Hasta La Gadget!

Pimp your speaker with the JamChain

I’m not sure what I like the most about JawBone’s JamChain — the product itself or the promo video that goes with it. Starring Hasan Minhaj — comedian, actor, writer and alpha nerd — the spot is a geek parody of Ice Cube’s It Was a Good Day, with bikes instead of low-riders and a JamBox speaker instead of, erm, low-riders.

The JamChain is a piece of frivolous nonsense, a plastic chain with a cradle into which your punchy Bluetooth speaker slips, ready to be slung around your neck like Flava Flav’s clock. Best of all is that the JamChain is free to JamBox owners. Just sign into your MyTalk page (the place you go to make software updates and tweak settings), hit the “deals” tab and you’re there. You’ll have to pay shipping.

What I’m more interested in, though, is that handlebar mount for the speaker. I’d buy that in an instant.

Introducing the JamChain [JawBone]

See Also:

• JawBone Icon HD And Its New Friend, The Nerd
• Software Update Makes Jambox 10x Bigger, Crawl Across Desks …
• JawBone Icon HD And Its New Friend, The Nerd
• Jawbone's App-Powered Wristband Encourages Health, Wellness …

So much for stereotypes, eh? The future of farming is being painted in a far different light here at NEXT Aarhus, where a team from the University of Southern Denmark brought in the largest Wiimote-controlled robot that we’ve ever seen. The heretofore unnamed beast (going by SUFFER ’11 for the time being) is a farming-centric machine that’s designed to take the load off of the landowners (while providing a bit of enjoyment all the while). Put simply, this modular bot can have various apparatuses swapped into its midsection — one pop-in attachment could pick potatoes, while another could disperse pesticide, for example. There’s even a module that’ll enable it to detect rows and plow down the obvious routes, making it that much easier for farmers of the next millennium to take time off. Of course, the standout feature from our perspective was the inbuilt Bluetooth and WiFi, which allowed the demonstrator to operate the ‘bot with a standard Wii remote. Per usual, the vid’s after the break.

Continue reading SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video)

SUFFER ’11 farming robot plays a multitude of roles, takes commands via Wiimote (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got a slew of accessories — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!

Fall’s slowly, but surely creeping back in, and we bet you’ve already started to gather up the necessary gear for your return to the residence hall. Sure, you’ve got the basics covered, with a computer, smartphone, MP3 player and even a tablet at the ready. But wouldn’t it be nice to start the school year off in style with some handy accoutrements to trick out those digital crutches? Let’s face it, you’re going to need a lapdesk buffer zone between you and your laptop’s scorching heat for those countless hours spent churning out term papers. Or, an external hard drive, so you can store those full seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and bring the late night funny to your stressed-out friends. However you manage to make it through the year and snag that 4.0 GPA, we’ve got a selection of accessorized aids to match your collegiate budget. Oh, and don’t forget, we’re giving away $3,000 worth of essential back to school gear to 15 readers, and you can be among the chosen few simply by dropping a comment below! Click on past the break to start browsing.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: accessories

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

LG has added two new stars to its constellation of Aurora laptops, with the LG S430 and LG S530. Both models are powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, with the S430 boasting a 14-inch, 1366 x 768 HD LCD and the S530 rocking a slightly larger, 15.6-inch display, available in either HD or HD+ (1600 x 900) resolution. Both also feature 8GB of DDR3 memory and up to 750GB of HDD space (5400 RPM), along with your standard WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity. Perhaps most notable, however, is their sleek, metallic veneer and crystalline, scratch-free finish, available in both purple and blue. Pricing remains a mystery, but the pair should be available in Africa, Asia and the Middle East by early next month, before making their way to Europe and the US shortly thereafter. Details galore await you after the break, in the full PR.

Continue reading LG unveils S430, S530 Aurora laptops for people who like muted hues

LG unveils S430, S530 Aurora laptops for people who like muted hues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Globetrotting financiers have a new companion to slot into their briefcases, now that Acer has taken the wraps off its TravelMate Timeline 8481T notebook. Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and weighing in at 3.7 pounds, this little guy boasts a 14-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD that’s been engineered to fit within a 13-inch footprint, thanks to a frameless, bezel-trimming design. The latest addition to the TravelMate 8481 family also boasts 4GB of DDR3 memory (or 8GB, if you upgrade) and a 320GB SATA hard drive, along with the usual collection of WiFi, Bluetooth and USB 3.0 capabilities — all packed within a slim, 0.87-inch thick frame. The laptop is expected to start shipping in “early September” for $1,000, but you can find more details in the full PR that’s sitting after the break.

Continue reading Acer unveils TravelMate 8481T laptop for the all-business crowd

Acer unveils TravelMate 8481T laptop for the all-business crowd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments