Apple said last week that it expected its new Apple TV to cross the one million mark in sales before Christmas, and it’s now quietly confirmed that it’s managed to do just that. For those keeping score, that means it’s sold a million in three months, which is certainly impressive for something Apple still describes as a “hobby,” although that description does have the peculiar tendency to lower expectations somewhat. As you may recall, Roku also announced last week that it expected to sell a million units before the end of the year, and its CEO noted that the introduction of the new Apple TV actually seems to have led to a spike in sales of its own media streamers. Apple confirms it’s sold one million new Apple TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Inhabitat’s Week in Green: rocket fuel, recycled jeans, and the electric eel powered Christmas tree
December 27, 2010 No Comment
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green. Eco transportation took off this week as researchers in Sweden discovered a new molecule that could make rocket fuel 30 percent more efficient. We also caught up with Russia’s plans to construct a new high-speed rail system for the 2018 World Cup, and we saw several major auto manufacturers give their vehicles green upgrades – Ford announced it will insulate its 2010 Focus with recycled jeans , and Chevrolet launched plans to transform 100,000 pounds of used oil booms into parts for the Volt. The past week also saw bright horizons dawn for renewable energy as the world’s largest parabolic trough solar plant received a $1.5 billion DOE loan. The world of consumer tech was energized by the sun’s rays as Toshiba unveiled a new solar-powered e-book reader and one designer developed a solar-powered desalination system that could keep shipwrecked survivors alive at sea. We also brought you artist Michael McKean’s plan to shoot rainbows across the sky at will with his solar-powered rainbow generator . Speaking of spreading renewable cheer, this month Japan’s Enoshima Aquarium unveiled the world’s first Christmas tree powered by an electric eel . The FAA also got into the holiday spirit as they approved a next-gen Santa sleigh that delivers gifts 53% faster, and if you unwrapped a new video game system this year, you may be interested to know that the Nintendo Wii was recently crowned the most energy-efficient next-gen gaming console . Finally, if the wintry weather has you feeling down, just take a peek inside this supermassive airship hangar , transformed into a year-round tropical island getaway. Inhabitat’s Week in Green: rocket fuel, recycled jeans, and the electric eel powered Christmas tree originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …We know you didn’t get this Steampunk Etch-a-Sketh for Christmas, but you probably want it now, don’t you?
December 27, 2010 No Comment
What you’re looking at above is a real, actual object found in the material world. It’s an Etch-a-Sketch so modified, as to look like a glorious leftover from a bygone era that never was. What era, you ask? Oh, the Victorian era — so named for the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch — with a great dash of fancy added into the mix. We’re talking alternate history, people! A history so wonderful, so beautiful, that a lowly red plastic Etch-a-Sketch could end up both complex and inordinately heavy looking. Made by an industrious youth as a Christmas gift for a chum, we couldn’t imagine a better way to make this boring old gadget look so jolly well festive. Hurrah! We know you didn’t get this Steampunk Etch-a-Sketh for Christmas, but you probably want it now, don’t you? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
There are run-of-the-mill KIRFs , above-average KIRFs, and this. While we’ve definitely been privy to a few comical iPhone / iPod knockoffs over the years, there’s a certain layer of hilariousness to this one that just can’t be beat. The iPod nano watch isn’t even a genuine Apple product; in fact, it’s simply a mod that’s so easy, your mum could probably pull it off with minimal effort. That clearly hasn’t stopped the factories in Shenzhen from churning out an iPod nano watch knockoff, complete with a 1.8-inch resistive touchscreen, inbuilt SIM card slot, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, FM radio tuner, a side-mounted camera sensor and a speaker for good measure. You’ll even get a fancy “Slide to Unlock” screen before being able to dig into the underlying UI, but that chintzy plastic wrist strap all but destroys any respect it was hoping to garner. Thankfully, the unit you’re peering at above is being dubbed an “engineering prototype,” with the final version expected to boast a 3.5mm headphone jack and a modicum of self-worth. We’ll see, won’t we? iPod nano watch gets knocked off, has little to worry about it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …DIY third person camera rig allows you to pay attention to what’s most important: you
December 27, 2010 No Comment
Now, this is a strange project to undertake, for sure — but that doesn’t make it uninteresting. And interesting it certainly is. Over at Instructables, you can currently find step-by-step instructions for how to create your very own camera setup, which will allow you to view yourself tooling around in the third person. Weird, right? The whole setup consists of a camera rigged at your back from a distance far enough to film you from behind, a pair of video goggles to wear as you gallivant about, and optionally, a radio transmitter, allowing a remote viewer to join in on the fun and watch along with you. How does it work? A bit disconcertingly if you ask us, but it’s something we’d certainly consider giving a try, if only once. Hit up the source for full instructions as well as impressions of the experience. There’s a video after the break. Continue reading DIY third person camera rig allows you to pay attention to what’s most important: you DIY third person camera rig allows you to pay attention to what’s most important: you originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ComScore: Facebook overtakes Yahoo, is now the third most trafficked website in the world
December 27, 2010 No Comment
ComScore — a common metric used to measure internet traffic — is showing off some impressive stats these days. In the month of November, for instance, Facebook overtook Yahoo! for the first time in worldwide traffic, with the social network nabbing 648 million unique visitors while the portal named after Gulliver’s Travels pulled in 630 million. What does this mean to? Well, to point out the obvious, it seems that while Facebook continues its epic growth, the relatively flat state of Yahoo!’s traffic is simply not enough to retain its third place spot behind Google and Microsoft’s sites, which grab up places one and two consistently. One note about these ComScore statistics, just in case you’re wondering about that last one: it ‘groups’ sites together rather than counting individual URLS, so for instance, the Microsoft sites take the number two spot en masse. In terms of U.S. traffic, Facebook still trails Yahoo! a bit, with 152 million visitors and 181 million, respectively, so if they’re truly hoping for world domination, they have their work cut out for them. We’re looking at you, Mark! ComScore: Facebook overtakes Yahoo, is now the third most trafficked website in the world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won’t like it
December 27, 2010 No Comment
He may be flashing a peace sign, but you can tell from the look in his eyes that Sonic isn’t exactly thrilled to be doing anything to support Nintendo . This is the cat that made blast processing a reality, whose addiction for gold rings is legendary, and who hasn’t starred in a truly great game since, well, since Sega stopped making hardware, now reduced to this. Look at him, perched atop a mock floating platform, brown and tan checkerboard base with a green top where you can set your Wiimotes for charging without stripping them of their prophylactics. Though the press release makes no mention of this, we were led to believe that this is not actually powered by your AC outlet, instead by the spirits of fuzzy little squirrels and rabbits trapped within, making this $49.99 figurine from Mad Catz all the more nefarious. Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won’t like it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Lookin’ to get a jump on the rest of the folks, eh Onkyo ? Rather than waiting for CES to kick off next week, the aforementioned firm has just let loose its TA117, proving that it’s totally kosher with supporting both Microsoft and Google in the tablet wars. A duo of models will be made available — the TA117C3 and TA117C1 — with both of ‘em getting a 10.1-inch touch panel (1024 x 600 resolution), Android 2.2, NVIDIA’s Tegra 250 (1GHz), 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a microSD expansion slot, USB 2.0 connectivity (x2), HDMI out and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. There’s also a docking port to use with an optional stand, and if you’re looking to spot the differences between the two models, the C1 is home to 512MB of DDR2 RAM alongside 8GB of integrated storage, while the C3 doubles up with 1GB of memory and 16GB of NAND. There’s nary a word on price nor release, but we hear Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is now feeling a bit small. If you know what we’re getting at. Onkyo blesses 10.1-inch TA117 Android tablet with NVIDIA’s Tegra 250 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
We’re not sure how many more times it must be said, but seriously people — stop texting on your cellphone while operating a gigantic vehicle at high speeds. If you’re not already convinced that driving a car and trying to tap out a message on a tiny keyboard (or heaven forbid, no keyboard at all) is a poor match, perhaps the short documentary AT&T has just released will convince you otherwise. The carrier is launching a campaign geared towards teens over the holidays leading up to New Year’s Eve in the hopes that the youth of the world will be slightly less sure of their invincibility — at least where car driving and text messaging is concerned. Sure, the video (located after the break) borders on sentimentality at times, but we’ll take a little heavy-handedness over the injury or death of human beings simply because someone couldn’t wait to tell someone else that they’d be there soon. Trust us, your friends aren’t that worried about punctuality. Continue reading AT&T releases dramatic anti-texting while driving documentary AT&T releases dramatic anti-texting while driving documentary originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
We mean this with no disrespect to Lenovo , but when you first lay eyes (or hands) on the incredibly attractive IdeaPad U260, it’s pretty hard to believe that it was made by the company. Sure, the Chinese laptop manufacturer has always had a certain knack for creating very powerful and well-rounded ultraportables, but “drop-dead gorgeous” isn’t exactly how we’d describe systems like the Lenovo IdeaPad U160 , Edge 11 , or ThinkPad X301 . The U260 is indeed a total 180 for the company, and it’s one of the most dapper and svelte laptops we’ve seen in a long time — there’s no question about it, its magnesium-aluminum alloy shell, leather palm rest, and glass touchpad even give the newest MacBook Airs a run for their money. But even better, the 12.5-inch system has the brawn to match that external beauty – its 0.7-inch shell has been injected with a Core i5 ULV processor, 4GB of RAM, and 320GB of storage. At $1,100 (the Core i3 version starts at $999), there’s no denying that it’s more than enticing, but is the U260 immune to Lenovo’s typical ultraportable pain points, including poor battery life and tepid temperatures? We’ve been lucky enough to spend the last few days with the beautiful machine (yes, we took it on vacation!), so jump down below to find out in our full review! Gallery: Lenovo IdeaPad U260 Continue reading Lenovo IdeaPad U260 review Filed under: Laptops Lenovo IdeaPad U260 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …