Adding to a small stack of rumors about a supposed
iPhone nano, case-maker Vaja today quietly added the category to its website (pictured after the break). Frankly, we're not sure what to think. There are a number of ways in which Apple could produce a cheaper phone or alter its subsidy deals, so the idea of an iPhone that's
simply smaller makes very little sense. Yet, here we are showing off the site of a reputable accessory manufacturer with a brand new phone listed -- ostensibly just a teensy version of the iPhone 3G. Of course, this is probably just rumor, speculation, lies, corruption, signs of an unquenchable thirst for power, and a glimpse at the machinations behind one of the greatest conspiracies mankind has ever known. So, we're posing the question to the biggest brains of all: the Engadget reader. Is Apple working on an iPhone nano?
View Poll
Continue reading What is the deal with the iPhone nano?
Filed under: Cellphones
What is the deal with the iPhone nano? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
In 2008, a year in which some of the most-used American political buzzwords were "change" and "maverick", many technology companies bucked conventional wisdom. With rising penetration across a broad range of mainstream consumer technology categories, it has become more difficult than ever to compete in the device space if you're not bringing something different to the party.
The year did not start out auspiciously for those going against the grain, as CES 2008 brought news of Warner Brothers'
decision to exclusively support Blu-ray as opposed to underdog HD DVD. The move set off a
swift collapse of the HD-DVD partnership and Toshiba officially threw in the towel a few months later.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Steve Jobs used part of what is slated to go down as his final
Macworld Expo keynote to announce something that wasn't very surprising -- shifting the focus of Apple TV from a PC-centric content shifter to a broadband video store. But two open-source efforts have stepped in to shake up the home video space - Boxee, which can run on Apple TV hardware, and NeurosLink, the open-source hardware developer's foray into a set-top box optimized for streaming video from the Internet. Neuros currently has a list of bounties posted, offering dollars for developers who can bridge gaps in its software's functionality.
Continue reading Switched On: When hardware startups zagged
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Switched On: When hardware startups zagged originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
MSI's officially launched the U115 Hybrid netbook
we saw not too long ago, which can operate both SSD and HDD drives at the same time. The 10-inch (1024 x 600 resolution) laptop primarily uses the SSD, reserving the HDD for storage, and boasts an "Eco Mode" button which will temporarily disconnect the HDD to save power. The hybrid functions
should provide both a faster OS and longer battery life -- but we'll wait till the test results are in to form our opinions. If you've forgotten, spec-wise the U115's got a 1.60GHz Intel Atom CPU, up to
2GB of DDR2 RAM, plus 8GB SSD / 80GB HDD, 16GB SSD / 120GB HDD, and 32GB SSD / 160GB HDD storage options, and a 2 megapixel webcam. No word on pricing or release date for this bad boy yet. We'll keep our eyes peeled.
[Via
PC Launches]
Filed under: Laptops
MSI U115 Hybrid SSD / HDD netbook unleashed upon the world, could be awesome originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments After slowly sneaking its branding onto its Linksys devices, and welcoming us to the non-defined "Human Network" with ubiquitous GE-style feel good advertising (above),
Cisco is finally ready to make a real play for our hearts and pocketbooks with a new wireless audio streamer -- among other consumer-friendly products -- to be unveiled at CES next week. The products so far are vaguely defined, but it seems like a Sonos-type device in the cards, with a video streamer for use with a TV (and that handy
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem) and eventually a TV-based videoconferencing device both in development. The latter would be a full-HD setup, in the vein of the company's $40k+ Telepresence rooms currently available to corporations and inexplicably rich comic book heroes, but dramatically cheaper of course. Unfortunately, that won't be available for a year or two, and in the meantime we'll have yet another vaguely useful media streamer on our hands -- we can't wait!
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless
Cisco to invade homes next year with new wireless music streamer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Considering the way that the Wii flew off shelves last month, this next item probably won't come as a shock to anyone. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Nintendo's console and the Xbox 360 trounced the PS3 in holiday sales, with U.S. sales falling nine percent from this month last year. During this same period, sales doubled for the Wii and rose eight percent for the Xbox 360. Perhaps none of this should be a surprise, as Sony declined to cut prices on their system, while a lack of exclusive game titles and a number of inexpensive Blu-ray players went a long way towards making the PS3 the least attractive option in an already difficult retail climate. If anything, it looks like Sony won't be able to rely on the console to help prop up a flagging electronics division that just announced it will be cutting thousands of jobs in a bid to boost profitability going into 2009. Happy New Year, indeed.
