Samsung to release Galaxy Tab 7.0N in Germany, with new form factor

Samsung has yet to receive a verdict on its lawsuit-circumventing Galaxy Tab 10.1N, but the manufacturer apparently feels pretty confident about its chances. Today, Samsung announced a new, Germany-specific version of its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, with the launch of the Galaxy Tab 7.0N. Slated to hit the market later this month, this seven-inch slate features many of the same specs you'll find on its Honeycomb-coated predecessor, save for a front-facing speaker upgrade and, of course, a redesigned form factor. For now, it's only slated to launch in Germany, where it'll retail for about €600 (about $770).

Nokia Lumia 900 coming to retail on March 18?

Did the "next few months" announcement from the unveiling of the Nokia Lumia 900 leave you wanting? Perhaps a March 18th pronouncement will sate your own personal gadget knowledgebase. That's the date being tossed around by Windows gurus Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley, who joined forces on TWiT to discuss the presence of a March date in the latest Nokia developer newsletter. But that wasn't good enough for Paul, who said the specific date is March 18. Go ahead and mark your calendars, but we'd recommend you use pencil -- just to be safe.

Google, LG to team up on 'Google TV Nexus' edition for next release?

While not all of Google's aims to change cellphones with its Nexus brand program may have been achieved, it has created some admirable devices in cooperation with HTC and Samsung (way to pass on that one Sony Ericsson). According to Bloomberg, its next step may be to do the same with LG for TVs. As product manager Rishi Chandra mentioned in an interview with us, the next focus for Google TV will center around increasing its ability to personalize the user experience and further enhance content discovery, and anonymous sources indicate LG could get first crack at it later this year. What's odd about this development is that on TVs, so far the two versions of hardware that have debuted already featured software largely free of manufacturer customizations, unlike phones. At this year's CES LG, along with Vizio, is among the first to show a custom skin for the software, along with its new remote. However, the original aim of the Nexus was to work "even more closely with our partners to bring devices to the market that are going to help showcase very quickly the we're working on" so if this can help cut down the long window we saw before the last Google TV update, we're all for it.

WOWee and MicroVision offer 200-inch viewing and 'booming sound' on your mobile

Despite all the product rivalry at CES, a little romance was inevitable -- and not just in the Engadget trailer. WOWee, purveyor of the ONE portable speaker, has paired up with MicroVision and its dashing PicoP laser projector technology (shown above) to create a "marriage of sight and sound." It looks like the two companies will start out by simply bundling their respective wares, which will be available together in 120 countries from this quarter, rather than rushing to announce a hybrid device straight away. A wise decision, no doubt

Matias One: hammer out an iPhone masterpiece on the best keyboard of the '90s

Between touch-screens and rubber-backed keyboards, we're getting further away from the tactile, mechanical keyboards we grew up with -- except for gamers, who have embraced mechanical keyboards for the improved response times and, of course, the great noise they make. Canadian peripherals maker Matias is adding to its line of Apple Extended Keyboard-inspired typing-decks with the Tactile One: with Bluetooth iPhone control. Imagine how fast (and how noisily) you'd be able to hammer out a text message on one of these things, because it's all we can do right now. A Mac / PC edition will be available in April for $200 and you can pre-order it from the store right now.

Motorola website points to January 26th launch for Droid RAZR Maxx

Motorola didn't provide a launch date for the Droid RAZR Maxx when it officially announced the consonant-heavy phone at CES earlier this week, but it's now filled in that little detail on its website. Assuming it's not a mistake of some sort, you can look for the latest addition to the RAZR family to be available on January 26th from both Verizon and Motorola itself. If you missed the announcement, the Maxx is mostly identical to the existing Droid RAZR, with the notable exception of a longer-lasting battery that promises 21 hours of use on a charge, and 32GB of storage instead of the standard 16GB. It'll also set you back $100 more than the standard RAZR.

Nook Tablet bootloader bypassed, Android 4.0 takes its first steps onto the platform

No points for calling this one, but it looks like Android 4.0 is well on its way to the Nook Tablet -- in a decidedly unofficial manner, of course. Just a few days after the tablet's bootloader was bypassed, developer Brandon Bennet (aka Nemith) has now apparently managed to get an early version of the Android 4.0-based CyanogenMod 9 up and running on the device, although you'll still have to wait a bit longer for something that's actually useable. What's more, some other developers have also managed to get the tablet to boot from a microSD card, and there's been some progress with Ubuntu on the tablet as well. Hit the links below for all the details and the latest from the xda-developers forum.

TI's wireless charger for tablets does amazing things with electrons, sticky tape

Either TI has the hots for Arduino in a big way, or its latest wireless charging kit isn't quite ready for mass production. When it does arrive, however, it promises to do away with those cumbersome specialized sleeves and back covers that are currently needed for inductive charging. Instead, it'll deliver efficient in a package that's small enough to be installed as part of a device's internal circuitry. In addition to the Qi-standard 5W version we glimpsed a while back, the company is also working on a 10W variant for the iPad 2 and other tablets, which could wipe the smile off LaunchPort's face and perhaps make MicroUSB 3.0 superfluous before it even gets here.

LightSquared's LTE hopes dashed by federal agency report

When it was first mooted that LightSquared's LTE technology might interfere with GPS equipment, the firm was quick to deny it. Since then, the company has tried to mitigate the issue, but the nine agencies making up the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (PNT ExComm) all agreed that the problems are real and any attempts at mitigation are futile. This comes only days after Sprint reneged on a resource sharing deal, issuing a further blow to the company's plans for a terrestrial network. LightSquared's reaction is naturally not a happy one, claiming that the testing process is not only flawed, but that the agencies have a bias in favor of the GPS industry. By our reasoning, this only leaves the stage of depression before final acceptance of the grief-ridden situation.

Google's Matias Duarte reveals design standards for Android 4.0 at CES 2012

Looking for a little more consistent UI experience with your Android devices? Google is looking to make that happen as the folks in Mountain View has revealed that the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich OS will be the first Android software to institute design standards for developers. Android Design is a online repository for the UI guidelines and blueprints for version 4.0, which we learned would unify smartphones and tablets back at Google I/O. This set of information should make things all neat and tidy for ICS devices, keeping user interface characteristics a bit more cohesive from app to app. Here, devs will find all the basic info and elements that are native to platform in order to make the best applications possible for the OS. Mr. Duarte warns that if you choose to not follow the style guide, your software will stand out -- and not in a good way. He also quipped that these are indeed guidelines, not mandates. And that they will gain value as more folks adopt them. Yeah, we know... the competition from Cupertino has been doing this for a while now, but a bit more structure in the Android universe certainly won't draw any complaints from us.

Hydromechanical watch concept pumps away the hours for horologists

Vincent Perriard and crew have apparently gone from overseeing the Concord C1 QuantumGravity watch and its fluorescent liquid battery gauge to designing another high end watch that combines mechanical action and fluid measurement with the HYT H1. This hand-wound timepiece has a 65 hour power reserve and displays the time via pumping bellows that push bright green fluorescine past the time markers. A rendered video embedded after the break does more to explain how the watch works, but may not help you figure out its rumored $45k price tag.

All News Reviews Reviews Motorola Smart Controller now available for $99, drive your Xyboard without holding it (video) By Dante Cesa posted Jan 12th 2012 at 7:59PM Hands-On We first caught wind of Motorola's wireless pointing device, the Smart Controller, back in October when we played with a small army of Droid RAZR accessories. Whilst paired with phones, the Bluetooth remote control also moonlights as a handset that can receive and make calls, thanks to a dedicated call button on its backside. Naturally, it can also be paired with Moto's family of tablets, which is how we encountered it here, wirelessly tethered to a Xyboard 8.2 at CES. Featuring a trackpad and the same four Android nav buttons you'd encounter on a Motorola handset, tracking was generally good, although occasionally jumpy especially as we neared the end of web pages. You could chalk that up to a less than ideal demo environment, but at least we can report its build quality was top notch. Clicking on the trackpad was also nice, as your thumb's treated to a wee bit of travel before clicks actuate. It's a niche device, sure, but with full navigation and pinch to zoom, this add-on could make for a nice couch browsing experience while your tablet's tethered to your TV. If you're jonesin' for one, they're available now for a cool Benjamin from Moto or Verizon. Motorola Smart Controller hands-on READ MORE 11 Leave A Comment 7 Two Sony MirrorLink car stereos coming in Q2, along with compatible Samsung smartphones (hands-on video) By Zachary Lutz posted Jan 12th 2012 at 7:37PM Hands-On For everybody who's waited with bated breath for the widespread arrival of MirrorLink, take heed because the smartphone / car stereo integration technology is about to make a significant splash in the first half of this year. Along with the Sony XAV-601BT and the XAV-701 HD -- two MirrorLink-enabled Sony head units set for a Q2 arrival -- we've also just learned Samsung will introduce MirrorLink support for its smartphones during this time frame as well. Even Sony Ericsson's jumping into the fray, although the company wasn't able to provide any additional details regarding availability. Be sure to read on for our impressions of the new toys, along with a video of the same. Sony MirrorLink deck units hands-on READ MORE 17 Leave A Comment 8 Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Qualcomm (update: video embedded) By Brian Heater posted Jan 12th 2012 at 7:16PM Interview Join us for a discussion with Qualcomm's Rob Chandhok to talk about the chipmaker's role in the mobile and tablet space, beginning at 6:30PM ET. Update: Interview video is now embedded. READ MORE 9 Leave A Comment 7 BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 hands-on (video) By Brad Molen posted Jan 12th 2012 at 7:13PM Hands-On Porsche Design's executives use BlackBerry religiously, so when the time came for the luxury brand to consider adding smartphones to its portfolio, Research in Motion was a natural -- and perfect -- fit. Problem is, BlackBerry phones don't necessarily exude the luxury look and feel necessary to attract Porsche Design's customer base, so CEO Juergen Gessler got in touch with RIM to see if the two companies could collaborate on a phone that would take the best of BlackBerry and combine it with Porsche's premium design. Presto, the device now known as the P'9981 was born. We had the chance to behold the phone with our own eyes and hold it in our hands, so go past the break to read more about what we thought. BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 READ MORE 313 Leave A Comment 25 Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with HTC

Supercharged specs are key, but give us a slick, smooth and satisfying UI to really seal the deal. We chew the fat with Drew Bamford, HTC's director of user experience to delve into the depths of the mobile experience. Join us live on stage at 12:30PM ET.

Update: Interview video now embedded.