Digital Foci has been cluttering up the market with ho hum digiframes for years now, but it's finally pumping out a respectable photo manager in the
Picture Porter 35. The above pictured device comes with a 160GB internal hard drive, a 3.5-inch LCD monitor, a multi-format card reader and a promise of being able to transfer 1GB of data in around 120 seconds. Users can also tap into the USB-host functionality in order to connect an external HDD for data access, and there's also a built-in speaker, audio recorder (with an integrated mic) and audio / video outputs. No mention of a price, but it should be on display for the world to see at CES next week.
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Storage
Digital Foci introduces 160GB Picture Porter 35 photo manager originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Where most students only go so far as to render their designs, Truong Minh Nhat -- working on his senior project at the Ho Chi Minh City School of Architecture -- made a functional prototype, sourcing the parts from local manufacturers. Dubbed Capella, the lightweight vehicle folds down to a neat "backpack sized" package (well, maybe a large backpack), travels over 30 miles an hour, has a range of about 7.5 miles (on a two hour charge), and in its final, mass produced form it should weigh about 22 pounds. If you're looking for a wilder ride than
most electric bike designs offer, and you happen to be reading this in Ho Chi Minh City, keep your eyes peeled.
[Via
Core 77]
Filed under: Transportation
Industrial design student builds Capella, the portable, unobtainable electric bike originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We're truthfully not sure what's cooler: the fact that the above pictured washing machine tweets when it's done, or the fact that the above pictured
washing machine still works. We're guessing that the geeks in the crowd would argue that it's clearly the former, and for those interested in a little proof / explanation, you can head on past the break for a video demonstration. But just so you know, it's highly unlikely that your Twittering washer will have any diehard followers.
[Via
technabob]
Continue reading Washing machine hacked to tweet when the load's done: @maytag, you listening?
Filed under: Household
Washing machine hacked to tweet when the load's done: @maytag, you listening? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It looks like Mac users tired of their built-in webcams and concerned about the clutter caused by regular USB cams will soon have another option to consider, as Ecamm Network has just announced what it's claiming to be the world's first Bluetooth webcam. Apparently, you can expect to get some standard 640x480 H.264 video out of the thing, along with 48 kHz AAC stereo audio and a promised four hours of talk time before you need to pull out that dreaded USB cable. None too surprisingly, you'll also have a pay a bit of a premium over your run-of-the-mill webcam, with the so-called BT-1 set to demand a hefty $150 when it rolls out sometime late in the first quarter of the year. No word on Windows support just yet, but we'd presume that'd follow shortly thereafter, officially or otherwise.
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Ecamm announces BT-1 Bluetooth webcam for Macs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments We hate to harsh on Toshiba here, we honestly do, but what in the world is it thinking? As if its
clearly unimpressive Super Resolution Technology wasn't embarrassing enough, we're now hearing that the outfit is expected to release a line of prototype players at CES next week that tout SD card slots. Why, you ask? To accept the flash card movies that -- you guessed it -- no one on the entire planet
is interested in. Okay, so maybe a
handful of people (you know, the same characters who thought
slotMusic was a solid idea) will buy in, but seriously, this has failure written all over it. The move comes hot on the heels of a Toshiba / Mod Systems tie-up to establish kiosks that sell films on SD cards, though we're still curious as to whether these SD card players will be of the standalone variety or integrated into
upscaling DVD decks. We'll keep an open mind 'til we see the final product(s) at CES, but it'll take a belated Christmas miracle for this to be even halfway awesome.
[Via
Video Business]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage
Toshiba introducing SD-friendly players for flash card movies that no one buys originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Well, here's an interesting twist to this story. That mysterious and completely enraging "
Zune bug" that cropped up on the final day of 2008 may not have been restricted to Microsoft PMPs. A much smaller cadre of Toshiba
Gigabeat users reportedly experienced similar issues, and some even noted that the whole "discharge and re-date" rigmarole fixed their unit right up as well. Upon further investigation, it seems that the issue may actually reside in the Freescale MC13783 processor, which -- coincidentally enough -- is used in the Zune 30 and a few of Toshiba's alternatives. We suppose it's a little late to ask, but did any non-Zune owners experience similar issues just prior to the dawn of '09? Or were you too busy, um, partying like it was 1999?
