Tag Archives: ifa2013

Dyson sues Samsung for copying vacuum design

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Dyson sues Samsung for ripping off 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.

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Source: BBC News

Engadget Partycast: IFA 2013 – 09.09.13

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Engadget Podcast 343 - 05.10.13

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:

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IFA 2013 wrap-up: Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1, smartwatches, lens cameras, 4K displays and more

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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.%Gallery-slideshow83286%

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The Engadget Interview: Daniel Sennheiser (video)

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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!

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Huawei Ascend G700 hands-on

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Huawei Ascend G700 handson

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.

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Hands-on with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 Kids slate

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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.%Gallery-slideshow83392%

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

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TI intros DLP pico projector chipset based on its Tilt & Roll Pixel technology

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TI launches DLP pico projector chipset based on its Tilt & Roll architecture

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.

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Source: Texas Instruments

iRobot CEO Colin Angle on the shortcomings of humanoid robots (video)

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iRobot CEO Colin Angle on the shortcomings of humanoid robots

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!

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Alcatel One Touch’s Pop C-series line of budget phones hands-on

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Alcatel One Touch's Pop line of budget phones handson

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.%Gallery-slideshow83371%

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

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Klipsch launches Status headphones and Gig Bluetooth speaker (hands-on)

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Klipsch launches Status headphones and Gig Bluetooth speaker handson

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. %Gallery-slideshow83369%

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