It’s still hard to believe that Nokia’s already upstaging the N97 with the N97 mini just two months after the big guy shipped, but here we are, staring at the FCC documentation. There’s not much to go on here besides this label-location drawing, which is marked with a 1:1 scale — allowing us to set our regular N97 down next to it and show you just how little Nokia achieved with all that development money. Check it after the break, along with another pic of the mini the inimitable Eldar Murtazin just posted to his blog.
C’mon Canon, this is getting just a wee bit ridiculous. Yesterday’s NYC event came and went without nary a mention of the just-has-to-be-real EOS 7D DSLR, though we did see the latest piece of mildly convincing evidence while canvassing those six new PowerShots. Today, we’re taking a look at what appears to be the top plate of the forthcoming (or so we hear) camera, though the fanboys over at DPReview can’t seem to say for sure if this is a fake or even a sensible design for such a beastly shooter. So, we’re asking you, dear readers — what do you make of this? Are you finally a believer that the almost mythical 7D is actually just around the bend? Or do you think we’re all crazy for being in said camp?
Startup Ray Display plans to launch a pico projector next month for $249, a company representative said Thursday, which it claims will be $100 less than the cheapest pico projectors already on the market.
Unfortunately, that last claim isn’t currently true, as a quick check of Amazon.com turned up at least one pocket projector that’s priced at $260, and several micro projectors (linked from the page) that are even cheaper. In fact, I’d refer you to this superb roundup of miniprojectors compiled by TechSaver guru Jennifer DeLeo, which contains links, among others, to PCMag.com’s Editor’s Choice, the Dell M109S, which is currently priced at $299.
However, the Ray representative said that the compact projector will go on sale in mid-September, so the company has some time to adjust its pricing strategy. And, for right now, the price Ray is talking about is indeed cheaper than most. And yes, the little tyke that appears to the left is indeed featured throughout the company’s Web site.
We don’t know much about the specs yet, but Ray has confirmed that it will offer 640 x 480 resolution with a throw distance up to 70 inches, and the company’s Web site confirms that it includes a super-efficient LED light bulb rated for 20,000 hours of use.
Some of you must be carrying highly sensitive files around, because there’s a lot of interest in making flash drives secure. July saw the IronKey S200 announced, a drive that offers 256-bit hardware encryption and a tamper-resistant design (pricing still not announced).
Yesterday, Apricorn, Inc., unveiled the Aegis Padlock, a drive that offers password protection with a built-in keypad. You can choose from 128-bit or 256-bit models in several storage sizes. The entry price is $99 for 250GB at 128-bit protection.
The drive has a fold-away USB cable and works with Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computers. There’s no software installation required, so you can begin using it right away. You can even share it with other people, since it lets you create administrator and sub-user accounts.
The Padlock is built with shock-mounting, so your data should survive a few buttterfinger drops, and in ships with a travel pouch. If secrecy is a concern in your office, give the Padlock a try.
Samsung on Thursday launched a simple clamshell camera phone with Alltel Wireless, called the Samsung Glint.
The Glint has just a basic VGA camera with night shot mode, stereo Bluetooth, messaging, a Web browser, and not much else. No mention of pricing or availability just yet, but we’…
As all you compulsive modders and gadget freaks know, there aren’t too many devices that a well-applied touchscreen kit won’t make even better. And while there’s nothing really earth shattering about a homebrew HP Mini 1000 tablet, we don’t see too many of them. As with many a similar hack, things are pretty straightforward: remove the keyboard, cram in some components (actually, the term this guy uses is “squeeze”) and then fit the shell back together. Oh yeah, he’ll need to cut a hole in the shell for the touchscreen itself, as soon as he gets the actual touchscreen in the mail. Did we mention that he’ll be laser cutting the window for the display, the webcam, and the speakers at his school? Regardless, he gets into all that (and more) at the myHPmini forums — be sure to hit the read link for some of that action. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be inspired to embark on a similar project yourself. But first, check the video after the break.
We’re fairly certain a lot of you out there have plenty of data that needs… securing. Apricorn’s just announced its Aegis Padlock Secure USB drive with keyboard for keeping your data safe via PIN. Sure, it’s not as good looking as Lenovo’s ThinkPad Portable hard drive, but it should get the job done, right? The drive comes in AES-128 or 256 bit hardware encryption flavors, and up to 500GB capacity. Prices start at $99 and $119 for the 250GB models in 128 and 256 bit, respectively, and they’re available right now. Go ahead — indulge yourself in the idea that someone is after your Mr T. JPEG collection.
Always Innovating sure made good on the promise of removable tablet embedded in a netbook form factor and price — we’ve gone from hardly believable renders in March to a now-shipping $400 ($300 without the base) product as of now. The impressions are already trickling in, but our favorite observation so far is this fridge magnet implementation. The main complaint so far is that the machine altogether is rather heavy for a netbook. It makes sense given that all the computer internals are in the MID-style touchscreen, while the keyboard base adds on 7 hours of purported battery life. So far it doesn’t sound like this is the sexy-slim way to get into the netbook game if you’re not in it for the removable MID capabilities, but for the MID affectionate the Touch Book could provide a nice alternative to the same old same old.
It’s that time of year again — back to school has arrived. Plenty of you will be shoving off to college for the very first time, and Engadget’s here to help you out. In the emotionally uproarious time that is now, you’ve probably realized there’s truly an upside to higher education: it’s a great excuse to get some new gear. And that’s where we come in. No matter what your budget, we’ve got you covered, with recommendations and options galore. Whether you’re going to be a new student in the brilliant world that is academia, or you’re the proud parent / guardian of one, we’ve done some leg work to make the transition a little bit easier. We decided that choosing gadgets in three “budget” ranges would be most helpful to you, the reader, and we’ve chosen a kit of gear we think any student would do well to grab up for each — covering laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, e-readers, laptop bags, and so on. Knowing that our readers re not one-size-fits-all, however, we’ve also chosen some alternate options in the categories where choice makes sense — choice is, after all, part of what we love about gadgets — without providing an overwhelming list. Of course, our choices aren’t meant to be all-encompassing, but we think they’ll provide a pretty good place to start your shopping!
Read on for our recommendations — we promise, they’re very very, helpful. Oh — did we mention we’re going to be giving away a bunch of this gear, too? Keep your eyes on the site in the coming days for more on that, and hit the links below for our guide.
It’s true that New Yorkers groan the most about the summer heat, but nobody’s complaining today because we have Libe Goad from AOL’s GameDaily in the studio! She gives us her take on the boring PS3 Slim and even defends our right to be 35, fat, and bummed out gamers!
(Credit: Libe Goad)
Libe helps us kick off the show with a chat about the new PS3 Slim. After yesterday’s unboxing, we’ve all determined that you’d have to be a fool to upgrade from the PS3 Fat (that can’t be the official name), but there are a few games to look for on the console, like Wet, starring Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone, a “lethal heroine who will take any job as she likes it and the price is right.” Other games of interest include Wolfenstein and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
All this game talk leads us to a study that reveals the average gamer is 35, fat, and bummed. As a non-gamer, I see absolutely nothing fallacious here, but Jeff and Libe have to disagree, and they make a good point. First, the CDC only surveyed 552 subjects in the Seattle-Tacoma area. 552 is a pretty small sample size to determine the “bummertude” of this group, and I’m sure it doesn’t help that Seattle rains 226 days a year, these poor gamers are literally being forced to stay in their houses, can we blame them for actually being fat and bummed? We’ll get to the bottom of this…
We also talk briefly about the 12 most annoying types of Facebookers, like the Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-Of-My-Day guy (aka Twitter feeders), or the Town Criers that feel the need to broadcast every headline they see on TMZ. Unfortunately, I think all of us are guilty of being The Self-Promoter, but who isn’t? Everything you post on Facebook is a form of self-promotion, isn’t that why people join social networks in the first place?
Per usual, we always need Calls From the Public, so if you have something to say feel free to give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET{dot}com!
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
