Hasta La Gadget!

It might not be the Apple-Verizon tie-in you are most anxious to see happen, but the big red network has gone official with its plans to offer the iPad in its brick-and-mortar stores starting on October 28. VZW will be bundling the WiFi-only iPads with its own MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot with pricing set at $630, $730 and $830 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants of Apple’s tablet, respectively. There’s only one access plan on offer for now, granting users 1GB of monthly data allowance in exchange for $20 and no contractual commitments. AT&T will match the release date and upfront prices for each model, although its iPads will be of the WiFi + 3G variety, eschewing the need for a bundled MiFi; plan pricing will continue at 200MB for $15 or 2GB for $25 monthly. Full press releases follow after the break.

Update: According to an FAQ on Verizon’s website, spotted by AppleInsider, there are a pair of other service plans after all: $35 for 3GB and $50 for 5GB, each with penalties of $10 per gigabyte of overage. As the publication notes, these are pretty nifty deals compared to Verizon’s usual data rates, however the FAQ also stipulates that “customers will only be eligible for the new bundle data plans when purchasing the iPad and MiFi 2200 promotional bundle.”

Continue reading iPad going on sale in Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores October 28 (update: Verizon data pricing)

iPad going on sale in Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores October 28 (update: Verizon data pricing) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 22:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you had any doubts that the 3D bandwagon was taking no prisoners in an attempt to fill up and overflow, look no further than Lenovo’s 3D IdeaPad Y560d. Yeah, a 3D laptop from Lenovo. The folks over at Hot Hardware were able to spend a bit of quality time with this beast, but unlike many of Lenovo’s machines, this one wasn’t exactly an easy sell. In fact, they firmly stated that it’s only a surefire recommendation to those who will be utilizing the 3D panel with great frequency, noting that the decision to toss a power-hungry Core i7 into an otherwise portable machine led to subpar battery life that would frustrate frequent travelers. Gaming performance was found to be satisfactory, though, and while the overall performance seemed fine, the 7200RPM hard drive in their test unit is apparently unavailable in the shipping unit (which holds a 5400RPM drive). At any rate, they did state that other units in the Y560 line would be better options for more well-rounded consumers, so unless you plan on living with a set of 3D glasses on, you’re probably better off passing over this one. Hit the source for the full skinny.

Lenovo’s 3D IdeaPad Y560d reviewed: for three-dee fanatics only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? If you’ll recall, we heard that Recon Instruments was fixing to up-end the winter sports goggle market in February of this year, with an optimistic-at-the-time ship date of October 2010. Lo and behold, the outfit has managed to nail its estimate, and the planet’s first GPS-enabled goggles are now available to highfalutin’ skiers and snowboarders. At least initially, the company will be rolling out a limited set, with two models to choose from: the $499 Transcend SPPX is fitted with an SPPX polarized and photochromic lens, while the $399 Transcend SPX features an SPX polarized lens. Aside from the fact that these probably cost less than those ho hum Oakleys in the ski shop, they’re equipped with a Zeal Optics’ frame design with a micro LCD display, which appears to hang approximately six feet in front of the user. That head-mounted display provides real-time feedback to the wearer, including speed, latitude / longitude, altitude, vertical distance traveled, total distance traveled, a chrono / stopwatch mode, a run-counter, temperature and time. Yeah, wow. You can bet we’ll be trying to snag a set for review when we do our best impression of “hitting the slopes” post-CES.

Continue reading Recon-Zeal Transcend goggles now shipping, GPS and head-mounted display included

Recon-Zeal Transcend goggles now shipping, GPS and head-mounted display included originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you were proactive enough to pre-order a T-Mobile G2, there’s a better-than-average chance that your shiny new smartphone is already en route to your abode. For those who slept in, it looks as if RadioShack will be the go-to place if you’re looking to snag one early from the retail universe. According to the badly formatted flyer pictured above, The Shack will be the first B&M location to stock the US version of the HTC Desire Z, and it’ll be hawking ’em for $149.99 on a two-year postpaid contract starting October 3rd. Got that penciled into your little black book? Good.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading RadioShack to sell T-Mobile G2 ‘first’ starting on October 3rd

RadioShack to sell T-Mobile G2 ‘first’ starting on October 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It sure looks as if HP’s Pavilion dm3t is still rockin’ that godforsaken aluminum-sheet-of-a-trackpad, but if you’re a perennial mouse user, you may still appreciate the revised innards that have recently slid into one of HP’s most stylish ultraportables. The 13.3-incher is now available with Intel’s 1.2GHz Pentium U5400 or a 1.2GHz Core i3-330UM, both of which include integrated graphics alongside an HDMI and VGA output. You can also equip it with up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard drive (or 160GB SSD, if you’re feeling froggy), a six-cell battery and a 1366 x 768 BrightView LCD. The baseline machine sits at $549.99, but you know you’ll be pushing it north of that once you spot the backlit keyboard option.

HP’s Pavilion dm3t gets a well-deserved refresh, now available with Core i3-330UM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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