Gadget Train

China’s alternative to Blu-ray finally has some hardware to show off, with players from TCL and Shinco making their debut this week. Priced at less than 2,000 yuan ($292) they’re reportedly 40% cheaper than the competition, and while the promised support from Warner Bros. has yet to materialize it plans to release 100 movies on the CBHD format by the end of the year. That’s about all the machine translation could help us make out beyond the usual promise of lower licensing fees for Chinese manufacturers, but a better look at the latest (and by far most legit, although that’s not saying much) Blu-ray fighter is beyond the read link.

[Via CDR Info]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we still don’t have an official release date for HTC’s Touch Pro2 here in the states, the folks at Russian site Mobile-Review have managed to get some extensive hands-on time with the unit. Props go to the quality of the voice calls and especially the QWERTY keyboard, noted via the machine translation as one of the most user-friendly in modern mobile devices. The same is not said here, however, for the plastic casing and steep pricing. They also don’t really touch on TouchFlo 3D 2.0.XX — that’s apparently coming later in another article — but hit up the read link for a plethora of pictures and a video of the updated UI in action.

[Via WMPoweruser]

Continue reading HTC Touch Pro2 gets thoroughly handled overseas

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Touch Pro2 gets thoroughly handled overseas originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A hack that’s “unfixable” is a pretty bold claim, but that’s just what researchers Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar have announced at the now-happening Hack in the Box security conference, and they seem ready to back it up. Apparently, they’ve devised a means to gain control of a Windows 7 computer during the boot up process though the use of a tiny 3KB program dubbed VBootkit 2.0 (a follow-up to a similar Vista hack), which loads itself into the system memory and bypasses the hard drive altogether, making it extremely difficult to detect. Once loaded, an ill-intentioned individual could potentially change passwords, access protected files, or do just about anything else and then leave without a trace. The one fairly big drawback to the hack, however, and upside for most users, is that it can’t be performed remotely, so it’ll likely only be a significant concern for businesses or other folks using computers in public places — unless, of course, Microsoft finds a way to fix the “unfixable.”

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

New Windows 7 hack purports to be “unfixable” originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s Mini 10 netbook has been a bit more of a work in progress than some early adopters may have hoped, but it is at least getting increasingly more usable, with Dell now finally offering the oft-requested six-cell battery as a selectable option. That’ll set you back just $30, and should give you a sizable boost over the stock three-cell battery, which is lucky to get three hours on a charge. If you’re looking for a little something extra, you can now also now get the netbook emblazoned with some of the snazzy designs seen on other Dell laptops, although those will set you back up to $60 extra compared to the basic black or white options.

[Via Portable Monkey]

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Mini 10 gets six-cell battery option, added pizzazz originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s 2009 and we’re still waiting for the Near Field Communication revolution. However, due to tough economic times and a lack of consumer devices, planned commercial NFC rollouts will likely be pushed into 2010. Still, we can add one more device to the NFC tally — the Nokia 6216 Classic. The 6216 is Nokia’s first handset with an embedded NFC chipset that communicates with NFC applications stored on the SIM. That little trick keeps the carriers happy while allowing consumers to keep their credit card info and contact-less ticketing and payment applications on the SIM for easy mobility between NFC devices. A good thing too, since this middling 3G candy bar with camera, FM radio, and microSD slot will be of limited appeal to most.

Read — Nokia 6216 Classic
Read — Economy, standards stand in the way of NFC

Filed under: Handhelds

Nokia 6216 Classic packs NFC for contactless payments originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm seems to be in the process of clearing out their hardware inventory to make way for the hotly anticipated Pre, and they are now offering the highly usable Palm Centro for just $199, without being shackled by long-term contracts and the like. This unlocked GPS phone will come in glacier white, cobalt blue or ruby red colors, and while it isn’t the newest phone in the world, it is an entry level handset that will open up the door of smartphones to the uninitiated, and is more than enough for everyday communications as well as viewing Office-based files on-the-go.

Permalink: Palm Centro Going For $199 from Ubergizmo | Cheap | Hot: Apple’s Netbook | Hot (FR): Test du Palm Pre

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It’s really no secret that the Touch Pro2 is destined to arrive in the States on T-Mobile, but this is the first time we’ve seen the T-Mo edition not, uh, drippings with goo. And yes, that’s a US-spec keyboard and the “fewer dots” US T-Mobile logo, so this looks like the real thing — hopefully that means a launch is imminent. Hit the read link for a bunch more shots.

[Via Pocketnow]

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile-branded HTC Touch Pro2 appears in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. HD DVD fans that passed up Best Buy’s offer of $3 per disc, or just those who stocked up on cheap movies after the format gave up the fight have another option coming from Warner Bros. Send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) including UPC from your HD DVD case (plus $4.95 per movie and $6.95 / $8.95 per order S&H) and it will send you back a brand new Blu-ray copy. There’s a few other restrictions, like 1 copy per movie and 25 different movies per household, but the biggest decision is likely to be whether giving up your precious I Am Legend sleeve is worth the trade, hit up Red2Blu.com for all the details and necessary forms. It seems to us like a decent offer to make HD DVD owners whole, we’d be surprised if Paramount and Universal came through with similar plans.

[Via DVDTown]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Warner reintegrates HD DVD faithful with Red2Blu trade-in program originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like CSIRO‘s legal days are over — for the moment, at least. Having already reached an agreement with HP, the Australian government-funded research firm announced this week that it’s settled with the remaining 13 companies it sued for patent infringement, claiming it owned the rights to 802.11a/g. For those who haven’t been keeping track at home, that includes Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Nintendo, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Netgear, Buffalo, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, and 3Com. The details of any of the settlements are undisclosed, but as iTnews reports, it’s expected CSIRO ended up with some substantial monies now that the dust has settled. Chief Executive Dr. Megan Clark noted that it’ll continue to “defend its intellectual property,” so if you’re a high profile tech company who creates WiFi-equipped gadgets and hasn’t been served a lawsuit yet, we don’t blame you for being a little nervous right now.

Filed under: Wireless

CSIRO’s patent lawsuits conclude with the final 13 companies settling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With no picture to show for it, unfortunately (that’s the 8 series, pictured), Samsung’s gone ahead and announced the 46-inch and 55-inch B9000 HDTVs, which looks to be a a follow-up to the A950 models from last year. According to flatpanelshd, the latest addition to the Touch of Color series include LED backlights with localized dimming, Medi@2.0 with YouTube / Yahoo! widgets, built-in USB port, DLNA functionality, built-in DVB-T and DVB-C tuners, and most interesting, a wireless connection to an external media box that’s reportedly similar to Sony’s ZX1 — no word on whether or not that means it’s using WHDI. As for the other details, including pricing and availability, you’re gonna have to keep waiting, we’re afraid.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Samsung’s 46 and 55-inch B9000 HDTVs boasts widgets, wireless external media box originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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