Hasta La Gadget!

Boy, we know the Cr-48 is supposed to be a test platform and all, but even by that standard, Google’s Chrome OS laptop has had a very rough first day on the job. Ambushed by one of our kindly tipsters upon its arrival, the Cr-48 has been gutted and disassembled (mostly, the motherboard is mercifully left attached to the chassis), revealing the typical arrangement of tiny electronics, which includes Hynix memory chips and a SanDisk-branded SSD. We’re just glad to see that masking tape isn’t playing a structurally integral role in its construction. Things don’t really get much better for the slinky 48 once it gets back home to Google HQ, however, as its makers have put together an entire video composed of creative destruction methods for it. Cruel, cruel people.

Continue reading Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video)

Google Cr-48 laptop torn down and destroyed in one unlucky day (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been scouring the virtual shelves for a new laptop SSD, you’ve probably come across one name more than any other: SandForce. Recently, both SandForce and Indilinx have all but taken over the SSD market in terms of controller use, but at long last we’ve got some formidable competition on the benchmarking trail. Samsung‘s 470 Series SSD range features an in-house controller, and it’s obviously got a lot of work to do if it plans on ousting either of the previous two names from their place atop the pedestal. The good news, however, is that Sammy is well on its way. Reviews across the web have sung the praises of this her drive, with Slashgear noting that unlike most drives — which only truly impress on the read side — this one also generates drool on the write side. The critics over at Hot Hardware noted that while it won’t take advantage of SATA 6Gbps, it doesn’t “suffer from a split personality,” meaning that performance was shockingly consistent in use. Of course, the rub that everyone points to is the price — at $550 for a 256GB slab, it’s far from cheap, but it’s as close as one could get to being worth the premium. Drive in below to see for yourself.

Read – Hot Hardware
Read – Storage Review
Read – Slashgear
Read – TechSpot
Read – CNET
Read – Gadgetsteria
Read – The SSD Review

Samsung 470 Series 256GB SSD review roundup: impressive performance, but pricey originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yamaha has announced the YSP-2200, a new, slimline Digital Sound Projector that features four 3D-compatible HDMI inputs.

Yelp may be the raconteur of restaurant recommendations and Foursquare the cardinal of check-ins, but Google has an ace up its sleeve: NFC chips. The company’s embedded near-field communications chips into each and every one of these “Recommended on Google Places” window stickers, which you’ll be able to trigger with a shiny new Nexus S — just hold your handset up to the black dot, and voila, your phone gets a “tag.” Google’s now distributing the signs on a trial basis to Portland, Oregon businesses as part of a larger Google Places kit, though it doesn’t explain how (or if) they’ll be able to program the chips. Either way, if you own a hot new joint in Portland, you might as well give it a spin. Find the sign-up form at our more coverage link, or peep a Nexus S doing its thing after the break.

Continue reading Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland

Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wouldn’t you Kno it — sorry, we couldn’t resist — the Kno has found its way into the confines of FCC’s labyrinthine headquarters. But not just one version, no sir / ma’am, the FCC tested both the single screen and dual screen versions together, it seems. External photos of the pair (or is it triplet?) can be found within the same entry, and while the user manual is also included, there’s nothing to glean from it. Feel free to enjoy the iconic photography all the same!

Kno knows its way around the FCC, both single and dual screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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