Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, we saw the Nintendo DSi get its teardown treatment back in November, but now that it’s available stateside, iFixit’s decided to go for round two and rip the portable completely apart, snapping pics at each painful step. Taking it a step further, we also get to see in finer detail some of the differences between the new hardware and its DS Lite predecessor, including the now smaller 840mAh battery that we hear’s been contributing to some shorter play sessions. For all the gritty imagery, kindly point your mouse to the read link below.

[Via Wired]

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo DSi torn asunder, sized up against DS Lite’s innards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bumptop has been around as a video concept for a few years. Now this amazing desktop organizer with a physics engine underpinning the UI is available for download (PC only). The software allows you to bump and toss weighted objects across the desktop and organize them into folders or piles the way you would on your real-world desk. It also includes the ability to pan and zoom on images with all the gesture support you’d expect. While a touchscreen (multi-touch supported when Windows 7 ships) display provides a more natural interface, Bumptop also works with a mouse. Check the video after the break — then hit up the download link below which we suspect you’ll be frantically searching for after the video ends. Granted, we we don’t want to spend our days with arms outstretched at “work” in front of a touchsceen PC anymore than you, but software like this could be useful on our lesser used, kitchen PCs.

Update: Katherine Boehret and Walt Mossberg have posted their review after playing with the wares for a few days. It’s definitely “worth a try” but requires a shift from an application- to a desktop-driven approach to daily computing. Something they don’t sound eager to do regardless of how “fun” Bumptop is.

Download

Continue reading Video: Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Video: Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In celebration of the Atom‘s one-year anniversary, Intel’s unveiled Z550, the latest processor in the family and as the rumors suggested, it clocks in at a pretty impressive 2GHz along with support for Hyperthreading, all in under three watts of power usage. Additionally, it took the veil off of the Z515 with Intel Burst Performance Technology, which can bump the speed up to 1.2GHz. In more forward-thinking news, senior VP and general manager Anand Chandrasekher demoed its Moorestown MID platform on stage at a presentation, which we last heard was supposed to show itself in a more tangible form sometime this month via an Archos netbook. We’ve contacted Intel for video of that demonstration, so you’re just gonna have to wait a bit for that.

Update: The Moorestown demo was (how should we put this)… lame — from a consumer’s standpoint anyway. Instead of demonstrating it in a hand-held MID, Intel was again showing off silicon in a desktop rig strapped to enough life support to keep AMD afloat. The demo did show the 10x less idle power consumption promised but we’ve got a ways to go (2010 or before) before we see Moorestown product.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Intel debuts 2GHz Atom Z550 processor, demos Moorestown platform originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In addition to Timeline and the 11.6-inch Aspire One, Acer decided today to announce new laptops much in the way Nikon and other camera makers roll out their PMA lineup — in groups of eight or more. By our count, we’ve got at least ten different models here.

• Aspire 5935 and 8935: The 18.4-inch 8935 laptop can output a 1080p resolution, True 5.1 channel surround sound and houses up to two HDDs totaling 1TB capacity. The 5935 meanwhile can hold just one 500GB HDD and doesn’t do full HD. Both support up to 4GB DDR3 memory, biometric fingerprinting, 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, and optional WiMAX.
• Aspire 3935: A 13.3-inch ultra portable with 1366 x 769 resolution LED-backlit LCD and Intel Core 2 Duo / GM45 express chipset. Features built-in Wi-Fi / WiMAX, up to 4GB DDR3 RAM, biometric fingerprints, and 8 hours of use with a 8-cell battery.
• eMachines D, E, and G series (pictured): 16 x 9 aspect ratio LCD. Available with Intel Celeron or Pentium processors for all models, plus option for AMD Athlon with E and G series. 14-inch D and 17-inch G have up to 4GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB HDD, while the 15.6-inch E series can feature up to 5GB. All of them boast a wide keyboard, WiFi, webcam, DVD drive, a 5-in-1 card reader, and Windows Vista SP1.
• Gateway EC series: Lightweight and less than 1-inch thick. The 13-inch netbook has an LED backlit screen with 16 x 9 aspect ratio, Dolby Sound Room, SSD, DDR3 RAM, HDMI out, optional 3G and Bluetooth, webcam, and capacitive hotkeys on top of the keyboard.
• Gateway 10.1-inch LT20, 11.6-inch LT30: Both are under 2.62 pounds, boast built-in WiFi, Webcam, optional Bluetooth and 3G modules, 5-in-1 card reader, and up to 160GB HDD. The touch pad supports multi-gesture features and reportedly it comes with a “cool protective bag” — yay?
• Gateway ID series: Available in glossy midnight blue or night sky with a matte interior and silver-colored touchpad. It’s got an 15.6-inch LED backlit screen, slot-in DVD drive, webcam with a curtain (for privacy, obviously), mult-gesture touchpad, and capacitive hotkeys on top of the keyboard.

There’s still got plenty of missing pieces here, such as pricing and availability for anything here, but one thing’s for sure: we are thoroughly overwhelmed by the sheer number of new offerings.

Filed under: Laptops

Plethora of new Acer Aspires, eMachines, Gateway laptops and netbooks unveiled in one fell swoop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

After a little bit of suspense-free rumoring, the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One is now official — and pretty lovable. It’s an inch thick, boasts a LED backlit screen with WXGA resolution, and runs the usual netbook internals like an Intel Atom processor, 160GB HDD and 802.11 b/g WiFi. On top of that there’s Bluetooth, 3G, Dolby Pro Logic Sound and a multicard reader. It’s also got a 8-hour lifespan with a 6 cell 5200mAh battery. Build quality is top-notch for its class, and we’d say Acer’s doing good by the Aspire One name — though they’re messing with any sort of tight definition of “netbook” in the process. No word yet on price or availability.

Filed under: Laptops

Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One goes legit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments