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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Dell's 2209WA LCD monitor reviewed, deemed king of 22-inchers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/dells-2209wa-lcd-monitor-reviewed-deemed-king-of-22-inchers/

Dell's 2209WA just surfaced a few days ago, and already we're seeing the first review of said panel courtesy of CNET's Australian branch. The 22-inch IPS display was said to boast "excellent color and viewing angles and great gaming performance" at a fantastic price point, with the only real knocks being the omission of 1:1 scaling and the inset design which occasionally caused reflections. Yeah, minor quibbles indeed. In fact, reviewers struggled to even find those, and they were downright giddy to hand out a 9 out of 10 rating along with this strongly worded quote: "This is the best 22-inch monitor we've seen." 'Nuff said, huh?

Filed under: Displays

Dell's 2209WA LCD monitor reviewed, deemed king of 22-inchers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI announces Wind NetTop D130 -- the desktop with Nordic styling

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/msi-announces-wind-nettop-d130-the-desktop-with-nordic-stylin/

MSI announces Wind NetTop D130 -- the desktop with Nordic styling

Every morning we struggle to stay awake while reading one copycat netbook announcement after another, and, now that low-end desktops seem to be finding the same popularity, we've ordered a fleet of coffee robots to keep eyes open at Engadget HQ. On the heels of unveiling its mildly interesting all-in-one Neton series, MSI has followed up with the rather more generic D130 NetTop, featuring something MSI calls "Nordic Simple Style" (which they previously just called barebones). Moving beyond appearances, the machine does seem like a decent package, sporting a mild but serviceable Atom 330 processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a Super-Multi DVD burner, 7.1 output, and a meager 35W power consumption when operating at "full speed." Granted, that full speed won't do much for your 3DMark scores, but an expected $240 price tag should make it a good fit for anyone in search of a simple machine for desk or home theater.

[Via I4U News, image courtesy of TweakTown]

Filed under: Desktops

MSI announces Wind NetTop D130 -- the desktop with Nordic styling originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips introduces ultra widescreen Cinema 21:9 LCD TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/philips-introduces-ultra-widescreen-cinema-21-9-lcd-tv/

Last July, we took a look at whether or not ultra widescreen HDTVs could eventually become a reality. Fast forward half a year and change, and here we have Philips answering that with a resounding "sure, why not?" The Cinema 21:9 is said to be the planet's first cinema-proportioned LCD TV, and of course, it'll also incorporate Ambilight technology around the borders. We'll be frank -- we had our doubts upon seeing the lackluster website linked below that this thing was even real, but Philips itself confirmed to us that the panel will be shipping this Spring in Germany, Belgium, the UK and France. We're also told that a full site will launch on January 29th, though no pricing details (nor a US release date) were mentioned. Our one and only wish? That this thing would've been displayed at CES last week.

[Via GadgetVenue]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Philips introduces ultra widescreen Cinema 21:9 LCD TV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New in Labs: Send & Archive

Source: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-in-labs-send-archive.html

In addition to having two cappuccinos, my morning routine includes processing new mail that's arrived in my inbox overnight. More often than not, as I reply to a message I also want to archive it so I can enjoy the satisfaction of a pristine inbox. Having clicked "Send" followed by "Archive" a few million times, I started to wish there was a way to just click once and accomplish both actions at the same time. So I decided to turn this idea to a Gmail Labs experiment. Turn on "Send & Archive" from the Labs tab under Settings, and you'll see a new button in the compose form labeled just that. The button does what it says: it sends your reply and then archives the thread with one click.

For keyboard shortcut enthusiasts tabbing to this new button works too. In the coming weeks, I'm planning to add undo support, so if you accidentally archived a thread, you can easily get it back into your inbox. Any other requests? Let us know in the Gmail Labs user group.

Fast PDF viewing right in your browser

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/V5VieGae38Q/fast-pdf-viewing-right-in-your-browser.html

Posted by Marc Miller, Software Engineer

When I get sent a PDF, sometimes I just want to view it -- I don't always need to download and save it right then. So starting today, you'll see a new "View" link next to PDF attachments you get in Gmail:

Clicking "View" quickly opens the PDF inside your browser, complete with the graphics and formatting you expect to see in a PDF. You may have seen this feature before, in Google Docs. It's the way that we did uploading and viewing of PDFs online. Here's a screen shot:

If you want, you can still view in plain HTML from a link at the top of the new viewer. And if you want to download, save, and view your PDFs later while offline using client software, you can still do that by hitting the "Download" link.

New in Labs: Turn an email into a Google doc

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/Uc7siHT6vSo/new-in-labs-turn-email-into-google-doc.html

Posted by Jeremie Lenfant-Engelmann, Software Engineer

More than once, I've had a conversation over email and later realized that the information contained in the messages would make a great starting point for a document. So I built an experimental feature for Gmail Labs that does just that: with one simple click, "Create a document" converts an email into a Google Docs document.

No more copying and pasting the text from your email -- just open the message you wish to convert, click the "Create a document" link on the right side of the page, and voila, you have a brand new document which you can then modify and share!

Even if you're not interested in converting any of your current messages into documents, you can easily open up a blank doc by hitting g and then w (just make sure you have keyboard shortcuts on).

To turn on this feature, go to the Gmail Labs tab under Settings, select "Enable" next to "Create a document" and hit "Save Changes" at the bottom. Though we're temporarily missing the "Send feedback" link for this feature on the Labs page (oops!), we're still anxious to hear what you think.

A holiday break to play with all the new stuff

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/0ayvmRi6mWY/holiday-break-to-play-with-all-new.html

Posted by Zach Yeskel, Product Marketing Manager

It's been another busy year for the Gmail elves, trying to find places to store all these emails (don't you people ever sleep?)... If you're finding it hard to keep track of all the new things we've added to Gmail over the last few months, here are some of our favorites to check out while you're sipping your eggnog this week:

Catch up with distant friends and family with Gmail voice and video chat, or send them a text message with SMS chat.
When you're having trouble putting your feelings into words, try an emoticon. (There's nothing quite like a virtual emoticon hug...)
Pick a Gmail theme and spice up your inbox.
Turn on Tasks and keep track of your holiday shopping.
See your calendar, documents, and email all at once with Calendar and Docs gadgets.
Get a new, faster Gmail app on your mobile phone.
Use Mail Goggles to avoid sending out that embarrassing email after the company holiday party.
Send in your self-addressed stamped envelope and get yourself some Gmail stickers.
And ther! e's more in Gmail Labs – forgotten attachment detector, superstars, and advanced IMAP controls – check out all the new stuff in the Labs tab under Settings.

On behalf of the entire Gmail team, happy holidays! We'll see you in 2009.

Tip: Archive mail on your iPhone

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/LKUnUQLF7Nw/tip-archive-mail-on-your-iphone.html

Posted by Arielle Reinstein, Gmail Product Marketing Manager

Pretty much everyone with an iPhone and a Gmail account has a preference for how to use the two together. Some people prefer the iPhone's built-in email client -- it's fast, syncs everything via IMAP, and works like the rest of the device. Others, myself included, can't live without search and threaded conversations and prefer to bring up Gmail in the browser. And a few people, for whom this tip is geared, read their mail via the client but switch to the browser-based version to clean out their inboxes so they can easily archive rather than delete.

See, the default Gmail set up for iPhone's built-in mail client configures things such that if you delete a message on your iPhone, it's sent to Gmail's Trash. That means in 30 days it's gone forever. Sure, you can archive by clicking the "Move to" button and then selecting "All Mail," but if you're an archive junkie and want mail you delete on your iPhone to get archived in Gmail instead, you just have to re-do the Gmail set up on your phone.

First, get rid of your default set up. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar. Find your Gmail account under "Accounts," click on it, scroll to the bottom, and click "Delete Account." Don't worry -- it'll be back and better than ever in a sec.

Then manually configure IMAP using the "Other" menu option by following the instructions this video (also available in the Gmail Help Center):

From then on, the iPhone's little trashcan icon will archive your m! ail. You might notice that messages you archive on your phone are actually being added to a new "Deleted Messages" label in your Gmail account -- but they're right in "All Mail" and searchable, just the way you want them.

Check Your Search Engine Rankings, Why Your Competitors in Organic Search Might Not Always Be Who You Think They Are

By: Glenn Gabe

Finding your actual competition in organic search.

When beginning a new SEO project, there are some questions that always come up during initial meetings. How does organic search work? Which keywords should we target? Do we need to redesign our entire website? And…how do we compare to our competition in natural search? I'm going to focus on the last question in this post, because there's an important point I'd like to make. Whenever I ask someone who their competition is in natural search, I typically hear the names of their core competitors (business-wise). Although that's true in a pure business sense, that's not necessarily the case in natural search. So, I often run a competitive position analysis to determine where a site ranks in the search engines as compared to its competition. It helps you (and your client) understand who their actual competition is and then sets the stage for deeper competitive analysis.

continue reading about Competitors in Organic Search....

Daimler taps Tesla's battery know-how for electric Smart

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/daimler-taps-teslas-battery-know-how-for-electric-smart/

Daimler taps Tesla's battery know-how for electric Smart

Daimler has been talking about electric Smart cars for about 10 years now, but the closest you've ever been able to come to a production model has been to go all KIRF-style and buy a knock-off CMEC City Smart. At the North American International Auto Show this past week the company again confirmed that a little Smart that runs on little batteries is still in the works, announcing plans to release 1,000 electric fortwos on lease here in the States by the end of the year. Now that the show is over, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is letting everyone know that his company will be producing those little batteries, a partnership the likes of which he must surely be hoping to develop with other manufacturers as they jump on the EV bandwagon. 1,000 cars is disappointingly few, but it's better than the paltry 500 plug-in Prius models Toyota plans to pilot here.

Filed under: Transportation

Daimler taps Tesla's battery know-how for electric Smart originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DisplayPort 1.2 adds Apple's mini connector, stereoscopic 3D

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/displayport-1-2-adds-apples-mini-connector-stereoscopic-3d/

If Apple's no-fee licensing wasn't enough to entice manufacturers, the Mini DisplayPort connector is now being added to VESA's DisplayPort 1.2 specifications. The update will also double the available bandwidth to 5.4Gbps, which can be used for 1920 x 1080 stereoscopic 3D imagery, four 1920 x 1200 screens, or one massive 3840 x 2160 display. According to Register Hardware, the 1.2 standard will be published by the middle of this year.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Laptops

DisplayPort 1.2 adds Apple's mini connector, stereoscopic 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details on Intel Atom N280 begin to surface, are short on excitement

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/details-on-intel-atom-n280-begin-to-surface-are-short-on-excite/

Sure, the Atom N270 has done great things for humanity during its brief tenure powering pretty much every netbook that comes down the pipes, but it's time for a change, and it looks like the N280 from Intel -- already slated for a couple Eee PCs -- could provide just the sort of marginal boost we're looking for. The single core chip bests the N270's 1.6GHz clock with blazing 1.66GHz speeds, and a 667MHz bus over the original's 533MHz. What could perhaps be much more interesting is the promised Intel GN40 chipset that accompanies the N280, which there's currently very little info on, but hopefully does a little bit towards competing with NVIDIA's ION -- or at least pepping up that game of solitaire we've been working on.

[Thanks, Jagslive]

Read - N280 shows up on some new Eee PC models
Read - N280 netbooks to hit the market between 2Q09 and 3Q09

Filed under: Laptops

Details on Intel Atom N280 begin to surface, are short on excitement originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon D3x reviewed: unmatched image quality, steep price tag

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/nikon-d3x-reviewed-unmatched-image-quality-steep-price-tag/

While all of the Nikon D3x previews from December largely heaped praise on the camera, Thomas Hogan's recent review is decidedly more evenhanded. Though lauded for what he calls the best image quality of any DSLR on the market, its $8000 price tag receives some harsh criticism. Compared to its D3 predecessor, he says you're paying a $3600 premium for what is essentially just twice the pixel count (12.1 megapixels vs. 24.4). If you're the kind of person who needs the higher resolution, this is the camera for you. For everyone else, it might be worth a pass. Hit up the read link for an exhaustive analysis.

[Via 1001 Noisy Cameras]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon D3x reviewed: unmatched image quality, steep price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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M&A Technology offering Intel's Classmate convertible online for $499

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/manda-technology-offering-intels-classmate-convertible-online-for/

Intel's latest and greatest Classmate convertible PC swung by the FCC in late November, and now it's time for the general populace to get their paws on one. M&A Technology has just announced that it is currently hosting the so-called Companion Touch up for sale to anyone who's interested, and packed within will be a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, 60GB hard drive, an 8.9-inch touchscreen, Windows XP Home, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, WiFi and a 4-cell battery that'll last for around 3.3 hours. Optionally, you can downgrade to a 30GB hard drive, add in a 6-cell Li-ion (good for 5 hours of life) and opt for Linux over WinXP. It's yours for the taking at $499.

Filed under: Laptops

M&A Technology offering Intel's Classmate convertible online for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung publishes NC20 user manual, new images surface

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/samsung-publishes-nc20-user-manual-new-images-surface/

Eager to get your digits onto an NC20 keyboard? Sadly, we can't help you there, but we can point out something to whet your appetite until shipment day dawns. Samsung's UK branch has hosted up the NC20 user manual, and while it doesn't really offer too many nuggets that we weren't already aware of, it still proves that this here netbook will arrive with the oh-so-promising 1.3GHz VIA Nano U225 CPU. Additionally, you'll find a 12.1-inch WXGA display (1,280 x 800), VIA Chrome 9 HC3 graphics, a multicard reader, Ethernet / USB 2.0 ports, optional WiFi / Bluetooth and your choice of HDD or SSD. Check out the links below for more on the hardware details and a new load of press shots, and start saving you pennies now, 'cause early estimates put this one at around $500 or so.

[Via NotebookItalia]

Filed under: Laptops

Samsung publishes NC20 user manual, new images surface originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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