All News Reviews Reviews BBC's global iPlayer app adds AirPlay streaming, should just be on Apple TV By Richard Lawler posted Oct 22nd 2011 at 2:44AM British expats and international fans of BBC television alike can now stream some Gavin & Stacey to their televisions (past season 1 anyway, which is on Netflix and Amazon Prime ... Read the full post on hd.engadget.com 60 Leave A Comment 14 U.S. Army urges vets to get outta their dreams and into the virtual world By Joseph Volpe posted Oct 22nd 2011 at 12:37AM You've heard of power walking, but "power dreaming?" That practice's usually the stuff of Buddhism, and now, could go a long way towards mending the psychic wounds of our nation's bravest. With about 52% of PTSD-affected veterans reported as having disturbing nightmares, the U.S. Army's working towards a virtual solution that'd marry the design of Second Life with laptop-displayed or 3D head-mounted, physio-emotional healing. The project, a form of biofeedback therapy which would create custom, stress-alleviating imagery for traumatized vets, is currently in the planning stage with Washington State's Naval Hospital serving as its experimental base. Over half a million in funding's already been put towards the effort which is expected to launch in full next year. And when it does, we're hoping the tech resembles a certain Strange Days SQUID recorder -- with happy thoughts, o'course. sourceWired 86 Leave A Comment 22 Scientists capture birth of new planet on camera, mother and child doing just fine By Amar Toor posted Oct 21st 2011 at 10:34PM After all the pushing, squeezing and screaming, the universe has finally given birth to a new planet, in an eruption that two scientists managed to capture on film. The newborn pile of ... Read the full post on alt.engadget.com 265 Leave A Comment 63 BlackBerry Playbook 2.0 developer beta previewed, Android apps look right at home (video) By Joseph Volpe posted Oct 21st 2011 at 8:17PM Are you in DevCon withdrawal? Need a little BBX preview to ferry you safely into the weekend's arms? Well, you're in luck, as German site Macberry.de took the time to film a walkthrough of the recently released BlackBerry Playbook 2.0 developer beta. The homescreen of this new build now offers users folder options similar to that on iOS, neatly collecting your gaggles of data into appropriate bundles -- like documents and games. But you probably care less about that, and more about seeing BlackBerry Runtime for Android apps in action. We're happy to report those Google-specific applications are shown here running quite smoothly, filling the 7-inch tab's screen without any hint of lag. You can download the dev build now for your own first-hand account, or simply click on past the break to gawk at the silent tour. READ MORE Droid-Life sourceMacberry.de (Translated) 428 Leave A Comment 45 Google Voice app returns to iTunes, iOS 5 crash bug fixed By Richard Lawler posted Oct 21st 2011 at 7:10PM Less than a week after it disappeared from iTunes, the Apple-friendly Google Voice app is back and declared iOS 5 friendly, per its official Twitter account. Also improved is operation ... 140 Leave A Comment 40 Verizon (finally) confirms it will have the Galaxy Nexus By Richard Lawler posted Oct 21st 2011 at 6:11PM After a few leaks and false starts, Verizon has finally made its plans to offer the Galaxy Nexus "later this year" official. That's really the only detail revealed, as its price, release date and availability on other carriers are still unknown. Check out the press release after the break if you need any more confirmation. READ MORE 788 Leave A Comment 33 Kinect voice control reaches Australia, Harold Bishop and Donald Fisher will be pleased By Daniel Cooper posted Oct 21st 2011 at 5:58PM Holy dooley! (oh my!) Microsoft's being a big-note oneself (bragging) about getting Xbox 360 voice control working for the Aussies (Australians.) It's invited all the journos ... 90 Leave A Comment 12 The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET! By Brian Heater posted Oct 21st 2011 at 5:25PM Are you ready for this? We're back for a very special Halloween episode of The Engadget Show, live tonight at 6PM ET, and you can join us at this very URL -- so keep your browser locked to this spot. This time out, we've got a very special Halloween episode, including a walk through of a high-tech haunted house, a trip to New York Comic Con, an in-studio costume contest and the unveiling of the winners of our Frankengadget competition. We'll also be visiting with Intel's resident futurist, paying tribute to Steve Jobs and taking a look at the month's hottest gadgets. Update: Thanks everyone for joining us. We'll have the full show up soon! 21 Leave A Comment 18 Biscotti TV dunked in the FCC's latte, still a bit hard By Daniel Cooper posted Oct 21st 2011 at 5:02PM Webcams have certainly narrowed the distance between loved ones, but it's hard to argue that two people hovering over their laptop screens can rival an in-person conversation. Moving things over to the big screen could make the exchange much more comfortable for everyone involved -- you just need an HDTV, and a Biscotti. The small black box should be ready to turn the biggest screen in your home into a high definition video phone fairly soon, having just landed in the FCC's living room. Packed inside is a camera, microphone and 802.11b/g/n WiFi -- plug the contraption into your TV and you can instantly make calls to family and friends, with no monthly charges. A pair of HDMI ports let the device serve as a bridge between your television and cable box, so folks with limited connections don't have to choose between Dad and Mr. Mom. Biscotti will also interact with computers, tablets and smartphones via an as-yet unnamed "video player" to bring life-sized video chat to the masses. There's no word yet on pricing or availability, but if the FCC has finished nibbling at it, then it shouldn't be long before we get a taste ourselves. READ MORE Wireless Goodness, Biscotti sourceFCC 27 Leave A Comment 9 ASUS Zenbook UX31 review By Dana Wollman posted Oct 21st 2011 at 4:25PM Review It was just last week that we got to take home the Acer Aspire S3, the first Ultrabook to go on sale here in the States. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to the pillars laid out by Intel: its performance trails similar machines, its battery craps out early and the design, while portable, is too chintzy to make it a bellwether for skinny Windows laptops. Our verdict, in a sentence, was that you'd be better off getting a MacBook Air, or at least considering other Ultrabooks -- namely, ASUS' line of Zenbooks. As it turns out, one showed up on our doorstep just a few days later. In many ways, the UX31 is everything the S3 is not: it has a gorgeous all-metal design and comes standard with an SSD and 1600 x 900 display (not to mention, a case and two bundled adapters). And with a starting price of $1,099, it undercuts the entry-level (and similarly configured) MacBook Air by two hundred bucks. So is this the Ultrabook we've all been waiting for? We suggest pouring yourself a large beverage, settling into a comfy chair and meeting us past the break. We've got a lot to say on the subject. ASUS Zenbook UX31 review READ MORE 1169 Leave A Comment 94 The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 5PM ET! By Brad Molen posted Oct 21st 2011 at 4:00PM CTIA wrapped up last week, and that's precisely when all of the crazy action heated up. Get ready for a whirlwind of Ice Cream Sandwiches, RAZR-sharp phones, and some hardcore BBX. If ... Read the full post on mobile.engadget.com 12 Leave A Comment 3 Beeri: Siri's new best friend cracks open a cold one (video) By Terrence O'Brien posted Oct 21st 2011 at 3:39PM We already know that Siri can send texts, check the weather or find you a restaurant, but did you know she can also fetch you a beer. Well, sort of... with a little hacking. The folks at ... Read the full post on alt.engadget.com 163 Leave A Comment 40 Android Ice Cream Sandwich includes native stylus support By Donald Melanson posted Oct 21st 2011 at 3:17PM Styli and Android haven't exactly been strangers as of late -- with devices like the HTC Flyer and Samsung Galaxy Note offering pen-based input -- but it looks like that option will soon be even easier to implement with Ice Cream Sandwich. As noted on Reddit, Google's recent overview of some Android 4.0 platform highlights includes a small tidbit towards the end that details the "full support for stylus input events" in the OS -- including features like pressure sensitivity and the ability to distinguish motion events from different sources (i.e. a pen and your finger). Of course, it still requires some hardware-level assistance from tablet and smartphone makers, but native support in the OS could well open up some interesting possibilities, especially when it comes to third-party apps. Reddit, SlashGear sourceAndroid Developers 385 Leave A Comment 49 DARPA's Dr. Frankenllite could plunder space graves, create orbital abominations (video) By Terrence O'Brien posted Oct 21st 2011 at 2:53PM Grave-robbing satellite There are countless satellites, long deactivated, orbiting the Earth in what amounts to a giant cemetery in the sky. DARPA's Phoenix program sees these piles of junk not as refuse, but as a resource just waiting to be harvested. The plan is to re-engineer existing technology, like robots used in remote surgery and advanced imaging systems found in off-shore drilling platforms, for the harsh environment of space. The resulting orbiter would operate on the deceased (with the owners approval, of course), salvaging what it could and stitching them together to create new functional satellites. (Try storming those gates angry mob!) DARPA is also looking into building tiny "satlets" which could simply be clipped to the antennas of deactivated satellites, breathing new life into them and saving a significant chunk of cash. Head on after the break for a video of what the orbiting, robotic Dr. Frankenstein might look like as well as some PR. READ MORE NewScientist 35 Leave A Comment 20 Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus WiFi hitting the US November 13th for $400, available in 16GB for now

Nearly a month after its initial announcement, Samsung's ready to deliver the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus to the good ol' US of A just in time for the winter gift-giving season. The WiFi-only device, which packs a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, Android 3.2, 3MP camera with 720p HD video capture and a 7-inch LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution, will be begging for your credit card as of November 13th at Best Buy, Amazon and other retailers. Are you an early adopter? No prob -- you'll have the opportunity to pre-order yours at "select retailers" this coming Sunday, though no specific outlets were called out by name. The 16GB is the only version arriving so far, but Sammy told us to expect the 32GB flavor later this year or early 2012 (likely for $499, if yesterday's brief appearance on Amazon is any indicator).