Hasta La Gadget!

OCZ Technology seems to always be toiling away on new solid state drives, but it’s rare to find any from the company that are priced for the average Joe / Jane. Rather than aiming specifically for the fat-walleted enthusiast crowd, the Agility series is hoping to make a decent sized splash in the mainstream market. These 2.5-inch SATA II SSDs promise 230MB/sec read and 135MB/sec write speeds, along with 64MB of cache and a two-year warranty. We pinged OCZ for details surrounding pricing and availability, so here’s the dirt: the trio of models will be available in a fortnight or so for $129.99 (30GB), $219.99 (60GB) and $349.99 (120GB).

Filed under: Storage

OCZ intros 2.5-inch Agility SSD line: 120GB for $349.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like our old friend Jimmy Fallon will be demoing Microsoft’s Project Natal on Late Night tonight, and this backstage pic from rehearsal is the first shot we’ve seen of the prototype hardware anywhere. Of course, Redmond’s made it clear that the final product will look a lot different — probably something more like the press pic — so don’t get crazy over this, but at least everyone’s burning curiosity has been satiated. Now, Jimmy, if you could just hammer out a ship date, that’d be great.

Filed under: Gaming

Project Natal prototype hardware pictured on Jimmy Fallon’s set originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LeapFrog’s Text and Learn QWERTY BlackBerry-styled educational toy for the little ones left such an impression on us that we went back to check out its latest offerings. Two things caught our eye — up first, the Scribble and Write, which is a Text and Learn-style device applied to writing skills. Designed for children about the age of three, it teaches basic letter-writing skills, making use of a roughly 3-inch LCD and attached “pen” to trace over the letters. This one is actually available now, and runs $21.99. The second item we checked out is called the Chat & Count — and it looks incredibly similar to a candybar style mobile phone. The one we checked out was actually a prototype, and not the final product, but it’s aimed at children starting at 18 months old, and teaches basic phone skills (believe us, the kids need those), numbers and counting. It’s also got plenty of ringtones and custom noises built in, which start out super cute but would likely be… grating over time. The Chat & Count will be hitting shelves sometime around December of this year, and will run you $14.99. Both of these products join Leapfrog‘s Learning Path offerings (which also includes products like the Tag Junior we’ve previously seen).

Gallery: LeapFrog hands-on

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

LeapFrog Scribble & Write, Chat & Count hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The economy – and the tech industry – is still on track for a recovery in the second half of this year, and while the holiday season will not fully recover in 2009, it will be less dismal than 2008, according to analysts from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The recession could end in the late July, early August timeframe, Shawn Dubravac, an economist and director of research at CEA, said at a conference hosted by the association.

Consumers have cut out excess spending, but the good news is that analysts are seeing the same trends during this recession as they saw during previous recessions, Dubravac said. In those cases, consumer spending usually bottomed out before the economy did, so that this point, it can only get better from here.

Dubravac and his colleague Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for CEA, have been speaking with tech executives who are part of CEA’s advisory panel. On average, “optimists are leading the pack,” Koenig said.

Panel members predicted a 0.5 percent growth for 2009, but a 2.9 percent growth in 2010, Koenig said. “That’s slightly above the current estimate for GDP, so tech will outpace GDP.”

Back in January, the industry was extremely pessimistic, but that has picked up in recent months, Dubravac said. “That’s a good sign before the holidays.”

Holiday 2009 will be “low by historical standards, but better than 2008,” he said.

What will be driving the growth?

Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.

Leading netbook manufacturers and suppliers on Wednesday dismissed the idea that interest in the small-form PCs will dissipate as the economy improves, suggesting instead that consumers will embrace them as complimentary devices.

Economic troubles has spurred consumers to purchase netbooks, but as consumers emerge from the recession, they will likely purchase both – a notebook for the home, for example, but a netbook for the children or to take on business, Todd Bouman, director of product marketing and development for mobile computing at Samsung, said at the Consumer Electronics Association’s New York line show.

Netbooks will likely be a third of the business by the end of the quarter, he said.

Sarah Bussell, senor manager of product marketing for business notebooks at Hewlett-Packard, also saw netbooks as companion devices. But in her experience, the price point of netbooks also appeals to people without a notebook or mobile device, people who need them for on-the-go business needs, and those in emerging markets.

“Business typically takes longer to evaluate new technologies, but the opportunities have surprised us,” she said.