Feb 19

Dell files to strip “netbook” of trademark status

Posted in: lawsuit, legal, netbook, Today's Chili

Well, you knew this was going to happen: Dell’s filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office requesting that Psion’s “netbook” trademark be canceled. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, of course — the word “netbook” is in such widespread usage that Psion’s nastygrams are unlikely to have any meaningful impact, and the company’s weasely claims that it was only going after those “making a direct financial profit” basically guaranteed it was chasing after one of the big players. Word to the wise, Psion: it’s almost certain that you’ll lose this legal battle, but the PR war is easily won — and coupled with an interesting product, like, say, an all-new Ion-powered Psion Netbook, you could actually come out way ahead. Think about it, won’t you?

[Via thegadgetsite]

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Dell files to strip “netbook” of trademark status originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

Intel X25-M SSDs slowing down with extensive use?

Posted in: intel, SSD, Today's Chili

Intel’s X25-M SSD drives have certainly shown themselves more than capable enough in the usual tests and various configurations, but a long-term test report from the folks at PC Perspective is now casting a bit of doubt onto their long-term effectiveness and speediness. More specifically, they found that the sector remapping and wear-leveling algorithms that are designed to increase performance and extend the drives’ lifespans were actually doing quite the opposite as the drive became increasingly fragmented after extensive use. Further complicating the matter, it seems that conventional defrag programs only make the situation worse, with the only sure way of resetting the drive’s sector maps being a complete wipe of the drive. PC Perspective is quick to point out, however, that many users may well never notice the slowdown with light use, and they do have a few suggestions to minimize the problem until Intel devises a firmware fix, which is the only surefire solution.

[Via Ars Technica, thanks Robert]

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Intel X25-M SSDs slowing down with extensive use? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

IKEA Home Planner

Posted in: Today's Chili

ikeaplanner.jpg

TrendCentral: With the recent announcement that Domino, one of our favorite magazines, will be folding, we were bracing ourselves for a future of uninspired interior decorating until we heard about IKEA’s latest offering. IKEA’s Home Planner Tools let you become your own interior designer with online software that allows you to drag and drop furniture into a room and fit them to the exact measurements of your home. The program permits you to rearrange and try different styles as much as you like, appealing to even the most fickle decorator. You can even view your decorated room in 3-D and print it out with all the measurements, just like an architect

Home Design Inspiration [TrendCentral]

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Feb 19

Survey: Apple’s Mac customers highly satisfied

Posted in: Today's Chili

Mac customers report high satisfaction scores in ChangeWave's latest survey.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple may be in for some short-term pain when it comes to the Mac, but it can take comfort in the fact that recent buyers seem very satisfied with their purchases.

ChangeWave released another one of its surveys Wednesday, which chart the likelihood of respondents to buy a personal computer over the next 90 days from one manufacturer as opposed to another. As we pointed out earlier this week, Apple appears to have finally run into the economic storm that is hurting the tech industry, although the more interesting number was the various customer satisfaction ratings assembled by ChangeWave.

Apple customers over the past 90 days reported by far the highest level of satisfaction in ChangeWave’s survey, with 81 percent of Apple customers saying they were “highly satisfied.” Asus customers were the second-most satisfied group, with 67 percent reporting they were highly satisfied with their purchase, while 61 percent of Acer customers fell into that category. Lenovo was last, with only 50 percent reporting such levels of satisfaction.

…

Originally posted at News – Apple

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Feb 19

Nintendo DSi now up for Amazon and GameStop preorder

Posted in: DS, nintendo, pre-order, PreOrder, Today's Chili

Those of you feeling the need to tell someone your credit number before the Nintendo DSi’s April 5th US street date take heart: Amazon and GameStop are now both accepting preorders. You’re looking at $169 for the base system from either retailer, but GameStop will happily jack the price with some bundled accessories if you’re feeling generous. Anyone gonna throw down?

[Via Joystiq]

Read – Amazon
Read – GameStop (black)
Read – GameStop (blue)

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Nintendo DSi now up for Amazon and GameStop preorder originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

Nokia 5630 Xpress Music on video

Posted in: Today's Chili

At the GSMA World Congress here in Barcelona, there’s a lot more to see than just the brand new cell phones. We also relish the chance to check out models that are …

Originally posted at 3GSM blog

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Feb 19

Calvin Klein fragrances get paired with “MP3 speakers”

Posted in: speaker, Today's Chili
Still looking for some more speakers you won’t use after getting those Best Buy gift card speakers over the holidays? Then you may want to keep an eye out for one of these new “limited edition” bottles of CK One or CK Be, which each come paired with an “MP3 speaker” that appears to be a speaker first and an MP3 player not at all. No word on any technical specifications, as you might have guessed, though those are details probably best left unsaid. $50 and it’s yours starting next month.

[Via SlipperyBrick]

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Calvin Klein fragrances get paired with “MP3 speakers” originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

INQ¹ wins “Best Mobile Handset or Device” at MWC, golf claps

Posted in: Features, hands-on, mwc, mwc 2009, mwc2009, Today's Chili

INQ’s social networking monster took away top honors at MWC with a win for best mobile device or handset at the show. Taking a gander at the competition, it is the who’s who of high end stuff including the T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Storm, LG KS360, and Nokia’s E-71. So why, you ask, could the admittedly middle tier set win out against what seems like some pretty serious — well, Storm aside — competition? INQ won because of how they’ve enabled Facebook deep integration, focus on your contacts as living, breathing, and ever-changing entities, great pricing, and a compelling user interface. We’d set a meeting to catch up with INQ at MWC hoping to see how things are moving along post-launch and talk about the future. Down the road was the bit we were most interested in, and lucky for us, INQ was willing to share some secrets. Let’s just say with QWERTY confidence, the future looks absolutely stunning, both in form and potential. Congrats INQ, way to win an award. Gallery of the newly-crowned INQ¹ after the break.

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INQ¹ wins “Best Mobile Handset or Device” at MWC, golf claps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

Haiku Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1

Posted in: Panasonic, Today's Chili

Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-G1.jpg

SLR inside
made smaller with no mirror.
But noisy pics lose.

—Corinne Iozzio

For the full-length, free-verse Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 review check out PCmag.com

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Feb 19

Engadget’s recession antidote: win a 22-inch iZ3D 3D monitor!

Posted in: contest, recession, Today's Chili

The global economic crisis continues, (including today’s sad news of HP’s across-the-board five percent paycuts), which got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got a 3D 22-inch iZ3D monitor on hand and ready to send to you. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Check after the break for some photos of the prize!

Big thanks to iZ3D for providing the monitor!

The rules:

  • Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
  • You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
  • If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  • Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one 22-inch iZ3D monitor. Approximate value is $399.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • Entries can be submitted until Thursday, February 19th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
  • Full rules can be found here.

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Engadget’s recession antidote: win a 22-inch iZ3D 3D monitor! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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