Hasta La Gadget!

We caught the LumiRead set up and ready for some serious page-turning action as Acer set up its booth at IFA today (yes, it’s true, the show still hasn’t technically started), which marks the first time we’ve actually been able to hold the upcoming e-reader — previously, the closest we’d gotten was the impersonal touch of a glass enclosure back at Computex. The verdict? After having touched one of those newfangled Kindles, we’ve got to say that pretty much every other e-reader out there feels like a ridiculously overweight beast, and the LumiRead gets swept up into that classification. The barcode scanner is still there (you can see it in our gallery below) and it’s still as awesome of a concept as ever, but Acer has replaced the smooth plastic back with a ridged, patterned one on this newer prototype — and considering that the launch is scheduled for October, we imagine this is nearly final or final spec. The thumbstick feels decent, but we don’t really think it’s the best way to navigate… which is a lesson Amazon already learned with the last version of the Kindle, by the bye. So here’s your recipe for success, Acer: soft-touch back, cut the thickness by a third, eliminate the wasted space above the keyboard, and keep the barcode reader. Boom.

Acer LumiRead makes pit stop at IFA prior to launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If your current WindBox is growing a bit long in the tooth, MSI has a newcomer with somewhat more respectable internals. Since it’s a fanless machine designed to live on the rear of your LCD, you won’t be ordering one with a Core i7, but the included Core 2 Duo chip is certainly a step above what’s been offered in the past. It’s designed primarily to be used as an ultra-low power solution for folks needing to handle the simplest of simple tasks, though the integrated graphics are purportedly capable of HD playback (on a good day). It’s packing DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs, six USB 2.0 sockets, a pair of mini-PCIe slots, inbuilt 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a Bluetooth module, but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to price or availability.

MSI WindBox III gets a bit more oomph, still lives on your LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d already heard whispers that Apple had to yank Facebook Connect integration from its new Ping music network because the connection was being denied by Facebook, and now Kara Swisher at All Things D is confirming it — and she’s saying Facebook shut down access on purpose after Apple used the find-your-friends API without permission. Juicy! Here’s the deal: Facebook’s friend-finding API is generally open access, but anyone that wants to hit it an extreme number of times has to sign a deal agreeing to protect Facebook user data and limit network impact. Given the sheer size of the iTunes customer base, it’s no surprise that Facebook wanted such a deal, but apparently negotiations broke down — possibly over what Steve Jobs referred to as “onerous terms” — and Apple decided to just go ahead and use the API anyway. (Which, truth be told, is pretty in character for Apple.) Facebook then blocked access, Apple had to scramble to clean up all the Facebook references, and here we are. Only possibly not for long: Swisher also says Apple and Facebook are still negotiating, and Facebook Connect might eventually reappear in Ping. There is no word when Ping might actually be useful or interesting, however.

All Things D: Facebook blocked Apple’s Ping service for unauthorized use originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Expected to sell for less than $200, the Huawei’s newest budget Android handset has plenty to offer. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20015476-251.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Android Atlas/a/p

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 129 cases of Toshiba Satellite laptops melting from overheating have been reported, but no major injuries. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20015470-260.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Circuit Breaker/a/p