We first caught wind of Mercedes Benz's Attention Assist system
just over a year ago, but new details have emerged that pin the E-Class as the first model to bring the innovative tech to well-heeled buyers. By monitoring brainwaves, Mercedes' engineers were able to identify approximately 70 parameters that can be used to judge fatigue. The whole system, however, depends upon a much more accurate steering sensor that can pick up on sluggishness or other behaviors which could indicate drowsiness or distraction. When the system deems you to be sufficiently distracted or sleepy, it beeps loudly and displays a coffee cup in the dashboard, indicating that a little caffeine is the only thing standing between you and a safe journey. We're not sure how this will effect our plans to plow our $60,000 car into a snow drift because we were listening to
Music for Airports, but we figure we'll find out soon enough.
Filed under: Transportation
Mercedes' E-Class to get Attention Assist, still won't need assistance in getting your attention originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments For early adopters who have already taken delivery of their shiny new
Cowon S9, they've already sucked down
one firmware update to fix some of the more obvious issues. Now, there's round number two (v2.06) to endure. The company has loosed the second firmware update for its just birthed PMP, with this one adding JPG album art support (for files with the .jpg extension) and fixing a bug that occasionally caused a system reboot after the "remove hardware from PC" message appeared. Most notable, however, is the new inclusion of Bluetooth speaker support, meaning that this device can now stream tunes to BT-enabled sound systems sans cabling or any other black magic. Tap the read link to get your download a-goin'.
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Cowon S9 firmware update adds Bluetooth speaker support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Seems like the holidays are always good for sparking up a discussion on camcorders -- after all, what better time to have one than when everyone in your extended family's family is gathered together at your house? Take a break from the turkey and gift bags and give Chaz's question some thought.
"I've been looking for a decent HDD-based camcorder. I just want to use it for normal everyday use, and maybe to record some live performances, like dance shows and stuff like that. I'm not looking to spend a fortune, and I'm obviously looking for the biggest bang for my buck. Thanks for any advice!"
Chaz might just be onto something here, as these memories you're making this week will be lost forevers and evers unless someone pulls out the camcorder and lights up the red light. If you've recently purchased a hard drive-based camcorder, why not toss in your advice? As for us, we'll point to Samsung's SC-HMX20C and simultaneously ask you to send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Digital Cameras
Ask Engadget: Best consumer-level HDD camcorder? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
A nasty rumor had been making the rounds about Intel, something along the lines of it wouldn't sell its Atom CPUs to netbook vendors without its 945 chipset in tow. If true, the move would essentially act to block graphical entrants such as NVIDIA from making a move into the netbook GPU space. An unnamed Intel spokesman chimed in on the whispers today by outrightly denying the claims, telling InternetNews that "there is nothing preventing vendors from using [NVIDIA's] Ion platform; [Intel] sells Atom as a standalone processor, or as a package with chipset." 'Course, it's not like Intel hasn't pulled similar tricks before, and to say that the chip maker's relationship with NVIDIA has been dysphoric is understating things dramatically. Still, it sounds as if the company's in the clear here, but we're still waiting to see a wicked Atom + Ion combo in a shipping product before we believe the hatchet is entirely buried.
Filed under: Laptops
Intel put the kibosh on anti-Ion hubbub, welcomes standalone Atom sales originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments The giving souls over at Engadget HD
aren't done yet, as they've got a
VUDU movie set-top-box awaiting a new owner. If your unwrapping ceremony this morning wasn't all gumdrops and lollipops like you had hoped, there's hardly a better way to remedy the situation than to bring home an on-demand movie box.
Head on over and drop your name in the hat -- Kris Kringle just might have a little somethin' (more) for ya.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Engadget HD's Holiday Giveaway: win a VUDU movie set-top-box! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Remember that thrifty
MSI Wind Desktop that came out here in August? A slightly meatier version -- which looks like the one that was supposed to be
out in September -- is now available in Japan. The CD100-JP Nettop still lacks a hard drive, RAM and operating system, but it's now equipped with a slot-loading drive and a snazzy white finish in addition to that 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 and 11.8 x 9.5 x 2.6-inch case. It's currently selling for 26,000 yen, or about $290. Still no word on a US release -- last we heard it wasn't gonna happen, but we can't keep wishing.
Filed under: Desktops
MSI Wind desktop now available in Japan, slightly less barebones than before originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We're not really sure where to begin with this one, because the awesomeness is so thorough and so intense that we're basically at a loss for words; we'll see what we can do here, though. In brief, a
HoFo poster has thrown up what appear to be slides from a Rogers event detailing the carrier's release plans for the better part of 2009, and seriously, if you name a badass handset, odds are it's here. Samsung will apparently be bringing the 8.1-megapixel
Pixon, for starters, and Sony Ericsson will be throwing its name into the huge-cam hat with the
C905. Turning our attention to Windows Mobile, the
X1 is scheduled for release "around August if not sooner," Motorola brings the lowly
Q11, and HTC adds the
Touch Pro, the
Touch Viva (an unusual choice considering HTC's intention to send it to emerging markets), and possibly the
Touch 3G. Nokia will be offering the
5800 XpressMusic in the middle part of the year, Moto will be bringing a pair of 5-megapixel phones in the
VE66 and
ZN5, and finally, it seems RIM is signed up to bring the all-GSM 9520
Storm with WiFi -- a feature sorely missing from the Verizon and Vodafone versions -- and a 3G remix of the
8200 Pearl series flip that'll have a front-facing cam for video calling (yeah, no joke, they offer it up there). So look, AT&T, you have two options here: either crib off this presentation and make it happen, or we hope you get bought by Rogers. Your choice.
[Via
Engadget Spanish]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Leaked Rogers slides make us want to move to Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments You know we couldn't let the holidays pass us by without doing a little giving, and the snow shoveling crew over at Engadget HD have put down the Egg Nog just long enough to host up a lovely giveaway (one of two, in fact). Rumor has it that a
Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD fell right out of Santa's sleigh and into an open window at the EHD headquarters, but don't worry, Mr. Claus has a stout insurance policy.
Head on over and register to win!
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Engadget HD's Holiday Giveaway: win a Slingbox PRO-HD! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We hope that when you awoke today and made your bleary-eyed trip to the tree, you ended up unwrapping some of the fine, fine gadgets that we're always showing off. Sure, you're happy to be spending time with your family, and you're just enjoying the season of giving for it's totally non-commercial, traditional reasons -- but we'd like to know if you made out like a bandit or not. Tell us what you did (or didn't) get in the comments below, and one more time... enjoy those 50 kids freaking the hell out over getting a Wii.
When you're done, check out what people got excited about in
2004,
2005,
2006, and
2007.
Continue reading So, what'd you get?
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
So, what'd you get? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Loose lips sink ships, Sony -- not that you'd care. Apparently the company couldn't stand to wait any longer on that long netbook it had been teasing, so it's gone and leaked it out onto the sonystyle site. Apparently, the oddly shaped P-series device will sport an 8-inch, 1600 x 786 LED display, a 1.33GHz Intel CPU, a hard drive up to 60GB (or a 128GB SSD), and will run Vista Home Premium or Home Basic. There's not much else in the way of info, save for the fact that the laptop will be available in three colors (Crimson Red, Champagne Gold, and Black Silk). Not quite the heart-stopper we were hoping for, and knowing Sony, likely not real netbook-ily priced, but still an interesting entry to the ever-widening field of teensy computers. Now if only it ran Linux...
Update: In case it wasn't clear, that's not an image of the P series, but a TT -- obviously a placeholder for now.
[Via
jkOnTheRun; Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Laptops
Sony P-series "netbook" unveiled, underwhelming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments The LLUON B2 isn't TG Sambo's
first LLUON all-in-one, but it's the first one we've seen that doesn't wear its iMac inspiration on its sleeve -- or rip off
a variant of itself. This well-equipped AIO packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor, 320GB hdd, and an NVIDIA GeForce 9300 graphics card with 256MB of video memory. This sleek 26-inch monster is designed to look like a TV and rocks a slot-loading DVD burner and an eSATA port, as well as the usual assortment of ports and integrated webcam. It's currently available in Korea for
₩ 1,899,000 ($1,421) -- but look on the bright side, that's a whole lot of screen real estate.
[Via
SlashGear]
Filed under: Desktops
TG Sambo releases well-equipped LLUON B2 all-in-one originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While we can't quite decide whether the
carputer is a dying breed or simply a niche that never really took off, Dashboard Devices is hoping to revive it either way come January. The outfit will reportedly debut its ENV (Entertainment and Navigation for Vehicles) line as a two-part system. First comes the ENV-XC, which houses the main processor, graphics unit and other basic functionality; said brain can be paired with a choice of head units, including the double-DIN ENV-100 or the single-DIN ENV-50. Word has it that the double-DIN package will ring up at a staggeringly high $2,700, but we're also hearing that it'll offer "true dual zone" control, meaning that your robustious youngsters can have their own set of preferences in the rear while the grown-ups keep things comfortable up front. It'll also pack a WiFi module, voice activated functions, navigation, DVD playback, a 160GB hard drive, iPod compatibility, satellite radio support, Windows XP, a 7-inch touchscreen and optional WWAN. We'll be keeping an eye out for this one at CES -- but for $2,700, we're totally not going to be satisfied without a bona fide autopilot system.
[Via
Yahoo! Tech]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation
Dashboard Devices to debut ENV line of in-car computers at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
We'll freely admit that Lenovo's
ThinkPad W700ds is, shall we say... intriguing. So sure, we're a little envious that
GottaBeMobile's gotten their hands on one, but they've kindly shared what they know with the rest of the world. The model they've got boasts a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M graphics. As for those displays, the primary is a 17-inch WUXGA with a 1920 x 1200, and the secondary panel is a 10.6-inch WXGA with a 768 x 1200 resolution. It all looks mighty interesting to us, but you're going to want to check the video after the break to see for yourself.
Continue reading Lenovo W700ds struts its stuff on film
Filed under: Laptops
Lenovo W700ds struts its stuff on film originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Starting early next year, Nintendo will be joining the ranks of its fellow console makers in offering a video distribution service through the Wii. According to Nikkei business daily, The House of Mario will team up with Dentsu, Inc. to offer cartoons and other programs created specifically for the service, and since they're using the phrase "new revenue stream," we doubt it's gonna be offered
gratis. Videophiles shouldn't expect much magic, either, given the console's 512MB memory limit and 480p max resolution. The service will launch first in Japan and head overseas later. Hey Nintendo, if you really want to emulate your competition, how about an online social network that doesn't require long strings of integers?
Filed under: Gaming
Video distribution coming to Japan Wiis early 2009, overseas later originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Remember that wild,
all-black Dash we peeped a couple days ago? We have no intention of scuttling your hopes and dreams, but aside from a few cosmetic differences (they removed the aluminum front piece, the keyboard has been spaced out a little bit, and the OS has been bumped up to Windows Mobile 6.1) it looks like the 'new' Dash isn't all that new after all. But who cares if there's nothing revolutionary here? Just take a look at the bright side -- maybe this means we'll be seeing a new
Manhattan sometime soon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
New T-Mobile Dash spotted in the wild, nothing really new about it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We actually
pondered aloud where all the standalone OTA DVRs were in this wild world earlier this year, and at long (long!) last, we finally have a new entrant into the all-but-dead niche. DISH Network's
DTVPal DVR, which was known in a former life as the
EchoStar TR-50, has finally started to ship out to anxious buyers. For those who've forgotten, this box acts as a digital-to-analog converter
and an HD DVR, capturing up to 30 hours of HD OTA material or 150 hours of SD content. Check the read link for a slew of in the wild / interface shots.
