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Despite the recent hack on his now inactive Verizon Wireless account, President-elect Barack Obama is still pushing to have access to a BlackBerry - or some sort of Internet-connected device - while in the White House.

In a Friday interview with Barbara Walters, Obama admitted that the prospect of losing his beloved BlackBerry is “a problem” but that he is working to find a solution.

“One of the things that I’m going to have to work through is how to break through the isolation, the bubble that exists around the president,” Obama said. “And I’m in the process of negotiating with the Secret Service, with lawyers, with White House staff … to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House? Because one of the worst things I think that can happen to a president is losing touch with the struggles that people are going through every day.”

For security reasons, the president has traditionally surrendered devices like cell phones and personal e-mail accounts upon taking office. Obama aides told the New York Times recently that the President-elect will likely follow suit, but that he might be the first ever president to have a laptop on his desk in the Oval Office.

But will it be a Mac or a PC? Michelle Obama told Newsweek in February that she purchased two Macbook laptops for the President-elect and the children so they could use the iChat function to keep in touch while Obama was on the road.

Original post by Chloe Albanesius

With our hands-on review of the new BlackBerry Storm for Verizon now up over at PCMag.com, you had to know it was only a matter of time before we got around to shooting a video of RIM’s new touchscreen smartphone in action.

Our editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff and lead phone analyst Sascha Segan talk about the pros and cons of the new handset, after the jump.

Original post by Brian Heater

I finally got around to renting “The West Wing” on Netflix last week. And because I work where I do, the first thing I noticed was that all the characters were using beepers, antiquated cell phones with antennas, and clunky laptops. But while the staffers were juggling multiple pre-BlackBerry electronic devices, the president had nothing but a cane and witty comebacks for lobbyists.

In the real world, security reasons have prevented the U.S. President from using the latest tech gadgets for day-to-day activities–but given that President-Elect Obama relied so heavily on the Internet during his campaign and is reportedly addicted to his BlackBerry, will he also relinquish his electronic devices come January?

That remains to be seen, but given that all presidential correspondence must be made public under the Presidential Records Act, the New York Times reported that Obama will probably hand over the BlackBerry lest his electronic legacy include LOLCat forwards and grammatically challenged text messages. Perhaps Google can develop a presidential version of its Mail Goggles?

When President Bush was elected in 2000, he sent an e-mail from his AOL account to friends informing them that he would no longer correspond electronically, and Obama will likely follow suit.

Obama staffers did concede, however, that Obama wants a laptop in the Oval Office. If he gets his way, he would be the first American president to have one.

But will it be a Mac or a PC? Michelle Obama told Newsweek in February that she purchased two Macbook laptops for the President-elect and the children so they could use the iChat function to keep in touch while Obama was on the road.

There might be another reason to for to abandon cell phones and laptops and PDAs - technology snobs. Though Obama is known to have his BlackBerry with him at all times, he made headlines after being photographed fiddling with an iPhone, and chastised for using a Motorola Razr. Seems like a lose-lose situation regardless of his choice.

But while Obama might have to give up his gadgets, his administration will not likely shy away from technology. During election season, the campaign raised millions via online donations and allowed supporters to create their own virtual support sites via mybarackobama.com.

After the election, Obama’s team released election night photos on Flickr, launched change.gov to provide updates on the transition, and created a YouTube channel on which Obama will provide video updates about his administration.

On the policy side, Obama has also pledged to increase federal R&ampD spending, make government more open and transparent via the Internet, preserve Net neutrality, and work to provide broadband access to more underserved communities.

Original post by Chloe Albanesius

How appropriate: a BlackBerry Storm giveaway, in a storm!

If you live or work in NYC, you’ve got till 7 PM today to get over to Times Square (on 46th and Broadway) for a chance to win a BlackBerry Storm. But be prepared to get soaked and to wait for upwards of an hour. Here’s how it works:

• Contestants are locked in a wind tunnel booth with flying tickets redeemable for prizes .

• Contestants have 30 seconds to grab as many tickets as possible.
• Make it out with 7 black tickets = you get a BlackBerry Storm in the mail.
• Make it out with 6 red tickets = you win a Jabra Bluetooth headset.
• Make it out with none of the above, and you bring decades of shame to your family name.

If you just want some hands-on time with the smartphone, you can head over there too. After the jump, check out a video of the action and pictures of contestants in action!

Original post by Gearlog

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

Esteemed lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss is breaking new ground by releasing the PhotoScope 85 T* FL, a spotting scope that also serves as a seven megapixel digital camera — just in case “super-zoom” wasn’t enough for you. With 15 - 45x magnification, a focal length of 600 - 1800 mm, a flip-out OLED display, and an IR remote for vibration-free release, it’s great for birdwatchers but perhaps even better for the paparazzi. Look for it in Spring or Summer 2009 if you’re planning to profit off the next Amy Winehouse meltdown.

[Via PhotographyBLOG]

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Original post by Samuel Axon

Filed under: Cellphones

Not that Motorola’s ᾯ comes as any big surprise, but it’s nice to see the Windows Mobile 6.1-packin′ smartphone get all official on us. Now boasting its very own dedicated page on Moto’s website, the Q11 comes to us with quad-band GPRS / EDGE (no 3G, for whatever reason), a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, 64MB of RAM, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.1, a 320 x 240 resolution display, integrated GPS and a multimedia player with support for all sorts of file formats. You can also expect up to 450 minutes of talk time and up to 195 hours in standby, but you won′t be able to wrap your paws around it until December. As for carriers and pricing? Patience, friends, patience.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

While Samsung’s latest cellphone-related release doesn’t pack quite the excitement as what T-Mobile unveiled yesterday, those obsessed with ultrathin lines packed together in the shape of a rectangle will be thrilled. Said mega-corp has landed an agreement with Scanbuy that will preload the ScanLife mobile 2D barcode application on an unspecified number of Samsung’s cameraphones. The program enables the handsets to easily read and digest EZcodes and other major 2D barcode formats, and while you’re probably envisioning some sort of warehouse scenario right now, the possibilities for on-the-go marketing are nearly endless. Expect Scanbuy-equipped Samsung cellies to go on sale in Spain, Italy, and Denmark as early as next month, with availability in other major markets to follow suit shortly.

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Original post by Darren Murph

The $3.5 million dollar woman is pushing the limits with a surprising discovery: she’s starting to feel with her prosthetic left arm again.

This isn’t the “phantom limb” phenomenon commonly reported by amputees. To properly “wire” the prosthetic to Claudia Mitchell’s brain, scientists had to move the shoulder nerves responsible for arm control and feedback to her chest. Ms. Mitchell now reports that, any sensation on her left chest seems to register as coming from her “left arm”.

Claudia Mitchell lost her left arm back in 2004, due to motorcycle accident. In 2006, scientists fitted her with an advanced prosthetic, wired directly to her brain so that she would be able to move the arm through thought alone. This was partly a necessity, since the severity of her injury meant that she was no longer able to use the nerves though to be responsible for controlling a conventional prosthetic. At the same time however, this means that Mitchell can clench her fingers, move her thumb, and bend her wrist through mere thought.

This development indicates that sensory nerves can recover, and gives scientists new hope into creating bionic limbs that provide full sensory and manipulation capabilities. (dailymail.co.uk, photo courtesy of the AP)

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Original post by Rico

Filed under: Cellphones

Sony Ericsson finally came clean with that September 30 launch date for the XPERIA X1 this morning, and now the carrier situation is starting to resolve itself — as previously hinted, Vodafone will launch the sleek WinMo slider in the UK, and both Voda and O2 will have it in Germany. O2 UK hasn’t confirmed anything yet, and we still haven’t heard from any carriers in the third launch country of Sweden, but we’ll keep you posted over on Engadget Mobile as soon as we hear anything.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Feel that heat, Touch Pro? That’s right — the Great QWERTY Smartphone War of 2008 is officially gearing up for kickoff now that Sony Ericsson has announced a firm date for the first handful of lucky countries to be scoop up the mighty XPERIA X1. Sweden, Germany, and the UK will be the inaugural launch sites come September 30, with no fewer than 32 more on tap in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America for the fourth quarter of the year. North America, China, Australia, and Russia are also listed as committed launch regions, though dates for those will be announced “in the coming months” — scary verbiage considering that they weren′t even willing to slap the Q4 label there. 2009’s a long way off yet, and if there’s a Touch Pro in front of us… well, let’s just say that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, if you catch our drift.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Portable Audio, Portable Video

