Archive for March, 2010.
Toshiba hasn’t exactly flooded the market with external hard drives since
jumping into the game a couple of years back, but it has now expanded its offering a bit further with its new Canvio line of portable drives, which keep things about as simple as can be. Available in 500GB, 640GB, 750GB or 1TB capacities, the less than six ounce drives all come bundled with the Windows-only NTI BackupNow EZ software, which promises a “set-it-and-forget-it” operation, and they’re each available in your choice of five different colors. Look for the whole lot to be available from all the usual sources starting today, with prices ranging from $119.99 to $199.99.
Toshiba introduces Canvio line of portable hard drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We know you’ve been waiting at the edge of your seat for that added codec support and SmartDJ for Zune HD, patient ever since its CES unveiling, and now we’re here to assure you that it’s coming with the next firmware update, version 4.5. We had a chance to preview both SmartDJ and Marketplace access via the AV dock connection this afternoon (video coming soon) — the former being very smooth and easy-to-use, the latter being convenient except for having to input text using the simple remote and an on-screen keyboard. According to Marketing Manager Michael Yaeger, there’s nothing in the cards right now for a new, more text input-friendly remote. While we had his attention, we also asked him about Mac support and international Zune HD releases — neither of which he could answer definitively, but it doesn’t sound hopeful in the near future. As for release date, we couldn’t get anything more specific than within the next few weeks, but at least it’s next on the docket. Press release after the break; so with that out of the way, how about some answers on that 64GB model, eh Microsoft?
Continue reading Zune HD v4.5 firmware ‘coming soon,’ adds SmartDJ, new codecs, and Marketplace access via AV dock
Zune HD v4.5 firmware ‘coming soon,’ adds SmartDJ, new codecs, and Marketplace access via AV dock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You heard right, folks — according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently “developing a new iPhone to debut this summer,” and as if that weren’t enough, it’s also “working on another model for US mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless.” As of this moment, details about the break are nowhere to be found, but it’s not like either tidbit is shocking. This summer will mark the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 3GS, and if the Cupertino-based company keeps with its historical refresh pattern, we’re just a few months out from seeing the latest and greatest iPhone. There’s also been no shortage of iPhone-to-Verizon rumors over the years, with the latest of ‘em happening during the run-up to the iPad’s launch.
Update: We’re now learning that the “next iPhone is being manufactured by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry,” which just so happens to be the same outfit responsible for crafting all prior iPhones. That’s according to “people briefed on the matter” and sourced by the WSJ. It’s also stated that the world’s first CDMA iPhone will be manufactured by Pegatron Technology, which we caught just last week dabbling in some of NVIDIA’s Tegra 2-based wares. If all goes well, Pegatron could begin mass production of the CDMA iPhone (exact model not disclosed) this September, so it’s hard to say if Sprint or Verizon would have access before the all-too-lucrative holiday season. As for quotes on the matter? Most everyone involved wouldn’t say a word, but an AT&T spokesman did utter the following: “There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time. We haven’t seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur.“
On a week that couldn’t possibly get any bigger for Apple, that’s exactly what just happened. Everyone suspected that a fourth-generation iPhone was in the works, but having an outlet like the WSJ confirm it just makes the summer that much harder to wait for. There’s also the possibility that 2010 will be the final year that AT&T retains its death-grip on the iPhone, but by the sound of this report, it still seems as if the nation’s largest GSM carrier may nab exclusive rights on the latest iPhone. We also can’t help but wonder about the future of a true 4G iPhone — will Sprint manage to grab a WiMAX-enabled version? Will Verizon get its grubby paws on an LTE model? We figured only Jobs would know, but now… there might just be someone else out there willing to spill the beans.
Update 2: Soon after the news broke, we were informed that the next-generation iPhone would be announced on June 22nd (a Tuesday, naturally) and would be dubbed the iPhone HD (a name that has been tossed around before). That certainly makes sense given that Apple almost certainly has to up the pixel count in order to rival the EVO 4G, HD2 and all of those other high-res handsets, but we’re still reserving judgment until we see that fateful media invite hit our inbox.
[Thanks, Chris]
WSJ: Apple ‘developing new iPhone,’ plus another for Verizon (update: iPhone HD?) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, here’s a bit of a surprise. Not only have the folks behind the ever-present Energy Star label revealed the existence of a previously unheard of MSI Wind U250, but they’ve been kind enough to provide some details on the device as well. Apparently a convertible laptop (or some other form of notebook / tablet), the U250 will pack a dual-core, 2.6GHz processor of some sort, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a video card with 512MB of dedicated memory — all for a list price of $600. Unfortunately, while Energy Star lists a release date of March 15th for the device (hence the appearance on its site, presumably), that has obviously come and gone without so much as a peep from MSI about this particular model.
MSI Wind U250 receives Energy Star leaked status originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If there’s any better argument for
rigid spec requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series hardware, it’s this video of an HTC Touch Diamond running the OS at an especially syrupy pace. Indeed, the lag is so severe that it could very well be some trickery in the form of a RDP client running on a 7 Series emulator, which is in turn running on a PC — which, now that we think of it, is a pretty good possibility. Whichever way they achieved this feat, it’s certainly not a recipe for a viable handset. But we do know that these sort of “ports” are only going to increase as time goes on. See for yourself after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: Sure enough, the author of the video has fessed up that this is an RDP hack job — in other words, it has absolutely zero bearing on how WinPho 7 would actually perform in some post-apocalyptic future where it’s been successfully ported to the Touch Diamond (that being said, we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the herky-jerky action ends up being just about accurate).
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series screwed and chopped onto HTC Touch Diamond (video)
Windows Phone 7 Series screwed and chopped onto HTC Touch Diamond (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Victorinox, maker of the Swiss Army Knife, has come out with a model that would make James Bond proud: a pocket knife with a super-secure USB stick. How secure is the Secure Pro USB stick? Well, it’s equipped with both a fingerprint reader and a thermal scanner so, if someone cuts off your finger and applies it to the fingerprint reader, that won’t work. Oh, and if a bad guy tries to force open the USB, it will self-destruct. The USB stick comes in three versions. The basic model is the Secure Pro, which is available in capacities of 8 GB, 16 GB and 32GB.
People who placed pre-orders for the iPad after Saturday, March 27, are finding that they will have to wait a few weeks beyond the April 3 launch date to receive their devices. The shipping date for those pre-orders is now April 12. These dates apply to the first wave of iPads that will hit the market — the WiFi-only units. It appears that consumers who ordered the 3G + WiFi iPads are still on track to receive their devices in late April.
When Microsoft first launched its Bing search engine less than a year ago, the company promised to map out a strategy that involved more frequent updates and feature additions. This week, the company reiterated its commitment to that road map with the announcement of some new tweaks and technology integration starting immediately and continuing into the summer — tweaks including, of course, mapping in search results. Changes include current and future refinements to the Quick Tab feature providing related information to main search queries.
I’ve seen some amazingly great movies in the last few weeks. I was at Disney World to see “Alice in Wonderland” in IMAX 3-D and watching that movie on a Disney property for this ex-Disney employee was truly magical. Last week, I was at DreamWorks to see
“How to Train Your Dragon,” and the movie engaged me heart and mind in what was also a magical experience. It is amazing how far we have come, but presentations by DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg and PhaseSpace showcased that future films could not only be even more amazing, but also be made for less — and more often.
Legions of Apple fanbois may be all aquiver as April 3 draws near, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have plenty to look forward to. Sure the iPad is arriving on the scene first, but there will be no shortage of Linuxy contenders not far behind. For those of us on the open side of the fence, *that’s* where the real excitement lies. “When I consider that there are soon going to be literally dozens of cheaper, Linux-powered iPad-like devices on the market, I find it easier to resist putting $499 on my credit card,” wrote Computerworld’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols.