[Thanks, TOTA]
Filed under: Home Entertainment
DISH Network's DTVPal DVR now shipping, caught in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments It wouldn't be as much of an icebreaker as saying you have a
bionic eye, but University of Colorado Hospital's Jeffrey Olson has developed a procedure for improving eyesight that involves injecting nano-sized semiconductors called "quantum dots" into the retina. These dots stimulate electrical activity in working parts of the eye and slows degradation in the rest, and early tests on rats have been shown to successfully increase perception. Although intended for those with damaged vision, this might be just the thing for watching your neighbors' HBO from the comforts of your windowsill -- hey, we won't judge you.
[Via
New Scientist]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
New nanotechnology augments vision, optic blasts not included originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Personally, we wouldn't want to be within 15 feet of a
Centro being mercilessly overclocked to a mind-numbing 936MHz, but we reckon that's where our fearless readers come into play. We're told that this sucker reached prompt criticality and melted into the Earth's crust shortly after this screen shot was taken, and you know what? We can't say we blame it.
[Thanks, Jason]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
The gigahertz Centro, also known as 'the Palm-powered grenade' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Wow, talk about spreading that holiday cheer.
Psion Teklogix has apparently hired a legal team to write up cease & desist letters that are being sent out to select
netbook enthusiast websites. One particular letter is pictured above, and we can only assume the URL is hidden for the safety of those involved.
jkOnTheRun dug a little deeper into the matter and found that the outfit did indeed produce a Netbook and Netbook Pro back in the day, and while the surprisingly netbook-like devices (imagine that, right?) have since been discontinued, it
is still making compatible accessories. Something tells us Psion waited a touch too late to pick this fight, but just in case Engadget is next in line for one of these letters, we'll be utilizing the term smallcheap(er)book for the foreseeable future. Hope that's okay.
Filed under: Laptops
Psion Teklogix sending out cease & desist letters to netbook-centric websites originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments This year, all I really wanted for the holidays was the perfect smartphone. Not too much to ask for, right? You'd think, but all I ended up with was constant swapping between 3 (or more) devices, hoping to find some balance of features that worked for me. Instead of one "go to" phone, I juggled the iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1, and BlackBerry Bold for the last few months, desperately wishing I could merge them into one perfect device. I shall now break down my hopes for the upcoming year, with a prayer in my little old heart that manufacturers are listening.
Continue reading Editorial: All I wanted this year was the best smartphone ever
Filed under: Cellphones
Editorial: All I wanted this year was the best smartphone ever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We've already had the pleasure of checking out the
Aigo Patriot in its natural habitat, and now we're finally being treated to the same with its
Gigabyte-branded counterpart. The Atom-based
MID has been unboxed all official-like over at
UMPC Fever, and the photographer didn't even shy away from snapping a few with the lid off. Have a look yourself in the read link below, but don't get too attached -- so far as we can tell, it'll cost you a pretty penny to get it imported from a foreign land.
[Via
SlashGear]
Filed under: Handhelds
Gigabyte's M528 MID gets unboxed, photographed lots originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It looks like
Vertu isn't resting on its laurels -- a mere two years after snatching the "world's ugliest phone title" with its
Signature Cobra, the company's back with the Signature Dragon. What can we say about this one? Not much, seeing as how the thing isn't even listed on the company's website. Even so, since the Cobra retailed for over a quarter of a million bucks we're guessing this new handset ain't gonna be cheap. Feel free to sneak a peek at the thing in the Vertu store in Las Vegas's Wynn Hotel when you hit the town for
CES. As an aside, when researching this post we came across an erotic French novel titled
Dragon de Vertu which is on sale for about $30. Even if you don't read French, we still think it'd be a better use of your hard earned cash -- and if you do read French, please underline the good parts before you pass it on to us.
Read: Vertu to display its luxury handset 'Vertu Signature Dragon'
Read: Dragon de Vertu by Francis Tigrone
Filed under: Cellphones
Vertu Signature Dragon handset puts the 'ugh' in 'luxury' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Your enemy. Who do you hate more than them? No one. So who better to direct your holiday rage towards than that pitiful excuse for a human. Sure, it's a gift, but with the selections we've picked out, the target of your scorn will wish they'd gotten something as useful as a stocking full of coal. This is the moment to unleash that torrent of backed up anger from a season of crowded malls, annoying caroling, and an ever-shrinking bank statement. Let Engadget guide you through the valleys of dislike, and bore you up onto the mountain peaks of loathing and execration. And when you're done with this hate-bath, don't forget to check into our other, less nasty guides
right here!
Continue reading Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: for enemy
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: for enemy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It looks like a $6.5 billion dollar bailout of Taiwan's DRAM industry is in the works, a move that is proving as controversial on the island as the auto bailout is Stateside. The DRAM market has been in decline a while now, as evidenced by the recent closure of the Hynix plant in Eugene, where some 1,100 souls once worked doggedly to topple the likes of Intel and AMD. Now, we don't really know all the particulars of this admittedly complex situation, but we sure hope that lawmakers over there are able to work something out -- after the recent debut of Phantom of the Opera peformed by robots at Taiwan's University of Science and Technology, we're sure that people there could use something to lift their spirits.
[Via TG Daily]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Taiwan's proposed DRAM industry bailout puts the word "global" in economic downturn originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It seems that our man Benjamin Heckendorn has elevated the laptop Xbox mod into something of an art form. Remember the
boxy white model that looked like a way outclassed Toshiba Portege (ca. 1995)? Or how about the sci-fi stylings of the
Xbox 360 Elite laptop? If you're looking for something a little more rugged, the newest addition to the menagerie sees the console mounted in a Pelican case. The rest is the usual Ben Heck artistry: 17-inch widescreen LCD, speakers, top loading DVD-ROM, removable hard drive, USB and ethernet ports -- all set in brushed aluminum. And the best part? This isn't a consignment job, so if you're going to be working on an Alaskan pipeline or find yourself shipping out with the military, you might want to consider making an offer. Video after the break.
[Thanks, Stagueve]
Continue reading Xbox 360 portablized, ruggedized and Ben Heckified into Pelican case
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360 portablized, ruggedized and Ben Heckified into Pelican case originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
iStation, the Korean firm mostly known 'round here for handheld media devices and PCs with the number '43'
in their names, is back on the scene with the imaginatively named T3, a 4.3-inch PMP sporting a 480 x 272 resolution, up to 32GB storage and an SDHC expansion slot. Also featured on this Windows CE 5 device is an FM tuner, voice recorder, dictionary, and an optional TV out. Are you excited? Not yet? What if we told you that this guy also features "style" and "power?" But don't take our word for it -- we have a stylish, powerful video for you after the break.
[Via
Akihabara News]
Continue reading iStation T3: an unremarkable PMP for stylish, powerful people
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
iStation T3: an unremarkable PMP for stylish, powerful people originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Having already seen it
run Crysis, we've been itching to know if Fujitsu Siemens'
AMILO Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster had any other tricks up their sleeves. The
Notebookcheck crew ran the dynamic duo through some tests and found it to be an impressive pairing, although the laptop itself takes a few jabs for shoddy case design, stiff touchpad keys and an underperforming AMD processor. By its lonesome, the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU is better than the usual Intel GMA fare, but the GraphicBooster and an external monitor puts this machine nearly on par with a decent desktop rig. Without that external monitor, however, the GraphicBooster only provides marginal improvements to the laptop's performance, due to limitations in the bandwidth connecting the add-on to the port. The second display is connected directly to the booster via DVI-I or HDMI. An asking price of 1300 Euros (US $1,810) seems a bit steep to us, but they say it's worth the premium, calling it an "unprecedented fusion of performance and mobility." Hit up the read link for a full analysis.
[Thanks, Jamil]
Filed under: Gaming, Laptops
FSC Amilo Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster tested, deemed flawed but synergistic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It might look more like a Radio Shack project kit than a serious piece of medical equipment, but George K. Lewis -- a third year biomedical engineering PhD student -- has developed a pocket-sized ultrasound device that can be manufactured for about $100. Typically, a biomedical ultrasound unit can weigh 30 pounds and cost upwards of $20,000. The developer has high hopes for the device -- not only will an ultraportable ultrasound bring the technology to places where it might have been impractical before (such as combat units in the field and remote populations), hopefully the inexpensive contraption will spur innovative new uses for the device. So, what's stranger -- scoping your unborn child with a homebrew ultrasound, or using an incubator that once lived as a Toyota 4Runner? That's a tough call...
