iFixit tears down 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, rates it two grumpy kittens for repairability

You know the drill (er, screwdriver): someone releases a shiny new gadget and the internet tears it apart, both figuratively and literally. iFixit did the latter like clockwork, getting its tools on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. As with its older sibling, the notebook didn't do all that well on the repairability scale, scoring a two out of 10 -- slightly better than its predecessor's lowly one. Why so low? You can blame a glued battery, proprietary screws, soldered RAM and a display assembly that's "almost impossible to take apart." There are, however, plenty of pictures of a tiny kitten, which should help to ease the pain...

[Source: Engadget]

Jelly Bean rolling out to Samsung Galaxy S III on Sprint beginning today

Sprint's the first US carrier to get the long-awaited Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S III. Featured as an OTA update, your device may start seeing it as early as today. Don't worry too much if this doesn't happen right away; experience has shown us that these large-scale OTA rollouts can be a lengthy process spanning the course of a couple weeks. Feel free to shout out in the comments if your device has already prompted you for the update. The press release is found below.

[Source: Engadget]

Flipboard for Android gains audio, lets us tune into SoundCloud from our Samsung

Flipboard on iOS has had audio for some time, giving users the chance to go all high-brow as they listen to NPR while browsing the news on their iPad. It's Android's turn to adopt that cultured stance: an update to Flipboard on its newer platform includes the full, listen-in-the-background Audio category channel selection, whether it's thoughtful public radio snippets or spotlights on podcasts and artists.SoundCloud mavens get the biggest fill, both through a direct link to their account as well as a list of specialized channels. Anyone who can already use Flipboard for Android just needs to hit Google Play to add the new audio dimension; Kindle Fire and Nook owners should see a fully tailored experience in a matter of days.

[Source: Engadget]

Amazon debuts Kindle Windows 8 app

With all the hubbub surrounding today's Microsoft event, who can blame Amazon for wanting to get in on the action? The mega-retailer used the opportunity to announce the Windows 8 version of its popular reading app. Interested parties can download the thing for free from the Windows Store, giving them access to the company's selection of 1.5 million titles. The app is available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and offers up good old Amazon features like Whispersync. Amazon also used the opportunity to announce that Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung will be pre-loading the app on their devices. More information can be found in the source link below.

[Source: Engadget]

Visualized: A sea of Surfaces

A table of 100 of iPads at WWDC 2012? How about a sea of hundreds of Microsoft's Surface RT tablets and accessory keyboard covers standing under the hot lights?

[Source: Engadget]

Nintendo Wii U to be sold at a loss, 3DS starts to turn a profit

Mario's alma mater may be looking at its next big console to bolster its stumbling net income, but it won't be raising its bottom line on hardware alone: Nintendo says the Wii U is going to be sold at a loss. While this is par for the course for most game consoles, loss leader products are somewhat of a new trend for Nintendo, which only started selling hardware at a loss recently. On the upside, company CEO Satoru Iwata says the 3DS is back in the black, finally selling for a tidy (though unspecified) profit after dropping its price late last year. Nintendo expects business to pick up down the road, but says circumstances will keep it from attaining "Nintendo-like" profits in this fiscal year.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple starts taking pre-orders for fourth gen iPad, iPad mini with delivery as soon as 11/2

Assuming you were suitably impressed by Apple's show earlier this week, you can now begin queuing for one of its new iPads, whether regular or mini-sized. The WiFi-only versions start shipping November 2nd, with cellular equipped models due mid-month. If you need to see all the specs lined up next to each other we have comparisons between models old and new right here. Of course, if you need an alternative, Microsoft's Surface should start showing up on doorsteps today, and we're expecting to see some refreshed competition at Google's event next week. The choice is yours, hit the link below to see all of your options.

[Source: Engadget]

Phil Schiller discusses the iPad mini's price point

Apple used its October event to unveil its new US$329 iPad mini. The 7.9-inch tablet was criticized by analysts who scoffed at the device's price tag, which is $130 more than the Kindle Fire HD and $90 than the Nexus 7. Phil Schiller spoke to Reuters about this sticker shock and said that customers won't mind paying a little extra for an iPad because it's a premium device.

Schiller said that "the iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those devices. And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that."

[Source: TUAW]

Foursquare for Android updated for more social check-ins, shares club-hopping with the world

There's a good reason Foursquare has an Overshare badge. Still, that hasn't stopped the location service from rolling out an update to Android users that simplifies broadcasting your position to the world. The Android check-in screen now matches that of the iOS app with a more streamlined appearance that more quickly shares updates with Facebook and Twitter; mentioning friends is easier as well. As long as your social circle doesn't mind knowing that you checked into three different dance clubs in one night, Foursquare's update awaits at the source.

[Source: Engadget]

Skype 6.0 lands with Microsoft and Facebook account integration, Retina support

You're probably saying to yourself, "didn't Skype just get a Windows 8-friendly refresh?" Why yes, yes it did. But Skype 6.0 here isn't limited to Windows RT slates, instead it's designed for more traditional Windows systems and even has a similarly numbered OS X counter part. There's a number of notable changes here, including the ability to sign in directly with your Facebook or Microsoft account. (If you've got a Live Messenger, Hotmail or Outlook.com account, then you've got a Microsoft account.) The most visible changes, however, will be the "flattened" Don't-call-it-Metro-friendly UI on Windows and the addition of Retina display support on OS X. There's a few other minor changes, including some additional localizations, which you can read about at the source. And heck, since you're already there, might as well download Skype too.

[Source: Engadget]

Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home

You might remember Google's unveiling this spring of the Street View Trekker, a seeming cross between a backpack and Van de Graaff generator that lets the mapping team produce 360-degree imagery where even trikes dare not tread. The portable camera ball is just going on its first trip, and Google has chosen the most natural destination for a novice tourist -- the Grand Canyon, of course. Staffers with Trekkers are currently walking trails along the South Rim of the canyon to provide both eye-level points of reference for wayward hikers as well as some breathtaking, controllable panoramas for those who can't (or won't) make it to Arizona. Once the photos make it to Street View sometime in the undefined near future, it'll be that much easier to turn down Aunt Matilda's 3-hour vacation slideshow.

[Source: Engadget]

Sprint rolls out new 4G tablet data plans November 11th, likely just in time for new(er) iPad, iPad mini

As a carrier trailing Verizon and AT&T in terms of subscribers and now 4G coverage, Sprint has made it a habit to undercut the other two on value. While its upcoming tablet-specific data plans won't necessarily be cheaper, they do promise up to 20 percent more data for the same price and still do not require a contract. Sure to come in handy now that it's offering the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini on its network, they are 300MB/$14.99, 3GB/$34.99, 6GB/$49.99, or 12GB for $79.99. There are also $10 and $15 offers for customers that also have Sprint smartphones that offer 100MB and 1GB of data, respectively, and activation fees for all 3G/4G tablets are being waived for a limited time. As you'll recall, Verizon and AT&T's offerings include 2GB/$30 (3GB/$30 on AT&T), 5GB/$50 and on Verizon, 10GB/$80 packages. Even if you're not an Apple user these plans apply for all 4G capable slates, with Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 specifically mentioned. For those planning to pick up one of the latest iPads with wifi + cellular capability however, their mid-November launch date may have narrowed slightly , since these plans go into effect November 11th. Check the press release after the break or a post on its Sprint Community blog for more info.

[Source: Engadget]