Engadget

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Nov 6th 2009 at 11:37PM


	Netflix instant streaming demoed on PlayStation 3 We've got to admit -- the whole thing looks exceptionally sleek, but given the PS3's multimedia prowess, we didn't really expect anything less		HTC Hero / Eris mega faceoff on video Any way you lean it's a pretty good handset with some perhaps overly bulky software, a wonderful pricepoint and probably a limited time in the sun with upcoming Android 2.0 devices rolling on in.
	DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak And if riffraff like us can waltz into the store and get them, you should certainly be able to. Good luck being assimilated out there today.	Other news of import Poll: Will the DROID have you in its clutches? OpenOfficeMouse isn't free, isn't pretty Unused Adamo XPS prototypes reveal touchscreen trackpads, key-less keyboard
	Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today This half should enable all Windows 7 PCs to work with the CableCard tuners, sans-OEM requirement or inconvenient hacking.		Verizon confirms DROID tethering cost, will ask subscribers to double-down on their data plan $60 monthly for "unlimited" data, here meaning 5GB of data per, a total of 10GB split between the two $30 plans.
ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings & are a go Orb for Mac finally arrives, streams media from OS X to any internet-connected device Boxee shows off its new look at Beta Unveiling jam December 7		LG to announce Snapdragon-boasting Android phone, Korea-bound in 2010 Nokia's latest batch for emerging markets includes its cheapest phone ever Google breaks from tradition, posts DROID ad on home page

iPhone coming to The Shack: Dallas and NYC this month, nationwide in 2010?

by Ross Miller posted Nov 6th 2009 at 7:52PM

So we knew a select number of authorized resellers would start stocking iPhones soon, and thanks to a tipster, it looks like we might be getting a glimpse at a none-too-surprising recipient of the new order. As these pics from an anonymous tipster show, "big hug for your mobile life" retailer The Shack will be getting AT&T's flagship device soon, with a letter supposedly from EVP of store operations Bryan Bevin (found after the break) adding that the 3G and 3GS rollout will begin this month at some company-owned locations in the Dallas Forth Worth and New York City areas, with a nationwide rollout in 2010. Not that you necessarily needed more places to tempt you with the device, but it's always fun to have options.

Continue reading iPhone coming to The Shack: Dallas and NYC this month, nationwide in 2010?

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:01PM


	Dell Adamo XPS coming 'in time for the holidays' for $1799 (unboxing and hands-on video!) Make no mistake, this is a quintessential aspirational product.		Verizon's DROID ERIS by HTC does Android and keeps it cheap Starting Friday for $99.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate (See also: hands-on and unboxing!)
	Netflix shipping out PS3 instant streaming discs! Looks like our friend Jonathan here has a Friday delivery in store for him, while the lazier ones among us hunker down for an XMB software update late next year to let us stream Netflix to the PS3 disc-free.	Other news of import BlackBerry Bold 9700 hands-on and impressions Olympus E-P2 official, patches over E-P1 problems and jacks up the price Mavizen's electric bike hits 130 MPH, ships with Linux and WiFi TwitterPeek review
	VUDU brings Pandora, Picasa and Flickr to connected HDTVs, promises more apps soon And you thought HDTVs were made for watching TV.		iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video) For now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. (See also: DROID on sale a little early at Best Buy Mobile)
Ready for the first all-HD Winter Olympics? NBC is Dolby's spreading the word, reaching out to eyes and ears		Verizon broadband data goes prepaid Verizon's LG Chocolate Touch skips on the BL40 influence BlackBerry Curve 8530 brings optical trackpad to Verizon

Xbox 360 802.11n adapter rebirths on Costco site, ships November 10th for $88

by Ross Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 4:54PM

You can't keep a phoenix down and this Xbox 360 wireless n adapter seems to be a bird of similar feather. After discretely showing up on US retail sites and subsequently managing to drop off into internet obscurity, the 802.11n-compliant peripheral has returned to the scene via Costco's site, this time with a November 10th shipping date and a more attractive than before $88 price tag. With only five days until the 10th, will this finally be the price and date that stick? Who knows -- but at least this time we won't have to wait long to find out.

