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Dyson sues Samsung for copying vacuum design
If Samsung's patent infringement battle with Apple wasn't enough, the Korean company is in the spotlight again over claims that it intentionally copied the design of a patented Dyson vacuum. The British manufacturer has filed a lawsuit with the UK High Court accusing Samsung of duplicating the steering mechanism used in its DC cylinder models and embedding a similar component in the new Motion Sync vacuum cleaner (unveiled last week at IFA 2013). Unfortunately for Samsung, Dyson patented the mechanism back in 2009, which has led Sir James Dyson, the company's founder, to call it a "cynical rip-off." Considering Dyson successfully sued its rival for infringing on its "triple-cyclone" patent four years ago, Samsung's lawyers might just have to suck it up and make a settlement offer.
Engadget Partycast: IFA 2013 - 09.09.13
Pre-recorded from Berlin, it's the Engadget Partycast: IFA 2013 edition. For your listening pleasure, we've got Dan from the Eurocast and Brad from the Mobile Podcast joining Brian and Dana. Stream it below to hear about their favorite picks from the show and Dana's run-in with some wild boars. Hosts: Brian Heater, Dan Cooper, Dana Wollman, Brad Molen Producer: Joe Pollicino Hear the podcast:
IFA 2013 wrap-up: Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1, smartwatches, lens cameras, 4K displays and more
We reckoned IFA would be an exceptionally busy show, and now that we've combed through all of our coverage and condensed it here, it's clear the event lived up to our expectations. Sure, the venerable CES may have topped IFA in show floor square feet, but the announcements in Berlin generated perhaps even more excitement than those that came out of Las Vegas in January. A pair of high-profile smartwatches, two titanic smartphones, a duo of lens cameras, 4K displays and a bevy of hands-ons await you in a neat, yet massive, roundup after the break.
The Engadget Interview: Daniel Sennheiser (video)
"I've worked for Sennheiser since I was born," the company's co-CEO says with a laugh. Five years ago, Daniel Sennheiser and his brother took over the reigns of the eponymous audio company, the third generation of a legacy that began in 1945, weeks after the close of World War II, when their grandfather Fritz opened Laboratorium Wennebostel. Two decades later, the company would go on to to revolutionize personal audio with the introduction of the open headphone. "One of our engineers discovered that you can take a microphone transducer and put it close to your head and suddenly there's a near-field effect that creates very good sound quality," explains Sennheiser. "And suddenly the open-ear headphone was born. That was the first hi-fi headphone in the world. That didn't exist at the time. We had 100-percent of the market." A quick glance around the floor of IFA will confirm that's certainly no longer the case anymore. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Huawei Ascend G700 hands-on
The G in Huawei's letter-based lineup is meant to be midrange at best, so it's no surprise that the Ascend G700 hasn't been the subject of as much eager anticipation as, say, a certain new Nexus. Still, the device, which was announced this week and expected to arrive in China next month, was deemed worthy enough to be seen by thousands of onlookers in the company's booth at IFA 2013. The Android 4.2 smartphone features Huawei's Emotion UI, dual-SIM support, a 720p IPS display, 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek Cortex-A7 SoC, 2GB RAM, 8MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing shooter. In our brief time with the device, we liked the overall feel of the 5-inch phone; its arched smooth plastic back, which maxes out at 9mm thick, was adequately comfortable to hold. It's a midrange phone through and through, which means you're going to get a lot of decent performance with -- you guessed it -- decent specs. It's a sleek device, so hopefully the price is right (though phones in this series rarely if ever go above ¥2,000 or about $320 unsubsidized). Check out some more images of Huawei's latest below.
