Archive for August, 2009
August 19, 2009
We’ve always loved the super-expensive VAIO TT with a passion, but apparently the netbook onslaught was just too much for the well-reviewed 11.1-inch machine to take: it’s gone from Sony’s US website, and we’re guessing that it’s not going to return. That’s too bad, since we’ve always felt the TT was one of the more beautiful laptops ever made, and while we could never justify its fully kitted-out $4,450 price tag, we always had one on our want list. Hopefully Sony has some grander plans for this size point than the sadly-generic VAIO W — in the meantime, light a candle and check our unboxing and hands-on gallery below.
Gallery: Sony VAIO TT: unboxing and hands-on
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Filed under: Laptops
VAIO TT disappears from Sony’s US site originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 19, 2009
Sounds like RIM’s trying to do more than just bring the woeful BlackBerry browser up to par with the competition — Boy Genius Report says Waterloo’s trying to leap way out in front by building in full Flash and Silverlight support. BGR says it’ll be full Flash, not Flash Lite or the Open Screen Project’s mobile Flash 10 implementation, but don’t get too excited: it’ll be next summer before RIM ships devices fast enough to handle it, and even then things may be delayed since they’ll need HSPA or LTE data speeds to pull it off. Hey, maybe in the meantime all those engineers could maybe work on things like properly rendering a text page? Just an idea.
Filed under: Cellphones
BlackBerry browser to get full Flash and Silverlight support? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 19, 2009
See that? It’s an Android-green invitation to the unveil of the 5-inch Archos Internet Media Tablet. The September 15th date isn’t new (it was announced back in June) but it’s still good to see things moving ahead as planned. To whet the appetites of would-be developers, Archos has also announced its AppsLib application store for “advanced Android devices.” The development guidelines, however, describe just a single, 5-inch 800×480 pixel device with accelerometer, OpenGL 3D graphics support, and HDMI output pushing an oddball 1160×652 pixel resolution to your TV. Right, specs already rumored for the Archos tablet. While not mentioned, we still expect all the other details — 500GB storage, 10-mm thickness, 7-hours of battery when playing video, voice and HSUPA data radio, and OMAP3440 processor — unexpectedly announced (by TI!) for the tablet way back in February to be in place when this thing gets live in Paris next month.
[Via Pocketables]
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs
Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet coming September 15th with (you guessed it) an AppsLib store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 19, 2009
MSI is currently working on a new range of touchscreen netbooks that are powered by Intel’s Pine Trail-M platform, where they hope to be released in time for the holiday shopping season later this year. This new line might drop the Wind naming convention since there is no official word from MSI on what they’re called. Expect them to run on Windows 7 by then, and hopefully MSI will be able to release those in larger screen sizes as well for the benefit of the older generation who want to be seen with hip and happening devices.
Permalink: MSI touchscreen netbooks in the works from Ubergizmo | Hot: Wii, PS3 and Natal Motion Sensing
 120GB PS3 Slim
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 160GB PS3
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 80GB PS3
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|---|---|---|---|
| Product code | CECH-2000A | CECH-Pxx | CECH-Kxx / CECH-Lxx |
| Price | $299.99 | $399.99 | $299.99 |
| Color | Matte Black | Piano Black (Glossy) | Piano Black (Glossy) |
| HDD | 120GB 2.5-inch SATA | 160GB 2.5-inch SATA | 80GB 2.5-inch SATA |
| Dimensions | 11.42 x 2.56 x 11.42 in. | 12.75 x 3.86 x 10.8 in. | 12.75 x 3.86 x 10.8 in. |
| Weight | 7.05 lb. | 11 lb. | 11 lb. |
| Power | 250W | 280W | 280W |
| Vertical Stand | Optional ($24) | Not necessary | Not necessary |
| Compatibility | PSOne | PSOne, Linux | PSOne, Linux |
| PS2 compat? | No | No | No |
| BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC) | Yes | No | No |
| Bundle | Wireless DualShock 3 controller | Wireless DualShock 3 controller, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, PAIN downloadable game voucher | Wireless DualShock 3 controller |
At this point, would-be PlayStation 3 buyers have two options: wait until next month to get the ultra-hip PS3 Slim model for $300, or plop down that same figure now for its chunkier older brother. As far as we can tell, unless you’re absolutely dying to load Linux or another OS on top of the console, or have some strong aversion to matte finish, there’s really no incentive to purchase one right now without a more drastic price cut — or if you’re really lucky, perhaps you can find one of the older, discontinued models that can still play PS2 games.
Filed under: Gaming
PS3 Slim sized up: smaller, deeper, no Linux or PS2 compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
As the story goes, a Kotaku reader just received these PS3 posters (now posted after the break) into the FYE shop where he works. You’ll notice that the “new low price” is augmented with a “while supplies last” disclaimer indicating what could be a close-out on the 80GB (soon $300, reduced from $400) and 160GB ($400, reduced from $500) PlayStation 3 models. More evidence, perhaps, that a PS3 Slim announcement is imminent — even as soon as today’s Sony presser at the Cologne Gamescon Expo that kicks off at 12 noon ET or 1800 for those of you on Central Europe time.
Update: Kmart is now in on the action with a front-page ad (pictured above) that says the “rumors are reality” and then promises linked details about “new low price and a new exciting Playstation 3.” Unfortunately, the link isn’t populated with the new prices or the new model yet but we’ll keep digging.
[Thanks, Jeremy23j and Daniel]
Read — FYE poster
Read — Kmart ad
Read — Kmart home page (wait for ad to cycle)
Continue reading PS3 price cuts appear in print, must be real (update: ‘new exciting Playstation 3′)
Filed under: Gaming
PS3 price cuts appear in print, must be real (update: ‘new exciting Playstation 3′) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
August 17, 2009
There’s not a lot to go on here, but Lenovo’s official Twitter account posted pictures of two products that are purportedly being revealed in more detail later this week. The IdeaCentre Q100 / Q110 nettops are said to be “some of the thinnest nettops in the world,” and while the teaser image is certainly a looker, for better and for worse we can already smell the Atom processor from here. Also on the menu is the IdeaCentre D400, the company’s first home server. We Got Served did a little digging, and as it turns out, the D400 was released in Asia at the beginning of this month, with four hot swappable bays, four USB ports, and an eSATA port. It’d be nice to know when this week Lenovo was planning to lift the veil of secrecy, but at least we won’t be worrying about it come Saturday.
[Via ThinkPad; thanks, Mark]
Read – Q100 / Q110 nettops
Read – D400 home server
Read – More details on the D400
Continue reading Lenovo teases IdeaCentre Q100 / Q110 nettops, D400 home server
Filed under: Desktops, Storage
Lenovo teases IdeaCentre Q100 / Q110 nettops, D400 home server originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
August 17, 2009
NVIDIA’s world-beating GeForce GTX 260M GPU hasn’t presented itself in too many gaming laptops just yet, but somehow or another it found its way into ASUS’ bargain priced G51VX. Originally showcased back at Computex, this 15.6-inch rig is amongst the cheapest portable gaming machines in its class, packing a 2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,368 x 768 panel, 320GB (7200RPM) hard drive and a 1GB GeForce GTX 260M handling the graphical duties. The benchmarking gurus over at HotHardware sat this here machine down for a stern talking to, and while they could’ve stood for the resolution to be a bit higher and the battery life (1.75 hours) to be a tad longer, the actual performance was top shelf. Put simply, it was deemed a “well balanced machine that’s a winner at this price point,” offering up a far nicer GPU than any other competitors in the $1,000 range. Tap that read link for a look at the full review — we get the feeling you’ll like what you see.
Filed under: Laptops
ASUS’ well-rounded G51 gaming laptop reviewed, lauded originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 17, 2009
We’ve certainly seen plenty of curious rejections for seemingly innocuous applications submitted for inclusion in the App Store, and recently saw Phil Schiller stepping forward to explain one of the most mind-boggling of rejections yet: a dictionary that had the gall to define naughty words. Apparently that’s becoming something of a mission of Schiller’s, investigating apps that have been rejected, personally contacting developers in some cases, and in general working to make things right… or at least less wrong. However, from what we can see he’s only being sent in when word hits the wire about the latest sorry app being sent packing; we’re not sure whether he’s working to correct all illogical app rejections, or only those that make the news. He is the VP of Marketing, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising for him to only be concerned about Apple’s public image, but for now we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he’s also working to make wholesale improvements on the approval process over in Cupertino — if only because we’re sure the FCC won’t be so kind.
Filed under: Cellphones
Is Apple’s Phil Schiller trying to free the App Store from arbitrary app rejections? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 16, 2009
We’d still venture to say that all signs are pointing toward an iPhone launch on China Unicom before too long, but one key element of the launch — Unicom’s upfront buy — is now in question. A spokesman for China’s third-largest carrier (which is an amazingly low rank considering they’ve got about as many subscribers as Verizon and AT&T combined) has denied earlier reports that they’ve stockpiled five million handsets in preparation for launch, saying that negotiations with Apple are still ongoing. We imagine that when you’re dealing with a nine-figure subscriber count, any hardware negotiation is complex, tense, and filled with counteroffers, so there’s no telling how much longer this process could take.
[Via Unwired View]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
China Unicom denies having bought 5M iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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