transformers

A tour of the Samsung Transform

SAN FRANCISCO--The Samsung Transform is one of three new smartphones that Sprint announced at the fall CTIA show here. And shortly after the carrier's official show press conference, we stopped by the Samsung booth to give the Transform a test run.

With a 3.5-inch touch screen, a slider design, and a full alphabetic keyboard, the Transform's design is nothing we haven't seen before. Yet, that's not to say it's unattractive. The device has a comfortable feeling in the hand, and the keyboard is spacious and comfortable even if the keys are rather flush. We … Read more

Samsung Transform comes to Sprint October 10

SAN FRANCISCO--Sprint today unveiled the Samsung Transform, an Android smartphone running Android 2.1. It has a 3.5 inch HVGA touch screen with 480x320-pixel resolution. We haven't had much time to play with the Transform, having just received a test unit, but can say already that the screen, while bright, feels resistive. It was a tad tacky in our hands.

On the hardware side, there's a front-facing VGA camera and a rear-facing 3.2 megapixel camera. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is silver. What's unique about the Transform is that it's one of three Android smartphones … Read more

Two new Android phones expected for Sprint

SAN FRANCISCO--We know that Sprint is planning a CTIA press conference at 2 p.m. today, but so far the carrier has kept the exact news under wraps. According to AndoidGuys, however, we should see two new Android handsets that will launch next Sunday, October 10.

Though it will be new to Sprint, the first phone is something we've seen before. The Sanyo Zio, which first arrived at Cricket in late September, will carry a $99 price tag with service.

The Samsung Transform should have an 800MHz processor with Android 2.1 (Eclair). The design looks to be a … Read more

Transformers crash land on Android OS

Glu Mobile has released a port of its Transformers G1: Awakening iPhone game to the Android Market this week. Awakening is a turn-based strategy game starring 23 of our favorite robots in disguise from the 1980s cartoon, including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream. The story loosely follows the animated plot with players taking control of the heroic Autobots as they wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons shortly after crash landing on Earth.

After the initial download and installation, the game prompts you to download an additional 7MB of data to either the SD card … Read more

The 404 631: Where we touch our magic trackpad (podcast)

Apple refreshed its lineup of iMac desktop computers this morning to include faster CPUs and an improved graphics chip for games and video editing. The new computers also support larger hard drives (and even solid-state drives) with a higher capacity SDXC card slot for your media and start at $1,199.

Apple also announced a new line of Mac pro machines that offer up to 12 cores and Turbo Boost, a technology that can deliver even higher processor speeds. And the company unveiled a gorgeous 27-inch LED display to complement the new system.

Finally, Apple showed off the Magic Trackpad, … Read more

Will giant Optimus Prime battle giant Gundam?

Robot one-upmanship is happening at an alarming pace in East Asia as the Chinese have unveiled a giant Optimus Prime in Beijing, no doubt to counter giant robots recently built by the Japanese. Is a clash of the robo-titans imminent?

The Transformers icon stands nearly 40 feet tall and weighs 6 tons. Fittingly, the head Autobot was fashioned out of recycled car parts such as engines and tires. It took five truckloads of parts to put Prime together.

The colossus dwarfs puny humans at the new Green Dream Park, located northwest of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National … Read more

Easy edits

We tend to put off editing our digital photos because we find it be such a tedious, time-consuming task. BatchPhoto Pro seeks to solve this problem, making photo editing a simple, three-step process. Although it's obviously not going to give you the same results you'd get after hours spent in Photoshop, we found it to be an easy, intuitive way to take care of basic editing.

The program's interface is well-designed, making it easy for even novice users to edit their images. There are three steps: Add Photos, Add Filters, and Setup. In the first step, users … Read more

World's ugliest supercar transforms into a robot (car toys)

Behold the Mitsuoka Orochi. It's powered by a 3.3-liter, 230 horsepower Toyota Camry V-6; has a power-to-weight ratio somewhere between that of the Honda Civic and a Mini Cooper S; and carries the distinction of being the ugliest supercar ever built. Ever. And if you want the distinction of owning one, it'll cost you about $95,000 and the price of a plane ticket to Japan, or, for about $60, you could pick up a much smaller version that transforms into a robot.

User kenji on the Transformers enthusiast forum HK-TF has posted preview photos of the … Read more

The 404 591: Where we ice you bro (podcast)

Wilson's knee deep in his extended vacation, so Jeff and I set out to find a suitable host to fill his empty seat and actually get an upgrade in Peter Ha, an editor at Techland and Time Magazine.

He joins us on today's episode of The 404 Podcast to preview Killzone 3 in 3D and chat about the official Quit Facebook Day, emotional college students, Internet bullying, and a new drinking game that takes shotgunning to a professional level.

Sony recently announced plans to integrate stereoscopic 3D gameplay into all PlayStation 3s, and Peter tells us about his … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1229: Too stupid even for Paramount (podcast)

Did Paramount actually issue a DMCA takedown to some people who filmed "Transformers 3" while it was being filmed outside their window!? Well, yeah. But Molly thinks that particular brand of stupidity almost had to be an accident. I mean, come on. Also, Google accidentally (!) collected data from open WiFi hotspots while taking pictures of their houses, which kind of feels like a double whammy. Oh, and it's Rafe's first show in the Tom Chair! We call it: Episode 1.

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