Hasta La Gadget!

One of the things we bemoaned in our EVO 4G review was the lack of an included Micro HDMI cable in the box, mostly because they’re still somewhat hard to find, but that worry can now be allayed thanks to this newly uncovered HDMI dock from HTC. It will work with the Micro-USB port at the bottom of your EVO for data and power transfers, but the main attraction will obviously be its compatibility with the phone’s Type D connector and HDMI 1.4 connectivity. Before you rush to your nearest Best Buy to get one, though, there are a couple of caveats. PC Mag‘s testing of the HDMI output found some TVs only recognized a 480p signal when the EVO was sending out 1080p, and a number of apps, including Sprint TV, refused to send their goods out over the High-Definition Multimedia Interface at all. Might be worth trying before buying in this case, as in most others.

HTC EVO 4G will have a HDMI dock, sold through Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy advertising higher than regular prices as sales? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony will be first out of the gate with a Google TV powered device, with its “Sony Internet TV” devices — in the form of either an HDTV or a set-top box with Blu-ray player — arriving on shelves this fall. The rest of the partners were just as the rumors indicated, with Logitech adding a QWERTY Harmony remote, “companion box” to bridge the gap to existing home theater equipment and eventually video chat capabilities, Intel providing the CE4100 Atom processor at the heart of the devices and an Android 2.1 OS with Chrome browser brings it all together. DISH Network and Google have admitted to their ongoing trials but there’s no word on any release date,(Update: We didn’t catch it onstage, but DISH just announced it will enable “advanced integration” via HDMI on all of its HD DVR receivers this fall, details after the break) while Best Buy is already on board to sell all of this and inevitably offer to hook up those IR blasters for a fee, while Adobe is just happy to see another device that runs Flash 10.1. The rest of the details are in press release and video form after the break, but you can sign up for updates at Google.com/tv (developers check in here) or check out our ongoing liveblog right from Google I/O.

Update: Vic Gundotra just confirmed in a post-keynote press conference that TV will go international next year.

Continue reading Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride

Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That Best Buy is ready to launch its entry into the online video on-demand game is not at all a surprise, but we weren’t expecting to see such a familiar name. The retail giant purchased the CinemaNow brand away from Sonic Solutions (explaining the latter’s sudden switch to RoxioNow) and will start selling movies sans-disk to web connected devices later this month, starting with LG Blu-ray players (where buyers won’t see the Best Buy logo at all) and home theater in a box systems, followed by Samsung’s internet connected home theater equipment and of course the house Insignia brand. As planned, it will have “first run” movies for sale as soon as they arrive on DVD, with rentals for $2.99 – $3.99 per movie and purchases at $9.99 to $19.99, including HD titles and some available in 1080p. Apparently the name game is how Best Buy plans to sneak boxes with its store embedded through other retailers, we’ll see how Wal-mart / VUDU, Amazon and the rest respond to the challenge.

Continue reading Best Buy’s internet movie store launches this month under the CinemaNow brand

Best Buy’s internet movie store launches this month under the CinemaNow brand originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 08:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, there it is, UK’s first-ever Best Buy store, officially born at 7am local time yesterday. Naturally, we had to be there to witness such magical moment for Britain’s consumer tech market — the Brits had longed for an injection of energy and professionalism to the seemingly slacking chain stores. Many would agree that DSGi’s two main brands — Currys and PC World — are on the naughty list, even after their recent relaunch. From what we saw today, it looks like Best Buy’s already heading in the right direction. Let’s start with the front-line employees. Most of these Blueshirts provided genuine technical answers rather than bluffing their way out, plus we were given product recommendations with no desperate sales pitch as commonly seen in other stores. When we revealed our identity to one of the sales reps, he confirmed that they were trained to not force random products onto customers — quite the opposite culture to his old days at DSGi (assuming he was telling the truth). We sure did appreciate this new-found shopping freedom in gadget stores, but did the other customers feel the same way? Find out what we heard after the break.

Continue reading Best Buy opens first UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on (video)

Best Buy opens first UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 May 2010 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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