Star Wars lightsaber freeze mob duel takes place in Times Square

To celebrate the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic on the 20th earlier this week, a Sith vs Jedi Lightsaber freeze mob took place in the middle of New York's Times Square. In case you weren't aware, Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most impressive uses of the Star Wars license for a video game in awhile. This massively multiplayer online role playing game puts gamers in the role of a Sith or a Jedi in the world of the Force, aliens, and of course - light sabers. The freeze mob was initiated by a bunch of people dressed up like characters from the game, who were then later joined by plain clothes people with light sabers as well.



Ubergizmo, Star Wars lightsaber freeze mob duel takes place in Times Square

HP issues LaserJet firmware update, hopefully ends exploding printer saga

Some of you might remember the story that HP LaserJet printers might be open to hack attacks that could result in some not-so-spontaneous combustion.

Engadget

See also:
techage, HP issues LaserJet firmware update, hopefully ends exploding printer saga

Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab 7-Incher Won't Be Getting Ice Cream Sandwich

The Galaxy S was Samsung's most popular smartphone until the release of the Galaxy S II. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com. Samsung addressed some of the mystery surrounding its Ice Cream Sandwich rollouts on Friday, and the news isn't good.
The latest flavor of the Android OS won't be arriving on Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone, or on its 7-inch Galaxy Tab tablet.

Gadget Lab, Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab 7-Incher Won't Be Getting Ice Cream Sandwich

Xiaomi M2 specs rumored

Remember the Xiaomi phone that was recently spotted running Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Well it looks like the phone has got successor on its way. Rumored to be called the Xiaomi M2, the Android smartphone will have a 4.6″ display, a 2.5GHz CPU, 2.5GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 5-megapixel front facing camera, 12-megapixel rear camera, and Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone is also estimated to have a very low price tag of $394 (2,499 Yuan). Now there's no way to verify if these are the actual specs of the device, but if they are, we're looking at a powerful smartphone. Quite hard to believe especially because of its low price tag.

Ubergizmo, Xiaomi M2 specs rumored

Track Santa on Your Smartphone with the Official NORAD App

NORAD has made a holiday tradition out of tracking Santa's whereabouts as he hurries around the glob to deliver Christmas gifts to millions of children, and this year is no exception. Except this year Santa can be tracked from Android smartphones using the official NORAD Tracks Santa app. Beginning Christmas Eve users will be able to follow Santa's yearly journey. To help pass the time until then the app includes an “Elf Toss” game. Also included is background info on NORAD and its broader mission (they aren't purely devoted to tracking bearded men from the North Pole in red suits).

Android Phone, Track Santa on Your Smartphone with the Official NORAD App

Huawei Ascend 2 announced for US Cellular

If you're in the market for a new low-end Android device because you're new to the platform or you just need a temporary device until your next phone or you're just broke, Huawei's latest offering on US Cellular might fit the bill. Called the Huawei Ascend 2, this phone features a 3.5″ 320 x 480 display, a 5-megapixel camera, a 600MHz processor, Android 2.3, a preloaded 2GB microSD card and a 1,400mAh battery. The phone will cost you nothing (after a $100 rebate) with a 2-year contract so it should be perfect for the reasons mentioned above.

Ubergizmo, Huawei Ascend 2 announced for US Cellular

Intel sampling prototype Medfield smartphones and tablets

Intel is reportedly demonstrating reference designs for smartphones and tablets sporting the company's latest Atom mobile chip, dubbed Medfield, running Google's Android OS. Stephen Smith, vice president of Intel's architecture group, says that products based on these designs will be announced in the first half of 2012. Some may even rear their head next month during CES 2012 if we're lucky. In speaking with MIT Technology Review, Smith claimed that engineers tweaked Medfield specifically to speed up Android apps and web browsing. He also said the SoC will offer a significant technological step toward lower power consumption.

2DayBlog.com, Intel sampling prototype Medfield smartphones and tablets

Motorola may be violating another Microsoft patent

Microsoft has scored another victory against the Android camp as the ITC confirmed a claim that Motorola is violating one of the company's patents. The patent in question describes the creation of meeting requests with a scheduling function on mobile devices. the decision by the ITC is the second hit against Android within two days. Earlier this week, the ITC found that HTC violates an Apple patent and issued an injunction against the affected devices beginning in April.
The decision in the Microsoft versus Motorola case is an “initial determination” and may change at the review in the second phase of the process.

