Sunday, July 17, 2011

Singbox SV-606's MP3 milkshake brings the portable audio love to your yard

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/17/singbox-sv-606s-mp3-milkshake-brings-the-portable-audio-love-to/

See that line up of multi-colored, chromatic doodads above? Those are not, in fact, a host of shiny USB-powered kazoos. Le sigh, we know -- maybe next time. What are they, then? Try the super spiffy-looking Korean line of Singbox SV-606 speaker / MP3 players that pack an FM radio, microSD card reader and headphone jack into an 85mm by 35mm bullet shell-shaped design. While these digital audio players won't be useful in slaying any rainbow-obsessed werewolves, they will probably help get a few heads-a-turning as you strut your Saturday Night Fever stuff down the boulevard. Hit the source for a translated view of these sold-out beauties.

Singbox SV-606's MP3 milkshake brings the portable audio love to your yard originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: The bedeviled bezel

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/17/switched-on-the-bedeviled-bezel/

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

One of the few homages that the Palm Pre paid to the Palm Pilot was the gesture area, a separate part of the display face below the screen used for swipes just as the Pilot had a separate area devoted to entering Graffiti strokes. Unfortunately (like Graffiti before it), the gesture area was one of the least intuitive aspects of the Pre's operation, and HP has been moving away from it as a required navigation element. On the TouchPad, the gesture area has been scrapped in favor of an iPad-like bottom button.

But HP hasn't outright ignored the bezel on the TouchPad. Users can still swipe inbound from the bezel as an alternative way of bringing up its card view. Indeed, in 2011, it seems like nearly everyone has been taking a swipe at the bezel around touchscreen displays. First, RIM introduced inbound bezel swipes as a key navigation element on the PlayBook for activating menus, bringing up applications to launch, and its own webOS-like app switching interface. Microsoft showed how inbound bezel swipes will be part of the navigation for touchscreen devices in Windows 8. And MeeGo also uses the inbound bezel swipe as its keystone user interface element on smartphones...

Continue reading Switched On: The bedeviled bezel

Switched On: The bedeviled bezel originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware M14x review roundup: a lovely blend of poise and power

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/16/alienware-m14x-review-roundup-a-lovely-blend-of-poise-and-power/

Know what happens when you split the difference between an M18x and an M11x? The M14x, of course! We managed a bit of hands-on time with Alienware's middleman back in April, and now the web at large has had a chance to spit their opinions on it. By and large, critics were overwhelmingly pleased with performance, and hardly anyone could find too many griping points. Hot Hardware dished out an Editor's Choice badge, noting that the 14-incher exhibited a near-perfect blend of portability and power -- it's not often that a machine capable of running today's latest 3D titles can also get four hours of battery life. Having Optimus onboard is certainly a boon, but just about everyone also suggested springing for an SSD to really round things out. Folks also seemed to love the apparent lack of bloatware, and while the $2,000+ price tag was certainly steep, the top-tier numbers it delivered definitely helped soften the blow. The long and short of it? Folks looking for a nice balance of mobility and raw horsepower need look no further, but you can humor yourself anyway by digging into the links below.

Alienware M14x review roundup: a lovely blend of poise and power originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer TravelMate 8481 lands late August, £700 price tag in tow

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/17/acer-travelmate-8481-lands-late-august-700-price-tag-in-tow/

Back in May, we caught a glimpse of Acer's TravelMate 8481, rocking an extra thin bezel and 13 hours of battery life for the road-weary sojourner. At the time, Acer was touting a mid-June launch, but we've just received word that the Core i7-packing notebook won't make it into carry-ons until late August. As of now, we've only got UK pricing -- £699, to be exact -- leading us to wonder when the thing will make the journey stateside. As per usual, we will keep you abreast of the details as they roll in. Until then, you can peep the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Acer TravelMate 8481 lands late August, £700 price tag in tow

Acer TravelMate 8481 lands late August, £700 price tag in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple leaks Cinema Display refresh, teases dual-monitor Thunderbolt setup?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/17/apple-leaks-cinema-display-refresh-teases-dual-monitor-thunderb/

The cat Apple is out of the bag, apparently. Thanks to a leak on its website, there's evidence that Cupertino's readying a formal introduction of Thunderbolt to more devices. Keen eyes from MacRumors have spotted products on the site now sporting OSX Lion backgrounds, notably, what appears to be T-bolt connected Cinema Displays. The images showing the hook-up no longer appear to be listed, but the dual-setup above sure looks nifty. Considering Lion's got about two weeks left to rear its head and meet that July release, we'd surmise it won't be long until you'll be able to opt for a similar rig. Now can we please just get an anti-glare option?

[Thanks, Trey]

Apple leaks Cinema Display refresh, teases dual-monitor Thunderbolt setup? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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