The XP3 isn’t a looker, but it’s strong.
(Credit: Sonim)
Last year we reviewed the Sonim XP1, one of the most durable cell phones we’ve ever had the pleasure of throwing to the floor. As it never made it to a U.S. carrier, the XP1 wasn’…
Filed under: Laptops
MSI X-Slim X600 now fully official, available to order originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A couple of flyers and an in-the-wild shot (not to mention some discounted Pro models) not enough to convince you of Microsoft’s apparent dual-SKU strategy? Then how about a fresh new listing of a white-boxed Xbox 360 Elite on Amazon? Unfortunately, the console is still listed at the usual $399.99, but it is clearly designated as the “newest version,” and it’s in stock right now. Of course, it may not be the worst idea to wait a bit longer for the seemingly inevitable price cut, or at least consider the also-in-stock Spring 2009 bundle with Halo 3 and Fable II for the same price if you just can’t hold out another day.
[Thanks, Billy Bono]
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360 Elite in white box turns up on Amazon, still $399 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Jabra HALO stereo Bluetooth headset, open and folded.
(Credit: Jabra)
I was quite impressed with the Jabra HALO stereo Bluetooth headset when I first saw it at CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas. It looked thin and lightweight, and promised to be the first wireless stereo headset with dual-microphone noise …
Time is money, friend.
(Credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Well, BlizzCon 2009 came and went quicker than a Death Knight murders a “clothie”–especially when said “clothie” is me. While I’m a fan of all of Blizzard’s games, I was most excited about the World of Warcraft announcements from the event.
Yes, of course the new expansion was “revealed” at the event, but thanks to leaks days before, many of the overall details were already known.
Luckily, Blizzard took some time this weekend to dive into more detailed changes and additions to WoW. Remember that all of these details are subject to change. Here are my favorites. Enjoy.
…
As sure as the sun, Mobile-review’s Eldar Murtazin managed to nab a very early look at the still yet-to-be-announced Nokia N97 Mini, and as if we needed another reminder, the FCC filing wasn’t kidding with that 1:1 scale. Turns out it only takes “around a centimeter” difference to earn the “mini” nomenclature in Finland, and in addition to that peculiarity, the company’s apparently managed to make the keyboard actually worse than its predecessor — no small feat, if you ask us. Of course, we haven’t had a chance to try it ourselves yet, but the prognosis so far isn’t so good. Perhaps more interesting is good ole’ Eldar’s teasing about a number of other touchscreen Nokia devices, some without keyboards, that’d target the same segment as the N97 Mini, including one he’ll be revealing and previewing tomorrow — and no matter what it is, we can all but guarantee with supreme confidence that it’ll have a more compelling raison d’être than this thing.
Filed under: Cellphones
Nokia N97 Mini previewed: not so mini, not so great originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nintendo games: you either like them or hate them. For most of the world, it’s like. Among Nintendo’s various cutesy-quirky franchises, a recent one–and one of Nintendo’s best–happens to be the gorgeously designed puzzle adventure series known as Professor Layton. Although Japan has already seen four installments of the top-hatted man and his chipper little boy companion, English-speaking territories are only up to installment No. 2.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which hit the DS in early 2008, was a surprise critical hit and successfully balanced old-fashioned brainteasers with a graphic adventure. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is now in stores, but CNET editors Jeff and Scott got a chance to play over the weekend. Their takes are below.
Scott:
Finally, a DS game worth buying! No offense, but it’s been a rough couple of months since Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Rhythm Heaven hit in the spring. Nintendo’s been very quiet with its own first-party releases, and Professor Layton 2 is one of its first big titles to sink your Nintendo fanboy teeth into. But even if you’re not a fan, you might want to consider becoming one.
As in Curious Village, the game opens with beautiful voice-acting and a hand-drawn animation style, a throwback that almost looks like work from Hiyao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli. While it’s not exactly clear what the mystery is and why exactly Professor Layton and his boy wonder Luke end up daytripping on a train called the Molentary Express, give the game some patience and enjoy the random (and sometimes forced) puzzles. Soon enough you’ll fall into the rhythm and enjoy a pretty excellent hybrid casual/adventure game.
The Professor Layton games make excellent use of the touch screen, both in navigation and puzzle-solving. One hundred fifty new brainteasers are part of the package, and Nintendo promises more available as free downloads like it did with Curious Village. It’s a meaty but not epic amount of gameplay, and the 150 puzzles will take some time to figure out. In terms of the number of mysteries of sub-games available in Diabolical Box, it easily meets Curious Village and at times exceeds it….
Filed under: Storage
Mimoco is back with more Star Wars thumb drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The battle for dominance in the electronic books market is far from settled as new entrants continue to jostle their way in. iRex, a Netherlands-based company, has said it will launch a new e-book reader in the U.S. later this year. The e-reader will have a 8.1-inch touchscreen, stylus-based navigation and 3G wireless connectivity.
iRex has also partnered with Barnes & Noble to integrate the latter’s e-book store into its upcoming device.
Amazon’s Kindle and the Sony Reader have helped turn e-book readers into one of the hottest consumer electronics products. In May, E Ink, which almost exclusively supplies the black-and-white displays that power most e-readers, said more than a million readers use its technology.
Big retail book stores are taking notice. Earlier this year, Borders U.K. introduced a £189 ($276) e-book reader called Elonex. The Elonex will come pre-loaded with about 1,000 books and will support both the open-source ePub and proprietary Adobe formats.
In July, Barnes & Noble launched its own e-book store and said that it will power Plastic Logic’s e-reader targeted at business users. By partnering with iRex, Barnes & Noble hopes to expand its reach.
iRex was founded in 2005 as a spin-off from Royal Phillips Electronics. The company’s name stands for ‘Interactive Reading Experience,’ CEO Hans Brons told Wired.com in an interview earlier. iRex launched an e-reader with a 10.1-inch screen last year. But the company has mostly focused on business users, says Brons.
iRex’s upcoming reader will put it in competition with the larger e-book readers such as Amazon Kindle DX and the Plastic Logic e-reader. iRex hasn’t revealed how much its e-reader will cost in the U.S.
“All 6-inch displays today use first generation technology when it comes to driving the ink particles on the electronic paper,” says Brons. “We have improved on that tech and our customers can see the difference in the brightness of the screen and contrast ratio of the display.”
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Photo: iRex DR 1000s Reader (barisione/Flickr)
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