Oct 28

Apogee Jam guitar adapter review

Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, AppleIphone, feature, Features, guitar, ios, ios 5, Ios5, review, Today's Chili, video
Musicians have long needed ways to catalog ideas and capture rough recordings of new material without the anchor that is a full-fledged recording setup. Apogee offers just that with its Jam guitar adapter for the iPad, iPhone and Mac, which allows you to strum your way to a record deal via an iOS device. Whether you’re on the road or in your living room, the ability to connect a Les Paul to a mobile device and crank out the demo for your next hit is super helpful. But, is it worth the $100 investment to have recording-on-the-go at your fingertips? Read on to see what we discovered.

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Apogee Jam guitar adapter review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 16

Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud

Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, Books, cloud, e ink, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, ebooks, feature, Features, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, keyboard, kindle, minipost, reader, Today's Chili

Amazon has pushed out a new update for the Kindle 3, now operating under the alias of the Kindle Keyboard. This gives the well-buttoned e-reader access to some of the cloud features found on its freshly unboxed younger brother, and includes the ability to view any archived documents, notes and highlights you’ve added to that intangible pile of books and articles. You’ll need to tether the Kindle to your PC, point your browser towards Amazon, and download the file corresponding to the right region and model. Excitable annotators can grab the upgrade now at the source link below.

Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 06

Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video)

Posted in: electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, ev, feature, Features, hands-on, tesla, Today's Chili, video
Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video)

Tesla’s been teasing us with the Model S electric car for what seems like a cruelly long time. But, we gadget fans need to remember that designing and releasing a car is a rather different prospect than something like a phone. If your new iDevice crashes you might lose your patience, but if your new car crashes, well, the results could be rather more disastrous.

Tesla is keeping up the teasing act with the Model S Beta launch, an opportunity for a lucky few to come and check out the company’s factory (once the NUMMI facility in Fremont, CA) and to take a quick ride around the company’s test track — and we do mean quick. How do we know? Well, we got to come along. Join us for our impressions after the break.

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Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 05

Grid10 review

Posted in: 10-inch, Android, feature, Features, review, tablet, Today's Chili, video
Grid10 review

Second chances aren’t always easy to come by, and when Fusion Garage disappeared off the map following the unabashed failure of the JooJoo tablet, we certainly didn’t expect those doors would be opening again. But open they did, swinging wide as the company treated itself to a product launch of the sort usually reserved for big-named companies with big-named devices.

This time it’s the Grid10 tablet, a $299, 16GB, 10.1-inch slate that plays nice with Android while simultaneously thumbing its nose at the OS Google built, instead relying on the completely custom-built GridOS. This new challenger can run Android apps despite not actually running Android itself, purporting to give users another, better choice of armament in these tablet wars. Is it truly better, or is it just different? The answer is waiting for you just after the break.

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Grid10 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 03

Growing Up Geek: Jesse Hicks

Posted in: feature, Features, Today's Chili

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today we have our very own Contributing Editor, Jesse Hicks.


I’ve never been one for nostalgia, but if I had to choose a Proustian element from my geeky childhood — a singular sense-memory that evokes a whole constellation of related feelings — I’d pick the eerie keening of a 28.8 modem. That high, quavering sound, for me, conjurs up the earliest days of my geekdom, when computers were slow, landlines were king and the internet was young.

I was twelve when my family got our first computer: a 486DX that first appeared without a hard drive. My mom had found a great deal at a computer show…or so it had seemed. That missing 120MB hard drive, as you may have guessed, severely limited functionality. But once that problem was remedied, I was off and running with DOS and XTree, happily deleting essential system files. The learning process had begun.

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Growing Up Geek: Jesse Hicks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 03

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators

Posted in: feature, Google, maps, minipost, preview, search, Today's Chili, Travel, web
Sure, you could use Google Maps to find the shortest path from point A to point B, but what if you’re interested in going from A to B via scenic route C? That’s where Google’s new ‘helicopter view’ comes in. Unveiled last week, this feature allows online navigators to visualize any driving, walking or mass transit route with a 3D, bird’s-eye animation. All you have to do is enter your starting point, destination and mode of transportation, and click the new “3D” button that will appear next to each route. From there, you’ll be launched into a Google Earth-powered flight, displaying all the buildings, mountains and other terrain that you’d encounter during your real-life journey. You can also pause the flight at any moment to check out any sights of interest, along with any geo-linked photos, videos or other online content. Buckle up and check out the source link below for more details and images.

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Growing Up Geek: Ben Drawbaugh

Posted in: feature, Features, Today's Chili

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Contributing HD Editor, Ben Drawbaugh.

Unlike many adults I knew growing up, I don’t think being a kid is easy. Maybe it is for some, but growing up geek in the small hick town of Clewiston, Florida means you learn you’re a geek the hard way. This story of struggle turned out great, though, and now I wear that geek badge proudly as it’s no doubt the secret to my success in almost every facet of my life.

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Growing Up Geek: Ben Drawbaugh originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, att, bluetooth, camera, feature, Google, honeycomb, hspa, review, reviewed, Reviews, Today's Chili, video, wifi, wwan

We waited nearly the entire summer for the Acer Iconia Tab A501 to break daylight. Now that it’s finally shone its uber-glossy face, we were anxious to see if the “4G” HSPA+ model is worth the extra coin (or two year ball-and-chain, should you go that route) over the standard A500. If you have little fear of commitment, signing the dotted line will get you one 16GB slate for $330 — plus the added cost of a capped data allowance or a pay-as-you go plan. Not down to hitch up to the contract wagon? Cool with us… but you’ll pay $150 more to get your hands on one of these. So is settling down for two of the Earth’s rotations with the same tablet a wise move? Are you better off sticking with the WiFi-only model? Read on to see what we discovered when we took the A501 for a spin.

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Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 27

Xiaomi Phone review

Posted in: Android, dual-core, DualCore, feature, Features, gingerbread, review, Today's Chili, video

Any seasoned Android enthusiast would have no doubt come across Xiaomi Corporation’s MIUI at some point. For those who haven’t, here’s a quick intro: MIUI is a heavily customizable Android ROM based on the works of CyanogenMod (at least on the driver level, so we’ve been told), and currently the Chinese startup is officially offering its free software for 12 well-known Android handsets, including the HTC Desire, Samsung Captivate and Motorola Droid. Of course, we’ll also have the Xiaomi Phone on the list when it launches in China next month.

Using Foxconn’s tooling and Inventec’s manufacturing resources, the aptly named Xiaomi Phone is the company’s first attempt at developing its own hardware, and boy, it’s done one helluva job here with the specs: a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 SoC (note that this isn’t just an overclocked 1.2GHz chip), 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM, eight megapixel camera and the usual wireless bundle including WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS (plus the rare GLONASS). By now you must be thinking: surely there must be a tradeoff somewhere for that tempting price of ¥1,999 ($310)? Read on to find out if this is the case.

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Xiaomi Phone review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Growing Up Geek: Zachary Lutz

Posted in: feature, Features, Today's Chili

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Contributing Mobile Editor, Zachary Lutz.

Perhaps it requires a special breed to proudly wear the label of “geek.” No, I’m not talking about circus performers that bite heads off chickens (check the original meaning of the word), but about people like you and me, the folks who pursue their interests to a fantastic degree. It doesn’t matter whether your passion is knitting, fishing or kayaking; if you’re a curious individual who’s always thirsting to learn more, there’s a good chance we’ll get along. For me, my pigeonhole just so happens to be computers — and, more recently, mobile technology. Sure, you could blame it on way too many hours in front of the screen, but as a certain self-empowered pop star might say, I’d like to think I was born this way.

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Growing Up Geek: Zachary Lutz originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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