Hands-on with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 Kids slate
Sure, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 Kids broke cover late last month, but it's joined the rest of the firm's brand-new displays and gadgets at IFA. Relocated capacitive buttons and repositioned camera aside, the child-friendly pad's internals are identical to the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0: a 7-inch 1,024 x 600 display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 8GB of storage accompanied by a microSD slot, 4,000mAh battery, 3MP front cam and a 1.3MP rear-facing shooter. While the tablet felt sturdy enough to withstand light abuse on its own, an optional case packing a blue handle makes it more kid-proof. The shell isn't there just for protection and portability either, as its handle houses a chubby stylus (no, not an S Pen) and folds to prop up the slate. If you'd rather give your tyke something a little less heavy-duty, a simple tangerine silicone case from the outfit helps the hardware endure additional rough treatment. When it comes to performance, the pad handled itself admirably, jumping between apps and across pages without stuttering. As for software, the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids runs Android 4.1 and comes pre-loaded with apps for young 'uns, which include games, a camera and a paint tool. While the package features an interface and app store just for the little ones, full-blown Android is just a few taps away. Pricing is still MIA, but it's launching in Korea this month and is expected to follow suit in other regions afterward. Check out the gallery below to get better acquainted. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
TI intros DLP pico projector chipset based on its Tilt & Roll Pixel technology
TI's DLP unit promised us brighter, sharper pico projectors when it unveiled its Tilt & Roll Pixel architecture at CES, and it now has the TRP-based silicon to make those projectors possible. The company's new DLP Pico 0.2" TRP chipset produces images with up to twice the brightness and resolution of its ancestor, even while it uses as little as half the power. The company hasn't named hardware partners, but it notes that companies are already building products with the chip; it may not be long before we see the next generation of projector-equipped smartphones and tablets.
iRobot CEO Colin Angle on the shortcomings of humanoid robots (video)
Nearly everyone who's purchased one the 10 million-plus Roombas sold around the world has inevitably asked the same question: whatever happened to Rosie? For all its charms, iRobot's hockey puck-like floor cleaner will never compare to the Jetsons' sass-talking maid. We're living in an age of robots and we don't even know it. They're everywhere we look, but it's hard to recognize them after countless science fiction books and movies have hammered home the image of electronic mirrors of ourselves. In order to embrace a robotic future, however, many have scrapped the traditional notion of the android. "Building robot versions of people is very expensive," explains iRobot co-founder and CEO Colin Angle. "The thing that iRobot had to do to become a legitimate business [was] take a great step away from the traditional notion of what a robot should be. Why should it be to vacuum that I need to build an upright person and give them a vacuum? Why not build the vacuum that can guide itself around, that can go under couches? You can make it radically less expensive." Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Alcatel One Touch's Pop C-series line of budget phones hands-on
Alcatel One Touch (that's all part of the company's full name, incidentally) clearly intended on making a big splash at this year's IFA. The company announced a number of relatively high-end handsets in Berlin this week, including the flashy Idol Alpha and the massive Idol Hero. But let's face it, not everyone is able to shell out big bucks for handsets. Thankfully, the company also used the show to take the wraps off of four new budget Android 4.2 entries in its C-Series of handsets. The company had three on-hand at tonight's Pepcom event: the C1, C3 and C5. The biggest of the bunch, the five-inch C7 was here in spirit, making an appearance as a dummy unit. Thankfully, the company's got a bit more time to perfect that one, seeing as how the handset isn't due out until some time before the end of the year. The C5, which is set to start shipping in November, was on-hand in all of its final production glory. All said, it's not a bad looking piece of hardware. Granted, it loses a bit of its luster placed up against the likes of the Alpha and Hero, but again, this is a budget device we're talking about here. The handset's got a 4.5-inch display and a white face that's at least somewhat reminiscent of Galaxy devices, with the usual trio of touch Android buttons on the bottom. The device we handled had a metallic red backing, with a prominent five-megapixel camera up top and a speaker grille along the bottom. Inside is a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor -- a step down from the C7's quad-core version. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Klipsch launches Status headphones and Gig Bluetooth speaker (hands-on)
Klipsch, worldwide enemy of fast-typing journalists, has arrived at IFA with two new audio products for our enjoyment. First up, the company is touting the Gig, a portable Bluetooth speaker with a clip-on arm that doubles as a stand. Packing AptX, NFC and a battery rated for 12 hours of life, the speaker is controlled with a chunky analog knob which reminds us of a childhood wasted playing with audio separates. Sound-wise, the Gig crams in four drivers -- two tweeters and a bass up front, while a second bass 'round back balances out the sound. At least, that's what Klipsch says, anyway. Black and white versions will launch in October for $200, and if you want to jazz up your sound with a different-colored strap, you can purchase additional hues from the company website. Wanna hear about Klipsch's other offering? Head on past the break.
