IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 24/02/2010

Alienware M11x review

We've been itching to get our hands on the Alienware M11x ever since we first saw it at CES -- it's one of the most interesting riffs on the thin-and-light we've seen in a long time. Sure, it's compact, but inside it's got a ULV Core 2 Duo paired with a switchable NVIDIA GT335M GPU, making it one of the most powerful small laptops on the market. But power never comes cheap: the M11x starts at $799, and our tester model equipped with an upgraded 1.3GHz SU7300 Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM clocks in at $949. That's pricey, but potentially worth it if you're a serious gamer on the go. You know we had to test one and find out -- let's see if the M11x can back up those looks with performance.

Special thanks to our new favorite reader Joe Kelly, who loaned us his M11x, box number 001, for this review!

Gallery: Alienware M11x unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading Alienware M11x review

Alienware M11x review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola CLIQ updated, Android 2.1 still MIA
Sitting somewhere between that accidental update from a few weeks back and an honest-to-goodness cut of Android 2.1 lies this puppy, a new official build for Motorola's CLIQ versioned 1.3.18. By all appearances, this is basically a smoothed-out, refined version of the first CLIQ upgrade from early December, featuring further improvements to battery life and both touchscreen and accelerometer accuracy, but they've also managed to squeeze in QuickOffice 2 and better support for corporate email accounts. Though we'd prefer Eclair, of course, we'll take what we can get -- and technically, we're not even due for 2.1 yet anyhow. The upgrade's being pushed as a phased rollout -- as virtually all Android updates seem to be -- so if you haven't gotten it yet, keep checking every ten seconds or so (and if people think you're acting strangely, just claim that you're getting a ton of text messages -- it usually works for us).

[Thanks, Juan R.]

Motorola CLIQ updated, Android 2.1 still MIA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's Navibot robot vacuum charting European living rooms in April
Roomba has ruled the roost when it comes to domestic chores for a long time -- too long. It's getting some serious competition from Samsung, which is finally going to unleash one of its robovacs onto the rest of the world. Well, to Europe anyway. The Navibot is set to spread its wings across the EU in March, having been apparently warmly received in limited Italian tests last year. The bot captures 30fps video of your abode, documenting your feng shui and charting the most efficient course around your coffee table and the display case that houses your TMNT collection. It's even sophisticated enough to pick up where it left off should it run out of juice mid-stride, after returning home for a recharge, but that kind of smarts will cost you: €399 for the basic model with a single virtual wall, and €499 for a slightly posher version with touch-sensitive buttons and a second virtual wall. There's no word on an American release just yet, meaning Roomba's home turf is safe -- for now.

Filed under: Household, Robots

Samsung's Navibot robot vacuum charting European living rooms in April originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW commits to Megacity EV by 2013, will start by testing ActiveE all-electric 1 series next year

BMW's first all-electric regular series production vehicle, the Megacity EV, has now been set in stone and inserted into the company's roadmap for a commercial launch in 2012 or 2013. The Bavarian automaker has gone official with word that it plans to use its Leipzig assembly plant to produce the car and further notes that it'll feature a similar setup to the ActiveE concept (pictured above), which is set for field testing in 2011. Essentially a 1 series that feeds off the electric grid rather than the nearest diesel pump, the ActiveE runs off an array of lithium-ion batteries á la the well liked but recently troubled Tesla Roadster, and will serve as a test mule for refining the underlying technology. Generating up to 170bhp might not sound all that impressive, but it should be more than sufficient for the urban commuters these vehicles will be aimed at. Now we just need Mercedes and Audi to match that release schedule and the electric car should finally have its day in the mainstream sun.

BMW commits to Megacity EV by 2013, will start by testing ActiveE all-electric 1 series next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BCC launches Alex, the laptop free of hassles but not monthly surcharges (video)

What's better than paying £400 ($615) for a laptop from a place that won't tell you isn't very forthcoming about what's inside it? Paying that much for a laptop that then comes with a £9.99 ($15) monthly fee just to use the thing. It's the Alex from BCC, the Broadband Computer Company (not to be confused by the Alex from Spring Design, or Alex Bushill from the BBC), a somewhat chunky looking laptop loaded with some custom layer over Linux promising an always updated, always ready, and incredibly easy to use experience. It also has a round mousepad that says "Alex" on it. The machine should be secure, shipping with a USB thumb drive that must be plugged in for it to work -- something we're guessing most people will never bother to unplug. There's online file storage and a UI full of pretty colors, but we're having a bit of a hard time with that cost. That said, if you're the perpetually on-call tech support person in your family it might be a small price to pay for some peace and quiet.

Update: TheLostSwede dug through the Alex site and found a spec sheet. We're talking 1.6GHz worth of Intel T1600 Celeron power, 1GB of memory, a 15.4-inch display driven by integrated graphics, 120GB of storage, and a DVD/RW drive. Hot stuff, readers. Hot stuff.

Continue reading BCC launches Alex, the laptop free of hassles but not monthly surcharges (video)

BCC launches Alex, the laptop free of hassles but not monthly surcharges (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates Engadget Award with a new Linux backpack (video)

Yes, Kondo KHR-3HV, you were our choice for robot of the year, and we see you're celebrating by going out and getting yourself some new gear. We like your taste. Inside that fancy new backpack is a 32-bit Samsung ARM CPU running at 200MHz, powerful enough to handle Linux and things like onboard image processing and object recognition. It also supports WiFi, meaning Kondo can beam what he sees wirelessly and become a roving security guard -- a very small and non-lethal security guard, but a guard nontheless. This kind of tech (shown off in a video below) will set you back ¥60,000, or about $660, and yes that's just for the backpack. (The bot itself goes for somewhere north of the $1,300 range.) So congratulations again on your victory, 3HV -- just don't let it go to your webcam.

Continue reading Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates Engadget Award with a new Linux backpack (video)

Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates Engadget Award with a new Linux backpack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's February 23rd, do you know where your Spring Design Alex is?

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but it looks like the lovely Spring Design Alex has quietly missed its ship date. Back at CES the word was Febuary 22nd and, after spending a little quality time with the thing, we've been counting the days. Here we are on February 23rd and the only thing up for sale at the Spring Design website is a "coming soon" note, and we already have more of those than we know what to do with. Even more discouraging, the Borders site is still listing only Sony Readers up for sale. We've reached out to Spring Design to see what's up, so hang onto your pulp until we get a response.

[Thanks, Matthäus]

It's February 23rd, do you know where your Spring Design Alex is? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video)

As unexpected sources of tech news go, UK television presenter Jonathan Ross is pretty high up there. But lo and behold, the man's had a chance to spend some quality time with Microsoft's Project Natal setup and while he's not altogether impressed with the current state of it, his note on when it's coming out is the one thing nobody has known for sure yet. "Got until October" may mean an October release, or it may imply they can work on it through October in time for an early November release (something we heard earlier), but altogether we find this both credible and logical considering the natural urge to try and get the latest gaming tech in well before the holidays. Need more convincing? Skip past the break to see the Wossmeister having a whale of a time with that balloon-blocking game that's embarrassed many a journalist already.

Continue reading Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video)

Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI converges everything with 24-inch 3D HD Wind Top all-in-one

Now here's a spec sheet maven's dream: MSI has just announced its new Wind Top all-in-ones, and the top model brings every modern spec you can think of. Full HD resolution, 3D capabilities with 120Hz refresh rates, Intel processors up to Core i7, and even multitouch adorn its list of goodies. The new flagships will be known as the Wind Top AE2420 in the 24-incher category and AE2280 in the 22-inch class. They're joined by a selection of high-efficiency machines, such as the AP1920 and AE1920, which promise to cut down the electricity bills for "environmentally-minded business users." That's still hardly scratching the surface, though, as MSI is really preparing a small army of AIOs to display at CeBIT, and you can bet the house we'll be there to touch and ogle at their latest and greatest.

MSI converges everything with 24-inch 3D HD Wind Top all-in-one originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polaroid PoGo instant digicam on sale next week, toilet graffiti will never be the same

We still don't have the European or US release dates for the Polaroid Pogo instant digicam but they can't be far behind the February 26th date just announced for Japan. Looks like we might see a price cut too, given the ¥10,000 (about $110) price in Japan compared to the $199 price announced at CES. Of course, you still have to shell out for the ZINK instant photo paper 10-packs scheduled to run for $4.99, or $12.99 for the 30-pack variety. As a camera, it's not much with its 5 megapixel sensor, SDHC storage, weak-sauce LCD, and 0x optical zoom as we discovered during our hands-on. What it lacks in specs, though, is made up for by its novelty. 2-inch by 3-inch photo stickers in 60 seconds? Urban ego tagging just got a brand new playbook.

Also announced is a bevy of forgettable budget shooters, including the 12 megapixel t1235, 12 megapixel i1237 with touchscreen LCD, and 9 megapixel a930. Lady GaGa must be so proud.

Polaroid PoGo instant digicam on sale next week, toilet graffiti will never be the same originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia's Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless

The Nokia Research Center has another tech tease that gives us a glimpse into one of our many possible mobile computing futures. The so-called, Explore and Share concept starts by placing an N900 onto a "writer" that's tethered to a PC at a retail store. At that point, the PC recognizes the handset and serves up a number of options to the purchaser. For the purposes of the demo, an unnamed Finn selects an album that downloads to the handset in less than 10 seconds. Less than 10 seconds, wirelessly! If we assume that the 18 track Bruce Springsteen album is somewhere between 100MB and 200MB then we're looking at a 10MBps to 20MBps transfer rate. Nokia doesn't admit to what tech it's using, referring to it only as "a new radio technology." It's certainly not NFC which tops out at 424kbps, or Bluetooth 3.0 + HS which tops out at 3MBps. It also negotiates much faster than WiFi (though that could just be editing trickery). It's closer to Wireless USB's real-world data rates of around 15MBps or TransferJet's 375Mbps effective throughput. Or as a long shot, maybe Bluetooth 4.0 which targets 60Mbps (theoretical) transfer rates. Regardless, it's fast so we have to agree with Nokia when it deadpans: "Sounds great. Doesn't. It." Check out the action after the break.

Continue reading Nokia's Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless

Nokia's Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Portege M780 marries Core i7 with tablet ergonomics, goes official

What would we ever do without our eagle-eyed readers? Bob has spotted the above M780 tablet PC from Toshiba (which we first heard of a couple of weeks ago) on the company's official site, though its product page has yet to be linked to from any of the home pages. So it's official, but sort of prematurely so. Browsing through the spec sheet, this update to the M750 seems to lack for nothing, as its maxed out variant (priced at $1,799) offers a 2.66GHz Core i7-620M, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 7200RPM 320GB hard drive. Okay, you could stand to upgrade those integrated graphics perhaps, but it's a potent package nonetheless. It's also interesting to see these 12-inch convertible tablets maturing to the point of offering viable workstation performance, as the M780 is joined by Lenovo's ThinkPad X201T and Fujitsu's upcoming tablet in offering Intel's finest and fastest dual-core processor inside.

[Thanks, Bob]

Update: Toshiba has completed the ceremonies of officialdom now, with a full press release, which also notes the addition of a multitouch panel to the Satellite Pro U500.

Toshiba Portege M780 marries Core i7 with tablet ergonomics, goes official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world's largest cross-platform app store

Now this is intriguing. PocketGear has just acquired its former competitor Handango in the cross-platform app store space, and can now claim a library of software that places it right alongside Apple's App Store in terms of the pure number of applications on offer. PocketGear has been busy providing the infrastructure for things like Samsung's TouchWiz widget store and Palm's Software Store for a while, whereas Handango used to be the largest independent app store out there, and their consolidated catalog will offer more than 140,000 applications on all the major non-Apple platforms: Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Symbian, and WinMo. The number of actually useful apps has not been disclosed, but we love the idea of an independent competitor nudging the proprietary stores along so let's hope things go well for them. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world's largest cross-platform app store

PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world's largest cross-platform app store originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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United Nations identifies e-waste as an urgent and growing problem, wants change

E-waste might be one of the biggest misnomers in the history of nomery -- the image it creates in the mind is of a bunch of email and document files clogging up your local internet pipes. The reality of it is that electronic waste is rapidly populating ever-growing landfill areas in so-called developing countries (they're poor, just call a spade a spade) and the issue has now garnered the attention of the United Nations. The UN Environment Programme has issued a wideranging report warning that e-waste in China and South Africa could double or even quadruple within the next decade, whereas India could experience a five-fold rise. Major hazards exist in the unregulated and informal recycling of circuit boards and techno gadgets, as processes like backyard incineration for the retrieval of gold generate toxic gases while also being wildly inefficient. The whole point of the report is to encourage some global cooperation in setting up modern and safe recycling facilities in the affected countries to ameliorate the problem, though being generally more careful in our consumption and disposal of electronics wouldn't do the environment's chances any harm either.

