Hasta La Gadget!

If you know anything about European retailer Fnac, you know it’s not the go-to place for bargains. However, it’s this very outlet that’s now selling an 80GB PlayStation 3 bundle (which includes the console, a single controller and inFamous) for €100 less than its “everyday low price” as of yesterday. Of course, one major French retailer slashing the price on a system that’s long overdue for a break isn’t reason in and of itself reason to believe anything’s on the horizon, but pair this up with everything else we’ve heard over the past few weeks, and we’d say all the vague omens are pointing to a leaner, cheaper and altogether more dashing PS3 on August 18th. In our magical fantasy land, anyway.

Update: Our friends at Engadget Spanish just let us know that there’s been a price drop in Spain as well. Getting warmer…

[Thanks, Nelson]

Filed under: Gaming

European retailer hacks €100 from PlayStation 3 in run-up to gamescom originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More fuel to the spreading rumor of a gamescom debut for the PS3 Slim: French games site JVN got ahold of an “anonymous retailer” who spilled the supposed beans of an impending PS3 Slim launch in Europe. Word is that the console is supposed to land next month over there for €300 Euro — €100 Euro less than it currently retails, a real sight for sore, price-gouged eyes — and gamescom seems to be the safest bet for a debut. Other details are scarce, and some facts are downright confusing: the console is currently being listed by this retailer’s wholesalers as a “limited edition,” which naturally seems silly given the traditional PlayStation life cycle. Still, we like where this all is headed.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

Retailer claims PS3 Slim is headed for Europe next month, getting 100 Euro price drop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We really couldn’t make this stuff up — it would seem that T-Mobile has been sneaking some hi-tech contraband into the UK in the form of unlocked iPhone 3G handsets, which it is now peddling to its most valued clientele. And by that, of course, we mean the piggies that pay up the most every month. Limited to an extremely select 150 units a week, the Apple devices are being used as incentives for high-rolling customers to renew their eye-gouging contracts of £75 per month and above, though we suspect only a few chums in corner offices know exactly how much T-Mob is charging for the handset itself.

We’ve done some digging, and while O2 has exclusivity on the iPhone 3G until September, that does not prevent T-Mobile from essentially functioning as a reseller of unlocked SIM-free units. Further distancing itself from legal action, the carrier is only offering the handsets to upgrading customers (as opposed to newcomers), thus the phones technically come sans a SIM. So, the suits at Magenta Towers must be feeling pretty smug right about now, having danced through a loophole and secured a wildly popular (albeit older generation) phone, all in the name of keeping high-brow customers from jumping ship. While you won’t hear any PR from T-Mobile on the matter, we have a full statement from O2 on the subject of losing 3G exclusivity come September. You ready?

We have a multi-year agreement with Apple to sell iPhone in the UK. This relationship continues.

Man, those Britons keep it short and sweet, don’t they?

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile UK sneakily offering iPhone 3G to moneyed customers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember Leica’s S-system flagship DSLR camera? We’d wager a nickel you probably stuck this in the deep in the back of your brain after its September 2008 debut, figuring something that boasts 37.5 megapixels and Leica branding was gonna be just out of your budget range. Well, you were right. The company announced that it’ll be out in the UK as of October this year, and the starting price is £15,996, or about $26,165 in US dollars. Since you’re going on the wild side anyhow, why not consider the S2-P, which features a sapphire glass monitor screen and “Platinum Service” support package? That’ll set you back £19,092 ($31,229). Bear in mind both those prices are for body only, and with lenses range anywhere from £3,096 to £5,160, you might as well forget about that year of salary.

Leica S2 DSLR hitting UK scene in October for eye-opening $26,165 without lens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Thanks, Adrian]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

Microsoft giving Europeans with Windows XP and Vista choice of browser, too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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