Screen Grabs: Dell Streak recruited into NCIS:LA for some undercover duty, fights evil Adamo XPS
October 20, 2010 No Comment
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com . Dell’s product placement deal with CBS apparently doesn’t stipulate whether its gadgets will be used for good or evil, as illustrated by their cameo appearances on the network’s NCIS:LA crime drama. In last night’s episode, lead do-gooder Special Agent Callen is seen preparing a Streak tabletphone for some audio recording action before a meeting with the baddies — who in turn whip out an Adamo XPS (yes, it’s still alive !) to seal a deal for some ultra-advanced weaponry. Yep, it’s a non-stop clich
Continue reading …Mercedes’ new Media Interface Plus is smartphone-friendly, Bluetooth-equipped, and Pandora-ready
October 20, 2010 No Comment
Mercedes has a new $298 accessory available now that adds another level of smartphone compatibility to its existing in-vehicle controls of iPods and aux audio. The Media Interface Plus allows the car to stream audio from an iPhone, BlackBerry, or any other compatible Bluetooth music player (we’re guessing A2DP, though Mercedes doesn’t specify). The MIP can also control the Pandora app on the iPhone and BlackBerry, and other features like SMS and email reading / writing are forthcoming. There are iPod / iPhone and Mini-USB plugs for charging, and an optional cable can pull video from your iPhone as well and display it on your in-dash screen — when the car is at a standstill, of course. Continue reading Mercedes’ new Media Interface Plus is smartphone-friendly, Bluetooth-equipped, and Pandora-ready Mercedes’ new Media Interface Plus is smartphone-friendly, Bluetooth-equipped, and Pandora-ready originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sprint invites Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 and Inspiron 11z into the dual-mode 3G / WiMAX league
October 20, 2010 No Comment
It’s been a good long while since a Dell Mini 10 with WiMAX crossed the FCC , but it’s finally headed to Sprint next month, and its big brother the 11.6-inch Dell Inspiron 11z is along for the ride as well. Both sport Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 chips to serve up Sprint 4G and 802.11n WiFi, plus EV-DO Rev. A for 3G speeds on an unspecified secondary card of some sort. The Mini 10′s mostly your standard 10-inch Atom N450 netbook, but we’re happy to say this one comes with a six-cell battery, and the Inspiron 11z got a modern 1.2GHz Core i3-330UM processor under the hood, which should contribute favorably to both longevity and speed. The Mini 10 is free on two-year contract, while the 11z will set you back $150; find both at Sprint stores starting November 14th. PR after the break. Continue reading Sprint invites Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 and Inspiron 11z into the dual-mode 3G / WiMAX league Sprint invites Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 and Inspiron 11z into the dual-mode 3G / WiMAX league originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon to sell Galaxy Tab starting November 11 for $600, world schedules chucklefest for same day
October 20, 2010 No Comment
Crazy, right? With the impossible-to-ignore iPad starting at just $499 (and just $630 in Verizon’s own stores when bundled with a MiFi), America’s largest carrier is actually planning to hawk Samsung’s Galaxy Tab for… $599.99. It’s an almost unbelievable price point, and unlike the legions of netbooks that Big Red offers, there looks to be zero subsidization available. The Android 2.2-based unit (which will be loaded down with V CAST apps) will hit retail on November 11th, and since it’s being sold at full price, a data plan (which starts at $20 per month for 1GB) is completely optional. Good luck to you both — we’re dead serious about y’all needing it. Continue reading Verizon to sell Galaxy Tab starting November 11 for $600, world schedules chucklefest for same day Verizon to sell Galaxy Tab starting November 11 for $600, world schedules chucklefest for same day originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Motorola is definitely tossing its hat in the LTE mobile broadband ring — it just announced this plug-and-play USB-lte 7110 modem at the 4G World conference in Illinois. It’s rated for FDD-LTE Category 3, meaning the little exclamation-point-shaped dongle is theoretically capable of 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload speeds, and it’s got a pair of omni-directional MIMO antennas to help you pull down as much of that juicy, low-latency data as Motorola’s unnamed partners intend to squeeze. Just don’t be fooled by the company’s claims that this is the “first commercial 4G LTE device” — we’re pretty sure Samsung and LG have Moto beat. PR after the break. Continue reading Motorola prepping 4G USB modem for LTE networks, doesn’t say which ones Motorola prepping 4G USB modem for LTE networks, doesn’t say which ones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well now, that didn’t take very long. T-Mobile’s G2 (aka the HTC Vision) has been let off its leash, and there’s no getting it back now. XDA-developers member coolbho3000 has posted his overclock module, which takes an already fast phone and make it considerably more perky. He started at a modest 1GHz, but kept on pushing up to 1.42GHz — though there’s potential to go even higher. All this despite T-Mobile’s attempts at preventing hacking , but certainly seeming to allow allow for a fair bit of tweaking. You can download all you need at the source link, or if you’d rather just live vicariously there’s video proof after the break. [Thanks, Brandon] Continue reading T-Mobile G2 overclocked to 1.4GHz, starts blitzing benchmarks (video) T-Mobile G2 overclocked to 1.4GHz, starts blitzing benchmarks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Zotac Zbox HD-ID34 Blu-ray playing nettop reviewed, scores well for non-audiophiles
October 20, 2010 No Comment
Little PCs are wonderful things, and those that can handle Blu-ray playback and do so while sucking down less than 45 watts are doubly delightful. Zotac’s Zbox is such a machine, an Atom D525 and ION2 nettop with a Blu-ray all built into a lovely sliver of brushed metal. AnandTech found its performance to match its looks the majority of the time, able to play most HD footage without issue either from the network or straight from the optical drive. However, there’s one problem: surround audio. The box cannot bitstream DTS-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD and comes with playback software that’s not capable of delivering 5.1 channel surround over the box’s HDMI output. So, it’s perhaps not a home theater audiophile’s dream, but at $399 without memory or storage, or $499 with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD, it is at least a heck of a good bargain. Zotac Zbox HD-ID34 Blu-ray playing nettop reviewed, scores well for non-audiophiles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 06:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Ah, it’s good to see Apple can leak its announcements ahead of time just like the rest of the world . Overzealous forum mods on Apple’s own site have been setting up Discussions sections for products to be announced at today’s Back to the Mac event a little early, which has inevitably been picked up by some sleuthing souls over in Poland. A little bit of URL manipulation has revealed separate forums for a new iMovie ’11, iPhoto ’11, and GarageBand ’11, all three of which are core components of the iLife suite, leading us to go ahead and presume that Steve Jobs will be discussing an iLife ’11 later today. There’s also confirmation of the new MacBook Air with an “MBA (Need official name)” forum emerging, alongside a mysterious “Reserved 20 10″ destination. [Thanks, MM] Continue reading Apple.com reveals iLife upgrade, reaffirms MacBook Air refresh Apple.com reveals iLife upgrade, reaffirms MacBook Air refresh originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lenovo says no Android tablet in US until Honeycomb; no Windows 7 tablet, period
October 20, 2010 No Comment
If you happen to be enthusiastic about Lenovo, tablets, and your American residency, look away now. Lenovo still plans to ship the Android-based LePad in China some time soonish , but its US roadmap can pretty much be summed up as “wait and see.” The company’s COO Rory Read has been cited as saying there are no plans to release a slate for the US market until at least Android’s Honeycomb version comes out, agreeing with Google on the point that Froyo is not “the right base to have a fully functioning pad.” Lest you think Windows 7 will fill the void until whenever in 2011 that Android tablet does arrive, Lenovo’s director of new technology, Howard Locker, sets you straight: “Windows 7 is based on the same paradigm as 1985 — it’s really an interface that’s optimized for a mouse and keyboard,” and the Thinking machine team doesn’t intend to build a slate around it. And if you were thinking of maybe picking up a LePhone as a consolation prize, tough luck, that won’t be arriving in the US for at least another two years (which in smartphone terms is basically “never”), although it’s good to know that it’s now got 13 percent of the smartphone market in China. You know, in case you own stock in LeCompany. Lenovo says no Android tablet in US until Honeycomb; no Windows 7 tablet, period originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …So, we’ve just been discussing the rumored, and long overdue, MacBook Air refresh with a trusted source. This person recently had a working model in their possession for a few minutes and managed to glean quite a bit of detail that would seemingly confirm Apple’s plan to announce an 11-inch MacBook Air at the ” Back to the Mac ” event later today. Here’s what we’ve been told to expect: Smaller 11.6-inch display. 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (with a 2.33GHz option possible). 2GB of memory in the base configuration. No optical drive, naturally. Mini DisplayPort, USB, and SD card reader along the left-hand side and USB and power on the right (that’s 2x USB). The trackpad has been updated to match that of the new MacBook Pros. Although smaller due to the 11.6-inch display, it’s still about the same thickness as the current MacBook Air. A black power key now sits immediately to the right of a smaller eject key on the MBA’s keyboard — the round aluminum power button is gone. A design decision that might support the MBA’s rumored instant-on capabilities though our source didn’t see this functionality exhibited (possibly because it was running OS X 10.6.4). Unfortunately, our source couldn’t identify the graphics or the storage related to the rumored “SSD Card.” So where does that leave us? Well, it looks like a smaller (and presumably, cheaper) MacBook Air originally rumored by AppleInsider is in the bag for a Steve Jobs announcement later today as is a refresh to the 13.3-inch model we broke last week (pictured nekkid above). So check back in a few hours and watch the reveal live , won’t you? [Thanks, Anonymous] 11.6-inch MacBook Air detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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