Hasta La Gadget!

Yeah, we’ve seen our fair share of glimpses at Garmin-ASUS’ nüvifone G60, but with the Linux-based phone just weeks away from shipping over in the Far East, these last minute looks are becoming all the more tantalizing. A reviewer over in Malaysia managed to spend a bit of quality time with the handset, and while he’s still waiting for his official review unit, he managed to snag a litany of screenshots that gives us a fantastic idea of what to expect from a user interface perspective. We have to say — we kind of dig the whimsical look at a glance, but it makes us wonder just how serious of a smartphone this thing really is. With Android already out, does this UI look like it has the chops to compete? Hit the read link and let us know.

[Via GPSTracklog, thanks Rich]

Filed under: Cellphones

Garmin-ASUS nuvifone G60 spills loads of Linux-laced screenshots originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

When Circuit City announced back in January that it was liquidating its assets after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall, it was sad to see the electronics chain close its doors forever. But just like athletes and singers who announce their retirement only to keep coming back, Circuit City is rising once again. This time, however, it’s an online-only presence, powered by Systemax, a Fortune 1000 company and retailer of brand-name and private-label products. (Systemax also runs CompUSA.com and TigerDirect.com.)

On the new CircuitCity.com, it’s a lot easier to find what you’re looking for. On each product page, you’ll find photo galleries, videos, product descriptions and specs, and customer reviews. I like the Quick Deal Links at the bottom of the homepage for quick access to deals.

Speaking of deals, CircuitCity.com is running a number of them on displays, laptops, cameras, and more. For today’s TechSaver Test, I’m going to challenge the site’s sales on the Samsung 2043SWX 20″ LCD Monitor, the Garmin Nuvi 265WT, the Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless G Router, and the Sharp LCC5255U Aquos 52″ LCD HDTV.

Find out if you should do your shopping on CircuitCity.com, after the jump.

Each week you can get different sales, free shipping offers, financing deals, and exclusives on BestBuy.com. This week Best Buy has a ton of marked-down items in categories such as Cameras & Camcorders, Home Theater, and Car & GPS. I’m going to focus on four products in these categories: a 12-megapixel Samsung digital camera, a Pure Digital pocket camcorder, a Garmin GPS, and a Sony Bravia HDTV.

Find out the deals you’ll want to grab and the ones you’ll want to avoid, after the jump.

On Wednesday, Garmin issued a mandatory software update for several GPS models that had been plagued by a software glitch that caused them to ask for a software update, then spontaneously shut down.

On Tuesday, the company had said it was aware of the problem, apologized, and said it was working on a fix. A day later, Garmin said that the new firmware update may now be downloaded
using Garmin’s WebUpdater, and will fix the update issue that may affect the Garmin nüvi 7×5 series, the nüvi 800 series, the nüvi 8×5 series, the zümo 660, and the GPSMAP 620 and 640.

For those nüvi 7×5 customers who alrwady have a GPS that shut down and cannot be restarted, Garmin recommends that they access this FAQ for advice, or, in the worst case, send their units back for a free repair. If the 7×5 turns on, but cannot access a GPS satellite, Garmin recommends that users download the firmware update.

Additional updates may be provided via the WebUpdater, Garmin said. Users who have registered their device will be apprised of such updates via email.

“We know our customers rely upon their Garmin GPS device(s), especially
during the summer travel season, and we regret any inconvenience this
situation may have caused,” the company said in a statement. “We are committed to developing products that
are known for their quality and reliability and will continue to work
diligently to earn the trust of our customers.”

Things are still a little early with this one, but a sizable number of reports have cropped up today indicating that there’s some seriously wrong with Garmin’s 7×5 series GPS units, with a firmware update seemingly the likely culprit. Interestingly, it doesn’t look like the firmware update instantly bricked the units when it was installed, but rather caused them all to suddenly seize up at some point on June 22nd. While it’s not saying anything official just yet, a number of folks that have spoken with Garmin’s customer support say that the company is aware of the problem now that the calls are pouring in, although it’s unfortunately not offering much in the way of solutions to the problem just yet (though at least a few customers seem to have been offered a replacement unit). So, has your nuvi left you in the lurch? Let us know in comments.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Garmin is aware of the issue and is working to fix it. Full response is after the break.

Continue reading Garmin 7×5 series devices bricked by firmware update?

Filed under: GPS

Garmin 7×5 series devices bricked by firmware update? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments