MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life
December 13, 2010 No Comment
You’ll remember that back at Computex MSI introduced two tablets or so-called WinPads — there was the Windows 7 / Atom slate and another one of the Android / ARM variety . Well, MSI is planning to resurrect those with some slight improvements for CES, and this time it’s gearing up to actually release them both. First up is the 10.1-inch Windows 7 Home Premium version, which will be one of the first Intel Atom Oak Trail -powered devices out there, says the company. According to MSI’s Director of North American Sales Andy Tung, Intel’s tablet solution does show both battery life and performance improvements over the current Atom chips, but it’s “not extremely significant.” Based on our discussion with Tung, we got the feeling that it’s a step in the right direction for Atom but still not as long-lasting as it needs to be to compete with ARM-based tablets. Beyond that, the tablet measures less than an inch thick and will have a 1024 x 600-resolution, multitouch display, mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, an SD card slot, and an accelerometer. Tung wasn’t ready to reveal pricing, but he said it should be available in early 2011. On the Android side of things, MSI’s got a dual-core Tegra 2-powered 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-resolution slate prepped with the same selection of ports and features — although, this one is slightly thinner and also has a drop-proof design. So, what version of Android will it run? Well, that depends on Google’s timing, says Tung. If Android 3.0 or Honeycomb is available by the February / March timeframe MSI will go with that option — however, if it’s not, it will go with Gingerbread , so it can hit the market earlier in 2011. We have to say both tablets sound rather intriguing, but will they be able to go up against the hundreds of others coming at CES: The Tablet Year ? We’ll know more in Vegas, that’s for sure! MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Cobra’s PhoneLynx BT 215 Bluetooth adapter keeps your RCA landline handset ringing (in a sense)
December 13, 2010 No Comment
So, your RCA 25055RE1 cordless landline phone is a lot more comfortable to hold upside your cranium for hours on end compared to that [insert smartphone here], but you aren’t about to reinstate the phone service that you axed half a decade ago. What’s a boy (or girl) to do? Enter Cobra’s PhoneLynx BT 215, a Bluetooth-to-home phone adapter that funnels any call you receive on your cellphone to any handset that you connect to the peripheral. Better still, it’s capable of distributing calls to multiple landline handsets at once, enabling the whole family to talk to Uncle Rickie when he phones in this holiday season. Oh, and did we mention that it creates a dial tone when you pick up the aforesaid RCA handset while also pushing calls out via your cellphone? You can get your retro on now for around $35. Cobra’s PhoneLynx BT 215 Bluetooth adapter keeps your RCA landline handset ringing (in a sense) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Eizo announces more detail on glasses-free 3D DuraVision LCD, releases more pics of this BBW
December 13, 2010 No Comment
You admired its bezels two weeks ago when Eizo released the first details to the world, now wonder at its full specs and more details. The company has released a spec sheet confirming the 1920 x 1080 resolution and 23-inch size, also detailing how it works. The monitor uses a directional backlight and a time lag to effectively hit each eye individually through the same pixel, enabling that high resolution in a small panel but still delivering glasses-free performance. Eizo pledges no moir
Continue reading …Senate approves Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, ensures a future for noise pollution
December 13, 2010 No Comment
If you’ve been lucky enough to occupy the driver’s seat of a hybrid or electric vehicle you’ve surely enjoyed the bliss that comes from smoothly and silently pulling away from a stoplight. You’ve also, surely, run over at least a couple of pedestrians while doing it. (We hit at least eight of the poor souls during our latest Volt test drive .) Sadly, here comes John Kerry and the rest of the US Senate to ruin our Carmageddon -esque fun. The Senate has unanimously approved the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, which requires: …minimum level of sound emitted from a motor vehicle that is necessary to provide blind and other pedestrians with the information needed to reasonably detect a nearby electric or hybrid vehicle operating at or below the cross-over speed How much sound? Well, they haven’t figured that out yet, nor have they figured out up to what speed it must be required, nor what sort of noise is required, but by golly there will be noise . Those answers will in theory be found through the course of a study that will take no more than 48 months to complete, leaving us wonder if current noisemaker options on the Volt , Leaf , and Prius will meet the need. Regardless, if you want a quiet car you’d better start your financing. Senate approves Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, ensures a future for noise pollution originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don’t work with Sticks
December 13, 2010 No Comment
Sony has announced three (count ‘em) new series of SD cards, giving amateurs, pros, and prosumers alike even more choices on where to stick their pics. First up is the budget Essential Series in 2, 4, and 8GB capacities, offering Class 4 (4MB/s) speeds and little else. Next up is the similarly Class 4 Experience Series, which adds 16 and 32GB models to the list. Finally is the full-bore, Class 10 Expert Series in 8, 16, and 32GB capacities. This is obviously your choice for high bitrate HD recording (hello PMW-F3 ), but any should do just fine for taking pictures. All come with a handy “memo space” for those with petite handwriting and ultra-fine point pens, and all ship in January, but, alas, none have been assigned MSRPs just yet. Now, who said Sony doesn’t like industry-standard formats? Continue reading Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don’t work with Sticks Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don’t work with Sticks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Roku drops new firmware in time for the holidays, XR gets 1080p, Hulu optimization for all
December 13, 2010 No Comment
If you’re an owner of one of the early Roku XR units and have been left on the 720p bench while the newer models step up to full HD, it’s time to get in the game. Roku has released a firmware update (2.9-b1509) that unleashes the necessary pixels on the XR, also including some niceties for those models that can already do 1080p. The full list is at the source link, but look for improved performance for viewing Hulu along with a suite of bug fixes. Leave your box running and it’ll update itself, or if you want it now you can grab it manually under “Settings,” “Player Info,” “Check for Updates.” Yeah, you know you want to. Roku drops new firmware in time for the holidays, XR gets 1080p, Hulu optimization for all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Aigo’s iPhone 4 battery case internalizes your charge cable, InCase Snap Battery lightens the load
December 13, 2010 No Comment
Our quest for the perfect iPhone 4 battery case continues apace with the Exolife Exogear presently holding the lead, slightly ahead of the Mophie Juice Pack Air and the Mili PowerSpring . Just like these fine selections, the Aigo aiPower i616 claims to “virtually double” battery life, but it’s got another trick up its sleeve: a hidden USB ribbon cable for both charging and data built right into the case. Should you want for a longer sync cable than it provides on its own, there’s also a second microUSB port built into the left side, as well as a switch for the external 1500mAh battery and a handy button to display its current level of charge. Not bad for a pleasantly comparable 125.8 x 62.6 x 17.25mm, nor the $80 asking price. If you’re looking for something a little more svelte, however, the $60 InCase Snap Battery might be more to your liking — it adds a 900mAh battery in a soft-touch frame that InCase claims is the slimmest around. We can’t say it looks like it offers much protection, only covering the corners and rear of the phone, but fashion has long been a harsh mistress to those who obey her siren call. Aigo’s iPhone 4 battery case internalizes your charge cable, InCase Snap Battery lightens the load originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google hides mathematical puzzle in Cr-48 video, rewards its solver with a laptop
December 13, 2010 No Comment
Watching Google destroy Cr-48 laptops for fun can’t have been easy for any of you, but it turns out that the wily geeks of Mountain View had a clandestine purpose to their malevolence after all. An equation, scribbled out in old school chalk in the background of one scene, attracted the attention of a Sylvain Zimmer, who, together with a group of like-minded geeks, set about trying to solve it and discover its meaning. A full day’s worth of cryptographic work later, Sylvain was left with a set of numbers he was able to convert into letters, which in turned spelled out “speed and destroy.” Appending goo.gl, Google’s URL shortener , to the front of those words got him to a screen congratulating him for being “first to figure out our MENSA-certified puzzle” and promising to send him a Cr-48 laptop as his prize. Kudos to Sylvain… and to Google for being such irrepressible geeks. Continue reading Google hides mathematical puzzle in Cr-48 video, rewards its solver with a laptop Google hides mathematical puzzle in Cr-48 video, rewards its solver with a laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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After making a false start last week, the official Latitude app from Google seems to have stuck its landing in the iTunes App Store. Surprisingly for an initial release, Latitude is already showing a 2.0.0.346 version number demonstrating, perhaps, just how long this one’s been waiting for Phil Schiller’s sanction . Whatever the case, there’s never been a better opportunity for iOS 4 users to track down their very own Ana Leftin. Google Latitude lands in iTunes App Store, for good this time originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …World’s first Nissan Leaf delivered — it’s black, like the future of gas-powered cars
December 13, 2010 No Comment
Somebody at Nissan knows how to keep to a calendar, it seems, as the promised December US deliveries of the Leaf began over this weekend. A big deal was made out of the first one’s arrival, a shiny black number purchased by Olivier Chalouhi from the San Francisco Bay Area, which will be accompanied by Leafs landing across the other launch markets of Arizona, Southern California, Oregon, Seattle, and Tennessee. A second batch of Nissan’s all-electric hatchbacks is coming on December 20th, with the company promising a nationwide US launch for 2012. In the meantime, Hawaii and Texas will be the next locales to join the fun early in 2011 and reservations will be reopened soon thereafter. Sadly, some “additional markets” are expected to be pushed into the latter half of the year — guess Nissan knows how to use a calendar to mark off its delays too. Continue reading World’s first Nissan Leaf delivered — it’s black, like the future of gas-powered cars World’s first Nissan Leaf delivered — it’s black, like the future of gas-powered cars originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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