Hands-on with HP's Recline 27 all-in-one, whose touchscreen sits close to your lap
We admittedly didn't initially get the point of HP's new "Recline" family of all-in-ones. Sure, we understood the concept well enough; these machines use a patent-pending hinge allowing the touchscreen to hang off the table, close to your lap. But we couldn't understand why HP would opt for such a funky design, other than the fact that its research team concluded a good deal of people would prefer to use their desktops this way. (We're skeptical of marketing departments, can't you tell?) It turns out, a lap-screen is the sort of feature you really do want, even if you don't know it yet. Setting aside that onscreen piano example in the above photo -- now that's a gimmick -- we found we had a much easier time interacting with IE and Maps app than we would have if the screen were upright. In part, that's because having the 1080p display sitting lower and at that particular angle makes it easier to type on the onscreen keyboard, which in turn takes the pain out of entering URLs and search terms. Also, though, the lower the screen is, the more you're likely to interact with it like a tablet -- a very big tablet, but a tablet nonetheless. That means you might even find yourself using two hands at once, as opposed to reaching up occasionally to swipe with your finger. Our only gripe? There's no physical Start button, so you'll have to either swipe the Charms bar or pause to hit the shortcut on your keyboard. Not a big deal, but it does mean the tablet experience might not feel as seamless as what you'd expect from a proper slate. If we've convinced you to take a closer look, the Recline 23 and 27 are both available today, though if you'd rather have it with a red hinge (and even more Beats branding than usual) you'll have to wait until November.
Medion's X4701 X-Series smartphone is its highest-end handset to date (hands-on)
Lenovo subsidiary Medion already produces smartphones, but normally these units are the ones you'll find clogging up the very bottom of the bargain basement. With the X-Series, however, the company is raising its ambitions to the middle, more legitimate tiers of the market. The first model is tentatively titled the "X4701," but we've been reassured that a catchier name is currently being cooked up by Medion's corporate minds. Still, for now, that's the name we'll stick with. The 4.7-inch smartphone is packing a 1,280 x 720 display alongside a 1.2GHz Tegra 3 chipset with 1GB RAM, which should be enough to run the stock build of Android 4.2 that it'll ship with. On the storage front, while there's only 8GB on board, the company has thoughtfully thrown in an 8GB microSD card to double your storage before you begin. Speaking of things included in the box, the device ships with a black matte plastic rear cover, but users will also find a white version tucked somewhere beneath the manual and charger. Connectivity-wise, there's 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and HSDPA+ modems -- decent enough for those who aren't too fussed about buying a plan with LTE. There's no word on when the retitled device will arrive, or which nations it'll be pitched to, but the company has pledged that it'll cost no more than €199 -- a promise it should think very hard about breaking. Dana Wollman contributed to this report. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Samsung brings its first OLED 4K TV to IFA, we go eyes-on
Sony outed the very first 4K OLED television at CES last January, and now Samsung is catching up with its very own. We swooped by the firm's slice of show floor at IFA to lay eyes on its latest TV, and walked away quite impressed. The 55-inch Ultra HD set packs a powerful visual punch, delivering sharp visuals and incredibly vivid colors. So vivid, in fact, we were suspicious that the sample footage was HDR video -- it may very well be, but that doesn't take away from the hardware's color reproduction prowess. Big blue's panel far and away outpaces non-OLED 4K displays when it comes to bright and lively color. Viewing angles on the screen are remarkable too, as glancing at the screen just a few degrees askance won't blur or mute picture quality. As for form factor, Samsung's set is contained into a sleek and extremely thin shell. No pricing or release window is on the docket, but you can check out the gallery below to ogle at the TV for yourself. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Binatone's Brick phone was acceptable in the '80s (hands-on)
"If you're an '80s guy like me, then you know it's important to be a shark. That means getting up, choking down a double espresso and listening to Huey Lewis. Then it's time to hit the trading floor and make a cool hundred mil or something before dinner. Lunch? Lunch is for wimps. Talking about wimps, those hipsters who use Native Union's Pop retro smartphone handset are scum. Me? I'm all about the Binatone Brick. Cram in a SIM card and you can make calls on this thing AND play Snake (I mean, we are living in the future) even while riding the elevator. But pair it over Bluetooth to your smartphone, and you'll impress everyone when you're walking and talking. It'll launch soon for you mere mortals, priced at £50 in the UK with a 1,000mAh battery, but for a big-shot like me who's always making deals, I'm holding out for the 2,000mAh version that'll come later for £80. Oh, and one more thing -- in the time it took you to read this, I just bought San Marino." -G. Gekko Mr. Gekko's views are entirely his own and do not reflect those of Engadget or AOL. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub! Dana Wollman learned during this report that greed, for want of a better word, is good.
Sony Entertainment Network's Shawn Layden on security, indie content creators and more
Roughly a year and half ago, PlayStation Network IDs transformed into Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) accounts, and since then we've been introduced to the next-generation of console gaming for PlayStation. We caught up with Sony Network Entertainment COO Shawn Layden at IFA for a progress report on how the platform is doing on the eve of the PS4's launch. Considering a 2011 security breach was arguably the largest hiccup the PSN and PS3 have experienced, we wondered just what the firm had done to shore up its defenses for the next-gen wave. As it turns out, operations have been re-tooled, but Hirai and Co. aren't forthcoming with details. "As a result of that (the hack), we've instituted a number of measures, systems and protocols inside the platform, which you'll understand why I can't speak to that in any detail whatsoever," Layden said. "We had our baptism by fire early in 2011, and we've come out stronger and with more users from that point forward." In fact, Layden sats the PSN storefront saw more business the month it came back online than it had garnered up to that point.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally's IFA keynote liveblog
Live from the land of BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz , it's Alan Mulally. Ford's CEO is taking the stage here at IFA in Berlin to discuss making his fleet of vehicles safer, more user-friendly and, of course, more connected. This is a tech show, after all. Join us right here, won't you? September 6, 2013 11:00:00 AM EDT
Intelligent Headset delivers 3D audio for better zombie games, we go hands-on (video)
Okay, so maybe the marketing material could be improved a bit. Personally, we wouldn't have gone with Intelligent Headset: The first Intelligent Headset, but the product should speak for itself -- assuming, of course, that you have a chance to actually try it on. The headphones are location-aware, thanks to a number of sensors that let it know which direction you're moving your head in. From there, the sound is tailored so you hear things differently, depending on where you're pointed. This could mean the same thing from different angles or entirely sounds depending on where you're facing. In the below video, you'll see an example of a tourism app that shows the direction in an icon on a map. Turn your head and you hear different voices in different directions. Better still was the zombie game we played. Put the headphones on and you'll hear the undead approaching you from different sides. Face toward the invisible brain eater and press the button on the side of the ear to fire your shotgun. Easier said than done. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
We're liveblogging Ford CEO Alan Mulally's IFA keynote at 11AM ET!
IFA's doors opened to the public today, and the show is marking the occasion with a keynote from Ford CEO Alan Mulally (and yes, we've met before). Not only will the perennial subject of the connected car be discussed, but we're told a brand-new concept vehicle and a handful of announcements are slated for the event. We're also expecting the firm's head honcho to provide an update on Ford SYNC AppLink. The outfit's Jim Buczkowski, director of Electrical and Electronic Systems for Advanced Research and Engineering, and Ed Pleet, director of Connected Services for Europe, Asia Pacific, and Africa, will join Mulally on stage as well. Join us here for the latest from IFA. September 6, 2013 11:00:00 AM
Deutsche Telekom's LTE Connected Car delivers streaming media with complete control (hands-on video)
Connected car concepts are nothing new, but a compelling one stands out among the crowd of half-baked ideas. Here at IFA, Deutsche Telekom's demo is one such example, thanks to its simple but intuitive execution and downright usefulness. A very friendly Telekom rep let us step inside to check out the concept from a child's perspective. Set up in a BMW (naturally), the system utilizes an LTE hotspot, a few backseat-mounted iPads and BMW's ConnectedDrive service to provide entertainment on long car trips. Kids sitting in the backseat navigate to their personal profiles on Telekom's associated app, and from there they can access services such as Videoload, Maxdome (both for renting movies) and Audiobooks. There's also the option to view real-time trip progress via Google Maps, and kids can even select a webcam mode to see the road from mom or dad's perspective. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Distro Issue 106: The best (and the rest) of IFA 2013
Over the course of the last week, we sent a crew of Engadget editors across the pond to liveblog press conferences and scour the show floor for hottest gadgets that IFA 2013 had to offer. In a brand-new issue of our slate magazine, we serve up the top devices and the best of the rest from Germany's annual tech show. We also have a look at Microsoft's recent acquisition, take a bite out of Android 4.4 and oogle quite possibly the most handsome activity tracker around. Settle in folks, because all of that and so much more lies inside the e-pages of another jam-packed issue that's ready for broswing. Distro Issue 106 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
