Man, we can bet there's some serious celebrating going on at the
Buffalo offices today. After being
barred from selling its networking gear here in America last June, Buffalo has finally been freed from its CSIRO-given chains. Who's to thank? A federal judge who has stayed the permanent injunction in the ongoing US patent litigation, which opens the doors for the company to sell "IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States." Finally, we USers can look forward to buying
helicopter inspired routers on our home turf.
[Thanks, Mark]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Networking
Buffalo's wireless injunction stayed, now free to sell WiFi products in US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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After seeing how well Psystar did with its
Open Computer, we think we'll just build our own Hackintosh rather than jump into this OpeniMac we've recently been hepped to. But who knows? Maybe you've been dying to send your hard earned money down to some shady Argentinean characters. In that case, this 2.53GHz machine should be right up your alley. Selling for $990 (or $1,330 with an LG 19-inch monitor), the base unit ships with 2GB memory, 320GB storage, and a 256MB ATI Radeon HD PRO. If you've got deep pockets, $1,710 will get you the OpeniMacPRO, a 3.0GHz machine with a 20-inch widescreen monitor and 4GB RAM. But seriously -- who knows where the money goes? And who knows whether you'll ever see the machine? One thing is for certain, however -- this case is as ugly as sin.
[Thanks, Santiago]
Filed under: Desktops
OpeniMac offers cut-rate, aesthetically challenged Apple clones direct from Argentina originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We promise to stop slobbering all over this handset in a month or eight, but the
N97 is certainly the new hotness, so we hope you'll excuse us for returning for another go and getting some more in-depth hands-on-ness. Unfortunately, while the phone is certainly stunning in many facets, and probably the greatest S60 device to date, we're not sure it's the Storm / G1 / iPhone / anything killer we all might've been hoping for. If you'd rather just concentrate on the sexy, peep
our video hands-on and wait six months or so for Nokia to work the kinks out, otherwise join us after the break for some hard-to-swallow, totally subjective, prototype-based opinion.
Continue reading Nokia N97 hands-on part II: the reckoning
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Nokia N97 hands-on part II: the reckoning originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Not to be left out, iLuv's also brought out another
internet radio / alarm combo and it looks exactly like you'd think it would. Only cooler. The iNT170's packing access to 15,000 radio stations and podcasts through its built-in WiFi, aka INTERNET (see photo). It's got two 2.5 watt jAura sound speakers, a dual alarm clock, plus a 3.5mm line-in if you need to plug in your PMP. The clock self-updates via INTERNET, so you'll never be able to use that Daylight Saving Time excuse for being late to work again (we recommend the "flooded basement" or "sick cat" in its stead), and you'll have the option to wake to INTERNET or regular radio in addition to the old standby buzzer. It's available now for $199.
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio
iLuv's iNT170 internet radio-alarm appears, no one's too excited originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It was fun while it lasted, but it looks like
Sanyo's R227 WiFi radio is no longer that rarest of rare things: a Canadian exclusive, as the company has now announced that it'll be available in the US in January. The radio itself, of course, remains the same, with it still packing both WiFi and an Ethernet jack for a wired connection, along with a backlit LCD display, support for AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV and WMA files stored on a networked computer, a stereo headphone jack, an FM tuner, and a pair of 2W RMS speakers. The one thing that has changed slightly is the price, which now comes in at a slightly more affordable $169.99.
[Via
Electronista]
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Sanyo R227 WiFi radio headed to the US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Sure, you've got an
iPod Nano in your pocket and a
VIA Nano in your
custom PC, but we're willing to bet you don't have any
nanomachines in your arteries at the moment. Two scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Barcelona, Ramin Golestanian and Pietro Tierno, hope to change that by turning your bodily fluids into pathways for their tiny devices. The things are comprised of two beads, measuring 1 and 3 micrometers, attached to each other using strands of DNA. A magnetic field gets 'em spinning in the right direction and the increased surface area of the larger bead moves the contraption forward at a blistering 1 micrometer per second (shown in a short but sweet video below). Now, if the good doctors could just build 11 of these things and get them in a 4-3-3 formation we'd finally know where to place our money for next year's
nanosoccer RoboCup Open.
