Hasta La Gadget!

Wireless docking stations have been around for years now, but the main issue has been bandwidth. Sure, it’s easy to send a wireless mouse signal through the air, but try shoving 720p video, four USB signals and a little bit of arrogance though those highly-spaced particles. Toshiba’s new dynadock wireless U USB docking station does a commendable job of doing the best it can with what it has, tapping into wireless USB technology in order to nix the need for your laptop to actually be seated into your docking station. The device can be setup to auto-connect when your machine is in range, and a one-touch undock button carefully shuts down all of your peripherals as you exit. There’s six USB 2.0 sockets (included two of the Sleep-and-Charge variety), integrated 7.1 audio and support for a VGA / DVI monitor with resolutions as high as 1,680 x 1,050. Nah, that’s not quite 1080p, but we’ll take it for now. The $299.99 asking price, however, is a bit harder to swallow.

Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

Toshiba’s dynadock wireless U: it’s a universal docking station, but wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s pretty much as reliable as the sun: a new iPhone OS update generally leads to at least a handful of issues. But iPhone OS 3.1, which was made available on September 9th, seems worse than most. We’ve seen tip after tip pour in, and we’ve watched Apple’s support forums grow increasingly ugly with irate iPhone users dealing with horrid battery life, random shut downs and the occasional screen freeze. A few of our own have also experienced some of these quirks, though others have escaped without a scratch. So, we’re putting it to you all — has the latest iPhone update borked your handset? If so, in what way?

Filed under: Cellphones

Poll: Has iPhone OS 3.1 screwed up your phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearly there’s something special waiting for some product manager who gets all of his / her new kit out the door before the fiscal Q4 ends, as Lenovo has been on a serious tear of late. Hot on the heels of its ThinkPad X200, T400s touch and IdeaPad S12 comes this, another all-in-one desktop that should suit the web surfers and email checkers of the world just fine. Starting at $399 (or $50 less than the similar IdeaCentre C300), this rig is equipped with an 18.5-inch LCD, a two-inch thick chassis, Intel’s Core 230 or Core 330 CPU, a DVD burner, four USB sockets, GMA950 integrated graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB (5400RPM) hard drive and Windows XP running the show. Something tells us these will be flying off the shelves come Christmastime.

Filed under: Desktops

Lenovo serves up Atom-powered C100 all-in-one desktop for $399 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look out, y’all — Movea’s back. Almost a year to the day after the outfit introduced its air-lovin’ Gyration Air Mouse, the Air Mouse Elite is stepping in to take its rightful place atop the range. As with the prior iteration, this one also responds to natural hand movements and enables presenters (or FPS players) to get far, far away from the mousepad. Put simply, the built-in motion sensors enable it to receive commands via “slight wrist movements performed in the air,” and it can do so up to 100 feet away from the PC that it’s wirelessly attached to. The 3.3-ounce device also ships with a suite of tools for customizing gestures, and if the $99.99 critter just isn’t enough, you can spring for a $149.99 bundle that throws in a low-profile wireless keyboard.

Filed under: Peripherals

Gyration Air Mouse Elite gets your hands in the air, like you just don’t care originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s this snazzy new device from HP? A tablet? A photoframe? The new DreamScreen is perhaps more appropriately something between the two. HP is referring to it a smart screen–a photo frame with the power of a netbook.

The device weighs 4.4-pounds, has a 800 x 400 widescreen and runs an ARM processor. There’s 2GB of memory built into the device, 802.11 b/g connectivity, and a card reader.it’s compatible with Windows 7 and Vista, lets you check Facebook updates, and makes it possible to stream music from Pandora.

Sound like an Apple Tablet-killer? The device has no touchscreen, rather it relies on controls built into the display. The DreamScreen comes in 10.2- and 13.3-inch models, for $249 and $299, respectively.