SUV, said to be a white Ford Explorer or Expedition.
This is the latest and most gruesome example of the phenomenon known as "Apple-picking."
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Category: UncategorizedPreviously, on ‘Arrested Development’: NPR’s epic guide to the show’s running gags
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | Comments Off
Good grief! A wealth of "Arrested Development" references, including all references to Peanuts.
(Credit: Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)Watch out for that stair car... and any of the other numerous running jokes from resurrected cult hit "Arrested Development."
In honor of the show's triumphant return to Netflix, with 15 new episodes set to start streaming May 26, NPR has compiled, logged, and cross-referenced all the recurring gags from the show's original three seasons to make sure you don't miss a beat.
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The app on the NPR Web site is meticulous in its level of detail, chronicling just about every chuckle-worthy line or sight gag from the first three seasons and connecting the dots between combined jokes.
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Category: UncategorizedHow to really, really make your naked Snapchat photos disappear
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | Comments Off
To erase or not to erase? That is the question.
(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)The attractions of Snapchat are essentially intellectual.
In creating the conditions for a spontaneous "now you see me, now you don't" aspect to your life, it allows for a greater and more nuanced level of excitement to permeate human relationships.
Recently, however, there have been concerns that the topless, bottomless, or merely hapless shots sent by Snapchat users might not truly disappear.
They remain stored in the nether regions of your phone, able to be retrieved by a nosy policeman, parent, or pupil of the average high school.
App maker KS Mobile believes it has the solution for this hoary problem. It insists that its Clean Master app can wipe your phone clean of your well-intentioned smut. At least on Android phones.
The company claims that, technically speaking, it can remove the .nomedia files to which Snapchat photos are converted.
It claims to have done this by a mere tweaking of its app.
Adam Morley, product manager at KS Mobile, told me: "After a full investigation, we found that with a minor tweak we could quickly ... [Read more]
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Category: UncategorizedWhy this old-school Trekkie loves the ‘Star Trek’ reboots
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | Comments Off
I pose with a Klingon back when the "Star Trek" ride was still going in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Amanda Kooser/CNET)SPOILERS AHEAD: The new "Star Trek" movies with J.J. Abrams at the helm have turned into commercial successes, but some long-time Trekkies aren't thrilled with the direction the franchise is taking. Check out the Reddit responses to Wil Wheaton's take on Abrams to get an idea of the discussion.
I, for one, am a bit in love with the reboots. Sure, I was suspicious at first. I enjoyed the 2009 "Star Trek" well enough, and thought it clever how it totally wiped out the timeline from the original series and gave itself a new universe to play in for the subsequent films. But it was seeing "Star Trek Into Darkness" yesterday that truly turned me into a fan of the new films. I'm going to tell you why.
My history of Trekkin' First, let me establish my fandom. My "Star Trek" cred goes way, way back. My mother used to watch reruns with me when I was a baby. Somewhere in elementary school, I got totally hooked on the original series, to the point where I was saving my allowance to buy shiny gold insignias, spending hours poring over blueprints f... [Read more]
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Category: UncategorizedWant a 10-foot-tall painting of ‘Star Wars’ action figures?
Posted on | May 18, 2013 | Comments Off
Full of delightful details, 'The Birth of a Jedi' by Rob Burden measures 128x88 inches.
(Credit: Kickstarter)Do you still have your original "Star Wars" action figures? Mine are tucked away in storage, but looking at Rob Burden's artwork makes me want to dig them out.
The San Francisco artist is so obsessed with his old "Star Wars" figures that he does 10-foot-tall oil paintings of them, like "The Birth of a Jedi," above. The works don't portray the characters from the series, but the actual action figures themselves.
Now he's taking his passion to new heights on Kickstarter with a $24,000 campaign to produce two enormous 10x14-foot "Star Wars" canvases.
The two paintings will depict dozens of "Star Wars" action figures and toys. A character will be the central subject of one, while the other will have a vehicle like the AT-AT Walker or a creature as the focus. Burden wants enthusiasts to vote for which toys are included in the paintings; you can vote on his Facebook page.
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Category: UncategorizedBugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse takes on the slow roads
Posted on | May 17, 2013 | Comments Off
Despite its massive horsepower and torque, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse behaves nicely cruising on a twisty mountain road.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)I wish I could tell you about driving the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse up to its record-breaking speed of 254 mph. Race car driver Anthony Liu did it. Of course, he drove the Veryon on a 5.6-mile straightaway at Volkswagen's test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, taking the speed record for a production convertible.
On the rural roads in Napa, Calif., the best I could manage was a few seconds of maximum acceleration, making all four wheels grab pavement with neck-snapping force from the engine's 1,106 pound-feet of torque.
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