A pleasing design, if nothing else. (There is something else, though…a few things, actually.)
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)
It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a Gateway monitor. The last one was the 19-inch Gateway HD1900 and over a year ago I reviewed the Gateway FHD2400. …
The Creative Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset is quite a mouthful to say, and judging by the teaser image above, it’ll be no less flashy to look at. Following in the footsteps of SteelSeries, Creative has put together a customized set of high-end headphones catering specifically to the millions of Warcraftsmen (has anyone used that term before, can we copyright it?) out there, who need comfortable cans for lengthy raiding sessions. They’ll come in both wired and wireless flavors, and will be the first to feature THX TruStudio PC sound, which we’re willing to bet makes as recognizable a difference as a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere in the Amazon. BlizzCon kicks off this Friday, so you shouldn’t have to wait long to grab a pair of your own.
[Via Far East Gizmos]
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Creative set to unveil World of Warcraft headgear at BlizzCon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Faint diagonal lines are a thing of the past on new Panasonic TC-P50X1 plasmas.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
When I reviewed Panasonic’s entry-level 2009 50-inch plasma TV back in April, the TC-P50X1, I mostly liked what I saw aside from one strange issue: the screen showed faint diagonal lines seemingly embedded in there. See the bottom of this post if you’re interested in the full description from the review.
Fast-forward to late July, more than halfway through the product’s lifespan, and it seems Panasonic has fixed the problem. The company sent yet a third TC-P50X1, and it didn’t exhibit the diagonal lines.
That’s all well and good, and Panasonic deserves credit for finally addressing the problem. But questions remain, and Panasonic has not been forthcoming.
On August 12, I asked the company a series of follow-up questions, including, “Exactly when did the change get implemented? Did the 42-inch model have the same problem? If so, was the same change implemented? Is there any way for a consumer who’s shopping for an X1 plasma to tell whether the panel is an old one or a new one, aside from looking directly for the diagonal lines? Is there any sort of serial number cutoff? Can current owners who have the old, flawed panel exchange it for a new one? If so, how?” and, “Please provide an explanation of what the lines were and why they’re present on the old one and not the new one.”
What I’ve received in response after a week of waiting for a reply was pretty unsatisfying.
…
I don’t normally indulge statements from vendors in response to other company’s announcements. Guess what? They think you should buy their product instead. Normally it’s the graphics card guys that snipe back and forth via my in-box, but this morning was the first time I’ve seen …
We’ll certainly be going back for seconds, but at first blush Canon’s new PowerShot G11 is quite the attractive piece. The real standout, of course, is that flip-out LCD — which feels bolted on by the gods — but really the whole camera’s build quality (and corresponding weight) is immediately obvious. We found the LCD plenty bright and colorful, though it certainly feels small for a modern camera. The price isn’t small, but hopefully the RAW, 10 megapixel results will speak for themselves.
Gallery: Canon PowerShot G11 hands-on
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Canon PowerShot G11 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Hey, remember that OpenFrame touchscreen home telephone that we first peeked way back in August of 2008? Seems like O2 and Verizon weren’t the only ones looking to jump on that bandwagon, as Sharp has now issued a phone / frame tandem that looks eerily similar. The JD-7C1CL/CW is available in black and white to match the motifs present in 99 percent of pristine suburban domiciles, with the frame packing a 7-inch touch panel (800 x 480) that acts as a status indicator, calendar, clock, address book and (gasp!) photo frame. The phone itself doesn’t look to be anything special, though the frame does include a whopping 128MB of internal memory. No word on a price or release date, but really, you shouldn’t be considering a “home phone” in 2009 under any circumstances.
[Via Akihabara News]
Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment
Sharp’s JD-7C1CL/CW pairs a home phone and digiframe in fine fashion originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The PS3 Slim is now a reality. The compact console will be available on September 1 for $299. Our review sample just arrived, and our hands-on evaluation will follow soon. We don’t expect any real performance departures from the current console–the changes are more cosmetic than anything else. In the meantime, we’ve got Brian Tong’s hands-on video on the PS3 Slim (above), along with a quick mini-FAQ on the new PS3 (below). If you have a question that’s not addressed here, put it in the comments, and we’ll do our best to find an answer.
When can I get the new PS3 Slim?
It’ll be widely available as of September 1 for $299.
What are the major physical differences between the new PS3 Slim and the previous versions of the PS3?
Sony has pretty much crammed the same hardware into a smaller form factor. The new chassis is thinner vertically and horizontally, but it is deeper than the previous PS3–it’s almost a square. The front power and eject buttons are now actual, depressable keys (not touch-sensitive), and there’s also no standby power switch on the console’s rear panel.
Are there any notable feature differences?
The new model has a 120GB hard drive, up from the 80GB model on the previous entry-level model. Geeks will lament that Sony has removed the ability to install a second operating system, but that won’t be missed by the vast majority of mainstream users.
Does it play PS2 games?
…
I thought Canon’s new G11 pro point-and-shoot—decked out with everything but HD video, depressingly—would make me drool the most, but I was wrong: Canon’s pocketable pro point-and-shoot, the S90 is fapfreakintastic.
The design is exactly what I want in a high end point-and-shoot—it’s svelte, but not too puny, and the black metal finish feels sturdy, without the whole thing feeling like a little brick. (I hope you like black, since it comes in black and…black.) It really manages to achieve that zen balance level between feeling professional and consumer, though it makes me want to run around shooting only in black and white. What slew me, though, was the clicky control ring around the lens, which you can use to adjust almost any setting—it can change the ISO, focus or zoom. As you know, real gadget people love dials and gauges things that actually click and feel like they actually control things in this age of silent squeegee presses on glass screens, and it taps into that pretty hard.
I almost don’t know why you’d even go for the G11 with the S90 on the table—the S90 uses the same high sensitivity sensor, meaning you should get the same kind of image and low-light performance, which I can’t wait to check out in depth, since Canon’s using the same size sensor as the G10 used to use, but actually cut the megapixels down to get better light sensitivity. The S90 also has a fast F/2.0 lens, and it’s not the size of a gorilla fist. Did I mention it was cheaper too? $430 to the G11’s $500.
The only real problem I see right now is that it doesn’t shoot HD video, just standard VGA. But if it shoots truly gorgeous pictures—which we intend to find out shortly—I can let that go.
Sony, it seems, was so intent on keeping the existence of the PS3 CECH-2000A (that’s the PS3 Slim for the rest of you) a secret that the device was officially filed as Sand Dollar Enterprise, Inc’s Computer Entertainment System for the FCC. The address for Sand Dollar Enterprise, it turns out, is actually registered to Sony.
Said filing revealed something that yesterday’s Sony announcement didn’t yield–the PS3 Slim CECH-2001B, a 250GB version of the svelte new console, which, of course, is much bigger than the new 120GB version.
No word on pricing or availability of course, but one wonders if we won’t see a new addition to the P3 family before the holidays.
[Via SlashGear]
Filed under: Laptops
MSI X-Slim X610 leaked, reviewed by Russians originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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