Filed under: Gaming
PS3 unable to hold its own against Wii, Xbox 360 this holiday season originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Heavily subsidized computers are hardly a new idea, as evidenced by the number of carriers now offering "
free"
netbooks, but a recently revealed patent application indicates that Microsoft might be thinking about taking the idea a few steps further. Apparently, the company is at least toying around with the idea of offering a computer with "scalable performance level components" and selectable software, which sounds somewhat similar to the "managed PC" that Microsoft developed with Korea's KT telecom a
few years back. That would effectively let users only pay for the features that they used, with some added graphics performance or storage space simply a few bucks an hour away, as helpfully illustrated above. To prevent folks from "unlocking" the PC, each computer would also come equipped with a security module and metering agent that locks the PC to a particular supplier, and presumably offers up a whole host of other restrictions. Of course, this is a Microsoft patent application and, as we've seen, that hardly assures an actual product.
[Via
Electronista]
Filed under: Desktops
Microsoft patent application hints at pay-as-you-go PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Oh, geez. Not this again. Just months after everyone involved with that
virus-ridden Insignia frame finally cleaned
things up, here comes two new reports that select frames could indeed be shipping from the factory with malware pre-installed. For starters, the 1.5-inch Mercury Digital Photo Keychain -- which is sold at Walmart and other fine retailers -- seems to have some pretty nasty software loaded on, and Amazon has went so far as to issue an alert that some Samsung
SPF-85H frames are leaving the dock with the 32.Sality.AE worm on the installation disc. Something tells us someone in quality control couldn't quite get in the holiday spirit.
[Via
Slashdot]
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays
Another pair of infected digiframes promise to ruin the rest of your holiday break originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Pantech's
SKY division has just released the quite handsome, Korea-only IM-S400L. The CDMA slider boasts a 2.6-inch LCD, and a keypad using the company's new "Glide Sensor" technology which it says operates like a laptop trackpad. We don't have much else in the way of specs for this puppy, but we do know that it's available in white, pink, blue and green for ₩500,000 -- about $395. Crème brulée is, sadly, not included.
[Via
Akihabara News]
Filed under: Cellphones
Pantech's Sky IM-S400L slider with "Glide Sensor" keypad debuted in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments In case you hadn't heard: delicious, beautiful, mind-bending
Windows 7 -- apparently slated for a
beta release in January -- has leaked and is now available. That is, if you're willing to, you know, break the law and download the ISO that's floating around on BitTorrent trackers all over the place. The good news here is that the leak is apparently a quite stable, newer beta version (build 7000) than previously spied (6801). We wouldn't know, of course (we try to walk the straight and narrow), but let us know if you've got your hands on it... how's it treating you?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Windows 7 beta ISO leaked to internet, world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments If Samsung's
Soul had your innermost emotions shakin', wait until you wrap your retinas around this. The S8300, which is said to be an upgrade from the aforementioned mobile -- will reportedly come stacked with 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity, a 2.8-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera, inbuilt GPS, an FM radio with RDS, 60MB of onboard memory, DivX playback and an "anti-scratch / anti-fingerprint coated duraluminium chassis." There are no promises that it'll be ready for a CES showcase, though we're hearing that a MWC launch is expected in a worst case scenario. Lots more images are hiding in the read link.
Filed under: Cellphones
Samsung's S8300 slider packs AMOLED display, 8-megapixel camera originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Panasonic already has a few powerline networking products to call its own (including the adapters pictured at right), but it looks like it's going to be expanding things in a fairly big way at CES next month, with it even set to bring some electric cars into the mix. That latter bit comes in the form of a prototype networking system that promises to let a variety of devices connect to an electric vehicle as it charges in the garage, letting you ensure that everything is set just right for when you drive out the next day. Other devices apparently on tap include an HD-PLC adapter for a security camera, and an electrical monitoring system of some sort. As you might expect, however, details on any of them are pretty light at the moment, but you can be sure that we'll be digging up what we can as soon as Panasonic officially takes the wraps off 'em.
[Via Digg]
Filed under: Networking
Panasonic set to unveil powerline networking prototypes aplenty at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It may not be quite as elaborate as some console
paint jobs, but if you're looking to add a touch of Japan to your Xbox 360, you may want to follow the lead of deviantART member Ricepuppet, who has managed to create a relatively faithful Domo-kun themed console. As you can see above, that even includes a matching controller, which we presume is still fully functional (and, apparently, twice as likely to slip out of your hands). Just don't go too nuts and decide to pair it with a
Hello Kitty-themed Wii, there's no telling how they might get along.
[Via
Engadget Spanish]
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360 gets stylish Domo-kun paint job originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
LG's announced its W2486L LED BLU display, which will be on hand for all to see at
CES next week. The LED backlit 24-incher is super slim -- at about 20mm (about .79-inches) thick -- with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It boasts an automatic brightness control feature, a 2ms response rate, and LG claims it consumes about 50 percent less power than like-minded CCFL models. No pricing or availability info as of yet, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for this puppy in Las Vegas.
[Via
HD TV Space]
Filed under: Displays
LG announces CES-bound W2486L LED BLU 24-inch display originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
We love a good hacker vs. hardware battle, and while Microsoft has thus far done a reasonably good job of keeping miscreants from diddling with the details of the Xbox 360's firmware, applying patches and dropping ban hammers on those who don't comply, as of this morning it seems to be losing the arms race. Team Jungle has released version 1.5 of its IXtreme firmware, allowing for (relatively) easy cracking and unlocking of Xbox 360 consoles containing LiteOn, BenQ, and Samsung DVD drives (i.e. the majority of them). That leaves only Hitachi owners out in the cold, but if that's you don't fret: your version is just a few weeks away. Happy homebrewing!
[Thanks, Andrey M]
Filed under: Gaming
IXtreme 1.5 unlocks your non-Hitachi spinning Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We really don't have much to go on at this point beyond the photos, but this is apparently ASUS' new S121. It looks uncannily like the sleek n' slim 10.2-inch Eee PC
S101, but this model's supposedly going to be 12.1-inches. There aren't any other details regarding specs, pricing or availability yet, but we'll let you know when we do, because we love sharing our discoveries. We really, really do. Check out some more photographic evidence after the break.
Continue reading ASUS S121 appears in photos, secret dossier
Filed under: Laptops
ASUS S121 appears in photos, secret dossier originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments On paper, Cowon's
S9 is distinct from what most would
consider its rivals. It packs a curvaceous design, nary a single front panel button, an AMOLED display and a codec support list chock full of formats that audiophiles admire. Clearly, Cowon is aiming to appeal to portable media enthusiasts who are also sticklers for sound quality, with the core functionality consisting of only the basics that one would expect on a PMP. The sector it's diving into already has a pretty strong list of alternatives on the market, which probably means that you're wondering if it really does (or doesn't) stack up. Follow us past the break as we take a closer look at what the S9 brings (and doesn't bring) to the table.
Continue reading Cowon S9 review
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Cowon S9 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Man, it's amazing the difference a single letter makes. Take the
Framee-L, for example -- a stately, classically styled digital photo frame that would do practically any coffee table proud. Now have a gander at the almost frightening Framee-M (above).
iriver has evidently coerced
Disney to afford it the luxury of producing this here digiframe, which -- sad to say -- looks downright shoddy from here. The unit will be made available in both Mickey and Minnie flavors, with each housing 1GB of internal storage space, a 3.5-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, SDHC expansion slot, a built-in clock and a multimedia player for good measure. It's taking Japan by storm as we speak for ¥9,999 ($111).
[Via
DAPReview, thanks Michael]
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays
iriver's Framee-M digiframe: only tolerable for Mickey enthusiasts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Ever wonder how netbooks pack all that laptopy goodness into such small packages?
Laptop Italia has your answer, tearing a Compaq Mini 700 (aka HP
Mini 1000) into its individual components, supposedly for the sake of enabling you to repair the thing at home, but we think the real motivation is rather less instructional and more exhibitionistic. Regardless of
your intentions, the site provides an extensive guide on how to take apart HP's tiny laptop, starting by pulling the battery and ending with a picture of where the
3G modem would go if this particular model had one. Unlike some
teardowns we've seen in the past, this clinical looking disassembly, if reversed, looks like it might actually put the thing back together again -- if you're into that sort of thing.
[Thanks, faber]
Filed under: Laptops
Compaq Mini 700 innards exposed by Italian fetishists originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments It was deliciously inevitable that a
watch phone would eventually show up that could actually "pack it all in," and it looks like LG has actually accomplished that feat in its LG-GD910 model. Of note, the phone packs a touchscreen LCD, 3G data, and a built-in camera for videoconferencing and being a general badass. Sure, browsing to your favorite gadget blog might be a tad bit difficult on that 1.43-inch screen, and there's always the question of fashion, but those are minor quibbles -- the real question is where can we get one, and for how much. LG should be showing this off at CES next month (it showed off
a predecessor this January), and plans to release it in Japan and Europe, but we've got a couple of cereal box-delivered 2-way wrist radios crossed behind our backs in hopes for a US berth.
[Via
Electronista]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables
LG's magical GD910 wrist phone packs touchscreen, camera and rainbows originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Sure, we frequently come across gizmos so small that tweezers and eyeglass repair kits are needed to
dissect 'em, but rarely are those gadgets projectors. With the new wave of
minuscule beamers comes a new kind of tear down, and
Tech-On has taken the time to split apart and photograph both the 3M
MPro110 and Optoma
PK101. The splaying gets pretty detailed, too, with us being informed of two large LSIs on the former (one from Weltrend; one from TI) and a hard look at the LEDs of the latter. Have a peek at the writeups and accompanying images below, and see just how long you can go without uttering an "aww" -- we'll bet it's not long at all.
Read - 3M tear down
Read - Optoma tear down
Filed under: Displays
3M MPro110 / Optoma PK101 pico projectors get dissected originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments iriver's T5 was
launched and forgotten in one fell swoop, but with a starting price of
under $40 for the 2GB edition, it's at least worth a look, right? Critics over at
Pocketables were able to secure one of the USB stick-styled devices for review, and they even bothered to host up a plethora of unboxing / hands-on shots for those keenly interested. Size wise, the unit is just marginally smaller than your average USB WWAN modem, and while the minuscule OLED display wasn't much to look at, it sure trumped those screen-less rivals. Under pressure, the stick delivered "surprisingly good sound quality," and while the device overall didn't bring anything fantastically fresh to the table, the inbuilt USB jack, integrated display and excellent audio capabilities made it a pretty good option for the gym. 'Course, there are formidable alternatives out there (
Sansa Clip, anyone?), so we'd recommend giving the linked review a closer look before breaking out the plastic.
Filed under: Portable Audio
iriver's $40 T5 USB stick-style audio player unboxed and reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments HP's 1.5TB MediaSmart Server ex487 (and its smaller 750GB sibling, the ex485) were just
announced hours ago, but that hasn't stopped a few lucky reviewers from putting their hands-on pictures and impressions online for the world to pore over. The biggest knocks that seemed to really grate the nerves of critics were that the single eSATA port was not port-multiplier aware, and despite the bump to 2GB of RAM, the TwonkyMedia and Remote Media Streaming software were still deemed "quirky and in need of some polish." Those gripes aside, the newfangled unit was pretty well adored. In fact,
WeGotServed flat-out called the device "stunning," praising HP for its tightly integrated applications that worked fairly well on top of Windows Home Server. For those eying a
simple-to-use media server, it looks like HP finally produced one that can be purchased sans regret; the real question, however, is will the outfit push these delectable new features down to existing
ex470 / ex475 owners?
Read - MediaSmartServer review
Read - WeGotServed review / hands-on
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage
HP MediaSmart Server ex487 gets hands-on love and full-blown review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Mmm, do we like where this could go. Some engineering soul has managed to get the open-sourced
XBMC onto a MID --
Compal's Atom-powered Jax10, to be precise. In theory, at least, this combination would make for a decidedly incredible portable media player if the price of these Mobile Internet Devices were to hit a reasonable level. Sure, many of the Cowon / iriver / Archos units support just about every file format out there, but you're still limited by whatever ecosystem comes loaded in. Have a look at the demonstration vid after the break, but don't blame us if you suddenly get the urge to buy a
MID.
[Via
Slashdot]
Continue reading XBMC caught running on Compal's Jax10 MID
Filed under: Handhelds, Home Entertainment
XBMC caught running on Compal's Jax10 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Seeing how it's the end of the year, it's as good a time as any to formulate a list of 2008's killer smartphones -- and with an 8-megapixel cam rounding out a what's-what list of awesome specs, the
S60-based Samsung
INNOV8 really needs to makes the cut. In fact, it's
so hardcore -- arguably the most powerful S60 phone ever released -- that it seemed like a forgone conclusion from day one that we wouldn't be seeing it in North America (yeah, we're jaded like that). Samsung might have other ideas, though, now that we've seen a version of the INNOV8
garner FCC approval with WCDMA (presumably 7.2Mbps HSDPA, to be specific) on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. Given that Samsung's mobile division doesn't really have a direct relationship with end users in the States, we'd expect this to be a branded set for either Rogers or AT&T -- but at any rate, whichever carrier it happens to be, we salute your infinite wisdom.
[Via
Symbian-Guru]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Samsung's mighty INNOV8 sk8s through FCC with US-friendly 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments ASUS's
R50A UMPC has been sort of lost in the company's flood of Eee PCs, and maybe for good reason -- the crew at UMPC Portal just reviewed the $2,000 handheld and came away unimpressed. Although the software package overall was described as "atrocious" and the lack of a keyboard was annoying, the biggest problems were all essentially related to running Vista on the 1.33GHz Atom Z520 CPU with 1GB RAM -- you can delete bloatware and use a bigger stylus, but you can't fix "pretty bad" performance on the lowest possible graphics settings. Ruh roh: Sony's upcoming
VAIO P supposedly has a
similar 1.33GHz Intel chip in it and runs Vista. Here's hoping Sony's got something a little more impressive up its sleeve for us than what ASUS managed to put together here -- otherwise the full R50A review at the read link might be discouragingly prophetic.
Filed under: Handhelds
ASUS R50A UMPC reviewed -- same internals as the VAIO P, runs Vista poorly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments So yeah, finding an
Xbox 360 Jasper in Arcade form isn't all that difficult these days, but we certainly haven't seen a glut of Pro models shipping out with the supposedly cooler, smoother and altogether more melancholy Jasper hardware within. A lucky soul over at
PDAToday has acquired one such unit, and while he may just be incredibly fortunate, we'd say it's about time you to-be Pro owners start looking out for a few telltale signs. As you can see in the closeups in the read link, there here FDOU team Pro -- which was ordered from Amazon on December 22nd -- boasts a 12.1 amp rating and the unmistakable Jasper power port. Of note, it
did come bundled with a Falcon revision (175-watt) power supply just like
Ben Heck's Jasper Arcade, though we suspect Microsoft is just clearing out excess inventory given that the older PSU won't damage the Jasper machines. Any others out there run into any holiday luck? Let us know!
[Thanks, Bill]
Filed under: Gaming
Jasper Xbox 360 Pro acquired: the photograph is proof originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments CES 2009 is literally days away, but it seems that those looking for details on any possible new HDTVs from
Samsung may not have to wait to get their fill. A few postings over at
AVForums has led us to believe that the outfit will be debuting a number of new sets for a litany of markets. The 2009 lineup will reportedly consist of a few new Series 3, 4, 5 and 6 panels, with the main focus being on their LED-backlit-ness. Everything should be available for purchase during the first half of next year, with sizes ranging from around 40-inches and up. Obviously, there are far too many details linked below to cover in this space, but one mention we found particularly interesting was the promised Internet@TV feature, which should effectively replace InfoLive and instead rely on those
Yahoo Widgets we've been hearing about for so long. It's about to get
really interesting, folks.
[Via
Audioholics, thanks
Celle]
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Samsung's CES 2009 HDTV lineup leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments It's been a long, long while since we've heard the words
HP MediaSmart, and in fact, the last mention that was made
wasn't exactly positive. HP's looking to put the past away and forge ahead with two new ones in the line: the Mac-friendly ex485 and ex487. Both devices are (of course) based on Microsoft's
Windows Home Server platform, and just like their
predecessors, these are meant to automatically backup machines around the home and act as a network-accessible repository for all things media. The pair features HP's Media Collector (used to schedule, copy and centralize digital files from networked PCs) and also acts as an iTunes server and an external backup device for Macs running Leopard and using Apple's Time Machine software. As for specs, you'll find a 2GHz Celeron CPU in each with 2GB of DDR2 RAM, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA jack and four internal HDD bays. The February-bound duo can be pre-ordered on January 5th for $599 (ex485; 750GB) / $749 (ex487; 1.5TB), and each can be scaled up to 9TB. Full release is after the break.
Continue reading HP debuts Mac-compatible MediaSmart ex485 / ex487 home servers
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage
HP debuts Mac-compatible MediaSmart ex485 / ex487 home servers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
C'mon folks, does it really take an in-depth research study to figure this one out? On the whole, per-use SMS rates have doubled from $0.10 to $0.20 in the span of three years, and carriers have shown no shame in pushing messaging packs (the "unlimited" one in particular) in an effort to snag more revenue per user. We already knew that Senator Herb Kohl was looking into the matter, and a new piece in The New York Times clearly explains just how lucrative these bite-sized messages are for carriers. We're told that most consumers simply assume that it's costing operators more each year as the volume of texts sent increases; according to University of Waterloo professor Srinivasan Keshav, "it doesn't cost the carrier much more to transmit a hundred million messages than a million." You see, SMS messages are elusively hidden within the so-called "control channel," which is space already reserved for the operation of the wireless network. So long as messages are kept concise (say, 160 characters or less), they can be sent without any real implication on the channel. Will this epiphany somehow change the way we're being gouged? Tough to say, but don't think for a second that carriers won't figure out another way to nickle-and-dime you if the hand is forced.
[Thanks, Jeevan]
Filed under: Cellphones
The obvious truth about text messaging: you're getting ripped off originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments From the looks of our tip jar, the iPhone
went on sale at Walmart today for $197 / $297, just as we expected. The plan is to attract consumers who don't shop at Best Buy, Apple, or AT&T stores, so basically Wally doesn't care about anyone reading this. We love you too, Wally. No crazy
$99 4GB model or
iPhone nano in sight, but maybe Phil's gonna blow us all away
next week. (We doubt it.)
[Thanks to everyone -- seriously, it was like all of you -- who sent this in]
Read - iPhone on sale at Walmart
Read - Video of the display -- yes, someone actually sent in a video of the display
Filed under: Cellphones
Yes, the iPhone went on sale at Walmart today originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Psion, Psion. We hadn't really heard from the British portable maker since the halcyon days of the Series5, but it's back and making waves with a
series of nastygrams asserting its trademark of the word "netbook." Psion's legal team followed up with jkOnTheRun, and according to them, it's only going after those sites and companies "making a direct, financial profit from use of the 'Netbook' trademark." (As opposed to profit in kind, we suppose -- did you know our advertisers pay us in toaster waffles and aviator sunglasses? True story.) Psion says it's mostly focused on retailers and manufacturers using the term netbook to sell machines, not "straight blogs" and other sites. Of course, that means next to nothing, since Psion says it'll still go after those sites that have sponsored ads or for-profit links containing the word "netbook" -- including automatically-placed ads and links like AdSense and Amazon affiliate ads that site owners typically have no control over.
+10 weasel, dudes. Anyway, considering the widespread adoption of "netbook" in the past year with nary a peep from Psion, we'd say the term is pretty well generic and no longer a valid trademark at this point -- we'll see how it goes when it drags the first heavy-hitter using the term (
like Intel) into court.
Disclaimer: Nilay's a lawyer and secret Asian netbook ODM, but he's not your
lawyer and this isn't legal advice or analysis.Filed under: Laptops
Psion says it's only going after those "profiting" from the term netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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