Archive for March, 2008
Filed under: Gaming
Remember that dude Nathaniel whose highly sentimental autographed Xbox 360 console was sent in for repairs and returned maddeningly clean? Turns out he didn’t just get a signed Halo 3 care package. Even more swag arrived this week, including (among other things) an Xbox 360 with signatures from the 360 team and Bungie, and even Bill G himself. Yeah, that Bill G. And we can tell you exactly how damned hard it is to get the man to autograph stuff, the last few times we saw him we asked him sign our chests — no dice. The G-man’s infamous signature after the break. Us? We’re closing the book on this one — well played, Microsoft.
Continue reading Even happier ending for “cleaned” Xbox 360 owner: Gates-signed console arrives
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March 22, 2008
Filed under: Handhelds
Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.
Even the appearance of Justin Long as the scrappy sidekick failed to keep Live Free or Die Hard from so-bad-it’s-bad territory — but the various appearances of a Nokia N770 bestowed with superpowers (sure, all handhelds can sign into satellite phone networks and interface with power station control systems) were pretty entertaining in their own right. We’re a little confused, though — didn’t the producers at least realize that our man Bruce would be using an N810 to chat up his fans online, though? One more shot after the break.
[Thanks, Vamsi]
Continue reading Screen grabs: Nokia N770 Lives Free, Dies Hard
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March 21, 2008
Filed under: Storage
The alphabet soup of different flash memory technologies is already a little bewildering, but it looks like the latest entrant could end up being the most promising of all, with single chip storage capacities of 1TB expected within ten years. Called array-based memory, the tech has been under development at a company called Nanochip, Inc. for nearly 12 years, and it looks like the the first working samples will go out next year. Although those first prototypes will have storage roughly equivalent to NAND flash at tens of gigs per circuit, the plan is to rapidly scale up to 100s of gigs and finally to 1TB on a single chip. Because the chips can be manufactured using conventional fabs and aren’t subject to the same manufacturing constraints as traditional flash, they may also end up being far cheaper per gigabyte. The company is being funded by a number of prominent tech giants, including Intel, and says the tech can be used to improve everything from USB keys to SSDs to enterprise-grade servers — wait, bigger, cheaper, and potentially better? Yeah, sign us up.
[Via Slashdot]
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March 21, 2008
If you’re curious about how the G10 ultra mobile PC looks like, then here are a couple of angled shots to help tease you further. Word has it that the G10 will not surpass the $500 price point, and will ship with some sort of storage, a 10″ display, HSDPA support and some version of Windows. Will this usurp the Asus Eee PC’s dominant position in the market when released?
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March 21, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
About this time last year, the cab drivers of New York City were taking a stand against GPS installations. This year, they’ve taken to the streets of downtown Manhattan in order to rally for the right to use cellphones while on duty. For those unaware, NYC cabbies are currently disallowed from using hands-free apparatuses while on the clock, and those in the profession are arguing that having one would enable them to feel safer and more connected to the outside world. Unfortunately, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission doesn’t seem ready to budge, as it reportedly replied to the lobbying by stating that “cellphone abuse has resulted in many instances of drivers leaving their passengers feeling improperly served and downright unsafe.” What’s a cab driver got to do to get his / her Snake on, huh?
[Via textually]
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March 21, 2008
Filed under: Features, Wireless
Win or lose, all the bidders wrapped up in the so-called Auction 73 for precious spectrum in the 700MHz band are still under tight FCC-imposed gag orders in an effort to stem any funny business, but it looks like they’re at least ready to come out and dip their toes into the PR waters. Verizon, the biggest winner having claimed the big, wide Block C prize, says that it’s “pleased with [its] auction results” (we should certainly hope so), that the new airwaves will help it maintain its “reputation as the nation’s most reliable wireless network,” and that they’re now better positioned to lead the way with new services and devices. The megacarrier goes on to boast about the fact that its winning bids score it massive 298 million person footprint, plus another 171 million worth of licenses in different Blocks.
Meanwhile, AT&T seems happy with its purchase, too — but then again, it’s not like any of these companies would be issuing immediate statements expressing buyer’s remorse, we guess. The number one US carrier by subscribers reports that its newly acquired licenses, in combination with spectrum snatched from Aloha Partners earlier this year, now gives it 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the nation’s top 200 markets, with “quality spectrum” (whatever that means) covering 95 percent of the American populace. For what it’s worth, AT&T’s Auction 73 purchases were in Block B, which has moderately less bandwidth than Verizon’s Block C win — but as they say, it’s not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it’s the motion of the frequencies, so we’ll have to wait to see how these guys actually use these licenses before we rush to any conclusions.
Finally, from its brief statement, Google appears to have gotten exactly what it wanted: nothing at all. The company says that Auction 73 “produced a major victory for American consumers” because Block C’s reserve price was met — thanks largely to Google’s early bidding, it’s believed — which means that Verizon will be obligated to allow devices of all shapes, sizes, colors, and brands to participate when it flips the switch on its 700MHz network.
All three companies sound like they’re itching to say more as soon as the FCC allows it, so stay tuned as we try to figure out exactly what’s next for the auction, the carriers, and the people who actually want to benefit from this action (read: us).
Read - AT&T’s statement
Read - Verizon Wireless’ statement
Read - Google’s statement
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March 20, 2008
Filed under: Laptops
It’s been a while since the HP dv2000 laptop made its original appearance, and it looks like HP’s giving the newest version a new model number as well as a slight redesign — say bonjour to the dv3000. Based around an oh-so-hip 13.3-inch display, the overall look of the machine is basically the same as the older model, but it’s slightly smaller. Inside, you’re looking at a 2.5GHz T9300 Penryn Core 2 Duo, GeForce Go 8400M graphics with HDMI out, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB disk, VGA webcam, a dual-layer burner, and an unusual combo USB / eSATA port that we’d like to take a closer look at. Not a bad piece of kit for $1,399 — too bad it’s only coming out in Asia around May.
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
While the temperature at which superconduction has occurred has been steadily rising throughout history, a potential breakthrough could open up a whole new world of possibilities in the computing realm. Reportedly, a pair of mad scientists from Canada and Germany have developed a silicon-hydrogen compound that can superconduct at room temperature. The secret, they say, is that the silane-based matter is “super-compressed,” and they were able to achieve such compression by “adding hydrogen to a compound with silicon that reduced the amount of compression needed to achieve superconductivity.” Granted, the work done so far was classified as “theoretical,” but hopefully it won’t be long (read: during our lifetime would be nice) before such technology finds its way into gaming rigs (among other things) the world over.
[Via Slashdot]
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The Blu-ray 2.0 spec (or BD-Live) is just days from launch. Sony just announced that the next PlayStation3 firmware updated — v2.20 — will add the new interactive features to your PS3. As such, PS3 owners should expect downloadable video content, ringtones, interactive movie-based games, and the always intriguing “more” when the software is released in “late March.” In other words, in the next 11 days. The update will also allow you to copy photos and music playlists over USB from your PS3 to your PSP. The rest of the new features after the break.
Continue reading PS3 firmware 2.20 bringing BD-Live interactive Blu-ray this month
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March 19, 2008
The Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0 is a modern update over the traditional 1929 Rollei 6×6 camera, ushering it to the digital age with 5 megapixels of image goodness. The chrome and aluminum trim have been retained in order to pay homage to 1920s inspiration. You will be able to pick up this modern retro piece in either black or red colors as long as you’re willing to part with approximately $420 for this. There’s no price tag high enough for nostalgia methinks.
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