Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: accessories

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got a slew of accessories — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!

Fall’s slowly, but surely creeping back in, and we bet you’ve already started to gather up the necessary gear for your return to the residence hall. Sure, you’ve got the basics covered, with a computer, smartphone, MP3 player and even a tablet at the ready. But wouldn’t it be nice to start the school year off in style with some handy accoutrements to trick out those digital crutches? Let’s face it, you’re going to need a lapdesk buffer zone between you and your laptop’s scorching heat for those countless hours spent churning out term papers. Or, an external hard drive, so you can store those full seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and bring the late night funny to your stressed-out friends. However you manage to make it through the year and snag that 4.0 GPA, we’ve got a selection of accessorized aids to match your collegiate budget. Oh, and don’t forget, we’re giving away $3,000 worth of essential back to school gear to 15 readers, and you can be among the chosen few simply by dropping a comment below! Click on past the break to start browsing.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google remains committed to TV business, expects more partners soon

Wondering what Mountain View has in store for Google TV — that half-baked content platform available on only a small handful of devices? Well, it’s not going away, apparently, and may even cross the Atlantic into Europe next year. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is currently making waves in Scotland, giving Edinburgh International Television Festival attendees a rather vague overview of what the next generation of Google TV may look like. Schmidt said that the service has yet to take off because it’s currently integrated with (a rather limited selection of) TVs, which we don’t tend to upgrade more than once or twice a decade. He added that additional hardware and content partners will be coming soon, though, and didn’t deny that Google TV could end up on Motorola cable boxes — an obvious move, given the company’s recent acquisition announcement. With widespread implementation and many more content partners, Google TV could definitely be a hit, but with ABC, NBC and CBS still unwilling to come onboard, the struggling service likely has a very rocky road ahead before it can be deemed a success.

Google remains committed to TV business, expects more partners soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech unveils suction cup joystick for the iPad (video)

It is what it sounds like, kids. Logitech, clearly on a tablet accessories tear, just trotted out another toy for the iPad. This time, it’s a suction cup joystick that sits on the screen, inviting people to gawk at you while you play Pac Man in Starbucks. As you can see in the photos, this isn’t a ball-capped joystick so much as a laptop-style pointing stick masquerading as a retro controller. That nub has a flat, slick surface, and without much of an indentation or textured grip, it’s easy for your finger to slip off. It’ll go on sale next month for $19.99, an appropriate price for what will most likely be an impulse buy. For now, we’ve got video of it in action after the break.

Continue reading Logitech unveils suction cup joystick for the iPad (video)

Logitech unveils suction cup joystick for the iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fat, Folding Logitech Keyboard Case for Slim iPad 2

It’s a full-sized keyboard, and it folds into a full-sized block of plastic

Logitech has announced a big, fat fold-up keyboard case for the iPad which will make your slim iPad 2 look like a 1990s tablet PC. The Bluetooth keyboard, which charges via USB, actually looks like a great accessory — if you can get past the bulk.

The Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad, as it is known, does the usual stuff an iPad keyboard should do. It offers a full-sized typing area, has iPad-specific keys for volume, brightness and the like, and offers a stand to prop up the tablet as you type.

It also folds up into a thick package, splitting in the middle to shrink down to the same footprint-size as the iPad (only way, way fatter). The Bluetooth radio switches on and off automatically as you fold and unfold the device.

It actually looks like a pretty nice keyboard, and beats out other keyboard cases thanks to its full-sized keys. It also costs $130. For this price, you could just go with a regular Apple aluminum keyboard ($70) and a keyboard case from WaterField ($30) and still have (almost) enough left over for a Smart Cover ($40).

Available for pre-order now.

Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad [Logitech. Thanks, Tim!]

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Logitech G300 mouse delivers gaming friendly features on the cheap

Logitech G300 Gaming Mouse

Logitech isn’t exactly new to the gaming peripheral scene, but the company knows its strength lies not in pleasing hardcore FPS fans, it’s in delivering solid consumer products. The G300 isn’t a gaming mouse for the twitchy virtual gun slingers out there, it’s for folks that fire up the occasional shooter, but want better performance than they get out of the pointer packed with their PC. The nine programmable buttons and 2,500dpi laser aren’t jaw-dropping, but they’re certainly respectable for only $40. It does pack one interesting feature — gaming profiles that are stored on the mouse’s internal memory. This way you can set up different configurations for particular games and even move the mouse across PCs without any hassle. And, the lighting on the side will glow different colors to identify which profile you’re using. While you wait for the G300 to land in September, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Logitech G300 mouse delivers gaming friendly features on the cheap

