Have you been looking for an ebook reader with a responsive color display and availability for around $100? If so, Photoco's miBook sounds like a wish come true -- but after reading
PhysOrg's review we'd advise you to keep polishing that lantern. This is just a re-packaged 7-inch LCD photo frame, lacking the e-ink display of the
Kindle or
Reader and offering a paltry two hour battery life. It isn't even a
good photo frame, likened to an "old tube TV set" thanks to its flickering, blurry display. The kicker, though, is that it's not even meant for reading books, instead asking you buy $20 SD cards packing how-to videos on subjects like cooking, home repair, and "fun and healthy pregnancy." The MSRP on the thing is $120 (a $50 premium over its photo-viewing counterpart), and while plenty of women would pay lots more for a gadget capable of making pregnancy "fun," somehow we think that would take a lot more than an overpriced digital frame.
Filed under: Displays, Portable Video
MiBook: the ebook reader that's really a digital photo frame originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments There are quite a few eerie similarities between Rob Spence and Tanya Vlach. For starters, they're both artists, and secondly, they both currently have one prosthetic eye. The real kicker? Each of 'em wants
a camera stuck in there instead. In what we can only hope is (or isn't?) a freakishly growing trend, Mr. Spence has reportedly sought consultation from the University of Toronto's Steve Mann, a self-proclaimed expert in the field of wearable computing and cyborgs. Essentially, Rob is hoping to install a webcam in his eye socket in order to become a so-called "lifecaster." The camera wouldn't actually be wired to his brain, thus his level of vision would remain subpar, but it would make him a living science experiment that would surely prove insightful to an array of others. As of now, it sounds like the road to installation is long, but we get the impression that this guy isn't apt to give up until the proverbial fat lady begins to bellow.
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Wearables
Filmmaker hopes to replace false eye with webcam, become a superhero originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Up until now, Fusion-io's
ioDrive has pretty much put every other SSD-on-a-PCIe-card to shame in terms of sheer performance, but it just might be looking at its first formidable competitor in the Micron Washington. The prototype device was recently showcased on video (posted after the break), and while we're not told how capacious it is, it is understood to be using 64-bit SLC NAND chips. When placed in a Xeon-powered server, the unit is able to achieve 150,000 to 160,000 random write IOPS with a bandwidth of 800MB/sec per card. Micron is convinced that it can reach a bandwidth of 1GB/sec and 200,000 IOPS with this technology, though Fusion-io's CTO proclaims that users can achieve "over 6GB per second" when using eight of its ioDrives in conjunction. Of course, the aforementioned ioDrive is actually shipping, whereas this elusive Washington doodad won't see commercial light until at least 2010.
[Via
The Register, thanks Vik]
Continue reading Video: Micron's Washington PCIe prototype SSD card is wicked quick
Filed under: Storage
Video: Micron's Washington PCIe prototype SSD card is wicked quick originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments HM Revenue & Customs has put out an official report warning that "hundreds of imported counterfeit game consoles seized at UK freight depots were found to have been supplied with potentially dangerous power adapters." Most of the wares had been purchased at a deep discount from Asian websites claiming to sell "genuine
Nintendo products" for over 50% off. The Big N has already stepped in to confirm that the DS / DS Lites are indeed
counterfeit, and the accompanying power adapters were also deemed "potentially
dangerous, since they had not been electronically tested and do not meet strict UK safety standards." C'mon parents -- even if the youngin' has
been bad, we'd still say coal is more fitting than a stocking full of potential electrocution.
[Via
Pocket-lint, image courtesy of
Infendo]
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
UK warns that fake imported DS handhelds could be hazardous originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Or more importantly, do you even care? One quick glance over at WiBrain's website will leave you searching to no avail for any traces of the
i1, and while it's a shame we might not ever see this hardware package mass produced, we can't say we're terribly surprised. We mean, really, how many of your nerdy friends have saved up for one of these unwieldy UMPCs over, say, a netbook or the like? If the i1 really puffed its last breath
at IFA, at least we can say we went to its farewell party. Ah well,
onward and upward, right?
[Via
Slashgear]
Update: The unit is still
hanging around on WiBrain's German website, which possibly explains its IFA presence. Maybe it's being reserved for a Europe-only introduction? Thanks, xtron!
Filed under: Handhelds
Has the Atom-powered WiBrain i1 UMPC fallen off the map? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Dry your eyes, drummer. We feel your sense of loss at the news that
Rock Band 2 may not be getting its promised
second kick pedal after all, ruling out proper reenactments of Lars' two-foot prowess (without a little
modding). Now at least you can improve the quality of that one kicker you
do have, replacing it with something a little more weighty. Nyko's aptly-named Metal Pedal, a bargain at $20, works with both
Rock Band games as well as
Guitar Hero: World Tour on all platforms, and is made of real metal to give a more authentic heft. No, nothing will feel quite like the
real thing, but it's surely better than that cracked hunk of plastic you've been meaning to send back to Harmonix for months.
Filed under: Gaming
Nyko's Metal Pedal adds weight to your gaming drum kits originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Just imagine -- yapping for hours on end to your dream lover could actually leave your cellphone with more juice than what it started with. This completely bizarre scenario could theoretically become a reality according to new research from a professor at Texas A&M University, and it's all thanks to the magic of nanoscale piezoelectrics. If you'll recall, we've seen this technology generate energy in wearable devices before, so it makes sense that sound wave energy could also be captured and converted into electricity. Of course, we're still a good ways away from this being ready for commercialization, but who knows how quickly this could come together if placed in the capable (albeit unpredictable) hands of Dr. Walter Bishop.
[Via phonescoop, image courtesy of Rutgers]
Filed under: Cellphones
Piezoelectrics could lead to voice-powered cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Okay, so we fully understand that it would make life a lot easier on AT&T if every smartphone on its network used the same operating system, but we're not so sure we like the idea of losing the whole "ability to choose." Speaking at the Symbian Partner Event in San Francisco, AT&T's Roger Smith (director of next generation services, data product realization at AT&T) reportedly stated that he wanted to "standardize on a single operating system for AT&T-branded smartphones as part of a dramatic consolidation of its mobile platforms over the next few years." Given the location of the speech, it's no shock that Symbian was named "a very credible and likely candidate" to be that system, and for those questioning the iPhone, he was quick to point out that said mobile is simply a third-party device tapping into AT&T's technologies. Honestly, we're not sure how to take this seriously -- is he really saying he's willing to alienate RIM and / or Microsoft in order to only sell Symbian-based handsets? Doubtful.
Filed under: Cellphones
AT&T dreams of single smartphone OS, will probably keep dreaming originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Sure, it's foolish and low-tech as hell. But in the 8-hours you were cooped up on that transatlantic flight, did you ever once think about using the barf bag as an adjustable mount for your media player? No, you just held your iPod touch in your hand, occasionally dozing off until awakened by a jerk of the earbuds from your fallen iPod. Who's the fool now?
[Via
Random Good Stuff]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
iPhone barf bag mod is air sick originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While everyone wants their gadgets, particularly smartphones, to become smaller and smaller we paradoxically want the screens to get bigger and bigger. That's why so much R&D money is spent on
wearable,
folding,
projecting,
swiveling, and
rollable displays: there's a gold mine to be had by the first to offer a solution with mass-market appeal. Here's Taiwan's great economic hope developed by its Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) with some help from industrial design house, PilotFish. The TFT-EPD (Thin Film Transistor Electrophoretic Display) panel combines a folding-top display with a bottom-sliding secondary (separated by a 1-cm flexible strip) to double the total panel size to 5-inches -- other screen sizes are also in the works. What looks like a break through the center of the combined display above is actually a software taskbar. While these are obvious mock-ups, prototype displays do exist with plans to take the technology -- which will included touchscreen capabilities -- into production sometime next year. Imagine this applied to an
N97 followup and you might appreciate our enthusiasm.
[Via
Computerwoche]
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays
ITRI's folding TFT-EPD display: ready for smartphones next year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It's been almost a full year since we last heard from AMtek, but we have to admit that we're at least mildly interested in what it has going on in the T10L. The touchscreen-based UMPC packs an Intel Atom N270 CPU, integrated graphics, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a rechargeable Li-ion, 80GB hard drive, 10.2-inch 1,024 x 600 resolution display, 1.3-megapixel camera, dual speakers, WiFi and a basic array of ports. Everything's tucked into a portable 2.6-pound package, though there's no telling when or where we'll see it emerge. CES-bound, maybe?
[Via GottaBeMobile]
Filed under: Handhelds
AMtek reveals Atom-powered T10L touchscreen UMPC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Bezel-integrated webcams for laptops will soon get a sore-
ly needed boost thanks to Samsung. Its new 1.2 megapixel S5K4AW System on Chip does what your
VGA webcam can't: shoots real-time 720p at 30fps. The 1/4-inch CMOS imager is also 3x more sensitive to light than current sensors thanks to its superior 2x2 binning technique -- or so Samsung says in hopes of drumming up interest to sell samples to OEMs. Mass production is set to begin in the first half of 2009 for all your dimly lit, locked door, HD video conferencing needs. Just remember,
some things are not meant to be seen in high-def. You listening
Bruce?
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Samsung's in-bezel HD webcam offers more pixels per pimple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Axiotron has the
upgrade bug again, and it's making a litany of small, useful improvements to its
Modbook that add up to a seriously improved machine. For starters, the rig now has a new hardware controller board for improved sleep, battery and system performance. Moreover, a fresh bonding process for the AnyView LCD panel and paper-emulating ForceGlass screen cover results in a "better contrast ratio, a firmer etched drawing surface, and decreased parallax between pen tip and cursor." Also of note, the updated beast incorporates the company's QuadCoat process, which protects the top shell with a liquid metallic coating and decreases the weight to 5.3-pounds. The Modbook starts at $2,249 by itself, or users can
convert their non-aluminum Core 2 Duo-based Macbook into one starting at $1,299.
Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
Axiotron tweaks Modbook for better, stronger, faster performance originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Simmer down athletic supports, we didn't just call your beloved NFL boring. But Thursday night's matchup between the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers wasn't going to generate
this much interest on its own. As described by the LA Times who attended the
3D broadcast of Thursday night's "football" game at Burbank's
3ality Digital cinema,
"The experience wasn't jaw-dropping, but it was noticeably better than a conventional broadcast. The game was drama-free, yet the novelty of 3D made it hard for me to take my eyes off the screen... The effect was subtle at times, but just as compelling as in "U2 3D," 3ality's concert film of the Irish rockers. The most striking thing in both cases was how much more you could see in three dimensions than in two."
The event wasn't glitch free, however. Two hiccups caused the satellite feeds to go black in Boston, New York, and LA. and a few quick camera pans and poorly executed transitions had viewers convulsing behind their polarized glasses. As a proof of concept though, viewers generally seemed impressed which means
more of this in
the future.
[Via
Yahoo]
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
NFL in 3D: Good technology overcomes bad entertainment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments See that
Meizu M8 there? See that multitool-equipped hand? Yeah, you know damn well what's going to happen next, and we think the translated text expresses it best: "
Well, the last one of the screws removed, MEIZU M8 has been completely broken up in a heap before us." The M8's guts make for some predictably boring pictures (unless you're really into circuitry), but the interesting bit might come in the accompanying narrative where we learn that the phone seems pretty dang solid -- good build quality, good materials, and name-brand components. That being said, they found it wasn't quite up to the iPhone 3G's standards for sheer manufacturing prowess -- but hey, they wouldn't want to take any cues from Apple, would they?
[Thanks, Jeff]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Meizu M8 gets stripped of its shell, dignity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
If you've been itching to get your GPS on but weren't feelin' the $9.99 monthly charge for VZ Navigator, today is a good day. Verizon 8330 Curve and 8130 Pearl devices have finally been (somewhat) decrippled, as users over at HowardForums are reporting that the GPS in the aforementioned devices started working once they applied the 4.5.0.97 update. As this is an unreleased firmware version, we're unsure if this was an intentional measure, or simply an epic mistake. But one thing we're sure about is that if Verizon does shut this down in the next firmware update, the backlash will surely be enough to whip up one heck of a Storm. Unfortunately at this point, it's only working in BlackBerry Maps, while Google Maps is left out of the party; but hey, we'll take whatever we can get.
[Image via Boy Genius Report, thanks Nate]
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS
New firmware unlocks GPS on Verizon-branded Pearls and Curves, carrier's intentions unclear originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It happens every year -- the holidays roll around, and you realize that you've missed out on chatting with some of your loved ones. They offer to video chat, and you have to politely decline while resorting to the not-nearly-as-personal telephone call. Trey's ready for a change:
"I'm looking for a webcam to connect to my desktop, preferably one with great video quality and at least decent capture abilities in low light. Size isn't too much of a factor, though I would obviously prefer it to be as small as possible with sacrificing quality. What's the best one out there?"
Don't deny it folks, we know you've got a favorite webcam when it comes to chatting with your undercover SO. Just give us the answer here -- no details about how you know it's the best are necessary. Oh, and feel free to hit us up with your own question at ask at engadget dawt com.
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Digital Cameras
Ask Engadget: What's the best webcam for my PC? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
According to CNET, it looks like Bluetooth 2.2 will see the light of day sometime in mid-2009. Designed to work in tandem with other wireless technologies already present in many devices, the spec will be referred to either as Bluetooth 10x (working in conjunction with WiFi) and Bluetooth 100x (working with
UWB). Something like this should good news for manufacturers of PMPs and handsets, expanding the range of possibilities to include Bluetooth media streaming and much larger file transfers. On the other hand, perhaps the new spec will finally herald the age of the
Bluetooth viruses the doomsayers have been hollerin' about. No matter what happens, it shouldn't be too long before we find out.
Filed under: Handhelds, Networking
Bluetooth 2.2 spec could be released as early as mid-2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Unlike
another automaker
out there, Fisker Automotive's eco-friendly vehicle looks a whole lot like the concept, and while the Tesla Roadster is certainly a
sexy beast, we're having an exceptionally difficult time taming our fondness for this ride. The $
80,000 $87,000 plug-in hybrid has been officially revealed ahead of its "debut" at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, but sadly, it seems that the '09 ship date has already slipped to "late 2010." We can't say looking at the gorgeous pictures make that fact any less depressing, but they're all there in the read link if you care to indulge.
[Via
CNET]
Filed under: Transportation
Production Fisker Karma gets revealed, shakes that sexy thang originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
The definitions for netbooks and MIDs, and the distinctions between the two (and regular laptops, for that matter), have always been more than a little nebulous, but it looks like Intel is doing its part to clarify things a bit (for itself, at least), and it's now sharing its internal definitions for the categories with the general public. According to jkOnTheRun, Intel sees netbooks as "clamshell notebooks" with 7-inch to 10.2-inch screens that are "purpose built for Internet use." MIDs, on the other hand, are "pocketable devices" with 4-inch to 7-inch screens, which can also be clamshell devices, or come in slider or tablet form, each of which must also be built specifically for "internet-based targeted usages." In related, confusion-inducing news, Intel also says that it expects to see an increasing number of specialized MIDs that focus on more narrow uses like navigation, entertainment or, yes, even gaming.
Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops
Intel shares its internal netbook and MID definitions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While the
N97 was free to fondle, the
slightly less exciting E63 was decidedly bolted to a table, so we had to take what angles we could get. The phone is basically a cheap-o version of the
E71: Nokia figured it had a good thing going on in that QWERTY candybar, and decided to spread the love at a lower price point, with a slightly thicker, plastic handset. The good news is that no matter what you do to cheapen the phone, the E63 comes from good stock, and is really a compelling form factor. The slight bump in thickness is negligible, and while the cheaper materials are easily distinguished from the luxury feel of the E71, the phone by no means feels cheap. Except for the keyboard. For some reason Nokia opted to remove the hardened, clickier E71 keys and replace them with a softer, rubberier keyboard with a considerable amount of distributed give to it -- that still leaves it as one of Nokia's best QWERTYs to date, but we greatly prefer the E71. The other compelling difference between the phone and its inspiration is the inclusion of a full 3.5mm headphone jack, instead of the mini jack found on the E71. Not bad at all, but we'd guess Nokia saved a lot more money in materials and manufacturing process than with the sorry removal of GPS and HSDPA.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Nokia E63 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Not terribly long ago we caught a few glimpses of a
prototype of the Grippity, a sort of garish looking back-typing keyboard. Well, the actual production model's completed, and though it's lost some of it's Frankenstein-ish charm, it continues to look rather insane and cool. The unit boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, for use with eight-finger typing from the back, plus two triggers on the back that function as the mouse buttons. As if that wasn't wild enough, it also boasts an orientation sensor that allows the 60 QWERTY keys to double as hot keys when the unit is flipped over. The final unit is expected in about six months, and should retail for $100. Check out the gallery for more views of this terrifically weird specimen.
Filed under: Peripherals
Grippity back-typing keyboard is one step closer to existing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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