Hasta La Gadget!

While Velocity Micro announced the VMultra earlier this year at CES, it’s only now ready for primetime. The VMultra combines a USB hub, an SD card slot, a DVD±RW drive and 500GB of storage into a surprisingly slim package that connects to any computer via USB 3.0. If you like, you can even fit your own 2.5-inch hard drive in the SATA III bay. You’ll have to take out the included 500GB HDD first of course. The company intends this to be a “perfect all-in-one peripheral,” especially for notebook travelers looking to lighten their luggage; perhaps to make room for things like “clothes.” Each VMultra will cost you $199.99 and will ship starting November 12th.

For those who prefer desktops, Velocity Micro also announced a $599 holiday edition of its Vector PC that runs on a dual-core AMD A6-5400k processor and 8GB of DDR3 RAM in the same press release, which you can peek at after the break.

Continue reading VMultra bundles USB hub, DVD drive, SD slot and 500GB HDD to form ultimate laptop peripheral

Filed under: Peripherals

VMultra bundles USB hub, DVD drive, SD slot and 500GB HDD to form ultimate laptop peripheral originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Practically synonymous with Rock ‘n’ Roll, premium audio equipment maker Marshall is celebrating 50 years of sound with the release of its Major 50 FX headphones. Priced at $170, these celebratory cans take their cues from the limited run Hanwell anniversary edition amp, featuring gold accents and a commemorative headband with the inscription “London, England, 1962” to mark when it all began, along with inner ear caps engraved with the words “50 years.” Vintage in appearance, these golden-year shrugs also include an Apple-certified microphone and volume control, so you can pretend that you’re slappin’ da bass while taking a phone call.

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals

Marshall Major 50 FX 50th anniversary headphones now available for $170 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re one of the first on your block to have picked up a Nokia Lumia 920, you might wonder why it’s so forgiving with where you set it down on the wireless charging pad. TI is more than willing to share. The 920, 820, Fatboy charging pillow and JBL PowerUp speaker all use a new TI bq500410A controller whose support for new transmitters gives it a charging area four times larger than we’re used to. The 2.76 by 0.79 inches of coverage might not sound like much, but it’s much wider than the previous 0.71 square inches while preserving a 70 percent efficiency and a safety cutoff if something gets in between. As a companion, there’s a bq51050B chip launching at the same time that represents the first Qi receiver with its own built-in battery charger, which TI claims can charge more quickly and in less space than its rivals. Anyone embracing Nokia’s vision of Windows Phone 8 can get their hands on devices using the wireless power chips today; we’re only left hoping that TI’s official news means other phone makers can tag along.

Continue reading TI details the wireless power chip in the Lumia 920, offers four times the charging area

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Nokia

TI details the wireless power chip in the Lumia 920, offers four times the charging area originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iZettle has just launched its Android and iOS payment platform on EE in the UK, giving small businesses a cheap way to get paid through Visa, American Express, Diner’s Club and Mastercard. For a £20 fee in EE stores, you can grab the scanner (shown above) and start accepting charge card payments through your iPhone, iPad and certain Android devices with no other fees except for the usual merchant grab — 2.75 percent per transaction in this case. Sales can even be keyed in manually if you don’t want the scanner, and the company claims the system is quick and “totally secure.” So, if you’re tired of chasing down that deadbeat client who keeps saying “too bad you don’t take Amex,” hit the PR after the jump.

Continue reading iZettle launches on EE, aims to let UK merchants dabble in plastic

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Software

iZettle launches on EE, aims to let UK merchants dabble in plastic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Computer speaker design rarely sits in the middle: it tends to be dry on creativity or go over the top. Edifier is sometimes known for testing the limits itself, but its new e10 Exclaim speakers might strike just the right balance in taste. The 2.0-channel system trades on its exclamation point imagery without falling too far into gimmick territory. It might even sound good at the same time — the dot in each satellite’s punctuation helps pump out a reasonable 36W of sound across two amplifiers and allows for separate woofer and tweeter sections with their own passive radiators. The speakers are available today for $100, and only leave us wondering if a higher-end model would demand an interrobang.

Continue reading Edifier e10 Exclaim PC speakers punctuate the air with 36W of sound

Filed under: Peripherals

Edifier e10 Exclaim PC speakers punctuate the air with 36W of sound originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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