Archive for May 12th, 2009

Of all of the Roomba mods we’ve seen, this is definitely one of them. Just in time to celebrate its entry into the Robot Hall Of Fame, the heads at iRobot have mashed up the happy-go-lucky autonomous vacuum with an old inkjet printer, creating a device that can not only indulge in something called Rangoli, but look great doing it. Just make sure you have another one of these guys on hand to sweep up after you’re done playing. As you are no doubt aware, Rangoli is a traditional form of Indian sandpainting — but we’re guessing that the “iRobot” and “i (heart) Robots” messages are not among the motifs one usually finds in front of people’s homes and places of worship on the Subcontinent. Check it out on video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Roomba hacked to trail sand on your floor

Filed under: Robots

Video: Roomba hacked to trail sand on your floor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still think an Android-based netbook is in your future? If the abysmal performance on video hasn’t turned you off yet, maybe the fire-engine red paint job coupled with 90s-era carbon fiber accents will. What you see above is the first legitimate in the wild shot of Skytone’s Alpha 680, and at a glance, we’re marginally excited about the sizable trackpad and roomy keyboard. Oh, and the swiveling screen is a plus, too. Check the read link for a few more looks.

[Thanks, Neerhaj]

Filed under: Laptops

Android-based Alpha 680 netbook spotted in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That’s right Mac lovers — your mildest dreams have come true. A new update of OS X is now available via your friendly Software Update window… a little something Apple likes to call 10.5.7. What are you waiting for? You know you love updates. Full list of fixes / tweaks after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Apple OS X 10.5.7 released, updating to ensue

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Apple OS X 10.5.7 released, updating to ensue originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If Microsoft had its way, Windows Mobile 6.5 wouldn’t be coming to a retail device for a few months yet — and if HTC had its way, manufacturers wouldn’t be cloning its devices. This is the so-called real world, though, where a quick search on the internet will lead you to a cooked 6.5 ROM, and another search will instantly transport you into a magical universe of countless low-cost rips of your favorite name-brand handsets. It was just a matter of time before those two shady gray markets merged — and, well, here you go. The Touch Viva knockoff is apparently based on a white-labeled Huawei platform that offers some sort of 460MHz core, quadband EDGE, a 3.2 megapixel cam, WiFi, and a 2.8-inch QVGA display. Given the forgettable design and spec sheet, we think you’d have to be extraordinarily hard up for 6.5 to bother dropping the requisite 1,099 yuan (about $161) — but then again, you’d be making history with this one whether Microsoft likes it or not.

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

First Windows Mobile 6.5 device launched without a shred of officialness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for some more delicious Zune / Windows Mobile rumors after today’s June Zune letdown? Well buckle up — the always-sharp Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet says she’s got specs for Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, the heart of that rumored “Pink” smartphone, and they’re pretty wild. According to the list, Chassis 1 phones will all have 3.5-inch or larger multitouch displays with ARM v6+ processors and OpenGL ES 2.0-compatible graphics hardware, 256MB or more of RAM and 1GB or more of storage, as well as at least a 3 megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, a compass, and accelerometer. Oh, and glory be — a 3.5mm headphone jack is required. Here’s the kicker, though: NVIDIA’s Tegra platform is specifically listed as meeting the core CPU requirements, as well as TI’s OMAP 3 platform and “Qualcomm 8k,” which sounds to us like Snapdragon’s QSD8xxx-series chips. If you’ve been following along, you know that all three of these (Tegra in particular) have been bandied about as potential Microsoft phone platforms, so it makes perfect sense to us that Microsoft’s giving its hardware partners a choice of currently-available high-powered platforms for Chassis 1 — especially since we’ve been hearing lots of whispers of hardware based on these chips in the works.

Here’s the thing, though: we’ve also always been told that “Pink” is the codename for Zune software and services on Windows Mobile, so something tells us that Chassis 1 phones running Windows Mobile 7 will feature a strong dose of Zune flavoring — a plan Steve Ballmer’s repeatedly confirmed in the past year. So how do we think this all fits together? Well, we’ll slightly revise our previous totally crazy, off-the-wall prediction: we think “Pink” is the codename for a new consumer-focused version of Windows Mobile that integrates Zune services, running not only on a touchscreen Zune HD, but on several third-party phones. Are we crazy? Yes, absolutely — but you’ve got to admit the pieces are coming together.

Filed under: Cellphones

Microsoft “Pink” specs leak out: Tegra, Snapdragon, OMAP 3, oh my? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dr. Mobile had its first few 8.9-inch FreeStyle Minis on display at CES, and we’ve already gotten a glimpse of VIA’s 11.6-inch FreeStyle prototype, but the VIA-sponsored How To Be Mobile site is now showing off Dr. Mobile’s own version of the larger thin and light netbook which, as you can see above, comes in many flavors. Expectedly, the specs are pretty much in line with VIA’s prototype, and include a 1.3GHz Nano processor, a 1366 x 768 resolution on that 11.6-inch screen, up to 4GB of RAM, your choice of SSD or standard hard drives, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam, among other standard features. With the Dr. Mobile name, however, comes a slew of different style options that range form basic white and black to metallic red and eye-catching yellow option that sports a carbon fiber-type finish. Still no word on pricing, unfortunately, but it looks like they should be rolling out in the next month or so. Head on past the break for the video.

Continue reading 11.6-inch Dr. Mobile FreeStyle netbook makes its video debut

Filed under: Laptops

11.6-inch Dr. Mobile FreeStyle netbook makes its video debut originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The tiny HD hits keep coming today — first we saw eASIC’s $5 integrated H.264 codec chip, and now Sony’s crowing about the new MCB1172 HD camera module it claims is the “world’s smallest.” There’s some pretty impressive tech packed into that tiny package: you’re looking at an 8.3 megapixel sensor that can shoot 720p/30 video with image stabilization, face detection, high-ISO mode, and 120fps slow motion. Not bad for a piece smaller than a quarter — hopefully we’ll see this thing pop up all over soon.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony develops “world’s smallest” HD camera module originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The future of the Zune continues to be awfully cloudy: although the Twitter account @officethemovie was directly linked from Microsoft’s Office 2010 promo site earlier today, company spokesperson Brian Seitz just pinged us to say that those Zune rumors posted to the account weren’t exactly on the up-and-up:

That account is bunk. Not run by Microsoft so I would not put much stock in what they say. The real Office movie account is http://twitter.com/office2010movie.

Of course, that’s a denial focused on the source of the rumors, not their content, so we’re guessing something more serious is going on — we’ve got a feeling whoever was running that account spoke out of turn, especially since Brian himself promised new Zune hardware this year. Regardless, the lesson stands: people on Twitter will lie to you until you are penniless and alone, and then they will kill and eat you.

Update: Yep, the account is a fake — the person who created it has fessed up to pulling the hoax as a publicity stunt for some rambling iPhone piracy article he wrote, which is an excellent way to be ignored forever.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Microsoft denies Twitter-sourced Zune rumors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a certain breed of person out there that wants everything to be available in a plethora of colors and options, infinitely customizable to fit the personality of whatever room it’ll inhabit. That breed of person is us. Dell’s customizable addition to the Inspiron line — which includes the 537 and the 537s — present the buyer with a host of options — eight different colors, a choice of Intel Celeron, AMD Sempron, Core 2 Quad and Phenom X4 CPUs, up to 8GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics or ATI Radeon GPUs, and up to 750GB HDD for the slim tower and 1TB for the mini-tower. The Promise Pink model is part of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure program, and we have a feeling we’ll be seeing it pop up over on Della any minute now. The starting price for the lowest-end model is $299 and they’re available now. One more shot after the break.

[Via Desktop Review]

Continue reading Dell’s rainbow-hued Inspiron desktops now available

Filed under: Desktops

Dell’s rainbow-hued Inspiron desktops now available originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen OLED displays that promise to squeeze into a rearview mirror and other parts of a vehicle, and it looks like Germany’s CARO research association has now found yet another place to stick one: right in the middle of the steering wheel. As you can see above, that would effectively replace the center emblem in the steering wheel (the gauges are just for show, apparently), which the researchers say would open up a whole host of new design possibilities for auto manufacturers — for instance, having the center emblem light up when the door opens. They’re also quick to point out that the thin nature of the OLED wouldn’t affect the airbag, and power consumption would, of course, be at a minimum. As you might have guessed, however, there’s no word on any automakers that have signed up just yet, although CARO does also have a new highly-readable, orange emitting OLED suitable for in-dash use for those looking to keep things a bit more conventional.

Filed under: Displays, Transportation

German researchers show off steering wheel-mounted OLED originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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