[Via Inventor Spot]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Ultraportable ultrasound machine paves the way for wacky ultrasound pranks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments You know what's sexy? Ultraportables. You know what usually isn't? Their power adapters. Dell's keeping things way on the conservative side here with this "Adamo Thirteen" 45W AC Adapter -- in fact, we'd say this is the exact same adapter we've gotten with every Dell laptop in the past few years or so, other than the miniscule wattage. The part popped up on Dell's site just recently, and while Dell seems to have pulled to Adamo reference, Google cache still remembers the good times. What
is perhaps interesting here is the seeming confirmation of the product name that the laptop will have a 13-inch screen. Not hugely surprising given the
competitive landscape here, but we're content to nibble on Adamo info for the time being.
[Thanks, Ryan]
Filed under: Laptops
Dell's AC Adapter for "Adamo Thirteen" is 45 Watts of bland originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Goodness, we can already tell that China is going to be a frigging goldmine of weird and wild Android hardware for a long, long time to come. First we had the QiGi i6, which boasted compatibility both with Android and WinMo -- and it's looking like this might be a surprisingly common feature for some of these Chinese devices now that we have another doing the same thing. The HKC Pearl looks suspiciously like a
first-gen HTC Touch -- and nothing like its
namesake, may we add -- working with a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, WiFi, and a 2-megapixel cam to back up its Google- and Microsoft-provided loads. As with the QiGi, the odds of seeing this one outside Asia are slim at best, but hey, at least our colleagues at Engadget Chinese have scored a hands-on to satisfy our collective curiosities.
Read - HKC Pearl announcement
Read - Android mode hands-on
Read - WinMo mode hands-on
Filed under: Cellphones, Household
HKC's Pearl rips a RIM name, an HTC design, and a pair of OSes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
According to some not-quite-official but probably-relatively-accurate numbers from VG Chartz, Nintendo moved 1.7 million Wii units last week. That's a staggering number in its own right, and compared to the now-cheaper Xbox 360 (535,806) and the "hey guys, I'm still here, and I play Blu-ray discs" PlayStation 3 (239,576) it's a pretty commanding lead for Nintendo. The fact that most people in most areas can finally track down a Wii at a retail store for a non-inflated price probably isn't hurting things -- not to mention that really cool bowling game they've heard so much about. We're curious what console you might've picked up for a friend, loved one, family member, or that good looking person in the mirror this holiday season, so hit up the poll below. Then, after you've taken a particularly long sip of egg nog, hit up the video after the break and weep for humanity.
View Poll
Read - 1.7 million Wii units sold
Read - Wii resales no longer fetching above retail price
Read - 50 kids happy to get a Wii for Christmas
Continue reading Nintendo sold 1.7 million Wiis last week?
Filed under: Gaming
Nintendo sold 1.7 million Wiis last week? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Laptops have been out-shipping desktops in the US for years upon years (upon years), but it wasn't until now that such a scenario was true worldwide. According to iSuppli, global notebook computer shipments exceeded those of desktops for the first time ever in Q3 of this year, a "watershed event" according to it. More specifically, notebook PC shipments surged around 40% to 38.6 million units, while desktop shipments slipped 1.3% to 38.5 million. We'd say this is a marvelous day and a sign of what's to come, but haven't we all known that desktops were being reserved for hardcore gaming, computational science and games of chess for years now?
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Laptops outship desktops for the first time worldwide originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Among the small clutch of green autos on view at the Detroit auto show early next year, Toyota will be debuting an as-yet-unnamed all electric car concept. This is meant to demonstrate the company's commitment to electric, a move which only makes sense, seeing as the whole "peak oil" thing is pretty much destined to make the gas guzzler obsolete. Still, the car arrives without much fanfare or details -- all we really know is that it's all electric and that it's smaller than a Prius. This comes after the Japanese automaker's push into electric fuel cell development and their stated intention to have an EV on the market alongside the
next gen Prius hybrid in 2010. Of course, we all thought we'd have
flying cars by 2010, but the industry's inability to produce a robust all-electric motor has certainly put the kibosh on that once great dream.
Update: When we initially posted this item, we ran it with a pic of Toyota's iQ (a perfectly reasonable move in lieu of the fact that Toyota has yet to release a picture of the car). After
Engadget Spanish turned us on to a more suitable image, we moved the iQ car after the break.
[Via
Wired]
Continue reading Toyota to unveil its all-electric concept, not exactly forthcoming with details
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota to unveil its all-electric concept, not exactly forthcoming with details originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Sony is continuing its drip drip of
teasers on a new entry to its VAIO line with a Japanese placeholder sure to pique just the slightest bit of curiosity. When you venture over to the company's co.jp landing page, you're greeting with a quick Flash animation of a woman pulling a long, thin rectangle out of her clutch... which ends up being an envelope reading "VAIO New Mobile, Coming Soon." Your guess is as good as ours -- as long as you're guessing it's
this thing.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Laptops
Sony VAIO Japanese teaser suggests something long, thin, and "coming soon" originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Focal's latest wares look a lot like similar units that
we've seen from Atlantic, but we guess there are only so many ways you can design a waterproof iPod sound system. The battery-powered AquaTune nano 4G (shown after the jump) plays nice with Apple's freshest iPod nano and packs a pair of 1-watt speakers that can withstand all but the deepest puddles. The AquaTune v2 is compatible with a wider range of iPods, and the 3-watt x 2 power rating is sure to stir up a few waves whilst submerged. Both are ready to be placed under Japanese trees for ¥10,800 ($119) / ¥15,800 ($174), respectively.
[Via
Impress]
Continue reading Focal's latest waterproof speaker cases play nice with newest iPod nanos
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio
Focal's latest waterproof speaker cases play nice with newest iPod nanos originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While we sit here contemplating how we somehow didn't think of the CP Dock first, we might as well praise the innovative minds that managed to devise a "gadget" that accommodates a phone charger, serves as a cord wrap, and acts as a phone stand all at the same time. Of course, you could save the $12.95 and just resort to the antiquated method of placing your beloved phone on -- you know -- a surface, but feel free to carry out the conspicuous consumption if you're so inclined.
Filed under: Peripherals
CP Dock, because your phone is way too cool to rest on a table or floor originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
We'd heard that Nippon Oil and Nippon Yusen were working on a million-dollar solar upgrade for a car freighter called the Auriga Leader back in August, and it looks like things have gone as planned -- the cargo ship launched today from Kobe, Japan. The $1.68m project involved the installation of 328 solar panels, which produce 40 kilowatts of power -- a measly 0.3 percent of the engine power required to move the 656-foot, 60,000-ton ship when fully loaded with 6,400 cars, but enough for seven percent of the juice required for lighting and other systems. That's a slow start, but we'll take what we can get, we suppose -- now let's bolt on some of those new record-high efficiency panels and see what happens.
[Thanks, Yossi]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
First partially-solar-powered cargo ship launches in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Gee, willickers. More App Store madness. In case you needed even
more evidence that the whole approval process in Cupertino was in
complete disarray, David Carnoy's "contemporary medical thriller" has been rejected from Apple's App Store twice now. The first time it was returned to sender due to a few bugs in the coding; the second time, it was rejected due to the inclusion of "obscene content." Despite all of this, certain apps like iFart and Pull My Finger are allowed to remain, though it stands to reason that those programs are just as "obscene" as a few dirty words and sexual innuendos. Alexandru Brie, a developer and one of the first publishers of e-books to the App Store, feels that "each of Apple's reviewers can interpret the obscene, pornographic or defamatory content clause in a different way." Clearly, he's right.
Filed under: Cellphones
E-book barred from App Store due to obscene content originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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