United Nations identifies e-waste as an urgent and growing problem, wants change originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gartner: Apple, Android, and RIM winners in 2009 smartphone growth, Nokia and Symbian still dominate

Gartner just released its annual numbers for worldwide mobile phone sales to end users in the year known as two thousand nine. Looking at smartphone OS market share alone, Gartner shows the iPhone OS, Android, and RIM making the biggest gains (up 6.2, 3.4, and 3.3 percentage points from 2008, respectively) at the expense of Windows Mobile (down to 3.1%) and Symbian (down to 5.5%). Although Gartner says that Symbian "has become uncompetitive in recent years," (ouch) it concedes that market share is still strong especially for Nokia; something backed up by Nokia's Q4 financials and reported quarterly smartphone growth by 5 percentage points. Regarding total handsets of all classifications sold, Nokia continues to dominate with 36.4% of all sales to end users (down from 38.6% in 2008) while Samsung and LG continue to climb at the expense of Motorola (dropping from 7.6% to 4.5% of worldwide sales in 2009) and Sony Ericsson. See that table after the break or hit up the source for the full report.

Continue reading Gartner: Apple, Android, and RIM winners in 2009 smartphone growth, Nokia and Symbian still dominate

Gartner: Apple, Android, and RIM winners in 2009 smartphone growth, Nokia and Symbian still dominate originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic's new VNB131 ViewBook Pro puts an attractive spin on the 13.3-inch ULV laptop

Viewsonic isn't quite our go-to for excellent PC design just yet, but its new VNB131 ViewBook Pro is a surprisingly decently attractive alternative to the usual ULV fare from the likes of Acer and ASUS. Maybe it's just that touch of "1999" in the aluminum curves and accents that we're finding ourselves suddenly drawn to. Outside of the looks, the VNB131 is mostly pretty stock ULV: there's an Intel ULV SU7300 Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB HDD, 2GB of RAM, a DVD burner, HDMI, VGA, 802.11n and a 7-in-1 card reader. Interestingly, however, you can swap out the DVD drive for an extra 3 cell battery, which in conjunction with the stock 6 cell should offer up to 12 hours of battery life. We're sure you sacrifice a bit on weight and thickness for that luxury, and the price isn't best-in-class either at $949. Still, it's not bad for a company that's still thinks it's pulling one over on people by trying to rip the "MacBook Pro" below-screen lettering. It's available now, wherever ViewBooks are sold. Check out another shot of the laptop after the break, along with some fancy PR.

Continue reading ViewSonic's new VNB131 ViewBook Pro puts an attractive spin on the 13.3-inch ULV laptop

ViewSonic's new VNB131 ViewBook Pro puts an attractive spin on the 13.3-inch ULV laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG's in-cell multitouch laptop displays get unveiled, certified with Windows 7 Touch Logo (video)

Want evidence for the old saying that there's always something next to wait around for with technology? We've only just reviewed the most bodacious X200 Tablet from Lenovo, yet already there's a capacitive multitouch display that promises to be that little bit better. LG's in-cell multitouch technology places the touchy-feely parts inside -- rather than as a film on top of -- the LCD panel, which we're told eliminates the loss of picture quality and brightness that regular multitouch results in. It only works with two fingers so far, but LG is still pretty pleased with itself for being the first to gain the Windows 7 Touch Logo sticker with this technology, which was previously limited to cellphone-sized displays. Mass production is set for the second half of this year, and we'll go ahead and assume that local nemesis Samsung will be using every moment until then to offer its own competing models. Bring on the marginally better touchscreens! We've now got a video for you as well, you know where to find it.

Continue reading LG's in-cell multitouch laptop displays get unveiled, certified with Windows 7 Touch Logo (video)

LG's in-cell multitouch laptop displays get unveiled, certified with Windows 7 Touch Logo (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Multi-Tab concept elevates power strips to an art form

We've seen plenty products both real and imagined that promise to improve on the standard power strip, but few as elegantly designed as this so-called "Multi-Tab" concept from designer Soon Mo Kang. Not only is it modular to accommodate as many plugs as you need, but each module also has its own release mechanism to eject the plug without pulling on it, and it would come with a set of stickers to let you label each plug for minimal confusion. About the only drawback is that it might not be able to handle larger plugs, but that's nothing a little fine-tuning can't fix -- optional brick modules, perhaps? Either way, you likely haven't seen a better video of a power strip than the one after the break.

Continue reading Multi-Tab concept elevates power strips to an art form

Multi-Tab concept elevates power strips to an art form originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft and Amazon announce open-source patent agreement, trinkets in exchange for air kisses

Mention "Microsoft" and "open-source" in the same breath and you're guaranteed to create a suspicion interrupt within the Linux community. Toss in "patent agreement" and out come the irate spokesmen. So imagine the response to the announcement that Microsoft and Amazon have reached a cross-patent agreement that gives Amazon the right to use open-source software in its Kindle in exchange for an undisclosed tithe to Redmond. Microsoft also gains rights to Amazon's patent portfolio.

The move prompted Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, to claim that Microsoft appears to be trying to, "create uncertainty around Linux." Mind you, this isn't just tin-foil worry from the wire colander collective, Microsoft claims that free and open-source software violates some 235 Microsoft patents. A big enough stick to coax a number of companies -- like Novell, Linspire, Xandros, Apple, and HP -- into striking agreements with Microsoft or risk litigation as was the case with TomTom. Agreements that Canonical's Mark Shuttelworth called, "Trinkets in exchange for air kisses," or "patent terrorism" if you prefer Sun Microsystems' take.

Microsoft and Amazon announce open-source patent agreement, trinkets in exchange for air kisses originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Tablet review

Oh sure, the world may be off creating underpowered, web-based tablets, but Lenovo's not giving up on those who still need an old-fashioned, fully-powered tablet PC (all 10.1 of you). Truth be told, powerful is exactly how we would describe the new X201 Tablet with its new Intel low voltage Core i7 CPU and 4GB of RAM. But beyond being one of the speedier 12-inch laptops out there, its capacitive touchscreen now lets the touch-happy among us alternate between taking notes with its Wacom stylus and putting two fingers down to zoom or scroll. Sounds like a near perfect experience to us, but before tossing over $1,900 we figured you'd want to make sure it really is. We've been putting the X201T through the paces over the last few days, so hop on past the break for our full review.

Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Tablet review

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Tablet review

Lenovo ThinkPad X201 Tablet review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad bumps bring X201, X201s, X201t, W701, and W701ds into the Core i7 fold

Lenovo's giving some of its ThinkPad flagships a nice little spec overhaul, specifically the X200 series of ultraportables and the spectrum-leaping W700 hardlyportable dual screen laptop. The new X201 and X201s start things off with a new option for touchpads on the 12.1-inch form factor, options for Core i7 and Core i5 processors, and sub-three pound weigh-ins on at least the 4-cell configuration. The X201s is slightly lighter and slightly thinner, and is limited to Core i7 procs, though neither version gets much under an inch thick. The X201t (pictured) is the well-leaked tablet version, adding on a bit more thickness in exchange for a highly configurable screen, which includes options for outdoor viewing, capacitive touch and of course pen input. All three laptops rely on Intel HD graphics and are rather extensively configurable, with batteries ranging up into the 12 hour ballpark with the 9 cell battery option on the X201 and X201s. Unfortunately you'll still have to look to Lenovo's consumer line for HDMI output -- none of these machines are packing anything other than VGA.

Meanwhile, on the other end of town, the 17-inch, Wacom-equipped W701 and W701ds (dual screen) are making the leap to Core i7 as well, though the Core i7-920 Extreme and Core i7-820 QM Quad Core on display here is fairly desktop class. There's also NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M / 2800M graphics, and an option for a dual SSD drive configuration to really break the bank.

All of these laptops should be available in the beginning of March, with starting prices of $1,199 (X201), $1,599 (X201s), $1,549 (X201t), $2,199 (W701), and $3,799 (W701ds). Can't wait to find out more? We've got a review of the X201t all warm and ready for you.

Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad X201 and W701 press shots

Lenovo ThinkPad bumps bring X201, X201s, X201t, W701, and W701ds into the Core i7 fold originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 Fermi cards launching March 26th

It's okay, we understand your confusion, but the news here isn't that NVIDIA uses CoTweet as its Twitter client. What's exciting is that the GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 -- the company's first to use the new Fermi architecture -- are just over a month from release. Friday, March 26th, and given that also happens to coincidence with the kickoff date for Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East 2010 (of which NVIDIA is a major sponsor), we tend to think that's not just some convenience coincidence.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 Fermi cards launching March 26th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Legend's battery compartment ready to blow minds

We touched on the Legend's innards during our video demo of the phone at MWC last week, but at the time, we didn't see what was actually under the plastic flap. The answer? A most unusual battery compartment, that's what. HTC's unibody follow-on to last year's Hero throws away the concept of a battery cover altogether, opting instead for an endcap that conceals slots for the SIM and microSD card along with the battery -- in other words, it slot-loads rather than dropping into place like almost every other phone you've used. Besides eliminating a big, ugly battery cover, the setup means that all three components can be changed independently; gone are the days of yanking the battery just to swap SIMs, for instance. It's not a totally unprecedented configuration (the Devour takes a similar path, for one), but with HTC's weight being thrown behind these slick designs now, we're excited to see where it could lead -- assuming signal strength still rules with that much aluminum in play.

HTC Legend's battery compartment ready to blow minds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sigma trio espied at PMA, COO expresses interest in supporting 'mirrorless camera systems'

Still no word on price, but Sigma's recently-announced DP2s, DP1x, and SD15 cameras were on hand at PMA, just out of reach of our greasy hands. A shame, really, but at least we managed to at least stand in the trinity's presence, right? Perhaps more interesting comes from the mouth of Chief Operating Officer Kazuto Yamaki, who in an interview with Digital Photography Review predicts that zoom lenses are in the future for mirrorless camera systems -- which, for those not hip to his jive, apparently include Olympus' and Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds shooters, Samsung's "hybrid DSLR" NX10, and quite possibly Sony's new Alpha compact concept. Color us intrigued, but as Yamaki noted, it's all a matter of whether or not the market picks up. Let's hope -- those cameras featured above? Closer shots below.

Gallery: Sigma DP2s, DP1x, and SD15 hands-on

Sigma trio espied at PMA, COO expresses interest in supporting 'mirrorless camera systems' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moblic E7 stuffs WiMAX, QWERTY, a gamepad, and all our dreams and wishes into a MID

"Remember the story about the boy who suddenly got everything he ever wanted?" asks the high-pitched man in a funny suit. Gene Wilder was probably referring to the Moblic E7. This 4-inch WVGA MID sports an unnamed 600MHz processor, 8GB of built-in storage, WiMAX, microSD expansion, but most impressively slides open to reveal a QWERTY keyboard and delicious SNES-style gaming controls. There's not much more info to go on, like OS, production plans, or price, but sign us up for a dozen.

Moblic E7 stuffs WiMAX, QWERTY, a gamepad, and all our dreams and wishes into a MID originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung PMA roundup: hands on HMX-U20, eyes on AQ100 and SL605

Samsung's curvaceous HMX-U20 was on display at PMA, but unfortunately one of its key selling points -- the optical 3x zoom -- was not working on the floor model.The picture itself was hard to see from the small LCD, so for now we're just gonna comment on the shape, which though unique and purported to be more ergonomic, to us seems like it'd be a pain in the pockets (of course, they didn't let us pocket it to find out, but we digress...). Also at the show were the waterproof AQ100 and scratch-resistant SL605, but unlike Sony's frosty setup, these weren't touchable. Don't let that stop you from enjoying the pictures below -- and don't forget our earlier hands-on impressions of the TL350 and TL500!

Gallery: Samsung HMX-U20 hands-on

Gallery: Samsung AQ100 and SL605 eyes-on

Samsung PMA roundup: hands on HMX-U20, eyes on AQ100 and SL605 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Marketplace tweaked, installs to storage cards now possible (Android, take note)

Microsoft has released an updated version of its Marketplace for Mobile application for WinMo 6.0 and up recently that makes a few key changes -- nothing that's going to shake you to your very core the same way that Windows Phone 7 Series did last week, certainly, but there's some good stuff in here nonetheless. Most importantly, Marketplace will now allow for app installs straight to memory cards, a critical capability for devices that don't have gobs of storage built in (and something that Android tragically still lacks -- for the moment, anyhow). We've also got deep links to app product pages, user-selectable regional stores, Russian support, and the list goes on, so it seems like a must-have upgrade for anyone on a 6.x device. Just don't break the bank going on a wild, Red Bull-fueled app buying rampage now, alright?

[Thanks, Stair]

Windows Marketplace tweaked, installs to storage cards now possible (Android, take note) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileTechWorld | Microsoft | Email this | Comments
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Seagate ships 3.5-inch 2TB 6Gbps Constellation ES hard drive

Seagate's no stranger to the world of SATA 6Gbps, and if you really, really needed another option, here you go. The aforesaid company has just shipped what it calls the industry's first 2TB 6Gbps SAS enterprise drive, complete with a 7200RPM spindle speed and some sort of "best-in-class" reliability. And given the kind of thing that Seagate's own CEO recommends you use its drives for, you can be certain that you'll need that. Mum's the word on pricing, but 500GB and 1TB versions are also out there for those with less to archive.

