Microsoft previously promised Surface Pro availability in the UK this month, but it’s revealing an exact date and pricing today. Brits will be able to purchase Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet on May 23rd, priced at £719 for the 64GB model and £799 for the 128GB version. The usual Surface accessories will also be available, including the Touch and Type Covers.
Expansion to other European markets will take place on May 30th, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Other international markets like Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, will see Surface Pro availability by the end of May too.
Samsung’s latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, is making a big move into the US today with an online arrival at Sprint and in-store availability at AT&T. If you’re a Now Network subscriber and happened to miss out on the carrier’s pre-order action, you might want to make some quick moves onto Sprint’s website in order to secure your new handset, which goes up for sale at midnight Central Time. In a not-so-cool move, however, only those porting their number to Sprint are eligible for the carrier’s $ 100 price break, which means all of you who’ve stuck through the dark days of EV-DO will need to pony up $ 249.99 for the Galaxy S 4. Meanwhile, if you’re aching to lay your hands on Samsung’s 1080p handset, you can finally get some gratification, as AT&T is now offering the smartphone for in-store purchase and play. Here, you’ll pay $ 199.99 for the handset, and while it’s potentially more expensive, at least AT&T’s pricing scheme doesn’t involve fine print shenanigans.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint, AT&T
Source: AT&T (Twitter), Sprint
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Remember that picture of the TARDIS refrigerator with no other information? Well it turns out it was made by artist/engineers B.E.Johnson & Joy Alyssa Day and they’ll make one to fit your fridge for the low, low price of $ 185. Plus it doesn’t come with the Christmas lights in the windows unless you want it to. Side decals are $ 65, an ice maker telephone door $ 14, and an audio module $ 12. I want one, but all I have is the lil compact refrigerator from my old dorm room.
Customized refrigerator kit to turn your fridge into a very special Police Box. The top section is a separate structure that includes the sign, the peak roof and a working beacon.
The skin integrates best with a French Door refrigerator, because of the way the fridge doors better match the Police Box. A single door, with or without a separate freezer, also looks cool; it just doesn’t open in the manner of a Police Box.
There is the option of including a stiffened “little phone door” that can be adjusted to make it fit over the top of your ice maker, so the little door swings open to access the ice maker, but then closes the rest of the time.
There is also an audio module available that fits inside the fridge that can be programmed to play your favorite Police Box sounds whenever the doors open.
Oh man, I used to have a cat that would always come running every time you opened the refrigerator door and then try to jump in there before you closed it. He was weird. Plus he used to get in the back of the tub and stare at me while I showered. Like I said, weird. Rest in peace, Shitmittens.
Thanks to PYY, who’s been known to hide in the fridge during hide and seek and eat all the string cheese and pudding packs.
Microsoft has announced a sweeping international expansion of Surface Pro availability. To this point, Microsoft’s top-tier Windows 8 tablet has only been for sale in the US, Canada, and China. But by the end of next month, that’s going to change in a big way; Microsoft says Surface Pro will reach the UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland by the end of May. In June, the international tour will continue with availability planned in Russia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The company’s base Surface RT product has already seen much wider availability overseas, but Microsoft plans to…
Verizon has announced that the Samsung Ativ Odyssey, a 4-inch budget Windows Phone 8 handset, will arrive on Verizon on January 24th for a price of $ 49.99 with a two-year contract and after a $ 50 mail-in rebate. The phone was supposed to release last December, but the release date slipped — still, it’s Samsung’s first Ativ phone in the United States. The Ativ Odyssey is a lower-end Windows Phone 8 device, with a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED screen, a 5-megapixel camera, and a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor. The phone joins the HTC 8X ($ 99.99) and Nokia Lumia 822 ($ 49.99), becoming the third Windows Phone 8 device in Verizon’s lineup.
Because nobody likes talking on the phone, the four largest cell phone carriers have agreed to make texting to 911 available by May 15th, 2014. Not gonna lie, I already thought they accepted texts and were just ignoring me. ‘SEND AMBULANCE, HOT SAUCE TOO SPICY.’
“Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century — and today, we are one step closer towards that vital goal” said FCC chairman Julius Genachowsk.
