Rogers Announces EVO 3D and Optimus 3D for the Summer

Later during this summer, mobile phone users in Canada will be able to purchase two new highly appealing smartphones on the airwaves of wireless carrier Rogers, namely the HTC EVO 3D and the LG Optimus 3D.

These are the first Android-based smartphones in the world to offer support for recording and playback of 3D content, and are both set to exclusively land on shelves at Rogers in the coming weeks.

The wireless carrier did not offer a specific release date for these handsets, but it seems that they might be released sometime in mid-August, or in the second half of that month.

Starting with the next week, users will be able to pre-order one of the two handsets, and will also enter a competition that offers them the chance to win a 55”LG Cinema 3D HDTV when pre-ordering the Optimus 3D, or a $2,500 MasterCard gift card when reserving the EVO 3D.

The contest will end on August 15th, and chances are that the pre-order period for the two handsets will end on that day as well, which means that the release might follow the very next day.

Rogers will put in place a microsite for the two handsets, and those who would like to reserve one of them will be able to do so there.

“With the HTC EVO 3D you can film your adventures in 3D with the dual 5MP camera and watch them jump right off the crisp 4.3”QHD touchscreen without the use of glasses,” the carrier notes.

The handset is powered by Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and packs a fast 1.2GHz dual-core application processor, with the HTC Sense UI loaded on it as well.

“The LG Optimus 3D goes beyond dual-core processing with its unique tri-dual architecture which includes dual-core, dual-memory and dual-channel. This means you enjoy powerful features, such as games, apps and web browsing at faster speeds,” Rogers notes.

The LG Optimus 3D sports a large 4.3” touchscreen display too, as well as 5MP dual-cameras on the back, and 8GB of internal memory. Unfortunately, it runs under Android 2.2 Froyo, though it should be upgraded to Gingerbread in the near future.

View the original article here

Logitech Revue to Get Google TV 2.0 This Summer

Announced at the beginning of Octomber 2012, the Logitech Revue Google TV set-top box failed to capture the markets attention in all the time that it was available for sale, but all this could change soon as the unit is set to receive the second generation of the Google TV platform this summer.

The Google TV 2.0 software is based on the same Honeycomb 3.1 Android operating system that was designed to be used in tablets, but it features a series of modifications meant to make it better suited for larger screens.

While still in development, the platform is expected to bring an import series of new features and optimizations to its users, so this upgrade is expected by a wide series of Google TV customers.

Some of the most fortunate seem to be the owners of Logitech's Revue STB as the company has recently confirmed, to the AnandTech publication, that “is testing the new software on Revue units on their campus and working with in-house developers to prepare a suite of apps for its users.”

A firm release schedule isn't available at this time, but the software is expected to arrive late this summer. Current Revue owners will be able to upgrade the firmware free of charge.

Logitech has however declined to comment if the release of Google TV 2.0 will be accompanied by some sort of new hardware, but is hard to believe that such an upgrade in software won't see the arrival of a new set-top box unit.

Logitech's Revue retails for $249.99 and it includes both the Google TV device and a special wireless keyboard with a built-in trackpad.

The set-top box itself sports one HDMI out and HDMI in connector, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, Wi-Fi and Gigabit LAN connectivity, a pair of built-in IR blasters, and a digital S/PDIF output.

View the original article here

Google Marks the Start of Summer with a Couple of Takashi Murakami Doodles (Pics)

Google is running a couple of doodles for the summer solstice, one for each hemisphere. In the north, June 21 marks the start of summer and the longest day of the year. In the south, the opposite is true, June 21 is the shortest day.

Google has commissioned a couple of doodles from Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, known for his original style, appropriating Japanese popular culture themes and styles for use in his art work. The two doodles, one symbolizing the start of summer, the other the start of winter, feature elements very common in his works, including the central characters and the use of flowers, even in the winter-themed doodle.

Google has an in-house doodle department that usually takes care of all of the custom logos that adorn the Google homepage. Its artists regularly get help from some of its many engineers in order to create the more elaborate or imaginative doodles.

Recently, it ran a special doodle for the June 15 lunar eclipse, featuring images of the moon as it was actually seen during the eclipse. After the event, it displayed all of the phases of the eclipse in a controllable slideshow.

Also recently, Google ran a very interesting and popular virtual guitar doodle in the memory of Les Paul. It enable users to play tunes inside the Google homepage and even record them to share them with friends.

That doodle proved so popular that Google kept it running for a second day. However, Google still runs plenty of simpler doodles, with just a custom design for the logo.

Last year on June 21, Google ran a series of doodles, marking both the summer and the winter solstice depicting either vacation spots, for the summer one, or winter activities and imagery such as a warm fireplace and sledding.

View the original article here