Hasta La Gadget!

Looks like the RoBe:Do gang, who recently blew our minds (well, filled our tummies) with their Twitteriffic Popcorn Poppin’ Bot, are back on the scene with another one of those modular robot chassis designed for those of you looking to get into the robot game with nothing more than a spare netbook, some serious programming chops, and a few hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket. The newest creature, named “Three,” features a simplified design, faster motors, and a larger base for those six-plus-pound laptops of yours. Just dig into the supplied high level software libraries and code yourself a robot! And if you’re feeling frisky, check out the various options — including infrared sensor and webcam. Order now and it’s yours for $399, or hold off until July 1st and pay the full $439. Peep the gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: RoBe:Do’s newest ‘just add netbook’ robot kit for sale

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Robots

RoBe:Do’s newest ‘just add netbook’ robot kit for sale originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

You see, there’s not much wiggle room when it comes to netbook pricing. By and large, vendors have priced their machines about as low as they can in order to receive but a sliver of a profit, and there’s certainly no way they could eat another $20 to $30 on each unit and still feel good about themselves. To that end, we’re hearing that many companies may make their Atom N270 and Atom N280-based netbooks ineligible for the Windows 7 upgrade (from the factory, anyway), with those always-mysterious “industry sources” pointing to “increasing costs and low consumer demand.” In essence, these guys feel as if consumers will view Windows XP as sufficient for those underpowered machines, while it’ll be the Atom N450, Atom D410 and Atom D510 machines that’ll be most suited for Win7. ‘Course, we suspect you’ll be able to pony up for whatever upgrade you’d like once it’s in your hands, but we wouldn’t anticipate any handouts to suddenly be attached to existing machines.

[Via GadgetMix]

Filed under: Laptops

Atom N270 / N280-based netbooks may be stuck at Windows XP originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Leading netbook manufacturers and suppliers on Wednesday dismissed the idea that interest in the small-form PCs will dissipate as the economy improves, suggesting instead that consumers will embrace them as complimentary devices.

Economic troubles has spurred consumers to purchase netbooks, but as consumers emerge from the recession, they will likely purchase both – a notebook for the home, for example, but a netbook for the children or to take on business, Todd Bouman, director of product marketing and development for mobile computing at Samsung, said at the Consumer Electronics Association’s New York line show.

Netbooks will likely be a third of the business by the end of the quarter, he said.

Sarah Bussell, senor manager of product marketing for business notebooks at Hewlett-Packard, also saw netbooks as companion devices. But in her experience, the price point of netbooks also appeals to people without a notebook or mobile device, people who need them for on-the-go business needs, and those in emerging markets.

“Business typically takes longer to evaluate new technologies, but the opportunities have surprised us,” she said.

All you crazy kids keepin’ an eye on the HP Mini 110 are in for a real treat. The company is now listing the machine as available for ordering on its website, superseding the Mini 1000 (don’t worry, fashionistas — the Vivienne Tam model is still available, at least for the time being). As reported previously, these guys are priced at $279.99 (Mi Edition) or $329.99 (XP Edition), with the 6-cell battery option adding $40 to the price, and an Intel Atom N280 CPU costing an additional $25. And the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator? Look for it next month.

[Via Portable Monkey]

Filed under: Laptops

HP Mini 100 available for online ordering, Vivienne Tam safe and sound originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’ve never been fans of Microsoft’s ability to put hard limits on netbooks with Windows XP; it’s this fact alone that has kept the entire sector from moving forward in terms of specification advancement. Though, we’d probably wager that MSI is even more livid, as bit-tech has reportedly learned that the company’s Wind U115 will soon be yanked from store shelves. The reason? The machine’s hybrid storage system, which puts Windows XP on an SSD and allows other applications and media to be loaded on the HDD. Oddly, the netbook is still for sale on MSI’s webstore, and just a few days ago we saw NEC unveil a hybrid netbook over in Japan. Please Microsoft, reconsider — do it for love, do it for justice.

Read – MSI Wind U115 on sale
Read – bit-tech report

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Microsoft reportedly bans netbooks with hybrid storage systems, MSI’s Wind U115 caught in the middle originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments