Engadget's holiday gift guide 2012: camcorders and action cams

Welcome to the Engadget holiday gift guide! Picking presents for friends and loved ones is never a simple task, and with thousands of options for each category, buying technology can be an especially frustrating experience. We're here to help. Below you'll find today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. And don't forget to enter our giveaway -- leave a comment for a chance to nab AT&T's Samsung Galaxy Express.

Smartphones and point-and-shoots do a fine job at snapping HD footage, so there's really no need for a dedicated video shooter, right? Well, not quite. Despite the best efforts of manufacturers, our handsets and pocket cams most often can't compete with the usability or stabilization features of a camcorder. There are three options to contemplate this holiday season: a tiny, versatile action cam, a consumer camcorder or a high-end professional model. We've rounded up our picks for each category, collected for your consideration just past the break.

Continue reading Engadget's holiday gift guide 2012: camcorders and action cams

Filed under: Cameras, Sony, Canon

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/26/holiday-gift-guide-camcorders-action-cams/

DIEBOLD DELL

Nintendo Wii U North American sales top 400K in first week

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says Wii U sales crested 400K units in its first week, according to internal sales data. That's just part of a 1.2 million hardware sales week that Nintendo's enjoyed across the past seven days -- which include the crucial Black Friday -- where the Wii saw 300K units sold, and portables dominated. Nintendo's 3DS sold 250K, while the aged DS moved 275K -- not too shabby for an eight-plus-year-old console! CNET snagged the data from Fils-Aime in a post-Wii U launch phone interview, where he characterized 3DS sales as continuing on a "record-setting pace" (now at more than 6 million units sold-in to North American retailers).

As for the seemingly paltry launch sales of the Wii U console -- 200K units shy of the original Wii's launch week -- Fils-Aime says it's a question of his company's ability to keep it in stores and not of lacking demand. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately," Fils-Aime explains. Without giving any concrete promises or timetables, he adds, "We are looking to have as much product into retail as possible."

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Nintendo

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Source: Cnet

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/EpGafvySot0/

BT GROUP CANON

Transforming RC robot reaches production form packing heat and a WiFi camera (video)

If you're like us, seeing that transforming RC robot in the spring was a mild form of torture without any clues as to when (and if) we could try it for ourselves. Kenji Ishida has clearly been busy assuaging our fears since then, as he just took the wraps from what should be the finished version of his brainchild. The now Brave Robotics-branded machine is more polished, with a 3D-printed shell, but it's the technical upgrades that will have more of us scrambling for the product page: the production model is toting a missile launcher in each arm as well as a WiFi camera to follow its exploits in both car and robot modes. Anyone who wants the robot as quickly as possible will have to contact Ishida-san, if it's not too late; there are just 10 units in the initial batch, and pricing is only available on request. A one-month wait for shipping will scuttle any hopes of getting one as a timely gift, too. That said, we can only imagine that any robotics fan would be ecstatic to get an IOU under the tree for Brave Robotics' project.

Continue reading Transforming RC robot reaches production form packing heat and a WiFi camera (video)

Filed under: Robots

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Via: Hobby Media

Source: Brave Robotics (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/26/transforming-rc-robot-car-reaches-production-form-packing-heat/

SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED

New Money-Destroying Virus Attacks Iran

After the US and Israel cooked up Stuxnet—a potent cyber weapon aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities—whenever a virus targets Iran, it could be something major. This time around, the web threat wants to erase Iranian banks. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_1dbtR7GBso/new-money+destroying-virus-attacks-iran

TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect

Select Microsoft Connect partners -- major players like HP -- have been given their first taste of Windows 8. According to various sources, the build string currently sits at 7971.0.110324-1900, which is the third milestone build of the successor to Windows 7.

So far, there haven't been many details revealed about Windows 8. An actual System Restore -- which is being referred to as History Vault -- has been reported, and the feature will allow users and administrators to completely roll back a system to a previous state. A factory reset option is also said to be included.

We've also seen Windows Live integration taking shape on the desktop. It's believed that you'll be able to log in to Windows 8 using your Windows Live credentials, not just a traditional offline Windows username and password.

All that's left now is for a leaked Windows 8 build to show up on a torrent site. Feel free to tip us if you see that happen.

Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/windows-8-now-available-to-oems-via-microsoft-connect/

RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT

Samsung announces Galaxy Note II has moved 5 million units worldwide

Well, that was quick. We started off this month with word from Samsung that its 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II passed three million in sales, and now the company is announcing it's moved two million more in less than a month. Now available on North American carriers the stylus-packing smartphone is apparently experiencing popularity in all regions, with no sign of slowing down. It's even had the rite of passage of being included in an Apple lawsuit, and a new ad focusing on using the stylus to become an internet meme. It may not be ready to challenge the smaller Galaxy S III for the company sales crown just yet, but with five million out the door and more every minute, XL-sized handsets are clearly here to stay.

Continue reading Samsung announces Galaxy Note II has moved 5 million units worldwide

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Samsung Korea

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Exz4p4QnJxw/

ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality

Version 5.3 of Skype for Windows has just been released, with the main emphasis of the new release being improved call quality, and the quality of video received by mobile Skype users. Presumably one party of the video call must be using Skype for Windows 5.3, though.

Beyond improved call quality, not much has changed. You can now see your friends' presence icons when contact cards are collapsed, and the topic editing button is now always visible on the conversation header. For a complete list of changes, hit up the Skype Garage blog.

Download Skype 5.3 for Windows

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/skype-5-3-for-windows-released-improves-mobile-video-call-quali/

MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES LSI

Announcing the winners of the Mobile Nations Passport Contest Ultimate iOS Prize Pack!

 

Last week, in celebration of the successful rollout of Mobile Nations Passport, we were given the opportunity to pass on some amazing prize packs to our awesome readers. With over 51,000 entries across the Mobile Nations sites, it was obvious how excited you all were to win these incredible prizes. So without further ado, the winners of the Ultimate Prize packs, courtesy of Gogo and Mobile Nations are...

 

iMore

Grand Prize - afazel
Runner up - breen63

 

Android Central

Grand Prize - papo81585
Runner up - Richard46

 

CrackBerry

Grand Prize - apache1680
Runner up - Jon_shiflett

 

Windows Phone Central

Grand Prize - dwain77
Runner up - ThePodgineer

 

webOS Nation

Grand Prize - thedynamicuno
Runner up - legacybass

 

Congratulations to all the winners! We'll be in touch in the next few days with information on claiming your prizes.

 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/cR-1x8VvYAg/story01.htm

GOOGLE FORMFACTOR

Samsung to get a look at Apple's settlement with HTC

Samsung will be able to look at the settlement between Apple and HTC. Samsung will reportedly use the content of the settlement to determine if they need to halt sales of any of their products after their billion-dollar loss to Apple in a US court in August. Apple had previously sought to keep the specific dollar amount of its settlement with HTC private while providing the rest of the settlement terms for Samsung to view, though Samsung didn’t find this sufficient. Bryan Bishop of The Verge reports:

Apple's attorneys had previously agreed to share a version of the agreement that redacted the financial terms of the settlement; in a hearing today Samsung argued that the fees HTC is paying Apple indicate how much consumer demand there is for those features covered by the patents. While Judge Grewal did write that he was "more than a little skeptical" of Samsung's argument, he nevertheless ordered Apple to turn over the document.

Samsung feels that if Apple is licensing patents to HTC, then Apple is fine with someone using the intellectual property covered by those patents as long as they are paid for its use. Since Apple will be recieving a settlement from Samsung based on August’s verdict, Samsung believes that an injunction is unjustified. Whether this will be enough to satisfy the court is up for debate, because licensing agreements typically involve a contract to use intellectual property, and while Samsung will indeed pay Apple a large sum of money, they still used the intellectual property without permission in the eyes of the law, having made no contract with Apple on the use of their intellectual property. The hearing for a possible injunction against Samsung’s products will being on December 6th.

Source: The Verge

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Cdb4PjNoo6Y/story01.htm

XILINX WESTERN DIGITAL

Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

This morning, an updated version of the stock Android Music app was leaked along with a new version of Android Market. The new Music app, which is labeled 'version 3', is similar to the leaked build from December, but it has received a ton of polish -- and indeed, it looks almost ready for prime time.

If you don't have Android 2.3 -- or don't want to root your phone to install the leaked Music app -- take a look through our gallery, and then read on for our initial hands-on impressions.

Gallery: Leaked Honeycombish Android Music app

Continue reading Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/leaked-android-music-app-hands-on/

CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS

Apple asks court to include Galaxy S III with Jelly Bean, Galaxy Note II and four more devices in lawsuit

As usual, Apple thought Friday night on a holiday weekend was the perfect time to push some more paper through in its ongoing patent lawsuit against Samsung. According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, after Samsung asked to add the latest iPads, iPhones and iPod touches to its list of claims and the court approved the addition of the iPhone 5, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1, Apple is trying to put six more devices on the list. Listed in the motion are the Galaxy S III running Android Jelly Bean (but not Jelly Bean itself), Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Rugby Pro and Galaxy S III mini. As usual, the case will proceed, we'll wait to hear if these requests are approved by the court and in the meantime, iThings and Galaxys alike will continue to fly off the shelves. Given the season, for now it's time to be thankful we're not one of the lawyers spending their day working on this. That leaves us plenty of time for more interesting activities, like hand-to-hand combat against fellow shoppers for the right to purchase slightly discounted items.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung

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Source: FOSS Patents

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/yuvox6S8RuQ/

SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY