May 11

Samsung U200 all-in-one desktop hands-on

Posted in: Features, hands-on, HandsOn, multitouch, samsung, Today's Chili

Here’s another exhibit that we could (literally) touch at the British Museum today — Samsung’s new all-in-one touchscreen PC, the U200. We won’t go into another pixel density rant about the 20-inch, but the colors and optical touch sensitivity were good. As for the keyboard, it seemed to have similar issues we dealt with on the P580 laptop, but at least you can just throw it out and get a better one with the U200. Anyhow, help yourself to the rest of our hands-on photos.

Gallery: Samsung U200 all-in-one desktop hands-on

Samsung U200 all-in-one desktop hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

LG Ally works its Iron Man cred, leaves a few loose ends to tie up

Posted in: Android, Google, hands-on, LG, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless

We’ll admit it, we really can’t find anything straight-out “wrong” with the LG Ally. Maybe we could muster up a few matters of taste to gripe about, but it really does seem to be a pretty solid QWERTY Android slider. But unfortunately for LG, Verizon, and the good people at Stark Industries, we’re having a lot of trouble stomaching this handset for the mere fact that we’re up to our eyeballs in Android these days; nobody here has bothered to do anything different. When your only claims to fame are a few pixel tweaks on the home screen, categories in the app drawer, and an augmented reality Iron Man app, you’re running the risk of… well, that’s just it, you aren’t running any risk at all. Sure, including a “limited edition” Iron Man comic with every phone sold is a nice touch, but it won’t help you much in two years (or two months) when everybody you know has a better phone than you.

At least LG managed to best the Droid’s landscape QWERTY, with some well-defined keys and decent, clicky action, though the unfortunate layout and an oddly inconsistent key shape keeps that from saving this phone. Specs-wise it’s just what we had been hearing: Android 2.1, a 3.2 megapixel camera (with a flash), a nicely side-accessible microSD slot for the included 4GB SD card, and that mid-range Qualcomm MSM7627 processor. Hopefully Verizon can announce a bargain basement price (we’re figuring $99 or less is a shoe-in), otherwise we want that GW990 back pronto. No word on release date, either, but we should be learning more tomorrow.

Gallery: LG Ally hands-on

LG Ally works its Iron Man cred, leaves a few loose ends to tie up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size

Posted in: ati, Features, hands-on, samsung, Today's Chili
Aww… isn’t that 8-inch frame in the corner just adorable? And yep, it’s right next to the same monstrous ATI Eyefinity rig we gave away at last month’s Engadget Show, composed of six 23-inch IPS monitors bolted together. Samsung’s been mum about its final price until now, but — drum roll please — the MD230X6’s just a mere £3,180, which translates to about $4,750 on the other side of the pond. Don’t know about you, but that £149.99 ($224) Samsung 800P photo frame’s starting to look like a bargain now.

Gallery: Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size

Continue reading Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size

Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

T-Mobile shipping the Garminfone for $199 in June, we go hands-on

Posted in: Android, Google, gps, hands-on, Today's Chili

T-Mobile and Garmin-Asus have just gotten down to the nitty gritty with us on the long anticipated Garminfone: the phone ships in June for $199 on a two year contract. Just to show they’re serious, they also let us play with the phone, which is running a speedy, heavily custom Garmin UI on top of Android. Check out some hands-on shots below, and stand by for more coverage of the handset as we get to cuddle up with it during some long, geotagged walks on the beach.

Gallery: T-Mobile Garminfone hands-on

T-Mobile shipping the Garminfone for $199 in June, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Samsung Q330, Q430 and Q530 slim laptops to invade Britain in July

Posted in: hands-on, laptop, notebook, NVIDIA, samsung, Today's Chili
Okay, so we can’t say we’re exactly enthralled about the styling of this here laptop trio — Q330, Q430 and Q530 (Q430 not pictured) — that Samsung announced in London today, but let’s see if their specs can win us over. For starters, all three machines share the same 27mm thickness, anti-scratch chassis technology, and 1,366 x 768 screen resolution (but across the 13.3-, 14- and 15.6-inch screens). Similarly, you’re limited to a Core i3-350M (2.26GHz), DVD burner, 6-cell battery, three USB ports and the same black / silver paint job across all three models. The differences? Look no further than the GPU options and weight — you get an integrated Intel GMA HD and five-hour battery life on the 1.96kg (4.32 pounds) Q330; the slightly stronger NVIDIA GeForce 310M on the 2.05kg (4.52 pounds) Q430; and the GeForce GT 330M on the 2.33kg (5.14 pounds) Q530. Nothing too thrilling here to be honest, plus the faux brushed metal texture gave a weird touch to the trackpads, but the keyboards were surprisingly nice to type on. Anyhow, we’ll hold our final judgment until the prices come out in two months’ time.

Gallery: Samsung Q330, Q430 and Q530 slim laptops to invade Britain in July

Continue reading Samsung Q330, Q430 and Q530 slim laptops to invade Britain in July

Samsung Q330, Q430 and Q530 slim laptops to invade Britain in July originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Cowon J3 ships to America, we go hands-on

Posted in: Features, hands-on, PMP, Today's Chili, unboxing

Nary two full months after we first caught wind of Cowon’s dainty (albeit super sexy) J3 portable media player, the award-winning device has both gone on sale and arrived on our doorstep (along with a few others, according to a few jovial tipsters). As of today, prospective consumers in the US can order one for $199.99 (8GB) or $239.99 (16GB), both of which have microSD slots for capacity expansion. Per usual, Cowon’s packaging here was nothing short of delightful, and the 3.3-inch AMOLED display struck us just as the S9 did oh-so-many months ago. Unlike the larger V5 we reviewed back in March, we greatly appreciated the capacitive nature of this touch panel, and finger presses were accurately and immediately recognized. The user interface was also far more streamlined, and whizzing about from area to area was no issue.

As with every other Cowon player we’ve ever laid ears on, the audio quality out of this one was second to none; if you’re a self-proclaimed audiophile, yet can’t exactly accommodate your Marantz KI Pearl on the subway, this is about as good as it gets. The video player was similarly impressive, loading up clips with minimal fuss, and showing no lag whatsoever during playback. Unfortunately, for all the things this gorgeous unit does right, the only spec that matters to some is wrong: pricing. We hate to point out the obvious, but an 8GB iPod touch is also just $199, and unlike the J3, Apple’s alternative can surf the web over WiFi and bring you face to face with 100,000 (or so) apps. From a value proposition standpoint, there’s simply no comparison. ‘Course, the J3 may still stand out if you’re all about audio quality (and nothing else), but we’ve yet to actually meet someone who didn’t care at least a smidgen about the extras. Vote with your wallet, as they say.

Gallery: Cowon J3 PMP unboxing

Cowon J3 ships to America, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Samsung E60 and E61 e-readers heading to British digital bookworms in July

Posted in: e ink, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, Features, hands-on, HandsOn, samsung, Today's Chili, uk

Good news, fellow Brits! Samsung has just announced that it’ll be shipping its two 6-inch, stylus-donning e-readers — the slide-out E60 and the QWERTY-packing E61 — to the UK in July, with the former to be priced at £299.99 ($443) and the latter’s to be confirmed. Sadly, no news on who’ll be delivering the ebooks over these devices’ WiFi, but we’re promised an announcement in a fortnight. For now, gorge yourselves on our latest hands-on photos.

Gallery: Samsung E60 and E65 e-readers announced for British electronic bookworms

Continue reading Samsung E60 and E61 e-readers heading to British digital bookworms in July

Samsung E60 and E61 e-readers heading to British digital bookworms in July originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Hands On: Breville Makes the Mother of All Tea Kettles

Posted in: hands-on, Miscellaneous Tech, Tech Toys, Today's Chili

Breville One-Touch Tea KettleWhat if I told you the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker (BTM800XL) is the tea kettle from the future, but you can buy it now? It’s the ticket to holding a successful tea party, and the answer sophisticated tea drinkers have been looking for. 

The kettle is partially aluminum and mostly see-through glass, so you can watch your tea brew to perfection. It’s not for tea bag lovers, though, since the aluminum basket is meant for loose tea leaves. There are different settings for different kinds of tea, and you’ll be floored by the basket button, which cycles the tea leaves in and out of the water 
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May 11

Nokia N8 hands-on

Posted in: hands-on, london, nokia, prototype, smartphone, symbian, Today's Chili, uk, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom

Good old London, full of little wonders and flagship devices for you to discover. We were at Nokia’s local HQ this morning to talk to the company’s Head of Design Marko Ahtisaari, and the good gent happened to bring with him a prototype N8 for us to play around with. It was stressed to us that it’s a prototype, so small cosmetic changes might still occur, but we are for most part looking at the hardware that will be hitting retail shelves in Q3 of this year. Speaking of Q3, Marko was adamant that that will be when Nokia “turns on” the Symbian^3 housed within the N8, which — disappointingly — meant that we couldn’t get to grips with the new UI experience in person. Ah well, there are plenty of pictures to be devoured in the gallery below, and we can provide you with a few observations of our own to tide you over till then.

The anodized aluminum shell feels very well built and is remarkably light. So much so that our first instinct was to ask whether the battery was inside or this was just a hollow mockup. We’d compare it to the feeling of picking up the Zune HD for the first time, it’s a strikingly light device. Plopping it into our pocket also felt extremely natural, which might be attributable to the particular curvature of the N8’s sides. Attention to detail in the physical design, as Marko said, was of paramount importance to Nokia. That doesn’t come without sacrifices, however, with the user replaceable battery being substituted by an integrated cell, but to quote the man himself, the “overall design concept overruled” such considerations. We found the home button on the front a bit of a pain to press in, but it’s still very early to form conclusions about the experience on this device. For now, just go gawk at it below and look out for the in-depth writeup of our chat with Marko Ahtisaari later today.

Gallery: Nokia N8 hands-on

Nokia N8 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 07:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Sony NEX-5 is small, really really small (video)

Posted in: hands-on, micro four thirds, MicroFourThirds, olympus, Panasonic, preview, samsung, sensor, sony, Today's Chili, video
What started back in 2008 has become a glorious trend: stuffing DSLR-sized sensors into compact camera bodies. First it was Olympus and Panasonic with its Micro Four Thirds standard followed recently by Samsung’s NX10. Now Sony is flexing its digital imaging muscle with the introduction of its own compacts sporting APS-C-sized sensors and interchangeable glass. Both CNET and LetGoDigital already have previews of the NEX-5 — the “world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens digital camera” according to Sony. And by the looks of that comparison shot above with Olympus’ diminutive PEN E-PL1, we’re guessing that’s a pretty accurate assessment. CNET was particularly stoked by the “aggressively priced” pre-production NEX-5 it took for a spin. Although the camera’s not without faults — quirky UI and controls (hey, it’s Sony!), inconsistent autofocus, lack of electronic viewfinder, and a general lack of manual controls — CNET found the NEX-5 to be “fairly fast” with “really quiet” lenses for both zooming and focusing. Most importantly, it judged the photo quality and noise profile to be “really good” while producing “sharp” 1080/60i AVCHD video. Mosey on through the break for CNET‘s video preview of the NEX-5 and then hit up the source link for some sample photos and a good spec-by-spec comparison of the NEX-5 with its micro format competition.

Gallery: Sony NEX Cameras hands-on

Continue reading Sony NEX-5 is small, really really small (video)

Sony NEX-5 is small, really really small (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 06:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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