June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
IFixit is first on the scene yet again with a teardown of the new unibody Mac Mini. Kyle Wiens and crew popped into the Apple store and bought the non-server version of Apple’s tiny desktop Mac and opened it up. The results come up short of surprising, but do show the clever thinking that went into cramming everything inside the solid aluminum shell.
The journey begins with popping off the plastic baseplate, an easy task involving a quick twist. RAM comes out easily (you can fit in up to 8GB) and then you get to the juicy bits. The fan has rubber damping on the screws and is set at an angle to fit it in. Kyle says that it won’t have much work to do as the Mac Mini fairly sips power, taking just 7 amps at 12 volts compared to the 27-inch iMac’s 25.8 amps at 12 volts (although it also has to power that giant screen). This is why the power brick has shrunk and disappeared inside the machine.
The other neat touch is in the placement of the antennae, which are at either end of the rear plastic plate that holds the I/O ports. This is similar to the plastic window on the iPad 3G.
Fully disassembled, the new Mac Mini looks almost as minimal (and pretty) as it does when whole. Thanks again iFixit, for saving all of us curious souls from having to void our warranty. More pictures below.
Mac Mini Mid 2010 [...]
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
So much for the “AT&T refuses to release high-end Android devices” conspiracy theory, eh? T-Mobile had been widely pegged as Samsung’s launch partner for the Galaxy S in the States, but AT&T stole its thunder this morning by announcing the Captivate featuring a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, Android 2.1, 7.2Mbps HSPA, and a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. If it sounds more or less like the European Galaxy S, well, your intuitions are spot-on — AT&T actually describes the Captivate as “a Galaxy S smartphone.” As for media, you can expect a 5 megapixel camera with 720p recording, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 16GB of onboard storage combined with support for external storage for a total of up to 32GB; you also have 802.11n WiFi and a variety of built-in apps (some of which you’ll want, others you won’t) like Swype and AT&T Navigator. Unfortunately, this is a little while out yet — AT&T is only saying that it’ll launch “in the coming months” for an undisclosed price — but we’re at least stoked that AT&T’s finally fully entrenched in the Android superphone game. Follow the break for the full press release.
Continue reading Samsung Captivate is AT&T’s version of the Galaxy S, launching ‘in the coming months’
Samsung Captivate is AT&T’s version of the Galaxy S, launching ‘in the coming months’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Continue to read on Engadget Mobile
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Did you know that the insanely popular Koss PortaPro headphones have been around for 25 years? To celebrate, Koss has come up with the appropriately-named PortaPro 25th Anniversary Edition, a product that remarkably appears to improve on the classic original.
The PortaPros are folding, lightweight headphones that sound great. Wired associate editor Joe Brown says they sound like electrostatic headphones. I say that they sound like something four times the price (just $50).
There are problems, though. The PortaPros break easily and, despite a lifetime warranty, you’ll find yourself buying replacements. The weak points are the spot where the earpieces join to the band, and the cables and connections. In the Anniversary Edition, the cables are now corded, which should help.
Another addition should make an even bigger difference. The Anniversary Edition brings beefier magnets: neodymium iron boron to be precise. This, combined with the “oxygen-free copper voice coils” will make the headphones louder. The very open design of the PortaPros makes it easy to drown out their sound in noisy places, so this is welcome.
But the best part is that they lose the dorky light-blue earpieces, replacing them with cool black. I’m totally sold. I have used PortaPros for years, and love them, so I’m searching for a local dealer right now. Happy birthday, PortaPro! $80.
PortaPro 25th Anniversary Edition [Koss via Uncrate]
[...]
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Looks like Verizon and Motorola are coming clean with the Droid X a little earlier than planned — it just appeared on the official Droid page, complete with comfirmation of that 4.3-inch screen size. Interestingly, rolling over the image reveals a box that says it has a “720p screen,” which would be crazy — especially since the Droid X prototype we played with had what looked to be the same 854 x 480 resolution as the original Droid, although we couldn’t confirm it at the time. A true 720p screen res would also be far denser than the 800 x 480 panel on the EVO 4G, so we’re thinking Verizon actually means 720p out over HDMI, not anything else. We’ll see though — the official launch event is still set for June 23, and we’re still waiting to find out about the slider Droid 2, so there are a lot of potential surprises still to come.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
The Droid X gets real on Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Continue to read on Engadget Mobile
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / Laptop News / No Comments
Well, this is certainly something that makes sense for laptops. Taking a page from the MiFi and smartphones like the Palm Pre, select Sony VAIO Z and Y series laptops will soon be available with a Share My Connect (SMC) feature, which — you guessed it — turns the machines into WiFi hotspots. In the U.S. the ultraportables will be available with Verizon mobile broadband, and big red’s signal can be shared with up to five devices. It’s unclear how much extra this feature will cost you, but at least it makes the dedicated laptop mobile broadband charge a bit more digestible given the fact that you can share it with other gadgets. Obviously, Windows and Mac software has enabled this sort of thing for awhile, but Sony’s SMC clearly makes it easy for the end user to set it all up. In other news, the Sony Y series has also been adorned in the colors of the rainbow and will feature Intel’s newest Core i3 and i5 ULV processors. No updates to the VAIO Z at this point, but that could be because it’s pretty close to perfect. That’s all we’ve got folks, though you can always peruse the press release after the break.
Gallery: Sony VAIO Z and Y Series press shots
Continue reading Sony VAIO Y and Z Series morph into MiFis with Share My Connection
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Do you hear that? The hideous, piercing dirge of a B-flat drone that is the unfortunate backdrop to every single World Cup match? It’s the vuvuzela, a stupid plastic trumpet that has infested the temple of the beautiful game with an incessant buzzing that is a cross between a traffic jam in Naples and a giant, booming mosquito. We’re going to tell you how to kill it.
If you have never heard a vuvuzela in person, you won’t know quite how loud it is. I hear one every time Barcelona plays a game and my neighbor expresses his over-excitement by forcing his asthmatic breath through the thunderous plastic horn. It is deafening. It literally makes my ears hurt, and it is the most annoying thing I have ever heard. Now imagine a football stadium filled with these things and you have an idea of the fun going down in South Africa right now.
At home, the problem is less severe, and we can do something about it. B-flat has a frequency of 466,164 hertz, which is unfortunately close to the frequency of human speech, and the main reason that the frequency isn’t more forcefully blocked at source by broadcasters. You can cut the drone almost entirely, though, by filtering at home, blocking 466 hertz along with other harmonics. The easiest way is to drop the 300 hertz bar on your TVs EQ, which is close enough to make a quick and dirty fix.
If you have a more capable setup, like a home-theater receiver, or are prepared to [...]
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Lookin’ for yet another avenue to hop on the 4G superhighway? Fret not, as Clearwire has just doled out a trio of new products intended to help you do just that. Prior to today, you had only a smattering of options to actually tap into Clear’s WiMAX network, but the Clear Spot 4G (WiMAX only), Clear Spot 4G+ (dual-mode with 3G / 4G support) and Clear 4G+ Mobile USB stick have all arrived to give choosy moms more choices. The prior two are simply mobile broadband hotspots (think MiFi, but for 4G), with the 4G+ offering support for Sprint’s 3G network if you happen to leave one of those few WiMAX zones already lit. The USB stick is particularly interesting, as it’s the first dual-mode device hawked by Clear that’s fully compatible with Apple OS X. The Clear Spot 4G will be made by InfoMark and available to purchase for $99.99 next month; those who hate committing can also lease one for $4.99 per month. The Sierra Wireless-built Spot 4G+ (a rebadged Overdrive; shown left) demands a hefty premium for that 3G support, with an MSRP of $224.99 (or least for $5.99 per month) and a similar July ship date. The 4G+ Mobile USB stick (shown right) will support OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x (along with Windows, of course), and can be snapped up today for $114.99 or leased monthly for $5.99. Head on past the break if you’re thirsty for more.
Continue reading Clearwire intros new WiMAX [...]
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
The time is probably due for MagSafe power-plugs. These plugs should detach safely and cleanly from the wall when you trip over them, not from the device itself. This would be even more useful in Britain where the three-pronged plugs, with their side-exiting cables, cannot be tugged from the wall no matter how hard you pull. Not intact, anyway.
We all know you shouldn’t yank a plug out by its cable, but we all do it and until a MagSafe socket comes along this concept by Konstantinos Ladas is the best the paranoid Brits can hope for. So confident is Ladas of his design that he has even included a bobble mid-cord to help the weak-fingered to pull on it.
The PVC housing apparently complies with strict UK regulations that specify a plug should either stay in place, unbroken, or pull free. This is to stop cracked housings from offering live wires to human fingers. Whatever. All I care about is being able to unplug an appliance without rooting around in the dark, inhaling carpet-dust as I blindly try to pry the correct plug from its socket.
As I said, it’s a concept design, and alternate plug designs have a habit of never making it to market in Britain. Maybe, though, there could be room for a thriving, underground black market in alternative power products? I’d be right there.
Let’s Yank A British Plug [Yanko]
See Also:
Plug-Watch: Cute Power Cube, The Best Adapter Yet?
Mysterious Spinning Power Outlet Accepts Any International Plug [...]
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Hey, just because Apple won’t make one doesn’t mean you can’t have a 4.3-inch iPhone. This here product of Chinese ingenuity offers you as much real estate as “the king of HTC HD2″ while also throwing both digital and analog TV tuners into the mix. When you factor in the dual SIM compatibility, 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, and a removable back cover, it’s enough for anyone to agree that “even a popular niche iPhone 4G had to step aside!”
Continue reading iPhone KIRFs up to 4.3-inch screen, claims invincibility from haters
iPhone KIRFs up to 4.3-inch screen, claims invincibility from haters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Continue to read on Engadget Mobile
June 17th, 2010 / Gadget-News / HDTV News / No Comments
Bet you never thought people would line up to pay absurd amounts of money to have their otherwise vanilla gizmos coated in some of the swankest paints known to man. Turns out, Colorware has made a living from doing just that for those with vivid imaginations, and the company is finally breaking away from handheld gadgets and heading straight for your den. Starting this week, fat-walleted consumers can ping the company with a custom television request, namely the TV model and desired hue. The outfit’s not publishing any sample prices due to the sheer quantity of available HDTVs out there, and sadly, the “send in” option ain’t available here — you buy new or paint yourself, bub. Anyone care to take a poke as to what that fire-engine red masterpiece up above would cost? Nah, we thought not.
Colorware slings paint onto next logical object: your HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Continue to read on Engadget HD
Page 232 of 775« FirstPrevious Gadget News«229230231232233234235236»Next Gagdet NewsLast »
