Hasta La Gadget!

Back in 2008, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 was getting folks all hot and bothered, and it seems some people never cooled down. If you’re one of the few looking to reignite the flames sparked when your first laid eyes on the laptop, take a look at this impressively rendered knockoff. Despite the absence of a Lenovo logo and slightly off dimensions, it really does look like the X200, — that is, until you look under the hood. The original sports a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, while the knockoff’s got a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450; the real deal has SSDs up to 64GB, while the fake doesn’t even have the option; and finally, the impostor lacks 4GB RAM upgradability. According to M.I.C. Gadget, the ThinkPad clone rings in at 1900 Chinese yuan (about $286), and can be purchased online, though we couldn’t tell you where. Anyway, you weren’t seriously considering it … were you?

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 clone takes us back, way back originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already showed you a quick tour of two of the three Automotive X-Prize winners. Wondering where the third was? Hanging out in the booth of its creator, Li-Ion motors, looking green and decidedly outclassed by the second car that company is showing off. It’s the Inzio, a proper supercar of the electric variety, the base model hitting 60 from a standstill in four seconds and topping out at 130 — perhaps not Ferrari-busting but surely more than enough to get your license taken away. If that’s not enough there will be multiple models with different power levels and carbon fiber construction, with the higher-end dropping that 0 – 60 time to 3.4 seconds and boosting the top speed to 200.

We spent some time chatting with Li-Ion Motors Project Manager Paul Daigrepont about the design of the car, most interesting being the transmission. It’s a custom-made four-speed unit that, interestingly, has no clutch. It’s directly driven by the motor, shifting via paddles with the ECU dropping the torque on the motor momentarily to unload the gears, allowing an upshift to happen. At a stop the motor simply stops spinning and, if you want reverse, the car engages first gear and runs backwards! The company is accepting orders, starting at $139,000, a price that makes the Leaf feel like even more of a bargain.

Li-Ion Motors Inzio electric supercar stops by Detroit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We figured Sony would follow up last night’s temporary restraining order against Geohot and fail0verflow for distribution of the PS3 jailbreak with a copyright infringement lawsuit, and well, here it is. It’s actually pretty straightforward, as far as these things go — Sony alleges that George Hotz, Hector Martin Cantero, Sven Peter, and the rest of fail0verflow are:

• Violating §1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which forbids bypassing access control measures;
• Violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which forbids accessing computers without authorization;
• Guilty of contributory copyright infringement for encouraging and helping others to crack PS3s as well;
• Violating the California Computer Crime Law, which is the state computer fraud act (think of this as a backup fraud claim);
• Violating the PlayStation Network’s Terms of Service (which feels meaningless, really);
• Interfering with Sony’s relationships with other PSN customers (also meaningless);
• Trespassing on Sony’s ownership right to the PS3 (this one feels weak) and;
• Misappropriating Sony’s intellectual property (another weak argument, but there in case the copyright argument fails).

Sony’s asking the court to forbid Geohot and fail0verflow from distributing the jailbreak and turn over all computer hardware and software that contain the jailbreak code, as well as unspecified damages and attorneys’ fees. Yep, these boys done got sued — and we’re sure there’ll be some serious fireworks once they lawyer up and fight right back.

Update: And here we go — Carnegie Mellon professor David Touretzky has posted up the first mirror of Geohot’s code as a First Amendment protest, openly challenging Sony to take action. That’s moxie — we love it. [Thanks, Pedro G]

Sony follows up, officially sues Geohot and fail0verflow over PS3 jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unlike the AT&T iPhone, Verizon’s iPhone will include a wireless “hotspot” feature to share the handset’s internet connection with multiple devices. However, the AT&T version of the handset might gain that capability, as well.

Screenshots shared with mobile blog Boy Genius Report indicate that a future software update (iOS 4.3) will bring hotspotting to all iPhones, including the current GSM-based iPhones available for AT&T and other international carriers.

The screengrabs show a Personal Hotspot setting under the iPhone’s network menu in what appears to be an unreleased version of the operating system. That’s interesting because previously, leaked images of future iPhone OS updates have served as reliable clues for unannounced, upcoming features.

Currently, the iPhone on AT&T and international carriers only supports tethering, which enables the handset to share its internet connection with a single computer.

Of course, if you’re rebellious and tired of waiting, unauthorized hotspotting is already available for those who hack their iPhones to install an app called MyWi, available through the underground Cydia app store.

It’s important to note that just because the feature is technically available doesn’t mean that carriers will support it. You might recall that when iOS 3.0 shipped, AT&T had not yet been supporting tethering for the iPhone, while many international carriers were. (Some clever iPhone tinkerers later figured out how to unlock tethering by flashing the firmware.)

An AT&T representative said AT&T was evaluating the hotspot feature for iPhone.

“This is a brand-new software feature from Apple,” AT&T said in a statement. “We are evaluating the feature, but have no plans to announce at this time.”

Announced Tuesday, the Verizon iPhone will be the first to ship with a hotspot utility, which turns the handset into a Wi-Fi network that up to five devices in near range can connect with — the same function as the Verizon MiFi.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Far be it from Samsung to announce an extremely high-end US-only smartphone — the Infuse 4G for AT&T, pictured above — without a global equivalent, and it’s starting to look like we’ll get that equivalent in just a few weeks’ time. JK Shin, president of Samsung Mobile, has now gone on record saying that we’ll get a new Galaxy S device at Mobile World Congress in February that’ll feature Gingerbread, a dual-core processor (whether that’s Tegra 2, Orion, or something else entirely, we’re not sure), and the Super AMOLED Plus technology that debuted at CES last week. Shin’s also saying that we’ll get a peek at Sammy’s plans for the Galaxy Tab line for 2011, which we’re guessing will include that lovely 7-inch Super AMOLED display that’s been kicking around. Should be an exciting show, to say the least.

Samsung Mobile boss confirms Galaxy S successor, Galaxy Tab roadmap being announced next month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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