Bliptronic 5000 synthesizer: it’s like a Tenori-On, but affordable

Yamaha’s Tenori-On may be swank, and the slightly more affordable ‘Orange‘ version may be attainable for the middle-class, but we’ve been waiting far too long for an el cheapo version. Thanks to ThinkGeek, that wait has finally ended, and all of our most intense and outlandish dreams are now a reality. The Bliptronics 5000 LED Synthesizer is, for all intents and purposes, a cheapened and less-featured version of the aforesaid Yamaha, capable of spitting out 8-bit bleeps and bloops at varying tempos based on what buttons you have toggled. And look, for $49.99, it’s tough to complain. Hop on past the break for a video demonstration, and feel free to go ahead and bust that plastic out while you’re at it — it’s not like you haven’t already taken it for quite the ride today.

Continue reading Bliptronic 5000 synthesizer: it’s like a Tenori-On, but affordable

Bliptronic 5000 synthesizer: it’s like a Tenori-On, but affordable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku HD-XR now 50 percent off… for the first 500 to take the plunge (update: sold out!)

Roku’s HD-XR doesn’t add much to the overall Roku HD equation, but if you’ve been holding out — just waiting, patiently — for the perfect time to snag yourself yet another movie set-top-box, today’s the day. Actually, right now is the moment. Roku is offering its newest STB for an unheard-of 50 percent off, but it’s only for the first 500 customers who pony up and purchase it through the outfit’s website. For this very moment in time (starting at 11AM ET and continuing until 500 HD-XR units are claimed), the box will be priced at just $64.99, and as if that weren’t good enough, Roku is also covering the shipping. Need the specifics? Click on past the break.

Update: Well, that was fun while it lasted. All 500 have been claimed, and if you don’t believe us, have a gander at the proof after the break.

Continue reading Roku HD-XR now 50 percent off… for the first 500 to take the plunge (update: sold out!)

Roku HD-XR now 50 percent off… for the first 500 to take the plunge (update: sold out!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus’ $1,100 PEN E-P2 up for pre-order, played with early

Olympus’ PEN E-P2 is destined to be a fine product, we’re sure. What we aren’t sure of, however, is how exactly the company came up with the nearly laughable MSRP. The second-ever Micro Four Thirds offering from the outfit is up for pre-order right now at Amazon, though the $1,099.99 asking price is just far too lofty for us to recommend snagging a place in line. That said, you’re still probably interested in learning more about the device, so we’ll be pointing you in Gadling‘s direction for that; the crew over at our favorite travel blog managed to snag one of these buggers early, and exterior color aside, we’re told that it looks practically “identical to the E-P1.” Hit up the links below for a closer look — just keep your credit card far, far away until we see a full review.

[Thanks, Misael]

Olympus’ $1,100 PEN E-P2 up for pre-order, played with early originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Bold 9700 now on sale to all at AT&T: $200 on contract

T-Mobile (along with a number of overseas carriers) have had RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 for some time now, and while we knew that the handset was shipping to those who AT&T considers “special” and “irreplaceable,” the rest of the collective masses have simply had to sit on the sidelines and wait. Thankfully, that whole bout with patience is over, as the Bold 9700 is now available to order directly from the operator’s website for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and your John Henry on a 2-year agreement. So, anyone forcing Santa to come early this year, or what?

[Thanks, Ry]

BlackBerry Bold 9700 now on sale to all at AT&T: $200 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Curve 8530 now putting Verizon through the rounds

Right on schedule, the latest BlackBerry to grace the Verizon’s CDMA spectrum, the Curve 8530, is now on sale. A 2.5-inch display, OS 5.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and yes, WiFi — take that, Tour. Price is $199.99 on two-year contract, with an added $100 discount if you buy it online. Let’s be honest, what else were you gonna spend that money on tonight, hm?