Seagate ships 3.5-inch 2TB 6Gbps Constellation ES hard drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware | Seagate | Email this | Comments
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GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' camera collection unveiled, we go hands on

Keep it simple, stupid. There's no better way to describe the "Create by Jason Wu" collection unveiled at PMA by General Imaging (a.k.a. GE). The fashion designer's point and shoot could not be easier: you can shoot, choose flash, and view galleries. That's it -- and in fact, if you need a cue, the shooter reminds you to "hold still" while taking a shot. You're definitely picking this up for style over substance, but still it's pleasantly light and captures surprisingly decent images. As for the nitty-gritty specs, we're looking at 12 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and a 2.7-inch LCD. The battery charges via wall adapter or the retractible USB plug, which is also how you movie images to your computer of choice. Color options? White, black, gold, red, yellow, blue, green for a metal finish; and white, black and grey for leather. A 4GB version is $180, and 8GB is $230 -- no memory cards accepted here, folks. Look for the camera to debut, of all places, via Home Shopping Network on March 16th. Press release after the break, shots below -- and while you're looking, we've also got an eyeful of the rest of GE's point-and-shoot PMA collection.

Gallery: GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' camera collection hands-on

Gallery: General Imaging's PMA collection hands-on

Continue reading GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' camera collection unveiled, we go hands on

GE's 'Create by Jason Wu' camera collection unveiled, we go hands on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wal-Mart buying Vudu streaming movie service? (update: yes!)

Wal-Mart often finds itself on these pages not only for its deals but for the fair amount of comedy its stores provide us, but this next item could be big. According to The New York Times, the company has indeed agreed to purchase Vudu -- giving it a leg up on digital distribution and helping to brace against a declining market for DVDs. Details are scarce, but apparently the two companies have been informing Hollywood studios and TV manufacturers about the plan all day -- so an official announcement can't be too far off. Let's just hope this goes a little better than the Wal-Mart MP3 sales have, eh?

Update: It's official, and the full press release is after the break. Walmart will be acquiring Vudu, and the deal is expected to close "within the next few weeks." We are told that Vudu will "continue developing entertainment and information delivery solutions such as Vudu Apps," but outside of that, few details (including a purchase price) are being made available.

Continue reading Wal-Mart buying Vudu streaming movie service? (update: yes!)

Wal-Mart buying Vudu streaming movie service? (update: yes!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Robot teachers to invade Korean classrooms by 2012

We'd had some indication that robot teachers could be headed to classrooms sooner or later, but it looks like things may now be progressing faster than anyone thought. According to South Korea's etnews, the country has announced plans to invest in a so-called "R-Learning" program that promises to put robotic teaching assistants in up to 400 pre-schools by 2012, and expand to a full 8,000 pre-schools and kindergartens the following year. Those apparently wouldn't be in charge of the class (yet), but they would be used to do things like recite stories, and could let parents check in on the classroom and send messages to their children. If that trial program proves to be successful, the robots could then be expanded to elementary schools, and the Korea Institute of Science & Technology (the folks responsible for the bots) is apparently already eyeing international possibilities.

Robot teachers to invade Korean classrooms by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Plastic Pals | etnews | Email this | Comments
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Casio's GPS-equipped EX-10HG camera gets a price, launch date

Last we saw Casio's GPS-equipped EX-10HG it was still in prototype form at CES, but the company was back with it again at PMA this week, and thankfully was a bit more talkative this time. The big news is that the camera will be available in October of this year, and will cost "around $400." That will get you a 12.1-megapixel camera that not only does geotagging of photos (with some accelerometer-based assistance when a GPS signal isn't available), but can even double as a navigation system in a pinch -- although it's still not exactly clear how fully functional that aspect of the camera will be.

Casio's GPS-equipped EX-10HG camera gets a price, launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour goes hands-on, hits Best Buy for $99 this week (update: video!)

We've got Motorola's latest Blur handset in hand, Devour-ing ill-advised puns like it's a full time job. You can check out this aluminum slider in all its consumer-friendly glory in the gallery below, see it sized up against big brother Droid right below that, and there are some initial impressions and a video walkthrough after the break.

Gallery: Motorola Devour goes hands-on

Gallery: Motorola Droid faces off with Devour

Continue reading Motorola Devour goes hands-on, hits Best Buy for $99 this week (update: video!)

Motorola Devour goes hands-on, hits Best Buy for $99 this week (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CompactFlash 5.0 specification promises faster speeds, crazy 'theoretical' storage
If there's one thing that sounds more impressive than actual capabilities, it's theoretical capabilities -- and it looks like the CompactFlash Association has come through on both counts with its new CF5.0 specifications. While any actual cards or cameras supporting the spec are still a ways off, the new standard does pave the way for 48-bit addressing (up from 28-bit), along with an increased data transfer unit size of 32MB/s (up from 128KB/s) and, best of all, a theoretical maximum capacity of 144 petabytes (up from a mere 137GB with the current spec). Other advancements include a so-called "Video Performance Guarantee" aimed at professional video cameras, and a new Interface Electrical Specification that complies better with the ATA standard, and promises to allow for "easier and better" card design.

CompactFlash 5.0 specification promises faster speeds, crazy 'theoretical' storage originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Digital Photography Review | CompactFlash Association | Email this | Comments
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Microsoft dreams of smart charging pad with information display (update: prototype pics)

It's no Courier, but for a charging pad, this is a pretty interesting concept. According to a patent filed by Microsoft's Beijing office, the idea for such a pad is that it can have one side dedicated to inductive charging (maybe for a future Zune or even Microsoft's own phones), while the other side can be used for displaying useful information "such as weather conditions, sports scores, news headlines." It may not sound very practical at first blush, but have a listen at this -- the built-in accelerometer and the charging surface's load detector help determine which side isn't in use, thus switching that side off to reduce power consumption. Voilà! As for why the eggheads suggested adding a light panel for glowing up a glass prism -- it's the new crystal ball.

Update: looks like this device has been around since March 2009! A tipster -- who happens to be affiliated with Microsoft Research Asia -- has just hit us with some photos of a prototype device based on this patent. It's called the uPad (please, don't start) and was produced as souvenirs for Microsoft Research Asia's 10th anniversary. As you can see after the break, the uPad wirelessly charges a modified Wireless Laser Mouse 7000. We want one.

Continue reading Microsoft dreams of smart charging pad with information display (update: prototype pics)

Microsoft dreams of smart charging pad with information display (update: prototype pics) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Being Manan | US Patent & Trademark Office | Email this | Comments
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DigitalRise X9 multitouch tablet reviewed, overpriced (video)

Hey, what's this? That DigitalRise X9 tablet we've heard to much about has been reviewed -- on video, to boot! The Atom-packing, 2GB slate doesn't look nearly as iPad-esque as we'd been led to believe from previous photos, and the much-ballyhooed multi-touch functionality doesn't seem quite as snappy as we'd like, but who knows? Maybe you've got $800 in your pockets and an urge to do some stylus-based computing: hit the source link to get started. As for the rest of us, I'm sure we'll be satisfied watching the thing in action after the break.

Continue reading DigitalRise X9 multitouch tablet reviewed, overpriced (video)

DigitalRise X9 multitouch tablet reviewed, overpriced (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PMP Today | China Grabber | Email this | Comments
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The winners of the 2009 Engadget Awards!

You nominated, over 100,000 people voted over the last month, and the results are in. The winners of the 2009 Engadget Awards are...

Continue reading The winners of the 2009 Engadget Awards!

The winners of the 2009 Engadget Awards! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10.1-inch ThinkPad X100e surfaces with Atom N450 processor

Well, here's a bit of an interesting development. While we've been seeing Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e out and about for a while now, it's always been with an AMD Neo processor and an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display. According to a spec list that recently turned up on Lenovo's own site, however, it looks like the company may also have another version of the laptop in store that's even more netbook-like. That one not only includes a lower-res, 10.1-inch screen, but an Atom N450 processor as well -- something that had been rumored to be headed to Lenovo netbooks as far back as December. Unfortunately, there's no indication of pricing or availability, although it does seem a bit late in the game for this to simply be a slip-up of some sort.

10.1-inch ThinkPad X100e surfaces with Atom N450 processor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooknews.de | Lenovo | Email this | Comments
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Samsung's E6, E101 and E61 e-readers shown on video

We were fortunate enough to get a quick moment with Samsung's new assortment of e-readers back at CES, but the cool kids over at Notebook Italia were able to get the E6, E101 and E61 on video. There's little doubt that these look awfully different than all of the other me-too options on the market, and the touch input seems to be extraordinarily responsive based on the demonstration. Speaking of which... hop on past the break to have a look yourself, cool?

Continue reading Samsung's E6, E101 and E61 e-readers shown on video

Samsung's E6, E101 and E61 e-readers shown on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rogers getting Android 2.1-equipped Acer Liquid e this spring

Acer may make plenty of cellphones, but they've so far been a pretty rare sight on North American carriers. That's now set to change this Spring, however, when Rogers will reportedly be the first carrier in North America to offer Acer's new Liquid e phone -- and, incidentally, the first carrier in Canada to offer an Android 2.1 phone (not counting the upgradable Milestone, that is). In case you missed its debut at MWC, the Liquid e packs a 3.5-inch touchscreen, along with a slightly underclocked 768MHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps 3G and Wi-Fi and, of course, a basic implementation of Android 2.1. Still no indication of a price or exact release date, but Rogers is promising to say more as that approaches.

Rogers getting Android 2.1-equipped Acer Liquid e this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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