Archive for April 14th, 2009

If you’re a resident of the European Union (or just a big fan) you might like to know that Medion’s back with another nondescript, low-priced laptop or two. Understated sequels to the Mini E1210, both the E1211 and E1215 sport a 10-inch display, Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP Home, webcam, Bluetooth, and WiFi, and weigh a mere 1.25 kilograms — and the latter also rocks integrated UMTS. According to Portable Gear, these guys are expected to fall into the €400-500 price range, rearing their heads in retail outlets such as Aldi, Hema, Action, Gamma and Karwei. Hit that read link for some more exciting pics.

Filed under: Laptops

Medion’s Atom-powered E1211 and E1215 make the scene originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you hit the ripe old age of 5, you start to look back upon the years with a certain wistful nostalgia. We’d be lying if we said we didn’t get just a little bit misty-eyed thinking about the Optimus Maximus. Like so many of the gadgets we’ve seen, we followed this little guy from its early design stages, right up into a full hands-on with the quasi-mythical piece of gear. So, it’s not without a small amount of sadness that we release this keyboard back into the wild, where it belongs, where a new user will be confused and frustrated with how hard it is to type on.

All you’ve got to do is let us know what your favorite post from the last five years has been in the comments below.

Note: We’ve bolded the above statement, since it seems like you guys aren’t following the rules.

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. We want to hear what your favorite Engadget post has been from the last five years — and feel free to be descriptive!
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Optimus Maximus keyboard. Approximate retail value is incalculable (or, something like $1692.31).
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Friday, April 17th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Announcements

Engadget’s 5th birthday giveaway, part 1: win an Optimus Maximus keyboard! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s navigation line certainly isn’t the firms most notable, but the Garmins and TomToms of the world are probably taking notice after an intriguing quote from product line manager Blake Bullock. According to TWICE, Mr. Bullock stated that Moto was “absolutely making a bigger play” in the PND arena. Specifically, he mentioned that it could “bring something new to the table with Motorola’s vast experience in wireless connectivity,” noting that it has “aspirations to combine the best aspects of 3G smartphones with PNDs [to] create optimized experiences for consumers.” ‘Course, we’ve no clue as to when, where and how the company will get its hands dirty with a web-savvy GPS unit, but considering its current state of affairs, we’d say yesterday would be a great time to get things rolling.

[Via GPS Tracklog, thanks Rich]

Filed under: GPS, Wireless

Motorola looking to produce a connected GPS unit? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearly LaCie‘s going for that “timeless” look, ’cause the Rugged XL looks precisely like the original Rugged that launched over three years ago. The drive, which was unsurprisingly designed by Neil Poulton, touts a durable aluminum casing with external and internal shock absorbers, USB 2.0 and eSATA connectors along with a software suit to handle your backups. Packed within is a single 1TB drive, and externally, there’s a “warm orange LED strip” to either keep you informed of drive status or just look stupendously fashionable, one. It’s up for grabs today (or it should be soon, anyway) for $159.99, and no, the orange exterior cannot be swapped for a non-DOT-approved hue.

Filed under: Storage

LaCie’s Rugged XL: 1TB of ready-for-anything storage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been getting friendly with iriver’s latest touchscreen masterpiece over the past few days, and have a few impressions to share. In many ways, though, the P7 is exactly what the pictures and spec sheet make it out to be: great design, great specs, few surprises, and little in the way of “interesting” functionality. While the Apples and Microsofts of the world keep on merging the world of PMPs with PDAs with phones, iriver seems content here to build a “mere” media player and leave it at that. Read our full impressions after the break.

Continue reading iriver P7 unboxing and review

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

iriver P7 unboxing and review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not really surprising to hear, but exciting none the less… according to a teaser email sent out to people on The Beatles: Rock Band mailing list — the special edition bundle will include a custom branded Höfner bass and Ludwig drums. The email also mentions other “custom” content, which we are hoping will be either a Rickenbacker guitar like the one Lennon often used or a gigantic Harrison-esque moustache / beard combo. We’re just going to have to wait it out together guys — it’s not expected until September 9th — so let’s chill and enjoy the video after the break.

Continue reading Beatles Rock Band bundle will boast Höfner bass, Ludwig-branded drums

Filed under: Gaming

Beatles Rock Band bundle will boast Höfner bass, Ludwig-branded drums originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sanyo’s had a knack for pumping out short-throw projectors, but its latest prototype unquestionably takes the cake. Debuting without so much as a model name, this here DLP beamer — which, at 93- x 20- x 25-inches, easily doubles as a bench — throws up a 100-inch 1080p image with just 24-inches of space between it and the wall. Better still, that can scale up to 150-inches by adding just another foot of breathing room — and just to remind you, we’re talking full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution here. Sanyo also tossed in 7,000 lumens of brightness, though mum’s the word when it comes to price or nearness to production.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Prototype Sanyo projector throws up 1080p at near point-blank range originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may only be a footnote in the long history of Windows XP, but Microsoft has confirmed today that, as planned, the venerable OS has finally and officially transitioned from the Mainstream Support phase to the Extended Support phase. This, of course, follows a number of extensions to the Mainstream Support phase (which normally only lasts five years), although most users likely won’t notice much of a difference as XP moves into this new, more wistful period of life, as they’ll still be getting regular security updates and occasional hotfixes (depending on their support plan) all the way until April 8th, 2014 — or who knows how much longer if the demand is there.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Windows XP transitions out of Mainstream Support phase originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still feeling a little less than a’right with dropping $99 on a wireless gaming mouse? Microsoft’s newest, the SideWinder X3, is an eight-button wonder that boasts a 2,000 dpi laser-tracking engine, on-the-fly dpi switching between high, medium and low sensitivity, a totally sweet scroll wheel, and a cable. You know, for connecting to your computer and such. The best part? It’s ambidextrous (a first for the line), so the southpaw in your life won’t feel left out. Starts shipping in May for $39.95.

Filed under: Peripherals

Microsoft’s ambidextrous SideWinder X3 mouse available for presale originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Acer is keeping plenty of its latest and greatest laptops for itself, it’s also keeping its Packard Bell subsidiary fairly well supplied with some gear to reshape and rebrand, with this new EasyNote Butterfly model only the latest to surface following a pair of new DOT netbooks. This one steps above netbook territory with a 13.4-inch LED-backlit display, however, along with an unspecified Intel Ultra Low Voltage processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics, your choice of an SSD or standard hard drive, a multitouch trackpad, optional 3G, and a promised eight hours of battery life. No word on a price just yet, but, as with the netbooks, this one will be reserved for the European market.

[Thanks, Pat]

Filed under: Laptops

Packard Bell rolls out 13.4-inch EasyNote Butterfly laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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