Hasta La Gadget!

Good news and bad news for US netizens waiting to hear more from LG’s sexy new BL40. First, it just passed through the FCC thus confirming the model number on this oddball Black Label-series handset with what appears to be a 21:9 aspect ratio. And the fact that it’s now FCC tested is also indicative that we’re nearing launch with 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, FM transmitter, and 1000mAh Li-Ion battery confirmed within. Unfortunately, testing was limited to GSM 850/1900 and the device is repeatedly referred to as a GSM/EDGE phone — in other words, no 3G. However, while most of the documents are withheld from public viewing at the request of LG, this particularly revealing exchange with the test lab was not:

Of course, UMTS850/1900 are the standard 3G bands used by AT&T in North America which makes this all the more perplexing. See the relevant screen-grab after the break.

Update: It just occurred to us what might be happening. Those 3G bands will be enabled when the LG BL40 launches on Telus‘ new HSPA network in Canada as its first GSM device. Hey, it’s just a hunch but it certainly makes sense.

Continue reading LG BL40 hits FCC with US 3G seemingly disabled, ready for Telus?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

LG BL40 hits FCC with US 3G seemingly disabled, ready for Telus? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With LG’s 15-inch OLED TV coming to stores in December it can’t be long until LG’s mid-sized TV’s start showing up for retail right? After all, Samsung and Sony are on record with claims of producing mid-sized OLEDs as early as this year and no later than mid-2010. Not so fast, literally. Although LG had previously targeted 2011 for the mass production of its 32-inch OLED TV, CEO Kwon Young Soo now says that LG plans on producing 30-inch OLED panels for TVs in 2012. Of course, all those earlier OLED projections were made before the global economic meltdown so delays have to be expected, however upsetting it may be.

[Via OLED-Display]

Filed under: Displays

LG slips 30-inch OLED panel production into 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Usually the intersection of woodcraft and gadgetry consists of little more than taking a piece of gear and putting it in a box. Woodstation may be no different, but at least it does its thing with some style, placing its LED display beneath the surface, allowing it to seemingly display weather data on the wood itself. And if that weren’t enough, the device contains a motion sensor (it turns itself on when you enter the room) as well as date, time, and alarm functions. Available in a maple or walnut finish, this bad boy is currently available in the UK for £89.95 (about $147). And unlike the Amazon Kindling, this thing actually works.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Filed under: Household

Woodstation acts like a weather station, looks like a dead tree originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Robert, who is sick and tired of using two power supplies, two I/O cables and too much time to accomplish what should be a simple task.

“I commonly need to boot a system from an external disc and take a snapshot of the host system. I also then need to burn a copy of the image to a DVD. While I can do it with two separate external devices, and two power supplies, and two I/O cables, it’d be nice to find a small dual-drive enclosure. It would need to have USB, eSATA, and FireWire. Either slim-line or half-height bay for the optical burner would be fine, and space for either a 2.5- or 3.5-inch hard disc. Any ideas?”

Robert here is outfitting an entire school for a 1:1 laptop program, so needless to say this request is urgent. Any storage junkies out there know of the perfect solution? No short-changin’, alright?

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Storage

Ask Engadget: Best dual-drive external enclosure? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not satisfied with a gaming laptop that can be maxed out with a top-end Core 2 Extreme Quad processor and dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M graphics? Then how about a red gaming laptop that can be maxed out with a top-end Core 2 Extreme Quad processor and dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M graphics? That, as you might have deduced, is the latest option available on the “all powerful” Alienware M17x laptop, which takes the red accents already found on the laptop and runs with ’em (check the gallery below for a closer look). Of course, “special editions” rarely come free, and this new Nebula Red color option is no exception, with it setting you back an extra $99 on top of the laptop’s $1,799 base price.

Gallery: Alienware M17x gaming laptop gets “special edition” Nebula Red color option

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Alienware M17x gaming laptop gets “special edition” Nebula Red color option originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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