[Via
Scotsman.com]
Continue reading Microscopic wheel will spin straight to your heart, literally
Filed under: Robots
Microscopic wheel will spin straight to your heart, literally originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Charging your laptop could start to feel a lot more like work in the near future, if the folks at Easy Energy have it their way. They've just completed a protoype for the Yogen Max laptop charger, and though details are particularly spartan about the actual workings of the device, as you can see from the mock-up, it's going to involve a human foot pumping juice directly into your laptop. Unlike
some other devices we've seen, the Yogen Max has no external battery, plus it's way more foldable and boasts a totally awesome font. The spokesperson from Easy Energy says they hope to bring the product to the consumer market sometime in 2009. If that girl in the background of the photo is any indication of how outlandishly fun the human-powered charger is to use, we sure hope it's available soon.
[Via
Coolest Gadgets, thanks Ink Master]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals
Easy Energy Yogen Max foldable, man-powered laptop charger prototype complete originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The
MSI Wind has certainly garnered a sizable following, but that's not to say it isn't without its share of problems, and the single, somewhat awkward trackpad button has proven to be a point of contention for many. One enterprising individual has now gone some way towards fixing that, however, with little more than a BIC pen and an Exacto knife. As you can see above, the pen supplies the springs that adds a bit more responsiveness to the now separate buttons, while the knife is used for some cutting that apparently has to be done
just right. If you're looking to take things one step further, another MSI Wind forum user also recently discovered that you can order a replacement Synaptics touchpad from none other than ASUS itself which, as most Wind users are no doubt aware, is considered to be far superior to the
Sentilic touchpad now included on the netbook. It apparently takes a bit of work to get it swapped in, but most anyone with a bit of modding skill should be able to handle it and, best of all, it only costs $8 (plus $5 shipping).
Read - MSI Wind Forums, "DIY two-button mousepad"
Read - MSI Wind Forums, "The $12 Touchpad Experiment"
Filed under: Laptops
MSI Wind mod turns one trackpad button into two originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, we heard that the Vivienne Tam-designed Mini 1000 was
coming in December, and here it is, available to order on HP's site. The custom 10-inch netbook is, as expected, sporting a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom with 1GB of RAM, plus an up to 60GB hard drive -- a little smaller than the 80GB we initially heard about. The fashion-conscious laptop is less than an inch thick and has a starting weight of 2.45 pounds, and though it's not exactly an example of "understated elegance," those who want to start (loudly) classing up their act can do just that for a starting price of $699.
[Thanks, Matt]
Filed under: Laptops
HP Vivienne Tam Edition Mini 1000 Digital Clutch now available originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It's an expectedly cryptic announcement, but it looks like the whimsical folks at
Violet have finally seen fit to offer a follow-up to their original and less-than-affordable
dal internet-connected lamp, with the all new dal:dal lamp apparently on track for a release early next year. As before, the lamp will change colors to relay different information, or, as Violet puts it, convert the "world's ebb & flow and endless stream of events into halos of living colours and audio micro-messages." No exact release date just yet but, according to GeekLifeBlog, it'll set you back €59, or about $75.
[Via
GeekLifeBlog]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household
Violet announces dal:dal internet-connected lamp originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Listen up, paranoid readers. SanDisk has just introduced what it's calling "the first secure USB flash drive to fully support Apple Mac OS X computers." The new Cruzer Enterprise was designed to meet unique USB security / compliance needs by implementing a "hardware-based 256-bit AES USB encryption solution that puts mandatory access control on all files as protection against theft or loss of the drive." Of course, Windows environments are also supported, and on both platforms users can log in / shut down access to the encrypted storage area, change and manage passwords, alter contact information (among other preferences), launch online support (woo!) and view current firmware and drive information. The drive is available in 1/2/4/8GB flavors (runs around $60 to $300) and plays nice with both OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard) on the Mac side.
Filed under: Storage
SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise: first secure USB drive fully compatible with OS X originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As William Gibson once wrote, "the street finds its own uses for things." Of course, the future he envisioned was populated by cut-throat characters with names like Dex Cowb0t, mercenary-types who made their money the only way they knew how: with custom cyberspace decks, hopped up on designer drugs like "splurge" and "spazz." What he never understood was that the only true measure of a technology is its ability to aid a bored populace in its pursuit of nostalgia and novelty. And by these standards, the Pico-ITX board might be one of the most important technological breakthroughs of its time (roughly 2007-2010 CE). Where would the hackers and case modders of our humble era be if it weren't for this guy? They wouldn't be shoving PCs into old
Game Boy cases, that's for sure. Case in point: the Linksys Bt320g seedbox project places VIA's EPIA PX10000G mobo and a 320GB HDD in an old Linksys shell (and a 400GB HDD in a second router). The man responsible doesn't say whether or not this one was intended to thwart they copyright police in the event of a search and seizure, but on the other hand we're assuming that he isn't going to be seeding OpenOffice on the thing either. If retro computing's your bag, we've found a Timex Sinclair ZX81 case mod that should bring you considerable joy. Unfortunately the membrane keyboard's been disabled, but if you don't mind using a USB keyboard with a machine that originally sported 1KB RAM (at a whopping 3.25MHz), you might want to hit the read link and see how it's done.
Read - Linksys BT320G case mod
Read - Sinclair ZX81 turned into PC
Filed under: Desktops
A tale of two Pico-ITX mods originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Laptop Magazine's reviewed the ASUS Eee PC 1002HA we've been
hearing so much about lately, and they're pretty impressed with what they're seeing. They gush over its looks, design and slimness, noting the similarity to the
more expensive S101, and think the keyboard's decently comfortable. The reviewer found the 10-inch screen to be pretty cool for watching
My Best Friend's Wedding on, though viewing at an angle was not necessarily awesome by any means. The 1002HA is a fast booter, and pretty speedy in general, with a strong WiFi connection. Where it really fails, however is in the fact that the two-cell battery (which ASUS claimed would
last for five hours) made it only a sad 3 hours and 39 minutes, and the company isn't planning on offering an extended life model either, apparently. So much for watching
My Best Friend's Wedding and
Notting Hill back to back, huh?
Filed under: Laptops
ASUS Eee PC 1002HA reviewed: looks cool but the battery stinks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We've been wanting to get some extended face time with Apple's In-Ear Headphones (yes, that's the product name) ever since we spied them at the company's Fall "
Let's Rock" event. Of course, they didn't exactly hit the scene
on time, and we were starting to get suspicious. Tack on the rumor they wouldn't be compatible with iPhones, and we felt downright indignant. Imagine our surprise, then, at the discovery that they not only sound really,
really good (warm lows and crisp highs, a distinct lack of that modern, pushy mid-range), but they
do work with the iPhone (the 3G we've got here, at least). Regular playback is a charm, and we had no problem making and receiving calls with the buds and attached mic -- though strangely the remote doesn't seem operable on the phone, thus deflating our excitement ever-so-slightly. Regardless, the sound quality is pretty boss for the price (besting other, more expensive models we've checked out), and they're a huge step up from Apple's previous offerings. Check out some looks at the beauties in the gallery below.
Update: It looks like the remote
can be used for answering and ending calls on the iPhone, as well as pausing, playing, and advancing tracks. No volume control though -- very odd!
Filed under: Portable Audio
Apple In-Ear Headphones hands-on, ears-on, and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Man, remember when everyone
thought their next laptop would
have a minuscule SideShow display baked in the lid? Yeah, whatever
happened to that
fantasy? Apparently the engineers over at Novatech never got the memo that said technology was
doomed for failure, as they certainly included a 2.5-inch color display on the lid of the X50MV Pro gaming laptop. That nifty inclusion aside, the unit also packed some pretty stout internals, though reviewers did lament the GeForce 9600M GT graphics chip. Still, the LCD was deemed gorgeous to look at, the inbuilt TV tuner was a welcome extra and performance was highly lauded in every area except hardcore gaming -- which is obviously odd given the nature of the beast. In the end, critics couldn't wholeheartedly recommend this machine over a litany of others for close to the same price, but there just might be a few unique features here that push you over the edge.
Filed under: Laptops
Novatech's X50MV Pro gaming laptop reviewed, SideShow makes surprise appearance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A month ago to the day we were weeping our poor hearts out as we heard that VIA and NVIDIA had canned whatever netbook plans the two had going on. Now, however, we're being given a glimpse of hope that all may not be lost... at least in relation to NVIDIA. During a webcast from the Credit Suisse annual technology conference being held in Scottsdale, Arizona, NVIDIA's CFO confessed: "We're not saying we're not interested [in the netbook space]; it's a matter of how the market will evolve." In other words, it's taking a wait-and-see approach before plunging in headfirst. Honestly, we're not too shocked to hear that it may still one day invade the swath of 7- to 12-inch mini-laptops out there -- after all, it already branched out significantly with Tegra and Tesla. C'mon NVIDIA, we've got legions of folks waiting to fire up Crysis on their next Eee, and you could be the one to make it happen.
