Engadget Podcast 269 – 12.23.2011

It may be Christmas Eve Eve and the fourth day of Hannukah, but so far, this has felt like just another week in the consumer electronics biz. Another loco crazy, pre-CES, sink-or-swim, walk-a-dozen-miles-to-charge-your-cell kind of week. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a couple of nice presents for you…including, of course, your very own Engadget Podcast. Host: Brian Heater, Tim Stevens Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Just a Dream 01:37 – Engadget Distro now available on Android Market and iOS Newsstand! 04:46 – AT&T abandons T-Mobile merger plans (updated) 11:02 – Sony PlayStation Vita review (Japanese edition) 24:38 – Microsoft’s CES 2012 keynote won’t deliver ‘significant news,’ more of ‘a wrap-up’ 32:09 – SOPA hearing delayed until the new year as petition signatures top 25k 35:47 – T-Mobile, Motorola respond to Senator Franken’s Carrier IQ questions 37:20 – Two days in the desert with Apple’s lost founder, Ron Wayne 41:55 – Fusion Garage’s website goes dark — has it bitten the dust? (update: it’s back?) 45:00 – The Engadget Interview: Fusion Garage’s Chandra Rathakrishnan… post-fallout 50:02 – Indian villagers walk a dozen miles to charge cellphones 53:14 – Listener questions Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.

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Engadget Podcast 269 – 12.23.2011

Engadget’s Holiday Blues-buster 2011: win an iPad 2 16GB WiFi, courtesy of Broadcom!

This is it, folks: the last day of a memorable week. We laughed, we cried, four fantastic gizmos have been given out as holiday momentos. Now it’s time for the final round, so get your commenting faces on . Today Broadcom is once again ” connecting everything ” by offering up the iPad 2 16GB WiFi version! As usual, you have until 11:59PM ET to leave your comment and get entered to win. If you haven’t had any luck winning a free iPad 2 from Twitter spambots yet, maybe your fortune will improve with us. Good luck! Continue reading Engadget’s Holiday Blues-buster 2011: win an iPad 2 16GB WiFi, courtesy of Broadcom! Engadget’s Holiday Blues-buster 2011: win an iPad 2 16GB WiFi, courtesy of Broadcom! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Samsung’s in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices

Well, it seems as if the holiday freebies won’t stop coming. Chances are, if you own a smartphone you’re an app collectionista (sorry, guys), and if you’ve got a certain Samsung Galaxy device in particular you’re about to get a major boost to your application arsenal. In the spirit of the holidays, or maybe its 100 million downloads , Sammy’s going to hook you up with some free virtual treats from its Apps store. The selection of up to 16 games won’t be available for the entire line of galactic phones — and may vary by region — but if you own a Galaxy WiFi 5.0, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Ace or Galaxy Gio, then you are amongst the lucky ones. Included in the deal are games such as: Air Penguin , Air Attack HD , Bubble Fish , Samurai 2 and a few others (full list after the break). There’s no word on when the bargain ends, so hop into the store before you miss out. Continue reading Samsung’s in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices Samsung’s in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:49:00 EDT.

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Samsung’s in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices

Verizon sidesteps Galaxy Nexus antennagate, claims signal indicator is to blame

This is just hilarious. Remember when Verizon Wireless stated rather unequivocally that its Galaxy Nexus suffered from a ” signal strength issue ” and that a fix was coming? Worry not, dear readers, because the company now claims that it’s identified the issue: apparently, there’s really no problem at all. According to Big Red , the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t suffer from poor reception, but simply reports its reception poorly. To resolve these ‘perception’ issues, the carrier states that it will deliver a software update that “will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices.” So, whether or not there really is a problem with the Galaxy Nexus (LTE), one thing is for certain — very soon, its owners will have more bars to look at. Huzzah, indeed? Verizon sidesteps Galaxy Nexus antennagate, claims signal indicator is to blame originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds

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Verizon sidesteps Galaxy Nexus antennagate, claims signal indicator is to blame

Netflix snags classic BBC shows in UK deal

Netflix’s British charm offensive continues, in preparation for its launch in there early next year . The latest signing is with BBC Worldwide and offers up classic BBC shows like Torchwood, Spooks and Fawlty Towers in return for an undisclosed sum deposited into the public broadcaster’s coffers. The license only covers streaming rights to viewers in the UK and Ireland, but Netflix US already has some of the BBC’s back catalog and iPlayer should hopefully bring fresher material our way soon. PR after the break. Continue reading Netflix snags classic BBC shows in UK deal Netflix snags classic BBC shows in UK deal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

PlayStation Vita launches in Japan, shifts 321,400 units in two days

Kaz Hirai probably had a sleepless weekend as he and the team waited for the two-day sales figures for Sony’s PlayStation Vita . He can probably relax a little, knowing that 321,400 of the things were exchanged for cold, hard cash in the retail outlets of Japan. In comparison, Nintendo’s 3DS sold 50,000 more units but sales soon stalled — only to be rescued with a hefty price cut . Of course, now the company has to ensure that the performance issues that early-adopters have been facing are resolved — we’d hate to experience the same teething trouble when it arrives over here in February. PlayStation Vita launches in Japan, shifts 321,400 units in two days originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

British Telecom is the latest to sue Google over Android, other services

Another day, another patent lawsuit against Google . FOSS Patents reports British Telecom filed suit Thursday in Delaware over six of its patents it says Google is infringing upon with Android and other services like Maps and Music. Feel free to avail yourself of the text of the suit embedded after the break, which is heavy on terms like “telecommunications apparatus and method” and “navigation information system”. We’re not hearing any official response from Mountain View yet, but until we do you can probably pencil in platitudes about innovation and bogus patents . Continue reading British Telecom is the latest to sue Google over Android, other services British Telecom is the latest to sue Google over Android, other services originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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British Telecom is the latest to sue Google over Android, other services

Sony demos paper-fueled battery; Paper Mario runs for life

Remember Sony’s sugar high from a few years back? Sony has been trying to get electric results from glucose-based batteries for some time. But with the competition showing off cool concepts like Coke-powered phones , Sony’s Bio Battery program brought its latest development to Eco-Products 2011 in Tokyo. This info just might be worth the paper it’s printed on because, well, the battery runs on paper. By using the enzyme cellulase, the device can break down the glucose from cellulose-rich paper or cardboard, which generates enough energy to run a small fan. It’s not quite ready for prime time, but given the potential of easily turning junk mail into electricity at a more portable scale, this is certainly worth a continued look. Sony demos paper-fueled battery; Paper Mario runs for life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:16:00 EDT.

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Sony demos paper-fueled battery; Paper Mario runs for life

Nintendo completes 3DS Ambassador program, delivers 10 GBA games to early adopters

If you’ve still got the 3DS price drop blues, perhaps a fresh (and final) infusion of free games will help. Early adopters that signed into the Nintendo eShop before August 11th will find ten GameBoy Advance games tacked on to their handheld’s purchase history, retrievable via the same clunky redownload system that delivered the 3DS Ambassador program’s NES titles. Thankfully, the unintuitive process is relatively simple — just hop into the eShop’s menu, scroll down to “Settings / Other”, and select “Your Downloads,” to claim your (potentially-exclusive) games. Short of having a 3DS guide us through the Louvre , we can’t think of a better use for Nintendo’s fledgling handheld. Nintendo completes 3DS Ambassador program, delivers 10 GBA games to early adopters originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Transformer Prime heading to UK shelves next month, bundled with dock for complete transformation

ASUS has excelled at building up the global Transformer craze, and although there’s been a few hiccups along the way, the quad-core beast is set to start hitting shelves around the world in the weeks ahead. According to Pocket-lint , the Taiwanese company has given confirmation that the newest Eee Pad on the block is hitting Great Britain in January. You’ll be surprised to hear that the Prime won’t be coming as a lone wolf, instead being bundled with its mighty dock companion and priced at

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