Hasta La Gadget!

Have you ever wondered how a bike saddle is made? It just plops out of a replicator or something, right? If that seat is a handcrafted Brooks saddle, then the answer is “no.” Gadget Lab reader Graham Glen was lucky enough to get a tour of the Brooks factory in Smethwick (in the West Midlands in England), and he snapped some photos of the goings-on there, which he has very generously allowed us to use here.

The thing that strikes me is the simplicity of the process. Metal parts are stamped out and heat-treated, flat pieces of leather are soaked and then formed in molds and the parts are all assembled by hand. After seeing how much work goes into a single bike seat, these famously expensive saddles start to look cheap. Follow along for a tour of the factory.

Finally completing the circle again after the beta launch last month, Boxee has made its latest version available for the Apple TV. Available via an updated Launcher for those already running the Alpha version or ATVUSB-Creator for everyone else it should bring the facelifted UI and features Windows, OS X and Ubuntu users have been enjoying. Getting some 1080p oomph out of your set-top box will be difficult however, with no support for the Broadcom Crystal HD add-on “yet” and while performance has improved h.264 playback may still be limited even in this new version. Mash the read link and follow instructions to get moving, but feel free to bounce any thanks or issues towards the forum posters, XBMC coders and the rest of the posse who made this update possible.

Boxee Beta arrives on the Apple TV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When people say the smartphone market is growing, they don’t usually mean literally, but looking at the massive popularity of HTC’s HD2 whopper, and the anticipation surrounding Dell’s Mini 5 and LG’s GW990, it’s pretty safe to say there is a market for oversized and overpowered (is there such a thing?) handsets. The Moorestown-powered GW990 has made another video appearance, this time showing off its multi-screen functionality and not altogether smooth pinch-to-zoom skills. We’re reminded this Mobile Internet Device (a title that’s inscribed on its case) will run Moblin (now known as MeeGo), before a HD2 is whipped out for a showdown between super-sized smartphones. It’s really quite a sight. After all that excitement is done, the video continues on to take a look at the forthcoming GT540 Android handset and Mini GD880, giving you all the more reason to click past the break for a viewing.

[Thanks, Iacopo]

Continue reading LG GW990 shows up on video, competes with HTC HD2 for camera’s attention

LG GW990 shows up on video, competes with HTC HD2 for camera’s attention originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan’s SolidAlliance earned a warm place in our collective nerd bosom long ago for the sheer lunacy of the products it creates. Today it’s offering round two of its Crazy Earphone collection that includes some kind of mushroom (that is a mushroom, right?), the ol’ Katana blade or arrow through the head trick, and a parasitical, conjoined ear if you want everyone to think you’ve been subjected to a tragic cloning experiment. Spec-wise your ¥2,000 (about $22) will take home a pair of in-ear buds with 20 ~ 20,000Hz frequency range assisted by a 10-mm driver. Not that it matters: there’s no chance in hell that you’re buying these for performance reasons.

SolidAlliance’s Crazy Earphones v2: because ear fungus sells originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Along with its introduction of the HD 5830, ATI announced the HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 card yesterday, which predictably comes with six DisplayPort outputs and enables that hallowed six-screen gaming overload that the Eyefinity branding has been about since the beginning. Some lucky scribes over at PC Pro have been treated to a live demonstration of what gaming at 5,760 x 2,160 feels like, and their understated response was to describe it as “far more immersive.” No kidding. They did raise the spectral figure of those monitor bezels, however, pointing out that bezel correction — where the image “behind the bezel” is rendered but hidden making the overall display look like a window unto the game world — habitually obscured text and game HUD elements. In their view, the sweet spot remains a triple-screen setup, and we’re inclined to agree (particularly if they look like this). For those interested in getting their multi-monitor gaming up and running, we’ve linked an invaluable guide from HardOCP below, which breaks down how much you can expect from ATI’s current HD 5000 series of cards, and also provides a video guide to setting your rig up.

ATI’s six-screen Eyefinity madness reviewed, fatal flaw found originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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