2DayBlog.com, Motorola may be violating another Microsoft patent

Microsoft to fix Xbox 360 Dashboard update bugs

A couple of hours ago, we reported on Microsoft confirming that there are bugs hanging around on your console after the Xbox 360 Dashboard update, and it is nice to see Microsoft take the necessary and relevant steps to squash those bugs as soon as possible. Before we continue, the glitch concerns the shutting out of some Xbox 360 users from the Xbox LIVE network, where Xbox LIVE profile errors have started to come up over the past week according to Joystiq. This also indirectly resulted in them being unable to purchase content from Microsoft's online store, and obviously one is unable to download their profiles.

Ubergizmo

See also:
itnews, Microsoft to fix Xbox 360 Dashboard update bugs

BlackBerry 10 rumors “inaccurate and uninformed”

It didn't take long, but it looks like RIM has caught wind of previously reported allegations about the delay of BlackBerry 10 devices due to the operating system being a failure. RIM responded to the post with a Tweet calling the post “inaccurate and uninformed.” Now obviously there's no way to determine who's telling the truth here - after all, if RIM knew BlackBerry 10 is going to be a disappointment, I'm sure they wouldn't publicly reveal it in the first place. However, it is also very likely that BGR's trusted source could be the stories of a disgruntled employee or just someone who has a problem with the company.

Ubergizmo, BlackBerry 10 rumors “inaccurate and uninformed”

Republic Wireless changes stance: unlimited will be truly unlimited, 'no thresholds' or asterisks

Credit where it's due: Republic Wireless has just made an about-face on the only major downfall we saw in its new wireless proposition. While most of the big boys have had an asterisk by "unlimited" for years on end, these guys were called out as being "deceptive" due to its convoluted "fair use policy." Instead of rivising it, the upstart carrier is just throwing it out. Completely. "From today, Republic Wireless is all-in." That's according to a refreshing blog post tossed up on its site hours ago, where we're told that it's eager to accept feedback and adapt as necessary.

Engadget, Republic Wireless changes stance: unlimited will be truly unlimited, 'no thresholds' or asterisks

Dual SIM Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Phones Announced, Will Launch In Jan With Gingerbread OS!

Both the Galaxy Y Duos phones feature Google Android Gingerbread OS, dual-SIM card slots, social networking features, access to several thousands of apps from the Android Market and much more. But, there's a small difference between the two. Samsung Galaxy Y Duos is a full-touch smartphone with a 3.14" display while the Galaxy Y Pro Duos is a touch-and-type phone sporting a 2.6" display with a physical QWERTY keyboard.
Under the hood, each of these devices are home to a 832MHz processor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, onboard GPS, and of course, dual SIM card slots.


Technology Nerd, Dual SIM Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Phones Announced, Will Launch In Jan With Gingerbread OS!

Playboy picks its 2012 Cars of the Year

Playboy has been around since 1953 for a reason: It's an arbiter of good taste in the arena of male interests. Sure, that includes naked ladies, but it also encompasses fashion, movies, music and any other consumable that tugs at the heart strings of a man's billfold. The fashionable male of the modern era also consumes cars, and so Playboy has an opinion about which ones are worthy of their hard-earned dollars. Each year the magazine's resident four-wheel expert, Ken Gross, and its editors pick their cars of the year, and this year's list is out in the January/February issue hitting newsstands now.

Autoblog, Playboy picks its 2012 Cars of the Year

Add a Keyboard to Your iPad or iPad 2 – Directly on the Screen

I don't like using the on-screen keyboard on my iPad.  There's no tactile feedback, so I can't tell if my hands are in the correct position nor if I actually struck a key.  The TouchFire Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad looks like a very promising way to add a tactile keyboard to your iPad without having to lug around an external keyboard or bury your iPad inside a big, bulky keyboard case.  The TouchFire is made of a thin, high-performance silicone rubber that's thin enough that you can swipe through it horizontally.  It's stiff enough vertically that you can supposedly rest your fingers on the home row of keys without accidentally entering

The Gadgeteer, Add a Keyboard to Your iPad or iPad 2 â€" Directly on the Screen

Mint Automated Floor Cleaner Review

OK, I'll admit to a fascination with robotic floor cleaners.  I've owned a Roomba since 2006, so when I had the opportunity to review the Mint Automated Floor Cleaner from Evolution Robotics, I eagerly volunteered.  The Mint would address a limitation of the Roomba, because it is targeted specifically at hard surface floors, something the Roomba doesn't do well.  About a third of the floors in my house are either wood or vinyl, so I had plenty of area to test out the Mint.










The Gadgeteer, Mint Automated Floor Cleaner Review

LHC discovers 'particle', starts repaying back that five billion

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN was built to discover new life forms and new civilizations particles to complete the Standard Model of physics, of which the Higgs-Boson is only a part. The $5 billion project has finally found something previously unseen, according to the BBC. ATLAS has picked up Chi-b 3P: a Boson (building block of nature) comprised of a "beauty quark" and a "beauty anti-quark," bound together with a strong nuclear force - believed to exist in nature, but never seen until now.

Engadget, LHC discovers 'particle', starts repaying back that five billion

First Chinese car imported to North America built by... Honda?

The very first production car from China has made it to North America, though it's not what you might think. In an effort to move more of its production out of Japan, Honda has begun manufacturing Fit models in the People's Republic and importing them to Canada. There's no indication that the vehicles will make their way to the U.S. in the future, however. While there are plenty of automakers who operate plants in China, only a fraction of the vehicles built there are made for export.

Autoblog, First Chinese car imported to North America built by... Honda?

Transformer Optimus Prime wants his name back, right now preferably

In a cunning bid to remind the adult world of its long-lost childhood, in which even the most vacuous fictional characters could somehow seem magical, Hasbro has suddenly decided to sue ASUS over its 'Transformer Prime' branding. It doesn't matter that the Transformer Prime really does transform - you know, in real-life - or that it exists in a non-competing market, or that the latest Transformers movie was a complete waste of everybody's time.

Engadget, Transformer Optimus Prime wants his name back, right now preferably

AMD CMO Nigel Dessau leaving the sinking ship?

There have been rumors last week that Dessau could be leaving the company and today we got the confirmation via a blog post published by Dessau on AMD's website. The post, which offers some predictions for AMD in 2012 reads:. “I too find myself at an inflection point. While I am truly excited by the prospects for AMD, there are projects in my life outside of AMD that offer me compelling opportunities. As some of you know, one of those projects is the website The 3 Minute Mentor; I have been planning a book based on the website for some time.

2DayBlog.com, AMD CMO Nigel Dessau leaving the sinking ship?

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V to come in Champagne Gold color

Think the current range of color options for the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V is not enough. Does your heart desire for something a bit more classy. Then soon enough you will be able to get your hands on a Champagne Gold colored version of the Xperia neo V, provided you are in Taiwan. The new shade is expected to go on sale sometime in early 2012. No word on whether it will be available in other markets as well.

The phone is otherwise identical to the standard Xperia neo V in every other way.

GSM Arena, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V to come in Champagne Gold color

Circuits, heal thyself!

I think we can generally agree that things do not really last as long as before. I am quite sure you remember your first feature phone back when Nokia was an industry giant, wasn't it a tough cookie. How about your grandfather's TV and other electrical items – those tend to last for over a decade, decades even, before giving up the ghost, while today's refrigerators and TVs tend to spoil after a short while, leading many to weigh the cost of an extended warranty. What if someone could come up with the circuits inside consumer electronics devices to have a healing factor.

Ubergizmo, Circuits, heal thyself!

This is Just… Wrong

I know, I know, but still. Can't help but laugh.

Android Phone, This is Just… Wrong

Nuance gobbles up Vlingo, yearns to transcribe its own announcement

Apparently, if you can't (legally) beat them, you buy them. Such is the thinking over at Nuance, who has decided to acquire its competitor and former courtroom dance partner, Vlingo. Should make for some nice additions to the former's voice recognition tubes - technology which powers everything from Apple's Siri, Dragon dictation and even various autos. No indications as to how many greenbacks exchanged hands, but the newlyweds were happy to boast their "complementary research and development efforts" will result in a company "stronger together than alone." We'll have to see about that.

Engadget, Nuance gobbles up Vlingo, yearns to transcribe its own announcement

Why the Guardian Might Be the First E-Newspaper You Want to Pay For

The Guardian iPad edition is a newspaper good enough to pay for. Almost every Newsstand app for the iPad is junk, little more than PDF versions of the paper edition, or dumb apps dumped out the back of an Adobe workflow that only get in the way of the words and pictures. Enter the Guardian iPad Edition, an app so good that it might be the first e-newspaper you want to pay for.
The app was released earlier this year, but a new update–which adds Instapaper support and some other tweaks–turns it into something you really need to check out. Here's why.

First, the designers don't hate you.

Gadget Lab, Why the Guardian Might Be the First E-Newspaper You Want to Pay For

Preview The All New And Improved Dropbox For Android App – New UI, Features and ICS Comptability

Show of hands — who wants to preview the all new Dropbox for Android. Luckily, Dropbox was kind enough to let me know of their all new version 1.3.0.6 preview available for download on Android devices. This is a pretty substantial update bringing about Ice Cream Sandwich compatibility and an all new and improved UI. In short, if you're a Dropbox fan — you're going to want to download this.

Android Phone, Preview The All New And Improved Dropbox For Android App â€" New UI, Features and ICS Comptability

Happy Holidroid Contest: Winner For Tuesday, December 20th Decided By You [Poll]

You may have seen our Happy Holidroid contest that was posted only a few hours ago where the challenge had you guys searching for a hidden image, located in a random post. To us, here at Phandroid, the rules seemed pretty cut and dry but like most things in life — they were anything but. We began to notice more than a few comments confused as to who the actual winner was based on the answers that were given. Here's our dilemma:.
Even though it wasn't stated in the rules for the day that he couldn't, Superchunk posted the entire article.

Android Phone, Happy Holidroid Contest: Winner For Tuesday, December 20th Decided By You [Poll]

Apple acquired NeXT 15 years ago, Jean-Louis Gassée still dreaming of what could've been

It might be hard to picture now, but back in the mid-nineties, the threat of bankruptcy was very real for a company headquartered in Cupertino. That would all change with the purchase of NeXT on December 20, 1996 - a move that gave the fledgling computer maker a modern OS, but more importantly brought one of its founders, Steve Jobs, back into the fold. The rest is history, as Jobs eventually secured the helm, forming a team that would go on to birth products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Engadget, Apple acquired NeXT 15 years ago, Jean-Louis Gassée still dreaming of what could've been

TWRP 2.0 Now Available for Download on Select Devices

TWRP – the exciting recovery project that would transformer the way we backup, restore and flash ROMs – is making great progress. In fact, version 2.0 is now available for download. For now, only a few select devices are supported including the Nexus S, the HP Touchpad and the Kindle Fire but we’re sure the team is working to add even more devices over time.

Android Phone, TWRP 2.0 Now Available for Download on Select Devices

Murci, Murcy Me: Man wins Lamborghini, wrecks it hours later (video)

The Thrill Of Victory. The Agony of Defeat. Rarely does one person get to experience such highs and lows within mere hours of each other, but when it happens, the comedown is often all the more painful. Just ask Santaquin, Utah resident David Dopp. The Frito-Lay truck driver won a green Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster, grand prize in the "Joe Schmo To Lambo" contest operated by Maverik gas stations and teamgive.org last month.

Dopp, father of six, was finally presented the car on Saturday afternoon, after which he set about driving it around the neighborhood, giving rides to friends. His elation wouldn't last.



Autoblog, Murci, Murcy Me: Man wins Lamborghini, wrecks it hours later (video)

Ford USB Music Box adds mass storage playback, smartphone charging to AUX-enabled receivers

Sure, you've probably been leading a compact disc-less life in the living room and on the go for quite a few years now, but there's one place where optical media often remains the only option for on-demand tunes: your car. Now select Ford owners in Europe have an option accessing their smartphones, flash drives or other USB mass storage devices from an in-dash audio system.

Engadget, Ford USB Music Box adds mass storage playback, smartphone charging to AUX-enabled receivers

spnKiX takes roller skating to a whole new level

Have you ever wanted to own a pair of motorized shoes. Well short of strapping on a pair of roller skates, rollerblades or Heelys shoes, all of which are manually powered, how about taking a look at this Kickstarter project called spnKiX, which in its essence is a pair of motorized shoes. These "shoes" are battery powered with each shoe featuring a motor, a motor controller strapped to a battery pack which reportedly will last you a good 2-3 miles and will take 2-3 hours for a full charge.

Ubergizmo

See also:
bigcrunch, spnKiX takes roller skating to a whole new level

Latinia introduces tweet banking

Barcelona, 20 December, 2011 - Latinia, an independent software vendor (ISV), specialized in infrastructure products for asynchronous type corporate notifications (mobile or instant messaging, email, Twitter’s DM, push notifications), has recently introduced the concept of ‘tweet banking’. According to Oriol Ros, Marketing Director of Latinia “for many financial institutions today, talking with their clients through any channel they choose is a strategic maxim.

Press Release Distribution, Latinia introduces tweet banking

Firefox 9 Brings Upto 30% Improvements In Speed, Loads Of Bug Fixes!

Mozilla just announced that the Firefox 9 now boasts up to 20 to 30% execution speed by the way of a Javascript tweak. This allows users to browse content-rich pages with more ease and much faster. We've embedded the download links after the break for Windows Linux and Mac with a quick change log.


Technology Nerd, Firefox 9 Brings Upto 30% Improvements In Speed, Loads Of Bug Fixes!

More on the LG Magic Remote targets Cinema 3D Smart TVs

I know we talked about the Magic Motion remote earlier this morning, but here is further information that might just whet your appetite. Officially known as the LG Magic Remote, this particular remote control will cater specially for LG's range of Cinema 3D Smart TVs, where it attempts to maximize user convenience with a slew of functions, most notably Voice Recognition, Wheel, Magic Gesture and Pointing. What makes the LG Magic Remote stand out over conventional remote controls at a glance would be the push-buttons making up just a single dimension of the intuitive user experience.

Ubergizmo, More on the LG Magic Remote targets Cinema 3D Smart TVs

$1.7 million of BlackBerry Playbooks stolen

We all know that the BlackBerry Playbook is not at the top of most people's Christmas lists, but is it really that lame duck of a tablet. Perhaps, when you compare it to what is available on the market, with the Apple iPad 2 leading the way, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 nipping on its heels. Still, there are certain quarters of humanity who think that the Playbook is worth something, as Herald Bulletin reported that a truck ferrying stock of BlackBerry Playbook tablets which was headed towards Ontario, Canada, actually got stolen.

Ubergizmo, $1.7 million of BlackBerry Playbooks stolen

'Old GM' quietly dead and buried

After 103 years of stratospheric heights and immeasurable lows, General Motors Corp. has died. Motors Liquidation Co., or "Old GM," as it became known during the 2009 bankruptcy reorganization, was quietly dissolved on Thursday, Dec. 15, taking the company's bad debts and liabilities along with it.
The dissolution leaves the newly formed General Motors. Co. to live on as the company's fitter and better-financed replacement. The latter, as you'll recall, benefited from a massive government bailout of nearly $50 billion and the ability to restructure contracts with its suppliers, dealership bodies and unions.

Autoblog, 'Old GM' quietly dead and buried

Apple Wins Ban Over Import of HTC Android Devices in the US; HTC Plans to Work-Around Patent Violation

Apple’s just landed a major victory against HTC in a case where the latter was sued for violating patent  #5,946,647, a patent which details a way to analyze and link data structures at the system level. As this is a core functionality of Android’s, other OEMs are at risk. The final decision was a future ban of imports by the ITC starting in 2012. The ban affects HTC’s devices up to Android 2.2, but 2.3+ devices have not been incriminated yet.

HTC isn’t being vexed by this, though, as they state that alternate solutions to avoid violating this patent are already in the works.

Android Phone, Apple Wins Ban Over Import of HTC Android Devices in the US; HTC Plans to Work-Around Patent Violation

Verizon Galaxy Nexus car dock lacks three-pin connection of its HSPA twin, requires manual micro-USB connection

While Verizon customers are happily lording it over their HSPA-bound counterparts with those LTE speeds, they may be less happy to hear about the lower-grade car dock they've been saddled with. Setting you back $40, the dock is a protective bracket for your phone that attaches to your windscreen with a suction cup. However, the GSM version includes the Galaxy Nexus' three-pin contacts, with micro-USB and mic ports built into the dock, meaning there's no need to constantly plug and unplug - unlike the US model.

Engadget, Verizon Galaxy Nexus car dock lacks three-pin connection of its HSPA twin, requires manual micro-USB connection

VidaBox Media Servers add metadata support for XBMC, Popcorn Hour and others

We wouldn't expect for upper-crust aimed media server setups like the ones offered by VidaBox to play nicely with the common rabble, but apparently that's just what is going on. With the click of a check box, its "Drop-n-Rip" Blu-ray and DVD archiving now includes cover art and other metadata compatible with third party streamers including Popcorn Hour, HDI Dune, TViX, XBMC, Sage TV and others.

Engadget, VidaBox Media Servers add metadata support for XBMC, Popcorn Hour and others

Ekso Bionics' exoskeleton used to let paraplegics walk (video)

It's not just nuclear-powered super soldiers who will use exoskeletons - it can also be used to help those with physical disabilities. The Kessler Foundation grabbed one of Ekso Bionics' Ekso units and gave six people with severe spinal injuries, including a tetraplegic, the chance to walk. It's part of a trial study to examine the effects of walking for wheelchair-users, to see if it's better for their overall health or if it could contribute to their rehabilitation. A wider study will begin early next year with the hope of expanding use of the gear to domestic situations in the future.

Engadget, Ekso Bionics' exoskeleton used to let paraplegics walk (video)