Plextor PL-LB950UE Blu-ray burner lands in the US with heady mix of USB 3.0 speed and double-layer storage
April 28, 2011 No Comment
Europeans have been able to bag this speedy external writer for a few months now, but it’s only just received its Green Card — turning up in the US with a suitcase full of dreams and a price tag of $239.99. A quick check of its CV resume reveals a choice of either USB 3.0 or eSATA connectivity, 12x write speed, and the ability to burn up to 50GB of data on a dual-layer disc. The drive is being pitched as an “all-in-one Blu-ray device” because it also handles 3D playback and has a low vibration system for quieter operation. Admittedly, it only offers half as much storage as BDXL writers , but those burn slower and onto judderingly expensive media. Closer competition comes from Buffalo, which arrived early to the USB 3.0 table, but whose current MediaStation model omits the eSATA option. Continue reading Plextor PL-LB950UE Blu-ray burner lands in the US with heady mix of USB 3.0 speed and double-layer storage Plextor PL-LB950UE Blu-ray burner lands in the US with heady mix of USB 3.0 speed and double-layer storage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The biggest problem with electric bicycles ? All of that pesky pedaling. Thankfully, some of the world’s top engineering minds are innovating all sorts of ways to lighten that load. Like Yamaha Motors, whose new PAS CITY-X, PAS CITY-C, and PAS Compact feature amped up batteries that can be charged twice as many times as their predecessors. You’ll get somewhere from 10 to 15 miles on a charge, depending on the setting — unfortunately not quite far enough for us to ride one back home to the States. The models will hit their native country on May 20th, at
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Apple has a tablet . So does RIM . HP Palm too, soon enough. And Android tablets , particularly those running Honeycomb … they’re everywhere — hell, even Sony has a few on the way. That leaves Nokia as the glaring anomaly conspicuously absent from the tablet wars. Understandable, we guess, given the company’s urgent need to transition its smartphone strategy to Windows Phone. That doesn’t mean the company is standing still though. According to an interview with YLE television in Finland, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is taking a very calculated approach to tablets, saying, “We could take advantage of Microsoft technology and software, and build a Windows-oriented tablet, or we could do things with some of the other software assets that we have. Our team right now is assessing what’s the right tablet strategy for Nokia.” In other words, Nokia is investigating tablets running Windows 7 (doubtful), MeeGo ( doubtful ), and Windows Next , aka that tablet-friendly Windows 8 OS (likely). But here’s the most illuminating exchange from the well-mannered Canadian: There are now over 200 different tablets on the marketplace, only one of them is doing really well. And, my challenge to the team is I don’t wanna be the 201st tablet on the market that you can’t tell from all of the others. We have to take a uniquely Nokia prospective and so the teams are working very hard on something that would be differentiating relative to everything else that’s going on in the market. Q. So you’re not in a hurry? We’re always in a hurry to do the right things, but we’re mostly in a hurry to do the right thing. Makes sense to us and echoes what we’ve heard about Sony’s relatively delayed entry into consumer tablets. Why should Nokia build another me-too tablet when it can tap into the combined Microsoft / Nokia ecosystem and make a grab at some real market share and profit? The entire 20 minute interview is interesting as Elop discusses layoffs, the first Nokia Windows Phone, Symbian, and competing against Apple and Google. Hit the source link for the full deal — the tablet discussion begins at 10 minutes and 32 seconds. [Thanks, Pauli N.] Stephen Elop: Nokia won’t build just another tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung freezes Droid Charge launch indefinitely, blaming ‘unexpected delays’
April 28, 2011 No Comment
Can’t say we’re surprised by this, but turns out Verizon’s decided to delay the launch of its Samsung Droid Charge — originally scheduled for today — at the very last minute. According to an internal email we obtained, the blame’s on “unexpected delays” and no new date has yet been set. This makes sense, considering it wouldn’t do Verizon much good to launch a new 4G Android when its LTE service is still down (for over 24 hours and still counting). Ah well, this 4.3-incher better be worth the wait. [Thanks, Anonymous] Samsung freezes Droid Charge launch indefinitely, blaming ‘unexpected delays’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …RIM to launch 6.1 update as BlackBerry 7 OS at BlackBerry World next week?
April 28, 2011 No Comment
CrackBerry has just dropped word via “numerous sources” that RIM will be revealing the next iteration of its mobile OS at the fast approaching BlackBerry World conference — and no, it’s still not QNX . Despite consistent rumblings that upcoming devices like the Bold Touch, and Monaco would be launching with OS 6.1, it seems that RIM has decided to re-brand the update completely as BlackBerry 7, perhaps to increase the value proposition and differentiate new devices being announced along with it. However, the site also speculates that current phones running BB6 may not get any BB7 action right off the bat — which could make sense, given that new features like NFC are only present in upcoming devices. All this is naturally unconfirmed, but if this is indeed yet another version of the BlackBerry OS, well, that certainly won’t help the platform get any more developer love . RIM to launch 6.1 update as BlackBerry 7 OS at BlackBerry World next week? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Before Portal 2 there was Portal , and before Portal there was Super Mario Bros. Bring these together and you get a mushroom-chomping Italian plumber ruling the 2D world — outside the cold confines of Aperture Science — with the infamous Portal gun . The next logical step? Turn this into a first-person game . Go on, Reggie , make it happen. Super Mario gets a Portal gun, you monster (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Motorola Xoom software update brings SSL and Widevine DRM, no LTE quite yet
April 27, 2011 No Comment
Seems like Verizon, Motorola and Google are on a bit of a security bent — the latest update for the Motorola Xoom lets you take a far more leisurely tour of the internet’s walled gardens. There’s a WPA-PSK security fix to allow choice users into your mobile hotspot, SSL for secure web browsing, Google’s Widevine DRM for viewing locked online video content and HDCP for piping it to your TV. Of course, there’s no mention of the Xoom feature we’re truly waiting for, but we’ll happily take our Bluetooth mouse support and POP3 email in the meanwhile. Droid-Life reports that this HMJ07B update will start hitting Xooms tomorrow, but Verizon’s still got a month to make good on those LTE promises. [Thanks, K] Motorola Xoom software update brings SSL and Widevine DRM, no LTE quite yet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Manufacturers just aren’t willing to wait for the eighth of May — they want to announce their spiffy new Intel Z68 Express motherboards now , dang it, whatever the consequences. Well, we can’t really complain, especially when said motherboards reveal brand-new Intel products in trade. The above image was pulled direct from a PDF flyer for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard, which depicts an intriguing benchmark — if you pair one of Intel’s 20GB Larsen Creek solid state drives with a standard 1TB magnetic hard drive, Intel’s SSD caching technology can allegedly give you much speedier performance. Of course, there’s no such thing as a 20GB Larsen Creek drive, right? This is the part where we’d tell you that Intel may finally be democratizing solid state storage and making it an affordable upgrade to all — except we know full well that Z68 is the company’s premium Sandy Bridge -supporting chipset, so don’t get your hopes up too far. [Thanks, Anton] Intel’s Larsen Creek SSDs leak out, courtesy of ASRock’s Z68 motherboard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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That stretchy, coiled headphone cord might be cool for the club, but sometimes you need to straighten up, fly right, and answer a few phone calls. Enter Pioneer’s HDJ-500T-K DJ headphones. These cans are effectively a standard re-issue of the regular HDJ-500 series, but adding a new swappable straight cord with a microphone and answer button. DJ with the (also included) extendable coiled leash, or enjoy leisure listening and hands-free calling with the straight cord. Pretty simple. Look for these in May for $145, and hit the break for the full press release. Continue reading Pioneer HDJ-500T-K cans uncoil, answer your phone calls Pioneer HDJ-500T-K cans uncoil, answer your phone calls originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sharp walk-in display over-stimulates 32 guests at a time in Japanese them park
April 27, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen plenty of building-sized televisions — like the 80,000-square-foot ceiling screen in Beijing , or that record-breaking monstrosity that the Cowboys installed in Dallas — but those single-dimension LCD’s have nothing on this “5D” cube opening on Friday. Constructed from 156 Sharp 60-inch HD displays, the 5D Miracle Tour can only be found at Huis Ten Bosch, a “residential-style resort built after a medieval 17th-century Dutch town” located in Sasebo City, Japan. The unique attraction accommodates 32 guests at a time, and consists of one main front screen, surrounded by additional panels on the top, bottom, left and right. Lasting eight minutes, the tour presents the story of a mermaid named Sirena, though content will occasionally change — given the transient nature of mermaids, of course. We’ve only been able to dream of the modern-day curiosities we’d encounter while visiting 17th-century Holland, but we certainly hope this magical place won’t elude us the next time we’re near Nagasaki. Continue reading Sharp walk-in display over-stimulates 32 guests at a time in Japanese them park Sharp walk-in display over-stimulates 32 guests at a time in Japanese them park originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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