Hasta La Gadget!

Ducati may have its roots firmly planted on the highway, but the high-end label certainly isn’t scared of stepping out from time to time. After gifting firms like SanDisk and Sony Ericsson with the right to use its name on various gizmos, the motorcycle maker is now linking up with Toshiba on a special edition laptop. The Satellite U500 Ducati is a 13.3-inch ultraportable equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (512MB), an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 and 4GB of RAM. Naturally, the primarily white device will boast its fair share of Ducati badging, but seemingly lacks the company’s trademark desmodromic valve actuation. Precise pricing information wasn’t made public, but you can bet only those with more money than sense will take interest when it ships later this month in Italy.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba lights up the streets with Satellite U500 Ducati originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll be honest — we were hoping that from now on Samsung would be including creepy clown displays on the front of all their 12.2 megapixel shooters. If for some strange reason you’re not into that idea, however, the ST45 should be right up your alley. A pretty noteworthy 16mm thin, this guy features an ISO sensitivity up to 3200, a 2.7-inch LCD screen, and all the goodies you expect from Samsung: Smart Scene Recognition with 11 (count ’em!) picture settings (Portrait, Night portrait, Macro, etc.), Digital Image Stabilization, Self Portrait & Frame Guide (for all those double-chin masking MySpace one-handed self-pics), and the obligatory Face Detection. This bad boy will be available in the UK in red, black, blue, or grey, sometime late this month. PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung’s ultraslim ST45 digital camera is sadly devoid of clowns

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Samsung’s ultraslim ST45 digital camera is sadly devoid of clowns originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what’s absolutely useless? A video of Wipeout HD being played in 3D, with some schmuck wearing 3D glasses and babbling on about how much fun he’s having. Well, that schmuck is this Engadget editor, the video can be found after the break, and we’ve gotta say: we loved it. Especially for something like Wipeout HD, whose neon-infused tracks make for an almost too convenient example of rapidly approaching vanishing points, we’d say 3D could really be a quasi-“killer app” for consoles going forward — especially if those fancy new motion controllers don’t catch on for Microsoft and Sony. In many ways, 3D just seems to make more sense in a video game than for a movie, and the whole problem of finding content to deliver in the format has already been solved: a software update for the PS3 sometime in 2010 will enable it to provide a 3D viewing experience to “all” existing games on the system. We’re sure there will be some exceptions, but it sounds very promising. The console itself pumps out a quite regular signal over HDMI, which the TV syncs up with your 3D glasses. A 200Hz TV, for instance, alternates 1080p frames, with 100Hz for each eye. Of course, you’ll need a brand new TV, but at least it won’t be restricted to just Sony televisions. Start saving those pennies!

Continue reading PS3’s new 3D mode captured on video, coming in 2010 to all existing games

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

PS3’s new 3D mode captured on video, coming in 2010 to all existing games originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re in the market for a dedicated, easy-to-pocket audio player that can handle the occasional video then it’s hard to beat Sony’s new Walkman S-series of players. The latest Walkmans, priced at $110 (8GB) or $130 (16GB), are the first from Sony with integrated speakers and include a plastic kickstand in the box. As usual, the sound was excellent but Sony cheated a bit at its IFA stand by equipping the demo units with high-end Sony over-the-skull cans. Hey, whatever it takes, right? Nevertheless, Sony always bundles good-quality earbuds (MDR-E804Y in this case) with their gear unlike some other manufacturers who shall not be named. Switching between the stereo-speakers and headphones is as simple as throwing the physical slider along the right-side of the unit — speakers that sounded pretty decent as long as your expectations are set appropriate to the unit’s physical size. Video playback was fine but it’s hard to be enthusiastic about watching anything other than very-brief clips on the S-series’ tiny 2.4-inch QVGA display. But in a pinch, no problem. Plenty of pics in the gallery and a quickie video walk-around after the break.

Continue reading Video hands-on: Sony’s Walkman S-series is no Mickey Mouse audio player

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Video hands-on: Sony’s Walkman S-series is no Mickey Mouse audio player originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips has definitely shifted most of its consumer electronics efforts into continents not named North America, but given that IFA’s taking place in Berlin, it makes sense to see so much new kit flowing from the company. The latest wares to make their debut on the show floor is the BDP9500 and BDP7500 Blu-ray players, both of which handle 7.1 audio with poise and offer up 1080p video playback for those with BD libraries. The flagship 9500 also includes a Qdeo video processor and a sleek aluminum shell, not to mention Burr-Brown analog-to-digital converters and DVD upscaling for those other movies. There’s no mention of pricing and availability just yet, but with the holiday shopping season just around the bend, we’d guess the folks at Philips are working hard to get these out on the double [Warning: PDF read link]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Philips gets stylish with BDP9500 and BDP7500 Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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