[Thanks, WeakSasco]

Dell Adamo XPS coming 'in time for the holidays' for $1799 (unboxing and hands-on video!)

by Ross Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 12:01PM

Dell's finally run its finger along the edge and unhinged the last bit of details for its enigmatic, 0.4-inch-thin Adamo XPS. As it turns out those leaked specs weren't entirely off. We're looking at a LED-backlit 13.4-inch, 720p widescreen display, 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor, GS45 integrated graphics, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB thin-micro SSD, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. In terms of connectivity, there's 802.11a/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, location awareness, DisplayPort, two USB 2.0 ports (one on each side). The 20WHr Li-Ion battery can last up to 2 hours and 36 minutes, or you can get the optional 40WHr version instead for 5 hours and 17 minutes of claimed, lab-tested use. Other packaged goods include dongles for ethernet and VGA / HDMI, and for an added fee you can nab a DVD+/-RW drive, a Blu-ray drive, or an external hard drive measured at 250GB or 500GB in capacity.

At $1,799, the price isn't as bad as originally thought, but it's still far from great if performance takes any precedence for you over style. Earlier this week, we got to spend some time with the ultra-thin chez Dell's PR firm -- not enough to really get a feel for how it performs, but enough to admire the hardware and enjoy unboxing what we're told is the final retail packaging. We saw an expected launch date listed for this month, but a rep was quick to note the current line is officially "in time for the holidays" -- just in case the company misses Black Friday, of course. Read on for some more impressions and video unboxing / hands-on!

Gallery: Dell Adamo XPS unboxing

Gallery: Dell Adamo XPS hands-on

Continue reading Dell Adamo XPS coming 'in time for the holidays' for $1799 (unboxing and hands-on video!)

T-Mobile 7.2Mbps HSPA rolling out now?

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 11:27PM

Reports are coming in, by and large it seems via Android and Me, that T-Mobile's begun its rollout of its 7.2Mbps HSPA network for some extra speedy mobile browsing. We've done some testing in the listed cities, notably Chicago and New York, but so far are coming up with the usual, mundane speeds. It'd certainly make up for yesterday's snafu (almost), but at this point we're classifying as unconfirmed. Anyone else having better luck?

Read - 1MB mobile speed test
Read - Android and Me's report

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 10:01PM


	HTC's HD2 has landed at Engadget (hands-on) We're still blown away by the fact that this is a Windows Mobile 6.5 device -- the skinning job that HTC has done here is nothing short of a miracle. (See also: HTC HD2 officially coming to US, out in Europe and Asia today!)		Verizon looking to bump early termination fee to $350 on 'advanced' devices You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? This.
	Some more perspective on the DROID and multitouch If Google was so fearful of patent litigation, we doubt Android 2.0 would have multitouch support built-in.	Other news of import NVIDIA confirms Intel chipsets won't support USB 3.0 until 2011 Apple's App Store breaks 100,000 apps Walmart's $300 HP G60 laptop gets real, detailed
	Forget HDTV and 3D, when is Ultra HDTV / Super Hi-vision coming home? Of course, if you must be first on the block with it, there's always JVC's $175k DLA-RS4000 available right now.		Imagine that: Bell offers video calling on the cheap A feature standardized with UMTS and arbitrarily disabled both by T-Mobile and AT&T in the States
Ask Engadget HD: Where can I find Blu-ray movies for cheap on Black Friday and beyond? RVU Alliance gets Motorola, Pace, Thomson and others to dream the multiroom dream		Ears-on with Sony Ericsson MH907 Motion Activated Headphones Symbian Foundation dares to call characters in the dialer a 'brainstorm idea' HTC DROID Eris unboxed and examined: 'feels much better' than Sprint Hero

DROID tethering? It's coming early 2010, says Verizon

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 2:57AM

When the Motorola DROID debuts in Verizon Wireless stores bright and early this Friday, one nice little feature that won't be making an appearance yet is tethering, for computing with your laptop on-the-go when that Android 2.0 interface just won't cut it. We're pretty sure that missing functionality won't be lessening the early adopter crowds too much, but if you are so inclined, Gearlog's confirmed with VZW that its "Broadband Access Connect" tethering plan is indeed coming to the device, but not until sometime early 2010. Now, how about muscling Motorola and / or Google for some of that double-finger pointing our fine European friends get to indulge in?

Leaked Walmart ad reveals Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card, $300 HP G60 laptop

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 12:29AM

It's not quite a $99 Xbox 360, but if this apparent Walmart scan via Kotaku is to be believed, that $199 Arcade version is getting a $100 gift card promotion going into effect this Saturday. In real terms, that boils down to a $234 Xbox 360 Pro for first-time buyers, seeing as you'll be needing that $135, 120GB hard drive, too. Also listed are a Sony Blu-ray player for $148 (we're guessing the currently-MSRP'd $199 BDP-S360), and a $298 HP G60-519WM, which touts a 2.2GHz Intel Celeron, 15.6-inch HD display, Windows 7 Home Premium, 3GB RAM, and a 250GB HDD -- not a bad followup at all for that Compaq CQ60. Some interesting spy shots from the Slick Deals forum seem to give credence to the scan, although we're still playing wait-and-see -- that $100 gift card with the Xbox 360 arcade is almost too good to be true, even if it is just a clever tactic to clear shelf space in the lead-up to Black Friday.

Update: Sure as the sun, an official ad has popped up on Yahoo's front page. Screenshot after the break.

[Thanks, just4onepost]

Read - G60-519WM spotted
Read - $199 Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card?

Continue reading Leaked Walmart ad reveals Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card, $300 HP G60 laptop

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:27PM


	AT&T sues Verizon over 'there's a map for that' ads "In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country."		Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble: all the nooks and crannies You're looking at the actual NDA signed by Barnes & Noble and Spring Design, wherein each party agreed to keep their secrets... secret.
	Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 announced, we go hands-on We give kudos to SE for stepping outside of its featurephone comfort zone, and eagerly await the final results of this unquestionably ambitious project. (See also: Sony Ericsson lets XPERIA X10 videos and press shots loose)	Other news of import Josh reveals TwitterPeek on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Qlorigan** Sony's PSPgo sells 28,000 units on first day in Japan, physical media points and laughs Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'
	Best Buy partnering with CinemaNow to stream first-run DVDs to 'all web-connected devices sold' New titles will "often" (note the qualification) be made available day and date of the DVD release.		T-Mobile USA down all over the place "Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible."
Logitech's new Harmony IR repeater Nielsen reports the effects of the digital transition		China Unicom hits a million 3G users, only sells 5,000 iPhones so far Verizon announces early store openings for DROID launch

Spring Design Alex comes out to play and show off Marvell's Armada chip

by Ross Miller posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 9:47PM

You'd think a pending lawsuit and a grainy official video would be enough exposure for one little dual-screen e-book reader, but Marvell's decided to bring out Spring Design's Alex as a way of showing off their new Armada chip, which claims a faster three frames per second refresh rate along with the usual assorted reductions in cost and power consumption. Maximum PC got the opportunity to see the Alex first-hand at the meeting, and note that while it's definitely thicker than the kindle (blame goes to the larger battery and second screen, naturally), it's a smart little device. Hit up the read link for more pics.

Read - Alex hands-on
Read - Marvells Armada: custom designed ARM SoCs break 1GHz

Acer wants the Aspire 8940 to be your Core i7-packing portable of choice

by Ross Miller posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 6:50AM

You'd think you've seen all the Windows 7 holiday laptops to last you through this yuletide season, but in comes Acer with another offering, the Core i7-packing Aspire 8940. The 18.4-inch 1080p widescreen monitor brings with it a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M, Blu-ray drive, 600GB HDD, and 4GB RAM. Let's also throw in a webcam, 802.11 a/b/g Draft-N, webcam, multi-card reader, HDMI and eSATA ports and a 8-cell Li-Ion battery for good measure. Quite a hefty number, so expect a little bit of workout if you're wanting to haul this around. Suggested price is $1,349 and all we know of the release date is "holiday season" so it should be safe to add this to your wishlist.

Gallery: Acer Aspire 8940 press shots

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 10:51PM


	Motorola MILESTONE does what DROIDon't: multitouch A quick glance at Motorola's tech specs for the Euro-flavored handset lists "pinch and zoom" as an interface feature, so yeah, it looks like this'll be in the shipping firmware. (See also: DROID headed to Germany, Italy as Motorola MILESTONE)		Leaked docs show HTC's DROID Eris launching on November 6th for $99, running Android 1.5 Like it or not, we've got it on pretty reasonable authority that HTC's first "DROID" phone is nothing more than a rebadged, shape-shifted Hero (something we've been hearing for a while now).
	Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone's Flash message "Apple restricts use of technologies required by products like Flash Player. Until Apple eliminates these restrictions, Adobe cannot provide Flash Player for the iPhone or iPod."	Other news of import Apple pitching $30 a month TV service for iTunes to the networks? iPhone and Windows 7 don't play nice, Intel P55 chipset to blame Entelligence: Of ebooks and suburban moms Apple killing Atom support, dreams of netbook hackintoshers in next Snow Leopard release?
	XBMC ARM port teased, will manage HD playback from pocket-sized Beagleboard Right now the software seems to be struggling a bit with what looks to be 480p wide content, but the devs promise proper HD playback in the full release.		More on the DROID: thoughts from the rest of Engadget While Paul, Nilay, and Chris all contributed to Josh's official Engadget review, there were definitely some different perspectives (and dissenting opinions) amongst the team.
Are DVRs actually going to save the network TV model? Poll: What's the biggest Blu-ray disc still due to arrive in 2009?		Palm Pixi definitely shipping with a new webOS version, but which? Acer Liquid's Snapdragon processor to be clocked at just 768MHz? New Sony Ericsson Rachael UI video hits, still looks nothing like Android

Dell Mini 3iX has WiFi, 3G, and a number of leaked UI photos

by Ross Miller posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 10:08PM

You know what's ridiculous? Modern smartphones without WiFi (why hello there, Pixi and Tour). Looks like Dell's getting the message with the supposed Brazil-bound Mini 3iX, which as far as we can tell is the Mini 3i as it should've been -- same specs, plus WiFi and 3G connectivity. The OPhone-esque user interface also seems to have gone through some changes, at least cosmetically, and Cellular Cafe has the vivid imagery -- so might this be the little guy rumored to be coming to AT&T, or will we get the 2G variant instead? How about we just skip this one altogether and get the Streak?

Cisco FlipShareTV streamer outed in FCC documents

by Ross Miller posted Oct 30th 2009 at 12:33AM

Flip Video remote, meet your family. One of Cisco's latest FCC filings happened to keep its user manual outside the seal of confidentiality, giving us a pretty good look at FlipShareTV, a setup for streaming recorded video from the computer's FlipShare software, out the USB dongle transmitted wirelessly to the receiver connected to the TV... and that's about it. Nothing too thrilling here, and there's no indication of price or release date. More pictures below -- any Flip enthusiasts actually excited by this?

Gallery: Cisco FlipShareTV

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Motorola DROID user guide unearthed in its entirety

by Ross Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 at 11:11PM

We're not sure how much more Motorola DROID tidbits you need to whet your appetite until its November 6th Verizon launch, but in hopes of keeping those cravings at bay, we've got the entire user guide here. No revelations so far, but seeing as we're already in possession of the phone, we weren't really expecting any. See it for yourself either via the gallery below or as a PDF just past the read link.

Gallery: Motorola Droid User Guide

[Thanks, BBLeaks]

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

by Ross Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 at 10:06PM


	Nokia vs. Apple: the in-depth analysis Nokia can't compete against Apple, so obviously it's abusing the hopelessly-broken patent system get a little payback, Espoo-style -- right? Well, wrong.		ICANN set to allow non-Latin characters in domain names, half the world rejoices Pending approval this Friday, the first new domain names will start coming out in 2010, when we can expect a whole new wave of internet land grabbing.
	Nintendo DSi LL goes large in Japan on November 21 DSi XL coming to US and Europe Q1 2010. (See also: Nintendo profits sink on declining console sales, weak game selection)	Other news of import Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala' released, could decide your OS fate TomTom Car Kit for iPhone review iTunes goes 9.0.2: adds support for Apple TV 3.0, kills Pre sync
	Broadcom's new DVR chip could make all our dreams come true The sad news is that there's no way to know how long we'll have to wait before a DVR is released that'll actually take advantage it.		Best Buy offering DROID pre-orders as of today, automates the mail-in rebate Best Buy also seems to be the first place to offer pre-orders of the phone, so if you're worried about a sell out or just generally averse to affixing stamps to things, go forth.
Transformers 2 tops chart, best selling Blu-ray of all time? Apple TV 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius in tow Ask Engadget HD: Is it (still) a good time to buy a TiVo?		HTC CEO says he could but won't make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile DROID Phone Holder and Multimedia Station go for $30 apiece

Nintendo DSi XL coming to America in Q1 2010

by Ross Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 at 8:04PM

Since Europe and Japan can't have all the fun -- unless, of course, it's a black Nintendo Wii -- the super-sized DSi XL is also due out in the US sometime in Q1 2010, according to a spokesperson speaking with Joystiq. Still no word on price, but we wouldn't be surprised if it parallel the slight markup for the ¥20,000 / US $221 Japanese version. Looks like that smaller-screen version isn't looking so hot for Grandma's Christmas present anymore.

First Storm 2 ad huffs and puffs for attention (video)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 at 12:17AM

Given the timing of Storm 2's launch and the Motorola DROID's unveiling, you'd think Verizon had all but abandoned its touchscreen BlackBerry. But lo and behold, we do have a new television spot. "Who says lightning never strikes twice" -- who said it ever struck the first time? Video after the break.

[Via Gear Diary]

Continue reading First Storm 2 ad huffs and puffs for attention (video)