Hasta La Gadget!

ATI’s Radeon HD 5870 first saw the (official) light of day in late September of last year, but the GPU has managed to age well. In the months since that original debut, we’ve seen an Eyefinity 6 Edition hit the market for multi-monitor maniacs, and quite a few factory overclocked options have also made their way out. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware scrounged up three of the latest and greatest, all priced just below the $500 mark, which have core clock speeds that are 100MHz higher than standard and memory clock speeds that are up 50MHz above the norm. Cards from MSI, HIS and Gigabyte were represented, and while each of ’em put up a better-than-average fight, the latter card came out on top in nearly every single test. Gigabyte’s Super Overclock technology tended to outperform the other OC’ing solutions, but the whole lot managed to show up the non-overclocked alternatives by a good bit. Still, you’ll be forced to pay a 25 percent premium for an 11 to 16 percent boost in performance, so these are still probably best for enthusiasts who can’t stand to leave a single frame behind. Peep that source if you’re in need of more coaching before pulling the trigger either way.

Overclocked ATI Radeon HD 5870 shootout: HIS, MSI and Gigabyte trade blows originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 May 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A German researcher gives a robot a few knives–as well as his own arm–to play with. A collision avoidance system he and his colleagues are testing may help prevent injury by robot.

Remember the Motorola MT820 that got leaked in China last week? Well, for some mysterious reason it’s now adopted a new name — MT810 (but with the same codename, “North Sea”). According to IT168, the tipster isn’t exactly clear on whether the two model numbers refer to the same hardware configuration, but a quick search on the Chinese regulator’s database reveals just MT810, and that it’ll work on China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network and WAPI (China’s own take on WiFi). Going back to the latest leak: we’re now learning that the camera will capture 720p footage — apparently a first on the Ophone platform — and a minimum of 5-megapixel stills, accompanied by an LED flash. As for the flip cover, turns out it also serves as a capacitive touch layer, while the screen underneath is coupled with the good-old resistive digitizer — ideal for those who prefer writing Chinese with a pointy stylus instead of a sausage. Sadly, the tipster’s still mum about the cover’s rumored 3D filter capability, which would in theory go nicely with some live soccer on the phone’s CMMB mobile TV capability, as teased by a recent commercial on China’s national television — video after the break, if you can bear the jealousy.

[Thanks, Rachel]

Continue reading Motorola MT810 Ophone to sport both capacitive and resistive digitizers, makes TV cameo

Motorola MT810 Ophone to sport both capacitive and resistive digitizers, makes TV cameo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 May 2010 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Right on cue, the artist formerly known as DAVE Wireless has been given approval to begin operations in Canada. Just as we heard earlier in the year, Mobilicity is looking to add some much-needed competition in the mobile operator space up north, and as predicted, the CRTC has given the initial stamp of approval needed for it to move forward with business operations. The company has to make a few minor changes up the ladder in order to appease the Canadian overlords that regulate this stuff, but the outfit’s top brass have stated that they have “no issues” whatsoever in complying. If all goes well, the carrier plans to start up service in Toronto before the summer swings in, with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa to get covered later in the year. Here’s hoping those blasted three-year contracts vanish for good, eh?

[Thanks, Adam]

Mobilicity gets the green light from CRTC, looks to launch in Toronto soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 May 2010 03:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh sure, you’ve seen your disgustingly hairy cousin solve a Rubik’s Cube in 3 minutes and 13.4 seconds, and we’ve seen quite a few sophisticated robots do it in far less time. But in the latest episode of “Yes, Droid Really Does,” we’ve got Motorola’s darling solving a Lego-encased Cube in just over 24 seconds. Let’s recap: a Droid, a Mindstorms NXT monstrosity, a Rubik’s Cube and faux techno. Is there any chance you aren’t clicking through to watch this video?

Update: Whoops — had the wrong image in there somehow. Fixed now!

Update II: Drats — the video owner removed the clip. We’ll keep it embedded should it return.

Continue reading Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video)

Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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