Archive for September, 2009
Nokia N97 Mini clears FCC
September 26th, 2009
Nokia N97 Mini
(Credit: Nokia)
Nokia’s recently announced N97 Mini passed through the FCC this week along with what could be an update to the Samsung Instinct line. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the …
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Google Threatens Cyanogen Android Hacker With Cease-and-Desist [Android]
September 25th, 2009
This is a weird one: Google has just slapped Cyanogen, maker of the biggest and most successful Android ROM mod around, with a cease-and-desist letter. But Google’s reasoning doesn’t make any sense, and we’re wondering what their game is.
See, Google’s cease-and-desist specifically states that Cyanogen should stop passing around Google’s closed-source apps like Google Maps, Google Talk and Gmail, because those are only supposed to be used on Google Experience Android devices like the G1 and MyTouch 3G. That makes sense, except for one thing: Cyanogen only works on the exact devices those closed-source apps were designed for, like, well, the G1 and MyTouch 3G. So what’s the point of trying to stop Cyanogen?
Engadget suggests that maybe Google just wants to discourage rooting of their devices in general, which seems awfully contrary to the Android open-source philosophy. Truth is, we have no idea why Google would want to stop a thriving and well-received modder, but Cyanogen says he’s trying to open up some communication with the big G, so hopefully we’ll get an explanation soon. [Android and Me via Engadget]
Ben Heck throws together one-handed Xbox 360 controller, probably with one hand
September 25th, 2009
Ben Heck. Just the mere mention of the name brings chills to the spines of all who mod, and if today’s the first day you’ve ever come into contact with those seven letters, prepare to be changed. Forever. The Great Modder’s latest gig involved the creation of a one-handed Xbox 360 controller, but the catch was that it required completion within a ridiculously short period of time. Essentially, the left analog stick was repositioned to fit on the underside of the controller, enabling the user to operate that with his / her leg while handling the right side of the pad as usual. Check out a video of the admittedly raw looking final product after the break, and feel free to grab some inspiration while you’re there.
[Via HackADay]
Continue reading Ben Heck throws together one-handed Xbox 360 controller, probably with one hand
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Ben Heck throws together one-handed Xbox 360 controller, probably with one hand originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Creative EP-630 earphones are a solid, stylish upgrade
September 25th, 2009
Not to sound like a broken record, but the stock plastic earbuds that came packaged with your shiny new MP3 player aren’t doing you any favors. After loading up your device with music, the next thing to do is replace the headphones. Of course, if you’re not absurdly …
Originally posted at iPod accessories
LittleDog Is Even Creepier than BigDog [Robots]
September 24th, 2009
It may not make the same freaking scary noise as Big Dog, but Little Dog is even creepier than it’s big brother. I think it is because of its small size. Smaller creatures are always creepier, even when they fail.
The robot was developed by Katie Byl—currently at the Harvard Microrobotics Lab—and I don’t want to be anywhere near it. [Harvard Microbotics and Locomotion via BotJunkie]
New study says Palm Pre second only to iPhone 3GS in mindshare
September 24th, 2009
Market research firm Interpret recently made some discoveries about public perception of smartphones that should shock, surprise, and amaze you. The just released report, dubbed “Signature Smartphones: Gaining Mindshare in Order to Gain Market Share,” reveals that despite being massively disadvantaged in the marketplace, Palm managed to nab a huge chunk of mindshare with the Pre — in fact, the report suggests that the Pre is number two only to the iPhone 3GS in the metric. The study looks at the driving factors behind purchaser’s decisions to buy a smartphone, narrowing down the list to three major components: belief that the phone is “smart,” belief that the phone is “hip / cool,” and belief that the phone will make them more productive. Rating a swath of phones (BlackBerry Curve and Storm, G1, iPhone), the report found that only the iPhone and Pre balanced the three factors in a way in which consumers felt the higher price tags were warranted. More to the point, only the Pre and the iPhone 3GS managed to strike that balance at all; offerings such as the two BlackBerrys were lopsided. There’s not much more meat to the study, though it does shed some interesting light on just how Palm managed to squeeze its way back into the limelight (of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a product that’s actually kind of cool). Check out the whole PDF for yourself over at that read link.
