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Thursday, May 14, 2009

HP Mini 1000 six-cell battery gets examined, frightens other batteries

by Donald Melanson, posted May 13th 2009 at 5:46PM


It's been a long time coming, but the six-cell battery for HP's Mini 1000 netbook is now finally making its way into the hands of some eager users, and jkOnTheRun has taken a minute to give folks an idea of what's in store. As you can see above (and from another angle at the link below), the battery is amazingly even more unsightly than suggested in earlier shots, although it does expectedly deliver the goods when it comes to battery life, with jkOnTheRun managing about six hours on a charge. Of course, you'll have to decide for yourself if that's worth the $100+ price tag, not to mention the cost to your Mini 1000's self-esteem.

Amazon Kindling wooden e-book is a luddite's dream of the future

by Laura June, posted May 13th 2009 at 5:24PM


E-readers aren't for everyone, apparently. Clever hands fashioned this Kindle out of wood -- cutely called the Amazon Kindling -- using a laser cutter. You might only be able to read the same page of The Count of Monte Cristo so many times, but at least the battery will never punk out on you! One more shot of this wooden beauty after the break. Hit the read link for the whole set.

[Via Boing Boing]

Continue reading Amazon Kindling wooden e-book is a luddite's dream of the future

$399 Dell Inspiron 15 makes the scene

by Nilay Patel, posted May 13th 2009 at 5:03PM


Here's a question: given the vagueness of the definition and the trend towards larger screen sizes in general, how soon do you think Dell will start calling its new $399 Inspiron 15 configuration a "netbook?" Seriously, it's not like the 2.16GHz Celeron and 2GB of RAM running Vista are going to majorly outgun the usual 1.6GHz Atom / XP setup, and the pricing is about the same as a nicer 10-inch netbook, so we can totally see some marketing droid at Dell getting a bright idea. Any bets on this happening? We'd put the odds at 50/50.

MSI X-Slim X340 gets reviewed, loved on - despite the 'flexy' keyboard

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted May 13th 2009 at 4:50PM


We've had our eyes on MSI's answer to the MacBook Air (yeah, we said it!) for a while now -- and that includes a shady, late night hands-on photo session live from the Neville Island Motel and a horrifying back-alley vivisection, to boot. Now it looks like the crazy kids at Laptop are dead set on having their say on the X340 13.4-inch ultra-portable -- and why not? The more the merrier! According to the reviewer, what this character lacks in processing power, it more than makes up for in price, weight, and battery life -- at 2.9 pounds the device is certainly lighter than the Air, and its over three hours on a single charge are none too shabby. Even the 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo processor (coupled here with 2GB memory and running Windows Vista) is characterized as "snappy." Sadly, the keyboard is said to be flimsy and graphic performance pretty weak -- but still, at $899 (price as reviewed) this is sure to be right up some of your proverbial alleys. Interested? Hit that read link for all the gory details.

Palm Pre "real reviewer" units going out? Not so fast.

by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 13th 2009 at 4:27PM


There's been a lot of chatter on both blogs and forums as of late stating that those "real reviewer" units Palm was promising to prospective owners -- essentially "everyman critics" -- would be sent out some time this week. In fact, some folks have even been spouting off that they've received their devices (see the magic above, and one of the source photos which has been cropped and blurred after the break). Well here's the deal: those units aren't going out to "real reviewers" before they get into the hands of fake reviewers... namely, the press. In the words of a source at Palm:
We clearly said "we'll provide you with a current-model phone and data-plan service for six months" and Pre only once it is available, we never said they would get early Pre units.
So, that's something to consider before you jump the gun on the next Twitpic blast from Joe the Reviewer (though in this particular forum poster's defense, he did recant). Still, the whole tone leading up to the Pre launch is starting to feel a bit chaotic -- we know Palm has to pull the trigger soon, and we've heard lots of totally believable rumors, but it is beginning to feel like anything might happen. The basic question we're turning over in our minds right now is this: does Palm know how to do this right?

Continue reading Palm Pre "real reviewer" units going out? Not so fast.

Dell seemingly cans sassy Crimson Red XPS 16 option

by Laura June, posted May 13th 2009 at 4:06PM


The dreamy, high gloss Crimson Red option for Dell's XPS 16 -- which appeared just a few short days ago to shock and beguile us -- has seemingly disappeared into thin air already, leaving us to wonder... was it all just a dream? Will it return once again? Please let this be some sort of cruel, unfortunate mistake.

Entelligence: Close to the edge

by Michael Gartenberg, posted May 13th 2009 at 3:45PMFeatured Story

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.


There's an interesting debate that I've had recently. Should product designers aim for the enthusiast or "edge" cases when designing products, or should they instead target mainstream users from day one? It's an interesting discussion, but I believe that those that say "aim for the edge" and the enthusiast aren't correct, at least in the long run.

Now if you're reading this, chances are you're a bit of an edge case -- or at the very least a gadget enthusiast. That's cool, I'm one as well. In fact, over the last few years I've coined three rules that I've come to refer to as Gartenberg's Three Laws of Consumer Electronics. For those of you not familiar with them, they are:

  1. There's a world wide market of 50,000 for any device sold to enthusiasts and early adopters.
  2. If Gartenberg sees a product at a demo and doesn't offer his credit card for purchase immediately, the product is doomed.
  3. Even if Gartenberg does offer his credit card, the product may well still be doomed -- as Gartenberg is part of the 50,000 enthusiasts that will buy (almost) anything.

(If you're in the NY area, come on over some time and I'll show you my collection)

Continue reading Entelligence: Close to the edge

Samsung's SCH-W760 features night vision cam for Blair Witch-style video calls

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 13th 2009 at 3:17PM


On the surface, the new SCH-W760 looks like a totally typical midrange Korean domestic market slider: 3 megapixel camera, DMB reception, Bluetooth, and a semi-notable 2.8-inch AMOLED display. You know, the usual. A closer look reveals one very interesting feature, though -- it features a front cam sensitive to infrared spectrum so that you can hold grayscale video calls in complete darkness. Beyond scaring the poo out of friends with your spooky, grainy, low-res visage and holding the occasional video conference from the confines of an unlit closet, we have absolutely no idea what practical value this offers -- but look, ridiculous features are what exotic new handsets are all about. Well played, Samsung. The W760 hasn't yet been officially announced, though it'll apparently be coming to SKT, so keep an eye peeled (and bring a flashlight).

Slimmer PS3 in store at E3?

by Nilay Patel, posted May 13th 2009 at 2:54PM


Rumors of some sort of Sony announcement at E3 have been floating around for a couple weeks now, and it certainly seems like something's afoot -- hot on the heels of that officially non-existent white US DualShock 3 appearing this morning, we're hearing that a revised PS3 is in the works. It's not clear exactly what's going down, but the hot whispers right now say that it's the long-rumored slimmed-down redesign of the current console, not just a color change or storage bump. That makes a certain amount of sense, given the endless chatter of a price cut and Sir Howard Stringer's recent comments about the system being too expensive -- a trimmed-up redesign is right on schedule with those smaller Cell and RSX chips, and it could still possibly include some of that rumored motion-sensing hardware while driving down costs. On the other hand, after all this speculation and hype it would be a total Sony move to just pump out the same machine in a different color with maybe a new pack-in game, so we're not holding our breath. Let's say we're, oh, "cautiously optimistic." That work for you?

Update: Sony UK is currently denying the rumor with a curt "We currently don't have any plans for a redesigned PS3 at this time." Okay -- but what else would you expect them to say?

