Mar 28

Samsung N310 netbook gets hands-on treatment

Posted in: hands-on, netbook, samsung, Today's Chili, video

Don’t be deceived — Samsung’s N310 looks an awful lot tougher, bulkier and manly than it really is. ‘Course, it probably will handle gentle bumps a bit better than your average Wind / Eee / Mini xx machine, but it’s really only the embossed Sammy logo that’s built to withstand flying bullets. All kidding aside, we’ll invite you to visit the read link if you’re scouting a hands-on experience that just might change your life. Or at least the next 4 minutes of it.

[Via Slashgear]

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Samsung N310 netbook gets hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 28

Samsung’s sleek BD-P3600 Blu-ray player gets hands-on love

Posted in: blu-ray, hands-on, pics, pictures, samsung, Today's Chili

Oh sure, we’ve already seen this thing spotted at Best Buy, but there’s just something especially titillating about photos with clarity. CNET‘s UK branch managed to get their camera all up in the BD-P3600‘s area, and they definitely enjoyed what they saw. For starters, the 7.1-channel analog outs are a real boon to those still using that circa-1999 AV receiver, and the bundled WiFi dongle means BD-Live is now entirely more accessible. Granted, we aren’t similarly impressed by the 40 second BD load time, but maybe we’re just spoiled by the hasty OPPO BDP-83. Head on down for a few more looks.

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Samsung’s sleek BD-P3600 Blu-ray player gets hands-on love originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 27

Meizu M8 unboxing and hands-on!

Posted in: cellphone, Features, hands-on, HandsOn, phone, Today's Chili

Yes, folks — things are about to get really real. We have managed, through a series of delicate negotiations, to get our hands on an honest-to-goodness Meizu M8 — heretofore the stuff of pure legend. At first glance, the build quality of the phone is actually pretty decent — it’s mostly plastic, but everything seems to snap together firmly. The battery (which is removable, naturally) is quite large, though we haven’t had a chance to test its life in any significant way. Of course, the real showpiece here is the software — which admittedly owes its entire existence to the iPhone. We’ve found that it’s quite snappy, and the styling and functionality of the UI is really kind of impressive (though this did spend a long time in the oven). Still, the phone’s KIRF roots are clear — you can judge for yourself in the gallery below.

Thanks to the good folks at MP4 Nation for the hookup!

Gallery: Meizu M8 unboxing and hands-on!

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Meizu M8 unboxing and hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

Panasonic’s ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild

Posted in: Features, hands-on, in the wild, InTheWild, Panasonic, plasma, Today's Chili

Now that it’s official and priced, Panasonic seems much happier to show off its wireless HD-sporting, ultra-thin Z1 series, and it’s quite the sight to behold. The 54Z1 we got to look at was very strikingly clad in brushed metal gray — compared to the regular black of most of Panasonic’s TV lineup — and of course incredibly thin. The wireless HD receiver box was across the room and working flawlessly, and it was nice to see that the included remote is an RF unit, capable of non-line-of-sight channel changing — it’s starting to feel like the 21st century around here! The plasma picture was of course very good, and we’re really feeling those Viera Tools icons across the bottom. $6,000 though? That’s your call.

Gallery: Panasonic’s ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild

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Panasonic’s ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

Panasonic CES 2009 Blu-ray / HTIB lineup eyes-on

Posted in: blu-ray, Features, hands-on, Panasonic, pics, pictures, Today's Chili

We were able to spot a few of Panasonic’s latest innovations in the home theater space back at CES 2009, but we got a much more intimate look at things during a recent New York showcase. The new Blu-ray decks look nice, if not a touch plain. Not that everyone wants an Alienware-esque BD deck or anything, but we digress. The Blu-ray HTIB systems were particularly of interest, as these things are perfect for sneaking BD into homes that are currently DVD-only, and while we longed for more information on the portable DMP-B15, the on-hand reps didn’t seem too anxious to gush over technical specifications with us. Their loss, totally.

Gallery: Panasonic CES 2009 Blu-ray / HTIB lineup eyes-on

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Panasonic CES 2009 Blu-ray / HTIB lineup eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

Sony Ericsson’s Idou stylus gets pictured, piques interests

Posted in: hands-on, pics, pictures, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili

We’ve already investigated every single nook and crannie involved in Sony Ericsson’s 12 megapixel Idou, but here’s something we haven’t seen: an associated stylus. It’s difficult to tell at the moment if SE plans to toss this in with the Idou (or whatever it ends being called) like Nokia did when it threw in a guitar pick with the 5800 XpressMusic, but either way, you can consider our interest piqued. Not that we’re fans of using a stylus over our own digits, mind you, but we are fond of random, if not unnecessary accessories. Save the lecture, we realize that’s odd.

