Friday, January 07, 2011

MMT's DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/mmts-displaylink-equipped-15-4-inch-monitor2go-hands-on-at-ces/

We just happened upon MMT's Monitor2Go at CES's ShowStoppers event here in Vegas, and... well, it's a Mimo monitor, but huge. The new version -- which is expected to ship in a few months here in the US for $279 -- lacks the number pad that was on last year's model. That one was aimed primarily at accountants on the run, whereas this DisplayLink-equipped version is aimed at everyone else. You can catch up on all of the specifications and such here, but the actual display felt satisfactorily light, the swiveling hinge was rock solid and the screen itself was acceptable for a secondary solution. The low resolution won't dazzle anyone, and it's certainly no replacement for a legitimate monitor, but it's definitely easier to lug around than a new ST2220T. Head on past the break for a quick video demonstration.

Continue reading MMT's DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video)

MMT's DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:32 AM

Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/samsung-series-9-hands-on-preview-video/

Do we deliver or what? Just as promised, we went back for seconds with the Samsung 9 Series laptop, and man, it is one beautiful laptop. As you already know, it is incredibly thin, but it also has a very rigid construction thanks to its duralumin build. (Fun fact: apparently they build planes out of the same stuff.) As you will see in the video below, the design is very clean and the sharp edges have been designed to make the system look even slimmer. The lead designer of the system YeoWan Yun told us that the 9 Series was inspired by nature's beauty, including waves, leaves, and water. But it's not just the outside of the system that's beautiful -- the matte 400nit, 13-inch display is incredibly bright and crisp and the viewing angles are just top notch. Below that screen is one very nice chiclet keyboard with matte keys. Sammy's gone with a single button ClickPad, which in our short time with the laptop seemed fine for navigating with our index finger while keeping our thumb on the bottom. Naturally, we weren't able to get a real sense of the Core i5 performance, but we did notice that the system resumed from sleep rather quickly thanks to its 128GB SSD. Truth is we haven't been this excited about a Windows ultraportable since the Dell Adamo XPS, we just hope the 9 Series really brings the brawn and battery life with the beauty.

Continue reading Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video)

Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:32 AM

eFun Nextbook Next4 and Next6 hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/efun-nextbook-next4-and-next6-hands-on/

Believe it or not, the tablet world hasn't all turned into a Honeycomb / Tegra 2 monopoly. Some manufacturers, like industry newbie eFun here, are sticking with ye olde Froyo and looking to conquer a slice of the thrifty consumer market. The Nextbook Next4 is a 10-inch panel aping the iPad in offering a 1024 x 768 resolution and what will be a brushed aluminum back (ours was made out of plastic, but it was just a display prototype). Unfortunately, that's pretty much where the similarities end, as this device's software really wasn't up to scratch. It's almost stock Android 2.2, by the looks of it, but eFun opted to take the familiar Android soft keys into software, leaving the only capacitive touch for the panel. The biggest problem for us, aside from some instabilities and a random reboot, was lag when navigating through menus and an atypically long load time to get Angry Birds running. Performance might be an issue, in spite of the 1GHz Cortex A8 processor inside, but price likely won't be. The Next4 is launching in the first quarter of the year with a price somewhere around $350.

Its 7-inch sibling, the Nextbook Next6, is also joining it in Q1 and also eschews Android keys for a software implementation. Its designed primarily for reading ebooks and has a pair of physical keys on the side for flipping pages, which worked well. It had similar issues, however, to its bigger brother, but maybe its target audience will be more forgiving of its lack of immediate responsiveness than we are. It'll be a Home Shopping Network exclusive for a week when it launches, with an MSRP of $300 that will likely be discounted to $250. Hit up the gallery for the hands-on action!

eFun Nextbook Next4 and Next6 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:32 AM

Griffin's Beacon Universal Remote Control System brings dongle-free control to your smartphone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/griffins-beacon-universal-remote-control-system-brings-dongle-f/

Ditch those dongles and throw out those cases, the next level of smartphone-as-universal-remote technology is here. Beacon Universal Remote Control System from Griffin Technology and Dijits turns your iPhone and other iOS devices into omnipotent remote controls, by converting Bluetooth signals into infrared commands that your stereo, TV, and other devices can recognize. Paired with Dijit's Universal Remote App, Beacon, which looks something akin to a game show buzzer, converts your touchscreen to a remote, making all the added cases, dongles, and even cords unnecessary -- it can run up to two months on four AA batteries. Beacon hits the market in May 2011 for $79.99, but if you're lucky enough to be at CES this week, you can check out a demo at Griffin's booth.

Griffin's Beacon Universal Remote Control System brings dongle-free control to your smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:31 AM

Planon Slimscan, world's slimmest scanner, hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/planon-slimscan-worlds-slimmest-scanner-hands-on/

Been needing a credit card scanner to execute your superspy data collection with? Say hello to your new best buddy, the Planon Slimscan. This teeny tiny unit is equipped with a 600dpi optical scanner, though it shrinks images down to a 300dpi resolution to get a reasonable number of them to fit within the 64MB of onboard memory. Intended primarily as a collector of business card and receipt data, the Slimscan will come with Abbyy and PaperPort software along with the ability to export your stuff out to an Excel spreadsheet. Pricing is set at $120 and shipping is expected to commence any time now.

Continue reading Planon Slimscan, world's slimmest scanner, hands-on (video)

Planon Slimscan, world's slimmest scanner, hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:31 AM

Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $499

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/reycom-windows-media-center-coming-for-499/

Reycom Media Center
We love us some Windows 7 Media Center, but we recognize that using a HTPC for a DVR isn't for everyone. For some there is no replacement for a dedicated set-top box, which is why we were so excited to hear that Windows Media Center was coming to embedded devices. The problem of course is that is-coming and is-here, are completely different. A little known European company (state side anyways) hopes to change that by brining one to the US in the first quarter of this year for about $499. The bad news is that there's no CableCARD support like the Gateway one we saw earlier. There are plans to follow it up with dedicated versions for cable and telecom operators later this year, but for some reason we don't feel like they'll be too interested in it.

Continue reading Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $499

Reycom Windows Media Center coming for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:31 AM

Hauppauge is taking its HD component capture card internal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/hauppauge-is-taking-its-hd-component-capture-card-internal/

Haupauge internal HD PVR
It wasn't that long ago that recording HD from just about any source on a PC was cost prohibitive. Then along came Hauppauge's HD PVR and while it isn't without its issues and limitations, it gets the job done at an affordable price. One of those limitations is the rather large external enclosure and the wall-wart that powers it. Now Hauppauge has addressed those nit picks with the release of an internal PCI-E capture card for $159. The single card can record up to 1080i from either component or unencrypted HDMI and will start shipping later this month. The support is very similar it its external brother, in fact other than the form factor, the two are very similar in most every other way. Another pictures and technical details after the jump.

Continue reading Hauppauge is taking its HD component capture card internal

Hauppauge is taking its HD component capture card internal originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:31 AM

PixelQi demos its 7-inch displays, working on a 9.7-inch version

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/pixelqi-demos-its-7-inch-displays-working-on-a-9-7-inch-version/

We had a hunch that PixelQi was going to bring its 7-inch displays to Vegas, and lo and behold we caught a glimpse of the unique transreflective displays today. (For those that have been living under a rock and aren't familiar with PixelQi -- the high contrast 3Qi screens allow for the backlight to be turned off; not only does it save energy, but it's easy to read in natural light.) The smaller, 1024 x 600-resolution displays are, well, smaller than the previous 10.1-inch version. Most of them, however, were just hooked up to demonstration boards. There was one put into a Viliv X70, but again, this was just a PixelQi mod.

The bigger story at the PixelQi booth, however, came from its founder Mary Lou Jepsen, who not only promises that production is ramping quite well on both the 7- and 10.1-inch tablets, but that the company is working on a higher resolution 1280 x 800-resolution 10.1-inch display and a 9.7-inch display for a partner. We're not going to read into that too much, but she maintains that they are continuing to work with major companies. She also explained what we have heard before -- that much of the tight supply issues were attributed to the recession and that many companies changed their course after the iPad was introduced to make tablets. Obviously, the current 10.1-inch screen is starting to ship in the Notion Ink Adam, but we're still waiting to finally see the game changing technology in a tablet or laptop from a major manufacturer. With that, we leave you with a bunch of pictures of tablets and netbooks with PixelQi displays that you really can't buy right now but that will certainly make you drool.

PixelQi demos its 7-inch displays, working on a 9.7-inch version originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:30 AM

ViewSonic announces ViewFun 3D camcorder line, hopes we won't notice a bit of re-branding

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/viewsonic-announces-viewfun-3d-camcorder-line-hopes-we-wont-no/

3D technology's inevitable race to the bottom officially kicked off today with ViewSonic's announcement of its new ViewFun line. The Palm 3D HD was the priciest item shared thanks to its ability to record full HD 1080p in 3D or 2D at 60fps. Some of its other notable features include a rechargeable Li-ion battery, an SD slot for expandable storage, and a 3.2-inch LCD screen which uses parallax technology to display 3D video without wearing glasses. If you can't afford to spend $250, ViewSonic also announced the ViewFun 3D Pocket, ViewFun 3D PocketHD, and ViewFun 3D Snap Pocket camcorders for $149, $179, and $199. The thing is the ViewFun 3D PocketHD isn't really new, and we still remember when it was called the 3DV5 earlier this year; so unless you're desperate to spend under $180 on a 3D camcorder, we'd wager Sony's new 3D Bloggie Touch line is a smarter use of funds.

Continue reading ViewSonic announces ViewFun 3D camcorder line, hopes we won't notice a bit of re-branding

ViewSonic announces ViewFun 3D camcorder line, hopes we won't notice a bit of re-branding originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:30 AM

HomeSeer HomeTroller-Mini home automation controller gets you one step closer to the bachelor pad of the future

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/homeseer-hometroller-mini-home-automation-controller-gets-you-on/

The folks over at HomeSeer, maker of home automation devices, are set to debut the super small, super powerful HomeTroller-Mini at CES this week. The mini controller apparently fits in the palm of your hand, and is compatible with Apple and Android smart phones and tablets, allowing you to switch off the lights or set an alarm via text, e-mail, or text-to-speech. The SheevaPlug-alike sports a 1.0 GHz Linux platform, retails under $300, and can be linked to a number of other products to control your thermostat, appliances, lights, window shades -- you get the picture. All of this sounds great, but we're still waiting to see if it can get our circular bed spinning.

HomeSeer HomeTroller-Mini home automation controller gets you one step closer to the bachelor pad of the future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 02:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:30 AM

NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/nvidia-shows-off-tegra-2-gameplay-on-atrix-4g-and-optimus-2x/

We can't imagine how this might have slipped your attention, but LG and Motorola used this year's CES to roll out the smartphone world's first dual-core devices in the shape of the Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X. Both are built around NVIDIA's 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, which has been the most popular thing out here in Vegas after the free food and shuttle rides (Moto even has the Droid Bionic, a 4.3-incher bound for Verizon, using it). But what does that extra core matter to you? Well, aside from facilitating 1080p video playback on both phones, it does make them quite formidable mobile gaming stations. NVIDIA took the time to show us a couple of games being handled with ease by the 2X and Atrix before noting that it isn't leaving it entirely up to Google to provide the compelling content for its hardware. Gaming is, after all, close to the GeForce maker's heart, and we were told that NVIDIA is working closely with developers to help them exploit the added firepower of Tegra 2 so as to deliver prettier, shinier things on screen. We were also informed of the introduction of a Tegra Zone, an Android app designed to serve as a showcase of Tegra partners' wares, whether they be video or gaming content, though you shouldn't fear the specter of fragmentation here -- it's not a separate app store, any purchases will be directed through the Android Market. Anyhow, enough talking, there's video to be watched after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video)

NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:30 AM

Haier launches WiFi equipped Net Connect LED HDTVs, takes Yahoo Connected TV along for the ride

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/haier-launches-wifi-equipped-net-connect-led-hdtvs-takes-yahoo/

In an effort to obviate the best efforts of Boxee, Logitech, Roku, and Apple, the new line of HDTVs from Haier aims to bring internet content and streaming video to your living room without such excess hardware. Rather than having another black box fighting for space in your entertainment center, Haier's Net Connect LED displays have WiFi capabilities and Yahoo's Connected TV baked in to deliver content. In addition to Yahoo's apps, the TVs will also provide viewers with access to Hulu Plus, Blockbuster on Demand, Film Fresh, and Netflix. Unfortunately, we don't have specs, prices, or a release date for the sets, but we do know that they'll have remotes with a dedicated Netflix button, which is sure to please the impatient movie watcher in us all.

Continue reading Haier launches WiFi equipped Net Connect LED HDTVs, takes Yahoo Connected TV along for the ride

Haier launches WiFi equipped Net Connect LED HDTVs, takes Yahoo Connected TV along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:29 AM

Skype group video calling sheds beta as paid Skype Premium service

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/skype-group-video-calling-sheds-beta-as-paid-skype-premium-servi/

A new version of Skype for Windows just launched with a few notable features. To start with, stability has been improved as has quality. Unfortunately, the group video calling feature is no longer free now that the version 5.1 software is out of beta. A day pass costs $4.99 / €3.49 / £2.99 for impromptu sessions while a monthly subscription can be had for $8.99 / €5.99 / £4.99 with a 33 percent discount available to anyone signing up for 3 or 12 month subscriptions over the next 30 days. Two-way video calling is still free. Maybe the emotive, slow-motion video posted after the break will convince you or your business to unload a few sheckles for the the privilege of group video.

Continue reading Skype group video calling sheds beta as paid Skype Premium service

Skype group video calling sheds beta as paid Skype Premium service originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:29 AM

Mac App Store hits one million downloads on day one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/mac-app-store-hits-one-million-downloads-on-day-one/

Apple's just announced that its freshly baked Mac App Store's already hit the one million download mark on its launch day, with more than 1,000 titles -- including both free and paid apps -- up for grabs. Can't say we're surprised, really, especially with popular apps like Angry Birds, Flight Control, and Twitter presumably taking a good chunk out of the bandwidth. In case you're still wondering what the deal is, feel free to take a look at our Mac App Store hands-on.

Continue reading Mac App Store hits one million downloads on day one

Mac App Store hits one million downloads on day one originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 10:29 AM

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