Disclosure: Engadget columnist Michael Gartenberg is an employee of Interpret, and worked on the study cited above.
Filed under: Cellphones
New study says Palm Pre second only to iPhone 3GS in mindshare originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Is HP changing its Voodoo tune?
September 24th, 2009
The HP and Voodoo co-branded Envy notebook in 2008.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)
Hewlett-Packard is sending mixed signals on what exactly it plans to do with the Voodoo PC brand it acquired three years ago.
After purchasing the gaming and PC enthusiast brand in 2006, HP in 2008 began using the Voodoo name beyond powerful gaming PCs. It painted the name Voodoo and VoodooDNA on high-end HP notebooks and desktops, and talked up their premium engineering and design. They used the analogy that if the HP brand were a Smart Car and Compaq were a Chrysler, Voodoo would be their Maybach.
But a year later, HP’s consumer PC lineup contains little trace of the Voodoo branding. HP had introduced the HP Blackbird with VoodooDNA and more recently HP Firebird with Voodoo DNA. Both are nowhere to be found on HP.com. In a more recent example, a new notebook, called the HP Envy was released last week. A year ago it was called the HP Voodoo Envy 133. Though the updated model takes some Voodoo ideas like the thin profile, quick booting, the power adapter, and packaging, you’d have to be a Voodoo fanboy to know Voodoo had any sort of influence at all on it.
So what gives? It seems the Voodoo team didn’t have much to do with the Envy, despite its sharing the same name with older products.
“The reason there’s no ‘Voodoo DNA’ on the (most recent) product has to do with the overall design language, the target market, and the fact that we weren’t directly involved in the design,” Rahul Sood, the founder of VoodooPC and the chief technology officer of gaming PCs for HP, wrote on his personal blog.
In the same post, Sood that Voodoo is “transitioning from ‘desktop and notebook’ manufacturing to something beyond.” While it’s unclear what “something beyond” means, he hints that besides HP taking some design and engineering cues from Voodoo that the company he founded didn’t quite fit into HP the way Sood had initially expected.
…
Originally posted at Circuit Breaker
Unsurprisingly, Gyms Don’t Like iPod Nano’s Video Recording Inside Locker Rooms [IPod Nano]
September 23rd, 2009
Gyms already forbid people from use camera-equipped gadgets, like smartphones and Flip digital cameras inside locker rooms, since nobody wants their hairy junk posted onto the internet. But now you can add iPod Nanos to the list of no-no items.
The Life Time Fitness just restricted the Nano from not just locker rooms, but from workout areas too. You can listen to music on your Nano, of course, it’s just that you can’t use it as a recording device. Hold and stare at your player too long and the woman on the elliptical might give you a hard time about what you’re staring at.
All perfectly natural, but it’s something we’ll see more of once we get gadgets that play music as well as take video. [Twin Cities via Apple Insider]
Toshiba debuts Qosmio X500 gaming laptop with Blu-ray
September 23rd, 2009
We haven’t heard all that much from Toshiba on the Blu-ray front since it finally bit its tongue and went Blu at the beginning of this month, but it looks like its now starting to bring the rest of its products up to speed, like this newly-revised Qosmio X500 gaming laptop. As with its predecessors, this is one big and burly laptop, with it boasting an 18.4-inch, 1920 x 1080 screen, a 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250MNV graphics, up to 8GB of RAM, dual 500GB hard drives, and not just a Blu-ray drive, but a Blu-ray burner as the standard optical drive. No word on a price just, if you need to ask, but it looks like this one should be available in the UK in late October.
[Via SlashGear]
Toshiba debuts Qosmio X500 gaming laptop with Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Timbuk2′s 3-in-1 bag guards your Netbook
September 23rd, 2009
(Credit: Timbuk2/CNET)Netbooks are generally small enough to fit in most any bag you’ve got, but if you want something small to carry around your Netbook (and your Netbook only), Timbuk2′s new T-Pack does the trick. This bag can be used in one of three ways: as …