[Thanks, Jesper]

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Sony Ericsson’s Idou stylus gets pictured, piques interests originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

New iPod shuffle first hands-on (with video!)

Posted in: Apple, Features, hands-on, ipod, Today's Chili

We just nabbed one of Apple’s new button-free iPod shuffles, and in case you were wondering: yes, it’s really small. We’re gonna play around a bit with the VoiceOver navigation and get you our full impressions in a few, but at first glance we think this is totally usable, especially for the shuffle’s sweaty target demographic. Also: it’s really small.

Update: In-depth impressions are after the break, along with video!

Gallery: New iPod shuffle first hands-on

Gallery: New iPod shuffle unboxing and close-ups

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New iPod shuffle first hands-on (with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 11

Gateway P-7808u FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

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

The nice folks at Gateway were good enough to send over a fresh-out-of-the-oven P-7808u FX, their newest entry into a now-long lineage of gaming laptops. This $1699 machine replaces the similarly-priced P7811FX that we took a look at a few months ago and, like its older brother, packs some serious gaming-for-your-buck. Who are we to keep you from some delicious unboxing and hands-on dirtiness?

The latest FX sits in the same case as the P-7811 FX, including the gaudy black and orange effects that remind us of an 80s Chevy Monte Carlo (look it up, you’ll see what we mean). We’re ready for Gateway to leave this design behind — the FX deserves a new dress, because, really, she has a great personality. Gateway has kept the 5-in-1 multicard reader, HDMI port, triple USB 2.0 plugs, and handy eSATA port while adding a 9-cell battery that provides longer portable gaming time of around four hours. Don’t expect to throw this giant into a backpack any time soon, as the P-7808u FX weighs in at a bag-busting 9 pounds while a 17-inch widescreen monitor sits above a full-size keyboard complete with numpad.

Gallery: Gateway P7808uFX Unboxing

Continue reading Gateway P-7808u FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on

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Gateway P-7808u FX gaming laptop unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 10

iMac (early 2009) in-depth impressions

Posted in: Apple, hands-on, imac, impressions, Today's Chili

There’s really not enough to say about Apple’s newly spec-bumped iMac to warrant a full-on review — sure, it’s got faster processors and some newer video cards, but in day-to-day use it feels like basically the same machine first introduced in August of 2007. In fact, apart from the switch to mini DisplayPort and the removal of FireWire 400, we’re pretty sure you could swap in this new model for the older 2.4GHz 24-inch aluminum iMac we use as one of our daily drivers and we wouldn’t even know until we tried to render out some video or do some gaming — the marginal increase in power just isn’t all that noticeable in day-to-day tasks. If you ask Apple, they’ll tell you that the big story is that $1,499 now buys you a 24-inch screen — which, considering the historical lameness of the 20-inch iMac screen, is good news in more ways than one. We wanted to put our older model head-to-head with its modern analogue, though, so we opted to test the $1,799 2.93GHz version with GeForce GT 120 graphics — we didn’t quite get upgrade fever, but we’ll admit we thought about pulling a switcheroo once or twice. Read on!

Continue reading iMac (early 2009) in-depth impressions

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iMac (early 2009) in-depth impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 09

ASUS showcases HD-minded Eee Top ET2203 and ET2003

Posted in: ASUS, cebit, Features, hands-on, pics, pictures, Today's Chili

Amongst many, many other things at CeBIT, ASUS also found time to showcase two new Eee Top all-in-one PCs, though it completely failed to make any deal of it at all. In fact, it didn’t even bother hosting up specifications placards, leaving us curious as to what these offer over the existing (and smaller) Eee Top machines. Aside from boasting 22- and 20-inch panels (respectively), NotebookItalia noticed that the ET2203 and ET2003 both included an HDMI socket and a Blu-ray optical drive, not to mention a natural affinity towards kitchens. We’ll keep an ear to the ground for more on these in the coming weeks, but for now, you’ll have to let ye old imagination handle the hard work.

Gallery: ASUS showcases HD-minded Eee Top ET2203 and ET2003

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ASUS showcases HD-minded Eee Top ET2203 and ET2003 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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