ASUS Eee PC 1015PE, 1015P and 1001PQ hands-on

Oh, you thought we were done with ASUS’ new Eee PC models at CeBIT. That’s cute. In addition to launching the aluminum 1018P and 1016P, ASUS has also quietly released the 1015PE and 1015P (or Diary series as it says on the units), which look to be joining the Seashell line with some minor design tweaks. The 1016PE’s faux dark wood lid has a more professional look, and its shape reminds us somewhat of HP’s Mini 5102. On the other hand, the 1015P has a white, softer-looking matte lid and an updated touchpad with integrated mouse buttons. Inside it appears they will be available with Intel’s Pine Trail Atom N450 and N470 processors, and apparently the forthcoming N455 and N475 CPUs. Last but not least, ASUS also seemed to whip out the race car-inspired, kid-intended 1001PQ that has the same specs as the 1005PE we reviewed awhile back. We don’t know about you, but we’d actually dig that design for ourselves. Until the next Tales from ASUS’ Eee PC booth update, we leave you with the hands-on pictures below.

ASUS Eee PC 1015PE, 1015P and 1001PQ hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS’ ultra-thin RT-N56U router reflects on its CeBIT display

Frankly, it’s not at all easy finding the new goodies at ASUS’ CeBIT booth, but luckily we managed to catch word of this crazy spectacle of a router. Introducing, dear reader, the RT-N56U. It supports 802.11a/b/g/n, dual band support, 3G HSDPA USB dongles, printers and HDDs (via USB). Input methods include Two USB ports, four Gigabit LAN and one Gigabit WAN… no wait, this is impressive but inconsequential. It’s just really, really thin — and that’s all that matters here, right? It’s also quite reflective; just imagine trying to take a picture of a mirror behind a foggy window, and you’ll understand our pain with product photography today. No details on price or release date. Video after the break.

Continue reading ASUS’ ultra-thin RT-N56U router reflects on its CeBIT display

ASUS’ ultra-thin RT-N56U router reflects on its CeBIT display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mio’s Tegra-powered Moov V780 puts maps, 720p video, and the interwebs on dashboards

We’re not suggesting playing a 720p vid while at the wheel, but Mio’s Moov V780 — or “premium PND,” as they call it — sure is a jack of all trades. We spent sometime playing around with the 7-inch tablet at the company’s CeBIT press conference and came away surprisingly impressed with the entire experience. It’s tapered edges and smooth plastic back remind us a lot of the Dell Mini 5, though Mio’s gone with a NVIDIA Tegra chip (we were told Tegra 2, but our friends at jkkmobile sneaked a peak at the device’s console and discovered it was apparnetly rocking the progenitor Tegra chip, at least on the show floor) and created a nice 3D user interface on top of Windows CE. Though it doesn’t support multitouch, the capacitive screen made flicking through the coverflow-like interface a breeze and the virtual keyboard was a pleasure — those who wish to use the device to fire off e-mails can always pick up the carrying case pictured above. So yes, overall we definitely like the Moov V780 and its Internet tablet/PND capabilities… but not enough to pay the 599 euros the company expects to sell it for. Perhaps the video below will convince you, but for now we’ll be waiting for this one to drop in price when it starts shipping this summer.

Continue reading Mio’s Tegra-powered Moov V780 puts maps, 720p video, and the interwebs on dashboards

Mio’s Tegra-powered Moov V780 puts maps, 720p video, and the interwebs on dashboards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mad Catz Cyborg Rat: a guided tour (video)

We’ve talked up Mad Catz’s Cyborg Rat before — and even given it the hands-on treatment — but even still, we thought it’d best to show you with the power of moving pictures all the crazy functions of this Franken-mouse (that’s pronounced “Fronk-in-mouse,” thank you very much). Check out the guided tour of the Rat 7 from the CeBIT show floor, and an explanation of the differences in each series iteration – after the break, care of global PR manager Alex Verrey.

Continue reading Mad Catz Cyborg Rat: a guided tour (video)

Mad Catz Cyborg Rat: a guided tour (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS O! Play HD2 spotted, spec’d, explained

While we weren’t able to see the “wealth of cloud infotainment” touted in the official release, we did get a chance on the CeBIT show floor to see up close and personal ASUS’ new O!Play HD2 media server. The design’s a beaut and it’s actually quite small in form factor. As for precisely what’s running under its hood, the local ASUS rep was pretty mum — what we do know is that it’s HDMI 1.3 compliant and also boasts Composite / Component / Optical outputs and USB 2.0 / eSATA inputs, card readers for CF, SD, and Memory Stick, and that coveted USB 3.0 PC link. We’ll try to dig deeper on a return trip, but in the meantime, check out our images and video below!

Continue reading ASUS O! Play HD2 spotted, spec’d, explained

ASUS O! Play HD2 spotted, spec’d, explained originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition leaps off the runway and into our hands

Paging all butterfly-admiring netbook lovers! With spring upon us, HP’s officially launching the Mini 210 Vivienne Tam edition that it previewed back at September’s Fall Fashion Week, and, well, it sure is unique looking. We actually got to take a peek at it a few weeks ago, and while the butterfly adorned cover may only appeal to a certain sex type, the gold covered keyboard is what you’d expect kings and queens to type on. Okay so, the design wasn’t really in line with our tastes, but at least we’re comfortable with the internal specs which are identical to the Mini 210 we recently reviewed (sans the Broadcom Crystal HD). And apparently the Mini should sound as good as it looks — HP’s updated Vivienne’s netbook with Beats by Dr. Dre audio software, which to date has only been found in the company’s Envy line. Interesting move, but of course it’s still very hard for us to understand why anyone would spend $600 on a netbook that’s got an extremely frustrating touchpad and only a three-cell battery — but we’d guess that it probably has to do with that whole ‘beauty is pain’ thing. The full press release is after the break.

Continue reading HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition leaps off the runway and into our hands

HP Mini 210 Vivienne Tam Edition leaps off the runway and into our hands originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pierre Cardin tablets won’t keep your pants up

Well isn’t this the most unlikely partnership of the year. Apparently world famous designer and maker of watches/belts Pierre Cardin thought the tablet selection in the world was lacking, and teamed up with a small Taiwanese OEM to bring some touchscreen devices to market. We checked out the line today, and though both the 7-inch PC729 and 8.9-inch PC819 tablets are rather thick the build quality is actually solid. The tablets pack resistive multitouch displays and include a stylus for navigating around Windows 7. Internally they’re packing VIA’s older C7-M processors which doesn’t mean good things on the battery life front — we can’t imagine these things running for longer than two hours. All we know is that we’re loving the attachable leather murse that opens up to reveal a rubbery physical keyboard. Whether you’d shell out $450 ($300 without Windows 7) for one of these really just depends on how much you love Pierre Cardin — the man, not the tablet maker.

Continue reading Pierre Cardin tablets won’t keep your pants up

Pierre Cardin tablets won’t keep your pants up originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook for webOS gets a much-needed, and much-appreciated, 1.1.0 update

After a disappointing initial effort, Palm has unleashed version 1.1.0 of its webOS Facebook app. Currently only available via the update function but not the standard App Catalog, users will find new and improved access to their inbox, all their friends’ photo albums, profiles, direct photo uploading, friend search and a list view for upcoming events and birthdays. The first thing we noticed was the initial news feed now matches the notification preferences set on the standard webpage stopping the inevitable flood of Farmville updates we blocked so long ago. Features still missing include chat, video and the ability to respond to friend requests but with a distinctly faster and tighter experience, it’s certainly surpassed the mobile webpage as the best way to access Facebook on the Pre. Can’t reach the update button right now? Check our gallery for a few more images or this video demo from PreCentral embedded after the break.

[Thanks, @Isaac]

Continue reading Facebook for webOS gets a much-needed, and much-appreciated, 1.1.0 update

Facebook for webOS gets a much-needed, and much-appreciated, 1.1.0 update originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola HS1001 cordless Android phone hands-on

Well this is a bit different — it looks as if the big M is looking to put a little Android (v1.6, if you must know) in the home with this DECT 6.0 phone. Though the device is made by Binatone, the Hong Kong-based company will be selling a $150 Motorola branded version of its cordless phone in the US come this summer. While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen an Android desk phone, this particular one packs WiFi so you can use the 2.8-inch touch display on its back to not only dial up mom, but also surf the web or check email. We did ask if you could make Skype calls on WiFi, but the app won’t be preloaded and the phone won’t have Marketplace support. That’s not to say it doesn’t have some intriguing tricks up its sleeve, though — we were duly impressed with the speaker-equipped charging station, which enables it to blast out your favorite jams from the 70s while docked. It’s no Droid or Devour, but it may not be a bad home calling option if you just can’t cut ties with your landline. We’ve got some more pictures in the gallery below as well as some shots of Binatone’s future Android tablet, so go on, indulge.

Motorola HS1001 cordless Android phone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros

Craftily unhidden at the tail end of its press conference, Acer’s long-awaited Aspire 1820PT convertible laptop has finally passed into our hands for ever the briefest of moments. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Strong hinge, accelerometer for tablet mode, capacitive multitouch, and the ability to use stylus for input (protected in a slot just below and to the right of the screen when not in use). Beyond that, seems like the typical underpowered laptop you know and love — well, maybe not love, but you get the idea. Under the hood there’s an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB RAM, and 320GB HDD, all priced at 599 euro, which we’d venture a guess to mean it’ll be about $599 when it comes to the US (actual release date MIA). Gallery below, and brief video demonstration after the break.

Continue reading Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros

Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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