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BlackBerry Curve 8530 now putting Verizon through the rounds originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre slips to $80 on contract, makes the Pixi that much less attractive

Man, the Pixi has a tough life. For starters, it launches at a price point that simply makes no sense when you consider that the Pre could be had for the exact same price via third-party channels. Next, Palm’s second-ever webOS device falls to just $25 on contract, making it worth a glance once more. Nary two days later, Amazon has chopped the price of the Pre to just $79.99 with a 2-year contract, and to boot the $36 activation fee is being waived. We always heard sibling rivalries were the worst — guess mum wasn’t kidding around.

Palm Pre slips to $80 on contract, makes the Pixi that much less attractive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s Adamo XPS now on sale starting at $1,799

Dell’s slimmest laptop ever still isn’t shipping out to eager consumers, but at least the Win7-packin’ Adamo XPS is now configurable over on the outfit’s website. The base $1,799 configuration includes a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 CPU, a 128GB solid state drive, 13.4-inch WLED panel, 2 megapixel camera, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, GS45 integrated graphics, WiFi and a USB Ethernet adapter. Unfortunately, hardly any of the components are upgradable, but there are a few select upgrades available for those with the cheddar. The scary part? That December 22nd estimated ship date. Better spring for overnight and cross those toes!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Dell’s Adamo XPS now on sale starting at $1,799 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia E72 in stores now, somewhere

Amazon’s US pre-order site hasn’t heard the news yet nor has Nokia USA’s on-line store. Nevertheless, Nokia assures us that the E72 is “in stores now” and should cost €350 (as announced) before taxes and carrier subsidies are applied. Remember, this S60-powered followup to the much loved E71 sports a new 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 3.5-mm headphone jack, microSD slot (4GB included in the box), A-GPS and integrated compass, 10.2Mbps HSDPA, and new optical navigation pad right where a thumb would like it. The E72 also packs the latest version of Ovi Maps and Nokia Messaging with homescreen access to your IM accounts. Now scram buster and let us know if your pre-orders have been filled — this baby’s not going to unbox itself.

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Nokia E72 in stores now, somewhere originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FLO TV Personal Television now on sale for $250, should be in cereal boxes soon

Look, we fully understand that someone, somewhere put a lot of time and effort into designing a $250 handheld that does nothing but watch pixelated mobile TV for a lofty per-month price, but seriously, there has to be better uses of one’s time. The 3.5-inch FLO TV Personal Television is on sale today at Amazon, Best Buy and RadioShack, though we suspect that the $249.99 up front price will probably keep most potential buyers at bay. Six months of service are included, but afterwards you’ll be paying at least $8.99 per month (and a rate that low requires a three-year contract) to keep the signals flowing. If we’re being honest, this thing is still more useful than Celio’s REDFLY, but that sure ain’t sayin’ much.

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FLO TV Personal Television now on sale for $250, should be in cereal boxes soon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s Inspiron Zino HD on sale now in America: starts at $229, doubles as an HTPC

Dell has taken its sweet time in bringing the 7.75- x 7.75- x 3.5-inch Inspiron Zino HD to market, but just 24 hours after it made its market debut across the pond, this little zinger is finally available to the Yanks in attendance. Starting at just $229, the mini PC is far more exhilarating than most ho hum nettops. Oh sure, the base configuration is fairly unexciting, but thankfully Dell enables you to add up to 8GB of memory, a 1.8GHz dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e CPU, up to 1TB of HDD space, an optional Blu-ray drive, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4330 discrete GPU and WiFi to the mix. ‘Course, speccing it out will obviously raise the price substantially, but it’s always nice to see more power than anticipated within such a minuscule box. Of note, Dell also mentions that an optional TV tuner, wireless keyboard and mouse are available, but at least for now, the TV tuner is nowhere to be found in the configuration pages. Other inclusions are a 4-in-1 card reader, four USB 2.0 sockets and a pair of eSATA ports. Who says HTPCs have to breathe fire?

Update: We’ve just heard that the TV tuner won’t be available at launch (sounds a lot like what happened with the Mini 10), so there goes those dreams of immediately gratifying your urge for a new HTPC of the smallest scale.

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Dell’s Inspiron Zino HD on sale now in America: starts at $229, doubles as an HTPC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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