Archive for November, 2009
Remember that HDAiR adapter we reviewed with exceptionally high hopes earlier this year? Yeah, it wasn’t exactly the dream device we wanted, but it seems as if Atlona may have just remedied the primary gripe we had against it. The all-new HDAiR wireless USB-to-VGA / HDMI adapter is essentially the same one as before, but this time audio is involved. In response to widespread demand for the feature, the outfit has added the ability to output audio in both 3.5mm analog, as well as embedded on the HDMI output. This one’s also compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, and it’s still using the tried-and-true UWB protocol to sling content. If you managed to hold off on the first guy, this one’s available to order now for $219.
Continue reading Atlona’s HDAiR wireless USB-to-VGA / HDMI adapter gains audio, usefulness
Atlona’s HDAiR wireless USB-to-VGA / HDMI adapter gains audio, usefulness originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 21, 2009
We’ve just been alerted to an unsettling trend in Palm Pre land, where strings of replacement devices are a bit too common for comfort: some users have been losing their Palm Profile backup, or a large majority of it, once they pair up their new device. The big issue is that since this problem is rather sporadic, Palm doesn’t seem to have a good way to deal with it yet — the trend in the forums seems to be a complaint sent to Palm, followed up by word of an inability to restore data from Palm a few weeks later. Lucky for these hapless Pre replacers, a particularly repeat offender (working on his seventh Pre) has posted instructions for making sure this sort of data loss doesn’t happen to you. His theory is that it has something to do with a refurbished device loaded with an old firmware trying to sync with the newer-firmware-styled backup your dead device made with Palm’s servers, and messing stuff up in the process. He recommends walking out of the store before Sprint tries to trip you up, and upgrading and wiping the phone before reactivating it and syncing. Sounds foolproof enough, right? Let’s hope.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Palm Pre backups can be easily overwritten by a replacement device: replacers beware! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | PreCentral (instructions), PreCentral (failure thread) | Email this | Comments
November 21, 2009
Word on the street — and by that we mean Reuters — is that Tesla‘s looking to go public with the company “any day.” The luxury electric car make, whose Roadster still goes for a cool $109,000, would be the first US auto company to offer an IPO since Ford way back in 1956, says MSNBC. Quite a notable event, indeed, but earlier comments by Tesla investors (via Autoblog Green) suggest “any day now” might be any time between now and September 2010.
Filed under: Transportation
Tesla Motors IPO coming ‘any day’ now, says report originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
You read that right. Sony’s PlayStation 2, which the great majority of the world has been enjoying since 2000, is just now officially touching ground in Brazil. We’re pretty sure it’s been making its way into the country for many years by not-so-official means, but if you’ve gone the legit route, last-generation’s game console king can be yours for just 799 Brazilian Real, which we’re sad to say translates to about $461 in US currency. Yeah, we’re expecting this to just fly off the shelves.
Filed under: Gaming
PlayStation 2 finally launches in Brazil for the bargain price of around US $462 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Joystiq | Email this | Comments
November 20, 2009
Continue reading FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild
FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
November 20, 2009
The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 was, and still is, a lovely little phone, QUERTYfied, pocketable, and rocking that little milky trackball that gave it its name. There’s finally a true successor coming down the pipeline (the flippy 8230 not really counting) though it ditches the iconic pearl for a now-standard (and hopefully more reliable) touchpad. QWERTY is also out, replaced by a swoopy SureType keyboard, but the overall dimensions look very much the same, meaning this should fill the tiny BlackBerry void once again — whenever it ships.
[Thanks, Alex T]
BlackBerry Pearl 9100 revealed, has lost its gemstone but not its luster originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
November 20, 2009
Well, we just caught sight of it in all its dissected glory courtesy of the FCC last week, but it looks like the Archos 9 tablet / media player may not be quite so close to a release after all. According to UMPC Portal, Archos now says that the initial batch of pre-orders won’t start shipping until “early December” — well past the already-missed October 22nd launch date — while the retail release has been pushed back all the way until sometime in the first quarter of 2010. Let’s just hope the price doesn’t keep going up in the meantime.
Archos 9 pre-orders reportedly delayed until December, retail release pushed to 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
November 19, 2009
This writer is on record saying that gaming is the real killer app for 3D, and while we wait for 3D movies to find a home distribution method and start throwing some weight around, that continues ring true. Luckily, the ASUS G51J 3D doesn’t skimp on the graphics power, despite its almost-pretty-portable 15.6-inch size. We checked out Left 4 Dead 2 in 3D on the machine, using the included NVIDIA 3D setup, and were pretty impressed by the gaming graphics and what 3D adds the experience. The technology is obviously maturing, and the thought of being able to do this on a portable machine makes it even more consumer friendly — it’s not like anyone buys desktops anymore. Our only gripe with the machine is that it’s pretty generic and even ugly looking, and the display itself is sharp and bright but suffers from some odd viewing angle problems: the blacks have a tendency to flip out when we get slightly off axis. Viewing some stills shot on Fujifilm’s FinePix REAL 3D W1 camera, however, really showed off how vibrant the display is, and as long as you stay on the straight and narrow (most 3D applications are single user anyway) you should be fine.
Gallery: ASUS G51J 3D hands-on
ASUS G51J 3D hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 19, 2009
We’re sitting in a very small, very colorful meeting room where Google’s just minutes of away from giving us a glimpse at Chrome OS and announcing some launch details. Stay tuned!
Live from Google’s Chrome OS project announcement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 19, 2009
Sony is still working very hard to turn a profit. To do so, the company is betting on (stereo) 3D, among other things, to charge a premium, in a bid to increase its margins. This was largely visible during our recent trip to CEATEC in Japan: stereo 3D was everywhere, in TVs, but also in the PS3 graphics driver itself. With it, Sony can turn the PS3 (an Uber10) user interface and most games into “3D Stereo” games. So what’s in it for Sony? Sell more expensive TVs, for one.
It is not surprising to see Hollywood and TV makers are pushing (stereo) “3D”. While customers have sometimes been willing to pay an extra to go from 60Hz to 120HZ, I doubt that the same is true for 240Hz. Thinness is also worth only so much: when it comes down to it, customers aren’t willing to pay twice the price to get half the thickness. Instead most will patiently wait until the prices fall into the 1500-2000 range.
Permalink: Sony Turnaround Plan: We see 3-D as a pillar of our strategy from Ubergizmo | Hot: Motorola Droid Review
