Hasta La Gadget!

Let this be a lesson for all you kids thinking about opening some online shop with a funky database: pricing errors can cost ya, especially if you’re doing business in Taiwan. After a couple of downright embarrassing slip-ups on Dell’s Taiwanese web store, followed by a failure to compensate those who got orders in appropriately, Taiwan’s government has levied a NT$1,000,000 fine (that’s just over 30 grand in Greenbacks) on the computer giant. The actual details of the penalty are somewhat vague, but it seems as if the fine will be imposed until Dell decides to “take consumer rights seriously.” In other words, Dell’s stuck paying up unless it flips a 180 real quick and honors the flood of purchases made at rock-bottom prices. C’mon Dell, do the right thing. Or write the check — evidently it’s totally your call.

[Via Engadget Chinese, image courtesy of AdRants]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Dell fined $30,000 by Taiwan government over pricing mishaps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now this is a hard-working monitor. EVGA has just introduced the InterView 1700, a dual-display that lets you do more. The InterView offers two 17-inch flat screen, each with a 1440×900 pixel resolution. They’re both attached to a single center stand that contains a 1.3megapixel webcam. The base includes the monitor controls, as well as three USB 2.0 ports.

Here’s where it gets fun: the displays can each swivel vertically, so you can view both from a comfortable angle, or arrange one for a friend to view. The monitors can run in clone mode, where both screens show the same thing, or span mode (pictured), where they produce one continuous desktop.

But there’s more: the screens can also swivel vertically, so you can show your work to someone sitting on the other side of your desk. The image automatically rotates when a screen is flipped. Two people sharing a desk area can each use one of the screens, thereby saving space.

It’s a beautifully versatile system, easy to configure as needed. The company is pitching it to business users, but I’m betting plenty of home users will also want one. The InterView 1700 is available from the company for $649.99.

Man, talk about falling into a black hole at the R&D lab. A staggering 1.5 years after we first caught wind of the altogether intriguing InterView system from EVGA, the company is finally bringing it to market here in the US. Put simply, the device features twin rotatable 17-inch LCD displays, both supported by a single desktop stand. It was conceived in order to suit presentation givers, financial consultants and the elusive “creative professional” crowd, with each panel rocking a 1,440 x 900 resolution. The screens can rotate 180 degrees horizontally, fold 90 degrees from closed to full width apart and can even be controlled by two keyboards and mice, ensuring that sibling arguments reach peaks they’ve never reached before. There’s also a built-in webcam, microphone and three-port USB hub, though it seems as if you’ll be shopping for this thing without an MSRP to go by. Full release is after the break.

Update: The display will list for $649.99.

Continue reading EVGA introduces rotatable dual-LCD InterView system

Filed under: Displays

EVGA introduces rotatable dual-LCD InterView system originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a simple idea, sure, and it’s far from new, but putting an LCD on a telescoping mount offers incredible convenience. As such, this Samsung SyncMaster 80 series professional LCD monitor allows for a more natural secondary display perched directly above your open netbook or can be spun into a portrait orientation for those looking to go vertical. The 80’s are available in either 20- (F2080) or 23-inch (F2380) configurations offering a 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178-degree viewing angle, narrow 15-mm bezel, and cover nearly 100% of the RGB color space. Priced in Korea at ₩378,000 (about $287) and ₩457,000 (about $347) when released later this month. See the Sammy pulled into a frontside vert after the break.

Continue reading Samsung’s SyncMaster 80 series LCD monitor stands above the rest

Filed under: Displays

Samsung’s SyncMaster 80 series LCD monitor stands above the rest originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not exactly all that uncommon for Dell to misprice an item on its website and, if you’re lucky, it might even honor it. But it looks like the stakes have just been raised considerably in Taiwan, where the company recently listed a 19-inch monitor for NT$500 (or about $15US) and promptly received more than 26,000 orders for close to 140,000 of the monitors. Now, ordinarily, Dell would simply send out a polite email explaining their mistake and call it a day, but Taiwanese regulators have now stepped in and ordered suggested that Dell honors the misprice after receiving a couple of hundred complaints. For its part, Dell simply says that it plans to “compensate the buyers for the mistake,” although it’s not clear if that means it’ll actually be sending out the monitors — which, incidentally, would add up to more than $20 million at their full list price.

Update: Engadget Chinese tells us that the Taiwanese government has suggested to Dell that it compensates consumers fairly and will assist in legal action against Dell if they don’t. Also, the $15 price applies only to the first monitor purchased with discounts applied to subsequent units for those who made multiple-monitor purchases.

Update 2: Dell has agreed to issue a NT$1000 (about $30) coupon for every monitor purchased including those made through multiple purchase orders. That sound more than reasonable to us.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Filed under: Displays

Taiwan ‘orders’ Dell to honor $15 monitor mishap (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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