Engadget’s back to school guide: Laptop bags

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we have laptop bags in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month.

By now you should have had enough time to decide what on our laptop buying guide takes your fancy, but, as Apple will tell you, the protective case is sometimes as important as the precious hardware itself. You’ll notice that this year we have a good number of bags that include padded camera sections as well — to the point of perhaps being described as camera bags with laptop compartments — but we feel that’s justified by the massive proliferation of DSLRs into the mainstream market. Entry-level interchangeable lens shooters have grown cheap enough even for non-photography students to consider owning one, but we can think of no good reason why they should require a separate bag of their own. So, on with the recommendations.

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Engadget’s back to school guide: Laptop bags originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple supply manager arrested for wire fraud, money laundering

Ever wonder why — after years of secrecy — camera-ready iPod cases began rolling out? The answer could possibly be Apple supply manager Paul Shin Devine, who was just fingered by the FBI and IRS as a fraudulent, money laundering mole. Devine was arrested Friday for allegedly receiving kickbacks from six accessory suppliers in exchange for confidential information, which apparently gave them an edge in negotiating Apple contracts. “The alleged scheme used an elaborate chain of U.S. and foreign bank accounts and one front company to receive payments,” reports the San Jose Mercury News, “and code words like ‘sample’ were used to refer to the payments so that Apple co-workers wouldn’t become suspicious.” Though we’re not yet sure what specific confidential information might have been passed along and we doubt the indictment will say, a separate civil suit filed by Apple claims Devine accepted over $1 million in “payments, kickbacks and bribes” over the course of several years.

Apple supply manager arrested for wire fraud, money laundering originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow?

At this point, we’re starting to think that Motorola is intentionally (and cruelly) teasing us with its Droid successor. Today we can add to the parade of leaks preceding the Droid 2‘s debut in the form of the above hard case, which has just landed in Best Buy’s storerooms. Before you go off on some conspiracy theory comparing this to the iPhone’s Bumper and questioning whether this Droid might need a jacket, you should be aware that Rocketfish does similar paraphernalia for the Droid Incredible, marking this out as an entirely unremarkable run-of-the-mill accessory. Which might be the best news of all, we figure — if the unexciting peripherals are already being shipped, the handset itself shouldn’t be too far behind.

[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow?

Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blackbox i10 noise cancelling earbuds tap into iPod / iPhone dock connector for power, pleasure

Oh, sure — you’ve got at least 893.1 options (at last count, anyway) when it comes to noise cancelling headphones for your iDevice, but do any of those plug directly into the dock connector instead of requiring a separate battery? Exactly. That’s the claim to fame for Blackbox’s i10, a new set of earbuds that rely on power from your iPod or iPhone in order to achieve that active noise cancelling action that the youngsters are so crazy about these days. According to the company, these will filter out 92 percent of background noise using Phitek Systems’ ANR technology, and the inline remote makes it easy to adjust volume and the like. They’re available today for £79.99 ($123) over in the UK, but only heaven knows when they’ll mosey over to North America.

[Thanks, Sharmee]

Continue reading Blackbox i10 noise cancelling earbuds tap into iPod / iPhone dock connector for power, pleasure

Blackbox i10 noise cancelling earbuds tap into iPod / iPhone dock connector for power, pleasure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s active shutter glasses now on sale, $150 buys your eyes a third dimension

Sony may have an impressive lineup of 3D HDTVs, but only the LX900 series comes with the requisite glasses for out-of-the-box 3D enjoyment. Thankfully, the company sells active shutter specs separately, and they’re now on sale — you’ll find pairs shipping now for $150 a pop at the Sony Store and several small e-tailers via Amazon. Keep in mind you’ll still need an IR emitter to sync those shades — also available, for a $50 extra charge — and likely a 3D Blu-ray player (or a PlayStation 3) if you want to have anything to watch. Isn’t the future grand?

Sony’s active shutter glasses now on sale, $150 buys your eyes a third dimension originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ozmo’s WiFi PAN available Q4, is this the end of Bluetooth’s reign of terror?

Has it really been two years since Intel joined forces with Ozmo Devices? Indeed it has, and we’ve been eagerly awaiting the day when our mouse, keyboard, and other peripherals would communicate via WiFi. And you know what? We’re still waiting — though we might not be for much longer. Apparently the company has just announced the availability of its low power OZMO2000 chip “to select peripheral manufacturers.” Compatible with Windows 7 SoftAP, Intel MyWi-Fi, and presumably Wi-Fi Direct, you can look for it to ship in production volumes in Q4. We know that this is great news for anyone who is frightened and confused by the tyranny of Bluetooth, to say the least. PR after the break.

Continue reading Ozmo’s WiFi PAN available Q4, is this the end of Bluetooth’s reign of terror?

Ozmo’s WiFi PAN available Q4, is this the end of Bluetooth’s reign of terror? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Streak car and AV docks now on sale, HDMI may or may not be included

Hey England, in need of some retail therapy after an unsatisfying sporting weekend? Dell’s got the goods for you with a rich new selection of cables, plugs, adapters, and cases for your new Streak. It looks like the HDMI dock we’ve been jonesing for has probably become a retail reality, but there’s no way to be sure right now — Dell’s only listing an AV dock without going into the TV connectivity options. The fresh offerings also include the kickstand-equipped wallet case that we found intriguing, spare battery and sync cables, and an international travel kit. Of course, every silver lining has a cloud, which in this case is the pricing: nothing here costs less than £24 ($35) and the car- and TV-enabling docks will set you back a cool £55 ($80) each. Jumbo smartphone, jumbo accessory prices.

[Thanks, Kingsley]

Dell Streak car and AV docks now on sale, HDMI may or may not be included originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plextor gets all zen with PlexMedia: a modular, network-attached Blu-ray player

It’s not often we come across an external drive that looks like anything but a brick, so we were pleasantly surprised to see Plextor demoing something a little more svelte at Computex. We can tell the PlexMedia network attached media player (bottom) is a looker right off the bat, but it truly becomes useful when you plug in the PX-B120U (top) designed to go with it. The combination is a fully-functional Blu-ray disc player that apparently outputs to a TV, but the smaller box can also detach, slip into your bookbag and become an external Blu-ray drive for your PC. Since there’s no specs or pics of the unit’s rear, we honestly have no idea how it accomplishes either, but we imagine the info will spontaneously pop into our being if we stare long enough at those azure ripples, and thus complete our meditation. On the off-chance that doesn’t work, we’ve also dispatched a carrier pigeon to Plextor HQ for the answers; in the meanwhile, you can peruse the presser after the break.

Continue reading Plextor gets all zen with PlexMedia: a modular, network-attached Blu-ray player

Plextor gets all zen with PlexMedia: a modular, network-attached Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad Camera Connection Kit a commodity item, now fetches $100+ on eBay

Now that the USB-wielding cat’s out of the bag, it’s looking like supplies of the iPad Camera Connection Kit aren’t keeping up with demand — one Engadget reader tipped us off to the fact that the $30 attachments are worth up to $180 on eBay. A quick bit of sleuthing showed that Apple’s actually still selling the things — they’re simply backordered, with a three to four week shipping delay — but sure enough, niche e-tailers currently list the dongles for as much as $150, and eBay auctioneers are finding the kits sell for two to five times the original MSRP. If your external HDD experiments didn’t work out the way you’d liked, at least you can be sure you’ll get your money back.

[Thanks, Paul P.]

iPad Camera Connection Kit a commodity item, now fetches $100+ on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC EVO 4G accessories detailed ahead of launch

So you live in the land of WiMax and rainbows. Lucky you. Then you’ll be needing some accessories to go along with that new EVO 4G you’ll be purchasing next week. While we’ve seen some of these before (image from a previous leak after the break), we now have the benefit of pricing to assist with your decisions. And hey, if $30 for a leather pouch with belt clip seems like a reasonable purchase then you might want to check out our fine selection of pocket protectors and Bluetooth headsets. Don’t be shy, embrace your outer nerd… no one else will. Oh!

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HTC EVO 4G accessories detailed ahead of launch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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