Filed under: Multimedia, Peripherals, Misc

“Game changing” is thrown around way too frequently these days, but man, this thing just might be. The Livepack is being described as “a satellite television truck in a backpack” by creator Livestream, and for all intents and purposes, it is. Put simply (or as simply as possible), the pack includes everything one would need to stream “HD quality” footage: encoding hardware, a Firewire cable and the real kicker, a built-in wireless connection with six load-balanced 3G modems over three carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint if you have to know). Users simply provide their own camcorder, mash a button when it’s show time, and out goes the signal. The Livepack can currently be rented for $2,500 per month (includes 30 hours of streaming) or $1,500 per month if you commit to a year-long agreement. So, who’s up for showing the world their high school prom live in HD? Demo vid is after the break.

[Via Red Ferret]

Continue reading Livestream Livepack: a ‘satellite television truck in a backpack’

Livestream Livepack: a ‘satellite television truck in a backpack’ originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph

We’ve heard plenty of arguments for high priced products before — many of them from Sony, oddly enough — but this has to one of the odder ones. Sony UK’s Claire Blackhouse says that Sony was actually expecting a greater backlash from retailers than it got in regards to the PSP Go, and that many retailers are seeing the new launch as a way to get consumers into stores, at which point they’ll realize they’re too poor for a PSP Go and might end walking out with a PSP-3000 instead. Sadly, the logic sounds pretty sound, though Claire’s own suggestions that some families might get a PSP Go for dad and PSP 3000s for the kids seems a little fantastical — kinda hard for dad to rock those Hannah Montana UMDs, yeah Sony?

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Sony thinks its “aspirational” PSP Go might encourage an uptick in PSP-3000 purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, EV-DO, CDMA, Android

Now that the Sholes has seemingly been gifted with a less bizarre, less reminds-us-of-a-shoe-insert name, pictures and specs of the so-called Tao are starting to flow en masse — just in time for a possible introduction at next week’s CTIA show out in San Diego (we can only hope, anyway). The first round of in-the-wild shots really didn’t reveal much of anything, but the cameraman has elected to apply just enough wide-angle this time around to give us a full-on view of the high-end Android beast in its closed position — and if this is what we’re going to be getting on Verizon shelves, HTC (and heck, even Moto’s own CLIQ) should be on high alert. So, who’d switch to Verizon for this?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Motorola Tao’s photographer zooms out a little, better shot ensues originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM, EDGE, UMTS

Here’s the problem with carbon fiber phones: they’re not for everyone, especially those who aren’t interesting in dropping over two grand on a midrange candybar. Don’t sweat it, though, because Gresso’s back at it again with a leather-clad version of its Grand Monaco called the Grand Monaco LE — “LE” apparently stands for “Limited Edition,” if the badging on the back of the phone is any indication — available in your choice of red and black. Otherwise, you’ve got the same pricey materials found on the basic Grand Monaco like machined titanium and sapphire (plus a few not-so-pricey materials like a 2 megapixel camera) which somehow ultimately collaborate to produce an $1,800 price tag.

Gresso’s Grand Monaco gets wrapped in leather, credit card debt originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

We’re still not sure if that many people are interested in buying Blu-ray burners yet, but Pioneer just unveiled the first 12x capable drive (up from 8x, and with an 8x read speed that gives us a great idea for the next PlayStation 3 revision) the BDR-205. Initially rolling out to OEMs this month, this drive couldn’t wait for 12x certified discs to exist, though its full speed has been tested on Panasonic and Sony 6x BD-R blanks, “12x writing on all media cannot be guaranteed.” Minus that caveat, expect to see these popping up on Newegg and the like any second now, the only price mentioned is for the full retail package BD-2205 coming Q1 2010 for $249.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

Pioneer’s 12x BDR-205 Blu-ray burner is so fast it’s ahead of its time originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Richard Lawler

Welp, that didn’t take long. Just a few months after TerreStar announced that it had completed its first call on the new bird, the revived sat phone provider has now announced the first dual-mode smartphone for AT&T. Granted, we knew these two would be holding hands in the near future, but it’s still refreshing to see the Genus hit the landscape. The WinMo-based phone will ship with a 2.6-inch touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and GSM / GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / HSDPA radios. Oh, and it can tap into satellite waves too. This one’s actually aimed at government, energy, utility, transportation and maritime users, and while it’s slated to ship in Q1 2010 for an undisclosed amount, AT&T assures us that a consumer-oriented version is in the pipeline. Too bad this only enhances coverage in the US, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and territorial waters — we always dreamed of phoning home from Komsomolets Island.

[Via phonescoop]

Filed under: Cellphones

TerreStar Genus: AT&T’s first dual-mode cellular / satellite smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph

To be sure, a certain number of dropped calls are to be expected when you’re dealing with the wonders of cellular communication, but some phones do seem to fare worse then others when paired with certain carriers in particularly congested regions. Apparently fed up with such problems in New York, Gizmodo reader Manoj decided to stop by an Apple Store to see if something might be wrong with his iPhone — this, after apparently being assured by AT&T that everything was all right on its end. After a few tests, the Apple Genius determined that Manoj’s phone was dropping 22% of its calls, which turns out to actually be “excellent” compared to most iPhone users in the New York area, where a dropped call rate of 30% is said to be average. The Genius further went on to confirm that the phone was indeed “fully functional,” and that the problem is “consistent with the service provided by AT&T.” So, nothing to worry about, folks — everything is “normal.”

[Thanks, Canis]

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple Genius says 30% iPhone call drop rate is average in New York originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Handsets, ATT, Apple

To be sure, a certain number of dropped calls are to be expected when you’re dealing with the wonders of cellular communication, but some phones do seem to fare worse then others when paired with certain carriers in particularly congested regions. Apparently fed up with such problems in New York, Gizmodo reader Manoj decided to stop by an Apple Store to see if something might be wrong with his iPhone — this, after apparently being assured by AT&T that everything was all right on its end. After a few tests, the Apple Genius determined that Manoj’s phone was dropping 22 percent of its calls, which turns out to actually be “excellent” compared to most iPhone users in the New York area, where a dropped call rate of 30 percent is said to be average. The Genius further went on to confirm that the phone was indeed “fully functional,” and that the problem is “consistent with the service provided by AT&T.” So, nothing to worry about, folks — everything is “normal.”

[Thanks, Canis]

Apple Genius says 30 percent iPhone call drop rate is average in New York originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson