Hasta La Gadget!

Now that the USB-wielding cat’s out of the bag, it’s looking like supplies of the iPad Camera Connection Kit aren’t keeping up with demand — one Engadget reader tipped us off to the fact that the $30 attachments are worth up to $180 on eBay. A quick bit of sleuthing showed that Apple’s actually still selling the things — they’re simply backordered, with a three to four week shipping delay — but sure enough, niche e-tailers currently list the dongles for as much as $150, and eBay auctioneers are finding the kits sell for two to five times the original MSRP. If your external HDD experiments didn’t work out the way you’d liked, at least you can be sure you’ll get your money back.

[Thanks, Paul P.]

iPad Camera Connection Kit a commodity item, now fetches $100+ on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  eBay  | Email this | Comments

Targus recalls half a million laptop power adapters due to burn hazard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WalletPop  |  Comarco Adapter Recall  | Email this | Comments

Reports are coming in that the iPad Camera Connection Kit has finally shown up on a couple buyer doorsteps, and that the pair of white dongles may actually have been worth the wait. While one is a simple SD card adapter that adds one-touch image and video import (including RAW, complete with EXIF data) to the iPad, the second provides a USB port with some exciting new functionality. TUAW reports one reader could type on an iPad via USB keyboard, and those rumors about USB audio were true, too: TidBITS was actually able to make a Skype call after connecting a USB headset. Before you get too excited, however, please note that the USB and SD image transfers are one-way, and not all peripherals are supported — for instance, TidBITS‘ iPad sneezed at an external hard drive. Also, according to the Apple Store, Camera Connection Kit shipments are still two to three weeks out, so don’t be surprised if it still takes some time to get yours. For now you can make do with the video after the break.

Continue reading iPad Camera Kit ships with USB headset and keyboard support

iPad Camera Kit ships with USB headset and keyboard support originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  @jerrodh (Twitter), TUAW, TidBITS  | Email this | Comments

Wait a second, can it be true? Is Apple really caving to the pressures of supporting a socket that’s used by pretty much every home entertainment owner ever? In the Tech Specs section that went up with this morning’s MacBook Pro refresh, there’s a fourth video output listed: “HDMI output using Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (optional).” That’s the first mention we’ve seen of such a cable from Apple itself; to date, users have had to rely on third-party solutions in order to get an HDMI connector from the Mini DisplayPort. Of course, we’re guessing those alternatives sold at Monoprice will best Apple’s in terms of price, but as of now, the company has yet to even reserve a product portal within its store. Let’s just go ahead and call it: $29.99, shipping in May. Feel better?

[Thanks, Arnav]

Update: Ars Technica has it that Apple actually won’t be making its own adapter; instead, these new machines will simply support audio pass-through with the aforesaid third-party dongles. Glad that’s cleared up!

Apple teases Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

The market is darn near flooded with HomePlug AV-compatible powerline solutions, but Zinnet has seen fit to one-up the networking mainstays by dishing out a product that serves not one, but four Ethernet-packin’ devices simultaneously. Designed for use with its brite-View CinemaTube (but fully capable of working with game consoles, Blu-ray players and media streamers), this two-piece kit allows internet content to flow through your home’s existing powerline network and hit up to four devices on the other end. Simply plug the solo port adapter into a wall socket beside your router or broadband modem, and the four port adapter in your home theater room (or den, for the simplistic among us). From there, you can connect your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Roku set-top-box, Blu-ray player, CinemaTube deck or any other AV device that benefits from a wired internet connection; just like that, you’ve got a makeshift connection to four devices, and you’ll never have to worry over WiFi dropouts again. All that’s required to bring this joy into your life is $89.99 and a basic understanding of online checkout procedure, both of which we’re sure you can handle.

brite-View LinkE pipes content to four Ethernet sources over existing powerline network originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PR Newswire  | Email this | Comments