Archive for March, 2009
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Microsoft announces Windows Marketplace partners, tweaked policies, designer WinMo 6.5 themes
Posted on March 31, 2009 | No CommentsDetails are starting to come into focus on some of the finer points of Windows Mobile 6.5's launch later this year after February's announcement at MWC, and if you had to boil the news down to just two words, they'd be "pretty" and "support." As "pretty" goes, it's been announced that Microsoft has partnered up with Design Museum London and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to offer designer themes for 6.5-based devices -- colors, wallpaper, and the like -- with the first designs coming from fashion dude Isaac Mizrahi. If that's not good enough for ya, the company will be releasing a Theme Generator later this year that'll let you customize colors of UI elements on your device, pair it up with wallpaper culled from your own photo collection, and send the batch straight to your phone.
Over to the "support" front, over 25 companies will be announcing their full support for the Windows Marketplace at CTIA this week, including EA Mobile, Facebook (pictured), Gameloft, MySpace, Namco, Pandora, and Sling Media. To help improve the Marketplace's public image, Microsoft is tweaking some policies, too: developers will now be able to issue unlimited updates to their apps free of charge, and users will have up to 24 hours to "return" apps they don't like (very cool). Notably, Facebook's new app will be available in April, offering direct video uploads straight to your wall if you're into that sort of thing (you know who you are).
Finally, Microsoft's issued a clarification regarding upgrades from 6.1 to 6.5: devices that are already out in the marketplace with a minimum of 128MB of RAM and a 400MHz processor or better are theoretically capable of being upgraded -- it's all up to licensees to decide whether they want to go to the trouble of offering the upgrades to their customers. Let's hope, shall we?
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Microsoft announces Windows Marketplace partners, tweaked policies, designer WinMo 6.5 themes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Skype for iPhone now live in US
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsIt's finally here, and even a few minutes early. Skype for iPhone is now available in the US iTunes store, free of charge. We've heard great thing from the folks in Japan who've been fiddling with it for the last twelve hours. Hit up the read link for quickest route to the app store page, and let us know what you think. Betcha wish you could ditch that AT&T voice plan now, huh?
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]Filed under: Cellphones
Skype for iPhone now live in US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mazda’s hybrid hydrogen vehicles to hit the streets this year
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No Comments
It looks like the world's first rotary hydrogen vehicle will soon be available for lease, courtesy of Mazda. True to its nature as a hybrid, the Premacy Hydrogen RE relies on a hydrogen rotary engine to create the electricity that powers the motor. The system is said to boost the fuel range of the vehicle to around 125 miles, twice the range of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE, and maximum output is 110 kilowatts. We look forward to seeing the cars start rolling off the lots and into the hands of local authorities and energy-related companies this year. Finally, it looks like you'll be able to put that hydrogen generator you installed in the garage to good use.Filed under: Transportation
Mazda's hybrid hydrogen vehicles to hit the streets this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Huawei’s enigmatic Android phone bound for T-Mobile in Q3?
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsTake this with some skepticism, but according to tmonews.com a "trusted source" has revealed an Android-based Huawei phone is currently being tested and heading to T-Mobile in Q3, a timeframe we heard about at MWC. Specs reportedly include a 5 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, WiFi, and Cupcake, naturally. No word on UMA, but the site claims that a certain Mr. Blurrycam is dropping off photos and more dtails in next few weeks, so we'll keep our eyes on that.
Filed under: Cellphones
Huawei's enigmatic Android phone bound for T-Mobile in Q3? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters now available for under $20
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsGot a Mini DisplayPort equipped laptop or video card and need to connect it to something... um, not Mini DisplayPort? If you've got a crisp Andrew Jackson, then Monoprice has an adapter for you with HDMI, DVI and VGA outs, all of which are now shipping for $14.25 and up. Unless you don't like saving money, nor enjoy your peripherals actually working with your new machine, it'll be hard to find a problem with this.
[Thanks, Phil]Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Peripherals
Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters now available for under $20 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Intel’s Xeon 3500, 5500 series officially unveiled for servers and workstations
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsIntel's announced this week its latest batch of Nehalem-based Xeon processors, the single-socket 3500 and dual-socket 5500 series for servers and workstations. Both models boast speeds up to 3.2 GHz and feature Intel's turbo boost, hyper-threading, and virtualization technologies, as well as integrated power gates. If you've got the newest Mac Pro, however, then you're already using the new quad-core CPUs,, but for everyone else, they're now being sold en masse to manufacturers at a price ranging from $188 to $1,600 for the Xeon 5500 and $284 to $999 for the 3500. We've already heard about 5500 / 3500-equipped Lenovo and Dell workstations, but if that doesn't suit you, Intel promises over 230 systems are in the pipeline from companies such as Cisco, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, among others.
Filed under: Desktops
Intel's Xeon 3500, 5500 series officially unveiled for servers and workstations originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tesla reportedly snags some funding from GE (updated)
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No Comments
This isn't fully official just yet, but a recently leaked Car and Driver interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks to have all but confirmed that the company received some funding from GE Capital as part of its current $40 million haul. While the exact amount GE has invested isn't clear,the company is apparently the second-largest investor in this round of financing, behind only Musk himself. As you're no doubt aware, this is on top of the $350 million in loans that Tesla is apparently close to securing from the U.S. government, which isn't exactly enough for it to rest easy given its ambitions, but is at least slightly encouraging for folks itching to get behind the wheel of a Model S. Musk even goes one step further in an attempt to assure potential customers in the interview, saying that "even in the worst case of an Armageddon scenario, I'll personally refund people [their money] if need be," adding quickly that he thinks there's "very little danger of that."
Update: According to Earth2Tech, this deal is off the table... and may have never been on it to begin with. GE Capital was apparently "closely watching" Tesla, but there had been no official deal. When the site reached out to Tesla, here's what they had to say:GE had committed to invest in Tesla and sent an e-mail confirming the investment, but GE backed out on the day it was supposed to wire funds to Tesla. The decision came after GE went into company-wide capital conservation mode.
So, really, no kind of investment at all. If you were a Tesla shareholder, you'd probably be thinking about putting a tighter leash on Elon Musk right around now.
Update 2: Here's a statement directly from Tesla:GE has not invested in Tesla.
Read - GE Invests In Tesla
When Car & Driver interviewed Elon Musk a couple months ago, GE had committed to invest in Tesla and had sent an e-mail confirming the investment. But GE backed out on the day it was supposed to wire funds to Tesla. The decision came after GE went into company-wide capital conservation mode.
In any case, GE's investment allocation was taken up by venture capital firms Westly Group, Technology Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Tesla closed the $40 million round without a problem earlier this year.
Read - GE "Watching" Tesla, Does Not (Yet) InvestFiled under: Transportation
Tesla reportedly snags some funding from GE (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Has Pleo-maker Ugobe folded?
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsWe don't have any official word on this as of yet, but as our main man Ryan Block noted in a tweet earlier (and Wired speculated on back in February), it looks like Pleo-maker Ugobe may -- in fact -- be extinct. As of this writing, the company's site was offline, and calls to the dino-bot factory have gone unanswered (though their voicemail system seems to be humming along just fine). While we haven't heard a peep one way or another from the folks in charge, Wired reported in its article that the company was struggling months ago to stay afloat in our sinking economy. Could it be that people just don't have a spare $350 to drop on a robotic toys these days? Say it ain't so. Whatever the case, you can be sure that just like actual dinosaurs, the legacy Pleo will leave behind is rich, storied, and often violent. How about you there in / on the Interverse... heard any news about Ugobe lately?
Filed under: Robots
Has Pleo-maker Ugobe folded? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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High-res display now available for Dell Mini 10 or is it?
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No Comments
HP’s 2140 was supposed to start shipping with a HD display sometime last month and quick check on the site reveals that it’s still not available. Some of the personal reviews state that the low-res displays caused them to return the netbook. It makes me wonder if there's some manufacturing issue over in China with these high-res displays. I bring this up because it appears that Dell is now offering the Mini 10 with a 1366x768 resolution screen for an extra $35, but will it actually ship on 4/15 like it says it will?
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NES Advantage joystick modded for Xbox 360 use
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsThis mod won't exactly help you much with Street Fighter IV or other button intensive games, but those that prefer to pass the time with the likes of Galaga or Xevious may want to strongly consider following the lead of our friend Mr. Pepsi Pants, and breath some new life into that NES Advantage controller collecting dust in your closet. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a complete how-to available just yet, but the video after the break does demonstrate that this bridging of consoles is indeed possible, and no doubt simple enough for anyone with the necessary skills. What's more, it looks like an SNES Advantage mod is already on tap as a followup project, which should offer a bit more practicality while still maintaining some retro flavor.
[Via Nowhere Else]Continue reading NES Advantage joystick modded for Xbox 360 use
Filed under: Gaming
NES Advantage joystick modded for Xbox 360 use originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Echostar shows off its SlingLoaded T2200S HD DVR for cable
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsIt didn't take long for Echostar to turn its ViP 922 SlingLoaded DVR for DISH into a tru2way powered HD DVR for cable viewers ready to placeshift live and prerecorded TV, and now we've got a glimpse of what it will look like. The specs show off a 1TB hard drive ripped from its still-yet-to-launch predecessor, but new for the T2200S is a backlit capacitive touch control mounted up front, while that no numbers required touch remote the 922 flashed at CES is so far missing from the mix. It'll be at least Q4 before these go into production, but you can believe Echostar is pitching them to all willing to listen at Cable Show '09 this week, while interested customers are being advised to contact their cable provider and let 'em know they want a piece.
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Echostar shows off its SlingLoaded T2200S HD DVR for cable originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Best Buy to sell Webster Hall bootlegs
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsIn the three years that I’ve lived in Manhattan, I’ve had the chance to frequent all the famous concert venues that this town has to offer except for CBGB. I know, I know. Let’s just not go there. It’s in these dark, damp and rank halls that I’ve seen a handful of amazing bands perform [...] -
Dell finally adds 720p LCD option to Inspiron Mini 10
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsSo far as we can tell, Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 was supposed to have a 720p screen option from day one, but after the ridiculously weird launch, we're not at all shocked to see that said selection is just now being offered. Starting right about now, prospective Mini 10 buyers can upgrade that stock 1,024 x 576 display to one with a native 1,366 x 768 resolution, or plenty to watch bona fide 720p content. The pain? Just $35 -- but you'll have to keep waiting if you're looking for inbuilt GPS, a TV tuner or a certificate of authenticity autographed by this guy.
[Thanks, JC]Filed under: Displays, Laptops
Dell finally adds 720p LCD option to Inspiron Mini 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Verizon-branded MiFi 2200 leaks out
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No Comments
It's definitely not the first time we've seen the Novatel MiFi, or even the second - but they can keep cranking these things out in all sorts of different flavors and we wouldn't mind a bit. A few weeks back, we found out that Sprint would be getting a MiFi of their own sometime in the next 3 months, and this latest leak indicates that Verizon will be getting one as well. No date is mentioned - but with CTIA 09 but a night or two away, we'd wager that an announcement is looming.
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Verizon MiFi 2200 EVDO hotspot leaks out, will sell like Canadian bananas
Posted on March 30, 2009 | No CommentsIt's not quite as sexy as the brushed aluminum version we saw back in December, but these leaked images showing a Verizon-branded Novatel MiFi 2200 personal hotspot are certainly enough to get the blood pumping. If you don't recall the concept, the MiFi is a battery-powered EVDO router the size of a credit card that can provide network access over WiFi for up to four hours on a charge. There's still a lot of details up in the air here, like how many devices can connect at once and the max data rate, but if this thing comes in anywhere close to its estimated $200 price tag we'd say a lot of those answers might not matter. Couple more pics at the read link.
Filed under: Wireless
Verizon MiFi 2200 EVDO hotspot leaks out, will sell like Canadian bananas originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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