Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony’s looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new off-white Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options up to 3.5GHz, rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from ,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, 0, 15-inch, 0)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.

Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Box for Android updated to 1.5: adds widgets, uploading from any app, magic

Box for Android updated to 1.5: adds widgets, uploading from any app, magic originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s second generation Extended Depth of Field (EDoF) camera was recently put through the wringer by the folks at All About Symbian, and for a technology that traditionally fails at macro shots, we’re happy to see that the engineers in Espoo have made dramatic advances with this second go-around. Using the same lens and sensor as before, we’re told the improvements come from a refined image processor alone. In a side-by-side comparison, this business was card snapped from 12-inches (30cm) away, first with a C7 and then a 701. While the new setup isn’t perfect, the difference is certainly appreciable. Of course, Nokia has all but ditched EDoF in its high end smartphones — as evidenced by our reviews of the N9 and Lumia 800 — but the technology remains very much alive within its lower-end affairs, and really, who doesn’t like to see improvement? For a complete breakdown of the new technology, be sure to hit up the source link below.

Nokia’s latest EDoF camera demonstrates improvement with macro shots originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile shopping tools like RedLaser and ShopSavvy have been a huge help in letting users compare prices through barcode scanning and decide if the product they’re seeing in store can be found for cheaper nearby or online. Now, those apps are letting people not only find better deals but immediately take advantage of those deals right through the apps.

EBay, which owns RedLaser, last week showed off how a consumer can scan a product, find the lowest price from retailers from participating businesses, and then buy the product right through the latest version of RedLaser using PayPal. The implementation is still limited with Toys-R-Us being one of the few retailers to partner with RedLaser on the service. But eBay expects to get more retailers to sign on. Users can’t buy things on eBay or through the eBay app, just though RedLaser.

Now ShopSavvy, which competes against RedLaser and has just raised million, is bringing similar functionality with ShopSavvy 5, the latest versions of its iPhone and Android apps. Users scan a product and see a better deal from retailers like Walmart.com, Target.com, BestBuy.com and BN.com. Then they can buy that product directly through the ShopSavvy app, which is due out Thursday, and have it delivered to them. If customers have set up a ShopSavvy wallet, they can make a purchase with one tap. ShopSavvy introduced this scan-and-buy functionality earlier this year in a limited beta but the service is now expanding nationwide. ShopSavvy 5 also brings a bunch of other improvements like better keyword search, improved comparison shopping and more local deals highlighted on its deals tab.

The rise of instant scan and buy raises the stakes for retailers. They have always had to worry about their prices relative to the competition, but now the consequences of being overpriced can be felt instantaneously. For retailers who integrate with these tools, there’s the opportunity to pick off a consumer instantly right from the aisle of a competitor. They don’t have to lure them over to their own mobile site or into their store. They can seal a transaction immediately. But they do have to price aggressively. Retailers who stand to lose a sale can also respond by price matching.

For consumers, scan-and-buy is another sign of how smartphone apps are making shopping even simpler and how it’s empowering users to always find the lowest deals from retailers. As Om wrote, consumers are becoming smart buyers who are armed with a wealth of data at their fingertips. Now, the next step for mobile commerce is to remove any remaining hang-ups in the buying process. If people want to buy, especially quickly, purchasing through these apps can be a big help.

This comes at a perfect time for the holidays when shoppers will be stressed and short on time as they look for gifts. As we’ve written, mobile shopping is going to be big this holiday season and the addition of instant scanning and buying will only add to that.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• Flash analysis: the future of Yahoo
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

For all the grousing about the minimal changes from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, Apple’s fastest smartphone incorporates sweeping shifts compared to what the company did with its iPod line. From keeping the waning iPod classic in the lineup to leaving the still-potent iPod touch untouched save for a blanching and price reduction, the venerable digital media player line seemed all but ignored at a time of year when Apple once primed the holiday pump for MP3 players.

Yet, while the iPod touch may not have received the processor boost or Siri-ousness of the iPhone 4S, it at least continues to remain vibrant via access to Apple’s app store. That’s not the case for the nano, once the flagship of the line. While Apple’s smallest touchscreen device gained new software that enlarged the main icons and brought new clock faces, these improvements are also being offered to owners of the last-generation iPod nano via a software update.

Continue reading Switched On: Next for the nano

Switched On: Next for the nano originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hydraulic hybrid tech could provide buses, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles with big improvements in fuel economy at relatively little cost. Here’s why the future of hybrids may not be in batteries.

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