Archive for December 14th, 2009

Green lovers have been patiently waiting for the commercialized version of OLPC’s pull-string laptop charger, but in the meantime Easy Energy’s YoGen should tide yank-happy hands over. Pulling the charger’s lawnmower-style ripcord generates enough power through its patented alternator technology to charge up phones, iPods and a slew of other handheld gadgets. According to YoGen charging time is similar to that of standard AC adapters and gadgets can be brought back to life with just a few pulls — as can be seen in the incredibly realistic videos below where YoGens magically appear to save the day, jump start an iPhone and help a man lie to his wife. Formal launch is due at CES, but those that can’t wait to strengthen their hand muscles can preorder one now on YoGen’s website for 40 bucks.

Continue reading YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly

YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Photography Blog  |  YoGen  | Email this | Comments

Even though Motorola’s only officially announced a small handful of devices that run Android so far, this much is clear — the company was dead serious about going all-in on the platform because we’re seeing new leaked hardware practically every time we look. This time around, it’s a clearer view of the Zeppelin, which turns out to be coming to market on China Telecom as the XT800. It looks like it could be a sharp-looking handset, borrowing design elements of the Instinct HD and featuring both GSM and CDMA radios for compliance with Telecom’s up-and-coming 3G network. What makes this juicier, though, is the fact that QQ.com alternately identifies the Zeppelin as the Titanium, a device we’d just seen in the FCC with EV-DO Rev. A last week. That leads us to believe we could see this bad boy on Sprint or Verizon in the near future — and with an HDMI output in this thing, 2010 is shaping up to be a great year for high-end Android gear.

[Thanks, Vitala]

Motorola Zeppelin outed as the XT800 for China Telecom — US getting it, too? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  mobile-review, QQ.com  | Email this | Comments

You know 3D has a long way to go when even Jerry Jones can’t manage to sell it for longer than seven minutes: the vaunted real-time 3D scoreboard display experiment at last night’s Cowboys / Chargers game was turned off to loud cheers after just six minutes and fifty seconds of being active. The problem, as usual, was glasses: most of the 80,000 people in attendance didn’t bother to put on the headgear required to see the 3D effect, and instead saw a blurry anaglyph image — which they then booed. What’s more, some who wore the glasses complained that the 3D effect caused nausea — although probably not as badly as the Cowboys’ 17-20 loss to the Chargers. HDlogix actually has the tech to do glasses-free 3D, but it simply doesn’t work when scaled up for the world’s largest HD monitor — good thing they’ll have plenty of time to tinker with it when the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs with another couple December losses.

Continue reading Cowboys Stadium 3D scoreboard experiment doesn’t go so well, turned off in less than seven minutes

Cowboys Stadium 3D scoreboard experiment doesn’t go so well, turned off in less than seven minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Associated Press, Fox 43  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Xperia Pureness available now – includes concierge service, avarice

Xperia Pureness available now – includes concierge service, avarice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Saks Fifth Avenue  | Email this | Comments

Hey, kids. We got your attention? Good. Remember those pink and blue Wii controllers that were quietly launched in the Land of the Rising Sun back in October? Yeah, well it seems that both of those gems are coming to the United States, but it’ll be well after Christmas before you can get your hands on either (without a good importer, anyway). Starting on February 14, 2010, the blue and pink Wiimote will be on sale on US soil, and both devices will come bundled with Wii MotionPlus dongles. There’s no word yet on pricing, but we’re guessing a small premium is in order for those badly in need of some hue variation.

Nintendo bringing pink and blue Wiimotes to America on Valentine’s Day originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  Nintendo  | Email this | Comments

It’s not every day we get to cite an official US Department of Justice news release, so it’s with a certain glee that we can announce the US taxpayer was last week enriched by another $220 million courtesy of the not-so-fine folks who swindled him out of that money in the first place. Joining the ignominious ranks of LG, Sharp, Hitachi and Chungwa Picture Tube, Taiwanese manufacturer Chi Mei is refunding the US state for the pecuniary impact of its collusive practices, which were primarily related to keeping prices artificially high and profits proportionately inflated. US companies directly affected by these ignoble activities include HP, Dell and Apple, but don’t you worry, AT&T has already started the inter-corporation scuffle, with Nokia piling on for good measure. Man, it almost seems like crime doesn’t pay.

LCD price fixing investigation reaches $860 million in total fines, Chi Mei latest to ‘fess up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot  |  US Department of Justice  | Email this | Comments

Oh, Steorn, how we’ve missed you. The company rushed onto the scene in the summer of 2007 promising free energy for all, then said “we screwed up” when its demonstration failed to show anything but red faces. Naturally the screw-up wasn’t thanks to an ill-advised attempt to break the laws of physics, instead blamed on a bearing failure. Now, coffers filled again after assuredly brisk sales of USB-powered divining rods, the company has rented another demonstration space, this time in Dublin. In the promotional video below Steorn pledges that this week things will “get real” by mocking those who have mocked the company, including our very own reference to power divined from the Fay and other mythical sources. We’re going to firmly stand by our disbelief — but to say that we’re jazzed about the prospect of another exciting demonstration would be a huge understatement.

[Thanks, Chris]

Continue reading Steorn invites us to ‘get real’ with fairy-powered Orbo free energy device, we invite it to do the same (video)

Steorn invites us to ‘get real’ with fairy-powered Orbo free energy device, we invite it to do the same (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Steorn  | Email this | Comments

Now that’s a shocker, isn’t it? A gaming laptop that isn’t particularly friendly on your wallet? It’s true, Origin’s Eon18 is not the machine to consider if you’re ready to make the step up from a netbook but aren’t yet willing to step into quadruple-digit price tags. As tested by Laptop, the Eon18 was half-way to five-digits thanks to its $5,952 cost, but that money gets you a an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 chip running at 2.53GHz, dual 160GB SSDs, a pair of GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards, a lovely airbrush job on the lid, and a power brick that on its own, at three pounds, weights more than some of the competition’s machines (no concerns about inadequate juice here). That configuration delivers unbeatable I/O performance but, when it came to the all-important gaming benchmarks, was found to be comparable to Alienware’s M17x, and thus not exactly worth the $1,000 premium — unless you really dig flame jobs.

[Thanks, Mark]

Origin’s Eon18 gaming laptop reviewed, found to be a great performer, not a great value originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Laptop  | Email this | Comments

Some contrition is better than none, we suppose, and upon being probed about lengthy delays on top of two-week shipping times for its slick 27-inch iMacs, Apple has this weekend tossed its expectant fans an overdue apology:

The new iMac has been a huge hit and we are working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience or delay this may cause our customers.

Considering the 27-inch Core i7 machines are both the major attraction of the latest iMac refresh and the source of the most headaches for Apple, it’s quite appropriate that the company would address its failure to make more prompt deliveries, but we’re troubled that there’s no further acknowledgement of the widespread issues plaguing those who have received their deliveries. Ah well, we’ll take what little corporate humility we can find, and if you’re fretting about your own machine, you can check it out for some of the more common defects at the link below.

Apple apologizes for iMac delays, keeps mum on DOA / display issues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  CNET  | Email this | Comments

Well lookie here. A little phone by the name of “NEXUSONE” just slipped through the FCC as model number PB99100 built by HTC. The filing also confirms a few more details including microSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. But the real news comes from looking at the radios: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with UMTS/HSUPA on 850/1700/1900 frequencies. In other words, this 3G phone is capable of both 2MBps up and 7.2Mbps down for both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks in the US of A. If this device is sold unlocked (as rumored), at a reasonable price (as hoped), and with a jaw dropping user experience (as tweeted), well, it could be very disruptive to the status quo. The again, that’s a lot of ifs.

Continue reading HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC with T-Mobile and AT&T 3G data

HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC with T-Mobile and AT&T 3G data originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments