Engadget

Google Maps Navigation makes trip across the pond, thanks to some hackery

Ross Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:49:00 EST

Apparently us Yanks have been spoiled by the warm embrace of Google Maps Navigation, forgetting that our friends in the UK don't have the same luxury. Leave it to Electricpig to connect worlds, finding a somewhat hack-induced way to bring the app upgrade to British Android 1.6 devices. Instructions are pretty easy, so if you're game, don your DIY hat and click over.

Filed under: Cellphones

Google Maps Navigation makes trip across the pond, thanks to some hackery originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Community | Electricpig | Email this | Comments

2011 Chevrolet Volt gets taken for a test drive

Laura June — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:02:00 EST

The Chevy Volt is one vehicle we can really get behind. It's hard not to be a little excited over it -- we have, after all, been watching its development for quite a long time now. The electric car gets an impressive 230 miles per gallon in the city (and, all shaky rating practices aside, that's nothing to scoff at). Autoblog Green's just taken one of Chevy's 80 IVER pre-production prototypes for a little spin, and they seem to have come away pretty impressed with the car. They report that the brakes are better than most hybrid vehicles, and said that when the engine does kick in after the battery's depleted, they didn't even notice it until they stopped and heard it running quietly. It was a short spin, so they weren't able to gauge, for instance, whether the car can actually pull the full 40 miles per battery charge that Chevrolet claims it gets, but check out their full, detailed observations at the Source link.

2011 Chevrolet Volt gets taken for a test drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Autoblog Green | Email this | Comments

Praktica unleashes a slew of 10 and 12-megapixel shooters

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:21:00 EST

Dresden's Praktica brand has a long, distinguished history -- but like many such brands with long, distinguished histories, stateside readers usually encounter this name attached to some pretty average consumer electronics. In this case, we have a smattering of nondescript digicams that feature the usual compliment of face detection, SD/SDHC card support, and a torrent of scene modes: In the realm of 10 megapixel cameras with 2.7-inch displays you can take your choice of either the Praktica Luxmedia 10-03 (available in black or silver, features 32 MB on board memory, voice recording, 720 x 400 video recording) or the Praktica Luxmedia 10-23 (available in blue or red, features 16 MB built-in memory, panorama mode, red eye removal in playback mode, and intelligent scene selection). Moving up to 12 megapixels, the Praktica Luxmedia 12-03 (silver) rocks a 3.0-inch display and panorama mode, while the Praktica Luxmedia 12-Z5 (black) features a 2.7-inch display, 32 MB storage and intelligent scene mode selection. Is your mind blown yet? Didn't think so.

Praktica unleashes a slew of 10 and 12-megapixel shooters originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Praktica 10-23, Praktika 12-Z5, Praktika 10-03 | Email this | Comments

Flexio solar powered FM radio doubles as bookmark

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:42:00 EST

We don't really have much use for radio over the airwaves -- hell, the closest we ever get to the halcyon days of rock'n'roll radio is the Flaming Groovies station on Pandora. But something as convenient (and as cute) as this next item just might get us back in the habit. A proof-of-concept by a small handful of designers (Wu Kun-chia, Wang Shih-ju, Chen Ming-daw & Liou Chang-ho), Flexio is a a portable, printed, solar powered, paper-thin FM receiver that fits in a book -- or a pocketbook. Each radio is tuned to a specific frequency, so the design calls for boxed sets for different cities (for example, Taipei, Berlin, or Paris). Sure, it's probably not convenient to carry the whole box around with you, but you might want to hang onto KROQ in case you should ever find yourself wandering around LA late Sunday night/early Monday morning. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Flexio solar powered FM radio doubles as bookmark

Flexio solar powered FM radio doubles as bookmark originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Yanko Design | Email this | Comments

Xbox 360 controller ingeniously hacked for NES use

Joshua Topolsky — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:08:00 EST

Hey, it's just what you've always wanted: to use your Xbox 360 controller on your old NES. Using a Cortex M3 processor left over from a school robotics project, Francois Gervais managed to rig his wireless pad to control something decidedly less advanced than a game of Modern Warfare 2. There's a video of the controller in action after the break, and you can grab some of the code being used in the Google link below -- perhaps one of you brainiacs will finally hack the Wiimote to control a Jaguar. A tech writer can dream...

Continue reading Xbox 360 controller ingeniously hacked for NES use

Xbox 360 controller ingeniously hacked for NES use originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack A Day | YouTube, Google Code | Email this | Comments

Nook ship date slips to January 11th, supply chain managers weep

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:36:00 EST

Hardware construction is a funny thing. Sometimes, regardless of the money you throw at something, you just can't get products to come together any quicker. Evidently that's the case with Barnes & Noble's Nook, which has seen its estimated ship date slip from today to sometime after the holidays, and now to January 11th. There's still a sliver of hope that you'll be able to snag one from a high-traffic retail location on December 7th, but unless you're planning on abandoning ship and helping the Kindle have its new best month ever, the realistic choices are pretty clear: a) pay Tickle Me Elmo-like prices on eBay or b) drop an IOU in a nicely wrapped box, preferably with a cute puppy. We suggest the latter.

[Thanks, Dave and Wes]

P.S. - We're also hearing that pre-orders (even those placed moments after it was announced) are also being pushed back, though hopefully they'll still be received before December 25th.

Nook ship date slips to January 11th, supply chain managers weep originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Barnes & Noble | Email this | Comments

Editorial: The Engadget style guide reaches a MILESTONE

Nilay Patel — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:09:00 EST

So last week the New York Times Magazine published a piece called "Against Camel Case" which argues that intercapped product names like iPhone and TiVo are "medieval," because they harken back to a time in which people mostly read aloud, slowly sounding out each word as they tried to understand them. Proper word spacing, says the Times, "eventually made possible phenomena like irony, pornography and freedom of conscience."

That's sort of a crazy coincidence -- while we're not so sure word spacing and porn have anything to do with each other, we did just re-do our style guide when we launched our jazzy new redesign, and we actually thought long and hard about how to handle intercapped, all-capped, and otherwise non-standard product names. This is something we deal with a hundred times a day, and we simply weren't going to let Motorola tell us to write MILESTONE over and over again, completely contradicting our own sense of style and taste -- as the Times says, "Writers of the world, fight back!" Well, we can't say no to that, so we thought we'd share our four newly-minted rules for writing out non-standard product names:

Product and company names that are regular English words shall be treated like proper English nouns, complete with proper capitalization. Example: DROID becomes Droid and nook becomes Nook.
Product and company names that are not regular English words shall be capitalized first as proper nouns, and then as the company treats them. Example: RAZR stays RAZR, but chumby would become Chumby.
Intercapped product and company names should generally be treated as the company treats them, unless it's egregious and / or looks weird. Example: iPhone stays iPhone, BlackBerry stays BlackBerry and TiVo stays TiVo, but ASUSTeK becomes Asustek. This rule is subject to many exceptions based on usage and history, and also functions as the "this is stupid" loophole.
Acronyms should obviously be in all-caps.

We think these rules are flexible to handle most situations, although there are some edge cases and blatant Rule 3 violations out there. Still, it's a start -- unlike the Times, we're pretty sure "iPhone" and "MasterCard" are here to stay, but we feel like our rules are a small step towards making our site clearer and more readable. Either that, or we're just crazy in the head.

Editorial: The Engadget style guide reaches a MILESTONE originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo | New York Times Magazine | Email this | Comments

ClearPlay introduces first content filtering 1080p upscaling DVD player

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:36:00 EST

ClearPlay -- remember those guys? You know, the outfit who garnered all sorts of attention years ago by having their content filtering DVD players yanked from store shelves, only to be vindicated by Congress itself? Amazingly enough, these cats are still hanging around, and they've just pushed out their first filtering DVD player to upscale content to 1080p over HDMI. As expected, the $99.95 deck still sports the same filtering technology that gives dutiful parents the ability to block objectionable content based on customizable settings, but now you can rest easy knowing that any slip-up in blocking a steamy bedroom scene will be viewed by your impressionable youngster in glorious high-definition. Huzzah.

ClearPlay introduces first content filtering 1080p upscaling DVD player originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Sewell Direct | Email this | Comments

ASUS Maximus III Extreme mobo lets Bluetooth cellphones tweak settings

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST

ASUS has been giving its motherboard owners ways to tinker with their wares for years now, but it sounds like things are about to get seriously amped up with the Maximus III Extreme. The P55-based board, which falls into the growing Republic of Gamers lineup, adds a new feature to the existing ROG Connect overclocking system: Bluetooth control. You heard right -- ASUS claims that this mainboard actually "enables users to tweak system settings wirelessly over Bluetooth via a mobile phone." More specifically, RC Bluetooth allows users to "review the status of their systems' hardware and tweak parameters wirelessly from a Bluetooth-enabled PDA phone," with examples like controlling music playback and dealing with Skype conversations given. There's no specific mention of a price or release date, but you can bet we'll be digging for specifics on the limits and functionality baked in here.

ASUS Maximus III Extreme mobo lets Bluetooth cellphones tweak settings originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC Perspective | ASUS | Email this | Comments

Pocket Tool X's Piranha looks like it's a multipurpose animal

Laura June — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:31:00 EST

How many uses can one tool have? If you think the answer is "never enough," the Piranha by Pocket Tool X might just be for you. A multipurpose job (which kinda reminds us of a dinosaur's head), the Piranha boasts a double-ended bit holder, both open and box wrenches, a bottle opener, a nail puller, a scraper, and pry ends -- and it's made of heat-treated S30V Stainless Steel -- which means it should be sturdy enough to make it through a few family camping trips. The tool is available for pre-order now, with shipments heading out sometime in December, and for $49 it could be all yours.

Pocket Tool X's Piranha looks like it's a multipurpose animal originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired | Pocket Tool X | Email this | Comments

Samsung Behold II review

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

It was but a year ago that Samsung graced us with the original Behold. At the time it was more or less positioned to win the hearts of folks who wanted a luscious touchscreen but had no real truck with smartphones. So what do we have here? With the Behold II, the company has switched things up a bit: instead of a respectable feature phone, you not only get Android 1.5, but a 3.5mm headphone jack and WiFi as well. At least this shows that Sammy has been paying attention! Still, a couple questions come to mind: how does this one compare to the original? And how does it stack up as a Google Android device? Engadget has put her through the paces and our findings are sure to shock or surprise you (or maybe not). Continue reading below.

Continue reading Samsung Behold II review

Samsung Behold II review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Engadget has been nominated for 'Blog of the Decade' -- and you vote for the winner!

Joshua Topolsky — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:33:00 EST

Hey gang. Normally we're not very concerned with prizes or accolades; just getting to play with the latest and greatest gadgets is reward enough for us... though we're a little excited about this one. Adweek has just announced its "Best of the 2000s" awards, and Engadget is up for "Blog of the Decade"! We've got some pretty amazing -- and fierce -- competition over there, but you guys can help decide who takes the prize by voting for your favorite (us, right?). If you like, you can hit the read link and cast your vote for Engadget. That would be super cool of you. If you're not into the awards thing, that's okay too; we promise not to come to your house and force you to vote for us under threat of physical harm. That would be crazy. Just crazy enough to work.

Engadget has been nominated for 'Blog of the Decade' -- and you vote for the winner! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | AdWeek | Email this | Comments

Lancerlink pico proj features ARM processor, Windows CE

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:27:00 EST

If you're a fan of both Windows and projectin' stuff, this is your lucky day! Hot on the heels of news that LG's WinMo-powered pico projector-packin' eXpo is heading for AT&T, Lancerlink has announced a little something called the MPJ-104WCE. This 5.5-inch long projector ships with Windows CE 5.0, 4GB memory, 64MB flash storage, an ARM9 (400MHz) CPU, a USB port, and two 0.5 watt speakers. This guy will project your various docs (including PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WMV, and and MPEG-4) at 640 x 480 resolution, but only in Japan for the time being. We'll keep our eyes peeled for domestic price and street date.

Lancerlink pico proj features ARM processor, Windows CE originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pico Projector Info | Akihabara | Email this | Comments

USB Inserts bring ads into the print age and back again... or something

Laura June — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:04:00 EST

Be honest: you really want to crack open a magazine and find one of these paper-thin USB key ads, right? No? Well... here's the thing. We really think this is a cool concept -- made to order, super slim, die cut USB drives that can be tucked in the pages of a newspaper or magazine (if you know what those are) -- with whatever content a company wants to throw on there. However, we're also not really sure the inserts would be compelling enough for us to ever consider loading up whatever content was on it. Regardless, that phone on the right sure seems to be familiar...

USB Inserts bring ads into the print age and back again... or something originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Uber Gizmo | USB Insert | Email this | Comments

Chrome OS 'Diet' version fits on a 1GB USB key, brings more WiFi support

Paul Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:27:00 EST

Not everyone has a 4GB USB key or SD card just lying around, which was required to run Hexxeh's first build of Chromium OS, and we'd say that 8GB keys are exponentially more rare, which is what Dell requires with its build of the Chrome OS open source variant. Well, you can cancel that Fry's run, because Hexxeh is back with a Chrome OS Diet flavor, which cuts the fat and gets the OS onto a 1GB drive. It supposedly doesn't cut anything features-wise, and actually improves WiFi support since it's based on a newer build -- check out that compatibility list source link for the full story on that.

Chrome OS 'Diet' version fits on a 1GB USB key, brings more WiFi support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Hexxeh's Chrome OS build, Dev hardware list | Email this | Comments

Doka Harumi's robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan

Paul Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:03:00 EST

Have you ever felt guilty after watching a robot dance? Don't worry, you will soon. Worse than that time you "accidentally" sat through four episodes of Sailor Moon. Worse than that time you watched the Helicopter Boyz video and then sent it to all your friends. Worse than that time you got a J-pop song stuck in your head and tried to hum it to Shazam so you could identify it and buy it on iTunes. So much worse. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Doka Harumi's robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan

Doka Harumi's robot dance routine fills us with shame for humanity, but mostly Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack a Day | BotJunkie | Email this | Comments

ASUS shows off Congo / Ion-based Eee PC 1201T netbook

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:37:00 EST

ASUS' Eee PC 1201HA just went on sale here in the States earlier today, but already it seems that the debatable father of netbooks is looking to one-up its own with the 1201T. Shown off recently at an event overseas, this 12.1-inch netbook gets powered by AMD's Congo platform and NVIDIA's heralded Ion graphics unit, a tandem that should lead to a fairly nimble and multimedia-friendly machine. The 1.6GHz MV40 CPU was at the helm, followed along by 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 6-cell battery and an enclosure that looks pretty much like every other Eee PC announced within the past six months. Mum's the word on price and availability, but we're guessing both of those will clear themselves up in short order.

ASUS shows off Congo / Ion-based Eee PC 1201T netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Notebook Italia | 52Hardware | Email this | Comments

PSPgo dips to £149 in the UK, have cooler heads prevailed?

Paul Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:09:00 EST

While we might think of the $250 PSPgo pricetag in the States as a criminal act on the part of an out-of-touch and-yet-malicious multinational corporation, we can only imagine how our unfortunate counterparts in the UK felt, staring down a £225 list price (about $371 US). Luckily, that quickly dropped to £200 after a week of sales, and now the console can be had for as low as £149 at UK entertainment retailer HMV. That converts rather tidily to $245 US, which is unfortunately about as far as the console has been discounted around these parts. There's no way to tell how many more months of dour faces and crossed arms pointed in the general direction of Sony Computer Entertainment America it'll take to get that price down to something more realistic Stateside, at which point we can start this whole UK / US price disparity drama all over again.

PSPgo dips to £149 in the UK, have cooler heads prevailed? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | GamesIndustry.biz | Email this | Comments

The CrunchPad disappears in a puff of vapor

Nilay Patel — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:46:00 EST

Michael Arrington's CrunchPad has never had a particularly firm basis in reality, and although we'd been promised that the ~~inexpensive~~ browser-based tablet would be launching soon, the sky's come crashing down: Mike says Fusion Garage, the company he hired to build the CrunchPad, has reneged on their deal, and that he's about to file "multiple lawsuits." What happened? Well, it's not exactly clear: according to Mike, the CrunchPad was ready to be launched on November 20, but on November 17 Fusion Garage decided to cut TechCrunch out of the deal and sell it directly. Oh, it's a sad tale, especially since Arrington claims a wide variety of industry heavyweights were lined up to support his tablet -- including development assistance from Intel complete with sweetheart pricing on Atom CPUs, a "major multi-billion dollar retailer" who offered to sell it at "zero margin," and even venture capital firms "waiting to invest in the company." Making matters worse, Mike's no longer buds with Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan, who he thought he'd be friends with "for the rest of our lives." Tear. Now, we're not sure we've heard the last of the CrunchPad -- if anything, Michael Arrington is irrepressible -- but we can't say we're surprised the first chapter has ended in such fantastic fashion. We're assuming several major Hollywood studios are already lining up to buy the rights, and we've heard unconfirmed reports that George Clooney has signed on to star for free because he believes in the project so deeply.

The CrunchPad disappears in a puff of vapor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | TechCrunch | Email this | Comments

LG's pico projector-packing WinMo eXpo outed for AT&T

Laura June — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:39:00 EST

Hey -- what's that? Oh right, it's the LG eXpo, the slider with a pico projector jammed inside. Among other things, the full QWERTY slider's packing a 1GHz CPU, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and of course that removable Texas Instruments projector. The just-announced handset bears quite a strong resemblance to the Monaco we heard about way back in May -- though from the looks of it, its lost all of the brassiness we were so fond of. The eXpo runs Windows Mobile 6.5, and it will hit AT&T on December 7th for $199 after a mail in rebate with a two year contract -- plus an additional $179 should you choose to opt in on that projector.

Continue reading LG's pico projector-packing WinMo eXpo outed for AT&T

LG's pico projector-packing WinMo eXpo outed for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

MSI Wind U230 gets handled on video, SIM slot found hiding underneath

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST

MSI's latest (and arguably greatest) 12.1-inch netbook just popped official earlier this month, and already it's making the rounds at various shows. The crew over at NetbookNews managed to get their hands around one for just under three minutes, and during that brief window of time they were able to confirm that an AMD Athlon Neo X2 chip was within. Also on tap was a 500GB hard drive and a previously unannounced SIM card slot, though the €440 ($661) price tag seems a bit steep for "a netbook." Check the walk-around just after the break.

Continue reading MSI Wind U230 gets handled on video, SIM slot found hiding underneath

MSI Wind U230 gets handled on video, SIM slot found hiding underneath originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | NetbookNews | Email this | Comments

Rocketfish WirelessHD Adapter snips an HDMI cord for $600

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:32:00 EST

When Belkin killed its FlyWire, it also put a serious hurtin' on the hopes of wireless HDTV ever truly taking off in the near term. Granted, the device was horrifically overpriced, but it was easily the most well-known product in the fledgling sector. Now, however, it seems that a few other players are sneaking into the limelight, with Philips recently introducing its sub-$1,000 Wireless HDTV Link and Sony pricing its DMX-WL1 for the everyman. Today, Best Buy's own Rocketfish has introduced its WirelessHD Adapter, a two-piece set that enables a single HDMI device to be connected to an HDMI-enabled HDTV sans cabling. You simply plug your source into one box and your HDTV into another; so long as the two are within 33 feet of one another, 1080p content can be slung without wires. It's up for order right now at $599.99, which -- amazingly enough -- is actually more expensive than that 30-foot Monster HDMI cable you were secretly eying.

Gallery: Rocketfish WirelessHD Adapter snips an HDMI cord for $600

Rocketfish WirelessHD Adapter snips an HDMI cord for $600 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware | Best Buy | Email this | Comments

Buffalo SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external hard drive reviewed, fast

Joseph L. Flatley — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:04:00 EST

Was anybody else surprised to see that Buffalo (fine purveyors of USB hardware, including kitschy dice speakers, and teeny, tiny thumb drives) was able to start pushing USB 3.0 hardware out the door so quickly? The fine citizens of TweakTown definitely were -- and now they've gone and given HD-HXU3 external hard drive a thorough going over. The verdict? They've likened performance to that of an internal drive -- not disappointing in the least. Physically, this guy is constructed "very well, much better than any of the enclosures that are sold without a drive" that the reviewer has tested. The only sticking point? The price seems a little steep -- and since USB 3.0 will soon be ubiquitous anyways, perhaps you want to hold out a minute before investing. But if the latest and greatest is your bag, this ain't a bad place to start. Hit the source link for the full story.

Buffalo SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external hard drive reviewed, fast originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | TweakTown | Email this | Comments

Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread

Laura June — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:41:00 EST

Recession? Not if you're the Amazon Kindle, it turns out -- it's currently the bestselling product across all categories at Amazon. Yes, that means it's outselling the robotic hamsters, the t-shirts with wolves howling at the moon, and the limited edition Snuggies. November, when people traditionally start trampling each other in the name of gift giving and holiday cheer, has also been the best single month of sales ever for the e-reading device, in spite of the fact that there's more competition than ever for it -- so that's good news for them, right? Amazon hasn't released any actual numbers, of course, so it's hard to say what it all means. The other good news is that as far as we can tell, it doesn't look like they'll sell out anytime soon. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread

Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Creative ZEN X-Fi2 sees its first firmware update, still has aways to go

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:22:00 EST

Just weeks after going on sale here in America, Creative's underwhelming ZEN X-Fi2 portable media player is already seeing its first firmware update. If you'll recall, we found the unit darn near unusable back at IFA, and even now it's being panned for forcing users to mash the screen too often and wait too long for things to happen. Reportedly, the 1.10.04 update solves those responsiveness issues, and it also brings about colored icons (yeah, seriously), accelerometer usage (but only for photos), a Sudoku game and a "press and hold" behavior for powering the unit on or off. The most interesting aspect here (in our humble opinions) is the Sudoku bit, as it certainly hints at more titles being possible in future firmware refreshes. Hit the Read link to get that download going, and hop on past the break if you need any video convincing.

Continue reading Creative ZEN X-Fi2 sees its first firmware update, still has aways to go

Creative ZEN X-Fi2 sees its first firmware update, still has aways to go originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PMP Today, dapreview | Creative | Email this | Comments

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Vladislav Savov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:53:00 EST

Alright, so iPhone and N97 knock-offs probably aren't the rarest of gems around these days, but how many handsets do you know that can lay claim to being both? The Cooli902 takes the iPhone's 3.5-inch touchscreen, spit-shines a pretty realistic iPhone OS clone-job, and then adds the Nokia flavor with a fully fledged QWERTY keypad ripped straight from the heart of the N97. Not only does it open to that familiar angle, it also sports the same layout and what we can only imagine to be the same violent opening mechanism as found on the original Nokia handset. And to think that poor Philippe Starck had to pick between these two phones, when for only $143 we could have had both. More pics after the break, or hit the read link to get your own.

Continue reading Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PMP Today | EE Mobi | Email this | Comments

Nikon Coolpix S70 review: excellent spec, but mediocre image quality

Vladislav Savov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:20:00 EST

We'll admit we save our Nikon excitement for the sort of gear that comes with "bad mother" stitched into its casing, but sometimes even our jaded souls can get intrigued by a compact. This particular slimline unit has an OLED touchscreen display, with the additional inclusion of multitouch and gesture support, which already gets it right up to speed on the latest trends. With a 5x optical zoom, 12 megapixel sensor, and 720p/30fps video, it's also no slouch on the spec sheet, but reviewers at Photography Blog found a few shortcomings. The Nikon S70 is said to be overly reliant on the 3.5-inch touch display for controls, and although the camera is both thin and ultrafast to start up, those benefits come at the greatest cost of all: image quality is only average, and noise handling is poor even at base ISO. We'll file this one in our "vivacious but vapid" archive while you busy yourself with reading the full review.

Nikon Coolpix S70 review: excellent spec, but mediocre image quality originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Photography Blog | Email this | Comments

Chevy Volt shows up at fast food joint, practices lines for LA Auto Show

Vladislav Savov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:44:00 EST

You might've seen the Volt make a guest appearance on the futuristic Surrogates movie already, but now Chevy's taking the opposite approach by looking toward the past to promote its PHEV. Bob's Big Boy fast food restaurant in California got treated to a surprise visit by a production model of that most bodacious Chevrolet, and as you can see above, it doesn't look horribly out of place seated in among its elders, a 1969 Camaro and an Impala SS. Joining in the weekly classic car meetup hosted by the restaurant, this appearance was a prelude to the production Volt being shown off at the LA Auto Show, which kicks off this coming Friday. So if you wanna see it, you can either attend the event or wait for the car to roll up at your nearest Wendy's.

Chevy Volt shows up at fast food joint, practices lines for LA Auto Show originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Inside Line | Email this | Comments

Members abandoning Intel's MID alliance? Hopefully.

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:17:00 EST

Bad, but entirely expected news on the MID front. You remember the Mobile Internet Device right? UMPCs by another name usually running Linux-variants in that middling ground between smartphones and netbooks that nobody seems capable of making an attractive use-case for beyond the living room sofa? According to DigiTimes, "several members" of Intel's Mobile Internet Devices Innovation Alliance (MIDIA) have quit development of MID devices due to very weak shipments. Even the promise of Intel's Moorestown platform has lured "only a limited number of vendors" to launch related products in 2010. Sources claim that vendors will instead refocus on other areas of possible growth. Imagine that.

Members abandoning Intel's MID alliance? Hopefully. originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | DigiTimes | Email this | Comments

Cyber Monday deals roundup: Core i7, HDTVs, SSDs, free Droid Eris

Vladislav Savov — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:21:00 EST

In Soviet Bulgaria, we don't have Cyber Mondays, but from what we've been told this is a pretty bargainous time of the year. HP starts us off with a pair of coupons on its dv8 Core i7 notebook, one of which drops the 18.4-inch laptop to just $899. There are also deep 50 percent discounts on its printers, but only the Photosmart Premium All-in-One remains after the two cheaper models sold out. Click the Logic Buy link below to get in on the action. Amazon has the older Modern Warfare at $29.95 and Uncharted 2 at $40 flat for the PS3, Garmin's nuvi 260W at a cent under $115 (or half price), and plenty of discounts on DVDs, gadgetry and even clothing. Best Buy keeps pace by offering the same price on the Garmin nav unit, as well as 10 percent discounts on Apple's iPod range. Walmart is kicking off a whole Cyber Week with a Sony Bravia 32-inch HDTV priced at $398 and a $249 Nintendo Wii Value Bundle, which includes Wii Sports, sporting peripherals, and a choice of free game. If you're more interested in computer components, Newegg's $30 mail-in rebate on the 120GB OCZ Agility SSD will net you the drive for $289, our favorite of a plethora of deals at the online store. And finally, Dell is offering the Droid Eris for free when taking out a new Verizon Wireless account, which is at least $30 cheaper than you can get it anywhere else. Time to get clicking!

Read - Amazon
Read - Best Buy
Read - Dell
Read - Logic Buy
Read - Newegg
Read - Walmart

Cyber Monday deals roundup: Core i7, HDTVs, SSDs, free Droid Eris originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo, I4U | | Email this | Comments

Large Hadron Collider breaks energy record, still won't power a toaster

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:53:00 EST

CERN's Large Hadron Collider just made the record books for something other than the cost of building a 27km-long circular tunnel. After achieving its first collision on Tuesday, the LHC roared beyond a trillion electron volts (1.18 TeV to be exact) literally smashing the 0.98 TeV energy record held by the Tevatron particle accelerator in Chicago since 2001. So far the LHC had been operating at a relatively modest 450 billion electron volts as it pushes up to full capacity of some 7 trillion electron volts. All that's left now is the minor issue of unlocking the secrets of the universe when the real scientific testing gets underway early next year.

Large Hadron Collider breaks energy record, still won't power a toaster originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | BBC | Email this | Comments

Nokia launching only one Maemo device in 2010?

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:43:00 EST

Better sit down Maemo fans. If you expected Nokia to just kick its waning S60 5th OS to the curb in 2010 after positive reaction to the Linux side of its dual-platform smartphone strategy, well, it ain't gonna happen. At least that's the word from a Reuters source with "direct knowledge of Nokia's product roadmap" who says Nokia will only launch one new Linux smartphone next year. Driving the point home is word from a Nokia spokesman who declined comment on future plans but did add, "We remain firmly committed to Symbian as our smartphone platform of choice." While this might sound like bad news to N900 enthusiasts given the vast number of handsets the company produces, keep in mind that Nokia's recent cuts in global R&D headcount (550 employees in total) was justified by Nokia's attempt to streamline operations to be in line with its "focused portfolio of future products." In other words, it sounds like we can expect less handsets from Espoo as they scale back the variety of models produced. And if anything can be learned from the boys in Cupertino: it only takes one handset to change the game.

Nokia launching only one Maemo device in 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Nokia, Nokia, Reuters | Email this | Comments

Nook begins shipping, in select Barnes & Noble stores on December 7th

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:41:00 EST

If you missed getting in your Nook pre-order there's still hope to nab the dual-display Barnes & Noble reader in time for the holidays. A Wall Street Journal piece says that Nook will be "available for sale or for demonstration purposes" in select, high-volume B&N stores starting December 7th -- a week later than expected as B&N tries to fulfill unexpectedly high consumer demand following the ereader's October 20th announcement. Of course, it's impossible to say if the sell-out translates to high sales or just poor planning on B&N's part as it dips a tentative toe into the fickle waters of consumer electronics. Nevertheless, anyone who ordered before November 20th will still receive theirs for Christmas while everyone else will receive theirs on January 4th as we already heard. Now if only Barnes & Noble would clarify what it means by "high-volume stores" we could plan our road-trips accordingly.

[Thanks, Arthur]

Nook begins shipping, in select Barnes & Noble stores on December 7th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Wall Street Journal | Email this | Comments

Sony outs world's first TransferJet chips for short-range wireless transfer

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:01:00 EST

Induction chargers like Palm's Touchstone are great and all but they lack one significant feature long mastered by USB tethers: data transfer. That could soon change as Sony begins pushing out its first TransferJet LSI in hopes of obtaining broad industry adoption of this newest form of short-range wireless transmission technology. TransferJet, remember, allows for a theoretical 560Mbps (closer to 375Mbps in the real-world) wireless transfer at a distance of about 3 centimeters -- a standard backed by big-hitting camera companies like Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Casio, Kodak, and Olympus and Japanese cellphone interests like NTT DoCoMo, Softbank Mobile, Toshiba, and Sony Ericsson. Just imagine yourself waving a TransferJet-equipped Sony Ericsson phone in front of your new Bravia TV and having all your photos and videos appear on the big screen and you've just seen the future. Individual samples are available now for ¥1,500 (about $17) in either PCI or SDIO-connector versions. Now head on past the break to see the tech in action from our CEATEC hands-on.

Continue reading Sony outs world's first TransferJet chips for short-range wireless transfer

Sony outs world's first TransferJet chips for short-range wireless transfer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Impress | Sony (Japanese) | Email this | Comments

Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade

Ross Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:02:00 EST

Looking for a techno spin on the traditional, the Samurai of Kuroda have become assimilated into robot territory. They dance, they drink, they wield a great spear and use it to skewer flesh when you're not looking -- probably. Look for the creations at IREX 2009 and then after at RoboSquare in Kyushu. If you can't make it out, or want a preview, take a peep for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade

Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals | RobotWatch | Email this | Comments

ASUS Eee PC 1201HA now on sale in the US

Ross Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST

A little later than mid-November, sure, but ASUS has finally unleashed to the US masses its 12.1-inch Eee PC 1201HA. Available at Best Buy for a penny under $330, it's got all the standard affairs: 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520, 1GB RAM upgradeable to 2GB, 160GB HDD, WiFi, and a touted 6 hour, 38 minute battery life. The catch here is Windows XP -- sorry 7 lovers, but if you're feeling particularly adventurous, there's always Chrome OS.

ASUS Eee PC 1201HA now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooked | Best Buy | Email this | Comments

Smartbook AG launches absolutely gaudy $3,000 Swarovski-laden netbook

Ross Miller — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:19:00 EST

Taking a break from making headlines over infringement rights, Smartbook AG has found an entirely new way to get our attention. Introducing the Zenid GC Crystal, a "smartbook" that's, as Netbooknews.de points out, one of the most common Chinese ODM netbooks, the S40 -- 10.2-inch WXGA LED screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280, 2GB DDR2 RAM, WiFi, and so on. You can get a non-crystal version for 299 euros, but really, we know you're wanting to go ridiculously lavish here, and that's precisely where the Crystal variant doesn't disappoint. Completely encrusted in Swarovski crystals, the asking price jumps to 2,001 euros, or approximately $3,000 in currency from across the pond. We'd like to point and laugh more, but deep down, we know there's enough comically wealthy people out there to probably justify this.

Smartbook AG launches absolutely gaudy $3,000 Swarovski-laden netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooknews.de | Smartbook AG | Email this | Comments

Netronix looking to Android, 3G for its e-book readers

Ross Miller — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:54:00 EST

Google's little green man has been getting quite an education lately, popping up in a number of e-book readers (why hello there Nook, Alex, eDGe). Not to be left out, Netronix is reportedly also looking to work with Texas Instruments on assimilating Android into its product line, according to company chairman Arthur Lu (via DigiTimes). Neither are bad trends to follow in this still-infant industry, but the questions remains as to when and how it'll actually work. Also on the company to-do list? 3G and 3.5G capabilities, supposedly coming sometime in the middle of 2010. Bated breath? Hold it.

Filed under: Handhelds

Netronix looking to Android, 3G for its e-book readers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink E-Reader-Info | DigiTimes | Email this | Comments

HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1?

Chris Ziegler — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:01:00 EST

HTC promised the world an Android 2.0-based firmware for its Hero line once it figured out the nitty gritty details of porting Sense to Google's latest code, leapfrogging Donut altogether -- but now, it looks like they're gonna do one better. Screenshots found today show a Hero running Android 2.1, which would dovetail nicely with the fact that Google had teased a "minor update" to 2.0 before the end of 2009 back when it announced Eclair last month. The interface looks largely untouched from 1.5, proof that HTC was able to bring Sense up to speed with minimum drama; it's unclear when this'll all be available, but considering that Sprint's version just got a super-minor update, some carrier-branded versions could be in for a wait. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1?

HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Be Geek | Email this | Comments

Nokia N900 glitch leads to useful portrait mode, caught on video

Ross Miller — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:19:00 EST

File this under "it's not a bug, it's a feature" if true. According to Guyver at the maemo.org forums, some glitch in the OS caused his Nokia N900 to switch into portrait mode for everything, not just dialer and photo apps as previously allowed. We'd love to eliminate the need for two hands to run our favorite chunks of mobile software, but so far we haven't been able to recreate his trick. Try it at home if you'd like by tilting the device to launch the phone app, then sliding up the screen and closing the app. Perhaps the gang at Espoo can turn this into a legit update -- if they're awesome people, of course. Video after the break.

Continue reading Nokia N900 glitch leads to useful portrait mode, caught on video

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia N900 glitch leads to useful portrait mode, caught on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MaemoWorld | Maemo.org | Email this | Comments