October 24th, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
We first caught wind of a slightly revamped PSP months ago, and the long-awaited handheld — complete with a new, fancier and in some cases more dreadful display — finally hit US shelves this month. For those that picked one of these up and have spent some quality time digging into the latest firmware, how are you liking things? Particularly for those that upgraded, are you pleased with the new build? Are you being plagued with those mysterious screen problems features? Could you stand to see a few more things tweaked for the PSP-4000? We suspect there will be quite a few mixed messages flying in this one, so let’s get those comments rolling.
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Posted in sony, how would you change, HowWouldYouChange, psp, playstation portable, PlaystationPortable, hwyc, psp-3000, features | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2008 by
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Wireless, Networking
The latest question to fly into our Ask Engadget mailbox (which is ask at engadget dawt com, for those unaware) concerns wireless routers. But not just any wireless router. We’re talking wireless routers that offer up rock solid reliability day after day, transfer after transfer.
“What is the best wireless router in terms of reliability? I know that question has been covered before, but most people just answer with whatever router they own. I’ve had issues with routers. Gone through three Netgears and a Linksys that after a certain amount of time cease to hold a decent connection. I’m wondering if people know of a solid router that might be a little less mainstream.”
Who better to ask about the underground WiFi router scene than Engadget readers, right? Help this poor fellow out — one more dropped connection whilst racking up frags and he’s going to have a catastrophic meltdown.
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Posted in wifi, linksys, ask engadget, AskEngadget, router, ask, netgear, wireless router, WirelessRouter, wlan, features | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
We got to play around with a SMART Table in a classroom full of lucky kids at Haines Elementary School in Chicago this morning, and we came away impressed with how much they loved it. The multitouch table is built on the same basic idea and hardware as Microsoft Surface — Vista PC, XGA projector, infrared camera — but it’s a custom patented SMART design, not Surface lite or anything like that. That said, the multitouch system isn’t quite as responsive as Surface, and the kid-proof plastic screen felt a little weird, but it certainly works well enough — the Table recognizes up to 40 touches (enough for six kids to play comfortably, we were told) and we saw some interesting demos, ranging from the standard rotate / zoom photo app to painting and puzzle games. Teachers get admin access with a special USB key that enables them to manage apps, and there’s an SDK in the works, so hopefully there’ll be quite a few to manage. SMART says the Table should start shipping next spring for somewhere between $7,000 to $8,000 each — obviously the company will be targeting school systems with its extensive SMART Board sales network, but well-off parents will be able to score one for their hopelessly spoiled darling children as well. Check a few vids of the table in action after the break.
Continue reading Kids-on with the SMART Table
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Posted in multitouch, Education, surface, table, features, Smart, smart table, SmartTable | No Comments »
October 21st, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/The_Engadget_MacBook_and_MacBook_Pro_review’; Way back in the hazy salad days of 2001, Apple worked up a bold revamp of its flagship laptop line, the Powerbook. The company, in the pursuit of stronger, lighter, more attractive materials, moved from the black plastic casings it had used for its G3 computers to a sleek titanium shell. It was the onset of a new era in Macs. The basic look was clean and simple: squared edges, a roomy and functional layout, a matching pair of stereo speakers to either side of the keyboard, a consistent silver coloring throughout. In 2003, the company refined this design, replacing the titanium with lighter-weight aluminum and heralding in one of the most recognizable and persistent pieces of industrial design in the computer industry. The MacBook Pro (as it became known) has remained largely unchanged in the five years of its existence — in fact, the look and feel of the laptop has become such a staple of the Apple lineup that it’s almost as representative of the company as the Apple logo itself. But five years (or seven in the long view) is an awful long time to see one design, and the user outcry for significant updates has been nearly constant.
Those cries were answered last Tuesday, when the company announced the long-rumored (and badly leaked) refreshes for both the MacBook Pro and MacBook lines. As with most of the modern designs emanating from Cupertino, these are evolutionary — not revolutionary — steps, but they’re drastic in comparison to the stale, familiar versions of our not-so-distant past. Beyond the spit and polish of the Air- and iMac-inspired casings, the company has re-upped the internals as well; new graphics chips, a completely new motherboard design, and some slashing and burning of familiar ports are part of the new packages. So did Apple deliver the goods on what is arguably the most anticipated laptop release in recent memory, or has it failed to meet the absurdly high expectations placed upon it… and is that even possible? Read on to find out.
Continue reading MacBook and MacBook Pro review
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Posted in review, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, features, engadget review, EngadgetReview, the engadget review, TheEngadgetReview, 2008 macbook, 2008 macbook pro, 2008Macbook, 2008MacbookPro, glass and aluminum, GlassAndAluminum | No Comments »
October 21st, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
Confession: we love, love slim laptops. Air, Envy, X300, slips of copier paper with “laptop” written on them… anything decently under that magical 1-inch thick mark has a special place in our hearts. And then there’s the Eee PC S101. Don’t get us wrong, we really like this little netbook. It’s slim, light, solidly built, not entirely gaudy and comes with quite the pedigree, but we’re having trouble choking down that $699 pricetag for what’s still ostensibly a “second” computer. Here’s the way we see it: this new, wonderful 0.75-inch thick form factor can’t just be a random noodling by ASUS, we’re expecting all sorts of trickle down to other models in the future — except there’s really no place to trickle down on the specs. Perhaps they could drop the Bluetooth, or the “n” spec from the WiFi, but at the end of the day 1GB of RAM and an Atom processor are pretty baseline for netbooks, and we expect something exactly delicious as this netbook from ASUS or elsewhere before the glossy paint is dry on the S101 — or at least a built-in 3G option in a few weeks to make this thing obsolete. Our other big gripe is with the keyboard. The keys are good-sized and rather tactile for a netbook, but they could certainly be better, and the right shift key is inexplicably on the far side of the up arrow key — basically unreachable by our mortal pinkie. It makes zero sense from a typing standpoint, and since we tend to over-rely on the right shift key out of bad Mavis Beacon-induced typing habits, we’re not stoked about ASUS’s choice here. Otherwise there’s a nice collection of ports, a great (multi-touch) touchpad, a wonderful matte screen and that pesky hole in our wallet where all our cash used to be.
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Posted in hands-on, asus, eee pc, EeePc, netbook, features, s101, eee pc s101, EeePcS101 | No Comments »
October 21st, 2008 by
Filed under: Digital Cameras
No, literalists, we won’t be providing impressions of Casio’s latest high-speed shooter, the EX-FH20, in the English-language equivalent of bullet time — though feel free to sound out each word veerrryy slooowwwly if you’d like — but we did get to see how the camera performed shooting 1000 fps video and high-speed bursts of stills under very ideal circumstances, and came away quite impressed. Casio had members of the press lined up across the ice from some hockey players engaged in hockey activities, with lights the power of many suns at our backs to make the slow-motion video come out as more than a grainy mess. And it did. We found the interface very intuitive — more so than Casio’s first stab at slow-mo, the EX-F1 — and were shooting 1000 fps videos of the action within seconds. That top speed crops the top and the bottom of the shot, which turned out fine for the linear progression of a hockey shot, but 1000 fps is really overkill for anything more glacial than a flash of lightning, and we found 210 fps (which also provides more resolution and a better aspect ratio) to be a real sweet spot for sports action. The immediate effect of slow motion is the dimming of the scene, but it’s easy to adjust the f-stop and film speed to brighten things up a bit. Bursts of stills — up to 40, at 30 fps — are similarly easy to execute, and you can even set the camera to capture snaps for about a second before you fully click the shutter, in case you’re a little slow on the response time. Overall we’re very impressed with the build quality, size, image quality, manual controls and ease of use of this camera, especially in light of its $600 pricepoint, when big brother EX-F1 is retailing for a grand with very few differentiating perks.
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Posted in hands-on, Casio, slow motion, SlowMotion, features, EX-FH20, fh20, slow-mo | No Comments »
October 20th, 2008 by
Filed under: Portable Audio
If Lala.com has its way, the Web song will do to the MP3 file what the MP3 file did to the CD. The maverick music website, which began as a CD trading site and moved into Internet radio, announced an ambitious plan last year to license the catalogs of the four major music labels as well as those of many independents. It would provide unlimited listening to its members in the hopes of stimulating buying. Listeners would pay only when they wanted to transfer music to their iPods; Lala had even developed a way — since abandoned — to transfer music directly to Apple’s portable player from its website… circumventing iTunes.
Lala eventually got its licenses. But somewhere along the way, the promise of free unlimited listening proved too good to be true, How it now works is that any song you don’t have on your local PC but which Lala has made available online in its clean, ad-free user interface can be listened to for free, but only once, after which it must be purchased. One option for purchasing is the the “web song,” which is essentially access rights to a track that you can stream indefinitely, but cannot download.
The benefit, in addition to not having to manage a library of files, is the price — a mere 10 cents per song or even less when bought as part of an album. And in a nod toward its original philosophy of encouraging “try before you buy”, Lala will credit the price of the web song toward the purchase of the MP3 file. Purchased MP3 files are then added to your iTunes library just as they are when music is purchased from the Amazon MP3 store. But even tough they can’t be downloaded, web songs will have plenty of company with your other tunes.
Continue reading Switched On: Lala sells access to a song for a song
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Posted in Switched On, SwitchedOn, lala, features, web songs, WebSongs | No Comments »
October 20th, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/playstation/PSP_3000_unboxing_and_hands_on’; We know they’re hitting the streets, and we’ve already seen some unboxing pics and a nasty gutting, but we felt we needed to give Sony’s new PSP-3000 the proper Engadget treatment. As you can tell by the photos, there’s not much new here, though as you should know, the guts are where it’s all going down (new screen, built-in microphone). Still it never hurts to take a close look at a shiny new toy… so enjoy yourselves in the gallery.
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Posted in unboxing, hands-on, hands on, HandsOn, playstation portable, PlaystationPortable, psp-3000, features, psp 3000, Psp3000 | No Comments »
October 18th, 2008 by
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
We knew the SlingCatcher was sneaking out into the wild, and hey — we just snagged one at retail in Chicago. We’re busy tearing into all the projector, Sling streaming, and media streaming features, but we figured we throw up the unboxing photos right away so you can get a feel for Sling’s latest, long-awaited box.
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Posted in sling media, SlingMedia, sling, media streamer, MediaStreamer, sling catcher, SlingCatcher, streamer, features | No Comments »
October 17th, 2008 by
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
ZeeVee’s ZvBox had a lot of potential on paper — after all, who wouldn’t be enthused about the possibility of bringing internet TV / DVDs / Blu-rays (via your PC’s optical drive) and all sorts of other multimedia to the TV via the coaxial wiring already in your home? Unfortunately, the box was hamstrung by two major issues: a lofty price tag ($499) and less-than-elegant installation. Still, the unit seemed to work well enough in our testing once we got everything up and running, but we never really found a way to justify the cost. Are any of you early adopters feeling the same way? Disagree vehemently? What could ZeeVee do (or have done) in order to make the ZvBox a more compelling purchase? We know you’ve got it in you, so let it all out in comments below.
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Posted in internet tv, InternetTv, internet, placeshifting, how would you change, HowWouldYouChange, htpc, hwyc, features, localcast, localcasting, ZeeVee, ZvBox, alcast | No Comments »
October 16th, 2008 by
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Digital Cameras
Any avid concert goer will confess — security can be a royal pain in the arse when trying to sneak your point-and-shoot in for a few Facebook-bound memories. ‘Tis a shame a few morons who can’t deactivate their flash has to ruin it for everyone else, but rather than ramble on, we’ll let Latrell take it from here:
“I’m tired of security confiscating my point-and-shoot at concerts. I’m just looking to snap a few good shots without the flash, but it seems they always find my camera on the way in. What’s the slimmest, most discrete camera out there that can still muster decent images. I’m not looking to buy a new cellphone with a robust camera, either. Help a man a need, please.”
We can say from personal experience that we feel this guy’s pain, and after you’ve done your part to make a viable suggestion, you can send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.
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Posted in point and shoot, PointAndShoot, point-and-shoot, ask engadget, AskEngadget, Digicam, camera, ask, features, concerts, venues | No Comments »
October 16th, 2008 by
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We’ve had iriver’s SPINN laying around the Engadget HQ for a little while, and figure we’ve finally fiddled with the player enough to write down some impressions. If you’re looking for the one liner, here it is: we’re blown away by the beauty of the hardware, but the barebones player software, lack of an “ecosystem,” and hefty price really hurt its chances with the mainstream. Full thoughts after the break.
Continue reading iriver SPINN review
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Posted in review, hands-on, iriver, impressions, spinn, features, iriver spinn, IriverSpinn | No Comments »
October 16th, 2008 by
Filed under: Robots
We were pretty stoked about PlaySkool’s Kota the Triceratops robotoy, but after an hour or so studying the beast with the help of two diminutive guest reviewers, we’re just not all that sold. Sure, Kota turns his head, wags his tail, opens his mouth and plays sounds effects in response to his 11 touch and weight sensors, but he just doesn’t do much else. Plus, almost everyone is disappointed to find that the $300 dino doesn’t walk — it was the first question from adults and kids alike. Still, Kota’s an adorable little scamp, and while he’s not quite the kid-sized Pleo we were hoping for, he’s certainly appealing — here’s hoping Kota 2.0 learns how to stomp around a little bit.
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Posted in toy, toys, dinosaur, kota, playskool, features, kota the triceratops, KotaTheTriceratops, robot dinosaur, robot toy, robot toys, RobotDinosaur, RobotToy, RobotToys | No Comments »
October 15th, 2008 by
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/T_Mobile_G1_The_Engadget_Review’; It’s hard to believe, but rumors of a “Googlephone” have been floating around since 2006. To put it in perspective, the first Gphone post on Engadget was written by Peter Rojas. Needless to say, it’s been a long, slow ride to get to Android, the Open Handset Alliance, and ultimately the T-Mobile G1. If we said expectations were high for the introduction of this device, it would be an understatement. It’s not every day that a company with the stature of Google announces it’s getting into the phone game, and it’s certainly not every day that an honest-to-goodness innovator comes along. That last time the team at Engadget got this stoked for a device, it was a little something called the iPhone — and you know how that turned out. Will Android and the G1 live up to the hype? Is this the first coming of a serious new contender in the mobile space, or has the triple threat of Google, HTC, and T-Mobile not delivered on their promises? We’ve put both the device and the software through its paces to bring you the definitive review of the T-Mobile G1 and Android, so read on to get your answers.
As we’ve really gone to great lengths to dissect the phone and OS, we’re splitting the review into two, easy to digest parts. Enjoy!
Part 1: Hardware
Part 2: Software and wrap-up
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Posted in Google, htc, t-mobile, review, hands-on, hands on, HandsOn, android, dream, features, g1, t-mobile g1, T-mobileG1 | No Comments »
October 15th, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
There were few surprises from Apple yesterday — MacBooks were in the cards, and MacBooks are what we got — and the jury’s still out on whether these new laptops are exactly what the market needs right now, but there’s no denying that Apple’s pretty proud of its new all-aluminum lineup. We’ll have a full review of the laptops shortly, but in case you missed anything, here’s a look back at the mayhem.
The liveblog
Live from Apple’s “spotlight turns to notebooks” event
First impressions
New MacBook / MacBook Pro unboxing and first impressions
Hands-on coverage
MacBook Pro first hands-on!
Apple MacBook aluminum and glass super-shiny hands-on
Apple 24-inch Cinema Display hands-on
Product announcements
Apple finally refreshes Cinema Display: 24-inch, LED backlit, $899
MacBook Air gets NVIDIA graphics, storage bump
Apple’s MacBook gets a fresh face, NVIDIA graphics, original drops to $999
Apple’s all-new MacBook Pro packs new NVIDIA GPUs, glass trackpad
In-depth / details
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 M, 9600M GT get official in new MacBooks
Apple’s Steve Jobs calls Blu-ray “a bag of hurt”
MacBook Pro requires logout to switch graphics modes
Intel: MacBook Air sheds custom CPU for 45-nm Penryn “S”
Multi-finger MacBook trackpad gestures demonstrated on video
New MacBook Pro running HybridSLI?
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Posted in Apple, event, liveblog, roundup, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, features | No Comments »
October 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
We’ve had a chance to spend a little time with Apple’s new laptop offerings, and we wanted to give you a taste of what’s changed — and stayed the same — in the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Included after the break is a rundown of our impressions. We’re going to be doing a longer, thicker, more exciting review in the very near future, but this should give you an idea of what to expect if you’re planning on diving into one of these anytime soon. If you just want to get into the heavy stuff, you can hit the galleries below for a thorough look at the hardware.
If you’re wondering why the color temperature seems to vary in the photos, we shot it at the Revision3 studios while filming a segment for Tekzilla and they kept changing the lights (lovely folks, lighting changes notwithstanding).
Continue reading New MacBook / MacBook Pro unboxing and first impressions
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Posted in Apple, unboxing, hands-on, hands on, HandsOn, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, first impressions, FirstImpressions, impressions, features | No Comments »
October 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Displays
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Hands_on_with_Apple_s_new_24_inch_Cinema_Display’;
Sure it may not look like much, but we’re confident there’s more than a few cats and kittens out there who want to get their hands on Apple’s new 24-inch superstar. As usual, the screen looks painfully crisp. Check the gallery below for a number of views!
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Posted in Apple, hands-on, features, 24 inch, 24Inch, cinema display, CinemaDisplay | No Comments »
October 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Apple_MacBook_aluminum_and_glass_super_shiny_hands_on_2′; We just got our grubby, oily hands all over this pristine, all glass and aluminum MacBook. We sullied it on your behalf, but our initial impressions mostly positive: it’s small, incredibly, ridiculously solid feeling, and we actually don’t hate the all-clicking trackpad much at all. (If your thumb muscle memory makes you click at the bottom where the button used to be, it works and feels pretty much the same.) Of course, the glare of the glass screen is a MAJOR issue for us, and will be pretty much forever. There’s just no way we’ll be able to love it, so our eyes will be peeled for after-market add-ons to cut that down a bit. But in terms of the rest, it’s pretty clear this is the best MacBook — and best mainstream consumer laptop — Apple’s made to date.
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Posted in Apple, hands-on, macbook, features | No Comments »
October 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/New_MacBook_Pro_Hands_On’; Well you’ve heard the talk, now check out the pics in the gallery below. Believe it or not, that trackpad isn’t as hard to use as you think. The new laptops are shockingly similar to current models, and in here those glossy displays don’t seem too bad. Still, we’re going to need to really road test these to figure out if we can live with that glare. We can definitely live with the new graphics chips, however.
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Posted in Apple, macbook pro, MacbookPro, features | No Comments »
October 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Live_from_Apple_s_spotlight_turns_to_notebooks_event’; We’re here and the big event is about to begin — keep reading for all the news as it happens!
Continue reading Live from Apple’s “spotlight turns to notebooks” event
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Posted in Apple, Steve Jobs, event, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, SteveJobs, features, spotlight turns to notebooks, SpotlightTurnsToNotebooks, cupertino | No Comments »
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