[Thanks nywytboy68]
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Y2K8 Zune quirk really a Freescale bug? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments The perfect complement to
ION's Drum Rocker kit, dreamGEAR has unveiled the WarBeast wireless guitar controller for PlayStation 3 and PS2. It's compatible with
Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and
Rock Revolution games and features a removable faceplate for customization and removable neck and headstock for easier transport. Officially licensed by B.C. Rich, the company is touting this axe as the first and only full-sized guitar controller on the market -- although we bet
Starpex and maybe even
Gene Simmons would beg to differ. It's now available on the company's website for $130, though if you can't afford that Rock n' Roll lifestyle, Amazon's got it for $90. They've also got a new Quad Dock Xbox 360 controller charger and some refreshed versions of their PS3, Wii lineup, which aren't out yet -- according to Electronista they'll go for around $30 or $40.
[Via
Electronista]
Read - dreamGEAR WarBeast product page
Read - Amazon WarBeast product page
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
dreamGEAR unveils Warbeast guitar controller, Quad Dock controller chargers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
The Wii Balance Board may be all well and good if you want to play things safe, but those looking to up the danger level a tad will no doubt want to give this new SKIGYM simulator some serious consideration, with it promising to improve your skiing ability and give you a workout in the process. Apparently, you can either hook the fully-motorized device up to your PC and play the included Alpine Ski Racing game, or simply use it on its own as a piece of exercise equipment -- we're guessing it's also only a matter of time before someone uses it to
control a robot. Not surprisingly, this piece of living room clutter will also put quite a dent in the old bank account, with it running
€1,649, or roughly $2,300.
[Via Random Good Stuff]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Gaming
SKIGYM simulator lets you break a hip from the comfort of your living room originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Sony's not playing it too coy with the upcoming
VAIO P -- some more detailed specs on the widescreen netbook have leaked out, and they're just about what we expected: a 1.33GHz Atom Z520, 2GB of RAM, standard HDD with optional SSD, GPS, and a 3G WWAN card, all for about €700 ($974). No word on that crazy
rumored 1600 x 768 display resolution, but apparently that sexy
Photoshopped VAIO TT pic we saw is close to the real thing,
trackstick and all. We'll see -- for close to $1000, this guy had better run Vista a hell of a lot better than the similarly-spec'd
ASUS R50A UMPC Portal just trashed in a review.
[Via
UMPC Portal, image from
Pocketables]
Filed under: Laptops
More VAIO P specs leak out originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
If you want to make a car handle -- and handle well -- you call Lotus. Just ask Tesla; without the help of the gearheads in Hethel, the US's hottest electric vehicle would probably still be just a concept. Perhaps dissatisfied with the relatively minimal PR love it's been receiving from the Tesla relationship, Lotus has announced plans to develop its own battery-powered car. However, unlike the all-electric Roadster, this new offering will include a Volt-like supplementary fuel-burning engine to add a bit more range and, one would figure, rather a lot more mass. That's not exactly good news for those who worship the Lotus mantra of "to add speed, add lightness," but at this point we don't have any idea about what the thing will weigh, cost, or indeed look like. If all goes according to plan we should get some answers when those international automotive powerhouses who are still alive bum a ride to the Geneva Auto Show in March.
[Via Autoblog]
Filed under: Transportation
Lotus powersliding into the hybrid car market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Okay, so besides the obvious
black dot / band issues that Canon doesn't seem to care much about, how
else would you tweak the
EOS 5D Mark II? Said DSLR has proven itself as a champion in the low-light / video space, thought there's like, no competition at all thus far in the latter department. Are you comfortable with the grip? Is the UI friendly enough to navigate? Too light or heavy? Does it make you weep in joy each time you hold it? For those who've laid down the coin for this, we're sure you've got a few things to say -- so vent in comments below, won't you?
Filed under: Digital Cameras
How would you change Canon's EOS 5D Mark II? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments If you were hoping that another no-name company would release a $400 Blu-ray player, then today is your lucky day as ezGear is very proud to share the details of its BluCobra Blu-ray Disc Player. The BluCobra -- love the name btw -- features 7.1 analog outputs, SACD, TrueHD, DTS-HD HR&MA and the cutting edge profile 1.1, otherwise known as Bonus View. Luckily Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic can rest easy until at least March when this beast is scheduled hits the streets. Oh, and just a little prediction, no way the BluCobra will sell for its MSRP.
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
ezGear gets in the Blu-ray game with the BluCobra Blu-ray Disc Player originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Sorry folks -- we know that you were looking forward to a future of
"pay to play" computing, but it seems that Microsoft's application has been soundly dissed by the patent office. Reasons for the decision include the company's "occasional use of fuzzy terminology" and the fact that much of this stuff has already been patented. Of course, the decision can be appealed -- but for the time being, if you still want to pay monthly for a computer
AT&T has a netbook for you.
[Via
Electronista]
Filed under: Desktops
Microsoft pay-as-you-go patent application rejected originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments The iPhone Dev-Team works in mysterious ways, but it also works in quick ways. Granted, the
iPhone 3G's initial unlock took way longer than anyone would've liked, but when reports started surfacing that it wasn't working particularly well after the first beta release earlier in the week, they appear to have worked doubletime to get a better version into circulation. The release is now up to v0.9.4 -- still beta -- but if you tried the first cut and struggled, we'd suggest giving the new version a whirl.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
iPhone 3G unlock revised, now with less beta originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Standalone
fax machines may have long ago lost the momentum game to multi-function devices, but it looks like Panasonic is doing its best to pry things back away from the printer and scanner, with its new PW608DL offering one stand-out feature that's sure to attract a bit of attention: paperless faxing. Apparently, you can either send faxes cellphone-style using the machine's built-in keypad, or send documents stored on an SD card (but not a USB drive, it seems). Any faxes received are simply displayed on the device's 3.9-inch LCD and, yes, they can be printed out as well. Unfortunately, it looks like this wonder of technology is exclusive to Japan for the foreseeable future -- please try not to be too envious.
[Via
Tech Digest]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Panasonic introduces standalone paperless fax machine originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
We've seen it
up close and even
knocked-off already, but when it comes to a $2,000 phone, we're guessing that a proper unboxing is as high on your list of must-sees as it is on ours. Thankfully, the folks at T3 have come through and done the honors and, as far as unboxings go, this one certainly doesn't disappoint. As you can see above, the phone comes packed in a rather stylish and sturdy box that likely won't be seeing too many trash cans any time soon and, of course, the phone itself is looking as envy-inducing as ever. Hit up the link below for plenty more shots, and keep an eye on T3 for a complete review that's promised to be coming soon.
Filed under: Cellphones
Motorola Aura gets unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments A new Apple
patent has been found that will assuredly warms the hearts (and hands) of many iPhone users currently enduring a cold winter. Originally filed a day before the iPhone's June 28, 2007 launch, it details a glove with a thin, electrically conductive, "anti-sticky" inner layer that is able to function with a capacitive touchscreen. It also suggests the glove could have apertures on the fingertips for opening and closing the more protective outer layer. Of course, the concept is far from new -- just do a quick Google search for "iPhone gloves" to see a wide variety of choices -- and Apple doesn't really dabble in this sort of iPhone / iPod accessory, but if Phil keeps his hands in his pockets for the first half of the
Macworld keynote, we're gonna start to get ideas.
[Via
Apple Insider; thanks, Shawn]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables
Apple patent reveals 'iPhone gloves' for warmer hands-on experience originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While Windows may be
more popular than Linux when it comes to netbooks for a variety of reasons, price certainly isn't one of them. We don't know whether it's peoples' fear of the unknown or just the awful UI facades typically used to hide the open-source alternative, but a lot of people are hoping that Android could sweep in and offer a third choice -- someday. Not content to wait, a couple of freelancers at
VentureBeat (who also run a startup called Mobile-facts)
spent a few hours tweaking Google's (Linux-based) OS to run on ASUS hardware and, thanks to the availability of open-source drivers for all the wee thing's wee devices, were up and running in no time. Mind you, the giant buttons and simplistic UI seem more suited to a
G1 than an
S10, but it surely wouldn't take long to fix that. So, the only question now is when will a manufacturer step up and announce Android out of the box? There's a
little electronics show coming up soon, so maybe we'll hear more there.
[Via
Engadget German]
Filed under: Laptops
Android installed and running on an Eee PC in a matter of hours originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Pretty big talk, Creative, for such a mysterious product. According to information gleaned from an email that's making the rounds,
Zii is "revolutionary" -- in fact, it's about to change
everything you know. Everything. The company says they've invested over 10 years, over one billion dollars, and 10,000 man-years (that's a lot of men! and years!) on "stem cell-like silicon that is able to grow and multiply into different solutions and ecosystems," which will "better lives beyond our imagination." Has your mind been blown yet? No? Just wait until you "discover incredible recession-friendly business opportunities that enable you to thrive and prosper." Just what we need in the midst of these turbulent times. Of course this begs us to ask the question: if life as we know it is over, couldn't they have spent a little time coming up with a name other than Zii? And might there be a better place to announce this epoch-making discovery than booth #30651 at CES?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Creative sheds some hype on Zii 'stem cell computing' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Here's a tip for everyone who hasn't made the jump to solid state: try to be nice to your disk drive. Brendan Gregg from Sun's Fishworks team wanted to see the effects of vibrations on his disk array, so he proceeded to shout at it. On video. Yeah, we bet that's pretty embarrassing for the drive in question, and what results is a sharp spike the number of I/O operations that take over 5ms to complete. Moral of the story? Yelling at your computer isn't going to make it run any faster. How about next time we see how it reacts to Ozzy, Mozart and warm, gentle nuzzles? We've placed video of Gregg's sadistic hardware taunts after the break.
[Via
Slashdot]
Continue reading Video: Shouting at disk drive causes high latency, low morale
Filed under: Storage
Video: Shouting at disk drive causes high latency, low morale originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Why does Intel have to be so darn stubborn? First it insists on only bundling the Atom processor with their own graphics (simultaneously breaking poor NVIDIA's heart), and then there's whole thing where it restricts the CPU to netbooks under 10.2-inches. But like all good things, this too might someday come to an end. According to Gadget Mix, HP is currently negotiating with the chipmaker with the intent of using the processor in notebooks 13-inches and larger. This isn't without precedent -- the Dell Mini 12 is Atom powered, after all, and there is certainly a market for folks who only need a notebook for web browsing and productivity apps -- but we'll see if people are willing to sacrifice performance without gaining portability.
Filed under: Laptops
Intel Atom coming to larger notebooks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
You know what they say -- if you can't buy it, mod it. Michael "Bibin" Moffitt's backlighting job on this Game Boy Pocket is a case in point. Unwilling to shell out the dough for a Game Boy Light on eBay (but more than willing to destroy two old LCDs in pursuit of his mad dream), this guy removed the reflective layer and adhesive behind the handheld's display ("almost as hard as reasoning with a rabid PlayStation 3 fan," he writes) and built a backlight out of an LED, some perspex, and a diffusive layer. That's it -- now our man is playing Donkey Kong, in the dark, in all its monochromatic glory, and with no noticeable change in battery life. Hit the read link for plenty of naked GBP pics.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
Game Boy Pocket fitted with backlit screen, one man's life now complete originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Did you like the idea of Ben Smither's
single-wheeled, self-balancing scooter but wished the thing looked a little less... utilitarian? Check out John Dingley's one wheeled self-balancing skateboard project, aka "The No Snowboard," aka "The Hot Wheel." It was inspired by Smither's earlier creation and likewise relies on a single go cart racing slick in the center spun by a (slightly more powerful) 420W electric motor, but adds a lovely wooden surface and racing decals to the top, improving the look immensely. The rider leans in either direction to get the thing going (as demonstrated in motion below) and the slight curvature of the tire allows for turning just like you would with a normal skateboard. Right now maximum speed is a somewhat pedestrian 7 mph, but Dingley estimates that a Segway-matching 12 mph is possible with better gearing. We can't wait for the inevitable self-balancing scooter racing series.
[Via
Instructables]
Continue reading Man improves, adds a dose of trademark infringement to single-wheeled skateboard concept
Filed under: Transportation
Man improves, adds a dose of trademark infringement to single-wheeled skateboard concept originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Looks like we'll all get our first good look at Vuzix's newest head-mounted display -- the Wrap 920AV -- at CES in a few days. They're apparently very similar to the company's
previous offering, though they boast a totally fresh appearance. Vuzix promises that the optics have been improved and will offer a better viewing experience, but we don't have any other specifics about the device yet. We'll definitely check them out in Vegas, but we have to say: the Geordi La Forge look was
way better than the new wrap-shades, guys.
Filed under: Displays, Wearables
Vuzix to unveil new, less cool-looking HMD at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
HTPCs may still be a niche market, but getting one equipped with a CableCARD for under a grand could do great things for adoption. Little-known Ace Computers will reportedly debut such a rig at CES, and the machine will be known as the LMS 250. It'll be made available in a few configurations, one of which includes a triple-core AMD Phenom X3 and one that houses an Intel Core 2 Duo E7300; the former will be built around AMD's Maui entertainment platform, while the latter could quite possibly be the last to use Intel's own impossible-to-understand Viiv technology. Prospective customers with fatter wallets can upgrade the baseline rigs with a Blu-ray burner, but even the $999 edition will include 2GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, internal ATI Digital Cable Tuner and between 8 and 12 USB ports. Sadly, we're not tipped off on a release date, but hopefully we'll learn of that -- along with many other delicious, heart-healthy tidbits -- in just a few days.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs
Ace Computers promises $999 CableCARD HTPC at CES 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Not that we didn't already
have a hunch that VIA was working up a dual-core Nano, but it seems that details are beginning to firm up just a bit. According to a new report over at China-based HKEPC, the dual-core Atom-killer will be dubbed the Nano 3000, and while it will still rely on a 65-nanometer manufacturing process, the power consumption should be much lower than existing Nano chips. Furthermore, it'll reportedly boast SSE4 instruction support, integer / floating point enhancements and improved internal cache performance. The writeup has it that samples could begin shipping out as early as this quarter, with mass production expected to get going in Q3. So, is it safe to say this whole "
netbook" thing has grown some legs, or is the Tamagotchi-like crash just around the bend?
[Via
CNET]
Filed under: Laptops
VIA's low-power Nano 3000 rumored to rival Intel's Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Around half a year ago, we heard that Toyota was engineering a Prius that would get part of its energy from the sun; now, we're seeing an eerily similar story from Japan suggesting that the plan is still on. In a rather odd report, it's noted that the automaker is "secretly (oh, is it now?) developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy," though it's also working on a partially solar-powered whip that'll come out long before the pure solar alternative. Regrettably, details beyond that are few and far between, though the premise here is completely reasonable given the current economy and the desire for automobiles that run on anything other than petroleum. Guess we'll check back in six months for yet another elusive report on the so-called progress.
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota is definitely maybe developing solar-powered car originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments So yeah, the easy part about getting the SSD RAID setup of your not-so-lofty dreams is the acquisition of A-DATA's newest XPG Dual
SSD RAID enclosure. The tough part is smuggling enough cash in through untraceable means to procure a few 256GB SSDs. For those who don't mind living dangerously, the aforesaid chassis is compatible with twin 2.5-inch SATA SSDs and / or HDDs mounted on a standard 3.5-inch form factor drive cage. Users can connect it to a PC via SATA or USB once those drives have been acquired and installed, but you'll have to wait until the end of this quarter to see it ship.
[Via
Slashgear]
Filed under: Storage
A-DATA launches XPG Dual SSD RAID enclosure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Say wha'?! An
iPhone in a hue other than black, white, or silver? While a red model has been
rumored since before the 3G even launched, we've never thought about a pink one -- let alone one hitting eBay. The text on the back of the device convinces us that this isn't a simple
ColorWare job, but there aren't any photos of the back of the packaging either. Our take? Some OEM in Asia whipping up custom colors. But hey, Macworld's just under a week away, so who knows?
Update: Go ahead and put those horses back in the stables folks, folks: Cole commented to point us over to an
eBay auction for a rather familiar looking and decidedly aftermarket pink back cover. So, don't go expecting a first-party pink iPhone at Macworld, but if you hurry up and bid now you can have yourself the most
fabulous handset at the show.
[Thanks, Gav]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Mysterious pink iPhone 3G hits eBay, cue onslaught of rumors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments While most of the hype surrounding
Voodoo right now pertains to the
Firebird gaming tower,
LAPTOP has discovered yet another undercover rig from the company's arsenal worth swooning over. Before you go getting too excited, we must caution you that the Firefly is merely a prototype at the moment, but we all know concepts are made with the intent to commercialize. With the fine print behind us, it's worth reading up on what this Voodoo DNA'd machine offered up; for starters, you'll notice a 17-inch panel and a hefty 13-pound frame. There's also a multitouch trackpad, keyboard with customizable backlighting, a secondary 4.3-inch 800 x 480 display sitting beneath the main screen, a 2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme CPU, 4GB of RAM, two ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 GPUs and a 250GB HDD. No benchmarks were allowed, but
Far Cry 2 ran "silky smooth" even with details maxed. For the rest of the nitty-gritty, we'll direct you to the read link, and before you get all irate that this isn't available for purchase, just be thankful this post isn't about
yet another teaser from Mr. Sood.
Filed under: Laptops
Voodoo Firefly gaming laptop prototype gets hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
It's 2009, folks, so we figured we'd start it off with a bang (and about a gazillion comments in this post). George, a proud member of the USMC, is pondering what to do about a new smartphone, and given that your New Year's resolution was undoubtedly to ditch your dumbphone in favor of a more sophisticated model, you'll probably be interested as well.
"I am currently in the market for a new carrier and phone. I have Verizon now, but I am not all that happy with its service in my area. With the release of all the high end phones nowadays, one could get easily lost in the details. I currently have the LG Voyager; I like the phone, but I feel trapped and can't do much with it unless I pay for every little thing. I would like a mobile with WiFi, camera (with flash if possible), touchscreen, etc. I would like to stay under $200 with a 2-year contract. Any advice would be wonderful."
It's tough, ain't it George? There's the G1, iPhone 3G, Bold, Storm -- the list rolls on. So, let's spark up a sane, intelligent conversation on the pros and cons of each, all while remembering that our ideal handset sadly didn't arrive in time for Christmas. Interested in getting your own inquiry up in here? Send one over to ask at engadget dawt com.
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Cellphones
Ask Engadget: Best current smartphone for under $200? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments If you're going to go to the trouble of procuring an
M8 from Meizu, you may as well turn it into an authentic, memorable, world-class experience by making the pilgrimage to Shenzhen, China to pick it up in its hometown. Oh, but don't just pick it up from some random street vendor -- do it up right by swinging on over to Meizu's shiny new flagship store, where you'll be able to select your M8 (or at least see renders of the M8) in a comfortable, relaxed environment while rubbing shoulders with Meizu employees. The fresh digs just opened today, and pictures from the grand opening show an epic mass of humanity waiting for the doors to unlock -- a promising sign for Meizu, and an unfortunate sign that the enochlophobes among us probably ought to wait a few weeks to make the trek.
[Via
Meizu Me]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Meizu opens flagship store in Shenzhen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Did you accidentally flip the switch on that OTA update to
RC30 on your G1 and currently find yourself stuck with a non-root lifestyle? Well thanks to forum member chavonbravo over at xda-developers, things are about to get awesome for you. You can now revert back to
RC29 with ease by snagging the uploaded image, renaming, copying to your microSD card, and running through standard procedure for re-flashing the phone. We can attest that the hack does indeed work, so feel free to proceed. Word to the wise, though: getting up to a modded RC30 isn't as easy as some might have you believe, so set aside a little time to walk through the steps (check out
ModMyGPhone's guide page for clear instructions).
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Cellphones
Leaked G1 firmware lets you revert to RC29 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
There's certainly plenty of reasons not to turn a pair of iPods into some portable speakers -- difficulty, inevitably poor sound quality, pains of regret -- but we're guessing that the sight of the creation above will prompt at least a few folks to start scavenging for parts. Apparently taking some lessons learned from previous
Altoids tin speaker mods, Jordan Horwich crafted these for a total cost of $100, which includes the cost of some front and back iPod panels and some rather extravagant shipping rates. As you might expect, the entire project is a tad tricky, and involves a good bit of soldering, plus some Dremel work to make everything fit just right. Hit up the link below for the complete details and parts list.
Filed under: Portable Audio
Speaker mod turns iPods into shells of their former selves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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