Once the carriers are set up, local emergency response centers will still need the proper equipment, software and training, so the feature won’t be available instantly. However, eventually the carriers and FCC hope to provide 90% of the population with text-to-911 features. The service will not support third-party texting apps or roaming users.
In the meantime, the carriers will implement a much-needed alert message warning anyone who sends a text to 911 that their message was not received, and that they should make a phone call instead. That auto-reply system will be up and running by June 30, 2013.
No word if 911 operators will have to take classes in text-speak to understand what the hell people are trying to say, but based on the idiotic text messages I get from my friends I imagine it’s probably a good idea.
GW: HLP I FELL OFF THE ROOM 911: Room? GW: ROOF, BRK EVRYTHING PLZ HELP 911: Please stay calm, what’s your address? GW: 1410 Mockingbird Drive 911: We just dispatched a unit. GW: But I’m at a friend’s place right now 911: And what’s the address there? GW: *cat picture*
That’s how I’m gonna die, I’m calling it. No — texting it. ZING! “No zing.” Zero zings, got it.
Thanks to key11 and Denise, who call for help the old fashioned way: HELP! ANYBODY, HELP! CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME? HEEEEEEEEELP!
Holy beans! We’re just over a week away from our next big meetup! Yes indeed, some of your favorite Engadget editors will be joined by a concert venue full of readers. Want to be one of them? Great news: we’ve been given the go-ahead to open up some more tickets for the event. Come, hang out, check out the latest gadgets and win some valuable prices. All that can happen by clicking this here link. We’ll see you on November 29th!
Oh, and if you’re interested in sponsoring the event, there’s still time. Just drop us a line at sponsors [at] engadget [dot] com.
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What are we thankful for on the day before Thanksgiving? How about the glut of great smartphones? Phones like HTC’s Droid DNA, on sale today over at Verizon. $ 200 (with the obligatory two-year contract) will get you a gorgeous five-inch 1080p display, a quad-core processor, NFC and some Android Jelly Bean action. The battery life leaves a bit to be desired, however, though it’ll get you through the amount of time required to cook a 20 pound turkey, at least.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Source: Verizon
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Kobo’s Arc tablet is hitting stores for the first time in Canada and the UK today, leaving eager punters in the US of A wondering if they’ve been forgotten. In America‘s hat, the 7-inch competitor to the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 is showing price tags of 200, 250 and 300 Canadian dollars for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, respectively. A WHSmith exclusive in the UK, £160 and £190 is what you’ll need for the lesser two options, and we can’t see a 64GB listing online just yet. French store Fnac will keep customers waiting til Monday, when they’ll be able to swap €200 for an Arc avec 16 gigs — its listings show no other sizes right now, barring a non-existent 8GB variant. Kobo hid a surprise for us in the announcement PR, too: it’s already working on a Jelly Bean 4.1 update for the ICS tablet. If you’re American and bummed you’re not reading this on your own shiny new Arc, it’s already passed inspection, so should be shipping before you know it.
Continue reading Kobo Arc available today in Canada and UK, coming to France on Monday
Filed under: Tablets
Kobo Arc available today in Canada and UK, coming to France on Monday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft’s rebuilt Skype app is now available to download for those early Windows Phone 8 shoppers. While we already took a tour of the new app last month, you’re now able to do the same. New features include Skype contacts within the People Hub (and access directly from there), while you’ll be able to login to the service with either your Microsoft or Skype account — no option yet to merge the two. You will be able to send messages to anyone still using Messenger, but more importantly, receive both Skype calls and chat missives even when the app is whirring in the background. Incoming call notifications will appear on screen and its very own Live Tile will then notify you of any messages (though not calls) missed.
This is still a preview of a final product, however, and some issues with incoming calls meaning it could tap into your cellular data connection even if WiFi is hooked up after the call is accepted. At the moment, incoming calls when the app is closed will only be delivered through audio, even if the other person is trying to send video. Similarly, if you exit the app during a video call, the stream will be cut short. There’s also no ability to edit your phone contacts and there’s some missing Windows Phone integration links on this early build. Hit up the source for a full list of the early drawbacks and if you’re still in, the second source will send you to the download. We’ve also added our recent hands-on video after the break.
Gallery: Skype for Windows Phone 8 preview app
Continue reading Skype for Windows Phone 8 official preview available now (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Skype for Windows Phone 8 official preview available now (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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