Filed under: Gaming, Laptops
NVIDIA still interested in jazzing up the netbook space originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments iZ3D's been doing the whole "3D monitor" thing for years now, with its first baby --
a 17-incher -- ringing up at $1,499 back in 2005. In the latter part of last year, you may recall that a 22-inch version
emerged for $999, and now that 3D is
all the rage, it's making a second push to clear out all that dusty inventory by lowering the price in dramatic fashion. As of this month, the MSRP on the switchable 3D / 2D display is just $399, and that includes three pairs of passive linear polarized glasses, all the power and video cables you need and gratis membership in the firm's "upcoming 3D gaming league." Oh, and if you're feeling fancy, you can snag a custom-painted model from Smooth Creations at $549 apiece. So, any takers yet? Or are we holding out for free-after-rebate?
[Image courtesy of
ICEAV]
Filed under: Displays
iZ3D's 22-inch 3D monitor stoops to $399 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments AT&T may have about the best selection of choice handsets (smart or otherwise) available in the States right now, and continued iPhone exclusivity has definitely brought a windfall of new subscribers to its wireless division, but Ma Bell wasn't built on cell towers alone. There's still an extensive landline division to support, and it seems the company is leveraging the current
economic doldrums to make it a little less so, joining the
layoff crowd for the
second time this year by shedding a further 12,000 workers (about 4 percent of its workforce), most said to be coming from passé, non-wireless sectors. So, happy holidays, folks -- hope those severance packages get you through the winter.
[Via
CellPhonesMarket.com; thanks, SK]
Filed under: Cellphones
AT&T cutting 12,000 jobs due to "economic pressures" originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments After arriving at the first Senate hearing by private jet, GM's Rick Wagoner is looking to feign innovation and a commitment to frugality by driving a Chevy
Volt prototype to Washington and past the camera crews awaiting his arrival. The obvious stunt meant to reverse public opinion in GM's bid for bailout cash will put Wagoner behind the wheel of the Volt prototype for just a fraction of the 355 mile journey. Good thing too, because without the
infrastructure required to
support electric vehicles, Wagoner's Volt would only last about 40 miles on battery before the fuel burning engine kicked in to maintain enough charge to drive the powertrain. Instead, the GM exec will begin his journey from Detroit in a hybrid Malibu capable of just 24/32 MPG city/highway. We just hope that the Saturns and dilapidated Chevettes he sees abandoned along America's rust-belt provides the man with ample reminder of GM's previous failures to revolutionize from within. Oh, sorry Rick was that too mean?
P.S. The car pictured above is a non-functional 2011 Volt prototype that will be parked in DC upon Wagoner's arrival.
[Via
Detroit Free Press]
Filed under: Transportation
GM chief to drive Chevy Volt in search of $18 billion handout originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Look, we know you've been holding out for the iPhone to hit Walmart before you pick it up, sandwiched between the fishing gear and row upon row of exercise videos -- and we don't blame you. You'll ride your shopping cart down the wide aisles like a chariot, and when you get home with the phone you'll dial up all your friends and let them know how much cheaper your iPhone was than theirs. What was that? Yeah, the new word on the street is that Walmart is getting a 4GB iPhone 3G for a mere $99, according to
Boy Genius Report, and while
BGR was previously reporting a November 15th launch date at Walmart, and can't vouch for the accuracy of this new report, Walmart training materials (pictured above) have been seen in the wild, so there's a grain of truth to this madness somewhere. Plus, a $99 iPhone just sounds so Walmart-ey, doesn't it?
[Via
Mac Rumors]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Apple, Walmart to do $99 4GB iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Gartner's latest and greatest analysis of the global smartphone industry is in, and there are quite a few interesting nuggets tucked within all those percentages. For starters, the sector still managed to grow 11.5% in Q3 2008 compared to a year prior, but that increase is the smallest since it began tracking. Of course, given the current economic climate, we'd say it's a win to see any number not in the negative. Moving on, we see Nokia
maintaining its numero uno status with 42.4% market share, though it did recognize a rare decline in sales of 3% year-on-year; as for RIM, its BlackBerry phone sales increased an amazing 81.7% in Q3. We're also clued in to why Apple was rumored to be
hacking its iPhone production some 40% in Q4, as the company has some two million units of inventory built up in the supply channel. Finally, we're told that "for the first time (meaning in this quarter), iPhone sales exceeded sales of Microsoft Windows Mobile devices worldwide and in North America," and beyond that, "open-source initiatives like Android and Symbian Foundation [are set to] challenge Windows Mobile's licensing model in the short-term." Need we really reiterate how badly
WinMo 7 is needed?
Filed under: Cellphones
Smartphone numbers are in: iPhone sales exceed Windows Mobile sales for first time originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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