Physical keyboards are old news, right? They will be come January 28, which is when Acer intends to make its dual-screen Iconia laptop available for public consumption. That’s the date we’ve received from the company’s official Spanish mouthpiece, accompanied by a lofty €1,499 ($1,987). Literal currency translations are as usual unadvisable, but that’s a hefty fee, however you want to think about it. Then again, the Iconia does come with two 14-inch multitouch LCDs , which last we checked weren’t the cheapest parts in the land, and also furnishes you with some decent grunt under the hood courtesy of a Core i5 CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 750GB of storage, an optional 3G module, and — lest we forget — a USB 3.0 port. We’re sure it’ll end up as somebody’s perfect bowl of porridge. Acer Iconia priced at €1,499, on sale in Spain on January 28 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Windows Phone Android launcher brings Metro UI’s simplicity, but none of its joy
December 10, 2010 No Comment
Need to have the latest and greatest , but can’t stand the sameness on tap ? You can easily spruce up your Android device with some Windows Phone 7 window dressing to impress your fanboy friends. Mind you, the “Windows Phone Android” launcher — now available in Android Market — isn’t good for more than a practical joke or three, as it’s buggy, doesn’t run on all phones (our Droid 2 failed, and we’re hearing some Galaxy S derivatives aren’t supported), doesn’t support notifications, and doesn’t even have those fancy auto-updating Live Tiles. No, what you’re looking at here is just a stack of square icons to launch your apps, and a second pane with a vertically scrolling list of the same. Until some brave soul brings us the real deal, though, this may be as close as you’re going to get. [Thanks, marky mark] Windows Phone Android launcher brings Metro UI’s simplicity, but none of its joy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hey, it’s December, what else are you going to do but monger rumors of the next iPad ? Reuters has rounded up no less than four sources from within Apple’s component suppliers, all expressing their belief that the hallowed tablet will be refreshed some time in early 2011. A pair of the tipsters could only go so far as to say that production at places like Wintek and Simplo is expected to ramp up in the first quarter, while the other two were more decisive in identifying the cause for the extra activity as Apple’s next tablet iteration. As to the future iPad’s camera or cameras, one source says it’ll feature both a back-mounted and a front-facing module, with Largan and Genius identified as having received new orders from Cupertino for churning out imagers. Notably, the latter is currently also supplying the iPhone 4′s photon collector and there’s no confirmation that whatever they produce will inevitably land in an iPad 2, but the tea leaves seem to be in agreement: parts are targeted for a February shipment in preparation for an April iPad refresh . Whether the new slate arrives at that time, however, will be another matter altogether. iPad 2 will have rear and front-facing cameras, say multiple sources originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Boy, we know the Cr-48 is supposed to be a test platform and all, but even by that standard, Google’s Chrome OS laptop has had a very rough first day on the job. Ambushed by one of our kindly tipsters upon its arrival, the Cr-48 has been gutted and disassembled (mostly, the motherboard is mercifully left attached to the chassis), revealing the typical arrangement of tiny electronics, which includes Hynix memory chips and a SanDisk-branded SSD. We’re just glad to see that masking tape isn’t playing a structurally integral role in its construction. Things don’t really get much better for the slinky 48 once it gets back home to Google HQ, however, as its makers have put together an entire video composed of creative destruction methods for it. Cruel, cruel people. Gallery: Google Cr-48 laptop torn down Continue reading Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video) Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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YouTube has announced that it is in the process of removing the 15-minute time length restriction imposed on videos. While the limit has, so far, only been lifted with a few special content partners like National Geographic and Lonelygirl15 (a channel which apparently still has viewers), it should pave the way for longer videos for all moving forward. So, why the change now after years of limits? Joshua Siegel, a product manager at YouTube told The New York Times that the company now has copyright issues under control via ContentID, which scans roughly 100 years worth of uploaded video per day in an attempt to fend off violations. There’s no word on when the time limit will be further lifted, but for now, you can at least finally check out epic, full length National Geographic videos on YouTube (one of which we’ve linked below). YouTube lifting 15-minute time limit for some videos originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung 470 Series 256GB SSD review roundup: impressive performance, but pricey
December 10, 2010 No Comment
If you’ve been scouring the virtual shelves for a new laptop SSD, you’ve probably come across one name more than any other: SandForce . Recently, both SandForce and Indilinx have all but taken over the SSD market in terms of controller use, but at long last we’ve got some formidable competition on the benchmarking trail. Samsung ‘s 470 Series SSD range features an in-house controller, and it’s obviously got a lot of work to do if it plans on ousting either of the previous two names from their place atop the pedestal. The good news, however, is that Sammy is well on its way. Reviews across the web have sung the praises of this her drive, with Slashgear noting that unlike most drives — which only truly impress on the read side — this one also generates drool on the write side. The critics over at Hot Hardware noted that while it won’t take advantage of SATA 6Gbps, it doesn’t “suffer from a split personality,” meaning that performance was shockingly consistent in use. Of course, the rub that everyone points to is the price — at $550 for a 256GB slab, it’s far from cheap, but it’s as close as one could get to being worth the premium. Drive in below to see for yourself. Read – Hot Hardware Read – Slashgear Read – TechSpot Read – CNET Read – Gadgetsteria Read – The SSD Review Samsung 470 Series 256GB SSD review roundup: impressive performance, but pricey originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Still slinging a laptop with USB 2.0? Fret not, as that’s all the bandwidth you need to handle LaCie ‘s Slim Blu-ray burner. As the title implies, the new unit is little more than a nicely styled external BD burner, designed to tag along with your ODD-less netbook / ultraportable and provide Blu-ray burner / viewing enjoyment at a moment’s notice. $264.99 gets you the device itself, CyberLink’s Blu-ray Disc Suite and a two-year warranty, and if you’re curious about toasting speeds, it’ll write to a BD-R at 6x (dual-layer at 4x), a BD-RE at 2x and a blank DVD at 8x. The rest of the nitty-gritty, as well as a purchase link, awaits you in the source. Gallery: LaCie Slim Blu-ray USB 2.0 external drive LaCie ships USB 2.0 Slim Blu-ray external burner for $265 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland
December 10, 2010 No Comment
Yelp may be the raconteur of restaurant recommendations and Foursquare the cardinal of check-ins, but Google has an ace up its sleeve: NFC chips . The company’s embedded near-field communications chips into each and every one of these “Recommended on Google Places” window stickers, which you’ll be able to trigger with a shiny new Nexus S — just hold your handset up to the black dot, and voila, your phone gets a “tag.” Google’s now distributing the signs on a trial basis to Portland, Oregon businesses as part of a larger Google Places kit, though it doesn’t explain how (or if) they’ll be able to program the chips. Either way, if you own a hot new joint in Portland, you might as well give it a spin. Find the sign-up form at our more coverage link, or peep a Nexus S doing its thing after the break. Continue reading Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s been a hot minute since Yamaha served up a new Digital Sound Projector, but with 3D doing its darnedest to take over the home entertainment universe, there’s hardly a better time for the YSP range to make a comeback. Debuting shortly before CES, the YSP-2200 is one of the outfits sleeker soundbars at 3.5-inches tall, touting 16 speaker beam drivers, faux 7.1 surround sound, 11 Cinema DSP programs and full internal decoding of DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. You’ll also find a foursome of HDMI 1.4a inputs alongside a single output, all of which are fully capable of handling 3D Blu-ray content. We’ve been ardent supporters of the YSP range ever since we first heard one at CEDIA 2008, but even for a loyalist, the $999.95 retail price is tough to swallow. But hey, at least that nets you a 100-watt subwoofer and a bucket of bragging rights! Continue reading Yamaha’s $1,000 YSP-2200 Digital Sound Projector debuts with HDMI 1.4a Yamaha’s $1,000 YSP-2200 Digital Sound Projector debuts with HDMI 1.4a originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Wouldn’t you Kno it — sorry, we couldn’t resist — the Kno has found its way into the confines of FCC’s labyrinthine headquarters. But not just one version, no sir / ma’am, the FCC tested both the single screen and dual screen versions together, it seems. External photos of the pair (or is it triplet?) can be found within the same entry, and while the user manual is also included, there’s nothing to glean from it. Feel free to enjoy the iconic photography all the same! Gallery: Kno in FCC Kno knows its way around the FCC, both single and dual screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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