Sunday, September 1, 2013

Microsoft's Andy Lees exits corporate development role, will announce a new job after his holiday (updated)

Microsoft's Andy Lees exits corporate development role, will announce a new job after his holiday (updated) data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20621780' !== '') ? 'bsd:20621780' : ''; var postID = '20621780'; var modalMNo = '93325862', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"mobile",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"daniel-cooper", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14c",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93325862", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93325870", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Microsoft's Andy Lees exits corporate development role, will announce a new job after his holiday (updated) MobileBypostedJun 14th, 2013 at 7:41 AM 0

Microsofts Andy Lees exits corporate development role, will announce a new job after his holiday

Seven months after Andy Lees became Microsoft's vice president of corporate development, the executive has decided that it's time for a rest. AllThingsD is reporting that the deposed former Windows Phone chief is taking a sabbatical to spend some time with his family in England, but will return to a new, currently undefined, role at Redmond later in the summer. Given that the country is currently suffering through one of its traditional summers, we suggest Mr. Lees packs an umbrella.

Update: Microsoft has contacted us to clarify that Lees is permanently relocating to the UK, but will remain with the company -- at a position that'll be announced once his sabbatical has ended.

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Posted by Chris Holman at 3:33 AM 0 comments
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AT&T GoPhone plans to support LTE, drop most data add-ons on June 21st (updated)

AT&T GoPhone Customers Can Surf the Nation's Fastest 4G LTE Network with Prepaid Plans

New 4G LTE GoPhone Device Offers Blazing Fast Speed on a Budget

Beginning June 21, AT&T* GoPhone customers can enjoy the affordability and simplicity of a prepaid wireless plan on the nation's fastest 4G LTE network.** AT&T is adding to its lineup of GoPhone devices with the introduction of the 4G LTE-capable Samsung Galaxy Express™.

New and existing AT&T GoPhone customers can bring their own 4G or 4G LTE smartphone or choose a GoPhone device to connect to AT&T's nation's largest 4G network. AT&T 4G and 4G LTE service is available with any of the new GoPhone smartphone plans, which include:

* $60 a month for 2 GB of data, unlimited nationwide calling, and unlimited messaging - now double the data at a lower monthly price. Additional data is available for $10 per 1 GB.
* $40 a month for 200 MB of data, 500 minutes of nationwide calling, and unlimited messaging. Additional data is available for $5 per 100 MB.
* $25 a month for 250 minutes of nationwide calling and unlimited messaging, with an optional data package of 50 MB for an additional $5 a month.
* All GoPhone monthly plans include international texts from the U.S. to Mexico, Canada and 100 other countries.

"AT&T GoPhone customers can make the most of their smartphones on our fast 4G LTE network, and with our new prepaid plans, they're getting even more value and data at an attractive price," said Mark Collins, AT&T Mobility senior vice president of data and voice products. "With the addition of the Samsung Galaxy Express, customers get the latest capabilities and speeds from their wireless experience, and we'll be adding more exciting devices to our GoPhone lineup."

The Samsung Galaxy Express is available on June 21 for $249.99 online and at any AT&T company-owned retail store or GoPhone distributors. The Galaxy Express is all about sharing. Samsung's S Beam™ enables consumers to share large files - photos, videos, music and more - with any other S Beam-capable device. Additional features include:

* 4G LTE
* Operating system: Android, Jelly Bean
* 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
* 4.5-inch Super AMOLED® Plus display
* 5-megapixel rear facing camera with 720 p video recording capabilities at 30 frames per second
* 1.3-megapixel front facing camera with VGA video recording at 15 frames per second
* Internal memory/storage: 1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage with support for up to 32 GB microSD card

AT&T GoPhone monthly plans are also available for quick messaging and basic phones, with several plans to choose from. For $35 a month, basic phone customers can get 500 minutes of nationwide calling, unlimited data and unlimited messaging.

AT&T GoPhone smartphone customers can also choose a $50 unlimited talk and text plan with Wi-Fi data only.

For more information on AT&T GoPhone and a complete listing of plans, visit www.att.com/gophone.


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Posted by Chris Holman at 12:21 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Airbrushing ‘Bans’ Become Full-Blown Marketing Ploy

First Seventeen publicly "banned" the use of Photoshop last year, and then there was the "did she or didn't she" kerfuffle over Beyoncé's ads for H&M last month. Now British retailer Debenhams announced yesterday that they'll no longer airbrush their lingerie advertisements. The store's website proclaims that they're doing so as part of an "inclusivity campaign" to boost women's self-esteem:

Says Sharon Webb, Head of Lingerie buying and design for Debenhams: “We want to help customers feel confident about their figures without bombarding them with unattainable body images.

“As well as being a positive from a moral point of view, it ticks the economic boxes as well. Millions of pounds a year are spent by organisations retouching perfectly good images... As a rule we only airbrush minor things like pigmentation or stray hair and rely on the natural beauty of models to make our product look great."

So in other words, they'll still use airbrushing to "enhance" the pictures (erase a zit here, delete a weird bruise there), just like Seventeen still does, but they won't use it to change the model's shape or size.

Of course, the incentive behind this is good press and a female-friendly reputation. Sure, Debenhams's executives don't want to go to bed every night knowing that they're portraying unhealthy ideals for women. But they also know this makes their brand look moral and upstanding, and draws more attention to their underwear offerings than a "normal" ad would (see their un-airbrushed" versus airbrushed ads, above).

What's more, they're using it to make their competitors look bad; a spokesperson told the Daily Mail, "We want other retailers to follow suit and encourage positive body-image through minimal retouching rather than bombarding them with unattainable body images." But perhaps this is better than relying on people like the British Advertising Standards Authority to police such matters; economic incentives are always more powerful than weak wrist slaps.

On a different note: Why just lingerie shots? Why can't this so-called "ban" apply to all advertising materials?


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Posted by Chris Holman at 8:50 PM 0 comments
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Oppo Find 5 smartphone surfaces in all-too-limited red edition

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Oppo Find 5 surfaces in red, you probably can't buy it

Oh my. We thought the Oppo Find 5 was already good-looking in its original white, but it just took on some extra appeal now that there's a stylish red edition on the way. The 1080p smartphone hasn't changed on the inside, although that wasn't likely when the phone is just six months old. We're more concerned that we might not get our hands on one -- CNMO understands that the red Find 5 is a limited edition without a specific release date. Whether or not we get to see one in person, we'll at least have the photos at the source link.

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Posted by Chris Holman at 5:06 PM 0 comments
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Facebook to host new product launch on June 20th

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Facebook sends invites to new product launch on June 20th

In case you're interested, June 20th is a Thursday. It's more than that to Facebook, though: apparently that is the day the social network will show off a new product, or as the company puts it, a "big idea" coming from a small team. As to what this particular event -- to be held in Menlo Park -- could bring to the table, you now know exactly as much as we do; with recent talk regarding Facebook's interest in building an RSS reader, that rumor would certainly be a good stab in the dark. What's even more odd, however, is the method by which the press is receiving the invitation: the good old-fashioned postal service. Let us know in the comments if you have any particular theories on what it could all mean.

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Posted by Chris Holman at 1:04 PM 0 comments
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This week on gdgt: PlayStation 4, MacBook Air, Google Now

This week on gdgt: PlayStation 4, MacBook Air, Google Now data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20621231' !== '') ? 'bsd:20621231' : ''; var postID = '20621231'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"misc",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"gdgt", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});This week on gdgt: PlayStation 4, MacBook Air, Google NowBypostedJun 14th, 2013 at 2:00 PM 0

Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.

This week on gdgt

playstation 4

PlayStation 4

After a less-than-stellar debut a few months ago, Sony came out swinging at this year's E3. Not only did we finally get to see the new PlayStation 4, but Sony also took some shots at Microsoft about a few of its policies and limitations of the Xbox One. With a lower price and fewer restrictions on your gaming experience than Microsoft's next console, is the PS4 the one to beat?
Buy from $399
Read reviews and more


macbook airApple MacBook Air 13-inch (mid 2013)

Apple's updated MacBook Air may not have the Retina display of the MacBook Pro, but it's faster and cheaper than last year's model, and has the best battery life of any laptop in its class. Despite the lower-res display, its price, performance and features make it one of our favorites, and it remains a gdgt Must-have laptop.
Read reviews and more


google now

Is Google Now smarter than Siri?

In this week's featured gdgt discussion, user TgD talks about how Google Now warned him of a tornado in his area. Do any other mobile platforms offer this level of severe weather alerts?


optio wg-3

Pentax Optio WG-3

The Pentax Optio WG-3 is okay for people needing a camera for their latest rough-and-tumble adventure, but isn't much good beyond that thanks in part to its sub-par image quality and less-than-ideal shooting performance.
Buy from $244
Read reviews and more

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Posted by Chris Holman at 8:14 AM 0 comments
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Watch Hollywood Actors Turn Into Prada Men

In a behind-the-scenes video inspired by the French New Wave, Prada Menswear brings the world a gift: three actors getting into their model characters, Prada's FW 2013 collection. The video, filmed by photographer David Sims, shows Christoph Waltz, Ben Whishaw, and Ezra Miller impeccably dressed in suits, lounging about on geometric furniture designed by OMA for Knoll, speaking animatedly, modeling some sunglasses, and staring up with ferocious intensity while reading a newspaper. These men can act and sell clothes. But if you're just in the mood to see adorable guys with heart-melting smiles, set your marker to 0:35 — from that moment on, all three flash their most endearing smiles in succession.


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Posted by Chris Holman at 3:24 AM 0 comments
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