Sprint’s iPad ‘4G case’ features an Overdrive pocket, oodles of irony

Listen Sprint, we get it, you want the whole US drooling over an iDevice hitting the internet at 4G speeds. First you extolled the virtues of WiMAX in an ad featuring the iPhone, and now you’re going so far as to give away a special “4G” iPad case for free with the purchase of an Overdrive from Best Buy — and yes, to be sure, the tote features a special pouch for your new mobile hotspot. No word yet on if placing a 3G iPad in the case creates some singularity from which no nearby object can escape (or get reception, for that matter).

Update: Don’t take the playful tone personally, we actually love the concept. More so, we just think Sprint is being funny here. We’ll have some detailed test results of our time with Overdrive / iPad soon!

[Thanks, John]

Sprint’s iPad ‘4G case’ features an Overdrive pocket, oodles of irony originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions


Yesterday, the National Labor Committee produced a report on the working conditions at the KYE Factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. KYE operates (like many factories in China) a live-work facility and generated sales of $400 million in 2008. KYE manufactures outsourced products for HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and ASUS. Their largest customer, however, is reportedly Microsoft. The report details some of what we’ve come to expect in stories of labor abuses — near children, most of them women, working for 16 or 17 hours a day, living in nearly deplorable conditions, for less than a dollar an hour — all so that the world’s ever-growing need for / addiction to consumer electronics can be fed. Now, the gadget industry isn’t the only offender by a stretch — but it’s quickly becoming one of the largest (in addition to producing a truly horrific amount of toxic garbage). After the break are some choice facts from the report that our readers might be interested in ingesting, so read on.

Continue reading National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions

National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble Nook now up for order at Best Buy’s website

Our watches may be off by a few hours or so, but April 18th it ain’t. Evidently that matters not, as Barnes & Noble’s Nook is now up for order on Best Buy’s website, a full five days earlier than we were expecting it. ‘Course, in-store pickup still isn’t available, but those who plunk down the plastic online should see it ship out within a day or so. If you’re still fond of these e-reader things, and you’re kosher with a few quirks, the big yellow sticker would be happy to craft a shipping label with your name on it for $259.99.

[Thanks, Absolution]

Barnes & Noble Nook now up for order at Best Buy’s website originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy confirms Nook for April 18, Greg Packer still hasn’t opened his iPad (update)

With all of the Nook chatter going down at Best Buy lately, it was bound to become official sooner or later: as of this morning Reuters is reporting that the retailer will start carrying Barnes and Noble’s e-reader beginning, as previously reported, on April 18. We just hope you can contain your excitement until then — we know we’ll be doing our best.

Update: We just got our hands on the PR, and here is a little more detail: Not only will the Nook and B&N eBook giftcards be available at Best Buy locations and in its online store, the Geek Squad is also apparently hard at work installing the Nook eReader software on “select PCs, netbooks, tablets and smartphones” sold in its stores. The device is set to retail for $260. Peep the PR for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Best Buy confirms Nook for April 18, Greg Packer still hasn’t opened his iPad (update)

Best Buy confirms Nook for April 18, Greg Packer still hasn’t opened his iPad (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flip Slide HD inevitably sold early by Best Buy

At this point it would have been more surprising if Best Buy hadn’t just gone ahead and sold the Flip Slide HD before its official launch — we’ve been getting leaked info and product shots from the retailer for a week now, and it was really only a matter of time before someone went home with one. That someone is our new favorite reader Scott Peterson, who nabbed one at the Roseville, California store for $279 and was kind enough to send in this photo and a quick video of the pocket cam in action. It looks like… a pretty chunky Flip with a slideout touchscreen instead of real buttons. We’re also seeing a headphone jack in addition to HDMI out, which no other Flip has had, so we’re guessing this thing is geared towards on-the-go playback as well as recording. Cute. Unfortunately we won’t know what’s what for sure until Cisco actually confirms that this thing is real — and at this point it might as well just get it over with, as we’re sure Best Buy is busy leaking the next model already. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Scott]

Continue reading Flip Slide HD inevitably sold early by Best Buy

Flip Slide HD inevitably sold early by Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flip S1240W priced at $280 in Best Buy’s systems, reads an awful lot like ‘Slide HD’ to us

Our army of Best Buy informants has struck again, this time delivering an internal systems entry that references an S1240W model from Cisco’s consumer division, described as a digital camcorder. Aside from the obvious appearance of the Flip name in the top right corner, the retail box dimensions listed herein — 7.7 by 1.5 by 3.6 inches — seem an almost perfect match for the recently spied Flip Slide HD product box. At that time, we were furnished with supplemental pics pointing out 16GB of built-in storage for up to four hours of video, and today we can add a price and potential release date to the dossier. April 18 is the reputed “in stock” date for this Flip shooter, with a $280 “regular retail” price shown on the other snapshot we’ve come across (see it after the break). That means we’ve only got a few days of mystery left before Cisco flips the covers away.

[Thanks, Jae]

Continue reading Flip S1240W priced at $280 in Best Buy’s systems, reads an awful lot like ‘Slide HD’ to us

Flip S1240W priced at $280 in Best Buy’s systems, reads an awful lot like ‘Slide HD’ to us originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15-inch MacBook Pros MIA on BestBuy.com, long-awaited refresh really, truly coming April 13th?

iPhone, iPhone, iPhone… wait, what’s that? You’re still pining for those refreshed, possibly Core i5– / i7-equipped MacBook Pros that have been long rumored? If a source close to Australian MacWorld has any merit, we’ll finally be seeing updates to the laptop line — Pro and Air, allegedly — this Tuesday, April 13th. No word on what the new models would feature if true, but without an event all its own, the best we can expect is probably a spec boost. Best Buy seems to be adding some fuel to the fire, first by showing a proverbial mark of death in its database last month, and now by making the 15-inch model unavailable on BestBuy.com. Undoubtedly the retailer’s waiting for a new shipment of potent portables, but the question remains, what will they run under the hood?

[Thanks, Ryan]

Update: UK retailer John Lewis is also showing its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air options as out of stock, though it suffers no such shortages with MacBooks. Draw your own conclusions [Thanks, Ben].

15-inch MacBook Pros MIA on BestBuy.com, long-awaited refresh really, truly coming April 13th? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into camera’s view

All we have is this one image, care of a gracious anonymous tipster who said it was found at Best Buy. Our best guess? Well, it’s a Flip camcorder, and there’s a sliding element to it — amazing deduction skills, we know. Perhaps Cisco has something up its sleeve soon? Inquiring minds want to know.

Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into camera’s view originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple sells over 300,000 iPad tablets on US launch day


We heard some pretty ridiculous estimates over the weekend, but these figures are straight out of Cupertino’s mouth: over 300,000 iPads were sold on April 3rd. Specifically, that many were moved in the US as of midnight (PT, we’re assuming) on Saturday, though this does include deliveries of pre-ordered units to customers, deliveries to channel partners (such as Best Buy) and sales at Apple Retail Stores. We should point out, though, that just because Best Buy purchased a bundle of ’em doesn’t mean that end users have (yet), but still, this is a pretty impressive feat for something that not everyone was convinced that they “needed” in January. If you’ll recall, Apple only sold 270,000 iPhones during its first 30 hours on the market, yet it moved over a million iPhone 3GS units during that handset’s opening weekend. In related news, iPad users also downloaded over a million apps and over 250,000 ebooks from the iBookstore during launch day, with Steve Jobs himself noting that “iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.” Now, let’s see if these guys can keep pace through the first full week.

[Thanks, Tal]

Apple sells over 300,000 iPad tablets on US launch day originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple confirms Best Buy iPads at launch, what time you’ll need to be there

Apple confirms Best Buy iPads at launch, what time you'll need to be there

We’re nearly there. The mystical, magical iPad experience starts this Saturday, April 3, and if you haven’t already pre-ordered your only way to get one for the weekend is going to be to fight the rush at retail. Apple has confirmed that all 221 of its Apple Stores will have the wunder-tablets on sale, and has also confirmed the Best Buy rumors, indicating that “most” of the big-box retailer’s locations will have them. Stores are set to open at 9:00am, so we figure you can probably roll on over there at 8:45 or so and get a good spot in line.

Apple confirms Best Buy iPads at launch, what time you’ll need to be there originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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