[Via I4U News; image courtesy of T3]

Retro Mini Handheld plays NES cartridges, brings tears of nostalgia to our eyes

by Laura June, posted May 13th 2009 at 2:32PM

We've seen scads of portable NES mods in the past but still: this is probably relevant to your interests. ThinkGeek's got a new portable gaming system on offer, the Retro Mini Handheld. It plays all those 8-bit cartridges you've had stacked in your room next to your hi-fi since the olden days, and it's got a pretty attractive look. Sure, the cartridge is essentially bigger than the handheld itself, but that's part of its charm as far as we can tell. It's got a 2.4-inch LCD and takes four AA batteries for about 8 hours of game time, and it's available now for $49.99. There's one more shot after the break.

[Thanks, Adam]

Continue reading Retro Mini Handheld plays NES cartridges, brings tears of nostalgia to our eyes

Plasma market getting smaller and higher-end, but it's still alive

by Nilay Patel, posted May 13th 2009 at 2:07PM


Pioneer's decision to axe the Kuro earlier this year set off a wave of gloomy predictions about the future of plasma, but we've never really bought into it -- and it sounds like the product planners at LG, Samsung, and Panasonic haven't either. HD Guru asked reps from each company for their thoughts on the state of the plasma market, and the responses were pretty similar across the board: plasma remains the connoisseur's choice overall, and it still makes up just about half of 50-inch and bigger sales. Of course, that means that plasma's niche is shrinking and moving higher-end while LCDs more or less take over the rest of HDTV market, but until something like OLED develops into a true competitor we think plasma's around for a while. Check out the full company responses at the read link.

UMID M1D making its way to Korea any day now

by Laura June, posted May 13th 2009 at 1:53PM


No, we still have no details on any upcoming releases of UMID's M1, but it seems that a slightly stripped down version -- the M1D -- is about to appear in Korea. This Mbook boasts a 1.1GHz Atom CPU (the M1 has a 1.3GHz Atom), and lacks both the webcam and the DMB module. Other than that, we're looking at the same cute little guy we've come to know and love. The M1D is launching in Korea next week -- but still no word on if or when it'll ever make its way to the States or elsewhere, or its official price. There's one more shot after the break.

[Via Pocketables]

Continue reading UMID M1D making its way to Korea any day now

Apple Store now taking iPhone 3G orders online

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 13th 2009 at 1:31PM


Back when we were your age, we had to buy our iPhone 3Gs partway online, then we'd trudge across 17 miles of frozen tundra to the Apple Store to complete the sale -- and that's the way we liked it. Now, you whippersnappers have the option of letting Apple ship the thing straight to your door, you lazy, good-for-nothing bums. Of course, you could do this directly through AT&T for a hot minute now, but if your eyes are particularly sensitive to shades of orange, maybe this'll be a more pleasant experience for you.

[Thanks, iphonequeen]

Novatel's MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router comes to Sprint

by Darren Murph, posted May 13th 2009 at 1:09PM


What one CDMA carrier can do, another can do better, right? Eh, not quite, but they can stare each other down holding the exact same weapon, just daring each other to make the next move. Just a week after Verizon Wireless launched the MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router, Sprint has decided to offer up the exact same product for use on its network. The battery-powered box, engineered by Novatel Wireless, enables users to connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network, and it'll be marketed in stores as the Sprint Mobile Hotspot. According to the carrier, its unit will be the first in the US to support MiFi's GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications. It should be noted, however, that Sprint's service plans differ quite significantly from those offered up by VZW. The up front cost is the same at $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year agreement), though the only two options for getting it connected are as follows:
  • $59.99 per month mobile broadband only plan (excluding taxes and surcharges)
  • $149.99 per month Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband (phone plus device connectivity -- excluding taxes and surcharges)
  • Both plans include up to 5 GB per month and 5 cents per megabyte overage for the MiFi 2200. [Ugh, disgusting.]
  • Available in early June.
[Via phoneArena]

Continue reading Novatel's MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router comes to Sprint

Power Over eSATA fans go wild over mobo manufacturer's latest and greatest cable

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted May 13th 2009 at 12:46PM


We guess its really a no-brainer, but it looks like quite a few manufacturers are really rather taken with the idea of powering eSATA devices over the connection itself (as opposed to a hackneyed USB power solution?). For further proof that this is something you're likely to see in the future, we submit for your approval the above cable. According to Tweak Town (not actually a legally incorporated town) who received this from "a Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer," the guy is designed to connect a single eSATA port to normal SATA power and data connectors, carrying both data and power over a single standard eSATA cable. That's all the news, for now -- but it will be interesting to see what sort of implementation this initiative sees when Computex Taipei comes 'round next month.

Latest USB gadgets light up your life, fill up your wallet

by Tim Stevens, posted May 13th 2009 at 12:24PM


Intel's Ajay Bhatt indeed deserves rock star status. Without his hard work we might not today have such a wondrous bounty of USB devices, like the hub pictured after the break. It not only sports a light for illuminating your keyboard or helping you find that last Skittle that skittered away into the dark confines of your desk, but it also has a rechargeable battery, meaning you can use it as a rather unwieldy reading light. New, too, is the Lego-themed (though not Lego®-branded) USB hub shown above, which enables you to elegantly add USB devices to your setup in blocks of four. Oh, and then there's the newfangled USB wristwatch ($26) which packs a connector at the end of the strap. Hot stuff, we tell ya.

Read - USB Hub with a built-in flashlight
Read - USB wristwatch
Read - Lego-themed USB hub

Continue reading Latest USB gadgets light up your life, fill up your wallet

Verizon MiFi 2200 review

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 13th 2009 at 12:01PMFeatured Story

We've been following Novatel's MiFi with bated breath since its December announcement, and the totally pocketable 3G / WiFi router has finally graced a US carrier. Though it'll ultimately come in a variety of physical designs, bands, and radio technologies for different carriers and parts of the world, the MiFi 2200 for Verizon naturally packs CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A, which means uplink speeds should be reasonably speedy to go along with your 1Mbps-plus downloads. Obviously, the concept of a credit card-shaped object connecting up to five WiFi-enabled devices to high-speed internet from wherever the road takes you is an incredibly intoxicating one -- but does the MiFi 2200 deliver? Get the whole story over on Engadget Mobile!

Engadget's recession antidote: win a Zivio Boom Wireless headset!

by Laura June, posted May 13th 2009 at 12:00PM

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs (like 1,100 from Seagate just today) got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we've got a Zivio Boom Bluetooth headset on offer. Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting!

Huge thanks to Joby for providing the gear!

The rules:
  • Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
  • You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
  • If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  • Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Zivio Boom Bluetooth headset.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, May, 13th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
  • Full rules can be found here.

Logitech's totally rad G19 gaming keyboard now on sale

by Paul Miller, posted May 13th 2009 at 11:41AM


For no particular reason -- let's just blame blatant capitalism in the face of uncertain times -- Dell's online store has a 30 day exclusive on Logitech's new G19 gaming keyboard, and just started selling the thing at $180 a pop, or $260 when bundled with the G9 laser gaming mouse. Sure, that might sound like a lot of money, but just remember the next time you reach a weathered, calloused index finger across your keyboard to toss your last grenade at a grim virtual enemy: you could've paid $180 to do the exact same thing while listening to Korn.

[Thanks, Brian]

AMD busts out world's first air-cooled 1GHz GPU

by Darren Murph, posted May 13th 2009 at 11:17AM


The last time a GPU milestone this significant was passed, it was June of 2007, and we remember it well. We were kicked back, soaking in the rays from Wall Street and firmly believing that nothing could ever go awry -- anywhere, to anyone -- due to a certain graphics card receiving 1GB of onboard RAM. Fast forward a few dozen months, and now we've got AMD dishing out the planet's first factory-clocked card to hit the 1GHz mark. Granted, overclockers have been running their cards well above that point for awhile now, but hey, at least this bugger comes with a warranty. The device doing the honors is the ATI Radeon HD 4890, and it's doing it with air cooling alone and just a wee bit of factory overclocking. Take a bow, AMD -- today's turning out to be quite a good one for you.
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