Hope you didn’t put your life on pause waiting for the iTwin to ship to the US of A, ’cause it took just over a full year to do so. The company’s self-named device has finally been listed for sale in America this week, with just 50 limited edition builds able to head out prior to Christmas. If your memory has faded somewhat over the past 14 months, this twin-stick solution is meant to pass files between two USB-enabled devices, but unlike Infinitec’s IUM , it’s not making any bold promises related to media streaming. The concept is simple enough; just plug one of the twins into your computer, and the other into your pal’s computer. It relies on 256-bit AES encryption to keep things secure, and if that’s good enough for you, the source link is the where you need to be. These first-run kits are selling for $99 (plus $10 shipping), with a choice of gunmetal gray and lime green awaiting you, and if you miss your shot now, general availability will hit early next month. Continue reading iTwin USB filesharing solution now shipping in America iTwin USB filesharing solution now shipping in America originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Outside of the Nexus One (and recently-launched Nexus S , of course), T-Mobile’s G2 is about as close as one can get to stock build of Android. ‘Course, it’s now a point release behind Gingerbread, but we’re hoping that’ll be remedied in short order. Outside of that, we’re curious to know how you’d change the slip-sliding Android phone if given the schematics and the ability to start over from scratch. By and large, we felt that HTC nailed the design, but of course, everyone’s capable of seeing things in a slightly different light. What would you tweak about the G2 if given the choice? Change up the keyboard? Offer it on AT&T or a CDMA carrier? Throw in a row of LEDs along the left edge, just for kicks? All (reasonable) ideas are welcome in comments below — you never know who’ll be tuning in. How would you change the T-Mobile G2? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …E FUN Next3 Android 2.1 tablet available for $230, real fun sold separately
December 18, 2010 No Comment
Getting sick of cheap Android tablets and e-readers ? Boy, we hope not, because E FUN’s Next3 is just one of many being announced in time for CES 2011 . As you may have gleaned from the headline, the Nextbook Next3 runs Android 2.1 and has the usual array of specs for its $230 price — a resistive, 800×400-resolution 8.4-inch display, a 600MHz Rockchip processor, WiFi 802.11 b/g, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SD card slot. From the looks of the pictures in the gallery and the short press release after the break, it seems to be positioned as more of an e-reader than a tablet — you know, with its integrated Borders eBook Store and all — but you should be able to surf the web and watch some videos on it. No word on what apps are preloaded, but naturally there’s Market access. We’re going to call a spade a spade here, and say this thing looks a heck of a lot like the Pandigital Novel and Velocity Micro Cruz Reader , but we’ll be checking it out in Vegas in a few weeks to get a confirmation on that. Don’t let that stop you from ordering one today, though — it’s only $200 at HSN right now. Gallery: E FUN Next3 press pictures Continue reading E FUN Next3 Android 2.1 tablet available for $230, real fun sold separately E FUN Next3 Android 2.1 tablet available for $230, real fun sold separately originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We heard News Corp’s “iPad newspaper” The Daily was on track for release in early 2011, but AllThingsD is hearing something more specific — week of January 17th, in fact, with the caveat that the launch plans have “moved around a couple of times in the past few months.” From what we’ve gathered previously , The Daily will be published daily (surprise, surprise) and cost 99 cents per week (about $4.25 per month) and might leverage a new App Store subscription payment system that could be announced at an Apple event. So… nothing definitive, really. Got that? Good. News Corp’s ‘The Daily’ pub to hit iPad in January? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re assuming it would still prefer you use Internet Explorer for all your web browsing needs, but Microsoft is now lending something of a helping hand to Windows 7 users that insist on using Firefox for one reason or another. It’s just released a plug-in that gets around Firefox’s current limitations in handling H.264 -encoded videos on HTML5 pages by taking advantage of the H.264 support built into Windows 7. On a more technical level, that means the plug-in parses HTML5 pages and replaces the Video tags with a call to the Windows Media Player plug-in, which then allows the content to be played right in the browser. Sound like just what you’ve been waiting for? Hit up the link below to download the add-on and try it yourself. Microsoft releases H.264 video plug-in for Windows 7 Firefox users originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What do you get when you cross an HTC HD7 with a Mondrian ROM? Or a Schubert ROM? (‘Elephino… wait, that’s not right.) Nothing too crazy, we imagine, but in doing so, xda-developers patron ansar.ath.gr has provided a proof of concept that custom ROMs can be implemented on Windows Phone 7 devices. In more technical terms, “this proves that the imgfs.bin can be used from any branded device to any other branded device.” It’s okay, you don’t have to know what an imgfs.bin is, but if you’re the sort who likes to tweak phones well beyond what’s in the settings menu / user manual, just be patient and know there’s at least a few brilliant coders who’ll capitalize on this freshly laid groundwork. HTC HD7 gets its .bins all in a tizzy, custom ROMs up next? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …US Army testing solar powered tents for troops, gadget addicted campers
December 17, 2010 No Comment
While the military is still hashing out plans to outfit soldiers with their own smartphones , gadgets are already a part of daily life of troops in the field. Of course, more technology means more demand for power, and the Army has been evaluating technologies for flexible, lightweight photovoltaic tents and shades. “They are ideal for charging up batteries, making sure your (communications), night vision goggles and computers are powered up. You don’t want a generator on top of a mountain, and you don’t want to have to bring fuel to a generator or haul batteries,” said assistant secretary of the Army Katherine Hammack. Among the various items being tested are the TEMPER Fly, a roughly 16-by-20-foot tent able to generate 800 watts of electricity; QUADrant, a smaller version of the TEMPER Fly that generates roughly 200 watts of power; and Power Shades capable of generating up to 3 kilowatts of exportable electrical power. Sounds like a kick-ass tent for next year’s festival season ! US Army testing solar powered tents for troops, gadget addicted campers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Hyundai shows off Equus iPad owners manual, available for test drives in the App Store (video)
December 17, 2010 No Comment
Yeah, we know, you’re still having a hard time thinking of Hyundai as a luxury car brand. Get with the times, man. The Equus (“echoos”) is legitimately high-end, and not just because each and every one comes with a 16GB WiFi iPad pre-loaded with the car’s owners manual. Naturally this isn’t just a boring stack of info that you’ll only pull out to look up tire pressures and engine oil capacity — oh no. This is a properly interactive experience showing you how the directional headlights work, providing videos of various interior configurations (including the reclining “First Class” rear seats with legrests), and even offering what looks to be something of a driving game. Sure, it’s no Real Racing , but it is free, and you can check it out in the App Store now. Or, you can just live vicariously through the video below. Continue reading Hyundai shows off Equus iPad owners manual, available for test drives in the App Store (video) Hyundai shows off Equus iPad owners manual, available for test drives in the App Store (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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A few weeks back we caught our first glimpse of the open source, modular DARwIn-OP developed at Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, also known as RoMeLa. Well, there’s more information available now about the upcoming little bot, so here’s what we know. Korean company Robotis is making available the bot’s open source software, schematics, CAD and fabrication manuals, in addition to selling the fully assembled robots. DARwin-OP was unveiled recently at the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, and is built on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530-based FitPC2i which boasts a 4GB SSD, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 802.11n WiFi. Shipments of the 17.9-inch tall humanoid robots are being sent to universities first at a price of $9,600, and will run $12,000 at full retail. Hit up the source links for a far more detailed look at DARwin-OP’s specs, and there’s a video after the break. Continue reading Open source DARwIn-OP bot can be yours for just $12,000 Open source DARwIn-OP bot can be yours for just $12,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Earbuds: love ‘em or hate ‘em it’s hard to argue with their eminent practicality if you’re the sort who finds him or herself going from point A to point B on a regular basis. They fit comfortably in a pocket, don’t screw up your ‘do and, if you get a decent pair, offer some surprisingly good sound. The $80 Scout headset from NOX Audio promises to do all that and act as a hands-free microphone for your phone. Plus it has a cable that looks so much like an al dente piece of linguini we couldn’t resist trying it. How does it taste in a white clam sauce and, more importantly, how does it act as a headset? Read on to find out. Gallery: NOX Audio Scout headset Continue reading NOX Audio Scout headset review NOX Audio Scout headset review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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