Zhesty.NET - Gadgets and Technology

We knew that Panasonic's mobile division was summoning its strength for a return to the Old World, and finally we have some detail: it's aiming to bring an "ultra-slim D-shaped" Android smartphone with a slim bezel, 4.3-inch qHD OLED screen, NFC and some rugged credentials to Europe in March next year. The manufacturer hopes to use Europe as a stepping stone to the US, China and the rest of Asia, aiming to broaden its range of Android devices and sell at a total of nine million of them outside of Japan by the end of March 2016.

Nokia is pretty busy at the moment. Alongside clandestine events with T-Mobile, the first update for the Lumia 800 has now begun to roll out. As is the case with most WinPho upgrades, you'll have to plug the polycarbonate slab into Zune to pull down several new performance enhancements and features. These will include charging and audio quality improvements, as well as improved display switching in bright light. Don't panic if you're unable to grab the update immediately; the phone manufacturer told us that it will be gradually rolled out across all of the initial launch countries over the next two weeks.

But Nokia didn't stop there -- it has also added more functionality to its impressive -- and free -- web-based maps. Its 3D Maps, available in 25 cities, have been given new navigation functions, sharing and search options. You'll have to install a browser plugin to get your hit of pop-up cartography, but Google Earth addicts should be suitably impressed. Click the source below to judge for yourself, or hold on after the break for a quick intro video.

Sure, you may already lead an exciting life, but wouldn't it be great if you could broadcast those daily escapades -- you know, to all of your internet friends? ZionEyez hopes to deliver a method for sharing your point of view -- quite literally -- in realtime, across the web. The company's first product, a set of 720p embedded-camera eyeglasses called Eyez, houses a tiny camera to the left of the standard-size eyeglass lens, with a processor, Bluetooth and WiFi module embedded in the adjacent ear piece. We first read about the inconspicuous specs when the company launched a Kickstarter page, netting nearly $350,000 in pledges from curious backers, but just had an opportunity to spend a few hours with the device, recording the journey to a meeting in New York City. Jump past the break for a closer look, and our sample footage.
Eyez 720p video streaming / recording glasses hands-on

It's no secret that Android's dominance of the smartphone world is due in part to the sheer number of models available running the OS. This abundance of choice, while undoubtedly good for consumers, presents a challenge for OEMs as they design and build handsets: how to craft a device that stands out from the crowd? At this point, we've seen slabs of all sizes, a legion of landscape sliders, and a dual-screen oddity join the Android family. Now, LG has created the DoublePlay, giving users both a hint of the Echo's dual screen experience along with a split physical keyboard for tactile typing. In doing so, the company has accomplished something we weren't sure was possible by building a unique Android phone. The question is, does this unusual form factor provide an improved user experience, or is it destined to go down in gadget history as a gimmick?

Just as we were settling down to another calm and banterful Engadget Mobile Podcast, our special guest had to go and throw us some hard news. Yup, and rather than making you sit through the entire two-hour recording (pleasant as that would be), we're just going to come right out with it: Nicole Scott from netbooknews.com has it on good authority that the Asus Padfone will be coming out at MWC 2012 in February. What's more, it won't be powered by a Qualcomm Krait S4 as suggested by that strange GLBenchmark we saw earlier -- it will in fact sport a Tegra 3, just like its highly capable big bro the Transformer Prime. See? That's the kind of juicy reward our podcast listeners get for tuning in each week.

We got a taste of AT&T's 4G LTE action last night in the Big Apple with the introduction of its LG Nitro HD, and today, the company has apparently flipped the 4G "on" switch in the City That Never Sleeps -- confirming its promise from November. According to tipster reports, some speed tests are showing downloads as fast as 27 Mbps and uploads of 15 Mbps, confirming that the LTE network has indeed gone live in parts of New York City.

How fast can the Samsung Galaxy Nexus run on Verizon's 4G network? Pretty darn fast, according to a freshly leaked video. Originally spotted by the folks over at Phandroid, the clip shows a Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus performing rather admirably on a speed trial from Speedtest.net, reaching download speeds of 8.5Mbps, and upstream rates of 2Mbps -- all on just two bars of signal. It's worth noting that the clip hasn't received Verizon's official blessing, though it should certainly whet some appetites ahead of the handset's apparently imminent release. Check it out video

AT&T stole some of LG's thunder earlier this week when it unveiled the company's LTE flagship -- the Nitro HD -- before the handset's official coming out soirée. Well, tonight LG's gone and thrown that fete anyway, introducing us (once again) to its 4.5-incher. But you have to wonder why the company's even bothering to roll out yet another Gingerbread-baked device when Samsung's Galaxy Nexus is already out of the gate and leading the Android charge with ICS -- not to mention the current availability of rival heavyweights like the Rezound and Droid RAZR. Still, the phone's packing some very respectable specs, with a "true" HD 1280 x 720 IPS display, dual 1.3 / 8 megapixel shooters, a hefty 20GB of storage and a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 processor running the show. Is it too late in the game for LG to make its beast matter? Follow past the break as we gather our first impressions of this tardy to the party entry.

Siri hasn't been caught cooking dinner yet, but hackers worldwide have boldly taken Apple's personal assistant to a whole new level by incorporating its functionality with a plethora of different devices. We've seen Siri use custom commands, change the temperature in your house, and even allow select car owners to utilize their automobile's Bluetooth integration. Nifty, no doubt, but this assistant's evolution towards greater heights isn't over yet. Vimeo user toddtreece has whipped up a slick demo of the iPhone 4S' right hand gal (or guy) taking command of his television set. From changing channels to turning off devices, with the help of a proxy and a few parts, you can get your own home setup running on voice activation. Feeling a bit guilty for your sudden interest in slothfulness? Fret not -- Siri's apparently quite good at calling you out. Have a look just after the break.

A poet would say it's like a piece of ivory: both beautiful and sad. Meanwhile, Nokia's official blog says the white N9 is coming to the UK before the end of the year with a rarefied 64GB of on-board storage. We have no idea as to the price, but we suspect dedicated MeeGo memento hunters will hardly care.

Oh hell, sorry Britannia. We actually meant to say it's coming to all those (not very many) countries where the N9 is already available. Nokia confirmed to us today that it's on target to supply white N9s those markets in December. Everyone else will have to get it via a price-inflated import. Apologies for the bad geography.