Archive for May 4th, 2009

MSI’s new GX623 and GX633 laptops aren’t the first to boast the company’s so-called Turbo Drive technology, but we’re never ones to turn down the opportunity to press a turbo button, even if that turbo button may not fully deliver on its awesome promise. Expectedly, both of these are in the same vein as MSI’s previous GX630 model, and boast the same 15.4-inch display, along with a Core 2 Duo processor and ATI Radeon HD4670 graphics on the GX623 model, or an AMD X2 Turion Ultra processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M graphics on the GX633 model. Otherwise, you can expect each to pack MSI’s ECO Engine, which’ll let you easily switch between a gaming mode and more energy-efficient options, along with up to 4GB of RAM, a max 500GB hard drive, and all the usual modern amenities like 802.11n WiFi, built-in Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel webcam. No word on prices just yet, but it looks like both should be rolling out as we speak.

Read – MSI GX623
Read – MSI GX633

Filed under: Laptops

MSI debuts GX623, GX633 laptops with “Turbo Drive” technology originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not like we’re surprised to hear this, but RIM CEO Jim Balsillie just told Reuters that the company is hard at work on a successor to the BlackBerry Storm. According to Jim, the consumer market is “large and untapped,” and the current Storm is a “huge success in terms of sales and adoption.” Sure, sure — it’s hard to scoff at a million units sold, after all — but with rumors of an entirely new approach to text entry flying around, we’d say there’s a good chance the Storm 2 doesn’t so much build on the Storm formula as start over entirely. Thoughts?

[Via PhoneScoop]

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM CEO confirms a new Storm is brewing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got a chance to peek Sony’s succulent OLED Walkman way back at CES, but we’ve waited for what seems like forever to hold one in our supple paws without a booth attendant breathing down our neck. The model that arrived today on our doorstep is the 16GB NW-X1050 (or NWZ-X1050), which just launched in Japan last week. There’s still no telling when this beauty will hit the US, but we can already guess that it’ll cause some serious buzz when it does. We’ll just come right out and say it: this is the best looking display on any PMP that we’ve ever seen. If you’ll recall, Cowon’s S9 also shipped with an OLED panel, but we’ve got to give the edge to Sony here. Also of note, we were never fans of the dark granite border in the press shots, but it’s downright stunning in person. We’re going to be hosting up a video walkthrough of the menus and such just as soon as it uploads (sigh) as well as some more thorough impressions in the coming days. For now, however, feel free to peruse the gallery below.

Update: Video’s live! Check it after the break.

Continue reading Video: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Video: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Developing a charger for a plug-in electric vehicle is hardly anything new, but the folks at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (or PNNL, for those in the know) have some considerably grander plans for their new Smart Charger Controller, which they say could one day serve as a standard charger for all sorts of electric vehicles. The key bit, it seems, is that each controller would be wirelessly linked to the local electric utility, which would feed the controller power prices and other information in order to let it charge during non-peak hours — saving owners about $150 a year in energy costs as a result. It would apparently even be able to sense “stress conditions” and shut down before the grid gets overloaded. Of course, all of this depends on both the automakers and electric utilities getting on board, which could be quite a tall order, especially with another standardized EV plug seemingly already on the fast track.

Filed under: Transportation

PNNL researchers develop standard smart charger for plug-in vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oop, looks like whoever was in charge of product placement coordination at Acer forgot to double-check Lil’ Kim’s new video for “Download” — is that iChat and an iPhone sneaking in there? Regardless, most of the primary action between Kimmy, T-Pain and Charlie Wilson seems to be going down on an Acer Aspire One, and there’s a prominent shot of the Acer M900 smartphone at the beginning. Oh, and the entire song is built around a sample of Zapp’s “Computer Love,” so we’ll forgive the lyrics. Both videos after the break.

[Thanks, Anthony R]

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Lil’ Kim “Download” video features sampling of Acer products, samples Zapp

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Screen Grabs: Lil’ Kim “Download” video features sampling of Acer products, samples Zapp originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been tracking the glacial pace of RoboCup competition for a while now, and we’re starting to see it as less of a credible threat to human soccer players, and more like an elaborate experiment on the part of the robots to broaden our perception of the world and competitive sport. Or maybe there’s just a few more bugs to work out. This year’s Standard Platform League of the RoboCup is based on Nao humanoid bots, and the Northern Bites team of Bowdoin College posted some truly insightful footage of the event — the finals of which can be found after the break.

Continue reading RoboCup bots experiment with our preconceived notions of competition, standing up

Filed under: Robots

RoboCup bots experiment with our preconceived notions of competition, standing up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already caught sight of a slightly mysterious, 3G-equipped Lenovo netbook last month courtesy of the FCC, and it looks like Lenovo itself is now adding to the speculation, with a recently revealed user manual all but confirming an updated S10-2 netbook. While there’s still no word on complete specs, it does appear that this is more than just a minor update, with the netbook apparently sporting a different hinge and some rounded edges, along with an extra USB port (bring the total up to three), a larger trackpad, a slightly revised keyboard and button layout, and some new access bays that’ll let you get at the RAM, hard drive, and wireless card. Unfortunately, it seems that Lenovo has also seen fit to remove one of the big selling points of the original S10, the ExpressCard slot, although the built-in 3G does at least makes that trade-off a bit more manageable. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it seems like Lenovo could be getting official with this one any day now.

[Via Eee PC - Blog]

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo reveals updated, 3G-equipped S10-2 netbook in user manual originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen brain-controlled wheelchairs in the past, but we’ve never seen them in action. This one, developed and built at the University of Zaragoza in Spain, uses an EEG cap worn on the head, using a P300 neurophysiological protocol and automated navigation. The user sees a real-time visualization of his surroundings on the screen in front of him, and then concentrates on the space which he wants to navigate to. The EEG detects the location, which is then transmitted to the autonomous navigation system, which then drives the chair to the desired location, avoiding any obstacles that might be in the way. Once the location has been chosen, the user can sit back and relax while the chair does all the work, making the use of the system far less mentally exhausting than some previous iterations which demand constant concentration on the target. Although there is no information about commercial availability of the wheelchair, it has been successfully tested by five different participants in a study. There’s a video with a more detailed explanation of its impressive operation after the break.

Continue reading Mind-controlled wheelchair prototype is truly, insanely awesome

Filed under: Household, Robots, Science

Mind-controlled wheelchair prototype is truly, insanely awesome originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re eagerly awaiting the day when 3D printers achieve the same sort of ubiquity as their two dimensional brethren — we can only imagine the sweet office pranks that will become available once we can conjure tiny objects from our imaginations (via AutoCAD). It looks like the fine folks over at Hawaii’s State Department of Education have more civic-minded uses for the machine, however. As high school students from throughout the islands complete their 3D design projects they send the files to the education office in Honolulu, which manufactures physical models with a Z Corporation 3D printer and ships them back to the students, who can then review the model and refine their design. A machine like Z Corp’s ZPrinter 310 Plus (seen above) will run you a cool $19,900 before shipping, sales tax, and so forth, so it looks like all of you amateur CADsters out there might want to find a pen-pal in the Pineapple State if you want to make your ID dreams a reality. Either that or do it yourself. And make sure you send us the YouTube link when you do.

Filed under: Peripherals

Z Corp’s 3D printers available to Hawaiian school students, the wealthy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Searching for the perfect coffeetable is a struggle we know well. DIYer macetech has sidestepped the whole “boring” furniture problem by installing 81 ShiftBrite LED modules into a 2×2 foot IKEA table which run a sine plasma into HSV/RGB conversion by way of an Arduino. Sure, it’s probably not something your grandmother would want in her living room — but your friends would undoubtedly be pretty jealous to see this thing hanging out in your place. Watch out for seizures, though. Video of the table in action after the break.

[Via Make]

Continue reading DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece

Filed under: Household

DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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