Nazomi Communications makes friends by suing everyone you know
When the Java programming language burst onto the scene in the mid-’90s, the mantra was “write once, run anywhere.” Any Java coder will tell you that dream never quite became a reality, and while plenty have worked on ways to make Java code run like instructions specialized for this or the other family of processors, Nazomi Communications wants there to be only one: its way. The company was founded in the late ’90s by Sun expatriates and created some processors capable of running compiled Java code natively. Now its biggest production is a lawsuit against Amazon, Microsoft, Nokia, Garmin, Sling, and others for patent infringement. Exactly which patent hasn’t been made clear at this point, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 6,332,215, the same one the company referenced when suing ARM back in 2007. Nazomi lost that suit (plus a subsequent appeal) and, given how much we dislike these annoying patent disputes from tiny, seemingly struggling companies (Nazomi currently has four whole employees according to LinkedIn), we’re hopeful that all these lawsuits go away soon too.
Nazomi Communications makes friends by suing everyone you know originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sony’s $200 BDP-S470 is company’s first 3D-ready Blu-ray player
And the flood gates are now officially open. Just hours after Panasonic introduced its newest 3D Blu-ray recorders and players, along comes Sony to brag about its first 3D-ready standalone deck. The BDP-S470, which is slated to ship later this month for $200, arrives with the ability to handle BD, DVD, CD and even SACD, with a 3D Blu-ray upgrade (via firmware update) planned for this summer. You’ll also find BD-Live support, BRAVIA Internet Video, a USB socket for playing back media stored elsewhere, 1080p DVD upscaling and TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. If you were planning to snag a BDP-S570 BD player or one of the BDV-E770W / BDV-E570 Blu-ray Disc home theater systems, you’ll be elated to know that those systems will also get a gratis 3D update in just a few months, with exact pricing and release details tucked down there in the source. Time to pick up a pair of 3D Gunnar Optiks, don’tcha think?
Sony’s $200 BDP-S470 is company’s first 3D-ready Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Sony | Email this | Comments
Amazon job postings ask for display and wireless experts, hint at Kindle things to come?
So, we already assume Amazon’s thinking touch for the Kindle, what with that recent Touchco acquisition and word of similar behind-the-screen touch tech being on PVI’s roadmap. PVI owns E Ink, and is naturally bullish about its upcoming products, but what about E Ink in the new Kindle? If you’re into reading the tea leaves of job postings, Amazon might be telegraphing its intentions. It’s looking for a “Hardware Display Manager” who, among many other things, is supposed to have “Significant exposure to high volume manufacturing environments; you will know the LCD business and key players in the market.” That might have you thinking the next Kindle will go LCD, but the requirements also mention a “deep knowledge of current display technology and potential future technologies,” and nothing about the role seems exactly prescriptive of an LCD expertise — more of a general focus on displays and product design, whatever tech might come. Pixel Qi or Mirasol, anybody? Amazon’s also looking for all sorts of software expertise, including a “Software Design Engineer” who will be responsible for radio stacks “including but not limited to” 3G and WiFi. Again, these are requirements (among many) for a role, not necessarily implications of a Kindle 3 spec sheet, but there’s one thing clear: Amazon’s gearing up for something.
Amazon job postings ask for display and wireless experts, hint at Kindle things to come? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
New York Times Bits Blog | Lab126 | Email this | Comments
Engadget Podcast 182 – 02.07.2010
What do three bloggers huddled around microphones in frigid locales across the country have on 22 of America’s beefiest athletes gathered on the field in Miami? An iPhone app. Oh, actually, no. But Josh Tops, Nilz, and P-Mill most certainly comprise the universe’s largest repository of JooJoo insight. That’s worth something, right?
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Disco Rehab – Kids
Hear the podcast
01:22 – Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!)
05:00 – Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support — in Google Maps, anyway
14:34 – Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!)
20:05 – Joojoo tablet now in production, will support full Flash at launch
30:15 – Acer not making a tablet, will focus on ultra-thin laptops
42:20 – Former Microsoft VP Dick Brass weighs in on why Microsoft ‘no longer brings us the future’
45:00 – Microsoft responds to Dick Brass: ‘We measure our work by its broad impact’
48:20 – Steve Jobs compares iPad battery life to Kindle’s: ‘You’re not going to read for 10 hours’ (video)
48:30 – Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon
48:35 – Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict — confirmed (update: they’re back!)
51:45 – Verizon advertising says Droid is for men, Pre is for women (video)
58:09 – We’re turning comments off for a bit
59:00 – Commenting on Engadget: a human’s guide
Subscribe to the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace
Download the podcast
LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)
Contact the podcast
1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.
Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Filed under: Podcasts
Engadget Podcast 182 – 02.07.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Kindle dev kit now rolling out in limited beta
Back on the 21st of January when Amazon announced that it would release its Kindle Development Kit, A/K/A KDK, we heard it would begin rolling out in limited beta this month, with a wait list of people getting access to the kit as space was available. Well, that moment has arrived, and you can now sign up to receive said KDK. Our tipster wasn’t able to get the software in hand yet, but we’ll keep on the lookout for it. Hit the read link to sign up, and to check out Amazon’s FAQ, as well.
[Thanks, Mark]
Kindle dev kit now rolling out in limited beta originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Amazon Kindle Development | Email this | Comments
Publishers continue pummeling Amazon over e-book prices
Amazon’s $9.99 e-book price point may be a rarity as more book publishers declare that they’ll set their own prices for books, with the seller taking a standard 30 percent cut. Another major publisher has decided to move to what’s referred to as the “agency model” while others are hinting that they, too, are about to force the new model on Amazon.
Hachette has become the latest publisher to announce that it was done with what it calls the artificially depressed e-book prices imposed by Amazon. In an e-mail to its employees, CEO David Young extolled the virtues of the agency model, noting that it “allows Hachette to make pricing decisions that are rational and reflect the value of our authors’ works,” according to an excerpt posted by Media Bistro. “Without this investment in our authors, the diversity of books available to consumers will contract, as will the diversity of retailers, and our literary culture will suffer.”
Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon
It looks like the tide is starting to turn decisively against Amazon’s $9.99 e-book publishing model — first MacMillan fought back and won, then HarperCollins dragged Bezos and Co., back to the negotiating table, and now Hachette is beating on the door. That’s at least the word according to a leaked memo from Hachette Book Group CEO David Young, in which he says the “agency” pricing model favored by MacMillan — and used by Apple new iBooks store — is the way to go. Ultimately this all comes down to power and control, and we’re getting the feeling the publishers have realized that they have to exert it in order to keep it — and oddly enough, it seems like Apple and the iPad are the leverage they’ve been waiting for. Get ready for the shakeout.
P.S.- Charlie Stross has a nice breakdown of the differences between the Amazon model and the agency model, if you’re interested in the nitty-gritty.
Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kindle display maker PVI promises touchscreens, color and flexibility in 2010 models
Love your Kindle? How about your Sony Reader? Good then lean in close because your electrophoretic display (EPD) maker wants to have a word. Prime View International (PVI) chairman Scott Liu says that his company (the owners of E Ink) will be introducing a wide variety of new e-reader displays this year including color, flexible, and touchscreen EPDs. PVI also says that response times have been improved enough to allow for animation support on products in 2010. Of course, flip books provide animation as well but we wouldn’t want to use one for any considerable amount of time — but let’s wait and see what they have before coming to a conclusion.
Interestingly enough, PVI says that it’s developing pressure touch sensors that sit behind the display rather than using conventional touch-panels that can obscure the display’s brightness. Funny, that sounds a lot like the Touchco technology just purchased by Amazon two days ago. Kindle 3, we’re waiting… unfortunately for Amazon, the rest of the industry isn’t.
Kindle display maker PVI promises touchscreens, color and flexibility in 2010 models originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | DigiTimes | Email this | Comments
E-reader statisfaction study shows 93 percent of users are happy, just not you
The wind sure changes very quickly, eh? Just a week ago the University of Georgia revealed that many of its study participants — Athens residents who were given a Kindle to play with — weren’t happy with their e-reader experience, but yesterday a new study reported something fairly contrasting. Rather than doling out touchscreen-less e-readers to a group of people, the NPD Group surveyed more than 1,000 e-reader owners in late November last year, and found out that 93 percent of them were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their devices, while only 2 percent “expressed any level of dissatisfaction.” The report also reveals that wireless access is the favorite feature for 60 percent of the users, while only 23 percent chose the touchscreen. Compared to last week’s report, this probably shows that consumers who actually buy e-readers don’t really care about the touch feature, whereas those on the outer circle are mainly waiting for more — and no doubt cheaper — touchscreen e-readers. Seriously though, only 34 percent wanted color screens? Those guys sure are easy to please.
E-reader statisfaction study shows 93 percent of users are happy, just not you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink PC World | NPD | Email this | Comments
etc: Amazon appears to have purchased a small startup that specializes in touchscreen technology.
Amazon appears to have purchased a small startup that specializes in touchscreen technology.
Read More:
PaidContent
Houston-Hull, TX