Hottest Electronic Gadgets

Archive for November, 2009

Progress bars aren’t always accurate, but at least they’re there, giving us hope, curing our angst, and mostly, diverting our attention from the fact that whatever it is, it isn’t done. And soon, they will invade the meatspace.

We already crane our necks to see the perpendicular streets’ lights cycles through, so the Eko stoplight concept, intended to let drivers know if it’s ok to shut off your car to save gas at a light, won’t really change a whole lot. But it would set a precedent, a standard, and a model for everything else: I want progress bars on my toaster, my pizza deliveries, my teapots, my dryer. No, scratch that: I need them.

And if you think about it, our innate desire to see the bar creep forward (or around, as it were) runs deeper than our slow entanglement with computers. I mean, what is a line if not a progress bar made of people? What about a sliced loaf of bread? A growing child? And oh god, clocks. This is too much for a Monday. [Yanko via Ubergizmo]

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ASUS’ Eee PC 1201HA just went on sale here in the States earlier today, but already it seems that the debatable father of netbooks is looking to one-up its own with the 1201T. Shown off recently at an event overseas, this 12.1-inch netbook gets powered by AMD’s Congo platform and NVIDIA’s heralded Ion graphics unit, a tandem that should lead to a fairly nimble and multimedia-friendly machine. The 1.6GHz MV40 CPU was at the helm, followed along by 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 6-cell battery and an enclosure that looks pretty much like every other Eee PC announced within the past six months. Mum’s the word on price and availability, but we’re guessing both of those will clear themselves up in short order.

ASUS shows off Congo / Ion-based Eee PC 1201T netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How a car-rental service lacking a smartphone app beat out the one that does.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

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Apparently the Department of Defense believes that PS3s are a better value when it comes to supercomputers than IBM products specifically designed for the purpose. Granted recent price drops probably didn’t hurt in justifying a 2,200 console order either.

This isn’t the first time that the DoD is using PS3 consoles for supercomputing. In fact, these 2,200 units are going to be added to an existing Linux cluster of 336 PS3s used by the United States Air Force. According to Justification Review Documents, the purchase is all about getting the best value out the DoD’s budget:

With respect to cell processors, a single 1U server configured with two 3.2GHz cell processors can cost up to $8K while two Sony PS3s cost approximately $600. Though a single 3.2 GHz cell processor can deliver over 200 GFLOPS, whereas the Sony PS3 configuration delivers approximately 150 GFLOPS, the approximately tenfold cost difference per GFLOP makes the Sony PS3 the only viable technology for HPC applications.

I’m all for balancing cost and features, but isn’t it just a bit curious that someone thought to save on upgrading the supercomputer just after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released? [Ars Technica via Boing Boing]

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A little later than mid-November, sure, but ASUS has finally unleashed to the US masses its 12.1-inch Eee PC 1201HA. Available at Best Buy for a penny under $330, it’s got all the standard affairs: 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520, 1GB RAM upgradeable to 2GB, 160GB HDD, WiFi, and a touted 6 hour, 38 minute battery life. The catch here is Windows XP — sorry 7 lovers, but if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, there’s always Chrome OS.

ASUS Eee PC 1201HA now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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B&N says the company will have the e-readers in some stores on December 7, a week later than expected, because the company is prioritizing delivery to customers who preordered.
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What does the dying death spasm of a failing brick and mortar video rental store look like? This picture is a hint. Blockbuster sells books now. [Flickr - Thanks, Travis]

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Other than a delightful-looking keyboard, it’s a little tough to tell what sets the iriver Story apart from its E Ink brethren (other than its complete lack of wireless), but the little issue of a $400 US pricetag for import versions doesn’t give us much reason to find out. Meanwhile, in the UK the somewhat more reasonable £230 tag has been affixed to the now-shipping e-reader, and while that’s still a tad bit more than just shipping a Kindle to the UK, if you’re still interested you can feel free to check out a few videos after the break that do a mild job of explaining the device to a rollicking soundtrack of Taylor Swift.

Continue reading iriver Story up for sale in the UK, can be imported to the US for contrarian amount

iriver Story up for sale in the UK, can be imported to the US for contrarian amount originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We told you the deals, now tell us how it all went down. Find any sweet deals? Have any horror stories? Reevaluating your plan to flip copies of Paul Blart: Mall Cop on eBay? Let’s hear it.

I wasn’t really in the market for anything, and had no desire to go wait outside in the rain at the crack of dawn. But I did grab the DS version of Chrono Trigger for $10 ($9 after Bing cashback) on Wednesday at Newegg. Not on Black Firday, sure, but it was enough to satisfy my consumerist desires for the week. How about you? [Image via Tri-City Herald]

How did Black Friday go?(survey)

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Since it’s not a phone and transgresses in all sorts of other Google-pleasing areas, the Archos 5 Internet Tablet hasn’t had a full shot at Android thus far, being relegated to merely the open source aspects of the OS. However, with phones like the Droid out and about and making high-resolution compatibility a must for Android developers, not to mention some diligent work from the hacking community, there are now downloadable versions of Android Market, Gmail, Maps and some other Google-specific Android goodies for the Archos 5. Use them at your own risk, of course, but it’s not like the Archos 5 is a testament to stability in its current incarnation anyway.

Archos 5 gets Android Market, Gmail and Maps for that Google-blessed experience originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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