This time last year we witnessed the Meizu M9 madness in Shenzhen, so we decided to pay our favorite gadget city another visit for the MX launch today (still the 1.4GHz dual-core model, of course). Surprisingly, the lines in Huaqiangbei this time were significantly shorter, but we were told that this was due to tighter security measures as requested by the local authorities -- if you've seen last year's photos you'll know why. Instead, this year the customers are told to line up only when they get a phone call; but a few keen beans still arrived last night, and the first guy in Shenzhen even turned down hotel accommodation offered by Meizu. Yep, that's how you do a "first" properly, folks. Other big cities in China also saw a similar phenomenon, including Beijing, Guangzhou and even Hong Kong -- it's hard to miss the long line formed along the south end of Sai Yeung Choi Street outside the new Mongkok store.Meizu also informed us that the MX's final hardware benefits from an improved camera (tweaked white balance and the lens now benefits from an oleophobic coating), while the software's been giving many enhancements since our review -- these are mostly the weird default settings we mentioned previously, such as the max clock speed out of the box (now at 1.4GHz instead of 1GHz) and the default video recording resolution (now 1080p instead of the weird 1,080 x 720 setting). Oh, and if you're still rocking the older M9, Meizu has confirmed that it'll also get the Ice Cream Sandwich update later this year, so stay tuned. More in the press release after the break.
Update: A Meizu engineer confirmed on the company's forum that from now on, all Meizu Android devices -- including the M9 -- will receive both a vanilla OS build and a Meizu-customised build. That said, the phones won't support simultaneous dual-system, so you must pick your destiny. Thanks, Andi!
Gallery: Meizu MX launch in Hong Kong
Gallery: Meizu MX launch in Shenzhen
Continue reading Meizu MX launches today, lines dotted all over China as usual (updated)
Meizu MX launches today, lines dotted all over China as usual (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A group of cool cats has figured out how to add new textures and other mods to cars and buildings in the Android version of Grand Theft Auto 3. The XDA Developers forum is a good place to start for mod file downloads and the files can be inserted in the sdcard/android/data/com.rockstar.gta3/files/gta3/ directory (which happens to be the same directory structure as the PC version). Click the break to see a video of one of the car mods in action and remember, your ride isn't ideal for drive-by shootings unless Xzibit says so.
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Elliot 'Mr. E' M. Smith who is trying to avoid Los Angeles rush-hour traffic with the help of his GPS. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
"I prefer using a GPS unit, not my phone, when I'm driving around LA. The best traffic I've seen is via Google Maps, since it shows surface traffic for streets in Hollywood. Navteq HD Radio maps (which is what I use now) doesn't show this kind of information: it's only for highways. There aren't any highways between Hollywood and Beverly Hills, but there's a ton of traffic, which you're blind to when using a standalone GPS. Is there an easy way to get surface traffic data on a GPS unit rather than forking out for a phone / tablet and $30/month data plan? Thanks!"
It's a tricky one to round off the year, dear commenters. Is there a GPS unit with live-traffic that you hold dear to your hearts? Does it let you glide around the gridlock with the Beach Boys cranked up? Let your fingers do the commenting in the space below.
We get it. Really, we do -- photo filters fun. We also get that sometimes an app just isn't gonna cut it. You want quick access to double, triple or even quadruple image lenses as well as colored overlays. Well, iPhone 4 and 4S owners had their prayers answered in mid November a $25 Holga case, now Android fans have their own version -- provided those Android fans own a Galaxy S II. If you don't mind adding some bulk to your super-svelte super-phone head on over to the source link to get your own rotary-style lens case for the somewhat reasonable price of $28.
If you're going to rock out, you might as well do so with a video game console from the '70s as the core of your guitar. In fact, this is precisely what modder cTrix has done with his gATARI2600. In his configuration, he's able to write and play new music through an Atari 2600 by using an EPROM programmer (a software application he wrote) and daughterboards to feed the new music back through the instrument. The gATARI also features equalizer and flange pedals, a track selector, and whammy bars that allow the player to switch tracks and make changes on the fly. No details have been posted as to how to make your own just yet, but click past the break to watch cTrix jam both thoroughly and effectively at Blip Fest 2011 in Japan.![Did New Year’s Eve Well-Wishers Crash Twitter? [UPDATED]](http://www.techstorysite.net/wp-content/themes/premiumnews/functions/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2011/12/did-new-years-eve-well-wishers-crash-twitter-updated.jpg&w=100&h=57&zc=1&q=90)
There were reports of widespread outages of Twitter's main Web site Saturday, with speculation centering on the problems stemming from a flood of New Year's greetings.
Back in June, Google announced that it would be 'retiring' Health effective January 1, 2012. Now, everything appears to be on-track for the shutdown, with Google sending out a final reminder to Health customers earlier today. You have until the stroke of midnight to access the service or port your data to a competitor -- after which point you'll no longer be able to view information saved to your account, though it'll remain available to download in .zip format for another year. Want to know more? Hit up the source link for the Google Health FAQ.
