Hasta La Gadget!

AT&T is following Verizon’s lead today with the introduction of new prepaid broadband plans targeted directly at netbook and laptop users who find themselves out of WiFi range (and in desperate need of email) every once in a while. The so-called DataConnect Pass plans exactly mirror Verizon’s pricing, which means you can get 75MB as a “day pass” for $15, 250MB as a weekly deal for $30, or a half gig per month for $50. Like Verizon, you’re far better off getting the 5GB postpaid plan if you’re a heavy user here — but if you find yourself needing wireless once in a blue moon, this may very well be the way to go. The packages are available now; follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a hot, hot minute since we’ve seen anything noteworthy from the lads and ladies over at Pegatron, so it’s not shocking that we’re super tantalized by the prospect of yet another netbook flooding the oversaturated market in the near term. All unnecessary snideness aside, the sub-$200 price point that’s being floated about definitely has us interested, though the Ubuntu operating system is likely to fend off any non-adventurous would-be buyers. The machine was spotted at ARM’s Connected Community Technical Symposium 2009 over in Taiwan, and while the actual internals remain a mystery, snoopers were told that it’ll boast instant-on capabilities and a low power draw. Huzzah?

Pegatron’s Ubuntu-equipped netbook spotted in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google had a low-key event today to preview Chrome OS, its new operating system based on Linux and the Chrome browser. Things are still pretty early — it’s not even in beta yet, let alone on shipping products — but that’s the first official screen shot right there, and the big features are all roughed out. The entire system is web-based and runs in the Chrome browser — right down to USB drive contents, which show up in a browser tab, and the notepad, which actually creates a Google Docs document. Web apps are launched from a persistent apps panel, which includes Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and Hulu, among others, and background apps like Google Talk can be minimized to “panels” that dock to the bottom of the screen. Local storage is just used to speed up the system — everything actually lives in the cloud, so all it takes to swap or borrow machines is a login, and you’re good to go. Google also said it’s “very committed” to Flash, and that it’s looking to hardware accelerate whatever code it can — although Google didn’t have a solid answer to give when asked about Silverlight. Overall, Google was upfront in saying that Chrome OS is focused on very clear use cases for people who primarily use the web, and that it’s not trying to do everything: “If you’re a lawyer, editing contracts back and forth, this will not be the right machine for you.”

As far as going to market, Google’s not talking details until the targeted launch at the end of next year, but Chrome OS won’t run on just anything — there’ll be specific reference hardware. For example, Chrome OS won’t work with standard hard drives, just SSDs, but Google is supporting both x86 and ARM CPUs. That also means you won’t be able to just download Chrome OS and go, you’ll have to buy a Chrome OS device approved by Google. Interesting move, for sure — but since the entire OS is totally open-source as of today, we’re sure it’ll be hacked onto all kinds of hardware soon enough. (And for the record, the demo was run on an off-the-shelf Eee PC.) Check Google’s intro videos after the break!

Continue reading Google’s Chrome OS revealed — with video!

Google’s Chrome OS revealed — with video! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s looking increasingly unlikely that Google’s Chrome OS is really launching this week (not that we were really that convinced anyway). What is true, however, is that the company is hosting an event later this week at its Mountain View, CA headquarters to showcase its progress, provide an overview of the platform, and give information on its “launch plans for next year.” Excited? Us, too.

Filed under: Laptops, Software

Google announcing Chrome OS launch plans this Thursday originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Sony’s VAIO W netbook was released, we said the company would “have to do better than put a pretty face on a vanilla set of innards to get our next five Benjamins.” So what has the company done to raise the appeal of its little netbook? Boosted the processor? Added a big SSD? Lowered the price? Nah, it went ahead and painted some snowflakes on the lid. Pretty though they may be they still hide the same 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD, 1.6GHz Atom, and 1GB of RAM. There are some improvements: storage is upped a bit, a 250GB HDD instead of 160, and it now includes Windows 7 Starter instead of XP. And there are snowflakes. Still $499. Get yours before they melt!

[Via Sony Insider]

Filed under: Laptops

Sony applies next-gen snowflake tech to boost VAIO W’s appeal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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