Archive for December 8th, 2009

it may not be at the top of everyone’s wishlist this holiday season, but it looks like those particularly taken with Sony Ericsson’s smartphone are now back in luck after a brief suspension of sales. Of course, there’s also now a software update available for current Satio owners, but details on it are fairly light apart from word that it improves “handset speeds and battery usage” and that it “fixes previous software issues.” What’s more, while retail availability may be a bit hit and miss as things get back up to speed, it seems that at least Phones 4u in the UK is now already selling the updated version of the phone, and it’s even reporting strong sales from over the weekend.

Sony Ericsson Satio back on sale, software update available originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were sort of hoping Google would turn a blind eye to the Android hackers who’d enabled Google Maps Navigation for use internationally, but it appears we’re just hopelessly optimistic: El Goog’s shut Navigation down outside the States. The changes are apparently “anticipated,” and the hackers in charge are hard at work getting around it, so there’s hope yet — and at some point Mountain View is going to have to actually launch Navigation abroad for real, so this all just seems a bit petty.

[Thanks, Ace of Spades]

Google blocks hacked Navigation from international use originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shuttle isn’t exactly a company known for aggressive marketing campaigns, but it looks to be changing its tune a bit in the lead up to CES, and it’s not too hard to see who its target is. While the company’s main website is still as bright and cheery as ever, the newly launched We Are Not AlienbWare.com is an entirely different tale, featuring an ominous teaser video that mixes Shuttle promos (and metaphors) in with footage from District 9. Of course, it is a teaser video, so it’s light on any details, but Shuttle is apparently promising something fairly big for CES. Hit up the link below to check out the video for yourself, or if it’s giving you fits, just hop on past the break and mash play.

Continue reading Shuttle gears up for CES with ‘we are not alien’ campaign, ominous video

Shuttle gears up for CES with ‘we are not alien’ campaign, ominous video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are plenty of ways to be green these days, but without some sort of feedback it’s hard to know just what shade you are. Enter Google’s PowerMeter, a service that tells you how much current you’re responsible for consuming. Why, it even shades its bar graphs in green, getting more pale the greedier you become. Google has partnerships with some utility companies in the US, Canada, and India, meaning a select few of you can do this sort of tracking by default. The rest of us were left out — until now. Two devices on the market let you track your usage in PowerMeter regardless of just how backwards your utility company is: The Energy Detective’s TED 5000 and the AlertMe Energy. We’ve been experimenting with these two for about a month now, finding that they serve the same purpose in very different ways and at very different costs. Click on through to see which one can best help you get greener.

Continue reading Powering Google’s PowerMeter: testing TED 5000 and AlertMe Energy

Powering Google’s PowerMeter: testing TED 5000 and AlertMe Energy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What if you took an original Adamo, shaved a couple pounds off the weight and a grand off the price? You’d end up with something pretty close to the new Dell Vostro V13. We just got a quick look at the machine, and while some of the cheaper materials Dell is using here certainly came through, the total package is still quite impressive — and the price unimpeachable. The anodized aluminum exterior is smooth to the touch and gives the frame of the entire laptop a great amount of stiffness; none of that bendy nonsense that can be found in some of the $500ish thin-and-light competition. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a antigloss (not quite matte) display under the hood. Unfortunately, the compromises begin with the keyboard, which is a bit bendy and “clacky” (the bad version of “clicky”), and the 6 volt battery gets 4.75 hours as quoted, so probably around three in real life. We’re also a little disappointed that the $450 base price rips out the SD card and ExpressCard slots, and that you can’t get a Windows 7 version for under $600 — even though the Ubuntu default is mighty tempting. So, there are compromises, just like in life, but for the most part this is one of the least timid computers we’ve seen from Dell in a while: not afraid to step on the toes of its brandmates and make a name for itself. Check out a quick video hands-on after the break, and stand by for our review that should hopefully arrive later this month.

Continue reading Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: ‘yes’

Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: ‘yes’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Mobile is about to spoil its half billion subscribers with yet another Android smartphone in the 3.something-inch category. The Droid’s keyboard-deprived younger sibling, the MT710 is about to hit Chinese stores this month, with TD-SCDMA 3G capabilities and OPhone OS 1.5 giving it a distinctly local flavor. WiFi connectivity will also be available, thanks to Moto playing nice with China’s new security protocol, and the CPU has also changed to a 624MHz Marvel PXA310 chip, which is growing a bit long in the tooth now. Still, with that dashing red stripe on its side and a presumably thinner chassis, the MT710 just might be somebody’s idea of a Droid perfected. You’ll find the full specs of the new handset at the Moto Developers links below.

Motorola MT710 bringing its Droid-ish good looks to China this month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been waiting for what feels like an eternity for wireless HD to really have a place in the world (outside of the elite home cinema world, that is), and while the dream definitely took a hit with the FlyWire’s death, it sounds as if things may be rounding the ever-present corner. Amimon, a company responsible for bringing wireless high-def capabilities to all manners of pricey wares through WHDI, has just announced the 1.0 specification of its protocol. Mind you, there are already quite a few big players onboard with the outfit, so hitting the one dot oh could very well kick start a new round of devices (set-top boxes, HDTVs, media streamers, etc.) designed to handle wireless transfers of 1080p material. You can catch the relatively calm press release after the break, and rest assured we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled at CES for new gear based on the spec.

Continue reading WHDI specification hits 1.0 — is this what wireless HD has been waiting for?

WHDI specification hits 1.0 — is this what wireless HD has been waiting for? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marked more by its story than its design, the Joojoo tablet is somewhat of a mythical beast. So when we got a phone call to see it for ourselves with Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan, we jumped at the opportunity. Turns out it’s quite a capable little device, and chief among its feats so far seems to be smooth 1080p YouTube playback. Seriously, we were quite impressed with just how crisp and lag-free it was, at least for the Avatar trailer we tested. Throw in a Webkit-based browser with Silverlight and Flash support (why hello there, Hulu), and yeah, we’re pretty pumped. Read on for more impressions.

Continue reading Joojoo tablet hands-on

Joojoo tablet hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We first heard of Seagate’s plans to enter the SSD market way back in mid 2007 and then again in 2008. Here we are in the final days of 2009 and guess what: the first Seagate SSD has been announced. Unfortunately, Seagate’s 2.5-inch SATA Pulsar SSD targets the raised-floor crowd locked away in your corporate data center, not you directly. The SLC-based Pulsar tops out at 200GB and claims a peak performance of 30,000 read IOPS and 25,000 write IOPS and a 240MBps sequential read and 200MBps sequential write — damn quick compared to Samsung’s enterprise-class SSDs released last year clocking 100MBps sequential reads and 80MBps writes. Hopefully, we’ll see Seagate push into the consumer sector once they finish milking corporate IT budgets, or what’s left of ‘em.

Seagate’s first Pulsar SSDs ready to blast the enterprise originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen a laptop cooling stand or two in our day, so we’ll try not to belabor the point here: Hanwha — which may or may not be the same conglomerate responsible for the Shin-Gung surface-to-air missile and the Duo for Laptop — is proud to debut the evocatively named SL-888, a portable table for your notebook. Want to sit in a chair? The legs extend to about 12-inches off the ground. Want to sit on the floor? You can do that, too — the legs collapse. Want to rest it on your lap? Hope you have a big lap, but that too is an option. Featuring a mousepad, a cup holder (perfect for that Whiskey Sour), and a cooling fan for your notebook du jour, all this can be yours for ¥3,980 (roughly $44). Hit the source link to order — or get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging

Hanwha SL-888 laptop cooling stand for casual, classy blogging originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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