Hasta La Gadget!

Intel chairman Craig Barrett will retire at the company’s May board of directors meeting, the chipmaker announced Friday.

Barrett joined Intel in 1974 and served as CEO from 1998 through 2005. More recently, he has focused his efforts on bringing technology to developing countries, an effort he highlighted during his 2009 CES keynote.

Independent director Jane Shaw, who joined the Intel board in 1993, will serve as as non-executive chairman beginning in May.

“Intel became the world’s largest and most successful semiconductor company in 1992 and has maintained that position ever since,” Barrett said in a statement. “I’m extremely proud to have helped achieve that accomplishment and to have the honor of working with tens of thousands of Intel employees who every day put their talents to use to make Intel one of the premier technology companies in the world. I have every confidence that Intel will continue this leadership under the direction of Paul Otellini and his management team.”

It’s finally Friday, so celebrate with these bargains. Check out Gearlog’s deals for Friday:

1. Like spending your weekends at home with your beloved computer games? Get the Wolfking Warrior Gaming Keyboard from Woot for just $15.99 today only. The keyboard usually runs at $34.99. Choose from blue, white, green, red, or black with pink accent (Valentine’s gift?).

2. If you’re looking for an easy way to carry your laptop, the Incase Backpack (pictured above) is 15 percent off with coupon code PACK15. But, that’s not all, you’ll also get a free Slimmy wallet (normally $39.95). The backpack is originally $109, but with the discount, you’ll get it for $90. (Apologies for the infomercial-speak)

3. OK, so it’s not on the cheaper side of “Cheap Geek,” but it’s still a deal. Check out Amazon’s Friday Sale and get ready for the Super Bowl with a new HDTV. Get the Samsung LN52A630 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color for 32 percent off of the original price. Now $1,699.98, this TV will make you the envy of all your friends on game day.

We’ve been on the trail of the Verizon Hub since way back when it was called the Verizon One, in fact, but it’s just been officially announced, and there are plenty of details to report now. The system boasts a 7-inch touchscreen display, and will work with Verizon wireless subscribers handset(s) to eliminate the need for a landline (people still have those!?) The idea here is that the hub can sync to your calendar, contacts, maps, traffic and weather reports via broadband. It can also send and receive text messages, and do all kinds of cute little tasks like send driving directions to your phone. Subscribers have to live in an E911-capable area, and will be able to bring any phone number with them if they want to sign up for new service. The hardware’s going to cost $200 (after a $50 mail-in rebate) with a subscription fee of $35 per month — which comes with unlimited minutes and texts to and from the device. It’ll be available starting February 1st. Get ready.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon Hub “landline slayer” officially unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not the only group toying around in the 60GHz frequency range, but a team of researchers from Georgia Tech’s Georgia Electronic Design Center seem to be a bit further along than most, and they say that their new 60GHz RF chip could pave the way into a whole host of new, speedier wireless devices. Apparently, the chip is the first 60GHz embedded chip designed for multi-gigabit wireless use, and the researchers have already pushed it to some pretty impressive lengths, reaching speeds of 15Gbps at a distance of 1 meter, 10Gbps at 2 meters, and 5Gbps at 5 meters, while also maintaining the lowest “energy per bit” to date. What’s more, while it’s been flying a bit under the radar, the industry group Ecma International has already announced a new standard for chips capable of sending RF signals in the 60GHz range, which is apparently expected to be published as an ISO standard later this year.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Wireless

Researchers tout new 60GHz RF chip for high-speed wireless transfers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba thinks it’s
your “ideal TV,” but can
the tiny screen please you?

—Corinne Iozzio

For the full-length, free-verse Toshiba 22AV500U LCD TVreview check out PCMag.com.