Logitech G300 mouse delivers gaming friendly features on the cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech announces $130 fold-out keyboard for the iPad, we go hands-on

Since that whole Revue thing didn’t go over so swimmingly, it looks like Logitech’s going back to its accessory roots, with a manic hope that tablet add-ons are the future. The company just announced a fold-out keyboard for the iPad 2 that’s pretty much what it sounds like: a keyboard split in two whose halves flip out and connect to form a full QWERTY. As you can see in those shots below, you can still use your magical, candy-colored Smart Cover when your iPad is docked. At $129.99, it’s hardly a cheap doo-dad and frankly, we would have hoped for higher quality. In our brief hands-on, the keys felt unstable and stiff — an ideal combination for anyone who thought their iPad needed more chintz. Pre-order it at the source link if you must, though you might do just as well gawking at our pics below.

Logitech announces $130 fold-out keyboard for the iPad, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac brings Appletastic keys, pastel hues

Yearning for the ideal keyboard to pair with your suddenly revitalized Bondi Blue iMac? Good thing you’ve the patience of Job. Windows users were treated to a K750 solar keyboard of their own last fall, and it’s taken nearly a full year for Logi to crank out a Mac-specific edition. The Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac features the same amenities as found on the Wintel-favoring variant, but you’ll find this one boasting a standard Mac key layout and a concave key cap design. Naturally, no extra drivers are required to work with your existing Apple rig, and once charged, it’s capable of living it up for at least three solid months in complete darkness. You’ll find onboard solar cells that power the keyboard using ambient light, and prospective buyers will be gifted with four exclusive hues (five in total). It’ll ship in the US and Europe later this month for $59.99, and yes, that 2.4GHz module ensures that no wires will be needed for connectivity.

Continue reading Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac brings Appletastic keys, pastel hues

Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac brings Appletastic keys, pastel hues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech’s clip-on tablet speaker latches onto your slate for dear life, doubles as a stand

We can swear we feel hints of fall creeping in already, but Logitech just announced a product we would have loved to see at the start of beach season: a speaker bar that clips onto the back of any tablet, effectively turning it into the boombox it wasn’t built to be. We know, we know, that barrel of a speaker looks a tad silly next to the likes of the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, but we’re digging how it doubles as a stand, propping up the slate if, perchance, you’re also down for watching a movie. In our brief hands-on, the speaker felt lighter than it looks in those photos down there, and delivered decently loud sound, too. Like we said, we can see this making for a festive old time at the beach or a picnic, though when we asked a Logitech rep about durability he said we might want to shield the speaker from sand. Because this is a wired product (it charges via USB and lasts up to eight hours on a charge), it commands less than the wireless speaker for iPad that Logitech’s already shilling. Specifically, we’re told it’ll cost $49.99, though as of this writing it hasn’t popped up in the company’s online store, which means those of you unashamed of your Justin Bieber collection will have to just sit tight.

Logitech’s clip-on tablet speaker latches onto your slate for dear life, doubles as a stand originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech trots out another keyboard case, this time for the Galaxy Tab 10.1

You might have noticed that accessory makers have a habit of churning out stuff for iDevices first and everything else second. Specifically, though, we’re noticing that in the world of tablets, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is fast becoming companies’ No. 2 once they’ve gotten the iPad squared away. Take Logitech, for example. The company just announced a keyboard case for Samsung’s deliciously thin slate — a near facsimile of the one it released for the iPad a few months back. To recap, this isn’t your garden-variety folio case with a keyboard and kickstand, but rather, an aluminum lid with a full ‘board lining the interior. Logitech also attempts to justify the steep $99.99 price with shortcut keys for copying and pasting and cushioned corners that offer a modicum of protection in the event of a drop. But does that make it worth it? We’ll leave that to your and your wallet.

Logitech trots out another keyboard case, this time for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech Revue running Honeycomb caught on camera, looks pretty good

Now that eager hackers have actually managed to shoehorn the latest flavor of Android onto Logitech Revue units, the question is what does it actually look like? We got a few screenshots at Google I/O but now there’s pictures and videos popping up all over. One of our tipsters sent a few shots over, while the Channel Android folks on YouTube have posted a video walkthrough (embedded after the break). So far it looks good, with little remaining of the original Google TV UI, now replaced by widgets, box art-style listings of TV content and more. Thinking about dropping a Benjamin on one of these units and upgrading to Honeycomb yourself? Be warned — it’s very raw, so with no Netflix and not much app compatibility to speak of, remaining a voyeur is probably advisable for now.

[Thanks, Michael]

Continue reading Logitech Revue running Honeycomb caught on camera, looks pretty good

Logitech Revue running Honeycomb caught on camera, looks pretty good originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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