37424 items (37051 unread) in 13 feeds
TechBlogs
(36473 unread)
Engadget
(6581 unread)
digg
(3891 unread)
Phone Scoop - Latest News
(1588 unread)
Akihabaranews
(1904 unread)
TechCrunch
(2901 unread)
hack a day
(1457 unread)
MAKE Magazine
(5891 unread)
Friends blogs
(578 unread)
[j]anga
(220 unread)
planetchoi.com
(47 unread)
Peter & Soojin's Quasi-Daily Blah-g
(311 unread)
Filed under: Announcements, Gaming
Joystiq isn't going to stop until your inner
fanboy's been sated, and their latest assault on ignorance of the teensiest bits of minutiae regarding Sony's next
console (and at-work boredom, alike) is here: PS3 Fanboy. Go get your fanboy
on, even if it's delayed into the fall.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: HDTV
Filed under: Portable Audio
The
people spoke, and Apple listened -- while they still have their hearing that is. After facing that French iPod law (no,
not that one, the
other one regulating volume output in portable audio devices) and a lawsuit here in the states about
iPod-related hearing damage, Apple's apparently releasing a software update to allow for a personal volume threshold
option in your iPod. Meaning you can set it so your iPod can't get any louder than a certain pre-defined level --
though as long as that level is configurable, even if its placed out of the way in the device options, people will
still continue to set it to 11 and damage their hearing. Still, what's interesting here is that this move could be
construed as an admission of guilt in some sense, but hey, we appreciate the thought, Apple. Look at that guy in the
picture -- we wouldn't really want him screaming at full volume right into our ears, either.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs
Yeah,
there's a certain novelty to getting FCC shots and info -- it's usually nothing we've never seen before, but after all
those pristine press photos and well-buffed display units, that down and dirty FCC photography is jarring in a good way
-- kind of like tabloid shots of your favorite star a drunken wreck early Sunday morning. So if you wanted the lowdown,
the Q1's (still) got a Celeron M ULV, 256MB (upgradeable to 1GB), an
Intel 915GMS chipset, 60GB drive (up from 40GB!), Ethernet, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, two USB 2.0 ports, VGA out,
audio out, a 7-inch 800 x 480 display, and three cell battery. Like we said, not a lot there we didn't know. But if you
did want to snag a sneak peek at how all the Origami (aka Microsoft Touch Pack) and all that UMPC multimedia software
works, they've got a hefty 140-some-odd page user manual for you to peruse at your leisure (PDF links part 1
and part
2). Say goodbye to your afternoon.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Notable curmudgeon John Dvorak raised hackles last
month when he suggested that an Intel-powered Apple would dump OS X and switch to Windows. Turns out he may have been
right -- sort of. Word is out now that Apple has joined BAPco, an industry group that does one thing and one thing
only: create benchmarks for testing the performance of Windows-based PCs. The move comes on top of rumors that Apple
will include VMWare-style virtualization capabilities in the
next version of OS X, which could enable the Mac OS to run Windows apps without requiring a third-party emulator or a reboot. While those rumors have yet to be confirmed, it does seem
possible that Apple is indeed working on a way for OS X users to run Windows apps, and wants to use BAPco's tools to
benchmark the Windows-on-OS X performance (though the tools are said not to work all that well in virtual
environments). Either that or they just want to confirm the rumors that the MacBookPro is the fastest Windows laptop
out there.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Laptops
Dell didn't just announce their new D620 and D820, no, no, sir. They've
also got a Precision M90 and M65 for you to sink your teeth into, featuring Core Duo chips (what else?), 512MB Quadro
FX graphics, IEEE 1394, an oversized three-inch touchpad, and a 17-inch 1920 x 1200 display on the M90; the M65
(pictured) will get a Quadro FX with TurboCache (no dedicated graphics memory), dual battery option, and a 15.4-inch
display. The Precisions, which we haven't heard from a little while, are intended to be a little higher end than your
run of the mill Latitudes, though, so expect to pay for the privilege with baseline price tags of $2,239 and $1,849,
respectively.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Storage
We're not exactly sure when BUSlink
launched a 64GB -- that's gigabyte, yes -- flash drive, but it's right there on their site, plain as day, handily and
smugly smacking down even the largest of flash drives,
available for purchase for $5,000. Apparently they've also got a 32GB (not shown) and 16GB drive for $1,500, but
seriously, if this isn't some kind of sick joke catering to our obsession with solid state memory, you know exactly
which one it is we'll be promptly devouring as soon as we can sell off enough excess gear and internal organs to afford
it. You can run an OS off a flash drive, right? Ok, good.
Filed under: Laptops
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio
Musicians
everywhere have reason to celebrate today -- Moog Products has just announced a
portable analog synthsethizer, which pays tribute to the company's founder, and perhaps just as importantly, will
finally bring professional quality synths down to prices that amateurs can afford. Music Thing's Tom Whitwell had told us to be on the lookout for a new product
from Moog -- the first one following Bob Moog's untimely death from a
brain tumor -- and although the legend might not approve of calling this tribute edition "Little Phatty," he
would certainly appreciate the style and reasonable $1,475 price tag. The Little Phatty features a 37-note keyboard, 2
ultra-stable oscillators, a Moog low pass ladder filter, and 4-stage analog envelope generators, all wrapped up in an
attractive package. Initially Moog Products will only be releasing 1,200 special edition LIttle Phattys, which come
with decorative side panels, the signature plate that you see above, a CD-ROM of the Bob Moog
Memorial Celebration Service, and a special poster for your studio to inspire you as you lay down those crazy
electronic tracks.
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
GPS is a nifty piece of technology. GPS hardware needs to have a clear view of the sky because it's satellite based, so
using your handheld unit can be a problem when the roof of your car is blocking signal reception. The obvious answer is
to add an external antenna. The catch-22 is that many GPS units lack external antenna jacks.
We wanted a low cost dedicated GPS receiver that could be mounted somewhere in the
guts of our vehicle. We picked up a cheap GPS device made for the Palm III and used the instructions from Walter at radiohound.com to remove the 12 channel GPS board from the unit. It's
just a matter of disassembling it and moving a few components around. The result is a stand alone GPS card. Power it up
and it starts spitting out NMEA sentences via the serial port.
Filed under: Laptops
We love a good viral gadget video as much as
the next guy, so what the hell, lost Lenovo test lab tapes
recovered from "a long standing acquaintance?" Ok, why not. Footage that shows the "Skywalker"
holographic projection unit (ala "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi"), a laptop dropped that lands gently thanks to
retractable rocket boosters, and Batman-esque armor plating that prevents coffee spills? Sure, what the hell. After
all, not too many people gonna argue that outside some especially ruggedized machines (Panasonic, we're looking your way), you don't get many
laptops more sturdy than a good ThinkPad. With armor.
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Filed under: Wireless
The Bluetooth Special
Interest Group, in search of a standard for its next version of Bluetooth, had already expressed its
intention to pick between the quarreling UWB factions:
WiMedia Alliance and the UWB Forum. Looks like WiMedia ended up fitting the bill best for bringing high speeds to
Bluetooth connections, and it's expected that most UWB
manufacturers will follow suit. Now the respective tech teams just need to sit down and hammer out the spec, which
Bluetooth SIG estimates will take about a year, with prototype chips becoming available around Q2 2007. There are some
distinct technological hurdles that must be jumped to get the 480mbps UWB interoperable with the 2.1mbps Bluetooth
connections, including the fact that UWB operates in the unlicensed spectrum above 6GHz, while Bluetooth hangs out at
2.4GHz. Even with those problems in front of them, Bluetooth SIG is confident that UWB fits the low power consumption
requirements of Bluetooth, and, of course, it's hard to scoff at the promised data rates.
Filed under: Laptops
Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops
We almost feel sorry for Nicholas Negroponte. No sooner does
he leave his cushy post at the MIT Media Lab to head the OLPC project on a full-time basis than he faces war drums from
all sides. First Bill Gates slapped him
down, declaring with man-of-the-year certainty that the developing world needs a good smartphone
more than a crank-up laptop. Now, Microsoft's sometime tag-team partner Intel has hit Negroponte from the other side,
declaring that the company has plans for a $400 laptop that will make Negroponte's box look like, well, a windup toy.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini chose Brazil to announce the Edu-Wise, which will be a full-fledged, Windows-powered mini-PC.
While the prototype Edu-Wise box Otellini showed off in São Paulo looked pretty good, we suspect that a $400
price tag will put it out of the price range of most developing world customers, unless it's heavily subsidized. We
also think there's a good chance that the $400 price won't even stick; after all, we seem to recall a recent Microsoft/Intel project for a small, full-Windows computer
that was initially meant to hit the market at about
$500. Last time we checked, those boxes were going for closer to a grand. Apply the same math
to this, and we don't see it coming in for any less than $750 -- not exactly pocket change for most developing world
students.
Filed under: Features, Gaming, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Podcasts
The Podcast is back! We've been
out of the action for a couple of weeks but we aren't going anywhere -- except to Vegas next week for CTIA. But we're
catching up this week on all the video game news and rumors surrounding the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution (or
should we say Go?), the first new TiVo we've seen in, well, a while, and Microsoft's latest delay for Vista, which puts
us squarely back to January 2007. We also decided to snag a couple of those emails you've been sending in and give 'em
some air time, so listen in to the latest ep, we'll do our best to make sure it's worth your wait.Get
the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast
directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast
feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast
Alley!
Hosts
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block
Producer
Randall
Bennett
Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan
Format
45:45, 20.9
MB, MP3
Program
01:50 - Vista delayed (for consumers) till early
2007
08:42 - Dell
buying Alienware for undisclosed price
13:35 - Nintendo Revolution = Nintendo GO?
18:30 - Sony confirms PS3
controller redesign
22:32 - Dual
tuner TiVo pic spotted?
25:27 - Cablevision to rollout
remote-storge DVR service
31:58 - Palm's 10th
anniversary
35:30 - Listener email
LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)
Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Displays
Being the naive souls
that we are, we didn't know the main sought-after functionality for a gadget to be used in an educational institution
is theft deterrence, but Hitachi seems to be onto the game. By
painting their new ED-X10 projector a bright orange, they
hope they can dissuade a couple of Halo-hungry frat brothers from "repurposing" the unit. (Is that why
prisoners wear orange? So we don't steal them?) Hitachi has also packed in a transition detector that will lock the
projector if moved, requiring a pin-code to use it again. If all else fails, the projector includes a steel security
bar so you can just bolt the unit down and be done with it. Otherwise this orange thing sounds fairly average, with an
XGA resolution, 2000 ANSI lumens, and a 500:1 contrast ratio. The ED-X10 is available now in the UK for around $1200
US.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals
In a surprising
turn of events, Belkin has decided not to style their
new Flip USB KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch after a Mac mini,
as seems to be the current trend. Instead, the Flip
features a little LED-sporting, puck-shaped switching button to signify which computer you're controlling. Sadly the
Flip doesn't break past the usual VGA capabilities of its predecessors, so you won't be taking advantage of those DVI
ports that are fairly common these days. At least the price is right; the Belkin Flip should cost around $60 and is due
for shelves this April.
Filed under: Portable Audio
If the RCA's Lyra line was harboring some sort of hidden cache of street cred,
we're not sure how much longer it'll last, thanks to this lackluster offering of low-end DAPs. The RD2112/2115/2117
players to the left are "splash proof" units with 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB of memory respectively. They all
feature two-line LCDs, but at least they're fairly cheap at around $110 for the 512MB version. The real excitement
begins with the RD2415 carabiner-styled unit. It's a 512MB offering for the same $110, and seems to mirror the rest of
the functionality offered by its peers, other than that sweet carabiner action, of course.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Laptops
Toshiba's throwing out three new Satellites today, people, so keep your ears perked: their A105 series, (which
includes the S2021, S4001, S4004 and S4014), P105 (with the S6014, and S6004), and M105 series have all gotten spec
bumps, in many cases to Intel Core Solo or Core Duo chips. They range in options from a sub-$900 Celeron equipped
A105-S2021 to the 17-inch $1,550 P105-6014 with a Core Duo T2300. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary for their
laptop lineup, but if you're looking to get dual core on the go, now you've got another option to get the job done.
They said they were gonna do
it, and now apparently they have (or are at least really close to it): Fujitsu's gearing up for a Q3 launch of the
first 200GB 2.5-inch drive, the MHV2200BT. We don't have any solid details on it (like whether it's the same 7200RPM
200GB drive they were talking about before), but the Reg seems to think it'll take 1.6W of juice, have a 1.5ms seek
time, and be SATA with NCQ. You know what we think? That's an awful lot of storage for a laptop, and you couldn't get
it to us fast enough.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Home Entertainment
We
were kind of hoping Pioneer would get a little ironic on us and throw some HDCP on their new HDMI-enabled DV-696AV,
490V, and 393, the highest end of which is capable of playing back DVD-R/W, DVD audio, and SACD (with full six channel
24 / 192 audio), as well as DivX on a burned disc. Yeah, it upconverts to 720p / 1080i, but we all know what the real
draw here is. Hey, they gotta keep selling DVD players somehow until their Blu-ray players hit the market,
right?Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Robots
The Layered-X RAYERD-X may have raised some eyebrows and spurred some Transformer reminiscence
at the Ninth annual Robo-One competition in Tokyo this week, but according to Robots Dreams the title (at least in the
Technical Competition) went to OMNIZERO.2, with its dashing nuvo-like good looks and QRIO-like running, posing, object tracking, and even the ability to
jump in place. Sure, this may seem a little rudimentary, but you won't be giggling so smugly when a gang of OMNIZERO.2s
tie you down in your sleep and start jumping on your chest. And they will, trust us -- we got a visit last night after
we originally decided not to run this story.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
As you may recall, way back over a year ago when Lenovo announced its intentions to buy IBM, congress stepped in to
call for an
investigation to make sure the Commies Chinese megacorp wasn't going to be getting access to
anything sensitive or secret in IBM's labs or R&D facilities. Well, obviously everything passed over
kosher, but now the US State Department's placing an order for 15,000 Lenovo PCs, and the US-China Economic and
Security Review Commission wants a thorough look through the machines to ensure they're not rigged with bugs and
spyware. Outside dismantling every single PC and freshly installing the OS themselves, we're not sure how they would
guarantee they'd be clean, which just goes to show you've really got to trust your PC manufacturer, especially if
you're the government. In all reality they're probably more likely to find a Sony backdoor than a Lenovo one,
anyway.
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs
Ok, here we go folks, a UMPC with an
announced price, ready to order. First from the gates is the TabletKiosk V-700 or rather,
"eo" UMPC v7110. Now, forget what you heard about these pups dropping for around $500 to help position them
between the handheld and laptop market, mkay? This UMPC sportin' a VIA C7 NaNo 1.0GHz processor, XP Tablet PC edition,
30GB disk, 7-inch 800 x 480 TFT touch LCD, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, and 256MB RAM will hit the last week of April for, get
this, $900 freakin' dollars! Now consider for comparison, that you can get a Dell XPS
M140 laptop which also won't fit in your pocket but has twice the screen size, double the processing power, double
the RAM, and double the disk for $50 bucks less and we just gotta wonder... why TabletKiosk, why? Sure, prices will go
down with time, but that's not exactly the most auspicious start.
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Freeview is taking the nation by storm! (Well, not our nation, but
that one across the ocean where some of us claim ancestry). The latest device to take advantage of this free OTA
digital programming is an upcoming LCD from Sanyo hiply-named the Y:TV, which Stuff UK reports will sport a 160GB DVR
for capturing all that free, free content. Stuff unfortunately forgets to include the size of the new display, but from
the model number (CE32LDY1) we can presume that it's a 32-incher. Also present are the obligatory component and HDMI
connections, interchangeable bezels (in case you get sick of the iPod white), as well as Timedomain speakers which
claim to do the virtual surround thing. We've got a release window for you -- early May -- but no word on how many
pounds you'll need to drop on this.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Peripherals, Storage
Filed under: Laptops, Wireless
Filed under: Displays, Transportation, Wireless
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
