Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this month, when Dish Network announced that it would be taking over Blockbuster‘s remaining assets, we openly wondered about what the deal would mean for the thousands of (mostly) empty rental stores still scattered across the country. Shuttering all of them seemed like a very real possibility, but it now looks like Dish has plans for at least a few of Blockbuster’s old stomping grounds. On Saturday, the company agreed to assume the leases for about 500 of the 1,700 Blockbuster locations still in operation, according to papers filed with a New York Bankruptcy Court. Of course, it’s still unclear what Dish plans to actually do with these stores — or, for that matter, with the Blockbuster brand, as a whole. But it certainly looks like its long-term vision may incorporate at least some of Blockbuster’s brick-and-mortar roots.

Dish Network takes over 500 Blockbuster locations for some reason originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Come on, this is Samsung we’re talking about here — you didn’t think a software update from Korea’s leading smartphone maker would go without a hitch, did you? The Gingerbread build that made its way out to European Galaxy S handsets over the weekend has now been halted, on account of an unspecified issue that has been identified after release. Vodafone reports that it’s Google who’s actually responsible for temporarily suspending the Android 2.3 delivery over Kies, although the problem is apparently not universal — Voda’s Galaxy S devices are said to be unaffected, which is why the carrier’s working hard to get things rolling again as soon as possible. Oh Samsung, when will it end?

[Thanks, Jake]

Samsung Galaxy S Gingerbread update pulled ‘by Google,’ needs a little more work originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, what tangled webs of non-denials we all weave. A Japanese blogger working for an official Sony retail partner has reported intel from the PlayStation maker that production of its PSP Go handheld has been halted. Moreover, the Sony Style Japan online store no longer lists the portable and searching for it provides no results. You can only access its product page via a direct link (provided below), but even that shows it as out of stock. So, what has Sony got to say on the matter to allay fears that its troubled console lives on? Well, demand for “current generation PSPs” will continue to be met, apparently, and the NGP is going be really, really awesome when it launches at the end of the year. Hey, if there’s zero demand for the PSP Go and you produce zero PSP Go units, then you are technically matching supply to demand. Well played, Sony, well played.

Sony said to have stopped PSP Go production, curiously fails to deny it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pinetti’s Quattrogiga journal packs a 4GB thumb drive into its strap

Pinetti’s Quattrogiga Leather Journal is a floppy-covered notebook with a 4GB USB stick contained within its strap.

The name is the first great feature. “Four gigabytes” sounds way cooler in Italian than in English. The strap is the next neat touch. It’s a silicone rubber band which uses the USB stick itself as the closure. The front cover has a female receptacle, and the USB plug is contained within the strap. This plugs in and keeps the book closed. Should you need to do so, you can remove the strap entirely.

The book comes in white, and can be had in two sizes: 5.5 x 7 inches and 6 x 9 inches. Both are actually covers rather than notebooks, which means you can swap-in refills when the book is full. A good thing too, as these handsome notebooks are ridiculously pricy: The small book is $85, and the large one is $105.

Pinetti Quattrogiga [Jenni Bick via Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• Field Notebook Records EXIF Metadata for Film Photographs
• Cut and Cover: Notebook Hides Pen Beneath its Skin
• Wooden Notebook Case: High-Class or Shop-Class?

A slip at Nikon HQ has prematurely revealed a new 50mm ƒ1.8 lens

Nikon is all set to launch a new 50mm lens for its SLRs, according to a page which popped up and then promptly disappeared from its website. The new lens is the long-awaited 50mm AF-S Nikkor 50mm ƒ1.8G.

Nikon historically has a pair of fast 50mm lenses in its lineup. The always cheap ƒ1.8 (I own one. It is excellent) and the more expensive, faster ƒ1.4. The these decades-old designs have aperture rings and lack the internal AF motors of the more modern S lenses. Recently, Nikon added the AF-S 50mm ƒ1.4G lens, which ditched the aperture ring and added the fast, internal motor.

Why is this important? Because almost all new Nikon SLR bodies lack the motor and spindle to focus these older lenses. This means that the entry-level cameras can only use these older lenses with manual focus. That would be fine, but the viewfinders in these bodies just aren’t designed to make manual focusing easy.

The specs are similar to the older ƒ1.8 G lens, although the internal layout has changed, adding an aspherical lens element and grouping seven elements in six groups (the older lenses groups six elements in five groups). The lens can be used on both FX and DX bodies, and will turn into a nice 75mm portrait lens on the crop-sensor DX bodies.

It looks like a great entry-level lens, just like the 50mm has always been. The only thing we don’t know is price. That wasn’t revealed on Nikon’s short-lived product page. So here, to give you a guide, are the current prices from B&H Photo:

1.4D $370

1.4G $550

1.8D $135

1.8G $?

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G Lens . . . It’s About Time! [Photography Bay]

See Also:

• Nikon Launches 50mm Silent Wave Lens. At Last.
• $11000 Leica Lens Sees in the Dark
• Nikon Announces Hot, Fast 35mm “Standard” Lens