Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service
A partnership between Microsoft and customer service company 24/7 may not exactly sound like the most exciting proposition on the face of things, but the two are making some fairly lofty promises, and Microsoft seems to be making a serious investment in the initiative. As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley reports, part of the deal will see Microsoft send at least some of the 400 employees it brought on in its 2007 acquisition of TellMe Networks to 24/7, and it will also license some of its speech-related IP to the company (in addition to taking an equity stake in it). The goal there being to combine natural user interfaces with a cloud-based customer service platform, which Microsoft promises will "redefine what customer service looks like." To that end, it gives the example of a credit card company getting in touch with you to report suspicious behavior; rather than a phone call, you could get a notification with all the pertinent details sent directly to your phone, which could anticipate a number of potential actions and let you respond by voice (or touch, presumably). Unfortunately, while the two are talking plenty about the future of customer service, there's not a lot of word as to when that might arrive.
Continue reading Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service
Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer service originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 10:46:00
Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series
Exactly twelve months after the unveiling of the
Optio WG-1 family, Pentax is now introducing the successors to its colorful and ruggedized shooters. And while its macho design hasn't changed much, the newcomers usher in a host of predictable spec bumps. The new all-terrain shooters are sporting a 16-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 1080p (30fps) movie mode, micro-HDMI for when you feel like sharing your adventures and a 3-inch, 460,000 -dot LCD to help you frame your shots. Of course, this wouldn't fall under the
rugged category if it couldn't handle anything you threw at it, which is why any WG-2 is waterproof up to 40 feet, shock-resistant and dustproof. If you're thinking about taking one of these on the trails with you, be ready to unleash around $350 for the unguided model or about $50 more for a GPS-enabled number. Neither will be available until March, so you'll have to wait a while, but in the meantime we've got the full PR below along with some press shots.
Continue reading Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series
Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 10:00:00
Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad
Want to print stuff from your iPad, but hate drivers and cords and stuff? Good news, Canon's offering up the Pixma MX512 and MX432, two all-in-one inkjets that offer up
Apple AirPrint support, letting users wirelessly prints photos, docs and the like from their iPad, iPhone and iPod touches running iOS 4.2 or later. Canon also used the announcement to reaffirm its commitment to the technology, ensuring
as before that it "will be available with the majority of Canon PIXMA Wireless All-In-One inkjet printers launched from this point forward." A brief, fully printable press release can be found after the break.
Continue reading Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad
Canon unveils two AirPrint printers, thinks you should print more stuff from your iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 09:32:00
Chrome Beta for Android hands-on (video)
So, Google is finally making the move we've been expecting for some time now and bringing
Chrome to Android. Now, you'll need a device running Ice Cream Sandwich to get the new mobile browser up and running but, thankfully, we happened to have a Galaxy Nexus on hand. As you might expect, mobile Chrome (much like its desktop sibling) is fast -- a little buggy perhaps, but fast. It isn't, however, the fastest browser for the platform. Chrome Beta holds its own, but the standard Android browser, the stable version of Firefox and Dolphin HD all edged it out in SunSpider. Numbers don't tell the whole story though, so head on past the break for more.
Continue reading Chrome Beta for Android hands-on (video)
Chrome Beta for Android hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 08:54:00
Reminder: Vote for the 2011 Engadget Awards!
We've sorted through
the nominations and now we're relying on you to determine the real tech winners from 2011. So, if your smartphone of choice didn't get all the love you hoped it would, hop on over to the voting page and cast your vote. Keep in mind you have until
11:59PM ET on Monday February 20th to let your voice be heard. Check back for the leading vote getters along with our Editors' Choice gadgets before the end of the month.
Hit the
voting page here to submit your ballot.
Reminder: Vote for the 2011 Engadget Awards! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 08:48:00
Sony Tablet P's product manager shows off prototypes, tells the clamshell story
Still baffled by the
Tablet P's existence? Well, Sony's here to help! Earlier today, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese met up with Takeshi Goto, the head honcho of
VAIO and mobile product producing, to learn how the Android clamshell went from several mockups (one of which was made out of a $4 wallet) right after the PDA era to the final product today. Between those two pivotal points on the timeline, Sony explored screen sizes between five to seven inches before settling on 5.5 due to hardware limitation; though the entire device ended up being about the same size as the 7-inch mockup. Later on, the manufacturer hooked up a couple of
VAIO UXs to power a Nintendo DS-like dual-screen prototype -- that was when Windows and x86 were under consideration, before Sony eventually went with Android on ARM. Intrigued? Hit the link below to take a look at the aforementioned goodies.
Sony Tablet P's product manager shows off prototypes, tells the clamshell story originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 08:20:00
Microsoft and British agency create child-friendly version of IE9
As the entry age for web access heads
ever southwards, preventing young minds from the perils of the internet is a growing concern for parents. For this reason, Microsoft teamed up with the UK-based CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center) to create a special kid-friendly version of its IE9 browser. Access to key CEOP pages are baked right in, and there are dedicated tabs for the
thinkuknow.co.uk information site and, of course, Bing. Additional security comes via a Jump List that lets parents and care-givers set the age group of their child and prevents them from seeing unsuitable content. It's only available on Windows 7, and you'll need to prevent your curious children from using any other browser, but at least it's extra
peace of mind at no extra cost.
Microsoft and British agency create child-friendly version of IE9 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 07:51:00
Raspberry Pi's Linux computer nears completion, should ship by end of February
Raspberry Pi's commercial future became a little clearer yesterday, with an announcement that the first batch of its Model B Linux computers will be finished by February 20th. The $35 board went into production last month, but has been beset with delays in bringing it to market. In a post on its site, the UK-based manufacturer expressed some regret over the setback, attributing it to a hiccup it encountered while trying to procure specific quartz crystals. Fortunately, though, everything is finally in order, and the computers should begin shipping by the end of the month. In the meantime, particularly hardware savvy users can find out more about the BCM2835 SoC behind the Model B, courtesy of a datasheet that Broadcom released alongside Raspberry Pi's announcement. You can dig through it yourself, at the coverage link below.
Raspberry Pi's Linux computer nears completion, should ship by end of February originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 07:26:00
Sandy Bridge E squashed into $3,000 Clevo P270WM gaming suitcase
If you thought Intel's
super-charged Core i7 CPUs were only for desktops, then AVADirect reckons it can change your mind. The company's Clevo P270WM notebook comes strapped to the back of either a six-core i7-3930K or an over-sized i7-3960X, while still leaving plenty of room for dual GeForce GTX 580M graphics, a
Bigfoot Killer WiFi adapter, three hard drives and four memory slots offering up to 32GB of RAM. Topping it all off is a 3D-capable 17.3-inch Full HD LED glossy display and backlit keyboard. The base configuration with the 3930K processor, single graphics card and 750GB HDD will set you back over $3,000, and if you have to ask how much the
NVIDIA Quadro graphics option costs then you're probably better off with something like
this.
Sandy Bridge E squashed into $3,000 Clevo P270WM gaming suitcase originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 06:13:00
Google Chrome browser arrives on Android (video)
The latest step in bringing Google-based unification has arrived. The
Chrome browser is here on Android. This beta version is currently only available for that elite crowd of
ICS phones and tablets and like its desktop progenitor, the synced settings and bookmarks are all in tow. Expect to see a new, more natural mobile view of the tab system. It'll also remember what you were last looking at on your desktop Chrome browser, and sync it across to your mobile device -- it's like Kindle or iBook's bookmarking system, but for the web. Your autocorrect content from the desktop is similarly synced. Expect to see the reappearance of link previews, something you may recall from the results of any Google searches, offering a brief thumbnail of a link's destination. We're giving it a good play-around
right now, but while we get our first impression up, check the quick intro video after the break.
Continue reading Google Chrome browser arrives on Android (video)
Google Chrome browser arrives on Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 05:49:00
Elevate aims high, agrees to become Sprint's newest MVNO
Another
MVNO is going live on Sprint's network, and this time Elevate is the one signing the dotted line. The company, known primarily for providing digital services such as VoIP, wireline and wireless broadband in 22 markets across the country, is now aiming to expand its portfolio by using the Now Network to provide both postpaid and prepaid mobile plans for its customers. While we're still waiting to hear the specifics, Elevate mentioned that it will feature Android and "Windows-based devices." The MVNO will also be leveraged to support the company's Smart Home
automation service, taking advantage of a new app that will give customers remote access to all aspects of their home security systems. Head over to the press release to glean every last little detail.
Continue reading Elevate aims high, agrees to become Sprint's newest MVNO
Elevate aims high, agrees to become Sprint's newest MVNO originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 05:46:00
Panasonic prices, dates some of its 2012 HDTVs (VT, GT, ET) and accessories in Japan
If Panasonic's
CES 2012 lineup of plasma and LCD HDTVs interested you, it's time to dig into more details it's just released about their Japanese cousins. Those "
Infinite Black Ultra Panel" plasmas will arrive April 20th as the VT5 series and
AV Watch reports the 60-inch will be priced at about 500,000 yen ($6517), while the 50-inch is 360,000 yen ($4694). There's also details on the new GT5 plasmas, in 60-, 55-, 50- and 42-inch sizes, as well as the DT5 and ET5 LCDs. All of those are 3D capable and will start rolling out March 9th (April 20th for some of the larger sizes), although the ET series is its first that works with passive 3D glasses. The new 3D glasses -- passive (2,000 yen, $26) and active with Bluetooth link (13,000 yen, $169) will also arrive in March along new Blu-ray players and recorders plus a refreshed Skype camera that's slimmer and half the weight of
last year's model. Hit the links below and let Google Translate bring in the details, we should probably hear more about US prices, specs and ship dates in a few weeks.
Panasonic prices, dates some of its 2012 HDTVs (VT, GT, ET) and accessories in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07-02-2012 04:56:00