There it is, Sony Ericsson just went live with its new G705 powerhouse, 3G slider. Just as we heard, it sports a 2.4-inch display with automatic screen rotation courtesy of an accelerometer, WiFi, aGPS with Google Maps for Mobile, 1GB included M2 memory, built-in FM radio, RSS reader, and full HTML browser. It also features a 3.2 megapixel cam that can capture video and then upload directly to YouTube under a new partnership with Google. Also announced in a UMA variant (G705u) — an SE first — built exclusive for Orange to bridge GSM and WiFi networks. Headed to the US in ̫ 2009.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Why the long face, Sony Ericsson? Is it the fact that your revenue and market share are in the crapper? Do Sir Howie’s words have you a bit on edge? Oh, wait, wait, don’t tell us — we know what it is! You just spent all this time, money, and elbow grease prepping your PlayNow Arena music purchase service for launch, and you’re just a little worried that Nokia might upstage you with its fancy (though questionably-profitable) Comes With Music initiative. It looks like you might already be looking into patching that up, though, if a Financial Times report is spot-on that has you announcing your own unlimited download service later this month. Word on the street is that you already have deals locked up with EMI, Sony BMG (no shocker there), Warner, and a handful of indies, but Universal’s holding out on you. Nokia was able to get Universal on board, so odds are you′ll be able to, too — or at least you better be able to if you want to make a serious play at the big boys.

[Via mocoNews]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

We tried to take OCZ’s Neural Impulse Actuator seriously, we really did. But unable to suppress those recurring images of Geordi La Forge, we simply couldn’t help ourselves from having a laugh at this thing’s expense. Nevertheless, the way-more-solemn dudes and dudettes over at HotHardware managed to give this brain-computer interface a fair shake, and overall, it was pretty impressed. Still, the bottom line is this: “the NIA is a very unique input device and possibly the first true brain-computer interface to hit the retail market,” but it’s not “a replacement for traditional input methods.” Granted, critics did point out that it would supplement current devices quite well, but only after “slogging through” hours upon hours of training. The hardcore among us may be willing to put in the time necessary to really get a lot out of this; for everyone else, just continue to point and laugh while masking your ignorance.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

AU Optronics (AUO) is tooting the “world’s first” horn this morning with its new curved TFT-LCD process on glass substrate. They’ve also got the world’s slimmest — 0.63mm — TFT-LCD available in both 1.9-inch and relatively massive 8-inch versions, the latter boasting a 400cd/m2 brightness and 2.1-gram weight. Not bad, but they can’t hold a candela to future generation OLEDs. Perhaps most interesting, though, are a pair of in-cell, multi-touch displays offered at 4.3- and 8-inches. The panels are said to offer superior anti-glare properties while manufacturing the multi-touch feature directly into the LCD cell without necessitating any additional glass. The 4.3-inch panel hits mass-production this quarter. Feel free to speculate on which MID devices might sport ‘em.

[Via DigiTimes]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Gaming

Here’s your heartwarming story for the day. Microsoft has teamed up with Companions in Courage in order to bring “hundreds″ of Xbox 360 kiosks to children′s hospitals across the nation, and the gaming stations have already been installed at Morgan Stanley Children′s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children′s Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle and the Children′s Hospital of Orange County, California. The customized units are “hospital-friendly” and come pre-loaded with a variety of E and E10+ rated games, Y-rated television programs, G-rated movies and the Xbox Live headset / Vision camera in order for gamers to play online. Speaking of, each kiosk is wired to a private Live network which “allows hospitalized children across the country to play games and chat” with each other. There’s no word on where the stations are slated to arrive outside of the three venues already mentioned, but those interested in broadening the reach of the endeavor can feel free to donate to the cause.

[Via OhGizmo]

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Original post by Darren Murph